#i may do an ot3 version

[39oa]

f1 rpf graphing & archive insights

intro & prior work

hello! if you're reading this, you may already be familiar with my previous post about graphing hockey rpf ships and visualizing some overarching archive insights (feel free to check it out if you aren't, or alternatively just stick around for this intro). i've been meaning to make an f1 version of that post for a while, especially since i've already done a decent amount of f1 rpf analysis in the past (i have a very rough post i wrote a year ago that can be read here, though fair warning that it really does not make any sense; while i've redone a few viz from it for this post i just figured i'd link it solely because there are other things i didn't bother to recalculate!)

f1 is quite different from many team sports because a large part of my process for hockey was discovering which ships exist in the first place—when there are thousands and thousands of players who have encountered one another at different phases of their careers, it's interesting to see how people are connected and it's what was personally interesting to me about making my hockey graphs. however, with f1's relative pursuit of "exclusivity," barriers to feeder success and a slower-to-change, restrictive grid of 20 drivers, it becomes generally expected that everyone has already interacted with one another in some fashion, or at least exists at most 2 degrees of separation from another driver. because of this, i was less interested in "what relationships between a large set of characters exist?" (as per my hockey post) and more so in "what do the relationships between a small set of characters look like?"

process

my methodology for collecting "ship fic" tries to answer the question: what does shippability really look like on ao3? (the following explanation is adapted from my hockey post:) a perceived limitation i have with character tagging numbers on ao3 is that they don’t exactly reflect holistic ship fic; that is, if lando is tagged as a character in a max/daniel fic, it gets attributed to his character tag but doesn’t actually say anything about how many Relationship Fics exist for him on a whole. my best solution for this was essentially uncovering most of a driver's relationships and summing their individual fic counts to create an approximate # of “relationship fics” for each player. so any kind of shippability graph going forward will use that metric.

i used ao3’s relationship tag search and filtered by canonical in the formula 1 rpf fandom and only pulled relationship* fics (“/” instead of “&”) with a min. of 5 works. ao3’s counts are… Not the most accurate, so my filtering may have fudged some things around or missed a few pairings on the cusp, which again is why all the visuals here are not meant to show everything in the most exact manner but function more so as a “general overview” of ficdom. although i did doublecheck the ship counts so the numbers themselves are accurate as of time of collection.

(*i excluded wag ships, reader ships, threesomes to make my life easier—although i know this affects numbers for certain drivers, team principal/trainer/engineer ships, and any otherwise non-driver ship. i left in a few ships with f2, fe, etc. drivers given that that one character was/is an f1 driver, but non-f1 drivers were obviously excluded from any viz about f1 driver details specifically. this filtering affected some big ships like felipe massa/rob smedley, ot3 combinations of twitch quartet and so on, which i recognize may lower the… accuracy? reliability??? of certain graphs, but i guess the real way to think of the "shippability metric" is as pertaining solely to ship fic with other drivers. although doing more analysis with engineers and principals later down the line could be cool)

also note that since i grouped and summed all fics for every single ship a driver has, and since one fic can be tagged as multiple ships, there will be inevitable overlap/inflation that also lessens the accuracy of the overall number. however, because there's no easy way to discern the presence and overlap of multiship fic for every single driver and every single ship they have, and attempting to do so for a stupid tumblr post would make this an even larger waste of time… just take everything here with a grain of salt!

data for archive overview viz was collected haphazardly over the past few days because i may have procrastinated finishing this post haha. but all ship data for section 2 was specifically collected april 22, 2023.

PART I. f1 rpf archive overview

before i get to ship graphing, here are a few overviews of f1 ficdom growth and where it measures relative to other sports fandoms, since i find the recent american marketability of f1 and its online fandom quite interesting.

first off, here's a graph that shows the cumulative growth of the top 8 sports rpf fandoms from 2011 until now (2023 is obviously incomplete since we're only in may). i've annotated it with some other details, but we can see that f1 experienced major growth after 2019, which is when the first episode of dts was released.

something that fascinated me when making this graph was the recent resurgence of men's football rpf in 2023; while the fandom has remained fairly consistent over the years, i had noticed that its yearly output was on the decline in my old post, and i was especially surprised to see it eclipse even f1 for 2023. turns out that a large driver behind these numbers is its c-fandom, and it reminded me that out of all the sports rpf fandoms, hockey rpf is fairly unpopular amongst chinese sports fans! i wanted to delve into this a little more and look at yearly output trends for the top sports fandoms since 2018, only this time filtered to exclusively english works (a poor approximation for "western" fandom, i know, but a majority of sports fandom on tumblr does create content in english).

another thing i've long been curious about with f1 specifically is—because of how accessible dts and f1 driver marketing are to fans online, does f1 rpf and shipping culture skew a bit more "public" than other fandoms? i'd initially graphed the ratio of public fic on ao3 for hockey because i also wanted to see whether it was on the rise (again, apologies for how many callbacks and references there are in this post to hockey rpf... it's just easy for me to contextualize two familiar sports ficdoms together *__*), but i was surprised to see that it's actually been steadily trending downward for many years now. f1 fic, on the other hand, has steadily been becoming more public since 2016.

another note is that c-ficdom follows different fic-posting etiquette on ao3, and thus chinese-heavy sports rpf fandoms (think table tennis and speed skating) will feature a majority public fic—here's another old graph. since f1 fandom has a relatively larger representation of chinese writers than hockey does, its public ratio falls a little bit if you filter to english-only works, but as of 2023 it remains significantly higher than hockey's!

anyway, onto the actual ship graphing.

my ship collection process yielded 164 ships with 57 drivers, 46 of which have been in f1. all 20 current active f1 drivers have at least one ship with min. 5 fics, though not all of them had a ship that connected them to the 2023 grid. specifically, nyck de vries' only ship at time of collection was with stoffel vandoorne at 56 works.

once again because f1 is so strongly connected, i initially struggled a lot with how i wanted to graph all the ships i'd aggregated—visualizing all of them was just a mess of a million different overlapping edges, not the sprawling tree that branched out more smoothly from players like in hockey. this made me wonder whether it even made sense to graph anything at all... and tbh the jury is still out on whether these are interesting, but regardless here's a visualization of how the current grid is connected (color-coded by team)! i graphed a circular layout and then a "grid-like" layout just for variety lol.

of course, i still wanted to explore how ships with ex-f1 drivers have branched out and show where they connect to drivers on the current grid, especially because not too long ago seb was very much the center of the ficdom ecosystem, and the (based purely on the numbers) segue to today's max/charles split didn't really come to fruition until the dts days. so here's a network of f1 ships with a minimum of 75 works on ao3:

before i go into ship breakdowns, i also have a quick overview of the most "shippable" drivers, aka the drivers with the highest sum of fic from all their respective ships. the second bar chart is color-coded by the count of their unique ships to encapsulate who is more prone to being multi-shipped.

PART II. ship insights

first let's take a look at the most popular f1 ships on ao3, again filtered to driver-only ships.

here's another graph filtered to the current grid only, and then one that shows the 15 ships where one driver isn't and has never been an f1 driver:

for this section, i ended up combining my ship data with a big f1 driver dataset that gave me information on each driver's birth year, points, wins, seasons in f1, nationality... etc., so that's what i'll be using in the rest of the post. disclaimer that i did have to tweak a few things and the data doesn't reflect the most recent races, so please note there might be some slight discrepancies in my visualizations.

anyway—in my hockey post i did a lot of set analysis because i was interested in figuring out what made the players who were part of the ship network different from the general population. with f1, since almost Every Driver has at least one ship and it's a much more representative group, doing a lot of set distributions wasn't that interesting and so i stuck more to pure ship analysis. still, the set isn't completely representative, which i noted by checking the ratios of driver nationalities in my dataset and then in the large database of f1 drivers i merged with (though filtered to debut year >= 2000 to maintain i guess the same "dimensions").

while british and german drivers have been the most common nationalities in f1 since 2000, both in general and in my ship data, it seems that ficdom slightly overrepresents/overships them and then underrepresents brazilian drivers. i was also curious to see the distribution of ships by nationality combination (which is actually quite diverse), and though it once again wasn't surprising that uk/germany was the most common combination given that we've just established the commonality of their driver groups, i found it somewhat interesting to realize just how many ships fall under this umbrella.

i then once again wanted to see what the distribution of age differences looked across ships. the ships i graphed yielded a range of 25 years, with the oldest age difference being 25 years between piastri and webber. tbh, something that's interesting to me about f1 ships is not just how connected current drivers are but also how there is a very strong aspect of cyclicality, wherein long careers in combination with well-established celebrity culture and post-retirement pivots to punditry & mentorship position drivers perfectly to still be easily shipped with any variety of upcoming drivers, hence why we encounter a relatively significant variety of age differences.

of the ships with two f1 drivers, 38% were within 2 years of each other, while 44% had an age difference of 5 years or more.

more experimentally (basically i wanted to use these performance metrics for something!), i tried graphing driver metrics against "shippability" to see whether i could uncover any trends, normalizing to percentile to make it more visually comprehensible.

one thing that was interesting to me is that there is a strong correlation between a driver's points per entry and their number of ship fic; really, this isn't surprising at all because it's basically a reflection of whether they've driven for a big 3 team, and we know that the most popular drivers are from big 3 teams, but then i guess it does become a bit of a chicken and egg question... which is something i'm continuously fascinated by when discussing success and talent in sports fandom, especially in a sport like f1 where there is so little parity and thus "points" do not always quantifiably translate to "talent," making it difficult to gauge why and when a driver's skill becomes consciously appealing to an audience. i don't know but here's that scatterplot.

similarly, i also wanted to look at years active vs. fic to gauge which drivers have a High Number Of Ship Fic relative to how long they've actually been in f1, basically a rough rework of the "shippability above expected" metric i'd tried exploring in my old f1 post haha. because the set i merged with attributed 1 "year active" to a driver just like, filling in as reserve for a single race, and it also included drivers who maybe raced one season and then never raced again, but then i still wanted to include current rookies in their first season to show where their Potential lies... i settled on filtering to drivers who were or have been active for at least 5 seasons OR who debuted recently and thus have a bit of rookie leeway. there's a decent amount of correlation here, which is again... in f1, the underlying argument for remaining active for many years is that you have to be good enough to keep your seat, so it's expected that if drivers stay on the grid for a long time they will eventually accrue more fandom interest and thus ship fic. still, we can see some drivers who underperform a little relative to their establishedness—bot and per, interestingly also below the trend line in the points/entry graph–and then those who overperform a decent amount, like nor and lec.

this is somewhat interesting to me because i'd tried to make a similar scatterplot with my hockey set and found that there was... basically nooo correlation at all, but i also had to make do with draft year and not gp which i think might move the needle a little bit. regardless, it's just interesting to think about these things in the context of league/grid exclusivity and then other further nuances like the possibilities of making your niche in, for example, the nhl as a 4th line grinder or f1 as a de facto but reliable #2 driver for years down the stretch, and then how all of that impacts or shapes your fandom stock and shippability.

moving on, here's a look at the current top 20 f1 ships and how much of their fic is tagged as fluff or angst! out of all their fic, kimi/seb have the highest fluff ratio at 38.44%, while lewis/nico hold the throne for angst at 34.74%.

lewis/nico are also the most "holistically" tragic ship when you subtract their fluff and angst percentages (by a large margin as well), while jenson/seb are the fluffiest with a difference of 17.38%. really makes you think.

and finally this is a dumb iteration from my old f1 post but i thought this was kind of funny haha so: basically what if teammate point share h2h but the points are their shippability on ao3.

closing thoughts

that's really all i have! again, i don't know whether any of these graphs make sense or are interesting to anyone, but i had fun trying to adapt some of my hockey methodology to f1 and also revisiting the old f1 graphs i'd made last year and getting to recalculate/design them. i know there's a lot more i could have done in examining drivers' old teams since many ships are based on drivers being ex-teammates and not the current grid matchups, but it would have been too much of a headache to figure out so... this is the best i've got. thanks for reading :)

[smallblueandloud]

i've been SUPER blocked, fic-wise, this month. but i'd really like to write a bit and get another story out in time for june! so i'm gonna think out loud for a little while

here are the fics i've got ongoing, and why i'm stuck on them:

éponine de bergerac: the next scene is a complex one, with éponine meeting cosette's dad. i don't really trust my ability to write jean valjean, nor do i really know what purpose this scene has to fulfill, other than jean approving of éponine. this isn't really based on a scene in cyrano itself or roxanne (1987), so i kinda don't have a road map. maybe i just write a little bit of the dinner and then move on? but then i have to solve my overall plot problems. oh shit the balcony scene can happen over text can't it. okay. i'm gonna investigate that later.

universal translator malfunction: unfortunately the dark side of writing casefic is that you need a case underneath it all. i don't know what's causing the malfunction in the first place. i've written every scene that got me to start this fic in the first place so now i have no idea how to resolve it

natlaura soulmates installment: i realized a few days ago that clint has to get kidnapped and now i'm procrastinating writing this casefic, too. it needs to happen, we need JUSTIFICATION for clint and nat hiding laura away, that's the whole emotional tension of the fic. unfortunately i don't feel like writing a kidnapping, especially trying to figure out how to convey natasha's competence from a civilian (laura's) perspective :/ maybe i'll figure out how to include melinda may somehow, that might make it more fun to work on

quarrel (13 meets mickey/martha rewrite): tbh i've been vaguely thinking that i should rewatch s11 before i go back to writing 13. which... i don't think is necessary, to be honest, given how superficially 13 is characterized in s11. i think most of the problem here is just procrastination and a bit of boredom.

and then some other vague ideas i could try to flesh out...

now that s14 is over i want to write something for doctor who. i'm really debating what. i kinda want ruby to hang out at the temple-noble house but the existence of tenthree makes that feel sour to me -- i don't like that there's a doctor chilling on earth who's presumeably ignoring every former companion who's within driving distance. but maybe tenthree is just conveniently off-world or something. maybe the family is hiding tenthree's existence from ruby? or maybe ruby meets tenthree and realizes he's fundamentally the doctor but Still Not Really Her Friend.

oh. relatedly. the memory TARDIS reminded me about all of my TARDIS feels. i would love to write a fic related to the TARDIS, esp the TARDIS kitchen (kitchens are my favorite space in basically any universe). hmm. maybe this could tie into my ruby sendoff.

oh as always also the ever-classic: the fam meets jack harkness but instead of realizing he's a friend, they hear the way he talks about the doctor and assume he's the master.

okay i'm gonna try to talk about non-doctor who ideas now.

leverage ot3 getting-together fic that my good friend basically outlined into my dms and now i really want to write because it's so good. i'm not sure i have faith in my ability to keep ahold of the relevant emotional threads but hey it's probably worth a shot.

i literally have no idea what but i want to write something for the fast and furious series. definitely something featuring mia and/or letty. maybe about hispanidad. and also queerness.

luke and leia force dyad? five times they shared something? quantum entanglement from beru's perspective? han figuring out about the force bond at some point, possibly before the twins themselves?

...a scene set in the fullmetal alchemist version of the xmen. mostly i just want to talk about jean grey, flame alchemist, and her longsuffering assistant lieutenant summers.

that fic i keep talking about where yelena and natasha meet clint and yelena cannot fathom how deeply natasha trusts this guy. unfortunately this one would be super noncompliant with the black widow movie but, like, not in obvious ways, so i'd have to MAKE that obvious, and it would get clumsy pretty quickly

...so i'm clearly not DOOMED, okay, i have a BILLION ideas. i just have to sit down and write them!

maybe tomorrow i'll go the library after my nice fancy brunch that i've already planned out. that would be a lovely saturday treat

[niloycentral]

Welcome to Niloy November 2023!

We’re glad you want to join the fun in our inaugural year! This is something I hope to generate every November for fans of Aloy x Nil, new and old.

What is it?

Above, you’ll find a table of one prompt per day of November, most of which contain special significance to the relationship between Aloy and Nil. For those participating, simply take the prompt and create something around it for that day.

What can I make?

Whatever you feel most comfortable creating!

If you’re a writer: a drabble, ficlet, even a poem! No word count minimum or maximum, but in the spirit of the event, I recommend no greater than 2500 words.

Artists can do sketches, doodles, fully rendered pieces, comic pages, whatever they are inspired (and have the time) to create.

Gif-makers, virtual photographers, and other types of visual media are also more than welcome to participate and we encourage it!

For prompts that limit gifs and virtual photography, alternates have been provided – though you are welcome to use the alternates for art and/or fic for the given dates, if they inspire you more.

In addition, you are not limited to one form of creation. If one prompt inspires art, another inspires writing, another has the perfect shot from in-game photography, feel free to mix it up!

The only ask is that whatever you create be new for the prompt. However the prompt inspires you, run with it! Some may feel “on the nose,” but those can be fun to explore metaphorically too!

What are the restrictions?

For fic submissions, please use the appropriate submission tags below the text box. All ratings are welcome provided they are properly labelled.

As per Tumblr guidelines, we cannot show any NSFW art or photomodes. If your submission contains NSFW material, please submit a suitable crop preview or censored version that can safely be displayed on Tumblr. The post will also, if possible, have a Mature community content label. This also applies for other types of Mature content.

Can I team up with someone for art or writing for a prompt?

Yes! Fics and art are welcome to inspire each other.

Where do I post?

Wherever you feel comfortable sharing. Fics should be posted on AO3 and you are welcome to share the link on your own social media or in a server. Mostly, I encourage you to submit it directly to the niloycentral tumblr.

If you have a Tumblr: You can submit it directly to niloycentral, or tag your post with either #niloynovember or #niloynovember23 – both will be tracked! You can also @niloycentral.

If you don’t have a Tumblr: You can submit the art or photomode itself directly, or link to your creation on other social media (Twitter, Instagram, AO3, wherever it is hosted) through our niloycentral submissions page using the following format:

Creator: your @(social media) or your alias

Prompt: what day/prompt you have submitted

Plus any applicable tags as per checkboxes below the submission area.

#niloynovember and #niloynovember23 will also be tracked on Twitter, but to make sure we see and catch everything, I encourage submissions to niloycentral Tumblr!

Do I have to do every prompt?

We don’t want anyone to get burnt out or frustrated. Some prompts will inspire more than others and we all have days where we just can’t. You definitely don’t have to do every prompt to be included! Your creation will be featured whether you do all 30, or 19, or 12, or if you even only do 1. You’re more than welcome to continue working on the prompts after November as well.

Do I have to do them in order?

No… but if you do submit to the blog for a prompt from later in the month, we will schedule your submission to post on the proper day (based on EST). Any submissions from previous-day prompts will be posted as usual.

Prompts are being released now, but we ask that you do not post until November 1.

Happy creating!

Prompt list below:

Light

Rain

Fire

OT3 (Alternate: Sharp)

Triumph

Honour

Sun

AU - Historical [pre-2000s] (Alternate: Fly)

Wink

Remorse

Throwback

Cleanse

Partner

AU - Genre [sci-fi, horror, etc.] (Alternate: Mask)

Free space/Your choice

Shadow

Hands

Release

Moon

Coping

Reputation

Joke

Hope

Loss

Steel

Innocence

AU - Modern (Alternate: Mask)

Soft

Ride

Meme

[nightklok]

MTL Rarepair Month 2023

If image is blurry, click on the image to be taken to a higher resolution version!

After a long wait, the calendar for Rarepair Month is here for May 1-27! Thank you as well for those who participated in the survey! I tried to keep in mind of everyone's suggestions!

What is Rarepair Month?

From May 1-27, this event is dedicated not only to unpopular and rarer type of ships, but to any rare pair platonic/romantic!

As doing daily challenges may not possible for some, I am including weekly challenges!

Each week has a theme, and you can use that however you want to! You can replace a day’s theme with a weekly theme, write one fic per weekly theme each week, center a theme around the challenges, anything you want! How you complete this challenge is up to you!

Excluded Pairings

Note: While these pairings are excluded, you are allowed to write OT3s of these popular ships (Ex: Charles, Pickles, and Nathan). The decision to exclude these pairings was based on AO3’s relationship tags (the pairings with over 100 fics) and just general fandom knowledge.

Skwistok (Skwisgaar Skwigelf/Toki Wartooth)

Nickles (Nathan Explosion/Pickles the Drummer)

Narles (Nathan Explosion/Charles Foster Offdensen)

Chickles (Charles Foster Offdensen/Pickles the Drummer)

FAQ

Can I post content somewhere else other than Tumblr/AO3?

Yes, you can! I might only see the challenges on tumblr, AO3, and Instagram but you can always double post to get more traction!

What is the hashtag?

please use the tag #MTLRarePair2023! (Optional but encouraged!)

Do I have to do all 27 days/Do I have to complete the weekly challenges?

It’s all entirely up to you! If you want to do one over the other, both, and/or work on them separately it’s up to you! You are not obligated to do all 27 days or all 4 weekly challenges. The point of this challenge is to have fun so where’s the fun in being stressed out?

Can I write crossover pairings? (I.E Nathan Explosion x Eddie Briggs from Brutal Legend) Self-inserts/OC x character pairings?

Of course! It wouldn’t be a rare pair event without some crossover or OC pairings now wouldn’t it?

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me, but remember there is no limit to this, just do what will make this fun and easier for you! Good luck!! (Any questions will be tagged as #MTLrarepair2023qanda so be sure to check that out if you wanna see if your question has been answered!

Social Media Links

You are free to post anywhere outside of tumblr and what i'm linking below but here is some sites where I'll be checking out the content!

AO3 Collection: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/MTL_RPM_2023

When you edit your works, make sure to add this to Collections: MTL_RPM_2023

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nightklok/status/1646857331991248896?s=46&t=dEbe-5kzzkXRk_nG60esmg

Instagram: @/mtlrarepairmonth

The Prompts:

Week 1 (1-6): Movie Premiere

As anticipation over the new movie comes near, what are your predictions? Or wish fulfillment? Alternatively, what are some movies, songs, etc you want to write a fic based around? Or some movie you can see your rarepair fitting well in?

Day 1: The Opening Act: How would the first scene or first act begin? Any establishing characters making an appearance? Alternatively, use this to post the first chapter, scene, etc to any series, fic, comic, etc! 

Alternative Prompt: Movie night

Day 2:  The Soundtrack: Using any song that reminds you of the film, write a fic based around the song!

Alternative Prompt: Dancing in the Rain

Day 3: The conflict: There can’t be any movie without some conflict so what is your prediction for the conflict? Is it a misunderstanding? Doomstar related?

Alternative Prompt: Final Words

Day 4: The Endgame Couple: What is the moment that makes it official your rarepair will be canon?

Alternative Prompt: What could’ve been

Day 5:  The Finale:

Alternative Prompt: Confessions

Day 6:  The sequel: You can use this day to write about any potential sequel ideas you might have or alternatively, something you wanted to write that fits this week’s theme!

Alternative Prompt: After the War

Week 2 (7-13) The Forgotten:

A week dedicated to the minor characters, background characters, anyone you feel should’ve gotten more screen time. While the main cast is allowed, try to make the other characters the main character/focus point of the story.

Day 7: Remake- recreate an episode, scene, season, or anything really into your rarepair- give them the love they deserve 

Alternative Prompt: Birthday Wish

Day 8: Anti-hero/Villain Redemption: Maybe the villains were onto something-maybe they can be fixed

Alternative Prompt: Forgiveness

Day 9: Female Exclusive: I can’t exclude the main cast because there is no females, diversity win 

Day 10: Background Character Unveil: Find a background character (someone with NO lines or importance) and basically treat them as an OC-free design template- alternatively, create your own background character

Alternative Prompt:  Road trip

Day 11:  Side Character Exclusive: While the focus is side characters (characters who appear occuringly or at least in more than one episode), you are free to use one-shot characters as well!

Day 12: OC Exclusive: It can be OC/ OC, OC/Character, whatever you want as long as an OC is the main character! For an extra challenge: Make someone's day by writing their OC!

Day 13: Free Space 

Alternative Prompt: New Rarepair (make up a ship that has 0 tags on tumblr/AO3 or use one you’ve never written)

Week 3 (14-20) Alternate Universe:

Alternative Universes and Rarepairs go hand in hand so why not dedicate a week exploring that? Perhaps there's even an AU of an AU with your rarepair you want to explore or you've always wanted to write an AU that wouldn't have worked for your plot. Use this week's theme to go outside the box a little and explore the various possibilities you can do!

Day 14: Florist & Tattoo Artist AU / Coffee Shop AU

Alternative Prompt: First Date

Day 15: Fantasy/Magic

Alternative Prompt: Childhood

Day 16: Monsters 

Alternative Prompt: Costume Party

Day 17: Hanahaki: A disease where flowers will grow in the heart of the infected from unrequited love. The cure can be to either surgically remove the roots but risk death or never feeling attraction towards the person again or confess/have the love turn requited.

Alternative Prompt: Flowers  

Day 18: College/High School

Alternative Prompt: Graduation

Day 19: Fairytale 

Alternative Prompt: Soulmates

Day 20: Free Space 

Alternative Prompt: First Meeting

Week 4 (21-27) General Week:

With this month coming to close, try to write about more of the simpler things in life. The domestic stuff that you may have been avoiding to write. Use this week to try out new rarepairs by using any day/alternative prompts you didn't get to use.

But for those looking for something a little more fun to end the daily prompts on, I've used obscure/outdated tropes for the alternative prompts that you are more than free to use!

Day 1: Proposal

Alternative Prompt: College Radio

Day 2: Concert

Alternative Prompt:  Unwanted Gift Trope

Day 3: Domestic Life

Alternative Prompt: Telephone Booth

Day 4: Eras (80s,90s,00s, etc)

Alternative Prompt: Waterbeds

Day 5: Double Date

Alternative Prompt: Video Store

Day 6: Wedding

Alternative Prompt: Miscommunication 

Day 7: Free Space

[isablooo]

Happy Twelfth Night!

Here are some Viola/Cesarios to celebrate! I've rambled a bit about the play and these different versions below~

Although it may not seem particularly festive to modern audience, the title of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night actually references the twelfth night of Christmas (marking the coming Epiphany), with some scholars theorising that it was first performed on the 6th January 1601 for Queen Elizabeth's Twelfth Night celebrations. Christmas in the Elizabethan period was associated with revels, misrule and inversion of the social order - where servants were the masters for the day and children could be crowned mock-bishops. Therefore, the play's deconstruction of social roles, particularly gender roles, would have come across as very christmassy to Elizabethan audiences.

Johnny Flynn and Anita-Joy Uwajeh's perform as Viola/Cesario in my two favourite performances of Twelfth Night: the 2012 and the 2017 Globe performances! I think they both showcase polar opposite styles of adapting the play and how they can both shine: the 2012 production is more traditional in that it reproduces much of the original performance context (Elizabethan setting, all-male cast etc) but is very watchable and honestly hilarious. Mark Rylance as Olivia especially is a highlight - he is so very elegant but is also able to make Olivia on par with the other characters in terms of comedy, despite her usually more serious role. You might recognise Johnny Flynn as Mr Knightley in Emma (2020) but he also slays hard as Viola! The 2017 production, on the other hand, showcases the strengths of modernisations of Shakespeare - I actually saw this one in person in 2017 as I was doing Twelfth Night for A-level at the time, and it was just unforgettable! The setting is shifted to 1970s Scotland and imho translates a lot of the original elements in ways that would resonate in a similar way for contemporary audiences- with songs, dance numbers and some hilarious added dialogue/quips. Even the comic characters (Sir Toby Belch and co) who are often hard to translate for modern audiences were hilarious and I found myself excited to see them come on stage. A huge stand-out is Le Gateau Chocolat as Feste, who has an incredible voice. Having a drag performer play Feste is honestly a great modern analogy as she's a performer who takes tips, is able to question social norms with her art in ways that allow her to be the most insightful character, and is also inkeeping with the play's exploration of gender. Of course, Anita- Joy Uwajeh was absolutely fantastic as Viola too. You can watch recordings of both productions on the Globe-player if you're interested!

I couldn't find anywhere to watch the 2009 Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night starring Anne Hathaway as Viola/Cesario but honestly I just wanted to draw her anyway <3 In the last few years a promo shot from this production became a really popular 'draw your OT3' meme which I myself have indulged in - it'd be cool if there was a way for more people to watch this given the resurgence of interest!

[mxanigel]

what we have is each other

The lovely @socially-awkward-skeleton and @captastra tagged me to play with this relationship template!

That's a fantastic template for two people. And I hope to use it for Vix and Shadowheart once I explore more of their journey. But. Uh. My current brainrot is my AoT OT3. So I'm stealing this opportunity to share the latest version of their chart (OT3 template here).

Explanatory rambles below the cut!

-----

Hange is a chaotic non-binary mess of a leader soldier, Levi is a clean freak who blunt and crass and so deliberate with emotions that he doesn't express them like others do, and OC Shion is a broken sunshine character seeking joy on her better days and clawing for meaning on her worse ones.

[greeting each other] Levi consistently uses demeaning terms toward Hange. "Idiot," "four-eyes," etc. When he uses their name, it's a big deal. I haven't figured out what he'll call Shion, but since she confessed so early in their relationship, he didn't have a chance to come up with something like what he calls Hange before Things Changed between them.

[First to confess] ahaha yeah Shion first tells Levi she loves him in chapter 9. We're on chapter 23 and neither Levi nor Hange have used those words. (but we're getting so damn close aaaaaaa)

[First to kiss] Levi kisses Shion after she confesses. He can't articulate why. She doesn't press him to. He knows she's important to him, something he shows in a thousand little ways. (Hange's a force of nature and takes all of this in stride in chapter 10 in very Hange-esque ways.)

[Dies for the others] OHOHO the WAYS this could happen depending on timeline and adherence to canon. Dare I explore a worldstate in which Shion dies to save Hange's life? WE SHALL SEE

[Prone to hide their feelings] This condition is in Levi Ackerman's blood okay. And an innocent chapter 8 conversation leads Hange to hide their feelings for both Shion and Levi to some extent. Their affection? Not at all hidden. Their romantic feelings? BURY THAT SHIT. Until they can't keep it buried any longer.

[First to apologize after a fight] Shion is not one who tolerates strain between herself and those she loves. Especially if she's the person responsible for it. But when that strain exists for reasons outside of her control… she won't apologize for the sake of apologizing. And she's learning not to apologize for who she is or how she feels.

["Excuse me, they asked for no pickles"] Shion will sit there and roll with things (and may encourage others to do the same depending on the situation) but there is no freaking way Levi or Hange would accept any of the three getting pickles when they didn't ask for pickles, lol.

[Spoils the others] How said spoiling occurs depends on the person, but they're each ready able and willing to spoil the other two.

[Wakes up first] Levi canonically doesn't sleep much. So I headcanon that Hange has experimented with sleeping draughts (experiments which always piss off Levi regardless of effectiveness because Hange takes it as a personal challenge to slip him one without him noticing). But for this relationship, he's the first one awake which has already manifested multiple times in the fic. The very limited scenarios in which he wouldn't wake first are super fun to play with~

["What's updog?"] I took this line less literally, seeing it as which of them are the most casual in speaking to the others, most likely to make puns, etc. And that's 100% Hange.

[First to propose] Once the OT3 shakes off its rocky romantic restart, this is unnecessary. Hell, even before the official confessions, they're already a unit.

[Wants children] I actively avoid giving my OCs children. I stopped writing for one in part because it seemed like children were a likely outcome. And then Shion comes along and turns that on its head. So. There's a kid in one possible future. With three parents who love her very much.

[Didn't know they were dating] The they-were-already-a-unit thing I mentioned earlier comes into play here. I have mixed feelings about the word "dating" here only because it tends to have romantic connotations, and both Shion and Hange's initial feelings are strongly platonic. But given how much I adore Levihan and that this is my first-ever OT3, plus after thinking long and hard about how Shion eventually feels about Hange and vice versa, I decided all of their feelings would be considered romantic.

[Initiates contact] Shion holds back SO HARD from being affectionate toward Levi, but he picks up on that (and appreciates it) and works to communicate when he's more open to that sort of thing. Not that he's good at it, but he tries. Meanwhile, Hange is alllll about touching and other affectionate gestures, which helps further lower the barrier for the other two.

[Approached first] Shion kind of sort of approached Levi first (remember, she was holding back) and Levi, once he's open to taking another step, doesn't hold back. But I'm thinking about this romantically, and Hange is highly reticent to show romantic advances toward either one knowing that Shion has feelings for Levi.

[Says the L word first] Shion 100%.

[The oblivious one] I'm using "oblivious" a bit loosely here; Levi takes a while to sort through what to name his feelings, and Hange hangs out in denial for quite some time.

-----

No-pressure tagging people to play with either template and/or just skimread my OC+blorbo rambles~ @poetikat @mxkelsifer @milesmentis @arendaes @outpost51 @dr-paine @saraptor @perhapsrampancy @spindleweedss @marythegizka

[miradelletarot]

Thank you @waterdeepwhiskey for the tag!!

I tag @tavyliasin @morb-untamed @ex-textura and else who wants to join the fun! (so deeply sorry if you already did this though. Hard to keep up with who does these things anymore lol).

BASICS

Full name: Sagora Crefort (well, she's Sagora Dekarios now hehe).

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Straight (but she's definitely explored other options a bit in her youth).

Background: Outlander

Class: Circle of the Moon Druid

OTHER

Birthplace: A small, matriarchal family grove about a tenday outside of Baldur's Gate

Profession: She was *supposed* to be First Druid of her grove after her mother died, but the ilithids took her first.

Phobias: Spiders. She HATES spiders. So much so, that she refuses to use her spider form unless she TRULY needs to use it.

Guilty pleasures: She mayyy or may not enjoy that Waterdhavian Whiskey Gale mentioned once a bit too much, and when she's good and tipsy she channels her inner stripper dancer. (This totally didn't happen in camp that one time when all they had for dinner was a bunch of alcohol.)

Hobbies: meditation, yoga (or whatever the Faerun version of that would be lol)

MORALS

Alignment: Neutral Good

Sins: b/c of her past, she's got a lot of trust issues, and that tends to make her very cold towards ppl she doesn't care about. She also has a tendency to say what's on her heart a bit too bluntly if (again, someone she really cares about) is doing something stupid in her perspective (example: Gale feeling like he has to do what Mystra says about using the orb). She had some VERY BIG FEELINGS about that, and wasn't shy about it either. She also wasn't very nice. When she gets that angry she enters into the "act first, and apologize later" territory.

Virtues: Trying to live up to the standards of First Druid that her mother would have been proud of. She's also extremely thoughtful, and tries to do whatever she can to make those around her feel happy and safe as much as she possibly can. Her and Astarion didn't get along very well at first for that reason, but when she promised to help him with Cazador (and delivered on that promise,) he had a lot more respect and appreciation for her, and her desire to help those around her.

THIS OR THAT

Introvert / Extrovert

Organized / Disorganized

Close-minded / Open-minded

Calm / Anxious / Restless

Disagreeable / Agreeable / In between

Cautious / Reckless / In between

Patient / Impatient / In between

Outspoken / Reserved / In between

Leader / Follower / Flexible

Empathetic / Unempathetic / In between

Optimist / Pessimist / Realist

Traditional / Modern / In between

Hard-working / Lazy

R E L A T I O N S H I P S

OTP: Sagora/Gale (Vineweave!) <3

Acceptable Ships: Gale has her heart. No one else compares.

OT3: None. While Sagora is a half-elf (and rather accustomed to these sorts of relationships,) she respects Gale's monogamous preferences. She loves him so deeply that she would never want to disrespect his boundaries, and thus, the only one she will ever need/want/desire is him. =>

Brotp: Sagora and Karlach. K bae is her ride or die. Hands down!

Notp: Anything Mystra. Fuck that wish.com Barbie ass bitch!

BACKSTORY

The daughter of a Baldurian Merchant, and next in line to be First Druid in her family's grove, Sagora endured the separation of her family when her father was threatened by The Guild - with her, her sister, and mother as the targets. Sagora's strong-willed personality brought her defiantly back to Baldur's Gate to be with her father when she was violently assaulted. The attack left her unconscious for over a tenday, waking up back in her grove with orders to never return to Baldur's Gate. When her mother died, she set out to return to her childhood home to send word to her father when she was captured by the ilithids. Now, her task is to survive not only for the sake of the Sword Coast, but to return to her family's grove, and take her rightful place as the new First Druid.

...Or will she? my fic series was meant as not just a Gale x Sagora romance, but as a means to share/write out her backstory! You can read it here!

[not-poignant]

Hey there Pia! I want to say I absolutely love your work and it's very inspiring. It's helped me feel more relaxed about just writing for myself for the sheer fun of it and exploring characters, after many years trying to write or do artwork for other people. Something I think I read somewhere was that you tend to ship a lot of your OC's together and could ship anyone (or were a multi-shipper). I may have got that wrong so I apologise if that's the case! I wondered if you had any of your own OC ships that really surprised you? Do you have any OC ships you would love to write one day that keep popping up in your brain? Are there any OCs ships you think would be interesting but probably wouldn't ever write because it doesn't necessarily work? Thanks! x x P.s. I live in the south of England and have a friend in Scotland and we were chatting casually about fics we like as we tend to gravitate towards the same tags and she said "Oh have you heard of not-poignant" and I have never heard her squee so loudly when I told her yes xD You got fans all over the place. <3

Hi anon!

I'm definitely a multi-shipper! Though I don't ship all of my characters together, it's more like... I'm open to considering a lot of different permutations but I also don't enjoy all the ships!

I also support everyone else shipping whoever they want. :D I'm very 'ship and let ship' hehe.

I wondered if you had any of your own OC ships that really surprised you?

Honestly, Augus and Gwyn was probably the very first one! I didn't ship them at the time when other people started coming to me and asking about it, in fact I was like 'ehhhh actually that makes me not very comfortable to think about.' I even avoided answering anon asks about it, and felt very much like you know the nervous 'haha I'm really glad you enjoy it but I don't think that's for me.' And that was partly because I imagined it to be such a tragic pairing at the time. And while it seems wild to talk about that now, because I am so ride or die for them, that is definitely where I started!

Other OC ships that kind of surprised me with their intensity was Mosk and Augus, because Augus really didn't rate Mosk at first, and I was so in Augus' POV for that, it was like...for a long time I never saw the potential until enough changed that Augus could also see the potential. Because of that, Smoke in Autumn was born.

Temsen and Gwyn was unexpected for me, and honestly there's a side character coming in Underline the Red and I ship Faber and Kenneth so much that I suspect Underline the Red will become an OT3 because of it!

Are there any OCs ships you think would be interesting but probably wouldn't ever write because it doesn't necessarily work?

Yeah there's lots. Honestly too many to put here. But lots and lots. For example Temsen and Gwyn from the Underline series are interesting to me, but I don't think that'd ever work or be anything other than like a short tragic abusive moment in time and I've already written a version of that with Albion and Gwyn in a oneshot.

Leo and Efnisien I think could have a very sweet romance in Falling Falling Stars, but I like them more as friends in that universe. And I always kind of daydreamed of Nate somehow going to a play party re: Kadek's and seeing Efnisien and kind of...admiring another side of him and enjoying that somehow.

Gwyn and Ash in the canon when Ash was at his most mutinous and antagonistic was interesting to me in a noncon sense, and I actually have a fic I've never released which is Ash assaulting Gwyn around...mid-way through The Court of Five Thrones. I definitely think Ash has enough dark sexuality that this seemed very 'obvious' to me while also not being at all feasible in the canon.

Faber and Efnisien is really interesting to me in the Underline universe, though I don't think it would ever work/happy, the attraction is definitely there on Efnisien's side, and he feels very kind of alpha-protective towards Faber in a very strong way. And the idea of a toppy Efnisien in that universe is just fun for me, even though I don't plan on ever writing it.

I also low-key ship Temsen with everyone. Like, Temsen just has vibes with everyone. He's always the top and I'm always like 'damn son you have taken over my brain' and he has.

The fun of multi-shipping is I can kind of go anywhere depending on the mood I'm in. The good news is I love the ships I'm writing so much already that they're usually the place I go to first anyway. :D

You got fans all over the place. <3

Ahhhh <3333

I wish I hadn't been so anxious back when I visited England and Scotland last time because it'd have been great to do some kind of like... group meet-up or something. With Covid now I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to do international travel again, but I love that folks live in so many awesome places. :D

It's funny because there's almost no readers that I know of in Western Australia, so it's like being on a very weird island where all the reading happens elsehwere. And while there's like maybe one or two exceptions to this, for the most part it's like 'oh reading my stuff is a thing that does not happen here :D ' But I love all y'all. I've met the coolest people and become interested in so many different countries and languages and foods and cultures in part because of this writing and how many different folks have turned up in my comments or in my ask box just sharing different anecdotes and stories from all over the world.

The faedom's just so amazing :D It's really global, and that makes me feel so grateful and fortunate and also makes me wish teleportation was easily possible and affordable!!

[duckprintspress]

Fandom Lexicon: O

This went up on our webpage on Saturday, but because I was vending at Schenectady Pride and working away-from-computer all day yesterday, I missed my chance to cross-post it until today! But, here it is... lots of abbreviations that start with O!

See the full Fandom Lexicon posted to-date here!

Spot a mistake? Think of something we missed? Let us know!

Lexicon Entries Starting with O: (read more)

O Rly?: Cutesy shortened form of “oh, really?” often used to express incredulity, originally from a meme featuring a surprised-looking owl. The most common responses to this are are “ya rly” or “no wai!” Read more about the “O Rly?” meme.

OC: Abbreviation for “original character,” except when it refers to the fandom The O.C. Refers to an individual’s original characters, versus the original characters that appear in published media. As in, a fanfiction that includes OCs will include the characters in the source fandom material AND new characters that the author has invented. Some people do use OC to refer to the characters in their original (as in, non-fan) works. See also: OFC, OMC. Read more about OCs.

OFC: Abbreviation for “original female character.” Refers to an individual’s original female character, versus original female characters that appear in published media. See also: OC.

OFC: Abbreviation for “of (fucking) course.” While this technically stands for “of fucking course,” it is widely used to just mean “of course,” and extra emphasis should not necessarily be interpreted just because of the presence of the “fucking” in the middle.

OG: Abbreviation for “original gangster.” The original, powerful version of a thing that may have inspired less exemplary (but currently better known) copycats. Read more about the term OG.

Okimochi Yakuza: Translates to “feelings yakuza,” a Japanese term for the “purity police” kind of anti. This, and the English translated version, entered Western vernacular after its inclusion in this post by Maromi, originally written in Japanese as a guide to Eastern fans to help them understand pro/anti discourse in Western fandom. See also: anti.

OMC: Abbreviation for “original male character.” Refers to an individual’s original male character, versus original male characters that appear in published media. See also: OC.

Omega: A secondary gender term used in works with alpha/beta/omega dynamics. While the specifics are up to the writer, some common characteristics of omegas include: smaller, effeminate bodies; social submission/oppression; a strong sense of smell; eyes that turn golden when happy or aroused; a strong desire to nest; hormone-driven sexual ‘heats’; butts that serve as their primary sexual and reproductive organ; and the ability to get pregnant regardless of primary gender. See also: alpha/beta/omega dynamics, alpha, beta.

OMG They Were Roommates: A fanworks trope in which two characters are put in a roommate situation and subsequent romantic/sexual hijinks ensue. Often paired with the “idiots to lovers” trope.

OOC: Abbreviation for “out of character.” 1. A term adopted in roleplaying circles to indicate when a comment is from the player’s perspective, not from the perspective of the character they are playing. 2. A subjective assessment of a fanwork, in which someone may feel that a character is being portrayed as behaving out of character as compared to how they behave in canon. Read more about the term OOC.

OP: Abbreviation for “original poster,” except when it refers to the fandom One Piece. Refers to the person who created a post, or to the original post itself. Read more about the term OP.

Orange: See Citrus Scale.

Orphan: A fanwork that the author has not only abandoned, but has cut all identifiable ties with. Orphaning is a feature on AO3 that allows an author to give up all access to a work without requiring that the work be deleted. People orphan their works for many reasons. Read more about orphaning fanworks.

OT3: Abbreviation for “one true 3.” A variation on  the term OTP, this refers to a favorite ship that includes 3 people, and therefore isn’t a “pairing” so can’t fall under OTP. Higher numbers are possible but less commonly used, as in OT4, OT5, etc. Often used when a fan believes a love triangle should resolve by the three people involved agreeing to be in a consensual polyamorous relationship, but there’s no requirement that it involve a love triangle in the source material. See also: BroTP, NoTP, OTP. Read more about OT3s.

Otaku: A Japanese term for a fan, especially an obsessive fan. Read more about otaku.

OTP: Abbreviation for “one true pairing.” An individual’s primary ship, often to the point of obsession. While originally, this term was used to refer solely to the one and only pairing that a person was a fan of, to the exclusion of all other pairings within the same fandom and/or pairings in other fandoms, usage has loosened over the years, and people will often now refer to having an OTP while still multi-shipping the characters and others in the fandom and/or having an OTP for every fandom they are in. Not all fans have an OTP. See also: BroTP, NoTP, OT3. Read more about OTPs.

OTW: Abbreviation for the Organization for Transformational Works. The parent organization that runs AO3, Fanlore, and other fan-run resources. See also: AO3, Fanlore. Visit the OTW website.

[mihrsuri]

hiiii! 2 and 11 for the Tudors OT3-'verse for the fic writer asks please! <333333

How did you come up with the idea? The actual first story/version of Rewrite The Stars started as most of my fics do with an image/a ‘teaser trailer’ flash - in this case it was Henry/Anne/Thomas in bed together for the first time and going backwards from there. The actual concept? A lot of it was ‘actor chemistry/pretty’ honestly! I think there may have also been a line on like, a tudors fan wiki about Cromwell and Anne working together and it made me think like, what if Tom Cromwell Had Not Done That. Also the existence of a fic by @eidetictelekinetic that showed you could do queer tudors!

What was the most challenging aspect of writing it? At the moment it’s going ‘brain, brain we do not have to perfectly research and also you are doing more research than many published historical fiction writers for a fanfic like and also you are allowed to embrace self indulgence this is a fanfic’ really. It’s like my brain is just Being Garbage :/. I think I need to like, do some deep talking about things again to remember the joy(s). The other thing I think is that I’ve got a lot of expanded backstory so I need to write an expanded outline/timeline which is A Process because I need to consolidate everything!

questions!

[etoilesombre]

Flintmadi 2? Say more

For the WIP game, ty for the ask!

So this is the second chapter of By Faith of my Body, first chapter here. Truly it's the flintmadi bookclub fic. It is working toward OT3 but very much focuses on the flintmadi relationship, with developing bdsm fealty kink dynamics. The premise is that Madi's early resentment toward Flint is based at least partly in the fact that she assumes silverflint are fucking, and that Flint is not particularly good for him. They work through the misunderstanding, Flint opens up to her about his past. Basically, they talk about things filtered through the shared context of history and literature. So the first chapter is classical lit and history, they talk about the Iliad, Alexander, Plato, the burden of leadership etc etc.

So this, the second chapter: there is some silverflint tension, Flint goes back to Madi because he had felt so calm and understood in her presence. She suggests that he in fact open his mouth and talk to Silver. He basically says that would be a distraction and not end well, we need to focus on the war which is the important thing. This time they talk about it through the context of Le Morte D'Arthur, or, story of an ot3 that ended really badly. Discussions of political vs personal, and resistance, and how stories get used and changed. This is also the chapter where the fealty stuff gets real. Flint has such knight vibes, and Madi is such a worthy queen, and kneeling is so relaxing actually.

Ok I haven't opened this document in forever actually. Let's see what's lurking in here for excerpts...

This is a lot rougher than what I usually post, especially the second bit, but I think these excerpts capture the spirit.

“You know, the story of their affair is only a distraction.”  Madi raised an eyebrow. “It seemed a great deal more than that.”  It was Flint’s turn to smile. “A distraction to the reader. From the stories that should matter.”  “What, the quest for the grail?” Madi asked, with thinly veiled disdain. “Surely you cannot credit that tale, nor find much value in it.”  He smiled, refreshed by her casual heresy. “Indeed not, highness. Both stories are appealing, tales of romance and adventure, scandal and chivalrous pursuits. They also pose no particular threat, and suit England quite well. I imagine that’s why this is the version that was written down and printed, although as you can see it is as much French as our own.”  Madi listened with rapt attention, and Flint was proud to have so captivated her. He hadn’t considered the history of his own people before, when he thought of resisting the empire, but perhaps it wasn’t so different. Excitement grew in him as he spoke. “There are older stories, that the crown likes rather less. Of an Arthur who resisted conquest, and fought off the encroaching Saxons. England has not always been as united as she now appears.”

And:

“And would you kneel before me?” “Highness?” [uneasy, but interested] “Why not? You appear to me as a man who needs to do penance, James Flint. There is something… quieting, about being on your knees. You are a man so clearly made for service, yet with no god nor king before whom you may kneel and keep your honor. If you meant what you said last night, if you would follow me as the ruler of our new world, then it is only proper that you should kneel.”   [he does so] “James. My loyal knight.” She touches his head, a blessing morphed into a caress. “And yet, we both know that I am not the one for whom you wish to be on your knees.”  Flint was made uneasy by her familiarity, even as he wished to pursue it. “Highness,” he said, warning in his voice  “That is not to be, and I would not be ever reminded of a desire that I must forsake.”  “But why are you so set upon forsaking it?” [Curious, warm.] “I am no jealous king, and we’ve no god to fear for the pursuit of such love, if your Thomas is to be believed.”  [She touches him again, he tries to get a read on whether it’s sexual] “Why turn from such love without ever having pursued it?” Flint wondered if this was a test of some kind. Pride and bitterness bid him keep silent, but he owed her this. Penance. Humiliation. “Is it not clear? He gives no indication of returning my sentiments. I would not make myself more plain, if for no other reason than that, with so much resting on our partnership, I fear he would not feel he could refuse me freely.” “So desiring of my Guinevere, and yet too loyal to pursue that desire.” [touching him more overtly, fascinated.] “Up there alone every day with him, knowing that he comes to lie with me after, when you have no such recourse yourself.” [Flint thinks about her hands on silver instead, how intimately she touches him and he wants to kiss her palm even just for the echo it holds.] “Do you intend ever to be so close, and yet to deny yourself? This seems to me equally likely to provoke disaster.”

[beforewecame]

kirill/g!bolds/ek :) and also. marathartzy.

KIRILL/GIRL!BOLDS/EK. ot3s r like. I need them to survive. and I should have ticked "I want to kiss them" just for girlbolds. aesthetically it's great. I just saw challengers in theaters and can't shut up about it what more do u want me to say here

marathartzy I am holding in my cupped hands like they are an ugly gosling. I can admit that the versions of them I have in my head may as well be like. player/OMC fic but at the same time I need the narratives to continue next season so bad so that I can actually sink my hands into it up to the elbows. marat was kirill's boy first but maybe he can be ryan's boy too. I want ryan to be a bad influence on him. I want marat to follow him around like a lost puppy. I want ryan to live in denial about it. I want marat to wear him down

[zmediaoutlet]

would you ever consider writing wincestiel again? because i ship it the same way you do (wincest + castiel) and it's so hard to find that dynamic, even though it's objectively the hottest (and most canon compliant, cough)

Man, I don't know! There are only a veeeeery few places I find that version (our version) (best version) particularly possible. I also really hate writing threesomes, lol. Too many legs flailing around.

But you're right, it's very very hard to find anyone who's interested. I mean, most people are either firm on wincest or destiel, and of those people it feels like most of them are very annoyingly rigid and downright hostile to other possibilities. I mean, a lot of destiel people truly are in their own universe, so I get why they just shed Sam as an inconvenience -- and they are allowed, so... may they have fun with it I guess -- and a lot of wincest people seem like they've been fandom poisoned so even the idea of Cas/Dean or even Dean being queer in any way outside of Sam-sexual is a 5-alarm threat. [nb, I have zero interest in sastiel -- I can see how one would build out chemistry there if one were inclined, but I don't see it in the show, so this is very much a relationship I think about with Dean as the center.]

But if you're free of both of those concerns, like -- man! Pining!Cas is very much a possibility granted by the text, as is queer!Dean, and even if wincest is canon (at least in the emotionally incestuous gencest place) you can make space for these recombinations to occur and for them to feel entirely possible within canon characterizations and canon moments. It's just... people would have to want to, and of course there's the rub.

For me, Sam's the biggest obstacle to wincestiel. Sometimes because of jealousy -- I think I wrote about this recently...? Oh yeah, this. More often because I think he's very aware of the actual stakes and scenario and is too kind to give false hope. Dean, too, although he may not articulate it that way. There are also some times that Cas wouldn't go for it, because -- much like Benny -- he actually does respect the wincest uber alles thing that Sam and Dean have going on. He knows what the hierarchy is, here.

So, all that said: the most likely way for me to write it would probably be still separated out into twosomes, e.g. Sam knows that Cas and Dean fucked in the past and is sort of okay with it, but also knows that he 'won' and doesn't want to rub it in Cas's face even though Cas is sitting silent in their library waiting for Dean to get back; or, it's early s9 and Sam's full of Gadreel and Dean's so goddamn guilty and scared and human!Cas is nervy and happy to see him and they fall into bed, one way or another, but Dean's got to get back to Sam and Cas knows that, and watches him go. etc.

I am never interested in 'equal' OT3s or perfect polyamory, unforch. I always need someone to be left wanting. Cas, with that crack in his chassis, is a very good candidate. Sorry, Cas.

[pantherxdrawz]

May I offer you some of my Ace Attorney Poly ship hcs?

*Dumps Langwrightworth headcanons at your feet*

…………… -They’re all trans. That’s it that’s the thing. They’re all gayass Trans men. (Also I get to make the “Hey I payed a lot of money to wear my shirt like this!” Joke with Lang)

-Edgeworth is DemiAroAce and Gay, Phoenix is Bi, Lang is Omni and they’re all Poly

-Lang is usually the one to carry his partners around, Edgeworth could carry Phoenix, Phoenix could just kind of carry Edgeworth (his lower body strength was way better than his upper) and there’s no way ether of them where gonna try to lift Langs nearly 6ft ass, even though Edgeworth had no excuse being nearly the same height

But Lang? Lang can carry them both at the same time, just throws them both over his shoulders like potato sacks. Edgworth hates the carrying style, meanwhile Phoenix makes windows noises. Although sometimes he surprisingly and seemingly randomly switches it to Bridal style, yes carrying them both like that.

(This is just if I’m not using my Robot Edgeworth headcanon, if I was then Edgeworths would change to being able to also easily lift Phoenix or Lang, or them both at once, robot arms.)

-Yes they all spoon together sometimes, it’s usually, Lang is the big spoon, Phoenix is the little spoon, Edgeworth is the teaspoon (little spoon of the little spoon) yes they specifically say he’s the “teaspoon”

But sometimes the order changes, like Phoenix is now the big spoon and Lang is the “littlelittle” spoon, or Edgeworth is big spoon, etc.

-Phoenix would probably be the first to propose, unless Edgeworth beats him to it, Phoenix would propose by just straight up asking, hell, maybe even in the middle of watching TV,

Meanwhile Edgeworth would make sure to set up a nice perfect date, like a custom consort playing only their favorite songs, or a romantic fireworks show,

Point is he would have E V E R Y T H I N G pre-planned for it,

Basically Phoenix and Edgeworth would be propose racing meanwhile Lang is just there, watching his boyfriends race over proposing and just sits out of the race, finding it amusing.

-For how they all got together,

It started with Edgeworth unintentionally falling for Phoenix and trying to hide it, which he succeeded at for quite a while, but you can’t hide the gay forever Edgy. Meanwhile Phoenix had been in love with Edgeworth since childhood, after the trial event, but he didn’t do anything at the time because he didn’t realize at the time, actually he didn’t realize he was still in love until a while after seeing Edgworth again in the flesh, (even though he was literally still experiencing crush symptoms since college???)

Phoenix and Edgeworth got together first, during Phoenix’s Disbarment, Then bam the investigations events happen

and Edgeworth ends up accidentally falling for Lang right near the end of the second investigation games events, and vice versa.

After that Phoenix and Edgeworth talked it over (Phoenix had to fucking LieDetector him out of it-) and agreed to have an open relationship where they could date whoever outside of it just tell the other first so now Lang and Edgeworth where also dating

But eventually Lang met Phoenix and they eventually ended up falling for each other as well- So now those two where dating and now everyone’s dating each other-

oops it’s a poly now-

Also bonus for an OT4 version with Godot joining the poly I’m putting under a cut:

Yes I uh, also ship Langwrightworthdot/Langwrightworthmando I find it cute

which is probably unheard of by the fandom, I mean the only ot4 version I’ve seen so far is Gumshoe as the fourth partner-

But eh my ot4 edition of an ot3 my rules, I aM THE SOLO CHEF IN THIS KITCHEN

Also I’m mainly referring to him as “Diego” and not “Godot” here because calling him that is not just a post coma thing he actually goes back to being called that in events before arrest in canon

anYWAYS

-Godot/Diego is also under the trans umbrella in my hcs, like he’s a gender-fluid menace that is a pronoun thief, no not even your neos are safe.

He’s also Pan, as long as you aren’t an evil bitch xe’d date ya, and they’re not exactly poly, but she isn’t against the idea ether

-Godot/Diego would join the poly a while after he’s been released from jail, because after that he would have lost his grudge with Wright and would have maybe considered becoming friends, which they did

The WrightDot/Wrightmando in this poly would be enemies to friends to lovers, well, more like, Robocop visor guy with a random grunge against a random blue guy he throws coffee at to friends to lovers

-Diego would just be dating Phoenix at first, not the rest of the poly, yes they all know they all know, he just chose to just date Phoenix

and guess what, their first date is a coffee date.

-But eventually Diego would drop just dating Phoenix and said “fuck it I’m dating the whole poly.” Well then,

MOVE LANG YOUR NOT THE TALLEST IN THE POLY ANYMORE- (I checked the official heights, Phoenix is 5’9, Edgeworth is 5’10 Lang is 5’11 and Diego is 6’1)

-Now with the partner carrying this time around, Phoenix can just barely get Diego off the ground, this is exactly what he feared would happen if he attempted to lift Lang- Edgworth does a better job than Phoenix does at carrying him, but he still doesn’t do it very well, meanwhile Lang can also easily carry him, just like Phoenix and Edgeworth,

Lang can also still carry all of his partners at once but he now struggles a bit, just because it’s the weight of another fully grown ass man being added on to the combined weight of two, but he refuses to show said struggle and carry’s on

Meanwhile Diego can also lift all of his partners easily, No not fucking all at once- He’s not that crazy or confident in his strength to attempt that- But he can easily carry Phoenix, Edgeworth and Lang separately

(This is, again, just how it’d be if we’re not using my robot Edgeworth headcanon, if we were Edgeworth could just go “scoop.” *lifts all of his partners at once with his robot arms*)

-Yes at this point they’ve all dealt with the “I hate to break it to you-“ misunderstanding they all responded and explained differently, but the funniest one out of them all is that Diego, instead of explaining, does This:

Person: Um, Mr. Armando, I hate to break it to you but, your boyfriend? Phoenix? He’s cheating on you with Agent La-

Lang: *So happens to be walking into the room*

Diego, with Zero hesitation: *Proceeds to grab Lang by the collar while staring at the person dead in the eyes and proceeds to start making out with him*

Person:

Person: …w hat-

-Oh hey new proposal race- Damnit- This time Everyone’s in the race-

Edgeworth is back at it with the “must have perfect date planned to propose” while also attempting to do it before Phoenix asks it randomly while watching TV or somth- Lang is also planning on proposing, but not in a casual or traditional set, he wanted to ask while under the stars and moonlight (but no full moon cause werewolf hc- I don’t think that’s gonna go well) and Diego was gonna propose to the other three in another coffee date

-Yeah. Yeah at this point Trucy has not one not two but four dads. And they’re all gonna beat you up alongside Apollo if anything where to happen to her and it was your fault it happened.

-Also one more hc that’s not 1000% related to the ship but it is some shenanigan that happened at least once or twice,

If there’s ever a power outage, or the four are all together in a dark area, Instead of using the flashlights on their devices they go “Hey let’s use our boyfriend as a flashlight! *proceeds to grab Diego and aim him like a flashlight*”

so for context on this, by the time they’re all in a four person poly Diego would switch from the Robocop looking mask he had as Godot to red sunglasses which are actually a new technology that are glasses for blind people

…glasses fix all vision problems at this point ig-

and said glasses also glow in the dark, but they glow brighter then the visor did to the point when in a dark area he might as well be wearing two flashlights over his eyes

Works to scare criminals in the dark away though

[godawfulhomestuckships]

Sorry for being slow on replying with ship names!

Ship names that are funny are harder and harder the more i over think it so i try to wait until I can just come up with one on the spot but yeah nah we slackin and we will do better </3 ALSO BECAUSE I DONT WANNA CLOG UP AN ASK WITH THIS!

As you guys saw earlier probably, someone requested Hal and we admitted that we don't have every HS character and that is true. Sn0wman was recently asked for so she too will be added to the long roster of things to do. HOWEVER: We are only really planning to add characters as asked BESIDES Spades Sick because we love him and was like eh idk if we would and now were like ok yeah our sexy man will be added.

So feel free to comment members of midnight crew, the felt, mayor, pm, other characters we may completely miss!!! HS2 characters are also not on this list as we barely know anything about the kids so coming up with good names will be hard and junk. If people ask specifically for davebot x commander karkat, rosebot x kanaya, ect ect then sure we'll add those versions.

Also, all 1 on 1 ships are most likely added, ot3's or even ot4's are not as that would be very long and complicated but if you ask for an ot3 or ot4 or number on and on and on we will do it (if someone does someone x everyone i will kill you /j)

We are still 800+ images strong despite these do don't think the blog is slowing down anytime soon!! Also if you guys start to ship something because of this and even draw art WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE? I DONT *THINK* IT WOULD HAPPEN but tag us even if its in the comments of it <3

[mousieta]

2022 Drama Rankings: Dropped Shows

Bulgasal

Year: 2022 Country: Korea Platform: Netflix Episodes watched: 2/16 I so wanted to like this one, I was quite excited for the cast as I enjoy Lee Jin Wook, Kwon Na Ra and Lee Joon quite a bit in other shows. The premise, also, felt very Guardian-esq in a good way. I enjoy a good immortal series and Korean fantasy with a dark gritty edge? Yes, sign me up.

Unfortunately I could never get past the first two episodes. It fell victim to the trap that immediately kills my desire to continue watching a show: I started rewriting the whole thing *as* I was watching it (at least with Love in the Air the rewriting didn’t start for me until I’d seen the whole thing). But once my writer brain kicks in to redo it all, the show is done for me, its no longer fun, it is work and frustration.

I just didn’t care for the writerly choices as they felt poor and led to the overall tone of those first two episodes being very flat, emotionally. I just didn’t care about any character enough to make the flaws worth it.

Business Proposal

Year: 2022 Country: Korea Platform: Netflix Episodes Watched: 2/12 This was sharp and slick, and very cute. I made it, again, through about two episodes before I realized I just didn’t care enough to keep going. The cute felt a little too much, as though the show were depending on that and its bag of tropes rather than believable characterizations and moving plots.

The writing of what I saw seemed fine, the acting was fine, the directing was a little to into itself but it was fine. Fine, fine, fine, and in a lineup of much more compelling shows, I just didn’t feel like spending my time with fine.

F4 Boys over Flowers

Year: 2022 Country: Korea Platform: Netflix Episodes Watched: 3/16 I think I may just be Boys Over Flowersed out, y’all. Again, like Business Proposal, it was cute and fine. I made it through three episodes and just kept forgetting to watch more. I guess I don’t love BrightWin enough to watch heterosexual shenanigans.

The casting seemed spot on and I love that Thailand now has their own version which seemed to do well. I have the Korean version which was my first and the Chinese version which is my favorite and I think that’s enough F4 for me.

The Wind Blows from Longxi

Year: 2022 Country: China Platform: Viki Episodes Watched: 9/24 Of all the shows on this list - and maybe any other on my Dropped list this one and the next make me the saddest. I got quite far as well, nearly halfway. On paper, this has everything I need. The writing is good and intense with layers of conflict and constant guessing at the twists and turns of the plot. It is slick and well-directed and the acting is phenomenal. It also has a delicious staple: a tense and fraught m/m love/betrayal dynamic. This should have been catnip but for some reason I was  always either too mentally tired to engage, or would get distracted watching other things. Dropping this was definitely an ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ thing. Hopefully, someday I’ll have the capacity for it because I think it would be an excellent and captivating binge watch.

Heroes

Year: 2022 Country: China Platform: YouTube Episodes Watched: 19/38 This is another one that dropping made me sad. It was delightful and has Baron Chen!! An OT3 Romance! Delightful DMBJ connections!! All I can say is what did it in for me was likely the platform. I don’t have the fancy YouTube so watching commercials made it impossible for my ADHD brain to keep focused on an episode, I kept getting lost in the plot (which isn’t why I was bothering to watch but would have been nice to follow) Now that it is on Viki I might give it another go when I’m in the right mood.

Strangers from Hell

Year: 2019 Country: Korea Platform: Netflix Episodes Watched: 5/10 This was so, so good. Amazing. Gripping. Twisted. Lee Dong Wook was terrifying and compelling, Im Si Wan was as good as he ever is. Everything about this was good. I am just a great big old scaredy-pants who cannot tolerate anything suspensful or scary (I never have been able to).

I did my best: I only watched on brightly lit weekends in the middle of the day, and only one episode at a time. With those restrictions I managed to make it to episode 5 before I just couldn’t take it anymore. Highly recommend if psychological horror is your jam, you will be very pleased with it, I think. I just…can’t watch anymore. Dong Wook I still love you though! I just love sleeping through the night more.

2022 Drama Reviews Masterlist