#wow. no reversed tags in this fandom? interesting

[nullians]

This was a gift for @friendcrumbs -w-

[fffiii]

Fifi does an intro post?? Whaaaaa

Wow this is awkward, anyways hi besties, it’s your favourite menace of a mun fifi here. Hope y’alls are doing well :)

§ 18 § She/They § Aroace (sex indifferent) § SEAsian §

I’m also a diagnosed autistic person, and I’m pretty sure I have undiagnosed ADHD, so please be patient with me.

An artist (both digital and traditional) and a crazy gamer (and tired student)

DNI if:

You promote any prejudice or hatred, especially to the vulnerable. I do not condone racism, ableism, sexism, homomisia, transmisia or any other kind of discrimination and I will swiftly report should I see any. I also do not support things like the fetishisation of asians or infantilisation of neurodivergents. Please keep such gross behaviour away from me with a 20 kilometer pole.

You promote/align yourself with hateful ideologies such as Nazis, TERFs, etc. This is related to the previous point, don’t hate others for existing.

You engage with me in sexual and/or 18+ topics without prior consent. I will reiterate that I am aroace, and I have no interest in debating my identity. I only discuss topics of an 18+ nature with people I want to, and in private, not on a blog where all can see. Sexual JOKES are okay, but do not dump a whole smut fic onto me, thanks.

You believe in pro-shipping / age-of-consent arguments / any kind of argument that justifies problematic ships, pedophilia, romanticisation of abuse, etc. Just because it’s fiction doesn’t mean it’s okay. Heavy topics like abuse and manipulation should be taken with the weight they carry, and not be treated lightly.

NOTES/WARNINGS:

I consume content that includes but isn’t limited to: violence, gore, cannibalism, and similarly dark topics. I will do my dilligence to tag them, and if I fail to, you can remind me to do so, and I will gladly. However, if the content is not problematic (as in, it romanticises such content), I see no reason to take it down. Consumption lies on you, the viewer, and if the content isn’t morally wrong, I have no reason to remove material that might be uncomfortable to some.

I engage quite regularly in dark humour. If that puts you off, please let me know. I take mental well-being seriously.

Though mun is 18, I wish for this blog to be clean of NSFW or otherwise 18+ content. Please respect this wish.

Fandoms im in / games I play in order of relevance: Identity V, Genshin Impact, Star Rail, Honkai Impact 3rd, Bungo Stray Dogs, Woomaverse, Chonny’s Charming Chaos Compendium (CCCC), Moriarty the Patriot, The Amazing Digital Circus, Reverse 1999 (there’s probably more i’ve forgotten, feel free to ask if you wanna know)

I also have a barely fleshed out Non-Fandom world called Dreams of Delirium, which is highly underdeveloped but I may occasionally gush about, make art of, or hold random ‘events’ on my blog about.

I create OCs for the fandoms I’m in, and you can read more about them if you’d like. One day I’ll be organised with tags, I swear.

TAGS:

Personal art: me arts

Reblogs: reblog

credit: (apologies for the tag) @benkeibear (for the barbed wire dividers) and @vocaicons (for the images, drawn by wooma)

[loveislarryislove]

2022 Writing Reflection

1. Number of stories posted to AO3: 18 (holy shit???)

2. Word count posted for the year: 107,382 (double holy shit?????)

3. Fandoms I wrote for: One Direction, Critical Role, Tamora Pierce, The Old Guard, Percy Jackson

4. Pairings: Larry, BeauJester, Immortal Husbands, Shiall, Solangelo

5. Story with the most…

Kudos: I Can Build Your Heart A Home

Bookmarks: I Can Build Your Heart A Home

Comments: Hash Brown, Egg Yolk, I Will Always Love You

Hits: Your Skin On Mine (I'm Losing Control)

6. Work I’m most proud of (and why): 

So I have two fics I want to shout out for this. First is Do You Think The Tides Know, which is a super personal concept to me and one I’ve been wanting to explore for a while. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever written before, and I’m not sure if I’ve ever read anything quite like it -- where from the beginning it’s clear that the main character won’t get the guy, where the endgame pairing doesn’t involve our POV character, where no matter what we’re rooting for we know it involves heartbreak. It’s complicated and it’s messy and it’s imperfect and it’s painful and I think that’s important, you know? That’s real. That’s life. And that’s okay. 

I’m also really proud of my Reverse Bang fic, they say looks can kill (and i might try), which just posted this week. I’ve always been intimidated by worldbuilding, but the art and prompt from @haztobegood were just... so vivid and interesting and exciting, and I could feel the world begging to be explored. I was initially afraid I wouldn’t be able to do it justice and realize the ideas the way I wanted, but I’m so glad I did it anyways. I don’t think I did a perfect job, there are still gaps that I’m aware of as the person who created them, but I also think that overall I did a damn good job! Go me!  

7. Work I’m least proud of (and why): 

I’m also going to mention two here. First is my Emelan fic for Troped: Chapters -- I had some fun with the concepts but I just wasn’t feeling the romance that was the center of the prompts, and I wasn’t sure how to make everything play out effectively. Second is my Camp Half-Blood AU for Astrofest -- I had a much bigger, grander, more complex idea mapped out based on all the different positive and negative meanings of the card, but I just bit off more than I could chew in terms of time and energy, so the fic I wrote instead was a much simpler spur-of-the-moment idea. It’s a fine story, I don’t dislike it, but it wasn’t what I’d wanted to write initially. Still, I’m glad it nudged me to start exploring that ‘verse -- I wrote a PJO fic a month or two later and I’d like to write more! I might also revisit the more complex idea someday, I still think that it would be a super cool story! 

8. Share or describe a favorite review you received: 

I received a ton of wonderful comments and tags, but I think some of my favourites were the appreciation for the check ins and conversations around kink in fics like it's always me that ends up getting wet. We love boundaries and consent!!! Having that level of trust with your partner is what most interests me about kink, so it felt really validating and rewarding to see that reflected and appreciated. 

9. A time when writing was really, really hard: 

Looking at my writing tracker, I only wrote like... 800 words in March, so I guess numerically you could say that was hard, since I didn’t do it. 

In the other direction, in August and September I published TEN fics (totaling about 46k words), so that was. a lot of writing. why did I do this. I’m so proud but also kind of concerned. 

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

Is it too unspecific to say “all of the smut”? Like wow, usually I don’t really write smut, but this year I was apparently VERY INSPIRED. And I kept writing such huge word counts in one go, wow. 

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

Oh man, it’s always hard to pick just one piece (especially without it getting ridiculously long), but let’s go with this snippet from Do You Think The Tides Know, as Zayn says goodbye to Louis at the end of the summer:

Zayn pulls Louis into a tight hug, trying to memorize the feeling of his body, the sound of his heartbeat, the smell of his hair.

“Don’t be a stranger, yeah?” he says, trying to keep the catch in his throat from showing in his voice. “I know we don’t usually talk that much outside the summer, but… you have my number, if you ever, like, have questions or just… if you ever need anything. Call me.”

Louis chuckles. “I know,” he says. “You’ve always got my back. Thanks, man. You’re a great friend.”

Zayn squeezes his eyes shut for a moment, then forces them back open. “Good,” he says, stepping back. “And… good luck.”

A bright smile dawns across Louis’ face. Zayn wishes it was for him, wishes he could make Louis look like that. But failing that, he hopes that the person who does make Louis smile like that – he hopes he never stops.

12. How did you grow as a writer this year:

This is kind of unspecific, but I think just... being more willing to try things that are unfamiliar and step outside of my usual comfort zone. That willingness feels like growth, and doing that creates growth. 

13. How do you hope to grow next year:

Part of me wants to say writing self-motivated fics, stories I tell just because I want to and without outside boxes I have to fit into or people holding me accountable. But maybe the real growth would be acknowledging that those outside influences and motivations are valid, and if they work for me, that’s not such a bad thing. 

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc): 

gotta be @alwaysxlarrie. I can always count on lauren to hype me up or help me brainstorm or get my creative gears turning or tell me if a sentence or moodboard looks weird or celebrate my accomplishments. and I love returning the favor! mutual brain furbies for life -- you the best! 

15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: 

The “weird holiday traditions” in The Streetlights Are All Saying Your Name are both real traditions that my family had when I was growing up

I work in a pet store, and so for All Ewe Need Is Lamb, I used information and products and even photos from my work 

As I mentioned before, Do You Think The Tides Know is based on a really personal experience -- it’s not like 100% true to life, but the idea of dating someone while in love with someone else, and knowing that the relationship had an end date, but celebrating the happiness and fun and learning in the meantime -- that was real to me, and super meaningful. So grateful for everyone else who has connected to the fic as well!

And this is kind of the inverse and a slightly more spicy one, so look away if you don’t want to know, but. Writing for the @1dwatersportsficfest ultimately led to me telling my fiancée that I was into that. So. I guess that’s my writing showing up in my real life!

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: 

If you’re afraid of doing something because it feels out of your comfort zone or what you’re used to doing -- that’s where the growth is. Find people who encourage you to do it anyways, who make you feel excited to go there, who celebrate your achievements. It’s so much less scary with friends, and you’ll probably surprise yourself with how much you’re capable of.  

17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: 

With the publication of my fic for the 1D Reverse Bang this week, I am officially finished all my current projects! Which isn’t to say I don’t have forgotten half-finished projects, but I don’t have anything I’m actively working on at the moment. It’s exciting and terrifying at the same time. What will I daydream about on the bus now???

I’m feeling called back to my Soft Established Relationship Vax’ilmore Fluff Series, so might write a couple of those next (then again, I said I’d do that last year, and that lasted about 8 days so. we’ll see). I’m also eyeing up some of the fests for this coming year (I need external motivation, it’s a problem) and @1dtourdeficfest @faithinthefutureficfest @1dastroficfest are all on my list of contenders.

18. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read:

I’m not sure who all has already done this so apologies if I’m tagging someone who has already done it (or already been tagged a billion times), but: @alwaysxlarrie @haztobegood @zanniscaramouche @andfollowthesun @larry-hiatus @panye @littleroverlouis @beckydoesthings @finelinegynandromorph @paranormalbabydoll @thebreadvansstuff

[oinker-33]

A Little Bit Of History: Old Country Humans!

(Heads up - I cannot find the tag for this, so I'm gonna say, trigger warning for Nazi symbols - don't worry, this blog post is just for educational purposes! I have done my best to blur them, however I'm not a very attuned seeker.)

Hey guys, this would usually be a Twitter thread but Elongated Muskrat wants me to pay and I ain’t doing that! So we’re making a Tumblr blogpost!

I don’t know how alive the countryhumans fandom is on here, but I thought I might make a post about something I find cool: this idea is actually pretty old!

See, back in the olden days, after World War 1, political cartoons changed - people began to experiment with new ways of expressing themselves and how they felt, beyond just redrawing what was happening.

This era, which I like to call the experimental era, was from ~1930-1980. Nowadays, political cartoonists are back to being unoriginal little shits, which gives them their grotesque impression in people's minds. But no, there's more to this art form!

There used to be characters used to represent countries. The most popular example is Uncle Sam, we know him, we love him, you even see him in countryhumans art today. And wow, is he old! Look at him in this cartoon from 1947! (Image credi: KB2 - that's all we know about this artist, other than they were from France)

Here, the characters, from left to right are Marianne for France, Gretchen/Germania for Germany, Uncle Sam for the United States, and John Bull for the United Kingdom.

There are two characters for Germany, one is Gretchen/Germania, which is a cruel old woman and I personally dislike because of her misogynistic under tones - German women were disliked for their assertiveness and stereotyped as mean or bitchy. Not their fault particularly - after World War 2 Germany began to shift over to more matriarchal society over a patriarchy, which had been their structure on and off over the years. (Image credit: Pol Ferjac - once again, that's all we know about the artist except their French nationality)

The other one is Michel, who is a chubby, sweet, short, and submissive little man who wears pajamas constantly, keeps having kids with uncooperative mothers (does he birth them himself?), and is a bit lazy. (Image credit to the Saar section of the European movement - most likely multiple artists worked on this)

He was every definition of a wife guy for Marianne, worshipping his lovely woman even if she rejected him. He rarely fought with her, except on the matter of his children, which he would get very defensive about.

Their gender roles were entirely reversed - Marianne took on the role of a man at the time, and Michel, a woman. Why this was collectively decided is not clear to me - perhaps it was what was appropriate to their geopolitics at the time, or a reflection of German societal expectations. Either way, they're the couple (I drew this one on a card for my French teacher)

They fell out of usage after the De Gaulle and Adenauer days as they were thought to be their couple, their children, not appropriate for Giscard d'Estaing and Schmidt, though in the 80s they would be used again with Kohl and Mitterrand because of their relationship making people nostalgic.

Admittedly, there aren't a lot of other countries that I have seen. Some rarer ones include Meisje, who represents the Netherlands (Image credit: Ernst Maria)

Or, this interesting cartoon by Hanns Erich Köhler where he designs people for Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.

So, why did they exist?

Well, some people didn't have access to the information we do. It wasn't easy to find out who ran what, and what they looked like for that manner. They were especially useful during the 50s because governments were in chaos, and having someone just be the entire country saved the headache of figuring out who was ruler at the time. They were often adapted from children's characters as well, bringing nostalgia and kinship.

But then pictures of people became much more wildly available as news networks got back on their feet. After De Gaulle and Adenauer, Marianne and Michel, who were the most utilized outside of Uncle Sam, were laid to rest with their real life equivalents, never brought up again except for nostalgia purposes. Even the Greeks, who lagged behind their German idol, found Kohl and Mitterrand to be much more engaging.

I made my own, by the way. I will probably make another blog explaining each one, since this one is getting much too long.

Thanks for reading!

[arvenconned]

OFFICIAL WARNINGS!

Please read for your safety.

Welcome all to the Sin Din, or basically where I'll put all my darker content. Minors please don't follow or interact, this account is 18+ only.

Important: I only write Reader-Insert, my only exception is when I'm under commission, so please do not send requests here on Tumblr into my inbox about anything other than Reader-Inserts. Your ask will be politely deleted immediately.

If you're still interested, read more down below. Be warned for dark fictional topics, and definitely read this warning.

So... You dared to venture down here... Eh well, it's nothing shocking or surprising.

Proper warnings/major triggers featured:

-dubcon/noncon

-cannibalism/gore/mindbreak

-age gap/grooming

-incest/pseudo-incest

-underage (of 15/16 y/o reader and 13+ character, won't go below that)

These are the big ones, but I will always provide warnings for other minor triggers at the top of the post (and in the tags when possible). These are almost all directed at reader, instead of the character, though very rarely are they reversed.

You may think, "Wow, a whole account for you to be a freak?" And yes that's exactly what this account is being repurposed for. I'm aware that some content is too much people and they don't want to see it, but still want to follow my main blog, so I was like "Oh, might as well reuse my old side blog then". So here we are.

Guide to my tags:

When tagging triggering content, I will use the 'tw (insert trigger here)' tag method, so keep that in mind when searching through my tags!

I write for nearly any kink aside from scat/rpf, and everything here is a completely fictional interest. I don't endorse or support anything her IRL, and I'm simple a person with trauma who copes with darkfic and likes to share it with others :)

Fandoms I write for:

•Pokemon XY, BW, BW2, SM, USUM, Platinum, ORAS, SWSH, SV + PMEX

•Cookie Run (Kingdom included)

•Genshin Impact + Honkai Star Rail

•My Hero Academia, SDS, JJK.

•Fire Emblem (Fates, Awakening, Heroes, Warriors, Engage.)

•+more! Just ask if you're unsure :3

•Persona 3/4/5

•Postal 1/2

Types of Reader-Inserts I write (in requests):

• SFW + NSFW female inserts

• SFW male inserts + GN Inserts

As for commissions... Check out my Twitter Pinned for that!

I only write Insert x Male character, please do not request Insert x Female character, as I will not write it unless it is a commission.

Want to see my tweet weird freak stuff about my favs in real time? Check out my twitter where you should really read the warnings before following.

Other than that, and pending any updates I want to add to this, welcome to my blog and the deranged feral stuff I post about characters I like.

[idanit]

possibly underappreciated Good Omens fics I enjoyed once upon a time

Indirectly inspired by a video series about fanfiction I watched, I decided to pull together a list of Good Omens fics I have bookmarked as stories I enjoyed, but which have less than 250-300 kudos at the time I’m writing this. No particular order. They’re accompanied by short excerpts from my private fic reading notes (not originally intended to be read by anyone but me, mind), sometimes slightly edited for clarity—and, sometimes, the comments I left on the fics.

This list sat in my drafts for a long time and the recent S2 announcement reminded me of it. I’d love it if it inspired you to do something similar! Spread the love.

And mind the tags, please.

△ = general and teen ▲ = mature and explicit 

thermodynamic equilibrium ▲ 7K the author has such an ear for dialogue and is unapologetic about what they want to write the characters like. They think of the characters as a mix of TV and book canon, but they feel like a homemade blend to me. (...) It’s very funny.

such dear follies ▲ 6K I can really picture this Aziraphale—Crowley as well, but her especially. She’s rather distinct. (...) Nice writing.

The Words Were With - △ 1.2K post-Blitz vignette, Aziraphale realizes what he feels and wonders if they're human enough for this. I liked it, and I liked the tag "transhumanism, but in reverse?", too—what an interesting idea. I'd say it's a vignette in a dire need of a follow-up, but, well, there's the show. The show is the follow-up. It fits very nicely within the canon and I totally believe it could have happened, like a deleted scene.

Gossip and Good Counsel △ 19K/? I love their companionship and how they're set up to be opposites by the management even though they get on pretty well. It feels very in keeping with the canon, but I feel like the fact that it's an F/F set in this particular time period adds a meaningful layer to the situation. It's women supporting each other in the world of men, working with the personas that are created for them, but, privately, being normal, well-rounded people. (...) and of course your writing is always a pleasure to read. (...) SDHDGDHDHDG Maisie is truly an Aziraphale.

Crowley Went Down to Georgia (he was looking for a soul to steal) △ 6K This was nice. Based on a song I didn’t know. Crowley goes to a funeral in the USA, one of a fiddler he knew and lost a bet to once. (...) The fic has not one but two songs composed for it and embedded inside it and that makes it even better. I really enjoyed the experience.

The Thing With Feathers △ 18K WARLOCK you'rE HORRIBLE AND I LOVE IT I would read an entire novel-length fic just of Crowley fighting his battles with Warlock. Written like this? It would be a blast. (...) The OCs are believably characterized and well-loved by the story. (...) Everyone seems to need a friend in this house. (...) This was so fun, and at the same time, their mission has weight here (...) We wonder about what the future holds even though we know it.

Here Quiet Find △ 11K This fic aimed for my head and the aim was sure precise. It was a story of Crowley sensing Aziraphale's distress and finding him in a self-quarantined English village in the seventeenth century, tired and anxious. It's hurt/comfort, so there was washing and bedsharing and I had to love it, so I did.

outside of time △ 2K Post-Almostgeddon, (...) nicely-written, short, but strung with a soft kind of tension and unspoken words. There's no drama, just "can we really", and "do you really" of sudden freedom. They fall into being inseparable. Book canon, which I like for this story (sitting on a tarmac). I liked the footnotes. There's a mention of Eliot. All in all, very much yes.

She'asani Yisrael △ 2K It’s Crowley going through a two-hour service and drinking blessed wine. He also keeps an eye on a boy he was asked to. It’s 1946. It was pretty good, so far the best Jewish GO fic, I think, from the ones I’ve read.

To Guard The Eastern Gate △ 11K  I loved it. You really made Sodom feel lived-in; the description of Keret, Hurriya and Yassib's house and relationship were great. I got attached to both them and the city (...) Aziraphale and Crawley’s interactions were generally very entertaining. I laughed (...) Your rendering of their voices just lands so well (...) But then oh, the entire ending (...) hurt, hurt a lot, and your descriptions are so vivid.

If you’ve been waiting (for falling in love) △ 14K AAAAA a good ending line. The whole paragraph, in fact. I love a good smattering of philosophy in my fics, and this was really nice. I can get behind Thomas Aequinus's and Crowley's view on eternity. It's (...) a pretty simple fic (...) - the courage to express yourself and take a risk is awarded with winning what was at stake by the virtue of reciprocity - but the way it was intertwined with a study of how they would experience a forever was done well. 

Holy unnecessary ▲ 2.2K It's well-written. (...) this is my type of sexual humour if I have any. So subtle. Blink and you'll miss it. Lovely.

The Parting Glass △ 17K Through the ages, they're dancing around their relationship until after the Armageddoff. (...) Wow, this was really, really nice. Very simple in its concept and nothing I haven't read before, but very well-executed. (...) AAAAH I LOVED the first chapter. I always like abbeys as settings, that's a given, but the banter, the good writing, the moral ambiguity!

Name The Sky △ 33K This Crowley is different, but very intriguing. Without his sarcastic talk, and much more animalistic. (...) I love how expressive Crowley is. (...) This fic has a very nice balance of drama and levity. I don't love Crowley-before-the-Fall stories very much, but with this execution I can read about it. (...) Okay I've read Crowley offering fruits, and even Aziraphale biting fruits, but the two of them sharing the apple? Outstanding. Ingenious. What a take.

A Flame in Your Heart △ 5K post-Blitz (why are so many dance fics post-Blitz?), they go to the bookshop and have an actually believable conversation. Then they dance the gavotte. It was really nice! Believable writing, emotions, the dancing! (...) Of course it's too early for them, (...) but the author's note? yeah.

Put down the apple, Adam, and come away with me ▲ 32K At this point it's just reading original stories with characters with names and some personality traits that I recognize. (...) I really enjoy this, the careful dance, the opposition between their views. (...) This is well-written, wow. (...) it's not an easy read (...) this story feels very believably 50s, but also reaches out to the present time. 

Liebestraum ▲ 10K/? It really is like music. I'm enjoying the writing a lot. (...) oh my actual god. This, this? Wow, uh. This came for my throat. (...) THE MUSICAL COMPOSITION, THE MOTIF RETURNING, THE AUTHOR KNOWS WHERE IT'S AT (...) Excellent. This hits the right beats so precisely, (...) and with feeling, too.

Down Comforter △ 2.4K and they lay down in angeldown, a soft rug ‘neath their heads– alright. Well, Crowley lies under Aziraphale's wing on a Persian rug after the Apocalypse, and they talk (...). It was sweet.

The Corsair of Carcosa △ 5K Crowley wakes up from a nap, visits Aziraphale for some drinking, and they read The King in Yellow that he happens to own. Good writing, so I'm bought. Aziraphale mentions Beardsley, so I'm bought twice over. My god, a discussion of etheral/occult madness? Caused by some wrong/true reading? Yes.

Very Good, Omens! △ 6K It's rather well-written, well-pastiched. People don't do that too often, nowadays - try to write in the style of a particular writer. (...) I love wordplay like this.

Reviving Robin Hood: The Complicated Process of Crème Brûlée △ 30K it's well-written (...), has a rhythm to it, and quiet humour. (...) Finally some nice, good, light writing. The attention to detail! (...) I'm still reading most of it aloud, the rhythm of it compels me to. (...) okay this does sound like Pratchett&Gaiman, the Good Omens itself (...) The fic is meandering, hilarious, sensitive in all the right places, and overall lovely.

my dear acquaintance △ 1K Oh. Oh. Yes, yes! Aziraphale in Russia, Russia I've never been in, but I can feel the snow and the evening of. Very real, and the bar, too. Attention to detail - vodka flavoured with dill, what on earth? Yes. He would totally have a distinct taste in operas and he would totally complain about a subpar one. I'm glad Tchaikovsky's there.

there is a crack in everything △ 1.8K This was good! Ah. Inspired by a comment (...), I went looking for Mr. Harrison and Mr. Cortese fics—really, what a big brain moment someone had and why have I never thought to look for them? This is Crowley getting suddenly anxious and Aziraphale going out of his way, through all his layers of not-thinking and denial, to console him. I also really liked how the Arrangement is a carefully unacknowledged partnership-marriage.

Scales And Gold And Wings And Scars △ 6K  No conflict, no plot, one tiny arc like a ripple on the surface of water on a calm sunny day - of Aziraphale discovering Crowley’s scars. It's the South Downs and it's early summer. They bask and swim in a spring. Non-sexual nudity, love in the air like a scent. Nice.

Nineteen Footnotes In Search Of A Story △ 0.4K This is a Good Omens story told only through footnotes. Your mind can fill in the gaps. Fascinating (...). Also, it’s an experiment so apt for this particular fandom.

Hell on Earth △ 6.5K Oh, I loved it! How could I not love it: it's Beelzebub-centric, it's historical, it has classical painting, and even a hilarious scene with a cuneiform phrase, as if I didn't enjoy this story enough already. There are so few Beelzebub fics out there and I find searching for them very difficult (I accept recs if anyone has any), and it's such a shame, so this was really like a gift to the fandom. I absolutely adore the way you portrayed them, small, frightening, powerful, and confident. Also, it was super fun to see how different Crowley seems when we're not in his POV or in a story about him and Aziraphale. (...)

Go Up to Ramoth-Gilead and Triumph △ 24K Daegaer is... pure class. (...) hdhdhdh what pfttt why you so funny (...) I love this Crowley. (...) This got unexpectedly intense. (...) I love the little nods to the fact that Israelites, especially the poorer ones, still believe in other gods. I also really like that they sleep on roofs. It's just the kind of detail that grounds the story and shows that the author is, in fact, a historian. 

[angzlicas]

Since we've hit 100k works on ao3,

I've gotten many asks about my favorite Destiel fics! Instead of replying to them all, I thought I'd just list them here along with the summary, word count, and my opinion on each (as a side note, all of them are Explicit):

In a Mirror, Darkly by anyrei, mugglerock Words: 196,710, Canon

Summary: “Do you trust me, Dean?”

“You know I do,” Dean answered, his voice carrying resignation and sadness. He knew Cas was right. This was the only way if he wanted to help save his brother. He had to do it, even though everything in him wanted to fight it. But he trusted Cas with his life. And now he was going to show him just how deep that trust ran.

Dean fell to his knees in front of the angel, bowing his head forward as he was fitted with the extraordinarily heavy collar. Castiel’s fingers caressed his skin when he closed the clasp of the sign of slavery; the symbol that gave Dean’s life over to the angel’s mercy. Dean suppressed the urge to close his eyes.

Opinion: This fic is my all-time favorite. No seriously, it's the first fic I recommend to people when they ask. And I've read it 3 times over a 3 year period. I'll never get tired of reading it. It follows Cas and Dean having to pose as master and slave to rescue Sam from Angels in Limbo. Lots of smut, basically a Porn With Plot fic but the smut adds SO MUCH to the story. Amazing fic.

Taker of Souls by jscribbles Words: 128,665, Canon

Summary: The angels have fallen. Castiel is human, Sam is recovering from the trials, and Dean doesn’t want to expose them to the world as it’s crumbling outside the bunker doors.

To pass time in their solitude, Dean discovers a hidden room in the bunker full of dangerous magical artifacts and accidentally exposes his friends and family to an ancient horror. If Castiel thought adjusting to humanity was already a terror in itself, he experiences a world of pain when the ancient spirit Dean released chooses him as a vessel to fulfill its evil prophecy.

Castiel begins to change as voices call out to him in the night and take the form of the one righteous man he desires, temptation drawing him to complete a ritual that will allow one of Hell’s most feared ancient entities to occupy his vessel.

Before Sam, Dean, Kevin and Crowley know what is happening, they are thrown into a lockdown, unable to escape the bunker as the cruel, twisted monster inside of Castiel prowls the hallways, hunting them, thirsty for their blood, hungry for their souls.

Opinion: This one was very gory, very scary. A cheeseless and modern take on the horror movie The Evil Dead (1981 2013) where Cas is the villain but unwillingly. Heartbreaking angst with a happy ending, this little fic is overlooked because of being tagged as a crossover. I hadn't seen Evil Dead when I read the fic and the author did such a good job describing every single scene, I didn't need to. READ TAGS

Out of the Deep by @riseofthefallenone Words: 488,608, Mer!Cas/Human!Dean AU

Summary: Stay away from the light-beds. Stay in the deep.

It is the first thing hatchlings are taught the moment their fans unfurl and they can swim without their parents to buoy them along. It is the first rule, the first law. It is the beginning of every boogey-monster bedtime story told when they settle against the cliffs to sleep.

Castiel should have listened better.

Opinion: WOW. Where to even start. This fic is a staple in the Destiel AU fandom. The world-building is absolutely incredible and the author stayed true to the characters' personalities and what makes Dean and Cas, Dean and Cas. I was hooked from the very first chapter and read it within 2 days. Although the 500k words may look daunting, it's ABSOLUTELY worth it, I promise. You'll get. everything you could want from this fic including fluff, angst, heartbreak, hurt/comfort, smut, just everything. And if you're staying away because of the mermaid thing, let me tell you. The author just makes it so realistic and believable and beautiful, a few chapters in is enough to change your mind.

The Graveyard Shift by @purgatory-jar, @riseofthefallenone Words: 620,733, Monsters Living In Harmony AU

Summary: Dean’s favourite coffee shop, The Graveyard Shift, is only open after the sun goes down. Which is perfect for him, because that’s exactly when he craves coffee the most while doing the overnight at the fire hall. The coffee shop’s owner is pretty perfect too, but it’s kind of a bummer that Dean never gets to see Cas during the day. In a world where the supernatural live more or less in peace with the rest of humanity, it’s a little impolite to ask Cas just what he really is - or what his dark past entails.

Opinion: Although it's over half a million words, this fic is incredible. From the world-building to the mysterious air it has, the art, as well as the writing, makes it a must-read. I can't tell you how many times I've recced this to someone in the fandom. I won't spoil it for you, but it's absolutely adorable. Again, the authors work so hard to make sure that Dean and Cas' personalities are true to the show's. It's coffee shop!au meets fireman!au meets monster!au. A slowburn truly worthy of it's title.

Hunting for Faith by @perunamuusa, @riseofthefallenone Words: 270,952, Reverse!verse AU

Summary: It starts a few days earlier.

Castiel first notices it in the middle of the night when the dreams of fire and screams have kept him awake. He’s kneeling before the altar, praying, when the glass in the windows start to shake, the very air vibrating around him. Castiel is on his feet and reaching for the gun tucked into the back of his pants as the shutters over the windows start to rattle.

Opinion: If you have ANY interest in Hunter!Cas/Angel!Dean, go read this fic. Like now. So, so awesome. I won't say any more other than Cas is a priest and a hunter and Dean and Sam are angels, because I don't want to spoil it. Truly a masterpiece.

If you want to see more of my favorites, check my BOOKMARKS on my Ao3!

[pumpkin-stars]

year in review tag

thank you @zhuzhubii for calling me a fave of yours *uno reverse* 🥺🥺🥺 i figured i’d take that as being tagged so here we go :) (also if anyone else tagged me whoops, i’ve been losing mentions all week)

first creation + most recent creation

My first fic this (last?) year is Niche Interests. It was the first thing I’d published in over a year, and the first smut fic I’d ever written. Dom!Spencer doesn’t exist to me anymore so don’t expect anything similar this coming year.

And my most recent fic is Give it up, Angel, though it’s more of a drabble than a fic. Sub!Hotch lives in my mind rent free, so we can really see what tumblr did to my sexuality in just six months.

one of your favourite creations from 2020

I have quite a few favourites from this year, but Jonathan holds a little place in my heart ‘cause it’s so sweet and entirely plausible in terms of canon. It’s basically my headcanon for what Hotch does after he leaves the show because I need him to be happy.

a creation you’re really proud of

it’s gotta be the trio (so far) of sub!spencer smut fics set in the same ‘universe’ (part 1 | part 2 | part 3). It’s a series that’s allowed me to be kinky and explore various ideas, and i’ve got another four parts planned (one of which is half done!)

a new style you tried this year & a fic that uses it

Before this year I’d only written fics with OCs in, so any of my fics in 2nd person were new to me. BUT I’ll link Their Lives here, because it’s the most unique of this year’s fics, in that it doesn’t mention any names and isn’t explicitly about the reader.

a creation that took you forever

aside from all my current wips, Perfectly Marvellous and Generosity took the longest - in fairness, I was writing a dissertation at the same time, but Generosity particularly took me about 3 months to get it how I wanted it.

your creation from 2020 that received the most notes

that’s Niche Interests again, currently 1.3k which is incredible! I wrote it between 1-3am and posted it without editing so the fact it’s so popular blows my mind. But that’s the spencer/reader bias on this site i guess. 

a creation you think deserved more notes

The first part of my hotch/gn!reader series Comprehension didn’t do great compared to my oneshots, i guess? nothing deserves more, i’d just like them to have more??

a new fandom you joined and a creation you made for it

lmao just look at my masterlist i’ve never engaged in fandom properly before.

a creation you made that breaks your heart

celui qui laissés derrière! it’s sweet, but angsty. It’s the only completely angsty thing I think I wrote?? But it’s not as angsty as one of my ralvez wips,,,

a “simple” creation that you really love

this little smutty drabble i wrote for my 500 follower celebration

a creation that was inspired by another

all my gifs! seeing everyone’s awesome edits made me wanna learn, so i tried!

a favourite creation created by someone else

oh wow, um, just check out my 1k follower fic rec masterlist (not all were my recs, but a lot of them are).

special mention goes to @reidology‘s mushroom fic bc i read it whenever i need to smile :)

some of your favourite content creators from the year

@yours-truly-r (art, fics, genuinely lovely person??? triple threat bay bee)

@summerygubler, @venusbarnes, @moon-light-jukebox, @aaronhotchnerr, @angelofthebau, @whistlingwillows, @zhuzhubii, @goldentournesol, @thelukealvez, @iconicc, @saprentiss, and @veraiconcos are also all absolute gems with some fantastic creations (and if i’ve ever interacted with your creations in any way i also love you) xx

and for good measure, a couple more creations of yours that you love

Can’t Hurry Love, Fixation, and We All Gotta Die Someday, Right? :)

tagging: anyone i’ve mentioned above and anyone else who feels like it xx

[jippy-kandi]

Digimon Adventure: 2020 – Episode 1: Tokyo: Digital Crisis! (Review)

Thoughts on the first episode of the Digimon Adventure reboot series.

Disclaimer: I just want to make it clear that I’m watching and reviewing Digimon Adventure: 2020 in the context of it being a children’s anime -- because that’s what it is. By design, it’s obviously going to be “dumb” to the mind of the average adult. But that’s OK, because it’s for kids. And for a first episode aimed at children? It was pretty good.

The opening credits were 99% Taichi and I don’t like it if it’s permanently going to be this way. But I’m hoping that it will change to perhaps be character-centric to the person being “highlighted” in a particular episode, going through all eight kids, until there’s a permanent one where all eight are equally in it. I also hope the same for the ending credits.

I noticed that Angemon and Angewomon were missing from the opening credits, whereas the other digimon evolutions are shown. So I assume they’re following in OG Adventure’s footsteps and doing the whole “special angel” evolution reveal? I’m OK with that. It seems really interesting how they’re setting up Takeru and Hikari to be included this time (as they were both missing in the ending credits with the other five standing opposite Yamato . . .).

Both the opening and ending songs are fine, but I prefer the original songs, especially Butter-Fly. You are missed, Kouji Wada. <3

The art and animation of this series is really good. Toei Animation are really putting money into this series. I’m impressed.

I have mixed feelings about how they chose to introduce the characters. On the one hand, I think utilising just two characters is great to really highlight them to the audience and not overwhelm them with too much information. But on the other hand . . . I think introducing all eight characters in the first episode would make it appeal to more kids, because they can easily identify with one kid and keep watching the series. But a kid might watch this first episode, not like Taichi or Koushirou, and just switch off from the series completely. But I think what they went for is probably best for how they plan to introduce the characters (particularly regarding what they have in store for Yamato being a lone wolf who joins them later).

Taichi was a bit too generic to me. But, it’s only the first episode, so this isn’t a real criticism -- I’m sure he’ll be fleshed out as the series progresses. He also seems more responsible than OG Taichi. And while I do like his new voice, I think Toshiko Fujita was a lot better; she managed to convey more personality in her voice.

Koushirou was actually quite “cute”. But I’m not sure I totally like that he’s being portrayed as shy . . . he never seemed shy to me in the original series, but just a kid who was super absorbed in his own tech world. But his shyness did make him more endearing? I’m just not used to it so I find it a bit unsettling. But it does “humanise” him more and thus makes him more relatable, rather than just a distant tech nerd, so I guess it’s a positive? I also really like his voice.

I am liking the Taichi/Koushirou friendship a lot. You can tell Koushirou is going to completely idolise Taichi for making him feel included and “useful”. And let’s be real: Koushirou has always been the most underrated character when it comes to popularity, relative to actual impact on the plot, because he’s actually the one who solves almost everything and he doesn’t get nearly as much credit for it as he deserves in the fandom. It’s nice that they’ve spotlighted him with Taichi in this episode.

So apparently Mimi’s family owns a conglomerate because they made both Koushirou’s tablet computer and Takeru’s hat? I always thought the weird “TK” scrawled on his hat was for his name (TaKeru or T.K.), but apparently it’s for TachiKawa! Wow, Mimi is insanely rich this time around (moreso than the first). Princess indeed!

Takeru’s design is so freaking adorable. I still think his clothes are a bit off, but his face is so adorable! And I didn’t really think that of OG Takeru. I mean . . . I guess he was kind of adorable, but not overwhelmingly so like this one! He hasn’t said one line but, OMG, the cuteness. *SQUISH*

Did anyone notice that in Takeru’s room, there is a poster of an ASTRONAUT? OMG I loved that! What a nice throwback to Yamato’s future career in OG Adventure (and thus to the 02 epilogue!). I can imagine reboot Yamato idolising astronauts and influencing Takeru into liking them, too. Awesome Easter egg there!

So the Crests are showing up right from the start. No rehash of finding the Tags and Crests, then! (Or will they find the physical forms later?) I really like how different from OG Adventure it already is, while keeping touches of the old as well. Toei have done a good job with mixing the old and new so far. Keep it up!

I thought Taichi’s meeting with Agumon was super cute and quite “realistic” with Taichi reaching his hand out to “pet” Agumon! Though Taichi is obviously more courageous than the average person, because uh, I would be afraid that dino would bite my hand off, lol.

I thought Agumon’s evolution “sequence” to Greymon was really cool, but at the same time, I did miss an actual evolution sequence like the OG one. It’s probably just nostalgia making me feel that way. I can accept this new version though! It feels very “updated”.

It was very fast-paced compared to OG Adventure. I’m not sure I entirely like that Agumon evolved so easily and so quickly to Greymon in the very first episode, but it also didn’t seem to hinder the episode. But where do they go from here? What do they have planned to pad out this series if things happen so quickly? I’m intrigued to find out!

Oh, remember how I said less than 24 hours ago that I might not even like reboot Yamato? Yeah, well . . . throw that idea out the window, because the dude had two seconds at the end of this episode and HE ALREADY WON ME OVER lmao. He had NO LINES and was still the highlight of the episode for me. My attachment to him is insane. (Of course, I’m hoping he doesn’t turn out to be a super douche, lol.) I like that he was “chosen” before Taichi and was in the Network before him. What have you been up to in there, Yamato?

While I LOVED the ending credits, as I said before, I hope it changes to be central for each specific character (going through all eight kids), before there is a permanent main ending that includes all the characters equally. I really don’t like how Toei Animation seems to forget that there are EIGHT CHARACTERS and not just two. Come on, Toei, do the right thing!

But . . . let’s talk about the ending credits. IT WAS AMAZING. It characterised Yamato so much without him saying a word. I love that he’s still a lone wolf, that music is still a big part of his life (a bass at 11!), and that his love for Takeru is still so genuine. There was also a pivotal scene where it shows Jou, Mimi, Taichi, Sora and Koushirou standing together, and Taichi smiles at Yamato, who hesitantly steps forward to join them. I loved that! It made me think about the discarded plot where “Yamato might’ve separated from the group entirely” -- it seems like this is a reverse version and I can’t wait to see it play out. The scene that inspired that discarded plot idea was when Yamato decides to fight Taichi, and Sora yells at him to stop -- and I just loved her reactions to him throughout that arc. Especially because, if Taichi had turned on the group, I think Sora’s first instinct would be to conk him over the head -- but she gives Yamato a massive pass and then supports him to separate from the group to find himself. My Sorato thoughts are already swirling about how Sora will react to Yamato in this reboot! Will she hate him at first? Will she ask him to join? Oh my, they haven’t even interacted in this reboot and I’m already shipping them, lmao. I hope Sorato still have a connection in this reboot!

Overall, I liked it for a children’s anime. And I never would have watched it if it wasn’t a reboot with the original Adventure cast, as I have only seen a few episodes of Tamers, Frontier and Savers . . . and a few seconds where Yamato shows up in Xros Wars, lol. I’m not interested in Digimon, I’m interested in the Adventure cast. So I’m really glad this reboot exists! I’ll happily watch all episodes of this series because it’s more of my kids goddamnit. XD

Oh, and I just want to apologise that even though the episode was focussed on Taichi and Koushirou, I used screenshots of Yamato and Sora for the episode post . . . I’m sorry, I’m a Sorato blog! XD;

I think I will do a weekly Digimon Adventure: 2020 “review”, because the episodes are only 20-ish minutes long and it’s easy enough to consume and write about. And even if I might not have a lot to say about a particular episode, I can still spam Sorato screenshots, lol. :P

I can’t wait for the next episode! Because: YAMATO. <3

[mysticalmusicwhispers]

i think the big account reblog thing is like "oh this big account knows their stuff and has similar taste in content as i do, so the things they reblog have been given a stamp of approval by them so i should check it out and reblog". also the posts big accounts reblog usually get more notes than usual so there's a kind of reverse bystander effect like "oh so many people like it so i should also like it" if you know what i mean

but also same i wish people would Say Things in the tags or reblogs of my stuff too instead of just tagging the characters? like it's just really nice to see but i think that sometimes people might just not have the energy to express how they feel about the art/writing/etc or it might just not occur to them to do so

That is an interesting perspective! Big account endorsement.... I feel like I am running a struggling small business on tumblr with a variety of products and trying to get the attention of Walmart and strike a business deal with them lmao. But also LOL the opposite happens with me with the reverse bystander effect thing; I tend to just skip over popular posts because I think the creator has gotten some... measure of validation, and I’d rather be the only person who comments in the tags on a small post with like 12 notes than commenting on a post with like 200+ notes from a popular blog rb skdskdklf. Idk if my logic is warped or whatever but. I definitely see how the reverse bystander effect applies to the general fandom population

ALSO BIG SAME @ THE SAYING THINGS thing!!! If you have the energy to add tags, it means you don’t just use the quick reblog function, so you should also have the energy and time to add some comments! I meticulously tag posts with character and ship tags so like. I don’t really see the point of not adding a comment too. Maybe my comment will encourage people to make more content similar to the thing I reblogged. Also idk but I feel like I’m more prone to reblogging things that have comments in the tags, either from the op or a reblogged version. Also yeah to the part about not having enough energy to put a comment; I used to do that with queued posts because it was a little draining and sounded kinda repetitive saying “wow this art is great” or something on 10 posts in the span of 1 hour, but man. comments are great and if it doesn’t occur to people to write something this is your PSA that we love when there are comments in the tags

[stayndays]

[1] sending in a long ask because like i'm an idiot. i should have written it out instead of posting all that in my tags — firstly, thank you, thank you, thank you. i couldn't take the survey sadly (i kept procrastinating argh)!but i happen to stumble upon it today and omg wow. like a) you're impressive for doing this; b) it's not hyunjin ????? c) kinds knew fluff did well when the only 1k+ post i have on my blog is a fluff one lol but rip me; d) i read @chogiwow's comments and she's right!

[2] most writers need the character to resonate with the voice and it's on that basis that we choose. like there's no way i would ever initially write a faerie!au (say!) for like chan. it'd be for felix. yet again, this changes per writer to writer and i think that's the most beautiful thing about being in a fandom. if one writer cannot provide you the member + au, there will always be someone who can! what else took me aback, hm, in the surveyn oh yeah! yikes!! — stan seungmin for clear skin

[3] anyhow, you're amazing for doing this, hon! much much love and i hope you have a great day 💕✨ — hanflix

~~~

i think its because i havent been getting asks a lot lately but this made my heart swell a bit no cap JKDFJKS ok lets unpack this!!

a) thank you! i actually got the inspiration by my friends at skzwriternet because one of them (not gonna say who) was venting abt not getting as many notes as they'd like, so i thought "oh what if i just.. asked people what they like" and here we are today!! they also came up with some of the questions huehue

b) i actually knew it would be chan from the beginning, but hyunjin is a good guess too! i guess they both fit all of the genres pretty well according to writers lol

c) 1k+ post,, wow,, that's only a fantasy for me HAHA its funny how i've been here on this blog for almost an entire year, but smut blogs can get the amount of followers i have currently in a month ^^; suit ur taste stayblr.. maybe its because of my depressing posting schedule.. i don’t have a posting schedule

d) i agree with both of you! the hyung line would do better in more serious/dark aus (like crime & tattoo artists & clubbing, the whole shabang) while the maknae line suits more cheesy/romance aus (like soulmates & florists) but it all depends on what the writer wants to write! this survey should not change what you choose to post: it all depends on you! that’s something i forgot to mention. side note: reverse role aus??? we need more of those!! (actually theres two? reversal roles in my next series that i'll be posting teasers for in like an hour so.. there i go)

e) the maknae/vocal line of skz is incredibly underappreciated, especially when it comes to fanfics! and as somebody who is a primary jeongin stan (with seungmin and felix as bias wreckers) i can't help but yearn for more fics abt him!! and in my opinion, the maknae line fits fluff the best out of skz, so it's interesting to see fluff as the favorite genre of stayblr but the maknae line as the least favorite to read about?? its sad dude :<

thank you so much for the comments!! it really did make my day ^^ you have a good day too!

[joohoneyhoe]

Get to know me tag.

I was tagged by the stunning @ditzymax 

I haven’t done one of these in ages and I have no idea who has done it, but I’ll tag a few anyway @yeoldontknow​ @btssavedmylifeblr​ @dark-muse-iris​ @iq-biased​ @miss-noo-na​ @anon-luv​

1. What do you prefer to be called name wise? - Here my name is Jude

2. When is your birthday? December

3. Where do you live? The U.S unfortunately

4. Three things you are doing right now? This, obviously lol thinking of my poly fic with Tae and Yoongi I drafted almost two years ago, because they are both wrecking the absolute shit out of me lately. And now wanting to smoke a cigarette...thanks @ditzymax​  😅

5. Four Fandoms that have piqued your interest right now? Wow...actually I don’t think any other than this one honestly haha

6. How the pandemic treating you? I have actually been working throughout the entire thing. My kids have never gotten sick (thank the Gods) and neither have I. Unfortunately, my grandfather passed and my other grandfather had a stroke all within two weeks of each other. But, my other grandpa has since recovered and is doing well. So, there is that.

7. A song you can’t stop listening to right now? Oh geez, I’m constantly listening to Losing my Mind by Falling in Reverse, Medicine by Bring Me the Horizon and Jump by BTS hahaha

8. Recommend a movie? Elizabethtown, hands down.

9. How old are you? I’m like a thousand. 

10. School, University, Occupation or other? I actually work in a 40 degree environment with all men, lifting 50+ pound boxes and driving a fork truck all day. It’s a pretty dope job. 

11. Do you prefer hot or cold? Um, I’ll take cold anything over hot anything if that’s what you’re asking.

12. Name one fact others may not know about you? I was married and with my ex husband for a decade, had three kids, got divorced almost two years ago and have not heard a word from him since.

13. Are you shy? Oh Gods, no. Since having to be a working mom, I’ve discovered my hidden talent of being charismatic as fuck like I once was as a kid.

14. Do you have any preferred pronouns? Satan/Demon

15. What’s your favourite “-dere” Type? Idk what the fuck that is. See, told you, like a thousand.

16. Any pet peeves? Dishonesty, poor work ethic, lack of empathy.

17. Rate your life 1-10. 1 being really crappy and 10 means being the best you could ever be! I’d say as of right now, I’m at a solid 8 and hopefully have not just fucked myself.

18. What’s your main blog? This absolute dumpster fire would be it.

19. List your sideblogs and What they are used for! I have a fic recs sideblog, but that is truly it for me.

20. Is there anything peoples need to know about you before being friends with you? If you don’t want to hear the truth, don’t even bother asking me. I will not tell you what you want to hear. I will tell you what no one else has the balls to tell you because I want what’s best for you. The truth is always better than sugar coated bullshit.

[gement]

Venn diagram of least popular sub-genres

Full title: Venn diagram of no one’s gonna click it (but the readers who found me are real gems)

I’m wrapping up my Batman/Some Dude fluffy-kinky-queer romance novel this week, and pondering the things I’ve learned about fandom trends in my endless combing of the metadata. (I’m a librarian and an author craving validation, it’s what I do.) It’s doing phenomenally well within its niche, but oy, the niche.

Disclaimer: I’m not judging anyone’s taste here! You wanna read what you wanna read. (In library nerd: “Every book its reader; every reader their book.”) I’m just a data nerd talking out loud as a record for myself while it’s top-of-mind.

How are people less likely to click on my fic? Let me count the ways:

1. Some Dude: Average general fandom readers and M/M readers (usually myself) aren’t much interested in OC-centric works. There’s a preponderance of canon men to choose from for pairings and a perception that the average quality bar is lower on self-insert writing. (As an aside, I suspect this is just Sturgeon’s Law writ large. The top 1% of 200 fics is 2 great ones. The top 1% of 45k fics is 450 great ones including 45 heartbreaking works of staggering genius, and never dipping down past page 20 to find the also-rans.)

I expected this, and was relieved to get some “I usually don’t even click these, but wow, yours is good!” comments, because it meant my summary/tags were reaching at least a few of the larger audience.

2. Batman: I’m writing a Bruce Wayne-centric fic, which is fundamentally less popular in the AO3 Batman fandom than Robin-centric by an impressive margin. (The exceptions are Superbat or Batjokes, see point 1.) I did not expect this.

3. Some Named Dude: There is a thriving little sub-genre of Canon Character/Reader fic! (News to me!) I was initially excited by this potential readership! Which... overwhelmingly focuses on Female Reader characters and likes them as generic as possible to the point of writing “Y/N” (Your Name) instead of giving the character a name or characteristics.

CC/Reader is the preferred tag; it has substantially more works and more kudos per work than CC/Original Character, even when the content is the same down to calling them Y/N.

Ditto CC/Female or Unspecified vs CC/Male.

So my named male original character with a Very Opinionated Queer Identity and big social activist subplot did not get a lot of pickup from that direction.

Strategies that did work and ways that my readership has made me ever so happy and grateful:

A. I am a metadata monster and was very clear with both findable and interesting tags and summary, so anyone who might be willing to give it a chance at least has an attractive cover to consider.

B. It’s long, it has a lot of chapters, and I had a clockwork 3x week update schedule keeping me on or near the front page for four months. Even though new readership has leveled out, I still get about 2 new Kudos per update, someone commenting for the first time about twice a month, and presumably some silent subscriptions I don’t know about.

C. I reply to all comments in the same level of detail and enthusiasm as the commenter, and use that space to give behind-the-scenes info and jokes, like director’s commentary. People have really responded to this; my measurable fanbase has leveled off, but the ones I’ve hooked are steadfast. I have multiple people who comment almost every chapter and our conversations are GREAT. People have also asked me to have opinions on Tumblr and, hello, yes, thank you, you are wonderful for my ego.

I have more than 3x as many comments as kudos, in a sharp reversal of all possible trends. Not so great for search results and hooking later readers, but seriously. I am currently in the top 0.3% of Batman fics sorted by comments and how is that even real. How do I have over 700 comments? Half of them are mine, but that’s true of many thriving comment sections. Sometimes I just go roll around in them and feel happy like a dragon with a hoard.

My heap of comments is more than enough to make me feel proud of the uptake my fic has gotten. Yes, I’m always greedy for kudos because I’m a filthy author and want to be at the top of the search results, but that number going up is a (delicious) one-time rush. Comments I can chew over and over and feel gleeful that I made that connection with someone.

My fic gets marked Complete this Friday. I know many people don’t commit to reading an epic until they know it’s Done, and many people don’t comment until they finish reading a work, so I’m curious how that will affect my stats. (Maybe a few recs? Fingers crossed.)

There is no punchline. I’m writing in a deeply weird niche. My commenters are amazing and I’m grateful to them. This has been a post. 💚

[panharmonium]

@brambleberrycottage tagged me in this - thank you!

Rules: Pick 5 shows, then answer the following questions. Don’t cheat. Tag some people.

Picking the last five things I watched, in reverse order.

Teen Wolf

Merlin

Stranger Things

The Office

The Good Place

[disclaimer: I haven’t finished the third season of Stranger Things or anything past season 4 of Teen Wolf, so please avoid talking to me about anything past those points; thanks!] 

Who is your favorite character in 2?

MERLIN.  NO QUESTION.

Who is your least favorite character in 1?

Right, so, in the first three seasons of Teen Wolf, I love everybody, including the villains (like, Gerard is my least favorite person in terms of ‘he’s awful,’ but he literally is Teen Wolf’s best villain and an amazing character.)  

Season 4, though...I really had trouble with Liam (and his friend - what was his friend’s name?  i’ve only seen this season once, like two/three years ago), because they were so clearly just…copy-pasted versions of Jackson and Danny and I just…was frustrated by it.  It was irritating enough that I couldn’t really emotionally connect with them.

What is your favorite episode of 4?

Oh, geez, just one?  Basically all of Season 7 - Counseling, China, Threat Level Midnight, Sex Ed come to mind as some amazing ones…oh, and Murder and Koi Pond from Season 6.  And I actually adore the first 2/3 of Season 8, which might be an unpopular opinion; I’m not familiar with The Office’s fandom or its critical reception, lol; but The Incentive and Garden Party are two of my favorite episodes.

What is your favorite season of 5?

I don’t think I have one!  They were all consistently good (rare in tv), and I enjoyed them all equally.  

Who is your favorite couple in 3?

Stranger Things is the first time in my life that I watched a piece of media and went, “OT3!”  Nancy/Jonathan vs. Nancy/Steve is nonsense - all three of them make the BEST team ever and I wish they could all just be buddies.

Who is your favorite couple in 2?

None.  I like the canon pairings that we see just fine, but my favorite thing about Merlin is how non-focused on romance its main character is, so I don’t focus on that at all when I watch that show.  

(silly answer - Uther/Catrina XD)

What is your favorite episode of 1?

IMPOSSIBLE.  ughhhhhh um.  In Season 1?  The Tell.  In Season 2?  Battlefields, but barely; I mean, Season 2 of Teen Wolf is honestly just some of the best tv I’ve ever seen all the way through.

What is your favorite episode of 5?

I’ve only watched The Good Place once, so unfortunately I don’t remember the episodes with enough separation to answer this well.  One that stands out to me is the one in Season 2 where Michael has his existential crisis - that was both funny and incredibly poignant.

What is your favorite season of 2?

Season 2 and 3 of Merlin are probably tied for this.

How long have you watched 1?

I started Teen Wolf in 2015…………and I still haven’t finished it, lol.

How did you become interested in 3?

I’d obviously heard the general hype when Stranger Things came out, and I had multiple people at work tell me multiple times that it was exactly the kind of thing I would like.  I believed them; it just took me a really long time to get to it, because I’m slow about TV.

Who is your favorite actor in 4?

Every single person in this show is killing it.  Steve Carrell and Rainn Wilson, though...wow.

Which do you prefer, 1, 2, or 5?

Merlin and Teen Wolf are equally important to me, in different ways, so they’re tied.  The Good Place was more something I just watched for fun (and which I thoroughly enjoyed, but I don’t have the same intimate connection to it).

Which show have you seen more episodes of - 1 or 3?

Teen Wolf.  I’ve watched seasons 1-4.  Stranger Things I’ve only seen the first two seasons.

If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?

Lol, um, I don’t think I would want to be anybody from The Office, exactly.  I just like watching their silliness.

Would a crossover between 3 and 4 work?

Stranger Things x The Office LMAO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT

Pair two characters in 1 who would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple?

I can’t, sorry. XD  My brain just doesn’t work that way.  It has no gas for shipping; it gives up immediately when I try to think about it.  The interest factor is zero. XD

Overall, which show has the better storyline, 3 or 5?

I haven’t finished Stranger Things yet, so I’m not sure I can answer appropriately.  If I were just judging by Season 1 of Stranger Things vs. all four seasons of The Good Place, I would have said they were equal.  But I was really disappointed by Stranger Things’ lack of focus and inconsistent character development in S2, so I’m gonna go with The Good Place, which had a strong story and a clear arc for the entirety of its run.  That show knew exactly where it was going from the very first episode, and you can feel that when you watch it.  I’m not sure Stranger Things has any idea what their ultimate endgame is.

Which has better theme music, 2 or 4?

Merlin vs. The Office - I mean, they basically can’t be compared in any meaningful way.  They’re on two completely separate planes of existence.  Both equally burned into my brain, though.  XD

[janiedean]

gwenspiration self-recs

I was tagged by @jaimebrienneonline​ for this thank you!

sooo, the challenge was:

Taking the idea from the amazing Gwendoline Christie, we should be promoting ourselves and not acting like our creative endeavors are worthless. In that vein, I challenge everyone to blog their favorite of their own works, art, fic, meta, manip, doll story, whatever it may be.

aaand okay so I’m usually really bad at self-reccing so I’ll just go ahead and do a top five fics and a few meta links - this is not necessarily my most read stuff or whatever but if I have to choose in between my own children I will ;) also sticking to asoiaf/jb-centric stuff or it turns into a problem lmao [also I’m not putting some flowers bloom dead on this because I don’t wanna rec stuff I haven’t finished]

in the darkness on the edge of town: (jb, hooker au, explicit content) okay I don’t even know how to put this without sounding ridiculous but I honestly think it’s some of the best writing I put out period and I ended up putting an amount of blood sweat and tears I hadn’t anticipated into it but I loved doing it overall (because I also went and put in it everything I like writing about ngl and yes I have a thing for hooker au and I apparently succeeded in making it feel like a springsteen song so I’m proud of myself thank you) and I’m really happy with how it turned out. also, I gave myself confirmation that if springsteen’s involved my productivity arises.

I'm not a pretty girl, that's not what I do: (jb, brienne-centric with focus on her issues with her looks and femininity) long story short, I didn’t say it in the a/n when I posted this for the spitefic series because I wanted to check the reactions to it but now that it’s been months I can say it: this is the most personal thing I’ve ever put to fic in my entire life including specifically recycling my own childhood experiences into brienne’s and tackling directly 80% of the issues me and her have in common. and I think it came out pretty damn good and I also was flattered with the response I got to it because a lot of people commented about how relatable those issues were and just, this damned fic means a lot to me so have it ;)

conventions and inconveniences of the stage series (theon/robb, jaime/brienne, jonc/brynden tully for now, opera singers au series): okay this is a series so I’m cheating BUT I’m just really attached to all of the fics in it because a) I love opera and I was delighted that people actually read them and liked it regardless of the obscure subjects, b) they gave me the chance to branch out a lot, c) for now I had fics for two ships I dearly love (throbb and jb) and that have meant a lot to me in this fandom AND then the crackship I cultivated with a lot of love and care to which I gave one of my favorite operas in existence and I loved writing each single one of these fics and I think I’ve done a pretty good job with them and sorry but I picked the perfect operas for all of them and I’m dying on that hill. don carlo is 100% the throbb opera and fidelio is 10000% the jb opera you won’t take that from me. ;)

all knights are gallant and all maids are beautiful (jb, side-jc, genderbend): admittedly I wrote this thing out of spite because I hate that people refuse to see that jc is, in fact, a darned abusive dynamic but they wouldn’t say that if the genders were reversed so I went and genderbent all three of them just to prove the damned point of it and other than being very satisfied at how it turned out it was a fairly cathartic exercise to write it because that issue is really sitting badly on my stomach and has been for ages. so yeah I’ll put this one on the list also because ngl I liked writing male!brienne way more than I thought I would and overall I did have a pretty interesting time figuring out how to keep them IC while switching genders and it was in general a very good writing exercise for a lot of things and I think it came out pretty well.

and give all the love that you have in your soul (jb, jonc/omc, jonc/rhaegar, time travel): I thought about reccing something less widely read for the last spot but fuck it I’m going to put this one fic for a lot of reasons as in: a) I actually brewed on it for two years before writing it is2g it was a labor of love, b) I’m extremely proud of myself for having written time travel without losing my shit over the technicalities (I hate writing time travel) and the planning and the likes and I also think it didn’t have plot holes so score for me, c) this is where I admit that I 100% purposefully put jon connington as co-protagonist in here because I love him and I don’t think he gets enough fandom exposure and while I write him more than about anyone else I think until this fic I hadn’t managed to find a large audience for fic where he was a lead, so yes I totally did it because I knew a fic with a jb main pairing would mean more exposure and I was delighted to see that at the end of it people cared about his half of the storyline as much as they cared about the jb half of it. also I think brienne and jonc would be absolutely good potential friends if they met so I really was excited to explore that dynamic and yeah tldr this damned thing was a bitch to write but I loved doing it and I loved the feedback it had so that’s going to be this one.

there, that’s the fic. as far as the meta goes, a lot more quickly (of the meta I have on ao3 because I’m still on dash only) :

Brienne of Tarth and her importance as a literary character & Brienne and Jaime’s relationship: a textual analysis of their journey: I put together these two darned novels of analysis in a single piece that I gave to gwendoline christie at a con once because I felt like I should go there with something that would make clear how much brienne means to me as a character and then I threw in the jb stuff as well because I could. the first piece isn’t as in-depth but again as brienne is the only character I related to as much as I do for those reasons I really felt strongly about that meta subject. the second piece is basically me going through 90% of the relevant moments of jb history in the books and analyzing the shit out of it and not to brag but I like to think it was pretty good text analysis so here you go.

Why a Jaime/Brienne Endgame in the Books Makes More Sense Than One Might Think, Based on Previous Works of GRRM's: one of the things that irks me more about nihilistic/fatalistic readings of these two/of asoiaf is that most people who write them and dismiss jb as not important or not important enough to have overall plot relevance have not actually read grrm’s other books. since I happen to have read most of them and to have seen that he has patterns that are not nihilistic at all, I took the liberty to rant about it.

An Analysis of Jaime's Dream in ASOS: this was when I dissected jaime’s asos dream line by line and while I don’t think it’s particularly groundbreaking information it’s pretty much encompassing 90% of the arguments I use while theorizing about these two/jaime’s issues specifically and I think I worded it well enough, so here we go, that’s the third.

... wow, selling yourself is hard. thanks jbo for the tag!!

aaand as I should tag other people, idk who’s done it already buut I’m gonna tag also not-jb peeps and go for @lordhellebore, @trulilyy @randomingoftherandomness and @lodessa if they want to :)

[lucispietate]

Dear Hurt/Comfort Exchange writer

Hello, fellow writer! First of all, I really want to thank you in advance for taking up the challenge to make something for me, I appreciate it so much. I really enjoy being surprised (especially with pairings where Canon leaves a lot to the imagination and everyone has their own headcanon) so you're absolutely free to write anything you wish and mostly take this letter as suggestions if you need inspiration.

I don't have much to say for likes, I have some fandom specific ones but overall I'm fine with anything. I tend to love heavy introspection, conflicted relationships and angst with an happy ending/bittersweet tone, but I'm really fine with anything. I also want to point out that you're free to combine my tags/prompts however you wish and that while I didn't bother to include "both hurt" for any of these ships, it's absolutely always allowed. As for dislikes: - any kind of dub con and on page rape unless otherwise specified. I can accept harassment and such, but not too graphic - AUs, especially fluffy modern AUs and supernatural ones (Canon divergence within the original universe is fine and encouraged) My only real exception is Romeo and Juliet where I do enjoy modern AUs as long as they still keep the violence/hate/gang war element of the play - sex described in any detail. I'm not bothered by it and I don't mind allusions, jokes or fade to black, but the scenes itself hold no interest for me - cheating (jealousy is fine and so is crushing on more than one person at once with all the guilt it entails, as long as it leads to poly, healthy or not, or stays a frustrated wish) - unrequited love that doesn't get resolved either by the two getting together or the pining person finding their true love - eating disorders or tbh even dwelling on appearance related insecurity is a no no

GOTHAM

I want to preface I'm a DC newbie, so I can't really appreciate crossovers or influence from other media and I wouldn't want futurefic, especially not involving BatCat, I just want to see them as kids For BatCat I would prefer something set between season 1 and the first few episodes of season 3, before they start their weird on/off relationship. The one exception would be the killing for the first time prompt, in relation to what Bruce does in the beginning of season 4, and that horrible plot line with Selina's mom since it's such an ansgt/hurt comfort goldmine . I think canon offers a lot of possibilities with them already, they do a lot of rescuing each other and I'd like anything that is cute and sweet. Something from their time living on the street together would be adorable too.

For Selina/Bridgit I would be happy with anything: a cute moment of them living on the streets as kids, Selina helping Bridgit to work through Dr Strange's conditioning, or something angstier while Bridgit still thinks she's a goddess and Selina her servant and Selina trying to show how much affection as she can while in that framework and things that blur the lines between comfort and act of service/worshipping like washing, taking of care of poor little Bridgit's burns etc.

For Oswald/Ed... Wow, there's so much potential. Any moment from their first meeting, a What If where Oswald regrets his deeds and decides to thaw Ed himself and then nurse him back to health, the two of them adopting Martin... Anything really, I haven't read much on these two

GAME OF THRONES

What I want with Yara/Dany is mostly something to give me joy after that godawful ending. So I would love something set post ending, with Dany being exiled/imprisoned, in a terrible mental state and only Yara who's still loyal/taking care of her. Though also Yara coming to terms with her last brother's death would be something wonderful

SIX OF CROWS

No particular ideas here. Any moment pre—book with them getting hurt in missions, Inej's first kill, the tattoo removal, or something like what happened in the prisoner cart, with Kaz having a serious breakdown and Inej being the only one to notice and try to comfort him, knowing most of her instinctive reactions would make everything worse because of his issues

INHERITANCE CYCLE

Murtagh and Nasuada are my childhood otp and I would honestly squeal to get anything at all about them would make me giggly. I like the idea of an AU where Murtagh is rescued early with baby Thorn in a tow before Galbatorix can completely break them with the torture, or something more emotional/psychological post saga, where they must help each other heal from their Shared Trauma and mental issues they both seem to have in the last few chapters. If and only IF you feel like it, this is the one fandom where I am ok with sexual abuse as a past event as I used to occasionally write Galbatorix as having had a relationship with Morzan in their former days and viewing Murtagh as a replacement in more than one sense.

ROMEO AND JULIET This is somewhat complex. First of all I want to say I made somewhat of a mistake in nominations phase by nominating some d ships as All media types while others nominated some as Shakespeare, but I'm absolutely ok with fic based on Shakespeare or any production of Presgurvic's musical. Exceptions are the 2010 revival and ensuing tour and Takarazuka productions. Also while I said I am okay with AUs here, I'd prefer they not be based on the 1996 movie in aesthetic/characterization, though the stakes/situation of the feud is a good example of what I imagine for modern au. Now going specifically about each of my prompts:

For the Romeo/Juliet ones I mostly want emotional hurt/comfort, either set during their wedding night or in a AU where they manage to leave together. It always bothered me that it's assumed they just went straight to fucking on their wedding night: I love the idea that they, well, somewhat fought over the Tybalt issue, snuggled, comforted each other for their losses and imminent separation and Romeo's obviously very traumatizing murder experience, maybe got to know each other a bit more and shared about their insecurities, their clearly a lot to unpack family baggage... There's lot of potential here. I am very attached to the play, so I do like to believe in them being soulmates/true love rather than a random fling, silly as that is, so I'd like the tone of the whole thing to be according, and I am pretty attached to the canon ages too (almost 14 as per canon for Juliet and please not too much older Romeo) so ofc the no sexual stuff beyond the vaguest throwaway mention rule holds especially true here.

Regarding the Montague boys anything tied to the pretty self explanatory prompts is perfectly fine, either set in the present or as a cute childhood flashback. I would definitely appreciate some kind of AU where they all live but are badly hurt or mentally scarred in the course of the events Now, for the various combinations of Benvolio/Mercutio/Tybalt... again, plenty of self explanatory tags. I think these three characters and which tags would best fit which of them are very dependent on personal headcanons and I don't want to limit that at all, especially for individual relationships as opposed to the ot3. I'm definitely very interested in exploring the dynamics of their love triangle and possible polyamory and the obvious hurtful effects it has, (I generally see Mercutio as the center with Benvolio and Tybalt somewhat disliking each other at the beginning, though that can absolutely change, later! ) jealousy, feeling of inferiority by each of the boys, guilt, abandonment issues, the like. My first instinct is to imagine Bencutio as together and Tycutio as bitter exes who may or may not go for another round at any moment, but the reverse or any other combination of Drama is fine too. I also love scenarios, for either individual ships or ot3, that explore the effect of the feud on their lives: someone having to be nursed back to health after a duel gone too far, someone being traumatized by their first serious act of violence, the unrealistic expectations/responsibility/toxic masculinity Tybalt and Benvolio are loaded by their families and so on. An AU where Mercutio survives the duel but is very badly hurt and Tybalt is guilt stricken by his own deed and starts to realize his feelings for him as he helps take care of him would be lovely.