#but I still can enjoy it in a fun crackship way so if I find a good (sfw) idea i'll defintely draw them sure

[nonsensology]

So I've had these Grunkle Stan crackships on my mind for almost a year now. Could be interpreted as platonic, but I think there's great and fascinating potential if interpreted fully romantic. Full musings and explanations below (Warning: very disjointed and random).

Uncle Chan from Jackie Chan Adventures

Maybe Ford and Stan stumble across the Chans on one of their globe-trotting adventures. Both groups fight off the same supernatural threat and surprise each other with their ease and familiarity with the weird and fantastical.

I feel Uncle is kind of a weird in-between of Ford and Stan. He is knowledgeable but not a nerd like Ford, is generally cranky but doesn't get into trouble like Stan does, although he does have a level of disregard towards authority if it gets in the way of his goals. He's quick to do research instead of impulsively charging into a situation.

I think Uncle's dynamic with Stan would be hilarious. They would argue a lot on how to deal with a threat, but once they agree to work together, they could kick ass. Once he gets past his initial annoyance, Stan would probably enjoy Uncle's quips, even more so when he realizes that Uncle does not say them to be funny, he's just naturally snarky.

Uncle is never shown having any romantic interest or relationships, so I kind of headcanon him as ace, but I think it would be really interesting to see what kind of queerplatonic relationship he and Stan could form.

Jade and Mabel would probably hit it off immediately, and while Jade isn't as studious as Dipper, she also has an enthusiasm for the supernatural so she'd probably get along decently with him. She'd also probably think Stan and Ford are super cool, especially considering their lax attitude toward giving children weapons. Though they do still take the kids' safety very seriously.

Jackie is doubtful of Stan, much like he was with Viper, but seeing Stan look out for the kids would probably endear him a little. Ford might also help ease his worries, and maybe they both could have fun discussion about archeology.

I think Tohru and Soos could get along decently, though Tohru would find Soos' eccentric musings odd at first.

Additionally, Uncle's shop is in San Francisco, practically next door to Dipper and Mabel in Piedmont. The kids would easily visit each other every weekend.

Bruno Madrigal from Encanto

Stan has been to prison in Colombia, so I don't think he'd willingly travel there for fun, and Encanto Valley seems relatively closed off from the rest of the world, so I imagine their meeting is accidental, maybe a result of the Stans getting caught in a storm or something. They stay for a while in the valley while repairing their boat.

Stan might initially be outraged at the idea of the Madrigals not charging anyone for the use of their gifts, but perhaps lightens up when he sees how close-knit the community is. He'd still come up with ways they could show off their powers Mystery Shack style, probably butting heads with Alma in the process, lol. He might encourage Bruno to adapt a more showman-like approach to his seer abilities to make it more presentable and less intimidating.

Bruno and Stan connecting over their shared feelings of isolation from family is definitely what drew me to these two together in the first place. If they ever got serious about their relationship, I can imagine the biggest hurdle would be deciding if they should continue a long-distance relationship, since neither is keen on asking the other to be separated from their family.

Yuuko Ichihara from xxxHolic and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

Major spoiler alerts for both series. It's been many years since I've read them, and Tsubasa had so many plot twists that even CLAMP (the writers) admitted they were confused by the end result. I also might be misremembering some details, so bear with me. Factoring in the plotlines for both series and Gravity Falls would make for an incredible AU fanfic that I unfortunately am not qualified to write.

Due to Yuuko's shop being in Tokyo, a whole ocean away from Oregon, I like to imagine some timey-wimey space mumbo jumbo allowing Yuuko and Stan to meet in the dream realm. Maybe at some point, Yuuko's shop would obtain a door connecting it to the Mystery Shack.

Stan and Yuuko both have a mischievous side, though Yuuko is generally more reserved. They could start out as drinking buddies, though I imagine Stan would probably favor a light beer, while Yuuko loves sake.

They also both use aliases (it is never revealed what Yuuko's real name is), but Yuuko would likely be upfront about it. As their relationship progresses, Stan would probably feel comfortable telling Yuuko his real first name, even after she tells him the supernatural dangers of giving your real name.

While Stan scams his customers, he generally sells harmless entertainment and trinkets, whereas Yuuko grants wishes and operates strictly on an equivalent exchange basis. To quote the wiki, "All of Yuuko's customers must pay a price in order to grant their wishes, which can be no more or no less than the one demanded, or else harm will come to one's way. She is not one to tell the customer the most direct way to solve their problems because in the end, it can only be solved with that person's own realization and resolution to change themselves... Her abilities are not unlimited and may almost seem like a curse as it appears that she is unable to do anything for anyone or grant any gift (other than feelings) without it becoming a binding transaction." 

When Stan finds out just how powerful Yuuko is, I think he might react with a mixture of hesitation and awe, especially when she reveals she knows about his past, and Ford being lost in the multiverse. I am on the fence on whether Yuuko would use her powers to bring Ford home sooner, or let Stan continue working on the portal because he's already close to completing it and this would be significant in defeating Bill.

I found that the main villain of Tsubasa, Fei Wang Reed, surprisingly parallels Stan. Both endanger reality to bring back someone who is lost, but while Stan does it out of love and devotion to his family, Fei Wang Reed only did it in an arrogant plan to prove himself a powerful sorcerer. And in Fei's case, the person is already dead. CLAMP's universe establishes that the dead cannot be brought back to life, and Fei's wish to do so would cause the universe to be destroyed. I wonder if Bill would factor Fei as part of his plans.

Stan also surprisingly shares a lot in common with Fai D Fluorite. Both use their twin's name (Fai's real name is Yuui), and for much of the series Fai's tragic backstory regarding his twin is unknown, and he hides his trauma under a laid back exterior. I think Stan would empathize a lot with Fai, after he finds out his backstory.

Kimihiro Watanuki is revealed to have been created to fill a void left by Syaoran after the latter wished to turn back time. I remember Watanuki's character arc involved realizing that people cared about him. "Don't disappear", "Continue existing". Stan would probably take Watanuki under his wing, much like he did with Soos. Watanuki might find life with the Pines family far more chaotic than he's used to, but slowly warm up.

Yuuko is revealed to have died a long time ago and has basically been in magical stasis due to Clow Reed's unintentional wish. When time finally moves forward again, Yuuko eventually passes on. She doesn't return in the canon series, but Watanuki is stated to have also suspended his time to wait for her return. In this AU, maybe she reincarnates in the past and reunites with Stan and the Pines in the present day.

[twisted-confessions]

Yikes, I'm so sorry because I know that one is these is a KINDA popular ship but uh... I honestly hate any ships between anyone in diasomnia. Including silbek.

Now don't get me wrong, Im not going to hate anyone who ships it but it personally runs me as way too familial.

Also Leona x anyone OUTSIDE OF CRACKSHIPS. He is 20, they are 18 or younger. Ickyyy.

Also, staff with anyone. No.

Look, i do understand the inworld complications of most of the ships in Twst, especially with faes like Mal and Lilia. But sometimes depending on the oc and their background it works. Take someone who has a Faculty oc around the same age as Crewel or Sam, if they were shipped with one of the students (minus said fae), i'd agree that it's a problematic ship. Shipping's complicated man, it's just liking certain people to be together, whether romantically or platonically.

For my AU, Age will be a complicated thing for Isabella with the other students and I plan on her talking to others like Lilia about it. At first she thought she was just a teen Viking girl who came from different universe, then she finds out she's technically 1016 years old? That's older than even Lilia!!! How would one in her situation even find an "age-appropriate" partner? Especially if she has an extended lifespan thanks to plot twists. She still feels and acts and has been around for 16 years but thanks to the mysteries of how time travel could work, who can say? Was she just frozen there, still technically aging albeit slowly, or was it just being brought to the future in an instant?? Should she try dating one of the kids around her "age" or a fellow immortalish being who has had similar existential issues about romance and such? There is no real clear cut answer, especially since it's all a fictional story about some handsome magical bois lol.

Regardless, there will ALWAYS be complicated ships and there will always be people who ship them FOR FUN! Cause thats what shipping's for, fun. That doesnt give people a reason or excuse to just go up and say "That ship is WRONG and ILLEGAL you should be in JAIL-" or what not to someone who doesn't have the same ship ideals as you. That's why most fanfics that ship characters make sure to have warnings for people who DON'T like that stuff or tag that it features certain ships. Self-ships can get even MORE complicated because of age too, like for example, I myself am 20 years old so the only NRC student I could "legally" date is Leona but that doesnt mean I'm not allowed to imagine or fantasize about the other characters. At the end of the day, enjoy what you enjoy and let others enjoy what they like too. Everyone has their preferences.

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Future Trunks Deserves Better Ships

So fanfic with Future Trunks is very limited. But here are the pairings that I have read or seen when searching for fics in the past:

Trunks/Past 18

Trunks/Future 18

Trunks/Broly (crackship based on DBZA)

Trunks/Mai (most prominent pairing now due to DBS)

Trunks/Female OC (never read any fics with this)

I have a question: why is Trunks constantly paired with people who are WAY older than him?

Trunks is literally the good boy next door type. I can see him getting on well with a variety of women. And Toriyama or whoever decided to pair him with MAI, a woman who was a gag villain in dragon ball?? At least 18 was a fleshed-out character. My boy Future Trunks deserves better!!! Mai is literally Bulma's age or older! She could be his mom!

Out of all the ships, I think Trunks/Past 18 is the best. The age gap would be lesser compared with future 18 and past 18 has the benefit of not being responsible for Trunks' trauma. I read a fic a few weeks ago called "Butterfly Effect" that had Trunks/past 18 as the main ship and it was so good. The downside is that Krillin does not get with 18 but Krillin got another love interest in that fic and I am not a diehard Krillin/18 shipper so I hardly cared.

Trunks/future 18 is interesting. I read a great fic where the OG Trunks (the one killed by Imperfect Cell) was brought back to life and ended up marrying his future 18. They had a daughter together. I loved the character development which made their enemies to lovers journey feel satisfying. However, the issue with Future 18 being paired with Trunks is that she is half responsible for his suffering. Even if it turns out she was mind-controlled, it was still her. Plus, I have a huge distaste for the dragon balls being used to wipe Earthlings' memories so former villains (like Buu) can walk free. It's disgusting. I think Bulma or Trunks erased people's memories when the androids were dead though. But it was convenient for the ship to take off. Can't start dating 18 if you have people screaming whenever they see her and want her in jail after all. Plus, Future 18 has to be at least 16 years older than him. Ugh.

I like Trunks/Broly as a crackship. Too bad there aren't any serious fics that are completed. The only completed works seem to be porn. Anyway, this ship has issues. First the age gap again. Second, it's not a fruitful ship (pun intended). As the last protector, Trunks needs to train humans to fight and/or have Saiyan hybrid kids to teach to take up the mantle. I think you get my point about why this ship is problematic. As the last full-blooded Saiyan, it would benefit the Earth more for Broly to either meet a human female or another strong alien that could bear him kids. Imagine a hybrid with Broly's potential?! I'm pumped with excitement already as I type this!

If I were to decide the type of girl I would pair with Trunks, I would go with something like this:

A fighter like Videl. Someone with a fiery spirit with a passion to get stronger. Maybe she was traumatized by the androids and her desire to get stronger is a coping mechanism. Or maybe she just likes fighting and heard about the martial arts legends. Anyway, her journey could lead her to Trunks and he becomes her master. Training has always been a duty for Trunks. He's like Gohan in that he does not enjoy fighting. But maybe training this girl/woman could help him find fighting/training enjoyable or fun. Her passion could rub off on him and it encourages him to keep pushing his limits. She could motivate him to be better.

A girl who loves adventure like Bulma. This woman could be an alien and through shenanigans she and Trunks end up on a galaxy adventure together. Trunks has likely never travelled much and grew up in a constant warzone. I think it would be nice for Trunks to go on a fun, low-stakes adventure and meet other alien races. Maybe he could find allies/friends that could help protect Earth. Maybe he finds New Namek on the way. Maybe he finds a master to help him unlock his hybrid potential more. Trunks needs a teacher after all. It would be nice for Trunks to have a relationship with a kind of girl that helps him relax and discover his inner child. Someone he can have fun with.

A girl of service/duty. Kind of like Padme from Star Wars. Someone who understands and can empathize with his burden of protecting the Earth. Maybe she works in a nonprofit or something where she is on the front lines helping people every day. She would have grown up traumatized by the androids and lost loved ones like Trunks did. They can help each other heal as they forge a new family together.

Anyway, I did not intend this to become an essay. I just love Future Trunks and I am so disgusted with his (not) canon pairing. It's like that bastard Toriyama checked his female characters catalogue and dumped Trunks with the first one who was still single. Future Trunks deserved better and DBS will never be canon to me! At least GT left Future Trunks with his happy ending. Screw DBS and screw Mai!

[highlordofkrypton]

Hi!!! I’m brand new to the ACOTAR series and have been browsing for rare pairs and stumbled on Nyxlin. I didn’t know it was like, A Thing! Personally I like Tamlin/Rhys (they have so much chemistry omg. I don't know how people don't see it!) but I’m always fascinated by the rare pairs and how creative people are with their fics. Went down the rabbit hole of the fandom and found your blog and I’m shocked at how divisive it is. Nyx doesn’t have much of a character so can I ask what it is about the ship that you like?

Ignore this if you want to! I just got excited to find an active fandom.

First of all, welcome to the fandom! So glad to have (maybe?) another rarepair shipper on board 😊

I apologize in advance as I have an inability to be concise when I answer asks.

Tamsand (Tamlin x Rhys) was actually what first brought me into the fandom -- I had written a whole fic midway through ACOWAR because I couldn't get over the casual mention of 'training together in Illyrian camps' and Tamlin learning dirty limericks from the soldiers. They really do have amazing chemistry 👏👏👏

In terms of divisiveness, one thing you will notice very quickly is that even though the fandom is active:

It's still small enough that people keep stepping on each other's toes when it comes to opinions towards ships; it's harder to ignore when drama (usually ship or Tamlin related) goes down because everyone kind of has something to say.

Very big canon discourse, especially towards ships (constant ship wars over canon ships)

Very vocal anti-shipping, moral policing, etc. of ships and character interactions without ever engaging in the fanworks. As a rarepair shipper, I'm sure you'll understand that there are so many ways to make a ship work, and very few of them have to do with the canon text. Lots of knee-jerk reactions over ultimately silly things.

Nyxlin is only the latest drama over all kinds of rarepairs/crackships. Before that it was Elain x Beron x Tamlin, and before that it was Rhysand x Nesta. I believe there were some Nesta x Eris issues, but I only heard echoes of that.

My best advice before all else is enjoy yourself. No matter what anyone else says, just have fun.

I'm not sure if I'll have the answers you're looking for in terms of Nyxlin; we're quite a few Nyxlin shippers and everyone has their own take on the ship.

COMMONALITIES

There are a few things in common between Nyxlin fics and headcanons that I've seen that people seem to enjoy across the board.

It's important to note that every Nyxlin discussion, discourse or fanworks that I have engaged in have Nyx as an adult before getting involved with Tamlin. This is a distinction that many people struggle with when condemning this ship.

Rebellion - In the same way that Rhysand and Tamlin getting together would be taboo in their father's eyes, Nyx growing up to go against his parents actively or being forced to rebel in the name of love. It's almost like any other Disney movie where the parents say no, but the child goes ahead anyway.

Humour - Who hasn't made a ship out of a stupid joke? I have a lot of ships that have bloomed out of pure silliness. Some people have done a parody of Twilight and then we all got attached. Others just thought it would be hilarious if Feyre and Rhysand, who hate Tamlin with a passion, would have to cope with their son being irrevocably attached to their nemesis.

Redemption - Both Spring and Night have wronged each other, so this is a chance to make up for it on both sides. If Feyre and Rhysand won't meet Tamlin halfway, then their son will do it for them!

Parallels between Life (Spring) and Death (Night) - The Hades/Persephone mirrors can be seen here, if not flipped on its head with 'darkness' barging into Spring when Tamlin just really, really needs a nap.

There are probably more, but these are the ones I can think off the top of my head.

MY NYXLIN

My reasons include the themes mentioned above, but I also chose to write Nyx because he doesn't have much of a character.

I originally wrote a piece about my morally gray OC in Prythian to see how he stands up to Rhysand, and ironically, this character I've had in my mind for over a decade shared similarities with the High Lord of Night, not only in terms of the darkness-themed abilities, but in looks -- well, if dark hair and bright eyes is anything to go by.

Once I shared that WIP, I got a lot of requests to continue the story, but I'm quite shy to share OCs, especially in a fandom that struggles to deviate from canon. I also thought that what a brilliant way to parallel the reason the previous generation High Lords were so cruel; I could have Rhysand's son be more powerful than Rhysand, and have Rhysand have to cope with that threat (because my Nyx is not friendly at all).

It was quite funny to have Rhysand's ass handed to him by his son, and watch his son-turned-Eldritch-god side with Tamlin which is terrifying to him. As a Death God, there's also a really beautiful parallel to be had with Spring.

I also think it's hilarious because my Nyx looks like a 40 year old man, therefore looks older than Rhysand in canon who is looks like the canonical early 20s.

You can see how I'm not only bending the canon, but I've gone really far, if not completely off the rails, which is why I'm not sure I'm the best person to answer your question in general.

Anyway, me and my readers are having a shit ton of fun, and I think that's what matters most out of all of this!! 😊

[lemonhemlock]

I don't see why we as green fans can't complain or say anything at all about Aemond's characterization and the overuse of certain tropes in fics when black fans do it all the time also?? Be it Aemond/OC, Aemond/Rhaena, Aegon fics paired with OCs or team black characters like Baela, Daemon/Alicent or even pure time travelling crackships like Aemond/Sansa or Sansa paired with any team green guy (yes some of them have complained about this as well because allegedly if Sansa were to time travel back in the Dance era she would only fall in love with Jace! Fine! But guess what no team black stan who has complained about this aspect has written or comissioned a fic with her and their guy, they just complain that the already existing ones aren't about what they want) and they will always find time to lash out on their accounts about how the evil green authors are mischaracterizing the team black OCs or already existing characters. At least we are not leaving hate comments or criticism that nobody asked for (or I hope no one does this! Please don't!) on the fics we read and were disappointed by (and didn't even mention them as examples in these asks).

Anonymous asked: okay i’m game for some anti-lucemond inbox antagonism. while op did indeed make some good points regarding the formulaic nature of aemond x OC i still contend they do not know the difference between a minor character and a plot device. helaena is a minor character, the cargyll twins are minor characters, laenor is a minor character, heck with a bit of massaging and extrapolating harwin could be consider a minor character. Unlike strong boy #2 at least I can say what they were doing between their respective time jumps. helaena — having babies, enjoying her bugs cargylls — aegon watch + introspection which results on them being on different sides laenor — fighting in wars, hanging with his boyfriend, parenting (?) harwin — bangin’ rhaenyra, being a goldcloak, preparing to take on a lordship (just cause harrenhall is practically unliveable doesn’t mean they don’t have peasants in the vicinity to tax I suppose idk) These are characters. They have jobs and hobbies, actual relationships. lucerys in contrast, what has he being doing for the 6 years during the time skip. training? possibly, all we know about him is that he gets his ass handed to him in a fight and gets seasick. what are his hobbies? does he have any responsibilities? friends? anything? I will grant he seems to have a decent grasp of HV. during the incident Aemond in his anxiety starts giving his command in English whereas Luke maintains HV when commanding Arrax, for all the good that it did. maybe there is something there, but I don’t want to read into it too much it because it was likely more for the audience than a way to develop the characters because those are commands not sentences, like jace was working on. Speaking of Jace, even he has something going for him, minor though it was — he trains, attends meetings, is not doing so good in his LOTE classes, really doesn’t like his stepdad, still cannot take a joke. Jace has some serious emotional problems which could be worth exploring, but Lucerys? Nothing, nada, zilch. Who is this person It seems Lucerys only role was to gas up rhaenyra; just so we in the audience know she is in fact perfect, make this face ☹️ in the background of scenes, smirk one time like a asshole, and then die. he is not a character, and while I initially had no problem with him, beyond a mild distaste because he hurt aemond (I actually put more blame on Jace) the way TB started riding this non entity so hard for the last year just made me loathe lucerys. Lucemond can occasionally be fun. I like the fics which are just absurd AUs but anyone who actually takes it seriously. The folks who insist on ‘Fated Feud’ or whatever it’s called, are reaching so hard they might tear something, pretending there is any chemistry or motivation for this relationship. And don’t get me started on the ones who call Luke the pearl of driftmark, that makes me want vom. But people need to quit pretending Lucerys is something other than a plot device, first blood in the DoD, that is all. I hope him and this ship goes away soon. [anyway sorry you’ve got to be the repository for this nonsense. How do you like your aegond? The thing which should have been the main mlm ship for this ridiculous fandom.]

ironically this is probably exactly the type of content the previous anon wanted to avoid 😂 but you can't expect to go in someone's inbox looking for drama, stirring the hornets' nest so to speak, and not expect a reaction. surely everyone can deal with their inbox messages whichever way they want, on the spectrum of not bothering to react at all vs ranting about it. i don't subscribe to this idea that you should hold your mouth shut and refrain from any kind of critical diatribe bc the other side might see it and might be up in their feelings about it.

absolutely not referring to vitriolic hateposting or other forms of bullying, but the institution of the Rant is sacred and must be protected. you can be annoyed at some fandom stuff and simply want a space to air out those thoughts - ofc you're going to be posting in designated fandom platforms, bc it looks deranged to complain about this IRL. i feel that people need to accept that users should have their own barbie playground, but, equally, there should be some spaces (keeping a respectful distance ofc) where criticism or just random rants about that thing can happen, undoubtedly respecting the parameters of decency and not resorting to crazy insults

i agree (and this is a v important caveat) that it becomes bizarre when it's the same people doing it every day, bc then it turns into an unhealthy hyperfixation which you might want to interrogate, but once in a while it can be cathartic, like shooting the shit with your bffs. moderation is key to everything, we can all co-exist and get along without taking everything to heart

this isn't even about lucemond, honestly, it's more of a general fandom criticism, because this is not the first time i've encountered people who simply refuse to mute the tags, willingly read the anti posts, find themselves irked by something, then vent their frustrations on OP

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as for luke being a plot device vs a minor character, i can't say i''m too bothered about that distinction to argue either way. minor characters can also be plot devices and he is effectively fridged for rhaenyra's and jace's) pain. i do think he has more going for him in the show, like they really tried to give him more screen time towards the end and focus a little on his supposedly conflicting feelings about inheriting driftmark & his bastardy

anyway the "how do you like your aegond" sent me 🤣 i'm really drawn to modern setting AUs for some reason! the constraints of modern society are like a breeding ground for angst

[tadpolesonalgae]

WEEWOO, CC, ACOTAR, AND TOG SPOILERS AHEAD as well as my own lighthearted opinions/ theories on sjm's work<3

ab what the other anon said, i also remember moriel being pretty big. there were a lot of really good theories and fanart at the time and sjm was leaving lil breadcrumbs in interviews that people were excited about if i remember correctly too.

but around that time a lot of authors, directors, etc started getting an increasing amount of backlash about the representation or lack thereof in their work, and sjm was one of them. so i think that influenced the hasty switch in mor :( which unfortunately led to me personally not enjoying it as much. as a queer woman who dates people regardless of gender it just fell really flat to me, which really sucked because i loved mor and i was super invested in her character at the time.

which isnt to say that i dont enjoy these characters, this is still a series i really enjoy reading even if i dont love it as much as tog or cc 😂

and now, about cc hehe, i read somewhere there were supposed to be 4 books, one for each house. And Sjm's confirmed the fourth book but hasnt said whether there will be more or not. Im curious to see what the plan is now that the asteri are dead tho, because i thought they would be the main antagonist of the series so maybe she'll introduce another?

and i totally agree with your criticisms ab cc as well. The lil crossover nuggets we got with aelin being the red comet (headcanon that her court would laugh a lil knowing that she was considered a bad omen in another world lol), the books, etc. But I honestly didn't expect to get a crossover from CC into acotar, i thought it would be more fun for acotar and tog to clash. (let aelin into helion's libraries i BEG of u sjm pls 🙏🙏)

(not to mention the crack theory that maybe maeve is why daemati exist, that maybe millenia ago she or other valg were in prythian?? the powers are described similarly in dorian's povs i cant even lie 😭)

PS sorry if my last post came off a lil mean ab acotar 😭 i reread it and was like why did i word it like that and felt a lil bad but shhhh we can pretend that didnt happen

PPS god yes lorcan showed elide everything and sjm really showed us nothing. i hope lucien makes up for it otherwise i think im gonna start gnawing at the bars of my enclosure.

PPPS elide, helion, cbmthy crackship? i dont think lorcan would be into it if helion was there 😂 (he doesnt seem like the type to share nicely)

-🤠

Warnings: a plenty lot of spoilers for CC, acotar, and ToG!

��but around that time a lot of authors, directors, etc started getting an increasing amount of backlash about the representation or lack thereof in their work, and sjm was one of them.’

I think I’m glad I read acotar after that 🫤

It’s kind of lame if miss Maas did sprinkle in hints for Moriel and then suddenly changed it? Obviously someone will probably have a different stance on this to me, but personally I think if you have an actual story to tell, yes representation would be lovely just because I think if it’s done well it can be such a great way to nourish a story and add depth to it, but if it would conflict with the immersion and detail you already have in your story then I don’t think it’s necessary? I think ultimately I am happy Mor was written to like males and females, but I can understand the frustration if miss Maas was hinting at a pairing and then double back on it that would be so irritating :/

‘Im curious to see what the plan is now that the asteri are dead tho, because i thought they would be the main antagonist of the series so maybe she'll introduce another?’

I still haven’t finished CC3 but I have to agree with you because they seemed like such great antagonists??? They actually end up dead?? Okay I might actually finish the book now to find out how because I 100% thought they would be the main villains because, to be fair, they were excellently terrifying 😭 I think miss Maas did do an amazing job on coming up with creatures so obviously more powerful than the fae?

Although now the asteri are dead, it feels like if CC4 does some out it will either be a case of ‘oh, one survived’ or ‘they came back from the dead’ or she’ll just invent a new scare but either of those feels like it would be insincere and not thought out very well? I guess unless Maeve or Erawan somehow got shoved into the CC universe? that might be kind of cool? But I think if that was the case i’d want Maeve or Erawan to win 🫢 just for funsies and chaos 🫢

‘ i thought it would be more fun for acotar and tog to clash. (let aelin into helion's libraries i BEG of u sjm pls 🙏🙏)’

Oh my gosh yes that crossover would have been so amazing I would have loved to see that! Well, I would have loved to see them getting along with one another—I wouldn’t be able to read a crossover if they were fighting 😭

‘(not to mention the crack theory that maybe maeve is why daemati exist, that maybe millenia ago she or other valg were in prythian?? the powers are described similarly in dorian's povs i cant even lie 😭)’

Oh I’ve seen some stuff about Maeve and the Valg, like how her mind reading powers are described, and I think her eyes were supposed to be kind of similar to Rhys’? To be fair I’d be quite like for that plot line to be explored, it’s doesn’t sound as implausible as some other theories I’ve heard so I think it would be quite cool? Though I don’t know what effect it would have on the story?

‘PS sorry if my last post came off a lil mean ab acotar 😭 i reread it and was like why did i word it like that and felt a lil bad but shhhh we can pretend that didnt happen’

Babes don’t worry I literally didn’t think any of it was rude at all!

‘PPPS elide, helion, cbmthy crackship? i dont think lorcan would be into it if helion was there 😂 (he doesnt seem like the type to share nicely)’

I could imagine Helion pestering Lorcan though 😭 I think reader and Elide would get along so well oh my gosh I want to hug Elide so badly you don’t understand she’s definitely one of my favourite characters in ToG ☹️🫂

[bluegekk0]

Hello, I heard about the ask that you received from the anon and I am very sorry that you have to deal about that and I know that you are very insecure about your au being “not making any sense” but I don’t want you to think that way because you are just an artist who just loves pale king and makes cool ideas

Your au is not cringe or bad, your au is unique and creative, and you should be proud of it its just that sometimes that others can be jerks and assholes to people

You are not really alone because I share the same anxiety and worry as same as you every time I think about posting stuff about my own au as well.

I got an idea about what if winged nosk and nosk didn’t die but the survived from ghost and hornet

I headcanon that winged nosk was killed by hornet/herrah and ascended from godhome and I would like to make an au about what if winged nosk didn’t die but survived and was seeking revenge together with nosk (ghost nosk) which is why I made the devious duo au

Last couple months ago, I received a very heart amount of criticism from an anon in my inbox, about how much that they think that having winged nosk and nosk together would be a  crackship and a abomination of a kind and it would end badly as well and a couple of more stuff that I don’t like to put in detail…..

I wasn’t even trying to ship them both together, and I just thought that I think that winged nosk and nosk would be good teammates and all but the person whoever sent the ask is probably dirty minded and I made me so uncomfortable that I literally deleted all my old devious au stuff and including the comic cover I made. I really lost all my courage and I was very hesitant to post nosk art but I still post more nosk art because I still loved the character despite I received the most uncomfortable and painful ask I received in my inbox

Same as you, I created the devious duo au because it is just my comfort au and I love to make stuff about the nosks because I think that they are cool and I believed that they needed more attention because they don’t get enough love and they don’t get that much popularity from others which is why I kept drawing them

Everytime I see posts about your feral pale king au and your rambles, you gave me a bit of courage and confidence  to post the introduction of my au which I am very insecure about because it doesn’t fit in hk lore

I deleted my old art and introduction and all my nosk duo art files because I was so insecure about it and I was thinking if I should abandon it forever like I did to my old pale king au and my other au ideas (I used to be a fan of pale king but I threw away all my pale king fanart because I was scared of hate)

There are even times I tried to delete my tumblr account because I fear of getting bullied of the stuff I make

But its just an AU! And everyone is just having Fun!

I AM SO SORRY FOR THIS LONG ASK AKJHAKJSH

oh don't worry about it at all! i love reading through long asks like this!

that sounds horrible, i am so sorry you had to deal with those anons, no one deserves that kind of treatment, especially over something so harmless. people are way too judgmental and entitled when it comes to stuff like this, and it pisses me off every time i see it. i'm really sorry you had to go through that

your au idea sounds very interesting! i think i mentioned it to you at some point, it might have been on discord, i don't remember. but i always find it so charming and so inspiring when i see people attached to really minor (and often unpopular) characters, like nosk/winged nosk in your case

seriously, what that anon said to you is so cruel and for what? a harmless au idea? it's horrible. again, i'm really sorry that happened to you. and i'm sorry to hear how much it affected your confidence

if i can offer some advice, as someone who also has confidence issues, just do what you love. some people will have a problem with it, it's inevitable, but as long as you're not hurting anyone and are just enjoying yourself, to hell with them. they don't deserve your time, and you shouldn't waste time thinking about what they're gonna say. i know it's difficult sometimes, there are times when stuff like that really gets to you, i know that, i've been there. but think about all the other people who enjoy your work and want to see it, people who leave nice comments and reblog your art to show it to more people. and most importantly of all, think of yourself and how happy working on your au makes you. that is what really matters. we're all here to enjoy ourselves, after all

and if it doesn't "fit the lore"? if it "goes against the canon"? screw that. i have great respect for people who are careful and stay true to the canon, that's dedication on its own. but the idea that it's the only way to enjoy something is bullshit. make goofy aus. go crazy with them. if it makes you happy, then there's nothing wrong with that. the way i see it personally, canon is a good starting point for creativity, not a set of rules. more of a suggestion. you don't have to strictly follow it, that would be boring, if you ask me

i really hope you can find more confidence. if my art can help you with that, then that makes me happier than you can imagine. and please, if you ever need any words of encouragement, or just want to chat and share your ideas, you're always free to message me. we need to support each other, and we need to hype each other up. that's what being an artist is about, creating stuff and inspiring others

you got this friend, i believe in you. draw what makes you happy, share it with people who care. because people do care, there's always someone who does. stay strong ❤️

[blubushie]

TF2 questions for ya:

Favorite ships if any?

How well do you think you'd get along with the various mercs? Not how much you like em as characters cause I know I very much enjoy Soldier as a character but I could not last 5 minutes in a room with him before we started arguing and it would probably end poorly for me.

I love canon so SoldierZhanna is my only "real" OTP but I basically consider HeavyMedic canon at this point and I enjoy that ship and their chemistry a lot. I also very much enjoy ScoutPauling because Scout's so cringefail but I also want him to be happy and get the girl of his dreams because I'm a sucker for romance and happy endings, and I think he'd be great for helping her relax and have some freedom aside of work. I also enjoy SniperScout because "never shuts up" and "never talks (much)" is a fun dynamic to me.

Favourite crackship is AdminSniper because they're married IRL and I don't think shagging your boss is very professional so it's funny to me. Be professional (except when you're shagging your boss).

How well do you think you'd get on with the mercs?

I kinda covered this here? I'm going to copy-paste some of that but also add more because reasons.

Scout: His incessant yabbering would probably get on my nerves at points but it'd also mean I'd always have someone to talk to. We could discuss baseball and shit. His idiocy is endearing to me and I would constantly take the piss out of him in subtle little ways that he probably wouldn't even notice. Probably easily impressed too. I could skip a rock and he'd sing my praises and I appreciate a little ego stroking (and I'd laugh my arse off when he goes "Pssh, I can do that to" and the rock immediately sinks). Honestly I'm just a sucker for rays of sunshine. I enjoy peoplewatching so I'd love to take him camping and sit down in a folding chair with a beer and watching him try to figure out how to pitch the tent (and then be surprised when he finds out I don't usually even use a tent).

Soldier: Reminds me of my dad. I'd like to get in his head and talk about the military and shit (not that he ever actually was in it, but still). Would take him off-roading but end up dumping him like an unwanted dog when he breaks my Hula Girl.

Pyro: Scares me. Would still do a tea party with him and let him dress me up in a skirt or paint my nails even but only if he promises not to chop my hand off or start a bushfire. Would kill to be a badass and light a dart off his flamethrower. Also would just enjoy reading to him as long as he doesn't tell me to slow down.

Demoman: So many stories. Would love to share a bottle of single malt Scotch with him. I need him to rate my mixology skills (of which there are none. I can make a screwdriver and that's it, but I try). Would love to discuss chemistry with him and have him show me how to make [redacted by the ATF]. I don't know much about Scotland so I've love to discuss legends and cryptids native to our homelands. I can cover two countries!

Heavy: Would like to discuss Russian literature with him. Gives me "alcohol and heavy machinery weapons don't mix" vibes so I probably wouldn't be able to drink with him, but I'd love to discuss books and philosophy and hang shit on communists and go shooting with him. Bonus points if he lets me shoot literally any of his miniguns.

Engineer: He makes me wish I was taller so I could tease him about it. Bonus points if we're just the same height because that's even funnier. "I'm short but I've been told I'm Spiritually Tall, therefore I'm taller than you." Also if he wouldn't mind a little extra work I'd let him have a butcher's at Matilda to find out why her engine makes that ticking noise sometimes when I got over a hundred. I'm not very smart with machinery (my greatest achievement is making a battery out of a lemon) but I'd love to hear him explain it to me even though I wouldn't understand a goddamn bit of it.

Medic: Bloody hell you have no idea how much I wish I was mates with him. Look at my blog and is it any wonder? Oh, to be his assistant for just one day. I've got steady hands! We can discuss bush medicine and natural toxins and all kinds of weird drugs and a million other things. Would let him scar me. I want him to literally rearrange my guts and chat with him all the while because I'd be awake and watching and asking dumb questions like "Is that my appendix?" despite knowing fully well that it's on the other side behind my liver and not my stomach just to hear him correct me. I want him to praise me on the condition of my heart and liver and then backhand me about the condition of my lungs despite me not inhaling. I should've listening to my parents and gone to medical school.

Sniper: ...Aheh. The bush is lonely and bushmen have a tendency to stick together (when we aren't at each other's throats threatening to kill each other territory). I want to make him brekkie with something I hunted (or fished) and we could talk firearms and snares and wildlife and Australia and stars and whatever else. I want to do shrooms and DMT with him. I want to hear the story of every scar he has, I want to exchange stories of our time in the bush and Outback, I want to ride horses with him and have him be my muster mate for just one ride. I want to hear about the world and all the places I've never been from the eyes of someone who gets it like I do. He is the only person I would ever allow to shoot my rifle.

Spy: French, incredibly obnoxious, but I'd still like to be mates with him. I'd love to hear his stories of espionage and women and jobs gone wrong and jobs gone right. I want to sit in his smoking room in a silk smoking robe and enjoy the finer side of life for a while. I want to smoke a $6000 Cuban cigar and taste its flavour on my tongue and chase it with a sip of Scotch that's so rich I'll dream about it for years to come and cost more money than I'll ever see in my lifetime. I want to indulge and discuss tobacco and fine liquor and antique revolvers. Only bloke I'd ever dress up for and I'd put up with him taking my measurements for a suit.

[ottisbuns]

uhhhh toh, raeda, and thennnnnn caleb

Ok wow this was a lot and ended up taking a hot minute, but anyways

001 | The Owl House:

Favorite character: Luz Noceda, I am a basic "Main Character Enjoyer" bitch like that

Least Favorite character: This is hard because all of the characters are so good in their intended role, but if I had to pick the one that I dislike the most as like, a person? Tibbles. The only thing worse than a Genocidal Maniac Tyrant is a capitalist.

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Help me I have too many ships I like. I am a serial multi/poly crackshipper. Saying Lumity and Raeda feel like cheating, so I will be giving my top five crackships/rarepairs, in no particular order. Camilraedarius, Skara/Luz, Emira/Viney, Skara/Viney and Skara/Boscha.

Character I find most attractive: Probably Emira, for reasons that will become evident soon.

Character I would marry: Oh this is a tough one... most characters are either significantly older or significantly younger than me so picking one feels weird... Hooty will treat me right, I just know it.

Character I would be best friends with: Luz. We could bond over being neurodivergent and enjoying fanfiction and shipping.

a random thought: Emira's hair gives me gender envy

An unpopular opinion: The entire show should be replaced with Lumity screentime Honestly my opinions are pretty basic, and I'm also really bad at knowing what opinions are unpopular, but the one opinion I could see getting me crucified is that I don't have that strong an opinion on Huntlow? I see its value as a ship, but I don't have strong personal feelings on it.

My Canon OTP: LUMITY. They're the whole reason I even got into this show.

My Non-canon OTP OT5: Ok, listen, hear me out here because I'm about to sound completely insane, but Luz/Amity/Willow/Skara/Boscha. I realize this doesn't make me seem less insane but I had to get it off my chest. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Most Badass Character: Amity, her fight scenes are amazing.

Most Epic Villain: Kikimora Belos told her to go find a hole to die in, and she did. Truly the most henchperson of all time.

Pairing I am not a fan of: Picking from actually semi-prevalent ships, probably Boschlow? I'll still devour fanfiction about it given the option, but especially in canon I don't think it works.

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): The Writers? None. Disney by shortening the show? The Covenheads.

Favourite Friendship: Luz and Hunter, though they're more like siblings so does it still count?

Character I most identify with: S3 Luz

Character I wish I could be: EMIRA GIVE ME YOUR HAIR I WANT IT

002 | Raeda:

When I started shipping them: I have very few memories of my early time in the fandom, which was quite late, so basically for as long as I can remember

My thoughts: That one screenshot of Raine bridal carrying Eda with That Expression™... yeah...

What makes me happy about them: How they were so in sync even as kids and stuck together for so long until...

What makes me sad about them: ...they were torn apart by the curse.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: I know a lot of them were written before we even knew Raine existed, but Camileda fanfiction where Raine isn't acknowledged still bothers me.

Things I look for in fanfic: Established Raeda is always fun in AUs, bonus points if it's Camilraeda and they are all raising Luz, Vee and King.

My wishlist: NOW KISS

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Frequently bought together DO NOT SEPARATE! but I guess if I have to then Camila for Eda and I guess I could see Darius for Raine?

My happily ever after for them: They get married and help take care of Luz and Hunter with Camila.

003 | Caleb:

How I feel about this character: He wife guyed too close to the sun and it's still haunting the narrative. Iconic.

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: His wife Evelyn, duh.

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: His connection to Hunter, if you can call that a relationship.

My unpopular opinion about this character: I'm not super interested in like a flashback to his time in Connecticut to be honest, I'd enjoy seeing more of his time and relationship with Evelyn, but his time in Gravesfield isn't that compelling to me

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: One thing I think could have some really neat potential is if he somehow could have a heart-to-heart with Hunter. I think that could be fascinating.

Favorite friendship for this character: I mean, there aren't exactly a lot of options but I think he and Luz could be great friends.

My crossover ship: Caleb X Not Dying

[onewomancitadel]

WOW. Incredible response. I havent read your fic yet but now I am seriously considering it. I walked into this blog thinking Jaune/Cinder was just some weird crack ship. I believed all the typical stuff I see you mention like "she 2 evul theres no way!" lol but as I continued reading I slowly started to realize that this ship made sense. A LOT of sense. Im still trying to overcome my "you cant date a villain" programming but your posts are peeling back the layers of my biases. Again, thank you.

(Context).

This is a lovely message, thank you! I'm very glad you enjoyed my response. Most of all, whether or not you agree with what I say here, I just hope you enjoy figuring things out on your own and come to your own conclusions.

The reason why I take issue with that idea of 'you can't date a villain' er, programming, as you say, is because I think it's an idea taken for granted that doesn't appreciate what an individual story be trying to say... and I think trying to unpack some of our assumptions about the way stories should work is interesting. I am a big fan of R/WBY, for instance, and I wonder what it is about my background that makes me different from others who really don't like, say - let's get polemic here - Penny or Ironwood's character arcs.

So, I think that if you come to your own conclusions and draw your own boundaries about what you're comfortable with in fiction and you still don't like villains, redemption arcs, or - anything, really - you are more than allowed to do that, and you certainly don't need my permission to do so to begin with.

On the other hand, I really appreciate you taking the time to read my blog and respectfully interact with me, even if we're not necessarily working on the same wavelength (or might be working towards that? lol), and I was (and am) more than happy to elaborate on my ideas - particularly when sometimes things that are obvious to me are not necessarily obvious to you. I can point you to posts that might be helpful (if I can find them) and tags, or I am happy to expand as well... I am actually very happy to interact with people, and getting a good anon is really fun to respond to.

The question of Jaune/Cinder as a rarepair as opposed to a crackship is something we've discussed before, and I've had an anon before say very recently to me that they believed the same thing:

Oh yeah, we have had the crackship vs. rarepair debate before (and somewhere back September last year I responded to an ask by redhoodhungergames about Knightfall as a rarepair but I can't find it), and the linguistic evolution of conflating rarepair with crackship meanwhile crackships nevertheless take on fandom precedence due to panfandom baggage (e.g. searching to insert the same archetypes irrespective of canon context and pairing them together even if wholesale inventing most of the characterisation).

So, that's rather interesting... once you see and don't just look...

Nyeheheheh.

Personally I feel on this level Jaune/Cinder works as a successful twist, which whether or not it's in everybody's personal favour, has strong motivation in favour for it. (Or, let's say that Knightfall being controversial might be a reason in favour for it).

Regarding my fic, you are welcome to read it ('it' being my longfic, but there are others on my profile... you may not want to get to those first though lol) but do spare me if you don't enjoy it. (; There's no pressure though, and really I just wanted to emphasise that I don't think of myself as a professional meta writer, and also that I genuinely struggled to intellectually articulate 'why' they ought to love each other... it's something very emotional to me.

Also, from what I've been told and the vibe I get from my readers, my fic doesn't exactly follow the form of other R/WBY fics, and that can be a good or a bad thing depending on individual taste. I'm not trying to make it sound more than it is, just if you have certain expectations, it might be affronting. I'm not trying to sound pretentious or anything or make it sound like more than it is, but why I'm wary about recommending my work at all is because a) it's intensely personal and b) I don't read other R/WBY fic and come from a literary background and really emphasise the mythic/fairytale/literary elements of R/WBY. So, what you see here about the way I talk about R/WBY canon definitely influences my writing.

I am definitely happy to expand on any more topics, I did link you the Knightfall masterpost and I can talk about other R/WBY ships if that would help.

Now, on a more specific point about Cinder being too evil: that's the really interesting part because Knightfall is linked to Cinder's redemption arc. So to understand Knightfall you need a coherent theory of redemption and redemption in R/WBY. I don't read this romance as happening independently of her redemption arc, so anything I say under my Cindemption tag is equally applicable to how one needs to view Knightfall. I enjoy the idea that Cinder's meant to be the Fall Maiden (redeeming our perspective of the power - as more than just a powerlevel - through her perspective), and Jaune's meant to finally help (and fall in love with) this Fall Maiden... just not the one you thought. It's bittersweet, but it ends on a hopeful note.

Knightfall is the thematic lynchpin to everything I think is valuable and interesting and at the heart of R/WBY, from Ozlem to the Maiden power to how the heroes will prevail and what it means to be heroic... it's one part of the picture, for sure, it's not the Jaune and Cinder Show, but I think that's part of what makes the ship really beautiful, the fact it's this essential connection against an epic backdrop.

I can never predict if something goes wrong in the story, but I do feel satisfied that things I thought were going to happen have happened in the show based on the way I intuited them... so they do have some sense of coherent storytelling and foreshadowing. The reason I bring up Penny and Ironwood is because I felt those story points were self-evident and flagged very effectively, and thematically justified... cue me logging onto Tumblr and seeing otherwise lol. So, I feel like I have some understanding of the show and why it does things the way it does, and that's why I feel taking other Jaune or Cinder ships for granted is terribly dangerous, because I've seen other things taken for granted - like Penny becoming a new main character and joining the cast and having Friendship Hijinks - that ended in a lot of intense personal pain for people. Similarly to them, though, I would never want to lead anybody astray (not that they did, but I am talking about some stuff that is very emotionally... touching, let's say), and so that's why I think coming to your own conclusion is necessary. And more fun. (:

It is very interesting to receive this ask because yes, I've had a few people say as much as you're saying, and what I'm personally wondering is how the show seeks to accomplish this (this potential change of opinion). As a Cinder fan for a long time, it's been interesting to see more sympathy for her after V8, for instance. I would say now is as good a time as any to be a Cinder fan, which is really saying something for how bad it used to be lol.

As I said, Knightfall would be a crazy twist (so would Cindemption for those who don't see it coming) and it would recontextualise their characters together... and to me I think really justify both of them lol. So there's a lot wrapped up in it that's really interesting.

Thanks again for your lovely ask and hope you have a good day. Thank you for your genuine interest and being so considerate! <3 <3

[tavarillasgalen]

the thing about fandoms is they will make you hate things, if you let them.

discourse and analysis and all this can be good and have their place, of course. but in many cases, they turn into putting things down to lift other things up. then there’s the purity culture of the internet: ‘how dare this person draw this disturbing thing, it means they’re sick’, ‘how dare this person like this character, don’t they know what they did?’, ‘how dare this person like this book, don’t they know how problematic these parts were?’ as if... people can’t separate the fictional from reality. as if someone liking something in fiction means that they approve of it in real life. as if someone liking something with problematic elements means that they approve of the problematic elements. 

it gets driven to extremes, a lot. and it’s not that deep. fandoms are meant to be fun. you’re meant to enjoy things. simple reading comprehension and separating the fictional from reality can take you a long way. 

like, you can get so overwhelmed with other people’s opinions you forget things. this happens with people taking headcanons and promoting them as canon. it can happen with your own opinions too. like, acosf was a 5 star read for me, but with how much the fandom trashes it, i forgot that. i liked gwyn, but with how posts about her are either trashing her or ‘here’s why gwynriel is canon!!!’ and trashing elain, i grew to dislike her. i like gwynriel as a crackship, but you only run into people who are diehard ‘THEY’RE MATES’ or ‘this ship is beyondddd problematic and boring’, so finding things that are neither and just portray it as the crackship it is is... thus far, not possible. 

and it’s sad, because you go into fandom tags, and just see hot take after hot take, and it’s like... i came here for art and moodboards and fanfic, not... this. not people flaunting their degrees, as if that makes their opinions More Correct, not people literally sending anon hate over fictional worlds and characters, not high school drama. and it just makes cultivating a healthy, fun fandom experience difficult, because no matter where you turn, people are shouting about how these things are right and these things are wrong (team black and team green, lol).

anyway. i don’t know where this is going. i don’t quite know how you do cultivate a fun fandom experience, because you can block all you like, you can turn off your asks (it’s so peaceful, never getting mean anons), you can blacklist tags, and all this. but still, it happens and it’s there. even if you do your best to stick to the things you came here for, you run into the shit. and if you’re not careful, it gets to you.

[star-trek-dumb-comics]

I hope you draw more Dayoun, since you enjoy it so much! The little comic you did with it was very cute and fun lol

WELL, uh... To be perfectly honest, when i said I enjoyed Dayoun a lot, I mostly ment... well... nsfw content

[favberrys]

I'm bored and in a kkg brainrot mood, so i'm just gonna rant about my opinions of kakegurui ships and i will make some headcanons:

Kirasaya

Ok i had to start with them bc they're just too iconic, i think they have one of the most interesting and complex dynamics in kkg, they really got me obsessed with them, it's probably my number one kakegurui ship and the reason i started watching the show and reading the manga. Honestly yeah their relationship has some power imbalance, since sayaka is kirari's secretary, and is probably disfunctional, but contrary to what some ppl say kirasaya is not abusive, kirari never physically or emotionally abuses sayaka throughout the story. Anyway they're a 10/10, peak lesbian yearning, if they don't kiss at least one i will jump the author. Probably one of my fav ships ever, i think they're made for each other and i can't see kirasaya with anyone else, they're just so good together and their chemistry is >>>>>>

Yumary

Ok this one is kinda an unpopular opinion bc most people like yumary, but honestly i can't get invested into it, there's something in this ship that doesn't make my heart go "fuck yeah they should be gfs". Personally i don't ship yumeko with anyone bc i can't imagine her in a relationship since her main thing is being a compulsive gambler, her existence revolves around it and she forms relationships when they're useful for her gambling games. I think yumary could be friends with benefits for some time, but after a while mary would probably break it off because i don't think she can handle a sexual/romantic relationship with yumeko and after a while it would make her go nuts. A friendship between them is already messy and complicated and honestly i don't think they are compatible that way. Yes they have chemistry and there's probably some mutual attraction but to me it's a no. Also can cishet dudes stop fetishizing this ship ? My vote is 6/10, mostly bc mary doesn't seem much physically comfortable with yumeko, idk mary just seems off with her in that sense and i prefer them as gambling partners or friends.

Meariri

I honestly love this ship, especially after reading the manga, they have such an great dynamic, i think they both care about each other, they have chemistry and i think they're compatible and that their personalities compliment each other, mary is often loud and aggressive and passionate while ririka is more closed off and quiet, they're like fire and ice and this case i think the saying "opposite attract" works with them. Mary counts on ririka and i love the fact that she is so comfortable with her physically (mary is almost always the one to initiate the contact, holding her hand, touching her head, etc) and ririka gets inspired by mary to be her own person and chase her goals. Plus they're really cute together, aesthetically i find them the most attractive couple, i'll give them a solid 9/10

Itsukaede

Lmao i don't even know if this is the correct ship name for itsuki x kaede, ok i don't hate it and i think they could work as a couple, it's not my cup of tea bc m/f ships bore me, but i like their relationship, they have the kind of old married couple dynamic that always works. 6/10.

Ryomeko

I can see it happening, i don't ship it, but i don't mind it either, i'm kinda neutral about ryota x yumeko, but i think he's one of the ppl who care about yumeko the most in that academy (with also mary ofc), the ship is boring bc ryota is bland (he's a good guy don't get me wrong and he defo doesn't deserve the hate he gets) and as i said previously i don't ship yumeko with anyone. Sorry i gotta give it 5/6 out of 10

Yumedari

Ok i love midari but just like yumeko, i don't ship her with anyone bc i see her as someone who's too much unstable for relationships, but i know that canonically she loves/likes/is attracted to yumeko so i don't hate this ship, i think it's decent, the only problem is that yumeko hates midari. Still i think that since they're the most insane mfs in that school somehow this ship could work. 6/10

Yuridari

Again midari in my eyes is kinda unshippable, but this ship is not bad at all, they would have that kind of bickering married couple dynamic like itsuki and kaede, i like it but it doesn't do much for me. 7/10

Ryomary

Jsjssjsksk i looked the name of mary x ryota's ship on wiki so if it sounds weird it's bc i don't know their ship name and i have looked at the first site google gave me. This ship is hard no, mainly bc ryota is very bland and i consider mary a lesbian (i read that she is a canon lesbian but idk if it's confirmed by the author, let's say lesbian mary is just my hc) so shipping her with men feels like a hate crime to me, mary is for the girls only, 4/10.

Tsumary

They are kind of cute together right ? I think they're adorable, tsuzura is mary's first love and i think that someone like her would make mary very happy. I still haven't finished kkg twin, so my opinion on tsuzura is incompleted and it might change, i don't hate her but i find her character a little basic/boring so even though this ship is cute it doesn't make me fall in love with them. 7/10 bc probably also tsuzura had feelings for mary and they have a healthy dynamic, you can see they love each other.

Midasaya

I enjoy this crackship, i know that they both like different people but i headcanon that they were together during middle school or that midari had at least a small crush on sayaka during that time, before kirari came to hyakkaou i like to think that they explored their sexuality together so midari was probably sayaka's first kiss, her first date, etc, so they would have history together and we also see that midari knows sayaka bc her character is described through her pov during tower of doors. I find this ship pretty funny bc sayaka is always so serious and composed and midari is a ball of chaos. 7/10

Yumesaya

This is another crackship i don't mind and find hilarious, yeah i'm a huge kirasaya stan but i'm also a multishipper and sayaka deserves all the girls in the world, so the more the merrier. I like to think this ship as one sided love in which yumeko sort of pines after sayaka and i think it would be very interesting to see kirari being jeaulous that sayaka is getting yumeko's attention. We saw jeaulous/protective sayaka in kakegurui, but i would also like to see how kirari reacts when someone tries to take sayaka away from her, it would be really interesting. Obv this would create some tension between kirasaya and also between kirari and yumeko, almost a sort of love triangle dynamic. My opinion is that yumeko is just too unstable to settle down, also they both probably would get bored/lose interest in each other after the heat of the moment. 6/10

Ririsaya

Sorry but i really can't see it happening not even if i squint, but i really enjoy the ririsaya fanfictions and i think those works are pretty great even though i don't ship them very much. It would be interesting if both twins were in love with sayaka and there was some tension/coldness between them for a while bc they liked the same girl (maybe i read too many fanfictions). My headcanon is that both sayaka and ririka had a crush on each other when they first knew each other and for sayaka it was probably pretty confusing bc she already had feelings for kirari. I see them as friends, 7/10

Yumemisaori

Again idk if this is the correct name of the ship, many said that yumemi and saori are a healthier/mentally stable version of kirasaya and i agree. the dynamics are similar bc we have the secratary that is willing to do everything for her boss and the relationship is a little more balanced, i think they would be very cute together, but sadly they had very little interactions and if i could see more of them i would probably ship them even more. I like them 7/10.

Sachiko x Mary

I didn't even find a ship name for this couple, so they must be pretty unpopular, i like both characters and their antagonistic dyanamic is very interesting, but i don't ship them much bc i think mary needs/wants someone who is completely different from sachiko, who wants to make mary her pet and mary is someone who cares very much about her freedom, her indipendence and wants to make her own choices and this completely clashes with sachiko's extremely sadistic and domineering nature. I prefer them as enemies who have some sexual tension or enemies with benefits or one night stand adventure, but nothing more. 5/6 out of 10 bc the only mary ship i really love is meariri and i also like tsuzumary a bit.

Sachiko x Mikura

This is probably one of the most unhealthy relationships in kakegurui, but i kinda like it. Their dyanmic is pretty much vertical with sachiko who has all the power and makes mikuro do everything she wants and mikura who is completely obsessed and devoted to sachiko (my opinion is that she developed a sort of stockholm syndrome towards sachiko). I think that someone like sachiko could never have genuine romantic relationships bc of her extremely sadistic nature, she sees ppl like toys to break and what she enjoys the most is seeing ppl suffer, so the only compatible person with sachiko is someone extremely masochistic like mikura. Giving them a 6/7 out of 10 bc their interactions are fun/interesting and spice things up.

Rin x Ibara and Yumeko x Kirari

Hard no to both of them, i don't ship incest, yall can do what you want but personally it's a huge no for me. When i first started watching the anime at the beginning i thought yumeko and kirari had some sort of tension and could have been enemies to lovers (lmaoo i was so naive), but then i discovered they were cousins and i saw more kirasaya interactions so i got completely turned off by this ship. 3/10 to both of these ships.

Sachiko x Sakura

Now this ship is very sexy, idk why i like it but i do, yes i don't see sachiko with anyone besides mikura, but this pairing is not bad at all, even though it's a crackship. I think they would be rivals with benefits and would argue a lot and then make out/have hot sex. 7/10 (maybe it's too high but since these are just my opinions i won't be objective)

Mary x kirari

Uhm is there really someone out there who ships them ? Yeah i thought they had some sexual tension in s1 with that tea scene, but it's a no from me, i don't like it and i don't think they're compatible in any way, i can't see kirari with anyone who isn't sayaka. 4/10

[ariadnesweb]

Erm miscellaneous Deltarune Shipping thoughts

Suselle - decent ship strangled by the red string. Suffers from the common kids shows 'so telegraphed its hard to see regular scenes between the two without seeing the big sign saying 'THESE TWO WILL BE TOGETHER'. Very frustrating, but also kind of its appeal. It's a 'safe' ship, with a confirmed get-together. Kind of a shame, I think it's underrated as a dynamic. A Princess and a Dragon are stuck in the tower waiting for a prince to arrive and set back the status quo, except the Dragon isn't really a mean bad guy, and the princess isn't really a helpless maiden. Would love to see Susie and Noelle have all their preconceptions about themselves be knocked down as they date each other. 7/10 I think they'd be sweet together, even if I struggle seeing them staying together post-game.

Kralsei - It's problematic. It doesn't take a lot of thought as to understand WHY it's problematic. Ralsei is somehow a derivative of Kris's brother, and that's uncomfy even if there is no formal sibling relationship.

Kris also does this, unprompted,

so I think the Kralsei shippers are still winning. 8/10 ship, constantly teased by canon, and a core relationship dynamic of the cast. Bounces between cute, rottingly sweet, and very uncomfortable. Hilarious in a morbid way.

Kriselle - Ship voted most likely to get sunk by either of the two calling each other 'siblings'. Is in some way related to Charasriel. Toby Fox probably has something against childhood friend romances. I genuinely think it's disrespectful to place Kris and Noelle romantically when they have an important friendship going on.

Unfortunately I'm a sucker for these two being sweet with each other, so 8/10 ship, I enjoy most art having these two around.

Ralsusie - Ship wins award for the currently most developed relationship in Deltarune. Have actually dated each other, Noelle called what she saw. Very enjoyable interactions whenever the two are onscreen. I can completely understand WHY anyone would ship these two, its a good relationship between a guy and girl.

I just... personally don't like thinking of these two as romantic. It's pretty much just a personal thing, I headcanon Susie as an Ace (Bisexual) and Ralsei as a repulsed AroAce (he doesn't know it yet.). 5/10 I don't get any enjoyment from it, but it's a good ship.

Krusie - I already wrote a bit for this ship, but since it's been a while since then, I still stand by what I say: No one but me gets them. This is a highly pretentious statement from me, and I don't think there's anything wrong with other Krusie shippers, I'm just not a fan of most Krusie content. Most people jump on the best-friend aspect and go from there into romance. I like this pairing best when it's a slowburn of two people with very different background slowly learning to communicate. Or as a background thing in which the pair act as one dumbass due to their similar thought processes being highly energized at finding a like-minded kin. Those two guys who are life partners in business and all that. 6/10. Enjoyable but I'm picky.

Krerdly - Not my thing, 5/10, there's probably valid criticism pointed at its surge in popularity as a way to deflect heteronormative Krusie & Kriselle shippers, but it's always awkward to punch down on a crackship. Basically lives and dies on the fervor of its shippers, and because it's mostly personal fan desire, I'd be hard-pressed to criticize it, you're all having fun. Um, if any Krerdly shippers find this post, don't take the criticism to close to heart? Pretty much depends on people's tolerances for rarepairs.

Asgorudy - I think Rudy should live if only to make this ship canon. 9/10, fun dynamic, but more importantly, encourages the Dreemurr-Holiday Divorce Saga - Now With Marriage?. Makes me endlessly curious to hear the Mayor's side of this story.

Seavil - Generally intriguing. Also a great way to characterize Seam and Jevil. I think the general quality of this ship depends solely on whether the creator understands Jevil. The more a creator understands that Jevil is a weird uncle with a penchant for breaking reality, the better the Seavil is. 9/10, if untainted by chapter 1 chaos gremlin Jevil flanderization.

Spamvil - Great fandom content VS 'I don't think these two are compatible in canon' FIGHT. This ship is boosted by the general quality and quantity of fan content, running with the implications of the sanity-breaking truth that broke these two old men. 8/10, I just think not all important relationships should be romances.

Krusielle - The main characters needed for a fluffy slice of life taking place in Hometown. Not my cup of tea. All the characters like each other, are nice, and are stable enough to live together. This is a bonus.

Persobally though, I'm more invested in the three duos that make up this ot3 (Krusie, Kriselle, and Suselle), to ship it. It doesn't help that Kriselle and Suselle are likely to leave the a member 3rd wheeling: Suselle is an explicitly romantic pairing, which has implications of exclusivity, and Kriselle is a strong relationship based on nostalgia, which would not include Susie (as of now).

[tuiyla]

What do you think about villainizing characters in fanfics? I saw that you're getting into Kurtbastian which reminded me of this topic since Kurtbastian fandom has history of villainizing Blaine and writing him as an abuser in their fanfictions. Which is why I couldn't join fandom since almost everyone believes that he's really that evil even tho he's not and it's just made up in their fanon. 

But it's not exclusive to Kurtbastian too, even though Kurtbastian fans do more than most shippers, there is also Faberry fanfics writers who make Finn and Puck villains, and sometimes Pezberry and Quinntana do that for Finn. Other Kurt and Blaine ships almost always have the other one as a toxic partner. This is true for almost all crack ship fandoms, but even canon Samcedes fanfictions bash on Shane. 

I follow lots of people and see some criticising the bashing fics and other users participating in the bashing for characters that they don't like. What's your opinion on it?

That's a fair point to bring up and I feel like it's a big thing in fandom, unfortunately, and for sure not exclusive to Glee. I got into fanfic through Harry Potter (different times, I'm pretty sure a ton of other people did too) and it was pretty much impossible to read ship-centric fics without romantic rival bashing.

I haven't even considered that fics might villanize Blaine, for example, but thanks for bringing that up because I'll keep my eye out for it. In short, I'm not here for bashing at all, so I'll avoid that with Kurtbastian fics as well. I don't enjoy it regardless of my feelings on the canon character because frankly I think it's cheap to make the romantic rival such an obvious villain and drag them in order to make another ship work. It's much more engaging to have that other ship fail not because the ex is suddenly abusive/otherwise really shitty - I mean, what does that say about the ship the fic is focusing on when the other option is so cartoonishly awful?

That said, I have to say I do at least kinda get why fic writers do ch bashing. For starters, yes it can just be bad writing but fans aren't professionals and I think there's a charm to fanfic writers being allowed whatever tropes and shortcuts. It's just for fun after all. Especially when writing a crackship, it's easier to get the canon pairing out of the way by turning the other half into a plain bad option. There, done, now onto the centric ship. But like I said it is easy and it is cheap, and there's usually a more interesting story to be told if we don't oversimplify things. It's also understandable if someone doesn't know how else to write a breakup between the canon or starting off couple but then my advice would be to just... don't? It's fanfic, you can just pretend that in this world they were already broken up or never even together or something. You don't have to include those characters who'd only be there to be bashed anyway.

Then there's a side to it where people do want to include these characters and absolutely demonize them. I can't say much about that other than, it's just not my cup of tea. I get the need to vent and fanfic is an outlet after all, but I just don't personally vibe with having that strong of a negative feeling about a ch. I don't exactly hide my complicated but mostly negative feelings on Finn, but I still wouldn't like to read a Faberry fic where he's this unrecognizable demon. Again, it's cheap to make him so just so Faberry can get together. Characters have canon flaws and canon couples have conflicts; god knows Finn in particular has flaws and so does the Finchel relationship. So just build on that? I'd rather read a story that explores those flaws and makes a real case against them than one that just bashes.

Idk, everyone does fandom and fanfic how they like, but just speaking for myself I steer clear of bashing fics. I've read most of the popular Pezberry fics at this point, I think, but I'd never read one that bashes Brittany for example. I just find it unnecessary, that's the word I'd use. With fanon ships, I think it's so easy to just, avoid doing that and it's pretty wild to me that even Samcedes fics would feel the need to bash Shane. What did he ever do? That's the thing, he was nothing but supportive in canon but I guess fanfic sometimes just needs that villain. And tbh I think it deffo gets out of hand when it gets to the point that you describe with for example a collective fanon view of Blaine being toxic. I've said in response to Kurtbastian anon that I'm fascinated by how fanon is shaped and that's true, but I also think it's important to have an understanding of what comes from the actual text and what's just textual poaching in action. We had a whole canon vs fanon thread on this blog a while back and I think those thoughts apply.

I suppose this puts me on the side of "critical of bashing fics" though I do maintain that people can write whatever and fanfic writers can use shortcuts and such. I personally steer clear of fics like these. It's also a spectrum, you know, with varying degrees of demonizing characters. If, say, a Pezberry fic heightens Finn's bad qualities and the problems with Finchel in order to make Pezberry work I won't necessarily have a problem with that. But making a ch outright abusive where they weren't in canon or just mindlessly bashing, that's where they lose me. Imo it's pretty disappointing that ch bashing is a huge part of fanon ship fics, like damn you don't have to make the canon partner out to be satan in order to make a new relationship work.

[myaekingheart]

20 [Fanfic Writer] Questions Game

Thank you so much for tagging me, @lemony-snickers! This is tons of fun, I love answering these kinds of big questionnaires 😂💕 Also putting mine under a cut because there’s a lot of questions and I like to ramble. 

Also gonna go ahead and just tag whoever wants to do this! 😅💕

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

As of August 27, 2021, I have a total of 77 works on my AO3! 

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

Funny enough, I was just looking at this, specifically, earlier today and kind of laughing about it. Right now, my total word count across all my works is 1,148,941 😬 

3. How many fandoms have you written for, and what are they?

Apparently 12, but some of them I don’t really consider “big” in my fandom repertoire. Naruto is my greatest fandom with a total of 60 fics so far, followed by The Chronicles of Narnia and Rise of the Guardians. The rest are ones I either did crossover fics with or just did one-off little pieces with--The Incredibles, Tangled, Brave, How to Train Your Dragon, Arthurian Mythology, Disney Princesses, Fairy Tales and Related Fandoms, Back to the Future, and Frozen. 

4. What are your Top Five fics by kudos?

The Scarecrow and The Bell (Naruto) - 470 kudos The Day Kakashi’s Mask Slipped (Naruto) - 139 kudos Sunflowers (Naruto) - 92 kudos Sakumo the House Husband (Naruto) - 81 kudos Someone to Lean On (Naruto) - 67 kudos

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I always try to respond to comments, because I like to acknowledge when people respond to my work. I cherish comments like nobody’s business, especially when they’re kind and reactionary. I just really love seeing/hearing what people think of the way a story is progressing, or what they thought of a one-shot. Comments keep me going especially when it comes to longfic so I want to be able to let readers know that I do in fact see their comments, that I’m acknowledging what they’re saying, and that I appreciate them. Plus, it can be kind of fun to tease upcoming events in a fic through responses to people’s comments, too. Because I’m mean. 

6. What fic have you written with the angstiest ending?

Definitely Hothouse (Rise of the Guardians/The Incredibles; Jack Frost x Violet Parr; American Horror Story AU). This was the first multi-chaptered fic I ever wrote to completion and I honestly cringe when I remember it exists both because it’s so poorly organized (and full of nasty plot holes) and because I just went ham on the gore factor. It definitely has a really bittersweet and heartbreaking ending to it, too. 

7. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

I think I’ll definitely have to say Temptation. The story itself was kind of a ride, and it’s only the first installment in a series, but it follows the plot of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe but remixed due to the presence of an original character, but the ending is still roughly the same as the original: they defeat the evil, the Pevensies are all crowned kings and queens, happy days. Reading the last few paragraphs of the last chapter honestly still gets me all up in my feelings. 

8. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I used to be more of a crossover writer due to one of my main ships being a crossover ship. They weren’t super crazy, though, because they were both CGI-animated films. The craziest crossover I’ve ever written is an in-progress/unfinished multichapter piece, Kakashi, Enchanted, that sees our favorite Copy Ninja get kamui’d into the Disney princess dimension and has to help the likes of Snow White, Cinderella, and Rapunzel on his journey to find a way back to his own world. It’s a super weird premise but definitely one of my more lighthearted works and fun to revisit when I need to decompress. 

9. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I don’t think I’ve ever received hate so much as I’ve received criticism. The closest I ever got to hate on a fic, I think, was someone left an overly personal and mentally disturbed comment on a chapter of my main fic that made me convinced they needed to seek therapy and deal with their own personal issues rather than take it out on a fanfic about animated ninjas. 

10. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Maybe 👀 I’m super vanilla when it comes to smut, though. I think the wildest thing I’ve ever written in smut is breeding kink. 

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of, and I hope I never will. 

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not yet! I had someone ask to translate a one-shot of mine in Russian but I never got a response back when I laid out my terms and conditions. 

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have not! I used to do paragraph-style roleplay which was kind of like cowriting fanfiction but writing is so personal and sacred to me that I don’t know if I could ever actually cowrite a fic with someone. I like brainstorming with other people, but writing for me is more of a deeply personal and independent endeavour. 

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Oh god, this is a tricky question because it depends on fandom. I absolutely love New Dream (Rapunzel x Eugene, Tangled) and have for the past ten years, and my love for them as only grown since watching Tangled: The Series/Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure. I don’t write or even really read a ton of fanfiction for them, though. I’m also still highly dedicated to my favorite crossover crackship, Frostfield (Jack Frost x Violet Parr, Rise of the Guardians/The Incredibles) and to this day, if you search for that ship on AO3, I am the sole provider of every single fic about them so far. I’m not as active with them as I used to be, but they got me through some really rough times back in the day and still mean so much to me. A lot of my favorite ships across fandoms, though, are honestly canon x OC ships of mine because I am a self-indulgent bitch who needs to project. So Peter Pevensie x Eilonwy (The Chronicles of Narnia) and Kakashi Hatake x Rei Natsuki (Naruto) are really important to me and I’ve poured so much of myself specifically into their stories. I think it’s safe to say Kakashi and Rei is my all-time favorite ship across all fandoms, though, just because of how much their story means to me. The Scarecrow and The Bell is my magnum opus, my pride and joy, and I’m sure it will be my biggest fandom footprint of my entire life. I’ve dedicated the past three years to this story and these characters and I intend to continue doing it until it no longer brings me joy (which I hope it always will). There’s just so much I could say about this story and Kakashi and Rei’s relationship but I don’t think we have enough time or space in this post for that 😅 Just know that they mean the world to me and I will always hold them in the highest regard as a beautifully messy, flawed, passionate, soulmate-y ship that I love with all of my heart 🥺

EDIT: I also feel obligated to tack on some of my absolute favorite Naruto ships because I may not have written for all of them (yet) but they still make me unbelievably happy or I find them really compelling and enjoy the idea of exploring them: 

Naruhina is precious happy sunshine and The Last honestly felt like a wonderful Disney princess movie to me, it was so cute and the romance was so on-point, Naruhina just makes me so incredibly happy and I love them with all my heart. 

MinaKushi also gets me all up in my feels and I adore them with every fiber of my being. Their romance also gave me Disney princess movie vibes which I love, their story is just so damn sweet as is their character dynamic and I am still so heartbroken that they never got to be a happy family with Naruto because you know what? It’s what they deserved!

SasuSaku is so compelling to me and I really feel like we were cheated out of seeing their relationship develop and evolve postwar in the same way The Last did for Naruhina. They’re my favorite angst ship and while I don’t think they were written that well in canon, I love the possibility and potential of them together and am excited to explore them more in-depth in my own writing. 

NejiTen is just too cute, I really love the way Neji and Tenten’s personalities compliment each other? I don’t have much else to say about them except that I really love them together and think they have so much untapped potential that I also can’t wait to explore in more depth in my own writing. 

15. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Paper Hearts and Impromptu Bookmarks, probably. I love the premise of this story a lot and I have so many interesting ideas for it but at the same time, it also feels kind of cheap and cringey to me, in a way? It takes all of these ideas I probably would have had if I had been into Naruto when I was a kid and kind of compiles them all into one big story. Kakashi and Aiko’s relationship and story is still really important to me and I want to continue it someday but for right now, I just haven’t had the motivation or desire to write any more of it. I think I’m just so overwhelmingly preoccupied with writing Kakashi and Rei’s story that I can’t imagine writing any other Kakashi x OC fics right now. 

16. What are your writing strengths?

I want to say that I’m really good at capturing complex emotion? I don’t know, I write a lot of angst and mental upheaval in my fics which can be really difficult to try and capture, but I think I do a decent enough job of it? And just writing difficult subjects in general. I think it’s really important to address difficult topics such as mental illness and relationship difficulties and everything but I also want to try and write those topics in a way that is both authentic to the experience while also still tasteful. I don’t want to drive readers away with heavy subject matter but rather present a situation that feels real and authentic while also still being digestible. I may not be doing a very good job of that during the current arc of my fic that I’m working on, but I’m trying haha

EDIT 2: I also want to add onto this to say that I’m really proud of my organizational techniques for writing longfic. It’s not necessarily a strength in terms of the prose itself but it’s something that’s taken me years to really get a grasp on and find a method that works perfectly for me and so far, it’s been extremely helpful and beneficial to me. I don’t know where I would be now as a writer without these essential tools in my pocket. 

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I feel like I do a really bad job of the “show, don’t tell” thing. It can be really hard to balance descriptive prose with straightforward writing that moves things along. I don’t want to dwell on mental dialogue to the point where you lose track of what’s going on, but I also don’t want my stuff to read like “Character A did xyz. Character B said abc. They went to 123″, whatever. Another thing I struggle with is sentence variation. I always fall into the same patterns when I’m writing prose and I get really self-conscious about it because I don’t want to sound repetitive or disrupt the flow of the writing. One of my favorite things about prose is focusing on the cadence of the words, I think it’s one of the most beautiful things about writing in general, but it can just be really difficult to get a good grip on that. I’ve been told in the past that I apparently have a really good grasp/control of the language or whatever but sometimes I just find that really hard to believe when I look at my work with such scrutiny. I think one of my biggest pet peeves with my own writing, too, is feeling like I start all of my sentences the same five different ways. I’ll read other people’s works and they’ll write sentences like “Glass-blue water lapped against the shores of a deserted beach as a lonely woman gazed off into the distance” and I can just never figure out how to realistically write sentences that start like that in the context of my prose and it drives me fucking crazy, like I’m definitely jealous  😅

18. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I’ve never really thought much about it before, but I think there are pros and cons! For bilingual/multilingual readers, I think it can be a really enriching reading experience because they know what’s being said in both languages. For people who only know one language, however, unless a translation is provided, I feel like it can be really alienating. I think the best use of that for both worlds is using it as a means for miscommunication humor. Other than that, I think it can be a slippery slope that depends on what kind of reader you are and how it’s written. 

19. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

The Chronicles of Narnia! My very first fanfiction was a Narnia fanfic that I barely remember except that it laid the basis for Temptation and my Narnia fanfic series as a whole. I never posted this first iteration anyway, but I remember it was 2008/2009 and I wrote a solid 80 pages (which was wild for me at the time) and had gotten halfway through remixing the events of Prince Caspian when my computer crashed and I lost absolutely everything. I’m still heartbroken that it’s gone forever, not because I’d want to go back and read it necessarily (since I’m sure it was actually hot garbage) but at least for nostalgia’s sake. Either way, like I said, this long-lost fic laid the basis for the very first fanfiction I ever posted, the first published (and never finished) iteration of Temptation back in 2011 on deviantART and the since-defunct Figment. I fell out of the fandom around 2012/2013 and left the story alone for a while before ultimately deciding to completely redux and rewrite the story when the fixation swung back around again between 2016 and 2018. 

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Despite the fact that it’s still in-progress, definitely The Scarecrow and The Bell. This fic just genuinely means so damn much to me and I will cherish it for the rest of my life because of how much it’s given me, how much love and passion and time and even parts of myself that I have poured into this, and also just how expansive of a story this is. Not only does it touch on some very dark and heavy topics, but I’ve also created so much of my own characters and meta for this story that it’s almost an entire universe in and of itself. I’ve just contributed so much additional world-building and created so many new OCs to fill important roles in this story and in Rei’s life, and they’ve all become so deeply important to me as they’ve developed further over the years. I’ve come up with so many interesting ideas for everyone and their lives, which are all slowly becoming so rich and varied. Not to mention that it’s my most popular fic to date as well as my longest fic at 632k and counting. I’ve really just genuinely poured so much of my heart and soul into this story, it’s my absolute favorite thing I’ve ever done and I really mean it when I say that I will cherish it for the rest of my life.