#this is all /pos btw i love this fic more than anything it makes me feel things

[transsweet]

musical nerds chapter 13 spoilers

"how could someone ever hate this guy" THIS LINE HAS BEEN HAUNTING ME SINCE I READ CHAPTER 13 LAST NIGHT AT 10:30 PM . IS THIS FORESHADOWING/A SEGWAY INTO K_KS ARC . IF IT IS IM SCARED . IM SCARED BUT ALSO VERY EXCITED . WE BARELY KNOW ANYTHING ABT ITS PAST OUTSIDE OF ITS PARENTS AND SOME SMALL DETAILS IN TEXT . I AM SO SCARED

[oh-snapperss]

Just reread watercolor blues for the like tenth time, I love it so much, it's so well written!I still cry a little bit at the part where Etho is back at the snow fort after Bdubs' death and the garden is completely dead- in your typical story, there'd be maybe one flower bud left, but nothing lived, and I think that's a neat thing for symbolization, how Bdubs died and his garden doesn't have any life left at all.

I also love how the flowers Etho brings Bdubs have their symbolism, but are also Minecraft flowers! It seems like a minor detail that wouldn't be too important, but I think it's really cool when authors do that. And the poppy... the single poppy. Oh my goodness that flower- the symbolism- Along with what happens next...

Incredible.

I admire the way you can realistically write characters' internal thoughts and conflicts! It's something I find difficult to do, and you pull it off so well. Everything the characters feel or think, it's almost tangible the way I feel the same things!

And that part near the end where Etho finally returns and Bdubs isn't quite sure that it's real- I can't find the exact words I want to use but I really love how you write scenes like that!

I just adore you and your writing so much!

WTF ANON EEUEUEUEUEUEU please know that i am making you tea. so much fucking tea. and i'm sitting here like ;-; /pos

OKAY AND YEA:DDD so the garden... it was really important to me to show the garden as almost a metaphor for their home during last life? so once that wither hit and bdubs was gone... so was the home they had created, as flimsy and temporary those snow walls really were. that fic is much more about the symbolism and themes than anything else<3

the flowers,,,, i actually originally was gonna use flowers outside of the game, but then i actually found out something super fucked up and had to share it with everyone in the only way i know how.

so this right here is actually a screenshot from etho's episode eight of last life! he opens the chest just for a split-second, but you can see... those flowers were actually canon. the second i saw it i knew i had to make it happen in the fic, so... yeah. that chest is from bdubs' side of the house as well btw, so there's a good chance he placed them in that chest for god knows what reason.

this chest is also from their base, but to the side a little bit and not the same room! and why i wound up incorporating the poppy the way i did:) i originally had not intended for the fic to have canon basis but once i saw these chests it kinda changed my mind so... here we are!

AND OUGH??? THANK YOU???? writing internal thoughts and conflicts is genuinely a favorite part of my writing because i like to explore the why of what a character is doing in a moment. i'm learning to work with descriptive stuff more and more and it's just AGH i'm literally so<3333 thank you for saying that wtf... as far as the emotions go... i actually have a trick i do to help that where i put myself into the character's head if that makes sense? when i write how a character is feeling, i put myself into the situation and their head and i'm able to then feel what the character would feel. and then i channel it into words and so far it's turned out into some of my favorite pieces of writing:D (watercolour blues, the stories we tell and the truths untold, and can you see me are probably the strongest example of places i did this)

sorry for the massive ramble but anon you've made me so :DDDDDD i hope you have the best day/night and both sides of the pillow are cold okay that's all i got byeeee

[tickle-bugs]

Hi! Do you have any advice for those who want to start writing?

Yes! So honored you asked. I'll put it below the cut. Other writers, feel free to chime in!

(Gearing this specifically towards tickle fics because, well, *gestures around*)

- Mentioned it a whole bunch in my other advice post but it really is a big deal: Write for yourself. I cannot stress it enough. Whatever you like to write, make sure you're having fun and you're writing what you like.

- Find your style! There is no krabby patty formula for The Ideal Style. Everyone has different preferences. Your preferences matter most! If you like all caps laughter dialogue? Great! No laughter dialogue at all? Cool! Reader fics? Nice! First person fics? Sick (pos)! Most people emulate the things that they like to read in their writing and I think that's a great place to start! I like 3rd person POV with an internal monologue and that's what I stick to, pretty much.

- Follow your inspirations. Okay so this one, yes, but be careful. If you like someone's writing or style, there's nothing wrong with emulating it/borrowing bits. That's how I learned to draw, actually (and how most artists learn their craft). If you like a certain author and they do something you like, try it out for yourself! I personally am not a fan of laughter dialogue, so I looked to the amazing writers around me to see how they describe laughs/sensation. It's a great way to learn, because your voice and style will filter through. What this doesn't mean, though, is plagiarizing. Not to sound like a school teacher but if it ain't yours, don't use it.

- Your style will change. Embrace it. I have improved so much since my first fics, and I did that by embracing change. Changing things up is good, actually, and it helps keep things fresh for you! Take a risk, switch something up, etc. It'll help avoid feeling like your fics are stale.

- Writing is practice. The only way you can possibly learn is by doing it. Whether or not you have a blog, just get writing! Try things out! Pick a pairing/group/character and experiment. That's how I started my blog in the first place. I posted a few FinnPoe experiments that I had and decided that I liked it here. Practice, practice, practice, my loves. Don't crunch or make yourself miserable.

- (re: write for yourself, writing is practice) if you find yourself writing fics for the sake of writing/attention, not because you enjoy it, then step back. I had...trauma relating to creating any sort of fandom content because of this. Not everything is gonna be sunshine and roses (talked about in the next point), but if you feel miserable, it's okay to take a break. I don't want to lean too heavily on this, but if you'd like to read more on it, this post about covers it.

- You don't have to like everything you make, okay? You really don't. Don't let anyone tell you that you do. Not every fic is gonna be the Mona Lisa, either. I have many a fic that I've made that I loathe--some posted, some not. Sometimes you run out of steam, sometimes the idea doesn't blossom how you want, sometimes you just fall out of love with a fic. That's okay and normal. Just try to learn from the creative experience for your next go around.

- Taking prompts is hard. Don't hurt yourself. This...is one I need to get better at. If you're looking to run a blog and take prompts (which you don't have to do, btw), that's so cool and funky fresh of you, but do so with your health in mind. Please. If you get a prompt for something you don't like/are uncomfortable with, you don't have to write it. If you are creating content, you have no obligation to create anything that makes you uncomfortable.

If you wanna take prompts, take a number you can handle and the ones that inspire you most. If you have to decline a prompt, that's totally fine. Start and don't finish? That's okay too. People may be disappointed, but you matter more than that disappointment. I can talk more about taking prompts in another post if anyone's interested but I'll leave it at that for now.

- (Re: writing is practice) Get going! Easier said than done, I know, but really do get going. No amount of theorizing is gonna get a fic done, just do it. Try it out. You and your writing are worthy and ever-growing. The writers you idolize are likely agonizing over a WIP or five (hey writers go write a sentence on one of your WIPs rn). Take the leap and try.

- It's okay to work on a fic little by little. I have literally 30+ fics cooking at the moment. Every once in a while I add a paragraph or two. Sometimes I get inspired and write a fic or two in one go. I've had WIPs I've been sitting on since my blog's inception (*casts a sidelong glance at the Home Again series*) and that's perfectly okay. You'll see some people churning out fics every week. If that's you, great! If that's not you, that's okay. Be gentle with yourself.

- (Re: writing is practice, get going) Headcanons and drabbles do wonders for inspiration. I do this all the time. Tell us your thoughts on a character, write something short, etc. It's a great way to dip your toes in the water. Ask for headcanon requests if you want! I have a headcanon tag and I treat it like my spice rack when I write. Not only will writing little bite-sized bits help your brain get going, you'll be able to lean on these bits for later works. Do one of those little "send me a character" ask memes! Reblog a sentence starter list and ask for submissions! Or just do them on your own! Get going.

- Submit fics if you want! My submission box is open (I only take SFW submissions at the moment) and other writers likely take them too. Send an ask/message and ask the person (me included) if it's okay to submit something, and they'll host that fic on their blog! This is ideal for anon writers who don't want to/can't run a blog. I always sing the praises of having a blog because there's nothing better than having a space that's yours, but if you're nervous, that's an excellent place to start. Make sure you follow any submission rules that person may have (and sign your work)! AO3 is an excellent avenue as well.

- EDIT: Writing is like riding a bike. It may take some time for you to get used to it/get into a groove you’re happy with. That’s okay. Take your time and soon enough you’ll be on your way. If you fall, just make sure you get back up.

If you're looking for a sign to start, this is it. I believe in you. If anyone has any more questions, feel free to ask. Anon, I hope this helps <3

Other writers feel free to add your own advice!

[ashes-orielly]

👀 little teeny tiny crack fic of undertale drumbot? i need to see this ahdgfjdjksjhg

Hey the tiny lil crack fic inspired by this post (btw @sorrowsunny look at the thing I did) ended up being... not so little. Enjoy!

***

The Drumbot was one of Carmilla's more... interesting experiments. Which, Nastya knew from personal experience, was saying something. After his Incident, the only part Carmilla had been able to save was his heart and a file download of his personality, which she had altered to her will before inserting. And for all Carmilla was a scientist, she wasn't an engineer.

To put it bluntly (and that was for the best, Nastya didn't do well beating around the bush), Carmilla had shoved the Drumbot's heart and file into a metal contraption made of a clock, and he was forced to wander around on a spinning wheel with two metal balls at the end of his 'arms' and a screen that was perhaps meant to serve as his face.

The hat on top of his box was a nice touch, though.

The Drumbot's new body (if you could even call it that) made it hard for him to do the things he used to. His 'handballs', as Raphaella had called them (causing Ashes to spit out their drink, but the name stuck) were magnetic, could become electrified upon will, had laser and blacklight capabilities, and could play any song the Drumbot could think of. The only problem then was that Carmilla forgotten to add fingers. And as it was, she met her unfortunate and completely accidental end before she could do anything about that fact. Which meant, of course, that the Drumbot came to Nastya.

"You want... my help?" she asked after listening to his request. "I don't know a thing about biology. That's Raphaella's area."

The light square on the Drumbot's screen moved to the bottom left corner, which might have been his equivalent of not meeting her eyes. "She scares me," he said after a moment, robotic voice monotone but somehow still conveying shame.

"...You do know you can't die, right? What do you think she'll do to you?"

"Look what she and Carmilla did to Doctor Pilchard."

"You can't prove anything," Nastya said, probably too quickly. "That being said, I.... see your point. Will you let me run a diagnostic on you first? You know, look you over, maybe glance at your code? That way I can make sure I won't break you."

Two new glowing blocks showed up on the screen. Was he... blushing?

"Sure," he said after a pause too long. Helios, was Nastya going to have to explain how completely and utterly gay she was? Maybe she could just have Aurora lock the Drumbot in his room for a few centuries- he'd have to forget about any crush by then.

Nastya shook her head, telling herself to focus. There would be time for that later, and she had been dying to check out the Drumbot's tech.

"Sit here," she said, pointing at a spot on the floor. They were in her engineering room, and she always worked leaning against the wall or by crawling under or in things, and so saw no need for chairs. Brian sat, if you were using a loose definition of the term. His stick? Leg? robotic pole folded, so that he was hovering a bit lower than before."Good. Now, can I check your back? Carmilla had a love for hidden compartments."

He nodded, and she ran a hand over his back, searching for the hidden cavity where Carmilla would have placed the port. Her fingers caught on a latch, and she pulled it open with a grin.

There was the port, with the drive sticking out proudly. And, right beside it, was a little silver switch labeled on one side EJM and on the other side, where it currently rested, MJE.

Now, let us all be clear. Nastya wasn't the type to go pressing big red buttons just to see what they do- that was more Jonny's expertise. And Ashes'. And Tim's. And Ivy's, and Raph's, and- Okay, maybe it was her that was the outlier.

That being said, this wasn't a big red button. This was a switch. And no self respecting engineer can resist a switch.

The metal moved easily beneath her finger. And for a long moment, nothing happened.

Then metallic golden smoke started pouring out from little vents in the Drumbot's handballs, and ukulele music began from somewhere she couldn't see. Two projectiles flung themselves from wherever in his box they had been hiding, and Nastya let out a yelp as she ducked for cover.

The Drumbot made that might have been a shriek, if he had the vocal range, and raised his smoking hands to his box like he was trying to hold his head.

Nastya tripped over herself trying to back away. Her eyes dartwd between him and the two little drones circling above him. It didn't matter, really- they were quickly obscured by the gas. A mask dropped from the ceiling, and Nastya shoved it over her mouth and nose, silently thanking her amazing girlfriend.

The smoke filled the room entirely now, obscuring everything. She didn't even know where the door was. No escape, then. She pressed herself against the wall, watching where the Drumbot had been.

Out of the fog, two beams of light appeared, shining towards the middle of the mass. The drones, the logistical part of her mind said. The other parts of her mind watched in mute terror at whatever Carmilla had done, whatever Nastya had done.

A voice- not the monotone of the Drumbot, but an actual voice- emerged from the mass.

"Now the party's arrived."

Aurora's ventilation finally kicked on, clearing the gas from the room. Little by little, the Drumbot was revealed.

Or what had been the Drumbot, anyway.

Because standing in the middle of the room was a man made of metal. He stood, one hand holding his hat (the Drumbot's hat) and the other held dramatically behind him, sweeping open his coat. His eyes met Nastya's, and he sent her a charming smile.

"I see you know how to have a good time," he said, still posed dramatically. The spotlights reflected off his metal skin, and a part of Nastya tucked very far away made to swoon. She hit that part with a shovel and shoved it behind a locked door in her mind.

"Drumbot?" she asked uncertainly, finally lowering her mask. Now that she could see him better, she saw the clear panel in the center of his chest. Under the glass lay a bright red heart, pulsing steadily.

"The one and only." He swirled his hand and bowed deeply. "Well, sort of. Apparently Carmilla split me in two."

"And you- box you- didn't tell us why?"

"Because it would cause you stress, and I'm not fond of causing stress in that state. The means simply didn't justify the ends."

Nastya was smart- scary smart. And she had known Carmilla better than anyone except Jonny, had listened to many a rant about what makes someone human. Every mechanism had been a test to that- am I still human without a heart, blood, lungs, eyes, the list went on. Eventually Carmilla had come to a conclusion, an answer. She found out what made them human- really human- and poked it with a stick.

"Your morality," she said with realization. "The switch altered your morality?"

"Exactly. I'm the fun Brian." He sent her another grin- who smiled that much?- before a thought seemed to strike him. "The fun Drumbot? No, I like my name. Is it even my name now, if I'm only a heart?"

"Drumbot Brian," Nastya suggested quickly. Philosophy always gave her a headache. "Are you going to do that... smoky thing every time you switch?"

"What? Oh, no. That was a one time thing. The spotlights get to stay though. Hey, we can even use them for our performances!" His face lit up as he thought, and Nastya felt herself relax a fraction. "We would need more, of course. A lot more. Huh." Their eyes met once again, and in a split moment he had a gun pointed at her.

"Let me give you a lesson," he said. "I'm Ends Justify Means. That means the thing I want- the ends- are worth whatever I have to do for it. So! I want more spotlights, and you're an engineer. That means I'm perfectly willing to hold you at gunpoint and slash or shoot you to make it happen. Get it?"

He pulled the hammer on the gun back, and Nastya felt herself relax all the way. He would fit right in.

[supercasey]

More Info on Scout’s Brothers in my Interpretation of Them

From working on my latest TF2 fic, I’ve been getting even more invested in my interpretations of Scout’s brothers than I was back when I wrote “Jeremy” last month, so here’s more information on them, including their appearances, who their spouses end up being later on in life, and their kids (if they have any).

(Putting this under a readmore for the sake of literally everyone)

((Tumblr, please don’t fuck this up for mobile readers. If it does end up looking like crap, I’ll make a Google Doc for this.))

Name: Grant Grayson-Kennedy Jr. Age: 34 (11 years older than RED Scout) Gender: Cisgender Man Sexuality: Bisexual Hair Color: Dark Brown Eye Color: Grey Their Mother: Rebecca “Becky” Kennedy Their Father: Grant Grayson Sr. Their S/O: Amelia O’Malley (36) Their Children: Lauren Grayson-Kennedy (8), Kara Grayson-Kennedy (6), Rupert Grayson-Kennedy (4.5), Timothy Grayson-Kennedy (2) Occupation: Air Force Veteran/Lawyer Personality: The family peacekeeper. Probably the most pragmatic of his siblings (though he’s still quite the fighter), Grant has been helping his mom out with his brothers from almost the very beginning, becoming more helpful as more kids were born. He’s a family man, and adores his family to bits, doing almost anything to keep them safe. Was actually considered as a possible recruit by The Administrator, but she decided to not hire him in the end, as he seemed too wise to be manipulated.

Name: Timothy Grayson-Kennedy Age: 32 (9 years older than RED Scout) Gender: Cisgender Man Sexuality: Homosexual Hair Color: Dark Brown Eye Color: Dark Brown Their Mother: Rebecca “Becky” Kennedy Their Father: Grant Grayson Sr. Their S/O: Duke Hammond (32) Their Children: Sarah Kennedy-Hammond (3), Jeremy Kennedy-Hammond (1) Occupation: Cartoonist Personality: The family heart. The most gentle of his brothers, Timmy is especially close with Jeremy and Grant. Kinda nervous about being a father, but with his childhood best friend turned lover at his side, he isn’t quite as scared anymore. Stays in contact with his siblings well enough, but tends to lose track of events/announcements due to living all the way in California. Doesn’t approve of mercenary work in general.

Name: Jacob Grayson-Kennedy Age: 31 (8 years older than RED Scout) Gender: Cisgender Man Sexuality: Heterosexual Hair Color: Light Blond Eye Color: Light Blue Their Mother: Rebecca “Becky” Kennedy Their Father: Grant Grayson Sr. Their S/O: None Their Children: Ana Grayson-Kennedy (3), Mia Grayson-Kennedy (3) Occupation: Freelance Guitarist Personality: The family sword. Was always pretty rough ‘n tumble even when compared to his brothers, so he got into a lot of trouble alongside Malcolm when he was a teen. Finally cleaned up his act when a one-night-stand resulted in him having twin daughters, who he loves dearly and has sole custody of. Has a better relationship with Arthur now that they’re adults, and actually lives with him in downtown Boston.

Name: Arthur Grayson-Kennedy Age: 31 (8 years older than RED Scout) Gender: Cisgender Man Sexuality: Pansexual Hair Color: Dark Blond Eye Color: Dark Blue Their Mother: Rebecca “Becky” Kennedy Their Father: Grant Grayson Sr. Their S/O: Markus Browning (29) Their Children: None Occupation: Carpenter Personality: The family shield. Not quite as mellow as Timmy is, but he’s pretty damn close in terms of general kindness towards his family and friends. Has struggled in the past to find his calling, but he loves his job in carpentry, and loves that he gets to live with his twin and nieces! Has an on and off boyfriend who he keeps a secret from the family, as he’s nervous to come out as pan, even though Timmy’s been out as gay for a few years now.

Name: Patrick Walsh-Kennedy Age: 30 (7 years older than RED Scout) Gender: Cisgender Man Sexuality: Heterosexual Hair Color: Black Eye Color: Brown Their Mother: Rebecca “Becky” Kennedy Their Father: Terrence Walsh Their S/O: Felicity Homer (28) Their Children: None Occupation: Hairdresser Personality: The family shadow. He’s never liked being in the spotlight, even when he was young and into street brawls. Was beaten by his bio dad a lot as a kid, so he’s fairly skittish as a result; jumps at loud noises and has claustrophobia. Still checks in on the family every once in awhile, but he prefers to stay with his GF in relative solitude. Loves his job so much, even if it does involve being social sometimes.

Name: Malcolm Walsh-Kennedy Age: 27 (4 years older than RED Scout) Gender: Cisgender Man Sexuality: Heteromantic Asexual Hair Color: Black Eye Color: Brown Their Mother: Rebecca “Becky” Kennedy Their Father: Terrence Walsh Their S/O: Dolores Jamison Their Children: Luke Kennedy-Jamison (5) Occupation: Wrestler Personality: The family instigator. Was by far the most reckless and violent of his brothers (yes, even more so than Jacob), which led to him getting arrested a number of times in his teens. Is trying to turn his life around, but it’s hard for him. After he found out that Jeremy is a mercenary, he flipped his lid, and he’s still pissed at him about it. Loves his son, his wife, his mama, his brothers, and that’s about it tbh.

Name: Curtis Walsh-Kennedy Age: 26 (3 years older than RED Scout) Gender: Cisgender Man Sexuality: Bisexual Hair Color: Dark Blond Eye Color: Blue Their Mother: Rebecca “Becky” Kennedy Their Father: Terrence Walsh Their S/O: None Their Children: None Occupation: BLU Scout Personality: The family drifter. Spent a lot of his childhood teasing Jeremy and trying to be his mom’s favorite, neither of which worked in his favor. His mom still loves him of course, but he’s not the favorite (no one is). He drifted for a long while after high school, struggling to land a job, before he was hired to join BLU team as their Scout. Now he continues teasing Jeremy as an adult, which leads to a lot of matches turning into Scout vs Scout fights.

Name: Jeremy Kennedy Age: 23 Gender: Transgender Man Sexuality: Pansexual Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Baby Blue Their Mother: Rebecca “Becky” Kennedy Their Father: Jeffery REDACTED Their S/O: None Their Children: None Occupation: RED Scout Personality: The family runt. He tried so hard to keep up with his brothers as a kid, but was always told to not play as rough due to him being FTM. After coming out to the family as a man, and living on his own for awhile, he’s become even closer to his brothers than he was before, save for maybe Curtis, who he fights with every time they see each other. He knows Curtis is the BLU Scout and constantly teases him for losing so often to RED, which leads to even more fights between them. (I should note that I don’t characterize Jeremy as transgender in the Kids AU, mostly because I think he’d be too young to come out, and seeing as I don’t want to write him as a “girl” for the entirety of the AU... he can be trans in that AU if you want him to be, but I feel uncomfortable writing such a young child as being trans, so do with that what you will.)

Information on the dads!

Grant Grayson Sr.: Grant, Timothy, Jacob, and Arthur’s dad. He was a well respected man when he was alive, and actually had a decent relationship with Becky for the most part, but it became more strained when he left for war after the twins were born. About a year into his military service, Grant was killed in action, leaving Becky a widow. She loved him, but after his death, she accepted the fact that it wouldn’t have lasted forever with him, though she still misses him sometimes.

Terrence Walsh: Patrick, Malcolm, and Curtis’s dad. He tried hooking up with Becky the minute Grant was shipped overseas, but she always turned him down, as she was married and not a cheater. After Grant’s death though, he swooped in and convinced Becky to start going out with him, leading to Patrick’s birth and a second marriage for Becky. Unfortunately, Terrance was a real POS, and he routinely beat the kids as well as Becky. He was assassinated a few weeks after Curtis was born by Spy, freeing Becky of his abuse.

Jeffery REDACTED: The RED Spy/Jeremy’s dad. He met Becky while she was still stuck in an abusive marriage with Terrence, and soon after they met, Becky begged for his help in getting rid of her husband so she and kids could finally be safe. Feeling bad for the mother, Spy did just that, killing Terrence and making it look like an accident. Afterwards he planned on going on his merry way, but Becky convinced him to stay in her home while he waited for more work to roll in. During this time, they fell in love, and he soon married her (though it was an under the table sort of deal, where he also took on her last name), and after a year or so of marriage, Becky became pregnant with Jeremy. Unfortunately for Spy, people were after him, so he had to leave the family behind, but he’s still technically married to Becky, and she refuses to date anyone in his absence.

And that’s what I’ve got! Btw, I chose the last name “Kennedy” for the family based on the quote “You’ve got the luck of a Kennedy!” since I headcanon that Scout’s Mom has been through a lot, and in turn so have all of her children in one way or another. The family’s unlucky, but at least they’ll always have each other! Feel free to ask me questions about the family if you have any.

[dimancheetoile]

Rant time (and a fucking PSA too)

(cw: this doesn’t relate to anything personal, mental health-related, or any kind of sensitive content. this is about a fandom thing, so there shouldn’t be anything triggering in here. just to be cautious though, content warnings for strong language, swearing and general angry-ness on my part)

ok so here’s the thing. i know the naruto fandom. i’ve been in it for thirteen years, though not all of it on tumblr. i’m lucky to be part of the older community, where all the people i interact with are adults, mature and sensible, who are able to have constructive conversations about the characters we like, dislike, like despite their flaws and dislike despite their qualities. 

now, i’m writing fanfiction because i enjoy it. i enjoy putting down ideas that make me happy, that make me think hard and deep about what i like about the world and translating that into stories i feel are interesting and thought-provoking. 

most of my stories can be classified as being a part of the meta-fandom, let’s call it that way, where adults are discussing deep subjects around konoha’s government, financial stability, working system, casts and clans and workforce, where you come out of a discussion feeling like you know more than you did before. that’s what i enjoy writing about, that sort of deep worldbuilding. i love writing it like rae loves her fluff, y’know? that’s just my thing.

i can’t control who reads my stories like i can control who i interact with on tumblr. and even then, sometimes i get pos on tumblr, so i’m not safe from them anywhere. but generally, as most of you know with g.o.d for example, the worst offenders are on AO3 and tend to be horrible people in comment sections. and that shit happens:

ok so apparently i am “basing their relationship on hating sasuke”. great. i never did that. learn how to read. this is a crackfick based on a stupid, comedic concept, and ino proposes to sakura in a joking manner. now if you’re allergic to sarcasm, it’s not my problem. but here’s what i have to tell you, and every single person who ever read or will ever read my stories:

IF YOU ARE A SASUKE STAN, YOU SHOULD NOT READ MY STORIES

I REPEAT

THIS IS A PSA

IF YOU ARE A SASUKE STAN, YOU SHOULD NOT READ MY STORIES

aside from a few exceptions, he is rarely treated well in my works because he is a character i dislike greatly. now, here’s the thing. i have taken great care in warning people about this. i have written an entire page, linked on my blog, about the content i write about, and more importantly in this case, a list of characters i don’t like. here’s what it looks like:

this list hasn’t been edited in YEARS. so it’s not my problem if you go to read my stories and don’t find a sasuke fan. and i mean, if it was just the one comment, i would never even consider writing this post. except it’s not.

(yeah, i’m not blurring their name, i regret having blurred the name of the commenter above but i did it a while back and deleted the comment so i don’t know who wrote it. reason why is, this shit is public. i don’t condone harassment, and i don’t need people to defend me, but if they didn’t want people to read their comments, they would have gone in guest mode. however if i see anyone being shitty back instead of engaging in polite discussion, i’ll delete your comment, ok?)

now what do you noticed here? yeah, those are two comments posted ON TWO DIFFERENT STORIES.

my take on sasuke is tired? you’re sad at my treatment of sasuke? on TWO DIFFERENT STORIES? yeah, do you a need a fucking reminder that i dislike the character a real fucking lot? DONT FUCKING READ MY FICS OMFG IT’S NOT HARD TO UNDERSTAND. LEAVE INSTEAD OF LEAVING COMMENTS.

(and btw, those are not the only comments this person left me, and most had the same kind of tone to them)

so let me repeat something real quick.

If you like Kishimoto’s Sasuke, don’t fucking read my fucking stories. If you don’t like my fanon version of Sasuke, be it when he’s the bad guy or when i try to redeem him, don’t fucking read my fucking stories.

there are literally countless stories online of this fandom, where sasuke is viewed in a much more charitable light than i ever will, and that, imo, he will ever deserve. this man is a piece of shit and his tragic past is not an excuse for it. newsflash people, i have chronic depression, i’ve survived sexual assault and i had an abusive childhood, and shocker, i’m not a psychopath with zero capability for remorse, empathy, human decency, healthy relationships and respect, like your precious emo boy. your tragic backstory is not an excuse for horrible, abusive behaviour, and if you think so, you need therapy. slapping that kind of behaviour on a fictional character, then defending it, doesn’t make it suddenly okay either.

i don’t need those kind of comments in my life, i don’t want your fucking concrit and unless it’s been asked, don’t fucking give it to authors unprompted. if you’re not happy with what you’re reading, buy a fucking book, or even better, browse the endless catalogue avaibale for free online, written by passionate people who pour their heart into their stories. next time you feel like being a fucking asshole, shut the fuck up and go write your own stories instead of whining about other people’s works.

ok rant over now.

[restingdomface]

hey I asked you a while back about your opinion on Madam Yu and my friend told me it might have sounded like I was baiting you, and I wanted to clarify that I'm not. I have a really hard time with Madam Yu's characterization but I'm always willing to learn more than one dimension to a character, and I like everything you write so far and you seem to have a really good grasp on how to make these characters work, so I'd love to hear your opinions on Madam Yu.

Okay, see, yeah, I got that ask but I didn’t touch it because the thing is, I’m not a meta writer, and I haven’t seen all of canon, so my opinion might be tv based only or someone else might look at her character and say ‘that’s a really abusive mother, no exceptions’ and move on.

Basic rule of this: Madam Yu is abusive. Yeah. She pitted the kids against each other. She mocked Yanli for wanting to take care of Wei Wuxian and peeling lotus seeds for him. She told Cheng he’s never going to be as good as Wei Wuxian right to both their faces, so both of them would know they did something wrong. She’s not a nice character at all. (Btw, this has zero standing on any fics I might write. I’m an AU writer and there’s a million reasons I might write a character different, I’m not excusing anything that she did, but I like to play around with AU where things didn’t happen like they did in canon, and changing universe laws might mean she’s a nicer person, or cares waaaaay less to compare the kids and pit them against each other.)

But the basic jist of it: she didn’t have to save Wei Wuxian’s life. She could have demanded that he stay with her and fight after sending Cheng down the river. She whipped him because she hoped they’d go away if she finally punished her problem child and pretended to submit to them.

And that’s the thing about that. She didn’t flinch till they told her to do permanate damage. That’s when both WWX and Madam Yu took a metaphorical step back. Cheng fully believed that his mother would cripple his brother, but neither Madam Yu nor WWX were willing to take that step. WWX said he could take it when it was just a whip, but flinches at a hand removes?

That means he trusted her not to do permanent damage. He trusts the woman who insults and belittles him.

So. She doesn’t truly hate him. And he knows it.

That doesn’t mean that she’s not an abusive pos, but people seem to confuse her motives with pure hatred, and that’s just not where they’re coming from.

Also, the original ask wasn’t rude. I put it aside because I am not an expert on canon, and I didn’t wanna get into a meta argument with someone over something I hadn’t thought over.

But then I remembered that I’m a fucking asshole and I’ll fight anyone about anything because my one flaw is that I if I know I’m supported by canon I’ll do anything to take a naysayer and slam dunk them in a trash can where they belong. Idk if I’m supported by canon on this, but if you think this is absolutely wrong 🤷🏼‍♀️

[razberryyum]

Positive Things about Guardian as a series (spoilers)

So I’ve been pretty harsh about the production team behind Guardian (writers, directors, set designers, wardrobe, the crew…including the extras…basically anyone who are not Bai Yu, Zhu Yilong, the actors who played Old Chu, Little Guo and Zhu Hong, who are Jiang Ming Yang, Xin Peng and  Gao Yu Er, respectively) and about the quality of the show as a whole when it doesn’t involve our main characters/leads, and I’ve actually been feeling bad about that now that the initial sense of shock has worn off a little. As a result, I woke up this morning and decided to make a list of all things that are GOOD about the show. Now, I am still hurting about how it ended and the things that went wrong which imho could have easily NOT (f.e. the 10,000 years dirt nap), but…BUT I will try my best NOT to let that negativity seep into this. 

So here goes, in no particular order, the positive things about the show:

- the show even exists. I mean, really, God bless, especially considering where it’s made. How did that even happen?? Despite all my bitching, I still marvel (almost DAILY so far) at the fact that Guardian exists and I got to watch it cuz China could’ve easily never put it back online. 

- the existence of Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan. But that’s pretty much a given. Especially since my life is forever changed because of them.

- every Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan scene together. That’s a given also. I would not be surprised if the writers literally used all their meager talent and energy on constructing those moments so that’s why they didn’t have much juice left for everything else. I mean, that’s a good thing, right? Kinda.

- they got Bai Yu and Zhu Yilong to play Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei. I really hope the two actors got compensated well for their performances, though somehow I doubt it, especially since, from what I understand ZYL (omg I just stupidly realized the acronym for his name is the same as Zhao Yunlan’s. Wtf that is so cute!) was still very slowly rising in the ranks. But hopefully their current popularity as a result of the show has made up for it.

- the score and songs. Bought the OST from iTunes like one or two episodes in, loved the score and themes. I even bought Bai Yu and Zhu Yilong’s duet “Time of Flight” a few times (different platforms, different devices) cuz I just wanted to contribute to them…even though…who knows if they even see a cent from it, and pretty sure my few measly dollars probably isn’t helping anything. Probably just makes me seem stupid and insane. 

- the cute episode titles. Which I wasn’t even aware of until @avenuex123 pointed it out. Adorable.

- the censorship. Ok, censorship is never good imo, but in this singular case, perhaps because there were existing restrictions on the BL subject matter, the actors therefore were willing to sign on since they knew they didn’t have to do anything explicit (or maybe they would’ve been willing, this is just my own stupid assumption because of how Chinese society is…I say that as an Asian American with many…erm…”old-fashioned” friends and family members) AND they probably saw it as challenge to find creative ways to convey the nature of the characters while working within the confines of censorship laws. Although, this might be a case of me just trying to look on the bright side.

- the easter eggs. I agree with fellow Guardian fans who have pointed out that there was some love put into the making of this show, which is clearly exemplified in the small momentos scattered throughout the series. 

- the time travel concept. Not that the delve into the past was done well because I did have problems with it, but I did really appreciate the fact that Zhao Yunlan was the one and only all along due to his being sucked up into the wormhole and spit back out 10,000 years in the past to meet Shen Wei for the first time. I thought it was a tremendously romantic idea…even if the general execution of the past left a lot to be desired. I promised that I wouldn’t be negative, but I still have to say that while love at first sight is a lovely notion, it was still a bit hard to swallow that SW would fall SOOOO head over heels with ZYL after just conversing with him for like a few hours, to the point that he would pine for him for 10,000 years (though it’s probably technically more like a few decades due to his dirt nap, but I’ll buy it felt like 10K years to him). I just wish ZYL spent more time in the past with SW, and actually @xparrot‘s fic (”Now Lie In It" on AO3) made me feel a LOT better about the whole thing since they successfully fixed the problem by awesomely separating each scene we saw into days and years. But I did like the time travel idea; it was cool, even though it’s different from the novel.

- the nature of the necklace. I really liked the candy wrapper core. Broke my heart into bits and pieces in a GOOD way. Really loved everything about it. I understand it’s different in the novel as well, but in the context of the changes done for the show, I thought that was a pretty brilliant move. 

-  the Da Qing and ZYL ownership scene in episode 35 with SW listening. Loved that scene and the multiple purposes it was serving: establishing Da Qing’s relationship with ZYL, giving voice to how SW was feeling about ZYL leaving,   inspiring SW with the necklace idea, and then of course, the censorship workaround because it was like very homo while being nohomo at the same time. 

- SW and ZYL’s wardrobe. Probably a given since the fact that I love them means I love everything about them, but, like, SW even looked good as the Black Cloak Envoy and ZYL as Kunlun and those outfits (and their hairstyles) could’ve gone wrong so easily…thank God no one thought it was a good idea to make them wear a stupid looking afro wig or feathers on their heads.

- Old Chu/Little Guo. They were adorable, my second OTP from the show, and I was seriously jealous of all the PDA they were getting away with.

- recurring characters. Even though some of their acting abilities were highly questionable, I did appreciate how certain characters introduced in the beginning of the show would pop up again later on. I’m sure a good part of that was to save on hiring more people, but I still thought it was neat. For example, I wasn’t too fond of the merit brush dude (cuz his story was dumb and draggy), but I did like how this innocuous store owner that was little more than a background character at the start eventually became one of the villains. 

-  Ye Zun. He’s so CUTE. I mean, ok, Zhu Yilong playing him helped, but just seriously, his character is so fucked up and misguided and emo and adorable that I just wanted to give him a big hug all the time. When that shitty cockatoo he calls “Boss”** started smacking him around, I wanted to reach into the screen and throttle that ugly POS. I wouldn’t even be surprised if that asshole more than physically abused Ye Zun. Anyway, I just felt bad for the little puppy. I wish we got to spend more time with him and that he got redeemed earlier so that he could enjoy some love and hugs before being led into the wormhole (or…wherever it was that his big bro was heading off with him…wait, would it be the wormhole? But they died, right? So technically it should be like the reincarnation hole?) **(btw, why “Boss”? Why not “Leader”? Are the head villains paying their henchmen to follow them? So weird that they call their leaders “boss” which would imply they’re being paid wages which I truly doubt is the case)

- Da Qing. He’s a cutie too. Really wish the kitty girl had lived so that he wouldn’t be all alone, now that ZYL is gone. I guess Tech boy Lin Jing is going to take care of him now?  

- Zhu Hong. When she wasn’t inexplicably screaming her dialogue, I did like her…but a huge part of that is probably because I remember the actress from Yanxi Palace (she was playing a small villainous role but she did a good job) and I felt sorry for her. Putting the unrequited love aside, it must also be tough seeing ZYL now and yet knowing that’s not even the same guy she loves at all. Damn, that actually must be so unsettling for everyone who knew the old ZYL. 

-  the personality swap episode (ep 25). THAT was freaking adorable. Just wish it lasted longer and that eventually it affected SW and ZYL. Although, since they already eye-fuck each other like 99% of the time, what would be different? I guess SW would be a little looser…and ZYL would be a bit more sad and pining-er? (Btw, I literally never heard of the word “microexpressions” until Zhu Yilong entered my life). Omg, an image of them switching outfits just popped into my head. Oh shit, that would’ve been FUN to see. Dammit.

That’s all I could come up with for now…I’ll probably add more as I think of more things. Please feel free to contribute if you think of positive things I’ve left out. I might not agree but I’d still love to hear them.