#typing 'this fic sucks and I'm only interested in the one I'm asking about' would almost be better

[inksinger]

Friendly Reminder

Do not go into the comments of a fic and all about the update status of a different fic. I cannot think of a single ficcer alive who wants to see a comment on Fic B that consists entirely of "any chance Fic A will get an update".

Unless comments are turned off, ask about updates in the comments of the fic you're wondering about, and ONLY there. Don't be obnoxious and ask about it, for example, in the comments of a new project the ficcer just posted last week.

[jaemmphilia]

★ episode one: casual ★ || seo c.b

★ summary: changbin is called into his agency by his manager to come and look at a potential script for a mini-series that's a spinoff of the popular movie: don't say goodbye. he accepts the script immediately, not realizing who his co-star is until changbin sees him sitting at the table.

★ pairing: actor!changbin x actor!male!reader

★ warnings and rating: colorful language, reader and changbin have some history, enemies/idiots to lovers, (16+ rating), arguments, changbin calls the reader some mean names

★ word count: 1.8K (1810)

★ binnie's thoughts: welcome to the beginning of the paint me naked series! this is going to be a fun one, and i think i've postponed it long enough...

★ requested?: yes, thank you @goovultss and i'm so sorry it took so long for the first part to come out...

★ disclaimer: this fic in absolutely NO WAY represents changbin as a person. this fic is simply for entertainment purposes, so enjoy!

© triplejracha, 2023. please do not copy to any other platform.

★ series masterlist ★

Changbin is over the moon these days.

He’s at the top of his acting career, just like he’s always wanted. He’s constantly being invited to award shows and various celebrity parties (he was invited to world-famous actor Hwang Hyunjin’s recent birthday party, so he knows he’s made it to the big leagues.). He’s a humble guy, no doubt, but sometimes he can’t help but wonder how awesome he is as an actor. 

His career started when he was around three years old, and he was in a commercial advertising some sort of brand-new juice. He thought it was gross, but his mother told him she wasn’t going to listen to him whine about the fluid being nasty. He sucked it up and completed the commercial without any further fuss. Will he always remember that oddly specific taste so long as he still lives? Of course, but that’s not the point. Ever since then, he became popular, being cast in small roles, such as the child for a couple, or the younger version of the main character, the list goes on and on.

His roles only increased as he got older and his baby face morphed into one of a more mature type. His chubby cheeks remained, but he finally grew into his nose and eyes. He was then cast into more concrete roles with mature characters and themes. He was excited when he had to smoke a fake cigarette when he played Yoojeon, the secondary love interest and the most intimidating boy in school. 

But his success didn’t stop at acting, he was also chosen to walk down fashion runways, as well as appearing on the front of dozens of magazines boasting about his fast jump to fame. 

As Changbin is relaxing in his penthouse, flicking through endless channels as he shovels some chips into his mouth, his phone rings loudly. He sets the remote down and picks up his phone, the familiar contact name of his manager, coming to view. He immediately picks up, placing the phone up to his ear.

“Hey, kid. Got any plans today?” His manager asks, and Changbin tells the older man no. He had planned to hit the gym for a few hours, but that can wait until tomorrow. 

“Great. Come to my office, there’s a script here that’s calling your name.” The man says and Changbin wastes no time in jumping up and slipping on his shoes. His manager knows that Changbin would never turn down a script, he’s simply just high off on success. 

“I’m on my way right now! Did you send a car for me?” Changbin asks as he barrels down the stairs of his penthouse, nearly falling to his death. 

“Yes, it’s waiting at the front of your complex building. And please don’t rush down the stairs. You remember what happened last time.” The older man scolds. 

Oh, Changbin remembers it well. He was excited about a script reading and he misstepped on the stairs and fell straight down to the bottom, breaking his arm in the process. The broken arm led to him missing the opportunity to play the lead role in the movie he was going to be reading the script for. They gave the role to his worst enemy: Moon [Name]. 

Moon [Name] is the bane of Changbin’s existence. He’s snobby, egotistic, and contemptuous. Changbin hates his guts with his pretty face and great acting skills. Ugh, it drives Changbin up a wall just thinking about that asshole. Moon [Name] loves to make things into a competition, he’s always been like that. It’s always about who can get the better roles or who can accumulate the highest amount of sponsors for just a single role. 

If Changbin could drive, he would’ve hit [Name] with this car a long time ago. 

Once Changbin enters the building, he gets the rundown from his manager. His manager tells him the script is a spinoff of the hit movie “Don’t Say Goodbye” starring Han Jisung and Lee Minho. Changbin gets even more excited because he loves that movie. 

He remembers sitting in his penthouse sobbing like a baby because Jinhae (Jisung’s character) had died of some terminal illness without his summer lover, Yeohan (Minho’s character) knowing. He cried for days and days after watching the movie for the first time. He then proceeded to watch it six more times. He’s a hopeless romantic, cut him some slack. 

Knowing that the script is for the spinoff, he wonders if the characters will be the friend of Jinhae and the brother of Yeohan; Taesung and Yeohei. They were only mentioned a few times in the movie, and it was hinted that they were crushing on each other. Changbin also wonders which role he’ll get, will he be Taesung or Yeohei? If he were to choose, he would pick Taesung. Taesung sounds way cooler than Yeohei. 

Changbin arrives at the producer’s building, and he goes to the large meeting room his manager told him to go to. Changbin greets his manager outside the room, and he can’t help but notice the nervous look on the older man’s face. The way his eyes shift and refuse to look at Changbin.

“Hyung, what’s got you all worked up? Is your wife not speaking to you again?” Changbin jokes, but his manager only lets out a huff of a laugh in response. “Hold on, what’s going on? You always laugh at my jokes!” 

“I think it’s best if you walk into the room and see for yourself.” The older man says, his gaze still not meeting Changbin’s. Changbin is confused, his strong eyebrows furrowed as he pushes open the door to the meeting room.

When he enters, his gaze falls on a particular body in the room. The person looks up from his phone, his soft [EC] eyes staring straight into Changbin’s eyes. When the two of them realize who each other are, they both speak in unison:

“Oh, fuck no.”

It’s a few days after that unnecessarily aggressive encounter with [Name], and Changbin is not taking the role of Taesung. As much as he would love that role, he refuses to work with [Name]. Changbin’s manager is desperately trying to convince and bribe the young star to take the role, but Changbin isn’t listening. 

“Come on Changbin! This role could be huge for you! You’re already familiar with the storyline, and the director says your appearance fits Taesung’s character perfectly!” His manager cries out, the man slowly getting fed up with his bratty client. “It doesn’t get any more perfect than that!’

“I’ll take that role when [Name] is not my co-star,” Changbin says gruffly, letting out a puff of air as he lifts the heavy metal bar above his head, his bicep muscles tensing with strain. “You know how I feel about that fucking brat.” 

His manager huffs and rubs his temples, “Do you maybe, I don’t know, think you’re being dramatic?”

Changbin sets the metal bar on the hooks above him and he sits up, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He fixes his glare onto his manager, his plump bottom lip jutted out, which makes him less intimidating than he thinks. “Me? I’m not being dramatic! I just really hate that pretentious asshole!”

“Changbin, just think about the aftermath if you take this role. You would blow up, even more than you already have. You’re already at the top, but you can go higher.” His manager says to him, hoping those words of encouragement will give him the push he needs.

Changbin thinks about those words, the tension between his brows relaxing just a bit. If he takes the role, his fame would skyrocket, taking him higher than he already is right now. Maybe he should take the role, what if [Name] isn’t the same dickhead he remembers the male being? With a very dramatic sigh, he agrees to take the role. His manager immediately takes out his phone to call the director, leaving Changbin to resume his once-interrupted workout. 

It’s the first day of filming, and Changbin is pretty much vibrating with excitement. He spent the past three days memorizing his lines. He could barely sit still long enough for his makeup artist to complete his makeup. He was itching to film and he had not seen [Name] yet, so today was already faring to be a good one. 

That is, until [Name] showed up on set, his hair and makeup finished, his once [HC] hair now hidden under a black wig with purple streaks, the hairstyle in a shaggy cut. [Name] has a lip piercing, a silver ring straight down the middle of his plump, soft red colored lips. He’s wearing a fuzzy wine-red sweater with white cat paws littered around it hanging on his slimmer frame. Changbin tries not to stare for too long, but he has to admit that the piercing suits [Name] pretty well. A little too well, he might admit.

He turns his gaze away before he gets caught staring, and his makeup artist informs him that he’s done. She hands him a mirror, and Changbin barely recognizes himself. He has on green contacts, making his chocolatey brown eyes morph into a soft hazel color. They decided to keep his natural deep brown curls, feeling that they tied Taesung’s character together perfectly. His makeup artist placed a few small fake tattoos on his face, and he really likes how he looks. He feels like a badass motorcycle driver or the rebellious son of a mafia boss. 

“You look pretty good, Taesung.” A playful voice snaps him out of his little fantasy world. His face falls when he realizes [Name] is the one talking to him. Changbin hopes he didn’t get caught staring at his sworn enemy. [Name] is standing right in front of him, a cheeky smile on his face. Changbin wishes he could just slap that look off [Name]’s face. 

Changbin and [Name] barely managed to finish one scene together before they began arguing. The two are all up in each other’s faces, spitting hateful insults at each other. Their managers exchange a look, the two of them were already used to their client’s childish behavior by now. [Name]’s manager asks for a short break, even though filming had just started no less than five minutes ago. The director nods, not wanting to get in between the quarrel. Changbin’s manager pulls him away from [Name], but that doesn’t stop Changbin from calling the other male a stuck-up bitch.

“Changbin, what the hell were you two even arguing about?” His manager asks, handing him a water bottle, hoping it would calm the male down. 

Changbin angrily drinks the water before answering, “[Name] sai–” A pause. “You know what, I don’t even remember.”

Changbin’s manager groans. This was going to be a long filming process.

[slutshamethesquirrels]

Shamesy's Declassified Fanfic Writing Survival Guide - Part 3

Help! The world is burning and everything sucks!

hi hi friends!!! welcome back to the fanfic writing survival guide!

today i'm gonna cover a bit of a "no-no" topic, if you will. its something i've been struggling a lot with here recently and something i'm witnessing other authors go through as well: writer's block... or, at least, what you might think is writers block.

today, we'll be talking about what to do when you lose interest in your fic. and, respectively (possibly more importantly), what not to do.

1) Beat yourself up

Look, I know, I know. Theres a chance right now you're kicking yourself and loosing ur marbs because your little writer peanut brain has convinced you that you are satan's incarnate and everyone hates you and wants you to die.

this is, undeniably, untrue. i implore you to do whatever it takes to get out of this headspace before you do anything at all. go outside, touch some grass, maybe eat a bug, just really get in touch with the real breathing world with no fictional dick n balls for a while. however long it takes to realize your intrinsic value is not tied to the fictional dick n balls. there are no fictional dick n balls out there, friends. only real ones.

here u go, look at this:

feel better yet? if not, keep staring until you do. it'll get funny eventually, i swear.

2) Force yourself to write the damn thing anyway

this is only gonna result in a sub-par product, and your readers can tell. no, they can, i promise. it's always evident to me when an author has lost steam.

i dont want ur poo poo writing, and neither does anyone else. i would rather you abandon it entirely than ruin it-- AHT AHT! TAKE UR FINGERS OFF THE KEYBOARD RN!!! NO!!! BAD FIC AUTHOR!! BAD!!

3) Think you owe your readers anything

another controversial statement but what am i good for if not being a big ole bitch??

look, we love our readers. we ALL do but you simply cannot pour from an empty cup for them. you come first, your mental health and general health comes first. your interests come first and your wants and needs come first. if they want superhot!chad!alphamale!jimmy neutron x reader or whatever that fucking badly, they can write it themselves.

1) Write other things!

Yep yep!!! Write a one shot, a drabble, a personal self indulgent story, some poetry, whatever floats your boat!!

Remember, this is supposed to be fun! You are allowed to indulge in whatever you want to, shocker, I know!!! the world is your oyster baby! branch out to other fandoms, re-visit old dead writings you've re-gained interest in, write a character you don't usually write, jump on a roleplay forum and just chill, my dude. kick back and remember why you enjoyed it!

2) Put it on hiatus!

"NOOOOOO!" the readers shout and then immediately explode. "YEEEESSSSSS!" I respond just as violently. Seriously, push it away from your nog for a bit. Let it rest. I would rather see a good chapter from you in six months from now then to get something soulless. If you just cant rn, thats fine!!

3) Grab a buddy and have them critique you

god, i will forever be in debt to @vallification for having this type of friendship with me.

we often think of critique and feedback as a negative, but it can often breathe a new life into your work!! message your most down to earth and honest bud, send the draft over and just say "hey i fucking hate this why do i hate this" and chances are a pair of fresh eyes will be able to point out things to you you didn't see before. nut up and quit being a baby, we all have shit we can improve on. who are you, jesus christ? if yes, could you PLEASE answer my prayers and send me a hot n' spicy mcchicken to my door via drone and/or angelic delivery?? im not asking for much, dude its the best fast food sandwich.

"but shamesy, im super hermit basement dweller core and don't have a friend thats kind of a bitch that would--" yes the fart you do. im right fucking here, rude ass <3 my dm's and asks are always open.

3A) Bounce ideas off said homie

again, val could absolutely sit on my face for this. we throw ideas back and forth constantly. you have no idea how absolutely megamind brain your dogs can be until you ask them.

4) Just start virtually sharting onto a page

this is how suguru blue AND a first time for everything were created!!

just start typing and see what happens! sometimes it doesn't work out (#shamesy's failed ficlets ) but no matter the case it'll help you loosen up a little

5) Take your writing on the go!!

ooooo I LOVE THIS ONE!! Take your laptop or phone to the park, the beach, a coffee shop or cafe and just make it feel less like work and more like play! this can do WONDERS for your creativity! the library is also a great place, because you have so much literary inspiration to quickly reference!

hope this helps!! you can check out my masterlist to find the other two survival guides as well as all my writings! stay cooch!!!

[tricksterlatte]

I've always been fascinated by fandom history, and I know I'm not the only one. It's interesting to see how fans of pop culture can create a culture of their own, and in the modern age of social media and the internet in general, that culture is as widespread as ever. Unfortunately, that also means downsides are becoming bigger as this culture becomes widespread, and it's saddening to watch, maybe even concerning.

I don't discuss these things to be preachy, especially considering how I've fallen into several of these pitfalls before, and have perpetuated some of this behavior in the past. To say otherwise would make me a hypocrite and a liar, and I firmly believe this goes for most people in any fandom. I was just thinking about this recently, and how a lot of the biggest stressors in what should be our stress relief really can be pinned mostly into a few central talking points, which I would love to discuss to know if I'm not just going crazy here

The concept of Big Name Fan has evolved into a position of authority on fandom, which does not fall to anyone regarding subjectivity. No one in a fandom is an authority except the creators themselves, who have every right to stay away from the fandoms they have birthed.

Popularity in general being conflated to intellectual authority as well, especially on websites with public stats, particularly following counts. The algorithm is no benevolent god, but people will sometimes see someone with 30k followers and think they are correct on a minor non-issue that has spiraled into discourse, especially when compared to someone with 30 followers. This also is just...a bummer when fanon evolves into perceived canon, and newcomers to the fandom can't post even innocuous meta or headcanons without it being perceived as morally/intellectually incorrect.

Monetization of fanworks, but especially zines, have led to a hypercompetitive atmosphere that only escalates the bitterness and resentment. This is not a universal problem, but many zines across all fandoms habitually accept the same artists and writers, or diminish the value of fanfic due to the limitations of physical printing. The application process has devolved into such a disheartening debacle for a majority of people I see, and the way it is often framed as "your work just wasn't good enough" when it's really about what the mods deem mass marketable will destroy just about anyone's self-esteem after repetitive rejections, and will give some frequent zine runners a false sense of final say over the community (not usually, but it can happen).

The level of distrust for anyone new attempting to start a fan project is just so depressing nowadays (and this one we sadly can blame on a few people by name, but the ones who have sent this issue spiraling still don't care and that just sucks. I feel horrible for everyone who has been tricked).

Somehow comment and anonymous asks have gone backwards from "don't feed the trolls" to "suck it up, at least you're getting comments." I have seen some of these comments people have been told to suck up. It's not okay in general. It's particularly gross when it's an anonymous hate message unrelated to the fanworks themselves, perhaps born out of resentment or bearing an ulterior motive. And some will even attack and defame character due to identity. It's not subtle. It's not okay. People should absolutely be dunked on for this, and I gotta say I'm sick of unsolicited concrit being enforced as positive either. If they didn't ask, don't give it. There's a reason a lot of fic writers some people adore suddenly go ghost, and they can't even talk about it.

Don't like, don't read has been discarded in favor of don't like, tell others don't read and also don't write. Transformative works don't have to fit into a canon or even in character mold. That's why they're transformative! It's a different type of artistic expression. If you don't like it, chances are good it simply wasn't meant for you. It's not bad. Don't shame others, god especially not for non-issues such as a t/b preference or a different gender hc, preferred haircuts, types of animal you imagine them as in another lifetime, I could list literally anything here and I bet there has been a fandom fight over it.

Exclusive yet publicly advertised community Discords that will bar you from invite if you're not one of the cool kids. I have unfortunately fallen into this trap before, and refuse to ever enable or endorse that behavior ever again. This isn't about friend groups either, it's about fandom-dedicated servers that flaunt themselves as a VIP club instead of what they are: a friend group. I also don't even know how to broach the subject of private accounts that turn into fandom tea accounts with dozens if not hundreds of followers, only for people to be angry if someone isn't exactly okay with horrific stuff being said in general, let alone about their mutuals or friends.

I know none of this will likely ever change, and tbh i'm so tired of it all, but...does anyone else know what I mean? I'm stressed out whenever I try to enjoy myself, because popularity and a strange business mindset is steadily taking over fandom spaces. I'm not saying people should stop trying to make stuff that sells, or that people universally do any of this, but fandom is evolving into a thing I'm not sure is good. idk anymore

[batter-sempai]

Hello hello! ...Dorry for my last ask. Got a bit overexcited and brainspewed all over your inbox.

Guess who's gotten into Ultrakill thanks to you! I'm definately not complaining, that's for sure.

So... I have decided to spice things up with a bit of a Ultrakill ramble instead of my usual Papyrus Nonsense (Does this mean I'm no longer the Pap Anon? The sacrifices I make for new blorbos... /lh)

One thing that I noticed was that I couldn't find a single role reversal fic. Which is fair. The Idoits (aka Gab and V1) are Too Damn Similar to just swap without making it the practically exact same story. So.... I came up with an idea. What if the setting was a "holy crusade" type of story? The angels culling humanity on the surface instead of machines in Hell? And the machines (either previously made for OG purpose or made specifically to fight the angels) have been sent out by humanity in defense? I just think it would be neat.

Side ramble from story ideas since that's the only one I've got, but something that interests me is... how do the machines WORK? I know there's.meant to be suspension of disbelief and all that but I want to Know. Do they have little suction holes all over their plating to suck in the blood? Does the blood work like with humans, only they lack the ability to regenerate that blood? Or is it that the blood works more like oil for a car? And the concept. Oh wow the concept. Imagine being in a weapon design commitee or whatever they have and some saying "you know what would be really messed up?" and everybody just nodding along and saying what a good idea that was?

Wow this is getting long. Going to cut myself off here but tldr thank you for the Thoughts.

- No Longer Just Pap Anon

Hehe hello there Pap Anon. :D I’m so happy I got you into Ultrakill. I’ll reply to your other asks too, I’m sorry it took so long. ;_;

I guess you’re both the Pap and Ultrakill anon now? Nice. ^^

Now that I think about it, what would a combination of both games be called? Underkill? Ultratale? Both sound pretty great.

Yessss I love how similar Gabriel and V1 are, while having the opposite goals. Both of them are, or now were, pawns to a higher force (the humans and the angel Council) and tend to act on instinct. Their dynamic is fascinating to me.

Ooh! I love the idea for this AU so much. :o Maybe in this world, humanity didn’t destroy itself with war and making the war machines, and managed to live on somewhat peacefully. But the Council didn’t like that and sent an army of angels, including Gabriel, to purge the humans. Would be very messed up if the angels sent down had to consume blood to survive too. Humanity’s last-ditch effort to survive was to send machines to fight the angels, and V1 being the last and most powerful weapon they made. V1 and Gabriel meet and fight like they do in the game, only on Earth instead of in Hell. ^^

On the topic of how the machines work, the game says that all machines who aren’t V1 have a “separate blood refueling process”, though it’s never specified what it is. V1 is unique that he’s the only machine that can absorb blood through his metal plating. So maybe V1 has very tiny suction holes on his plating to absorb blood. But the other machines might have to stop and siphon the blood into them somehow. I like to think they have some kind of blood vacuum, but I still need to give it more thought.

Also I think blood is actual fuel for them, due to the tagline “blood is fuel”. It’s mostly like gas for cars, they need it to keep moving. I've seen some people depict machines as having tubes as veins for blood in their bodies, or having parts that look like metallic human organs, which are amazing ideas, but I don't know how canon that is.

Here’s a screencap I took from the game explaining V1’s refueling process.

And honestly, the humans should have seen this coming. Imagine making powerful machines that NEED blood to survive and not expecting anything to go wrong. Then again, I guess humanity in real life isn’t any less foolish sometimes. But hopefully we won’t make something as awful as blood machines.

It’s okay ^^ Thank you so much for the ask.

I guess I can be both a Papyrus theory and Ultrakill theory blog too, because this was really fun to type out.

Also, here’s a screencap I took in Roblox of Papyrus and Gabriel. Hope you enjoy it Pap/Ultrakill Anon. ^^

[galvanizedfriend]

I'm having a writer-feels-like-crap moment and just needed to put this out there somehow. It's personal and it doesn't make sense, it's just a head fart. If I had a comment for each message I receive about updates I might actually write more. 🥲

I have no problem being asked about updates. I know some folks don't like that type of ask, and I totally respect that, but it's never been the case with me, I appreciate the interest. Please don't think that this is a rant against people who ask for updates, because it's not. There's nothing wrong with that, at least not for me. However.

I get so many asks about updates. Some anonymous, some not. Some I reply to, some I don't. And that's all fine, it's (mostly) good-natured, there's no harm in it. But I have to wonder where do people go after I post the updates? How come I only get comments/messages about the next update, but never a comment about how they read and if they enjoyed the chapter? How is it that people think it's really helpful to only ever ask for updates but not to leave a tiny simple comment to let the person writing know they've read the actual update when it comes into being?

This is about exchange, right? If you want writers to feed you, then you should feed the writers back. If the writing sucks, if it's not worth anybody's time to read and comment, then that's fine, you don't have to comment on things you hate, in fact you SHOULDN'T. But if you do like it and you still won't comment, that's how it translates to me. I just think everyone hated it. Because I get so many asks about updates, and then when I do post updates, people either don't read, or read and then never say anything about it. To me, that says they hated it, and the sense of excitement I had upon posting dies almost instantly.

I've written three different things this month to see if any of them would stick and make me want to write some more, and even though I had some really nice, really sweet responses to some of those that I cherish so much and have gone back to read again, nothing worked. That's not to say that I won't write anymore, but it's been really hard to push through my writer's block. Every time I sit down to write, I gravitate towards the things that I'm writing for myself and that are probably never going to see the light of day, because those are the ones that I don't care about the feedback, it's just for me. But then I keep getting the asks about updates on my WIPs and I honestly don't even know if the people asking for updates have read the latest chapter. Did you enjoy it? Was it good? Is there anything you're looking forward to? I don't know.

I haven't replied to a couple yet because I don't know what to say anymore. Sorry, no updates, I feel like the worst piece of shit writer there's ever existed and don't really feel like inflicting that upon the world anymore? Cause that's really where I'm at.

I've seen countless posts going around about how commenting/rebloging has been slowly dying because the newer generations have a thing where they think it's weird to comment/reblog days/weeks after stuff has been posted. Some lingering effects of tiktok and instagram culture and people thinking that it's somehow stalkerish or something. I promise you, it is not. You can leave comments on stories posted 20 years ago on livejournal. You can reblog posts from 2014. There's nothing wrong with that. There is NOTHING better for a writer to have someone suddenly going through their entire catalogue of fics and commenting on all of them, or reading through a long story and leaving their impressions as they go, even if it's a single line of comment to say 'hey, just found this, it's great'.

I have in the past left comments on stories that had been on hiatus for YEARS, with no expectations whatsoever, and suddenly the stories came back to life because my comments somehow made a difference. I have never been happier, both because I got to see something I loved being finished and because I may have given someone the tiny little push they needed in order to get back on their writing horse. There are days when I wish for nothing more than that, but I'm an old fandom person whose old fandom friends have almost all left fandom and I'm just here typing to myself, talking to myself and getting very little feedback. (Positive feedback, mind you. The people who hate my things are not shy about letting me know their feelings.)

I don't even know anymore. I've just been feeling very discouraged overall and I honestly don't know what else to do. Maybe this is an end of the year type of blues or whatever, but it is what it is. Updates will come when they come, I guess.

But anyway, to readers out there, doesn't matter if you read my fics or not: if there's anything you enjoy out there, any fics you're following, any stories you'd like some writer to see through to the end, or any writer you wish would post more of their stuff, just remember that the only way they'll ever know there's people out there expecting to see more from them is if you tell them, and the best way to do that is to comment on their stories. It fills writers with anticipation and confidence. Trust me, it works like magic.

[dufferpuffer]

I may get judged for this but

Sirius/Severus/Remus is my guilty pleasure, but only when Sirius and Remus are the ones pining hopelessly after Severus since their school days and being assholes about it because 1) they're teenagers from toxic households and/or traumatic upbringing in the 70s and can't handle their homosexual thoughts, 2) they're adults even more traumatized than before and, while they can handle their homosexual thoughts now, they're very much still assholes about it because it makes them feel better about it

And 3) Severus is oblivious to all of it because his brain can't conceive the mere possibility of those two feeling anything but disdain for him (+he also hates them and would rather jump off the astronomy tower than consider them in a romantic light)

That's the only dynamic in Sirius/Severus/Remus fics that I find acceptable. A bit messy, I know

(Bonus: This creates a tense shift in Sirius and Remus' friendship because, despite what their fans and numerous headcanons provide, I don't think they'll be willing to share their love interest. That would only happen if their rival in question was James)

Hello :^) long time since you asked, I suck If I had a nickle for every time someone said Sirius/Severus/Remus was some sort of 'guilty pleasure' I would have two nickles. Why is this guilty...? Sounds normal to me I talked a little about my thoughts on this ship Here - just one concept of how I think it would go. I'm just gonna ramble more B)

Big agree on Severus not being able to comprehend it. He would think they are trying to mess with him again. Bully him. Take the powerful, intimidating aura he has carefully constructed for himself and make him slip and fall on his face. "rather jump off the astronomy tower than consider them in a romantic light" lol

Remus' flirts are so vague. Some hopeful little comment paired with a nervous gaze from his big wet eyes... Severus is cautiously confused, the intent flying over his head. He snaps back an insulting quip. Remus sighs, frustrated that he can't get his feelings across.

Sirius is far more straight forward: the type to lean against a door-frame, using his height to his advantage, and say something that can't be mistaken for anything but a flirt. Severus treats it like a threat. Like he is about to be dangled upside down again, his pants ripped off. Sirius doesn't realize how smirking and saying 'That doesn't sound so bad~' isn't appealing.

I personally struggle to imagine situations where Remus and Sirius don't have friction, even just as friends. That's the part of their relationship that interests me most: How their friendship has eroded. I do think both being after the same person would erode it more.

Remus has a jealous streak. He thinks Tonks has a crush on Sirius...? He snaps. "UGH... he ALWAYS gets the girls..." Even though he doesn't have the balls to pursue her himself.

Knowing Sirius was after the same man... I mean, its Sirius. He can't win against Sirius in terms of charisma or beauty or... anything!!! I think Remus would curl up into a ball and 'give up'... while also crawling back to try again and again. Every time he does, it reeks of tentative desperation - wanting to appear friendly and meek to Severus, 'I know I scared you when we were kids but I'm not a threat! I will roll on my back for you, please please look at me.'

Sirius, knowing Remus is after the same man... Frustrating. "Look, Mate - let me have this! You had 12 years to make a move...!" Sirius is an emotionally wise and reasonable guy. I actually think as long as he feels secure he would be pretty good at handling jealousy. But he doesn't feel secure: He can't pin Severus down. He can't catch him. The greasy bastard is too slippery. Remus has all the freedom to go and chase him down outside of the house - Sirius has to wait for every time Severus comes to visit, like a goldfish waiting for his flakes.

Desperation of a different kind: He will proactively change tactics like Australian weather - one day soft and sappy, on his knees apologizing, making a show of it... The next day hot and bright, charming smiles, pinning against the wall. Bushfire to flood. He doesn't know what to do because he doesn't really understand Severus, not unless they sit down and have a man-to-man chat. But Sirius is too desperate. He is lonely. It hurts. He isn't very patient.

But... what happens when Severus works out that either of them, maybe both, are... actually sincere? They would have to bare their souls for him. Completely. Severus is a dominating man in general, at least at first - but especially for his bullies. They would need to be on their knees.

Since Severus isn't too fond of them, that opens the door to alot of dom/sub stuff. Severus enjoying grinding his heel in their face... figuratively, and perhaps literally. He thought they were trying to humiliate him, oh ho... no. He is going to humiliate them.

Personally I'm more into sweetness than rough stuff. I don't know if Severus has it in him to say "...I forgive you." - but maybe that is something he could relish, too. Probably easier to say to Remus than Sirius. He can at least recognize that Remus didn't mean to be horrifying - and he can see how he struggles with it.

Hm.... anyway uuuhhhhh two men worshiping smug Severus' cock

[nanaloco]

Being best friends with Jaemin

"If y/n says the sky is pink, then the sky is pink 🙄"

Genre : fluff, Bestfriend!Jaemin x Gn!Reader

Warnings : none (I only write fluff)

What it would be like to be best friends with Jaemin (who you secretly like) [who secretly likes you too]

Appart of the : It's complicated series

• Very spontaneous

• Always checks if you're comfortable with something or if you like something

• He's just so himself and that's what makes him a people magnet

• He changes from soft and quiet to loud and chaotic  within minutes

• Normally ends up going w/ whatever you say

• If yall (group of friends) are arguing on what to get, if you suggest something, even if no one else wants it, you'll somehow all end up getting it

• "Y/n wants icecream so let's get icecream 🙄"

• Defends you in public no matter what!!!

• "If y/n says the sky is pink, then the sky is pink 🙄"

• Genuinely values your honest opinion

• You follow him everywhere,

• You love following him around so much to the point where he will tell you his plans for the day and ask if you want to come

• Will either complete errans together or on facetime

• Typical hangouts with jaemin would be

• Running errans, Cafe not really dates but kind of a date dates or going to try new things that you both suck at like pottery,

• You made matching mugs and they both sit on the shelf above his bed

• You also love baking/cooking together, definetly doing seasonal stuff together

• Like carving pumpkins or making ginger bread houses or buying and eating chocolate bunnies

• You follow him around but he equally if not more follows you around

• He's so whipped for you and will gladly show it cuz hes Na Jaemin

• Inseperable

• His friends call him your sidekick

• Because he will gladly do anything you ask him

• Therefore, you guys often do facemasks together

• Very affectionate

• Will hype you up and take LOTS of pictures of you and post them to his instagram

• Talks about you A LOTTT to his friends to the point where they all want to meet you

• The dreamies will have really random awkward chats with you saying that jaemin is a really good guy

• "You know Y/n, if my sister had to date ANY of my friends, It would definetly be Jaemin"

•"Have you ever considered Jaemin as...more than friends??"

• They can all tell jaemin likes you but you remain oblivious

• Sometimes he'll sit on the other side of the couch

• Others theres no space between you

• Random little dances he does which you find adorable

• If you catch him staring, he'll continue staring at you until you look away

• Will cook for you at any given time of the day

• "I'm hungry"

• "Omw rn!!"

• Randomly messages/calls you about cool things he discovers or 'fun facts'

• "Y/n! Guess what I just found out!"

• "Jaems, its 4am, why are you still up"

• Very expressive in how he speaks

• Large hand movements, crazy facial expressions

• You love him for it

• The type to yawn and put his arm over your shoulder

In a platonic way if thats even possible

• Once he knocks and you open the door, he either

• Hugs you immediately "did you miss me"

• Or waits for you to invite him in

• Aww what a gentleman Hyuck take notes  

.

.

.

.

Part 2 to my 'It's complicated' mutual pinning series where you're best friends :)

Might do a part 2 to when you actually start dating if enough people are interested❕

Thank you so much for reading ❕❕❕👾

@/hoshiiitrd on instagram and twitter [for mutual, friends or trades :)]

Ily guys!

REQUESTS ARE OPEN!💕👾

Starting an @ mention list so lmk if you want to be added

[i-like-anything-water]

Oh man, that fainting scene was PERFECT!! If my questions ever get to be a bother, don't hesitate to let me know; I'm just excited to find another Chloenette fan, and your thoughts are amazing to me. What do you think of these ideas?

AU where Marinette finds the Butterfly and basically becomes an anarchist passing out powers and is convinced she's the hero, Chloe gets the Ladybug and is struggling not to crack under the pressure of being a hero and unknowingly becoming a good person.

AU where the only change to canon is that, at the start of Origins, Chloe and Marinette are dating... but Chloe's the exact same brat she is in canon. The two are genuinely in love, but tend to feed each other's bad habits; for a dash of irony, Adrien and Marinette end up rivals due to Adrien's concerns that Marinette is enabling Chloe, and Marinette thinks Adrien is trying to get between her and Chloe.

Pure, fluffy Crack Chloenette where Chloe goes full Karen and channels her inner Audrey at a fast food restaurant when they screw up Marinette's order. Everyone is afraid, except for Marinette, who is just reminded why she loves this girl.

Like, again, I hope I'm not being a bother, and if I ever get to be, please let me know.

sup

no not all. i actually enjoying answering asks about my ships hjsizjajskskw. thank you, I try my best to make my thoughts coherent.

first one, I'm guessing this is aged up or when they're adults. young Marinette doesn't seem like the type to do that let alone have resources and time for that. Marinette one her twenties just trying to help people while also juggling life and its challenges. she thinks she's doing everyone a favor but with power comes consequences and humans have always had greed. so sometimes it does more annoyances than helping.

Chloe is always on the spotlight, especially now that she's prepared to take over their business. she's still young , around 24-27, but her family is anything but unprepared. becoming ladybug at age 20 was the biggest shock of her life and biggest blessing. if Tikki wasn't here she would have already lost her mind and said 'fuck it, all of you suck' and became her mother 2.0

there's drama, there's sexual tension and 'oh god she's my enemy I shouldn't be blushing like a teenager!' they get paired up in work together in their civilian forms and sparks fly (literally lmao). but they can't. because how could they when they still had someone to capture? someone to keep an eye on and capture? how can they think of each other when they should be thinking of someone else (which is still them lmao silly lesbians).

second one reminds me of that one wenclair fic I read where they're not even remotely good but god their romance was epic and lovely. Marinette is actually the more dominant and initiative in their relationship but she's so much better at hiding it. It thrills Chloe whenever they go on their dates and escapades where they beat up people they don't like (which in their defense are mostly sexist, pedo, homophobes etc.) after obtaining their miraculous. i have to do a bit of Kwami swap and have the ladybug, bee and cat on the same tier. still ladybug and queen bee though and they're a trio.

Adrien is just worried for his friend but he wasn't there when Chloe had no one, when Marinette was cornered, when Chloe had beaten up a guy that was way too close, when Marinette had talked Audrey shit in the face after Chloe's 13 bday. He wasn't there, so of course he didn't understand. It doesn't stop him though. He tries to reach out to his childhood friend only to be stopped with a glare from Marinette. He glares back.

"I think he's interested in you," there's a pout to her voice and Chloe smiles. She reaches a hand to brush the hair that's fallen on Marinette's face, cupping her cheek, "Nonsense. He only sees me as a friend. My best guess is he's worried I'm corrupting you."

Amusement flashes into the girl's eyes, "You? But you're an absolute angel, my love."

Chloe snorts as Marinette wraps an arm around her, "Screw you."

"Gladly."

this one could be connected to the second one in terms of their relationship. Marinette is kind and shy and still a bit clumsy, but she's also more confident with her love and doesn't have much inhibitions whenever she wants to know something or gets things done. Especially when it's for Chloe.

She watches in amusement as Chloe chews them out, garnering eyes from anyone inside the store. She should stop her girlfriend, tell her it was only a mistake. But her girlfriend is so damn attractive right now and it fills her with butterflies that Chloe would make sure she was pampered even at the smallest of things.

She does the same of course. She wouldn't hesitate to manipulate or blackmail anyone that comes too close to her liking. So far Adrien hasn't crossed the line, but the idea of toying with him crossed her mind. She wouldn't do it because Chloe is his friend and she doesn't want Chloe upset at her.

After they're done in the restaurant she pulls her girlfriend to the side, smirking at the blushing blonde. "You looked absolutely beautiful there, mon amour."

And that's all. I've been thinking about slightly darker/grey Marinette in my fics but I have yet to find the perfect formula on how to execute her. She's fun though, I like playing with her obsessive characteristics. Also, it's never a bother to me regarding asks about my ships or anything in particular long as it's respectful when asked. Thank you for the asks! Lovely aus indeed.

[yuridovewing]

Hello Everyone we just did a frantic fanfic session in my discord server and the top voted fic we did was a dovewing and grovyle crossover fic and I want to share it. It's called "Super Edition #Whatever: Dovewing's Salvation"

The writers were Reed @evendrierguys for Part 1, Dante @bgztl for Part 2, and then me for Part 3

Dovewing was vibing somewhere in ShadowClan territory I don't know I never read that far. Unbothered, in her lane, etcetera.

And then suddenly, a really weird lizard ran past.

"HELLO" Dovewing meowed. "I don't think I've seen such a big lizard before. Can I hunt you?"

(Oh fuck a talking cat Grovyle thought)

"Please don't do that" Grovyle said. "Please ignore the Time Gear I am carrying"

"What the fuck is a Time Gear" Dovewing asked, noticing a glowing blue snowflake object the lizard was holding. "BTW why are the birds just frozen in midair. Why is everything gray"

"Oh everything just does that when I take a Time Gear" said Grovyle. "This lake had one. Hope you don't mind"

"Whatever" said Dovewing. "Just give it back when you're done"

"Ok?" said Grovyle. Wow this cat is very polite he th

------------------

Dovewing pounces on a frozen bird, and it cracks between her teeth. ew, she thinks, that texture is nasty.

"are you, eating that?" Dusknoir asks with a wide eye.

"uh, yes?"

"You eat your fellow pokemon?"

"my fellow what?" Dovewing raises a weirdly human shaped eyebrow. "I'm a cat."

"Yes, a cat pokemon."

"No?"

Dovewing tries to choke down the frozen bird. "Moons, I'm so fucking hungry. ever since time stopped its sucked soooooooo bad. this is worse then beavers."

"You met Bidoof?"

"If that is the name of the beever who was fucking with our water, then yes."

"Woah," dusknoir thinks but says out loud by acciendent, "This chick is a stone cold murderer."

"hey hey hey thats a loaded accusation." Dovewing snaps defensively, having given up eating the bird that has the flavor and texture of old wood. "I've never murdered a fellow cat in my life. i think. its been awhile since ive read the books."

"Don;t you know?" Dusknoir asks, "That all of arceus's creatures are alive and deserving of respect?"

"No?" Dovewing raises an eyebrow. "Wait a minuite, are you a heretic? do you not beleive in starclan?"

"What is starclan?" Dusknoir asks.

"WOW! Dovewing pounces on him "I've never met a heretic before" (thats a lie, but she thinks this guy is way cooler then other types of heretics like the mountains or the sisters)

"I'm no heretic! im a good old fashioned arceus fearing pokemon!" Dusknoir defends himself, by lying about his faith.

"Come with me to moonpool and ill show you a real god." Dovewing tells him. "True solace can only be found in starclan."

"Is that so?" Dusknoir asks curiously. in truth this 'Star' 'Clan' sounds very interesting.

------------------

Dovewing and Dusknoir arrived at the Moonpool. Along the way they found Grovyle again and dragged him along with them. Dusknoir probably should've taken him back the future right then and there but he was just so interested in StarClan that he couldn't help but put his mission on hold.

"We touch our noses to the Moonpool and it gives us the power to speak to StarClan!" Dovewing said.

"I don't have a nose" Dusknoir stated flatly.

"Well, other ways work too. I threw my husband in there (I think) and he revived and became a demigod. It was pretty neat."

"A pool that can revive Pokemon… How fascinating…" Dusknoir murmured. "How disgusting of you, Grovyle, that you would try to tarnish such a beautiful sight by stealing the Time Gears." Grovyle almost lashed at him before Dovewing jumped up.

"Wait!! He could hurt the Moonpool?" She then tackled Dusknoir's hand that was clutching Grovyle, freeing him.

"What are you doing?!" Dusknoir exclaimed, readying a shadow ball.

"Grovyle, quick, take the time gear! End StarClan forever!!"

"You call me a heretic and then try to destroy your religion?"

"Well yeah, we're on ShadowClan territory, I could get exiled for that. But StarClan literally ruined my childhood and made me into a child soldier against my will. I brought you here so you could destroy the MoonPool for me with your strange different religion, but I can see we need more drastic measures!"

Dusknoir fired a Shadow Ball at her, but it phased through her. "No!" He roared. "You're a normal type!"

"I am NOT normal!! I was never allowed to BE normal!!" She cried, flinging herself at him. In the distraction, Grovyle picked up the Time Gear nearby, freezing the MoonPool.

"It's over, you're free now Dovewing," he murmured. "Let me take care of Dusknoir. This was all for a better future!"

Dovewing froze. StarClan was gone, just like that… a huge part of her life. And she helped. It was a bittersweet feeling. uh

Fanfic created with #FranticFanfic.

[sansxfuckyou]

one way mirror

summary: Uzomi and Detah parallel play their similar sufferings.

warnings: its just fucking angst

authors note: i had a thought which will be divulged at a later date with a more 'life and death psychological torture' type of fic, have emotional stuff for the time being. @sobredunia look at your critters in angsty situations boy. @bree-sae look at this detah angst boy. hope ya'll enjoy kenikari fans and if ya do consider dropping a reblog.

-/-/-/-

"What happened to your hoodie?" Uzomi asked as she watched Detah cook, having dragged in a chair with her to sit and watch. It felt right.

"Oil spill, too lazy to get a fresh one," Detah said bluntly before turning to face Uzomi, cast iron pan in one hand and spatula in the other. Frying pieces of beef lay in the pan, schnitzel perhaps. "You're not allowed to say anything about my shirt."

"Sonic's cool," Uzomi answered with, crossing her arms over the top of the backrest and tapping her foot on the ground. "I played it a lot when I was a little kid, me and my brother."

"You have a brother?" Detah asked, turning back to the stove to return the pan to the closed off heat. He flipped the sizzling meat to find a crispy golden exterior.

Uzomi gave a hum, "Yeah, he's a year older than me, maybe two. I," she falters briefly, scouring desperately for knowledge only to find it's just out of reach. It makes her skin crawl, knowing that she knows something but not being able to grab it. "I can't remember."

"I can't remember my sister much at all, so I'd say you're better off than I am." Detah laughed a bit as he spoke, but it was really discomfort over humor. He knew she was real, knew she existed, knew everything about her from her favorite color to her favorite, her favorite... He doesn't remember her obscure interests. Or her favorite color. Or her face.

His joints are slowly but surely locking, grinding to a halt as he cooks and realizes just how little he remembers of his existence pre-killing game. It's devastating, really, all he can do is reach over to flick off the burner and transfer meat from pan to plate before just going completely still. It hurts, the heat of cast iron on hands is nothing compared to the anguish of an unwanted ignorance.

"Hey, you good?" Uzomi's voice slices through Detah's fog of dismay with some ease, posting straightening as he turns to face her. He washes off his hands and towels them off.

"I'm fine," Detah lied, and it was clear really. But Uzomi didn't know him well enough to dig any deeper even though she wanted to help. He takes a seat on the counter and nods towards her, "How about you, what do you remember?"

"About my brother?"

"What else would I be talking about?"

"Right, yeah, my brother. He took good care of me, before and after mom and dads passing. He was defensive about everything. He didn't come with me when I offered." She goes quiet, "That's, that's it. What about you? What do you remember about your sister?"

"Younger than me. I think she was quiet in public but loud when it was just us. I helped her with dying her hair once or twice and then she could manage by herself. Didn't need me anymore. Even after the parents died. She left but I don't know when or why." He goes quiet, then a singular low and weak laugh escapes, "Our siblings suck."

Uzomi nodded, "They do, she just left? Damn."

Detah smiled a bit, "And he didn't come with you? What an idiot."

-/-/-/-

"Well this is interesting."

The Mastermind simply watched, microphones picking up their conversation as she crunched through a bag of microwaved popcorn. She was tempted to pop in, give her two cents, but that'd ruin the fun of this new dynamic.

Uzomi and Detah, even she'd be unable to see it coming in spite of their unremembered pasts. She herself won't even dare think it, might jinx them remembering it which wouldn't be any fun at all. No, no, a pair of people with pre-existing relations would botch the excitement of the bonds being created.

She'll tell them later, when it's life or death, force them to choose. That'll be fun to watch, see their psyche's crack and peel back as the truth comes rushing back. Until then she'll enjoy watching them bicker back and forth about siblings they'll never meet themselves.

[gffa]

Not to add onto the whole "why the fuck are you getting so many negative anons lately?" train, but yeah it actually does suck to see you getting those.

I genuinely like your blog and I find your meta analysis super interesting even if I don't necessarily agree with your opinions/takes all the time. But I think that's mostly because I find great personal enjoyment in just seeing how other people interpret a piece of media I love differently from me.

Your posts have genuinely helped me fall even more in love with this fandom and I've actually taken some personal inspiration from you on how to handle these sort of weird/semi-hostile asks with my own blog.

Thanks, anon, I appreciate it. I'll be fair and say that part of why I'm getting more lately is that I'm answering a few of them, when I do that, I get more people continuing to send things, which is how it is for anyone who answers this kind of ask. When I don't have time/emotional reserves for asks or just delete/block them, it doesn't stir as much up--well, usually, sometimes I do get "why didn't you answer my ask??" messages and, like, guys I had THREE SEPARATE CRISES LAST WEEK, I'm only on tumblr to shitpost right now. And that's part of it, too, that I've had a really shitty month+ and so my patience for this is lower than it usually is and I may well have a lot of "fuck you, this is bullshit" undertones that are stirring things up as well. My blog isn't for everyone, but also my blog doesn't have to be all things to everyone who finds it interesting, it's my blog. It's for me. Yeah, I post a lot of stuff that I hope people find useful, I do a lot of resource/reference posts, I do a lot of official art posts, I try to be objective about stuff, etc, but at the end of the day, this isn't my job, I'm not a social media manager running a brand account, I'm not here to sell a product to a paying customer, this is my personal blog. I am one person who has my set of opinions, I'm not here to be all things to everyone. If you disagree with me on something, that's okay! I probably disagree with you right back! We're individual fans who have different opinions on stuff and maybe I'm louder than other people, but I am still just a single fan who wants to talk about what I think of Star Wars. I write posts I'm willing to share with others, I put my opinions out there, I understand the risks involved with that, but I think a few more people could do to understand that I'm not just a corporate employee writing up posts that someone else uses as source material, I am an individual fan writing my own opinions on things. The same goes for a lot of the blogs who are getting negative/semi-hostile anons, they're just a single person on the internet who wants to talk about how they see Star Wars! (I don't want people to worry, I don't classify anyone who disagrees with me as automatically hostile or negative, the posts I answers with good faith responses, I'm pretty sure came from good faith places.  We’re specifically talking about the “do your job” type of asks.) I'm deeply flattered that you're still hanging out even when you disagree sometimes, because that’s my ultimate goal.  Not necessarily to convert people (though, of course I would enjoy it if that happens, I’m only human XD) but to explain where I’m coming from and hopefully get people to understand how I got there, even if they’re not on the same road or going the same place. Fandom gets so much better when you realize not everyone has to agree with you, you don’t need every space to be for you, you don’t need every post to be one that hits your buttons just right.  You just need a handful of people that you’re having fun with and vibe with you, a handful more that can have some engaging, interesting discussions about topics you agree/disagree with when you’re in the right space for it, and a handful of artists/writers making the fic you enjoy.  That’s it, that’s the recipe to a good fandom experience, that you make the stuff that makes you happy and have a handful of people you can trust to talk to about it. If I can be one of those people that occasionally provides commentary you may not agree with, but find to be thoughtful/how I got there, then I will absolutely take that and find it to enrich my fandom experience, too.

[disaster-fruit]

Believe it or not, I am 27 and have just discovered ATLA and I have some questions. Is my feeling correct that most Zutara shippers are women/nonbinary folks and most Kataang shippers are, well, men. I just can’t help thinking how Kataang is written with such a male gaze in mind, while Zutara covers both perspectives. Anyways, I understand why the show ended with Kataang, I’ve read all the big metas, I understand that Bryke kind of sucks etc. etc. But I’m curious what you think about this perceived gender divide since you’ve definitely been around longer lol

Hello! I gotta say, i don't think i have a better perspective of the fandom to offer, since i haven't actually been part of the fandom since maybe 2012? and back then i was a literal child and i couldn't speak English so 'being in the fandom' was mostly just reblogging gifs and reading the zutara fics in brazilian ao3 of the time. I have watched and re-watched ATLA an unholy amount of times since then, and i have read and watched hours and hours of meta and theories and whatnot, but the fandom itself is not something i'm well acquainted with to give a good perspective on.

I do, however, love to talk and love receiving asks, so i guess you'll get my opinion anyway. And everyone knows i'm not usually concise.

First of all, are most zutara shippers women/non-binary and kat@ang shippers men? I don't know. I haven't been in the fandom and i haven't checked the bios of most posts i did see and interact, so i have no idea. The only kat@ang shipper i personally know is a friend of mine, who is a woman. So i won't speculate on whether or not your feeling is correct, perhaps a fandom veteran would be better equipped at answering it.

What i WILL say is that Kat@ang is, in my opinion, much more appealing from aang's perspective than from katara's. She's older than aang, in an age girls are absolutely not looking at younger boys that way, and doesn't show any interest in him romantically through the whole show, with the only exception that comes to mind being their dance on season 3 (easily their best moment imo), and then their kiss at the very last minute. All we know is that Aang likes Katara, and the other way around is open to interpretation at best.

One sentiment I've seen from kat@ang shippers is that they seem to really like aang and what him to be happy, and since he likes katara, they ship the two. That is all well and fine, we support people having fun with their ships for whatever reason here. That is however not a good enough motivation if you are, you know, the creators of a show who were supposed to have some duty to storytelling, themes, and cohesion. So them making kat@ng happen just so that aang could 'get the girl', despite all the ways that weakens an otherwise phenomenal story, is a bad choice that should be criticized. At the very least, in its execution.

So yeah i don't think its wrong to say there's a 'male viewpoint' to kat@ang as it was made in the show, though i wouldn't necessarily extend that to the kat@ng fans in the fandom since i don't know them, and it feels unfair to make that assumption. For all i know there is probably no shortage of amazing fics out there that explore their dynamic much better than the show did.

But though i can't speak for kat@ang fans, there is another group i've seen more often in my metas and video essays journey and talking to male friends throughout the years, what i'll call 'shipping neutral' men. You know the type, they love avatar, they'll spend hours and hours dissecting all the aspects of the story and the themes and the worldbuilding up UNTIL the topic is romance in the show. Then they'll wave it away dismissively saying the show 'was never about romance' and the crazy shippers are 'getting distracted' from the real story and how they just don't care about that aspect. And some of them will say they're fine with Kat@ng because it's canon (and no other reason), some wont have an opinion on any of the ships, except that they're not important and anyone who HAS an opinion on that is just silly.

And HERE i definitely see not only a gender divide but a sexist tendency to disregard romance as less important to any story, and not as an integral part that deserves care and deserves to be well interwoven with the rest of it. It's basically a stereotype now about how zutara fans have all these metas and analysis about how perfectly the ship fits the shows themes and how that would improve the writing (and yes, i agree with all of them) and that's because we know that romance is just as deserving as action, as worldbuildng and whatnot, and that it can be a powerful writing tool to enhance character and plot and themes, and that the way it is done it ATLA is not that. And i think these 'shipping neutral' men's analysis all fall short and even tend to not notice flaws in the story because they refuse to interact meaningfully with that aspect. Because as we all know, romance is for silly girls.

And being honest, i have much more respect for any kat@ang shipper of any gender that is out here being passionate about what they like, writing their fics and writing their own metas and having fun in a respectful way, than i have for men (and people who aren't men) with that dismissive attitude towards the romance arcs in the show.

That was a tangent! But damn i haven't answered an ask like this in a while and its always very fun. Hope i didn't offend anyone lol If its not clear i'm not a fan of ship wars, we stan having fun here. Buuut i also love debating and engaging with the story and that sometimes can get confrontational. There's definitely a space for 'ship discussion' or 'ship debate' that doesn't cross the line to 'ship war', i think that line is 'fun'. We're having fun, right? Discussing fandom and writing is fun, right?

Anyways hope this makes sense, sorry I didn't actually answer your question even though i talked THIS MUCH.

[wilmonsfolklore]

Hey Tina,

I'm curious about 💥👻✍️📗📚🎨 (feel free to only answer the one you want to answer)

I hope you'll have a beautiful day!! 💜

Sophia, thank you so much for the ask. I hope you have a lovely day too <3

💥 What is one canon thing that you wish you could change?

I wish Sara and August didn't have a relationship in season 2. I understand to a certain level why Sara does it, but still. I really wish for her and Simon to rekindle their relationship, but if I were Simon I don't think I could forgive Sara for this. And that sucks. So. I'd probably change that.

👻 What is your wildest headcanon?

I already answered this and I still don't know. Maybe that I believe August isn't that in love with Sara? I think he mainly likes her attention.

✍️ What’s your ideal writing setup?

Usually when I'm writing I'm watching a Twitch stream at the same time, usually of a streamer called Tinakitten, who mainly streams Minecraft, Valorant and art. (Tina isn't my real name, I just started using it because I was watching her stream when I published my first fic in this fandom lmao.) I prefer to be alone when I'm writing, and I type faster on my laptop. But I've written fics for years and years on my phone, so that works too.

📗 Do you want to write something outside of fanfiction? If so, what about?

I do, actually! I would love to publish my own novel someday, but that's not something I'm actively working on right now. I do write four articles a year in my native language for a magazine the patient assocation of my chronic illness publishes. Those are about my day to day experiences with my chronic illness and it's really fullfilling to write about it in an understanding space.

📚 Is there a fanfic or fanfic writer you recommend?

So so so much that I can't think of much right now. Royally whipped comes to mind, because I read the new chapter every week and it's already become part of my routine and it just makes me so happy. I recently reread The Plunge, which is a post S1 fic that has some of the best characterisation of both Simon and Wille that I've ever read. It's heartbreaking and beautiful. A more fluffy recent reread is he(art)felt, in which Simon is a museum tour guide and Wille an art student. It's extremely cute and also has some interesting art conversations. Both are all time fandom favourites for me. I also once made a post with more Wilmon fic recommendations, and in this post I mention a lot more of my favourite writers!!!

🎨 If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

I love love love this question. I'd love to see art of the bathroom scene in How'd We End Up On The Floor, Anyway? because I don't usually have images in my mind when I'm writing but with that scene I did.

And to everyone: feel free to send me more fic asks, I love talking about this!

[marley-manson]

VERY LATE BUT FOR THE FANDOM ASK THING: Xena and devilman

Thank you!

Xena:

The first character I first fell in love with: 

XENA!!! It actually took me a few seasons to really start to like Gabrielle lol, but Xena was obviously a fave.

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: 

Look I def can't say I love him lol, but Joxer really did grow on me eventually and I really didn't expect that. I went from seriously considering dropping the show when I realized he was going to be in many, many episodes, to crying a little when he died. Honestly I think the tipping point was Deja Vu All Over Again. I enjoyed his performance there so it made the actor himself less annoying to watch subsequently.

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: 

Ephiny? I have very little interest in any of the individual Amazons, but fandom is often into them. I don't dislike them, but I don't really care.

The character I love that everyone else hates: 

It's not that everyone hates him, he has his own fanbase, but Ares as a Xena/Gab shipper lol. I love him but it kinda sucks because it means I'm wary about reading X/G fic where he's the villain. I don't mind him being a villain ofc, but he gets written so badly so often. One dimensional evil abusive ex Ares is an instant back-button (though tbf that's also bc it fucks with Xena as a power fantasy lol)

The character I used to love but don’t any longer:

I liked Livia just fine but hated Eve lol, does that count?

The character I would totally smooch: 

GABRIELLE <333

The character I’d want to be like: 

Xena lol, she's the ultimate power fantasy.

The character I’d slap: 

Joxer oh my god even if I did grow a little fond of him I still want to murder him a lot of the time.

A pairing that I love:

Xena/Gabrielle, and also Gabrielle/Aphrodite and Xena/Ares, usually as more emotionally one-sided where Gab and Xena are still more hung up on each other but Dite and Ares are strung along, or in Ares' case he plays second fiddle to a more important platonic relationship. Oh also Eve/Varia is good in theory but I've never seen any good fic for them. And Xena/Alti. And Callisto/Xena or Callisto/Gab. And Najara/Gab!! And Mel/Janice. Frankly there are so many good f/f ships that should have more fic.

A pairing that I despise: 

Joxer/Gabrielle I guess lol? I get some enjoyment out of Ares/Xena in the show, I get 0 from Joxer's crush on Gab.

Devilman:

The first character I first fell in love with: 

Ryo! Obviously he was fave material from the start, I knew what I was getting into.

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: 

Miki! She's surprisingly awesome and fun both in the manga and the Crybaby adaption.

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: 

Hm, the Crybaby version of Akira sucks imo, and I assume most people love him.

The character I love that everyone else hates: 

A lot of people hated Crybaby Ryo lol, but probably not the majority, just some loud weirdos. Idk, who's hated?

The character I used to love but don’t any longer:

Saying Akira here bc I love him in the manga, do not like him in Crybaby, which is more recent.

The character I would totally smooch: 

Crybaby Miki is like exactly my irl type lol

The character I’d want to be like: 

I guess Crybaby Miki is like the only character who isn't a hot mess, and I would really admire her if I knew her irl. Totally get Miko lol.

The character I’d slap: 

Crybaby Akira, please chill tf out dude.

A pairing that I love:

Akira/Ryo ofc, they're the blueprint, but man I love Miki/Miki in Crybaby too, nothing like putting the original no homo love interest in lesbians.

A pairing that I despise: 

Akira/Miki

[lemonluvgirl]

I feel like you are a legend in the THG fanfic community. I’ve started posting recently, but do you have any tips for writing fan fiction in this fandom? <3

Wait, I'm legendary?

When did this happen???? 😳 Did I miss a memo or something?

Lol I barely started writing fanfiction 2 years ago 😅 so I guess I don't feel qualified to be called legendary! But hey, thank you so much for the compliment!

Hopefully none of the OG thg fanfic authors will be offended, I just imagine people like:

But on a more serious note, you said you wanted advice for writing in the Fandom. Even though I'm still relatively new to this, I will try my best to give you the advice I would have liked to receive when I started writing and engaging with the Fandom community.

1. Write for yourself: Seriously. Don't write the majority of your stuff so you can get kudos and likes. Write what makes you happy, and invest time in writing stories you enjoy and love. Because at the end of the day social media and statistics are fickle and don't often accurately reflect the impact your writing can have on the world at large.

I learned this the hard way. It was an uncomfortable lesson, but suffice to say that these days I am definitely more focused on the stories that inspire me everyday, the ones that live rent free in my head and are just begging to be put down on paper, or typed out on my keyboard. And I am loads happier because of that choice.

2. You do not have to answer every prompt or ask that finds its way into your inbox. It's OK to leave some things on the backburner and focus on your priorities. Fanfiction is a hobby and most people aren’t getting paid for doing it. (Almost no one I know or have heard of) I personally try to answer all my asks, even if only to say I'm not interested in writing the story the reader is requesting. But I've also just flat out deleted some rude or offensive asks before. I do not obligate myself to respond to rude anons or their questions.

3. It's OK to take breaks from writing. For your mental health, for your well being, and also when you just don't have the time or energy to churn out a chapter every weekend. Again, fanfiction is a free gift, not an obligation. Don't get sucked into the pressure to perform or feel guilty if real life circumstances make it hard or impossible to write.

4. Don't delete your old/first fics. The better you get at writing the more you will be tempted to do this, but trust me, there will be people who love your early stuff, grammar errors and all. Don't deny them the privilege of reading your first story. Even if it is tropey or whatever. Let it stand as a testament to how much you've grown and how much you love this universe. The Fandom will love you for your authenticity and realness.

5. Take chances. Write that dark or slightly weird fic. Write that PWP smut fic. Publish your spotify inspiration playlist. Send your fave author a chat or inbox question. Make connections, laugh at the weirdness or mundane aspects of your hyperfixations. Write 10 stories about the one bed trope. Write 100 enemies to lovers fics. Just do whatever makes you happy and allows you to be creative. Make friends and reach out to your fellow writers. Literally 99% of people I've met in the Fandom are freaking awesome and I do not regret any of the connections I've made in the 2 years since I joined.

6. Just have fun. Real life is full of so much negativity and hardships, and fanfiction should be about enjoying the journey of the characters and the story. All of this is literally just for fun. Publishing on Ao3 or FFN or here on Tumblr, is simply for enjoyment, its not a job or a career. So enjoy it! 😉 Make memes and gifs and chapter covers and mood boards. Write drabbles and weird snippets of dialogue. Let it all out, and say what you want to say. Somewhere out there, there is a reader who will fall in love with your words if you just have the courage to set them free.