#if I do that my (sometimes dumb and rambly or very personal) ask posts are less likely to be reblogged

[canisalbus]

is there a reason you usually answer asks with a . and talk in the tags? i got confused when i first saw that bc usually when people do that its a 'presented without commentary' thing but you do have commentary haha it feels like you're answering just in whispers like a ghost

.

[masterjedilenawrites]

Hi Lena! Thank you for the "whole rambling post" as you called it, on Crosshair having a long-term relationship! Would you be able and willing to do one for Rex? I'm especially interested in your thoughts on his priorities when it comes to choice between his s/o and his brothers. We know he's very loyal, but who do you think would take precedence? Especially if his s/o is fighting a war alongside him (like, a medic or something). Thank you so much! I appreciate you! 💕

Of course I can ramble about my other love 💙

Rex would have been very slow to enter a relationship, even with someone he openly cared for. In fact, there's only one type of person he would ever be in a relationship with, and that would be his best friend. A person he's known for a while, completely trusts, and has practically already been sharing a life with the whole time anyway... so at a certain point, he might as well embrace these feelings he didn't know he had and make it official.

*cue his S/O sighing, "I thought you'd never ask"*

*cue his brothers and Ahsoka and Anakin and even the droids he's fighting exclaiming, "It's about time!!!"*

Once in a relationship, Rex starts acting like a boy with a crush. Can't sleep. Longing looks. Blushes galore. He can't understand why he's like this. He's had so many conversations with them, why is he just now getting tongue-tied? Naturally his brothers tease him about it and cause him to be even more flustered. Eventually he settles back into normalcy... but he'll still have moments where he's so enamored by them he can't function, no matter how long they've been together.

The fact his relationship is built on a friendship makes him the absolute sweetest boyfriend. He already knows so much about them, how to make them happy, how to comfort them, the right things to say or do at the right times. And now he can add in physical gestures and romantic touches. He is delighted when he can get them to blush as much as he does. But more importantly, he just sleeps better knowing they are taken care of.

Furthermore, he and his S/O have fun. They can be utter goofballs sometimes, coming up with dumb inside jokes and silly dances and other random nonsense. It's a kind of intimacy for them, to let down their inhibitions and enjoy the small things. Any arguments that come up are usually petty and not taken too seriously. But for the few disagreements that are serious, Rex will insist they take time to compose themselves separately before coming back together to talk it over.

There is no question of his loyalty, because he knows that his S/O values all the same things. Whether they're fighting with the GAR, or rescuing clone brothers from the Empire, or any other cause they set their sights on... they're doing it together. They are a team. Rex will still worry about them, of course, and he may have nightmares sometimes about being in a situation where he has to choose between saving a brother or saving his S/O.

That being said, he does struggle with making decisions. The future is an empty, uncertain place to him, and outside of strategizing on a battlefield, he really doesn't know what to plan for. He doesn't want to get his hopes up - or his partner's - for something that could be taken away from them. Sometimes this hesitancy even carries into the small things, like planning a date night or getting a pet. He does better when his S/O reframes things as helping others, or appeals to his nobleness.

Rex is a caring, genuine, and devoted lover. He may not follow a conventional path into romance, but that's okay. His relationship is that much more fulfilling and special because of it. Rex is an exceptional clone, capable of so much more than he was designed to be. He needs a partner who sees that and empowers him, who will stand by his side as an equal, fighting the good fight. In turn, Rex will support and love them for who they are and all the joy they bring him.

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Friendly reminder: This blog and its posts will remain spoiler-free for The Bad Batch Season 3 until the entirety of the season has aired. Please do not comment or reblog with spoilers until after 5/1/24. Thank you!

[beanghostprincess]

If you’ve seen the part where Winry gives him her earrings… you’re really close to another super emotional, gut wrenching scene that gets me every time (from Ed’s pov).

Personally I don’t ship either of them with anyone else because their scenes are just so… like it’s so obvious they’re so completely and irrevocably in love with one another that I can’t imagine them loving anyone else or even just crushing on anyone else. Like on one hand they’re two very well written characters with their own interests and passions unrelated to the other, which is great to see because I don’t like when characters only exist within a ship, but on the other hand, at the same time they love one another so much that it’s like the other is their world? In a way? Like the other is always on their mind and they’re always worrying for one another and wanting the other to be happy. I’ve always thought Ed has actually loved Winry since they were kids and that Winry fell for him as a teen, or at least that she realized she loved him when she was a teen. But the thing with Ed and Al arguing over who would get to marry Winry someday when they were kids, and Ed being the only one still thinking about it and being so flustered when he asks Winry about it, is a pretty big sign for me that he indeed fell for her back then and has kept on loving her all along (trying to hide it from others and failing miserably) while Al prob had a small crush on her as a kid, and eventually moved on and saw her just as a best friend and as a part of his family.

Idk I’m just rambling sorry hejhfkds I love seeing your FMAB posts, it’s always fun to see the first reactions of someone to a piece of media you love, especially when they’re as positive and wholesome as yours have been. So thank you for sharing that with us (and good luck for the incoming scene I mentioned… and for the finale. They might ruin you… but in a good way lol)

Yesterday I watched the scene in which a pipe (or a beam? Whatever that thing was) fucking goes through Ed's body (disgusting. Thank you. I almost died of a heart attack) and he almost dies and only gets up and fights against it because he "doesn't want to make her cry for something so dumb" and I think these two are going to be the death of me (also Winry screaming for Ed when Al doesn't respond. I am throwing up. I can't do this).

I ship Ed with Ling and Winry with Paninya because I have the magical powers of a multishipper, but I do agree on the fact that they're indubitably in love and I'm 100% sure they're together in every universe no matter what. They love each other so so much it makes me melt every time. The other day I had to pause the show to scream about them (sometimes I pity the friend that watches the show with me because he has to deal with me doing a character analysis every fucking time something happens).

And please!! Keep rambling about Fmab whenever you want in my inbox (without spoilers ofc until I finish this) because I just love talking about it. It's becoming one of my favorite animes for sure <3 I'm so so glad you like seeing my opinions on this!!

[romeoisalesbian]

look man i just wanna ramble about romeo & juliet because it's a play that's near and dear to my heart

ok ok SO.

I feel like I keep seeing the take that Romeo & Juliet is REALLY about how dumb teens are and how their love was too impulsive and it's supposed to be a cautionary tale because their love gets them both dead.

And that's a fine takeaway I think! That's something you CAN get from the story. BUt I must confess it makes little sense to me.

I may be foolish, but I feel like everyone forgets about the whole familial conflict aspect of the play. like bro the first lines of the entire thign are like "hey guys there are these two families that ahte each other SO MUCH and they have FOREVER and now they're murdering each other." the first scene is about how the Montagues and the Capulets super duper hate each other so much so they're gonna square up in the middle of town with swords and shit after flipping each other off a few times

The turning point of the play, when it shifts from a silly romcom to a Balls Wrenching Tragedy, occurs firmly when Tybalt kills Mercutio.

THe actual romance aspect of the play is going FINE until this point! Romeo and Juliet the couple are pretty on the same page about everything happening in their relationship (even if that page is guided by impulse). Romeo is pretty jazzed at the start of the murder scene, and is in fact entirely unwilling to do the murder thing at all.

BUT! Tybalt is kinda a dick! And IS NOT willing to overlook the whole family-conflict-clown thing. And Tybalt's whole "i need to challenge romeo right this instant oh my god" impulse has very little to do with Romeo and Juliet's actual relationship. While a lot of adaptations have Tybalt see Romeo and Juliet being all Romantical at the party, textually Tybalt entirely is ready to brawl because Romeo showed up to the Capulet party at all and Tybalt is all Death Before My Rival Commits a Minor Social Faux Pas.

And Romeo murdering Tybalt and getting banished ALSO has little to do with Juliet or their relationship. His bro just died man. Yes it was stupid and impulsive, but man sometimes it's hard to keep your head on straight when your bestie just died (worth noting that Mercutio curses the family conflict itself when he dies!)

Like Romeo's issues all stem from that key interaction with Tybalt, who upholds the family conflicts above all else in every single scene he appears in.

Juliet on the other hand, is in the SHITTIEST situation. Her father is physically abusive towards her, and her parents are pressuring her to be married off to this random dude that is at best mostly well-meaning and adhering to general romance standards and at worst a massive creep (that's something that depends on acting and directing choices, I think. Paul Rudd Paris has never done anything wrong in his life). Juliet is trapped in this situation in which she is surrounded by pressure and abuse and familial conflict and death. It is reasonable to want to escape that at all measures, even if she acts impulsively and doesn't think through every single thing about the Friar's Genius Plan because god how could she in her circumstances?

If you're Juliet, your one escape from a shitty situation and environment is a boy who you firmly believe loves you, even if he has done some weird shit. If you're Romeo, your entire life has fallen apart because an ancient conflict resulted in your best friend dying and you getting banished for murder. What do you have to care for but someone who you think loves you and who you love amidst all the conflict?

To me, so much of the story hangs upon the familial conflict that the ending of the story is representative of a societal failure as opposed to a personal failure of our two leads.

No matter whether you see the relationship between local weenie romeo and local brain cell juliet as true love or as some passing fancy (i personally think it can be considered love but that's a different post for a different time, send me an ask if youre curious), it SHOUDLN'T end in several deaths and two suicides. The reason it does is because of a pointless family conflict our leads are brought up in.

[gren-arlio]

You guys voted Something Random, I love and hate you at the same time.

In that case...Y'all know about JUMP HERO? Welcome to...well, rambles about some random things.

(Da Satan Plant. As of writing this I just hit 51 followers. Wow.)

Hey all, Gren here. I know its been a bit since I've properly posted, and frankly, you're not wrong at all. Life's been busy, and with the rate I'm going at (going to college and whatnot, middle of the school year shenanigans,) there's no way in hell I'll be able to keep the once-a-week posting that I've done. Maybe for summer, but I dunno yet.

Also, life's been hitting me HELLA hard recently, so motivation is also not there. If YKYK.

Which leads to an announcement that I made before: I won't exactly be posting weekly anymore. I'll just... post whenever I feel like it nowadays. Adds a lot less stress for me, and I'll be able to send dumb shit about Puyo and Madou here. Ya know, like a normal blog. You might get 3 posts in a week for all you know.

But enough on that. I'm here to ramble. This won't be a Waku Puyo Extras thing or whatever, literally just things I wanna show and explain some nonsense. There's no formula. Enjoy.

----

I've been working on this stuff since April of last year, and it's been going decently well, people partially know my works. Now, what in the world do I want to show y'all this time around, since I got free will?

Well for one, I'd you've been following my work for a bit, you'd know about the pain that was finding Madou Sugoroku content, that game was so elusive to me that I was convinced it wasn't real for a period of time.

Uh, yeah. It's real. Very, very much real. And man do I love the style of the game. It's so dang pretty. I'll mention gameplay some other time, I'll cover it another time, but today's not that day.

Also. Arle's fit.

It's basically Schezo's clothes but it looks so damn good. No complaints here. Though I do wonder how she got it.

I do want to mention the Pairs though. Arle/Satan is fine, Witch/Draco have been paired since like Saturn, Schezo/Incubus at least have Waku Puyo, Minotauros/Rulue is obligatory, but what the FUCK is going on with the pairing of Sasori Man/Zoh Daimoh? The fact they got two word names?

I do wish that Draco just had a little bit more than what she has currently. I love her, she's a funny person and whatnot, I just wish there was...more, you know?

She's been a character I've been wanting to cover for god knows how long, it's just I've never had enough unique things to talk about with her. Lotta the stuff is things we do know, or Puyo Puyo Tetris [2] sorta just making her beauty obsessed.

Least in Waku Puyo, she has some comedic scenes, canonically being able to make 5 chains and confusing Schezo at least 3 times. And in the manga, she bounces off Rulue and Minotauros decently, her fight was fun to read.

(Don't ask how Rulue learned Shadow Clone Jutsu)

And for a second, let me say that the designs in this manga are top-notch. Witch's redesign is nice, Rulue's looks really good, Draco's design is great, Schezo consistently has the best clothes, and Lagnus... somehow looks even better.

Oh yea, speaking of Draco, let's look at someone who sorta kinda maybe perchance looks like her but is actually from JUMP HERO.

... I'm awful with transitions. We're talking about the series. Sorta.

So, JUMP HERO. Series made by Compile, unknown to a lot of us.

(Nexus image)

Frankly, I want to cover this game sometime. It seems so...interesting. The characters, the gameplay, the story, it all seems so interesting to me.

People like Billie Be Babine, Margarita Linda, (the black and red folks in the front), Sugar & Oligo, they all seem so damn cool. Oh, and that Penguin is some fella named Ivan. He has a reeeeeally long last name.

Oh and that robot guy is like 2 years old canonically. Needed to mention that.

This is Sugar and Oligo btw. They seem fun to talk about sometime.

(Nexus image)

The game feels so heavily unexplored. I want to see it sometime. When? Whole other story.

But with that, I think this'll end my small ramble about nothing. Thanks for reading.

Adios.

[findafight]

THANK YOU for the scoops troop post starcourt fic bc it’s been driving me CRAZY that the whole tortured by Russian MILITARY as teenagers was never brought up again!? Especially with Steve - like I don’t know how my guy handles physical touch and affection after all he’s been through physically and emotionally and he’s written off as a haha character most of the time but there’s SO much there with trauma, especially since the only other person with an inkling of what happened with the Russians is Robin

Ahhh yeah continuing this fic is definitely on the list. sorry this gets a little rambling and idk if it makes sense. Because obviously Steve and Robin don't outright tell Dustin and Erica what happened but they're smart kids and sort figured there was some light torture happening. And when you're running on adrenaline a lot of stuff doesn't register right away, so they have to have a chat about that and guilt for 'letting' it happen.

And like, they could have mentioned it when everyone regrouped in the food court but by that point Robin and Steve were crashing from Russian drugs and I can only assume they thought it was pretty obvious where they'd been what with Erica telling Murray how to actually get in. But then it's over and Hopper is dead and so is billy so it's not even the biggest deal that they were tortured and Robin definitely thought Steve was dead for a bit. They can deal with it together.

With Steve it's like "haha Steve is slow on the uptake and doesn't understand a lot and isn't very smart and asks a lot of dumb questions" and never "steve has had two severe concussions within a year of each other and he still graduated highschool on time only to be concussed AGAIN" my poor beloved blorbo please someone let him rest. And I desperately want one of the actual adult members of the upside down crew to realize that he's just sort of. Dealt with it by himself or with Robin, that he doesn't have the same support network as the party or Joyce and Hop or Nancy and Jonathan (who both have siblings that understand, Jon with his mom as well). And yeah he has Robin after S3, and Dustin is basically his brother, but it's different, because the only one who he'd remotely be absolutely honest with is Robin, who also only has him, and actually it's a miracle they're functional at all.

And I want Steve to be confused why the Grown Ups are mad (worried?) That he didn't tell them he and Robin were actually literally tortured because they all had better things to do, they had no obligations to Steve. He and Robin had each other, and he and Robin supported Dustin and Erica, and they're all fine now. The first few months were rough, sure, but now it's okay.

Plus the fact that the Byers were moving leaving Steve as the oldest person besides Murray who didn't live in Hawkins who knew about the upsidedown. He was the one that was supposed to be in charge and responsible, because no one else should have to do that when they're all trying to move on, so what good would telling Joyce, who would be far from Hawkins and its horrors, about how he could barely wear his watch sometime because it reminded him of being tied back to back with Robin. She couldn't do anything about it and she didn't get it the way Robin would.

So he and Robin have sleep overs and long talks so they're semi functional and can help Erica and Dustin work through it too. They deal with it together, because none of their parents know and Steve is accustomed to adults being unreliable even without world ending secrets involved. And there aren't any grown ups around anyways so. He's the grown up of the group and it's his job to make sure all the kids are okay.

I think out of anyone outside of Scoops Troop, Lucas probably knows the most because Erica is his sister and now she knows he gets her to talk about it. She's reluctant at first because he wasn't there, but does, because Lucas is her big brother and he is there for her. And while he and Steve were friends after Billy in S2 and Steve's protective streak, Lucas gets really close to Steve with Erica, because they're both clingy to each other and Steve, for all he's basically a bag of nervously shaking chihuahuas with hairspray and ibuprofen keeping him from breaking down at any given moment he isn't holding Robin's hand, seems like a stable force in their lives.

[a-loving-ghost]

Ok so thinking again about how Andrew's devotion translates to the two of them (LE)

He obviously wants to do every task that is wanted of him for even a split second but he has to be a bit more careful than that. He can't just suddenly leave without announcing because it'll make Emil sad when he notices and completely disorient Luca if he happens to only realises Andrew is gone when they're coming back into the room or if he turns around to find himself alone. Both of them are clingy as well,,,

so despite how much Andrew wants to just do it himself, in the case of Luca the task is usually done by the two of them. Though he doesn't mind, since that means he just gets to spend time with them. Emil is a different story. As he's usually just very content to stare into space or sleep a little until Andrew comes back (as long as told what's happening beforehand), Andrew can do stuff for him and not have to worry.

It's kind of nice taking care of Emil, since even if Andrew wants only the best for him, he's got such a low bar for comfort that Andrew can afford to mess up and not be immediately punched in the throat by guilt because he knows Emil won't be mad, even though it creeps up later. Emil will probably just laugh absentmindedly at it anyway.

It's also easy to stay with Emil for affection reasons, since he's pretty nice to hold with most of his body being covered by the straightjacket and blankets. And he's very willing to be held too. They can ask each other questions and answer them, or Andrew can just coo at him in quiet adoration while he listens.

Emil's main ""problem"" (not that Andrew considers it one) is that he isn't much of a Doing Things person. He's very passive, not really initiating conversation and preferring to listen, and he'll mostly just do quiet things himself or copy what everyone else is doing.

If Andrew wants socialisation, or praise, or things to keep his brain busy, he can go to Luca.

Luca is very good for conversation in that he has a strange way with words that leaves Andrew enamored, despite not knowing what he's saying a lot of the time. But that's okay! Luca is more than happy to explain these simple things in a way Andrew's dumb brain can understand. He could listen to Luca ramble all day and night if he needed to, and that ends up happening sometimes with Luca's time blindness. Andrew feels a bit guilty for letting him stay awake so long, but he sounds so happy!! How could Andrew ever ruin his fun?

Unlike Emil, Luca is a very Doing Things person, too. It seems like every few days he's come up with some idea that everyone can get in on, and Andrew loves that. He can be included amongst his angels, considered an equal even if he very much isn't. And he usually has a new trinket to put in his shrine on his shelf at the end.

Luca's ""problem"" is that he's not easy to take care of. He insists he's fine and that he doesn't need it, just like Andrew, and with his noble background it makes Andrew anxious that what he gives Luca isn't always up to his standards. Luca says it is, but can he be sure?

Luca will give him trinkets and hugs and words while stringing Andrew along dumbly for the ride. It's kind of like how Emil must feel with him, but in Luca's loud, sparkling way. It feels amazing to be loved by such a genius!

Even if they claim they're not one of those anymore, Andrew still believes it anyway.

i love love long ass posts theyre my favorite thing ever god :3

[garoujo]

・✶ ｡ﾟ𝖗𝖚𝖑𝖊𝖘

BEFORE YOU FOLLOW !

ꕤ this blog contains sfw / nsfw + dark content, minors can read and interact w my sfw work only but you must be 18+ to follow and interact with me. minors, ageless or blank blogs will be blocked ! : this blog is not spoiler free.

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WRITING !

ꕤ this blog is multifandom so you will most likely see me write for whichever fandom i want ! ; although i write mostly for jujutsu kaisen, tokyo revengers and genshin impact. i also go between thirsts, hcs & fics.

ꕤ i don’t take requests currently, only suggestions but i am always open for thirsts, if they inspire me i’ll expand and write something longer for them but please don’t expect content. i don’t have a posting schedule i only post whenever i have something done, this can be daily or a couple of times a week.

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ꕤ please be mindful this blog contains dark content like stepcest, piss kink etc. although i won’t write kinks like ; scat, vore, vomit, infantilisation, feet or lactation. but everything else will be tagged accordingly under  ݁ . ༅ : domain and also eg. tw piss

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fank yew for reading if u made it this far >_<

[alo-piss-trancy]

Btw even if I don't check in here as often as I used to, I really do appreciate all of you who stick with this blog anyways c': Especially since I barely post anything 'kinky' myself anymore. So this is mostly just a gaming/media rant and personal blog now oops

In some ways I'm definitely better off than I was a few years ago, but I've also been dealing with a lot of chaos in my life and household and it doesn't look like it's gonna get fixed very soon. Mix of financial, physical health of me and family I've been heavily assisting, house things in desperate need of repair...

On top of that I've been starting to realize I might actually have developed some form of Agoraphobia from all that time I was housebound before... and other stuff, but I think that was probably the main contributor. I'm still looking into it but with how a lot of the other things I've tried to cope haven't helped, meds don't seem to touch it much, and it seems to be getting worse, it's looking more and more likely than I'd like to admit. Which sucks bc it's also going to be hard af to keep up with working to treat it with Exposure or smth if I'm buried in all the above stuff/have limited transport/places to even go. It's really freaking hard when I do rarely go out and the anxiety/illness makes it so much worse. There've been times I've had to give up and go back early after like, an hour bc I was vomiting/crippled with pain/on the verge of fainting... and that's been happening more often. Like 1 in every 3 times, and I may only get out 3 times a month at the worst points.

Idk. I'm trying. I'm keeping up with the bare minimum rn and that's all I can really say lol

Also the only problem that's actually relevant to kink blog: my drive is still at 0 or even the negatives bc I can't get my medication sorted out bc my appointments got pushed back AGAIN ☠️ So yeah. That's why there has been no writing or hc posts and will not probably be for a WHILE. On God, it's about as appealing to me as eating dry cardboard 😔 Trying to write or draw anything fun is like pulling teeth and if I won't enjoy the end result then I'm not gonna bother RIP. When I get that sorted out maybe I can finally touch my poor WIP pile again 😭

Uh yeah so. That's why I've been so absent for like... forever. I do miss checking in here but I also get in my own head sometimes about posting when I'm not 'providing' anything this blog was intended for. Which I realise is dumb bc it's MY blog and if I want to rant about video games only for like a year straight then I'm allowed to. But brains are Fun like that 🥲

For what it's worth I'm not in like, a fullblown mental crisis so please don't worry about that! I'm not in any immediate danger or smth! I do have some other hobbies I've been keeping up with and socialising in other spaces. And I've been reading. So I promise I'm not in a complete isolated depression pit 💛 Life could definitely be better and I def have some rough days, but I have been trying to take some baby steps to either fix things or keep myself sane at least lol

Idk I just felt like I should explain why I've been mostly gone for ages off and on. I do lurk here sometimes to peek at things even if I don't have the energy to show myself. But I do really appreciate anyone who sends asks or comments on my ao3 or just reads my ramblings lol 💛 Even when I can't respond immediately I still treasure the gesture and it makes me happy to see some of the same names around in my notifs/dash c': So thank you~

[legionofpotatoes]

Hi Legion! Long time lurker and lover of your art and tags here. I always read your tags and I'm really interested in your thoughts & views on love and relationships, so I'm curious to know where you got those ideas from. Are there any videos, terms, or books you could recommend? It really resonated with me and since I'm a huge nerd my first instinct is to find more sources haha. Thank you so much!

This ask genuinely made me sit with myself and think long and hard about how my views on that stuff really formed, something I maybe took for granted a lil bit. So thanks, and I'm sorry that I can't give a nerdy answer here! It is difficult to point to specific sources, it's more of a lived-experience type thing. It truly is The Question Of All Time lmao. And boy did it get me thinking back.

I'll put my ramble under the cut if this is not interesting or what you're after, but I enjoyed the introspection still! Thank you!

My context is entirely unremarkable (middle class cishet white guy from eastern europe), but if I had to point to one thing that is the bottleneck of my views on love and relationships, I genuinely think it could be traced to my insane early childhood nat20 roll to avoid toxic masculinity pipelines. I truly believe in my bones that if I had been seduced by that stuff - and legitimately all but maybe two of my childhood friends were - I'd be a completely different, colder, worse person today. I credit only luck in that.

Where I'm from, boys of my generation were set on a very specific path very early on that was pointed veeeery far away from "love". All wrapped up in warped orthodox christianity and crypto-nationalist sentiments, stemming from our incredibly disillusioned post-soviet parent figures constantly running in survival mode. So like, I legitimately don't remember how I managed to avoid those circles and behavior patterns, and the truth is that I probably sometimes didn't? I certainly made stupid mistakes in my early teens, but I had the luxury of making them outside of the public eye of social media. More luck.

There's other alchemy of course - as a child of divorce I got a real early up-close look at the ugly results of mistrust and toxic "love", and a lot of my life back then was rebelling against that. Not that the parenting itself was always bad - my mother turned me to the arts and to stories, which eventually led me to fandom that I can now identify as a much healthier outlet for my frustrations than whatever my peers were doing with their nighttime brawls. It led me to a very crystallized idea of what I really wanted from life - not glory or patriotism or ambition, but a quiet life with the ones I loved.

That is also around the time when I let go of teenage lust as my north star and started fostering friendships instead; because like, relationships are bonds and connections, nothing more or less. Sexuality and romantic love can take as big or as small of a role in that as the parties desire, and they're entirely ornamental to the value of linking your experience with another living, breathing human. Realizing the divinity and beauty in that changes almost everything in an instant. And it is such a goofy-ass thing to say, but yeah, for a lost idiot dude like me, fandom helped me see that. Even the raunchiest fics were ultimately about belonging and emotional nakedness, and I learned to desire that more than anything else. I am trying so hard to point to something specific here, but I honestly don't know with way back then. Bioware's found family-ass games/fanfics were a big one later on, but there were so many other communities before. My memory's just bad.

But knowing I wanted love was one thing, and being a healthier, more empathetic person ready to actually get that was a whole other trek. Made a few more dumb interpersonal mistakes. And then I met my current partner, now over twelve years ago, and realized there was a version of me reflected in her eyes that I could truly chase and grow into. This all sounds super melodramatic but it was more of a terrifying thought at the time, stoking self-doubt and real worry that I was leading her into a mistake. But of course that was all a symptom of terminal self-awareness. We were in our early 20s, mature enough not to play childish emotional games, and young enough to go on that growth journey together. More luck. Found that gentle peace I had yearned for with her., and I count my lucky stars to this day.

In short, everything about my understanding of love and relationships is rooted in personal circumstance + massive amounts of luck, and especially that early course-correction away from toxic dudeness. Nothing extracurricular. And then just more and more luck piled on with time, culminating with my lovely bean. So in that sense I'm the worst person to ask this question! And times have really changed irt internet culture and fandom so I can't even point at that part as an action point either.

But if nothing else, I believe that storytelling is the ultimate shortcut in getting our dumb teenage brains over the precipice of pride and control, and towards the gentle pursuit of love in all its forms. I think that's worth articulating over and over again. Thanks for reading this long and I promise I usually interpret asks like a normal person! This is an exception!!! a big question if there ever was one

[safyresky]

Ok, this is gonna sound dumb, but how does one get motivation to write? Like, I have characters, scenes, etc planned out in my head, but I'm always stuck on how to start out. I was wondering if you had any tips on going about that? Do you have endings planned out first in mind, or just go with the flow? Any charts made, etc?

Oh no, not dumb at all! A very good question actually. Starting something is the hardest part, imo :). I think it's the question I see most people ask fellow writers.

Starting is hard! I totally understand. It took me YEARS before I finally posted, and that was because Rise of the Guardians was coming out and after watching the trailer I went "ah shit, people are gonna think I ripped Jacqueline off of Chris Pine Jack Frost. That's no bueno, better get this mofo OUT!" I am a notorious procrastinator and the thought of negative feedback actually renders me useless, so I needed a bit of a kick in the butt there 💀💀💀

I think it depends on the person, really. Everyone has a different thing that works for them! Some plan, some just go FUCK IT, WE BALL, and do just that! Here's my kind of. Idk if I'd CALL IT a system? Or a process? But here's what I do, and maybe it'll help you find what works for you?

So I don't really have the end planned right away. I don't usually have ANYTHING planned lol. Generally, most of the things I write start with a hazy concept or idea. For example:

Crystal Springs: What if Jack went through the same thing Zuko did in Book 3, since he thawed? What if someone had to reteach him how to find what powers his powers? Who would they be? How would that work? (this then proceeded to spiral out of control into CS as we know it today).

Frostmas: If Jack was Santa, who was Jack Frost? How did we get from the usual business to a THEME PARK?!?!

Sometimes they're srs like that, other times they're downright silly:

Frog Warning: Haha, I misspelled fog when telling the hubbers about the weather. That's some Crystal Springs ass shit. Jacqueline and Charlie are just minding their business when a frog comes bouncing down the street, the weather is FROG WARNING--oh. Oh, this could be fun!

Actually starting is the hard part, but here's my lil secret: I usually don't start things in order! If I have an idea, I'll go ahead and write it down--whether it be in hazy notes, or actually writing a rough kind of draft, I just get it down and go from there! It works for me for the most part, and then I usually go with the flow from there. Where does this scene fit? What happens before it?

This usually leads to the mess that is my onenote notebook for Crystal Springs, lol. Each story has a tab, and each page is usually a chapter, and I just launch into notes there and go absolutely crazy. Completely HAM. I don't worry about proper grammar or spelling, I just write what I think happens, and brainstorm from there! That's how I get gems like this:

Or like this (CS spoilers abound):

Where on the left is the outline, I suppose, of the work (Chapter 26 of CS I believe this is) and thoughts I have after reading them back go beside the section I thought them about!

Then after that, the actual writing part becomes a LOT easier: I have a sort of outline, and can just refer to it as I make it less messy notes, more actual story chapter. And then, a couple read throughs later, maybe some scene rewrites, and voila! I've got me a story >:)

Starting is hard. SO hard. You're so right, Anon! And before I get too ramble-y, here's my "advice", if you will (aka a tl;dr)

Everyone has something different that works for them, because everyone's writing styles are different. Here's what works for me:

Start wherever. Not at the beginning, not at the end. If a particular scene/part is on my mind, I get it down right away! You don't need to start at the beginning! :)

Get those ideas down! Write out the scene, the character, the idea, the plot point. Doesn't matter how: could be notes, could be writing the entire scene, could be a shitty doodle, just get it written down. Make it real! Put it on a page somewhere!

GET EXCITED ABOUT IT! Be your main cheerleader! give yourself the Fandom treatment and theorize about what happens next, what happens where, etc. And write anything that makes you go OH YO THAT'S GOOD down!

If something else crops up, don't be like "oh man, I gotta finish this scene, though, I can't jump into another thing". Jump into the other thing. Just write it down! Who knows? It may become part of your final story (this has happened to me often enough that I've lost count).

Once I've gotten the burning ideas down, it tends to grow from there. Sometimes going with the flow works very well (and it does for me, for the most part).

After that, I sort the ideas, place them where I picture them (beginning, middle, end), and write notes leading up to the scenes I've already got.

The notes then make it super easy to write the rest of the story, and suddenly I've got a 16k chapter and 20 more ideas to fill the other portions of the story!

So, yeah! Long post, sorry for your dashes, I can stick a readmore somewhere in here if everyone wants, but there's my process. The takeaway?

JUST WRITE! WHATEVER IDEA YOU HAVE, WHETHER IT'S BEGINNING, MIDDLE, OR END, WRITE IT DOWN! :D

Once you've got something, it's a lot easier to start. And when you just go with the flow, and write what you have in mind, it becomes fun, and worrying about starting? Not a problem anymore because holy shit am I having fun, and wow! I've got so much to go off of now! (Also I hate deadlines and self imposed goals, they only make me feel pressure and then the writing isn't fun anymore, it feels like a chore, or a project, or an essay, or a work task. I'm going to be a terrible profesh writer one of these days)

ANYWAY I have no idea if this is what you were looking for, or if this helps at ALL. I hope it does a little bit! I'd strongly encourage you to write the concepts you have in your head right now, and don't worry about putting it all together just yet. Go with the flow, have fun with it, and see where it takes you! :)

And, uh, if any of my other writer friends have any tips and tricks, @lmelodie and @kscribbs and @shittyelfwriter (if u take a breather from kingdoming those tears lol), feel free to add! :)

[burnitalldowndarling]

(4/4) and yet you get all these young, new writers writing as if instead of using our language the way it should be used, create things that read as if they’re literally translating English syntax to the letter, with results that, more often than not, are unreadable and pretty cringe-inducing. Sorry, this is all very rambly, but it is to say: what are your personal thoughts on that? Do you write differently when writing fanfic vs original fiction, and if so, what are some of the key differences you can think of? (Besides the obvious) Is there even such a thing as a “fanfic writing style”? And would you say it’s fair to say some fanfic is actively on par with published literature? Because to me it seemed obvious until I started seeing all the online discourse around that, on both extremes. I’m very curious to get your in-depth thoughts on that, besides just reflagging a post and agreeing with its contents.

Sorry I couldn't include your whole 4-part ask, Anon friend! I didn't want to make this too long. Speaking of which, here's a readmore.

Okay. First: there's discourse about fanfic vs original fic? Again? Yaaaaawn. And to answer: I do alter my style for fanfic, mostly to match canon better. Like, in my Dragon Age fics, I try to use the same dialogue style that the games use. Cullen sounds posh, for example, and overly formal even when he's trying to be casual; Carver sounds more casual and uses more rough slang. In Mass Effect I mostly do the same, plus I sometimes use choppier narration for a militaristic, "macho" feel, again emulating the games' style of making everybody sound Extremely American and badass. Devil May Cry was more of a challenge because those games don't have a consistent dialogue/narration style to emulate, just "who translated this and were they drunk?" Instead I had to focus on character and motivations -- i.e. "Dante is always hilariously nihilistic but he really just wants a family and some peace & quiet." With Trigun I've been struggling a lot because there are three completely different canons with three completely different characterizations and narrative styles -- two of which directly contradict each other -- and then there are the six or seven different translations! I haven't really settled on a style for that fandom, but trying to blend everything is part of the fun, for me. I like a challenge.

I'm not "dumbing down" or negatively affecting my own style by doing this, I don't think. Playing with other voices, by other rules, helps me refine my own authentic voice in much the same way that improv helps actors and comedians. I think that's the case for anyone who writes fanfic, but it's probably easiest to see with the pros. Take astolat, for example. Some of her Aubrey-Maturin fanfics are more restrained than her Temeraire novels, even though the latter were inspired by the former. The restraint is because there probably weren't many dragons running around during the Napoleonic wars, and because she's sticking close to Patrick O'Brien's style on purpose. But then, in the Temeraire books, she discards these constraints, which to me is her doing the writing equivalent of this:

Then she just fucking goes ham on her readers. Kicks them in the head with one of the best alternate histories I've ever seen, rewriting colonialism from scratch and giving it a better ending. She replaces a deep human friendship with the closeness between a man and his bus-sized Chinese dragon, and it works. These are feats of literary derring-do that a lot of writers cannot emulate, and wouldn't dare try. And yet I've heard more than one reader complain that she "wastes time" on fanfic. Which to me is like complaining that Rock Lee "wastes time" wearing weights.

tl,dr; Most people who insist that fanfic is inferior lack the expertise to judge the real skill involved in making it. Doesn't stop them from opening their stupid Dunning-Kruger mouths, tho, does it.

[theballadofdrjekyll]

YELLO!! I am remaking my account intro! Read for about me and DNI list!

My name is Cinnamon, but you can call me Cinna!

I am 18, white, and I’m an INFP! My pronouns are he/it and I’m trans masc! (Use They/She and I will block you on the spot! You are misgendering me even if you use they/them for me.)

For my own comfort, anyone under 15 DNI.

I am autistic and have a few Special Interests, those in italics are fixations but could very well end up as a SPIN:

Cookie Run

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (hyperfixation)

Super Mario

Journalism/The Media

I am currently fixated on Chonny Jash and his content, especially his Gothic Whores album.

I sometimes use the hashtags “cinna rants” (< usually more discourse based) and “cinna rambles” (< more so just.. rambling) - I will be trying to post more actively soon!

I will mostly be posting about Chonny Jash and various (gothic) literature, but you can also expect to see, Cookie Run, Good Omens, Undertale/Deltarune, Sky; Children of the Light as well as most Mario games! I also enjoy animal crossing a lot so !!!

I am an inspiring writer and adore writing a ton! I don’t really take requests for things nowadays as they can lead to me being burned out, but I absolutely LOVE receiving questions and stuff from you guys! So please! Feel free to send me questions, dms, and whatnot! (If I am uncomfortable I will not answer, sorry! - or I’ve forgotten.. it’s a 50/50/lh)

A couple of people have asked me if I’m okay with fanart (for my spectre au) and to that I say, YES !! I absolutely love receiving fanart and everytime I have most definitely cried, screamed and shown my family! (The Spectre Au is discontinued)

BYF:

While I’m unsure how you wouldn’t have noticed by now, I love Cookie Run! If that makes you uncomfortable, please don’t interact!

I don’t like the J&H musical, while I will not actively post much about my dislike of it, just a heads up for those who do like it !

Not much to add here that doesn’t get answered elsewhere! I try my best to tag things accordingly, especially knowing the nature of my Spectre Au!

If you want anything to be tagged, please dm or send an ask! I will try my best to tag that thing, although I may forget and if I do, I’m terribly sorry!

DNI LIST:

(I will just block how I see fit)

The usual DNI’s: homophobic, racist, islamophobic, antisemitic, transphobic(including terfs, transmeds), ableist, etc!

Anti Fictionkin, Anti Otherkin, Anti Therian etc

If you think tone tags are dumb, or disagree with xenogenders, dni

I do not mind people from “problematic” fandoms interacting with me (DSMP, HAZBIN, GENSHIN, any of those typically problematic labelled fandoms) - While not actively a part of the DSMP fandom I rarely watch some of the creators(not often at all anymore) I do not and will not post about them as I no longer care for it. I don’t mind if you guys interact but please be aware that things listed above do actually have things wrong with them, only fans who consume those things critically do I feel comfortable interacting with! I especially cannot speak as a Cookie Run fan!/lh

That in mind, if you actively support and defend problematic individuals and companies, and especially in this scenario, Devsisters - please DNI. Devsisters is littered with controversy and I consume their content critically (if that’s the right term!)

“Ralsei is Evil” supporters please uh- interact cautiously. That theory makes me incredibly upset/uncomfortable for personal reasons.

ENDO SYSTEMS AND THEIR SUPPORTERS DNI !! (Blocked on sight.)

Similarly, proshippers DNI. You all are disgusting. (Blocked on sight.)

People who romanticise mommy issues/daddy issues/abuse. DNI. Blocked on sight most definitely.

But YEA !! That’s it! I’ve probably forgotten things and this will be updated but, if you’ve made it this far, drink some water! Have a nice day/night !!