#hopefully I was able to answer it?

[sitp-recs]

hello liv! thank you for your service to the fandom, i spend such an inordinate amount of time sifting through all your reclists! i’ve been seeing drarry authors do their first line/last line posts for patterns and was wondering how that might pan out for reccers, so i had a question for you— what are some of the fics you find yourself reccing most often, across lists? do they speak to your own tastes? does a pattern emerge through them about the kind of asks you get? you always rec a really diverse range of fics but i do see some recurring favourites cropping up and was wondering if you had thoughts on it!

Thank you for your kind words and for the ask, anon! This was a very interesting way to adapt that ask game to my blog and I appreciate you for including me 💜 I had to take a minute and think about this because despite knowing that I’ve recced some fics over and over across lists, I’ve never stopped to analyze it in detail. Taking a quick look, I’ve tried to identify some patterns and I think these examples offer interesting insights:

1) I Am Not Who I Became and A Sword Laid Aside - two long fics I mention a lot (often alongside each other) because they combine some very popular tropes: recluse & powerful Harry, competent Draco, forced proximity, fast smut + slow emotional burn, D/s undertones

2) Clear as Mud and Unfinished Business are two personal faves I don’t see in rec lists often, they’re more like old-ish hidden gems and I love getting the chance to sneakily include them!

3) Take the Moon and Life goes not Backward: two favourites written by my friends! Funnily enough, they’re both kid fics which is a trope I don’t really care for lol. Reccing friends is one of my biggest pleasures in fandom, I’ve seen a lot of criticism/questioning around it which makes absolutely no sense to me - appreciating each other’s work and finding things in common is what brings us together in the first place 🤷🏻‍♀️

The main reason why I include any fic on a list is because I believe it’s a good fit. I always try to get a sense of what the reader is looking for bc it helps me find the right tone, but it can also get challenging if the request is too vague or too specific. Because I publish lists on demand I try to be as trope agnostic as possible, but at the end of the day I can only rec what I’ve read and enjoyed, so this will always be a subjective process (which I love! Imo rec lists are special and unique exactly because they are personal).

Back to the pattern discussion, I think seeing the same works mentioned on a regular basis reflect not only my own preferences but the ways it matches some emerging trends among the readers who follow me. Now the blog’s been around for a while and I don’t rec as much as I used to, it’s fair to assume that those who stick around have found in my blog similar tastes and fandom approach. In the last couple years I’ve noticed more requests around themes such as powerful Harry, competent Draco, bi and gay awakening, or fics where they take care of each other, bond over shared trauma and redeem or heal together. I think those reading trends are largely influenced by writing trends and vice-versa (especially in the Tumblr bubble!) so in a way we’re all collectively setting those trends and de-constructing or giving new meanings to old perspectives. That’s the true transformative power of fandom! Love that for us 🙌

[whatevahwhatevah]

Sorry for disappearing again, have some more kyman

[aquateenpatrolsomethingshowshow]

THEY SAID IT THEY FUCKING SAID THE THING

[legendary-cookies]

As much as I'm not wild about the fact the Devs are making another new Legend, I think it would be a fun concept if Timekeeper and Xylitol were like parallels because time and space

Not a ship though

I'm thinking more like annoyed co-worker and annoying co-worker lmao

[sualne]

was checking my emails before going to bed only to find out my endocrinologist casually scheduled an appointment at long fucking last

[canisalbus]

i’ve been in a lot of undiagnosed pain recently and struggling with medical care for it, but your art and bits of lore have been giving me a wonderful distraction. you have my gratitude and appreciation!

I'm sorry to hear you've been in pain and not getting the proper treatment for it, that's awful. But I'm glad my art and ramblings have been able to take your mind away from it. I hope things work out for you soon!

[strangegutz]

have you made any fat art dolls before? i love your little guys so much!

This is something I need to work on! It's gonna take some experimenting and a change in how I make them, cuz the trials I've done have issues like being too stiff or having poor range of motion, since densely wrapped/stuffed fabric doesn't have as much give as a real person. I've also been defaulting a lot to noodly formless bodies recently just cuz I'm hurting for money and they're fast and easy haha. Hopefully I'll have the extra time/money this year that I can expand my range and skillset!

And thank you!!

[enluv]

haven’t been on here in a bit (will be dipping out again please don’t get used to this) but I made these in light of hanji’s recent instagram posts (for u @junityy)

thank you for existing user _doolsetnet 🔥🔥‼️

[satans-knitwear]

I keep getting distracted 😅

Treat me ~ Tip me

[iguessitsjustme]

Hello everyone! So I’ve been working on something for a good ass minute, and while it is not done (alas that full-time employment), that doesn’t mean I can’t post it. Sooooooo

This year, I have met some really awesome people here through BL and honestly, y’all have made my year so wonderful so I wanted to do something for the BL community here. For the month of December, up until Christmas, I will be using polls to do a Choose Your Own BL Adventure (this is basically just a BL dating sim but we’ll all be playing it together don’t worry about it). There will be some common BL tropes thrown into the story as we progress. Each day, a new poll will go up based on the results of the last poll. I also want to state that it will not always be clear what/who each choice is for, but each choice does lead to a different story. There will not be a specific time for each poll because I can’t guarantee when I’ll be done with work, but I am going to do my best to make sure that the next poll with the next section of the story goes up between 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM CST.

Later today (don't ask me what time I don't know), I will be posting the set up for the first poll. I want to give everyone a day to read the set up before the first poll goes live, which is why I’m posting this today instead of tomorrow when it starts. I will be using the tag “#2023 choose your own bl adventure” for each post related to the game and god willing, I’ll be able to link that tag on my blog.

This is my gift to all of my friends who have made this year truly spectacular and I hope you all have fun with me while this goes on (and there might be a little Hanukkah surprise for y’all later as well). So look out later today for my post that will explain the beginning of the story and I'll try to link it here after it goes up.

Thank you all for a fantastic year and Happy Holidays!

Edit: I posted the beginning of the story.

[shkika]

hi shkika …. i just wanna say your designs and interpretations of the iterators are super cool and when i first saw them, especially sliver and innocence, it really opened my eyes to the fact that these characters can Really Be Anything. and i think that’s super awesome!!! keep doing ur thing bro … cuz it’s really inspiring to people…. but most of all because it’s clear u have fun doing it <3

thank you cream.. wow.. i don't know if your timing was on purpose or not, but it's great anyway. it means a lot really

[slttygeto]

happy new year sweethearts! 2023 has been filled with writings and achievements for me, ones that I think I didn’t appreciate enough on this account. so hopefully 2024 will be about embracing the tiniest milestones!! happy 2024 to all of you :) 🩷🩷🩷🩷

[un-local]

Hi! Do you think Rogier’s type to hug someone? If so what kind of hugs would he give (and by extension, Magdalene too)? And, if I dare ask, do they get to hug at some point?

Hi anon! Now this is a very interesting question…

Is Rogier a hugger? Oh boy. Well. There’s a lot to unpack with this, I think. Like the man himself, this question has layers. 

If you’ll permit me some wild speculation, let’s dive into this!

1] Is his facade a hugger?

Sure, if that’s what the other person needs. In the sense of, “this is what the situation calls for, this is what will rock the boat the least,” kind of way. A brilliant (and likely well-intentioned) imitation of sincerity. 

It might feel a little stiff. 

2] Is his Utter Detachment a hugger? 

Heavens no. Internally, he’s begging: “please, let’s not do this.” 

That sort of thing makes things harder than they need to be. Best avoided. 

Hugging probably isn’t his first instinct when it comes to comfort. He seems more the type to try to use his words, or give some other gesture of thoughtfulness/consideration. His “utter detachment” is more about maintaining distance, and therefore reducing vulnerability. I don’t think he’s heartless, but rather, severely uncomfortable with something that encroaches on that boundary he feels so dependent on. 

It feels like he’s turned to stone.

3] Is his touch starvation a hugger?

Absolutely, and he hates this. What a terrible affliction to have, with the company he keeps. He’s burying that as deep as he can. The good news is, in these lands, one can forget such appetites. He stopped hungering for these things long ago.

At least, until someone reminds him by initiating one.

…It feels like he’s fighting himself, resisting every instinct in him to melt into the embrace, to hold on for just that nearly-imperceptible moment longer. 

4] Is Rogier a hugger?

Now that’s the great mystery right there. Who’s Rogier? 

None of us know. Personally?

...Yeah. I think maybe so. 

I think perhaps, in an impulsive moment of joy, (“Hey Rogier, here’s the mending rune to save TWILD,”) he might pull someone in for a hug. Or I think it could be a somber, consoling gesture, when words won’t fix anything anymore. I think in a moment of tremendous relief, when death came a little too close, he might reach out and count his blessings as he catches his breath. 

I think it feels like he’s human under there. More human than he’s let anyone see in a long, long time. 

5] Is Magdalene a hugger?

Ha, oh yes. And she’s as hearty and vigorous in this regard as she is in every other aspect of her being. Prepare thine ribs. 

On one hand, you won’t be able to breathe, on the other:

Just popped up on your screen XD

6] Do Rogier and Magdalene get to hug?

:3

(Of course, anon!) (But the real question is, under what circumstances?)

Thanks for the question, anon! :D This was fun to dive into!

[ccasey0]

:DDDDD

:DDDDD

EEEE! this is gonna be so much fun!!! Did any of them mention any gimmicks, weapons/accessories, or anything? or just colors? cuz i cant exactly do....colors.  ¯\_(-_-)_/¯

[thelaurenshippen]

Binged TBS back in the summer and then proceeded to write nearly 200k of fanfic (70% of which isn't posted yet) in such rapid creation that tonight my therapist diagnosed me with bipolar type 1. Thanks for domino meme-ing my bipolar diagnosis, Lauren! <3

oh my gosh, wow! I'm really honored that the show inspired such a huge amount of creativity (200k!!! my god!!!! incredible!!!) and that you've got a diagnosis that will hopefully improve your life simply through the fact that you now know more about your brain!!! hooray for good therapists!!!

[foodsies4me]

First of all I hope you are having an amazing day. I am really curious about Bridges, because you mentioned that the trainees were not supposed to appear so I am extremely curious as to what you had in mind as the original reason for contacting Magnus?

Also your writing is amazing and is constantly in smh mind, and when I actually get some time from irl stuff I will write a comment in every chapter by chapter because I have so many feelings and thoughts

I’m having a wonderful day, thank you. I Hope your day is treating you well too.💜

It ended up being background information as Alec was too preoccupied with the trainees, but the trainees weren’t the only ones to get sick. It’s my headcanon that nephilim, who can’t bear runes for whichever reason? generally still work in institutes. They just don’t work as shadowhunters.

In the original draft Alec made his deal with Magnus to save them. After all, they’re still people from his institute and thus under his protection and we all know Alec is a self-sacrificing idiot who would not be okay with watching people die.

The Clave would have been slightly less desperate than with the kids getting sick as well, but they would still have been in a difficult position. The non-shadowhunter’s are the one that keep everything outside of shadow-hunting running inside of an institute (at least in this verse): They’re the ones doing the cleaning, cooking, shopping, teaching and babysitting. They do most of the manual and managerial tasks that the Heads of each department don’t have time for. They run the medbay as not being able to bear runes =/= not being able to draw runes etc. (In short, they do a lot.)

The trainees however decided that them being involved would make it angstier and that it would make it easier to draw parallels to the orphanage kids and really hammer in on the sickness for Alec. So that argument ended up winning.

And thank you, I’m delighted to hear you’re liking my fics. 💜😊