#Inspired by the many many fics and headcanons and also the survey that said a massive chunk of durgetash enjoyers were raised catholic

[chronurgy]

Please enjoy this extremely shitty meme I made on my phone

[marsandsaturn]

good morning levi

inspired by @/deludedimagines’s “haven” and my headcanons of levi finding peace and opening the tea shop he always wanted [ source: x ]

also contains recent manga spoilers but everyone is alive except for eren because we all know that it is going to happen

fic's song: how does a moment last forever - céline dion — beauty and the beast (live action)

fluff ; softness ; wholesome interactions between levi and the neighbors ; female!reader

characters: levi ackerman ; y/n l/n ; reginald and mariah winchester ; katherine, maia and sebastian brooks ; matthew gardener ; cynthia holland (my oc’s)

"good morning levi"

a sentence he never would have thought he would hear in his 38 years of life. a sentence he loves hearing every morning on is way to work. except this working had nothing to do with the survey corps or any branch of military. finally after years of fighting, paradis had found peace. in that moment when peace was declared levi only thought of one thing, well maybe a few things but it would all lead to the same thing. he would retire, from the survey corps. he no longer desired to work in the military fighting for his life. he wanted peace, quietness, solidarity with one person. his lovely girlfriend. he wanted to have a family with her and away from everyone.

so that's what the captain did. the captain, now former captain of the survey corps retired. while everyone was disappointed that humanity's strongest soldier would no longer be part of the military they alas understood his decision on the retirement. said former captain had lost a great percentage of people he cared about and he did not want to loose you, he wanted to live out the rest of his day in a small village, a small quiet village. but he did not want to be secluded, instead he wanted to have nice neighbors, who he could spend time with and have a nice chat with. he looked around and the former captain promised everyone, which he only meant, jean, connie, mikasa, and armin who he cared for very much, that he would visit and that they were allowed to visit him as well, he watched them grow up, honestly they were his family, but you could never catch the raven haired man saying that directly to their face. and thus, the two of you find yourselves living in a small village named sahne, which resides inside the city of sheena, living on a street with five other houses named whisper street. did he solely pick the street because it had the name whisper in it? possibly, not that he would ever admit that. small little cottages that rested on a steep hill. at the end of the street with a dead end which would then replace the sand and direct roads with fields of grass and beautiful flowers. the village would used that field for their small festivals and gathering they would throw, nothing loud and exciting but something for everyone. the total number of people that lived in the village was a total of 300 people, which included you and levi. so yes everyone knew each other and were friendly towards each other. when the of you arrived they welcomed you with soft open arms that warmed levi's heart. the village of sahne made him feel like he belonged, which is something he can't exactly say he's felt before. "good morning reginald" levi softly says, with a smile that slightly match the sweet old man. reggie as many call him is the sweet old mad that has a wonderful fruit and vegetable garden. despite being in his early 70s this man has the most life and is constantly smiling. "off to work at the tea shop eh?" he softly says while picking some fruit. he wipes them down with a rag before placing them in the basket. "of course. and i see that you are picking fruit. was is it this time" levi enjoyed this, the small talk. back in the military it was always "good morning captain levi, sir!" and with the salute. always showing respect. don't interpret this wrong, everyone wants respect, but with everyone from the village, it feels better as if they truly mean it. "fresh, ripe, red strawberries. would you care for a basket? your beloved y/n could make strawberry shortcake? or jam? even use these as toppings for a cake?" the village loved your baking. at first you weren't that good at it but with practice you eventually become very good. you even had a small bakery that was connected to the tea shop, though you opened up the shop around noon. "reggie, we've been friends for five years, how could i ever deny your sweet fruit" it may have seemed out of character for him, but now that he knew that everyone here in the village had a better chance at dying from natural causes rather than from titans or from a war, he let his emotions show. not quickly though, but slowly overtime, everyone soon began to see the levi that was hidden behind a mask. the most caring out of everyone, and yes although his face said otherwise, levi was there to make you feel better over the smallest or biggest of things. "here son, i cleaned them just like i always do. if you waant to keep them fresh inside the cooler, place them in a large bowel and wash the with vinegar-water: 1 cup of white vinegar and 8 cups of water should do the the trick" levi nods and smiles at the sweet old man before grabbing the basket and holding it in his non dominate hand. he looks at the man and smiles while rubbing his shoulder.

he walks back towards his home, decorated with whites, greens and grays and hints of brown. when it came to decorations levi knew absolute shit about it, but when it came to where each piece of furniture goes and how to clean, well you could call him an expert but just know he would never call himself that. the former captain sets the baskets of strawberries down on the counter but not before grabbing at least five strawberries. perhaps he can open the shop a little late today. today he was going to take time to admire his beautiful home. Across his house lived katherine, maia, and sebastian brooks. a single mother who's husband left her for one of his affairs' when maia and sebastian were two. levi swore to katherine and the kids that if the bastard ever showed his shitty face, hell give it a nice kicking. after all he's done it before during his day as the captain of the survey corps. next door to the brooks lived a single man who is in his early 60s. now realizing, levi was friends with a lot of old men. was it because he was old himself and loved it when they got together, possibly. his name was matthew gardner. like levi he fell in love with beautiful waitress, but she sadly died and he never fell in love again. he is often seen baking pastries with some of the fruit reginald gives to his neighbors. levi, reginald and matthew have a weekly tea time and discuss the things that are happening in sahne.

and finally cynthia holland, a sweet old lady in her 60s who knits everyone something for birthdays and holidays. she has two cats and is often seen walking with matthew. her husband was part of the survey corps many years ago and died when he got eaten by a titan. she also couldn’t have any kids so she often saw levi, y/n, and the brooks as her children. when you were feeling sick you could go to her.

everyone in his street were just wonderful people and he could take whoever he believed in for giving him this life. he would never take this life opportunity for granted at all.

“you’re going to be late for work”

the former captain turns around and smiles while offering a strawberry to his wonderful girlfriend who has a lazy smile on her face.

“i am the owner y/n i can be late if i want to” he smugly says while eating another strawberry. levi was going on o have to get more strawberries frkm reginald or he was going to finish the too quickly.

“whatever. my god these strawberries are good. theu are tempting me to tru and make strawberry shortcake and jam”

“good because i am pretty sure our neighbors are waiting for you to make something”

he smiles at her rolling her eyes before walking up to her and placing a kiss onto her lips. they taste like strawberry if that gave you any hint as to what she was eating.

he was more happy in life that ever. he lost many comrades. erwin, hange, isabel, furlan, his mom, kenny. but he had you, and he had reginald and mariah winchester, katherine, maia, and sebastian brooks, matthew gardener, and cynthia holland. he had the whole village. it still hurt to remember his lost ones but now that hes alove and well he looks forward to those these three words every morning

“good morning levi”

a/n: HELLO sorry this took lime three months (?) lost motivation and now i’ve finished it. hopefully i can actually start working on the aot disney event, making sure each fic doesn’t get too long.

hopefully you enjoy this. reblogs, comments and likes are appreciated :)

[grishaversecommunityyy]

The Grishaverse Ship Survey Results

So! After all of that, we finally have the results! What is the general opinion on the ships in the Grishaverse? Well, that’s for you to read below! It’s actually pretty interesting and, while some parts make sense, there were definitely some parts which... surprised me... Anyway, onto the results!

Everything in this post can be split into:

The Grisha Trilogy

Six Of Crows Duology

The Nikolai Series

Shadow and Bone: TV Series

Most Enjoyed Ships

Least Enjoyed Ships

Crack Ships and Shipping Discourse

Notes from the Survey 

(note from mod emily: i tried to bold all of fritz’ comments, but i might have missed a few! be aware there are two of us analysing here :))

The Grisha Trilogy

The first book series we asked about was, of course, the first chronologically: the Grisha Trilogy. The most popular ship, with 83% voters for this series selecting this, was Genya/David (Fritz was glad to hear that; Yes I am). This is likely due to the lack of alternate romantic interests in the series, which seems to be a major issue for Alina’s ships. It also seems to be one genuinely enjoyed by most fans, in contrast to Darkling/Alina and Mal/Alina (each around 30%) and Nikolai/Alina (just under 20%), for which I have definitely seen plenty of debate. The second and third most popular ships for this series were Tamar/Nadia (55%) and Nikolai/Zoya (47%). Interestingly, Genya/Alina (43%) and Zoya/Alina (30%) ranked surprisingly high, especially considering how few of my friends and associates I hear talking about them. Good for them!

Honourable mentions:

Alina/Sun (no doubt inspired by that crack fic I wrote a while back) (Still havent read that out of fear)

Alina alone (a common concept among those surveyed, though most mentioned it later)

Zoya/Genya or Alina/Zoya/Genya

Six Of Crows Duology

This series was a little less divided, I would say. Predictably, Kaz/Inej came out on top with a whopping 96% of voters (:relieved:), with Wylan/Jesper next (90%) and Nina/Matthias just after (83%). None of the others really came close, despite Nina/Inej gathering 35% of the votes and Colm/Aditi at 25% (yeah, I’m not sure why that was so popular on AO3 either, but nobody really has objections so I assume that’s why it amassed so many votes). As Six of Crows is decidedly less divisive about ships and doesn’t have such controversial ships (more on that later), it seems the fandom agrees with canon pairings and the votes are... pretty unanimous.

Honourable Mentions:

Jesper/Wylan/Kuwei

Polycrows (platonic or romantic)

Kaz/Inej/Nina

Whoever didn’t read the instruction about this being for only the book series and put Jesper/Milo. I will never escape. 

The Nikolai Series

This one is a little harder for me because I actually haven’t read this... so over to Fritz for analysis! But first, the stats. At 85%, the most popular ship is Genya/David, followed by Zoya/Nikolai at 77%. Tamar/Nadia and Nina/Hanne draw at 61.5% and Nina/Matthias has 56% voters onboard. There’s no real honourable mentions for this one, sadly. Hello Fritz here! Read the books and very glad to see Genya/David as the top ship as it damn well should. Although still a bit surprising since its more of a side-arc of the two and only ties in with the importance of the story at a specific chapter that I feel like I don’t need to elaborate about, if you read Rule of Wolves. (I believe the popularity of the ship also sky-rocketed due to ROW) Following of course Zoya/Nikolai, the high ranking makes sense, it is the main ship and lets be honest they deserve it <3

I think the only really surprising thing about this is the high votes for Nina/Matthias since [SPOILERS CROOKED KINGDOM] he’s dead so I feel like people should move on from that. Nina/“Hanne” having not as high a ranking as I would’ve thought, but with Matthias still being in the frame I guess we shouldn’t be surprised either.

Shadow and Bone: TV Series

This one is really interesting, with the exclusive show watchers now taking part! We have 89% voting for Kaz/Inej, 76% for David/Genya, 71% for Matthias/Nina, 67% for Ivan/Fedyor (that’s a thing???-->Yeah they had a few somewhat sweet interactions in the background-->nvm i watched it you’re right fritz) and 62% for Mal/Alina. What’s really surprising is how high Malina is compared to Darklina, with Darkling/Alina at 36%. Who knows, maybe Fritz’ analysis can shed some light on this?

Yes yes Fritz to the rescue: First of all we have to see their interactions a little different from what we already knew of them by the end of episode 8. I still think it is a surprising number, since the Darkling in the show isn’t as nasty as he was in the books BUT over all his actions are now seen on TV. We all thought the deer antlers were a necklace amirite? Well no apparently not, the darkling used the worst kind of small science to fit Alinas collarbone to the bone and out comes a gruesome sight: a reason why many people might have started thinking: Wow what a disgusting person he is. And on the Malina “ship”: Mal finally has personality!! jkjk :eyes: Mals and Alinas friendship has been portrayed way better in the show and I believe that the people noticed more chemistry between them especially by the end of season 1. So I’m still a little surprised Darklina has such a low ranking (what with him being all sweet and cuddly in the middle of the show) but it makes sense and the Malina ship as well. Their vibes are just *chefs kiss* and thats coming from someone who didnt even like any of these “ships” <3

Loving the quotation marks for the word ‘ships’, Fritz. Over to the honourable mentions!

Honourable Mentions:

Jesper and Milo (isn’t milo a goat? guys, why?)

Nadia/Marie (huh that didn’t appear anywhere else)

One person had several - Kaz/Inej/Jesper, Dubrov/Mikhael, Dubrov/Mikhael/Mal - and yeah, you can really see the show differences in these mentions right? (whose dubrov...and whose mikhael...)

16% actually voted for Inej/Alina which is wild to me because of book context (they did have chemistry in the show tho :cowboi_smirk:)

Another person with several! We have Nina/Inej, Genya/Alina, Zoya/Alina, Zoya/Genya/Alina. Very sapphic. Good for you.

Kaz/Jesper and Nina/Inej all in one

That’s a lot of honour and mentions but it’s so interesting to me and I think you should see too

Most Enjoyed Ships

The most enjoyed ship was Kaz/Inej. This had unparalleled support, being at 35%. Jesper/Wylan, which was next on the list (23.5%) and Nina/Matthias (18%) were also pretty popular. Most of the others were quite low, though interestingly Mal/Alina only had 1 vote (plus one for the show version). Overall, the SoC ships were a lot more popular in this section, which makes sense - this part is really about your favourite ship, and those were more unanimous in the last sections.

Least Enjoyed Ships

Most people said Darkling/Alina, which got 47% of the NOTP votes. A lot more people disliked Darkling/Alina than liked Kaz/Inej. Make of that what you will, but I take it as a somewhat general agreement among many of you guys. Mal/Alina was also strongly disliked at 22%, but around a half or more of these were clarified to be about the book version of the ship specifically. They really must’ve upgraded in the show! Jesper/Kuwei and any other Darkling ships were also voted by a few, but all of these pale in comparison to the anti-Darklina votes. Shoutout to the person who said Apparat/Anyone. I agree, though it’s not something I thought of before seeing this response. Also one person said they didn’t like the poly ships, which I hope meant just the ones mentioned earlier and not all poly relationships in general... Another shoutout to whoever said Kaz/Heleen, because why did I have to read that. A fun question, all in all!

Crack Ships and Shipping Discourse

I love talking about crack ships, so let’s start with that! This time, I really don’t want to have to count and list because... well, let me show you:

I think that sums up the sheer variety, to be honest. Then again, it would be rude not to mention that the most popular were Jesper/Milo, Darkling/Nikolai and Alina/Sun. (If you’re still confused about that last one, I take full responsibility.)

YES KAZ/KRUGE I SUPPORT!!!

Honourable mention to this:

which was a lot to take in, and:

Now for the discourse. Yep, the part you probably came for. 

Actually... maybe you didn’t? Looking at all of these responses, I see a lot of people genuinely don’t care about ship wars and so on, and often enjoyed the books regardless of the romances involved. Quite a few disapproved of the ongoing (though small) wars between Darklina and Malina, and others had a similar line of thinking, saying we should maybe stop focusing so much on it. You guys are right. I know this is a ship survey, and the conclusions should not include that shipping isn’t as important as we make it (Yes it should), but... that’s where it’s at.

And then again, a lot of you guys expressed disapproval for Darkling/Alina, discussing how it is often one-sided and manipulative and overall unhealthy, so I could be completely off with that last one. Some people mentioned that they ship this but as a slightly different version that the one given to us, recognising the flaws of the canon ship.

Someone said they headcanon Tolya as aroace (OMG YES!!). We need more aroace characters, so thank you for that headcanon :) We also have a few gay ships mentioned here, and one person telling us they love Malina. Yes, you’re right - it’s pretty unpopular, it turns out. Someone else said Alina should’ve been single, and I agree, actually!

One person rickrolled me here. Thankfully, Youtube’s ads saved me. *wipes forehead*

I leave you all with this, in the end:

Notes from the Survey

Statistics Stuff:

The top ships were taken from AO3, so some ships may be more focused on in other books and may not provide accurate statistics for an earlier series.

The main circles this was sent around may have had bias as most people are from the same discord server, which has debated these topics in the past. Hence certain ships may have lower-than-average results. In future, this could be improved upon by sending this to other servers and areas of the fandom.

Personal bias may be present in the analysis, though I have tried to minimise this in the more formal sections.

Observations and Notes from Me:

You guys really don’t like Darklina. Or you love it. Usually one or the other. Wow.

Be glad I didn’t talk about any of the cursed ships in this. The things I have seen... (:cowboi_eyes:)

I thought more people would rickroll me, ngl.

What Surprised You Guys:

Kaz/Inej/Jesper

A few of you guys saw some of those cursed ships, and that surprised you. Well, me too!

Nikolai ships being in the TV Show section at all, what with his character not being in the show (yeah what was up with that huh tztz)

Inej/Alina

The existence of The Severed Moon

Darkling/Nikolai(/Alina)

How fun the quiz was :D

Things You Sent Me:

Bee Movie copypasta

“Nobody expects The Spanish Inquisition!”, except via an AO3 link

A fun fact about enzymes! I liked this one

Fic recs for Feriku and Sarai (esp for Wylan/Jesper shippers)

Another rickroll

Nice compliments :) aww you guys

I asked everyone for some kind of placeholder name and never used it. Sorry! But hey, anonymity, right?

Closing Statements

If you got this far (I feel like ive been sitting here for hours), thanks for reading! This was fun to do and I hope you enjoyed all of this too! The survey is still open for anyone who hasn’t done it but wants to. If I get a huge amount of new responses, I might update this post! But for now, adios!

-mod emily (and mod fritz)

[vdsweek]

VDS Week 2020

So, based on the response to the survey, I’ve decided to make this page to host VDS Week. Nothing will change other than all the content will be reblogged here for everyone to find it more easily.

I’ve also decided, based on the responses I got and the date of Elippo week, that VDS Week will be held from the 10th-16th August. I hope this gives people time to create content (especially after finishing schoolwork) while also not seeming too far away!

Please tag everything #vdsweek2020 so I can reblog it!

The layout is as follows:

Monday, 10/08 - Fics / Headcanons

Tuesday, 11/08 - Soulmates / Coming Out

Wednesday, 12/08 - GIFs / Edits

Thursday, 13/08 - Roommates / Enemies/Friends to Lovers

Friday, 14/08 - First Meeting / Aged-Up

Saturday, 15/08 - Art / Playlist

Sunday, 16/08 - AU

Notes:

As with the previous VDS Week, you do not have to take part in every day! I have included two prompts in most days to give a broader choice while still giving everyone something to work with. You can do something for one prompt or the other, or separate things for both, or one work combining the prompts — it’s all up to your interpretation! If you feel like making multiple works for one prompt, that’s okay too!

For ‘AU’ day — this is basically a free day, since everything VDS is AU, but this is an opportunity to pick your favourite ‘out there’ idea and create it. Whether you want to do a Harry Potter AU, or a famous AU, or a royalty AU, whatever you like! This can again be manifested in any form - fics, gifs, moodboards, playlists, etc. It may be a good opportunity to collaborate!

On days with fics/gifs/art - please feel free to take this as a literal prompt. Fic day does not mean you have to write a fic. You can create anything inspired by this prompt. GIFs or art based on a fic, a social media edit in which Jens/Lucas is a fic writer, etc etc, anything you like! Same for GIF/art day - if your comfort zone is fics, write something based on a gif set or a piece of art!

Going off the previous point, please feel free to collaborate. Contact another content creator and suggest a fic edit you have that they could make gifs of, or vice versa! Many responses I got when I asked what the best aspect of the first VDS week was simply said the fandom. Talk to each other, support each other, create with each other! If you don’t want to reach out to a particular person, send an ask to this page with your idea, or even contact me personally and I will try to help! (Here or on @peaceoutofthepieces.)

If you have any questions, please don’t be afraid to ask! Anonymously, directly, however you feel most comfortable. If there is anything else that comes to mind or I discover I’ve left out, I’ll update you.

Create, collaborate, and have fun!

[mego42]

1x07 Discussion Questions

My b! My b! I usually try to do these when the episode is fresh but instead I went to sleep, I am at peace with my priorities, tbh. As always, many thanks to @pynkhues​ for her time and energy putting these together and shout out to @foxmagpie​ for the assist. 

1. What was your favourite scene of the episode? Tell us why!

Lot of contenders, tbh. I really love the scene with Mary Pat when she puts together the (extremely transparent) bullshit that is the whole secret shopper scheme (I mean come on y’all, did you even try????), I love Ruby and Stan’s date (high five to Stan for coming through with my parks & rec reference, it’s nice to know there is one (1) man I can count on). The Annie and Greg bit is REALLY SWEET LEAVE ME ALONE. The god tier brio content, specifically The Grab Heard Round The World My Living Room and the Give Me A Name bit. Some classic Rio nonsense (do you think if we asked him to point to an egg he’d point to an apple?) Tyler and his “reeeeeeally fill out the surveys?” was, obvs, the best moment on the entire show. Anyway, one of those for sure.

2. Was there any scene that missed the mark for you? And if so, how?

The Boomer setting up Annie stuff always falls flat to me and idk exactly why? Like, individual pieces of it are great, Mae does EXCELLENT work post police station and when getting arrested in the first place but ultimately I find it fairly forgettable in the grand scheme of things.

3. Let’s talk about the secret shopper scheme! What do you think were the strengths of it? The flaws? Do you think it had longterm potential? Or was it always going to crash and burn?

I said this during the rewatch but I straight up blocked out the fact that all of the shoppers are hitting the same store on the same day (waving around upwards of $5k in cash???? no less???????) because my brain cannot comprehend how three women we’re supposed to believe are reasonably intelligent didn’t realize this was the stupidest, most transparently obvious, most short-sighted scheme in the entire world. 

I struggled with the sustainability of it a bit when I thought they were spreading their efforts around (they roped in A Lot of people, there are only so many Costcos in the Detroit metro area and waving around that much cash and then returning it all, again for cash, is uh, already p memorable) but I could deal with it when I thought they were spreading it around. Short-sighted, immediate solutions are a cornerstone of Beth’s brand, after all, but all of them at the same store at the same day???? Too much. I cannot. 

4. The girls spent their money in very different ways! Ruby on romancing Stan, Annie on clothes for her son, and Beth on jewellery for herself. What do you think this tells us about them and their arcs? Particularly coming off the back of Ruby’s conflict with Stan, Ben’s issues at school with clothes, and Beth leaving Rio her pearls?

Love these connects. The show’s got a pretty clearly defined and consistent visual/character motifs (this may or may not be the word I’m looking for, shut up) when it comes to depicting the girls priorities and motivations. You also see it reflected and reinforced with their repeated coping mechanisms throughout the show. Whenever bad stuff happens, Ruby goes home to Stan, Annie crawls into bed with Ben and we usually close with Beth either alone (ouch david) or connecting with Rio in some way (exhibit a: the aforementioned pearls). 

In all of the instances it comes back to the heart of their priorities:

Stan is Ruby’s number one, (which isn’t to say her kids aren’t a part of that, I think Stan is both himself in this sense while also representing her whole Hill family unit—TV is all about visual shorthand kids—but also it serves to illustrate that Ruby has something Beth and Annie do not: a true partner). 

Ben is at the root of everything Annie does, she makes choices based on not only his. well-being, but how he sees her and he has the most influence over how she sees herself and what actions she takes as a result of that.

Beth, on the other hand, is at a contrasting point. She’s done the devoted partner and mother thing (lowkey implied by the little bits and pieces we get of her and Annie’s childhoods to some degree more or less for her entire life) and is now putting herself first, her needs, her wants. Which isn’t to say she doesn’t give a fuck about her family, she waits until she’s got a fat stack of cash and they’re taken care of before splurging on a thing, but as a symbol I think the necklace pretty clearly illuminates that for whatever Beth tells herself, she’s building an empire for herself, bc she wants it, needing it is secondary.

5. Eddie’s arrest is arguably what sets us on a collision course with the finale! Do you think Eddie was loyal to Rio until the end? How much do you think he told Turner? And what sort of loyalty do you think Rio inspires in his boys? And why doesn’t it translate with the girls?

OF COURSE EDDIE WAS LOYAL TO THE END HE HAS CLEARLY DEMONSTRATED HE HAS SOME KIND OF CODE OF HONOR HOW DARE YOU SLANDER MY BOY LIKE THAT.

Tbh idk how to answer the loyalty question without more information from canon because the gang and how they operate, how they all came together, etc is pretty well shrouded in not-central-narrative-focus, though I think it’s been implied somewhat heavily that what’s going on with the girls is not standard operating procedure.

My personal headcanon for Eddie is tied up in my personal backstory for Rio and Mick that I started for my (lmao first) Mick POV fic. I gave Rio and Mick a friends since we were kids backstory and decided Eddie was a kid in their neighborhood, slightly younger then them, and always looked up to them/followed them around/thought they were cool. He ultimately got involved in crime because they did and they looked out for him and brought him up with them (which, you know, makes how it all turns out that much more tragic). Obvs, this is all just me and my tendency to imprint on random side characters and give them backstories. Let me live.

6. This episode introduces us to Mary Pat, who’s probably one of this show’s most complicated antagonists! What do you think of her generally? And could you have predicted her arc with Boomer and Turner?

I love her and I’m done lying to myself about it.

LISTEN, first off, Allison Tolman is great. Her line delivery is fantastic, she has a knack for subtly adding SO MUCH to every scene she’s in and uses her face and inflection and pauses exquisitely. Top notch comedic timing. Truly a gem.

Second, on a character level, the lady is in a bad spot and the girls basically gift-wrapped the circumstances and handed them to her like here is a present!!!!!!!!!!!! What was a struggling girl to do besides accept what was offered to her??????!!!!!!???

7. This episode features a very pivotal scene in terms of the Beth, Ruby and Annie dynamic. What starts as tension between Annie and Beth quickly pivots when Ruby criticises Beth and Annie leaps to her sister’s defence. What do you think this tells us about the dynamic between the girls as pairs and as a trio?

I am so!!!! curious!!!!!!! about the backstory that exists in the writers’ heads for Ruby and Annie (all three of them, really, but the bff and little sister having an independent friendship is of particular interest to me bc it isn’t something you, or I guess I, run into a lot) and how much of it was defined at this point vs how much it’s evolved/fluctuated as the show goes on. This fight pretty clearly illuminated that when it really comes down to it, it’s Beth and Annie vs Ruby which a) breaks my heart and b) isn’t totally a dynamic I think the show ultimately stuck with? Or maybe intentionally fluctuates? Idk this is a half-baked thought. Ask again later. 

8. Greg is the one who kisses Annie! Who do you think left who in that relationship, and/or what were the biggest issues in that relationship?

I feel like there’s pretty much no way Annie wasn’t the one that called things off with Greg. Not just because of how it plays out this time but because he’s got a kind of persistent yet also go with the flow attitude that makes me think he would absorb a lot in the name of making it work whereas Annie seems to have a pretty established history of cutting her losses and bailing when she hits her limit. Based on how fond they are of each other and how much affection they clearly still hold, I tend to assume they just grew apart as they grew up which makes it almost more complicated and tragic because it leaves all of the good stuff and just mixes it with the knowledge that it wasn’t enough. 

9. What did you think of Ruby’s sauce story? And what do you think it meant as a turning point for her arc?

I HATE THIS STORY SO MUCH USED BAND AIDS ARE GROSS ENOUGH ON THEIR OWN WITHOUT MIXING IN FOOD SERVICE AND MONTHS, MONTHS, OF MARINATION. I REFUSE TO TALK ABOUT IT. GET OUT OF MY HOUSE.

10. Knowing that Beth, Ruby and Annie’s system of paying Mary Pat off doesn’t work, do you think there was a way they could’ve handled her on their own that would’ve worked? Or do you think Rio’s intimidation (and potential murder) tactic was the only way out?

Idk maybe I’m just cynical, but I take trust no bitch to heart, they pretty well screwed themselves into a corner by being idiots. 

[chase-the-windandtouch-the-sky]

⭐star⭐

Oh my goodness, thank you love!

The section I chose was from The Price of Peace, which was the scene that started it all! The reunion scene where Clarke is being harvested and the line about Mount Weather.

Putting everything under the cut in case this gets long!

Bellamy thinks someone may say something, but not one moves. They’re all frozen in this moment, pulled by gravity and circumstance, forced to drift in the universe.

Without realizing he’s even doing it, Bellamy moves toward the figure, kneeling down in front of them. He sets his weapon aside, certain he wouldn’t be able to shoot anything with it at this moment anyway, his hands ghosting the cuffs that are keeping the person’s left arm above their head, hand dangling there black and blue. In their side is a tube, currently clamped and filled with nothing but the tint of black, cut off from whatever lies on the other side of the wall. The skin is angry, infected, and horrible to see.

I really like playing with the way time moves and the way I see it in my life. And I’m a firm believer that there are moments where time is broken, that everything fades away and you in this moment becomes infinite. That’s the feeling I was trying to achieve here with Bellamy seeing Clarke for the first time after thinking she was dead.

Bellamy’s hands hover over the hair. The hair matted by dirt and sweat, covering their face. He moves to brush it aside, afraid of what he’ll see. Afraid of what will happen when he moves the hair aside.

He does anyway.

When he does, he almost lets out a strangled cry when a set of deadened, blue eyes stare back to them. They appear to not be seeing, but they’re there, observing all the same. “Clarke,” he breathes, pushing her hair all the way back. He’s afraid to do anything else – he’s afraid to touch her, move her, jostle her in any way.

The moment he breathes her name, there’s another figure at his side. Abby runs her hands up the tubing currently in her side and arm, her breathing ragged. Bellamy knows he should move out of the way, but it feels as if everything’s stopped.

With this, it was really important to me that it was Bellamy who discovers her, sees her, and all the pieces fall into place. But also, he’s so afraid for so many reasons: how fragile she looks, how broken she is, how they forgot her, but most importantly: that maybe this isn’t real. Bellamy spent the better part of the year after her death trying to forget her, then here she is, flesh and blood. A horrible reminder of what’s going on. (skipping ahead a few paragraphs)

Abby runs her hands down the cuffs, her fingers sliding across the metal. “Raven, did you bring your tools?”

“O-Of course.”

Raven doesn’t sound like Raven either. Perhaps none of them are themselves at the moment. It feels like they’re in an alternate reality. Raven brings clamps up to where the cuff is locked, her own hands slipping. “I-I—” she says, her eyes red. She tries again, but the clamp slip from her fingers and clatter to the floor. “I-I’m sorry.”

“Let me.” Shaw states, coming up behind her and gently placing a hand on her back. He bends down and picks up the clamp, letting his hand slide off her back in order to get the tool in position. With a swift motion, there’s a snap and the cuff swings open.

I skipped a few paragraphs, because I know how long this is getting, but this moment with Raven was so important to me. In hindsight, it’s super interesting given the current season, but I was really upset at how Raven was in the anti-Clarke camp from the rumors at the time (although, nothing would’ve prepared me for S6 Raven, honestly). And I wanted a moment where Raven really saw Clarke as a person - a human being trying her best with horrible situations.

I mean, I kinda want that now in the actual canon. But to have Clarke at her most vulnerable, the epitome of humanity, was to shatter the illusion of the Great Wanheda - the person who survived so many things. After all, she is one woman who has survived a great deal, and it hurt that they all forgot that.

Her arm doesn’t fall.

It stays there, as if her bones had built themselves a fortress to remain intact. Abby surveys it and says, “I don’t know how conscious she is. If she is, this will be painful. Her arm is out of its socket, so we’ll need to lower it and pop it back in. Someone will have to hold her just in case.”

“I’ll do it,” Bellamy says, his voice low. “I’ll hold her down.”

“Be careful not to press too hard. We don’t know how much pressure she can take right now.”

Bellamy shifts to directly face her, saying, “I promise, Abby.”

Honestly, this is one of the more graphic things I’ve ever written - without blood or gore. It was a horrible thought I had, but just to show the sense of time that had passed and how Clarke had sort of been stuck in her position. 

But, needless to say, it was tough to write.

“One,” Abby counts. “Two—”

“Wait.” Echo breathes behind them.

“Why in the world would we wait?” Abby exclaims, losing it ever so slightly.

“She tracked you, Bellamy.” Echo states, pointing at her face. “When you moved to the front, her eyes followed.”

Sure enough, when he faces her again, her eyes are directly on him. They’re no longer absent and glassy, like they were when he pushed her hair out of her face. There’s something behind them – something present and alive. “Clarke,” he says softly, dropping his hands from her shoulders to brush against her cheek. “Clarke, can you hear me?”

“You’re not supposed to be here.”

When she speaks, someone gasps. It may be him. Honestly, he’s not sure.

It’s interesting, because there are 2 Echos for me: the Echo I would’ve written and the Echo that is currently in canon. Here was when I was desperately clinging to some semblance of a plot that made sense, because I’m in the firm camp that the show did her character a serious disservice by throwing her offhandedly as Bellamy’s love interest.

As for when Clarke speaks, in my mind, it was loud and soft at the same time. Foreign, even. Like a whisper of who Clarke was, to the point where they were all staring at her.

Not even Clarke sounds like herself. Her words are ragged and scratched, as if dragged across glass. A part of him questions whether he even heard something, but due to everyone’s reactions, he knows she had to have said something.

“We’re here, Clarke.” Bellamy says, his turn to lose it a little. He brushes his thumb against her cheek, her skin dry and rough. “We’re here for you.”

“I wish you would leave.” She states, tears welling in her eyes.

Bellamy drops his hand. He tries to not show the shock and hurt, but very clearly fails. “Clarke, what are you talking about—”

“I can’t have you here anymore, Bellamy.” She states, a tear falling down her cheek. It pools at her chin and stays there, shaking along with her. “I can’t handle you leaving anymore. You promised you wouldn’t be back.”

This part came from a headcanon I had about Clarke hallucinating Bellamy after Praimfaya. Thinking that he came back for her. And there’s a part of her that always knew he’d come, but it manifested in a really painful way for her in this scenario.

Because this Clarke has no hope. After all the hallucinations and the blood / marrow draws, she has nothing left to give. And Bellamy is more painful that he has ever been.

The realization hits him like a tidal wave and he places both hands on the sides of her face. “Clarke, this is real.” He states, unable to stop his own tears. It’s everything he can do to not freaking out over the fact that she’s alive, conscious, and apparently used to seeing him. “Listen to me, this is real. I’m not leaving. None of us is leaving.”

“No one ever means to leave,” she says, closing her eyes. “It just happens.”

Her words are hollow. Empty. Like something scraped out of a jar, empty and futile. He hates the sound of it. It doesn’t sound like her, it doesn’t look like her, it isn’t her.

Except it is.

“P-Please go away.” Clarke says, her eyes shining. “Please.”

This was really tough to write, but it was from my thought that Clarke believes everyone she loves dies. Her dad, Wells, Finn, Lexa... she’s just used to people leaving at this point, and in this scenario, she’s built a wall out of necessity. She needs to, to survive. She’s barely a person, void of hope.

“Clarke,” Bellamy states, putting every ounce of assurance he can in his voice. “Do you trust me?”

All he receives is a shake of the head, the motion muted and painful, her jaw clenching as she does so. “Go away.”

“Clarke, do you trust me when I tell you this is real and we’re here, and you’re getting out?”

Her eyes open and she looks at them. They’re glassy and distance, no longer filled with the fire from moments before. “Do you think this is purgatory for Mount Weather?” She asks, her voice hushed and raw.

No one moves.

No one breathes.

This. The sentence that started it all! I laughed looking back because this is chapter six - it took me SIX CHAPTERS to get to the ONE LINE that inspired this fic. If that isn’t a metaphor for my writing, I don’t know what is. 

It’s interesting with the new season being ‘Mt Weather 2.0′ since that was sort of the premise here. For me, this fic had multiple goals - people accepting Clarke, them trying to do better for Monty, and also Clarke feeling like she deserves / needs to repent for her past. And so throughout this, there was a small voice that told her she deserved it all. And it manifests in this line.

That was so fun! I hope I haven’t bored anyone who made it this far. As you can see, I tend to overthink literally everything I write... :P

[voltron-stats]

Langst Survey Results – “I Like Langst”

I know I chunked it, but this is still kinda wordy, so I’ll put it under a cut:

How do you engage with Langst?

31 voters (81.58%) read Langst

12 voters (31.58%) create headcanons

6 voters (15.79%) draw

5 voters (13.16%) write

1 voter said that they “View other people's comics/drawings”

Why do you like Langst?

There were a lot of different reasons people liked Langst. Here are the big ones:

One of the biggest reasons was that Lance was very relatable. In canon, he has his own insecurities and his own ways of displaying/hiding those insecurities, which many people could already relate to. Langst that capitalize on that part of his character in a well-written and satisfactory way and can expand on them are favored. Being relatable also allows readers to project onto his character, letting him have and work through insecurities that closely resemble one’s own can be therapeutic and let you feel represented in a positive way.

Langst also can be a vehicle for additional character development that doesn’t exist in canon. Lance, as a character, is dynamic, and Langst can take advantage of this and create a gateway for more character development. Putting a character such as Lance through conflict, bending and breaking him, and then allowing him to overcome the pain and adds complexity and deepens his character even further. These angsty new character arcs create a juxtaposition between a happy, sometimes silly character and his suffering that is appealing to some. Langst fics can also develop new and different relationships, both platonic and romantic, between different members of the cast.

Some read Langst simply because Lance is their favorite character. There are people who like to see him suffer and be in emotional pain. Others like to experience the heartbreak and cry. There is more of an emotional payoff when he overcomes hardships, and it’s very satisfying to see him get comforted and get the help he needs. As one responder stated, “Theres something about Lance that makes us all want to see him go through these many feelings”.

A few other people simply like angst and other darker storylines, and they like seeing Lance be the subject of it. Those people believe that it makes things more realistic and interesting, especially since the only people who get hurt are fictional.

Something that many people noted was that Langst was best when there is a successful conclusion. The “nonpermanent hurt” allows for many opportunities for hurt/comfort, in which characters can care for and support Lance in ways that, to some, are superior to how they treat him in canon.

Some other miscellaneous reasons for liking Langst include: it being a good inspiration for good art (including vent art), it being a cool concept in general, and liking how “It also tends to show how hard fighting in this universal war can be for all of the paladins, not just Lance.”.

What is your favorite Langst prompt/topic/trope?

Many people’s favorite Langst prompts are those that deal with his insecurities and the issues that arise from them. These insecurities include feeling like the “7th wheel” - being insecure of his status of a paladin and his role on team Voltron -  having his own self-doubt - thinking lowly of himself and doubting the team’s love for him – or feeling otherwise left out or unimportant. Also, people’s favorite fics included ones where he overcompensates for his aforementioned insecurities, and someone seeing past the overcompensation, the team realizing that Lance feels worthless (perhaps through a mind link), and Lotor taking advantage of those insecurities.

Another popular prompt was Lance missing his home/his family.

Miscellaneous favored prompts include:

Lance, feeling like the least valuable member of the team, is desperate to prove himself and goes on a dangerous mission; the team is worried about him, and validates him when he gets back.

Lance has a secret about himself (i.e. he’s transgender, anorexic, suicidal) that is revealed against his will, and the other paladins help him by giving him healthy coping mechanisms, offering moral support, and generally being nice and accepting.

Lance getting separated from team Voltron and having to find his own way by himself.

Feeling ignored

Team Voltron makes a callous joke that hurts Lance’s feelings

Depression

Unrequited Shance ft. Sheith

Hanahaki AUs

Sickfics

Lance is gravely wounded (possibly due to self-sacrifice)

Whump

Lance leaving Voltron

Rebel Leader Lance

Death (Fun Fact: one person’s example of this particular trope was “Lance getting rejected and killed by Blue”)

What is your least favorite Langst prompt/topic/trope?

Overwhelmingly, one of the least favorite tropes in Langst fic is the team being OOC. Langst in which the team is mean to Lance, bully him, or are demonized in general are not appreciated; some see it as “lazy angst”. There were also multiple people who disliked character death, especially if Lance is the one who dies.

Miscellaneous disliked prompts and tropes include:

OOC Lance

Overdone uselessness

Lance downright hates himself

Lance being ignored or cast aside by the team

Lance being made fun of

Whump

Anything involving rape, assault, abuse, or death

Torture porn

Lance’s legs are amputated

Anything involving Lance’s family

Lance becomes “strictly gay”

A love confession from Keith instantly cures Lance of his angst

Internal homophobia/biphobia/panphobia

What type of Langst prompt/topic/trope would you like to see more of?

There were a lot of different ideas, so I’ll just list them:

Plot-driven Langst

Lance’s feelings about being shut down by Blue, not being chosen by Black, and always seeming to be a second replacement for Keith

Lance missing his family (especially his mom)

Focusing on Lance’s insecurities

Lance needing more assurance

Lance figuring things out on his own

Addressing how he overcompensates for his insecurities (by flirting with lots of people, etc.)

Lance changes his personality, leading everyone to understand that the old one was better

Angsty interactions with Pidge

Team realizing how he feels

Team caring for him

Lance hiding how he feels for the sake of the team, but its revealed he doesn’t have to

Lance realizing his skills and talents

Biracial/bilingual Lance

Langst that addresses his ADHD directly and accurately

Lance is separated from the others (i.e. he thinks they forgot about him and slowly goes crazy he’s forced into life/death situations, etc.)

Lance running away from the team (e.g. he “joins” the Galra to help Voltron, but he can’t tell Voltron)

Rebel leader Lance

Battle wounds (Before and after getting the wound)

Lance does something self-sacrificing (but he survives)

People believing that Lance is dead, but he isn’t

Injured/dying lance

Lance fails at something, leading to his death

Dark!Lance

Angry Lance

Unrequited Shance

What type of Langst prompt/topic/trope would you like to see less of?

Most responders would like to see less of the rest of team Voltron being OOC and mean to Lance. People would also like to see less of Lance dying (e.g. Lance sacrificing himself for a teammate), character death, and Lance’s self-hatred.

Miscellaneous less desired prompts/topics/tropes include:

Mary-sue Lance

Lance is kidnapped

Running away from the castle

Anything involving suicide or self-harm

Anything involving rape, assault, abuse, or death

Permanent hurt

A Quick Resolution of the problem

Hanahaki disease

Romance being a cure-all

Klangst

Keith is the first to notice Lance’s issues (This responder believes that it’s more realistic for Coran or Hunk to notice first)

If you could change anything about this microgenre, what would you change?

Many people want the characters in Langst fics to be more in character. Team Voltron should not be demonized or a bunch of assholes. Lance’s insecurities are based on how he views himself and how he compares himself to the rest of the team, not on how the team treats him, and many responders would like Langst fics to reflect that and give more realistic interactions between Lance and the rest of the team. Sometimes Lance is too OOC, and the Langst is taken too far.

To answer this question, many responders mentioned Keith. Some would like less Klance. Others like the Klance, but would like less of a seme/uke dynamic between them, or would like an in-character Keith – Keith’s character is often misinterpreted, turning him into either an unnecessarily mean jerk or Lance’s trophy boyfriend.

Some mentioned that in many Langst fics, Lance usually only goes to Keith for comfort. They would like to change this so that Lance goes to more people for support; Hunk is his best friend, and Pidge is close to him as well. Having Shiro, Lance’s idol, comfort Lance would make an interesting plot point, and Allura and Coran can empathize to Lance’s homesickness.

People also would like to include more happy endings in Langst fics.

Miscellaneous things people would include:

More of a focus on Lance’s journey and character, instead of using him as a crutch for others’ development

Separate canon from fanon

Less Lance seeming excessively useless

Less of lance being “the weakest link” or inadequate or always messing up (because he’s not)

Less forgetting Lance’s ego

Less Lance dying

Less excessive torture porn

Less of Langst in which he gets hurt/abused

Do you enjoy angst focused on other Voltron characters? Which ones?

[librarified2004]

Here we go again...

This looked like fun. Hijacked from the amazing @the-random-fandom-one, so the actual title of this should be “@dammittmarie, you made me do another survey!”  Reblog with your answers! I want to get more communication going in the writing community here. Answer one, answer some! Answer whatever you want to! 1. What was the first character you ever created? I’ve been writing stories since I could pick up a writing utensil. I think the first character I ever really put a ton of thought into, though, was this character I played in an MMORPG during undergrad. Her name was Lindarian, and her past was tragic: the half-elven child of an illegal union between a mortal and an elf princess, she was basically raised in seclusion only to watch her three older half-brothers and her parents be brutally murdered on her eighteenth birthday. Man, even before I knew what fanfiction was, I knew how to whump a character. 

2. Is there a specific thing that made you want to start writing more? The MMORPG I played as an undergrad and grad student went down for good in about 2005, and after that, I stopped writing stories because there was no reason, really, to further develop that character. I got a job and started doing some professional writing--blogs and reviews and that kind of thing. Then I reconnected with an old friend who had written an entire book, and he started pushing me to do fiction again. I played around with some ideas, even published a short story, before I discovered fanfiction through a professional development class that I had to take. I can’t go back to school for my MFA in creative writing at this point, but I think writing fanfic is saving my sanity as well as giving me a sort of ad hoc, DIY MFA where I work at my own pace and set my own curriculum. Plus, some days it really saves my sanity. In the wise words of Lin-Manuel Miranda, I can pick up a pen and write my own deliverance.

3. Favorite character you’ve ever created? In the short story I published, “Swan Song,” I had this side character who existed simply to be my villain. I didn’t pay him much attention until very late in the creative process, when the editor said the big reveal was too abrupt. (He was right.) So I took that character out to coffee--literally, I took my laptop and a notebook to my favorite coffee place so I could have a distraction-free conversation with him--lit him a smoke (funny thing, I don’t smoke, but literally everyone in that story does and my smoker friends say I got that exactly right), and really, for the first time, tried to get to know him. I knew only the basics, but it turned out he had this whole past (tragic) and motivations that I’d never even seen. Knowing all this didn’t just change the reveal, it pivoted the entire story, and when I sat down to rework that reveal, the words just poured out. It turned out that he was rather an anti-villain and he ended up in an awesome place--if I ever write a sequel to that story, it will be his to tell. Nik, the villain of “Swan Song,” is my favorite because he taught me to look deeper, love harder, and never have a character unless you’ve taken the time to know them all the way down to their shoe size. 

4. Do your stories tend to have only a few characters or a lot?

As few as possible. In fact, I kind of freak out a little bit when I realize I need another character to serve some purpose. 

5. Do you sit down and plan out your worlds or just let them build themselves as you write?

Some of both, really. I tend to write a lot of fanfiction exchanges (or at least, that’s what gets published), and I always do a thorough canon review before I start plotting so I can get voices and world-building details right. My one published original short story is set in Moscow during WWII, and I did a bunch of research on that setting and time period before I went in, but I never really tried to force anything to fit. Interestingly, during revisions, I was able to go back and add date stamps to certain plot points based on my historical research. But  that story also has a magic twist to it (it was for a fantasy anthology) and the magic part just came to me, no building required. 

6. Do you ever meet people and want to write about them? Fictional characters, all the time. I love writing missing scenes. I don’t put much of real-life people into my characters (but I totally could--I work in a public library. Public libraries are literally the last remaining free resource in this country and my job is madness.)

7. What kind of environment do you do most of your writing in? Music or no music? Loud or quiet? In private or wherever? Depends on the day and the story. I have a novel in progress (which will never be finished, probably) and for that I have entire playlists of music for each character. But if there’s music, there can’t be words in a language I can understand, because I will end up singing along. No TV or movies, because I end up watching instead of writing. I like my backyard, and even better, my parents’ backyard. But when all else really fails, I’ll jot out whatever in the notes on my phone. I’m picky, but not picky at all. And if I’m on deadline, I will make that deadline come hell or high water or plague or fire or mass destruction.

8. Do the people in your life ever read what you write, or do you tend to not show them? Not fanfiction. I’m very, very protective of my writing in general. My mom was an English teacher (in fact, she was MY English teacher in tenth grade), and even when I was an undergrad getting my B.A. in English comp, she read all my essays with a red pen (after they’d been graded--and I graduated with a 4.0 in my major!). When I published my original short, she was so proud--and then she pointed out a glaring continuity mistake I had missed in about nine million rounds of editing. When I read my own stuff, I only see the mistakes, so I’m also shy about showing it to anyone else. That said, I have about a million partial fics rotting on my hard drive, phone notes, and Google docs, so someone might want to go after them if I ever shuffle off this mortal coil. 

9. What inspires you? Oh my, so much. Music, other people’s stories, history, walks in the woods, the way the lights in the children’s room at the library change color. Literally everything. Probably the better question is who pushes me, and the answer to that is @dammittmarie, who got me into the school’s Dead Poets Society in undergrad (we met at midnight in the basement of the library and damn, we were cool) and the beautiful @rain-and-roses-in-the-city, who puts up with my crazy ideas, my headcanons, lets me play in her sandbox, and sometimes has even seen the partial stories I talked about earlier. 

10. What’s the weirdest character you’ve ever created? Don’t really have one.

11. What’s the most boring character you’ve ever created? All of them, it feels like sometimes :)

12. Do you name your background characters? Do you even have them? I learned a hard lesson about knowing my characters, so now, if I can’t flesh them out, they don’t appear. 

13. Are you one of the writers who writes in symbolism and specifically thinks about things like the color of a hat or that kind of thing? Or do you just pick those things at random? Sometimes. Not always.

14. Are there any authors you feel have influenced your style? Published authors, fanfic authors, ect. I learn things from everywhere. My gold standard for plot twists is the end of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which made me screech out loud on an airplane years ago. I think the Hamilton fandom in particular is full of talent, and the WhamFam especially (you know who you are). And going back to @dammittmarie, she’s the one who made me unashamed of being a whump writer. 

15. Were you a story teller before you could write? Yes! I devoured books as a kid, and handwriting came super hard to me. You couldn’t read my penmanship until I was in junior high, so I learned storytelling in the oral tradition first. 

16. How many characters have you created? Not too many. I tend not to write OCs in fanfiction for fear of them coming out like total, obvious Mary Sues. There are maybe a dozen characters in “Swan Song.”

17. Do your stories tend to take place in the real world or in a fantasy world? Both? Neither?

That depends on the story

18. Do you tend to set your stories in the present or the past or the future? Do you think about when it’s set or does that not factor into the story?

Whatever works on a given day for a given story, I guess. I love, love, love the canon era of Hamilton, but I also like modern AUs if they’re done well. So yeah, whatever works. 

19. What kind of things do you like to write? Poetry? Short stories? Novels? Fanfiction? Children’s Books? Nonfiction? Something else entirely? Fan fiction for pleasure. My professional life includes writing book reviews, blog posts on various topics, and newsletters, so fan fiction is escapism for me.

20. Do you like to do events like NaNoWriMo or the Three Day Novel, or do you prefer to do things at your own pace? Yes and no. In my professional life, I’m a volunteer blogger and reviewer on top of the demands of my day job, so I’m almost always on deadline for something. (Right this second is actually an exception--I wrote two articles this weekend and I’m deadline-free until at least April 1.) I tend to write fan fiction at my own (snail on a strong sedative’s) pace, but I have signed up for NaNoWriMo a few times, and I might do Camp NaNo in April because I have a 5k exchange piece due at the end of the month. And the one piece that I’ve published that wasn’t fan fiction actually got finished because I went to a signing where there were like six people and ended up pouring my heart out to this poor author. I told her I had a story and no idea how to start, and she told me to write 100 words a day for 100 days and tweet her my word count every day. If I missed a day, I had to start over. I made it to 100 days, just over 11,000 words, and that piece is good--you can even buy it on Amazon.