#and then comparing it to the actual importance in the overall fanfic

[recurring-polynya]

Summary: Long ago in Inuzuri, Abarai Renji broke his arm. It healed. At least the bones did. His kidou ducts have never been the same. Now that Renji's finally having the surgery to get them corrected, Rukia is determined to make sure he gets the love and care he deserves during his recovery-- whether he wants it or not.

Starring: Rukia and Renji, of course!! Featuring: Their Inuzuri pals! All the (good) lieutenants! H-a-n-a-t-a-r-o-u! The hard-working staff of Kuchiki Manor! (...is byakuya here? unfortunately, you know he is)

Rating: Teen, for violent trauma, cussing, and sexual innuendo.

Updates: Weekly

This time: Rukia visits the Squad 9 test kitchen. Byakuya tries to keep Renji out of trouble. Renji's recovery plan gets revised yet again.

Read Chapter 8 on ao3!

[infinity-or-oblivion]

so my loa batkids au has gained a little traction and i’ve hit a bit of a wall when it comes to writing new stuff so here’s an infodump to hopefully kill my writers block xoxoxo

first of all, jason. my forever number one blorbo. there’s a bit of a role reversal here because compared to all the rest of them, jason arguably had it the easiest. like we’re not going to compare traumas but an argument could be made. i honestly don’t remember if i mentioned it at all in the actual series yet, but the story i have for jason is that his childhood with willis and catherine was about the same as canon/commonly accepted fanon, meaning he was homeless around nine years old. however, instead of living on the streets for years, it was only a few months tops before meeting bruce.

and bruce! this is very fun to me, but basically i was thinking that if he didn’t raise dick, then why couldn’t this version of bruce be younger? so bruce becomes batman in his early twenties, which is also around the time that he visits the league of assassins for training and damian is conceived. (for a little more about that, here) and bruce is roughly 25 when he finds a tiny 9-10 year old jason trying to steal his tires. just imagine that it’s so fucking adorable and heartbreaking ANYWAYS bruce, despite being overall a disaster, doesn’t let a malnourished 10 year old out to fight crime right away, so there’s a couple years between when jason first meets bruce and when he becomes a child soldier yayyyy!!!! but legit, it makes a lot of difference to jason, because you know how canon!jason has some self-esteem issues (for lack of a better term) around bruce not really loving him/seeing him as a son because bruce started training him as robin (and as dick’s replacement) immediately after adopting him- you know that whole thing? yeah well here, despite jason actually offering to help bruce as a vigilante, this bruce is like hell nah you’re literally ten years old and the size of a six year old no way, and those few years in between really stick in jason’s mind as solid proof that bruce really does love him, not for what use he can provide, but simply as a son. also being the only child definitely helps with that

(that little detail of jason and bruce’s relationship is slightly inspired by minimum height requirement, which is absolute batfam gold btw)

okay so. slight pet peeve of mine is in aus where dick isn’t the first robin, the legacy is still called robin for whatever reason (lookin at you reverse robins aus) because!!!!! how dare you erase mary and john grayson’s importance!!!!! (look there’s more nuance to it than that i know but. to put it simply it feels like flying graysons erasure to me) so in this au, jason can’t possibly be called robin. the real robin has been missing for roughly seven years at this point

and listen. i tried to be creative and come up with something cool and original for jason’s vigilante name i really did, but apparently i used all of my naming talent on nighthawk (fucking love that name for dick it’s so fantastic) so we just have bluejay. womp womp

also! on my list of things to expand on: main timeline stephanie!!! i’ve had an absolute blast making myself cry while writing every heart sings a song, incomplete and those who wish to sing always find a song, but spoiler steph will always be my babygirl. and duke!!!! i have not written barely anything for duke in this universe but believe me i have some Thoughts. perhaps even Ideas. basically a lot of steph&duke and steph&babs and steph&duke&babs because i love my little underrated trio

also just more babs in general, because like. i’ve had so many tiny little snippets of cass and babs and their sweet little relationship just sitting in my notes for literal years now that i really just need to organize and expand into their own fic. and yet. i have not done that. but rest assured cass&babs are very very important to me

such is the curse of female fanfic writers: always destined to fixate more on the male poor little meow meows than the female bad bitches. seriously what the fuck is up with that guys i don’t get it why does this happen

[esthermitchell-author]

The Additions (or Why I'm Not Done, Yet)

So, for those of you wondering why it's taking me so bloody long to get done adding a few spicy scenes to my GO fanfic book... Weeellll... It turned into a little more than that. In making a couple of alterations necessary for one or two of the sexy scenes, I stumbled over a few places were scenes important to the overall story or character arcs got skipped. Things I didn't mean to or want to leave out or leave to an offhand mention later on (the offhand mentions were actually supposed to remind me to go back and fill in the scenes... then I got ahead of myself and in my excitement to share with y'all, I sort of forgot to write those scenes 🤦‍��️🙄).

So, please bear with me. I really am trying to make this the best version it can be (and I will be re-uploading the non-explicit version with the important additional scenes that aren't sex-oriented, once I'm done with the additions). If you're wondering what I mean, here's an important scene that ended up missing from the original release... This is supposed to happen right after the lectern sculpture scene, but at first writing, I was busy weaving scenes from other stories into the overall book, and so I left myself "note" in the following chapter (the Christmas scene) to come back and fill in -- and then never did. It (and it's follow-up scene about the crepes mentioned later) will be in the update of BOTH versions of the book. But, for now, you can enjoy this part, right now... (Scene Under Cut)

Crowley leaned against the open doorway into the kitchen -- Aziraphale miracled it into being back during the pandemic out of boredom and a desire for something to nibble on -- watching his angel putter about making himself a cup of tea. Aziraphale swore there was a whole process to making a proper cup of tea. Personally, Crowley never touched the stuff, but he was relieved Aziraphale was starting to enjoy his little Earthly rituals and pleasures.

"You know it's okay to eat, yeah?" He rested his head on the door frame, letting his gaze drift over the angel's still sparse -- compared to before, anyway -- form.

Aziraphale tensed for a fraction of a second, but it was enough Crowley caught it, before the angel half-turned his way with a vaguely exasperated smile. "Why do you keep trying to get me to eat?"

Crowley blinked in surprise, sucking in a small breath against the instant clench of pain at the sorrow and fear he could see buried deep in his angel's eyes. "Because food makes you happy. You're not happy, angel, and I don't know how else to fix it."

Aziraphale startled. "Of course I'm happy! You're all I need to be happy, Anthony--"

"Not that kind of happy, angel." Crowley sighed heavily. "Happy with yourself, I mean."

Aziraphale lifted one eyebrow. "And you think I need food to be happy with myself?"

"I dunno." Crowley straightened from where he slouched, tension crackling through him. "Yeah. Yeah, I do. First time I ever saw you enjoy any-blessed-thing was that night in Job's cellar. Every time you eat, it's like you're back there, again, enjoying yourself for the first time. You have no idea how much I love seeing that."

Aziraphale turned back to what he was doing, leaving Crowley at a loss for how to get through to him. Except, maybe... Crowley slipped his mobile phone from his blazer pocket and sent a quick text to Maggie.

He glanced up as he heard the clink of metal against ceramic, before Aziraphale turned from the counter where the kettle was, cup and saucer in hand and a soft smile on his face. "I really do appreciate you looking out for me, love, but it's entirely unnecessary for me to eat, and I'm perfectly fine."

As if that wasn't, as the Americans liked to say, the biggest crock of shit he'd ever heard. Still, Crowley bit back his argument. He was already forming a plan. He knew he was right, and he wasn't giving up on this.

As Aziraphale headed back toward the sitting area with his tea -- all the proof Crowley needed that his angel wanted his creature comforts, but was denying them for some reason -- Crowley's phone pinged in his hand, and he glanced down at the message on his screen.

MAGGIE: You want Justine's number? Why?

Crowley rolled his eyes and typed, It's a surprise. For Aziraphale.

MAGGIE: Oh, that's brilliant! How about I just give her your mobile number, and she can contact you when she's not busy?

Fine.

Tucking his phone away, Crowley was just turning to head out to snuggle up with his angel when something caught his eye he'd never noticed before. What he'd always assumed was just another desk or table covered in books, wasn't anything of the sort. He should have recognized the shape on sight -- he blamed the piles of books masking its appearance -- since he'd spent close to a decade after the Great War playing one in speakeasies and cathouses of the American South, trying to stir up all sorts of Hellish mischief during Prohibition.

"Hey, angel?"

There was a moment of silence, before the clink of teacup against saucer, and then, "What is it?"

"Do you actually have a Steinway upright piano tucked back here? When did you get it?"

"Oh." The quiet rustle of movement reached him, and he looked over his shoulder to see Aziraphale pause in the open doorway from the sitting area.

"I acquired that shortly after the Great War. The quiet around here was... unsettling. Music helped chase away the memories, so I had the idea I might learn to play the piano. I thought it would help." A flush stole up the angel's face, even as he shrugged. "I'm afraid I never did quite master it. I have the ear, but kept tripping over my own fingers. I keep it tuned and maintained the way the purveyor said I should, but I'm afraid it mostly just sits there, like... well, like that."

The desire to feel the ivory keys beneath his fingers again, and to provide his angel some kind of comfort, settled in Crowley. "Mind if I give it a go?"

Aziraphale blinked at him, confusion clear in his cerulean eyes. "You play?"

"Haven't done since the '20s, but I can't be that rusty, yeah?"

A small smile flickered at the angel's lips, before he waved a hand and the books covering the piano disappeared. "By all means."

As Aziraphale headed back to the sitting area, Crowley slid out the bench, flipped open the lid over the keys, and flexed his fingers as he tried to remember if he ever learned any soothing melodies. He didn't have much of a refined playing style, since the only places he'd ever played before didn't have anywhere near the level of musical sophistication his angel did.

Here goes nothing.

Settling onto the bench, he placed his fingers over the keys, drew a breath, and began gently setting his fingers down over the keys. For being over a hundred years old, the piano's notes played true and clear. Not that he was surprised. His angel was meticulous at keeping things in tip-top shape. Crowley closed his eyes and let the sweet notes he drew from the old piano flow through him, his love of the music, and of the angel for whom he played, inspiring the placement of his fingers.

After a time, Crowley allowed the notes to fall off gently, until silence filled the room again as he hung his head, uncertain if he felt more exhausted or elated by the emotions he'd poured out in that melody.

"That was beautiful."

The sound of his angel's voice drew his attention, and he turned his head to look at Aziraphale -- now seated at the table watching him, so much gentle, healing love on his face, all Crowley could do was turn on the piano bench and open his arms. Aziraphale came to him without even a flicker of hesitance, and a grateful sigh shuddered from Crowley as he wrapped his arms around his angel's waist and leaned into what remained of the soft cushion of his angel's body. He felt Aziraphale's arms on his shoulders, and the stroke of one hand through his hair, even as the angel pressed gentle kisses to his forehead and temples. He loved this angel, whatever corporation he took, but his throat tightened around pained tears as he wished fervently to have his angel back -- the angel who thrived surrounded by books, who sighed happily at a cup of cocoa or tea, whose eyes lit at the sight of good food and who could never say no to sweets. The angel who got pleasure from comfortable, well-worn clothes, a glass of good wine, and a stirring symphony.

So far, Crowley had seen only glimpses of his angel, since Aziraphale came back. And he was desperate to break through whatever was holding the angel back.

"Please," Crowley rasped brokenly, nuzzling his face against his angel's body. "Please eat, angel. I'm begging, here."

Aziraphale sighed softly, and Crowley felt the press of the angel's kiss against the top of his head. "I'm sorry, love. I can't. I just... I can't."

"Please." Crowley tightened his grip, his fingers digging into warm flesh covered in soft cloth. "Please, just give me a chance to remind you."

He felt the angel's fingers in his hair, then another small sigh, and a kiss to his forehead, before Aziraphale murmured, "All right. Only for you, my love."

[trainsinanime]

Everybody is posting their opinions about the interview about the Miraculous Ladybug season 5 finale, and I feel like I should as well, but I'm not sure I have much to say. There's just a few things that stick out to me:

First of, it's just very funny to me that the team started out with Bug Noire, and worked backwards from that, and that's why Adrien ended up in the isolation chamber. One of the most controversial things about the entire finale happened because Marinette wearing both Miraculous would be cool. That's just plain funny to me.

Second, I have not yet seen a better option for the finale. They did kind of write themselves into a corner there. The story is all about Marinette, but Adrien is the one to whom all the plot points attach. What do you do with that? Compare and contrast the movie, which I saw on the same day as the finale: It's all Marinette's story, until the big finale, where she just lays there and watches as Adrien and Gabriel resolve the main story by themselves. That option sucks, too. It's not terrible, but it's disappointing. I think all the arguments of Adrien can't be there because of Chat Blanc or Ephemeral are nonsense, even if they come from the show's head writers. But it's true that Adrien can't be there, because if he is, the story becomes about him instead of Marinette. If you know a fanfic that found a good way to resolve that, let me know!

As an aside: I know there are people who are disappointed that we didn't learn more about Emilie and the past of the adults, but I think that was never going to happen. I know I made a post about this years ago but I can't find it, but basically: Emilie was an interesting mystery for fans, but she was never relevant to the plot, least of all Marinette. This is the same kind of stuff as with the Marauders back in the days of the Harry Potter fandom, where a certain subset of fans went wild over all the hints. But those were never promises, they were just flavour, telling us the world is bigger and adventures have been going on since forever.

My final and most important point here is something quite different: I am grading Miraculous Ladybug on one hell of a curve. Have been doing that since the first episode I watched. I am willing to forgive most any jank in the storytelling if I get some cool and cute moments, and the show is full of those. So in that regard, the season 5 finale was no problem for me whatsoever. Yes, there is a lot of jank, but also a lot of cool stuff, and that makes me happy. There's a kung-fu crocodile! What more needs to be said?

(Aside: I know there are people who hate the kung-fu crocodile, and that the Couffaine boys are now mystical monks out of nowhere, with no explanation. I assume these people either hate fun or are arguing out of bad faith. If there's one thing in the finale that was obviously objectively 100% a good thing, it's that the crocodile knows Kung-Fu.)

Now, I'm not saying that you should grade the show on a curve, I'm just saying that I do. Yes, it's not entirely rational. Yes, there are plenty of shows out there, including shows aimed at similar age ranges, that don't require this. But if I didn't grade Miraculous Ladybug on a curve, if I didn't rate cute and fun and exciting over great interesting story, if I didn't separate the potential for fanfics from the actual way the stories are told, then I wouldn't be in the fandom to begin with. This is explicitly not a defence or apologia, it's just an explanation for why I have no trouble disregarding the janky parts. I know others disagree, or agree in principle but then some of the janky parts were just too bad for them and broke the spell, and that's valid.

But personally, I have no major problem with the season 5 finale. Yeah it was weird and quite a few decisions were stupid and didn't help any overall story. But I had fun, I'm looking forward to season 6 and I am going to write more fanfic. That's what matters to me.

[splinnters]

YOUVE READ SPIRIT ANIMALS??? BRO I FUCKING LOVE SPIRIT ANIMALS THATS MY SHIT AGHHH.

Conor's my favourite too I love him sm he is literally so sweet. Tell me everything you think about it and if you made a spirit animal for yourself

SOBBING SOMEBODY ELSE KNOWS ABOUT SPIRIT ANIMALS ITS A MIRACLE I own the two main series in hard cover they are all lined up on my little bookshelf they have such shiny spines and I treasure them beyond compare

overall I think the whole series is amazing and there’s genuinely not many like,,, corrections or whatever that I have for it. while I adore the first series I actually like fall of the beasts better ESPECIALLY BECAUSE OF HOW OVER POWERED CONOR GETS I LIVE FOR THAT SHIT SO BAD

Conor has always been my favorite of the four main characters mostly because his character arc in terms of personality is a copy of my life. he had so many important moments for himself and for the team and overall I think it’s so interesting how he becomes the leader-figure of the group, ie the others pack bonded so hard to him. in reality I see Meilin as the inner-group leader but people outside the four of them see Conor as the leader. puts a lot of pressure on him as well as the pressure from being the wielder of the Staff of Cycles and the fact that he’s basically an oracle/prophet by the time the second series ends AND how he was the only one infected by the Wyrm. he’s one of my special blorbos I love him so much

also he’s genuinely one of the most powerful warriors to ever walk that planet. no I don’t take constructive criticism on that

BONUS THOUGHT I don’t care if nobody else on the planet thinks this but the four heroes are in a polyamorous relationship no doubts about it. despite Rollan and Meilin being the only ones in an actual canon relationship, they all act the same to each other like. once the characters who are dating are acting the same way with the two other friends you just. Know. they all love each other so much

in terms of making my own spirit animal, I did play the spirit animals game while it was still alive (?) and I usually picked a very large black panther/leopard/whatever I think?? or a tiger sometimes but I don’t think I ever claimed an “official” spirit animal. I always just wanted to be Conor, so I guess a wolf would be my official spirit animal

to be fair though I was biased toward having no spirit animal because I was obsessed with the redcloaks more than the greencloaks. I adored Worthy to death and I created multiple redcloak OCs despite never making a greencloak one. they are just so cool omfg

this makes me wanna do stuff with spirit animals on this blog ahajdjfhdhdhdh. maybe I’ll draw them or something that would be nice. I did write some stuff for it but it was all on paper so I’d have to dig it up. also I don’t think any of the stories were very serious like most of my fanfics end up being lmao

[hybbart]

I want to ask, for your Guide Jimmy, what are some of your favorite things about his design or just overall your rambles about anything relating to the au lol

Well, I'm a little obsessed with the concept of Jimmy in a gas mask- if you couldn't tell. So that was a no brainer. Honestly part of it was because Tango has his hood to obscure his face but I didn't want to just give Jimmy the exact same outfit and I think the shock of his hair and wings is important to the design, plus his face is a bit too friendly to be spooky. It fit with the cave theme too, I think, and gave the appearance of a silent mysterious guide without a hood. Mostly though it's cause I love the idea of Jimmy with a gas mask. Lol

The bird cage lantern felt like a no brainer but I wanted him to have a counterpart to Tango's keys (my brain saw the lantern as a counterpart to Tango's gauntlet I guess) so I thought at first to give him his own keys on a chain around his neck, or possibly a necklace with a soulfire in it but that seemed better suited for the lantern. (I think the light in the lantern is probably his soul and when he's killed it returns to the cage and picked up by Tango until he's summoned again) In the end

I thought a compass would be a cool item for a guide and then I remembered there was a new type of compass that was the perfect colour (my first idea was a lodestone connected compass, like when the card is played he is summoned from the compass itself and becomes it) and really, a cursed spirit whose death will be its summoners undoing who is wearing an ominous necklace showing exactly where the last summoner failed seemed very fitting. (Also Tango uses it to find him probably) very grim reaper vibes, and I love the concept of Jimmy as an alternative grim reaper who summons death with his own.

The outfit kinda came together on its own, I wanted it similar to Tango's but not the same, so I gave him shorter robes (longer ones didn't suit his gangly bird legs) and longer gloves. Made it fit his usually more top heavy design basically.

I thought it was a shame and a bit awkward that the design ended at his hips essentially and I didn't want this same cinched fur waist Tango had since he doesn't have the hourglass shape, so I though a sash would look cool, especially with the long trail, and it made him almost raptorish. The yellow was because it balanced the design a bit better. The frost on his wings was similarly for balance and the emphasis the cold since he wasn't as fluffy besides his collar.

The makeup was to match Tango's but I ended up going wild with it despite having covered up most of his face lol. And the diamond pupil was just to make his a little more fae/inhuman, since he still has the white sclera unlike Tango. Overall the deepfrost citadel has very femme vibes to it too so I try to capture that in both their designs. (Compared to tumble town which has more masc vibes and DL which is quite neutral in a dreamy/nostalgic way... if any of that makes sense I just realized this probably sounds like nonsense to anyone else)

Basically, I really wanted him to look like some sort of fae that lives deep in the dungeon, or like the human form of the dungeon master's familiar. Um, basically if you ever read the (tragically incomplete) fanfic Lay My Curse Down to Rest? I'm kinda sorta mildly obsessed with the Jimmy in that fic and I wanted to give him similar vibes, but deepfrosty. He's otherworldly but you can maybe probably trust him.

I also just wanted him to look like he might shatter away if you try to touch him, like he might not actually be there and you could mess things up very easily by interfering with him and his task. Like he's doing you a favour and he has somewhere else to be after this. Very unobtainable, he will leave you behind if you don't follow and he will stare at you like a judgmental ghost until you do. If any of that makes sense...

And lastly of course I wanted him to look good beside Tango, like he naturally belonged there, and something is missing if he isn't.

I also have concepts for other players as people in the dungeon, hence why I decided to call it the deepfrost cast au. It would be empires and traffic people specifically because the hermits are the ones actually running the dungeons. They aren't all cards, actually if you want a sneak peak my concept for Joel is like a ghost pirate boss fight on the ship. Pixl was going to be a creature related to the crypt room too, or maybe the loot cards' manifestation.

[divinekangaroo]

In your writing of the earlier seasons, I like how you have Lizzie question Tommy on why he's at her place or have taken her to someplace where he could have easily have taken/gone to someone else. And Tommy never really seem to have a real answer other than to say "to fuck." I like how she is frustrated/conflicted that she's stuck in this loop with him, she doesn't/couldn't say no or ask him to fuck off. It's nice that you tackle that aspect of their relationship.

:) :) :)

One of my reasons for starting that early-season fanfic arc with a sort-of "Lizzie corners Tommy into sex" scene, was seeing some fannish conversations on how Lizzie trapped Tommy all the way through up to entrapping him into marriage... to which I thought, what the, that is not even *possible*, the privilege and power swings ALL his way -- so then of course I had to start thinking about how it *might* happen, where I came to the position that she might corner him (if probably only once) if she was leveraging an embedded personal/moral code or value set of his that he'd never step away from -- BUT, we know the whole point to his character is...not that...yeah anyway XD.

So I wrote my post-S1 scene with them with an undercurrent of wanting to test the feasibility of a 'Lizzie-corners-Tommy' in a way that might hold roughly true to their characters at that point in time, to see how some kind of scenario like this might play out. Even then, pressing on a moral/value point, the power dynamic is always in his favour, which that led to wanting to unpack this thoughtstream of what is yes/no/fuck yes/fuck off like for them, even more. (more under the cut, including reference to consent issues/dubcon situations)

So it's an interesting play throughout all my arc for them, especially when compared to Tommy's focus on obtaining some kind of obvious cue of consent in the immediacy of a sexual encounter. This difference between broader situational context/privilege and how that informs consent and participation, versus immediate situation let's fuck: yes/no.

It was important to me when I wrote their end of S4 absence-of-marriage-proposal story that that there was no 'will you marry me' question asked in any form at all, and therefore no verbalised yes/no from Lizzie; the inverted play being that if Tommy never asked, did *he* actually want it or would he have backed out unspoken, but then she put the rings on both of them -- and he had to open his hand to let her; he could have brushed her off -- with no words ever spoken. This kind of back and forth of the pair of them feeling bound to each other by situations and context and liking and affection and responsibility and debts and and and -> overall, ambiguity, complexity. It's probably one reason why I lean a little harder into a headcanon of Lizzie having nowhere else (safe or dignified) to go because it emphasises that privilege complexity, and also try to fill the stories with lots of cues that, despite his power and money, Tommy probably wasn't the guy she wanted to marry and he is achingly aware of this (her not-quite-romance books disguised as travelogues, her desire to travel when he is ironically not that traveller, her inability to trust/participate in the 'Gypsy thing', her longing for clear verbal praise and verbal acknowledgement/affection when that's his discomfort zone).

He's given her sooooooo much privilege and benefit and uplift but there's always that question of what doors has he left open for her, after all that. I also try to write it such that Tommy's not really overly conscious of all of this: mostly he does good things for Lizzie because he likes her, and because so much of it is good, uplifting, dignified, actual cash etc, he doesn't really consider how he's inadvertantly closed off other pathways for her. By the time he does, Lizzie's had his baby and it's sort of too late to go looking for those old doors and pathways.

(This interest in power, privilege, consent, and what it all really means carries on into my Mosley/Tommy/Lizzie fic too, because irrespective of Tommy and Lizzie making themselves available to Mosley in their own house where, in theory, they have the power, they could walk away, what is the broader context which means that this was not a situation of consent for either of them, irrespective of the power they had to simply have it all stop. And this lens of power and consent being totally different for all three in that room (swan, Lizzie, Tommy). Same with the canon Diana scene/my AU take on this scene.)

The other slightly more pervy reason why I lean hard into this yes/no/fuck yes/fuck off consent thing, is that I headcanon Tommy has Perverted Things (by his measure, which is pretty mild and friendly) he wants to do in bed, but by the time he's comfortable enough with Lizzie (end of S4) to actively engage with that, he understands Lizzie never says no to him. So he rarely goes that route (sometimes if drunk, not the best approach), because he can't trust that she'd tell him to stop if it crossed her line, and he won't be that kind of man. The flipside being the second Lizzie brings up any kind of out-of-the-box sex act, even flippantly, Tommy will *immediately* do it like *shoes off trews off floor wall or door right fucking now* because Lizzie said it so he can trust she wants it, even if it's not super his thing because at least it's something. Which overall is still the same kind of above consent/power/privilege ambiguity and complexity; if he does everything she says even when he doesn't particularly want to but because of physicality/position/privilege he still always retains the power to make it stop; but if he never asks on his own behalf because he can't trust her to say no, then....????)

Anyway the interesting dynamic in their canon relationship is that it never really reads as a traditional heterosexual relationship/marriage, despite that the tokens, visuals, patterns etc following a traditional het pathway. A huge part of this, methinks, is the unspoken context and this play between power, privilege, consent, boundaries, the way they slide around with who 'gives' (of self and agency) and who 'receives' (gifts of further agency), and the very dynamic way they move around on an arc of 'love for who they are (worship/respect)' versus 'love for what they do for you (service)', and the like.

It's an oversimplification but the dynamic in my fics for them I'm trying to hone is a 'broken carer' arc, where they change who is that carer over time and sometimes scene per scene, but it's that sense of one *needs* (or is dependent on) the care of the other in order to function, live or behave in a certain way, whether they want that need/dependency/care or not.

[featherandpetals]

Court Mage AU

This was an idea I had brewing since reading a fanfic called "A warm welcome" by Musa_Nohiara. This is an explicit one-shot fanfic for King Boo/Luigi, so read it at your own risk. The premis is King Boo is a court mage for Queen Peach and Luigi is a squire.

I am reworking this idea to have King Boo still a court mage but for Bowser instead. Kamek is around as a magical advisor to Bowser. With that, the kingdom of Bowser is both military strong and magically inclined. King Boo can still keep his title and a subset of Bowser's kingdom, so whenever he is with Bowser on important meetings or parties, he has the court mage title.

On the other hand, the mushroom kingdom is more peaceful with a handful warriors. Mario is one of them with Luigi training to be one as well. I like the idea that Luigi also works under E Gadd due to his inclination to magic and technologies rather than fighting. I have not worked out this kingdom yet.

This is all background fluff for the story idea of Luigi meeting Bowser and by extension King Boo. With the mushroom kingdom and the darklands in conflict, there's a tense atmosphere whenever they meet up for treaties and negotiations. Those tend to have a party just to alleviate the tension.

So imagine Luigi who only attends to events due to Peach and Mario. With very little people to talk to, he often becomes a wall flower and is likely having snacks or a drink or few. And there's King Boo also doing the same, though with limited drinks (I have this idea in mind and something he does tell Luigi that Bowser ordered him to not drink much other than for toast and such due to his boisterous personality and magical flair wrecking the party).

To make the AU easier, they are all human adjacent in some form or fashion. Bowser still have horns and a spiky shell and other features while human. He is still taller than anyone in the party and have strongman build. King Boo would be also tall, but debating if he is taller than Luigi or not. In any case, he would be a big guy as well but more rounder than Bowser. He would be paler with a taste for fancy clothes and jewelry.

At this party, one of them approach the other to talk. Luigi could either put on a brave face to talk to the scary mage especially if they're guests at Peach's party. Or, King Boo could take an interest in this seemingly scared squire that seemed to have magic in him. So, they talk starting off with about the party, why Boo wasn't drinking as much, and overall talk of their experiences with the other kingdoms and their own life. This led to Luigi asking about the magic part of the kingdom and explains that he worked with E Gadd and looking into the magic stuff since Luigi showed inclination to magic. He hopes that the treaty will work out, so he can actually learn from mages from Bowser's kingdom.

I have this thought that magic if untrained can cause disastrous circumstances depending on the magic type. That or, the mushroom kingdom do have magic but it's falls under plants and earthly stuff where Luigi's lightning and Mario's fire powers are ill-suited to be train there compared to the darklands'.

[tizzyizzy]

Izzy Hands: Asshole Tyrant Boss?

It's important to keep in mind that Stede is a massive outlier. He's an outsider trying an entirely new way of managing his crew.

So while Izzy might look awful next to Stede, in terms of pirate culture he's almost certainly closer to the norm. This is the culture he has been exposed to and trained in his entire career. Same goes for Ivan, Fang, Ed, and the crew of the Queen Anne.

While that doesn't make yelling and overworking your crew morally good, it does make it more understandable. Their job is also a dangerous and violent one. The harshness of the discipline is partially due to the real risks of death if people slack off or disobey when their life is on the line, like the military.

The absolute worst thing Izzy has done is forbid Wee John rations for a week. A very harsh punishment. It's not extreme by pirate standards, though, I think. Also Izzy has also just become captain and is trying to nip this and any future jokes about his digestion related issues in the bud. John just disrespected him in front of the entire crew, too. I think it is genuinely possible Ed would have reacted worse to a comparable slight if he were in the same situation. There is a reason Fang doesn't give a shit when Izzy sees him slacking but panics when he thinks it's Blackbeard.

(One could maybe argue this was a threat of punishment but not an actual punishment, but I'm not sure I buy that)

When the crew mutiny, one very interesting detail is that Fang's complaint is with Black Pete as a first mate. Like, this would have been the perfect time for the pair that are always flanking Izzy to bitch about him! Hell, they don't even bitch about Izzy's obviously atrocious fit for captain in general.

The whole conflict between Lucius and Izzy gets more comical the more you look at it. Izzy calmly tells them to get back to work, and is snarked at in response. Izzy fumbles his Intimidation check so hard he reveals his daddy kink to all the sundry, launching a thousand kinky fanfics and causing the entire fandom to radically reinterpret his character. He finally manages to drag Lucius away and we cut to...Lucius being lowered to scrape barnacles off the side of the ship, looking like he's reached the top of a crest on a rollercoaster. Oh no! Not barnacle scraping! How will Lucius get out of this one?

An important moment, something @sixstepsaway pointed out:

At the end of ep2, Fang laments that he hates when Izzy pulls his beard. And Ivan says Fang should say something.

However bad Izzy may be, Ivan thinks Izzy would listen to Fang and stop pulling his beard if Fang spoke up.

Ivan is also not afraid to talk back and say "We're going as fast as we can, Izzy" in ep10. Izzy pushing for them to rush is unusual enough to comment on, and Izzy isn't so scary Ivan is cowed by the order.

Overall, Izzy seems like typical pirate middle management, maybe even on the less threatening end. He wants everyone to do their jobs and will smack down insubordination. He's grumpy, but he's perfectly bearable to work under by pirate standards.

[dulcesiabits]

hey ho! it's the same anon who sent in the ask about your writing process :D i just got to reading your reply and thank you for answering my question!! if you don't mind do you have tips with pacing in particular? your fics are really well paced and i've noticed in the past that pacing is something i struggled with in the past. it's something i'm working on now but i'm not too sure how to haha. thank you again and good luck with the drabbles event!

(referencing this ask)

Hi anon! I'm glad if you found my previous reply helpful <3 I don't mind going into more detail about pacing! I'm flattered that you think my fics are well-paced; I've struggled with pacing a bit, too, so I've been where you are! As always, these are just my personal opinions and ways of thinking about pacing! Thank you for your well wishes on my event!

Here are some other general writing resources: The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass (still reading through this one!) and Writing Fiction by Janet Burroway (my friend recommends it!)

So, pacing, to me, is the flow of the plot: how fast or slow we move through scenes, what events are lingered on, how many events there are, and what is given focus in the story. Pacing is, in short, the speed by which you are taking the characters (and the reader) through the story.

When I think of how I want to pace things, my first question is: what am i trying to accomplish with my fic? What's the end goal? In a short story, you have a limited amount of pages to convey what you want, so every word matters and needs to be in service of its overall goal. In a novel, you have more leeway when it comes to time to explore events and characters (sprint vs marathon).

Consider fanfiction, then, where you can compare a multichapter fic to a novel, and a one-shot to a short story: if you're writing a multichapter fanfic that's a slowburn, then you have time to slow things down and explore characters and events, and hone in on minuscule details at your leisure. But if you're writing a one-shot, then you need to consider the economy of your language: you need to only include what's most important, because you don't have much time to linger on details that don't serve your overall purpose.

This doesn't mean, however, that all multichapter fics are slow-paced and all oneshots are fast-paced. Maybe a oneshot is interested in capturing and exploring one particular scene in detail, to linger on a certain interaction, and to make you contemplate about what's going on between the characters beneath the surface as it explores their psyche. Maybe the multichapter fic is focused on action, and the events of the plot are what's moving the story forward, not internal contemplation from the characters.

In short, pacing is in a tool that's in service of your overall story. Is this a character study? Is it the character's inner world, or emotions, that drive the piece? Then you want to slow down and focus on character, their thoughts, their narration. Are external events driving the story, like a mystery, or a hunt for a particular item? Then, the pace might move quickly, because its actions and various cascading events that are the interest point, not slow-moving interpersonal drama.

Think of pacing as this, too: what you want the audience to focus on. What are you promising the audience will happen in the story, and what are you delivering? You want to focus on events that build up to your end goal, that help move the plot forward, and drive the story (and reader!) where you want them to go. Pacing is also a matter of tension: what sort of anticipation are you building? What expectations are you setting up for readers? Are you giving us the "answer" to the problem too easily or early, so tension is lost? Or is it given too late, so readers are now a little off-put? What is driving the story?

There's a difference between scene and summary, which can also help with pacing. Scene is when you write the actual event, and summary is when you explained what happen. Pacing can be controlled by a balance of these two: you write scene when you want the audience to really focus on what's happening, and this signals this event is important enough to be written about in detail! You write summary when you just want to move readers along, which implies this event isn't important. Summary can help make the pace move faster, and scene is when you can slow things down. Don't cheat your readers, though! If you write interesting events as summary, they'll want to see what's happening! And if you write an event that doesn't seem relevant to the overall plot/end goal to your fic, readers might wonder why it's there.

In short, focus on what's relevant towards your end goal of writing! Each event, each word, each scene or summary should all push the story towards where you need to go. It's all about purpose, and what's interesting for the reader to read about and explore. When you write, you should consider why you're adding certain scenes. is it to reveal character dynamics? To flesh out a character? To set up a plot point that will be resolved later?

Studying the works of writers you admire could help! When you write their writing, you should consider why you enjoy it, or what they do/how they write the story that engages you so much! Borrow their strategies, or test them out for yourself!

[ruki--mukami]

Ruki’s 1st Year Tumblr Blog Anniversary: Thank you & Celebration!

🧩 Goodness gracious, I cannot believe a year has already passed since I decided to make this blog on a complete whim. Well, there were actually many reasons why I decided to make an ask/RP blog of Ruki Mukami, my all-time favorite comfort character ever, but I'm so happy to see a year later that he has grown so much here on Tumblr and has developed so many timeless and cherished memories, relationships, and overall compassion!! Every day I am grateful that my experience in the DL RP community has been one of much warmth and welcome, only encountering a rare hiccup on the occasion compared to the miles and miles of joy working on this blog has brought me. Not only has it rekindled my love for creative writing, but also it's made me realize I may just be a stronger writer than I am a digital artist, ahaha. 

To all the wonderful people I've interacted with, both established blogs and OCs here on Tumblr as well as those who wish to remain anonymous, thank you so much!! Even those who just scroll by and read or give a like, I'm so grateful for you. Sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so very much. This one year milestone for me is very important and I'm still honestly in disbelief that, nearly 5K posts later, this Ruki blog of mine has grown as much as it did and that there is never a dull moment here!! I understand I'm not the fastest writer, and that I often make continuity errors, but I'm so happy people enjoy interacting with me regardless. Call me overly emotional or sentimental, but it feels as though I've developed a second family here on Tumblr. 

Now, without further ado, I'd like to briefly describe what I have planned for this anniversary. 

First off, I have written a brief fanfic of Ruki celebrating his anniversary with the reader (how fitting). It's 3,650 words—yes, that was intentional—and features a special artwork I made at the end. Next, along with that illustration, I have rendered two other drawings depicting Ruki and his anons to commemorate the many fun memories we've created here.

Also, aside from the special surprises I planned for today, I made an optional survey via Google forms asking for feedback on this blog that I respectfully ask you fill out if and only if you have the time for it, of course. Whether you'd like to remain anonymous or not is up to you! But I'm also someone who is really interested in certain statistics and I'd like to see what both long-time and short-time followers here might have to say. Click here to answer. 

Last, but most certainly not least, I have drawn and arranged a short animatic that I hope you all will enjoy. Spoiler alert: it features some OCs that have interacted quite a bit with Ruki. For those who didn't have their OCs drawn, I apologize. Unfortunately I'm not the best with my time and I couldn't find the time nor energy to draw each and every single OC I like, but I hope you all know that your OC is very adored and admired by me regardless. Thank you for interacting with me and here's to more interactions together in the years to come! 🧩

[lou-is-lurking]

Ask

💞what's the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language

🪄what is your post-writing/sharing aftercare? How do you take care of yourself or celebrate yourself when you've finished a fic?

☯️how do you think engaging with each other through tumblr, twitter, comments, kudos, creates healthy fandom experiences? How do you deal with that if you're not a social person/experience social anxiety?

(I am sending the same asks to everybody posting this ask list because I want to compare the answers)

Studying us like guineapigs, I see... 🧐

💞

The Characters. Always. Other things vary in importance (though spelling and grammar and formatting are always high up, too). I rarely write plot-driven stories, and when I try I still focus too much on the characters and it ends up being all vibes and chaos. I enjoy worldbuilding more in RPG or original stories. Part of the appeal of fanfic for me has always been that the canon world is already built, and I can fully focus on the characters. That's why I rarely write AUs (and am in absolute fucking awe of authors who are excellent worldbuilders (yes, I'm looking at you).

🪄

I usually post right before I go to sleep (mainly because I can't stop tweaking and editing and fussing about everything until I literally can hardly keep my eyes open). Nevertheless I always take a few moments after I hit Post to enjoy the satisfaction of having actually managed to get to that point, because boyyyyy it does not happen very often. And then I pass the fuck out which I guess can be counted as taking care of myself lol

☯️

oof, I could actually write a whole ass essay about this (only I can't cos I should be working instead of hanging around on tumblr...). Short answer: I love the community that comes with sharing the same love and passion in a fandom. I also am absolutely shit at consistently participating. It takes a fandom calming down as much as YOI has for me to actually feel kinda comfortable to "take up space" and connect with people. And even then I'm still bad at it.

Another thing that has changed over the past years that I'm kinda torn about is how much of every fandom is scattered across different discord servers now. It's nice for having smaller communities and a shared space to hang out, but it also leads to cliques and insulation and overall just less connection outside of it. Or maybe I just need to join more discords lol (and lurk less, probably 😅). But also, I've seen ppl gush about art and fic on discord, and the creators will just never know. I dunno man. It's complicated 😂

Thanks for including me in your study, pls share your findings with the community! 😆

Let's Get ((REAL)) fic writer asks

[estherdedlock]

I want to amend the mini-review I posted of The Atlas Six a couple of weeks ago, because it actually turned out not to be that bad. It was better than I was expecting for a “BookTok sensation.”

Mild spoilers ahead:

The Good Olivie Blake’s writing style is mature compared to most recent YA, although she still uses some AO3 neologisms like “his mouth quirked up into a smile” (tell me you read fanfic without telling me you read fanfic). Her take on magic is intriguingly based on science rather than mysticism or arcane spellwork, so that’s refreshing. And there is a big twist at the end that is a genuine surprise.

The Dark Academic I didn’t really get the dark academic feels, though I can see why people would. To me, this feels more like...dark capitalism? The Alexandria Society is less of a school than a secretive corporation that holds (and does business in) the human race’s entire storehouse of magical knowledge. Now that I think about it, “Dark Capitalism” could totally be an internet aesthetic.

The Not-So-Good The sciencey approach leads to long conversations about things like...the molecular structure of time travel and the physical impact of telepathy. These really slow the book down. I swear, things didn’t start to pick up until around page 250. In a 373-page book.

The characters...hmmm. I want to say they’re not likable, but that’s not really the issue. I don’t need characters to be likable, but I do want them to be enjoyable, which is not the same thing. Personally, I didn’t really enjoy these characters. Two of them (Nico and Reina) could have disappeared from the book and you wouldn’t have noticed. Blake must have liked Parisa best, because she gave her the most attention. But Parisa’s bottomless superiority complex quickly became irritating, and there’s a sex scene between her and two other characters that felt uncomfortably non-consensual to me (Parisa’s a telepath who can not just read minds but alter people’s thoughts, and she takes credit for getting these two characters to have sex---though whether she’s serious, or it’s just her usual self-importance is hard to tell).

The end of the book reveals an apocalyptic conspiracy that will involve all of “the Atlas six” initiates, but bizarrely, one of the major characters (Dalton Ellery) disappears from the story at that point. It’s as if Blake had forgotten about him, or hadn’t yet figured out what role he would play in these machinations. And that’s a real shame because of all the characters, I liked Dalton best.

There’s way too much sly teasing about what’s really going on, and who’s using who. This makes for frustrating reading. It’s clear that Blake wrote this book as the first in a series, so the whole novel is full of hints and suggestions and questions that are just left to dangle until, presumably, a future installment.

The Editing, BookTok, Publishing etc. Overall, this book would have benefited from some serious, dedicated editing, but that’s an issue I have with so many books published within the last few years. I don’t think anyone is editing books the way they used to be edited.

Even with Donna Tartt’s genius, I doubt that The Secret History would be as impeccable as it is without the guidance of a skilled editor. I think this is a role that is becoming obsolete or at least, has changed a lot from what it used to be. A book like The Atlas Six was a success before Tor Books even picked it up...so why bother editing something that was already a proven bestseller? And if the book goes to press with glaring, goofy mistakes in it (like a broken “lamp” that becomes a broken “vase” on the next page, and then is a “lamp” again three paragraphs later)...well, who cares? That didn’t stop the book from going viral on BookTok, did it?

I actually looked up the editor of TA6 and found out that she, Molly McGhee,  made some news of her own recently. She quit her job at Tor Books after the book was released and posted a bitter resignation letter on Twitter.

I have mixed feelings about this. People who work in publishing are woefully underpaid at almost all levels except the very highest, and the process for moving up in the ranks is rigid and outdated. Undoubtedly, this is because publishing is “women’s work,” and has been for probably the last 40 years or so. No joke, if you walk into a publishing company in New York City, you’ll think you’re in a sorority house. You’ll have to go up to the executive floor to find a man behind a desk. So kudos to McGhee for calling publishers out on the shabby treatment of their workforce.

However, while McGhee never calls out sexism specifically (a strange omission, IMO), she does complain at length about assistant editors like herself having to do administrative work. While I’m sure that assistant editors are burdened with too many of these duties, I think McGhee’s complaint that the executives in her company were “technologically illiterate” is just her taking a spiteful jab at her former bosses. The truth is, those executives think they’re above tasks like organizing inboxes or managing databases...and that’s nothing new. Before the digital era, high-ranking people didn’t do their own filing, and it wasn’t because they didn’t know the alphabet. This insistence that anyone born before 1985 has incurable digital dementia is snotty, ageist, and false. McGhee weakens her argument by choosing to focus on this. If she ever becomes an executive anything, I’m sure she’ll gladly leave administrative tasks to an assistant as well.

But the real issue I take with McGhee’s showy resignation is that The Atlas Six was her first acquisition...and because it’s a hit, she thought she deserved a promotion for it. But how much credit can she really take for The Atlas Six? It was a hit before McGhee ever touched it. It was a sensation two whole years ago. And, from reviews I’ve read on Goodreads, there was little difference between Blake’s self-published, unedited version and the Tor version that McGhee edited.

I wonder what effect this kind of performative quitting has. Do you think publishers will start paying assistant editors better, giving them fewer administrative tasks, and promoting them more quickly? Or will publishers decide they don’t really need assistant editors anyway? After all, the way publishing is now, they can just recruit a bunch of freelancers to monitor BookTok, and maybe Wattpad, find out what’s going viral, then buy it, print it, done.

It used to take time and labor to get a book from manuscript to hardcover, to hone it into a story that was at least a damn good read, and possibly even a masterpiece. Editors worked painstakingly alongside authors to do this. But I don’t think that happens anymore, and maybe that’s why so much fiction now feels so...unfinished. Unfocused, unsatisfying and sometimes, just peppered with mistakes. As in, actual typos. The publisher’s goal with something like The Atlas Six was not to polish it into a gem, but to get it out the door while it still had its BookTok buzz. And it obviously doesn’t matter because these books are making money, probably more money than some of the most brilliant authors ever earned. So Molly McGhee might have a point to make about the unrewarded value that editors bring to the book business, but there’s a good chance she’s already too late. In a landscape of BookTok and self-published viral sensations, the book business may be realizing it doesn’t need editors at all.

[i-want-my-iwtv]

the difference is the witcher novels and shadow & bone are books about straight people and the witcher is significantly more faithful to the books than the amc show has already revealed to be compared to the tvc novels. with the witcher they didn’t change characterizations but the order of events and the like. i just think first and foremost adaptions should be love letters to the fans and the writer of the original; they usually aren’t but that’s the way it should be. but btw i agree with another anon, i don’t think anyone will ever top tom cruise’s interpretation of lestat, he’s a nut job in regards to his personal faith, but cruise is known to very hardworking and takes his job very seriously.

Well-said, Anon! 👏 (Follow up to this ask)

i just think first and foremost adaptions should be love letters to the fans and the writer of the original; they usually aren’t but that’s the way it should be.

I really like this statement, when I consider it, most of my fanfic and my favorite fanfic to read, favorite fanart to see, would fit this guideline, including my Coffeeshop AU*. And maybe this is a factor for why fans of the TV series versions of the Witcher and Shadow & Bone were drawn to read the books; they could tell that those series were faithful to canon and were a love letter to the fans and the writer of the original. People can perceive that.

*BTW, really good AUs, in my opinion, change the setting/era/etc., but maintain the chemistry and behavior of the characters from canon as best as possible, and possibly include little easter egg references to canon in some form or another.

We're living in a time period where that's not what everyone wants, I'm learning. Some people want an adaptation to make corrections and/or updates to the original, which requires that it be unfaithful to canon, maybe as constructive criticism to the writer of the original.

I'm not placing a value judgment myself on which is the better approach, different fans have different needs/expectations. But I do want to unpack these different approaches a little further, I hope that's alright with you:

Despite some noticeable changes to the 1994 IWTV film (i.e. Antonio Banderas as Armand, not the canon appearance/age), overall, I think we can agree that it was basically faithful to the books, and a love letter to the fans and the writer of the original. I believe that's largely what made it so successful, so widely beloved by the fans of the books and also people for whom the film ended up being their gateway to the books, not even knowing the canon material when they first saw the film.

Movie!QOTD was not as faithful to the books, there were many more changes to the canon story, although it had enough nods to the canon story like Lestat's concert, Khayman was actually in it, the Queen of the Damned was awoken by violin and was played fiercely and beautifully by Aaliyah. It was still a gateway to the books for some fans, and I've seen a lot of nostalgia for it, but it doesn't seem to have garnered the same amount of success or cherished status from the fans as movie!IWTV. As an example, just on the Armand character, as @xxgothicchatonxx put it [X]:

Matthew Newton was cast as Armand in the QOTD film, and while he certainly looked more like the book version (except for his hair colour) all of his personality/defining character traits were cut out or not really defined that well. So, I’ll definitely take Antonio!Armand :)

I would add that, from what I remember, it's not established that Marius is Armand's maker? That's a big part of his character. And there's no Daniel relationship at all, that I can recall.

For some fans, maybe it was more important that the actor for Armand look more like his canon description, and maybe they prefer Newton to Banderas. For others, it was more important that he had a role with more faithful canon plot points and acted more like Armand's canon description, so maybe they prefer Banderas, whose role did include his acting out actual canon scenes and dialogue. This is just one example of the changes that the showrunners chose, both Newton and Banderas in their roles were unfaithful to canon in different ways, but it's subjective as to which aspects of the character are more important to a particular fan.

but btw i agree with another anon, i don’t think anyone will ever top tom cruise’s interpretation of lestat, he’s a nut job in regards to his personal faith, but cruise is known to very hardworking and takes his job very seriously.

YES and you KNOW I can talk praise about (yes, pretty much official nut job) Tom Cruise's high bar on work ethic and rich talent for days, totally with you on that. He was heartbreaking in Magnolia. Even in sillier roles like Stacee Jaxx in Rock of Ages, or minor roles like Lestat Grossman in Tropic Thunder, he puts in 110%. I will always think of his Les character when I hear “Apple Bottom Jeans” 😂

And I still wish he'd be cast as the Marquis de Lioncourt someday, his own father...!

[megamattzx]

So I might make a little challenge in regards to Dragon Ball New Frontier's Flight of Fate and Shroud of Memories storylines

Once we are very much decently far into both storylines, I'm going to want you guys to compare the two stories together. Most Dragon Ball fanficers don't seem to do this so I thought it would be an interesting game to play to see who overall thinks which of the two was the better story overall.

Now to make this a little Fair, we are going to separate them into the following categories to make it a little more fair as I think we all can come to an understanding that there will be instances where things are heavily done better while things may vary from place to place. To where it's almost impossible to truly judge one story from the other in everything.

So to properly compare the two, once we are decently ahead, we will be comparing Flight of Fate and Shroud of Memories (possibly quite a few times), up until the final completion of both stories. Now it's also important to keep in mind that both of these are prequels to a group story that I'm doing called Dragon Ball New Frontier. None of the prequels I am doing for that group story are told chronologically in order. So this is an important detail to keep in mind when trying to make a comparison of references. For example Flight of Fate is actually set 10 years before the events of Shroud of Memories so it's not fair to put that critique of no references to Shroud of memories for Flight of Fate when Flight of Fate is a story that is set before those events.

So references may not be a primary factor as to what makes a story better due to this reason.

But without further ado here are the categories that I want you guys to compare Flight of Fate and Shroud Memories to to try to determine what you guys think overall is the better of the two stories once we get ahead significantly enough for you to make that comparison. And if your opinion changes feel free to address this as well.

However I am making these comparisons in advance that way you guys know ahead of time what I want you to guys to compare the two stories on.

Okay here are the following things that I want these two to be compared to each other on the various levels that will be compared with the two stories to determine which story "did it better".

Overall story and plot

Side stories

Overall backstory and lore

World building

World of said stories

Setting

Cast of characters.

Overall character growth

And finally when it comes to the comparison that actually matters, overall usage of the plot devices that were implemented, as well as foreshadowing.

And then references maybe as for bonus points at best.

[undertale-data]

[Image Description: An Undertale chat box that has “WHY FANS LOVE UNDERTALE” at its center. Next to it are a line chart and an Egg from the Dating Hub on its left, and a CRIME measurer (also from the Dating Hub) on its right. End I.D.]

[Image Description: a pie chart titled, “LEVEL OF LOVE FOR UNDERTALE.” The textbox on the top right reads, “On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the least and 10 being the highest, how much do fans enjoy Undertale?” From the top going clockwise, 12 or 0% chose 5 and below; 23 or 1% chose 6; 98, or 4%, chose 7; 325, or 12%, chose 8; 529, or 20%, chose 9; and 1664, or 63%, chose 10. End I.D.]

It’s clear from all of the data analyzed so far that fans who took the time to answer our survey love Undertale. It is unlikely that they would have taken the time to answer so many questions if they had not, and even less likely that they would have come across our survey in the first place. Naturally, it comes as no surprise that 63% of our responders gave their love for Undertale a score of ten out of ten. 95% gave their love for Undertale a score of eight or higher, and only 12 responders responded with five or below, a number so small that their responses had to be lumped together to be visible on the pie chart. Of those, only 3 responders gave their love for Undertale a score of 1, and based on those responders’ other answers, it is likely that they were only intending to troll. We are very fortunate that the vast majority of responders took the survey seriously, enough so that responses like this are barely a blip in the data.

Now, for our final analysis post of the event, we will delve into the reasons that fans love Undertale so dearly.

(Essay and highlights under the cut.)

There have been countless essays on the impact that Undertale has had on people’s lives. I can hardly add more on the subject than what has already been said, but I hope this summary can provide a brief overview of what stood out among the over two thousand answers given in response to this survey. That said, due to the sheer volume of answers, I could not read every single one in depth—however, I did skim all of them, and some that stood out or were representative of several responses have been highlighted below. If you would like to see what every fan who consented to share their response had to say, you may view the full list of responses here. Note that these responses have not been edited in any way. This document may take a long time to load, as it is over 100 pages long.

(Warnings for mentions of suicidal thoughts in the following essay.)

Several responders loved the theme of choices mattering in Undertale. Whether people played the pacifist, merciless, or neutral routes, they enjoyed how the game reacted to their actions. For some, it even made them consider their own morality. One touching response explained the impact that the theme of mercy made on them. “I realized that Mercy isn't something that's given to those who deserve it. Flowey didn't deserve it. I don't deserve it myself. Shoot, we ALL need Mercy in our lives.” Many fans left similar comments about how the themes of Undertale made them better people.

Undertale changed how its fans treat others, and it also changed how fans treat themselves. The theme of staying determined and the messages of hope in the game were a light to a very large portion of fans. I cannot list all of the fans who said that Undertale helped them out of a dark place, or that they would not be alive if not for Undertale. “DETERMINATION became a metaphor for not killing myself at a really rough time in my life and I’ll always cherish that. Undertale isn’t afraid to go to really dark places but at the same time holds on so tight to its hope.”

Undertale brought fans together in unexpected ways. Some said they met friends or significant others through the fandom. “I wouldn't have met my now husband without Undertale,” one fan said. A different fan who is non-native English speaking mentioned that the game and the fan community helped them to learn English.

It would be impossible to discuss Undertale without mentioning the fan community. Whether for good or bad, many responders mentioned the fandom in their responses. Overall the feelings towards the fandom seem positive, though many made references to “toxic” parts of the fandom without specifying which parts they consider toxic. Others rejected the idea of toxicity in fandom. One response said: “[SLAMS FIST ON DESK] I KNOW MOST PEOPLE SAY THE FANDOM IS TOXIC AND CRINGE OR WHATEVER BUT OH MY GOD. The Undertale fandom, both the UTMV and the actual UT fandom, has been so much fun to be a part of. I've met countless friends because of our shared interest in something related to the game! The art people create can be breathtaking and so inspirational, and the fanfics are so so good!! I've seen people write incredible things for this fandom and it's what made me continue writing!”

One thing that makes the Undertale fandom unique is the way it embraces various AUs. Some fans are tired of AU content, but the majority of responses show a love for the creativity behind AUs. “Roll your eyes at the 50th AU Sans all you want, it's encouraging people to step outside the boundaries of fanart and pushing people to make their own ideas! I mean, hell, it was how I gained the confidence to start making my own original content.” The lack of a judgemental atmosphere seems present in the AU community, according to the responses we saw. There is an interesting balance between AU and canon (sometimes referred to as “classic”) content that another responder pointed out: “The fandom helped keep the game alive all these years, with all of its AUs. Although personally, I always enjoyed AUs that kept characters as close to the classic material as possible (dancetale, outertale) I do appreciate the creativity of the fandom. They almost created entirely new stories with new characters of their own! If it weren't for those people, the Undertale fandom would have probably not been as active as it is now. I do feel like we're getting a resurgence of classic content now too! (In 2021)”

Regardless of the many AUs the fandom has created over the years, the original game of Undertale still feels like home for many fans. They wished they could reclaim the feeling of playing the game again for the first time, but even though we can’t reset time in real life, there is still a special feeling for fans each time they play Undertale. One fan said, “Even the best fics I've read can't capture that feeling of nostalgia/almost-"coming home" that comes with hearing the music and talking to the characters.” This feeling is one that can be cherished time and time again. In the words of another responder: “It always feels welcoming like home or like comfort food that I never grow tired of no matter how many times I go to it.” Others pointed out the strength of the found family trope in Undertale, which likely contributes to this feeling of “home” as well.

As mentioned briefly earlier, the music is part of what makes Undertale feel like home for fans. Even when responses focused on other aspects of the game, many would throw in a comment about the soundtrack at the end. One comment focused on the music said “IT'S SO GOOD like I will literally go through the entire thing over and over and not be bored with it. It makes my monkey brain so happy you have no idea.” Like with the game itself, the music has incredible replay value, an amazing feat considering most of the tracks use the same few motifs. “I think what I like the most about Undertale is how the music attaches you to the story,” another responder said. “They're simple melodies that stick with you throughout the whole game, and they can remind you of both good and bad times.”

If the music sticks with fans in their hearts, then the game’s lore sticks with fans in their minds. Even six years after the release of Undertale, fans are still creating new theories and digging up new secrets. The way the game breaks the fourth wall in particular intrigued many fans and has stuck out through all these years. The awareness that the game shows for the RPG genre makes it memorable. The game plays with the player’s expectations and turns them on their heads, all while reminding the player that they’re in a game. There are few other games that do this on such a large scale, so it’s no surprise that fans cite this as one of their favorite things about Undertale.

Lastly, the LGBT+ representation in Undertale has been a huge draw for fans. Especially in 2015, the sheer volume of non-cishet characters was unprecedented, as one fan pointed out: “It's practically unheard of to see so MANY from just one source, especially during its heyday in 2015-16. Hell, you can't even GET the true pacifist ending without helping two gay couples hook up. It's really nice to see all of them being accepted for who they are and not judged for their sexuality or gender, at least in-canon.” The LGBT+ cast including Frisk, Chara, Napstablook, Monster Kid, Mettaton, Alphys, and Undyne each connected with fans in unique ways. It’s clear how important this is from responses such as: “There are canon nonbinary characters 🥺. i have never seen representation of myself before.” “It made me gay and trans so thanks for that.”

Once again I am overwhelmed with just how much there is to say about Undertale. One responder really understood when they compared Undertale to an iceberg, explaining that there are so many layers to the game that there is something for everyone: “everyone can find something to enjoy in the lore/game regardless of what kind of fan they are! Being able to appeal to various types of fans—from simple happy shipper people to deep dive lorediggers—is the mark of the coolest games!” I would have to agree with them.

It’s been six years, and despite everything, it’s still you. Thank you for reading, participating in this survey, and above all, staying determined.

Highlights:

DETERMINATION became a metaphor for not killing myself at a really rough time in my life and I’ll always cherish that. Undertale isn’t afraid to go to really dark places but at the same time holds on so tight to its hope.

I think the coolest thing was having the opportunity to watch the AU community grow from its bare roots. It's nearly insane how big and complex it's gotten, unlike anything I'd ever seen before. Roll your eyes at the 50th AU Sans all you want, it's encouraging people to step outside the boundaries of fanart and pushing people to make their own ideas! I mean, hell, it was how I gained the confidence to start making my own original content.

i love how the lgbt rep is so naturalized... there are just gay people! and its nobodys business!

The music is my go to answer, but what I really really REALLY love is how the minor characters have so much personality to them when you talk to them. They aren't incredibly important to the overall story, but they're all so likeable and diverse that you just can't help but like them immediately!

I think it was the first videogame I have played that broke the fourth wall that much. Of course there has been other videogames that broke it but just for one or two tongue-in-cheek jokes. The guilt of killing mama goat was also something intense as well that I appreciated as an experience and that I didn't think a videogame could cause on someone.

I love how no character can be seen as completely bad! Everyone builds up Asgore as some horrible villain, but he turns out to be a 'fuzzy pushover' who's broken and just wants his family back by the time you meet him. Then you think Flowey's an irredeemable killer who engineered the suffering of the monsters across many timelines, and he is... but he also used to be the kind and beloved Prince Asriel Dreemurr, traumatized by his death and subsequent rebirth, projecting his best friend onto you.

The fact that choices matter in the game. Your first playthrough and getting the golden ending for the first time. I can never replicate those feelings again, wish I could erase my memories and replay the game from the start.

I wouldn't have met my now husband without Undertale.

(Toxic parts of the fandom aside) The community is possibly one of the kindest I've ever met. Cringe culture is completely dead, and I feel like I can be myself. I felt a very close connection to many of the characters, and I loved consuming content about them when I was in a rough patch in my life.

just everything, the whole game has just impacted my life so much. i know it sounds really lame, but when the game first came out, i would purposely put my hands in my pockets and sway slightly, like sans' idle animation. of course i dont do that anymore haha, but undertale still really impacts me to this day, and i wouldnt have it any other way :)

it made me gay and trans so thanks for that

I realized that Mercy isn't something that's given to those who deserve it. Flowey didn't deserve it. I don't deserve it myself. Shoot, we ALL need Mercy in our lives.

The thing I love most about Undertale is no matter how many times I play or watch a playthrough it always makes me genuinely happy. It always feels welcoming like home or like comfort food that I never grow tired of no matter how many times I go to it. Toriel still makes me feel all warm and cozy in her home, the Skelebros always make me laugh, and I still cry on the inside watching Frisk comforting Asriel. And on the flip side the No Mercy run still invokes the negative emotions in me as well. In short Undertale just feels like a second home to me and I always wish I could stay.

The reader inserts are my favorite way to decompress after a hard day

I think Undertale helped me discover my love for 8-bit games, and made me realize how IMPORTANT music is in video games.

the worldbuilding and character design are my favorite parts of the main game apart from the music! I’m also a huge fan of the random AU music- not for like underswap or underfell i like the stuff where someone makes a megalovania for a random au where gru from despicable me replaces sans as the character. i think its funny

Just... the vibe, honestly? Even the best fics I've read can't capture that feeling of nostalgia/almost-"coming home" that comes with hearing the music and talking to the characters.

there are canon nonbinary characters 🥺. i have never seen representation of myself before.

[SLAMS FIST ON DESK] I KNOW MOST PEOPLE SAY THE FANDOM IS TOXIC AND CRINGE OR WHATEVER BUT OH MY GOD. The Undertale fandom, both the UTMV and the actual UT fandom, has been so much fun to be a part of. I've met countless friends because of our shared interest in something related to the game! The art people create can be breathtaking and so inspirational, and the fanfics are so so good!! I've seen people write incredible things for this fandom and it's what made me continue writing!

There's a scene where Frisk (the player) is going towards what is presumably going to be their death. They will fight Asgore and he will use their human soul to break the barrier and free his people. The music, despite the player's impending doom, is... triumphant. You are not the triumphant one here, and yet, the score invites you to experience the monsters' joy and happiness as they tell you the tale of their subjugation. The monsters are going to be free. This is their victory, but they don't hate you or want you to die. They're just... happy. That scene has always struck me very deeply. I feel it represents the best parts of Undertale.

I loved how well thought out the Geno route was. It really made me feel like I was doing something horrible, and the characters were very obviously reacting to dire circumstances.

I dunno? I like Undertale for it's characters, story, music, secrets and many more. I am not good with Headcanons but I also like the neutral endings and how different they can depending on who you spare and kill

I was very bad at english before, i thought i couldn't progress because i was very shy and not confident. But my sibling and i wanted to have the best experience with this game so we wanted to play it in english. It's this game and the fandom which helped me to make huge progress in english !

THE SOUNDTRACK. IT'S SO GOOD like I will literally go through the entire thing over and over and not be bored with it. It makes my monkey brain so happy you have no idea.

to avoid writing an essay i will say one word. Mettaton

It is like Toby specifically made the games to fit the iceberg meme and it's awesome, everyone can find something to enjoy in the lore/game regardless of what kind of fan they are! Being able to appeal to various types of fans - from simple happy shipper people to deep dive lorediggers is the mark of the coolest games!

I love almost everything about Undertale as a game on its own. The music, the art and especially the characters and how they interact. They made me feel at home. Undertale means a huge amount to me. (I even got a tattoo of the castle when you and MK walk together!) The fandom helped keep the game alive all these years, with all of its AUs. Although personally, I always enjoyed AUs that kept characters as close to the classic material as possible (dancetale, outertale) I do appreciate the creativity of the fandom. They almost created entirely new stories with new characters of their own! If it weren't for those people, the Undertake fandom would have probably not been as active as it is now. I do feel like we're getting a resurgence of classic content now too! (In 2021)

the mystery. toby fox refused to give answers to anything and i think thats very sexy of him.

I just feel guilty for liking it so much when I'm in my 30's. But I recently got diagnosed with ASD, so I guess it explains things a bit. Many ppl consider Papyrus to be neurodivergent, and some adult fans are too, so seeing that makes me feel a bit better.

i think about "Despite everything, it's still you" everyday of my life.

I like how it's just as funny as it can be serious. All routes are this way. I laughed as much as I cried when I played the Pacifist route and then once I opened the game again and Flowey was telling me to let them be happy, I immediately turned off the game. I somehow felt bad.

The Found Family Trope

The True Pacifist Ending is just...man. And the fanworks about saving everyone even when the game doesn't let you? MANNNNNN

I think what I like the most about Undertale is how the music attaches you to the story. They're simple melodies that stick with you throughout the whole game, and they can remind you of both good and bad times.

there's honestly a LOT to love about this game, but i think one of my favorite things about it is just how many lgbt+ characters there are??? i can think of alphys, undyne, frisk, chara, mettaton, napstablook, monster kid, asgore, mad mew mew, the dress lion, the royal guards, and arguably even papyrus off of the top of my head, but im sure i'm forgetting a few from just undertale alone (there's even MORE in deltarune)!! it's practically unheard of to see so MANY from just one source, especially during its heyday in 2015-16. hell, you can't even GET the true pacifist ending without helping two gay couples hook up. it's really nice to see all of them being accepted for who they are and not judged for their sexuality or gender, at least in-canon.

[Image description: A wordcloud in the shape of the capitalized word UNDERTALE. The text is white on a black background, and uses the font found in the game. Some of the most visible words are: Game, Love, Music, Life, AU, Store, Friend, and Feel, which represent the most common words in the essays people wrote about their love for the game. End of ID]