#Nathaniel is not the main character

[mauvesockss]

obsessed with how ofmd handled the introduction of more female characters(!) and, in an effort to avoid bloating the cast, the departure of a few male ones

one guy gets willingly absorbed into the polycule of a minor antagonist, and another becomes one with his true love(The Sea™) by turning into a fucking bird

#ofmd #nathaniel buttons #the swede ofmd #text #my post #its The Perfect Way to get them out of the main story #while still leaving room for them to return if the narrative(or lbr characters) call for it! #chefs kiss on how to handle the 'no lady characters' problem #also terfs no touchy shoo

[stabbyfoxandrew]

jeaneil with 32…… if you get the vibes…… if you’re still taking these!!!

32. A kiss while someone watches

Nathaniel never really saw the point of kissing until he was brought to the nest. Or rather, until the first time Jean Moreau backed him up against the wall of their shared dorm during an argument. With his head craned back to look up at his new partner, he’d been equal parts confused and surprised when the argument ended abruptly with Jean’s mouth against his.

That was years ago though. And now Nathaniel very much understands the appeal. Especially when Jean gets creative. He tilts his head back to let his partner kiss up his neck and hears a choked gasp from across the room. On Jean’s bed sits Kevin, the only other person Nathaniel’s ever enjoyed kissing. 

Kevin found out about them a few months ago and now one of his pastimes is ditching Riko to come here and watch. Sometimes he joins in, but not tonight. He’s not allowed. He pissed Jean off in practice earlier and when you piss off Jean, you piss off Nathaniel. That’s how they work. They’re a pair, a set. Partners in every meaning of the word.

But Nathaniel is almost inclined to forgive Kevin his stupidity now, because just look at him. His eyes are smoldering emeralds and locked on Nathaniel’s face, some emotion plastered over his own. He’d never apologize in a million years, Nathaniel doesn’t think he knows how. He doesn’t need to know the words, he’s never wrong. Or so he believes.

Suddenly Jean’s knee shifts between his legs and Nathaniel groans loudly before his sense comes back to him. He freezes for a beat, his heart pounding in his chest. They have to keep quiet, because if anyone heard… They would be split up.

That cannot happen. Nathaniel clamps his hand over his mouth as his partner sucks away at his neck and Kevin makes some sort of sound. Finally, Jean raises his head and looks across the room. He swallows, his adam’s apple bobbing in a way that makes Nathaniel want to catch it with his teeth and rip it out. Jean looks from Kevin to Nathaniel and raises a brow. Nathaniel blinks twice, yes.

Jean smiles and nods before gesturing at Kevin. “Get over here and shut him up, would you?”

Kevin is off the bed in an instant, coming to kneel beside the bed and capture Nathaniel’s mouth with his own. A few seconds and Jean is pulling Kevin towards him. He kisses him and Nathaniel lays back, watching with rapt attention until they part— both panting. After a moment, Jean leans in close to Kevin and whispers something to the striker, who nods.

“Yeah, I’ll keep him quiet.”

"Believe me, it's easier said than done." Jean says back, then he's reaching for Nathaniel's waistband.

#jeanneil #kevjean #kevneil #kevjeanneil #lol i am so gay #i'm quite tempted to keep writing this... #(btw in case i wasn't great at getting the point across: they're about to fuck nathaniel like he's the main character of life) kldgjlsjgs #my writing #answered #anon #ask games

[citrusbugz]

Oh yeah, I had a Marcaniel KwamiSwap! AU. *redesigns them*

#crimson lily au #marcaniel #marcnath #nathaniel kurtzberg #marc anciel #miraculous ladybug #mlb #mlb nathaniel #mlb marc #kwami swap #character design #alternate universe #Actually actually. I never forgot about them #I had a fanfic in the works some weeks ago but i fell off on miraculous #I might pick it back up and create a sideblog to post it (I lowkey am just cringed abt posting it on my main. Not the best writing)

[alinacapellabooks]

IT'S FINALLY HERE! THE TENGU AND THE ANGEL IS OUT NOW!

Hello, hello, hello, everyone, I have some very exciting news to share with you all! The Tengu And The Angel, my debut novel, is now finally available to buy! That's right, you can now get your very own copy of my fluffy, angsty, gay friends-to-lovers novel! Oh, but why would you want to, you might be asking? What's the book about! Great questions, my friends, and I'll answer them both for you right now!

The Tengu And The Angel is a friends-to-lovers romance about two roommates falling in love, and learning to let go of their pasts. Eighteen year old Kunio Yoshioka has just fled his abusive mother's home in Northampton, and he's journeying up north in search of a new home, and a fresh start in life. He's armed with nothing but his dreams of being a successful artist, and his vivid imagination. He thinks of his new adult self as a tengu; strong, proud, and capable of things his child self could only dream of. Twenty year old Nathaniel seems to have it all; he's gorgeous, he lives in a beautiful apartment in the centre of Newcastle, and he's the owner and founder of Black Rose, a Victorian gothic online boutique. Kunio thinks of him as angel; he's faultlessly polite and kind, and he goes above and beyond to help him when they first meet, even though he doesn't know him. He's also painfully insecure, and he lives under the thumb of his toxic 'best friend', Theo, who uses his mental illness to control him. When Nathaniel takes Kunio in, the two form a close friendship, which slowly blossoms into love. Can the two of them learn to put their pasts behind, and make their relationship work? Well, you're going to have to read it to find out! Get your copy from Rakuten Kobo, or from the Amazon Kindle Store below!

#writing #thetenguandtheangel #writeblr #alina capella #queerbooks #kunioyoshioka #nathanielbythesea #books #kunio #nathaniel #romance #lgbt #friends to lovers #mlm novel #debut novel #poc main character #poc love interest #asian mc #japanese mc #disabled mc #black love interest #black representation #black british #canon demiromantic character #fluff #angst #angst with a happy ending #roommates #my writing #my book

[pegging-satan]

If you’d told me that I’d be shipping a bunch of classic lit authors with each other say like, a year ago, I would’ve laughed in your face

#thank you Bungou stray dogs #normally I don’t ship real people but like this is just characters named after authors and also they’re dead so #it’s so funny hearing things out of context though like imagine being completely clueless abt this piece of media #and someone says ‘so then Nathaniel Hawthorne partnered up with fyodor Dostoyevsky and Nikolai Gogol because he was in love with #Margaret Mitchell and also at some point John Steinbeck was partners with hp lovecraft and they were in love n shit and then #f scott Fitzgerald shows up and he gathers up all the Americans because he wants to take over the Japan lit scene for his wife for whatever #reason I forgot his motives because i was too focused on everything else but the plot but anyways so then there’s this little partnership #going on between Edgar Allan Poe and his Japanese counterpart Ranpo edogawa and they’re like rivals but also quite fond of each other and #they’re very wholesome and it’s all fun and games #and then there’s the main ship of the series that’s Osamu Dazai and Chuuya Nakahara and they’re like so in love and they hate each other but #they’re also in love and then the same dynamic is shared by their mentees akutagawa and atsushi nakajima and then at some point we get clues #that the same dynamic was shared between their bosses as well and mori ougai and fukuzawa yukichi are also in love because we said so I mean #basically any ship here can and will be canon no matter what and anyways so then they all meet and then fuck shit up <3 #is fanfiction abt your favourite authors put in situations <3 #.txt #bsd #bungou stray dogs

[blue-eli]

@khoc-week I am late I am very late-

Day one: Introductions!

Nathaniel Ezra Wyatt: a scholar, magic user, and very concerned adult. His home world (Hyrule, yes he is technically an LoZ oc as well shhh) fell only a year or so after Radiant Garden’s fall, when he was around 37, and he found himself in Traverse Town. He ended up bonding with the group from RG who were living there (Cid, Leon, Aerith, Cloud, and Yuffie) and found himself part of their little patchwork family. He is, despite looking like an pretentious old librarian, quite outgoing, and loves hearing peoples stories. He is also quite parental by nature, and keeps on finding himself adopting any stray child soldier he comes across (why are there so many-), and co-parenting the RG kids with Cid. After Maleficent was defeated in kh1 he made the decision to go with to Hollow Bastion with the gang instead of staying in Traverse Town or hoping to find himself back in Hyrule. He’s settled into Radiant Garden quite permanently now, and spends most of his time helping his family rebuild it. :)

#khocweek2023 #Nathaniel Ezra Wyatt #kh oc #kingdom hearts oc #kingdom hearts original character #kingdom hearts #blue boi draws #kh ocs #kh oc week #Ezra my beloved #because this isn’t coloured it’s hard to tell but: my mans wears a lot of brown #he has brown hair brown eyes brown skin all his clothes are some shade of brown #it’s kinda a inside joke at this point. Sora actually points it out and then gets him little colourful pins #(ala the one you can get at Disney parks) #to ‘give his wardrobe more colour’. Jokes on him because Nathaniel is actually very touched by this and wears them around a lot #and WILL tell people his son got them for him :))) also this made him double down on everything else he wears just being brown #it’s tradition at this point any world Sora goes to he’ll look for a pin to buy for Ezra. I imagine if he was a real character in the games #they’d be a type of collectible you could get. #just realised I straight up did not mention in the main bit that he has basically adopted Sora as his kid yeah that’s his son now #look at how cool and talented his son is he loves him very much. straight up originally made Ezra based on the idea of ‘what if Sora had an #adult in his life who was very openly amazed by how powerful and talented and skilled he is and told him that’ because gods know Sora needs #someone like that in his life. Wyatt’s Sora has less self esteem issues then canon Sora because every time he visits Ezra he’ll tell him #what he’s been doing and show him any spells he’s learned and Ezra will be like ‘that’s amazing you should be proud of yourself I am proud #of you good job you’re doing amazing’ and ‘that’s fucked up you don’t deserve that shit you deserve so much better’ and is very validating #Ezra is found usually by a training area where you can show him whatever cool moves you know and he will be amazing and talk to you about #how you learned this stuff and then give you a biscuit and some tea or something #we love him Ezra’s great

[zurazakis]

ok ive finished the dlc so now i can properly say my least favourite thing about dragon age awakening is that the women feel like an afterthought & don't fit in the group at all. & i want to care about them & their banter so much. but i really don't because the game is giving me fucking nothing

#dragonageposting #IM SO FUCKING UPSET ABOUT THIS. i was thinking abt it so hard last night. #(crying) please join my polycule why wont you fit in my polycule videogame why didnt you let the women fit in my polycule #it doesnt help that anders & oghren's banter w them is insufferable. especially oghren #sigrun is SUCH a sweetheart & i adore her i really do but her & velanna are just so... lacking compared to everyone else #& it's by design! & i fucking hate that it is! #did i fuck up something? did i miss quests that would've made them better? even then i don't know if it would fix the issue #with oghren you already know him beforehand hes got a whole plotline & everything in origins so its like. it fits within the plot #anders shows up at the centre of the main plotline. at the start too. he integrates himself as part of the group very easily bc of that #nathaniel also has very good reason to be there! you killed his father! he hates your guts but hes not a bad person! he has depth! #he is given the opportunity to fit in a group whose leader he comes in loathing #justice would be part of the 'you're making it hard for me to care abt this character' group if i didnt know abt him showing up in da2 prob #but even then his quest just. felt longer. he was given more to do than both velanna & sigrun #not only that but hes a spirit possessing a corpse which makes his deal very unique #i was elated to meet sigrun bc i love the legion of the dead but they just. didn't give her much. #& the whole thing w velanna wrt seranni is like;.. barely touched on. i was so disappointed the quest was so short #the women are just given nothing compared to the men & i fucking hate it i wanna care about them so bad. i want to care. so bad. #they didnt even allow me to have either of them do their joining like??? what?? it mightve been a glitched thing or w/e but?? #i was just forced into the climax of the game without either of them doing their joining. and it fucking sucked #idk the later parts of awakening feel rushed. like they didnt plan to actually wrap it up & had to do it hastily. #the beginning was so interesting & i was genuinely having such a good time but by the end of it i was just tired #we barely got anything on the architect i was also hyped for him but then it was kind of nothing.

[angelamontoo]

Which Lorre characters (besides Joel and Herman) do you headcanon as lgbtq+? I personally see The General as pansexual, Lorentz being queer and having a relationship with Professor Billings after the events of the film, and Polo gives off he/they energy to me lol

Oooh good question! Short answer is that tbh, all of them

As someone who doesn't really have any preference towards any gender, I like the idea of pretty much every Lorre character either being similarly indifferent to their potential partners gender or gay. Very big agree about Arthur being queer. Not only do I think he and Nathaniel went on to have a relationship, I've long held the belief that since they've known eachother, they've bounced around from being friends, to rivals, to lovers, to bitter exes, to friends again, to business partners, to enemies, to friends with benefits, to frenemies with benefits and on and on it goes

I like the idea of Fenninger being gay and either being in a relationship with both Mainwaring and Saliano or only mainwaring and Saliano is just kinda there as a third wheel lol

Very interesting about Polo being He/they. Personally, I don't tend to come up with my own original trans headcanons very much since I'm cis and I'm worried about being disrespectful, but I love seeing others trans and gender related HCs for Petes characters and other characters from his films. The biggest exception to that rule is Mr Munsey, who I kinda like to imagine as being transmasc or gender fluid and maybe the reason Hager didn't immediately recognise him despite their obvious history is that he didnt present/identify as male for any of the time that Hager originally knew him

#peter lorre #the boogieman will get you #dr arthur lorentz #professor nathaniel billings #i was an adventuress #polo #the left first of David #mr munsey #leaving it in the tags cause hes not a peter character #but one character who i tend to consistently view as transmasc after seeing a couple people HC him as such is Wilmer #idk it kind of ties in to the lore of a tmf oc of mine whos a trans guy named henry who wilmer can then kind of be a role model towards #and since i already like the idea of joel being the closest thing to a good caregiver in wilmers life #i like the idea of him being immediately supportive of wilmers transition and being the first person to really let wilmer know that there #other people like him out there #(i dont necessarily see joel as trans but as a wordly queer man i imagine him being familiar with people of all genders and orientations) #also ofc i see effie as a lesbian and brigid as attracted to all genders #i also kinda see brigid as transfemme but not as consistently as i imagine wilmer being transmasc #every main character in aaol is bi(especially mortimer even if hes scared to admit it) #kinda wanna say irana and ann bulic are both saphicc cause both their segments made me want them to find happiness again #so why not kill two birds with one stone by pairing them up lol #youll find out #professor karl fenninger #judge spencer mainwaring #prince saliano #the secret agent #the hairless mexican

[narrativedoomed]

nathaniel

#nathaniel: in character. #nathaniel: main (1). #nathaniel: main (2). #nathaniel: main (3). #nathaniel: study. #nathaniel: aesthetic. #nathaniel: headcanons. #nathaniel: dash games. #nathaniel: edits. #nathaniel: open starter. #nathaniel: visage. #nathaniel: physique. #tag dump.

[ashfordlabs]

🪄

send me a 🪄 to get a song lyric I am not normal about

so come on, one and all to see the apathy / the reams of gray stencils that fill the tapestry / i look to all of you and see a different fucking species / aspiration for a different destination to me / across the pennines, there's a thin blue line, a knife and a mall / i would do something, if it wasn't all so effortful / 'cause i'm so high, my brain can't even look at the fall / and when you've reached the top there's nowhere else to go but─

THE FALL, LOVEJOY.

#BILLIE * / ramblings. #fun fact: that is what inspired nathaniel ashford #the whole song is a massive inspiration for cb and nathaniel #but that part is the main bit #so don't mind me tagging the bitch himself #CHARACTER * / nathaniel ashford.

[canonicallyobserving911]

9-1-1: Season 7

After season 6 ended, I said I wasn't going to speculate for Season 7 and I'm not but I am going to post what I hope is included in it.

Season 6 ended so poorly that at this point, I think all they can do is (to quote Eddie Diaz) "Do More" to be better.

My only hope is they make some groundbreaking TV like they did in seasons 2 & 3 instead of relying on storylines they copied and pasted from other shows (how many shows have there been that had a sperm donor storyline 🙄).

Stop forcing the narrative.

Stop giving new recurring characters more screen time than those who have been on the show for years. Karen and Denny have been on the show since the beginning, Linda, Sue and Josh have been there since season 2 and Ravi's been there since season 4. The cast is already robust so no new recurring characters are needed. Here's an idea, it would be great if 9-1-1 uses the mains they keep sidelining intstead of inserting new people like LD (which was an epic fail). Bobby, Chimney and Eddie are mains but they barely got any storylines in season 6.

It would be great if all the main cast members got an equal amount of storylines like they did in earlier seasons.

Can the opening emergency last for two to three episodes like the ones included in seasons 2-4 because the one in 6x1 lasted until the first commercial break and then it was over?

Don't kill off a main character or send one of them away for shock value because it usually doesn't work.

Can at least one of them get a job promotion? They've all been doing the same job since the beginning.

For the love of all things beneficial, please don't make a musical episode (in an interview the showrunner mentioned it would be easier but if they do this they'll end up like Grey's and it'll be ridiculous. Who wants to watch first responders singing while they work? 😕 I don't!).

Please let Bobby and Athena be happy empty nesters for a change instead of throwing more trauma at them because they've suffered enough.

Give Hen and Karen the screen time they deserve and let them remind Nathaniel he said he would follow their lead in 2x5 but he didn't.

Don't drag the Madney wedding out for several episodes like they did their proposal.

Can Chris get a storyline of his own? Denny had one that lasted for 4 episodes so why can't Chris get one too?

Finally, can they just make Buddie CANON already? It's been too long and it's time for Buck and Eddie to be happy. Stop throwing random women at them because it's exhausting to watch and no one wants to watch repeat versions of B/T with B/N and E/A with E/M. If they won't let them be happy together then let them be single because there are happy single people in the world.

#911 on abc #911 abc #eddie diaz #evan buckley #christopher diaz #may grant #athena grant #bobby nash #chimney han #hen wilson #buddie #henren #madney #bathena #maddie buckley #911 meta #911 spoilers #Anti natalia dollenmeyer #Anti MARISOL #911 season 7

[joydemorra]

Do you ever start something as a joke and lose complete control over your life?

In a world of dwindling hope, love has never mattered more... [read the full blurb here]

What is Hunger Pangs?

Hunger Pangs, often shortened to “Phangs” by the self-proclaimed phangdom, is my debut romance novel, published in Nov 2020, featuring a deaf, disabled werewolf, a neurodivergent, mad scientist vampire, and an all-powerful enchantress who is the last of her kind.

It is the first book in a slow-burn, polyamorous gaslamp fantasy romance series focusing on the relationship(s) and antics of the three main characters, Nathan Northland, Vlad Blutstein, and Lady Ursula, as they work to save the world they love from imminent magical and ecological disaster.

The first book primarily focuses on the relationship between Nathan and Vlad, with Ursula heavily alluded to in the next book (Pride and Folly) via some shameless flirting and stolen, impulsive kisses.

No love triangles here. Just three highly competent, world-saving bisexuals sharing the same brain cell the closer they get to each other.

There are two editions of the novel. The Flirting with Fangs edition depicts on-page sexual acts, and the Fluff and Fangs edition which uses alternative scenes/fade-to-black scenes for those who prefer not to read depictions of sex. You can read more about why I decided to do this here.

How Did Phangs come to be?

Like most things on my blog, the original concept began as a joke. My friend and enabler, @jeneelestrange, and I were talking about our least favorite tropes in romance/erotica, including but not limited to toxic “alpha” werewolves, brooding stalker vampire boyfriends, and the absolute profound bullshit that is the Conflicted Love Triangle and Bury Your Gays.

Eventually, it culminated in this post:

(source)

It was meant to be a joke. I really cannot emphasize this enough. It was meant to be a shitpost between friends.

A throwaway ADHD impulse.

Tumblr, however, wanted more of these posts, and like a swarming mass of drift-compatible rats in a trench coat, grabbed hold of my lack of impulse control and Ratatouille'd me into becoming an international bestselling author, and, well, here we are.

I also started writing the series while dying, which I highly do not recommend as a functional creative process.

Absolutely do not start a 500k five-part novel series about love and hope while dying from an undiagnosed genetic disorder. Or if you do, make sure you actually die so you don't have to edit the damn thing. (I am mostly kidding.)

What are the themes/tropes/character dynamics of the book?

In the simplest of terms, Phangs is a queer-polyamorous-paranormal-satirical-romance series featuring vampires, werewolves, and all other manner of creatures that go bump in the night.

It is set in a pseudo-regency meets fake-Victorian Gaslamp Fantasy world, complete with gothic castles, enchanted forests, and just a smidge of industrial coal dust.

Style-wise, Phangs has been described by readers as "like reading the queer, goth love child of Terry Pratchett meets Jane Austen," and I've never been more proud of anything in my life.

If Game of Thrones ascribes to the idea that the night is dark and full of terrors, Phangs is the monster-fucker politely sidling up to them at the bar and asking if they can buy them a drink.

It is also primarily a love letter to fandom, which has led some people to believe it’s fanfiction with the serial labels filed off. But as the person who spent five years agonizing over the world-building, I can assure you this is all very much the product of my weird little ADHD brain picking up tropes, shaking them upside down, and running off with whatever fun and interesting things shake loose.

As already stated, the first book, True Love Bites, focuses primarily on the relationship between Captain Nathaniel J. Northland and Viscount Vlad Blutstein.

The first part of the book primarily focuses on Nathan coming home injured from war and trying to find his place in the world as newly deaf and disabled -- something which alienates him from his werewolf family, who don't know what to do with an injury that can't be mended by a full moon.

While working on the island of Eyrie, he encounters Viscount Blutstein -- Vlad-- a neurodivergent, mad scientist dandy vampire with an enthusiasm for demonic botany and a streak of unfailing kindness as broad and expansive as the sky.

It's not so much love at first sight for the pair as instantaneous lust hampered by the restrictions of polite 1880 society and old ingrained prejudices that make them think the other couldn't possibly be interested in them that way. They're just misreading all those heartfelt stares and sexually charged chess games.

(The love is requited, your honor, they're just idiots.)

Both characters are explicitly queer/mspec, as is Ursula, who drops into their world like a magical atom bomb going off, but not before she spends her own parts of the book desperately trying to figure out what manner of dark entity is killing the magical shrines around the world that keep the world alive.

Thematically, the series touches on many things, but the book’s overriding theme is love. Romantically, of course, and love between families, both found or otherwise. But also love as an act of courage. As a choice. An act of defiance in dark and troubling times, and what it means to be loved and belong even though you’re different.

Especially when you’re different.

And I really fucking hope you enjoy it.

To read the full synopsis and check out the heat ratings, buy links and content tags, go to www.joydemorra.com

#hunger pangs: true love bites #info post #Hunger Pangs master post

[talesofely]

— Desired Reality (Vigilantes - characters)

A Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader Series

Summary : Six people who claimed to be from another universe arrived at the Avengers Tower out of nowhere. The fact that the group of people—NOVA—are essentially Avengers clones only serves to further complicate matters. The only unmistakable distinction between them is that they are of opposing sexes. How will things play out for the two groups of superhumans?

Series Masterlist - Main Masterlist

Vigilantes - New Characters

★-★-★-★-★

— Y/n Dawn Maximoff

★-★-★-★-★

— Nathaniel Alister Romanoff

★-★-★-★-★

— Stephanie Grace Rogers

★-★-★-★-★

— Clarissa Francesca Barton

★-★-★-★-★

— Antoinette Edelle Stark

★-★-★-★-★

— Theodora Odinson

★-★-★-★-★

— Roxanne Brielle Banner

#natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff x fem!reader #natasha x reader #natasha romanoff x you #natasha romanov #ely !! ★ #gay gay gay #by ely !! ★ #desired reality by ely

[imsparky2002]

Coward and Proud of It

(Nathaniel is drawing in his sketchbook after another akuma attack, and notices his classmates looking embarassed, their faces riddled with guilt.)

Nathaniel: Why do you guys look like that?

Alix: Dude, we’re such horrible friends! We forgot about you again!

(He looked confused. She sounded sincere, but why?)

Rose: I can’t believe we left you behind! We’re supposed to look out for each other!

Nathaniel: Uh, what are you talking about?

Nino: We didn’t go back to look for you dude! We were too busy saving our own skins. (He looks ashamed. Nathaniel realizes what’s going on.)

Nathaniel: Are you talking about the last akuma attack? You think you abandoned me?

Kim: Yeah! You were nowhere to be found. Weren’t you looking for us?

Nathaniel: Uh... no? Guys, you didn’t leave me behind. I left you.

(The entire class gasps in shock.)

Chloe: What are you on about, Kurtzberg?!

(He just rolls his eyes at the girl.)

Nathaniel: Whenever I am able to do so, I slip away from you guys. Afterall, Akumas seem to have a magnet for our group. And the best way to avoid getting killed is to lay low, away from the source.

Adrien: You make it sound like we’re a liability to you!

Nathaniel: *Bluntly* You are. You all run around like headless chickens, instead of ducking for cover and keeping your heads down. If this were a zombie apocalypse, you’d fail horribly. Well, except for Adrien and Marinette. Somehow you two always manage to avoid the brunt of the attacks. Not to mention you’ve never been akumatized yourselves. Main character energy if I’ve ever seen it.

Marinette: Yeah... that’s the reason. *Internally sweating*

Max: Nathaniel, you make up one fourteenth of a group. I am pretty sure we’d realize if you had abandoned us.

Nathaniel: Well, Max, for a guy with such a high iq, you clearly weren’t smart enough the other four times I did it.

Alya: Hold on a second, you’ve left us FIVE TIMES?!

(Nathaniel nods. He doesn’t understand why everyone seems so surprised.)

Nathaniel: You make it sound like it’s such a hard thing to do. When you’re all freaking out like that, it’s easy for a quiet guy like me to slip away.

Alix: (Talking about the Art Club Squad) But every time we texted you in the group chat, you acted like you were trying to find us. You even said you understood how panicked we got.

Nathaniel: Yeah, I was lying. You think I’m gonna reveal my escape plans? Then you’ll wanna join me, and I can’t have anyone from this class, even my friends, putting a target on my back via association.

Juleka: *Mumbling* Ouch, dude.

Chloe: Hmph! Well if you’re so elusive, tell us how on earth a nobody like you managed to survive all these attacks.

Nathaniel: Why should I tell you? You’d just try to join me next time.

(Rose uses her puppy dog eyes, and he caves.)

Nathaniel: Alright, fine. But I’m not taking any of you next time, you hear me?

(They grumble and nod.)

Nathaniel: Ok, Stormy Weather was pretty easy. All I had to do was avoid Alec, head home to my house, shut all the windows, lock the doors, hide under the bed, and done. For some reason, Akumas usually attack anyone unlucky enough to be outside. If they don’t have a specific victim in mind that is.

(The classmates all mutter in agreement. He had a point.)

Nathaniel: Next up was Guitar Villain, and once again you all ran off together, not even thinking of splitting up. And it seems none of you got the idea of just pretending to like the music. That’s what I did, just copied what I saw Ivan doing in class the day before, and headbanged like there was no tomorrow. I find the music to be cringe as all hell, not to mention the singer’s a deadbeat dad with an obviously fake English accent, but I had to fake it to make it.

Juleka: *Muttering* He really is a scumbag.

Nathaniel: Then there was Frightingale. I didn’t escape by myself, since I got a helping hand from a certain cute writer who I had been in the music video with. Turns out we had both been crushing on the other for awhile, and finally had the courage to ask eachother out. He took me to a safespot with the other kids in Mendeliev’s class, they took a liking to me, since I actually bothered to ask about their lives. You do realize that the kids besides Marc, Mireille, Jean and Aurore have names right?

Marinette: Of course we did!

Nathaniel: Really, what are they?

(The class is unable to even come up with a guess.)

Sabrina: Uh...

Nathaniel: That’s what I thought. Anyway, Zombizou was my favorite. Me and the Science kids got to kick love-zombie ass, and in order to avoid suspicion, Marc and I kept making out whenever they were near. It was so awesome! (He blushes before getting back on topic.) So yeah. You guys never abandoned me, I abandoned you. And before you say anything, no, I’m not sorry.

Alix: *Looking forlorn* But dude... we’re your friends!

Nathaniel: Well, you are. Most of the Art Squad is, but the rest of you only interact with me if you need something for your ships. You realize I’m an accomplished cartoonist, right? The Ladybug comic I work on with Marc is a huge success. I’m just as important as the rest of you!

Kim: Dude, we aren’t saying you’re not.

Nathaniel: Well I wasn’t important enough for any of you to notice I was being bullied by Chloe?

Chloe: Oh please, Kurtzberg. You got off easy.

Marinette: She made everyone’s life bad, Nathaniel. Not just yours!

Nathaniel: When you get bullied, everyone coddles you. When I get humiliated in front of the class, nobody besides my art friends came to comfort me, to explain to me why I got akumatized, why I was right to feel angry about what happened. Marc’s class also took the time to explain to me how it was creepy to write my self-insert being in love with a real classmate. They’re the reason I apologized to you, Marinette.

Chloe: Well if they’re so cool, then why don’t you join them!

Mylene: Chloe! We wouldn’t want that! Nathaniel’s our friend!

Nathaniel: Actually, that’s what I plan on doing next year. No offense, but I can only tolerate like half of you. I’d rather be with a class that actually recognizes my value, that takes the time to ask how I’m doing. If that makes me a background character in your world, so be it.

(He gets up and sees Marc waiting for him.)

Nathaniel: I’m not some helpless little lamb that gets lost whenever there’s an akuma. I’m a survivor, a coward, and I’m proud of it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna make out with my boyfriend.

(He smirks as he sees each classmate with their jaw on the floor.)

Turns out our Nath wasn’t abandoned after all. He’s just an escape artist. This felt so cathartic to write, and I hope you enjoyed it. As usual, let me know your thoughts in reblogs, replies, posts, and asks. @artzychic27 @msweebyness 

#nathaniel kurtzberg #nathaniel #nathmarc #comedy #class salt #nathaniel sugar #they aren't all assholes #chloe salt #marinette salt #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #canon salt #smart nath

[cryptocism]

I love the comic book writing sensibility that Frequency has, like how Three and Five's ending is great for the story being told but if it were a published comic it would still leave them on the table for if a future writer wanted to use them.

whats funny is that despite doing my best to keep in line with dc comics/comic writing sensibilities throughout the fic (staying as comics-accurate as possible in terms of continuity/tone/characterization/story elements etc) that particular comic writing reality was one that was like. kind of a genuine anxiety that i didn't know i had until i started writing this thing.

ive said before that in the original concept for Frequency all of the clones (besides Thad) were going to end up dead. whether it was via killing each other or unintentionally being the instrument of their own demise (disney villain style). obviously it changed because creating an entire narrative about this one character's redemption arc and then not allowing any of the other villains to have a shot at redemption felt hypocritical and like. mean. not to mention antithetical to the whole ethos of the story.

but the reason why killing off all the other clones was my first instinct is partially because i had this kinda subconscious recoil to the idea that any of them would actually continue on after the story was over.

like, because i was trying to stick to canon so much, while figuring out the story a thought came up a couple times that basically went like, "okay, well, if this was a real comic, then...". and inevitably i had a realization that if this WAS a real comic, my original clone characters would be canonized, and therefore available to any future writer who wanted to yank them out of their respective endgames and inject them into other stories. which i Did Not Like the Idea Of.

classic "making up a guy to get mad at" except it was more "making up a reality to get anxious about". because obviously no matter how much it sticks to canon, Frequency still exists in a fan-created space.

but! i'd never made up original characters to put in my own fanmade stuff before and was definitely feeling protective. because all those original clones i made had yknow: a story purpose and narrative function to facilitate the actual key characters, Thad and Bart. the idea of them being removed from that context in any capacity, even if it was in the hands of a good writer, made me have this gut "no STOP you're ruining it!!!!" reaction.

they were all made for Frequency, and to foil Thad as a character, i didnt like the idea of Three being brought back as a one-note villain or Jude and Nathaniel getting folded into the wider Flash cast of allies. and none of them were made to be main character material. plus the character roster at DC is already uhh Extremely Stacked i genuinely did not want the takeaway to be "and here's the nEW ADDITIONS TO THE FLASH FAMILY!" because that wasnt the intention

anyway i got over it lol. i still did my best not to leave any loose ends, and have each ending be wholly satisfying on its own, and ideally the oc clones basically continue on offscreen while the true adventures are based around Thad and Bart. but yeah it felt right to leave off on that note (and served the story much better than killing everybody off)

#duke-nitro #asks #realizing that i felt kinda defensive about Literally The Hypothetical Nonexistent Possibility of other ppl writing my characters... wild #like genuinely very surprising i did not think i was that precious about original characters #especially OCs created for an existing universe that i did not also make up #what probably helped was all the cool fanart i kept seeing of frequency #and seeing other people make their own AUs either based directly off of Frequency “lore” or based on the Multiple Clone AU #u gotta realize when you're taking your fun machine too seriously #like chill its fun dude we're just playing in the space #otherwise u end up committing to stuff that would ruin the story ie killing all your original characters #to safeguard against the hypothetical nonexistent possibility of other people writing those characters #''oh you'd rather smother your baby than see it raised by someone else? #well my name is solomon and i have a sword with an innovative solution to your paternity problem'' #anyway thank you yeah i think it worked out

[marrogerson]

Hi Margaret,

I absolutely adore Sorcery of Thorns. As an aspiring writer, I wanted to ask you how you started worldbuilding? The world just seemed so lively and detailed, just as if it was real. While reading I imagined it like in the Victorian era, were there special things you researched? Worldbuilding just seems so daunting to me.

Sending you all the best wishes, and I‘m waiting patiently and excited for new stories from you :)

Hi anon,

Thank you for the lovely ask. I was also daunted by worldbuilding when I started trying to write books. (Key word, trying... my attempts didn't work out too well for the first few years.) Since this is turning out to be a longer post, I'll put the rest under a cut.

Initially, the thing I struggled with the most was having a great idea for a world, fleshing it out, and then trying to populate it with characters and an interesting plot. This worldbuilding-first strategy works for some writers I think, but it didn't for me. I personally had a breakthrough when I started instead focusing on creating the main characters/their central conflict first, and then constructing the worldbuilding around them to support the story's needs. For example, the premise of the magic system in Sorcery of Thorns (sorcerers who summon demon servants at great personal cost) was one that I created specifically to facilitate the angst between Nathaniel and Silas.

I always say that I don't consider myself much of a researcher, but then I glance across my desk and see the stack of books that I ordered secondhand from Ebay because they're no longer in print. If you're writing in a similar time period, I highly recommend The Victorian City by Judith Flanders (this one is still in print and easy to find). The most curious one (to me at least) is probably The Victorian Bathroom Catalogue which is a book full of historical advertisements including illustrations of old bathroom fixtures.

My best advice when it comes to research—if it's something you struggle with—is to try reading things that are fun, which you would enjoy reading anyway even if you didn't have a reason. The most useful research I've ever done was just-for-fun reading that I did not realize was important research until much later. Forgive my weird analogy, but all that reading turns into sort of a yeast culture in the fridge of your brain, which you can draw from when needed instead of having to go searching for yeast every time you need it. And the yeast culture will also creep into your bedroom at four in the morning, and whisper tantalizing ideas into your ear... ok, let's stop there.

The nice thing about writing fantasy is that you don't need to sweat the small stuff. Just worry about writing a fun story first.

Some of my favorite specific topics that I've researched online lately include elevators in the first half of the 1800s, and whether gunpowder would have been used to demolish a large building just prior to the invention of dynamite.

Best of luck!

#writing #ask