#Really goes for anything you write

[shirajellyfish]

i am doing the sky cotl crying and faint expressions at you, how did you write such good fake coding stuff for 'i see you, sundrop!'

i am ✨struggling✨ for a y/n fic i'm writing OTL

(Eyeballs emoji. I want to read your fic.)

Mostly making up stuff with confidence, to be honest.

This is gonna be long, so I'll put the details under the cut. No spoilers, just a long post!

You only need a little tiny bit of tech knowledge to start making stuff up, and since Security Breach is set in a future with advanced technology it's easy to say "Well this isn't how things go irl, but maybe in the future it could work."

Use what you know! I love video game glitches and learning how they work, which made writing the "broken down bus" explanation easy and fun to write. Take what technical knowledge you do have and make up things you can see fitting in with what you know.

You'll also notice that I avoided things I don't know anything about. I don't know how to code, so there isn't really anything about the process or details of creating coding in my fic. It's usually glossed over, not described in detail.

Anything code-like in my fic is generally technician commands, which only have to sound technical. Since they're made for humans to enter and not for computers to follow line for line, they can be a little off from how actual coding works. You don't need to go over details you don't know about, if you don't want to.

And if you do want to despite not having the knowledge, there's always research! I didn't know how anti static mats work, so I googled it! (And then had to simplify that down for the fic, because some of the finer details were sorta boring and would have broken the flow of the scene. No one has called me out on it yet haha.) I also did a LOT of googling about electricity in the Live Wire chapter, and about batteries for Truce.

I didn't exactly understand everything I researched, it can get very complicated fast. But! As long as I understood enough of the surface level stuff, I could make up things based on that. Do it confidently enough and most people won't notice. I got a lot of really funny comments from people assuming I must have a lot of advanced tech knowledge, not realizing I was just making things up confidently.

Most importantly, write what is fun. The fastest way to get stuck is to try writing something that bores you. If it's unrealistic but FUN, write it anyway. As long as you stay consistent, it will make sense within your story. If it's realistic but boring, cut it! Leave it out entirely, or have another character handle it offscreen. Readers can feel your passion, if you're having fun writing it they'll have fun reading it.

The amount and type of technical stuff in your fic should depend entirely on what and how much technical stuff you personally enjoy writing. Really, that applies to every element. Make what you want, the way you want it.

I believe in you! Sundrop believes in you! Have fun!

[luuxxart]

royal college trio 🍂🍁

[lunar-years]

obviously Jamie not being in season 4 would suck mostly because I simply want Jamie to be there and to get more of his story and get to enjoy more interactions between Jamie and the other characters. At the end of the day though, I can just not watch s4, which I'm perfectly okay with.

what sucks EVEN MORE to me, and is far harder to avoid, is that not having Jamie in the show totally changes the *canon* of the character in a way that will inevitably bleed over into fan spaces, regardless of whether or not I'm actively watching. However they write him out (I assume it would just be having him go to another team) becomes the new "Jamie Tartt canon." And that small thing totally changes his story and we don't even get to see it play out! When i was perfectly happy playing in my sandbox of a million equally valid possibilities.

[ihhfhonao3]

Just a reminder that fanfic authors don’t owe you anything.

We don’t owe you updates. We don’t owe you explanations. We don’t owe you more chapters. We don’t owe you a sequel. We don’t owe you a certain amount of words. We don’t owe you certain tropes or writing styles. And we definitely don’t owe you more fanfiction.

We are not content creators, we are creative writers who do this for free just for fuck’s sake. We do this in what little open time we may have, in lieu of having families and friends and jobs and obligations and of course, burnout.

It’s okay to ask for more. It’s okay to want more. We like it when you’re engaged! But the second you think that we owe you something? The second you start “expecting” something from us? You’ve forgotten one of the very baselines of fanfiction- writing it because it’s fun.

[clegfly]

“Of course you have an Other Brother,” he says, waving off her denial as he opens some nearby cabinets. “Who else would I be if I wasn’t?”

Small WIP sketch of the Other Brother from IDKSomethingClever99’s fic “Mari in the Pink Palace”!!! OMORI and Coraline are my two biggest interests ever so this fic was like winning the lottery for me. Not to mention how good it is… please go read it ragh

[eikichi-supremacy]

hey so do you think wtv keiko had to deal with growing up with yusuke could be considered a type of parentification

[gayeddie-saved-me]

i’m not even a fan of merlin fics where arthur is dead but i want to write a fic so bad about merlin and leon becoming platonic life partners post-canon

[longagoitwastuesday]

Kusakabe, dear, you're too beautiful to be saying that kind of stuff

[mollypollykinz]

hello, im here from throw away your mask! i've really enjoyed the journey so far and am eager to see its conclusion (after which i'll probably download it to my phone haha)

any ways, dropping in to say that in my mind there was absolutely a cognitive minato in kamoshida's castle, and im headcanoning him as the court jester- a miserable fool (lol) that heckles and ridicules and undermines the 'king' at every turn, but can't actually do anything other than that for fear of execution (though there's nothing kamoshida can do to him either). but he's absolutely willing to help out some phantom thieves looking to infiltrate- ohhh nooooo, it would be a shame if any thieves found this complete map of the castle on the ground that he dropped. would be Such a shame if they knew there was a secret passage in the main hall behind the giant painting. what's that, king kamoshida- you're out of servants to set up your killshot and the only person who could possibly set for you is the court jester? well that's unfortunate, he's such a goshdarn fool that he didnt even set it properly and the attack totally whiffs. yes of course you should insult the court jester for failing at that- don't look over at the thief climbing the balcony, that's definitely nothing to worry about.

sorry, this was absolutely not the point of that chapter or even the meat of it lol, and the phantom thieves absolutely took care of the palace just fine! but im doubly hc-ing that the presence of this cognitive double (plus goro and ken's explanation maybe) helped ann and ryuji to not harbor any resentment toward minato- maybe the majority of the school was indifferent but he was always trying, so much so the kamoshida's subconscious has manifested him as a thorn in his side always. ryuji probably knew from his time in the track team, but ann might need a lil more reassurance. ahem, in my head, that is.

thats.. all for now (lowkey i wanna write a spinoff of taym detailing this exact scenario? maybe if i have time, idk) ! hope u have a nice day, and im off to read the new chapter o7 thank u for writing!

YOO this is actually genius I love this idea so much.

[klaissance]

walk with me here you guys ahem,

Keith and Lance finally have The TalkTM on a day like most others. The paladins go about their business on the castleship, Keith and Lance mostly doing their activities together as has become, without their really noticing, habit. Keith flips through the pages of one of Allura's Altean romance novels on one end of the couch, Lance plays a video game on the handheld console he and Pidge found at a thrift store the last time they'd stopped off at a space mall from the other end. At some point they wander to the kitchen and make Hunk's latest attempt at space popcorn. They throw the pieces at each other, trying to break their previous streak record of 106 popcorn-mouth-catches. When they run out, they pelt each other with kernels until they collapse on the kitchen floor, out of breath and laughing. They clean up their mess together. They train, talk team strategy, help Coran out with some cleaning. They visit Hunk and Pidge in the lion bay and are promptly kicked out for causing trouble (neither of them can seem to keep their hands to themselves, always touching pieces and parts and projects, and inevitably something falls over and Pidge is yelling and they're scrambling away, giggling as they run down the hall). The paladins eat dinner, everyone hangs out together for a while, and life in space is pretty good.

Lance and Keith are often the last two left in the lounge as people split off--either to go to bed or to work on something independently until the wee hours (Pidge). They're chatting, swapping stories, arguing about silly hypotheticals, until Lance yawns mid-sentence and Keith knows it's time for bed. They stand together and walk to their rooms in warm silence, close enough to brush shoulders, neither changing trajectory to avoid the contact. They stop in the space between their doors to say goodnight; this, too, is normal. They smile small smiles at each other and linger, time stretchy in the way it is at nighttime.

And then something new happens.

"Keith," Lance says slowly, like he's turning the word over in his mouth for the first time. "Would you ever want--"

Keith's heart stutters in his chest and the silence of the empty hallway is suddenly deafening. Lance only hesitates for a beat but it stretches.

"--to go on a space date," Lance finishes, brows unknitting as he seems to consider what just came out of his mouth. Finding it acceptable, he nods, then lifts his gaze from the floor to meet Keith's wide-eyed gaze. "With me," Lance adds, an afterthought but an important clarification nonetheless, quirking an eyebrow.

Keith purses his lips for a moment that pulls like taffy into an eternity and it's Lance's turn to hear the ocean roaring in his ears as he waits. "Would that make us--"

Lance can't breathe.

"--space boyfriends?" Keith finishes and the air rushes from Lance's lungs, something like relief. Keith is smiling his mischievous smile, the crooked one that puts a spark in his eyes. It is among Lance's favorite Keith expressions (there are many).

"Yeah, I guess we'd be space boyfriends," Lance concedes, biting down on his lower lip to keep his grin from spreading too far. He's not doing a very good job.

"Hm." Keith nods solemnly. "Space boyfriends it is, then."

"Cool," Lance concludes eloquently.

"Cool," Keith echoes, and then they're standing in ooey gooey marshmallow silence, grinning softly at each other for a long time or maybe no time at all. Keith feels very warm and melty on the inside. Lance thinks he could run a marathon and not break a sweat.

"Alrighty then, g'night Space Boyfriend," Lance breaks the silence with a two-fingered salute and shuffles backwards towards his door.

Keith rolls his eyes without meaning to, affection heating his face despite himself. "Goodnight, Lance." He turns towards his door, grinning to himself as Lance snorts. Their doors slide open, their doors slide shut.

***

Hours later, Lance slips out of bed, buzzing with the news, and appears, bouncing uncontrollably on his toes and biting on the biggest grin, at Hunk's door. Hunk is rubbing blearily at his half-lidded eyes when he door slides open and he takes in the sight of Lance, practically glowing. Hunk blinks once. Twice. Does a little mental math. And it hits him. His eyes go wide and his mouth makes a little o, eyebrows leaping up his forehead.

"No... No." And Lance is nodding vigorously, eyes shining with unshed happiness, and that bit lip is barely withholding the giggle that threatens to erupt from the vibrating blue paladin. Hunk scoops him into the biggest bear hug, shouting "TELL ME EVERYTHING RIGHT NO-" and the door slides shut behind them, Lance's peals of laughter ricocheting down the halls.

Keith is awake in his room, sitting on the floor with his back up against the door, pressing a grin so wide it hurts into his knees. He rolls his eyes affectionately when he hears Hunk's muffled delight and finally stands up to go to bed.

[rosesradio]

i just finished my gravity falls rewatch...the end makes me so emotional every time...

[gwensy]

gonna be annoying in the tags

[philtatosbuck]

the writers well and truly hate bonnie i'm sorry but you have to suspend your disbelief so fucking much about the fact that NO ONE ever found it weird that bonnie didn't speak to them over the phone for an entire summer. you mean to tell me not ONE of them tried to call her and found it weird they kept getting sent to voicemail? even if they were all busy and doing well why would a bunch of teenagers accept that bonnie was resorting to email to talk to them exclusively for MONTHS. that's absolutely mad bro the writers hated her so bad jesus christ

[tfdtreasurer]

hi sooo i have very very VERYYY intense eridan x yn brainrot happening and its all i can post about and think about, can you please tell me how the actual fuck do i cope with the ampora brainrot TEACH ME UR SECRETS /hj (funnily enough i found ur blog through you liking one of my eridan posts, soo yk)

It is not a total exaggeration to say that Eridan brainrot has taken over the entirety of my creative thinking capabilities. Some would see this as a negative, but I believe I have achieved zen mastery over my brainrot, which I think is the best case scenario, very possibly enlightenment. So in short, embrace the Eridan and channel it creatively. This also applies to literally any character that you form brain rot over, so I hope the rest of this ask may be universal to other people too.

The long and universal answer is that you have to start by forming an in depth interpretation of the character that you can creatively work with. Research everything you possibly can about them and when you're done research more until you're so wrapped up in thoughts and ideas you want to spin into yarns you're not sure what are spurious connections or load bearing columns. Link your thoughts about the character to your own personal philosophy on nothing less grand than life itself. From there, anything you will want to say will steadily become clearer, and you'll be better equipped to express it in artistic and creative medium.

For me with Eridan I can spend hours in Wiki holes and esoteric and specialist websites for the strangest things. I know the symbolism of the water carrier and the shoulder yoke. I know the myth of Ganymede, cup bearing and drinking poison. I know the exact names and manufacturers of 1800s whaling equipment, their mechanisms and specifications. I know that Starbuck is the name of a significant whaling dynasty. I know the scents of lightning. I know the instruments of the apocalypse and armies. I know the complicated etymology of romance. I know emperors and conquerors. I know of biblically wicked kings. Think of nothing that you research or notice shallowly. Look for deeper meaning because even if you determine it's not intended in that case, you can create something with it where it is. Do that and your repertoire of symbols and devices will become infinite.

At every step and revelation about Eridan as a character I related it to my own worldview and practiced endless self inquiry like a fucked up fandom fueled Socratic dialogue. And as my worldview refined, without meaning to sound ridiculous, I came to view things through the lens of Eridan goddamn Ampora. Does that sound ridiculous? Yes, absolutely. Would I admit in person? Maybe on my deathbed or in a criminal confession. Is it the truth? Yeah. Sorry to get all hippie communist all of a sudden but I can seriously link Eridan to my thoughts on capitalism and class struggle, on anarchism and anti-authoritarianism, the status quo and revolution, on psychology and how to relate to our fellow human beings. Not because she's instrumental in getting to those beliefs, but because the art I want to create to express myself and consequently the beliefs that form myself will inexorably use my ultra brairot powers to do so. Even if you don't seek to create art, training yourself to look deeper and analyze at that level about anything will help you consuming art in a way that will give you so much satisfaction in the long run.

For me personally, I have written works of art that are just channels for all my complicated thoughts on Eridan. I've written my own version of orphaners, of kids that wanted different lives than the one they ended up with, allegories of the Aquarius zodiac, magicians and scientists, punks and soldiers, bespectacled and pinstripe-wearing villains. I've entered them into contests and to literary journals. On small scales, I've won money and gotten published.

Yes I realize that it's mostly plain ol brain rot but at the same time a part of me is always wondering if this is just the nature of how we're influenced by art. The way that Homestuck is written feels like it's somebody's own experience with an obsession with something in particular that spiraled outward into all these esoteric sources that were then synthesized into a singular creative work. Gnosticism and genetics and Internet culture and video games and music, but also little its and bits of things like lovecraftian horror, anime, chess, Peter Pan. To borrow the words of a recently relevant political figure,

"You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? [...] You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”

It's the same thing with art. I came to understand at some point in my life that I am less merely effected by my influences, and more possessed by them. In writing, I find myself acting irrationally, random impulses to include depths of symbolic comparison that nobody but myself could possibly hope to understand. I try to tame these impulses when they arise, make them more accessible, but my subconscious psyche is a pair of invisible hands perpetually at the wheel. So, I really just wish that someone eventually reads into my writing and is just as possessed by my words as I was by something else writing them. Even if it's not what I intended or the ghosts possessing me even intended, because writing is strange like that, in how we leave so much in the hands of the audience to interpret their own way. Like, I don't know if the cup-bearer-zodiac-Eridan drinking something later linked to an allusion of poison was intentional, but it will be for my own art. I don't know if Eridan's scare-everyone-away personality was connected to the skunk stripe-like hair, but for the characters I write it will. And I hope my legacy is like a legion of weird eridan-like ghosts haunting others' writing everlasting into eternity.

So, yeah, how do you cope with Eridan Ampora brainrot? Learn to love it, and learn to use it. Most of all, learn to love using it.

[elendsessor]

btw if any game journalist or reviewer once vengeance comes out does that whole “it’s persona without the heart” shit ever again and use the bench as a way to back that up since “it isn’t like the social links” they should explode.

the protag and aogami’s relationship is a highlight of 5 and should be given more time to shine. vengeance seems to be doing this with the devil’s backyard thing but i’m also hoping there’s even more of those relationship development moments in the main plot. the trope of robots turning into father figures/actual individuals especially because of the protagonist is a god tier one. please let there be more of this in the future instead of some dating sim side mode just to get one ounce of character depth that never shows up in the main game outside of their introduction.

seriously i never got the argument when modernsona actively butchers the main cast in the main story unless it’s the main protag and the antagonistic force there was never the same amount of heart journalists claim there is

[lord-squiggletits]

"Rodimus is a better Prime because it didn't hurt for him to bond with the Matrix while for Optimus it did" headcanon/theory my beloathed.

One day I'm literally gonna snap and make a whole post addressing why what's wrong bc I'm tired of the inaccuracy and tired of ppl not understanding the Point TM of IDW and its version of the Matrix/Primacy and even more tired of people putting down Optimus in favor of Rodimus by essentially arguing that being unworthy means you deserve to be punished/put in pain bc you just weren't good enough to hold the Symbol of Ultimate Authority