#i'm fairly sure i haven't seen 10 or 11

[nbstevonnie]

i feel strangely blessed - this anime has shown me the first accidental groin grab to combat the accidental boob grab

[me-paina]

AO3 Recommendations :D

Hey so, I haven't done this in a long while but I wanna recommend some AO3 fics that I have read and loved these past few years. I'll put a limit because I can go on and on, so 12 fics per fandom. (multifandom person >:))

(Oldest to newest bookmarks of mine)

UNDERTALE -

1. Because I Trust You by WrittenKinzy18 (Complete)

(I love all of their fics! you should read the Winged Multiverse series)

2. Soulless by ItzZaira (Complete)

(ItzZaira fics are always amazing no matter what fandom!)

3. Silent Stars by fifi11 (Hasn't updated - 2022) :((

(This is a sad one guys, so, buckle up.)

4. My Fault by Keelynoelle (Complete)

(I read this a long time ago but I know there was some good brother bonding moments and Grillby being amazing (made me emotional))

5. From Murder to Dust by Clichely (Complete)

(Really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really dark. Good one though)

6. Steel and Stripes by Lady Quo  (Hasn't updated - 2021) :(((

(This is just adorable. ¡Tiny sans alert! Older papyrus!)

7. Fatigue by duckydotducky (Hasn't updated - 2021) :(((

(Monsters are really untreated fairly, at least one human is nice. )

8. An Err in Communication by TheVoidIsMyHome (Complete)

(Mute Error. Literally love this concept.)

9. Inquisitive by Another_thing (Hasn't updated - 2020) :((((

(You don't know how much I love FGOD Error, I go crazy for it. Why is Nightmare's gang so wholesome, I swear, I love them so much)

10. ZombieTale by Kamisori (On going)

(I literally can't describe how amazing this fic is. This has helped me get through so much over the years. Thank you for making this amazing fic!)

11. Serif One by samlysam (Complete)

(Sans, and Papyrus, are going through so much There are a lot of fics where Gaster is bad but it still hurts. I'm glad Red, Alphys, Undyne, Edge and Miss Toriel were there for them.)

12. Scenic Our House by grubbin (On going)

(If you don't say Snowy is the best character ever, then I'm not being your friend. I love this rendition of the machine bringing skeletons here.)

ROTTMNT -

(ROTTMNT/12 TMNT)

1. The wrong side of the portal by ItzZaira (On going)

(See I told you they are good at writing. This is just so heartbreaking for Leo (2018) but don't worry I swear it gets better.)

(ROTTMNT/12 TMNT)

2. Stranger Danger by Balkanbitch (On going)

(The Mikey's switched places. I think it's good for Mikey (2012) to have a break and be in the ROTTMNT universe. Not so sure about Mikey (2018) though, I mean he could help the others and make them act to be better family, but on the other hand, the krang is still here, and as we have seen, it can cause a lot of PTSD and other issues.)

(ROTTMNT/12 TMNT)

3. Dagger From the Mirror by TotallyNotASecretAO3Account (Complete)

(Dagger from the Mirror is dark, hahaha, but Stranger in the Mirror the sequel of it (you should read it too) is a lot darker and also gets better (eventually))

(ROTTMNT/12 TMNT)

4. Presumed Dead by Minor_Inconvenience23 (Hasn't updated - 2023) :(

(The 2012 gang is so caring! I love Leo angst if you couldn't tell.)

(ROTTMNT/12 TMNT)

5. Displaced by spiromachia (Hasn't updated - 2023) :(

(PB & J duo is amazing. I love this so much.)

(ROTTMNT)

6. Power Up by pickledcarrotsandradish (On going)

(Leo angst again. This is just sad. new power up and it's to heal or rather take the pain away and give it do himself. :( he is just so sacrificial.)

(ROTTMNT)

7. Fading Memories by HellsTrojanHorse (Complete)

( This reminds me too much of when my grandpa passed. it's been 2 years. This fic made me cry. Their writing style is so beautiful. The way they write, and show their emotions in the words are just perfect. This fan-fic just reminded me that I'm not alone in feeling this grief. )

(ROTTMNT/12TMNT/03TMNT/87TMNT)

8. A Mixed Bag by GreatlyBlessed (Hasn't updated - 2023) :(

(All of the turtle's mixed together to find away out and find each other :3)

(ROTTMNT)

9. This Was(n't) About You by uncouth_peasant (Complete)

(When Leo decided to tell no one of these self-sacrificial ways… Well this is the result.)

(ROTTMNT/12TMNT/03TMNT/87TMNT)

10. B.E.A.S.T by SkylerSkyhigh (Complete)

(The Rise boys aren't violent, they're just traumatic)

(ROTTMNT/12 TMNT)

11. The Purple Conundrum by Donnies_Lady_87 (On going)

(The Purple Turtles swapped, but instead of teenagers, they swapped when they were tots, and now everything is going to be different when they grow up.)

(ROTTMNT/12 TMNT/03 TMNT/87 TMNT/Bay TMNT/IDW TMNT/07 TMNT/Last Ronin/19 TMNT/16 game TMNT/19 Power Rangers TMNT)

12. Multiverse of Michelangelo by Srae13 (Complete)

(Mikey, why are you stealing your counterparts?)

MARVEL -

1. Take These Broken Shards (I’m bleeding out) by DaniWib (Complete)

(This is so scary, heartbreaking and terrifying yet Peter Parker & The Avengers bonding is so adorable at the same time. I am so glad that the Avengers are here to help. That shit-bastard, Skip Westcott can go and dig his own grave.)

2. Reintroducing Hope by Fernandidilly_yo (Complete)

(I am actually so shocked... I can't believe how amazing this Fic is. Peter is so precious, and the adventures are such an amazing family.)

3. Child's Play by theoneandonlyfishboy (Complete)

(Why is Marvel fics so emotional.)

4. Somewhere You Can Be Safe by sarcasmismyweapon (Complete)

(Switched, well transported to another timeline... Wow, and these Avengers are much more Domestic.)

5. The Avengers vs The Peter Factor bymidnightwolf2192

(Hasn't updated - 2023) :(

(The Peter factor is working really well!)

6. You Screamed For So Long We Forgot To Care Anymore by GalaxyThreads (Complete)

(I love Loki so much, and seeing him like this breaks my heart! Poor Loki.)

7. Dysfunctional by InkpotGod97 (Complete)

(This is a dysfunctional family.)

8. Not Everyone Deserves a Second Chance byJustRandomStories

(Complete)

(This is so insane, I love this so much, the new avengers are so amazing, and the rogues are honestly dickheads. I love the red three, they are the best.)

9. from your perspective, the world is flat by blueh (Complete)

(Identity reveal for Peter, and to his Academic Decathlon Team. I mean he took it better than I'd expected. the Avengers are so nice! Read the second part as well peter parker's guide on secret identity fails :D)

10. Formalities by Terranpheum (Complete)

(This is an amazing fanfic, oh my gosh! The way everyone just enters Peter's apartment and hangs out with him is amazing. I love the bond everyone has with Peter, it's precious and it's like everyone just adopted him (I mean that's kinda what happened). Towards the end, it got really sad but I'm glad Peter knows he has support now.)

11. The Other Stark by Angst_gremlin (On going)

(Oh... Holy... I have no words. Honestly, This is one of the most heartbreaking stories I have ever read on Ao3. My heart aches for Peter, the sheer neglect he faces daily from everyone is just making me so angry, like WTF do any of you guys have common sense? Do you know what this can do to someone's mindset, A CHILD no less? He doesn't deserve that treatment, hell no one does.

12. Neon Liar (Hiding in Plain Sight) by isaDanCurtisproduction (Complete)

(This is one of the Best Field Trips to SI fics. There is so much Fluff and a good amount of Angst. Oh, and you can't forget the embarrassment Peter gets. I love this so much, the way the Avengers interact with Peter. My favourite part is when everyone thought he was skipping school. The text messages were priceless!)

Am I crazy... Yes

[doberbutts]

In regards to Doctor Who, I also stopped around the same time as you and recently picked it back up.

I like some of late Capaldi, but the early stuff was really uninteresting to me. His episodes suffered from a few writing issues, but the second half of his run was okay in my mind. Some episodes better than others.

I liked Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor, but I wanted to scream at the writers the entire time. We'd get to a point of understanding where the mystery or theme of the episode finally got revealed, and I'd start to get interested. And THEN they would spoon feed it directly to the audience, like noooo, let me be lost in the horrors for a bit before you spell it out like the end of a children's TV program, PLEASE. I promise I'm capable of exploring the implications for 5 seconds before you read out the message like the back of a cereal box, I beg of you. Her specials were alright, though, they were kinda fun, if a little out there...

Haven't seen the new specials, but I really REALLY hope they do the new Doctor justice. A lot of fans kinda ate Jodie alive, but it wasn't her fault. I'm gonna be really upset if they set him up for failure! People are already making assumptions based on bias. I really want them to set him up for success!

I honestly just think Capaldi isn't the type of actor I want to watch play the Doctor. So when he was announced I just sort of went "mm. Meh." and then stopped. And I had a hard time connecting with Clara, so the combination of a Doctor who I was fairly meh about and a companion I also was fairly meh about more or less killed my interest in the show.

I've said before but not super recently I think but I actuallyyyyyyy am not very interested in alien or time travel stories because I think individually they are very boring and together they are a bit contrived. Unfortunately that is like 99% of the point of Doctor Who so 9, 10, 11, and their companions were able to keep me from going "wow I really don't like alien or time travel stories" because I was invested in their personal character arcs. But if I start off already not really liking the main character draws to the show, then I have to actually focus on the alien and time travel plots, which I don't want to do, because I don't like those genres.

[it's why torchwood worked for me but not star trek, I can focus on something other than aliens in torchwood because I'm mostly having fun watching Jack and Ianto shenanigans, but star trek is *about the aliens* so unfortunately Spock shenanigans were not enough to distract me from disliking the other 99% of the show]

However. Hot Black Doctor. But then I feel like I'd have to watch 12 and 13 to catch up to Hot Black Doctor. Also I am trying really hard to reserve judgement because maybe it makes sense plotwise but I am somewhat annoyed that we have Double Doctors with one of them being a white dude who has ALREADY PLAYED THE DOCTOR AND IS SUPER POPULAR AS POSSIBLY NEW WHO'S FAVORITE DOCTOR [albiet, a white dude whose Doctor I did really like] who is at extremely high risk of majorly overshadowing Hot Black Doctor. Can't even have a standalone black generation without white people making sure they're included.

[oliversrarebooks]

I have a handful of questions for Lex as both whumpee and whumper: 6, 7, 10, 11 and 21. (if he’s not comfortable answering that’s perfectly understandable 😌)

6. When was the last time you cried?

"I don't recall... crying does little good, I've found."

7. When was the last time you laughed?

"I laugh quite often... I'm not sure why I seem to have such a reputation for being dour and mirthless. It was probably something amusing that Lily said."

10. Do you have any triggers?

"There's a particular look my sire gets in his eyes, that..." He shudders and doesn't continue.

11. Do you have any phobias?

"I have a perhaps irrational fear of being denied blood and starving to death. Sometimes I have nightmares of being trapped and wasting away..."

21. How are you so hot?

He seems a bit flustered, but flattered. "That sounds like something Fitz would say... I like to think I'm fairly handsome, and have been told so. It's hard to have much of an opinion about it when I haven't seen myself in over a century and have few memories of being human."

[evelinessa]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

I was tagged by @aawrightworth! Thanks Topaz! <3

1. How many works do you have on A03?

25 currently. Technically, I have 26, including what I wrote for the Ace Attorney Holiday Exchange, but that won't be added to my profile until after creator reveals.

2. What's your total A03 word count?

103,031

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Pretty much exclusively Ace Attorney. I have one Hades Game fic and one DGS one (which AO3 technically classes as a different fandom than AA).

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Of course, the only two smut fics I've written are both in here 😂.

Mile(s) High Club

Locked Inside (The Key to Your Heart)

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

Isle of Eros

After All This Time

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

Yes, however, most of the time I'm very slow at getting around to it. I try to match the same amount of time and effort the commenter made when responding, but I sometimes get anxious and overthink my response, which delays me getting to it. I'm working on responding to everyone I haven't yet, and then hopefully will keep up with it from there. Regardless of how long it takes me to respond, please know that I read and treasure every comment. It makes my day when I get that email! 🥰

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

This is a very hard question lol. I'm predominately an angst writer, so I've written some pretty angsty endings. It's hard to think of which one is the most when I feel like a lot are fairly equal. If I had to pick one, then probably The Time Loop Ritual. The ending stands on its own as very angsty, but I've been told the epilogue/sequel fic, All That Remains, has made people even sadder.

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

This is hard as well. I've also written plenty of happy endings, and not sure if one stands out happier than the rest. I think I'll go with He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not that I've seen. The closest was something that could be interpreted as a backhanded compliment, as well as a comment that pointed out a flaw in my writing for one of my early fics (which I was already well aware of). But both those comments also contained praise.

9. Do you write smut?

I've only written two smut fics, but I do have some WIPs I hope to finish someday. I want to write more so I can become comfortable with it, but writing it sort of intimidates me TBH. Most of my ideas don't involve smut, so there hasn't really been a need to. But I also know I'd probably come up with a lot more smut related ideas if I wrote it more and became more comfortable writing it.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I haven't and don't know if I ever will. I've tried to brainstorm a Hades Game Thanzag and Narumitsu one before. I came up with some vague ideas for that, but don't know if I will ever go further with it.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of, but if anyone ever wanted to translate one of my works, you are free to do so!

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

Yes! @aeronwolfao3 and I wrote Coffee and Chrysanthemums! It's currently unfinished, but we will continue to work on it one day.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

NaruMitsu/MitsuNaru, of course ❤️💙❤️.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Well, I have a list of 50+ fic WIPs that are in various stages of progress (from a vague several sentence idea, all the way to mostly having a first draft done). That huge, ever-growing list is also why I've been putting off my response to the WIP tag game from a few months ago lol. I also get new ideas fairly often, and I prioritize my writing based on any events and exchanges with deadlines (which I participate in regularly, and also give me new ideas each time). That's all to say that as much as I'd like to get to every idea on that list, I most likely won't. I don't have a specific WIP to mention here, though.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Angsty emotions, especially those resulting from grief, loss, and tragedy. Dialogue. Emotional inner monologue. Creating small little sentimental moments between characters that one of the characters can recall.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Super fluffy content, especially with very little/an absence of plot or conflict. Character and setting description. Writing body language without sounding repetitive or awkward. I've still done all of this decently enough, but it's harder for me and comes less naturally. And I don't utilize description nearly enough.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Maybe someday I'll include some German dialogue for Miles or Franziska or someone else who it would fit for. But I probably will have someone fluent look it over first.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Ace Attorney! While it wasn't my first posted fic, one of the fics I first worked on originated as a script for a comic back in May 2021. It was through the encouragement of some people in the fandom that I started writing and adapted that script and comic idea into a fic: Keeping Up Appearances. My first actual posted fic (not including my co-written fic which first chapter was published two days earlier) was Never Meet Your Idol, a drabble written for a prompt on Discord.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Another hard question. If I answered this last year, this would probably be much easier to answer, but now I've written so much more that I'm happy with.

I'm gonna put two, since one of the ones I really like is still unfinished, and part of my joy is because I know the full extent of it (which the readers don't have that benefit). The one I'm talking about is my 1-2 canon-divergence fic, A Demon’s Justice. There are two chapters out so far that I'm both mostly content with, and five planned chapters still to go. I first thought of the idea almost a year ago now, though I didn't start actually writing it since the summer. It's grown a lot since I first envisioned it, and will probably be close to 30K by the time it's finished. While I won't know how I feel in total until I can read the whole finished version, I am excited to write more and for what I have planned.

For finished, this one is much harder, and I feel like my answer fluctuates. For now, I'll go with The Lies We Tell As Our Secrets Are Held. The idea came to me in the shower when I was brainstorming fic ideas for NaruMitsu week this year. The storytelling style is a bit different than other stuff I've written. I think it achieved the feeling I was trying to capture, and I'm happy with a lot of my descriptions.

Tagging: @azalawa-scroggs, @almarnatiaam, @gloucesterroad @wobster109 @aeronwolfao3 @theinkhiddenwithin @ziskandra @zombiekittiez @enisywrites

Tagged some people that I haven't noticed were tagged yet or haven't noticed them doing it already, but also, anyone who sees this, feel free to do it as well!

[hardly-an-escape]

20 questions for fic writers!

thanks for the tag @signiorbenedickofpadua! gonna put this under a cut since it's a little long :)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

22.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

Just under 77,500.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now, just Sandman – but I do have an unfinished MCU story that I'd like to get back to, and there are definitely other fandoms I'd like to play around in at some point. I'm pretty unfocused, it just depends on whatever tickles my fancy.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Kind of Blue, a kind of fire (443) In the February Sun (437) let your heart be light (381) Headache (356) First Time (322)

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

I try to respond to every comment! (Although I'm super behind right now. Sometime soon I'll have a nice long self-indulgent afternoon of re-reading comments and finally responding.) I like to respond mostly because, as someone who reads a lot of fic, I get really excited when an author responds to my comments, and I want people who read my work and take the time to leave a comment to have the same feeling :) Also, I just feel like it's polite to say thank you when people say nice things!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I... don't really write angst. Like, at all. I am all about fluff and disgustingly happy endings. I have a WIP that has a fairly angsty beginning/middle (the shellshocked WWI veterans one which I swear to God I will finish), but even that will still have a happy ending (maybe a little bittersweet, but not angsty).

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

Ummm all of them?? Like I am genuinely not sure that one rises above the others in terms of its happiness.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I never have! I'm grateful to be active in a fandom that is almost universally kind and supportive! Also I don't really write the kinds of pairings or subjects that might draw the ire of the general public, tbh, so that's probably part of it.

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

I do! At the moment mostly M/M since I'm still very Dreamling obsessed, but also F/M. I don't generally get too kinky or monsterfuckery with it, though. Pretty much just regular-degular sexy times around here.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not really! Nothing against them, just haven't gotten a spark from that kind of idea. Wait, I take that back. A while back I started a Clintasha fic set in the Station Eleven universe. I never finished it, because I feel like I need to re-read the book in order to do so, and I haven't done that yet. But I'd definitely like to.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope. I would love it if that happens someday! I've considered translating my own fic (I speak fluent German, so it's not outside the realm of possibility), but I'm not sure I'm up to that kind of project at the moment.

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

No, I've had some fun brainstorming sessions and just back-and-forth reblogging with mutuals and trading ideas, but never actual co-writing. I'm open to the idea, but I would hesitate to inflict my writing process on anyone because it is extremely slow and piecemeal. I feel like a lot of co-writing relationships these days are developed on Discord, and try as I might I just cannot become an active Discord user.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Oh, lordy. Genuinely not sure how to answer this. If you go back to like... my very first childhood OTP, it'd have to be something like Han/Leia. But I've never been active in online SW fandom and never written that ship. I mean, Dreamling is obviously a contender. I do also love Stucky and Clintasha, although I'm not really into the MCU these days. I've recently been jumping on the Steddie train, but it remains to be seen if that will last or not. Going back a little farther, I'll never not be a Spuffy shipper. And I'll admit to Nine/Rose and Ten/Rose, and (wince) some JohnLock tendencies. But I really don't think I can point to a single all-time fave!

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I don't think I have anything that's published (or at least begun publicly) that won't ever be finished – hope springs eternal – but I certainly have things I've started and abandoned in my personal WIP files. I've got several Dreamling-related bits and bobs that may or may not ever come to something, and maybe 2300 words of a Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries fic that will probably never see the light of day.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I have a good ear for dialogue, and I'd like to think I come up with some nice metaphors/similes and descriptive language.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Actually writing lmao. No seriously though, just sitting down and getting a first draft done is the most challenging part of the whole deal for me.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I think it's fine and can add some interesting color! Just make sure there's a way for people who don't speak the language (or who are using a screen reader) to understand what's being said.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

First I ever wrote was Star Wars Expanded Universe (now Star Wars Legends) fic in elementary school. First I posted on AO3 was a Lizzie Bennet Diaries 5+1 – which, looking at it for the first time in many years, is actually pretty okay! I did something kind of interesting with the form, I think. I think I must have had a fanfiction.com account at some point but I truly cannot remember if I ever posted anything there... I can't remember my username and I don't even think I have access to the email I used to sign up with.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Among the Stars We are Reborn, for sure. I'm really proud of what I accomplished with that story, and to be honest I wish it had gotten as much attention as some of my other fics.

this was fun, thank you! I know this tag game has been going around and I'm not sure who's done it already and who hasn't, but I'll tag @valeriianz @landwriter @teejaystumbles @tryan-a-bex @cuubism and @tj-dragonblade (and as always, no pressure, just for fun!)

[cryptidsurveys]

Saturday, August 31st, 2024.

1 - Surveys aside, do you use Tumblr for any other reason? I have another blog for autumn-themed content (ephemeral-autumn), but I haven't updated it in a while. However, now that the season is swiftly approaching, I might feel more motivated.

2 - Do you have a lot of social media accounts? Do you update them all regularly? I have this survey account, the one I mentioned above (which comes with a bunch of neglected/unused side-blogs), and an IG account. I update my survey and IG accounts fairly regularly.

3 - Does it bother you when your socks don’t match? What about your underwear? It's not a big deal if they're some variety of gray + white, but unless I'm hanging around home, I wouldn't wear one gray + white sock and one black sock. I don't care if my underwear matches anything else I'm wearing.

4 - How many times a year do you go on vacation? Do you tend to go to the same places each time? My family doesn't go on regular vacations. The last time I went somewhere that wasn't a camping or backpacking trip was in 2011 when I traveled to Georgia to spend a couple of days with a past partner.

5 - How many times did it take you to pass your driving test? Once. It was actually a ridiculously easy test. I didn't have to parallel park or anything.

6 - When you’re in trouble, do your parents ever “middle name” you? No.

7 - Which family member do you look like the most? Which one do you resemble the most in terms of personality? I haven't seen my sibling in ages, but based on how I recall their appearance, I would say I most resemble them. As for personality-wise, that would be my dad.

8 - Have you ever been arrested? No.

9 - Do you prefer Apple or Android? I don't think I've ever owned an Apple product, so my use of Android isn't really a preference but a familiarity.

10 - Does getting sweaty or dirty bother you at all? If so, has it ever put you off doing exercise? It's low-grade bothersome, but when it comes to the animal shelter, I don't really care. Lmao it's one of the only places you can go around smelling like cat p*ss and no one will raise an eyebrow.

11 - Have you ever broken a bone? What were the circumstances that led to this happening? I messed up my right big toe back in 2009, but I don't know whether I broke it or not because I never went to the doctor to get it checked out. I just suffered until I healed. :')

12 - If you could change one thing about your appearance, what would it be? Either remove old stupid tattoos or certain scars.

13 - When was the last time your computer crashed or froze? is this something that happens often? I'm not sure. My current computer typically works like a dream. As someone who has dealt with slow/glitchy computers for most of my life, I'm super happy with it.

14 - Do you ever have problems with your sleep? Nothing major. I wouldn't say I suffer from insomnia, but it does take me quite some time to fall asleep and I hardly ever feel completely rested.

15 - What was the last thing you ate for breakfast? Is this a normal breakfast meal for you? A bowl of oatmeal with peanut butter, strawberry carnation instant breakfast, fruit, and chocolate syrup. I have it almost every single morning without fail.

16 - Have you ever thought about how you want to spend your retirement? I've wondered about how/if/when I'm going to retire, but I haven't given too much thought to how I would spend it.

17 - When was the last time you got a new tattoo or piercing? Do you have any plans to get either in the future? I got my last tattoo in 2013 and my last piercing sometime around 2008-2009. I don't have any plans to get more.

18 - How would you describe your personality? It changes so much depending on the company that I don't know how to describe it as a whole. Around my dad and my therapist (and my mom to a large extent), I'm talkative, silly, sarcastic, passionate about my interests, etc. Around people I don't know very well or don't feel comfortable with, I'm somewhat reserved and awkward, but I try to give off a friendly vibe even if I'm not saying much.

19 - Have you ever heard of “hygge”? is this something you enjoy or participate in at all? I've heard of it, but I had to look up the exact definition to be sure. It's definitely something I like to participate in.

20 - What colour was the last vehicle you travelled in? Does this vehicle belong to you or someone else? Red. It belongs to me.

21 - Would you describe yourself as healthy? Why or why not? I'd describe myself as generally functional. Not quite healthy, but nowhere near death's door.

22 - Would you describe yourself as messy or organised? Is this something you would like to change? I would like to be more organized.

23 - Do you miss anything about being a teenager? If you are a teenager, what’s your favourite thing about it? I have some fond memories from that time in my life, but I wouldn't say I miss it. It's more like a nostalgia that - deep down - I know I wouldn't want to re-experience.

24 - Are you patriotic at all? Why/why not? I'm kind of like, "The USA is OK!" ;D I don't believe it's the best place on the planet, but I also don't believe it's the worst. It's…home. I don't like our government, but I think patriotism is less about loving your government and more about loving where you come from - the people, the cultures, etc.

25 - Have you ever had to wear a white lab coat before? Was this in school or for a job? Possibly during a high school chemistry lab, but I'm not sure.

26 - Would you ever want to do the same career(s) as your parents? No.

27 - Do you believe in aliens? Is there a reason why (or why not)? This is kind of where I'm at with the whole alien thing. Do I believe aliens exist? Yes. Do I think advanced civilizations are common? No. Do I think simple/microbial life is common? Much more common than advanced life, but as for how common, I don't know. Do I think the government is hiding aliens from us? No. Do I think aliens have visited us? No. Not unless you want to count the aforementioned microbes crash-landing on a meteorite or something. Well, what about all the UFOs? Idk what they are, but I don't think they're little green men (or women…or whatever).

28 - Which animated film would you most like to live in? Princess Mononoke is visually stunning, but probably not a realm in which I would actually wish to reside.

29 - When was the last time you got into an argument? Have you made up with that person yet? It's been a long time.

30 - What are you going to do now this survey is over? Finish up the last little bit of my salad and do some housecleaning.

[jfleamont]

20 QUESTIONS GAME

Thanks @practicecourts for the tag!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

13

2. What's your total AO3 words count?

15,980

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mainly HP.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Rain (179 kudos), Hand Cramps (87 kudos), Rules Don't Apply (86 kudos), Do You Want To Know A Secret (72 kudos) and I Saw Her Standing There (56 kudos). Hand Cramps and Rules Don't Apply are for another fandom, though (Julie And The Phantoms).

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

Always. Always. Who doesn't? They literally make me so happy, they're all so nice and kind!

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Definitely All My Friends Are Gonna Be Strangers, since it's set right after Halloween 1981 and it's from Remus' POV.

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

Either I've Just Seen A Face or I Saw Her Standing There. They're both get-together fics so I'm sure James and Lily were rather happy about that.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No, thankfully!

9. Do you write smut. If so what kind?

I don't, but I'd love to. I just don't feel confident enough at the moment so I suppose I'll wait until I have more fics under my belt.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

No, I even struggle writing outside of canon so crossovers are out of the questions (for me, at least).

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of and I'd be surprised if that happened. I'd be a bit flattered, though, not gonna lie (I absolutely don't condone it, of course).

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I've considered translating some of mine in Italian (my mother tongue). However, I physically cringe if I really think about it because I don't think I can write fiction in my mother tongue. It feels foreign to me (lol). It doesn't come naturally.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Nope. I'd love to, though!

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Honestly I have no idea, because I've been in so many fandoms in my 27 years of life but I guess Jily. It's weird to think about it because I've been a HP fan since I was a kid, and I had always been fascinated by the Marauders but for some reason I never thought about reading fics about them, and I've created stories in my mind set in the HP world but with different ships or OCs, and their dynamics were exactly like James and Lily's (enemies to lovers, soldiers in the war and so on). It's like my subconscious was trying to tell me something. I got into Jily fairly recently, in late 2021 and usually I hyperfixate on a fandom or ship for 5-6 months max, but i'ts been over two years and I'm still as obsessed with them if not more. Jily has been the ship I've been looking for my whole life.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

It's either my 7th year get-together canon fic I'm Looking Through You (I've posted the first of three snippets in August 2022 and I haven't worked on it since March) because it has angst and canon-typical violence and they're exhausting to write, and I have written maybe 3k but I expect it to be at least 12k and I've never written anything over 4k and I don't think I'm capable; that, or my Muggle AU All Things Must Pass, which is sad as fuck because James dies in it and I have only written two scenes and I wept like a baby (also, this is supposed to be a long one too, 10k at least, and I don't think my heart can take it right now).

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, I think. I love writing it so much, I'm usually very proud of it and I've gotten a few compliments about it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Literally everything else. I don't know how to write descriptions, they feel forced most of the time and the few times that I write something I like rest assured that it took me hours to make it work.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

That's technically my whole thing since I'm a native Italian speaker lol; I also speak French and Spanish and when they randomly appear in a fic, I can tell when they're written by someone who isn't fluent. I don't mind it though. I'd probably feel comfortable writing dialogue only in Italian, but I suppose I could try with the other two languages.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Either The Chronicles of Narnia in 2008 or something, or One Direction in 2011 (I hate myself for it now, because I don't like fics about real people).

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Ah, this is hard! Should I say Rain? I'm really proud of it because it was a real challenge, but I have a soft spot for my Blackevans friendship one-shot Do You Want To Know A Secret? and I've wanted to write a sequel to that for the longest time.

I'm tagging @kay-elle-cee, @nodirectionhome-ao3 @jamesunderwater @startanewdream @annasghosts and whoever wants to do it! I don't know if you've already been tagged and it's okay if you don't feel like doing :)

[shaych03]

Writer Asks

I was tagged by my old friend and Casey/Olivia shenanigans buddy, @dinovia-grant

1. How many works do you have on AO3? A big, fat goose egg, sadly. Somewhere, out there, I have an old site I haven't updated in years. And fic on other sites, but I never migrated them all to AO3. One day, maybe... My ancient website, broken graphics links and all, can be found here: http://xenafiction.net/shaylynnrose/playground.htm Other fics and such that I've written can be found on Passion and Perfection: http://www.ralst.com/

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? unless my comments count, zero.

3. What fandoms do you write for? When I do write, Xena/Gabrielle, Casey/Olivia, Sam/Janet, Janeway/Seven, Emily/JJ, BtVS: Willow/Tara, Willow/Kennedy, Buffy/Amy, Buffy/Faith, Faith/Cordelia, Kate/Elizabeth, Kerry/Kim, as well as my own original characters.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos? Never gotten any kudos, but I think I had the most engagement from Resurrection is for the Unbelievers, simply because I posted it in regular parts back in the LiveJournal days. I know i had a lot of good feedback on the various things I had written, but they were personal emails, which I cherish and look back upon with strong fondness. It makes me happy that something about my stories touched others.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I almost always responded to comments, good or bad, just because it meant something to me that my work had inspired someone to say something about it.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Possibly a Xena fic, one that was quite short, called Solitude. It was set during the Bitter Suite era, which overall, was quite angsty.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? There's an old movie, The Pirate Movie, that I latched onto as a kid, because of the song, "Happy Ending" and so...uh, I'm pretty sure everything I write has at least the glimmer of a happy ending, if not a total rainbows and puppy dogs ending...even if the characters had to slog through heck and squishy toast to get there.

8. Do you get hate on fic? Ages and ages ago, I got one of the most confusing emails I've ever seen. It was so badly written that I'd accuse it of being spewed out by an AI, except this was literally in the 90s, so I don't know if AI was a thing then...it might have been hate, or it might have been someone's drunken ramblings, I'm not terribly sure. I think the worst I've truly gotten was comments about how atrocious my grammar or editing was, and I don't consider that hate, just good criticism.

9. Do you write smut? Yes and No. Most of my published fanfic is fairly tame. Even my currently published original fiction is fairly tame...things I've been working on and dabbling with that are still unfinished and may or may not ever see the light? Definitely not tame.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Yes. Absolutely. Resurrection is for the Unbelievers is a mega crossover between Angel: The Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a Dracula movie, and eventually, Criminal Minds. This is probably my craziest in terms of seriously different fandoms.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Many moons ago, back before even LiveJournal was a thing, someone posted one of my Xena fics to their site without asking. I asked them to remove it, and after some discussion, they did. They'd credited me, but I hadn't given them permission to post it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Actually, yes. A long time ago, I had someone ask to translate a couple of my pieces and I said yes. I...really don't remember which ones, though. I've slept many, many times since then. I hope they're still out there, though.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Several times. I'm currently co-writing with a friend. Nothing to publish as yet, but it's a lovely way to get better at many things.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship? Of what I've written? I'd have to see Kate/Elizabeth simply because I invented it in terms of looking a two characters from different media and said, "They'd really make a great couple". Outside of that, I'd have to proffer the OG, Xena and Gabrielle...they're the ones who got me writing, who got me interacting with internet fandom as a whole, and made me a lot of friends...many of whom I still know, and one of which has been one of my closet friends since 1996.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but probably won’t? I have too many to name, but I'll through out the name of an unpublished piece called The Broken. It's a marvelous monstrosity that I worked on for over ten years with a friend...and we abandoned it because it had gotten too convoluted and silly and really, just completely lost its way. But I learned so, so much while writing it. I'll forever be grateful for its existence.

16. What are your writing strengths? Dialog, world building, emotive descriptions, romance, and I'd say I'm not too bad with action sequences if I put my mind to it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I'm too wordy and I suck at grammar. And I love adverbs and will die on the hill that they are a necessary part of dialog...but I do overuse them, especially when writing a first draft. I don't like doing a ton of research, either. I'd rather make it up unless I really need to know something. Good thing I generally write fantasy LOL.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I don't write well in any other languages...I've had 2 years of high school French, but that was over 30 years ago.

19. First fandom you wrote for? On the page, that people could read? Xena: Warrior Princess, but I was making up stories about Charlie's Angels and other TV shows I loved for years. In the sixth grade, a friend of mine and I had a Wonder Woman (TV series) fanclub where we all spun around and pretended to be amazons out to save the day...so what if it was me and two boys who were telling each other these stories. We were having fun and extending the mythos of a show we loved.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? Resurrection is for the Unbelievers is probably closest to my heart because of the work I put into it, but I love all my story children, even the ones whose existence has slipped to the back of my mind. They were all words that had to get out and show themselves off to the world.

(small disclaimer, all of the above was written while veeery tired, so if there are typos, I'm sorry.)

I tag whoever wants to have at this thing and have fun telling the world about your work. No specific callouts because frankly, I bet most of y'all have already answered this thing.

[stardustloki]

20 QUESTIONS FOR FIC WRITERS

many thanks @here-be-bec for the tag! I am responding instead of writing because procrastination is real atm!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

64. It almost doubled over febuwhump!

2. What is your total AO3 word count?

306,575 :D

3. What fandoms do you write for?

At the moment, my main fandoms are star wars, but I have written for the avengers, hdm and doctor who.

4. What are you top five fics by kudos?

The Monster Under the Bed (Marvel)

Another Chance (Marvel)

A Quiet Normal Life (Marvel)

Secrets Revealed (Clone Wars)

Flinching (Clone Wars)

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

I try my best to and usually manage it! I feel like people who've left a comment deserve to know how much I appreciate them. There are some that I haven't responded to, mostly because ADHD time-blindness is real.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

This is hard! Either 'I hate you' or 'A taste of freedom'.

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

This is harder. Maybe my first fic on ff.net 'Ancient Artifacts' or 'The Monster Under the Bed'? They were both longfic so I guess there was payoff at the end?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Sometimes! My favourite hate comments (made brief) are as follows:

I hate Thor, he's basically Hitler (okay, sure buddy????)

Your chapter title made me think that we were gonna get x snake from norse mythology (ah well, I apologise for the fact that there are multiple snakes in Norse myths. I imagined there were things you liked in the 50,000 words you read before this tho, right???)

Your writing is garbage because it's unfinished (this commenter had clearly never seen a one-shot in their life before!)

9. Do you write smut?

Uh. I hint at it and that is as far as I go.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I did in the past. When I was 15 I wrote an Avengers/Big Bang Theory crossover!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Only by websites pretending to be ao3 - at least as far as I am aware.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope, but I have done translations!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

I have, with @twainxavier! I am currently writing one with @here-be-bec! Collabing is really fun and tbh am always down for it!

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

This is hard. I occasionally like ships and then the interest fades. I am too aromantic tbh!

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Maybe A Quiet Normal Life. I require my marvel hyperfixation to return! Like, in my head it is just on hiatus, but I need to consider the fact I have not updated in a year :(

16. What's your writing strengths?

I like to think I am fairly good at pacing and consistent characterisation.

17. What's your writing weaknesses?

Probably writing things that don't devolve into angst. Things need to be painful for them to have meaning to me!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I enjoy it, I even invented a mando'a swearword! When it's a real language I am fairly obsessed with making sure the words are accurate though.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Doctor Who, when I was 6 years old!

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

In terms of enjoyment, it has to be the monster under the bed! In terms of the fic I'm most proud of at the moment. Hmmm, maybe 'you asked for this'?

I can be found as MagicalStardust on ao3!

Tagging @twainxavier @amberskyyking and @hidingaway1995 and seriously anyone else who wants to do it! Please imagine I tagged you (I'm just bad at remembering who I follow that writes fic!)

[jamiesugah]

Shipper Tag Game

I was tagged by @heyholmesletsgo.

1. What ship were you completely obsessed with when you were a teenager, but now you don't care about anymore? Ooh, easy one. Danny and Michelle from Guiding Light. Danny was in the mafia. Michelle killed his brother (when he assaulted her). Danny married her to keep her safe from the rest of his family. They were *chef's kiss*. Probably my first introduction to fandom. There were shipper vids, fics, fan edits. And I mean this was, like, 1998, so it's not like the internet was huge back then. And it's not so much that I don't care in that I haven't thought about them in years. I wonder if there are fics for them on AO3.

2. Which ship would you consider your first one? I'd say Han and Leia.

3. Your first fanfic was about which couple? Trip and T'Pol from Star Trek Enterprise. I do not acknowledge that final episode.

4. Do you remember the first couple you saw fanart of? That depends on how we're defining "fanart". Danny/Michelle had a lot of manips and screencap edits, but the first, like, original art I remember seeing was probably for Ron/Hermione.

5. Have you ever gotten into ship discourse? Dude, I ship Sterek AND Sheith, ship discourse just finds you. But actually the worst for me was when I was in the CSI: NY fandom. People legit hated me there. I got doxxed on LJ. That's one of the main reasons I'm a fairly passive consumer of fandom nowadays. I don't have the energy to deal with that shit.

6. Did you use to have any NOTP or have one currently? Oh I have SO MANY NOTPs. I have a lot of filtered tags on Tumblr. Some of them are ships that squick me out, some of them have annoying or abusive fandoms and that turned me off the ship, and some of them are just I don't like them and don't want to see them.

7. Who were the couple in the last fanfic you read? I was simultaneously reading a SeanWhite (Not Me) and a WangXian (The Untamed) fic.

8. Currently, do you have any OTPs? I mean... Yes?? Have you seen my blog?? SeanWhite and WangXian are the big ones right now but I have so many.

9. Is there any couple that, to this day, you are extremely mad about not getting together? Sterek (Stiles/Derek, Teen Wolf) and Sheith (Shiro/Keith, Voltron Legendary Defender). Those fuckers were married, I don't care what garbage "canon" says.

10. Is there any ship you used to dislike but now you think they are kind of interesting? Not a specific one, but I used to dislike slash on principle because slash shippers treated me like shit when I was in CSI: NY fandom, so I sort of thought they were all like that, and now all of my ships are queer so there you go.

11. Do you have any ship that, in the past, would've been considered normal but now you would be cancelled over? I mean, I think if Sterek and Sheith had been 20 years ago, no one would give a shit, but now the purity patrol polices everything. People are still calling us abusers for those, and those shows ended 6+ years ago.

12. What is your favorite crack ship? I don't really have one, honestly. I have a limited amount of mental energy to spend, so I'd rather focus on my OTPs.

13. What is the couple you read the most fanfics about? Total, ever? I think Merthur, followed by Sterek.

14. What do most of your ships usually have in common? Grumpy is in love with sunshine, sunshine & sunshine protector, usually some variation of that dynamic.

15. What you absolutely hate in a ship? Understanding that this is personal preference and I am not casting judgment on what anyone else ships: ships when there is, like, absolutely no evidence that the two people involved have any romantic feelings for each other. I railed against Leonard and Penny on TBBT for so many years because I'm pretty sure they got them together because they "made the most sense" but in actual canon they were horrible for each other. I have no idea WHY I was supposed to want them together.

I'm not going to tag anyone so if you want to do this, go nuts!

[bandage-hearted-butterfly]

30 Day Fictionkind Challenge

Day 10: Link to/tag your favorite fictionkin Tumblr.

Aside from my own? Unfortunately, I don't have one. I'm fairly new to the community on an overall level and haven't found many others.

Day 11: Have you ever met other fictionkin? In real life or online?

I have spoken well with at least one other person who openly experiences kin the way I do, but haven't had more interaction than that. I would love to meet someone who is fictionkin in real life, just to have that bonding moment.

I have, however, seen a few other blogs made by those who also kin this character. None appear to be active, and I'm not sure if I could even find them again at this rate, but I do strongly recall them for the impact they left on me. I was at least a little embarrassed by who I'd found myself feeling drawn towards, and seeing others interacting with that same draw made me feel at least a bit more at ease.

I would love to be able to meet more.

[schweiggiemydear]

Regarding the Super League - A Rant

Ok, since the League was more or less officially announced today, I want to talk about it. If you haven't heard about it, you can read the Sky Sports article explaining it here.

I want to add a disclaimer that since I am an Arsenal and Real Madrid fan, my views are biased since both teams have been selected for the league.

However, there are a few things I want to address as a general football fan that are not affected by my club loyalty. I'll include a section at the bottom of this post on my opinion on the new league just because. Editing to add another disclaimer that I do NOT support the Super League. I am just discussing the issues I have seen brought up about it.

Fan Response

A lot of football fans have taken to social media to voice their opposition to the league. Maybe I haven't looked hard enough, but I haven't actually seen any reason for this hatred towards the new league other than "It will ruin football" and "It's just another way for the clubs to make more money." Again, maybe I just haven't seen it, but these two "reasons" aren't really explained at all:

"It will ruin football": It's another competition that only the "elite" and "best" clubs of Europe will be a part of. This is basically the Champions and Europa leagues already. These two competitions will not be eliminated and you can still see underdogs play European football.

Is the concern here that this elevates top clubs at the expense of smaller clubs? (like Champions League already does?) Is the concern here that mechanisms for fair competition will be dropped for the sake of greed? (like Champions league already does?) (Like FIFA does every time they make a decision?) Is the concern here that it undermines the concept of competition and the idea that any team can win a trophy in Europe? This is the only valid criticism I can understand and support, but when was the last time a big club didn't win the Champions league? When was the last time a small club Leicester or Roma held the trophy? If you can count Olympique de Marseille as a "small club", then the answer is 1993.

"It's just another way for the clubs to make more money.": I hate to break it to you folks, but football is a business. (I have a lot of opinions on this - mainly regarding women's v. men's football and equal pay - but that is not the point of this post.) Clubs are always looking for ways to make more money and this pandemic has killed revenue for every club, even top league clubs, and they are looking for new and more steady sources of revenue.

Is the concern that without a ruling body like FIFA, the money for the competition will not be handled fairly? Is the concern that fans will have limited access to matches? If you take even a cursory glance at what FIFA/UEFA done regarding finance, transparency, match fixing, and fan access, you would know this isn't a valid criticism. Well, it is valid. But only if you also regularly call out FIFA, UEFA, Premier League/FA, Bundesliga, La Liga, League 1, Serie A, etc., for these same infractions. Which people don't.

Now if the criticisms were closer to "I think this brings unnecessary competition to top clubs already vying for European trophies", "This competition will make these clubs think they're better than everyone else", or "This puts a strain on players in these clubs who already play for club and country", I'd understand the concerns and would absolutely agree. But right now, the actual fan backlash seems more guided by a general misunderstanding on how football really works. Which leads to the next issue I want need to address.

FIFA/UEFA Response

Now here's where things get interesting because the backlash from FIFA and UEFA has been swift and aggressive to say the least. They are refusing to allow players who play in the Super League to be eligible for the 2022 World Cup and will likely impose fines or even ban clubs from the leagues that do participate. The Premier League/FA and the other major European leagues have issued a joint statement condemning the league. The statement mentions solidarity, a united front, fair competition, and sporting merit and claims that this new league is greedy and self-serving.

Ironic words come from institutions that are all well-known for their own corruption. Absolutely banger response from institutions that milk fans, players, and leagues every year. In fact, people on twitter made really great points and I'm going to provide the tweets here because they said it better than I could:

(including the last one because of Slavia Prague specifically)

We all know the main reason FIFA and UEFA are against the Super League is because they wouldn't get a cut of the revenue. I don't have any money to bet, but know that if I did, I would bet it all that if the Super League offered FIFA and UEFA each a significant cut of the continued revenue, they would get the green light immediately and that trophy would be physically bigger than the Champions League cup.

I just cannot get over the irony, hypocrisy, lack of awareness, and just BALLS of these organisations to make claims of greed and lack of fair play when they are guilty of these exact things. I think Toni Kroos said it best:

"European Super League? We are just puppets of FIFA and UEFA. If there was a players' union, we would not be playing the Nations League or Supercopa de Espana in Saudi Arabia." (Kroos in a podcast on 11/11/2020)

My Humble Opinion

Now here's what I think. And again, my teams would be involved in this Super League so I do have a stake in the game here.

Firstly, I absolutely agree the Super League is elitist in nature and affects the fair play nature of European football competitions and domestic leagues. No doubt that smaller clubs would be financially hurt by this new league and it puts these "top teams" on a pedestal, especially when the last thing they need is an even more inflated ego (Arsenal included). Every club has been hurt by this pandemic and needs funds. Every club has been hurt by FIFA's practices and there's a good chance this will really mess with smaller teams' chances of earning revenue themselves.

Second, FIFA and UEFA can go fuck themselves.

Third, FIFA plans to ban players and clubs who participate in this Super League and to that I say good fucking luck with that because those clubs are your biggest earners. Absolutely no hate or shade to the Bundesliga or League 1, but they just don't bring in the same revenue as Barca, Real Madrid, or Premier League teams. Bayern Munich did recently overtake Man United as the 3rd richest club in Europe, but they are still vastly out-earned by RM and Barca. PSG is #7 (after 3 english teams) and Juventus is #10 (after 5 english teams) (source). The revenue FIFA and UEFA would lose from banning Super League teams would be astronomical. Not just in the domestic leagues themselves, but the Champions League, Europa League, and the World Cup. I mean, what's a World Cup without Messi? (personally, I'm okay with that but you get my point)

Fourth, and hear me out, I genuinely believe that the Super League is a good TEMPORARY idea. The Super League should be used as an experiment to see how competitions would function outside the influence of FIFA and other regulatory agencies. This would be a League run by clubs and players and is a better representation on how football SHOULD be organised. If these clubs take a stand against FIFA, maybe, just maybe, we can get rid of some of the corruption inherent in football. Don't get me wrong, the Super League is definitely meant to be revenue generating for sure. But it's also a middle finger to FIFA and, if its done well, the rest of Europe might take a harder look at how much they don't actually need FIFA. Do I think this is the right way of doing it? No. But has it clearly stirred things up and now people are talking about the issues? Yes.

Lastly, I want to talk about Kroos' comment above. A players union is a brilliant idea and I think the European Super League is actually a great way for players to argue for it. They can use the leverage of the new league to bargain for better rights and a union that actually tells FIFA to go fuck itself when it decides things like revenue gouging Brazil in 2014 or a Qatar World Cup. Or the many hundred other shitty things FIFA has done. For a full list, please see John Oliver's amazing coverage of FIFA in his series "Last Week Tonight" (found on YouTube or HBOMax).

If you made it to the bottom of this post/rant, thank you! Let me know what you think about this Super League and what would you do if you were one of the teams involved?

[deathbydarkelves]

I decided to make playlists for Cathala and Tarinne plus explanations for why I chose each song because I entered one of those ADHD fugue states and if I didn't finish this task I would die

Anyway here are the two links (they're youtube playlists because I don't have spotify. I would obviously recommend using an adblocker if you're just gonna watch on youtube) and the explanations for each song are below the cut :) Each playlist is about an hour long.

For Tarinne’s:

1. Foggy Nights: I consider this her theme so putting it first as a sort of intro only makes sense.

2. Here’s a Health to the Company: I think this works as an example of her general disposition. She’s a people person, and always a fan of singing these sorts of songs in taverns, on ships, or what have you. It also kind of feels like a sendoff to soldiers, which I imagine symbolizes her joining the Sentinel Army and quickly thereafter fighting in the Third War.

3. Wartime Prayers: Somewhat self-explanatory, this is symbolizing her seeing war for the first time, but I also included it because the last line transitions SO WELL into the next song.

4. The Hollow: This song is an intro to an album I've never heard so I don't know the context, but I really love it because it sounds like someone praying to their deity and like I mean c'mon. Elune. Tarinne's praying to Elune to guide her through the war. Do I need to elabo-

5. Wave Walker: KILL DEATH MAIM AHAHAHAHA

6. Isil Elun’falo: Just a super rad fan-made night elf song that's basically "wow we sure do love Elune" said in twenty different ways for four and a half minutes. But it ROCKS and I LOVE it.

7. Chewing Cotton Wool: This song is about losing a loved one (I did have to check but yeah that's what it is) and I use it to symbolize Tarinne losing her mom during the war. The last line, which includes the song's title, I especially like. It's referring to how morticians (apparently) put cotton gauze in a corpse's throat and mouth to keep body fluids in and make the face look more natural. So there's a fun fact for you.

8. See U Soon (Song for Dad): Just a short lofi piece to rest a bit, and it was also chosen because the title's in reference to Tarinne growing closer to her dad after losing her mom. She still visits him at his leathers and furs shop in Stormwind fairly often, especially after dangerous adventures. She just wants to make sure he knows she's alright ;-;

9. No Lullaby: Right back into it with a song that I use to represent Tarinne's general feeling of not being able to go home because it's not there anymore. She's felt like this since the end of the Third War, but it's especially strong since the whole Teldrassil thing. But I like the ending, "who said you're on your own," because it contrasts the repeating of "alone" in the rest of the song. And it's kinda like "hey, listen, you're not the only one who feels like she can't go home." I mean that's probably how basically every single night elf feels right now skxnks

10. The Moss: This song juxtaposes classic fairy tales with scientific facts about the world and I love it to BITS. I'm using it here to represent both Tarinne's love for storytelling but also her sort of... part-time historian/archaeologist/conservator career.

11. Rasputin: I just associate this song with her for some reason and this was the best place to put it.

12. Electric Feel: Moving on to focus more on Tarinne's relationship with Cathala now. This is an extremely great and somewhat 😏 song that I also included because the electricity theme is appropriate because Cathala has lightning powers and y'know it's from Tarinne's perspective or whatever.

13. Bedroom Hymns: You know why this is here.

14. Movement: I can't talk about love songs without talking about Hozier, okay. This is just a nice, slower song to relax a bit with.

15. Never Let Me Go: I have an entire goddamn music video in my head with Cathala and Tarinne for this song and it’s very dramatic and emotional and I had to include this song or I’d die. Basically just listen to near the end of this song when she's repeating the title over and over, and imagine the two of them seeing each other at opposite ends of a battlefield after the dust settles and they rush towards each other and fall to their knees holding on as tightly as they can because they got separated early on and each thought the other was dead. Then you'll know how I feel when I listen to this song.

16. Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control: First of all I love the title, and second of all there's a big section in the middle (1:49 to 2:47) that I like to interpret as the two of them grappling with the fact that they're not really quite sure who or what they're fighting for anymore. Their people, yeah, but there's so many alliances and semi-permanent enemies and only-on-every-other-thursday-enemies all intertwined and the world is just so very confusing and they're trying to make the best of it. Elf school didn’t include international, interracial politics in its curriculum. It did however include how to properly plant trees, and AP calculus (this is a joke).

17. In Dreams: I like to imagine this song is something the two of them would say to each other, as a way of saying “even when everything we know is gone, even when the world ends, I will still be by your side. And if I’m not, don’t fear, for I will find you.” It makes a nice note to end on :)

For Cathala’s:

1. muse: Just a nice lofi intro to get us into things :) I don't see this song as her theme, like I do with Tarinne and the first song in her playlist, but I like it quite a bit. I don't actually really have a theme for Cathala yet, I'm currently going with a version of Way of the Monk from WoW's OST but I'm still looking for something better.

2. Frogs Singing: I included this because it's about just appreciating nature, which works because night elf and also mindfulness and meditation is a whole thing.

3. Tongues: This is a song about feeling distant from your peers which is like Cathala's whole existence! She's this weird mix of two cultures and ultimately she feels out of place regardless of where she is or who she's with. Also the theme with not understanding what people are saying works because the poor woman had to learn Pandaren from scratch and that shit ain't easy. I think blizz said somewhere probably that Common is just a language that EVERYONE knows inherently because Video Game but that's bullshit in my opinion. I'll allow spells that let you understand foreign languages to an extent (Comprehend Languages from D&D lets you understand the LITERAL meaning only, which I like), but every culture and species in the universe knowing Common is silly if you think about it for more than two seconds.

4. Kung Fu Fighting: I'm legally required to include this song. Also I prefer the Kung Fu Panda version, I'm sorry.

5. Harder Better Faster Stronger: I vicariously experience having a great work ethic through Cathala and that's why this song is here because she has 999 Determination and does Too Many push-ups every day or something idk. I was gonna say "every morning" but I have a headcanon that elves only need to sleep every couple of days (sort of a nod to "elves don't need to sleep at all" from D&D, and to explain why NIGHT elves are active at all hours of the day) so that doesn't work.

6. What's Up Danger: This song is Cathala's whole Vibe. Almost zero threat assessment skills in this woman's brain. If it can be punched, she will punch it.

7. Eye for an Eye: Fairly self-explanatory, it's a song about wanting revenge so... yeah. Checked that box. It was this or The Vengeful One by Disturbed but ultimately The Vengeful One's religious symbolism probably makes it fit better as a Tyrande theme lol ("I'm the hand of god, I'm the dark messiah." Did you mean: the Night Warrior)

8. Survivor: Cathala's survived a lot of shit and this could kinda be her making fun of herself for it because "Gods, man! Don't I deserve a break!"

9. Ashes: Really the reason I include this song is the last chunk (2:42 to the end) because holy shit. Listen, if I was gonna include a song with fire motifs, it was gonna be a somber one like this.

10. Into the West: This can kinda represent Cathala just trying to fucking breathe and recover from Teldrassil. Also works because I dunno it has stuff to do with the elves in LotR, I haven't seen those movies in a while. It sounds nice and is melancholy so I included it.

11. Like Real People Do: Cathala loves Tarinne a lot you guys have I ever menti-

12. Into the Wild: Tarinne changed Cathala's world for the better and she's super fucking grateful she has her by her side. Kinda goes without saying but you know.

13. Chasing the Moon: I have a vague music video in my head for this of them falling in love and it's very cute so there's that. Also it's in this specific spot because hey she may be deeply traumatized but she's still got a fair number of things/people in her life that make her happy so :)

14. Follow My Girl: I've got a theme going in my head that while Tarinne is fairly certain of her place in the world, Cathala is still trying to find hers. She outlived all her connections on Pandaria because Elf Lifespans(tm) and the only members of her family still alive are distant relatives she never knew very well.

15. Wish That You Were Here: This works both to represent Cathala on Pandaria feeling super homesick, and for more recently after Teldrassil. Either way, it's a message to her parents and sister.

16. Mr. Fear: She does her damnedest to hide it but she's absolutely terrified something like Teldrassil's gonna happen again! That fear drives her to do everything in her power to protect who and what she can. As long as they're not Forsaken, cause she's still got her biases, that compassion even extends across faction lines. She never really got the whole Alliance/Horde thing anyway. Innocent people shouldn't have to die, regardless of who or what they are.

17. Ordinary Day: Not to get super out there but I think this song works as symbolizing Cathala really trying to hold on to her faith in Elune, but ultimately feeling pretty abandoned. I mean she can clearly see Elune's influence everywhere. But Elune sure ain't doing Cathala any favors as far as she can tell! It also ends the whole playlist on maybe a bit of an uncertain/open-ended note, because this "losing faith" aspect is a new thing with her and will definitely be something she continues to struggle with for a while. On a related note, I should say Tarinne is still very much devout but she gets what Cathala's feeling and doesn't force anything on her, and vice versa. And Cathala wouldn't become atheist, the night elves aren't monotheistic and she still worships all the other deities, it's just specifically Elune she's a little :/ on.