#i tend to cycle through lots of different ideas for all of these characters at different times

[muzzleroars]

Can we get ultrakill pride stuff!!!! Shakes you around.. I kinda wanna ask specially for v2 stuff since Im so in love with it and your art.

yayayay pride headcanons!! i'm not sure if i'll be good at putting this into words, but i very much love whatever the machines have going on with their genders - v1 is strictly it/its to me, while v2 is an any and all pronouns haver. both of them very rarely experience attraction as well, but when they do, it's a strong pull to the other party who can be any gender or presentation. having my brain rewired by dect like everyone else as well as bc of my own personal interpretation of the character, i like to think v2 would primarily be drawn by intricacies of thought and an emotional connection, as those are incredibly rare for it to find. bc i think of v2 so much as a dreamer, i am absolutely drawn to its chemistry with mirage in her rumination, and i certainly think it could only feel attraction to someone else when it felt its mind and inner self were understood. v1 is its flip side, needing to feel its spark through physical connection, generally through a fight but it's more than just that fight being good - the movements, the attacks, the flow all influence how it feels. overall, v2 is cerebral while v1 is material in how they are attracted to others, because that's how they define themselves in a sense

gabriel is definitely gay to me and very much in the process of figuring out what he likes and how his attraction works since any relationships he's had never got the chance to breathe before this. he does crave a lot of affection and attention, both physical and emotional, and he can be quite romantic but the way he loves and experiences love is very different from humans. i also very much like trans gabe hcs, if only just bc it makes me happy and i think it suits him. bonus for bi minos of course, nb ferryman, and trans sisyphus :] and just in general, i feel so comfy in how the machines relate to their gender so differently and have aesthetic ideas and presentations, but don't identify in binary terms. i'm an nb ace myself with a strong pull to neutral pronouns (esp "it"), so i love seeing machines like the mindflayers that have defined aesthetic/presentation preferences but those don't necessarily indicate their gender, if that makes sense

[pinkeoni]

What the Upside Down Means for Will’s Narrative

(and why it’s so important for him to go back)

For this post, I’ll be using my own handy-dandy little Hero’s Journey chart that I made for this post.

Quick summary: The Hero’s Journey or the monomyth is an idea proposed by American writer Joseph Campbell that all stories follow this similar structure, using Homer’s The Odyssey as a guideline for naming different parts of the cycle.

So! With every story, there is a divide between the “Known World,” the world that the heroes feel comfortable in, and the “Unknown World,” or the world that the heroes must “cross the threshold” in to that they must learn to navigate.

Not every story is going to follow this structure, although I know that this show took inspiration, considering that their Known World and Unknown World has a very literal interpretation in this universe.

The Known World being the Rightside Up, and the Unknown World being the Upside Down.

But of course, elements of the Hero’s Journey (or monomyth) are meant to be transformative. For El, her Unknown World is the world outside the lab, and for the rest of our protagonists in season one, I would describe the Known World as “The World With Will Byers In It” and the Unknown World as “The World Without Will Byers In It,” considering that his disappearance is what kickstarts the story in the first place.

But still, the existence of this literal Other World is still present

And yet the one character who actually crosses the threshold into this Other World… is Will.

Well that’s untrue… kind of. There are other characters who spend their fair share of time inside the UD. Nancy goes on a little jaunt through there in s1. Jopper go in to rescue Will at the end of s1. The teenagers have their little mission in there in s4.

The difference between all of these examples has to do with when in the story it occurs, creating a different meaning for each of their respective narratives. With all of the above examples, the threshold has already been crossed, making the Upside Down more of a trial to be conquered.

I guess I should mention El’s brief appearance there in the beginning of s2, although I would argue that while yes the UD is connected to her, her story tends to revolve around the lab and the outside world.

This means that the Upside Down is more narratively significant to Will than to any other character

I just lied again.

While we don’t see Vecna enter the Upside Down until the end of s4, chronologically speaking, it does mark the beginning of a new chapter of his story, and preludes the rest of the show as we know it. (Yet another similarity between Will and Vecna)

Why does he have to go back?

Considering the confirmation that season 5 is going to focus on Will…

There’s a step in the Hero’s Journey called “Master of Both Worlds” where the hero becomes, as the name suggest, a master of both the Known and the Unknown world. Will may have been able to outsmart the Upside Down by hiding, but I wouldn’t say that he’s really a master of it.

Furthermore, there’s another step in the Hero’s Journey that comes before crossing the threshold and after the initial “call to adventure,” which is “refusal of the call,” where the hero turns away from what the story calls upon them for, before crossing intentionally. Will was taken by force into the Upside Down, so all of that agency was taken.

Will needs to master the Upside Down, in whatever form that may be, and he has to want it

The term “coming of age” is used a lot when describing Will’s journey in season 5, which is interesting considering that the Hero’s Journey is often closely associated with coming of age stories.

My prediction is that Will is going to be following this cycle very closely and very literally next season, crossing the threshold from the Rightside Up back into the Upside Down, becoming the master of both worlds and finally coming of age.

[swollenbabyfat]

so maybe this is too out there of a question but you seem to draw a lot so i was wondering.... how? asking from a place where I used to draw a ton but had a burnout from it that i don't think i ever really recovered from, now im barely drawing and i feel like my skills are decaying but i just can't get myself to draw, and when i do i can't make anything i like and i just get frustrated ): i want to draw, i still have that urge in me to draw but i just. can't. do you have any advice? if not you can just ignore this ask.

Hmm....I will try my best to give a few ideas to help! But ultimately, I don't have a lot of interest outside of drawing to be honest (to the point I can argue in the past it's been unhealthy), I think a lot of it has to do with being autistic and it being my special interest, and I've always had a pretty high stamina from it, so I'm kind of bad to be compared to in a way I think ^^;

A few things though

-I have projects I work on, even if loosely, basically at all times. I consider my characters stories projects, and do a lot of work surrounding them outside of art that fuels the art - such as making mood boards, writing and talking about them, making playlist, stuff like that.

-If I feel burnt out in one area of art, i.e. character illustrations, I try to do something different, such as background focused work, or doing something outside of what I would normally do, like collage.

-I'm a really big advocate for studies to get out of burn out, and it's most likely what I will do to get out of one myself. Switching mindsets keeps things from getting monotonous, and can put your brain into a different gear which makes it easier to be creative in what you want it to be. Timed figure drawings can also be fun once you break through the "oh god I'm shit at this" feelings when you first start doing them.

-Drawing for others can be really nice sometimes, whether it be through art trades or drawing shit for your loved ones. I tend to do the latter one the most when I feel burnt out from my own work, and like to talk about their oc's a lot anyways, so it's fun to get to know their characters more through art. I use to also do art parties with my friends and do things like switching canvases every ten minutes, all working on one prompt but doing our own thing, stuff like that. In a similar vein, sometimes asking your friends for prompts can be helpful, think of it as an assignment of sorts if that works for you!

-Figure out WHAT you want to draw before you sit down and draw it. There's a lot of different ways to do this, a lot of time if I feel stuck unable to do work I'll look for visual references and make a mood board, or think about themes I've been wanting to explore and ponder on that for some times, a lot of times pieces will sit in my head for a month or so before I actually tackle them. Sometimes I'll go to my inspiration blog and hit the random button a few times and take the images I get from that and try to build something with it. If you feel stuck on a certain part of a piece, break it down further by doing a study of what's getting you stuck (if it has to do with form, I suggest tracing said thing and then practice drawing it yourself afterwards).

Overall, please don't beat yourself up, artist go through cycles of growth and slumber and sometimes you just have to rest, especially if you have outside factors making it hard for you to focus on drawing. It takes a lot for art skills to degrade and even if it were to be the case there's a lot of beauty in picking back up a skill, and sometimes you can even learn it better the second time.

I hope any of this was helpful, I'm rooting for you!

[hachinanakomatsu]

My opinion of Hachi's love struggle from personal experience.

To start with, this is my own interpretation, if anyone has other interpretations of the manga and Hachi's character that's totally fine! I've just been thinking on the manga more and more since i read it fully and i genuinely feel Hachi is a lesbian who suffers with feelings of comphet and idealisation of a 'normal romance' which she tries to pursue during the series.

To start with her relationship with Asano started from her being shown attention from someone who is much older and is clearly just grooming her for his own desires. Her first love being with Asano also screwed her idea of what a romance should be like. Getting mistreated, ignored and kept a secret like she's someone to be ashamed of which leads into how she approaches all of her romances from then on. For Hachi as long as they love her, even if it's not in the way she wants she starts to believe she loves them.

Her relationship with Shouji had her initially jumping to some feelings on her first meeting but deciding ultimately to try and just be friends with him bond with another guy 'without ulterior motives' and just become friends. However as we know Shouji liked her and everyone around her started to pressure her into getting into the romance with him. Especially around the fact Shouji started it through guilt tripping her for sex. Nana cared for Shouji, she didn't 'love him' which explains how she treats him. She likes having a boyfriend because she likes being loved. She gets really uncomfortable with the way he kinda mainly uses her for sex than actually showing romantic feelings towards her herself. Like the main thing she did to make him feel justified in cheating with her is the fact that she didn't want to just sleep with him over and over when he wanted. Shouji just wanted her to be his 'pet dog' and got upset the moment Hachi started making her own friends outside of him and Jun. Overall Hachi's 'love' for Shouji is just a dependence on the first somewhat normal guy who loved her, especially when Jun her only real friend left to Tokyo her 'love' for Shouji was the main thing keeping her going. For someone like Hachi she needs love to feel like life is worth living, she has no goals outside of marrying someone and having children, this is in part due to how society views women but also she never really had stable relationships or friendships growing up.

I find it really interesting to note that Hachi never had feelings for Nobu until Nana started bringing it up and Nobu himself starting to try and confess and show he loves her. She again falls in a cycle like she did with Shouji, the big difference being that Nobu is a genuinely nice guy as a whole and for Hachi it's hard to really justify that she doesn't have romantic feelings for him, that and she clearly is attached to Nobu as a friend, they're similar in ways. However Hachi has never had a male friend who hasn't suddenly decided they loved her and wanted to sleep with her. For Hachi she thinks the moment she turns him down he'll abandon her. We know this isn't true given Nobu and Hachi clearly made up in the timeskip and started getting along better in the last few chapters of the manga. However basically everyone in Hachi's life seems to leave her behind or infantilize her and tries to control her. Hachi's emotions are always in control of someone else, the only action she had complete control over was choosing to keep her baby regardless of what is best for anyone else. A big part of her character is the fact that she wants a normal family. Now onto her love for Takumi. A big thing a lot of lesbians tend to latch onto with guys they love, is usually they're some sort of ideal they usually can't attain. And because of this they somewhat feel fictional and out of reach and therefor someone they can focus all of their affection onto often in a way of trying to prove to themselves they like men. Hachi never really initially plans to fall for Takumi, it's just a love and affection she doesn't put much weight onto. However when she meets Takumi in person for the first time, she just found out Nana and Ren are dating. In Hachi's pov any feelings she has for Nana are an 'unrequited love' but she can't deal with Nana getting further and further away from her. Takumi being in the same circle that Nana and Blast are ending up in is a way of her forceably tying herself into the same circle. Hachi herself knows it's wrong and that it won't turn out well but can't help herself because she assume everyone is leaving her behind. She tries to leave him until the pregnancy happens but he is realistically the only one who could support her financially through the situation. She convinces herself over and over throughout the story that staying with Takumi is the only thing she can possibly do once she found herself in the situation.

I honestly believe the first person Hachi truly loved on her own terms was Nana. It's stated often throughout the text how, how she felt with Nana was 'like the bliss of a first love' and how soothing and relaxed she feels around her. Hachi has clear struggles in accepting her feelings towards Nana due to her own misconceptions that what she wants and needs to be happy is falling in love with a man, getting married and having children. In fact it's clear she recognises her feelings for Nana but in her mind Nana loves Ren and any love she feels for Nana won't be reciprocated. It's because of this that she starts sleeping with Takumi to begin with. She feels an immense sense of isolation and fear around her feelings with Nana. It's because of this that she bases her entire worth around who loves her rather than who she actually loves on her own terms. Many lesbians struggle with comphet around their feelings because society makes women feel that romance which don't revolve around a man or having children. Hachi's obsessive need for love traps her and makes her be unable to be happy and free, unlike how she initially assumes love would make her feel. I personally believe if the series continued Hachi would figure out how she feels around Takumi and Nobu and then her feelings around Nana by the end of it.

[melliotwrites]

10 tips for musical theater writing!

We've been getting asks about musical theater writing and thought it might be helpful to share some things we've learned from our writing process that've made our lives easier. DISCLAIMER: we are by no means experts in writing musicals! These are just things that've worked for us!

(Some great resources we'd recommend are Finishing The Hat and Look, I Made A Hat by Stephen Sondheim for good jumping-off books by an amazing lyricist, or websites like https://www.musicals101.com/write.htm (they have a good explanation of song forms here: https://www.musicals101.com/score.htm that cover the basics of musical forms, etc.) To chat with people more experienced than us, we'd recommend visiting https://www.reddit.com/r/musicalwriting/)

Here are our tips:

Collaborate! In professional musical theater, there are three writing roles: lyricist, who writes the words for the songs, bookwriter, who writes the words in the scenes, and composer, who writes the music for the piece. People can be any combination of the three- for example, Mel is a lyricist/bookwriter but Elliot is a composer/lyricist/bookwriter. You can also take on different roles on different projects! You don't have to choose which one you are Right Now, but writing a show is a lot easier if you have one or more collaborators. One of the most common mistakes I see in aspiring musical theater is trying to do too many at once -- people who are awesome composers but mediocre lyricists, or people who are great lyricists but their music is all over the place -- which can kill interest in a project before it even begins. Theatre will always be a collaborative art form, so try to find people you can create your best work with!

Choose a topic you have something important to say about. Something you feel like nobody else has said before, or something you think you personally can say in a new way. Our writing process for both TAOPP and Adamandi was to begin with some big ideas that we had something important to say about- for TAOPP, we talked about the transformative experience of falling in love, and for Adamandi, we talked about the ways that dark academia idealizes an unhealthy independence, and doesn't often include queer students or students of color. We choose a set of characters that allows us to have an interesting group of perspectives on that central idea.

Outline! Once we know who is in it, we write a rough outline of the show, deciding where scenes and songs are, though this outline often changes throughout the process (for example, at this stage in the Adamandi process, we knew how Act I would end, but initially Litany of the Martyrs was in the middle of Act I instead of Act II). Outlining is especially important for musicals, because you want it to be as solid as possible before you start writing. It sucks when shifting around the plot or cutting characters means scrapping great songs you've written too soon.

Know why you want this to be a musical! Why not a book or a screenplay or a concert or song cycle? What is it about the musical form that makes you excited to tell the story through it, and how will live theater help you tell this story? If you're new to musical writing, make sure you aren't actually writing a play with music. In a musical, the songs should move the story forward, help characters reach realizations and show new depths of character, etc. Musical songs should start at a point A and end at a very different point B. If you take out all the songs you've got planned in your show, are there huge holes in the plot or does everything still make sense? If everything still makes sense, maybe you don't want to write a musical.

Find a songwriting process that works for you! We tend to write lyrics-first, so Mel will write all the words to a song for Elliot to "set", or compose a tune for. After Elliot has a melody, he finds chords for the melody and builds the accompaniment from there. Another way you can write (especially if you are a composer more versed in instrumental music) is to start music first -- finding a fun melody or a fun chord progression and then building the rest from there. Songwriting is like filling in a puzzle. Elliot goes through many iterations of melodies and chords before settling on a melody he likes. When he finds a good melody, he'll record a little voice memo of it but revisit it later to see if it still holds up before building upon it. It's okay if something stumps you a little! Songwriting is usually a collaborative process; we edit each others' lyrics and talk about musical moments and the tone/feel of a song. We make sure we're on the same page with Mel reading out the lyrics of a song before Elliot sets it, so Elliot gets a sense of where Mel's rhythmic instincts for the song lie. Don't let your roles define what you're allowed to have an opinion in- the ideal collaboration incorporates both people's expertise in the form overall instead of being a neat delineation of roles.

WATCH, READ, & LISTEN TO LOTS OF THINGS (especially musicals!) Make fun little movie nights out of it! You can learn a lot about what you want to create by seeing what's out there! Find things you enjoyed in shows you disliked, or things you disliked in shows you liked, and think about why. (Tip: Don't just watch musicals that have been made into movies: go to local theaters, watch proshots, get a sense for what staging can do to a story. Watch two different productions of the same show! Consume things written for the same medium you will be writing in.) This will also help you learn about song forms, musical structures that work, etc.!

Similarly, use a shared musical vocabulary as inspiration! If you're a composer and don't know where to start, discuss the vibe of the song you are about to write with your lyricists (genre, similar songs, etc.) Find a playlist with similar songs -- doo-wop songs, swing music from the '30s, or the discographies of artists you like -- and just listen to them for a while. Try to pick apart things that the songs have in common, or things you like from certain songs -- is it a certain song structure? Is it three-part vocal harmonies? Is it a certain combination of instruments? There are also lots of great resources on YouTube/online about what characterizes certain kinds of music. What are common chord progressions in the genre? Is there a rhythm or time signature that characterizes the genre (as is often the case with dances, like tangos or waltzes etc.)? Then try out what you liked from the research and play around with it!

Make it understandable! A musical isn't a novel or an album -- typically, the audience watching it can't reread a page or replay the song. They're watching and listening live, and you have to make sure they understand all the information! When it comes to songwriting, make sure you are setting your lyrics in a comprehensible way. Try reading out your lyrics before setting them at all, so you note where you naturally emphasize words (e.g., we pronounce the word MU-sical, not mu-SIC-al or musi-CAL). Once you have this for reference, recreate this natural rhythm to the best of your ability in your melody! It will help people understand your lyrics better. You want folks to understand as many words as possible on the first listen! (E.g., if someone's singing really quickly and then sing the word musical as mu-SIC-al, people very well might easily mistake it for another set of words entirely, 'cause their brains are not used to the word being said like that!) Similarly, you want to watch out for the amount of syllables you're putting in each line. If two lines sound similar melodically but one has a couple extra syllables in there, chances are it's gonna get squashed rhythmically and become word mush. Fixing this means revisiting your lyrics and cutting some/rephrasing them, which is a natural part of the process!

Finish it! Whatever else you have to do to get to the end of it, it's so important to have a complete project to see how your storytelling works and where it can be improved. A great thing about writing musicals is how often they can be revised -- you'll get feedback, or grow as a writer, and end up wanting to revamp it, which is fine! Look at the difference between Broadway shows and productions of the same shows before Broadway. Or you'll move onto a different project with the skills you acquired from this one -- either way, you have a show's worth of experience under your belt. :)

Be open to criticism, but form your own opinions based on many audience reactions, not just one person's critique. Have readings of your show for your friends, or host a talkback after your performances!

[talenlee]

3e: The Love Potion

We’re all kind of on the page that ‘love potions’ in stories are probably bad, right?

Those things that you could buy in 3e as a cheap, disposable magical item?

It’s one of those tropes from history that people used pretty freely up until like, even until 2013. Gravity Falls featured an episode about a character using a love potion, and then realising it was a foolish plan and going to undo it, only to find that, y’know, maybe it was an okay idea after all. And that was Gravity Falls, a cartoon I like. Shock! Horror! And that’s a bad trope and all!

Love potions show up in stories all over the place, and that makes them an iconic trope and I feel like they go through a sort of life cycle. In their oldest appearances — as I remember and are filtered through the mind of a boy like me — the love potion is a solution to a problem. Then, as things get a little more protestant, a little more puritanical, love potions tend to be set up in the first part of the story, and then developed and dismissed in the second part. Love potions are a thing you think will solve your problems, then you find they don’t.

There are a lot of reasons they can fail. They can fail because you find out that the person you love-potioned, you don’t actually want them in love with you. They can fail because you find out that the potion doesn’t make them love you the way that you imagined. They can fail just because love potions aren’t real but now you have to consider what it meant that you tried. They can fail because they have to destroy the way the person you were interested in order to work, somehow. And of course sometimes they can fail because you mess up their application like spilling it on a bird or something.

Lots of different ways that ‘the love potion’ is a setup that gets subverted. In fact, so much so that, especially in reset-heavy pulp media like sitcoms and weekly dramas, love potions fit the mould really conveniently. The subversion means that the characters undo the love potion by the end, and that’s that. It’s a tidy little plot loop, and the form it’s poured into handles it just fine. Makes sense.

Why can ya buy ’em?

Look, 3rd edition was a hungry beast. It needed content, content, content and a lot of what it needed never made sense to me. I did not think I needed as many versions of ‘human, but ugly and weird’ as the game books provided me. I never needed the flying mount rules, or the keep rules. They were nice, ostensibly but they weren’t useful, because they weren’t focused on the game played by players and instead on a sort of systemitising the world. This is a reasonable thing for a system to do when it wants to do it, I’m not criticising them for the choice, but that the choice put the way D&D 3E was built at odds with the way I expected to play it.

You’d see this throughout supplements, in Dragon Magazines and soft cover splatbooks; sometimes there was a cool idea that the game could do and that cool idea ran headlong into the system’s design. A gladiatorial campaign? Cool idea, here are maps and opponents. Oh, the system isn’t designed to make one-on-one fights very interesting for the uninvolved parties and dying represents an immense debt? Hm, sounds like the real thing this system needs is loans and banking. Oh wait, but if you’re doing gladiatorial fighs, how do you get loot from enemies? You can’t loot the bodies, that belongs to their stable! There’s got to be a payment system!

And thus we return to the love potion. The love potion was in the Dungeon Master’s Guide (and SRD, even now!) because it’s an obvious trope, the item works in a simple, easily explained way, and it fills some inches in the book that needs so, so many inches filled. The item is built by a formula, it works to a rule and it kind of rests on a leyline of things D&D 3e doesn’t do very well.

First of all, the item gives a save. Well it has to right, because otherwise it’d be overpowered. But saving throws aren’t like, narratively coherent things. They’re there to defend you from attacks, but ostensibly, they’re there to represent how well your body resists things changing it (which was why you can resist healing spells and, in some cases, are called upon to do so, which is, yes, dumb). Don’t worry, though, the DC is really low: Only a DC 14. Which means an ordinary human with nothing heroic going on has about a 30% chance to ignore it and it lasts for 1d3 hours.

Thus we position the elixir of love perfectly badly. It’s a magic item that an adventurer can buy in bulk, that they never would care about, that represents life-deforming mind control, but not for very long and not very well. It promises what a love potion in a story is, but delivers instead a very crap charm spell, which is the closest thing it can approximate to love because the game system wants to try and systemitise love without dealing with how incredibly overpowered love is. There’s no category of ‘minor effect’ or ‘story beat’ for magical items, which need to be built to instead, operate the way adventurers expect adventurers to work.

The Elixir of Love doesn’t actually represent anything particularly heinous. Nothing out of type. It’s a love potion, but because it sucks it’s not that bad, and nobody would use it, except because it sucks, and that it sucks isn’t because of the story needs but because of the way the mechanics of the system handle items. It’s the same wonky stuff that permeates 3e. Systems aren’t immune to this. My favourite system isn’t immune to this kind of thing!

Still pretty funny way to waste a year’s wages for a normal person.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[howlingday]

My idea for a potential DEATH BATTLE! #5

2023, October 18, 19, 20, 27

Link to the fourth post: https://www.tumblr.com/donotmindme1/731349657571278848/my-idea-for-a-potential-death-battle-4-2023?source=share

Master list: https://www.tumblr.com/donotmindme1/731003687600881664/mind-what-you-do?source=share

Korra vs Delsin Rowe (Avatar vs inFamous)

They're the second legends in line!

Fighter 1: Korra, the continuing spirit of the Avatar cycle.

Fighter 2: Delsin Rowe, the accomplishing Akomish Second Son.

Wiz: Many of us aspire to live up and uphold the legacies of our predecessors.

*insert clips of Miles Morales & Peter Parker, Deku & All Might, Ruby Rose & Summer Rose, Batman & his Robins*

Boomstick: However, just because they're tough acts to follow up shouldn't discourage you from making your own path. He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick.

Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle.

PREFACE: I am wasting my time writing this. I should be working on an important project. I wanted to write an idea that suits the chilly weather of autumn to serve as a nice gateway into other MUs. I played inFamous Second Son during the last three months of 2021 and I fell in love with the gameplay. Being able to scale the buildings of Seattle with Conduit powers, doing drug busts, and saving innocent people really gave me a sense of power. I am sure I am not the only one who was disappointed when Season 8 announced Korra vs Storm due to how unbalanced the powers are between the two (however, I enjoyed the episode, mainly Storm doing the Moses and Wheather the Elements). So, now that Cole made his debut on the show, we can finally let Delsin have his time in the spotlight. Besides, I think that Korra vs Delsin is a more fitting MU, and you'll see why later on. Also, I will mainly be using True Hero Delsin (Good Karma) as it is the canon ending. I'll consider Infamous Delsin (Bad Karma) separately as it does affect the fight.

WHY:

Connections:

1. Both carry on the legacy of a famous protagonist who was able to control multiple forms of matter (Aang and Cole McGrath).

2. Both are capable of manipulating at least 4 different forms of matter (Korra has Earth, Fire, Air, and Water; Delsin has Smoke, Neon, Video, and Concrete) due to a physiological trait (Korra has the spirit of the Avatar, allowing her chi to pass through all of her body better than the rest and manipulate the elements; Delsin has a Conduit gene that lets him obtain the abilities of other Conduits upon extensive contact and draining Core Relays).

3. Both started their journeys being childish and/or immature but through their actions and strife, rose above and became better people and consequently, better idols and saviors.

Personal reasons: I wanted this to be Korra's MU during Season 8, but alas, it was not to be. More than anything, I want them to react to each other's powers. Delsin would ask Korra if her conduit gene is like his but better since she doesn't need to absorb matter to change her powers and Korea asks about how the heck is he manipulating light and becoming invisible. After all, conduit powers and bending are different in their manifestation, how they manipulate the environment, and more importantly, how they interact with each other.

THE FIGHT:

Art and animation: The animation will most likely be 2D like all Avatar fights, but the dream is to have it be a 3D battle with fluid movement and lots of different camera angles. The animation from Korra vs Storm is good for Korra, so reusing it would benefit her, but Delsin tends to fight from afar using his projectiles. While he does have dashes, his chain, Comet Drop, and some support abilities, Delsin is mainly a ranged fighter, and the 3D team works best with characters that have a wide assortment of abilities, especially ones used in midair or while running. However, to be able to get the most out of both worlds, the fight is best in 2D, and it's not like Cole was limited to ranged combat in his fight. It could really go either way and still be great regardless, and that's honestly the best part. I really want this fight to be a finale so it could be a long fight with lots of pretty stuff to gawk at, especially since Spiritbending, Neon, and Video allow for flashy maneuvers.

Possible setup:

In a metropolitan area, the Second Son is doing stencil art dedicated to his dear brother. "Man, I miss you, Reggie."

"Hey! You can't paint the walls of this city!" Delsin sighs. He misses his brother, but not his overly bureaucratic attitude. As he turns around and puts down the spray paint, he sees Korra who is looking a little stern. "Hey, there. Isn't art a form of self-expression? I'm building a masterpiece here, and it'll be my gift to the world."

"That's fair, but you're painting on public property. Unless you have a permit to do so, step away from graffiti." Korra was a little miffed. The graffiti looked cool, and it looked to be a dedication to a departed soul, but duty calls. Besides, it's just graffiti, not a murder or kidnapping. If he refuses, however, she can have her way.

"Who are you, the fun police? I'm not hurting anyone." It's like dear Reggie was still with him: being a pain and not letting him have his fun.

Korra smirked. "Fun? Oh, I'll show you fun." She got into a fighting stance. Hey, if you're having fun on the job, good for you, right? It's been a boring day of patrolling, so she's itching for entertainment.

"Oh."

FIGHT! :

1. As it turns out, she was nothing like Reggie. Korra firebends at Deals and catches him off guard. However, Delsin absorbs the smoke, unharmed. This causes Korra to look puzzled. "Wait, how did he- He barely moved." She then attempts to earthbend, summoning rising pillars, but Delsin smoke dashes away. "How did you do that?" Korra had never seen someone turn into smoke before. Maybe she should ask him how to do that.

2. "I'm a conduit. I mean, aren't you one?" Delsin starts to use Smoke Shot as he moves around, but they're easily dodged and dispersed with more earthbending. "I'm the Avatar, master of all the elements." "Is that right?" Delsin uses a smoke dash to sneak up on Korra from behind and tosses a Sulfur Bomb.

3. The Sulfur Bomb explodes, but Korra just rolls up to Delsin and engages him directly. Delsin tries to punch her and use his smoke-imbued chain, but all his attacks are evaded or blocked. Korra roughs up Delsin, punching him in the face, kneeing him in the stomach, etc. Delsin drops another Sulfur Bomb that leaves Korra coughing, and attempts to subdue her.

4. Korra bends away the ash and sulfur and launches Delsin into a building using waterbending. Delsin is able to recover and takes the high ground through a smoke vent. On the roof, he shoots a Cinder Missile. Korra is able to notice and puts out the Missile before it hits. "Wait, she didn't drain water." Come to think of it, she was able to use fire and then the cement beneath. Is her Conduit gene better than his? Korra starts to airbend projectiles and Delsins fires Smoke Shots (like Might Guy's Morning Peacock vs All Might's air punches). Korra then firebends her way to Delsin and delivers a powerful kick, sending him flying.

5. Delsin crashes onto another building, but drains the neon from the nearby signs. Noticing some injured civilians, Delsin starts to heal them, earning him Good Karma. As Korra rushes in, Delsin rushes her first due to his Neon Dash. "Wait, are you a Spiritbender!?" She's good up close, but it doesn't matter if she can't hit him. He strikes her with his chain, but Korra grabs it and uses a powerful earthbending punch on him. Delsin Neon Dashes away. "Oh, no you don't!" She knows that he has powerful ranged attacks, so she needs to be close to him. She gets on an air scooter and chases after him as she shoots air at him, chasing him to near a spirit portal.

6. Delsin is able to outrun Korra and fires a stasis bubble. Korra uses a firebending soccer kick on the bubble, punting it away. Delsin runs before he's hit with his own bubble (he doesn't seem to be affected by it in-game, however). He then rushes up to Korra who attempts to strike him, but he instead rushes past her and fires a phosphor beam, successfully hitting her and knocking her off balance, and successfully uses a stasis bubble. He attempts to obtain more powers, but he feels nothing. "What..? Then how..? You must not be a Prime Conduit." Korra gets back up in fiery fashion and Delsin employs hit-and-run tactics, firing phosphor and neon beam, but Korra is able to block with her bending. She then does Zuko's "breakdance" and catches Delsin off-guard.

7. Delsin quickly heals by absorbing video from a nearby TV. He then uses Video Torrent. Korra simply dodges and attempts to get in close, but Delsin strikes using his longsword, damaging Korra a fair amount. He then uses Bloodthirsty Blades. Korra dashes away, but is unable to avoid the blades, so she destroys one with a fireball, another by raising a stone wall, and the last one by creating an ice structure. Korra is then attacked by a... Is that a spirit!? Whatever it is, it has wings, metal plating, and is currently shooting a laser. Korra dodges and bends water and freezes the spirit, but it... Disappears into wisps of light... These are not like the spirits she knows, but she is then pushed and pinned to the ground by smaller swords. Delsin appears out of thin air. "How did you do that!?" "A friend lent me his powers, you could say." Ok, that is NOT how bending works. Using a combination of earth, wind, and fire, Korra frees herself by creating a crater underneath her, enters the Avatar State, and then bends the concrete around Delsin, encasing him in a shell, and bends him to her. He's a fire bender and a spirit bender, but he is not the Avatar.

8. Delsin absorbs the concrete before being fully encapsulated and does his boulder dash. He starts to engage Korra, but she is nimble enough to dodge. Korra then gets an idea and starts to make her way to the spirit portal. Delsin starts to climb on top of a building and does a Comet Drop, doing his pose on the Second Son cover art, and he starts to fire concrete shrapnel and a concrete barrage, but Korra instead redirects them. However, Korra gets a leg up and is able to use bending to get Delsin into the Spirit World and she enters.

9. In the Spirit World, Delsin is taken aback due to the colors and... weird animal things... He doesn't get to gawk for long as Korra makes her bombastic entrance. However, she firebends at Delsin who promptly absorbs the smoke, but he's starting to struggle and to get hurt so he smoke dashes away

10. Korra wins by overwhelming and overpowering Delsin. Since they are in the Spirit World, Korra becomes stronger, and in the Avatar State, she is in no need to wait for Delsin to exhaust himself. Even as he tries to distance himself and use his sulfur bombs and sulfur headshots, the Avatar is easily able to bend them away. She then is able to unleash a powerful bending attack that overwhelms Delsin and he blacks out, thinking of Reggie. After Korra finishes the job, she exits the Avatar State. "That was fun, but I'm sorry. I hope you find you and your departed family can reunite here". She then bows to her opponent. She's fiery and hotheaded, but she's still empathetic.

11. Delsin wins by being able to stall Korra and connect a successful attack. The fire is hurting him, but if he keeps his distance, all it serves is to fuel and heal him. He gets in a good sulfur headshot, briefly stunning Korra and leaving her coughing again. He then tosses another sulfur bomb, leaving Korra coughing more. He then does his Orbital Drop, but as he reaches the apex, Korra bends away the smoke and then launches herself, attempting one last attack. They meet halfway, and after a noticeable explosion, both are left on the ground, Delsin tired, and Korra dead. Korra, in her last moments, apologizes to her friends and family for being able to say goodbye. Delsin recollects himself, and upon returning to the Human World, finishes his graffiti of Reggie. However, we see him painting another mural, and he says "Say hi to my brother for me". He then turns to leave, and we see a mural of Korra, reading "Dedicated to the Avatar."

RESULT:

Strengths and weaknesses:

Korra:

+ Physically stronger and more durable.

+ More experienced.

+ Has superior training.

+ Easier access to her elemental manipulation.

= Firebending and Earthbending fuel Delsin, but Smoke and Concreted are easily negated.

- Energybending cannot negate the Conduit Gene.

- Energybending cannot manipulate Video or Neon.

- Is vulnerable to suffocation. When she was poisoned as she was. suffocating, the Avatar State only held off the poison and not the suffocation.

- Can be immobilized via the stasis.

Delsin Rowe:

+ Can heal from firebending and earthbending.

+ Has a healing factor.

+ Is likely faster with Neon.

+ Neon allows for fast attacks, and the stasis bubbles are immobilizing.

+ Infamous Delsin has easy access to instant kill options.

= Firebending and Earthbending fuel him, but Smoke and Concrete attacks are negated.

- Untrained in physical combat.

- Physically far weaker and faster. Is also slower without Neon or Video.

- Is not immune to fire when using smoke or to earth when using concrete.

- Cannot access all his elements at will.

- Draining a power source leaves him vulnerable.

- There's no evidence to say that he can resist being immobilized by being surrounded/encased in concrete like he did to Augustine.

- Cannot obtain bending powers as they are spiritual and not genetic. Even then, he'd need Core Relays and blast shards to be able to get any use of his newfound abilities and to be able to absorb any other element.

Ending puns:

"The Avatar's victory was elemental."

"Delsin got a concrete victory."

MUSIC:

Name: "Four Infamous Elements"

The title makes reference to both combatants' abilities to manipulate four elements or states of matter as well as the inFamous game series' name. Brandon Yates used Second Legends for his commissioned track, so I cannot use it.

Art: The art would depict Delsin's chain forming a circle imbued with Raava. One half would have Korra's elements spiraling outwards. The other half would have Delsin's elements spiraling inward, forming a Yin Yang. The center of the circle would have a gene symbol like that of the Second Son power skill tree on the side of Korra's elements and the symbol of Raava on the side of Delsin's elements.

Sound: the start of the music is that of the Second Son main theme and it plays during the initial confrontation. The music is kicked up a notch when Korra first attacks, where the sound shifts to be more Avatar-centered, but with some hip-hop elements, and even has parts and bits that sound like Second Legends as a callback, much like Final Formersr referenced Deceptive Tyrants. As the battle gets closer to its climax, the sound is that of the main theme of Avatar, but with a mix of Asian instruments and rock instrumentation.

Holy cow, I love doing this one! Especially imagining the track and its art due to the possibilities of symbolism.

THANK YOU AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS!

---------------------------------------------------

Ooh, another interesting match-up! Although, to be honest, I already have my doubts as to how this plays out. Great fight idea, though!

URBAN SPRAWL

Honestly, the Avatar fights have been kinda meh in Death Battle, usually because they've all been so one-sided (except for the first, Toph v Gaara).

I really like the premise of the fight and how it plays out. Unfortunately, I gotta give it to Korra here for one reason; resource. Korra can bend anything from anywhere with little limit on where. Delsin, however, has very specific sources from which he can draw his power, such as his concrete abilities can only be drawn from conduit enforcers gifted with the same powers.

Still, though, it would be a pretty neat fight.

[skelingtonsderek]

Also 65 and 80 :)

For the ask game for fanfic writers

65. what is your favourite title for a fic you’ve written?

ooooooooooh... That's a hard one. yknow I think I would have to go with Rinse Cycle or Remembrance. I think what I enjoy most about those titles is that I can't think of a single title that might be capable of replacing them and having the same feel and meaning behind them. That's very appealing. Like. The title is part of the fic and it matters a lot but sometimes a story can have a bunch of titles and it wouldn't diminish it but these two.... I couldn't even try to change the names.

80. do you try to put themes, motifs, messages, morals, etc in your writing? if so, how do you go about it?

Yes absolutely every time. Way back when I first learned to write I learned it through the medium of essays and the idea that all art is trying to convince you of something really stuck with me. Not always is it something grand and impressive or meditative or whatever. It could be something simple like, "Isn't this character kinda funny? Wouldn't this be interesting?" or it could be something more difficult like, "actually you don't need to earn love. people can just... love you as you are and that's pretty OK."

I tend to use a lot of little motifs and themes like certain sense descriptions for certain characters, different topics they might think or act on... Like some characters come with these sort of things built in. Boyd and his constant identity crisis or Raylan and control. The way they both use clothing as costumes and build layer on layer of symbolism and meaning and bullshit into their appearances at all points. This one is definitely in that part from The House Carpenter I already talked about earlier but it's certainly in Remembrance. again between the gloves and the rings and the rest of the clothes in the closet.

Rinse Cycle conversely uses motifs of nature and animal life, weather and sound, the tempos of conversation between people and of course color schemes from person to person....

but why are you sooo nice thank you for asking!!!! :')

[rawliverandgoronspice]

From a different blog where I sent this as an anon ask: It feels like there were different writers for each section of the game, and none of them talked to each other, so they just kept the plot and story are barebones as possible. You also notice that Zora's domain had the worst writing in terms of continuity, and Rito had the best. The story Zelda goes through is just really confusing, and feels pointless because it goes in circles, it's like the writers had actually no idea what to do. I had talked to that blog owner for like a few weeks by then, and we'd come to the conclusion about why totk's story feels so... hamfisted and empty.

Hey!

So the thing is: it's generally how most AAA writing happens (at least in western settings, I think it's also how China tend to operate as well --but not so sure about Japan tbh, so take my reply with a grain of salt). You assemble a team of writers (sometimes they are also quest designer and/or level designers, sometimes they are separate people, it completely depends on the company and the project), you brief them on the general vision from the directors so you get a sense of what's the pitch/goal and what's the budget, and then you are assigned on either a questline, a character, or a "region" in open world games.

Then you are mostly on your own and very much funneled onto your specific tasks, and only tangientially in contact with what the other groups are doing. Sometimes you have to check on with them for either consistency, or to make sure what information you introduce when, or you need to double-check what the gameplay thing actually does... But the thing is, you generally see the full details of what the others have been working on pretty late. Sometimes you get companies that do writer's room and table readings where you get to workshop each other's work as it's being written/whiteboxed, but it doesn't happen systematically. Even with games that put on a lot of weight on their narrative being their strong suit!

(which is kind of dumb, we should 100% do that more just because... it's fun, it fosters trust and a sense of accomplishement and progress, people bond over the hardships, you get perspectives you wouldn't have gotten otherwise, and also it feels much better than having an overworked and/or stressed out editor/director flatten or rewrite everything without asking for your input at the last second :) :) :) )

So anyway! All of that jazz to say that it's a pretty common practice, and it hardly makes or breaks an open-world game usually. It will limit the amount of interconnection for sure, but generally never to the point that you reject the concept of interconnection and character writing altogether.

Which is why I feel like what's happening with TotK is more a case of... I don't know, an extremely, needlessly restrictive framing put in place from the beginning by directors/producers who were afraid of the complexity going out of hand and wanting to rely on BotW's workflow instead of figuring out a new one, and/or a case of the narration going out of hand while development happened, which led to a drastic simplification and rewriting pretty late in the production cycle. It's kind of my leading theory, one I'm partially basing on the fact that they used the COVID excuse when they said the game was going to be late, and I haven't heard of a single production that used the COVID excuse to justify a delay not having *major* problems under the hood --like it took maybe 2 weeks for the game industry to adjust to COVID, tops.

Again, it's speculation! I am pretty unfamiliar with how things are done in Japan when it comes to game production, so it might all be very biased in a bad way. But, just giving my two cents!

[tomwambsmilk]

Succtwitter has the most interesting takes about Shiv. She's apparently the victim in her marriage bc she's a woman and Tom uses his privilege as a man over her. Now I HATE to victim blame but two of the most abusive things Tom does to Shiv is reactionary to Shiv's treatment of Tom. Shiv treating Tom as irrelevant (to his face) made him feel like in order to be remembered and important while he was in prison was to have a kid with her, and then he betrayed her for constantly leaving him out of the loop and making him feel as though his position in her life was being called into question. Both things are AWFUL and indefensible but they're also a hell of shiv's own making

Yeah, this is part of why I tend to avoid using the word 'abuse' when discussing Tom and Shiv's marriage. Largely because the rhetoric around the concept of abuse - and specifically around the idea of abusers as ontologically evil - means there's no room for nuance as soon as the term enters the discussion. And I also don't think that's a helpful or necessary lens through which to analyze what's happening in their relationship.

That being said, I do think one of the primary tragedies of Shiv as a character is the way the destruction of her marriage is a self-fulfilling prophecy. She's so afraid of betrayal and hurt as a consequence of intimacy that she holds Tom at an emotional distance (something I absolutely think was part of her motivations in wanting an open marriage). She doesn't feel safe in emotional intimacy, and the commitment involved in getting married has deepened her unease. But holding Tom at that distance is what drives him to eventually betray her, something I believe he absolutely would not have done in season 1, or even season 2. He tries to play both sides, sure, but when he absolutely cannot, he sides with Shiv - up until season 3. That's why "my therapist was wrong, and I was right" hits so hard; it's not actually that her therapist was wrong, but that she's manifested her own fears into existence, and because she's not able to see how her own actions played into that she's doomed to keep perpetuating that cycle in other aspects of her life. When people downplay that aspect and remove Shiv's agency in the relationship, I think they neuter her character a little, and they undercut some of the tragedy of the story. Part of the reason she's compelling is that, even though she absolutely is mistreated by the people around her, she isn't simply a victim all the time.

I also think Tom's season 3 desire (and pressure) for a kid is a lot more complicated than just Shiv's treatment of him. There's a lot to unpack there, and so many posts I see oversimplify some aspect of it, which is too bad bc I think, as a plot point, it's a pretty brilliant convergence of several different aspects of Tom's character, his ideals, the outside influences on him, and his relationship with Shiv, and as such is pretty revealing on a lot of levels. But that's for a whole separate post, I think!

Anyways. It's frustrating because there are ways in which Tom's misogyny (which I think is largely unconscious, and rooted in the general misogyny of the Waystar culture - but it's still misogyny) negatively impacts Shiv, and you can have that conversation while still acknowledging the rather significant role Shiv herself has played in the destruction of her marriage, and the (again, significant!) ways she's mistreated Tom. These are not two mutually exclusive concepts!! Their relationship is messy and nuanced!!

[crimson-mayhem-archive]

【30 Questions of CP, OC & Fandom】

[ credits to ⇨ @mukami-kuron-mrsadisticcat || whin: IMMA HOP IN AND BE COOL LIKE EVERYONE ELSE 💃]

1.How long have you been in this fandom?

not that long, actually! while i’ve known about the series since like?? middle school?? I never actually started participating in the fandom space until around October of 2021! and even now i’m still like? tip toeing around bc im scared.

2. Who's your fictional boyfriend/husband?

I’ll be so honest with y’all rn. I don’t actually have a DL character that I like that much— I really just kinda cycle through them in terms of how much I like them. As of right now though?? Probably Ruki or Richter. (lol bitches with R names)

3. Why do you like them?

richter?? well I actually hated his guts more than any other character until recently. idk what changed to be perfectly honest with you. just kinda woke up one day and was like “mmm i’ll give him a chance.” i do like the potential for angsty scenarios though!

as for ruki, he’s also one i wasnt fanning over until recently. i didn’t hate him ofc, but the only content of him i really indulged in on up until now was the anime. and when i saw him in the show i was like “okay” then moved on. after reading his routes though? i started to like him a lot more 😞 and ofc Jas ( @ruki--mukami ) has a flawless portrayal of him that i feel in love with so 💃

4. Have you make acquaintance with anyone that ships themselves with the same character?

I have no idea if they ship themselves with the characters I listed, or if they’re just one of their favourites. But Ava ( @fruit-of-infidelity ) and Jas ( @ruki--mukami ) are two people i’m fortunate enough to be mutuals with :’).

5. How do you feel about it?

i feel pretty great about it actually. it’s nice to find people who have the same amount of love for a character that you do 💃

6. Do you feel any negativity towards them?

ofc not!

7. Do you like seeing their oc(s) interact with your man/woman?

honestly yeah. seeing different characters combinations go in different directions is always a treat! i really enjoy scrolling through the threads.

8. Do you feel competitive against them?

yeah for sure we’re battling in a boxing ring rn 🤼‍♂️

i’m joking but no i don’t feel competitive at all!!

9. Confident, or pessimistic?

both at different times. and while i wouldn’t say i’m pessimistic, most of the time i’m definitely not confident.

10. Would you like more to get to know about your ship, or would you rather it being lowkey?

as for a ship with myself? i don’t post much selfship content (even though i do have a blog for it). but i wouldn’t really mind whether people know abt it or not!

as for a ship with my oc(s)— Virek is relatively new. so i haven’t developed deep enough relationships to have a solid ship with him yet. HOWEVER! gwen, my old oc, had a few ships that i adored.

the top to being Ryuwen ( @fruit-of-infidelity ) and Myswen ( @mino-diabolik) ((did we ever come up with a ship name for them?? idk 🏃💨))

the dynamics in those two ships were to die for honestly. vv enjoyable! but i also can’t wait to build up relationships with this character as well 💃

11. Do you follow any of those people (them whom ship themselves with your fictional lover)

well aside from those already tagged, no.

12. Are you friends with them?

i’d like to say yes, even though we don’t talk very much outside of Tumblr T-T. I do adore them though ^^ so hopefully we can talk more.

13. What do you think about the 'stans' ?

i’m only a part of a tiny corner of the fandom. but the people around here are cool, so.

14. Are you worried about plagiarism or copying of your oc(s) by others?

lol, NO sjjsnd. i doubt someone would even try to copy my characters, given how complex and messy they tend to be

15. How do you handle such a situation if it happens?

i have no idea. so we’ll cross that road when we get there.

16. Is your cp public or only between a particular circle of friends?

generally all of them are public. but a lot of the relationship building with @simpemone ‘s characters are done in private. we do post a lot about our ocs publicly though— but if you’re wondering why those dynamics are much more developed than others jsns.

17. Do you like a specific cp ship, whats the reason? (I dare you to tag them~!)

i like a lot of ships actually, both with my own ocs and some ships my mutuals have with their’s!! i don’t have the guts to tag any of them though so 💃

18. What kind of behaviors do you suppose is pretentious to you?

i hope i don’t have any pretentious behaviours?? if i do and just don’t notice feel free to scream at me!!

as for others? ig the behaviour i hate most is ‘claiming’ a character for yourself. getting insanely jealous when they interact with others, things like that.

19. What kind of comments do you dislike the most when it comes cp feedbacks of your oc(s)?

i’ll accept any feedback about my oc as long as it isn’t malicious or obviously not meant to help and instead to complain.

20. Have you receive hates about your oc(s) before?

i haven’t!

21. Do you have a complete love story of your cp?

i don’t. but i, hopefully if i can find the energy, in the future hope to write routes for virek/a diaboy and virek/yui. or if i end up feeling too ambitious, have virek get his own route with each boy. but those are just plans that i don’t plan on executing for a while!

22. Do you allow joint of alternate universe with the canon version of your cp story?

well virek doesn’t have a canon story atm but ofc!!

23. Are you okay with people shipping their oc(s) with yours?

yes yes yes!! i adore it when people wanna ship their ocs with mine T-T

24. Ever gone through a bad experience in the fandom?

i havent been here for very long so no.

25. The ocs that you admire in this fandom are? (Tag them~)

all of @princesscrownprince ‘s OCs. Ryuuto ( @fruit-of-infidelity ) Scarlett ( @kindan-no-kanojo ) Sumire ( @sumire-bride ) literally all of @simpemone ‘s OCs. ALL OF @cursed--requiem ‘s OCs. Irina ( @iricathel ) Amani ( @ayamexe ) Simone ( @smonie )

26. What is the moment that caused you to feel most disappointed or excited?

disappointed?? i dont really have any specific moment where i feel disappointed. but it is annoying that a chunk of this fandom will not hesitate to jump down someone’s throat, instead of having civilised discussions.

the most excited? literally any blog that could be considered ‘popular’ or ‘big’ popping up in my notifs. like ik a few of my mutuals have bigger blogs, but when i first saw y’all in my notifs i was like “?!?!”

it catches me off guard knowing that some of the more popular blogs took a peek at my tiny lil corner and went “this? i like this.” LIKE Y’ALL SEE ME?

27. The scariest era that you have come across in the fandom?

see #26

28. The most wonderful thing you have come across in this fandom?

all the love i’ve received since being here. i’ve been fortunate enough to interact and talk with lot of wonderful people, and i hope we can talk more in the future. :’) (when i say i wanna befriend all of y’all i mean it. 🤼‍♂️)

29. Say something towards those that support and admire your cp~

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. truly. its a blast knowing that even one person enjoys what i put out :’). so i really so appreciate everyone’s kinda words, the enthusiasm with your replies/comments. it’s a joy T-T

30. You've worked hard, keep up the good work! ★★★

AHHHH I FINALLY FINISHED IT. now i need a nap 😞 ALSO I AM SOOOOOOOOO SORRY FOR ALL OF THE RANDOM TAGS. FORGIVE ME 🏃

[rosaliesea]

TASK ⦂ THE INSPIRATION BEHIND.

TRIGGER WARNINGS — mentions of depression, car accident, and the death of a child.

I initially dreamed up Rosalie as a muse for another (now closed) group; at the time, I was writing the prickliest porcupine muse who was absolutely disastrous at interactions with other human beings. While it made for incredibly fun angst and heavy threads, it was also hard to go with the flow and let threads carry themselves the same way they would with a muse who was open to anything from the get go. I also really wanted to play an older muse, as I'm not really up to date with the "new" faces floating around the RPC that are under the age of, like, 27. I grew up with most of these 30+ faces, so that's who I tend to write for. I also almost have to have some kind of attachment to the faces I write, because it makes it a hell of a lot more fun for me to write them. Hilarie's a face I've been dying to use ever since I met her, so that was, essentially, the foundation of how Rosalie came to be. And then, the typical life cycle of any Tumblr roleplay completed itself and the group closed, so I had some time to somewhat sit on this character that I'd started but had yet to develop.

Something that's really important to me whenever I create characters to write in a roleplay setting is that I try not to expend all of their "moments" in a backstory. Meaning: I've been in places with partners who have all of the interesting meat of a character in their character's history, and they don't expound on any of it whenever they write them in present. Obviously, I think you can absolutely have well-rounded and interesting characters without a dramatic backstory or future plots lined up, but the fun of writing for me is what's to come and what I can create with other writers. I'm a dramatic bitch. I live for angsty threads, I live for solid development. It's how I keep the excitement in writing a muse alive and fresh. One theme I knew I wanted to dig into with Ro's character was the idea of closure and new beginnings, the idea that a person's life is split up into many different lifetimes categorized by the things that they go through, the places they go, the people they become. I don't think I've ever written a character that doesn't also share depression with me, mostly because it's something that is so personal to me and one way that I choose to deal with it is by exploring it in the many faces it takes. And, of course, I very easily could have written depression into Ro's backstory in a very "normal" manner, but again... hi, I am dramatic, so it had to come about in a different way. I've written a few stories before that deal with the grief of losing a child and for Ro, it almost made sense to give her as a piece of her story. She's the mama bear without a cub, and I felt it explained so much of the way she nurtures those around her, the way she takes time and intent to nourish her relationships and make sure that the people she loves know she loves them. I also loved the idea of her constantly shedding her skin, becoming someone new in each chapter of her life while also staying the same to some degree. It's probably my favorite Taylor Swift quote of all time: "I'll never change, but I'll never stay the same, either."

Ro's a muse that is a lot unlike myself, which tend to be the muses I enjoy writing the most, because I learn more about the other joys in life. Ro's certainly taken a few things from me, like her love of making little gifts for other people for no reason at all, our irrational dislike of birds, and how she loves her people with everything she has. I'm not one who will immediately go outdoors when the weather's beginning to warm up, I'm not a fan of beer in the slightest, and I'm nowhere as good with my hands as Ro is, but she brings me a new appreciation for those things. She's also really fun to write because she has quite a bit of history, but tons of possibility for the future, even if I don't decide to do anything major with her character. She was an A+ fit for this group because her way of life is perfectly suited for the vibes I get from Merrock as a whole: laidback, take it easy, comfy and cozy in that cottage core type of way (if you know, you know!). Ro's my hippie witch baby, so when I took in the rural countryside area of Merrock + The Garden, it was almost as though they were waiting for her to step into frame :')

And yes, I've built her based off of a few of my all-time favorite characters in media ever: Leigh Shaw from Sorry for Your Loss (Elizabeth Olsen is a marvel in everything she does but her performance in SFYL is literally unreal), Izzie Stevens from Grey's (before the writing went downhill and she started having ghost sex), Michelle Simms from Bunheads (my favorite show of all time if you have yet to watch it, it's a MUST), and Piper Halliwell from Charmed. I'm always inspired by the things that I consume, so it's not really a surprise that I see echoes of them in Ro.

[vyl3tpwny]

I rarely send asks or write about the way someone's music affects me but seeing you were on Tumblr and kind to fan letters made me wanna pitch my two cents..

I first found your work through your most popular album— CUTIEMARKS, which my friend, now partner gave me to help recover from the nastiest breakup I ever have had, a 5 year relationship marked by control and hiding who I really was. I used to be in the mlp fandom, really active, but hid it due to comments from friends and at one point my ex for how cringe it was.

Your songs were a breath of fresh air, characters I hadn't thought of in so long, exploring all these real emotions and coming out the other end. I had a small ipod and just placed CUTIEMARKS and Queen of Misfits on it and would go walk out and enjoy the night air. I haven't really spoken to people who wouldn't except the true me for over a year now.

I still listen to all your albums, new and old, and am excited to get the fish whisperer vinyl release. I'll proudly display it in my home. A lot of it is like, finding the tools to help yourself, but I'm happy one of those tools was your work.

I used to outright hide my passions, fandom connections, LGBT identity, everything. Now I'm open about it all. I have people who call me Mrs. Lulamoon in public and I proudly grin and go along with it.

I hope to see and support your work for a long long time. Hope it's some solace you inspired someone to keep running and be themselves after years of hiding it.

this is the goal with a lot of my current projects and i'm relieved to know it helps people ;w; i think it's like me, and a lot of my friends and peers, have gone through so many different things. lots of the stuff i wanna talk about in my work is either underrepresented in art, or it's done in a way that doesn't really find relevance in my personal life. a lot of artists seem to want to cover really broad or otherwise vague topics, and they're completely valid in doing so. i always have to remind myself that rarely is any artist doing something wrong, just following a path that they want to follow. but regardless, for me personally, i want to write about very specific and potentially niche ideas and situations. of course i'm guilty of writing these songs too, but i feel like the general breakup; getting together; mundane crush; loneliness kind of songs have been overdone to hell and back. i want to really consider that loneliness, why is it that way, what even is loneliness, is loneliness even a valid thing. what does loneliness have to do with art? what does it have to do with understanding the world in a way by contrast. i just wanna take these things and ask more questions. rabbit holes like this are how i arrive at something like fish whisperer, in specific. and i want to write more hopeful things. i'm a little tired of things being super prolifically upsetting or existential in a way that leaves you feeling like "ok am i supposed to be feeling sad after all this". i think we need to start instilling hope, and a desire to live, and a drive to experience the world in a personal way — rather than succumbing to the everyday cynicism. even CUTIEMARKS was born out of a really immense depression and resurgence of negative ideations. but in making it, i began to unravel this beautiful truth about life. shit hurts so bad, quite often. you tend to go through these cycles of suppressing yourself super often. but among that, you learn every time. the idea is to take what you learn and add that to this emblem of hope that exists.

let's start being hopeful together.

i'm glad these projects have meant something to you!

[eskawrites]

you know what? I WILL be annoying. xoxoxo. 38, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 66, 80

<3 <3 <3

38. how many stories do you work on at one time?

the answer to this used to be 1, maybe 2 if i had an idea for something short come up while i was working on something longer. now there are apparently no rules, throw it all out the window, i've been cycling between 5-10 different stories for like a week and i'm starting to lose my mind

43. how did writing change you?

tbh i've been writing for as long as i can remember, so like, it definitely has changed me, but in the same way that growing up has changed me, or going to college, or coming out, or living on my own, or starting a career. in basically every stage of my life, up until and including right now, i can point to a dozen different ways that writing has helped me learn and grow in some capacity. but i guess if i had to choose one, probably that it's given me more confidence and really helped structure the way that i view myself and my goals

44. any writing advice you want to share?

well the most important thing is to make sure you're enjoying it. like, there's no point to writing--or being creative in any sense--if you're not getting any entertainment or catharsis or peace or whatever from it, why are you doing it?

but beyond that, i guess my advice for anyone who is serious about writing is to consume stories. i had a lot of college professors be like 'if you're not reading all the time you won't be a good writer' and like i get where they're coming from, but it applies to more than just reading. watch movies, play video games, listen to your friends gossip. the more you experience and think about stories in any format, the easier it is to apply what you like or don't like to your own writing style

45. name three of your favorite fanfic writers.

um you, obviously. @dufrau is astonishing to me, every piece hits so perfectly and leaves me thinking about it for days. and @categorical-mouse because i genuinely think about it's just blood under the bridge like once a week, it's by far my favorite imagining of the group post-hawkins, and war correspondent nancy is one of the most heartbreaking and thrilling characterization i've ever seen

this is so hard there are so many though there's so much great work in this fandom

46. what time are you the most productive when it comes to writing?

any time that it's dark tbh. my prime used to be between 11pm and 2am, but having a normal adult job and a normal adult schedule doesn't allow for that as much as i'd like lol

47. what story are you most proud of?

this is always a toss up between raise dead and this story that we found ourselves in but it's gotta be this story, yeah? it took over my life for like 4 months, it turned into this massive, sprawling thing and i have a clearer grip on it, and that iteration of the characters, than i ever really imagined possible

66. when have you felt the most confident in your writing? 

um so it genuinely might be when i was finishing the celebrity fake dating au. once i got to, like, 3/4s of the way through? i'd gotten through all the unknown parts and i knew exactly where the story was going, and anything that wasn't already planned out was just fun to write. it was great. i was sailing. there were so many lovely late nights where i'd just put on my playlist and write a bunch of soft ronance scenes, and in the morning i'd read it back over and just be so excited about the story. ugh. i miss it

80. do you try to put themes, motifs, messages, morals, etc in your writing? if so, how do you go about it?

hmmm not really morals or anything, but i do try to write something meaningful in the sense of, like, female representation and gay representation. i tend to write the stories that i wish i could see, and especially the stories that i wish i'd had growing up. sometimes that leans into writing about messages or experiences that are really personal to the gay experience, or at least my gay experience. it's never super intentional, though, that just ends up being what i think is important to the story

[gillianthecat]

I thought I had posted this a month ago, but I just found it in my drafts. So here are my thoughts after first watching To My Star, which I wrote on Sept 4th. I think I meant to edit it and then never did, so it's not entirely coherent. Since I know to much now to change anything but typos, I will just present it as is.

I really liked To My Star. It felt really weird, but weird in a way that made it better, somehow? I don't know, maybe it's because I was sleep deprived watching it, but it felt like finding a random indie movie on netflix (back when they had lots of random indie movies to choose) or in an college town video store, and watching it without having any idea where it was going. It felt low budget, not in BL way, but in a weird indie movie way. Even though the storyline was pretty classic BL. Maybe because the characters were older? And the actors were ( ) or at least looked older.

Maybe I've just been watching a lot of high school or university set BL so watching jaded adults felt different. Old Fashion Cupcake had real adults, but the plot was completely coherent, and didn't have that strange things happening feeling that this one did.

I think the COVID shooting restrictions of having very few extras also contributed to the weird little indie movie vibe.

Plus the plot didn't fully make sense though, somehow, even though it did actually. I don't know how to describe it. The supporting characters were all odd, but also all felt like adults. Like, it made sense why the restaurant owner did what he did, and yet it somehow felt like it came out of left field. But I liked his arc in that, and his regret that never really got resolved. (I know there's a season two that might change all that).

And the leads both had these backstories that were never really explained.

Maybe it felt like I weird indie because in some ways the external plot kept happening to them? They were kind of hiding in their house, and people kept blackmailing them or whatever (this is not an accurate description).

Probably part of it was that Seo Joon was such a consistently odd character, but in a way that felt like a real person. I don't know if was intentional, but it seemed like he had ADHD. I don't know any famous actors, but I would bet that there are some like him. And he became more normal as the movie went on, but that felt more like him relaxing as he grew more comfortable with Ji Woo.

It was similar to the grumpy sunshine dynamic from Semantic Error, but Seo Joon was so weird that it felt very different.

I was in an odd mood when I put it on, and as soon as it began I felt better. I tend to like celebrity hiding out stories, as long as I like the celebrity. Anyway, I was hooked as soon as Seo Joon got in the car and started demanding things. Although he was so (understandably) grumpy there that I was confused when we met Ji Woo - wait, which one of these grumps is going to be the sunshine?

Early in I thought that this would become a comfort rewatch, and I still think that's true. There was a point in the middle where I was particularly confused about the plot. And the dead fish kisses made me nervous. I was trying to recall if this was the show that absoluteBL said had a bunch of dead fish kisses before a good one at the very end. And it was! Which, I had been confused by the dead fishes because Son Woo Hyun looks like an actor who knows how to kiss on camera; he's older, he has lot of acting experience, and he was unrestrained in the rest of his acting. But he pulled through for me in the end.

Anyway, the sum of that all is by the end I was reassured again, and returned to my initial impression that this will become a good comfort rewatch.

The chemistry didn't blow me away, but it was sufficient. It fit the show and the characters.

And Son Woo Hyun was excellent as Seon Joon. He was believably charismatic as an movies star, his hyper behavior felt real, all emotions he quickly cycled through. Even that serious scenes, with the other movie star or with Ji Woo, he felt both believably serious and still the same character.

I'm looking forward to watching the second season. For a show like Blueming or Semantic Error, or I Told Sunset About You, part of what makes them such great shows is their structure. It felt like it told a cohesive story within a framework. So a sequel for those risks feeling unnecessary and disconnected, and taking a way from the perfection of the original. Filling in blanks that needed to be left empty for the story to breath, to makes sense.

But I don't think structure was the strong point of To My Star. And there were plot threads left, not dangling exactly, but that could sustain more plot. Mostly I just liked the characters, so I'd be happy to hang out with them again in whatever form of plot happens around them.

It also helps that they're older characters, I think. This wasn't really a coming of age tale for either of them. I think those are harder to follow up on, because the whole focus shifts and so it can feel disconnected from the first.

Wow, reading back on that, it's fascinating to see how so many of the parts I felt were missing were addressed in the sequel. And amazing to see how much I still agree with what I said then. Although I think the chemistry I was unsure about in TMS was developed in TMS2. Which could well be an intentional storytelling choice. And I was right - it did become a comfort re-watch.

[lykaonimagines]

6, 11, 34, 41

Thanks for asking :)

6. Last Line You Wrote: (This one's a bit dark 😬) She’d dropped to her knees and crawled to him, fingers sliding into the curls she loved so much as his blood stained her hands and a guttural scream escaped her lungs.

11. Do you write scenes in order, or do you jump around? I tend to jump around on it. When I get an idea I usually write the first few lines, then write a summary and some notes for how I want the rest to go, then jump to wherever I want to write at that moment.

34. How much of your personal life/experience do you include in your fics? It sort of depends on the character I'm writing to what makes sense. Though I have a short fic sitting that is based on a specific memory with my fiancé. Mainly because it's probably the most romantic moment I've ever experienced personally. So I've rewritten it multiple times with five different characters in different fandoms over the past two years. Waiting until it feels right with one of them lol He's read them all and prefers the Sherlock one because "his sounds like a slightly more dick-ish version of myself." Whereas the other characters I changed more, Sherlock's personality just fit closest to my partner's actual reactions to things that happened I suppose :P I also have a fic that should be done soon that a part is based on a story of my parents when they were younger that I just think is cute.

41. Who’s your favorite character you’ve written? I'm not really sure honestly. I go through phases of certain characters just being easier and more fun for me to write for than others. Then I cycle around back to characters I used to write for, then try a new one out. I bounce around on that. Though I tend to write a lot of emotionally stunted male characters, so I'd say that genre of fictional man is my favorite to write 😛