#If I ever write a fic and the fandom is more watcher based

[phoenixtakaramono]

Question, so how are things with the A prince and his baron given what we have seen of Hazbin Hotel and Helluva boss? Are you planning to continue it, rewritting it according to what we've seen in both shows or just its gonna stay like that? No pressure to answer and of course its your story after all so you get to decide what to do with it

Hullo, anon! I’m happy to answer any questions for any of my WIPs. 💞 Regarding A Prince and His Baron and its status:

Question, so how are things with the A prince and his baron given what we have seen of Hazbin Hotel and Helluva boss?

It’s still waiting its turn! Because I’m a multi-WIP writer across several fandoms, just so it’s fair to everyone who’s been patiently waiting for whichever fic it is from me, I’m responsibly going down the masterlist of story updates (which I’d pinned on my tumblr). The schedule was intended to be rotational, so I’m trying to stick to updating 1 chapter per story going down the list before circling back to the top. So unless I get hit by a strong burst of inspiration, P&B ch5 should be updated after The Untold Tale ch6. So keep an eye out for that! A key hint, the content on my tumblr blog & twitter usually reflects which fandom I’m working on that corresponds to the WIP currently being updated. So if I start posting/tweeting a lotta Hellaverse stuff, y’know I’m working on P&B. Once it’s P&B’s turn, I’ll be posting more chapter sneak peeks. ;)

I don’t remember if I ever tweeted it or posted a sneak peek here—it might’ve been buried underneath my threadfic updates for another fandom—but after watching Hazbin Hotel S1, I felt a lil inspired and broke my rule of usually hardcore immersing & pigeonholing myself to the fandom of whichever WIP I’m working on (which is currently Truce ch3). I sneakily wrote a bit of P&B ch5 based on what I’d seen and tweeted/posted a sneak peek of what I added to the upcoming P&B chapter. But in case my memory exists in delulu land, haha, here are some screenshots from the Google Doc itself 🤫:

This is during the time when I wrote a short Chaggie threadfic (tumblr / twitter) and broke out my ol’ tablet to draw a shippy Chaggie fanart as a watcher enthusiastically celebrating the show airing, haha. P&B might not be ready yet but this was my small way to show support. And y'all can thank the 2024 Hellaverse Collab artists project for getting me in the mood to make my next 900 followers celebration illustration involving Vox and Alastor (it's a bit special to me because it's my first time illustrating Alastor and, y'all don't know this, but I'd liked Alastor from the pilot ep, which was what led into getting into Helluva Boss and later to me creating P&B in the first place as a fan's small contribution, to show my support for the creator's landmark creative endeavor).

Are you planning to continue it, rewriting it according to what we've seen in both shows or just its gonna stay like that?

It's still being continued! And it is definitely going to stay as it is, ah. No rewrites! Fortunately we only have 4 chapters so far so I didn't have to change much to be honest, of the few things I'm willing to change.

I'd answered an Ask regarding this awhile back (you'd have to comb through my Tags Masterlist) but the tl;dr is: Given what I've seen thus far, I'm going to be taking inspirations from both shows and ignoring certain canon things (like the mystery about Lilith being gone and Eve possibly having impersonated her (I already wrote that Lilith helped write the royal invitation to Blitzø in P&B so…whelp, sorry, but I’m not changing what’s already written especially because there is a huge chunk of paragraphs solely dedicated to it) as well as Blitzø’s and Stolas’ childhood friends aspect, because that contradicts the entire driving force of the fish-out-of-water meet cute in my story where they meet in the prologue as complete strangers—and we'll see them fall in love with each other as the story proceeds despite the political machinations of Hell's upper crust society and the challenges awaiting them). It's the reason why I made A Prince and His Baron into an AU to be safe; this way, once something later revealed to be canon contradicts what's written in the story, it's an AU. So it's fine. Otherwise, and I'm being honest, I get demotivated to continue a fic if I face the herculean task of...like, having to change details across 15 chapters just so it's canon accurate. I don't have the time for that. For small changes though, like the pilot surname of "Magne" changing to Amazon Prime confirmed "Morningstar" surname, that's fine. It's just a matter of pressing Crtl+F and doesn't require a HUGE rewrite. :)

The way I want y'all to think, going into P&B, it's an Alternate Universe. If there are any references to canon, like all my WIPs that are AU in concept, those are lil canon Easter Eggs I sprinkle in for funsies. And anything not canon (like Stolas being a wee more debonair/ manipulative and politically savvy in my fic (Blitz's first impression), but behind that Stolas is still a bookish, sweet and dorky royal gentleman as Blitz will come to find...so that's a wee closer to the Stolas in canon), my veering away from canon is done on purpose to tell a story. So, y'all, don't come at me if something's not canon in A Prince and His Baron, haha. I can't read Viv's and HB writers' minds! The most I can do is try to keep up to date with the kernels the Spindelhorse team mention on Twitter, and keep up with both shows to see the direction they're going in (this way I can borrow canon characters instead of creating OCs and I can get a more accurate grasp on their personalities instead of guessing due to the lack of material at the time).

I'll be excited to be back and continue P&B once we get to its turn! Boy, do I miss that world. And, boy, do I have so many exciting things I want to share with y'all.

[amostimprobabledream]

Writer Tag!

Thanks so much @blindmagdalena! How many works do you have on AO3? As of right now, 67. What's your total AO3 word count?

No idea lol.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? A Lungful of Smoke Quid Pro Quo The Trees Stood Witness The Beast You've Made of Me the beast you've made of me

I feel like three of these should be discounted because I wrote them in like 2017 - the Hawks one was literally when he was first introduced and we didn't even know his civilian name then.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do, though not every comment - usually if they're just like "Part Two!" or "More plz!" I tend not to reply to those. I tend to worry about looking like I'm purposefully boosting my comment number by replying to them all.

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending? Definitely "as the stars explode".

What’s the fic you've written with the happiest ending? I'm not sure, most of my fics are smut oneshots so I guess hitting the big O is a happy ending. "The Gift" was a pretty happy ending for Grimmjow and Reader.

Do you write crossovers? Not usually but that doesn't necessarily mean I never will.

Have you ever received hate on a fic? Yes. Once I got a particularly stupid one about some girl getting salty that I spoiled a character's death - a character that had only appeared in the manga, so as an anime-only watcher she shouldn't have even been reading about him since she shouldn't know who he is if she hadn't already seen some spoilers.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I think it's pretty much all I write lol. I'm trying to branch out a bit but I worry people feel cheated with no sexy payoff.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? I have, though this was back in like 2015 of a fandom I'm not naming out of embarrassment, and they reposted it to ff.net. Luckily I don't think Reader Inserts are permitted there so I'm assuming it got deleted anyway.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes, a couple of times! Mostly into Russian.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, though my Peaky Blinders OC fic is based off an RP I was doing with my friend, so some of it was partly written by her, which I'm repurposing with her permission. <3

What's your all-time favorite ship? I tend to not get too involved with shipping because I like ships that are more unusual and get tired of the same super-popular pairing getting shoved down my neck. That being said, I am forever salty Peaky Blinders set up Tommy/May in Season 2 and then inexplicably just sorta dropped it because May's actress got preggers. (I want them to finally get together for the movie so badly but I'm not holding out much hope.)

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will? I like to think once my hyperfixation kicks in I'll go back to some fics I've ditched but I find multichapter stories difficult to commit to. I do want to continue with my Demon!Dabi story and that Dazai one I wrote one chapter of and then ditched. What are your writing strengths? I think I'm fairly good at dialogue and I try to put unique twists on concepts I've seen done before. I personally also enjoy the personalities I give to my Readers, I'm a bit picky with Readers in Reader Inserts (I hate it when they're either super passive and meek or aggressive af for no reason).

What are your writing weaknesses?

I think I have a bad tendency to skip a lot of exposition because I want to jump to dialogue. I also sometimes worry my writing is too beige prose-y and I should take my time a bit more. Also I am awful at finishing multichapter fics because I get distracted so easily. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I guess it depends on how it's used? I quite like it when people write characters with accents, I think it adds a nice flavour to stories. What was the first fandom you wrote for? Fruits Basket and Naruto lol. What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to I have a bunch of like, half-started Billy Butcher x Reader concepts but he's such a hard character to write for. I think it's because I don't get to discuss him nearly as much as Homelander. What's your favorite fic you've written? I'm personally pretty fond of "I'm neon phosporescent" for Dabi being a kinky bastard and "stardust in my eyes" as my first foray into The Boys.

No pressure tags: @librarianqueen @inkyveins @honeydazai-main and anyone else who wants to participate!

[dragonologist-phd]

Fanfiction writing asks: 22, 24, 35, 45 please :)

thank you!

22. Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with titles?

For the most part, titles are the last thing I come up with. Sometimes I’ll get hit with a good one before/during writing, but like 85% of the time I have to sit and stare at the finished fic and wrack my brain over what to call it lol. My top methods for when I’m struggling to title something are song lyrics and puns!

24. How do you choose whose POV to write in?

It’s usually based on whose head I want to get into and who I think would have the most interesting perspective on the situation! I always do third person- nothing against reading first person, but I just cannot write in it

35. What’s your favorite fic you’ve posted?

I'm sorry but it’s honestly impossible to choose just one so you’re getting one from each of my top fandoms:

Pillars of Eternity: If The Heavens Ever Did Speak

In another world, Nona left Aedyr for the Dyrwood and was granted the power to change the world. But for all that changes, some things will always remain the same- and Nona Vercae will always, above all else, be loyal in her service to her Queen.

I had a lot fun writing that one because it was pretty different from stuff I’d done before, and all the dynamics at play here are just so intriguing to me. I love Nona a lot to begin with, and I love exploring a characters relationship with the gods in this type of setting, and I love how insanely flirty Woedica canonically is with a Woedican Watcher. I had to write fic about that, and even now it’s still one of my favs

Pathfinder: A Toast to the Luckless

Piper and Woljif reflect on tall tales and strange twists of fate. Wine is drunk. Backstories are shared. Candlesticks are stolen.

I just really really really love the friendship between Piper and Woljif. They are the definition of platonic soulmates and I love it. This was the first thing I really wrote about their friendship and I think it’s such a perfect snapshot of their dynamic

Dragon Age: Of Diamonds and Dust

Marja Aeducan and Darvis Brosca lead lives as different as one could possibly imagine. Marja Aeducan, a member of the nobility and second in line for the throne, has spent her life maneuvering the dangerous political machinations of the Diamond Quarter. Meanwhile, Darvis Brosca, a Casteless dwarf rejected by society, does whatever it takes to survive on the streets of Dust Town.

When a Grey Warden arrives in Orzammar, the lives of Marja and Darvis are forever changed. Driven from the city by misfortune and betrayal, the two must join the ranks of the Wardens in order to save their own lives. But the surface has far greater dangers than they realize. The noble and the thief will need to stand together if they're going to fight against the oncoming Blight, the brewing civil war, and the strange surface malady called "sunburn".

Ok maybe I should change my answer to that other question because this might be my most self indulgent fic. It’s by far the longest thing I’ve ever done, it’s still in progress, and it’s where I put all my Warden Thoughts (of which I have many). Marja and Darvis are my Original Blorbos and even after all this time I have a lot of fondness for their story

45. What genre/trope do you tend to write the most?

Mostly fantasy as far as general genre goes! More specifically, I love stories that focus on really strong friendships, and I’m always a sucker for Angst with a Happy Ending

[poc-movie-supremacy]

Watcher AU: Cryptids

How Steven Lim, guardian angel, befriended Ryan Bergara, Adam Bianchi, and finally Andrew Ilnyckyj (Shane and Jake Bergara to an extent as well)

look @mousemadej I finally did it!

*Steven is an angel, but not the typical type of Angel. Some traits were taken from the bible and some from what general pop culture describes as angel to make one Steven Angel. I should add though, I mention that Steven has a flaming sword. In the bible the angel guarding the garden of eden was gifted a flaming sword by God to guard it. I decided to take that element and just say fuck it all guardian angels have it now.

-----

He remembers being a young angel and hearing whispers of a new, special angel. About his age, this angel had jet black hair, soft almost sad brown eyes, and jet black wings. He had no halo, no glow, no blinding white wings. Instead he had red eyes, sharp claws, and big open heart. As someone with a big heart too, it was friendship at first sight.

Ryan looked up at him and whispered, “Why do they keep staring at me?” In truth it was because of a genetic disorder, but little Steven didn’t understand that.

Instead he took little Ryan’s hand and said, “I don’t know, they’re weird. Wanna go play?” Ryan smiled at him and they flew off the go play in the playground together. 

Throughout their lives they were near inseparable. Nothing could prevent that, not even Ryan taking on sole responsibility of Jake. Steven just made a joke about being an old married couple and went with it. Adam fit with them too, like another puzzle piece. Steven befriended him while training to become a guardian angel. He was practicing swimming in the ocean when a large man with a big brown beard and similarly brown eyes and the most gorgeous tail Steven’s ever seen approached him. At first they just stared at each other, Steven because his brain overloaded on Adam Bianchi cuteness, Adam because he just didn’t like talking. 

It took a few minutes for Steven’s brain to start up again. Immediately he spewed out words faster than he could say them. Adam was shocked silent. For a while he let Steven ramble about... how pretty his tail was? with a neutral expression on until he took pity and gave him a small smile. 

That smile almost broke Steven’s brain all over again, but luckily he saved himself just before repeating this process all over again. “Hi, my name’s Steven, sorry about the ramble. I’m here with my friends.” He pointed to where the Bergara boys were sunbathing on the beach. They looked unaware of the situation. They were not. “What’s your name?”

Adam continued smiling, “Adam, It’s nice to meet you Steven.” Adam shook his hand. Soft hands, Steven noted. 

“Preparing for the guardian angel entrance exam?” Adam asked. 

“Yes, as a matter of fact I am. The- my friends were lucky enough to already know swimming, I am not so lucky.” 

Adam chuckled. “I can tell. Want me to give you lessons?”

“Would you?”

Adam spent the rest of the afternoon preparing Steven for his test. He wasn’t awful, by angel standards, but Adam knew he could improve. When the sun finally set Adam was satisfied. The Bergaras invited him to join them for dinner. He agreed and they all hit up a local burger joint.

Unsurprisingly, Steven would earn his place in the guardian angel league. They were all so proud of him. Jake loved to hear stories Steven would tell of his charges. His favourite was Keith Habersberger, a soldier in Vietnam. Keith would end up being Steven’s second to last charge, unbeknownst to him. The guy was funny and friends with three other soldiers in his platoon. Steven hoped to get him home alive to his wife Becky. 

On his off days, Steven would try and help Jake be a guardian angel. When Heaven told him no Ryan raged. With some help, Ryan managed to get Jake into heaven’s guardian angel program. Steven wasn’t happy with the cost of such an action, but they were already in too deep to do anything about it. Besides, by supporting Ryan, Steven was put on Heaven’s shit list. One wrong move and he’d be kicked out. Helping people was Steven’s passion, he couldn’t give it up. 

His newest charge was Andrew Ilnyckyj. He was about a 5′ 10′’ white guy that happened to work at Buzzfeed. That bit of information piqued Steven’s interest. He remembered that Ryan had gotten a job hunting demons at that same company and visited the place himself.

Steven ended up getting a job there (don’t tell heaven he lied on his resume).

Andrew Ilnyckyj was nothing like he expected. He was quiet and serious and handsome and oh god. Anytime Steven tried to talk to him he’d start stuttering and blushing up a storm. He couldn’t focus with Andrew which is unfortunate since he’s his charge.

Steven bemoans all this to Ryan one day as they fly up up up into the sky. It makes him laugh. “Dude! that’s not helpful.”

“I know I know it’s just been a while since I’ve seen Steven Lim with a crush.”

Steven could feel his cheeks heat up with a wicked blush. “I-I don’t. I have a crush don’t I?”

Ryan nodded. He patted Steven on the back in a comforting gesture. “It’s not the end of the world buddy, although it might be if you don’t eat enough. You’re getting too skinny.”

Steven squaked insultedly. “I am not skinny!” Ryan quickly poked him in the side and he could feel rib. 

“Oh sure, golden boy. Not skinny at all. You’re burning too much stored fat flying with me and trying to warm your body to regular human body temperatures. Either you eat more or we’re stopping our flight dates.” Steven rolled his eyes at Ryan’s snipe but gave observation some thought.

~~~~

Steven took the advice to heart (well after Adam agreed with Ryan that Steven was getting skinnier) and came up with an idea.

Andrew likes food. Steven likes spending time with Andrew and needs to eat more. Adam likes food.

Thus worth it was born. 

~~~~

Andrew knew that all Buzzfeed employees were going to end up being somewhere on the weird scale but then he met Ryan Bergara and Steven Lim.  Adam seemed pretty normal though. The both of them just oozed eccentricity. They walked like they got an awful weight on their back and rock on their soles of their feet like they’re trying to fly. Ryan keeps looking around like he’s hiding something while Steven wears sweaters in eighty degree weather. 

Andrew makes up his mind to avoid them. He befriended Adam is that not enough? Apparently it was not. 

One day Steven corners him. He’s wearing a thin blue button up and a jacket  is hanging off his arm. Andrew feels Steven drape himself onto his back and the first thing Andrew’s struck with is that Steven’s ice cold. The second is thing Andrew realizes is that Steven is draped over his back and he doesn’t know if he loves it or hates it. 

The air is tense. To Andrew, nothing else can be heard. Adam stares at them out of the corner of his eye, silent. “Hey, hey, both of you. I have a great idea. Food at different price points.”

“What?”

 Adam snorts and says, “Explain it more in detailed Ste, and put on a jacket, you’re going to catch a cold.” The underlying meaning was that Andrew would get suspicious of Steven’s abnormal body temperature. Steven undrapped himself from Andrew and put on his jacket. He also warms himself up but not enough that his angel glow can be shown. 

Angels don’t have blood and hearts, only demons do. Demons are more like humans to convince them to sin using the sympathetic I-understand-what-you’re-going-through method. Angels are supposed to be ethereal, otherworldly as a symbol of what humans should inspire to be. Because of this, angel’s consciously generate heat which can appear as a glow if there’s enough heat. When Steven masquerades as a human he has to always be careful to not overheat. Usually he just ends up under-heating which causes a whole nother set of problems. Adam and Ryan have to continuously remind him to wear sweaters and such to mask this fact. 

Steven can already feel himself warming slightly with the inclusion of the thick jacket all zipped up. Andrew can already feel himself missing Steven’s touch. Wait. The thought makes him blink a few times in surprise. He’s talked to Steven a few times,but liking his touch? Andrew’s going to get an aneurysm at this rate. 

He is so caught up in his own whirlwind of a mind that he almost misses Steven’s slightly more detailed explanation of a new video series. “Ok so we take one specific food like pizza and then we go to three different restaurants at three drastically different prices and say which one is the best.”

Andrew looked at Steven slightly confused. “How did you come up with this? How are we going to pay for it?”

“Buzzfeed agreed to pay for it-” Steven started.

“And Steven’s too skinny.” Adam poked Steven a certain way to make him giggle. The sound was music to Andrew’s ears. The thought of Steven being too skinny wasn’t though. He looked Steven up and down to see for himself. His gaze made Steven blush up to his ears. Andrew fought back a smile, even a self-satisfied one. 

“You want me to go with you?” Andrew asked Steven. He watched as Steven nodded enthusiastically then scratch the back of his neck.

“Yeah that’s the hope. It’d be you and me in front of the camera and Adam behind it. What do you say?”

Andrew thought about it for a minute, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to say no. “Sure when’s the first day of shooting?”

Steven’s smile was the most brilliant thing he’d ever seen. What have I gotten myself into? he wondered to himself. “First day is burgers on Monday! I’ll see you there partner.” Steven gave him a smile before walking off. 

Andrew sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He played with one of Adam’s many bottles on his desk. “You’re going to have fun,” Adam told him, half-comfortingly half-commanding. 

~~~~

Worth it, Andrew came up with the name, was better than Steven could’ve ever expected. Originally it was a chance to keep a better eye on Andrew and maintain a healthy weight. Steven put in the work, but he didn’t think it would flourish like it did. Then he was going to New York, Taiwan, and Japan! It’s been a while since Steven’s been here. He marvels at the difference a hundred years can make on architecture. Adam listens patiently while he rambles. 

Steven and Andrew grow closer after working together long hours. His puns seem more endearing and his giggle is the cutest thing Steven’s heard. He likes to make up many silly dances just to get Andrew to smile. Being called fancy boy only becomes endearing when Andrew or Adam says it. Steven wonders about the consequences about gutting Ryan every time he says it. 

They spend time together. Ryan loves to tease the ever loving shiz out of Steven when they go flying or visit Jake. Steven’s proud of Jake so he tells himself that for Jake and to be able to keep his job he won’t kill Ryan.  That promise is harder to keep when Ryan teases Steven in front of Andrew though. Adam has to steer Steven away before he does something he’ll regret. 

Andrew always gives a weird look to Ryan before getting back to his work. Internally, he wonders what Steven’s look means. Does he like him back? Does just not like to be teased? Andrew really hopes that Steven likes him back. He thinks Steven’s nose scrunch is cute and his enthusiasm is refreshing. Despite how he acts, Andrew craves Steven’s touch. He likes it when Steven drapes an arm over his shoulder or carries him like Steven did in their Sushi episode. 

Adam says that maybe he should say something. (He tells both of them that actually) The fear that Steven doesn’t reciprocate his feelings is too strong. What they have is nice, if it took on a new direction Andrew would love that, but he can’t risk it. He has too much to lose. 

~~~~

They happened to work late that day. Andrew wanted to finish this one edit before going home. Steven had a bad feeling so he decided to stay with Andrew. “Come on Drew, let’s go home,” Steven whined slightly and his eyes kept darting around the room. 

Andrew scoffed and payed him no mind. “You’re as anxious as Ryan right now. It’s Buzzfeed we’re going to be fine.”

“Just hurry up will you.” Steven’s hackles were up and every sound made him want to unsheath his flaming sword. Too slow, Andrew finished his work and they said they could go. Steven grabbed his upper arm and brisked them out of the office to Steven’s car.

“I have my own car Steven.” Andrew jokingly protested. He’s not used to this paranoid, over-protective version of Steven. It’s endearing but also concerning. 

Steven gaze, usually not this heavy, was dead on him. “I can drive you home? Please, just stay with me a little bit more? Something doesn’t feel right, and I-”

Andrew could tell that Steven was starting to get agitated so in an effort to calm him down Andrew squeezed his hand, and shushed him a bit. “Ok, ok, it’s okay Stevie. I’ll go with you, just breathe.”

Steven nodded shakily and let go of Andrew. “Sorry if I gripped you too hard.”

“No you’re grip was just right. I’m going...” Andrew trailed off and pointed to the passenger seat. Steven nodded as Andrew walked to sit in the passenger seat. Once catching his breath, Steven slid into the drivers seat. “Hey Stevie, are you sure you can drive now?”

“Yeah I’m fine I got this.” Steven pulled out the parking lot and headed over to Andrew’s house. They sat in tense silence. Steven was too paranoid to make conversation and Andrew was too worried about Steven to initiate any either. 

As they drove along they saw well heard this person cry on the side of the road. Andrew looked at Steven to see if he’d slow down to stop. He didn’t. “Hey Stevie aren’t you going to pull over?” Steven pursed his lip but made no movement to pull over. Andrew was shocked. “Steven!”

At first Andrew didn’t think Steven would pull over. He was worried he would have to get involved but Steven sighed and pulled over. Andrew hoped out of the car and ran over to the person. Steven followed him at a much slower pace. The overwhelming need to draw out his sword was starting to get debilitating. He tried to focus on Andrew’s voice but it sounded like he was talking through water.

Then he screamed. 

Steven never heard anything clearer. 

A giant vampire had torn of a giant chunk in Andrew’s side and was now feasting in his blood. Steven’s vision matched the color Andrew was lying in. His whimpers and cries of pain filled his head and fueled his rage. The Flaming Sword light up the scene as Steven spread his wings and fought. The vampire tried to put up a fight, but he was no match for Steven Lim. All it took was one stab to the heart to take this guy out. Then Steven burned the vampire alive. He figured God wouldn’t be too upset since vampire’s weren’t His favorite creature. 

“Steven?” The voice was tired, groggy and too breathy for Steven’s comfort. Everything was red and Andrew’s pale and Steven might be having a panic attack. 

“Sh. Sh SH. Ok Andy, darling, baby. Just breathe.” Maybe if he wasn’t in panic mode he’d remember Adam teasing him about how pet names slip out of him when he’s really nervous, but the thought completely eludes him now. He strips off his jacket covering the dead body Andrew’s lying next to and then takes off his shirt to try and stop the bleeding. The shirt was pure white with vertical grey stripes running up it. Now it’s soaked blood red but Steven doesn’t throw it away. 

He vaguely feels a hand on his stomach and almost almost jumps at the touch. So this was the bad thing. You idiot, you should’ve prepared for this. You could’ve prevented this. Now he’s dying and it’s your fault. Steven tries to think that it isn’t true but Andrew’s breathing is labored and unfocused and isn’t it true?

“Wow- wow, usually you-you don’t lose the shirt until the second date. No shirt first date is big, this must’ve been en a big first date.” Andrew’s so out of it he stutters and slurs his words. They make Steven pause though, well mentally, he’s not losing Andrew without a fight. 

“Shhshsh Wait what? No Andrew shush this isn’t a date. Just focus on breathing alright. I’m going to try something.” There was a trick he learned when he was a kid. A certain trick that allows you to almost call people when you need help. Him and Ryan used to use that trick all the time they were exploring as kids. Now it’s become even more useful as adults. 

He’s so concentrated on pulling off the trick that he almost misses Andrew’s next words. Almost. “Wh-what? This is a date. This is a date cause I love you and you love me because you have to like me right Steven?” Andrew can barely look at him and Steven wants to cry. He puts more pressure on the wound with his right hand and uses his left hand to cup Andrew’s face. Tears freely falled down his face as he guided Andrew to look at him. 

“Whatever you want.”

Andrew smiled. 

~~~~~

Ryan carrying Adam arrived shortly after Andrew passed out. Together the three of them confirmed that the poor stranger did die, but Andrew didn’t. Steven sobbed in relief when hearing that. They performed an old ritual that Steven and Ryan learned in their childhood (Ryan got a nasty cut and Mrs. Bergara inadvertently showed them a method on how to quickly stabilize critically wounded people). Steven then gathered up Andrew into his arms and flew him to his house. Ryan and Adam followed closely behind. 

They set him down in Steven’s bed and quickly got to work saving him. Since Andrew was human, none of them could donate blood on his own so Ryan quickly got a few blood bags to use. Steven would usually ask if he got them legally, but he was too focused on Andrew to care. 

Adam got some deep-sea medicines while Ryan helped Steven with the initial medicine. It was hours before Steven felt even semi-comfortable leaving Andrew’s side. All three boys were almost fainting with exhaustion. Ryan suggested they all pass out on Steven’s couch after telling Buzzfeed they won’t be at work tomorrow. Steven protested at first. Adam and Ryan each took a hand and dragged him over to the couch though. With tangled limbs, the trio finally fell asleep.

~~~

Andrew felt groggy when he woke up. Then he felt extremely cold. Confusion hit him like a truck when he realized that he couldn’t feel a heartbeat. Panic filled his senses as he tried to do something to fix this. The room around him looked familiar enough. Steven’s bedroom his hand supplied. That did not ease his confused state in any way shape or form. One look around though did confirm that this was in fact Steven’s bedroom. He could see photos of Steven throughout the ages on the nightstand on the bed. A note written in Adam’s handwriting told him to take the adjacent medication. Andrew did as he was told. As his digestive system processed the medication his ears picked up on the sound of commotion outside the door.

Andrew felt too weak to walk so he tried to strain his ears to hear what the voices were saying. He sadly couldn’t understand anything other than the fact that it was Steven and Ryan doing a lot of the arguing. Pain in his jaw started to become more apparent. He rubbed it and felt something sharp prick him. He tried to suck on the wound, but he felt another, more painful, prick. Andrew tried to scream but it just ended up being one loud garbled up sound. Steven burst through the door glowing mad. Ryan and Adam followed him a few paces behind. 

Steven knelt in front of Andrew and tried to help him. Andrew jerked away from him in fear. “Andrew, Andy,” Steven took a step back from him with his hands raised. “It’s- Let me help.”

“I’ll go get the first aid kit Stevie.” Ryan ducked out of the room leaving the Worth it trio alone. A tinge of jealousy filled him when he heard Ryan call Steven a nickname. 

“Take your hand out of your mouth Andrew.” Adam softly commanded. Though painful, Andrew pulled his hand off his teeth. Steven murmured a curse under his breath. His glow brightened a second before ceasing with a look from Adam. Ryan opened the door but paused when he saw Andrew.

“Fuck… at least he’s not dead.” Ryan handed the first aid kit to Adam then went to stand by Steven. He rubbed a hand up and down Steven’s back in an attempt to comfort him. “He is dead Ryan. I failed and -”

“Shush. I’ve been looking for a new reason to pick a fight with God.” Despite his anger at himself and at the vampire that hurt Andrew, Steven chuckled.

“You always knew the right thing to say.”

“I try.”

~~~~

It wasn’t easy, accumulating Andrew to the supernatural. Helping him adjust to no heartbeat and sharp bloodsuckers wasn’t easy, but there were some good moments too. Steven was particularly fond of the moment he got to take Andrew flying. With a lot of convincing from Steven and Adam, Andrew let Steven lift him up into the sky. 

Andrew tightened his grip on Steven as they soared higher and higher. “Don’t like heights, Andy?” 

Andrew grumbled into his neck. “Planes are fine, hiking is fine, this is none of those.”

“You’ll love it, Andy.” For once, Andrew agreed.

One day, before Shane turned into a demon and a new batch of chaos erupted on their lives, Andrew stood with Adam and Steven on Steven’s front porch.

“The whole beach thing, and obsession with water? Makes sense now,” Andrew told Adam. The ever stoic man did nothing but nod once. 

“As much of a mess my life is now, I wouldn’t change it for the world. I would still agree to do Worth it with you and I would still force you to pull over to help the person. No regrets.” A breath Steven didn’t know he was holding flew out of his mouth. He grabbed Andrew’s hand, kissed the knuckles and brought it to his heart. Andrew kissed him on the cheek before leaning into Adam’s side.

“Life has been more fun with you too,” Adam mused.

“Yeah.” The boys watched the sunset on another very, very odd day. 

[burninghoneyatdusk]

2020 Year in Review

Rules: answer some questions about 2020 and tag some people!

Tagged by: @she-who-the-river-could-not-hold & @marauders-groupie 💛

Top Five Three Films you watched in 2020:

I watch way more television than movies so this is all I can think of at the moment 🤷🏼‍♀️

1. Little Women

2. Emma

3. Taylor Swift: Miss Americana

Top Five Ten TV Shows in 2020:

1. Bridgerton

2. The Haunting of Bly Manor

3. The Boys

4. Buzzfeed Unsolved / Watcher Entertainment

5. Never Have I Ever

6. Sex Education

7. Spinning Out

8. Normal People

9. Outerbanks

10. Babylon Berlin**

**The way the bellarke fandom is sleeping on this show is horrendous

Top Five Songs/Albums of 2020:

1. Evermore (album, Taylor Swift)

2. Folklore (album, Taylor Swift)

3. Before You Go (song, Lewis Capaldi)

4. If the World Was Ending (song, JP Saxe & Julia Michaels)

5. To Die For (song, Sam Smith)

Top Five Two Books of 2020:

Ooof I only read 2 books this year which is sad, but here’s to 2021 being better on that front. I’ll give a shout out to them anyway because they were great.

1. King of Crows (Diviners #4, Libba Bray)

I feel like the Diviners series is one of the most underrated YA series. This book wasn’t my favorite in the series but the series in general is incredible. It’s essentially a paranormal mystery series set during the 1920s with plenty of romance and found family vibes.

What makes it great is that it doesn’t shy away from the more grim realities of the 20s. Rather than glamorizing the time period, it’s told through a really diverse cast of characters who are all forced to come together because of various circumstances (if you know of my love for six of crows, then you know why I love this). Also, the imagery and prose in this series is phenomenal. 11/10 recommend it and I think a lot of people are missing out.

2. Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1, Cassandra Clare)

Sigh. I feel like I have to preface, as always, that if you didn’t like the original shadowhunters series, PLEASE give the other series a try. I hated the first, but the others (The Infernal Devices and The Dark Artifices) are some of my favorite series. That being said, I think the Last Hours might become my favorite shadowhunter series just based on book 1 alone. I binged this in less than 48 hours because I couldn’t put it down and without spoiling anything I am SO excited for book 2 based on the ending of this one. I think Cassandra Clare’s writing grows better with each book/series and this is no exception.

This series takes place in Edwardian London and the some of the main characters are children of the Infernal Devices characters, with some new ones as well. Compared to the other series, I really loved the cast of characters as a whole rather than rooting for a single ship.

Top Five Eleven Fanfictions of 2020:

I’ve read way less fic than in past years just because I read less of it when I’m writing more, but here are some favorites, all bellarke fic. I recommend you check out my bookmarks for all my favs, 2020 and otherwise

1. I Found Peace in Your Violence by @eyessharpweaponshot

2. sometimes (this has a hot, sweet taste) by @brimay

3. it’s a small world by virgohotspot

4. Intertwining your soul (with somebody else) by @stealing-jasons-job

5. The Courage of the Stars by @bookwormforalways

6. Let Me Out by @animmortalist

Yes I know there’s only one chapter so far but it’s amazing and my excitement for it is enough, I can’t wait for more

7. Surely You Must Know (it was all for you) by @elora-lane

8. comes and goes (in waves) by @brimay

9. Soul Fate Determination by @wellsjahasghost

10. I’ll Find You in the Morning Sun by @cominguproses13x

Okay I technically still have 10 chapters left because I’m an easily distracted slow reader, but this fic has blown me away, especially the prose and writing quality

11. Sugar by @asroarke

Five good/positive things that happened to you in 2020:

1. Fandom: I really dove into fandom this year because of my free time and despite the show being a disaster, making really good friends & watching @t100fic-for-blm grow has been awesome.

2. Writing: Along the same lines as above, all the free time allowed me more time to write than I’ve ever had. Prompts from @t100fic-for-blm also had me writing ideas I never would have thought of or explored. In 2020 I officially published over 400k words and although that will be hard to keep up with when things become normal again, I definitely will do my best to keep my writing up.

3. Health & Job: I’m lucky enough that I didn’t get sick this year, nor did any close family members or friends. Everytime I get frustrated with how things are going, I try to remind myself big-picture that I’ve been really lucky. I also am still working and have a steady paycheck this year which I know isn’t the case for so many, so I’m beyond grateful for that.

4. Redecorating: Maybe this is more just “buy stuff make me happy” lmao. I moved to a new city in summer 2019 and was still getting my apartment together when the pandemic hit. Since March, I’ve bought what feels like my first ✨adult✨ furniture pieces and my apartment definitely feels more like home.

5. My cats: Lol I’m honestly so grateful for these munchkins. I live alone in a studio apartment and also don’t know many people since I moved to this city recently, so having them with me while stuck in my apartment alone has really been a huge comfort and brought me joy.

Tagging: @poppykru | @animmortalist | @stealing-jasons-job | @sparklyfairymira | @the-most-beautiful-broom | @writetheniteaway | @queenemori | @bookwormforalways | @elora-lane | @nakey-cats-take-bathsss | @nvermindiseeyou | @carrieeve | @icantloseyou-too | @eyessharpweaponshot | @pawprinterfanfic | @igotbellarkeforthat | @useyourtelescope | @helloeurydice | @venetum | @hopskipaway | @franklyineedcoffee | @underbellamy | @broashwhat | @bellarkestitchdelena | @ruggedmurphy | @brimay | @bellamyblake

[sandalwoodhusbands]

when i was little my mom used to play friends reruns on the tv constantly. anyone remembers the episode where monica moved in with chandler, and her and rachel cried on the couch because it was 'the end of an era'? i didn't really get it then, but i think i do now.

i know the show will go on. i'm happy that it will. in some way though, it feels like a little piece of my heart left with the last rolling credits tonight. it's only fair that i give it a deserving farewell.

first of all, i want to clarify that this isn't a post for tumblr. this is a post for my friends, that i want to share on tumblr because i am proud of us and of what we've found, and i want everyone to know.

lily. @davnci you made all of this happen, you know? i've always been a casual watcher. a casual reader, a casual listener. if it hadn't been for you i wouldn't be where i am now. this happened because of you, god fucking bless the moment you decided you wanted to fight for an eliott season.

sophie. my dear wifey. i have no words to explain how much i love you. you already know, i've told you enough times. if i could change one thing, it would be the distance between us. you're one of my favorite people on earth, and i wish you all the good in the world. you deserve it.

tara. @jebentnietalleen what can i say to you that you don't know already? you always thank me for reaching out one year ago. i would do it 100 times over. when we parted ways in paris i told you 'I'll see you soon' and you said 'i hope so'. now we're thinking about going on vacation together next year. i think that says enough about our relationship. i love you.

helen. @eliotts-eyes my beautiful helena de troya. my favorite greek godess, and my bro. remember the other day when we talked about missing someone without having met them? that's what i feel about you. i can't wait to sing to harry styles and do cartwheels with you, i don't care what city as long as it happens. i love you.

meg. @lifeisevak my favorite british person, up there in my top 10 favorite people i love to talk to. you came to me like a hurricane, talking about skam og and pride and i was instantly in awe of you. that still hasn't changed. i want to hug you so bad sometimes i could cry. bloody hell, i am so proud of you and all that you've become, it doesn't even make sense because i had nothing to do with it. i am so proud of you for just existing. i love you.

camille. @demaury fuck. you chaos personified. if i had to have 5am conversations about the french revolution with someone it would be with you. thank you so much for taking a piece of yourself and sharing it with me and our friends. if i could bottle up all of the times you make me fucking lose it with one of your jokes i'd have enough bottles to reconstruct the mediterranean sea. i love you.

belle. @choupielu my beautiful dumb dumb daughter. you drive me up the walls, you make me stay up until 6am more than once. you get me in weird groupchats with people i've never met in my life, and i let you. i let you do a lot of things, i hope you feel special. it it all turns to shit, i know who will threaten the world with their bare hands. there's a saying in spanish that says 'las cosas grandes vienen en frascos pequeños' look it up. te queero.

alicia. @crazyabeh you fucking gorgeous human being. if i had to put a face to summer, it'd be yours. i've told you many times. you glow. you're so kindhearted, some would say too much. the first time we met you got me a welcoming gif (i loved it by the way. my mama still asks about you) and the next time we see each other i'll get you a 'let's not spend this long without seeing each other again' one.

glory. @actualsoulmates if you decide on coming to study your masters here you know my door is open for you. in fact, if you don't come live with me for at least a month i will be very upset. you deserve everything good that there is in this world. if this hellsite did something good, is bring us together (and hey, july 23rd... we're throwing a party right?) te amo.

lucie. @hellswolfie for such a quiet one, you're one of my favorite people. i've seen you around for so long, since i very first started my side account. wanna hear a secret? when you joined our friend group i was so fucking happy. i might be the one putting out content, but i was so eager to get to know you for real. you're so sweet, i love you forever.

mara. i don't think i've ever met someone who got the demons in my head quite as you do. i miss you a lot when you're not here. i always feel like a bit of an overexcited puppy when you come back, but i think that's okay, i just want you to feel loved. you know ohana? how no one gets left behind? even when you're not there we don't forget you. you're part of us, always will be, and i love you.

verena. you fucking kind human. you have many reasons to get mad when things go to shit, but you're always the one there making sure everyone is okay and cheering us up. remember that thing you did at the begining of the quarentine? the japanese tradition? no one's ever cared like this for me. i'll forever be thankful. i love you.

manar. @waunderlnst0 you're definitely the purest one out of all my friends. it's funny, really. if i wanna talk to someone i know you'll always be around. you're chaotic good. and hey, thanks for being faster than mr axel auriant in catching his posts. i love you.

ani. @coffeerocks i'm not entirely convinced you and vere weren't long lost siblings in another timeline. you are so sweet. thanks for putting up with my weird texting habits. you've done so many things for me that we both know about and I'll never get to thank you enough. so many genuine acts of kindness, i hope your life will be the happiest it can be. i love you.

julie. @ariavds you're texting me as i'm writing this, and all i'm thinking is 'god, is it possible to be this fond of someone else?'. words fall short for all i would like to say to you. you're not the same person that i met a year ago. to that shy girl, i wanted yo say thank you, for bringing you to me. i said once you were the best person that had happened to me this year and i still stand by it. je t'adore ma julie.

anabelle. @mabubblebulle 🦝❤️🦔🐿️🌸🍍 out of all the things skam france has brought to me, you're the one that came more unexpected. my beautiful, perfectionist ravenclaw. if you ever feel sad, remember that in the parallel universe where the pandemic didn't happen we'd be spending our summer weekends together. just gotta hold in there. happy me ❤️

sophia. @eliottdemmaury an actual eliott demaury in disguise, your username matches you. i really hope for, the best for you. i want you to be happy all of the time instead of just sometimes. you brilliant, beautiful mind that kills me with your words. i am so happy that i met you. i don't wanna see you sad ever. i love you. (an actual babey)

jaime. @surrealsunday well, if it isn't the neglecting parent. you are, how do i even explain it? as a reader, thank you so much for your fics. the last chapter of hollow edge came out 12 hours after i got the news that my flight to paris had been canceled. it was the first thing that got a smile out of me that day. as a friend, thank you so much for indulging me in my bullshit. i was going through a hard time and julie said 'beg her for it, maybe she'll write it' so i did. and so you wrote it. and dedicated it to me. thank you so much for being a part of this fandom.

nicole. @anditsnicole you're such a good heart. i love your take on the show, but i also love how it's more than that. i love that you ask me how i'm doing, if there's anything happening in my life. i love that i care. thank you for sharing your ride with me for the past 2 seasons.

britt. @i-wish-i-felt-you-there for such a young age (she says, the 20 year old), you're such a fierce person. i admire you. i love that you convinced me to watch a whole movie based on a videogame i haven't played in my fucking life and never will. the nights that i stayed up with you talking and laughing, until 6am and i had a headache, i'd never trade them for anything. i love you you disaster human.

keren. @thedelegationofkeren god i miss you. you were one of the first people i met in here. you had to witness at least 3 of my breakdowns, if i remember correctly. and you stayed, even if you were a stranger, you stayed. and i thank you for that. i hope we'll be there for each other in the future too. i love you.

most of all, though? skam france. thank you. thank you for creating a platform that, as flawed as it might be, it brought these people to my life. thank you.

merci, skam france. it's been real.

[ks-caster]

It’s Like Watching Fanfiction – An (Un)Necessarily Long Critique of The 100 Seasons 6 and 7

Ah, the familiar cry of the content-starved fan, particularly as our favorite shows descend into the depths of mischaracterization, unexpected ships, hiatus, abrupt cancellation and shock-value death endings. I’ve said it myself about so many of my shows, while wanting to spend some time watching the characters but not wanting to re-hash episodes I’ve nearly memorized: “I wish I could just watch fanfiction!”

But the further into seasons 6 and 7 I’ve gotten, the more I’ve come to realize that my dream of having new and exciting possibilities for the characters come miraculously to a screen near me wouldn’t be the pleasant experience I’d imagined.

Now, depending on the type of ending you like – hopeful but with a lot of lose ends left to your imagination, or bittersweet but more definite, you could consider either seasons 1-4 or 1-5 their own complete stories.

Both seasons 4 and 5 ended in a way that suggested an unknown but likely positive future. They could have been considered conclusions for the main characters’ developmental arcs, and while season 5 went a little off the rails in terms of offscreen character development and sudden new characters, they both stayed fairly close to the original concept: survivors living in the ruins of the apocalypse. All four (or five) seasons emphasized the importance of the found family dynamic (although those dynamics shifted radically in season 5 due to the time-skip, they remained an important source of character motivation).

But seasons 6 and 7? Those feel like I’m watching fanfiction. And I don’t love it.

A story told on a whole new planet with a new environment, culture and cast of original characters was always going to feel like an AU – it sort of is, no matter how you swing it. If that was all that had changed, then I think the story would still feel cohesive.

If it weren’t for the timey whimey bullshit.

Now, fun fact: when reading fanfiction, I love time travel stories. I haven’t posted any myself but I’ve sought out and read them voraciously, for every fandom I’m in. I love the idea of characters meeting themselves or their friends at radically different ages, plot points and levels of experience and the way that changes things for both groups. (Yes, I’m also a Whovian if that wasn’t blatantly obvious). I also love a good amnesia arc. And I DID think that the Josephine/Clarke body possession thing was pretty cool.

So why did season 6 and most* of season 7 fall as flat for me as they did?

The simple fact is that some things – and characters’ emotional dynamics are one of those things – are so much easier to get across in writing than on screen. A good actor can make us feel the character’s emotions, but unless the film goes full-on Clarke’s mind space, we can’t really know what they’re thinking in individual moments. For the most part film as a genre has ways around this, but if it’s mishandled, then the emotional beats come off all wrong. (See for reference Tony Stark’s funeral where half the actors didn’t know what was going on due to Disney’s spoiler fears.)

If you’re going to include time skips in which things have happened and character dynamics have changed, you cannot handle it wrong.

Which brings us back to seasons 6 and (so far) 7 of The 100. So far to date we’ve had all of this occur either offscreen or asynchronously enough to be confusing to an audience watching the episodes in real time:

Jordan’s entire life prior to meeting Napkru in the waking world

Octavia’s character development while living on Skyring with the Diyozas

Hope’s first 22 years of life, on Skyring and (I presume) Bardo

Echo, Hope and Gabriel living on Skyring for 5 years with Orlando

Going back a little further, we also have the season 5 timeskip, which brought us Spacekru as found family, Clarke adopting tiny!heda, and Octavia building Wonkru. Now season 5 took care to show us Wonkru flashbacks and dedicate time to show Spacekru and the Griffin family loving on each other, making inside jokes etc. But it was still incredibly jarring for the audience in a lot of ways, because at the end of the day, we’ve spent four years with the character dynamics and development doing one thing, and no amount of telling us that they’ve had 6 years to do another thing while our time with them only lasted about one year in comparison is ever going to undo the importance of “show don’t tell.”

Let’s take Bellarkers’ beef with Becho for example. (Disclaimer: Since I don’t really have a strong opinion either way on the popular Bellamy ships, I hope that I’m representing what I’ve read from other people accurately.)

I understand cognitively that Bellamy and Clarke knew each other for one year (during which they were in a lot of intense situations that really didn’t leave them the emotional space to figure out how they felt about each other outside of “I don’t want to lose this person”) and Bellamy and Echo knew each other for seven years (six of which they had plenty of low-stress time to get to know each other, grow and mature side-by-side, etc.).

But that doesn’t compute on an emotional level when I as a watcher went straight from watching Bellamy and Raven tearfully eulogizing Clarke on the ring, to him turning up with a coffee mug and a plucky attitude to rescue her the second he finds out she’s alive and in trouble. I don’t think that could compute emotionally for me without having spent the last few years watching the dynamics shift and Becho happen. And that was with the writers giving me as a watcher an episode at the end of season 4 where Bellamy stops Echo from killing herself and connects with her on an emotional level, and then one at the beginning of season 5 where we got to see the spacekru dynamics, including them being together.

So we’re watching this show, many of us for the found family character relationships (god knows it’s not for all the positive happy feeling I get from watching *checks notes* ah, yes, characters having to constantly choose who to kill off in a string of increasingly huge and horrible genocides. *Side-eyes my life choices for getting into this fandom in the first place.*) Okay, we’re watching this show for the characters, and between seasons 4 and 5, many of those dynamics radically shift offscreen. Becho is the easiest and probably most talked-about example (well, and the Blake siblings, but the radical change shown in Octavia’s character between 4 and 5 makes that at least a little easier to choke down) but there are plenty of others, take your pick.

Although it makes perfect sense for a lot to change between separated groups of people in a half dozen years, it makes a lot less sense to an audience watching week to week, particularly when the show’s limited amount of screen time was too focused on plot to really delve into those changes and let us see and understand them. That was what made me think that the show was headed into jump the shark territory in season 5, but I really wanted to know what happened to my faves (Octavia, Raven and Memori, to be specific) so I kept watching.

Our fandom’s excellent writers spent the hiatus crafting mid-time-skip vignettes and missing character moments, and I spent the hiatus reading them. And I remember thinking that it would have been great if even a quarter of this content could have been put into the show to ease the audience into the dynamic shifts – but of course they’d never have the screen time to do all of that.

Especially, coming back to the main point, since written fiction allows the audience to see inside the characters’ heads, while television (usually) does not. It’s much easier to write a scene in which, say, two characters who have known each other for 7 years show that they’ve gotten into a relationship some time before the scene, and convince the audience that their relationship is good and healthy and genuine, than it would be to produce one for TV.  

And then we come to seasons 6 and 7 – the 2-part AU longfic, stuffed full of OCs, loosely connected to the “science” of the original show, and heavily reliant on memory-bending time travel as a plot device.

As season 6 airs, the audience hasn’t really had a chance to process all the radical changes from season 5, and already we have a Marper child running around furthering the plot, and Octavia walks into the Green Flash from Pirates of the Caribbean and walks back out with a personality transplant.

Meanwhile, Clarke gets an actual personality transplant, and it takes even the people closest to her a concerningly long time to notice. Now, if I’d read that in a fic, the writer might’ve taken care to remind me as a reader – particularly after a long hiatus between seasons – that with the exception of Madi none of Clarke’s friends have seen her for more than a couple of weeks in 6 years, so them not noticing for a while that she’s behaving strangely isn’t really all that strange. But on TV, I don’t get to see Gaia’s thoughts when Clarke lets Madi go to school despite the danger – Tati Gabrielle’s facial expressions can only do so much to make up the difference. Because the time spent apart was not (and really could not be, based on the structure of the show) properly acknowledged on screen, scenes like that one leave audiences floundering and pointing out bad writing.

Having watched 7x02 The Garden, I think if I went back and watched season 6 after Octavia returns from the Anomaly, her conduct – especially around Bellamy – would make a lot more sense. (That was the plan for this weekend actually – but my damn Wi-Fi conked out…) However at the time it just seemed weird and unnatural. Had it been the only example of off-screen or asynchronous character development, it would have been a lot easier to swallow. However, season 5 happened, meaning both that I was still getting used to all of the new dynamics and that I had a higher standard for Octavia’s off-screen development, because we got enough bunker flashbacks that I felt like I at least understood Blodreina.

What would have made the whole thing make a lot more sense a year ago would have been if the hair and makeup department had made an effort to make her look older, so that we could see time had passed for her. Now, Marie is 33 in real life, and so was the Octavia who figured out that up is down and got Davy Jones Locker to send her back ran out of the Anomaly, so yes, that is what an actual 33-year-old looks like, and the media has distorted my perception of age. But from an audience perspective, I saw an actress playing a 23-year-old go in, and the same actress playing the same 23-year-old come out.

Gabriel pointed out that her hair was longer, but that only accounted for a few months of time. Since she went in looking dirty, wounded and exhausted, and came out clean, healthy and energetic, she could have passed for younger before I would have thought she was older. (In fact, I want to say there was a theory circulating at that time that the Octavia who came out of the Anomaly was actually a younger version of herself, and she was missing memories because she’d never formed them. I don’t remember whose theory this was though. If you know or if it’s your content I’m referencing please feel free to let me know and I’ll edit!)

In addition, the shifting loyalties in Wonkru near the end of season 5 complicated the character situation – in season 6, the majority of Wonkru peeps (lookin’ at you, Miller and Indra) switched over to the commander’s side. While Indra didn’t really have enough screen time to express an opinion about Octavia, Miller was very clear in season 6 that she was anathema now – which although that was probably a semi-reasonable step for his character, it just felt like someone took his Bellamy-and-or-Clarke-following season 1-4 character and popped it into his season 6 costume without taking the time to address the road he took to get there.

Post-lockerAnomaly Octavia had to face and slay her demons. (Grumbles and links the interested reader to this POST from @osleyakomwonkru regarding that horseshit.) Afterwards, she shows a major shift in personality, particularly towards her brother. Because we as the audience wouldn’t see her time on skyring for about year in real time (or learn that she was ten years older and therefore a lot more mature, the chemical changes of which would account for at least some of the difference even if she couldn’t remember anything else) we had no choice but to associate her change with the slaying of Blodreina, which seemed like a ham-fisted way of forcing her a quick and slick redemption arc and prepping The Blake Siblings to go back to being ride-or-die for each other in season 7.

Raven’s season 6 personality was also radically different from her 1-5 development – while I understand her having a remaining beef with Clarke and being emotional due to Shaw’s death (RIP!) the fact that the writing in season 6 reduced her to the nagging shrew trope until they needed her to do a coding deus ex machina just added to the feeling that I was watching someone take the characters around, change them to their own preferences (even if that preference was to push some into the background and make them tools for the B-plot) and toss them into an AU story. Which I could have enjoyed more if I had been reading it and therefore seeing inside the characters’ heads – and if I hadn’t paid for the privilege with ad revenue instead of voluntary clicks of the kudos/like/reblog/comment buttons.

Another issue with time skip relationship is exposition for the lesser known characters’ backstories. Both seasons 6 and 7 have so far had dramatic character mother death reveals that were conveniently not told to their most important people specifically because the appropriate time to tell those stories would have been during the offscreen time skips. I will (grudgingly) accept Echo, an adult making a conscious (and familiar) decision to change up her personality to fit into and survive within her environment, choosing not to tell a traumatic story that reminds her of her past. (She’s my next meta – stay tuned!)

I will not in a million years, however, believe that the Clarke Griffin who I watched for four seasons be set up as the blatantly obvious “compassionate mom-friend protagonist” adopted a traumatized 6-year-old, moved into said child’s village, burned or buried the bodies of everyone who lived there, and never ever brought up the child’s dead birth parents.

No way. The ONLY reason that could have possibly been scripted in that way was because that conversation needed to be there for plot reasons and the appropriate time for it to have been had was during the 6 years they spent off screen. Similarly, while (again) I’ll buy that Echo chose not to talk about her mom’s death with Bellamy before he decided to be a dick about it, I fully believe that the timing of that conversation was only there because if it had occurred on the ring where it would have been more appropriate, the audience would have missed it.

Now, picture this: if the scene with Madi had been in a written fanfic, Clarke could have said “you didn’t lose me,” Madi could have said “I didn’t mean you,” and Clarke could have remembered Madi telling her the story of her birth mom dying in her arms. Then Clarke could have mentally made the decision that she didn’t want Madi to relive that in an attempt to empathize with her, and she makes an effort to convince her that she’s fine. In just 2 or 3 paragraphs a written story could have effectively conveyed both the exposition and the emotional beats of the scene, concluding with Clarke making a (maybe misguided but still sweet) attempt to be a good mom by not dredging that up for Madi (or something – I’m not defending the crappy and inconsistent writing of Clarke’s parenting we’ve on screen so far).

Moving right along, we had a lovely flashback montage of Hope and Dev, which was sufficient to make me (and several of the tumblrs I follow) care about Dev at least enough to be saddened by his death. However, what we didn’t get was a damn crumb of flashback showing Orlando and Anomalykru developing any kind of familial relationship between him agreeing to train them, and whatever dynamic we were supposed to pick up on at the end of that episode. I got a little protective big sister vibe from Echo and Hope but that’s it. They apparently expended their allotment of emotion-inducing flashbacks on the dead guy, and failed entirely to make me give a shit about (as it turned out) the next dead guy.

Now we’re going into an episode with Octavia on (presumably) Bardo in the promo, so I’m guessing we get to see her skyring-self link up with her return-to-Gabriel-with-clean-hair self. As least with Octavia’s jumping storyline it seems like the writers have consistently made some kind of effort to fill in the blanks.

But we’re also looking at the rest of the season where Echo, Gabriel, Hope, oh hi Jordan I forgot about you again, Diyoza, Octavia, and probably Bellamy and Hoth!Kru (AKA team let’s follow Raven onto a strange planet without putting on suits or having an exit strategy, yay!) have all experienced asynchronous development over periods of multiple years. Given the show’s track record from seasons 5 and 6, I strongly suspect that this won’t be handled any better, meaning that the final season of this show is going to try not only to resolve all the plot points, but to toss in a bunch MORE offscreen character development and hope we catch on.

Beyond character development jumps, we also have Raven and Murphy losing their seasons 1-5 development in season 6 only to have to re-learn and re-change back to who they already were in seasons 4 and 5. Murphy learned to value his spacekru family and stop putting himself first 100% of the time, and yet his arc in season 6 happened. Raven has always been involved in the big life-or-death decisions, and had her being-the-bad-guy moment in season 4 with the rationing, but as we saw in 7x03 the writers really wanted to… redo all of that for her? The girl blew up a bridge full of guys and flash-fried a 300-person army when she was 18; blood on her hands may not be fun but what’s with seasons 6 and 7 acting like it’s something new?

While I’m aware that Jason said his seasons are individual movies (don’t admit that you’re bad at continuity buddy ‘cause that’s what it sounds like) seasons 1-5 and 6&7 are clearly telling separate stories (or 1-4, 5, 6-7 if you prefer). The trouble with 6&7 is that unlike seasons 1-4 (and sort-of 5) we no longer know the characters. Every time someone sits still too long, character-development wise, plot comes along and hits the reset button, tosses them into a wormhole for a couple of years and they come back with the same face but no continuity. It was difficult enough to deal with in season 5 – between 6 and 7 I just can’t keep up. (Even writing this meta, I have to keep going back because I remembered another character who fell into this trap.)

Now if a fanfic writer had done the exact same thing – same plot, same time skips, same organization – it would have played out completely different to the readers. We could have gotten to see inside the character’s minds when they arrived back on screen, seeing things with new, older eyes. We could have had minimally invasive flashbacks to show important exposition (like the disaster that was the conversation about Madi’s mom) and verbal descriptions to point out differences like Octavia’s ten-years-older body. Additionally, the plots of seasons 6 and 7 are so different yet full of overdone callbacks to the earlier seasons – if a fan was writing their own AU story but still wanted some of the trappings of the original plot I’d get it, but on a TV show written by the same people it just feels like they ran out of ideas.

Watching seasons 6 and 7 is exactly like watching fanfiction would be – but without the written and fan-made advantages of fanfiction, they fall flat.

*I do like season 7 better than season 6 because the content of the individual episodes containing Murphy/Emori/Raven and Octavia/Diyoza/bbyHope was still enjoyable content, so 2 out of 4 I have liked so far, despite this very very long rant I’ve just written explaining why as a whole I rather hate the season overall.

[shinneth]

what is your absolute favorite ship? How did you start shipping Stevidot? And rant about any ship you feel like, good or bad? :))

… you fool

OH GOD ALL-TIME FAVORITE SHIP YOU SAY. YOU KNOW DAMN WELL I CAN’T CHOOSE ONE.

(it’d probably be Stevidot anyway; objectively I’ve done more for it than anything else I ever shipped in my life and it’s absolutely precious both in platonic and romantic forms)

BUT IN THE INTEREST OF FAIRNESS… and attempt to tone down redundancy, let’s see what other ships earned the “OTP” label from me!

I mean, I pretty much had to lowkey ship Mamoru Chiba x Ami Mizuno because Usagi/Mamoru is basically what Connverse wishes it could be as far as the Ultimate Ship goes. So at the height of my involvement in the fandom (you know, late 90s era), I was never brave enough to make anything for this ship. But the few times they get to interact in the classic anime is legit adorable stuff and I wish we could’ve had more of it. 

Before Gem Ascension, before Travels of the Trifecta, my greatest multichaptered epic was a Digimon Tamers fic called By My Decision. I was a hardcore Digimon fan in my early teen years well before I ever got into Pokemon, in fact. And I shipped shitloads of pairings in Adventure and 02 - I can only imagine how many of those would be demonized by the new age fandom puritans of Tumblr nowadays. You can actually see literally everything I ever shipped on my FFN profile here.

But I didn’t really make anything for the first two seasons. Tamers was what really sparked my inspiration, because Takato and Jenrya… honestly, they’re just adorable together. They get to bond a lot, they’re really in touch with their feelings (contrasting to token girl Ruki who was a stiff hardass most of the time), and I often got the impression that Jenrya, unlike Takato, really doesn’t have any other friends. 

So of course, I tormented these two on the regular in my story. I of course didn’t forget Juri (for I love her dearly); I was kinda trying a love triangle subversion with Takato angsting over loving both Jenrya and Juri… while Juri’s still got so much PTSD (story is 2 years post-series), shipping is hardly on her mind, and Jenrya’s outright in denial of his feelings for Takato to the point where it very literally screws him up and awakens some inner darkness of his own. I even had Jenrya and Juri bond, but it was pretty platonic stuff. 

Still, this ship was way down on the totem pole at the height of Tamers’ fandom. Very frustrating. Takato/Ruki and Jenrya/Ruki were way more popular and I hated both of those ships something fierce. I love Ruki, but I just cringe at the idea of shipping her with either of her fellow leads. Then Jenrya/Ryo got something of a cult following that I couldn’t stand; admittedly I was jealous it was getting the representation that I felt Takato/Jenrya desperately needed more, and I also didn’t like Jenryo in its own right, anyway. 

But yeah. Jenkato is a very underappreciated ship that I loved dearly and invested many of my teenage years into.

So, here’s a fun fact: While I played the classic games (my cousins had a Sega Genesis), the way I was mostly raised on Sonic was via the first two cartoon series and the Archie Comics version of the franchise. Archieverse was largely based on the SatAM cartoon; Amy Rose also didn’t exist in the show and it took about 25 issues for her to show up in the comic. 

So I was big on Tails x Amy. For a long-ass time. And really, the ship was really only feasible in the Archie continuity. There, Tails is actually older than his usual depicted canon age and Amy is introduced to be around his age before she artificially aged herself with a magic ring so that she could later take on her Sonic Adventure design. 

Before that… in these years, Sally was the most well-known love interest of Sonic in the west. So Sonic/Sally seemed like a lock (none of us knowing how Sega felt about that at the time) - and in retrospect I honestly believe it’s a far better Sonic ship than his more well-known modern alternatives. 

So, because of Sally’s prominence, Amy was relegated to Sonic’s fangirl and her crush wasn’t really that big a deal. Honestly, that was for the best, as I by far found Amy way more tolerable in Archie’s incarnation than the majority of her other canon contemporaries (Sonic the Comic Amy Rose is more of a competent badass, though).

Tails and Amy had some good banter in Archieverse and the few times they were allowed time to do stuff together as a duo, they were very cute and endearing and I loved them. 

Tails also had a lot more going on in terms of character development and backstory in Archieverse. Like, a lot more going on. He even had a “Chosen One” deal that sadly didn’t have a very good payoff, but. It’s more than what they really do with Tails in any other continuity.

Bear in mind, I started on these comics when I was eight or nine years old. Yet I followed this comic well into my late teens and even part of my early twenties, so you can tell Archieverse Sonic has shitloads of lore to it to have that long of an ongoing narrative. 

After Sonic Adventure was released, then the Sonamy shipping started to explode. Amy was front-and-center in the spotlight, Sally became the obscure figure in the fandom, and it’s more-or-less stayed that way ever since. 

But I was like “It’s okay! Tails and Amy are still tight in Archieverse! Sucks they have to adjust to Sega’s many changes but they’re still best buddies who’ll hopefully get married one day….” 

Then 25 Years Later happened and for some goddamned stupid-ass reason, Tails was paired with Mina the Mongoose and I believe Amy was suspiciously never ever mentioned in the future timeline stories (as Sonic and Sally did become endgame in this little series). 

Tails and Mina had little to no interaction, and Mina was largely there to be a potential Sonic love interest, and even after she moved on, she got together with another character and still didn’t interact with Tails. 

I was sooooooo pissed off. Archieverse was my one hope for Tails/Amy becoming a thing and they ruined it for me. :(

I did get a consolation prize in Geoffrey St. John x Hershey becoming so canon they actually did marry. That’s another one I shipped ever since they first interacted years and years ago.

Of course, Hershey was then “killed off” - and was set for a major comeback, but Ken Penders put a stop to that and had them both erased from reality because fuck Ken Penders, I actually got a nice thing and you yanked it right out of my hands.

Genis Sage x Mithos Yggdrasill from Tales of Symphonia, a ship I hardcore loved enough to write about. Also a ship I think Tumblr would burn me at the stake for shipping at all, but you know what? Fuck Genis x Presea. It’s a boring-ass puppy love ship that in its own right should be lambasted similarly according to anti logic. 

…. did I get sidetracked? I did? Pfff. Okay, let’s try and get to another question.

How I started shipping Stevidot?

Pretty simple story, really. I binged SU all the way up to Escapism (Change Your Mind hadn’t aired yet) last December/January. Also watched a looooot of Youtube clips. Most involving Peridot.

And inevitably, most involving Steven as well. 

When I started getting into Peridot and SU as a whole enough to seek out fanfiction and whatnot, I didn’t really have any set shipping preferences at first. But when I made myself think about it… honestly, Stevidot just felt the most natural to me. I wanted to see stories about antics with those two specifically - I never liked Lapidot and Amedot did nothing for me ever. So Stevidot was like, pretty much the only thing I really focused on after a while.

Then I found A Gem Like You. And suddenly, INSPIRATION! I developed headcanons for Watcher’s fic, I started reading as much Stevidot as I could, and I was convinced it was the best pairing in the world and fucking hell I need to give it some representation after I noticed how relatively niche it was in the fandom. 

And so, Stevidot consumed my soul for all time. I hope those clods are happy.

Rant about a ship, you say…

Good god, that really does need to be its own post. I have so much to say about various ships in general, I may need a bit to… uh, figure that out. Or throwing out some random ones I’d know about would help my focus, fff.

[strangerships]

Officially On Indefinite Hiatus

Phew, never thought I’d write a post like this. So I’ve been off and on on Tumblr since 2015...That makes me feel old. I’ve always loved it here. I didn’t know many people who liked the same things I liked and I loved seeing all the amazing stuff this community creates- fics, art, gifs, analysis, and so much more. 

I’ve also been party to my fair share of Fandom “drama”. Although, I wouldn’t call it that in a lot of instances. Sure, I’ve seen drama where people literally made child actors anxious and act differently because they were shipping the two child actors so intensely. But a lot of the “controversy” I’ve seen play out has actually been necessary discussion on real issues of misrepresentation and diversity across multiple fandoms. I am so grateful for these discussions because they have helped me to understand my fellow fans better and to be a better reader/watcher because I am able to think more critically and hold creators accountable. 

That being said, I feel it is time to make a change. The overwhelming, all-consuming nature of social media has left me feeling like every time something comes up and whichever fandom I’m in is working through something, whether it be important social justice or the pettiest of squabbles, I am always sucked in. I cannot tear myself away. I’m reading every post and I have no sense of perspective on the matter as it relates to what’s next for the Thing I’m Passionate About™. I think if there’s anything that I’ve learned over the past few months, its that I am very bad at embracing nuance when it’s brought to my attention that a piece of entertainment has problematic elements. But I can’t just throw out every piece of entertainment that ages poorly. I have to take some time to decide for myself whether this thing that I love is too consistently problematic for me to embrace the nuance or if I can continue to consume that content while also continually acknowledging the problems that it has and committing to actively working to fix the wrong that this content perpetuates. That’s a hard judgement to make when you’re constantly bombarded with the most radical takes on a topic from either ‘side’.

I feel that I have learned enough from the amazing fans who have educated me over the years to critically analyze the content I consume in ways that weren’t always visible to me as a person with a considerable amount of privilege. I also feel that I have people around me and outlets of continued education that will allow me to stay on a more conscientious path of growth, even without being on this platform.

I also just genuinely feel shitty being on the socials right now. It stresses me out trying not to say the wrong thing while I learn and grow. I am not a perfect person. I often come to a conclusion prematurely based on faulty information. I want to believe that I can continue to keep my mouth shut until I am fully informed. But I am terrified of the day that I make a mistake that ends up following me and costing me. More than that, I don’t want to hurt anyone. Based what I’ve seen lately of how deeply some creators can hurt their own fans, I don’t ever want to make anyone feel that way. This may seem melodramatic, and you could absolutely be right, but as someone who has anxiety and knows what it can become, I try to really assess how I’m feeling so that I can live in the most peaceful way possible.

Anyways, these are just some thoughts and developments that have lead me to what I ultimately think will be a positive life change. I’m not leaving the internet entirely. I’ll still be posting fic on good ole’ AO3. Writing still makes me really happy and I want to keep the happy things close to my heart right now. My queue is *V* full so I’ll still “be active” without being here for a while. I hope to come back for premieres and things in small bursts just to pop on and check on everyone. But who knows when that’ll be (wear masks plz america!).Thank you for listening if you made it this far and I hope you have an absolutely amazing day you beautiful human. Peace Out! ✌

[rayonfrozenwings]

Rayonfrozenwings Masterlist and Explanation.

Updated 16th September 2018.

::: Find the list below the intro:::

:: Intro ::    

These Fan theories have been released from after EOS as that is when I joined Tumblr, I lurked for a long time in the fandom, only liking and not re-blogging, then I started adding comments to other people’s posts, eventually re-blogging them. I was a serial lurker. haha. There is some amazing theories out there especially if you look for ‘tog6 theory’ in the fandom on older blogs - a time before we knew “Tower of Dawn” was going to be a full book. 

I have tried to source other Url’s in my theories if I expand on a point or want to give credit for the fact that they also had this type of theory, coz it's not cool to take other peoples ideas if you know they are out there (same ideas unknowingly being shared are ok because we can draw the same conclusions - I’m just sharing how I work and I like to give credit where it is due).  

As different books came out my theories changed.

As I re-read for the third or fourth time, my theories changed.

Some of my Theories I like.

Some I have drifted away from, like a friend you no longer see because you’re too busy.

Some I think might still be valid - if only a small proportion of them.

I write theories with an open mind. I put them out into the world with the hope that people will discuss them with me when I do that. Some of my theories weren’t really seen by others because I was/am a small blog and I’m ok with that. And some theories blew up because a few big blogs shared it and i’m ok with that too.

If you disagree with the Erilea post I have written, I keep an open mind to all possibilities.

And The reason I choose not to fully believe SJM’s tweet about ACOTAR and TOG being linked is because of three reasons. The first is that she said they could live in the same multi-verse (so a “sliders” style parallel universe perhaps?). The Second is that she used a winky face! A winky face in the tweet. What does that mean!!!! And the Third is that I read another book series by Terry Brooks and he said his series were not linked for the longest time. Then years later he said -oh yeah, they are linked and this series is kinda a prequel but I couldn’t tell you that at the time, because “spoilers”. And I think Sarah would twist the truth to keep us from looking too closely and ruining our own enjoyment of her books. Also it is just a theory. Does it really matter? Pretend its an AU type of thing :P.

However some of them I really really am invested in (e.g. my Truth Teller theory because it just feels so right to me and the Weavers Lament because it feels right too). And I just really really want to be told that I have something right!

::So without further ado ::

I’m making a Masterlist of my work. Mostly Theory but I dabbled in some fic writing as well, it just depends on my mood. So I have also included some of those pieces. Theories tend to come thick and fast when a new book is released and discussed. Or when we all re-read before the next book comes out - as you will see by my published dates. Have a browse - I’ve left the this as Url’s rather than hyperlinks because it makes it easier for me to keep track of what I do and don’t have listed. I may change it later if I feel like it. :D

I hope I found everything, sifting through my long ass blog is annoying.

*** THIS IS NOT SPOILER FREE: I AM CURRENTLY UP TO DATE WITH ALL SJM’s BOOK RELEASES (except Kingdom of Ash - as it hasn’t come out yet). I TALK ABOUT BOTH SERIES IN POSTS. IF YOU HAVE ONLY READ ONE SERIES I CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT THE THEORY WILL BE SPOILER FREE FOR THE OTHER ONE. ESPECIALLY WHEN I HAVE CROSSOVER THEORIES. ***

:: RAYONFROZENWINGS MASTERLIST ::

Posts are in Order of Date Published on Tumblr. 

Most Recent First. (NEW) September 16th 2018 - The Interconnection of ACOTAR and TOG and what this means for Kingdom of Ash.

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/178126351358/the-interconnection-of-acotar-and-tog-and-what

May 5th 2018 - Renee’s crazy amalgamation of theories - Part 2.

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/173589912933/part-two-an-addition-to-renees-crazy-theory

May 4th 2018 - Renee’s Crazy Amalgamation of Theories after reading ACOFAS. 

- https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/173572241063/renees-crazy-amalgamation-of-theories-after

March 5th 2018 - Maeve as Lani the Goddess of Dreams

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/171540195098/fan-theory-maeve-as-lani-goddess-of-dreams-and

And https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/171540160743/what-if

the quick summary of that theory. Maeve as the first embodiment of desire in the universe.

March 5th 2018 - Creepy Foreshadowing in HOF (Also here is a link to a fan fic based on this topic written by someone else - it can also be found in the reblogs of my post as I didn’t know it existed before writing mine.)

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/171528748258/guys-there-is-some-creepy-foreshadowing-in-heir-of

Feb 20th 2018 - A New Acolyte, a tiny fan fic.  

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/171084627053/a-new-acolyte

Jan 6th 2018 - The Weavers Lament - A Poem based on my Theory assumptions. (most of these theory assumptions were made on my acc ‘reneestowerofdawnspoilers’ because I was trying to keep my freak outs contained to a side blog after reading TOD).

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/169363770928/the-weavers-lament

Nov 6th 2017 - Truth Teller and the Subtle Knife https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/167176210028/truth-teller-vs-the-subtle-knife

A Theory about Azriel’s Blade Truth Teller, and how Elain was able to kill the king of Hybern.

Nov 4th 2017 - Part One and Part two on The Archeron sisters, their possible link to the fates and the origins of their family.

PART 1 - The Archeron sisters as the fates.

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/167094350393/the-archeron-sisters-as-the-fates-moirai-part

A Theory about the sisters as fates - Lachesis as Nesta, Clotho as Feyre, and Atropos as Elain. This then moves into part 2 …

PART 2 - Speculation on the Archeron Mother

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/167094408403/speculation-on-the-archeron-mother

Where the mother is possibly linked to the Mercenary in ACOTAR and a goddess.

Nov 3rd 2017 - Starfall and the Wild Hunt

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/167067744473/starfall-and-the-wild-hunt-a-acotartog-fan

An ACOTAR and TOG Crossover Theory, involving why Amren is so afraid of Starfall, the importance of Wyrd Gates and Wyrd Keys, The hounds of Erawan.

Nov 3rd 2017 - Galaythanius - name stuff

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/167074118023/ok-so-i-posted-a-theory-about-starfall-and-the

Just me jumping to conclusions about a link between a name that sounds like galaythanius and Artemis.

Oct 19th 2017 - Erilea

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/166565225118/erilea

A Theory about a possible crossover of Erilea and Prythian..

Have a look at the gif I made to see if you want to read it... >.<

Some of my Older Theories below have the assumption that ACOTAR is based on a bible based world or at least some of the characters are. However my thoughts have changed since writing these theories. I didn’t understand how much from all mythologies and religions around the world cross-over, so It's possible this is still true, or that SJM drew some ideas from it; but it's equally possible that she drew from greek/ roman/ norse/ egyptian/ jewish/ christian / folk tales etc etc. it is very hard when theory is an ever evolving process involving lots of discussion and viewpoints. So I still love these theories but I do recognise that anything is possible. Also comparative theology would be freaking amazing to study and I kind of wish I was still at uni.

Oct 14th and 15th 2017 (A collection of theories based on the Bible)

- The Story of Prythian

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/166412696743/the-story-of-prythian

- Feyre as Jesus Christ and Saviour

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/166412698178/feyre

- Angels - Fallen Angels and The Prison, Amren, Bryaxis, The Bone Carver and Styrga.

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/166412699068/angels

- Angels continued - High Lords as Descendants

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/166412700453/angels-continued

- Origins of the Illyrians - The fall of the Watchers

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/166412701713/origins-illyrians

- Predictions based on this series of theories

https://rayonfrozenwings.tumblr.com/post/166412704178/acotar-fan-theory-predictions-past

and i’m done.. for now. Acofas is only 2 more sleeps away, so i’m  sure I’ll think of something else soon. >.<

[joulethieves]

Ri’s FFXII Fic Reclist

(posted 10/17/17; will update and reblog accordingly) I posted a while back asking if anyone would be interested in some recommendations and got a decent response. So, here you go! I’ll try to organize this in the best way possible with characters and pairings and timelines bolded so you can skim faster. If you know me, you know I’m a fervent Balthier/Vaan shipper--but never fear, this rec-list is spread out amongst other facets of the fandom outside of that ship. This is my first installation while I try to find others I’ve read in the past. However, I do have a love for pre-canon, post-canon, and Balthier-centric fics. I’ll try not to rate these in order of favorites, but I do have some top-threes that I’ll post first.

1) Four and Twenty Blackbirds by ColoredInk; Balthier & Fran, Bahamut-centric. as I wrote in my AO3 bookmarks, “the legend. my number one. for all you read in this fandom, read this.” being only shy of 6k, it’s modest, but so, so powerful; Coloredink is one of my favorite XII authors and their Balthier meta has inspired me greatly in my future worldbuilding. The imagery here, the pacing, the darkness the author puts you in. I’ve read this like 20 times, okay.

2) Haunted by Dreams Deferred by Person; Balthier/Vaan, post-Bahamut. This was, hilariously enough, written for me on LJ in 2009 for the BalVaan secret santa. I can’t remember what I requested; I think it was some postgame Bahamut BalVaan angst because that’s my favorite thing, and I think I requested Balthier suffering lasting injuries from it (hell yeah, suffering Balthier, my kink). I was expecting a simple oneshot; what the author wrote was 16k of what is my favorite Balthier/Vaan fanfic out there. It hits all the right spots. Their Vaan is absolutely charming - here he is just the right amount of everything. Their permanently injured Balthier does all sorts of things to me; how he deals with it, how Vaan deals with it, how they both come to deal with it. And Fran’s presence is perfectly placed between them. Really, this partnered with Four and Twenty Blackbirds has done so much for me in my worldbuilding for future XII fics. 

3) The Death of Balthier the Deathless by ColoredInk; Balthier & Fran, a beautifully-crafted postpostpost-game oneshot piece centered around Balthier dealing with aging, mortality, and the like. Airship meta, action scenes, aging Balthier and haunting landscapes really bring this beautifully to life.  And death. Well, what? - The title explains it all. 

more under the cut of various fics featuring Gabranth, Fran, Al-Cid, Vossler, Basch, Cid, Venat, more BalVaan

 Some Watcher of the Skies; Ffamran, Cid, Venat, pre-canon. Once again Coloredink’s interpretation of Balthier outside of canon timeline really adds so much to an already fascinating fan-favorite character.  Ffamran deals with Cid dealing with Venat. Touches on really fun small Balthier-details and a bit about how he meets Fran. Short. (I said interpretation earlier - I would say “understanding” but I find that to be an unfair pedestal to place a fanfic author upon; everyone has their own interpretation, and in fanfic, it’s less of understanding especially in pre-and-post-canon. Understanding is the basis, interpretation is the flesh around the bone. To say a fanfic author “understands” a character sounds too subjective to me.)

Across the Golden Hills - Ffamran-and-Fran-centric, pre-canon; who wants a cute Balthier Meets Fran Fic?? Wow in addition to writing amazing smut Laylah also kills it with the pre-canon meta (on another note, read her other fics re: smut. mmmm) I love reading about Ffamran escaping Archades and he is...so cute here. And Fran is great. I don’t want to give anything away.

Rendezvous & Amorio by ColoredInk - Al-Cid/Balthier, post-canon, two oneshots. Let me have this. They both tickle me. Smutty.

Making His Peace With It by sheffiesharpe - Vossler/Gabranth, Basch/Balthier by sheffiesharpe. Novel-length 100k+ Another Gabranth Lives story but... Wooo--sheffiesharpe. What an author! What a kinky author. I know the fandom has certain sides they take with the Vossler thing so take that as you will, it’s both equally-divided between this ship and I haven’t read the whole thing in many years but it’s excellent from what I recall. I keep trying to re-read it but I can’t find the time, however I totally recommend it. It’s certainly a dedication and labor of love from them and I really remember enjoying how they approach the dynamics between the two pairings. The Vossler/Gabranth is what you’d expect; manly-man things, S&M, macho, angst. The BalBasch is a nice diversion from that to break up that heavy pairing, because face it, BalBasch is cute.

A Clear Line of Sight by sheffiesharpe - Balthier/Basch, post-canon; kind of based off of the above but you don’t have to read the 100k+ fic to understand it, thus why they made this a standalone oneshot fic. It’s just really cute okay. Smutty.

All They Can See by sheffiesharpe - Gabranth, Basch, Drace in-game; a 2k narrative on the attack on Nalbina. Just some interesting meta. I’m not as crazy about the Judges as a good portion of a tumblr niche fandom is here but I find this to be very interesting. 

Something To Keep Him Here by sheffiesharpe - Gabranth, Larsa, beginning of game. Ugh damn I thought I wrote a review for this, I guess I didn’t. I need to. This is one of my favorites due to the absolute vibrancy the author paints into the landscape and action-scenes here. I took so many notes based on how they write. The descriptions are excellent. Gabranth goes on a midnight chocobo ride to get some fresh air and it escalates from there.

Balthier’s Guide to Ivalice by empyrean - Balthier/Vaan, ingame to postgame. Works like these validate this pairing beautifully, starting from the moment Balthier’s attraction is piqued all the way to the denial, discomfort, and finally the acceptance and embracing of his feelings. This work was such a treat. I highly enjoy their ever-aware, forward Vaan. The Vaan that renders Balthier to a sputtering, blinking half-wit. The Vaan that challenges Balthier and proves that, although kind of a dingus and a pretty face, he's no idiot. I wrote a huge review on this anyway so they know how I feel about it.

Way One Moves Time by rabbitprint - Cid, Venat, mentions of Ffamran, pre-canon. Okay--this? This is 10k of freaking excellent and completely 100% overlooked and underloved pre-canon gorgeous meta re: Cid meeting Venat, his struggles coming over to Venat’s proposals, a grieving Cid, an obsessed Cid, a mad and brilliant and infatuated-with-nethecite Cid. Really solid foundation for his character and on-point Occurian dialogue. 

All in Due Time by pennies-4-eyes - Balthier/Vaan, ingame oneshot. This was also written on a request of mine and has stood as one of my favorite little BalVaans ever. Pre-ship tension, a Vaan trying to impress Balthier with some dangerous stunt, Vaan getting hurt, and Balthier’s reaction to it. Oh--and Basch’s presence in this fic is absolutely excellent, a portion of it taking place in his perspective. The author’s understanding of guns and war and PTSD really fit in here. I really love the way the author handles a concerned Balthier as well--it just, hhhh, it hits all the right spots for me. And yes, I’m taking you to FFnet for that one. Sorry.

I Could Drink a Case of You - Balthier/Basch, Al-Cid/Basch, ingame, oneshot - This is so delicious, that’s all I have to say.

as a PS for now - I can’t remember any fics in specific but I do know Threewalls has written over 100 fics of FFXII ranging from long to short 100word drabbles alllll across the board with all sorts of characters and pairings so if you want to do some shopping check them out.

[flames-bring-a-ton-of-ash]

I was tagged by @lucifers-trash-stash  to reply to these 11 questions & make a list of my own for the folks I tag to answer. 

1. What is your favorite Disney movie?

Aw, man. Well, growing up I was obsessed with The Lion King, so I should probably go with that. Although Frozen and Enchanted are also pretty bangin’, as far as newer Disney movies go.

2. Who was your first fictional crush?

My first one?? Oh god...I’ve probably been crushing on fictional characters since before I can remember. I guess, to go with the theme of the last question, it might be Simba from The Lion King, when I was really young.

3. If you could have a superpower, what would it be?

Does immortality count? Because if so, that one. If not, to talk to animals. 

4. What is something on your bucket list that you’ve been able to accomplish so far?

One of my main bucket list items when I was a teenager/young adult was to leave my hometown and make it on my own somewhere else, as an independent woman happy in her career field. It was scary as fuck, but I did indeed leave my little hometown, where no one ever leaves, and moved to a major city. I still pinch myself a lot, to know that I accomplished that. Teenager me would’ve pissed her pants at the idea of even visiting Philly by herself, let alone that I’m now living there by myself and being completely independent, so I’m pretty damn proud of that, and happy I accomplished it. Although, now, I’ve upped the bucket list item to me moving to another part of the country at some point, even if it’s on my own, so we’ll see how that one goes ;)

5. What is your go to comfort food?

For a meal it would be sushi, or when I make a big sauerkraut meal with mashed potatoes, dumplings, hot dogs, and pork chops. It’s a traditional meal from back home (it’s  a Pennsylvania Dutch thing), and it always reminds me of home and comforts me, plus is fucking delicious. For snacking, anything chocolate usually works. 

6. What was your first fandom?

The first fandom where I actually discovered fanfiction was Harry Potter. When I went off to college, I finally had my own laptop, and discovering fanfiction was a dream come true. I think I read every single Snape/Hermione and Snape/Ginny fanfic in existence. Plus most of the Lucius/Hermione and Lucius/Ginny fics. 

7. If you could meet one celebrity for a day, who would it be and what would you do?

Oh gawddd. Thirsty me wants to say a hot celeb like Norman or JDM or Jensen. But, honestly, I’d probably want to spend the day with either Michelle Obama or Hillary Clinton. They’re both such inspiring women, and I’d love to pick their brains (and hear their unfiltered opinions on the cheeto in office). 

8. Who is your favorite author and why?

Oh shit, well it depends on the genre. For romance, Karen Robards was my absolute favorite as a teen and young adult. I own every single novel she’s every written, up until her most recent couple of novels. She originally wrote historical romance back in the 80s I think, and then started writing contemporary novels in more recent years. It’s actually her contemporary mystery/thriller romances that are inspiring my own original novel idea that I recently started writing. She just writes these amazing fluffy yet sexy af stories, with great sexual tension. When teenage me found my first book of hers, it was just one of those moments where you wanna cry in happiness because you just know this author is never going to let you down with their novels, and you’re so excited to devour all of them. I actually got my grandmother hooked, as well, and we both read all her books and traded them back and forth (yes, teenage me and my grandmother had our own romance/erotica book club, no judging).

For straight up erotica romance, Evangeline Anderson’s “Planet X” is a book I have read far too many times. If you have any thirst over Riddick, read that book. It’s basically the plot of Pitch Black put into erotica form, and it’s delicious. Also, Shayla Black is a great erotica author. Her book “Wicked Ties” is, to me, way better than Fifty Shades will ever be. 

For fantasy, it’s hands down J.K. Rowling. I mean...helloooo Harry Potter. 

For horror/thrillers I’d say Dean Koontz (espcially “Intensity” and “The Watchers”), and I’m also developing a very real appreciation for Stephen King in the past year. 

9. What is one tv/movie series that if it went on forever you would still watch?

Supernatural, hands down. Also, Spartacus, if they rebooted it. And TWD, of course. 

10. Your favorite thing about yourself.

That (I think) I balance really well the two sides of being incredibly welcoming and empathetic towards everyone around me, yet also refuse to be disrespected and will speak out and stand up for myself, and others, at the drop of a hat. I work really hard to be both kind and yet also strong, and love that I don’t have to feel the need to categorize myself into a box based on gender stereotypes. I also think I’m pretty damn witty, and intelligent, and love how well I can analyze and read people and situations. I’m also a bit vain, I guess, since I have a really hard time just picking one favorite thing about myself for this question XD

11. What is something you never leave home without?

I feel so basic saying my phone, but it’s true. When I was younger, it was a book. I never went ANYWHERE without a book in hand, but alas, adulting and technology have switched that to my phone. Also, my apartment/car keys.

I’m tagging @hannibalssweaters @strangersangel9 @my-achilles--heel @asshatry @opheliadawnwalker3 @redisunamused @kellyn1604 @superprincesspea @breakfast-of-a-teenage-killer @crzcorgi @vizhi0n @ericuhlorain

Okay, now here are my 11 questions for y’all, if you wanna answer them: 

1. If you could be any animal, which one would you choose, and why?

2. You’re stuck on a deserted island for the next month, but all your food/water and shelter is taken care of. What 3 personal belongings would you take with you?

3.  What was your proudest moment in your life, so far?

4. If you could go back and tell your 12 year old self one piece of advice, what would it be?

5. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given by someone else?

6. Your favorite dessert?

7. What’s something about yourself that you might not have liked in the past, but have learned/grown to love? 

8. Do you want children? If you already have children, do you want more?

9. What are your top 3 favorite fandoms?

10. Do you know any languages besides English?

11. What is your favorite thing about Negan, that drew you to the thirst squad (I mean, we all know he’s sexy, but besides that)?