#like this specific dynamic with these specific personalities is something i've never written before and i'm pretty excited

[thetypingpup]

jssjjsjsj hi i sent that kitty!yy ask and the edging one (i... send a lot of asks tbh, sometimes i see you answer a whole batch of my asks and i have to remember that i'm the one who even wrote them lmao. i'm the one who said i'm "everywhere and nowhere".) I WANNA KNOW SOOO MUCH. I WANNA KNOW EVERYTHING. also, yangyang seems like one of those friends/fwbs that'll rope you into dumb shit like bleaching his hair at 2am, which is maybe where the pink hair eventually comes in lol.

ok first off, dying his hair sounds like a funny ass high adventure you'd both have in like the middle of the night. like you're both joking and you tell him that he'd look good with pink hair, and he gets fixated like "yo i actually would tho" and you both venture out to buy hair dye and everything. that sounds like a fun scene to write omg and then you're both looking the next morning like "...well we got this hair dye, we might as well use it". as for the story itself, i'll tell you everything i got so far

i foresee this getting long so imma put a keep reading here

pup!you is a *insert breed here*, and kitty!yangyang is a *insert breed here* (i’ll figure it out i swear 🤧)

You two met in a class you had together, and you both were put together for a group project. surprise surprise you two were the only ones in the group who were doing any work bc you both need the grade. this led to you two working together a lot more and figuring out you have a few things in common, which got you both to open up more. Most importantly your sense of humor is very similar, which is when you really start connecting. 

Eventually you move from talking over groupme to texting each other directly, and the rest is history. You run into each other from time to time outside of class, like at sports games and other events, and then decide to start hanging out more just the two of you.

You both smoke from time to time with your own friends, but you’ve never smoked together until you’ve been friends for like a year.

one day you're over his place and you see his grinder and some papers out and it's like "you smoke?" "you smoke?" *insert spiderman meme here*

so anyway y'all smoke together and start getting all giggly and lost in the sensations

he's teasing you like "is it true pups like ear scritches and belly rubs?" and you let him pet your ears and you tell him how nice it feels

time lowkey slows down for a moment and you both really look at each other, and you're feeling this magnetic pull towards each other in the midst of your haze

one thing leads to another, y'all start making out, and then y'all end up fucking on his bed

the next morning it's honestly awkward at first, bc it's like what do you say to your friend who was just inside of you last night? you know what he looks like naked and you know what his dick feels like, so what are you even supposed to say now?

he's kinda feeling the same way, so after confirming you're both physically fine and remember everything, he leaves for the kitchen

you head to the bathroom and look at yourself in the mirror and see all the marks he left. even though you had never considered sleeping with your friend before now, you really enjoyed yourself last night, and you don't regret it

you both talk about it when you come back out and he tells you the same thing too, that he hadn't considered sleeping with you before (he thinks you're hot but he liked being friends) but he liked having sex with you and wants to do it again

he proposes y'all become friends with benefits. at first you're like "this is too good to be true" and you wanna be sure he's asking because he wants to, not because he feels obligated to just because you said you had fun. once he assures you that yes, he really does wanna be fwb with you, you accept, tail wagging and all bc last night was some of the best sex you've ever had and you're excited by the idea of being able to do that again and keep your friendship in tact

as for boundaries, basically you agree to keep it between you both, so no public displays. you can fuck around with other people, and if the moment's right and you both wanna have sex, then you'll have sex. but first and foremost, you're friends, and you wanna make sure to stay close as friends

he does ask if he can send sexts and nudes too, and you agree bc 1) that sounds fun to you and 2) it's still keeping things between the two of you

so y'all fuck around for a while, mostly when you're high bc that's what's fun to you. you start up a thing about listening to music and fucking with yangyang's led lights during sex, so it's a lotta lighthearted fun. this becomes important later

one thing i'll mention bc it's important later, but y’all don’t really talk a lot during sex. y’all talk a lot more outside the bedroom, but in the bedroom, you mostly let your bodies do the talking. you like indulging in the sensations and getting lost in each other, really being vulnerable and letting yourselves feel, which is elevated by the fact that you’re with someone you trust and have a crush on but neither of y’all say all that yet

time passes and one day you're really horny, like damn near in heat type of horny. by this point you've sexted and sent a few nudes, but you've never actually texted each other for sex. you've texted each other to hang out or study or something, and sometimes you'd end up having sex. bottom line is the vast majority of your texts are still friendly at this point. on the one hand he is your friend with benefits, and this is the benefit you both agreed to. but the thought of texting him like "hey i want sex" is really nerve wracking to you bc you don't wanna treat him like a booty call on a roster. he's your friend first and foremost

you try to get yourself off with a few toys but it doesn't work. you just keep thinking about him. his voice, the way he feels, his scent fuck his scent. thinking about all of that is what drives you to actually text him can you come over? i need you

he starts sexting back, which reassures you at first because it shows he's into it. but then he starts teasing and by now you're horny and frustrated, so you get bold and send him pictures of the toys that didn't work and your soaked panties, showing him just how much you need him. that turns him on beyond belief and he comes over

he eats you out as many times as you need, insisting on focusing on you. like after you're fully satisfied and ask if he wants anything in return, all he does is wipe his mouth with his sleeve and ask to watch a movie. you get him off later in the night, but it sticks with you that he was entirely focused on you when you said you needed him

at one point, yangyang’s smoking with hendery, mark, and some of his other friends. i’m debating on whether or not you’re there too and just leave the room for a sec, but basically hendery admits that he has a thing for you, but didn’t wanna make any moves since yangyang’s with you. everyone one in the room just assumed you were both dating, since your scents are so intertwined by this point. he clarifies that you’re in fact not dating, but he starts to feel jealous bc the more he thinks about it, the more he realizes hendery is basically your type. he also feels some type of way about possibly having to call it quits with you, and he knows deep down it’s not just the fact that he’d have to stop having sex with you that he objects to

this is when he realizes he likes you, but he doesn’t wanna say anything bc you both already changed the trajectory of your friendship enough with sex, and it happened to work out. why change the trajectory again with feelings when there’s a higher chance it won’t work out?

you realize you like yangyang when you fuck someone else and can’t stop thinking about him. you keep making comparisons, noticing how this person doesn’t touch you the same way, doesn’t automatically know what you like the same way, their scent doesn’t do it for you as well, and this is much more interesting in getting off than exploring each other’s bodies. the most jarring part is this person keeps fucking talking and mumbling dirty talk, which really takes you out of the moment and makes you wish you were listening to yangyang’s moans instead

they get you off multiple times, so while you feel physically satiated, you don’t feel fulfilled. this is further exasperated by the fact that they just leave after, no cuddles or kisses or anything. the way you feel strikes you as odd bc you never needed all that after sex before, but now that you’re not getting that affection it makes you upset. that’s when it clicks like “shit...yangyang and i always cuddle afterwards and i miss him a lot”

you text him to come over and tell him what happened, and after being pissed for a moment that the person just walked out on you, he gives you all the cuddles and kisses you could ask for, basically giving you the aftercare the other person didn’t.

the next time you see each other and you’re hanging out (probably smoking) he starts kissing and touching you. and while it feels nice you tell him you don’t actually want sex right now. he tells you he didn’t either, he just wanted to kiss you, and you both just keep slowly making out and being all intimate while you watch whatever was on tv, going back to kissing when the moment strikes you. that’s when you confirm to yourself “k i really like him”, and he shows he feels the same way in the way he kisses you

more time passes, and y'all fall deeper for each other. you're super comfortable being vulnerable with each other, being a shoulder to cry on, someone to vent to, all that fun stuff, sharing things with each other that you didn't share with your other friends. when y'all start kissing each other for comfort and not just to initiate sex, when y'all just start cuddling naked or barely clothed (and maybe cockwarming too) just for the intimacy, when you shower or bathe together just to unwind and it goes beyond the need for sex, when even when you do have sex it's not to chase an orgasm but to have a moment of connection with each other, that's when it really sinks in that this is something more, even more than a crush.

it all really comes to a head when you're fucking high one day and plastic off the sofa and virgo's groove comes on. this is what i was talking about earlier with timing the smut to the song, because since neither of y'all talk a lot during sex, the lyrics really do the talking for you. your orgasms are timed to the crescendos of the song, the led lights change colors as the song changes, and you're both just completely lost in this moment in time with each other and can't fathom being anywhere else, or being with anyone else. the light goes from red, to purple, to blue when the song's over, and in your post nut haze you both stare at each other like "damn i'm in love with you"

i was debating on cbat being the next song that comes on shuffle bc that sort of goofiness is super on brand for you both and laughing while still being connected is hella cute idk that's just me anyway

so yea the music goes off, the weed is all smoked, but neither of you feel much of the high of the weed and moreso feel high on each other. and that's when you confess your feelings

and then after that, y'all are officially together. that's what i came up with so far. obviously there's a lotta gaps in the middle to fill in, but this is where my head is. again, love this concept anon, i haven't been able to stop thinking about it all day

[nicosraf]

You inspire me…. Any advice for writing books ?

!! I'm honored u get a little inspiration from me! That's very sweet of you.

I struggle with advice because I've only written about 5 books and published... two-ish. (An old fanfic and ABM, which as you know is basically fanfic). But I think I have some specific advice since I'm revising right now and have a lot of thoughts... Here is what works for me (!):

Outline. I know it sucks but... please try it. (Or you'll end up like GRRM).

Draft without going back to read what you wrote, or at least don't read your unfinished manuscript in full. You will want to edit it. Don't edit it. Yes it sounds bad; yes you used the same word 8 times in a paragraph by accident; yes you can see a major plot hole. Don't fix it yet, maybe write it down somewhere so you don't forget to fix it later. You need to avoid editing while drafting or you will never finish the draft. This is the biggest advice I can give anyone, especially if you haven't written your first book yet.

Give each character a strong backstory, even if it never shows up in the plot. Sounds obvious but sometimes I have to remind myself of this.

Give your characters friendships, not just romantic relationships. Include tender scenes with friends.

A lot of writing is tedious and boring. Drafting is hard, editing is hard. You have to be disciplined. But finding motivation is also hard. Don't motivate yourself using the dream of a fanbase or the dream of becoming famous. You're setting yourself up to be hurt. (Not because any of that is impossible but because achieving it in the way that you dream is virtually impossible.) Motivate yourself using something more personal, if you can.

Re-do your outline after you draft. Why? Because you probably changed things while you drafted, you probably made some stuff up on the spot, character dynamics changed, etc. A new outline is good because you can see the story you actually wrote, which is helpful for editing for plot cohesion, moving scenes, adding and removing stuff.

Your draft is going to be bad. Don't freak out. Drafts are always bad. You're going to want to analyze the hell out of it though. What did you plan, what did you write, what worked, what didnt work, what themes are on the page, what themes should you remove, what themes should you amplify.

When editing a scene isn't working, rewrite it entirely. Yes it's more work. You'll be much happier though, I promise.

The first to second revisions should be for plot and characters and pacing; these should take the longest and be the most difficult. The last third to fourth revision should be about prose. Don't focus on prose when you're trying to fix the plot.

Let characters fuck up unforgivably.

Consider your audience heavily when you edit, but don't consider them when you draft.

I've given this advice before but when it comes to plot devices/objects, you want to give each device a moment of introduction, a moment where it's recalled, and a moment of use. (Ex. A knife is introduced in chapter 1, its mentioned again casually in chapter 7, then it's used to kill someone in chapter 14.) This is mostly to give each object its own arc that feels satisfactory but ur the boss about what works best.

Kill all your characters, but not physically (unless you want to). Make them change so much that, by the end, they would barely recognize who they were at the start.

This is book advice for the type of books that I've written. Things are very different if you're writing, say, contemporary romance, but I think this list is pretty general !! I hope it helps. Good luck!!

[lucienne-thee-librarian]

Sandman fic recs for Underrated Characters and Ships: Lucienne Edition (part 1)

This is a non-exhuastive list of my personal favorite Lucienne-centric and Morphienne fics and series I've found so far. If you can think of any others I've forgotten don't hesitate to add on!

Okay first off: my friend @pratchettfan87 has written a lovely fic I'm helping beta where Lucienne and her comic counterpart meet and bond and you need to go read it rn You Are The Light That Guides the Way. It's also a great exploration of the events of Sandman from the perspective of both librarians. It's not complete but it's rapidly getting put together so pls go give her encouragement and feedback so you can keep seeing more if you want! I'm gonna try to roughly go in order from most to least nsfw as we go down. Part 2 will contain other ships like Gault x Lucienne and Calliope x Lucienne.

Gen fics

And the Darkness Hummed by @navigatorwrongway - one of my all time absolute favorite Lucienne fics in this fandom, period that delves into her backstory before she even met Dream and takes you on a Journey through her life and it's. Mwah. It's art

nosso amor (our love) by marveling_under_an_open_sky is an achingly tender exploration of Lucienne's trauma and her getting comforted for once.

For Morphienne

Literally everything @cosmictapestry (aka cosmicjourney on AO3) has ever written is an instant recommend from me. Seriously. I can't think of one single thing she's written I didn't like. Heed the tags, but if you're old enough to be interacting with the NSFW stuff and it's your thing, do yourself a favor and dive into their delicious Morphienne smut drabbles on tumblr and the longer stuff on AO3. Go do it right now. It can be emotional and painful but all very well written. And his We Divinity series is heartbreaking and beautiful and with all the characters spot-on and the writing poetry like you've never seen.

and take thee up thy nurse's fee by stellerssong, a selkie!Dream au with wonderful atmosphere

It's About Old Friends by JerseyDragons is sweet and funny and a spot on take on a queerplatonic/sort of romantic version of their dynamic.

Wingmanning for Fun and Profit by unseenbox - is an absolutely adorable look at a Morphienne love confession from Matthew's POV.

Jewel by @softest-punk is super lovely and sweet, pure quality fluff.

Stellerssong's red moon series is a really interesting werewolf au of not just Morphienne but also Corintheus. It's on a slow burn but it's definitely worth it imo.

Also stellerssong's OTHER series "through endless revisions" is just a fantastic take on Daniel!Dream adjusting to his new life and everyone who knew and loved him having to do the same, but the specifically Morphienne standouts are as follows: please come back and be (just a little bit), eutropic, a pillar I am upright , room for one more taste , and for just to suffer that hurt. All of these are well worth the read, most but room for one more taste have angst and smut involved as well as sharp writing and characterization. Seriously can't recommend these enough, these are some of the best of the lot and that's saying something.

Dreams Written in Sand by cunticuss very slow burn but lovely and feels very them.

Woolgathering by sunsorbit is ANOTHER slow burn series full of wonderful characterization and pining and includes the library as an observer and character in itself which I'm always a sucker for.

How Vibrant the Color by unnecessary - unfffff. This is peak poetic emotional therapy dream sex. One of my favorites.

Gold by MDWG aka the most tender sex imaginable.

Contrapposto by stuntmuppet - pure smut. My only complaint is how short it is.

[inchidentally]

this is so stupid and overthought and pointless but lol it's me sooooo

like I literally got into f1blr through videos of Lando following Carlos and Daniel around and finding them absolutely hilarious and just being their personal squealing little chew toy/satellite. so believe me I LOVE that. and god knows I've written enough about how Lando needed/sometimes still needs to hide behind these big bold alpha personalities.

but I think the ??? that transpired for some of us over the gradual blossoming of Lando's dynamic with Oscar had a lot to do with how much Lando opened up in front of our eyes bc of his new position w Oscar and how that developed. he literally said how much it felt weird for him to imagine himself in the older/more experienced position and you can see in the super early content how much Lando couldn't get a read on Oscar bc there wasn't the usual bromance stuff he's so used to. but Oscar also was so mature and calm that he didn't need Lando to do for him what Carlos and Daniel were for him.

and it seems so stupid but it's almost like Oscar hitting that growth spurt and his voice getting a little deeper sort of clicked things into place for Lando?? bc Oscar had been living alone and cooking for himself and in a serious relationship for years and he didn't need anyone to raise him or protect him like Lando needed as a rookie. and he had lived away from his family or a support system from around 14/15 so he was fully used to finding his way around and navigating new places largely alone.

but him getting taller and broader suddenly fit with his personality so much better. he didn't have his cherub Prema face clashing with how cool and confident he was anymore.

and obv Oscar has always said how much he learned just from observing Lando as one of the fastest guys on the grid, but also Lando has emphasized how much he has learned from Oscar about mentality and staying true to yourself. so again there wasn't any need for Lando to try and be big brother/mother hen.

but!! you know what Lando got to teach Oscar? and what Oscar had trained for years to be the most apt pupil about?

Lando!

bc we never really got to 'learn' Lando as a person before now unless it was on his streams, his content with Max F or his own social media content. his friendships with the other F1 guys are all a variation of bromance since they all love him - but all of them are based on Lando being the introvert among extroverts and bonding over shared activities and interests. not a lot of Lando personality stuff gets revealed around those guys bc he's Just Baby.

but w Oscar Lando came to realize he could roll whatever Mood he was in at him and Oscar would smile and laugh or make feeble resistance and give in anyway - and Oscar took all of it in. he literally already had a fairly encyclopedic Lando knowledge as we well know now but he just ?? never got bored of watching and learning Lando! whether it's Lando's music blaring through the shared wall or Lando not being able to open things or pronounce words or Lando specifically not liking something or not wanting to do something or Lando wanting Oscar to give a different answer or wanting Oscar to agree with him instead - Oscar smiles and patiently files it away.

which is exactly what Max does with Lando. at some point he clearly realized that the best way to get Lando to open up and trust - not unlike an outdoor cat - was to be part anthologist and part nature documentary narrator. Lando only opens up when he knows he has the space to. he gets so genuinely upset at how often the media or fans won't follow his original meaning or look past awkward wording or misuse his original tone. it's why he said he often loves being around people who will lead the conversation and not put pressure on him to talk.

bc for example, Carlos was only joking when he said that Lando needs to mature or how he'd "scold" Lando for being too silly and not paying attention, but to some people it's used as confirmation that Lando's immature. Daniel loved when he'd get Lando to laugh so hard that Lando couldn't do his to-camera work or require millions of takes, but to some people it's seen as Lando not taking anything seriously. it's so easy to take someone as vulnerable and unedited as Lando and slice out one video or one moment and create a false narrative around him. you can see the times when Lando has slunk away from social media and gone a bit mum or dull in his media work when that happens.

but Max and Oscar are there to act as interpreters for the audience at home! Lando drops off to sleep during a Quadrant shoot? Max explains that this is standard procedure wherever he is. Lando is far too hyper for a challenge and won't let Oscar breathe without giving him a hard time? Oscar laughs and gently ribs him back to let people know that it's all in good fun and Lando isn't actually on a tear. Lando winds Max up mercilessly or accidentally reveals that Max has a gf? Max makes sure everyone knows he's joking when he gets "mad" and later on says how much Lando looks out for him. Lando won't let Oscar make his own choices in a silly F1 quiz? Oscar feigns being hard done by but he also says how good Lando's answers are. they do this all the time with him and we see Lando more vocal and more loudly himself with them bc they translate what he can't.

it clearly isn't easy being someone bursting with about fifty different personality traits at once and just as many passionate interests all vying with dyslexia and hyperactivity mixed with introversion and sometimes crippling shyness. it's very easy to love that person - which is why the entire grid does - but it's not easy to understand them or what they need in any given moment.

so I feel like that's what we've gotten out of the Lando/Oscar dynamic that we haven't seen before with Carlos or Daniel. Oscar isn't ever going to be a big personality and he's self-described as "low frequency" - he won't be winding Lando up for fun or bringing energy that makes Lando bounce off the walls. he's also found Lando fascinating almost from his first year moving to the UK. so as fans we love seeing Lando get to have a teammate who loves the business of observing Lando - but we also love getting to see so much more of Lando as a result if that makes sense??

[sendpseuds]

What fueled your transition into Obikin? How does writing about our boys compare to writing Obitine (the loveliest most badass woman).

Hi!

Thank you for the ask 🖤

Now, please forgive me while I ramble.

First of all, I love Obitine. I absolutely adore the love and respect they have for each other. Their relationship is complicated and nuanced and also just so so tragic and I've adored every fic I've written for them.

When I wrote my first Obikin fic [The Resolute Theater Presents] it was a complete departure from anything I'd written before. To that point, not only had everything been Obitine, but also in-universe AND all part of the same series [Even if You Wanted to]— the same story I'd been telling every week for almost a year.

I had just finished a fic that, if I'm being honest, really fucked me up [Bound and Broken]. I love this story so much, I'm so proud of it, but FUCK did it put me in a bad place. I needed something light and unserious and this silly Broadway AU was just looping through my mind and I decided to go for it.

While writing Resolute, something — I don't know — something happened. Something changed as far as how I was thinking about the stories I could write.

Instead of always thinking about what came next in an ongoing story, and holding myself to someone else's plot points, I was thinking about entirely different worlds.

Basically, I realized I could write anything.

That's when Haunted Heart happened and it just sort of blew the doors off my brain.

I owe a lot of this change in perspective to fellow writers like @yourfavoritefridge and @palfriendpatine66 whose continued support and encouragement have pushed me to write a lot of things am deeply proud of and would never have had the courage to write without them cheering me on.

IN SUMMARY

I would say it was less of a shift from Obitine to Obikin, and more a shift from one long canon-compliant story, to… whatever the fuck I wanted to write?

That being said, let's address the Obikin of it all.

I think it has way more to do with the dynamic than any actual shipping or subtext. As I said earlier, the Obitine dynamic is based on respect. But Obikin? That's something a lot closer to obsession.

There's something about the unhinged nature of their dynamic that tickles my brain in a specific way that I can't quite explain?

​​And, I'll be honest— the popularity of the Obikin ship certainly doesn't hurt, but I think what's more important is that the community is SO supportive. There is so little pressure or expectation, with a real emphasis on writing what you want. Like I said, the kudos and comments are great, but— I can write a fic that’s basically just a rant about AI, or a weird smutty first-person dissociative thriller, or a story about Obi-Wan literally fucking himself and I know it will be met with nothing but positive energy and encouragement. That’s something that keeps me coming back to Obikin.

Clearly, I still love Satine, she's shown up in my AUs here and there and I always enjoy having her around. I really love including her as someone Obi-Wan feels safe with. A friend he knows will always shoot him straight and always be there for him.

I’m sure I’ll write more Obitine when the right idea appears in my mind, but right now, I’m just chasing stories.

x

[belethlegwen]

Yo!

What is a topic or theme you try to avoid in gt, either in your writing, your reading, or your perusing?

This is a solid question, especially because over the last year or so I've been finding myself exploring more topics/themes that I would have probably previously said I was not comfortable with. I'd like to genuinely thank @adjacentperception for being my partner in everything, including writing and creating, and for letting me have a sounding board and a space to feel safe while I dip my toes into some things I wouldn't have otherwise wanted to endeavour into on my own.

I guess in terms of like... things that disinterest me? If that makes sense? I'm not big on trying to explore family dynamics specifically through G/t. Sibling or Parent/Child relationships with size-difference mixed in just is something I tend to avoid while reading, and through writing I only ever explore it in the sense of like... 'this person is a good friend and is like a brother/sister to me', 'this person cares for me in a parental way sometimes'. Beyond that it's not something that catches my interest or tends to hold it for very long.

Anything that is too whump-heavy I tend to have a harder time reading, mostly because I just need comfort to go with my hurt. One of the projects I've got going on in the background now front-loads a bunch of the hurt before it starts getting to comfort, and I feel like-- especially the earlier chapters-- would qualify as whump. It's something that I could imagine myself having difficulty with reading on my own if I didn't know that it was going to pay off in comfort and (imo) satisfactory character growth for the mains, if only because I've been burned before on trying to struggle through something that was just... fucking miserable and it never got to a point where things got better/that comfort I desperately wanted came along.

Dislike vore/cannibalism to the extreme, anything remotely like that just squicks me out. A bit of mouthplay is fine in the sexy sense? Lips, tongue, maybe a bit of teeth? But there's a line that once it gets crossed I have to go detox with something after. I also can't do snuff at all. Just... too much. I'm not a gore/horror girl. It is not my cup of tea.

A topic I'll avoid depicting in any detail, and that I just get too depressed reading to really dive into very much, is long-term emotional/relationship-centered abuse, from either side. Particularly if a lesson is not learned by the offending/abusive party in a way that's satisfactory.

I'll dive into something like James Bond getting captured and tortured/interrogated by a villain for a hot minute, but a partner abusing a lover? Family being egregiously emotionally/psychologically abusive or neglectful for extended periods of time in the narrative? Someone in a care-taker position abusing a dependent? Too sad/enraging, won't do it, and especially as it pertains to G/t as an amplifier of that possible theming? Ow, no, my feelings. Faerie Spell comes the closest to that for me and that's still a stretch of what I'm actually comfortable with, as the neglect/abuse/disrespect is coming unintentionally and oftentimes against what the presumed goals of the characters perpetrating it actually are. It is still a dark place for my mind to go.

Other than that, I can't think of much that I would say is a definite no-go for me? How something is written/handled within a narrative can be a big factor in whether or not I stick with reading something, typically, and I'm willing to stretch my comfort a bit in some areas if the rest of the story is making up for any discomfort/loss of interest I wind up feeling because of any given element.

Thank you so much for the ask!

[jesncin]

Hi Jesncin! Long-time appreciator of your Supes fanart, first-time anon. As someone that also has a lot of love for American Alien, Smashes the Klan, and thought MAWS was pretty ok/good, my vibe is that the generally warm response to the show stems from it being a consolation/reprieve to the dour state of non-comic Supes media from the last decade, though certainly as you’ve pointed out it could benefit from being less cowardly about what it wants to say politically and taking advantage of that less restrained Adult Swim label. 

I really like your assessment of immigrant solidarity between a proudly Asian Lois and Supes being the factor that makes him appealing to her. However, I'm also curious how you think that would change if you specifically throw in conflicting generational statuses into the mix, and perhaps remove that aspect of cultural pride from Lois' character while maintaining her immigrant status. 

While I certainly don’t think it was the authorial intent, part of me wants to read the downplaying of MAWS Lois’ heritage as possibly reflective of a contradictory feeling of disconnect, intentional or otherwise, to one’s native culture as an early-generation immigrant—similar to how Tommy Lee is presented as eagerly assimilative at the start of Smashes the Klan. As someone that is native Chinese but spent most of my childhood and adolescence abroad in predominantly English-speaking countries (without being subjected to excessive prejudice), I’m personally in a similar boat as Tommy of not possessing an innate fondness for my heritage beyond the occasional surface-level ornamentation and even sometimes even having derisive things to say about it. In my own experience this inverse difference in valuing cultural identity between first and second gen immigrants can be a real obstacle in forming relationships between them.

As Clark was wholly raised Kansan and typically knows so little about Kryptonian culture yet wants nothing more than to understand it, I think it makes for a more dramatically contrasting dynamic if he disagrees with a first generation immigrant like me or (theoretically) MAWS Lois on the value of discovering/retaining heritage. If the show had the stones to more concretely define her generational status, I think a Lois that shamelessly couldn’t care less about valuing her native cultural identity would have a more tangible angle for why she isn’t able to initially empathize with what Clark goes through in MAWS, despite them having that commonality. That by itself could be something that upsets the Clark/Supes/Lois dynamic in the beginning but could be reconciled with time and dialog going forward.

Anyways, I really appreciate your art and your thoughts on MAWS. Girl Taking Over is also on my list to check out now, thanks for the reco!

Why hello there! Welcome happy to have you here. Yes, read Girl Taking Over! It's very good.

Yeah, I've said before that things like the Snyderverse has burnt a lot of Super fans out into the habit of celebrating and fixating on the shallowest characterizations. But again, we've got to ask ourselves what story are we celebrating! Because it's bizarre that even the radio show arc Superman Smashes the Klan is based on (in the 40s) is way more political than this supposed Adult Swim show is in 2023. Never mind that shows like Supergirl didn't have nearly as warm a reception, and it's a far better written show.

I feel there's a misunderstanding here, never in my essay did I say I wanted a "proudly Asian Lois". In fact, my suggestions leaned towards her dealing with some manner of assimilation, cultural distance or even shame. I praised this aspect in Girl Taking Over, and I've written her that way for Indonesian Lois too- because I think that's a stronger parallel to what Clark allegorically represents. It'd make the hope they give each other meaningfully go both ways. At most in my essay I've said MAWS!Lois should at least be sentimental to her hanbok, and that her reactions to things should be informed by her Asian American experiences. Nothing to do with cultural pride. A desire to see an Asian Lois inspired to connect to her culture again sure, but not pride.

While I see where you're coming from, I caution projecting a read where no effort was made to tell that kind of story. I've said in my essay that it isn't impossible to write an Asian American character with internalized issues regarding how they perceive themselves and other marginalized groups, but that requires community specificity and time to explore that specificity because otherwise you've got the optics of Black Character Is Racist to The Blue Elves. The show failed to express that with Sam Lane, so we can't project that being the case for Lois. In Smashes the Klan, Tommy's actions are a result of following his dad's desire to assimilate. Gene Yang made it a point that Roberta and her mom still cling to their culture and cope with it differently.

I think ultimately even if you try to repurpose Season 2 with this dynamic, it just doesn't work with what S1 set up. Lois isn't detached or resentful of her culture, she's just whitewashed. If she had complicated feelings about her heritage, you'd think that would be explored when she chose to wear a hanbok to a party- or when her dad came over they'd showcase the generational divide they had. MAWS wrote a white character pizza and sprinkled Asian toppings on top, with no intention to create any kind of narrative.

I get not having the desire to connect with some aspects of your heritage, I feel that way towards my East Asian ancestry. And I've certainly met Asian Americans who can be viciously judgmental of more culturally connected Asians. But unless that kind of thinking is unpacked, especially with how cruelly xenophobic it can be to other immigrants- I can't help but reject it as a dynamic. Let alone a romance.

Girl Taking Over is largely about the dynamic between Lois and her frenemy roommate Niki- someone loud and proud of her Asian identity (that it makes Lois uncomfortable). The story works because it unpacks both of their resentment towards each other as foils. I don't see that happening in MAWS. Clark and Lois don't have that foil, Lois is just allegorically bigoted towards a guy who's trying.

[draconscious]

NAME : dan!!

PRONOUNS : he/him

PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION : tumblr im. discord. passenger pigeon. I'm very slow sometimes but you should plot with me!!

NAME OF MUSE(s) : clair, cynthia, barry, jupiter/eris + so many mooore (how did it come to this? LMAO)

BEST EXPERIENCE(S) : dedicating this section to both ash (@analuein) and aya (@distortsverity)! ash and I have been writing together for infinity years right here on tumblr. no matter the muse, it's always a blast spinning up plots and watching the magic unfold from there with her. from thorton to violet, to noland and clair. from wildencounters to indie. it's been a fantastic ride. day one. 😎

I transitioned from group rp to indie a few years ago and--at the time--I was all alone. I had no connections, just a lonely barry blog to my name. I wrote drabbles by myself in the dark for two weeks until aya came across my blog with her hikari, and everything just clicked. aya made me feel included, reached out with ideas, plots and feedback, and showed love to barry and all of my muse(s)--and to this day, I still feel TREMENDOUSLY grateful for the helping hand when I felt so isolated. I definitely would not still be writing here without her.

since then, I've had an amazing time here. writing with so many different people, muses, and groups--it's all so good. my best experiences happen when I'm writing (or even plotting) with someone, and everything just works, flows, and fits together and I can just feel that shared excitement. that feeling that we're building a great story together. that's magical. that's why I'm still around, trying new muses, diving headlong into amazing plots/dynamics, letting my imagination run wild, and--as always--writing a lot. much love to EVERYONE who has helped keep that fire burning over the years, but especially ash and aya for giving that flame a chance in the first place. tysm. ❤️

RP PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS : it's been said, but--on a personal level--I wish private communication would happen more, specifically when it comes to interest levels. my time is becoming more and more limited here (sad as that is) and I have always written at a slower, longer pace. so, given how fast this place moves, I would appreciate knowing if a thread has grown stale, or if something's off.

I'm flexible. I'd like to think that I'm pretty laid-back. I want you to have fun, and you need to drop or backburner our thread because life, interest, etc. that's okay. I promise. I also don't mind reminders about cold threads or overdue replies on my end. if that's the case, please let me know right away, and I'll pick it back up or let you know my thoughts. we can try new things, or not. just let me know what you'd like to do, and we can adjust from there. that being said, lack of time or muse =/= lack of interest. I get that. you never need to rush a reply with me, and I will always (for better or worse) assume interest is still there unless told otherwise by you. I'm no herlock sholmes. (I wish I was...)

so, as a courtesy, I'd ask to please talk to me if something's wrong. if you feel the need to drop our thread or aren't interested in an interaction and/or want to start fresh. I won't be upset (quote me on that.) I just want to make sure that the writing vibes are still good, and I want to spend my time here writing things that you (and others) are still into. and in the end, it's not really a big deal--this place is great and I adore my past/present/future thread partners--but it's something that I would appreciate!

(also since I haven't made it clear before: no AI with me, please. let's meet at the same level.)

MUSE PREFERENCES: strong women and brash, sunshiney dudes. (I'll really try anyone, but I certainly have types 😊)

PLOTS OR MEMES : whatever's easier for you to get in the door with--c'mon in!! I don't find myself with the time to reblog many memes lately, but my inbox/IMs are always open for spot interactions, and I'll do a lil' starter call here and there!!

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES : I don't mind receiving either, but I always tend to lose myself in the sauce and write a lot oops. you never have to match my length. as long as we're writing together, that's chill enough for me!

BEST TIME TO WRITE : my healthcare job is killing me. I'll try to sneak on for some stuff here and there, but I'm most active during evening/nighttime CST US. confirmed night time scrawler. 🦉

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S) : some common threads linking all of my muses to me is the fact that we always want to be active, we have (too) high expectations of ourselves, we grew up and are still growing up, and we spend too much time working (and loathe it LMAO)

[bibiana112]

Kinda weird question- do you have any links to people talking about Mira from ZTD and ableist stereotypes? I mentioned that I was uncomfortable with her portrayal but kinda fumbled it and made some other ND people in chat uncomfortable. I searched for various keyword combinations but most of what I'm finding is like "and not to mention the ableism with Mira" and doesn't elaborate lol.

Not weird at all! And uh, you see, there's a recent post I made where what I complain about is the very fact I've never seen anyone post too in-depth about her at all, I'd love to see posts that do elaborate on that but I do not have any that I know of right now, sorry :/ hopefully someone else who sees this can point to one? Okay!! After some tag searches I have found exactly one post who kind of gets into it I like this take still would love to see. more than just one but hooray

And like though I complain I couldn't elaborate much on it myself I don't think, I believe most of the posts people make about Saito from aitsf would apply since it's a different uchikoshi take on the very same trope of "emotionless characters who cannot function without killing others" I guess he's a worse portrayal though since she's at least not stated to get reward brain chemicals when killing people and I guess her case also has the added layer of "femme fatale" to it? Which either makes it less bad or worse depending on where you approach it from As I said I am not doing a good job of being coherent on this oh and also there's her being "redeemed" and "cured" in the epilogue which in on itself is kinda not great to imply it just goes away like that and honestly I personally don't even buy it I think she'd just be like oh okay Akane over here has like a thousand reasons to hate me after all that oh and what's that she's the leader of a super wealthy underground organization who's organized one of these death traps before yeah no I'm better off going to prison I'll be fine there lmao bye

But I'll say as an autistic person with relatively low empathy I usually see a character who just doesn't understand other people's feelings and wants to feel them too and is just trying to survive despite getting no help and I just kinda go hm. yeah. shout-out to roxas kingdom hearts shout out to mary from ib shout out that's why I started hyperfixating on media art helps me with understanding others a great lot and Mira is just in a story too badly executed for me to care or even begin to wrap my head around tbh like god she's so fucking terribly used as a plot device in every conceivable way that it makes it difficult to see past it and into what she could possibly be if it weren't for the stereotype of equalling low empathy with no compassion what's with her killing off screen in ways that wildly deviate from her stated m.o? why or how was she even in cahoots with Zero why was that a thing? Honestly her dynamic with Sean could have been better fleshed out could have done something interesting about robot child and his aspd big sis but we just kind of don't get any attention brought to the subject of emotions and the authenticity there of except for the "reveal"...

YOU KNOW WHAT that's probably one huge reason it feels so fucked up actually! Like the whole fucking game is written so you could experience it in whatever order you want and therefore Mira being a serial killer at all is something that though not very well hidden it also cannot be a topic of discussion or explored Ever ever because the player may not have seen the fragment where that is revealed yet- problem being the menu design of that game sucks so bad and practically everyone gravitates towards the same few more interesting looking thumbnails first and then the rest is kinda just there, I mean that is part of the reason A Lot of characters feel half-baked I think but also I think it definitely does impact perception of her character specifically probably The Most and then there's just the general not being given nuance not being able to see the minutiae of how that disorder manifests in her character aside from the killings about how she acts aside from being overly flirty trying to lure in Eric but that affects pretty much all of the new cast we don't have last names and in her case we barely have any backstory at all like Saito is a harmful stereotype sure but we get So Much Context for him that people still love talking about him and delving into different aspects of his life since we have that very well telegraphed in the narrative meanwhile for Mira all we can do is fill in the blanks guesswork that only highlights the worst aspects of the surface level portrayal we got and ultimately that people just don't care enough to dissect because there isn't much there character wise once you remove it

[deadendtracks]

Why does Lizzie accuse Tommy of not let her in..ever? Imo he lets her in the most, even more then Grace tbh, that line kind of threw me off. Is she referencing to the fact she knows he is hiding something grave but refusing to tell her or it's a recurring theme that I somehow did not clock?

I think this is more about Lizzie's feelings than it is necessarily about reality; Lizzie takes some things personally that Tommy's pretty consistent across the board about with his family/everyone he knows. This is one of them.

That said, yeah, specifically in this case it's my interpretation that she knows that he's sick and hiding it from her. It's basically canon -- she tells him the sanitarium is trying to get ahold of him, she gives him the letter, she is there when the doctor leaves.

This isn't something Tommy tells anyone at all (and in my book, Lizzie's the one who tells Arthur), so it's not something he's aimed personally at Lizzie. But Ruby just died and he's her husband and she loves him, so it's completely understandable for her to react this way.

On a larger scale, this is something of a recurring theme for her -- at least as far back as 5.01 when she's upset that he's told Polly about the Chinatown plan but not her. And it's ambiguous from what we see at the end of s5, but it's also possibly she wasn't told anything about their plan to assassinate Mosley given she wasn't at the family meeting. Those are two examples where Lizzie specifically isn't in on something that other people in the family are; her asking him in s5 to let her into his head sometimes stands out.

The bit about him having told Polly something he hasn't told her is a direct parallel to Polly knowing about the Russian business when Grace doesn't -- my guess is this is more about keeping his immediate family out of things he thinks are dangerous, with a side of not having to deal with their objections. Not specific to Lizzie personally so much as specific to her role as wife, maybe. In the Shelby family business the wives are generally left out of the plans, and Polly isn't a wife.

On the other hand, there are also examples where Lizzie takes some of his behavior personally that is just about his own coping mechanisms, not any intentional keeping her in the dark: in 6.02 when she corners him at the hospital and gets frustrated at his flat affect, for example, what she says to Ada about "no more Polly, no more Tommy" -- this is just Tommy shut down due to trauma and anxiety, he's not deliberately keeping things from her here so much as he is unable to express them period.

Another element to this whole dynamic is how much Lizzie actually wants to know versus what she says about wanting to be let in. In the scene in the hotel where she expresses this idea that he's never let her in, he'd just asked her if she wants to know what comes next in his planning. And she says that she knows enough. So there's a real push-pull thing happening here where she gets upset about not being let in but signals there are things she doesn't want to know. I feel like I've written about this before more articulately. And the thing she doesn't want to know, the thing that's next, is most likely the fact that he knows he's going to be propositioned by Diana Mitford. Would he have told her about it if she'd said she did want to know? I don't know, probably not, but it's an open question.

I'm not really someone who thinks Lizzie constantly compares herself to Grace in her marriage; but it's notable to me that the truth is Tommy *didn't* particularly let Grace in any more than he does Lizzie. Part of that is most likely due to her betrayal in s1 -- he never trusts her the same again. Part of it is that like Lizzie, Grace expresses some opposition to actually knowing what's going on. This not wanting to know is definitely a sign to Tommy to not let them in fully -- it's something of a two way street here. You can't expect to be let in to someone's head fully if you push back when the stuff there is ugly.

On that note-- Lizzie's own reactions to Tommy's suicidal behavior contribute to all of this. And I'm not saying she's a bad person (her reactions are very human and have context) but it's another signal that she doesn't really want to know what's in his head.

It's a complex relationship for a lot of reasons and not all of those reasons are on Tommy's end.

[silvertws]

You know what? At this point I have more written posts than fanarts... I mean, I could post old ones, but idk if it would make sense you know? Anyway.

You may wonder, is this gonna be another Steve Saga or something post?

Oh no, I may be hyperfixated, but I still do love other fandoms, even if they are dead.

Speaking on dead fandoms.

Hi Origins Crew fandom :}

How are y'all doing? How's the feeling of never knowing what was supposed to happen to your favorite character in OoO, SNO,SAO...? Oh and the unfinished storylines in MHO? FTO? do we wanna talk about the cliffhanger in OZ? I mean, luckily some people posted videos about how the storyline was going to go, so at least we got that.

(to clarify, I'm not mad at anyone who was part of the Origins Crew DW, I could never)

Anyway.

Some backstory on how I started watching Origins.

It was summer of 2019 I think? Pretty sure at least, I know it was before I started highschool because I sucked at English before I started watching Origins.

Anyway.

First series was OoO S1 from Brandon's POV, at least that's the first video that got recommended to me, I'm unsure what episode it was, I can't remember if it was before or after the Aphrodite's ball (we don't talk about those, you guys know why. You know.) So I'm not sure if I even watched it all, but I think at the time I did go back to watch it from the first episode.

Anyway POVS right? With OoO S1 I watched Brandon (*cough cough* Brandeen), Jakey, Brian, Colin and some of Xylo.

And can I just say... IT'S BEEN 3 SEASONS, 3 SEASONS IT TOOK TO GET RID OF A FUCKING SWORD, A SWORD, COME ON. AND WHY THE FUCK, CAN SOME PEOPLE COME BACK TO LIFE, AND OTHERS CAN'T, WHAT PLOT ARMOR IS THIS- Istg that was probably the most annoying thing of them all, nothing against the creators, again I feel like I need to clarify! But it's just my personal dumb opinion that I hope nobody takes offense to???

Anyway.

I feel like I should make a post for every Origins Series I've watched, but idk if that would make sense lol TwT

Besides my personal preferences when it came to all the series, I am very grateful to the Origins Crew, they're the reason I'm here today, the reason I know English and they were the first group that really opened my eyes when it came to the LGBTQ+ community and helped me discover myself.

I know that from an outside point of view it might seem dumb, but I do owe a lot to them, all of them, even the ones who left a year before Origins dismantled, even the ones who joined just before people went their separate ways.

Because even if people might say that the storylines were dumb or maybe cliche (which, in some cases they definitely were) in the end, I still loved every moment of it, every episode every dumb character who didn't make any sense or that was weirdly overpowered (I REALLY want to specify which ones but I don't want the whole fandom to come at me, please, any fandom but this one) but to be fair they kinda all were in some way? Or at least had the potential to in my opinion.

I'm not good at keeping a conversation stick to one topic, I tend to sideline pretty often and I apologize for that. TwT

Also idk if it's just me, but when I find a group of people there's always that one that for some unknown reason I just like more and that one who I dislike, again, for no specific reason, just the vibes???

Like for Hermitcraft and Empires it's Pearl, for Fable it's Ulysses, (I love this fish boy with all my heart if anything happens to him I will cry) for Origins it was Colin and Brandon, don't ask why, I have no idea, I just did, still do consider them my favorites.

I kept watching content from the Origins creators after everything went down. Including the drama with some of the creators I suppose... (I still don't understand most of it)

From Devi Devi Academy/anarchy to Glitch generation, to My Hero Eternity, I watched some of the Fnaf content Bryan made just for the nostalgia.

Holy fuck how I miss these fuckers.

Like it was the whole dynamic they had in the group, the mini games videos in character were so entertaining to watch! Especially the crossovers, I tend to rewatch them from time to time even tho I know basically everything by memory at this point.

Honestly they really inspired me when it came to creating my own storylines, and roleplaying, some people may call it cringe, and I get it, but I still think it's fun.

It's been a year.

Well, more technically, but I didn't have Tumblr at the time of the anniversary I suppose? Can you even call it that?

The Origins fandom never felt too big, in my life I've only talked to one other person who knew about them, and it was pretty fun, we watched the uh.. second episode of my Hero Eternity together making theories and stuff, talking about my hero Origins and wondering which characters canonically knew that you know, mr "I killed both my bio parents" was actually alive. (Which from what we know, Flex knows, and I think Colin, not sure tho, because in the 3rd episode, when they were interrogating the hero, our edgy boy mentioned how he had an old "friend" who could get information and data really easily, and now, we all know Mario definitely wouldn't do that plus, did he even interact with the L.O.V.E. as a whole? I don't think so? So the only option that makes sense to me is Colin)

Anyway I drifted away from the concept once again because once I start talking I won't ever stop.

This is a long post, as usual, cause I write a lot when it comes to things I'm passionate about.

I'm very attached to Origins, all the characters, all the storylines, all the silly little things. And I'm never going to stop missing it I suppose? Not in a "omg how dare they break the group apart blabla blabla..." No, I'm just very nostalgic when it comes to it.

I owe everything to them, part of who I am today is because of them.

PS: if anybody wants to talk about this fandom I suppose, please do, please let's start a conversation. I have so many things to say.

Like you know in SNO when people didn't know Lucas and Brandon were SIBLINGS???? and they SHIPPED THEM??? yeah, hi it's me, I'm the problem it's me, HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU JUST DROP A BOMB LIKE THAT ON THE LAST EPISODE MAN, AND HOW DID I NOT EXPECT IT????? luckily for me, mine was very much platonic shipping, so uhhh yay??? Don't come for me guys, it was years ago, please ToT Also I did kinda Ship Lucas with uhh was it also called Jakey???? I don't remember anymore my friend will probably remember this because when the series was happening I'd just go on and ramble about the fact that I didn't know who I should have shipped with the angel boy.

Man shipping anyone in any of those series was HELL, LET ME TELL YOU, HELL. ABSOLUTE HELL, HOLY FUCK THIS IS WHY I DON'T SHIP CHARACTERS AT ALL.

Ok actual PS now:

Please, let's all sit and chat in front of a glass of tumbjuice/tomb juice??? (idk how to spell that, don't come for me) and not get cursed by anything while we do so.

Let's just vibeeeeeee :D

[psychewritesbs]

Hello, I wonder what do you think of Megumi, Hana and Noritoshi as a trio? I know they're a weird team but tbh I've always wanted Gege to explore Megumi's parallels with these two. Hana representing the childish naivety of Megumi's tendency to put 'good' people like Tsumiki and Yuji on a pedestal (I'm not sure if it was linkspooky or you who pointed this out, or maybe both) and Noritoshi Kamo mirroring Megumi's circumstances as someone whose origins tie him to the big clans (like Naobito tying Megumi down to the Zenin by making him a clown head). And while they both went about this particular circumstance differently, I still believe there's so much similarities to explore between them.

I think if Gege plans on showing us Megumi's progress of growing out of his initially flawed and childish mindset, that seeing him grow alongside Hana and Noritoshi would be really interesting. And personally I just want some love shown to Noritoshi and esp. Hana. Like the hate on her in this fandom is so disheartening to see. The way people mock her for falling to Sukuna's obvious honeytrap and comparing her to Nobara. Like I get it jjk fans like strong, no-nonsense, I don't need no man female personalities, but I feel like it's being over-glorified to the point of absurdity y'know. Like anyone who falls short of that category is immediately a bad character. And in Hana's case it's almost as if character backstory doesn't matter.

Nonetheless, I hope Hana and Noritoshi's continued existence in the manga means Gege still has something planned for them. And I hope Gege will finally explore Megumi's dynamic with other characters more upon his return.

Anon! Love the thoughts! Thanks for sharing them.

To be honest I had never given much thought to them as a trio, but I love what you've written about them as if they existed on a continuum with Nori on one end (responsibility), Megumi in the middle, and Hana at the opposing end (naivety).

I have to say that one of the things I did like about Sakurajima was getting to see Nori more deeply as a character. Especially after he had been kicked out of the clan and how that had affected his sense of self.

As for Hana... le sigh. Tell me about it anon. I think I posted about it before but to me hating on Hana looks like hating on one's own naivety and vulnerability.

I just get the sense that Hana sees herself as a magical girl and was naive enough to think her power of love and friendship had managed to save Megumi. So it's almost like she felt like she had been able to do for him what she had done for her.

That's not to mention that Sukuna fully intended to fool her, so this literally shows why Sukuna thinks love is useless.

As per usual, I think this might be a case of "people can only see things as deeply as they see themselves".

Also, I so love your comment on how a character that doesn't fit that specific mold (strong, no-nonsense, I don't need no man female personalities) is considered bad writing.

The "bad writing" allegations in this fandom often come back to "I didn't like it or it didn't live up to my expectations, so therefore it's objectively bad".

I can see why the execution might feel sloppy, and why people are tired of the "girl pines for boy" trope in animanga, and she does suffer from side af character syndrome, but Hana is by no means a bad character for having a crush on Megumi.

Anyways! Here's to seeing other characters support Megumi in the future anon! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.

[starghost-fics]

It is extremely strange to get to the end of this fic…again. But wonderful! I write fanfic for myself first and foremost, so it has been an utter delight to revisit this and all my other Octopath fic on this tumblr. I have some more wrap-up thoughts under the cut, but for now:

Chapter 13—if he caught me: The gang faces Darius. The gang patches themselves up and finds an inn. In the morning, Therion and Cyrus make plans.

commentary:

I had not been in any fandom, at all, for something like twelve years before I played OT1 and idly thought "what if the thief learned from the scholar like that banter alludes to. and what if they kissed."

History was made. I have been unstoppable since. Well, kind of stoppable. I've written a few things. But I did write a novel's worth of fic for Octopath in the same year I wrote an actual novel, and mostly during a global pandemic. What happened to that person, eh?

I re-read all the comments as I read each chapter, and going over the comments here, the little collection of people finishing or re-reading... it warms my cold black heart, truly. I will never get over how enthusiastic and thoughtful AO3 commenters are, even/especially in a tiny fandom.

I'm still stupidly fond of all of these characters, and I'm mystified why none of the characters really hit the same in OT2. (It came close with Partitio and Alrond! But some key element is missing. I think Partitio is too much of a straight-shooter, no true opportunity for him to not say how he feels, which is a basic requirement for me, apparently.) So I'm terribly glad that I was able to write another chunky fic, albeit at an excruciating pace. (Coming soon to an internet near you.)

Anyway, specific to this chapter:

Darius is so fun to write. What an asshole.

Writing staging for fight scenes is awful. My go-to move is to just get past actual movement as quickly as possible, and get to a moment when I can dive into how a character feels. I think this works pretty well with Cyrus because he's analyzing the battle anyway, not diving into physical fights.

EXCEPT

when he draws a knife on his boyfriend's betrayer

(but tbh his mind is still churning)

Ohhh the verbose one being unable to find the words for feelings. Classic.

Another beloved dynamic is the person who opens your world up, sparks things in you that you never knew you were capable of.

When I started thinking about the sequel, I knew it needed to be about their continuing relationship, and contain some conflict that would come up after I wrote a vague happy ending for them. I thought, is it going to be about Therion being a bad boyfriend? Still shying away? And then I remembered all my actual feelings about Therion and this scene of him massaging Cyrus's hand—again—and him desperately wanting to follow Cyrus home but playing it cool, and I thought, no, that, at least, is not the sequel.

"the gate that had been flung open in that moment, and he without a map...He is wonderfully unmoored, at sea in a new world." — hell yes, babe

"He hurt you" / "You, too" — aggh god

"Because he had woken up warm in a frozen waste, and how could that be?" ajklsdjflaksd

i'm sure it's gauche to keysmash over my own writing but idc, I was so pleased with those lines at the time and still love them.

lol oh man, I'm also a sucker for this sort of joke:

"How did you get such wonderfully talented hands?"

"Stole 'em," Therion says.

after darius, after sleeping, after a lazy morning, the boys are saying the things at last, the feelings. love is terrifying and love is wonderful, love is putting a piece of your heart in a fragile container outside of your control

therion. what is home to you now. be honest.

When Alfyn joins them and sees them holding hands, he thinks nothing of it because he holds hands all the time! With everyone! He used to hold hands with Zeph! Wait, what do you mean everyone doesn't hold hands like that, Primrose?

Yes, it appears I ended with a group hug. GROUP HUG.

okay thank you for reading! <3

[witchhatproductions]

Witch Hat News #4 - Lessons from the Archives

by Tata Calthrop

This is an archived version of our microfiction newsletter! You can read along on our tumblr, or subscribe here.

Which archive, you may ask? Well, it's quite simple.

Our own one.

Yes, like many twenty-somethings in the creative field now, I was forged in a rather specific fire – the classic Internet pipeline of Neopets, Deviantart, Tumblr, Twitter, usually interspaced at some point with either a gender crisis or a formal diagnosis of mental illness.

You see, for a young nerdy preteen in 2010, you have two sexy choices made available to you, neither of which you will perceive until it's too late. You will choose either the path of solitude (voraciously consuming and creating content in incredible loneliness and feeling like the only person in the world who does so), or the path of the internet, where you will learn at an incredibly young age how to receive and handle a death threat. I was raised on a raw, unfiltered diet of fandom. (Sonic the Hedgehog. The world has not been kind to me.)

The fans and the hermits have a lot to teach each other. In fact, as easy as it is to make fun of – well – most people on the internet, there is something valuable to be learned from every subculture of creativity, including the horny ones. 

So let me make a confession to you: I'm a fanfiction writer. I have a shameful record of 155,821 words, none of which will ever give me a scrap of credibility with anyone, including other fanfiction writers. (Heavy is the head that wears the dunce hat of Adventure/Comedy.) Hell, I've spent over a year picking away at a fancomic project. For zero dollars and no publication accolades, I have written at least five full completed novellas, which will never be published, be recognised, or prove anything except my big, fat crush on the uncle from Encanto.

My god, was it freeing.

The social pressure to monetize your art is insane. I took my first art commission before I even had my first bank account. It was my teenage dream: to be paid is to obtain credibility. The label will hang over your head like an execution hood: PROFESSIONAL. Of course, the loop never really stops; start making money and suddenly your eyes are open to how many opportunities you're missing, and how little you make compared to others, and how wide the chasm is between you and full-time creation. 

(That's not to say the money and recognition aren't nice! That part I do recommend.)

But making fan content, and making friends who also make fan content, and building up a small audience of people who just want to be there for fun is incredibly liberating when you're not used to it. Get a bunch of friends who create together, join a community that makes its own memes and creates a bubble of mutual feedback and appreciation, and you start to realise: this is how they made the old tales, the oral ones before the printing press.

Here's two lessons from the archives.

Love characters. Fall in love with their vulnerable moments, their jokes, their relationship dynamics, the little unseen parts of them that you can never put in a real story because there's simply no point. Linger on the details. Develop a little crush. Project all your issues and obsess over nothing. Love your own characters, and you'll find suddenly that creating art about them changes from a chore to an act of affection. Learn what makes you fall in love with other stories, and look for the same aspects in your own.

Making art to impress a large audience will disappoint you; making art to impress a social circle of about ten interested people is how life is supposed to be lived. The early humans who painted mammoths on cave walls had no audience except themselves.

Here's a quote I like, from Prof. Henry Jenkins, Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism and Cinematic Arts at University of Southern California: "Contemporary Web culture is the traditional folk process working at lightning speed on a global scale. The difference is that our core myths now belong to corporations, rather than the folk.”

Here's another quote I like, from twitter user @FarfinFarfin: "the fastest way to improve your art is to become some sort of pervert, doesn't really matter what kind, whatever you're comfortable with". 

Reviews

The Northern Caves by @nostalgebraist. The Northern Caves is a cosmic horror story about unwary scholars who delved too deep into the ancient texts, except the scholars are a group of hardcore nerds on an early 2000s fan forum for a mediocre fantasy series, and the ancient texts are fan theories about the author's baffling final novel. I know almost nothing about original fiction on Archive of Our Own, but I recognise a wonderfully online scary story when I see one. Psychological, terrifying, and twistedly fascinating reading for anyone who's ever watched an online community implode.

Songs for Girls in Love by @phemiec. PhemieC was one of my favourite musicians as a teenager, and when I got into my first relationship I rushed into the familiar arms of their love songs. They also were making, at the time, Homestuck fansongs. But when I was 15, this music made more of an impact on me than any classic musician ever could. Songs for Girls In Love has a number of fansongs mixed in, largely for things I've never consumed, but you'd never know it from their lyrical subtlety and I'm still a huge fan. 

Digital Land Grab: Media corporations are stealing our cultural heritage. Can we take it back? By Henry Jenkins. Okay, okay, this one's not exactly micro or fiction of any sort. But it is the article that I quoted earlier, and Prof. Jenkins could be described as the grandfather of fanwork studies in academia. A good read about the history and creative validity of fanwork, and the ways in which corporations suppress it. I highly recommend it, even if you know nothing about fanfiction.

Your project here. Do you make art of any kind - visual, written, performed? Are you starting a project or recruiting co-creators? We want to hear from you! Email us at contact@witchhatproductions.com.

That's it for June. See you next month!

[not-poignant]

Re: your - totally valid! - feelings on writing more Augus & Gwyn as MCs. Do you find still writing the Nascent Diplomat emotionally taxing bc of that? Like, I adore that story and would love to read more ofc, but if it doesn't bring you any joy that would dampen my own enjoyment too. Personally, I'd much rather you put TND on pause and maybe pick it up again in a few years, but just write the stories you are excited about for now! Idk, just, pls write what makes you happy, Pia💗

Hi anon!

Let's talk about this in more detail and hopefully you'll understand better at the end of it. :)

I can still write The Nascent Diplomat partly because it's not a conventional romance story (Gwyn is developing relationships not just with Augus, but also with Kimerrin and Temsen), partly because I started it before I burnt out on Gwyn/Augus as a couple, and partly because the feel of the story is so different to general stories where Gwyn and Augus are present.

Augus' sadism has been muzzled by Gwyn's traumatic past, and putting Gwyn with the vench means he can't use his stoicism and his stubbornness in the same way anymore without literally disabling himself and suffering, so they've both had to become as much different people as they could possibly be within the scope of who they are.

I've found a lot of the time, the things most folks want from Augus and Gwyn is - understandably - when they are most 'themselves' in new stories. So Augus as a sadist, potentially taking Gwyn (or another character) down or taming him or being an incredible dominant. Or Gwyn being stoic and repressed and having a traumatic family background and needing to be hurt until he has no choice but to accept comfort and being a submissive in denial that he's a submissive. And I've now written versions of that narrative about 6 or 7 times. Gwyn being with Temsen would be a similar enough dynamic to classic Augus/Gwyn, that while it's fun to think about, I just can't write that same journey again with either of those characters any time soon?

And The Nascent Diplomat isn't that journey either, it's one of the reasons I do enjoy writing it still (though I don't think I could write more than one chapter a month, which is why I...only release one chapter a month, so I stay fresh with it and can stay present with the characters).

And one of the comments tND gets most as an AU, is that it's incredible how different this version of Augus and Gwyn are, compared to all the other versions, because of circumstance/s.

But any time a new AU idea or something similar comes up, what folks want most - say even with Gwyn/Temsen - is very classic Augus/Gwyn dynamics, and I'm just... not writing those with Augus/Gwyn because I've done it 6~ times now across over a million words, and I no longer feel fresh with it, with those characters specifically, as a concept. And I feel like if I kept forcing myself to write the dynamic people ask for the most from them, or expect from them, that's when I would really truly burn out. And tbh anon, I did just...stop writing them in that dynamic actually years ago. Even the epilogue that Augus/Gwyn are in, within Fae Tales, is very different from COFT and GT content. I had 'Gwyn is too traumatised for sex' to fall back on, but I deliberately could not write something similar to what they used to be. In some ways that was a win (we got to see a different kind of love between them, and a different way of coming together for them), but... *thinks* it's been years since I've written 'classic' Gwyn and Augus and my burnout hasn't gotten any better. To me, The Nascent Diplomat isn't very classic Gwyn and Augus at all. And it makes me happy to know that Augus will likely never be able to be truly sadistic to that version of Gwyn, because it means I can't be sort of...driven back into that version of that story for those two.

So while I appreciate your concern, anon, I wouldn't write a story I didn't want to write or didn't know how to write. I'm not that sacrificial and I care about my mental health too much to do it, which is why I constantly say I won't be (or will not likely to be) doing it anymore in new stories, lmao. Even if that risks the displeasure or dislike of other people.

The Nascent Diplomat gets to sit in its own window. It helps a lot that it only demands 12 chapters a year from me, so it never really trips off that burnout in the same way. I'm sure if I had to write more of it more often, I may have put it on hiatus, but I don't need to because I found the sweet spot for it.

[immobiliter]

🌿 author portrait .

get to know the author behind the blog! repost, do not reblog.

basics .

name/nickname: lottie age: 27 pronouns : she / her years of writing : ten years on tumblr, but many many years before that on various platforms or just writing in general. it's always been one of my hobbies. i wrote fics before tumblr and before that i did a lot of storytelling in the sims 2 fandom ( but yeesh this was years ago lmao let's not talk about it 💀).

reflection .

why did you pick up writing? i don't think i ever made the conscious choice to pick up writing? i've always loved it and had a natural talent for it, from writing stories as a child to doing so much essay writing at college and university and then writing rp. i think the reason i've stuck with rp for so long though is because it's so collaborative? writing can be quite a solitary hobby but it is literally the most fun thing to wake up in the morning to someone writing you a reply to something that has specifically been written for you as a treat and then getting to respond to them. it's the best thing, genuinely.

do you have any writing routines? i guess i do and i don't? sometimes i will just sit and write, no music, no background noise, it all just flows. sometimes i have to warm myself up by watching clips of the muse or listening to their spotify playlist. it really just kinda depends on my mood tbh. because of the number of threads/muses etc i write however, i do tend to have a routine of picking a thread or two and letting them simmer in my brain for a few days before i sit down to write them, that always works quite well for me.

what's your favorite part about writing? aside from the collaborative nature of rp as i talked about above, just being able to embody a character that is completely different to yourself? as a species we read and write and tell stories for the escapism of it all and i love getting to jump into the head of a character who is nothing like me and write them unapologetically as they are.

three things you like about your writing .

one, i'm gonna echo charlie and say my dialogue. it's the thing i put the most effort into when it comes to writing. each muse of mine needs to have a very well-defined voice ( both in terms of their narrative voice which drives the bulk of the reply and their dialogue ) for them to stick for me, and i take a lot of time to study how each of my muses speak when picking them up as i feel like when rping the most important thing is that your muse sounds like the character, especially if they're a canon one. i think also as a brit who has seen a lot of americans online writing brits over the years with varying levels of success, i am particularly stubborn about getting those nuances in dialect and vocabulary right.

two, this is maybe not about my writing per se, but i think my ability to come up with crossover verses for my muses and push them into unfamiliar/other settings? i love exploring a character in their canon, sure, but nothing is more challenging and interesting to me than trying to translate that character (and keep their essence intact) to another piece of media. it also leads to possibly my favourite thing in all of existence, which is crossover interactions and crossover ships. for me there is nothing quite like bringing two characters together from completely different fandoms who would never normally have a reason to interact and seeing them click. it's immensely satisfying too, i think, because that's our work as writing partners to create that dynamic from scratch? it's not a dynamic automatically offered to us.

three, i like that i can write comfortably in different genres? i don't just restrict myself to angst or fluff, sometimes i love writing a good action thread where stuff happens and other times i like writing shenanigans with my more comedic-aligned muses which are just pure, unadulterated fun.

a question for the next person .

write a question for the next person to answer. once you've answered it, leave a new question for someone else to answer.

where is the oddest place that you have written something? okay so not so much tumblr writing because i've figured out that i have to be sat at my desk concentrating in order to write on here, but a couple of times that i've done discord back and forth rp with close friends, it's ended up with me writing hardcore smut at 7.30 in the morning on the way to work lmao.

new question: what time of day is the best or most productive for you to write?

tagging: whoever would like to do this! tagged by: @resolutepath ( thank you!! )