#i'm sure i had more but this was the summer of 2016 and a lot has happened since then

[ominous-feychild]

✦ Writer Questionnaire 2 ✦

Thanks for the tag, @the-golden-comet! (And @the-letterbox-archives tagging me when I was almost done here, haha)

Heads-up! Long post!

How long have you had your writing Tumblr/Writeblr? A fast and loose estimate is fine!

Two months ago to the date actually??? Or, at least, that's when I first uploaded a story here. My first actual Writeblr post was me hopping in on an open tag on the 6th of June, haha. I thought it was just a month, but looks like the summer's gone by in a flash! 😭

What led you to create it?

So, I'm a writer on Tapas! I'd been attempting to social network on other social medias (twitter and bluesky) but wasn't getting anywhere, didn't like the general formats, and uh... I'm sure I don't have to explain why I don't want to touch Twitter with a 10-foot-pole anymore. Let's just say, if you haven't seen, it's just as bad as (if not worse than) everyone says. Anyhow, I'd seen lots of Tumblr short stories on other platforms and started investigating what it's like here. Didn't know what "Writeblr" was or that it even existed, but eventually stumbled into the field after posting my short story. Thanks, @darkandstormydolls! ❤️

What’s your favorite thing about the Writeblr community?

How supportive everyone is??? Like omg you guys are so sweet, idk how to take it. Also I love seeing how much passion everyone else has for their writing, haha.

What’s one thing you’d like your mutuals to know about you?

Uhhhh, I think I'm pretty open about the things I'd like people to know about me, haha. I never mean to offend, so if I accidentally say something wrong, please tell me! I'm autistic and very dumb.

Is there anything you’d like to see more of on your dash?

I'm ngl I keep meaning to build out my followed tags for my fandoms, haha. The only fandoms I really see things for are TMAGP (10/10, TMA is my obsession. I am obsessed. It is one of my Special Interests and I love it with all my heart) and House of the Dragon??? Except I'm not even a fan of HotD??? So that's kinda annoying, haha. (Aka, my fandom stuff, but that's on me.)

WIP it Good

Which Works-in-Progress (WIPs) or writing projects are you noodling about, lately?

Rising From the Ashes, tragically. (Because it's one of the LAST things I should be working on right now, haha.) Otherwise, I'm of course always obsessed with the Arcane Rifts. Then I force myself to be obsessed with Sun and Shadow, though it's slowly growing on me, haha.

How long have you been working on them?

Haha, so I've historically jumped around a lot in working on different things, so these are approximate guesstimations!

Rising From the Ashes has likely had 3 or 4 years put into it/the characters. If you include the Calamity Crew (which overlaps with it in the timeline and originally ended up merging with the cast of RFtA), I'd say definitely 4 years!

The Arcane Rifts has had 5 years put into it.

Sun and Shadow is very new; I'd say it probably only has about 4 months of work in it? It's part of why I'm less interested in it, haha. Less I've put into it and less I'm attached to.

Do you remember what inspired them/what got you started?

Oh... oh dear. How could you ask me this??? 😭😭😭

Rising From the Ashes has existed since, I think, 2016. It started (tragically) as an RP starter on Google+. I wish I was kidding.

To those unaware of how it worked in that space (and likely similar ones to this day), you'd post a starter and people would join in with their own characters. 99% of the time, they'd drop out before long. However, I'd work out details of the characters in the process and carry that info over into the worldbuilding. I eventually stopped RPing with the masses and settled down with a single "partner" who I'll call Kris.

She's the one who stole my docs.

The Arcane Rifts technically originated as another RP starter? It never got attention, though, and instead my ideas for it simply carried over into the worldbuilding in general.

One of the characters of the original starter was important in the worldbuilding. It was not a character you see in the early books of tAR, though, so don't bother trying to figure it out. But, since he was so important, his origins were also important.

The Arcane Rifts started in 2019, as I wanted to make a story building out said character's origins. It was originally going to be a duology, the first book being Gene's backstory and the second being how Gene and The Other Guy's lives intertwined. (No, they were not gay for each other! 😂) It's since changed a lot, and focuses basically exclusively on Gene, haha. The last book in the series will probably be focused on the other character, though!

Sun and Shadow started for a romance novel competition on Tapas which has since ended. I didn't get to finish it in time for a lot of reasons, but I primarily cite stress and exhaustion from working full time at a physically-intensive job. It grew shockingly quickly and I had some fans donate to me related to it, so I'm kinda forced to work on it, haha. Dw--I like it! It's just harder to work on for a number of reasons, haha.

How much time, in your best estimation, do you spend thinking about them?

Tragic, the questions you're asking me--

It depends, haha. I'm autistic and hyperfixate a lot. Also, for one, that's a suuuuuper vague question??? Like what do you mean "how much time"--how much time within the day? How often in general? Idk, man, haha.

I think about the Arcane Rifts a LOT!

I've put an incredible amount of time and effort into it, and I'm in love with 90% of the characters there. Even the background characters have had a lot of work put into them, getting relatively fleshed-out backstories to make their motives understandable (even if not agreeable!), and I love them all so much, haha.

Except Katerina. She's a bitch.

I also think about Rising From the Ashes a good amount, and it's invaded my brain again lately, haha.

I took a step away from RFtA and basically all of my other stories late 2021 when Kris (my ex-writing partner) and I had a falling out. It was incredibly difficult for me emotionally to look at anything I worked with her on, and obviously RFtA was a huge one (actually, tAR was the only thing of my early works she had nothing to do with). Since early this year, I've finally been able to work on it again and it's been incredibly fun removing her stuff, actually!

I think all that is a good part of why I keep randomly getting obsessed with it again, haha. It's like looking at old friends (the characters, not Kris) and being all "omg??? I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU IN FOREVER??? PLEASE TELL ME EVERYTHING YOU'VE BEEN UP TO!!!" except it's removing Kris's stuff, haha.

I think about Sun and Shadow a lot more than you might expect with how much I talk about not preferring it, haha. I love the characters! Crow and, actually, Valyarus especially. They're both super interesting characters, and I'll randomly find my brain working out scenes between characters interacting with them.

(The problem with SaS is that, as a book, it's incredibly different from my usual works. It's a small cast of Frey/Crow and technically Daleira, while most of my stories focus on larger casts. It makes for a VERY different experience, and so it's a lot harder to work on)

When someone asks the dreaded, “What do you write about,” question, what do you usually say?

Actually, I've got a ready answer for this one! Until SaS, I was dedicating my time to the Arcane Rifts and had prepared the answer:

Percy Jackson meets Lord of the Rings in a steampunk fantasy world full of ✨mysteries waiting to be uncovered✨

(I'd say the "mysteries waiting to be uncovered" part ironically/accidentally mockingly most of the time, whoops, haha. I always feel awkward advertising my works.)

It was awkward when people would get actually interested in it from there and ask more questions, haha.

To clarify: that's my tagline for the Arcane Rifts! The story has gods and demigods messing with mortals, using them as their playthings and being REALLY immature babies because they don't really face consequences for their actions like PJ. Then, it's a lot more "grounded yet fantastical" like LotR, where magic is kinda infused with reality and yet you still have issues like starving to death and whatnot.

Let’s Rotate Blorbos

Name any characters you created.  Side characters, protagonists, antagonists, characters who’ve never been written, the first original abomination you ever pulled from your ass; whomever you’d like!

UHHHH THERE'S A LOT TO LIST???

Try this for a taste! These are just the guys I've gotten colors for!

Freya, Crow, Daleira, Valyarus, Grimnir, Soren, Gene, Tazin, Mislav, Adilzhan, Ludmila, Rada, Caspar, Nikolai, Gennadi, Oska, Rieka, Liesel, Carmin, Nora, Sammy, Kieva, Caron, Varik, Elazi, Riaan, Roman, and Tiberius! (Though Tib is getting a name change sooner or later)

Who’s the most unhinged?

Unhinged in which way? There's a lot of options there, haha.

I'm going to give honorary mentions to Valyarus, Gene in the later books, Tazin, Rieka, Gennadi, and Tiberius ! (Why does it not surprise me that most unhinged characters are from tAR? 🤣 Also I swear it's a coincidence most of the unhinged characters are red.)

(... Probably.)

In general, I'd say that, incredibly ironically, the Existence of Order is the most unhinged of all my characters. She's just incredible at hiding it.

(Tbf half of the Existentials probably belong on the "unhinged" list anyway but eh. They still don't compare to Order!)

Who comes the most naturally for you to write?

I'm going to give this as a tie between Gene and Sammy!

Gene has my 'tisms and just about all of my trauma, so we have a lot in common, whoops, haha. Also there's a... very specific detail about his character that makes him easier to write in general. It's just a major spoiler. 👀

Similarly and actually identically to Gene in some ways, while Sammy has a lot in common with me, he's also incredibly perceptive! (Although we don't share that fact.)

Due to the way I write, their analytical natures allow for them to spit straight facts about the worldbuilding and the people around them rather than beating around the bush, haha. Both are highly investigative, try to learn and understand everything around them, and notice small details other characters wouldn't! It makes it much easier for me to write, because uh... well here's an example of what my outlines look like.

Long story short: I include a lot of detail which I then transfer into the POV's character narration, cutting out details which they wouldn't notice or think about, haha. In Sammy's case (which that scene has Sammy as the narrator/POV character), very little information gets cut out because he's so perceptive!

(Here, as a treat--have another example!)

(In this scene, Nikolai is the narrator. Even the outline gets "filtered" to mirror the characters' way of thinking--like it's Nikolai himself seeing Caspar as "doll-like". The crossed-out stuff is details I most likely won't mention, but noted for myself, haha. I do the same thing if/when including details about the motives and thoughts of non-narrator characters.)

Do you ever cringe at them?

Gene and Sammy?

A B S O L U T E L Y .

Gene is a wreck in basically every way and desperately needs help (that he won't get until he meets Dimitry). As much as I love him, there's a lot of moments where you just can't help but wince and be all "shit, did you REALLY have to do/say that?"

Sammy on the other hand? He's a terrified, control freak manipulator who panics the moment he feels like he's losing control of a situation. It can be painful to watch, even if simultaneously fascinating.

How much control do you feel you have over your characters?  AKA, do they ever “write themselves,” refuse to cooperate, or do things you didn’t expect? To what degree? Are some less cooperative than others?

I explicitly go out of my way to add backstory to and develop each and every one of my characters until they "write themselves", haha.

I want my characters to feel like real people, so I do my absolute best to make them as real as possible. (That's part of why tAR is so massive...)

Special shoutout to Dimitry here, btw. Dude COMPLETELY screwed over the planned and intended from the earliest days path of the Arcane Rifts. I've mentioned before that Gene is villain-coded, yeah? Want to know why?

Because he was MEANT to be one! Then Dimitry had to come along, be the sweetest, nicest fucking person around to Gene while he was going through the worst part of his life, and keep Gene from slipping off the deep end!

MITRY, YOU PIECE OF--

Do you enjoy people asking questions about your characters? And do you have a preferred means of receiving said questions? For example, as Asks, as replies, as reblogs, as tag notes, as comments on AO3, etc.

I absolutely love, love, love!!! people asking questions about my characters!!! 🥰

I would absolutely prefer them as Asks sent to me, and especially would prefer if separate subjects/questions were sent in separate Asks! Like, say you were going to ask me about Gene and Dimitry. I'd rather two separate Asks, one asking for whatever you wanted to know about Gene and another for whatever you wanted to know about Dimitry, haha. However, if you wanted to ask a single question about both, that obviously is fine as a single Ask!

On writeblr engagement

What makes you want to follow another Writeblr account? Do you follow ‘em as you see ‘em, or take time scoping out the blog to make sure you align with its content? Do you follow based on WIPs, or vibes?

I definitely scope out before I follow, yes.

I choose based primarily on the personality of the person behind the blog, but the WIPs/vibes can also have an influence on my decision, haha. I'd rather follow people with kind/supportive personalities, and I'll eventually start liking their stories even if they're not initially my thing!

What makes you decide against following?

Bigotry. Moment I see it, I'm on the lookout for even the slightest hint of more and, if I see it, I'm OUT!

(That includes things like: homophobia, transphobia, TERFs, ableism, racism, xenophobia, etc.)

Also, while I include angst in my stories, the people who are big on "I have nothing but bad stuff in my writing and I'm proud" are, uh... not on my "follow" list. While they can write what they want and enjoy it, grimdark is not my thing. Angst is best in moderation and I very purposely control the amount of it in my life.

(Also Kris's--my ex writing partner's--obsession with "grimdark-ness" is a good part of why I'm so ecstatic to remove her stuff from my writing. Yes, I've tried it. For years. I hated it. Please and thank you. Also note that I proudly call myself an evil writer, so it's not like I don't love angst, it's just--moderation. Seriously.)

Do you interact with non-mutuals often?

Yes! I think a good 50-30% of my interactions are with non-moots, haha. I go out of my way to try to support my moots, but I'll definitely share support with anything that catches my attention, no matter who it's from!

To be fair, though, I think a majority of non-moots I interact with are on my mental "probably going to follow soon" list. I can be slow to make decisions, haha. It doesn't help that I try being active with my moots, so I'm trying to avoid growing that list too quickly!

Do your mutuals’ characters occupy space in your noodle?

Haha, depends what you mean by that? My brain is definitely too full of my own characters to have any space for anyone else's, but I definitely do think of others' characters at times! There's plenty of y'alls characters I really like, haha.

Just... omg, my hyperfixated AuDHD brain refuses to focus on anything except for the Hyperfixation of the Moment™.

This was a huge one! Hopefully I'm not screaming into the void with this one, or you guys enjoy finding out more about me and my WIPs.

If you're curious about the reason this is labeled Writer Questionnaire 2... well guess what!

Tagging (gently! This is a lot, haha): @honeybewrites @yourpenpaldee @paeliae-occasionally @mysticstarlightduck @illarian-rambling @.darkandstormydolls (tagged you earlier in the post haha) + open tags!

Divider from @cafekitsune!

[quakinqueer]

Hey so I've had this in my drafts for well over a month, then that recent smosh mouth came out, rendering this near useless, but I'm still gonna post it cause why not.

Beginner's Guide to Smosh Seasonal Games

(For newer fans, even though no one asked. And yes I'm manifesting summer/winter games 2024, look away.) Mostly sourced from the Smosh Wiki.

1- Smosh Summer Games! (2015)

1st trailer aired: June 27, 2015 ~ Finale: July 31, 2015 This was the OG that started it all! No theme, unless you count it being entirely held at a beach house. Very classic smosh vibes, inappropriate jokes, and queerbaiting galore, with 12 episodes total across Pit (2nd channel at the time) and Games. (tbh I haven't seen this one). This was held shortly after the 'main squad' was cast (Keith, N*ah, Olivia, and Courtney), and was Shayne's official introduction to the channel! Teams/Cast: Bananarama: Anthony (Captain), Lasercorn (David Moss), Courtney, N*ah, Mari Takahashi, Jovenshire (Joshua Evan Ovenshire). Jiggle Physics: Ian (Captain), W*s J*hns*n, Sohinki (Matt Sohinki), Flitz (Amra Ricketts). Keith, Olivia. Refs/Hosts: Shayne, Joe Beretta Winners: Bananarama Special Awards: MVP - N*ah, LVP - Lasercorn, Biggest Fail - Olivia.

2- Smosh Winter Games! (2016)

1st trailer aired: Jan 30, 2016 ~ Final Ep: Feb 29, 2016 The first Winter Games! Similar classic vibes to the first, except by this time the 'main squad' was much more settled in and comfortable with each other, and the overall cast. Strangely, Ian and Anthony didn't actually participate in the games, but commentated (not sure why). Combo of actual competition eps and also videos for other shows aka specials (s-s-s-sleepover, put it in my mouth) that were winter games themed. 23 videos total across 2nd Channel (Pit) and Games. Teams/Cast: Snow Fleeks: Anthony (captain), Mari, W*s, Sohinki, Keith, Olivia, refs. Blue Balls: Ian (captain), Lasercorn, Shayne, Courtney, Flitz, N*ah, Jovenshire. Refs/Hosts: M*tt R**b, Joe Beretta, Sunny Peabody. Winners: Blue Balls Special Awards: MVP- Olivia, LVP- Joven, Epic Moment- Lasercorn, Biggest Fail- W*s. (Lasercorn got Epic Moment for dropping an actual fire rap during the *wrap* battle)

3- Smosh Summer Games: Camp (2016)

1st trailer aired: June 25, 2016 ~ Final Ep: July 30, 2016 The first one to have a theme, extremely iconic, the vibes were starting to peak around this time with the main squad being almost fully settled in by this point. For those of you who do not know, back in the day Smosh had separate casts for main/pit and for games, and the seasonal games were one of the only series where they would consistently appear together, and were originally intended to be a bonding activity. This one was the first to really let those dynamics *shine*, and really have them interact in memorable ways. Also best challenges up until this point cause of the theme. 13 specials and 9 competition episodes across games and 2nd channel, this time accompanied by a few vlogs on Courtney's personal channel. Teams/Cast: Kumbayaaas: Anthony (captain), Jovenshire, N*ah, Olivia, W*s, Courtney, Sohinki Harshmallows: Ian (captain), Mari, Keith, Shayne, Lasercorn, Flitz, refs Refs/Camp Counselors: M*tt R**b, Joe Beretta, Sunny Peabody. Winners: Harshmallows Special Awards: MVP- Olivia, LVP- Sohinki, Epic moment- Ian, Biggest Fail- W*s (Sohinki had to leave early due to sickness and so automatically got LVP)

4- Smosh Winter Games: Again! (2017)

1st trailer aired: Jan 31, 2017 - Final Ep: Feb 28, 2017 Longest seasonal games by far, lot of iconic moments and fun specials, featured CFM's 2nd ever appearance, and was also Boze's debut as a games member! Not much else to say about this one, it's a blast with a lot of classic moments. Oh, and it was the last seasonal games to feature both Ian and Anthony as team captains :,). 19 specials (Game Bang, Board af, hot tub truth or dare, etc.) and 8 competition episodes across pit and games. Teams/Cast: Spaghetti Yetis: Anthony (captain), Boze, Sohinki, Lasercorn, Olivia, Flitz, Shayne Dablizzards: Ian (captain), Keith, W*s, Mari, N*ah, Courtney, Jovenshire Refs/Hosts: M*tt R**b, Joe Beretta, Sunny Peabody, Sarah Whittle, Tanner Risner. Winners: Spaghetti Yetis Special Awards: MVP - Anthony, LVP - Jovenshire, Epic Moment - Shayne, Biggest Fail - Boze

5- Smosh Summer Games: Wild West! (2017)

Trailer aired: June 26, 2017 - Final ep: July 31, 2017 WWIIIILLLLDDDD HWEST! Let me tell yall this one is ICONIC, for so many reasons, in so many ways. Filmed on an awesome location (a ranch in Nevada), great teams, the production quality was top-notch, and let's not forget the infamous bar-brawl fight choreography of the trailer. So many iconic moments its astounding. Damien's first seasonal games, and also the first to neither feature Anthony nor have team captains (instead of picking teams dodgeball style like they had done previously, this time the teams were picked via a lottery). 15 specials (maricraft, board af, etc.), and 8 competition episodes across pit and games. Fun fact, this season was filmed a week before the "Anthony is leaving smosh" video was released. Teams/Cast: Randy Bandits: Lasercorn, N*ah, Olivia, Damien, Mari, Ian, Flitz Cowbaes: Jovenshire, Courtney, Shayne, Keith, W*s, Sohinki, Boze Refs/Sheriffs: M*tt R**b, Joe Beretta, Sunny Peabody Winners: Randy Bandits Special Awards: MVP - Flitz, LVP - W*s, Epic Moment - Shayne, Biggest Fail - Jovenshire Shayne told his Epic Moment story on the pod, but incase you missed it: during a hangman competition he managed to guess a 2-word answer, with no letters on the board, on his first try. The answer was Wyatt Earp. Some out of context references: "MUNGE", "My name is Calamity Janet, and I am crazy.", "Sorry"×20, *wide shot of damien holding up his fist for like 3 minutes*, *Mama bird*, *shot in the chest* "Where's Anthony?"

6- Smosh Summer Games: We Blew It! (2018)

Trailer aired: August 17, 2018 - Final ep: August 24, 2018 Folks, what can I say, they blew it. They had 10 dollars and a dream for this one, and they tried their best, but it is admittedly still the weakest of the Summer Games. Between airing later than any other, taking place within only a week as opposed to a month, having the least amount of competitions (5) and the least amount of specials (1 Smosh and Order), this one really is a last-ditch effort sort of ordeal. But make no mistake, it's no one's fault but Defy Fuckhead Media Inc.; in case you missed the Smosh mouth ep, the story goes that Defy simply didn't want summer games to happen that year, and gave M*tt R**b an eighth of the usual budget. Despite all this, I'm sure if you go back and watch it, the videos are actually really enjoyable with some fun goofs and special moments. The first games to not feature Sohinki or Flitz, and this time there were team captains, chosen according to the personal awards given the prior year. Teams/Cast: Inflatabulls: Jovenshire (Captain, previous winner of Biggest Fail), Mari, Damien, Courtney, Keith, Boze Balloonatics: Shayne (Captain, previous winner of Most Epic Moment), Lasercorn, N*ah, Ian, W*s, Olivia Refs: M*tt R**b, Sarah Whittle Guest Refs/Guest Judges:  Garrett Palm, Joe Bereta, Spencer Agnew, Tanner Risner and Tim Baker Winners: Balloonatics Special Awards: MVP - Mari, LVP - Damien, Epic Moment/Biggest Win - Lasercorn, Biggest Fail - W*s

7- Smosh Summer Games: Apocalypse! (2019)

Trailer aired: July 15, 2019 - Final ep: August 16, 2019 APPOOOCALYPSSE!! This one ROCKS! Not quite as iconic as Wild West, but it's honestly up there in my opinion. The first and only summer games post-mythical, and a return to normalcy from We Blew It in terms of length, airing schedule, etc., probably because they'd managed to find a sponsor to help with the budget. This one had some greeaat specials, including Spelling Bee-kini Wax, Maricraft, Try Not To Laugh: Gauntlet (so many iconic bits from these tntls, and if I'm not mistaken one of Tommy's earliest appearances), and a lot of Smoshcast. Fun fact, Sohinki was actually invited to participate but was in Italy at the time, so Kimmy was cast as a guest participant instead to even out the teams. The first to have no team selection process or opening ceremony, instead the teams were pre-picked at random and revealed during the trailer. 18 specials and 8 competition episodes across Pit, Games, and Smoshcast. Teams/Cast: ToxiciTea: Jovenshire, Ian, Olivia, Mari, Shayne, W*s Mushroom Clout: N*ah, Lasercorn, Damien, Keith, Courtney, Kimmy Refs: M*tt R**b, Sarah Whittle Guest Refs/Guest Judges:  Joe Bereta Winners: ToxiciTea Special Awards: MVP - Joven, LVP - Shayne, Epic Win/Moment - Courtney, Epic Fail - Ian Fun little end note, Lasercorn, up until this point, had never lost a single season, and had been described for a while as having a 'Winning Streak'. That became a big running gag this season in particular, with Lasercorn describing his team as being 'Blessed by the power of the streak', while ToxiciTea claimed that was the year the streak would be broken. In the end, it was. On Twitter and other socials, the hashtags "#Breakthestreak" and "#Thestreakisreal" were used by the fandom to support either team. Overall super fun season with a lot of fandom involvement.

This took me way too long. Enjoy!

[likeadevils]

I've seen people say she has a habit of choosing the wrong singles for albums. Aside from Lover, i think she's done pretty well in that area? What are your thoughts?

i dont think she's bad? but i think her single choice did lead people to view her as a worse songwriter than she actually is. especially lead singles were consistently the most frivolous songs on the album from 2012-2019. like for the general public that will only hear the lead and maaaybe second single, unless a later single blows up, it's just. financially lucrative but not gaining widespread artistic respect.

which i think is a big reason why she's blown up once a) she put all her songs on streaming and b) tiktok came on the scene. like, you're adding structures to throw fan favorite songs into the general public's face-- stuff that wouldn't have worked on radio, like enchanted or all too well, or stuff that just never got it's day in the sun like don't blame me or cruel summer. like, folklore and red tv where also massive turning points, but giving the general public actual, physical evidence of how good her deep cuts where across all her albums goes a long way, too.

(specific album thoughts under the cut)

i think debut and fearless have excellent single selection. speak now is a tricky album to pick singles for and i think she did the best that she could but was also just kinda cursed for that album.

red is weirder-- wanegbt is a perfect lead single, but i think it set off a pattern of like, frivolous lead singles that didn't end up in a good place. but on its own, wanegbt is perfect and i wouldn't give it up. i think begin again is a fascinating second single and i'm not sure i would make the same choice but i understand why she did it. in general the country singles off the album are a bit weak, to me, but then i wasn't immersed in country radio in 2012/2013 so i don't know what was popping off in the market. BUT i do think i bet you think about me would make a good touch back song, which is one of many reasons why i think it should have made the album. or hell, even throw in all too well, once you know you're leaving the genre in a couple months. just a big swing with a lot of artistic merit and nothing to lose. also holy ground should've been a single.

1989 is where i think the pattern starts-- at least for the lead single, not the rest of them, it's hard to go wrong with picking a single for 1989. but in terms of what to start with, shake it off is an interesting choice. like, i think shake it off is a necessary part of the story she's telling on 1989, but it doesn't gel with the rest of the production as smoothly, so establishing it as like, "yeah, shake it off, we've all heard it" goes a long way to smoothing over any little mental speed bumps. that being said, it's not the best song on the album, and blank space and style are, i think, the more natural lead single choices-- blank space especially establishes the "i don't care about my reputation" element of shake it off, but from a more cynical place that could be fun to build off of. also it proves that she's serious about the album being 80s pop

reputation is tough one. there's no song on that album can't be clowned on to hell and back, and there's no way the next taylor swift single wouldn't have been clowned to hell and back after 2016. i guess you could make a big swing and go new year's day, which isn't as meme-able, at least, but that's not what taylor was going for and it would have been false advertising. so like, i don't know. maybe don't blame me or i did something bad instead of end game. but i do like the story lwymmd -> ready for it -> end game -> delicate tells, i think it's neat. and even though it kinda ruins that story, you gotta go getaway car for the closer. like i get that negotiations with bmr had likely broken down and she didnt want to make them a bunch more money, but getaway car -> cruel summer is a once in a career album handoff. sonically, story wise, just. it all clicks

every swiftie on earth knows their opinion on the lover singles and i'm not going to change anyone's minds, but i think anyone can admit that this was the album that really set in stone her reputation of bad single selection.

folklore is just a fun thought exercise, like you basically get one single. definitely one music video, and the cardigan music video is general enough that you can kinda click it into another song, so you can go as far as to say you get this music video, find the song for it. cardigan is very understandable and obviously not a Bad Idea, but with the benefit of knowing the fan favorites, august is just, kinda perfect? i think seven would've also really worked. but also its an Album, not a single, and i don't think a song could've ruined that

evermore is similarly fascinating. i think willow is just kinda meandering and hard to grab onto as a song, but it lends itself well to that music video she made and the music video is a good overview of the full album. that being said, i would've gone no body no crime-- i think you can make a really engaging mv of it without having two people in the same room together, which flows with covid regulations pretty well. or tis the damn season, but i admit that personal bias clouding things (but like? it functions as a christmas song, so you could get airplay in december! and it sets up the main storyline of the album!). but similarly to folklore, hard to drive down public opinion of this album with one single.

midnights solidly breaks the curse, to me. like there were songs on this album that would've set it off on the wrong foot, and then anti hero was the perfect song on every level. as for other singles, they shouldn't have done that to ice spice's verse. that was so mean why did they do that just have it be the beat that's on the rest of the song it works so much better

[tapedsleeves]

(primer anon) Thank youuuu <3 <3 <3 The giant goalie hugs are SO cute 🥹 saved your sources and shall scour them on my next day off! I'd love to hear more on giant Nic hague and the other d-men (saw on cap friendly today that mcnabb and whitecloud have both been knights since season 1!) but you've already gone above and beyond helping me out and i'm sure I can find stuff in the blogs and accounts you linked if you're all worded out <3

Hi!!! sorry this took so long! It's not because it was difficult to do, but because I just had a lot going on today (i slept late and then was out / busy for most of today until now)

So, a couple of players have actually been with VGK since year one that don't get credit for it, some who were drafted by VGK (Nic Hague) and some that weren't ( Keegan Kolesar, Zach Whitecloud).

Keegan Kolesar was drafted by CBJ in 2015, but never played for them & was traded to VGK in june of 2017. He played for the Chicago Wolves (VGK, as I understand it, shared the Wolves as a dev team, since a bunch of VGK-developed guys played for them) and then played for VGK starting in 2020 (he played 1 game in 2019-2020)

Zach Whitecloud was playing for Bemidji State University in 2017-2018 when VGK signed him (he played 1 game for VGK in 2017-2018)

Hague, Kolesar & Whitecloud, despite being with the organization since practically its inception aren't considered "Golden Misfits" like Karlsson, Carrier, Smith, Marchessault, Theodore, & McNabb were (during the cup playoffs last year, Smith was traded over the summer of 2023 to the Penguins) Because they weren't part of the run to the cup final that year in 2018.

Now, that's enough just flat backstory, I think. Let's talk about defensemen. I love ALL of our defensemen.

McNabb is SO quiet? but I love him so much. When people celebrate in OT, most of the guys will go celebrate with the person who scored, but Nabber almost always goes to celebrate with the goalie first. nabber MY BRO. His notes in this video are SO cute. Hip check? Pass to Shea. Nope. SHOTS. I know this isn't much about hockey, but I just think it's really cute that Nabber had these written down. He does SO MANY reverse hipchecks on guys it's lovely to see. And Shea is his going steady d-partner, unless there's a shakeup in the d-core, then they give the baby d-man to Nabber. He's basically a capybara. Even Panda thinks so:

It's Very cute.

During warm ups, they have the lil pyramid of pucks and will carrier knocks them down when he goes out. all except for one, which he stands up on it's side. And then when Brayden comes out next to last (goalies come out last) he knocks it down. It's SUCH a cute lil ritual.

Nic Hague is so tall! His voice is so deep! He seems so Polite! Every guy tries to fight him and for the most part he refuses to engage it is SO funny. He did get kicked out of a game last year in the Dallas Series for giving a sarcastic thumbs up at a dude. He is sooo funny

and hot

he wears??? glasses??

Despite the fact that his face looks like he's never had a thought in his WHOLE LIFE when hes geared up:

He won the OHL Scholastic Player of the year in 2015-2016, the year after Connor McDavid had it on lockdown for 2 years straight.

IDK if anyone has mentioned it to you, but VGK has an emoji line up - everyone has a say in their emoji to an extent, and Haguer's is a giraffe. Well, he's got a giraffe floatie.

he took the stanley cup on it

Now for Zach Whitecloud:

I love him. That's what you have to understand. He's perfect and he's never done a crime in his entire life. His PIMs are a glitch.

He cried when he took a penalty in OT in 2020 and they lost the series to the stars. He cried IN THE BOX. It was his first season.

His defensive partner is Nic Hague. They were roommates in Chicago with the wolves. They were roommates in VGK for a bit (then Dylan Coghlan (now with the Canes) moved in, I think.)

They're SUCH good defensive partners, I LOVE them, but they're also excellent apart.

Zach is colorblind, so he often has very fancifully patterned suits / ties.

he's always holding 2 drinks. Most of the time it's 2 coffees, but this one is a coffee and a water.

An announcer was racist about his name on air, and he got really upset about it but was SO SO gracious about it.

He's from around Manitoba (literally like half the team is, it's bonkers, GMKM, you're obsessed) and he *really really* looked up to Mark Stone. He was really excited to get to play with him.

he decided to who to pick (out of a number of teams) in a bathroom

He's just. I love seeing his face. He's an excellent defenseman, he's a great guy and i love him so so so much.

Zach and Martini have this lil "SUH DUDE" handshake that they do when they win, because they both stand and wait for everyone to get off the ice before they leave, and then they do this cuteass handshake thing where they wiggle their fingers at each other. it's *adorable*

Also i forgot about this Martini mic'd up

And now i'm gonna talk about a random guy you haven't heard about before: Ben Hutton. He's our 7th defensemen who normally is a healthy scratch, but is the 1st call up when someone else is injured. He was the guy in the video where Marty and Petro were affectionately bitching at each other who agreed with Marty.

Everyone loves him. In 2022-2023, not a lot of d-men were hurt, so he didn't get to play a lot, but Bruce said that he had SUCH a good attitude & was SUCH a lovely guy. He stayed and practiced with the guys who were on IR and they joked that "they had to go thru him" to get back to playing hockey again (they were all forwards). Which I think is really really cute.

When Vancouver did a lip sync battle for their gala, he danced to barbie girl. ANd KILLED it

He doesn't really like chocolate "I'm not a big chocolate guy" says he. His birthday is 4/20. Ate like ka whole tub of strawberry lemonade flavored ice cream (he didn't eat lunch). He wasn't sure he was gonna stay in the league, but he trained with deryk engelland (a retired VGK d-man) and improved so much that they gave him a permanent roster spot.

Hutton is another one of those guys who skates to the goalie in OT instead of the guy who scored. It's VERY cute.

agreed, nic hague. that's also how i look at button

I always think it's fun to know which guys stick their tongues out when they're happy?

[corneliushickey]

how long have you been growing out your hair? looks gorgeous! planning to grow out my own but i keep foiling it with trims because of split ends

unbelievable to me that i opened my tumblr app to see a kind stranger asking about the only thing in the world that actually matters to me: how long my hair is.

i'm going to give you a needlessly detailed response but if you don't wanna read all that: 7 years 8 months and it (as of today!) brushes my tailbone

i grew my hair out as long as i could in high school and it got to almost my waist. i shaved it all off in summer 2013 and started growing it out from a buzzcut in summer 2014

when it reached the ugly soccer mom bob stage i got an undercut from ear to ear around the back of my head/nape of my neck, like this:

random pic off pinterest btw idk who that is

i shaved that undercut for the last time in very late december 2016 and kept my hair at shoulder length for a while waiting for the undercut to catch up

so basically since jan. 1 2017 i have been growing out my hair from bald 👨‍🦲

in 2022 i shaved the sides from my ear forward like this

very skrillex. i loved it. i had been day dreaming about this kind of sideshave for well over a decade. at this point my hair was just past my waist.

then in 2023 i extended the side shave all the way to the nape of my neck again like a death hawk. like this:

the last time i got that sideshave touched up was 12.29.24 so it's been growing out for 7 months 12 days

i do not plan to cut the rest of my hair short to match the sideshave until it reaches like... actually idk probably my waist? but the thought of having to chop my hair back to my waist makes my entire body clench painfully so maybe not who's to say

my hair grows extremely slowly. more slowly than anyone i've ever met, actually. most people in 7 years can grow their hair down to classic length (the bottom of your butt/top of your thighs) or even longer.

i think trims can be very helpful if your hair grows quickly, if you have a lot of split ends, or if you have bleached hair. actually if you have bleached hair trims are mandatory and unavoidable. for me, i prefer to do "seek and destroy" haircuts where i just bought myself a pair of sheers and i snip off the individual split ends i find whenever i find them. is this foolproof? no definitely not. will any hairstylist tell you that trims are necessary? yes. and they probably know what they're talking about. for me, my hair grows so slowly and i want it to be long so badly that idc about splits. if i noticed my ends THINNING i would get them trimmed for sure, but otherwise i am really reluctant to let anyone cut my hair.

i had a reliable stylist who i went to for years and i trusted her to give me barbie princess layers and not take any length off. she moved out of state and i'm thrilled for her but i cannot imagine trusting a stranger with my hair. especially since the last time i did so (in july 2023) i ended up having to chop 6" off my hair because she thinned out the ends so much. SIX INCHES. that's like over 2 years of growth for me.

what i really want rn is a little itty bitty undercut around my ears like this (but with no bangs):

and with how fucking annoying my grown out sideshave is i have literally been parting my hair to do this 3-4 times a week. but i am NOT allowed to get another undercut until i grow this one out for a full year 😤 which is a rule i made up for myself because otherwise i would immediately lose the will to keep at it and just do the skrillex thing again.

also if you happen to be here from my asoiaf sideblog i can tell you that i do still play the game where every time a character's hair length is mentioned i compare it to my own hair. the two people who have me beat are khal drogo (his hair in an intricate multi strand braid reaches his thighs) and aeron greyjoy i think altho i might be misremembering aeron.

TY FOR YOUR QUESTION THERE IS NO WAY YOU WANTED THIS MUCH INFORMATION XO MWAH

[alwayslovingharry]

So Long, London

A/N: IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING, BUT!

HELLO, I'M BACK! I know it's been a long time since I've written (although I'm active on Tumblr from time to time), but I'm back. I've had a lot of ideas in my head for the last few months, fuelled by…well, ever since Taylor Swift's last album came out I've had a lot of Haylor theories and since then I've been a bit obsessed with the What If's and theories that some of Taylor's current songs are for Harry.

So out of all those What If's comes this Haylor One Shot which, from what I have in my head, could have more parts. I need your opinions on this and on the idea of publishing more of these two stories (I have several I've started to write).

PAIRING: Harry Styles x Taylor Swift

WORD COUNT: 2K

WARNING: Not an english native speaker.

SUMMARY: Two old lovers reunite during challenging time

——————————————————————————

End of August 2016

The summer sun shone brightly over the London park, casting dappled shadows through the lush green canopy. I adjusted my sunglasses as I strolled along the winding path, savoring the warmth and tranquility. This park had become my sanctuary, a peaceful retreat from the chaos that had enveloped my life in recent months.

The social media fallout of these last months had left me reeling. Once celebrated as America's sweetheart, I now found myself at the center of a relentless storm of criticism. My recent breakup with Calvin and the brief, highly-publicized affair with Tom after the Met Gala had only added fuel to the fire. But most of the media do not take into account the fact that my little whirlwind romance with Tom had ended almost as quickly as it had begun, leaving me feeling more alone than ever.

I took a deep breath, letting the fresh air fill my lungs. The park was nearly empty, the serenity broken only by the occasional chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves underfoot. As I turned into another path, a familiar figure caught my eye in the distance. My heart skipped a beat. It couldn’t be... could it?

I squinted against the sunlight, my mind racing as I tried to confirm what my eyes were seeing. Sure enough, it was him. His unmistakable silhouette, casual in a T-shirt and jeans, strolling towards me. But something clearly was different. The last time I saw him in person, he had a mane full of brunette curls. Now, from a distance I could see his hair was short, even shorter than when I met him years ago, framing his face in a way that was both new and strangely familiar. His presence here, in this park, seemed almost surreal, meeting your old flame in a London park.

“Taylor?” he called out, his voice tinged with disbelief as he recognized me.

“Harry!” I responded, my eyes lighting up.

We closed the distance between us, stopping a few feet apart. For a moment, we simply stood there, taking in the sight of each other. The years seemed to melt away, and I was transported back to simpler times.

“It’s been a while,” Harry said, his voice warm and friendly.

“Yeah, it has,” I replied, smiling. “What brings you here?”

“Just needed some peace and quiet,” he shrugged. “How about you?”

“Same,” I admitted. “It’s been a tough year.”

Harry nodded, his expression softening with understanding. “I heard. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“Thanks,” I said softly. “It’s getting better, though. Slowly.”

We began to walk together, falling into an easy rhythm. The conversation flowed naturally, our shared history creating a comfortable familiarity. The sun filtered through the trees, casting playful patterns on the ground as we walked. The scent of blooming flowers mixed with the earthy aroma of the park, creating a soothing atmosphere.

“Do you want to talk about all…that?” Harry asked gently after I explained that I was living in London indefinitely for the time being, in a kind of self-imposed exile forced by the drama of the last few months. "I don't want to force you to tell me anything, but if you need to... I'm here."

I hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “I suppose it might help. It's just... everything happened so fast. One minute, I was at the top of my career winning all these awards and accolades for my work and the next, it was over and all the snakes fell on me. And I was alone, I’ve never felt so lonely. The whole thing with Kanye destroyed everything I have worked for since I was a child and everyone supported him in my demonization, no one stood up for me.”

Harry's eyes widened slightly. “I saw that. It must have been awful.”

“It was,” I admitted. “It felt like the whole world turned against me overnight. My social media was flooded with snake emojis, people calling me a liar, and saying even worse things. It was like I was trapped in a storyline full of lies that I never asked to be part of, ever since 2009.”

Harry nodded, his expression thoughtful. “I can’t imagine how tough that must have been. I’ve had my share of public scrutiny, but it sounds like you’ve been through the wringer.”

“It’s been rough,” I admitted. “But I’m trying to focus on the positive, I have decided to put some distance from the eye of the hurricane to lick my wounds and try not to end up going crazy. My music has been a lifeline, as always. It’s the one thing that’s kept me grounded through all this. But now, I’m not even sure if I can release new music again without my reputation being ruined all over.”

Harry turned to me, his expression serious. “You’re stronger than you realize, Taylor. What you’ve been through... it’s not easy, but you’ve handled it with grace. Your music has always been your strength. People love your music.”

“Thanks, Harry. That means a lot coming from you,” I said, my eyes softening. “You’ve always been good at lifting people up. But it's hard to think about putting myself out there again. What if it just brings more negativity?”

Harry smiled, his eyes full of warmth. “I get that. But think about all the people your music has touched, all the lives you've changed with your songs. You've always been true to yourself, and that's what matters.”

We found a bench and sat down, the golden afternoon sun casting a gentle glow around us. We sat in companionable silence for a few moments, watching the leaves sway in the gentle breeze. I felt a warmth spread through my chest, a sense of peace I hadn’t felt in a long time. The park seemed to cocoon us in its embrace, offering a momentary escape from the world outside.

“What about you?” I asked, breaking the silence. “How’s life been treating you?”

Harry shrugged. “It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster. I just finished filming 'Dunkirk' with Christopher Nolan, which was incredible but intense.”

"That sounds amazing, I never imagined you as a Nolan guy."

"Yeah, it's amazing that the long-haired guy from One Direction ended up in a Nolan movie," he replied with a sad smile.

"Well, I think it suits you, whatever the public or the press thinks. You always had a lot of hidden sides in you... I just thought you'd be more of a Spielberg guy."

"You think you're so funny, Miss Swift," he replied mockingly. “I’m also starting to write songs for my first solo album.”

"Oh, that's great, that's what I know best. How was it?"

“It’s exciting, but sometimes I miss the old days with the band. Things were simpler then.”

"Sometimes change is difficult."

"I just… miss not having four other guys around to make decisions... everything I decide is going to be on me if something goes wrong and... I feel like I have a responsibility now to reach a standard, to reach expectations, if I go through with this."

“I can relate to that,” I said. “Sometimes I miss the early days of my career, before everything got so complicated.”

Harry nodded, his eyes distant for a moment. “Yeah, fame can be a double-edged sword. But I guess we just have to focus on the things that matter.”

“Exactly,” I agreed. “That’s why I’ve been pouring my heart into my music. It’s been therapeutic, in a way.”

“I’m glad you have that,” Harry said, his voice sincere. “It’s important to have something that keeps you grounded.”

We walked in comfortable silence for a while, the sounds of the park providing a soothing backdrop to our thoughts.

“Do you ever miss it?” Harry asked, his voice quiet as we continued our stroll.

“Miss what?” I replied, glancing over at him.

“Having someone to share all of this with,” he said, his gaze distant. “A partner you can tell all your uncertainties and fears to.”

I paused, considering his question. “Sometimes,” I admitted. “But it’s difficult to find someone who understands everything about my life – the fame, the reputation. It’s a lot for anyone to take on.”

Harry nodded, his expression thoughtful. “Our way of life is something that is hard to understand for anyone who has been away from this kind of life. You want to believe in that connection, but it’s scary to open yourself up to that vulnerability again.”

“Exactly,” I said, feeling a weight lift off my chest as he put my feelings into words.

We walked in silence for a few moments, lost in our own thoughts. The park was bathed in golden light, the air filled with the sounds of nature around us.

“But,” Harry said softly, breaking the silence, “I think love is always worth taking the risk. Maybe finding someone to share your love with is worth fighting for, despite the pain of them not understanding what this life is about.”

I looked at him, a glimmer of hope stirring in my chest. “Maybe you’re right.”

We walked in silence for a few moments, lost in our own thoughts. The park was bathed in golden light, the air filled with the sounds of nature around us.

“But, I don’t know if I can risk it again,” I said finally, my voice barely above a whisper. “It’s so hard to find someone who understands this life, the constant scrutiny, the expectations. It’s exhausting. And when that person also lives under scrutiny and understands what it's like, it's even worse, because it's not only my reputation that's at stake, but also theirs.”

Harry nodded slowly. “As I see it, in a relationship where there are two previous big reputations, when you are together, it becomes one. You have to forget about the past and focus on a shared reputation, of course without forgetting that you both have separate projects, but keeping in mind that there is another person on whom, at least your public image depends. Then, maybe it’s not about finding someone who gets it all. Maybe it’s about finding someone who’s willing to try, who’s willing to be there for you despite not having all the answers.”

I considered his words, a thoughtful silence enveloping us. The park seemed to cocoon us

 in its embrace, offering a momentary escape from the world outside.

“But what if it just leads to more heartache?” I asked, my voice tinged with vulnerability.

Harry looked at me, his gaze steady. “Life is full of risks, Taylor. But sometimes, the greatest rewards come from the biggest risks. You deserve to find someone who makes you happy, who supports you through the highs and lows.”

I sighed, feeling the weight of his words. “I want to believe that. I really do.”

Harry gave me a small, encouraging smile. “You will. It just takes time.”

We continued our walk, the sun beginning its descent, casting a warm, golden glow over the park. As we walked, I felt a sense of peace settle over me, a sense of hope for the future.

“Thank you, Harry,” I said softly. “For being here, for listening. It means a lot.”

“Anytime,” he replied. “You’re not alone in this. Remember that. If you need to talk or anything else, I'm just a phone call away.”

As we walked, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of optimism for the future. Maybe, just maybe, there was hope waiting just around the corner.

——————————————————————————

Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it, please leave any comments or leave a like it if you enjoyed it.

See you soon :)

[quaranmine]

10 Years of Posting Fanfic: A Retrospective

(If you only care about reading my writing from when I was 12, skip to the cut)

I've always enjoyed reading as a kid. I was the kid in class who was reading at a high school level in intermediate school, and the kid who had 8 library books on her desk at a time. Therefore it is no surprise that I quickly realized that I enjoyed writing a lot too.

This post cannot be a look into when I started writing fanfiction though, because frankly I don't remember. Instead, all I have to go off of is the publishing date on my old fanfiction.net profile: December 15, 2013. I'm a little too young for the heyday of Live Journal and other fanfic sites, so ff.net was my first introduction to fanfiction. I also used to use Wattpad now and then, but I never posted anything there. I preferred ff.net, and did not make an AO3 account until 2016.

In middle school and intermediate school, if you asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I'd tell you I wanted to be a novelist. Of course my actual career went a different direction--I'm now an environmental outreach specialist. But the great news about writing is that it can be done at any time!

Fanfiction.net was also my introduction into the world of fanfic, back when I stumbled onto some Jayfeather Warrior Cats fanfic from a random google search. It took me entirely by suprise to find out that I could actually read more stories about my favorite characters! It was like stumbling into a gold mine. I still remember how thrilled I was. I was instantly hooked, despite being more than a little traumatized by instantly finding a "lemon" and reading about cat sex at probably 11 or 12 years old. Somehow, that did not stop me. I continued to avoid lemons, and developed a huge taste for angst, whump, and hurt/comfort stories. In retrospect, I'm not sure my mom would have viewed reading about torture or suicidal characters as particularly better than smut, but oh well. She never knew.

Throughout middle school and early high school, I was constantly writing. In middle school I had a notebook and used to hand write fanfics and original stories inside. I had two friends who also liked writing, and together we'd spend time developing and editing each other's stories. It's during this time I posted my first stories on FF.net. In high school, my school gave every student a chromebook laptop, and I started writing fanfic in Google Docs on that. I was fearless and had no problems writing angsty anime fanfic in class, on a school-monitored device.

I stopped writing fanfic somewhere in 10th grade, though I never stopped reading it. I stopped writing it primarily because I spent a lot of time writing other things. I was taking college classes. I doing competitive essay writing (I medalled at state) and competitive literary criticism. I was doing art competitions. In 12th grade, I had a job reporting school news to my local newspaper. I wrote op-eds about the environment and dutifully recorded hours of school board meetings to summarize. Then, I was properly off to college, and despite the pandemic hitting a year later I had classes to take online and a part time job outdoors. I had 60 page mock-environmental risk assessments to write. I was too busy to write fiction.

The MCYT fandom is what brought back my desire to write. The creativity of this fandom is so astounding, and I'm grateful all the time that I get to see the things everybody creates. Back in 2021, I no longer felt like I just wanted to read. I felt restless again, so I started writing a DSMP story about clingyduo at the disc war finale. I scrapped this, but it set things into motion again. In the summer of 2021 I posted my first two fanfics in years. I received such good feedback. By kudos, NWNF is my most popular fic on the site, and The Babysitting Game is still 4th most popular. I'm super grateful for that, and I'm grateful for everybody here who reads my stories. I still can't really comprehend that I post things that people actually read now. I save so many of your comments to keep for later.

I'll stop reviewing my history of writing here. You guys know the rest. I wrote HC, Evo, ESMP, and Life series oneshots. I wrote my first long fic, and then smashed that record by writing another longer one that I'm less than two chapters away from finishing. It's been a huge amount of fun and the improvements I've made in two years of active writing is super encouraging.

If I've made this much progress in 10 years, who's to say what I could do in 10 more years? I really look forward to it.

Anyway, the sappy stuff aside, who wants to read the story I wrote when I was 12? I'll post it below the cut in its entirety, no matter how much psychic damage it dealt me. It's Doctor Who, because of course it is. It always goes back to Doctor Who with me :)

From the TARDIS Files--A One-Shot Book

by: crazykatz430 <- I used to go by this everywhere

Description: This is a book of drabbles and one shots-nothing long will be found here, and it will not be updated frequently. Chapters will often have more than one short story in it. Rated T because I'm paranoid, don't know about what I'll end up writing in future chapters. All that said, enjoy! EDIT: CANCELLED

Published: 2013-12-15

Words: 1196

Rated: Fiction T - Language: English - Genre: Humor/Adventure -

Characters: 11th Doctor, Clara O. - Reviews: 4 - Follows: 1

──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────

A/N: Okay, so this is a collection of four short (I mean SHORT) oneshots I wrote, most of them just drabbles. So far, this will be just a fic to update when I write more short oneshots in the freewrites on my English Class.

Disclaimer: I don't own DW but if I did… <- oh the early days back when we were all sticking disclaimers on things but not knowing why

There will be a linbreak for new oneshots, and a cat symbol (crazyKATZ430..it's in the name) for the time skips or point of view changes..

──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────

Without further ado, I present: Geronimo , Uploaded , The Forgotten , and Cemetery Nightmares .

Geronimo

Set: The Wedding of River Song

I don't know what to say. All my secrets, fears and enemies, they've all caught up to me. I've run too far, run for too long.

The prophecy states that silence will fall when the question is asked. The first question, the oldest and most important question. I do not know what the question is nor do I want to find out, for the silence that falls will be the silence of my death.

I do not want to do die here, at Lake Silencio, Utah, but it is a fixed point. It will always happen no matter how far or long I run from it. I don't want to die alone… don't want to make my love do it.

I have made a plan, one to hopefully save my life and the earth. Everyone will think I am dead, but it will be safer. They'll be safer from me.

Geronimo!

Now I know what to say, the same thing I've always said when adventure and danger and the unknown ensued…

──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────

Uploaded

Set: The wi-fi's first victim ;

"Where am I?" I whispered, scared. "Hello?"

I looked around myself, studying the surroundings. It was all strange to me, I'd n idea where I was.

I felt panic rising in my chest. "I don't know where I am!" I shrieked, becoming ever more terrified. "Somebody, please, help me! Where am I, I don't know where I am!"

──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────

I raced around the room looking for a way out of what appeared to be someone's bedroom. I gave a cry when I couldn't get out and I subconsciously returned to the computer. "Help me!" I screamed infrustration and fear, my heart racing as panic took over my body. "I don't know where I am!"

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

The wi-fi had taken its first victim.

The uploading had begun.

The Forgotten

Set: hmm… can't remember. Strange.

I was alone in a cold, dark room, no other living thing in sight.

I can't remember what I've forgotten. But if I can't remember what I've forgotten, then how do I know I forgot something?

But I wasn't alone.

How did I know that? There was nothing visible..yet I felt there was another creature in the room.

Sudden pure, unexplainable terror washed over me. I yanked the sleeve of my shirt down and stared at the underside of my arm. One fresh, black tally mark marred my skin.

The panic reached its heighth and I dropped into a defensive postureautomatically. I didn't know why, it felt like I was forgetting something… I was confused and terrified.

A second crisp tally mark appeared on my arm, closely followed by three more. A full set. But why?

Fifteen or more sets of five tally marks were tattooed on my arm.

Wordlessly I pulled down my right sleeve. What I saw there cause me to scream in fright and drop to the ground.

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

Doctor who?

Silence will fall when the question is asked. The first question, the oldest question…

──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────

Cemetery Nightmares

Set: New York City, 1950 (set in New York City; however, the

character is British)

The statue had moved. It had really, properly moved!

Eagerly, I lifted my camera to take a picture. "Moving Statues in City Cemetery"? Sounded like a story to me! My editor always thought my stories were rubbish, but I begged to differ. Maybe he's let me print something with proof.

Curiosity killed the cat. This statue could be dangerous, what did I know of it? I smiled as I recalled the second part to the phrase. But satisfaction brought it back. Making up my mind, I held up the camera and clicked a picture.

I waited for it to move again, but it did not. Was it my eyes? No, I'd had two cups of heavily caffeinated tea this morning, you don't start seeing things untill the third day without sleep, I still had a day to go.

I huffed and sighed, closing my eyes. Why must good stories always slip way like this? Or was I just being too impatient?

Either way, I got a shock from when I reopened my eyes. The same stone figure, who seemed to be an angel statue, had moved again, closer to me. I didn't know if I should be happy for more evidence or scared because the hand seemed to be seemed to be reaching out to me…

I blinked again. A small cry escaped my lips as I noted it was closer. Was it all just some sick game? I was the only one in the cemetery though so that option was out of the question. Either way, the expression on the face of the angel now was frightening me. I decided it was best to leave.

I turned to walk back to my car, but on a whim turned to look back again. The statue had moved again, probably 15 meters in a few seconds! I began to tremble. It was like straight out of a horror movie! I just wanted to get away, to get home and out of this creepy place!

Then I made the mistake, my fatal mistake. My eyes began to burn and I blinked, a simple movement. But when I reopened my eyes I stood in a place far more different from where I'd been.

I was somewhere else! It was impossible, the city, cemetery and creepy angel statue were gone too! But where was I? I set out to find someone about what had turned into a nightmare for me. A cemetery nightmare.

The image of an angel becomes an angel.

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

One bright red vintage camera lay on the ground, on button switched. The last picture it had taken displayed out from the screen. A seemly harmless picture of an angel statue, taken a minute before the camera's owner was whisked away.

──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────

A/N: There you go, three short oneshots with a fourth that's twice the size of the others! PLease remember to review and say if it was good or not, and have a wonderful day… now that I've given you some stories of dying people. ( Geronimo had no dying but it was pretty intense if I do say so.) And please forgive me, I'm not British so I may tend to overdo some things…

(narrarator voice: she did not, in fact, ever upload another chapter)

Anyway, hope you enjoyed, as soon as I type it up, another's on its way!

[hopetorun]

“it’s almost just like how it was before” for the made-up fic title meme!

my first thought for this was actually leon goes to tampa futurefic but the @msmargaretmurry did this in a response for the same meme so i'm going to take this in a different direction.

our story starts in buffalo, new york, on june 24, 2016. draft day. auston matthew goes first overall to toronto, and patrik laine goes second overall to winnipeg. and then, instead of what actually happened that day, it goes the way people thought it would: jesse puljujarvi goes third, to columbus. and edmonton, picking fourth, takes the guy whose nameplate they already have velcroed to an oilers jersey: matthew tkachuk.

so matthew trucks his way up to edmonton, with aspirations of adding "winger for connor mcdavid" to his resume. now i'm gonna level with y'all: the oilers made me very, very mad in the summer of 2016 and hockey in general made me very, very made in the fall of 2016, so i've memory holed a lot of the details of the next couple of years. but luckily i'm not writing this story for real, so i can fudge and slur my way through that part!

matthew's career trajectory in edmonton isn't all that different from in calgary -- he's good pretty much from the jump, and with some ups and downs improves as he gets older (and a little calmer). he does get to add winger for connor mcdavid to his resume, but he ends up sticking mostly on the second line, as one of leon's wingers. there's a lot of reasons for it, but in part it's because it just drives the other teams bananas. annoyingness/60 off the charts. and matthew and leon are both having a blast the whole time.

i don't think they click instantly when matthew shows up in edmonton in 2016, because matthew's a hotshot, high draft pick, legacy, the whole nine yards, and leon's still feeling a little insecure about his place with the oilers. at least matthew's not a center.

so they don't click instantly, but it comes pretty quickly. matthew's a friendly guy, when he's not antagonizing every flames player on the ice (which frankly leon thinks is very funny), and he's smart about hockey, and a fun guy to hang out with.

and so we get a few years of the mcdavid-draisaitl-tkachuk era in edmonton. a lot of goals, and maybe not as much defensive responsibility as everyone wishes, a lot of people on twitter and capfriendly's gm tool getting stressed about the contract math. and they're right to be stressed about the contract math -- that's a lot of high-end offensive talent to have stored up, and it's gonna get pricey.

and then it's the 2021 offseason. matthew's already been a holdout, and he got his deal but everyone knows the next one won't be any easier, and mcdavid and draisaitl have their long-term deals but they're only going to get more expensive. they've been swept two years in a row in the playoffs. the front office wants results, and cap flexibility (that flat cap is already hurting). so matthew gets traded.

now, i don't think he and leon ever dated or anything at this point, but they were kind of dancing around the possibility for a while. another few years, or maybe one good solid playoff run, and it would've happened. (and by it i do mean falling into bed without actually talking about anything, but they would've talked eventually. both of them are too soft and serious about important things.) so for leon, matthew is this possibility. someone he almost got to have. it haunts him a little, when he lets it. and he misses the camaraderie he had with matthew, and how well they clicked on the ice. but that's just the business. he makes new friends and finds new guys to click with on the ice, and sure none of them make his heart beat too fast in the same way but he shouldn't be looking for boyfriends amongst his teammates anyway.

they keep in touch, a bit. it's hard with the grind of the season, and the time difference (matthew's on the east coast now) that doesn't even get any easier in the summers. leon fills up the space matthew took up in his life with other friends. more time with connor. other teammates. a dog. (it's a hassle, without someone living with him, but he's got a very generous neighbor and a big backyard and money to burn on fancy kennels if he wants.)

leon dates someone else, eventually. pretty seriously, living together kind of stuff. it is easier to deal with the dog this way. he learns just how annoying it is to play against matthew, and he tries not to laugh when matthew stares him down. the two of them get dinner with connor when the oilers are in raleigh (hey, we're playing the it almost happened game here anyway) and talk about the oilers circa 2017 experience. none of them win cups, but matthew gets the closest. leon determinedly isn't jealous, and sends him a nice text when the canes wash out in the conference final. again. but you know, it's not like leon misses him daily or anything. just at odd moments, when a play breaks down and he ends up with the puck, and he spins to find matthew on the ice, because matthew would've seen the same thing he did. and matthew's not there. matthew hasn't been there for years.

he doesn't ever ask if matthew's dating anyone, and matthew doesn't volunteer the information. he thinks it'll sting too much to find out, even though he is dating someone, and he hasn't told matthew about it.

matthew finds out, though, at an all-star game down the road. they're both there, and leon's boyfriend is too, and leon doesn't even introduce them. matthew's just saying hi to everyone, the way he does, and leon's boyfriend says leon invited him, and from the look on matthew's face, he doesn't even have to say boyfriend because matthew's got it all figured out. that shouldn't bother leon, and it bothers him a hell of a lot. (matthew's dated people too, but no one seriously enough to do something like this, and leon is right that he'd be hurt if he found out.)

leon signs a contract extension in edmonton. thinks about the possibility of retiring as an oiler. gets dumped, because his boyfriend gets tired of the late nights at home alone. the core of players he was striving for a cup with in edmonton is slowly breaking up. early-ish retirements. trades. the usual stuff. and leon wants to win, and he's starting to think that isn't going to happen in edmonton.

there's two years left on his contract and, well. he's looking, a bit. eyeballing other teams, looking at where he thinks he might be able to help the most. he has a full NTC, now, and the oilers won't be happy if he asks to be moved, but he thinks they'll make it happen. he can be flexible, a bit. he's good enough to command a decent return. connor will forgive him. he'll resent it, the freedom that his presence has given leon to do things like bail on the oilers when the going starts getting tough again, but he'll get over it. the deadline is creeping up now, and the oilers could still make the playoffs but it's looking more and more like they won't, and on the other side of the continent matthew's still -- well, he's not tearing it up like he used to, but he's putting together a decent season on a competitive team. and leon's jealous.

so he finally puts in the request. feels a little guilty but not enough to not do it. this is a business. he wants to win. he's won everything else, individually. maybe they've even won the president's trophy once or twice. but he wants a cup. the cup isn't the first thing he thinks about when all the chips are down and he's going to be matthew's teammate again.

it takes some getting used to, when it actually happens. matthew doesn't just plop back onto leon's wing and learn to read his mind all over again. matthew's an established guy on the team, he's already got a line. leon's playing a bit of wing, a bit of center. leon knows better than to have expected everything to just slot back into place but there was a stupid part of him that kind of wanted it anyway. it was so easy before! and now matthew's got a whole life here and leon's the interloper.

i think from here leon spends a while being in his feelings about it. not wanting to push too hard and upset the balance of this team, because they're winning. they're playing well. it feels good. but then the team's 2c gets hurt and he ends up slotting in, matthew on his wing again and oh, oh, that's the thing they used to have. leon is totally swept up in it, and along with it the crush he used to have on matthew. the thing that always felt like it could happen is still there, simmering under the surface. leon feels it when matthew slams him into the boards in a hug, and he feels it when matthew compliments him in a scrum and he feels it at the bar after the game, drink in hand and matthew leaning in close and grinning too wide.

it's not the same, exactly. they're both comfortably into their thirties now. older. more settled. matthew has a house in raleigh, which he never did in edmonton. even leon, uprooted midseason and in a new area, feels older and more stable than he ever did at 22.

they still don't act on it. matthew thinks leon got over it. leon doesn't want to rock the boat. but leon can't stop himself from pushing a little. touching when they don't need to. knees pressed together on the plane.

matthew does realize leon isn't over it somewhere in here. he's not an idiot. he knew what the vibes were back in edmonton, and he knows that leon's hand on his back at the bar isn't platonic. but leon doesn't push, and matthew's careful about these things. and they're winning, winning so much. winning in a way they weren't when they played together before, and it feels incredible.

gonna go big romance here and say this one ends when they win the cup. neither of them's on the ice but they pile off the bench together when the buzzer sounds, and after they've had their turns with the cup -- it feels even better than leon thought it would -- and after the night has finally wound down, leon grabs matthew by the wrist the way he's wanted to since matthew was 20 years old and so transparently trying to make everyone like him.

matthew comes toward him easily, until they're nearly touching, and leon finally, finally kisses him.

[windowsandfeelings]

20 Questions Game for fic writers

tagged by @terrainofheartfelt and @slumped-in-the-arms-of-fiction (<3 <3 <3!)

1. How many works do you have on ao3? 25! (But I've written a lot more that are scattered across ffn and livejournal. I've been at this a while.)

2. What’s your total ao3 word count? 153,671

3. What fandoms do you write for? Eternally Gilmore Girls, lately also Nancy Drew, and not for a while, but perhaps most notably Gossip Girl. (I've written for other fandoms, too, but not recently.)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? All the Lights that Light the Way are Blinding (Gossip Girl) November 24, 2016 (Gilmore Girls) Met You at the Right Time (Gilmore Girls) The River in Egypt (Gossip Girl) The Boyfriend Tour of North America (Gilmore Girls)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I try to, but I'm definitely behind on it at the moment. I so appreciate every comment I get (okay, every nice comment I get), and I want to acknowledge them.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Hmm...I don't really do angsty endings. Maybe I Am Sorry to Tell You? But that's mostly because Lost hadn't actually ended yet when I wrote it so I didn't have a way to get Rory and Jess off the island. But it wasn't really presented as angsty. (I have occasionally considered writing a sequel.)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? All of them? IDK, maybe MYatRT? Just because it takes such a long time to get to it, but I think it's earned.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Occasionally, yes, mostly on All the Lights..., or people commenting on other fics and shitting on All the Lights... in the process.

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind? I write v v v light smut.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve ever written? lol, I wrote a Barney Stinson/Buffy Summers ficlet once.

I would say I'm not a huge fan of crossovers, but I wrote a bunch of short ones back in my lj days because a couple of my friends had a crossover fic contest...really more like drabbles.

And then of course there's I Am Sorry to Tell You. Because I got really into Lost at one point and had to find a way to combine it with Gilmore Girls. And honestly I think it came out pretty well.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? I don't think so, but I've definitely seen stolen fics.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yeah! Someone translated All the Lights... into Russian!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? I can't remember. Maybe back in my ffn days? Nothing is springing to mind.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? LITERATI 4 LYFE

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? I'd like to finish Saturn Return someday, but I don't really know where it will go. Which is why it's unfinished.

16. What are your writing strengths? Dialogue, probably? I wasn't comfortable writing dialogue for a long time, but especially since taking screenwriting classes a few years ago I feel much more confident in it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I struggle hard with plot. You want me to figure out what's going to actually happen in a story? Ugh!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I would probably only do it in French or maybe very basic Spanish, because that's the extent of not English that I'm confident in.

19. First fandom you ever wrote for? I'm pretty sure the first fic I ever wrote was a continuation of someone else's post-season 1 Gilmore Girls fic that they hadn't finished, but I never published it. (I still have it. It's hand-written...and bad. Because I was 13.) The first one I ever published was a Harry Potter fic on ffn. Also bad. Very unfinished.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written? 100,000% Met You at the Right Time. I could not be more proud of that thing if I tried. It was a labor of love, but it also came out exactly the way I wanted to, which is just...nearly impossible to imagine. Like I could quibble with some of the writing, especially in the first couple of chapters, but at the end of the day...it's really good. Which is not a humble statement, but it's true.

tagging: @wonderlandleighleigh @oh-bonerline @strangenewgirls @stellaluna33 @georgianadarcies and anyone else who wants to do it

[sassyfrassboss]

Harry and Meghan Netflix special.

Episode 1 Notes:

1. From the outset we are told this is a first hand account, using footage from their own archives. And members of BRF have declined to comment.

2. For some ridiculous reason, first scene is at an airport arrivals lounge. Private jet Harry's documentary starts with scenes from a commercial airport. Lol. Appary he has just landed at London in March 2020. Probably traumatic because this was the first time they had to take commercial lol

3. It's quite evident that this started as a video diary (Meghan's idea?) around March 2020. Way before they finalized the netft deal. So ...this is how they pitched to platforms? This is the behind the scenes look? Scheming bastards.

4. They are addressing all the little criticism - private jets. How little she knew of Harry. Media scrutiny. Archie. How she gave up everything to marry him and then he voluntarigave up his life to join her world.

5. There is a LOT of footage of the kids. Basicat it's their iPhone gallery made into a movie with piano music.

6. She and her friends really overexplai. That she was single "SINGLE" for a couple of months in summer 2016. And travelly the world with her girlfriends. And that those trips were planned to enjoy the world. Girl doth protest a bit too much.

7. Oh btw they met on Instagram. Lol new twist. And she got to know his through his ig feed. Lol. He is photographer ok guys. And he asked to meet her. So not a blind date.

8. They also show their private chats. URghhhh!

9. Harry is such a doofus. All he wanted was to get married and that's a bit creepy ok. It comes across as if he would have married anyone.

10. Nacho is there. URghhhh

11. Meghan didn't know him guys, at all. Did not know anyone. But told all her friends. Hahaha... And they are all here telling us she didn't know. Hahaha... And well... it would all be cute but it's them. So Diana is mentioned a few times. We get to know about their first meeting. And then it cuts to commentary from the day Harry was born, and how special Diana was and how everyone loved baby Harry. Sneaky!

12. We see a lot of footage of innocent diana talking about Harry and Harry doing cute stuff. Just in case we forget. Harry says he doesn't have early memories of his mom. But, dear viewers, we do, right? So that's more important. We all loved Diana.

13. Everybody who has ever spoken/written anything favorable about the couple is in this series. Noone who could present the other side. It seems a bit glaring.

14. So much royal footage. So much of the queen. If she was alive she definitely would have been offended at this. I'm sure. This is disrespectful. Because it makes it seem like "Meghan against the institution". Instead of Harry and Meghan the lovestruck couple.

This is the undertone that I think Meghan may have wanted to distance herself from.

15. When Harry talks about his childhood it does make a but of sense, esp with the skiing footage and Eug and Bea look overwhelmed.

16. He says what she shared in panorama was her experience and truth. Even if it was obtained in the wrong way.

17. Harry is such a simp. Meghan tries to be, but personally she seems like she is overacting even in their old home videos and facetimes. How is that possible?? And Harry says she is so simar to his mum. ewww... the mommy issues!

18. Lol there really are Diana's pictures on the wall in a tiara in the nursery. Didn't Harry hace any private pictures of her he can show his children because this was literally from a magazine photoshoot. WTH!

19. When he talks about his mum's death, they show a photo of the two brothers. With William looking at Harry, and Harry staring into space. That's heartbreak. Truly. The only time I wished the brothers were still close. What would Will think if he sees this??

20. This episode does a good job at presenting Harry's childhood issues. And his fears. He seems self aware. And you empathise with him up to that point. But then I wonder, with all of this, how could Meghan make this whole thing about herself?? His problems are real and massive and he had so much support. And she and him, they make this all about her not being able to adjust and how unfair it was for her to leave everything behind (for all of 1.5 yrs lol).

21. I think, this maybe one of the reasons that Meghan hasn't liked this series. We get to know the Harry that we liked and loved and thought we knew. It makes her feel.like a nobody. And he overcompensates ofr that constay. But the showrunners, director, Netflix won't overcompensate. They tell us who us the more valuable one.

22. Harry is White Knight-ing in Africa. You know, the wayward, heartbroken lad who just wants some warmth and acceptance... It's a bit much, this narrative. esp in these times. This impression of Africa the land of authenticity and finding yourself, even if true, is something we should all avoid now.

23. Harry's issues are so obviously here, I believe if Meghan hadn't come along he might have stayed on the straight and narrow. She didn't value and respect his heritage. And he mirrored her to be able to keep her. (My opinion from this episode)

24. Whenever Lindsay Roth speaks, I feel like she is auditioning for the best friend's role in a Hallmark movie. Whenever nacho comes on screen I want to scream, he is a skeez.

25. They show Harry's tiny makesft tent. To quell the glamping rumours.

26. Abigail Spencer and her bad extensions. Uffff!

27. There's some friend of hers called silver tree. Lol what? Who is this woman? I bet she is a stand in for Gina Nelthorp Cowne. Poor Gina, was ghosted but would have loved to do these interviews.

28. They are saying that initially it was much easier for her to come to London and stay at KP with him. And then they would drive to Windsor and walk around frogmore and have all this space and privacy without anyone ever noticing. So much privacy in london. Hmm.... The exact life they left behind. Weird (not!)

29. It's all bad media, intrusive media.

30. Pictures of the Halloween party, the night before the news of the relationship broke. Eugene's costume, yikes! Also, did they take permission from her to use these photos because she is a literal princess. The palace would and should protect her. (IMO)

31. Harry says, after the news broke, he didn't know what he was walking into. Lol poor dude never thought Meghan would be thriving on getting papped every where. She really did milk this opportunity and was probably acting all innocent in front of him. Because his concern seems genuine, her shock less so.

32. Some of the news headlines, articles, voiceovers they show here are not from this period. They are from.much later, before the wedding. Not from 2016 i remember back then everyone loved her. And she got a lot of positive press, esp in the UK.

...

—-

Thank you!!!

[the-empress-7]

Harry and meghan Ep1

Notes:

1. From the outset we are told this is a first hand account, using footage from their own archives. And members of BRF have declined to comment.

2. For some ridiculous reason, first scene is at an airport arrivals lounge. Private jet Harry's documentary starts with scenes from a commercial airport. Lol. Appary he has just landed at London in March 2020. Probably traumatic because this was the first time they had to take commercial lol

3. It's quite evident that this started as a video diary (Meghan's idea?) around March 2020. Way before they finalized the netft deal. So ...this is how they pitched to platforms? This is the behind the scenes look? Scheming bastards.

4. They are addressing all the little criticism - private jets. How little she knew of Harry. Media scrutiny. Archie. How she gave up everything to marry him and then he voluntarigave up his life to join her world.

5. There is a LOT of footage of the kids. Basicat it's their iPhone gallery made into a movie with piano music.

6. She and her friends really overexplai. That she was single "SINGLE" for a couple of months in summer 2016. And travelly the world with her girlfriends. And that those trips were planned to enjoy the world. Girl doth protest a bit too much.

7. Oh btw they met on Instagram. Lol new twist. And she got to know his through his ig feed. Lol. He is photographer ok guys. And he asked to meet her. So not a blind date.

8. They also show their private chats. URghhhh!

9. Harry is such a doofus. All he wanted was to get married and that's a bit creepy ok. It comes across as if he would have married anyone.

10. Nacho is there. URghhhh

11. Meghan didn't know him guys, at all. Did not know anyone. But told all her friends. Hahaha... And they are all here telling us she didn't know. Hahaha... And well... it would all be cute but it's them. So Diana is mentioned a few times. We get to know about their first meeting. And then it cuts to commentary from the day Harry was born, and how special Diana was and how everyone loved baby Harry. Sneaky!

12. We see a lot of footage of innocent diana talking about Harry and Harry doing cute stuff. Just in case we forget. Harry says he doesn't have early memories of his mom. But, dear viewers, we do, right? So that's more important. We all loved Diana.

13. Everybody who has ever spoken/written anything favorable about the couple is in this series. Noone who could present the other side. It seems a bit glaring.

14. So much royal footage. So much of the queen. If she was alive she definitely would have been offended at this. I'm sure. This is disrespectful. Because it makes it seem like "Meghan against the institution". Instead of Harry and Meghan the lovestruck couple.

This is the undertone that I think Meghan may have wanted to distance herself from.

15. When Harry talks about his childhood it does make a but of sense, esp with the skiing footage and Eug and Bea look overwhelmed.

16. He says what she shared in panorama was her experience and truth. Even if it was obtained in the wrong way.

17. Harry is such a simp. Meghan tries to be, but personally she seems like she is overacting even in their old home videos and facetimes. How is that possible?? And Harry says she is so simar to his mum. ewww... the mommy issues!

18. Lol there really are Diana's pictures on the wall in a tiara in the nursery. Didn't Harry hace any private pictures of her he can show his children because this was literally from a magazine photoshoot. WTH!

19. When he talks about his mum's death, they show a photo of the two brothers. With William looking at Harry, and Harry staring into space. That's heartbreak. Truly. The only time I wished the brothers were still close. What would Will think if he sees this??

20. This episode does a good job at presenting Harry's childhood issues. And his fears. He seems self aware. And you empathise with him up to that point. But then I wonder, with all of this, how could Meghan make this whole thing about herself?? His problems are real and massive and he had so much support. And she and him, they make this all about her not being able to adjust and how unfair it was for her to leave everything behind (for all of 1.5 yrs lol).

21. I think, this maybe one of the reasons that Meghan hasn't liked this series. We get to know the Harry that we liked and loved and thought we knew. It makes her feel.like a nobody. And he overcompensates ofr that constay. But the showrunners, director, Netflix won't overcompensate. They tell us who us the more valuable one.

22. Harry is White Knight-ing in Africa. You know, the wayward, heartbroken lad who just wants some warmth and acceptance... It's a bit much, this narrative. esp in these times. This impression of Africa the land of authenticity and finding yourself, even if true, is something we should all avoid now.

23. Harry's issues are so obviously here, I believe if Meghan hadn't come along he might have stayed on the straight and narrow. She didn't value and respect his heritage. And he mirrored her to be able to keep her. (My opinion from this episode)

24. Whenever Lindsay Roth speaks, I feel like she is auditioning for the best friend's role in a Hallmark movie. Whenever nacho comes on screen I want to scream, he is a skeez.

25. They show Harry's tiny makesft tent. To quell the glamping rumours.

26. Abigail Spencer and her bad extensions. Uffff!

27. There's some friend of hers called silver tree. Lol what? Who is this woman? I bet she is a stand in for Gina Nelthorp Cowne. Poor Gina, was ghosted but would have loved to do these interviews.

28. They are saying that initially it was much easier for her to come to London and stay at KP with him. And then they would drive to Windsor and walk around frogmore and have all this space and privacy without anyone ever noticing. So much privacy in london. Hmm.... The exact life they left behind. Weird (not!)

29. It's all bad media, intrusive media.

30. Pictures of the Halloween party, the night before the news of the relationship broke. Eugene's costume, yikes! Also, did they take permission from her to use these photos because she is a literal princess. The palace would and should protect her. (IMO)

31. Harry says, after the news broke, he didn't know what he was walking into. Lol poor dude never thought Meghan would be thriving on getting papped every where. She really did milk this opportunity and was probably acting all innocent in front of him. Because his concern seems genuine, her shock less so.

32. Some of the news headlines, articles, voiceovers they show here are not from this period. They are from.much later, before the wedding. Not from 2016 i remember back then everyone loved her. And she got a lot of positive press, esp in the UK.

..

PS: these are just my first impressions. I do the same for ep2+3, provided I can sit through this nonsense for 2 more hrs.

====

Thank you so much for this. I have so many questions.

To start with, Harry's IG was private and incognito. So how exactly did she know whose. DM's to slide into?

[yupuffin]

In summer 2016, I got one of the Japanese bookstore's last copies of the KAITO 10th anniversary album Glorious Blue. The whole album is full of BOPS, but I got particularly hooked on Doctor=Funk Beat by nyanyannya. I was super excited to see it slated to be performed at Magical Mirai later that year. I learned the choreography as fast as I could and became, to my knowledge, the first person to publicly upload a dance cover of Doctor=Funk Beat using the Magical Mirai choreography.

Sometime in the next few months, I got hooked on the rest of nyanyannya's discography and decided to subscribe to his Patreon. We got monthly updates and the early release versions of some songs, which was cool! I believe it was in the announcement post for the song Justin⇒Jive⇒Justify in which he included the song lyrics, footnoted with "It'd be cool if I had an English translation!"

So, like the bilingual student I was, I went 🤔🤔🤔, assembled my best attempt at a translation, and stuck it in the comments with "Hey, I wasn't sure if you were serious about wanting an English translation for this, but in case you were and wanted to use one, I gave it a shot!"

I thought this would be a singular instance, but I was wrong! Unexpectedly, this led to us collaborating on quite a bit of translation work for him over the years, including captions for his music videos back when community captions on YouTube were a thing. It was a really cool experience. I remember consulting one of my housemates, an exchange student from Japan, to help me proofread my responses to the messages we exchanged. Once nyanyannya started to get into Vtubing, I learned how to make subtitle files from scratch to match the skit videos he'd send me so he could upload them with the final product. Most of those videos have sadly been unlisted now, but I have fond memories of his avatar's antics, and many of the one-liners still live in my head rent-free despite the defunct source material.

The cozy fandom for his body of musical work "the Namari Hime series" was led by a dedicated user who'd host regular drawing chats -- the kind where everyone doodles on the same canvas while voice chatting. Every few weeks or months I'd get to wake up ridiculously early to discuss new song releases and favorite characters with a bunch fellow fans from the other side of the Pacific Ocean, and nyanyannya even joined in himself on a couple of occasions. He laughed at the cleverness of me posting a photo in cosplay of one of his characters "Cash" gesturing dramatically at an ATM. He rightly proclaimed our little corner of the Internet a "super cool fandom."

For a while, we had an unofficial Discord server for the worldwide English-speaking sector of the fandom as well. It's probably still out there, actually! It was really cool to see how the fandom grew over the years from just a couple of people to at least several dozen, if not more.

Shortly after protests broke out across the United States in 2020, I woke up to a message from nyanyannya saying he'd seen the news about what was happening on my side of the pond and wanted to ask if I was okay. It was really touching.

I followed his work less closely after he officially started Vtubing, just because, as a college student, I didn't have the spare time to watch a large quantity of ~3-hour-long videos. And a couple of years ago, I stopped financially supporting him after he started experimenting with generative AI to make YouTube thumbnail images and singing samples.

But we still follow each other on Twitter--even though he posts mostly about Vtubing now, and I mostly post about Hoyoverse games and not Namari Hime. I still see the selfies he posts on Instagram from time to time. And I'm still mutuals with a lot of the previous fandom members, too, even though a lot of them are less active and we don't speak directly basically at all anymore.

nyanyannya's song Fräulein=Biblioteka is featured in the ongoing MIKU EXPO North America tour. nyanyannya is not a mainstream musician. In fact, he deliberately quit mainstream music production before he wrote Namari Hime because of the toll it was taking on his mental and physical health, and turned instead to Vocaloid as tool to help him express his individuality, instead of whatever would be the most commercially successful.

Well, that's just one example. There's plenty more.

KIRA, the producer who wrote the featured song "Highlight," is younger than I am by several years. He wrote the lyrics to another one of his hit songs, "MONSTER," when he was sixteen, and almost scrapped it because he thought nobody would like it. Now a song he wrote played at COACHELLA and he's over the moon.

Utsu-P, behind "Hyper Reality Show," is experiencing similar feelings, as he never would have dreamed of one of his songs featuring at Coachella back when his parents bought him Hatsune Miku with graduation money.

yukkedoluce is another of my favorite Vocaloid producers. He grew up wanting to be an astronaut, but didn't qualify because his eyesight was too poor -- so now he lives his dream in a different form by writing Miku songs about space.

At one of the side events at MIKU EXPO 2018, my siblings and I happened to sit next to a Vocaloid producer named Lystrialle who specializes in making contemporary folk music featuring MEIKO and KAITO. I looked up her music after the expo; her album "You, in the Endless Starlight" almost literally defined my sexuality (or lack thereof), and my Genshin Impact AU is named after some of her lyrics. She runs a Mastodon instance for Vocaloid fans.

What I'm trying to say is... there are Vocaloid producers who might be more comparable to mainstream producers, and there are musicians who started with Vocaloid work and eventually transitioned to more mainstream work. But there's also an endless list of Vocaloid producers who make little to no money off their work and hence are far from major corporate entities.

Individuality and collaboration is at the heart of Vocaloids like Hatsune Miku. Miku is primarily a tool to give musicians the power to create the music they want, not to make a highly successful commercial product. I've given an entire hour-long panel on this that convention attendees still remember ten years later, but that's a lot to put into a post that's already long enough, so I'll spare you the details for now.

Vocaloid was one of my first fandoms back in 2011. I got into cosplay and dance because of Vocaloid. Now I'm heavily involved in my local cosplay performance scene, both in terms of participating in events and helping organize them.

How does that phrase go? Do not recite the magic to me; I was there when it was written.

Don't spread misinformation that Vocaloid producers don't care about people's feelings because all they care about is making a commercial Product(tm).

Instead, please fuck all the way off.

[gimletagain]

Harry and Meghan Netflix Ep1

Notes:

1. From the outset we are told this is a first hand account, using footage from their own archives. And members of BRF have declined to comment.

2. For some ridiculous reason, first scene is at an airport arrivals lounge. Private jet Harry's documentary starts with scenes from a commercial airport. Lol. Appary he has just landed at London in March 2020. Probably traumatic because this was the first time they had to take commercial lol

3. It's quite evident that this started as a video diary (Meghan's idea?) around March 2020. Way before they finalized the netft deal. So ...this is how they pitched to platforms? This is the behind the scenes look? Scheming bastards.

4. They are addressing all the little criticism - private jets. How little she knew of Harry. Media scrutiny. Archie. How she gave up everything to marry him and then he voluntarigave up his life to join her world.

5. There is a LOT of footage of the kids. Basicat it's their iPhone gallery made into a movie with piano music.

6. She and her friends really overexplai. That she was single "SINGLE" for a couple of months in summer 2016. And travelly the world with her girlfriends. And that those trips were planned to enjoy the world. Girl doth protest a bit too much.

7. Oh btw they met on Instagram. Lol new twist. And she got to know his through his ig feed. Lol. He is photographer ok guys. And he asked to meet her. So not a blind date.

8. They also show their private chats. URghhhh!

9. Harry is such a doofus. All he wanted was to get married and that's a bit creepy ok. It comes across as if he would have married anyone.

10. Nacho is there. URghhhh

11. Meghan didn't know him guys, at all. Did not know anyone. But told all her friends. Hahaha... And they are all here telling us she didn't know. Hahaha... And well... it would all be cute but it's them. So Diana is mentioned a few times. We get to know about their first meeting. And then it cuts to commentary from the day Harry was born, and how special Diana was and how everyone loved baby Harry. Sneaky!

12. We see a lot of footage of innocent diana talking about Harry and Harry doing cute stuff. Just in case we forget. Harry says he doesn't have early memories of his mom. But, dear viewers, we do, right? So that's more important. We all loved Diana.

13. Everybody who has ever spoken/written anything favorable about the couple is in this series. Noone who could present the other side. It seems a bit glaring.

14. So much royal footage. So much of the queen. If she was alive she definitely would have been offended at this. I'm sure. This is disrespectful. Because it makes it seem like "Meghan against the institution". Instead of Harry and Meghan the lovestruck couple.

This is the undertone that I think Meghan may have wanted to distance herself from.

15. When Harry talks about his childhood it does make a but of sense, esp with the skiing footage and Eug and Bea look overwhelmed.

16. He says what she shared in panorama was her experience and truth. Even if it was obtained in the wrong way.

17. Harry is such a simp. Meghan tries to be, but personally she seems like she is overacting even in their old home videos and facetimes. How is that possible?? And Harry says she is so simar to his mum. ewww... the mommy issues!

18. Lol there really are Diana's pictures on the wall in a tiara in the nursery. Didn't Harry hace any private pictures of her he can show his children because this was literally from a magazine photoshoot. WTH!

19. When he talks about his mum's death, they show a photo of the two brothers. With William looking at Harry, and Harry staring into space. That's heartbreak. Truly. The only time I wished the brothers were still close. What would Will think if he sees this??

20. This episode does a good job at presenting Harry's childhood issues. And his fears. He seems self aware. And you empathise with him up to that point. But then I wonder, with all of this, how could Meghan make this whole thing about herself?? His problems are real and massive and he had so much support. And she and him, they make this all about her not being able to adjust and how unfair it was for her to leave everything behind (for all of 1.5 yrs lol).

21. I think, this maybe one of the reasons that Meghan hasn't liked this series. We get to know the Harry that we liked and loved and thought we knew. It makes her feel.like a nobody. And he overcompensates ofr that constay. But the showrunners, director, Netflix won't overcompensate. They tell us who us the more valuable one.

22. Harry is White Knight-ing in Africa. You know, the wayward, heartbroken lad who just wants some warmth and acceptance... It's a bit much, this narrative. esp in these times. This impression of Africa the land of authenticity and finding yourself, even if true, is something we should all avoid now.

23. Harry's issues are so obviously here, I believe if Meghan hadn't come along he might have stayed on the straight and narrow. She didn't value and respect his heritage. And he mirrored her to be able to keep her. (My opinion from this episode)

24. Whenever Lindsay Roth speaks, I feel like she is auditioning for the best friend's role in a Hallmark movie. Whenever nacho comes on screen I want to scream, he is a skeez.

25. They show Harry's tiny makesft tent. To quell the glamping rumours.

26. Abigail Spencer and her bad extensions. Uffff!

27. There's some friend of hers called silver tree. Lol what? Who is this woman? I bet she is a stand in for Gina Nelthorp Cowne. Poor Gina, was ghosted but would have loved to do these interviews.

28. They are saying that initially it was much easier for her to come to London and stay at KP with him. And then they would drive to Windsor and walk around frogmore and have all this space and privacy without anyone ever noticing. So much privacy in london. Hmm.... The exact life they left behind. Weird (not!)

29. It's all bad media, intrusive media.

30. Pictures of the Halloween party, the night before the news of the relationship broke. Eugene's costume, yikes! Also, did they take permission from her to use these photos because she is a literal princess. The palace would and should protect her. (IMO)

31. Harry says, after the news broke, he didn't know what he was walking into. Lol poor dude never thought Meghan would be thriving on getting papped every where. She really did milk this opportunity and was probably acting all innocent in front of him. Because his concern seems genuine, her shock less so.

32. Some of the news headlines, articles, voiceovers they show here are not from this period. They are from much later, before the wedding. Not from 2016. I remember back then everyone loved her. And she got a lot of positive press, esp in the UK. She seems to out the responsibility of "protecting her" solely on him. Strange.

...

PS: I have shared this same on another blog (sassy). If you don't want to publish this please let know, I get it.

————-

thank you for this! honestly, I woke up at 4 am this morning thanks to my toddlers and scrolled dm with dread anticipating how much more crap the RF has to put up with. But there’s actually very little beyond the workings of a totally deranged narc who took iPhone videos of everything over the past 6 years. (Who the f does that? This isn’t normal.)

My jaw dropped reading Oprah and the reactions on my IG feed. It’s not like that now, at all.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Worth noting that we're almost two weeks into 2024, and there are still two undetermined films on this year's Disney slate...

One of them is just simply "Untitled Disney", and it's set for release September 8, 2024...

The other is the annual Thanksgiving Walt Disney Animation Studios offering.

According to some screenshot of a supposed Disney movie/series slate that was floating around a month ago, Disney took both of these movies off the calendar... But I concluded, for multiple reasons, that that screenshot was fake. As it did not resemble the kind of PDF document that Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures usually puts out when there's a change in the release schedule. The formatting was all different, and it included Disney+ shows, which these things never do.

So, I rule that the 9/6/2024 release - whatever it may be - and the 11/27/2024 WDAS movie are still on the boards. At the moment... Of course, that's always subject to change!

Disney would've kicked this year off with the Pixar space adventure ELIO in March, but that got pushed all the way back to the summer of 2025... The year instead begins with theatrical releases of the three Pixar films that went straight to Disney+ on their initial release... So the year actually begins, in terms of a NEW theatrically-released movie, with a 20th Century Studios release: Horror reboot THE FIRST OMEN. April 5th.

And earlier today, they moved their new PLANET OF THE APES movie up two weeks, to avoid duking it out with FURIOSA and GARFIELD. Plus they can get all the large-format screens to themselves for a lil' bit.

Anyways, we're in 2024 now... And we know nothing about these two movies. I'm guessing 9/6/2024 is going to be another 20th Century Studios movie, or a Searchlight movie. Sometimes "Untitled Disney" is a placeholder for that kind of movie, and September's usually the time to release one of those kinds of lower budget, more adult-oriented movies.

But we know what's been happening with WDAS' latest pictures at the box office, and who knows what morale is like over there. They too are developing shows for Disney+, like Pixar was, until Iger recently mandated cuts to Pixar after Disney+ continued to lose money for the larger company... I'd imagine WDAS might be in a similar predicament? Maybe not? But it's unusual that we don't know for sure - as in, not through leaks or word thru the trenches - what the 2024 WDAS movie is. Even STRANGE WORLD, we knew about it a year away from release... They're kinda cutting it close with this one?

Unless WDAS takes 2024 off completely, for whatever reason. I figured the very possible animation strike would affect this movie anyways. But even without a strike, their recent woes might lead to a back-to-the-drawing-board moment, as often is the case when a studio has a string of money-losers. It often leads to a week or so of everyone wondering, "What should we be doing? What kinds of movies should we be making??" And then they try that, and they see how that goes...

Anyways, should all go swimmingly, I wouldn't mind seeing the new WDAS get delayed. Especially if it's still having its kinks ironed out. Also, kind of a wild opinion, but WDAS doesn't always have to do the Thanksgiving thing, ya know? STRANGE WORLD and WISH weren't saved by that slot, neither was something like TREASURE PLANET many moons ago. WDAS did do a March release with ZOOTOPIA in 2016, and almost did that again in 2018 (at one point GIGANTIC, at another point RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET) before abandoning it... Like, a WDAS movie doesn't always have to be the summer or the holiday season. Many other animated movies have proven that, too.

Heck, WDAS movies used to show up at the randomest times of the year. Before the world of blockbuster filmmaking, during a time when the movie theater industry was a whoooole lot different.

Did you know that SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, which had its world premiere on December 21, 1937, went into general release... In February of 1938? February. Yes, cold-ass February... And still managed to become, at the time of its release, the highest-grossing film of all time? (A record swiftly usurped by GONE WITH THE WIND a little over a year later.)

PINOCCHIO, CINDERELLA, and PETER PAN were February releases, too. DUMBO and THE JUNGLE BOOK came out near Halloween in their respective release years. BAMBI was a late August release. SLEEPING BEAUTY and 101 DALMATIANS came out in late January of their release years.

Summer slots became more of a regular thing for Disney starting with THE RESCUERS in 1977, which was a June release. THE FOX AND THE HOUND originally was eying Christmas 1980, but because of the Don Bluth-led animator exodus, ended up being a July 1981 release. THE BLACK CAULDRON, similarly, was out in July 1985. THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE? July 1986.

But then once the Renaissance fired up, it was initially all about Thanksgiving. OLIVER & COMPANY, LITTLE MERMAID, RESCUERS DOWN UNDER, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and ALADDIN all did the holiday thing...

When THE LION KING broke all records for an animated movie in summer 1994 - the June date given to it after production problems delayed it from its original Thanksgiving 1993 slot, then Disney was all about the summer again. Barring WINNIE THE POOH (2011), the last time WDAS had a summer movie was... 2002... LILO & STITCH. From BOLT-onwards, it was almost always towards the end of the year with their movies. Again, ZOOTOPIA an exception, RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON as well because of COVID-19 (it would've been Thanksgiving 2020 if nothing had happened).

Maybe it doesn't have to be Thanksgiving/Christmas all the time?

Suppose we see the new WDAS movie in, say, March 2025? And the next, maybe at another time of the year?

[beck-nightengale]

Summer Reading/Writing/Arting Tag

Yo, I was tagged by @chennnington over here to do this thing and it does look like fun, so why not!

But I'm also going to be boring since idk who to tag, so anyone is free to fill this thing out if it hits your dashboard. ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ Go knock yourselves out.

1) Describe one creative WIP project you’re planning to work on over the summer.

Thanks to Enderal kicking my creative nuts into gear and being recently liberated from certain "game-master" obligations (long, long ass story that'd probably go over most Tumblr folks' heads, anyway), I finally started diving back into a sapphic-flavored dark fantasy book series that I'd been planning since like around 2016 or so. It was mostly born out of some frustrations with the lack of WLW in general, and while I have some WLW elements in my existing works, I wanted to write something that was more overtly WLW with a leading lady who was outgoing about her sexuality than my previous protagonists (who are either repressed as fuck or too dead to hold a relationship that would function) and wouldn't take her four dang novels to finally kiss a girl.

Anyway, Morane Soraya was created from a whole mess of complicated feelings about women in media. I describe her as a combination of Julie D'aubigny and Anne Lister, with a bit of Christina of Sweden (all of who were badass women in history. Look 'em up!). I wrote a lot about the basics of who she is/what she's all about here.

Morane is a good bean:

Book 1, Bloodtithes, will go into her venturing into a scarcely-visited icy continent to investigate a possible cure or effective treatment to the painful condition she had been forced to live with, which gives her the proficiency she has in Blood Magick (which isn't inherently evil in her world, but very often misunderstood because of its side effects). She's from a mercenary group who all share the same condition and propensity for Blood Magick, so they're interested in this so-called "cure" as well, but not many make it to this country and survive, so Morane is sent alone instead. Along the way, she meets a horned jackal-man named Darius ka Dir, and gets entangled in a plot with a strigoika named Viorica Avanas who has a whole buttload of inner demons of her own (side note: I once played Vio in Skyrim to mess around with Kaidan and they got into some... Situations).

A friend drew Darius and he has a single giant and glorious curl that he is very serious about.

I've also talked a lot about Jade for my Enderal stuff, who was already based on an existing character, and I've figured out how to work her into Morane's world. She won't factor in until Book 2, Cloverleaf, because she's essentially gonna tear down a wall and break freaking everything.

You know. Like she do.

It's still in the planning stages but I'm feeling pretty good about it.

2) Rec a book!

I just started reading Dreams of the Dying by Nicolas Lietzau, which I'm enjoying a lot, but haven't read enough yet to form a coherent recommendation on it. I just got the audiobook though so I'm looking forward to that!

Otherwise, House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski is one of my favorite novels of all time and was a major writing inspiration for me. It's creative in how it gets you to feel uneasy while you're reading the book itself, a huge mindfuck, and one of the few novels that actually made me feel a sense of dread while I was reading it.

If you'd like some seriously bonkers reading material, I'd suggest giving it a looksee.

3) Rec a fic! (outside your character tag)

Iiii don't actually read fanfiction that much, so I'm not sure if I can rec one!

On the flipside, feel free to rec me some Enderal fics (or your own, if you have any). I'll read the shit out of it.

4) Rec music!

I can't recommend Murder by Death to people enough. They're my all-time favorite band, one of the few I've ever made an effort to go see live when they were playing in my city (just before lockdown hit, no less), and deserve more love. I've been listening to them since I discovered them high school and their albums just keep getting better and better.

Also it's not hard for me to find some character-centric songs from them because the topics they write about is very versatile. I tend to think of Lost River for Jade's story, and Ditch Lilly and Rumbrave for Rey's.

5) Share one piece of advice!

Writing women! Because I guess this one needs telling as there are people who still find writing female characters daunting or somehow more difficult than it is to write men. Which, fair, I was the same way. Despite having mostly female protagonists in the novels I'd written, the dudes in my earlier stuff somehow ended up taking the spotlight and stealing most of the development. I really struggled to work through some of my own internalized misogyny and "there are no good female characters in media" mindset, and it took a lot of opening my mind up before it got easier. Now I predominately focus on writing women to be that change I want to see - this includes not killing certain ones off to enhance manpain like I used to, which I learned was called "fridging", lol.

My advice for writing them is to just write them as characters. It sounds simple and stupid, but I'm surprised how much people get wrapped up in the "she must be a strong girlboss" brainrot that they end up with a very flat, boring character that literally no one can relate to, so she still gets outshined by the dudes because the writer tried to overcompensate her badass womanliness without giving her actually compelling character traits.

I feel like one of the main reasons why I absolutely adored Ellen Ripley when I was a kid was because she was written to be a man in the first Alien movie, but they changed the character into a woman without changing the script and it just worked. I didn't know that when I was young, but finding that out just made me appreciate Ripley so much more, because the writers didn't treat her like a "strong female character" but as just a character. I think if writers approached this mindset more, we wouldn't have the "no good female characters in media issue" that doesn't need to be an issue in the first place.

These days I approach character-building by not restricting certain traits by gender, and finding a balance between strengths and weaknesses. Just shut off your critical analysis brain to create a "strong female character" and just write "strong character" instead.

I could word vomit more about my own ladies and how much I love them now than I used to but I feel like this has gone on long enough. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[thisselflovecamebacktome]

I think the Lover roll out was the most "mistakes" Taylor has made when it comes to promo. The whole political talk that didn't really apear in the album was one thing. The choice of lead singles. The merch was all over the place. I think Taylor rushed a little cause of the way that people reviewed Reputation and her fear of not being famous anymore. I also think she was going through IT. Like Rep was hard but is a lot easier to go from bad to ok than ok to actually feeling good. And now she had to face what happend in 2016 with more clarity and that sucks. I personally always liked half of Lover and that's still my opnion.

So I'm not sure if I'd call most of it mistakes, but I'd mostly agree with this. Like I genuinely think at the time Taylor was planning to come out of her shell more and do more to do with human rights (or at least American issues seeing as she didn't speak about the Black Summer fires like everyone else... but given what we've since learned about her plane, maybe that's why lmao), but especially with what we know about her relationship with Joe now and the pandemic, it just didn't get to come to fruition how it was expected. And before anyone jumps me, this is not me blaming Joe, she made those decisions. And that growth mixed with how creative she felt and the fear of becoming or even just feeling irrelevant pushed it to come out asap.

The merch was something she had to give up to have her masters so tbh I don't know if that was something she had any say in whatsoever but it does break my heart because like the aesthetic of the flower crop tops was my favourite but they were just such shitty quality. Like yeah it's still not great now but that was by far the worst stuff I've ever received and again, makes me sad because it was the most catered to my style.

But yeah like as a whole, I actually love the Lover era. 30 Lessons I Learned Before 30 is still my favourite interview/media piece she's done, the only song off Lover I don't like is ME! and even then I think it's essential for the album and I think it was the starting steps to get where she is now. I just don't think that the singles necessarily helped or reflected that.