#and unfortunately many people don't take fanfic very seriously

[yn-has-insomnia]

so help me god I will write something this month and post it

[whoishotteranimepolls]

Since we're allowed to ask for someone to explain the appeal of characters, can I add Silvers Rayleigh, Benn Beckman, and Marco to the list? I do not understand why so many of you find them attractive. I mean on the Funny tags post. Rayleigh and Beckman have the most extensive sections, and Marco has some funny ones, too. However, I find them highly unappealing. I mean, Rayleigh is just your drunk Grandpa, and Beckman is your drunk uncle. Marco, unfortunately, looks like a pineapple and is part bird. So I seriously don't know how anyone finds him appealing, but I know his fans are out there, and they're very loyal. So can any of their fans. Please explain to me their appeal. Apparently, you guys exist and not just exist. You guys appear to be ride-or-die loyal, and I do not understand.

Now, I watch One Piece. I enjoy One Piece, and the show has so many attractive male characters, but you guys are going crazy for Silvers Rayleigh, the drunk grandpa with a gambling problem that I'm pretty sure the family only keeps around because he taught everyone how to do tax evasion and is willing to take the fall if anyone gets caught because at his age live in prison doesn't mean all that much anymore

Or Benn Beckman, the drunk uncle with the smoking problem. Now, I'm pretty sure he only has the smoking problem because he had to finish raising Rayleigh's red-headed disaster of a son he found as a stray when Shanks was. What 15? Dealing with a teenage Shanks would turn anyone gray and to smoking, but I don't think gentle parenting works on Shanks, and Beckman should have tried something a little bit more forceful. In fact, I think he should be demanding compensation from Rayleigh because Shanks has only lost one limb on his watch. But back to the point, I'm pretty sure most people find him attractive because of his competency kink. Still, there has to be more to it because of how much is in that section on that nicknames and tags post because, apparently, his fans are. How should I put this? Absolutely rabid for him, and I would love to know why. That's the term I think works best. If you don't believe me seriously, go check out that post

Or poor Marco, that haircut does nothing for you. It's just cursed you with the nickname pineapple head. He's also technically part bird, well actually part Phoenix close enough. And I don't understand why anyone would want to get down and dirty with a Phoenix, but I have seen way too much fanfic to prove otherwise. So, can his fans explain His appeal because? I am just trying to understand you guys.

Because again, I watch One Piece, and there are so many attractive guys on that show, especially of the DILF variety, but I do not understand the Rayleigh, Beckman, or Marco fans. So can any of their fans explain their appeal

Defend Your Blurbo #3

Please remember this post is about curiosity and genuine fandom discourse. Be kind with your answers because this is not a debate essay, this is a discussion between fans.

Well, here are some photos of the blurbos and questions. Now, they are right when they say Beckman and Rayleigh have two of the most extensive sections on my nickname and funny tags post for one piece, which I will link. So I do understand where they're coming from on that part because when I was first putting that post together, I did not expect those two to have such long sections

Otherwise, One Piece Fandom, Defend Your Blorbos

[amiti-art]

Random ask! What's your favourite thing about Shakadolin? And do you have a favourite piece of art or fic that features them (yours or others)?

The fact that it could be canon lmao

But in all seriousness, I love how they care for each other and how they help eachother grow and heal.

I want to quickly point that while I like Shakadolin as a romantic ship I prefer them as Adolin and Shallan being in a romantic relation and having platonic friendship with Kaladin. But what I'm about to say is fits with both romantic and platonic versions so kinda whatever

Anyway, like I said, the way they help one another and bring the best out of eachother gets me everytime.

The chasms scenes in WoR, how Shallan was able to bring some humor out of Kaladin (come on, he started cracking jokes at Dalinar when they were back, that was so funny), how her story helped Kaladin to see that the lighteyes people are not free from suffering either. How they could bond over their traumas and be honest with eachother about their pasts.

I love how Adolin and Kaladin relation progresses, how they started as rivals and became close friends with time. THE DUEL and how it changed their dynamic. How Adolin instantly believed Kaladin about Amaram when no other lighteyes ever did. Everything about Kaladin and Adolin is just >>>>>>>

I don't think I was ever this invested in a fictional friendship before.

How much Adolin cares for both Shallan and Kaladin and their worsening mental health and how much he's trying to help them heal. He was just so caring and sweet in tRoW.

I love Adolin and Shallan, they are great as a couple but the also work very good as friends, please their dialogs are so funny.

I really hope that we'll get some content with the trio in Stormlight 5 but based on the set up we're left with after tRoW it probably won't be much (if any at all). Come on Brandon they need to talkkkkkkk, I need them all to hug please please please.

When it comes to fanart, I don't have a favourite piece, most of the Shakadolin art I saw are great, I love them all.

And fanfiction, well. Stormlight doesn't have many fanfics unfortunately (this fandom is ridiculously small for books this popular), and most of them focuse on things that I'm not really intrested in so I don't read them much.

Sorry for not posting cosmere stuff in such a long time btw, I still love the books, Stormlight is literally the best series I ever read.

My friend bought the Way of Kings yesterday so I'm hoping that taking with her about it will give me some inspiration and ideas for new drawings.

[docholligay]

Do you think having such a personalized and detailed headcanon makes it harder to enjoy fic about the show/game that's written by others?

I mean sure, probably.

But unfortunately things I adore, for people named Doc who are me, fall into one of two buckets:

The character work and plot in this show are incredible, I find myself turning it around in my mind like a rotisserie chicken. I constantly discover new things about the show/book/game or the characters in it. I do not read fic about this, because why would I? Every answer I search for is in the text. I want to talk about this with someone, but about what is THERE, not what could be there. Ex: The Haunting of Hill House, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Piranesi, Bioshock:Infinite, Watership Down, Yellowjackets, among others.

The concepts of this could be amazing but are handled so fucking badly so consistently, in a shocking contrast to how INCONSISTENT the character work is, that all I want to do is steal it and make it better. All i want to do is turn it into something that doesn't suck ass when you look at it too hard. So I am going to take it SO seriously, and I am going to develop the rich inner lives for these characters that they lack, with intense backstories and families and motivation for how they got to be the person we know, or know sometimes, in certain episodes or shorts. Ex: Sailor Moon and Overwatch are the biggies here obviously, this is actually not an emotion I feel very often. I don't have intense backstories and extra-textual feelings and ideas about most of the stuff I read and watch, these two are just my Spiders Georg.

So! The odds on me being into something in the correct way to make me want to Seek Treasure Elsewhere but also I have a chill enough attitude about how the characters are that Any Dream Will Do is almost nil. I do not in ANY way mean this in a shady way, but I mostly read published adult fiction for entertainment and not fanfic. I am very picky about my fanfic. So, "plus these two new red and blue girls into Starbucks" often won't work for me, because the reasons to have Haruka and Michiru meet in a coffee shop are completely different from any of the reasons Fareeha and Angela might meet in a coffee shop, and so many of those types are archtypical plug and play stuff. Honestly, I have skated the idea of making a cheat sheet of fanon archetypes of various characters and buying a typewriter to sell 100-200 word 'quick fic' at cons with my sister. That's how common it is to use these archetypes. This is not a criticism! At all!

But, to take the two couples above, I have read so much BORING SHIT about both HM and FA that I could throw up. Lesbian couples have a lot of very milquetoast writing about them, and a lot of meet-cute which isn't really my bag.

But there are authors I love! @oathkeeper-of-tarth was and is one of the best harumichi writers out there and we don't even have all the same headcanons. The rare occasions @verbforverb decides to grace me with "Jewish Mercy I don't Have To Write" I pop a can of bubbly in the tub. And on both fields of battle @keyofjetwolf has stuff I've had bookmarked for years, and there are some things even within Rei's backstory and history that we disagree on.

Actually, to that point what I like is good writing. You can write me into believing nearly anything. There are things I believe about Amelie when I'm reading @lemon-embalmer's stuff that when I go back to my own world, aren't true, but when I'm in her world who the fuck cares, I'm having a great time. EVEN MORE to the point, I read @moonlight-frittata's stupid sun and moon lesbian League of Legends shit and I would rather shoot myslef than know ANYTHING about the game, but unfortunately she has a beautiful turn of phrase and plot flow to her work that I just....read anyway, because it is good. Fucking @tallangrycockatiel had me like 25 pages or so into a story before I was like, "OH SHIT, IS THIS SLASH??? WAIT I DON'T WANT TO READ ABOUT BOYS' LOVE!! NO!!" *hits next page* And I still could not care less about that podcast and would never listen to it, and if I did I would be massively disappointed because to my mind, her John and Arthur are the actual article, and whatever the fuck is going on in the source material can eat my dick.

So, yes, I DO think that having a very particular point of view is going to mean I back out of a story where like, "Lena stepped out of her Chelsea flat, custom leather high heels clicking against the step" sometimes, or, you know, "Haruka put down her copy of War and Peace, each meticulous note codified by a color-coded tab. Blue was for historical references to research, green for character analysis, yellow for themes, blah blah blah*" But I am actually shockingly open minded in what I will read, often to the point that I'm reading stuff from SHIT I DO NOT LIKE OR CARE ABOUT, because the quality of the writing is excellent. So, also no.

*I met someone who read books like this and I suddenly realized what the literary equivalent of 'knowing someone is a serial killer' was.

[afrenchwriter]

20 questions for fic writers

I was tagged by @andromeda4004, thank you dear 🥰 Always an interesting game to play, share, and reflect!

How many works do you have on ao3?

17

What's your total ao3 word count?

313,513

What fandoms do you write for?

I launched my AO3 account with a Red Dead Redemption fanfic, and then I discovered Good Omens, and then... well, you know how it goes with this fandom ❤️ That being said, I also had fun exploring the seas during the golden age of piracy (Our Flag Means Death) and the lands of a Norse God (Loki).

Top five fics by kudos:

For His Eyes Only (GO - James Bond AU, M rated, 69K)

Getting Closer (GO - fluffy post-S1 fic, G rated, 3K)

To the End of the Ocean (OFMD - post-S1 fic, M rated, 71K)

Whatever Comes After (RDR - canon divergence AU, M rated, 84K)

Ties & Other Obsessions (Loki - 5+1 fic, T rated, 4K)

Do you respond to comments?

Always! I treasure each and every one of them ❤️ But I have to confess that these past few months have been a bit hard (not much energy, unfortunately), and I'm still trying to catch up on all the lovely comments I've received.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Mmh, good question... I'm afraid I don't know how to do that 🙃 Even the last fic I wrote for the GO historical minisode event (Shadow & Light) was supposed to end on an angsty note, and at the last minute, I decided to add a happy epilogue! But if we're talking bittersweet ending, then it would be Sharp Endings & New Beginnings, a post-S2 Loki fic... If you've seen the show, then you know 🌳

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Hard to say, considering my previous answer 😇 but all the long fics listed above have a very happy ending!

Do you get hate on fics?

I did, once, on my OFMD fic... It was a shock, but also an interesting experience: it pushed me to question my narrative choices (and, in the end, confirm them).

Do you write smut?

I do... And I have a second AO3 account dedicated to it 😎 (I wonder how many people will reach this part of the tag game and find this out, eheh)

Craziest crossover:

None for now... (For His Eyes Only cannot be considered a crossover since Crowley is basically James Bond 😎).

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! @pavel-pedro has started to translate To the End of the Ocean in Russian... and whether it will be one day finished or not (I know how time-consuming such a work can be!), I'll forever be grateful for the gesture ❤️

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I'm currently co-writing a fic, actually, with my lovely friend @sabotage-on-mercury: a GO/Fleabag AU! We're taking our time for all sorts of reasons, but we want to make sure we deliver quality content, considering the source materials!

All time favorite ship?

The Ineffable Partners, of course. How can you beat a relationship between two beings who have known each other for millennia and have gone through all sorts of ups and downs, down here and out there?

Or, as Neil would say: why? Love ❤️

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

*insert awkward look monkey puppet meme* I don't know, man... I have too many WIPs piling up lately, and not enough energy to work seriously on any of them... I do hope I'll finish all of my GO WIPs someday. But the one WIP I doubt I'll ever come back to (although it makes me sad because the outline I have for this story is WILD) is the sequel of my long RDR fic, called What We Owe to Each Other.

What are your writing strengths?

I've been told several times that I'm good at capturing a character's voice, and that makes me really happy. I'm a huge cinephile and good dialogues, "natural" dialogues, are so important - I'm glad to be able to consider this as one of my strengths! I would like to say developing a plot, too - I love writing long fics and exploring characters' arcs - but I think I'm still too close to the source material for now to consider it a real strength... Room to grow!

What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm a slow writer; I need to develop my ability to use imagery and metaphors; and I need better organization when it comes to writing drafts and editing the whole thing!

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

Well... I'm French and I write my stories in English + I work as a translator, so... Yes to dialogues in other languages, always (then translated, of course)!

First fandom you wrote in?

I'm not exactly sure, but it must have been between those three: Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and Artemis Fowl (ah, teenage years!).

Favorite fic you've written?

That's a hard one... Whatever Comes After will forever have a special place in my heart since it's the fic that 1/ brought me back to writing 2/ helped me prove to myself that I was able to complete a long story. Senses & Sensitivity was my first fic for the GO fandom, and 1/ it made me feel confident to write more for the Ineffable Partners 2/ I made some great connections thanks to it (hello @hasturswig! ❤️). I don't think I've ever had more fun than when I was writing For His Eyes Only (and the enthusiastic comments along the way really helped! ❤️). But, to finish, I'd like to mention When All Is Said and Done, a GO fanfic in the South Downs that just poured out of me after the S2 finale... It really made me experience the magic of writing again.

If you've reached the end, thank you for reading! Feel free to ask me anything... And to consider yourself tagged if you want to play this game, too! ❤️

[booksandabeer]

Catching up

I got tagged approximately one million years ago by @burberrycanary 💙 and @somanywords 💛. Sorry it took me so long! 😬

Last song: I don't know the exact song, but I've been listening to the album Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert a lot. I'm not a particuarly big fan of Bob Dylan, or a fan at all, really. However, I am absolutely a die-hard fan of Cat Power and I think that Chan Marshall is probably the best cover artist of...all time? Well, certainly of her generation. That's not to shade her original compositions, which I also love, but she's brilliant at taking songs that you thought you could no longer listen to because they've been played ad nauseam everywhere for decades, and then teasing something fresh and original and truly moving out of them. Listen to her covers of "I'll Be Seeing You" or "Mr. Tambourine Man" or even "New York, New York" and tell me they don't excite you in any way (if they don't, I suspect you have no soul). She's even great at covering herself! Please go and listen to her 2008 cover of her own 1998 song "Metal Heart" right now. It's one of my all-time faves and also, yes absolutely a Stucky song.

Relationship status: I have a person.

Sweet/spicy/savory: Everything all at once, please.

Favorite color: Blue, blue, blue. International Klein Blue to be precise. I cannot get enough of it. Also, I will die on the hill that chartreuse is actually a great color.

Last movie: The Last Stop in Yuma County which was a fun neo-western/crime thriller that didn't take itself too seriously and didn't outstay its welcome. Imagine that! A 90-minute movie. They still make those! Wild. If you like Tarantino and/or the Coen Brothers, but played at a faster, snappier tempo, you will probably enjoy this one too.

Last show: So many. Bodkin, which is the epitome of "this show doesn't know what it wants to be." Is it a quirky comedy? A crime show? A (very tepid) satire? It's not like you can't combine these genres, but the show doesn't combine them, it swings wildly between them. The ending was terrible. I've finally started watching Hacks (a delight!) and I'm still slowly making my way through Kings (only 2 episodes left). Also following along with the new season of IWTV, which remains an absolutely bonkers show. If *this* is what made it into the final cut, can you imagine what didn't? Oh, to be allowed to read the studio notes for this one!

Last thing I googled: The origin and meaning of a Norse/Russian name. For reasons.

Current obsession: The Terror brainrot is still going stong. I have learned so much about Arctic Exploration in the 1800s over the past few weeks. Also, in a curious turn of events, I have started reading Masters of the Air fanfic? I was unfortunately pretty disappointed with the show. I had hoped it would trigger a level-11 hyperfixation but instead it just kinda came and went and I didn't even think about it anymore. Then an author, who I still follow because they used to write Stucky, started posting one Buck/Bucky (yes, they are two different characters) fic after another, and one day I said, 'Why not give it a shot?' Well, here we are, tens of thousands of words later, and for the first time in my life I'm beginning to understand the people whose general fandom attitude is 'I don't care for the source material at all, but the fic! Oh the fic compels me!' I have been compelled. I'm now a person who reads fanfiction for a pairing that includes a character played by Austin Butler (sorry Butler heads, I just don't get it).

Wonders never cease.

--

Like I said, I got tagged for this ages ago, so I don't know who's done this (recently). I'm gently tagging @bromcommie, @aimmyarrowshigh, @zenaidamacrouras1, @shackleton2 and @hail-americas-ass. Also, I mean it when I say I want to know what everyone else is watching/eating/obsessing over/etc. Tell me! Open tag for everyone who wants to do this.

[nyxocity]

Hi Nyx,

I just wanted to write a quick message letting you know how much I adore seeing you here. I've been a fan of Supernatural for a long time, but it's only been in the past couple of years that I've really read SPN fanfiction or engaged with the fandom in any conceivable way, and it's something I wish I'd done a lot sooner. There are so many amazing recommendations for fics on LiveJournal that just aren't around anymore, and unfortunately, the Wayback Machine only captures a very small fraction of them (although shoutout to people who were saving webpages back in 2008!!!). That's part of the reason why I'm so grateful to see you around. As lovely as it is watching new people build their own castles in the sandbox of a piece of media I love, there's something so incredibly warm and cozy and joyful about seeing a familiar username pop up on A03 or Tumblr. It's kind of like coming home, if you know what I mean :) Fandom (any fandom, really, but SPN is near the top of that list) can be exhausting and disheartening and toxic, just as much as it can be exhilarating and uplifting and transformative, and while I'm sure that as someone who's been in this space for a long time, you've most definitely encountered an unreasonable amount of the former, I'm ridiculously glad you're still writing. Because to me, you are a part of what makes the SPN fandom such a wonderful place to be in :)

Oh, and besides that, have I mentioned how much I love your writing? Because I love, love, LOVE it. All your fics are so diverse, I have no idea how you come up with the plot sometimes (especially the current one, UGH I'm dying just thinking about it!!). But no matter how complicated or simple the story, there's something so heartfelt and tender in each one, with beautiful angst and the kind of witty humour that makes me want to reach for a pen and take physical notes—not that I end up doing that because then the hot sexiness comes in and I lose all coherent thought ｡^‿^｡ Speaking of which, your characterization of Dean and Sam is EXACTLY how I see them, too (including Top Dean/Jensen which is absolutely delicious and I so wish there was more of that in the fandom) and ohmygod I don't know whether to love you or hate you for making me read RPF, the one thing I thought I'd never be okay with, but how can I resist when your stories are so enticing?????

(Oh, and speaking of RPF, I also love your characterization of Chad whenever you incorporate him in your stories. Every time I see him on screen I know it's going to be a good time :) It's kind of funny because I know virtually nothing about the actor in real life outside of his character from One Tree Hill, but from my limited knowledge it seems to me that a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, all the authors in the CW RPF fandom got together and unanimously decided to make him a secretly smart but also complete buffoon-headed slut (in the best way) and I just have to know how that all started. Do you have any insight?)

Okay, this message is getting seriously long and cheesy, so I'm going to wrap it up now before I start proposing (although if you're willing to join me in the land of maple syrup and hockey, I will happily get down on one knee with a ring pop), but I just really wanted to let you know how much your work means me to me and how much of an inspiration it's been. I hope to one day be capable of writing fanfic as incredible as you can, and that the depth of my love for the things I enjoy will shine through my writing in the same way yours does.

Thank you so much for always putting a smile on my face (or making me cry because the angst is just that good) and I wish you all the best in life, the universe, and everything ♡♡♡

Love,

IllusionalOptics

Oh my gosh this is so much love! Wow, thank you so much for this, you made my whole week!

Honestly, I can't believe I'm still here in SPN fandom. Back in the LJ days, usually when a show ended the fandom died shortly thereafter. And a show that went on as long as SPN did means a lot of people moved on to other fandoms anyway. So I'm thrilled to still be here, playing in this sandbox. No way I would have called that back in 2007 when I first fell into this fandom. And yes, I've seen a lot of vitriol over the years, some of it slung directly at me, though not in a long time. I'm here to have fun and enjoy fandom and I refuse to let anyone drive me away from it. No one gets to take away my joy.

I'm so honored and humbled that people are still finding and reading my stories to this day--especially newer fans! Thank you so much for your lovely, amazing, wonderful comments about my writing! It's funny because I usually start out with a simple idea for the plot and then it just becomes so incredibly complex and complicated lol For Retroactive, my current story, I knew the plot was going to be exceptionally complicated, and I don't know why my brain does this to me. It's like, hey you've written so many things, this time, let's make it EXTRA DIFFICULT! This story is by far the hardest one I've done yet. And I feel like I say that every time I write a new one, unless it's just a romance piece.

So happy that my Sam and Dean match your interpretation. Everyone (not just writers) kinda has their way of seeing the characters. I try to to stay true as I can to canon characterization, but there's always my personal filter on it that I can't separate out. So it makes me happy that it matches yours!

Hahaha. Okay, so you should probably love me for making you read RPF because some of it is just ASTOUNDINGLY good as they tend to be original stories with the actors playing the parts. But real talk, RPF was a big NO for me in the beginning, too--hell, Wincest was gigantic NO for me in the beginning lol, but I tried to draw a line at RPF. And after I wrote Like Staring Into the Sun I was in a chat with two friends who basically decided I was going to write this RPF story about a teacher Jensen and a student Jared. I resisted for like an hour or more. And eventually they convinced me. But Then My Homework Was Never Quite Like This was my first RPF fic. And I was just finally like, welp, I'm already shipping Wincest so here we go I guess lol So yeah, I hear you. I live my life mostly line free these days though. SPN fandom will do that to you.

Oh my god I love writing Chad. He's a bit different in every story I do but he retains some core characteristics. Ooooh, I get to impart some fandom elder knowledge lol So, back when I wrote the original Homework verse story, there was this tendency in fics to make Chad kinda dumb and/or gross and/or a dick. Often, he was a douchebag. He was funny, but a lot of times not in a GOOD way, I guess? So when I wrote the first Homework story (2008), I decided I wanted to make him smart, but in like, the most ridiculous roundabout way, so he'd still be funny. I can't say I started it, but I was definitely way ahead on the trend for smart Chad. Back in the day there was a lot of talk about him IRL being kind of a dick, a sleazebag and sleeping around, and though I don't remember if there was confirmation, a lot of people talked about him cheating on Sophia being the reason their marriage ended. I can't confirm any of that but I remember it was the talk at the time. So a lot of people took pieces from these things and ran with them and the fic version of Chad was created as kind of a dick and a douchebag and usually Jared's best friend (because of them living together IRL for a while) and the comic relief. It seems to have morphed some over time, which is good, because RL Chad seems to have grown up and to be a good person at this point in his life.

I wanted to talk about top Jensen and Top Dean, too, but this is getting so long lol Just know that back in 2008, 90% of fic was Top Jared and Top Sam, and my understanding is that that's now shifted and rebalanced the other way, to like 90% Top Jensen and Dean now. Although maybe it has shifted again in the last five years to be more balanced, Idk. I don't read fic like I used to.

Anyway, seriously, thank you SO SO SO SO MUCH for this. It means so much to me that you took the time to write all this out to me. Thank you for telling me all these things and for sending me so much love! Sending love right back at you! And feel free to ask me anything, any time! <3<3<3

[garoumylove]

Forgive me OPM darlings for I have sinned...

I see a few people reading and interacting with my posts lately which makes my heart super happy but I think it's time to come clean.

I have committed the cardinal sin: I do not like the ending of the MA arc or the way Garou is characterised post his fight with Saitama.

I'm sorry...I'm sorry if this lets you all down. I know that this is not the Done Thing in the OPM fandom but I just...can't.

Now let me be clear because confessing to this comes with so many assumptions.

-NO, I DO NOT HATE THE MANGA. I fell in love with Garou through the manga. He become the light of my life during the A-Class fight. I think the manga did an amazing and brilliant job of capturing him and his spirit up until a certain point.

-NO, I DO NOT THINK THE MANGA SHOULD HAVE BEEN A 1 TO 1 CARBON COPY OF THE WEBCOMIC. While I do think the webcomic did a better job of Saitama vs. Garou and its aftermath than the manga, I don't think it should have been a straight up copy of it.

So what don't I actually like?

I stopped loving it after Garou got to the surface after the long hiatus of us not seeing him due to the Psykos fight.

Ever since he re-emerged he was not the same cocky, decisive, independent , threatening character. He was completely softened up to the point where, to me personally, his personality was no longer recognisable as the Garou I fell in love with.

I've had many discussions with people who feel similar to me and people who feel the complete opposite. The deal is that Garou since then has been really pure, way more than before.

I'm not upset because he's happy, I always wanted him to be, I just don't like the pure, age regressed Garou. He seems more naive and comical than before. To me, he feels more like Luffy now than Garou. It's not that I wanted him to be depressed and angry all the time, I just wanted him to be happy but more of a cocky young adult rather than the kid-like Garou we have now. I didn't want him to submit to authority so easily and for Bang to treat him like a small naughty child. I wanted him to reconcile with Bang and have a more mature mentor/mentee relationship and probably not so soon after his defeat.

I don't want to get too much more into this because I know this is a very sensitive topic and people get really upset about it as I've learned through personal experience. But I just wanted to be completely honest with anyone who may be reading or interacting with my posts.

I understand why so many people do like this much softer, child-like Garou and I think it really comes down to personal preference and unfortunately, that just isn't mine. I will continue to write and draw Garou as I see him, the Garou that I have built up in my mind based on everything up to the surface fight. The Garou that I fell in love with.

It's just my preference, just like some people like soft and fluffy fanfics and some people prefer darker, more brooding stuff.

I think there's no question that Garou's characterisation has changed to become more of a sweet comic relief and that's just something I'm not that attracted to.

I respect everyone's preferences and opinions and headcanons of Garou and other characters but these are mine.

I'm just going to keep doing what I've always been doing but I wanted to be honest with this because some people take this very seriously and this debate has ended friendships.

Please love the Garou that you love and enjoy what you enjoy. I guess I am just a heretic and will continue to be so. I'll go say my ten Hail Marys now ;)

[renaerys]

what is it about sakura that makes her just so… shippable?

There are a few answers to this question. I suspect you may not like most of them, so I’m putting this under a read more. But you did ask, so here it is.

Rather than answer this with some sqeeing agreement over our flawless shippable queen being just That Hot, I'm going to try to answer this seriously. This is your second warning that what I'm about to say may not be warm and fuzzy to read.

Prefacing that Sakura is a character I have deeply loved and appreciated for many years, but it is exactly my love for her that makes me critical of her and the way I've seen her portrayed and, in some ways, mismanaged by fanfic authors over the years. Take all this with a grain of salt. These are just my own observations and opinions. I'm not here to ruin your faves, shame you in any way, or make you feel bad.

1. She’s got very self-insert protagonist-chan vibes that allow all types of people (us) to project onto her. This is admittedly an uncharitable answer (and, fwiw) not really in line with canon. Because in canon she actually does have some unique personality and she definitely does have some glaring character flaws that make her more closely resemble a real person. Kishi doesn't go very far with this, but it is absolutely there. So we're not working with cardboard here.

But unfortunately, so many fanfics erase a lot of that about her, or borrow parts of other characters/the idealized girlfriend experience and superimpose them onto Sakura as a catch all to make her "cooler" or "more interesting" to suit whatever they are trying to accomplish with her. I'm talking about how Sakura is portrayed as some combination of all or some of the following: a gorgeous, insanely empathetic woman who also has a temper (but only in the Strong Female Character way, not a true-to-life feminine rage way that addresses and unpacks her canon deep insecurities and demonstrated emotional insensitivity toward others, because that would be unattractive), is able to see past her love interest's issues and secrets and "understand" them perfectly (often without any real substantive work put into exploring how or why this makes sense in the context of the story), is both therapist and powerhouse in all that she does, is possessed of unparalleled kindness but also """"she's so sassy!""" type of shit. She's full of so many contradictions yet somehow the perfect, ideal girlfriend that my head spins. Who is she anymore? I don't know this person. That’s the protagonist-chan shit I’m talking about (see also, relatedly: Mary Sue, but I think that only captures one dimension of the problem). I think we’ve all seen those fics. There are a lot of them, and they are egregious or not to varying degrees. It’s boring as hell.

2. For some reason (no, I know the reason and I’ll get to it in a sec), people tend to like only Sakura and not care about maining any other female characters. Like the number of people I have encountered over the years in this fandom who outright (and, bizarrely, quite proudly) proclaim that they only read Sakura fics and will not entertain any other female main is…well, it makes me sad for them. Not that you can’t main your faves, but to wear it as a badge of honor feels red flag-y to me. What is it about the other ladies that offends you so? Have you questioned what it is about those other female characters that puts you off without giving them a shot? (I have some possible answers to these questions below.)

Anyway, we know why. The generous reason is that she is simply the main character of canon and has the most screen time, so it’s understandable that she’d have more fans than the other girls with comparatively less screen time. Nothing wrong with that on its face. It just makes sense.

However, my cynically in-this-fandom-for-15+-years ass also knows that, to a certain degree, this aversion to other female characters who are not Sakura is related to #1 above. She’s protagonist-chan, an easy personality to obliviate and make vanilla/ideal in a way that is simultaneously reductive and inoffensive, and that makes her approachable. Safe. An aspirational "that could be me." Characters like Ino, Karin, Mei, Tsunade, etc. don’t flatten as easily. They have more polarizing personality traits you can't squirm your way out of like you can with Sakura (I say you can with Sakura only because people do it, not because it can actually be done well or in any way that is satisfying to me personally). Those polarizing personalities put a lot of people off. It’s not unique to Naruto, it’s just the way people tend to write and consume stories in general. That’s why we get the “sassy best friend” trope and "women be catty". Sassy BFF is generally a more interesting character because she is allowed to be a chaotic fuck up on screen or horny on main, but she rarely gets the spotlight because that very same leeway makes her unrelatable to too many people. Some very "I'm in this picture and I don't like it" type of reactions.

Here's the part where I say "not every fan". Obviously, it's not every fan. If you don't want to read an Ino fic, don't. I'm not going to arrest you. But these generalizations are helpful in identifying patterns and for forcing ourselves to question our unconscious biases and unpack them. Which, personally, I find interesting.

3. All this to say that I'm honestly dismayed by how far fandom falls astray wrt Sakura at times. She actually has a lot of cool traits, interesting personality, and plenty of cracks in the plaster to make for a well-rounded, relatable character while still proudly repping the "normal girl" or "everyman" position. All she needs is some care and extrapolation, the same as most of the other characters. The foundation is there in canon even if it isn't fleshed out well enough on its own. But it's more than enough to build upon in fanon, which a lot of very skilled authors do super well! I previously talked about why I think Sakura is so much more than just protagonist-chan in this post and why it isn't a bad thing on its face. There are plenty of authors who understand that and write it well, and those fics are some of the best in the fandom imo. Unfortunately, there are also many authors who don't. Those stories are not bad and those writers don't suck. They just don't appeal to me personally because that's not what I'm looking for in Sakura fic.

4. Why is Sakura so shippable? I suspect that people take her "everyman" positioning and find very little that is offensive when you put her next to other characters. Like a staple food, rice or beans or potatoes. Goes with everything, and it gives room to sweat over the character you pair her with who, typically, is allowed to be more interesting and complex (the patient to Sakura's therapist). And if that's what you like, awesome! I wholeheartedly support you and I hope you create and find the content you wish to see. There's nothing at all wrong with this preference, and the Sakura fandom is very blessed to have a lot of good content to choose from. There is literally something for everyone, which is such a nice perk of being a Sakura fan.

[digitalsatyr23]

My Writeblr 2023 in Retrospect

This year feels like a weird blur. Like a lot happened, but looking back, I keep feeling like there are these huge blank spots. The only way I can really chart my course is through my writing, as well as what I uploaded here. While I became more active again near the end of 2022, the vast majority of the stuff I've done for my blog took place during this year. Unfortunately, not all the writing I did this year could be uploaded (private comms, group projects, NSFW content), and there were many dry spells here (especially recently) because of this.

What I'm Proud Of: This was the first year that I seriously did things like writing commissions. Like sure, I had done one for a friend and that worked out okay, but doing that with a friend you're familiar with is waaaaay different than working with people you don't know, especially since you gotta come up with rules and a general framework. Had some highs, had some lows, but I still feel happy I was able to scrape by on my writing alone. Like it was still rough because as basically everyone who lived through the same year can attest, 2023 was like "what if everything was more expensive for no goddamn reason" and that mean anything that was already hard was like... Way harder. Many a nights I had to ration out my food and eat like once a day to ensure I had a meal awaiting me the next day. So being able to not go hungry due to being able to write was pretty great, all things considered. I also made a lot of good writeblr friends on here. There's a pretty chill community on this site, and I'm glad that I get to be a small part of it. Hopefully my stuff will continue to be well-received going forward!

What I Regret: I think my biggest regret - aside from the major dryspells in creativity and motivation - has to be the fanfiction. Like it's no secret to me that the OoT fanfic I was writing between projects was like way more popular than my originals. And hey, that's totally cool. But it's also because of that that when I had to switch back to other projects, or just focus on surviving, I kept thinking to myself "Damn, I really dropped the ball with that one. I had a good thing going and then I just sorta walked away." I feel bad about that. Believe it or not, I do plan to return to it, but there's also another project that's been waiting for me to return to, so now that I've just about finished with this really huge commission, I need to give that project some love first. So the tl;dr is that I do plan to finish the OoT fanfic eventually, it's just not something I can get back to this very moment. If I have any updates for it, I'll let you guys know!

Stories/Chapters I Wrote This Year: 25

My 2023 Word Count: 261,933

I'm specifically counting short stories, novelettes, novellas, or chapters that are part of a larger but incomplete project (any story with multiple chapters that is complete would just be 1 in this case). Like I wrote a crapload of lore for my Arachnia setting buuuut if I had to sift through all that and include it here, I'd be here a long time... In any case, I just wanted to reflect on this year, partly so I could try and remember things, and partly so I could come to terms with both my proud moments and regrets. I feel like 2024 is gonna be the "me picking up the pieces" year or something, but I feel that I owe it to myself to keep moving forward and make things that I love. With luck, hopefully you'll love what I make too. Take care, everyone, and happy New Year!!

[scary-senpai]

For the fanfic ask game...I can't actually decide. XD How about any two of your choice?

Ahh! Thank you so much bestie <3 I really appreciate you dropping an ask. I did not get to this on Tuesday because brain melt (!), but seeing you in my notifications made me smile <3<4

You also get a third bonus question because You Are Great.

(link to fanfic ask game is here--feel free to drop a note! asks are my love language)

C: What character do you identify with most?

Garou. I've always gravitated towards overtly angry, troublesome male characters and I've recently come to suspect it has something to do with gender: growing up, I felt a lot of anger/frustration/confusion over my identity (not my gender identity, necessarily, but more like How to Human as an Autistic person). To navigate this, I over-corrected by confirming to whatever my idea of femininity was, in the worst possible way. (I guess I would say I'm a cis-female but I've never really cared that much).

Since I spent a lot of my adolescence trying to make myself smaller and weaker (because that's how I thought girls/women were supposed to be), I suspect if I had been AMAB I would have focused on becoming bigger and stronger.

In any case, I understand the quiet desperation of exercising until you pass out because of that lingering sensation of not-enoughness.

I also talked a bit about spending seven years with a toxic mentor that was frustratingly competent about a bunch of stuff (but just... horribly misguided when it came to personal relationships), and when I use one of the techniques he taught me (whatever Fist of Flowing Water Crushed Rock is, but for emotions), I inevitably flash back to that scene with Garou and the Tank-Top Gang ("I hate using this because it reminds me of him--").

Anyway, after that I left that job I went to touch grass/do something completely different (work in a yoga studio) because I just needed to... scrub toilets and fold a bunch of towels and untangle all the things I'd learned that were (in a sense) true, versus the concepts I wanted to embody and believe in and manifest. Additionally, my experience working there also informs some of the scenes I write with Garou in the dojo (mostly him griping about how nobody seems to take chores as seriously as he does, or how he keeps finding other people's underwear in weird places with literally no logical explanation for why that might be).

L: How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

A thousand times, possibly a billion.

Just kidding, but it feels like too many. (The first chapter of Collateral Damage took me like eight months...I probably should have put it on ice for a bit, honestly)

Fic was my way of learning to write again, and I've never written any longform fiction, so multi-chapter fic in particular have been an experiment in how my brain works, and the tools I need to efficiently craft a story. If there are multiple layers to a scene, I don't always have the mental processing power to work out each aspect at once (what the character's say vs. what they mean, what they do / how they do it / what this indicates about them, plus any undercurrents of narrative tension or symbolism or whatever). So that's been a whole thing. I think I'm getting better at it, though. Flumptober Sexy Chess scene had a lot going on (and completely derailed all my deadlines), but knowing that I can labor on a beloved chapter for weeks instead of months was... a milestone, honestly.

"Kill your darlings before they kill you" is my new mantra, and unfortunately I had to learn that the hard way.

U: Share three of your favourite fic writers and why you like them so much.

@beileil, you're one of my favorite authors because of the way you blend so many things: humor, plot (specifically mystery), characterization and lovely prose. Even in an AU, the characters are very much themselves but they're also new and unique. One of my bad writing habits is that I will sometimes skip over description if it doesn't really speak to me, but with your stories I hang on every word--I remember reading the Hero Detective Agency and feeling completely emerged in that universe from the beginning.

@sharuruwrites, I think you are excellent at putting characters in Situations. I like how you manage to zoom in on some of the grittier aspects of characters (like how bloodthirsty Toji and Sukuna can be, or how Gojo is So Very Immature and Extra) and, without glossing them over, somehow make these traits more endearing (or at least understandable/relatable). I feel like every scene and small detail moves towards some sort of purpose, and if I blink, I'll miss something.

I guess my third favorite fic writer is my brother. I wonder if he remembers that we used to write silly stories about Mario sometimes (I was 12 or 13 which means he was 9 or 10, so I was probably typing while he was dictating). I am both insatiably curious and afraid to ask. In any case, he's still a hilarious storytelling and I hope to write more (original) things with him some day.

[harleyacoincidence]

(this is @anulithots btw!)

'Love corrupts fresh lilies' is one of the coolest titles I've ever heard.

My interest has piqued... not forced at all, but I'd love to know what it's about!

*will now proceed to scroll through the tag hehehe*

Hey, welcome to my inbox! Nice to see ya!

Honestly, I'm flattered that you like the working title. I always thought it was too descriptive or too long, but I've gotten pretty positive reception for it, so I might keep it.

So, this work has been floating around in my brain for a little while, not as long as Tales of the Unfortunate Summoner (if you're into demon summoning stuff that desperately needs a rewrite, it might be for you), but it's certainly made its presence known. It started off as a parody of one of those fanfics you might find on Wattled in 2015 regarding One Direction and selling children (if you know, you know). Personally, I could see what the authors were going for, but the concept just wasn't for me (unless I decided to not take it seriously, which I did).

So, I had a basic plot outline with no character ideas. I wanted someone to live their life, find something new, and BAM! PROBLEMS! And romance, if applicable. That one was sitting on the back burner, though. It was not the main course, and still technically isn't. After this, I had a dream in which I had characters, a better plot outline, and pretty much everything I needed. That fuelled my creative process, and I managed to start writing poems about the story, the worldbuilding, and how I wanted it to work. I later decided to turn those poems into a novel once I had more worldbuilding done, and I'm still in the process of doing that.

Warning: this is a very complicated WIP, with a huge cast of characters. While many of them are side characters, that doesn't make any of them unimportant or less vital. Each of them has a distinct role to play within the worlds (yes, worlds plural) that this story takes place in.

Additionally, this WIP is VERY dark. If you are sensitive to topics such as violence, murder, swearing, manipulation, dehumanization, psychological and physical abuse, kidnapping, gore, drowning, bigotry, or even sexual content (I think this one loosely applies), PLEASE do not read any further. This WIP is not for everyone, and if you do not like its content, that is okay. It may just not be your kind of thing, and that is entirely valid. Please, do not violate your boundaries by reading this if you feel like you will be negatively affected by any content you are about to witness. The content present in this WIP does NOT represent my personal beliefs, and was created for entertainment only. Please do not harass me, my followers, my mutuals, people I know, or anyone interested in this WIP due to its content. If you don't like the sound of it, DO NOT READ IT.

Thanks! Now, if you are still willing to read about it, feel free to keep going. If not, you have been warned. I'll see you on another post, friends!

Alright, so now that we've gotten all that out of the way, I suppose I should get into what this WIP really is about. Here's a (semi-detailed) post regarding some general information you should know, as well as some bonus snippets at the end.

Genre

Love Corrupts Fresh Lilies is, at its core, a fantasy-turned-horror novel, with some elements of romance thrown in. It follows common tropes within those three genres, but I've attempted to sew them together to make something original.

Synopsis

Rafflesia Mallory, a young woman who wishes to escape her harsh reality and the people who torment her, finds herself running from the embodiment of time, disappearing into another world, one called Altalias. There, she meets a colourful cast of literal gods, among them being two rivals who want nothing more than to be together, a scammer who everyone likes, and the worst thing that's ever happened to her.

Setting

This WIP has two main settings, one being the world Rafflesia comes from, which is made to represent our real world, and Altalias the place where beings that might as well be gods reside. All other settings mentioned or referenced do not play as large a role.

Characters

The cast of characters here is very large, but here's all of them, plus a little information about them!

Rafflesia Mallory - The protagonist of this story. She often wears red, and was incredibly lonely before coming to Altalias. She also stole something from Time (who you'll learn about soon enough), which she really does not want to give back. She is canonically bisexual.

Jacob Amond - Rafflesia's cousin, and the source of most of her torment. His time in this novel is short, yet you'll be cursing his name once you finish. He's extremely egotistical, and not the nicest to his cousin. He is canonically heterosexual.

Zane Bianco - Rafflesia's ex-boyfriend, and one of Jacob's best friends. He's a decent friend, but a horribly toxic partner, with near impossible demands. He regrets his actions and attitudes towards Rafflesia, but that is not enough to save him. He is canonically pansexual.

Sitara Bauer - One of Jacob's friends, and Rafflesia's friends by association. She has high goals, and often unrealistic expectations, but keeps a positive outlook on life. She has a twin sister named Ebony. She is canonically pansexual.

Ebony Bauer - Another one of Jacob and Rafflesia's friends, and Sitara's twin. She is more cautious than her sister, and isn't as positive, but that doesn't mean she's a pessimist. She's a bit of a hopeless romantic. She is canonically lesbian.

Winifred Gallagher - One of Rafflesia's former friends that she had outside of her cousin's friend group. She's very stubborn, and knows how to get what she wants. She only recently broke off her friendship with Rafflesia. She is canonically bisexual and transfeminine.

Hugh Murphy - Another of Rafflesia's former friends that wasn't in her cousin's friend group. He enjoys mysteries, whether that's reading books in the genre, or watching shows like Scooby-Doo (Scooby-Doo is not canonical to this novel, nor is it associated with it. It is only being used to give you an idea of his taste). He is great with the outdoors, and leaves this WIP alive, which is pretty rare. He is canonically asexual.

That's it for the humans, so let's get into everyone else!

Lawrence - The god of wealth. His title is "King". He let his godly subject get the best of him, and has succumbed to greed. He scams people to get a little wealth out of them, as he attempted to do with Rafflesia once she came to Altalias. He saw a chance to bring more wealth into the system if outsiders could enter their world, and tried to capitalize (get it?) on the opportunity. He was unsuccessful. He is canonically aroace.

Csilla - The god of space and technology. Her title is "Astronomer". She was one of the first five gods to exist when Altalias came into being. She is one of the most important gods, yet prefers to hang in the background. She does not like to attract attention. She is canonically an aromantic lesbian.

Cayden - The god of agility. His title is "Shihan". He works with Griffin to keep Altalias safe and well-defended from any threats. Unsurprisingly, due to its seclusion, there are very few threats to begin with, other than some possible ones from inside. He is canonically gay.

Griffin - The god of strength. His title is "Renshi". He works with Cayden to preserve Altalias' safety. He mentors Cayden, and often keeps his bursts of energy under control. He is the calm to Cayden's storm, and they fit quite well together. He is canonically a homoromantic asexual.

Juliette - The god of theatre. Her title is "Entertainer". She loves to perform (evidently) and often works with some of her fellow gods during festivals. She is best friends with Melody and Cale. She is canonically pansexual.

Melody - The god of music. Her title is "Virtuoso". She does not like the spotlight as much as Juliette, but enjoys the thought of entertaining others with her beautiful music. No festival or event is complete without her touch. She is canonically bisexual.

Clae - The god of visual art and architecture. Her title is "Artisan". Clae loves to share her work with others, and often invites people to her studio for an afternoon of pottery. She is incredibly patient, and willing to help others if needed, whether or not the task at hand is something she is good at. She is canonically lesbian.

Kai - The god of water. His title is "Torrenter". Along with Csilla and a few others, he was one of the first gods to come into existence. He likes to project a calm image when in public, but is quite temperamental. One of his coping mechanisms is changing the weather, such as making the sky cloudy, or having light rain, heavy rain, or even hail. It takes enough energy out of him to calm him down, but does affect everyone in Altalias. He doesn't really have anyone he can talk to other than Bridget and Aura, due to how dangerous he can be. He is canonically aroaceflux.

Bridget - The god of fire and generic insults. Her title is "Roaster". Unlike many of the other gods, who had their titles bestowed upon them, she came up with her title herself. She is closest to Aura and Kai, who also represent elements. She has an awful temper, but is a great person to be around when she's in a good mood. She does tend to lash out at people directly when she's angry, but if you've proven that you will be by her side no matter what, she'll do anything for you. She is canonically bi-curious.

Aura - The god of wind and air. Her title is "Liberator". She is another one of the five original gods. Aura is one of the most mysterious gods, but is highly respected. Despite being rarely seen, her presence is always felt. When she is seen, she either communicates telepathically, or through a type of Altalian sign language. She is canonically demisexual.

Isagani - The god of success. Their title is "Provider". They are the god that others often seek out if they feel that they are going through a rough time in their life and want good luck. They often work closely with Kari, the two of them often being referred to as the Fortune Duo. They used to be very close to Lawrence, before he let his greed overtake him. They are canonically agender and pansexual.

Kari - The god of aid in dark times. Their title is "Server". They are regarded as the bringer of hope, and are visited when one has a problem that Isagani cannot solve or give advice for. Long ago, they helped to defeat a source of evil within Altalias, forcing him to reside within the far forests. This evil is rarely ever seen outside of them, mostly due to the humiliation he faced in his defeat. Kari is canonically agender and demiromantic.

Aadhya - The god of competition. Her title is "Lady". Aadhya often works with Lawrence, Ferphasia, Juliette, Melody, and Clae to put on festivals or competitions within Altalias. She is very competitive, and often wins the most during said contests. She is canonically heterosexual.

Chloe - The god of childbirth and family. Her title is "Accoucheuse". She is one of the first five gods. She is extremely kind, and works with Ferphasia in a sort of store that has a variety of goods one might need (these include food, clothing, and charms). She was also one of the first to properly welcome Rafflesia to Altalias and make sure she felt at home. She is canonically pansexual.

Ferphasia - The god of gifts and hospitality. Her title is "Enchanter". She is kind of the Glinda the Good Witch of Altalias, with her foil being Jade. She has Chloe's kindness, but is more firm than her. She is also madly in love with Jade (who returns the feeling), but refuses to admit it. She is canonically lesbian.

Kenzo - The god of good health. His title is "Curer". If anyone in Altalias finds themselves with a physical ailment that they were not created with, they go to Kenzo. Nine times out of ten, he can either fully cure you or help you heal. However, as you'll see, this is not always the case. He is canonically gay.

Jade - The god of dark magic. Her title is "Witch". Jade is easily one of the most misunderstood in Altalias. She does not mean harm, but enjoys playing odd pranks on people, often involving rocks appearing in strange places. She is very close to Lawrence, as he is one of her only friends. She has a huge crush on Ferphasia, her rival, but refuses to admit it to anyone other than Hemlock, her brother. She is canonically lesbian.

Hemlock - The god of corruption. His title is "Master". He is one of the first five gods that came into existence with Altalias. He is the original source of evil in Altalias, and nobody but Jade gives him a chance to do anything. He mostly remains in the far forests, and is almost never seen in the town square. He hates Lawrence due to how egotistical he is, and Lawrence hates him because everyone else does. He will jump at the chance to leave his mark of evil anywhere, especially on a certain protagonist. He is canonically heterosexual.

Time - The embodiment of time itself. His name is his title, and if he catches you, there is nowhere you can run. He once was kind, just, and empathetic, but after being corrupted by Rafflesia, he is no longer so. She stole the only weapon he had, a sword, which allowed him to slightly mess with the natural order, and end the lives of people and things prematurely. Rafflesia didn't trust him to use it wisely after his drastic change. He has been trying to get it back ever since, unsuccessfully. He has lost a fight to Jade. He is canonically aroace.

Random Lore/Plot Details

Everyone born/created in the other world has powers, and is pretty much a god of some sort

They have a name and a title, but they most often go by their title

Some might have their title precede their name

They are allowed to create their name themselves, but often have their title bestowed upon them by another

It is unknown what would happen if an outsider stayed in the other world for a long period of time, perhaps they would remain the same, perhaps they would change, or die, or slowly gain god-like powers, or become a sort of powerless god themselves

Sacrifices increase the power the gods have, but most would rather avoid having to deal with murder and death

Despite being strong, the gods do not have the ability to leave their world, due to a lack of power

It is not yet known to the gods if sacrifices could remove this weakness, but one god in particular desires to be able to travel back and forth between two interconnected worlds

Gods of concepts have no human form to begin with, often just appearing as pillars of smoke, monsters, or strange inhuman spirits

The majority of them changed into humanoid forms (aside from Lawrence, who prefers his more humanoid form to begin with) upon noticing that Rafflesia had entered their world, in an attempt to make her more comfortable

Rafflesia has frequent nightmares

Lawrence dies

Bonus Snippets

(Final call for trigger warnings!)

I could hear music playing in the distance. As I followed it, I found myself in a village square. The tune was upbeat, inviting, almost like it knew I had just arrived. Why would there be music playing now, of all times? A festival? I thought, What kind of festival would be on now specifically? Do they also celebrate a jazz festival? The music doesn’t sound like jazz. I nearly tripped over a tree root while lost in thought. Definitely not my proudest moment, I’m afraid.

“If you’re looking for something to do here, Dove, we have plenty of shops for you to look through. We accept any currency, and I’m sure you’ll find something that piques your interest!” “Great, thanks, Lawrence, I’ll be sure to check those out…” I muttered, drawing my hand back slowly. “Well, if you’re new here, you’ll definitely need a guide for the time being, and there’s nobody better than myself! So, Dove, got anything on your mind that you’d like to see? If you can think of it, we’ve probably got it!”

“Please, make yourself at home! Try some apple strudel, it’s fresh. I baked some bread rolls this morning, feel free to take as many as you’d like. Also, if you like tarts, there’s some blueberry ones over here and some pecan butter tarts here. Take as many as you’d like, free of charge.” My head spun at all of the offered dishes. I felt like I was in some sort of fairy tale, like if I ate anything I’d surely be trapped in this strange place, or worse. “Uhh, catch?” I asked, shrinking back from the plates full of heavenly sweets. “Hmm?” the woman asked, tilting her head, “Catch? Why would there be a catch?”

“You! You evil, disgusting, potion-brewing, manipulating, unorganized, witchy freak!” “You overly-peppy, cotton-brained, goody-two-shoes pushover!” “They’re in love,” Hemlock whispered to me. “It’s clear as day,” I replied.

I tugged at my blouse’s collar, already sweating. I hadn’t even been called in yet. I fiddled with my folder, praying I wouldn’ suddenly forget my name. Opening my file, I quickly checked the contents. My resume and reference letters were still there, thankfully. “Olivia?” I heard the secretary call. I got up and nervously approached him. I didn’t know why. That wasn’t my name. “They’re waiting for you in room 236, to your right.”

His blood covered the streets. You could see it for what felt like miles. Everyone knew what had happened to him, even if they hadn’t been in the town square that day. Those who had been there in the moment only had more of the spectacle to deal with. I had been there. I knew. The memory stained my mind as beautifully as his remains did against the stone. I hadn’t thought smoke to be so corporeal, but my darling had shown me his power and proved me wrong once again. He’d been slammed against the cobblestone and pinned there. The more he struggled, the tighter the grip became. When he cried out, he was lifted and smashed back down. Everyone had heard something crack and break. It was not enough. Smoky fingers moved from his throat to his chest and stomach. That was where they remained, until every drop of crimson essence had been wrung from his form. He was thrown against the ground once more, splashing in a puddle of blood and innards that had been grotesquely crushed and pulled apart. He wasn’t moving anymore. No part was lively, not even his eyes, which had been rolled back so far into his head that it was a miracle they hadn’t fallen in.

My body was rotting. The only things holding it together were the roots of a tree. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe, I could barely think. As I creaked my head downward to look at myself, strung up like some sort of ornament, I noticed something funny about my arms. Where my veins of blueish purple once flowed, were strange green tracks. And they were moving. Wriggling. Almost…struggling to get out. And I could feel every bit of it.

An inky black soup. Gently churning, swirling smoothly, yet not bubbling. I dipped my toes in, and observed the gentle ripples. The urge to wade in and swim was too great not to resist. My clothes swirled around me. The feeling of the liquid was similar to water, but was more viscous. It made me a little uneasy, but the calm and whimsical nature of it only drew me in more. The overall experience reminded me of the black accidental keys on a piano. Paired with the right natural notes, the experience could either be in major or minor key. Everything was so visceral. A playful wave splashed over me, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Another splashed over my legs, and I continued. What I didn’t realize early enough was that the water was gradually becoming rougher, too choppy to properly swim in. That thought came far too late to help me. The liquid began to splash over me from all angles. I began to struggle to keep my head at the surface. The further I swam, the larger the waves became. Looking back at a wave half as large as I was tall, I began to swim faster. I needed to get away from it. I needed to stay afloat. Upon looking forward, I was met with a wave twice as large as I was. It crashed over me, and with a scream, I went under. I don’t remember whether or not I came back up.

Hope you enjoyed! Let me know if you have any questions, or want to know more! I tried to keep this as general and spoiler-free as possible.

[sehunniepotwrites]

my goodness 🥹 U HAVENT FORGOTTEN ABOUT ME 🥹🥹🥹 i feel so loved rn <3 but OMG why do all your ideas sound so INTERESTING 🤩🤩🤩 i can't wait to read them all it has been such a long time since i've read nice pieces (but partially also because i don't even know where or who is even writing on here anym :/ ) BUT I RLY CANT WAIT for the jae one 😊😊😊 there's a reason why im peach afterall hehehehe <3

oh my you graduated!!! 🤡 how much have i missed in your life seriously :/ but your job sounds rly exciting!! im glad that you're doing whatchu wanna do please make sure that as much as it gets tiring, u r still taking care of urself and finding ways to stay positive!! 😊 ouhie and don't stress over writing too much! i'm sure everyone doesn't mind waiting at all so no stress!! hehehehe wb life outside of work!! have u been spending good time w your friends and family too?

my LIFE has been constantly changing hehehe i think the last time i updated u was before i even went to university and now im already in my third year of university 🥹🥹🥹 time rly rly flies 🫣 im SOOOO busy and it's SOOOOO tiring but im just trying to take it easy and to handle everything that comes my way step by step. well the only thing that is extremely tough for me now and is rly taking a huge toll on me is my LDR :/ (yes i somehow found a male peach while i was gone jdienfkenfj) but well male peach is on exchange and rn i have managed to pull through half of it, and in dec everything will be back to normal!! its just rly tiring because of the time diff between us and just generally because of my insecurities and the unfortunate circumstances of male peach's exchange that all the other hoomans on exchange w male peach r females 🤡 but ILL TELL U SLOWLY ABOUT ALL THESE <3

love, 🍑 that misses u loads!!

AH YES I GRADUATED <333 I HAVE A MASTER'S DEGREE NOW!!! today was really rough so seeing your msg really brightened up my day. trying to stay pos through all the struggles, man.

i've gotten a bit of my social life back after graduation so that's great. did lots of traveling--i met smoll-tangerine (queenie) and ppangjae (alex) over the summer hehehe!!! besties finally meeting irl!!! going out and grabbing drinks and singing karaoke with my friends is always a great time. but istg, some of the situations in my life are like a fanfic, bro i can't believe these things actually happened. even queenie and alex were like nik, wtf!!!!! and guess WHAT? imma write stories based on those experiences too!

i'd LOVE to hear more about how you've been!! omg third year already?? time really flies, huh! and yay male peach!!! ldr's are rough, i had some experience with that, so i get you there.

and as for fics, all my ideas are so fleshed out in my mind, i really wish i could put the image in my head into my docs!!! and since you're my lil peach, here's a bit of my jae ideas for you:

drowning in your love

GENRE. childhood best friends to enemies to lovers, college!au, swimmer!au PAIRING. (long distance) swimmer!jaehyun x (sprinter) swimmer!reader PREVIEW. Jeong Jaehyun has always known how to swim, in fact, he excelled at it—the sport was a part of his very soul. But for once in his life, he wanted to experience what it was like to drown. To succumb to the feeling of being overwhelmed. Of battling bated breath.  And it was all because of you. Jaehyun realized that he was completely infatuated with every fiber of your being. Winning gold at a meet, being observed by recruiters didn’t even compare to the amount of happiness he felt whenever he was near you.  The boy wanted nothing more than to drown in your essence, your whole being. Even more so, Jeong Jaehyun simply wanted to drown in your love.

hits different

SYNOPSIS. Many people have heard of the saying, “always the bridesmaid, never the bride.” This particular saying, more than others, has always applied to you. You believe love exists for others and that it will never be in the cards for you. You’ve experienced your one true love so early on in your life and lost it,  you don’t think you can ever love again. Unfortunate and sad as it seems, you’ve accepted the role of the bridesmaid with your entire heart so why not capitalize it? You are now one of the hottest (and secretive) commodities in the wedding scene–a bridesmaid for hire–and you are thriving in your growing business. But what if your latest gig leads you back to the love that you lost? Will assisting in the wedding planning be as easy as a summer’s breeze or as harsh as a winter storm? Will seeing him again in a different light hit differently as the last time you saw him or will it bring back all the memories of your biggest heartbreak? PAIRING. Rich Boy!Jaehyun x Poor Girl!Y/ NGENRE. Exes-to-Lovers!AU | Wedding! AU | Bridesmaid-for-Hire!AU | Arranged Marriage!AU

[isthatbloodonhisshirt]

1. Hello, it's been a long time, you may not remember me, but I'm still working in the translation of your story "The Darkness Inside" into Spanish. Sorry It has take me a lot of time, but I have been strugling with a lot. The reason why I'm contacting you is to ask for your help, although maybe you don't want to get involved or just don't read this hahaha, well it turns out that a guy from the Spanish-speaking community of Sterek's fandom has been plagiarizing fanfics originally written. next

2. in English, for the moment, you have not been one of his victims and I hope you never will be, but if he is doing this with other people, nothing will stop him from doing this with you too. :(You know I'm not against translations, I'm translating your work because I love it, but I don't think it's fair that he steal credits from other people's work saying they are his.I can't pass you any link, unfortunately, but the ones that have been proven to be plagiarism are:"Stiles' Pack" by... next

3. by NarcissisticPrince AO3, plagiarized as "El renacer de Stiles" by SterekForevers Watt*pad. "There's a wolf in my bed" by halcyon1993 AO3, plagiarized as "Un lobo en mi cama" by SterekForevers. "Future Dreams" by midnitekween AO3, plagiarized as "Sueños futuros" by SterekForeversWhile only those have been verified, I wouldn't be surprised if all of their stories were plagiarized. Again, I'm just asking for your help, please, but I'll understand if you don't want to get involved in this. Next

4. Again, his watt*pad user is SterekForevers

Hello! o/ 

Oh my goodness, please don’t apologize, translations are hard and I am like, the worst about touching base with people because I am always tired (my messages are like, a year old and I feel guilty every time I see them orz) Seriously, take your time, it’s meant to be for fun right? And especially if you’re going through a lot, please take care of yourself first, you are the most important thing so please be kind to yourself! 

Thank you for letting me know about the person plagiarizing works on Wattpad. Did you happen to tell the authors whose works were discovered? (Or maybe someone else told them?). I went to try and find this person’s Wattpad just to see how many works they have that could be plagiarized, but I can’t seem to find the user. Either they’ve deleted their page/been removed by Wattpad, or they’ve hidden their profile to people. Either way, hopefully the people whose works were taken can get them removed, and thank you for spreading this awareness and looking out for the writers, you’re very kind!  (That being said, people reading this, please don’t witch hunt. If you find the page that I couldn’t, please just see if you recognize anything and notify the authors, please don’t start bullying this person, that’s not how to handle a situation like this). 

I hope you’re doing well and please take care of yourself if things are a bit rough. Your health and happiness are the most important thing, so make sure you’re being kind to yourself! <3<3<3<3<3

[luminescenthunter]

Feng Min for the ask meme! ♥

Oooo oh boy, ok! :D Even though I don't play Feng Min much, I do love her very much and have some thoughts on her. Though, putting it to words is going to be interesting XD Also, she has yet to get a tome, so this is quite hard to answer for some of the categories! But I'll go with canon where I can. •Favourite thing about her: At the moment? The fact that she got a bunny-eared hoodie because it was springtime and thought fun and festive!!! (Also it's just cute. She has a few other cosmetics I like, too

•Least favourite thing about her: *That she doesn't have a tome!!* Lol, but in all seriousness, if I was to pick something right now it wouldn't even necessarily be something I don't like about her, but something that makes me concerned for her. that being, it doesn't seem like she knows when to get away and let herself rest. She loves gaming and the acceptance she found in the gaming community, but pushes herself way to hard competitively and ends up burning out, taking it very harshly and spiraling as a result. All this leading to alcoholism for which it's uncertain she had any real friends to help her out with. At the very least, we know she didn't get that help from her parents.

•Favourite line: Without any tome lore or fanfic lines for her in front of me, I'll pick from one of her perks. I'll pick... "I'm gonna stealth this one."

•brOTP: There's so many potential ones to think about here, and I don't think I have a solid one for her at the moment. Hoever, and I'm not sure why, but I can possibly see her having a fun bro dynamic with Steve Harrington??? •OTP: This one is very easy for me. My absolute FAVE person to put Feng Min with is Nea Karlsson. Something about them just works? It's so hard to put to words. But I feel like they both might potentially take a while to warm up to other people, or for others to warm up to them. Nea hates fake niceties and I certainly feel like Feng Min isn't the kind of person who deals in those. I also just think that their personalities, or perceived personalities thus far, would mesh really well together. •nOTP: There's probably quite a few that could go here, but the first that springs to mind is pairing her with the Doc. •Random headcanon: The situation everyone is in is serious. Feng Min knows this, everyone knows this. But to make things a bit easier in her/their own way, I like the idea of Feng Min and Nea sort of make a little game of things. A friendly competition! Pretty sure I got this from Loaf, though so creds to her!! I did have another idea before, but unfortunately forgot what it was...

•Unpopular opinion: Honestly, I don't think I have one at the moment?? But if I think of one I'll come back to it!

•Song I associate with her: Ok I admit I am the WORST when it comes to picking songs that fit characters/people and I admittedly haven't listened to music in a hot minute, so I don't have anything for this at the moment. Sorry ;v; •Fave pic of her: Just doing a quick search, I LOVE this one because look at her!! She's so happy in her little hoodie and there's the pixel bunnies in the background ;O; <3 (Sorry, it's smol)

[millenialfanfictionaddiction]

First off I wanna say...YOU ARE DOING FABULOUS, YOU ARE AMAZING, TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND DRINK LOTS OF WATER(pls🥰)!!! I wandered across your 1,000 followers haikyū!! Fanfic and I immediately hit follow.

Second, haikyū hits close to home despite that I don't play sports (and relate to Oikawa the most for some reason ಠ ͜ʖ ಠ). Im in orchestra (Im a cello player) and ever since middle school I've wanted to be a conductor. I was going through a tough time and so were many other people, during the pandemic. I lost motivation to play and i was on the verge of quiting and leaving my dream behind. After a while I was able to play in a group again. I slacked off and i wasn't very good and made little improvement that is until the person in first chair was extremely cocky and it got on my nerves. It pushed me to be better so i didn't have to hear him talk about how I sucked. I eventually got to first chair and put Super Cocky™ in his place. We're on good terms and im friends with everyone in the cello section (we won best section award). And the teacher told me I really helped her out to the point our orchestra was able to go compete regionally and state wide, we even got better scores than our rival orchestra >:3. We're all a really good players even if I don't like everyone there, I know how well we can play. Unfortunately our music director is leaving( ;-;) but we will have a new one coming in next year and I've been put in charge of leading and helping out our new music director. So its gonna be alright!

Is there any haikyū!! Character you relate to the most, ma?

-Anonymous Maestro 🎶

Anon Maestro 🥰🥰

First off welcome!! And thank you for reading my works! That 1,000 follower hc set was absolutely one of my favorites ever!!

First of all, I love that! I think so many of us can relate to Haikyu despite us playing volleyball! It's a really good lesson in trying and not giving up no matter what. And it's a good lesson in team work (que season 2 training camp 🙌🏻)! Honestly I love how hard you worked and how much dedication you put into what you adore! That's seriously so important! Like sometimes I'll write a headcannon set that I love and it just doesn't do as well as I hope it will, it still means to world to me that I'm proud of myself for writing something I want! Congrats on making it so far in your chosen activity! That's a huge accomplishment!!

And please, I'm not sure to apologize or comend you for relating to Oikawa 🤣 it seems like one of those curses that is also a blessing.

Also I think my most related character is probably Tendou! I was bullied alot as a kid but I tried had to prove everyone wrong. Now look at me, I'm a Tumblr fanfic writer but I've never been happier in my entire life!!! And that's what's most important!

Xoxoxo