#i know all the published authors just say 'JUST WRITE' but it's Too Much(tm) and i'm tired

[monstersandmaw]

Good news: the desire To Write is back *yaaaay, cheering*

Bad news: actually doing The Writing is still completely overwhelming *ugly sobbing*

#one step forward two steps back almost #feeling so drained and stuck #i know all the published authors just say 'JUST WRITE' but it's Too Much(tm) and i'm tired #i'm so fucking tired #mentally and physically #and i know i should just 'take my time' but i don't want to #i want to write #and it's crushing that i can't #personal post #non monster post #ghosti rambles

[h4mm132l1c3]

20 Questions For Fanfic Writers!

I got tagged in this by the lovely @onewhoturns, and I'll tag some others at the end!

1: How many works do you have on Ao3?

I only have 8 actually published there, but for reference, I went into my WIP folder and found over 100 more... So I do write things! I'm just really really bad at actually publishing them.

2: What's your total Ao3 word count?

Assuming I've done my math right, my current total word count sits at 262,909. Most of that is probably the longfics I've done with Turner, but there are almost certainly some hidden gems in there as well.

3: What fandoms do you write for?

Well, I haven't actually written and published something for a specific fandom for a while now, but my more common interests these days are Genshin Impact, Fire Emblem, Metal Gear Solid, Ace Attorney, Shadow & Bone (Netflix TV show specifically) and a few sporadic others! But my past works were for Oxenfree, Destiny, Ava's Demon, Homestuck, Overwatch, Critical Role, The Magnus Archives and Half Life.

4: Top five fics by kudos?

That would beeee So It Goes, Blue Hair, Red Jacket, A Different Angle, One Foot, and finally Holy Spirits!

5: Do you respond to comments? Why/Why not?

As much as I love getting comments on fics, I don't often respond to them. I don't really have enough published to get engagement super often, and even then, I'm just not the kind of person to reach out at random simply because I've heard too many Internet Horror Stories(tm). But, maybe if I do publish more in the future, I'll make a habit of answering then!

6: What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I... Don't really know? Most of my fics are either one-shots or unfinished multi-chapter works. There's probably something really angsty in my WIPs, but since it's never seen the light of day, we'll never really knows.

7: What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

Hmm. Hm hm hm. That would probably be a toss up between A Different Angle, which is just meant to be a nice, feel-good oneshot, or Pyrite-50: Quiet Moments, which is a kind of character study of one of my Destiny PC's.

8: Do you get hate on fics?

Since I only have 8 published, and I'm not like a super-duper popular author, I don't really think I get hate. All of the comments I've seen have been really sweet and lovely, which I'm thankful for.

9: Do you write smut?

I've been known to partake... On occasion....... <- Currently hiding most of it away in that damned WIP folder

10: Do you write crossovers?

Aside from the every-so-often "AU fic inspired by another piece of media", no, not really. But maybe that will change sometime! I wouldn't be truly opposed.

11: Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I'm aware!

12: Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope. My reach, like I said, is pretty minimal. But if anybody were to ask, I'd say go for it, as long as I got credit as the author.

13: Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Most of my published fics are co-written! My co-author was actually the one who tagged me in this, Turner. You can go check out all our Oxenfree stuff on Ao3 right now.

14: What's your all-time favorite ship?

Oooooh, this one is hard. The one I've undoubtedly written the most for is jonalex, but I'm a huge multishipper, so I've never really preferred one pairing over another before. It's always so dependent on my mood! Can I just say all of them?

15: What's the WIP you hope to finish but doubt you ever will?

The forgotten Kaz Brekker/Darkling smut. It sits in its little google document, taunting me. I know that you're there. I KNOW.

16: What are your writing strengths?

I'd like to think I'm good at metaphors? Generally, getting into a character's psyche is what I strive for, and when I get it right it feels like a real achievement. I've also been told that I'm very good at making dialogue that feels real, or that flows in a way that makes sense, which is something else I'm really proud of.

17: What are your writing weaknesses?

Finishing things. Fight scenes (of the physical variety). The two big F's.

18: Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Seeing as I am a person who only knows one language (and guess which one that is), I don't often write in other languages for my fics, because I'm a liiiiittle too scared of fucking up. On the rare chances I have, I usually use someone I know as a translator, but that limits me on how many languages I can conceivably use. As far as foreign languages in other fics go, I'm all for it!

19: First fandom you wrote for?

It's either Harry Potter, and that fic has now been orphaned to the wind, or maybe Homestuck?

20: Favorite fic you've ever written?

Of my published fics, it has to be So It Goes. That one has a special place in my heart for a multitude of reasons, and not just because Turner and I got to write it together. Of my WIPs, there's an unnamed freemance fic that I've been dying to finish that I just recently found again, and it made me fall in love with my writing for a second time; in a strange way.

Tagging!!

@artemis-crimson @reddgiant @starchemist @starlit-bawka @cranehusbands @duvirii and basically whoever else wants to do it.

#ask meme #ask game #writing #writers #tag meme #tag game #ao3 #archive of our own #writing game #fic #fanfic #fanfiction #fic writing #20 questions

[obsessivelollipoplalala]

Long story short: came in for queen, stayed for gomens XD Anyway, I'm usually too shy to say anything on blogs I read, hehe, but I've been looking at your posts on queen fandom drama, and I must say, this is NOTHING in comparison with the russian speaking fandom which I used to be a part of. Sure, I've met a lot of creative, funny, smart people there, but there's this strange cult of horny heteronormative middle aged women who believe that Freddy was, in fact, Not Gay (TM). Not even bisexual. Just straight up a straight man. And that's not the worst part of it. There's been two (2!) authors publishing books trying to prove that. One of them was some religious woman who was constantly going on about the Gay Mafia (TM) and how "christian" queen's music was. Over time, however, her conspiracies devolved into some completely psychotic mess (for example, she claimed that freddie was secretly a british aristocrat or something). But at least she wrote interestingly about zoroastrian culture, I guess... The other was a known grifter who probably didn't even believe the stuff he was writing about. I don't even wanna talk about that man. And those were people with devout followers! I only read those books because they were so bad it was genuinely entertaining. I don't know why I'm putting this out here. I guess I just needed to share this trauma with someone XD

Lol people come to my blog for various reasons.

Oh, I know all about the homophobia of the Russian fandom. It's pretty much the extreme endpoint of the press and public constantly denying that this openly gay men was, in fact, gay, because they can't cope with a rock star they love having gay sex. It's so crazy how deep in denial people will go because they're so intolerant, and the Russian fandom really takes the cake. It's also really funny to think Queen had Christian music lol. Their music wasn't anti-religion or anything, but aside from one song about Jesus, they never really mentioned religion at all

#replies #Anonymous

[dogmomwrites]

Get to Know Me!

Was tagged by @saltysupercomputer and @bookish-galaxy to share a little info about myself! Thanks for the tags!

Soft tagging @aohendo, @writingpotato07, @muddshadow, @j-1173, and @jjm-blogspot, as well as an open tag!

Relationship status: married, surprisingly!

Favorite color: dark purple and black. The dark purple like the heart of a gemstone

Three favorite foods: cheese-sauce pasta, carrots, brussel sprouts, and zucchini roasted together on a pan with a sprinkling of seasoning, and ngl I make a hella good burger

Song stuck in my head: At this moment, none. I often wake up with some song or other going around in my head though. Usually something I haven't listened to in years

Last song I listened to: The High Priestess by Judicator (current song is Voices of Doom by Mono Inc.)

Last thing I googled: Etsy, cuz I'm gonna order a Halloween shower curtain and wanted to look at some options lmao

Time: 14:57

Dream trip: to space, but I'll settle for Sweden mountains or Alaska. I just really like cold places

Anything I really want right now: time. I've been hit with the Creeping Time Syndrome(tm) pretty hard lately and it'd just be so nice to have time to escape from time

I was already tagged for this version of the Get to Know Me tag game fairly recently, and so my answers would be pretty much the same, so to keep it from being a repeat, I'll answer the questions for one of my characters! I'll do it for Jimmy!

Favorite color: Green. It's just a color he vibes with. A darker, nature green

Currently reading: the dictionary, cuz his mom keeps kicking his ass at Scrabble and he's gonna win next time...maybe. Last novel would be something like a y/a book that either his sister is making him read so they can discuss it in great detail or something he picked up to read to Avalanche as a bedtime story, like the Redwall series (by Brian Jacques) or a Poppy and Rye book (by Avi)

Last song: Jimmy likes a wide variety of songs but like me, he leans towards metal, so I'm gonna list one of his favorite songs instead. Tribute by Tenacious D

Last TV series: He has to catch Avalanche up on all the best shows, so he'd probably start her out with the original Scooby-Doo series

Last movie: Balto lmao Avalanche is obsessed with it

Sweet, savory or spicy? Savory. He would very likely have actual withdrawal symptoms--strong symptoms too--if he had to go a day without Cheetos

Currently working on: Jimmy is not a writer at this point in the story, but he does start writing a children's/ya series for Avalanche. He uses a pen name and tells no one about him being published, just says he knows the author and that's why he always gets the books early for Avalanche

#tag game #tag games #get to know me tag #Spotify

[loveinkfanfics]

She left him wondering what was an exciting story to tell in her book. He bet she had all kinds of them since she worked with dead people and all. "Will do," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Nice to meet you, Angel. "Angela opened her mouth to correct him then decided against it. She didn't mind the way the nickname sounded coming from the handsome man's lips. "You too, Juice. You guys have my number if you need anything else, right? ""Maybe I'll take it down again,"

Omg yes! I love this! Thank you @juiceortiz!!! 🥰🥰 Taking it waaaay back to the first chapter of “Hands All Over”! :)

Writing wise, I was still finding my voice and still flip-flopping between POV mid-paragraph, which I sometimes miss doing but know it can get really confusing (as a reviewer pointed out). Also, personal life wise, I started this story in 2011 (it took me awhile to work up the nerve to publish it to Fanfiction.net in 2012) after my grandmother, who I was very close to, passed away. One if my favorite authors in another fandom (the Fast and the Furious) started posting a Sons of Anarchy fic, and I kept getting the notifications for updates. SOA Seasons 1-3 were streaming free and because I loved her writing (big shout out to xsparklesthemagicalunicornx and her SOA fic “Stylized Violence”), I decided to give it a chance so I could at least understand the characters in her fic. I fell in love. The sense of family (at least in the first season) and the love between the brothers was just what my aching heart needed to get through one of the hardest times in my life. I was obsessed. I binged the first three seasons and bought season 4 just to watch that too…and it brought me back to writing. I had several false starts with this fic with all sorts of situations (starting with Opie/OC, then I fell in love with Juice midway through season 1…it was that smile, damn it). I have PAGES of Juice/OCs that never made it past a few pages and sometimes I go back and read them and smile. It wasn’t until I met a badass mortician with braids in her hair, a great sense of humor, and a toughness about her at my internship at a local Coroner’s office that this idea hit me, and the rest, as they say, is history. Through this story, I’ve “met” some amazing people (readers, authors, etc), and I’m so grateful for it. 💕

 But, I digress, this part is Juice and Angela meeting for the very first time! Juice sees this attractive girl who’s also interesting and intrigues him a bit. There’s a mystery about her that kind of draws him in...

He wants to know what story she’s thinking about, wants to hear more about her. Other than Old Ladies, Croweater, and the occasional TM customer, I don’t see Juice as having much time to sit and talk to women. The club is all encompassing, and he’s all about the club. Theo Rossi has mentioned in interviews before that Juice wouldn’t have time to date, and I honestly, don’t think he’s all that far off. The club is everything to him. He doesn’t have a lot of free time.  I think Juice is also mildly impressed that Angela’s not fazed by the group of bikers (little does he know, she has her own connection to them in her cousin), and she’s not being overly flirtatious or coming onto them. She’s just going about her business like her boss told her to and brushing off the very weird thing that they’re doing like it is nothing…which to any normal person, digging up a body to use for something that’s definitely not legal would be cause for alarm. Him calling her “Angel” instead of by her full name is also a little test. Will she correct him? Will she let the nickname slide which kind of takes the next step in a sense of familiarity? She doesn’t correct him, which, despite his oblivious ways, is a subtle open door showing she’s interested in some sort of relationship. At least, she’s not shutting him down.  

And on Angela’s side, that’s most definitely why she lets the nickname slide. Here’s this sexy biker man who’s giving her this killer smile calling her by a sweet pet name? She’s not about to correct him. Same with the sly way she gave him her number. They’re feeling each other out. Angela was offering her number in the most covert way possible. She knows one of them has the funeral home number, of course they do, but she’s trying to see if Juice wants her number. If he’ll catch on to what she’s offering. And for once, Mr. Oblivious takes advantage of it and takes down her number for himself just so he has it. It’s a bit of a dance for the both of them. Also, Angela’s trying to make herself look a little more mysterious than she is with saying she’s seen “weirder shit” than them exhuming a body. That’s a lie (she tells him so about 40 chapters later in the story). She was playing it cool, trying to look nonchalant and enigmatic…and it worked. ;)

Plus, Angela’s been hurt by biker boys in the past (Esai), so she’s hesitant to go whole hog into it, and Juice hasn’t had a “normal/civilian” girl show interest in him in a long time (that he’s noticed. I’m sure there have been others, Angela’s just a bit more obvious). They both are intrigued by each other because they’re different (if that makes any sense). To Juice’s knowledge at this point, Angela is a non-club-affiliated girl with a stable but weird job that he’s intrigued by (probably from video games and comic books because I’m sure Juice has read his fair share of zombie shit and played all the Resident Evil games).  Being Happy’s cousin, Angela is used to a…tougher kind of biker. Sure, she has Kozik to be more light hearted, but she saw him through a dark patch of his life when he was struggling with addiction. Juice with his big goofy grin doesn’t quite exude the same commanding, somewhat intimidating presence as the SAMCRO boys she’s used to, which I think is what makes her more curious and attracted to him too. I mean, who wouldn’t be after being on receiving end of one of his smiles? ;)

Aaaaand I think that’s all I got! 🤣 Sorry for the rambling, but it was insanely fun to explore!!! I haven’t read the first chapter of this story in a LONG time. >.<

THANK YOU for the snippet!!  

#this has been one of my favorite things I've done in awhile #juice ortiz #loveink fanfics #Sons of anarchy #soa fanfiction

[bard-llama]

New Lambert Crack Universe

So, for the witcher rare pair bingo, I got the prompt Author AU, which naturally led me to decide that Lambert is a secret romance novelist whose protagoinsts Gerard and Esteban have a lot of sex. Like, a lot. They might be more erotica than romance novels, but whatever. I am genuinely unclear on where bodice ripper fits into that continuum. 

Anyway, Lambert, the genius that he is, chooses the penname Burt Lamb the Third and lists Kaer Morhen as his address. This leads to letters with royalty checks going to Kaer Morhen - or attempting to. More importantly, Burt’s books took off and housewives whisper about them in back corners. Also, a lot more of them start propositioning Eskel and Geralt, because they look just like their favorite characters. Like, just like, and they know that because the books come with illustrations made by the author.

(Does the Witcher have the printing press? No? It does now. Don’t question it.)

Details under the cut

I’m writing the fic now where the other wolves find out about Lambert’s secret second career, but I have more planned. Chronologically, I think the series is:

Lambert pines and is haunted by an idea and decides to write it. Not quite sure how/why he decides to publish, but he doesn’t think much of it. Until he starts to hear people talking about his stories and wtf if so many people are reading them, where’s his fucking money??

Turns out, it was getting sent to Kaer Morhen via a handful of very brave couriers and a whole lot of sensible couriers who hired Geralt to deliver them. (my current fic)

A few years pass and no one thinks much of it. Lambert updates his address ASAP and like, gets a PO box in Novigrad or something. And wow, this writing thing is pretty profitable in fantasy land and he hates being on the Path/being a Witcher, so like... why not rent a nice room in Oxenfurt or maybe a cabin in Skellige (except Lambert’s a canonical baby in the cold) or wherever and just write for like half the year. Then he’ll spend fall doing a few contracts just so he has stories to bring back to the Annual Bitch Session/Drinking Binge (it lasts all winter long). He still pines, but at least now he pines in style.

And he starts getting bold too - he knows Geralt and Eskel don’t read his books, so when he’s searching for inspiration, he recalls some of their stories about people they’ve met on the path. This leads to some interesting rare pairs and some awkward first meetings where everyone around the two think they’ve already boned, but they’ve never seen each other before in their lives. (AKA Lambert/Llama writes random pairs like Eskel/Iorveth for the Scar WorshipTM and then we get to see the reactions of people reading these books.) (like fr i wanna write these, but as Lambert writing them lol)

Like, imagine Lambert going all “huh, Geralt said that elf guy was pretty, and he matches Eskel on the fucked up right side of the face thing, so like, why not?” So he starts writing and then we get a scene break and actually get the porn (with character names or actual names?). THEN we cut to like the Blue Stripes reading the book and Reacting. Ves names her knife after Esteban/Eskel ‘cause ‘I want it to penetrate Iorveth too’. Roche is not amused.

Dandelion, who is an epic shipper of Gerard/Esteban/Burt Lamb the Third, mentions the books when Geralt and Eskel just happen to be at the Chameleon at the same time and the idiot witchers slowly realize that Lambert writes about THEM. Them having sex. A lot of sex. And sure, it’s gotten them a surprising amount of action over the past few years, but that’s still kinda creepy, right? And Dandy is That Fan who some casual viewer has said something hugely contradictory to Their Canon and they have to decide if they wanna fite or not. And Dandy has never seen a fight he didn’t take and lose. So he gets all offended like “no, you’ve got it all wrong! Yeah, the books are filthy porn, but the whole thing is really a love letter to Gerard and Esteban (aka you two, you dumbasses).” So then Geralt and Eskel are uncertain enough to be convinced to go back and read the books - all of them. And by this point, there are rather a lot. Like, Lambert is the Chuck Tingle of fantasy medieval Poland. And while, yeah, Lambert is clearly very horny, he also shows Gerard and Esteban as like... pretty awesome people??? Sweet and nonjudgemental and brave and dumb as a bag of bricks, but that’s just facts.

So now they gotta DO something about their realization that Lambert wants them and maybe kinda loves them? I... have no idea how they actaully get together. Maybe... maybe Geralt and Eskel are divided and uncertain, so they don’t say anything when they all see each other that winter. Except idk something happens/they just get drunk and stupid(er) and they blurt something out? idk, I’ll figure that out. But endgame is Geralt/Lambert/Eskel. And they live happily ever after on the funds from Lambert’s horny writing (which he continues to publish).

So yeah, new universe lol. It’s been fun to write Lambert again. He’s such an asshole.

#lambert #geralt #eskel #geralt x lambert x eskel #the witcher #crack #my fics #fic planning

[bellaslilpapercut]

I finally finished New Moon! Yee. Haw. Here are some Final Thoughts (I thought I would need to break this up but I really don’t want to spend more time on this than I have to so! If there’s anything you wanted me to touch on that I didn’t, feel free to shoot me an ask or PM me whenever xo):

1) I really didn’t notice a big shift in Jake’s character after his transformation. As I mentioned in part 2, I found that his character was tinged with Aggressive MOC Trope throughout New Moon though admittedly not during his first few appearances. His whole character in NM seems to be dedicated to Pining After Bella. I find a lot of the sweet J/B moments in NM seem to be more a miracle or an accident than anything else given the way smeyer uses his character throughout the saga. I really adore fanon Jake so a lot of NM was just depressing as hell to read.

2) I actually love this line. Jake should have been angrier, tbh. 

3) Bella being crappy comp:

Lines like these make me support Edward’s decision to leave. Bella, you know he loves you more than you could ever love him! Cut him off for good! 

Again, a lot of the behaviors that are undoubtedly escalated in Eclipse are present here in NM but Bella says nothing because she “needs” Jake. She doesn’t ever stop him from touching her even when she’s uncomfortable with the nature of the touch and she doesn’t do nearly enough to make her boundaries clear because she thinks she’ll fall apart without him and she’s actively using him to fill the “hole” Edward left. I don’t even want to read Eclipse because I know it’ll piss me off even more than this.

Girl, you cannot lay a claim to another person even if they’re your relative! I don’t even remember the context but her whining about how much Jacob loves her and how she could never love him back pissed me off lmfao. Give Jacob a Better Author and a Better Love Interest Than Bella 2021!! (that’s a long slogan, I’ll workshop it).

4) This is the only dialogue that made me think Bella and Alice were Real Friends (and also the only section that had me Audibly Rooting for Bella). The Cullens fucked up! Let them know!

5) I like Aro a lot. No other Thoughts TM, I just think he’s neat. I really liked the whole volturi section a lot but I don’t think smeyer is very good at describing locations or maybe I’m not very good at understanding lol. I was like “Wait, so you went through a sewer to a lobby to an elevator to a different lobby to a cavernous room...” and I could not for the life of me visualize the layout of this place at all. Maybe it was supposed to be disorienting. Aside from that (and the other writing errors) the Volterra chapter was one of the best.

6) the BEST chapter though was easily “Family.” I’m a Jared stan now. I think the warmth of that chapter was strong enough to power me through the rest of the book tbh. In the Dark Times to follow (terrible final three chapters, terrible epilogue), “Family” was my light. Emily’s kitchen, my beloved.

7) The last three chapters of NM are LITERALLY the perfect guide of How To Not Do Relationships. Something did stand out to me though and that is: smeyer accidentally wrote the perfect “consuming toxic love” trope with E/B. delena wants what E/B has! They are absolutely terrifying together. Even more terrifying, smeyer didn’t mean to write them that way. More terrifying yet, Real Life People actually think this is a love story. 

8) The epilogue, my nemesis. We joke about how Twilight reads like a diary and I thought so too until I got to the NM Epilogue. It feels like it was written at 11:58 and smeyers publishers needed her final draft at 12:00. I...I don’t have anything else to say about it. Wait, I have one more thing: @ Bella, if Jake is your best friend stop being a bitch to him!! Leave him alone! Get a hobby!!!

9) final note: the pacing in NM improved drastically. While I do think the writing quality is more rushed/ sloppy than that of Twilight, the pacing made the book marginally more enjoyable than Twilight. There was action throughout, there were "breather" moments, it felt nice. Until the last three chapters when Bella forgives Edward in the span of One (1) evening but hey, win some lose some.

#new moon reread #twilight meta #long post #twilight saga #twilight renaissance

[donnieluvsthings]

anyway i’m still thinkin about roceit newsies au...this got SO LONG its basically a bullet fic of the whole plot at this point but uh enjoy!!! its has all the sides and remy and emile bc i rly wanted to shove them all in here aldkaldka

this is based on the musical mostly bc i have never watched the original movie all the way thru oops

roman is jack and remus is crutchie (thanks boop). remus does crazy stunts even with his crutch and roman is Constantly Worried TM and overprotective of remus even tho remus can DEF take care of himself

on the other hand remus knows roman hates working as a newsboy and just wants to escape to some small town where he can become a local artist of some sort. remus wants roman to go CHASE his DREAMS even tho he’s afraid roman might leave him behind

roman may be the actor but remus is great at coming up with gruesome yet intriguing headlines that get people to buy papers and would totally be a great author of some sort

ON THAT NOTE roman dreams of santa fe and can picture it perfectly but whenever he tries to explain it, it comes out as senseless rambling and longing. it’s remus who can really put into words what roman feels (bc theyre bros and they just GET each other)

virgil as davey, patton as les, logan as sarah (its the musical but they have an extra sibling okay. let me have older brother logan)

virgil and patton show up and virgil is super untrusting and hates that theyre basically lying to get people to buy papers but patton is just EXCITED to meet New People!!! and looks up to roman (and remus), like, instantly

it helps that roman promises to take them to a real actual theater after they sell all their papers owned by the one the only emile picani !!!

also roman is the one who first calls him “virge” which is like jack saying “davey” instead of david. yes this is necessary information

so they sell their papers (and roman briefly meets an ESPECIALLY handsome guy wink wink) and go see emile who performs some variant of That’s Rich like the star he is. u cant take singer emile away from me

roman also performs bc i said so. he spies someone watching him during his act up above the stage and climbs up there when he’s done

janus. its janus, if that wasnt clear or u dont know the plot of the newsies musical aldkaldlal

so yeah janus as katherine!! he may be pulitzer’s son but that doesn’t mean his father wants him to be a journalist. pulitzer thinks he should prepare to inherit the publishing company or be a banker or smth, not be a journalist

i just think janus’ “society is a LIE” vibe fits with katherine. i mean, just look at Watch What Happens. “give life’s little guys some ink,” “they’ll storm the gates,” “rich greedy sourpusses” .... idk it just SCREAMS janus to me

ALSO, katherine technically lies about her identity for like 3/4 of the musical, so

anyway! roman meets janus and janus is all suave and lowkey flirty at first but then roman starts flirting BACK and jan is like “uh oh how to talk to cute boys????”

so then he gets all “i have more important things to do” *hair flip* and goes back to the article he’s supposed to be writing about emile’s theater (a lot of his notes are about roman’s performance but nobody needs to know that shhh)

roman draws a portrait of jan and leaves it there and janus gently & dramatically picks it up, stares at it, and tucks it into his suit with a soft smile

uh oh prices for papers went up! virgil steps up and helps roman lead a strike. turns out his caution works GREAT with roman’s determination and they keep each other from going towards extreme overthinking (virgil) or extreme stupidity (roman). they are a TEAM and they are BESTIES.

remus: lets SET THE PAPERS ON FIRE

roman, starry eyed: HECK YEAH LETS DO IT

virgil: how about we dont do that and instead form a union

and then the twins are like GOOD IDEA and tell everyone else. virgil may be a cautious and untrusting and afraid of public speaking but he has good ideas dangit

the intro to seize the day yknow? virgil says a Good Idea (which can probably be traced back to him always listening to logan rant about his studies) and roman spreads the message in a Firm Rebellion-y way to the other newsies

and patton is there doing his absolute best. he may be small but he knows that this isn’t right or fair to the newsboys and he’s ready to physically fight someone

enter logan who is lowkey really proud of virgil for stepping outside of his comfort zone to do whats right. logan may be scared out of his mind for his little bros but he’s gonna help them as much as he can between college and trying to work side jobs to help their fam

basically logan knows janus and tells him that he should report on the strike bc logan wants to help his bros AND his friend however he can

cue janus seeing his opportunity and TAKING it. he’s gonna write about this strike even if no one else will!!! take THAT, father

he also maybe possibly wanted to see roman again. but roman never needs to know that okay what he doesnt know cant hurt him

seize the day happens!!!! they strike!!!! they r powerful!!! but then no one else from any other sections of new york strike with them and they lowkey get rekt

remus mocks the delanceys but that was a BAD decision cuz now theyre targeting him and he gets taken to the REFUGE

roman is SAD bc his brother’s been taken away, no one showed up to help them strike, his brother’s been taken away and he just wants to get OUT of there. run away to santa fe, his ideal world, but he can’t even articulate that because his brother is gone

how is that just act one. how have i written so much yet left out so much???

remus is at the refuge and he’s a little more scared, now, that roman really will just leave him behind even though he knows deep down that roman would never.

still. he writes roman a letter and maybe he goes into a little too much detail about his injuries and the refuge but hey, that’s remus. he writes about how maybe they can run away to santa fe together. he signs it “your brother” and i CRY because they are the best bros

roman reads it and ALSO cries. especially because there it is, the description of santa fe he can never come up with by himself. remus rly does know him, huh

total scene change: janus finds the other newsies (and logan) in a restaurant? bar? and is like “!!! ur on the FRONT PAGE on my newspaper” which i just decided is called the snake instead of the sun

virgil didn’t totally trust janus would follow thru at first but now he’s convinced. they did it!!!! theyre on the front page!!!! the world WILL know!!!!

cue tapdancing!!!!!! king of new york is an absolute bop. i need logan tapdancing daintily and then janus LAUNCHING into some complex tap routine bc the newsies think he too will dance daintily

i know they wouldnt,,, actually dance but just let me have this self-indulgence in this entirely self-indulgent au

the Bro Trio + janus go hunt down roman to show him the paper and find him painting stuff at emile’s all sad and upset bc, well, they lost and remus was taken

but virgil is trying to show him that they made progress!!! sure pulitzer won but he won the BATTLE and actually the poor guy’s head is spinning bc theyre gonna win.

“cmon, ro, if i’m is telling you to be optimistic there must be hope”

see virgil calls him RO and its cute bc roman gave him the nickname ‘virge’ and now virgil’s giving him the nickname ‘ro’ theyre just besties okay

roman is unconvinced but then logan, who roman has actually never met before, steps in with Facts and Statistics, and patton adds some adorable words of encouragement, and janus sassily waves their Front Page Story at him, and roman starts realizing they DO have a chance

but then uh oh pulitzer threatens remus and the Bro Trio and roman is forced to speak out against the strike or risk ruining the lives of everyone he loves. and also he finds out that janus is pulitzer’s son and is Betrayed TM

theres some “he’s just trying to build up a false confidence in u so u can plummet to even greater depths” parallels in there somewhere....u can’t trust many people as a newsie and when roman DOES trust someone turns out he’s the son of the guy ur trying to fight

so roman says overnight in pulitzer’s basement, sleeping on an uncomfortable old printing press, and makes his decision

now for the RALLY

remy is spot conlon bc he DESERVES to be the leader of the brooklyn newsies. brooklyn, flushing, richmond, etc all show up to a newsies rally and are like YEAH!!! STRIKE!!!!

virgil is trying to tame the crowd nervously and keeps waiting for roman to show up bc they work best when theyre working together!!!! finally roman’s there and virgil introduces him (the attention isnt solely on him now thank gosh)

but then roman starts talking about how they dont stand a chance and how they shouldnt go on strike and virgil is just. confused and upset and angry

especially when he sees one of pulitzer’s employees slipping roman wads of money

virgil corners roman afterwards and is absolutely RIPPING into him. roman could fix this if he would just tell virgil the truth, tell him he doesn’t care about the money, he just wanted to keep him and patton and logan safe—

but roman knows if he tells virgil, then virgil will turn all his anger towards pulitzer, will be able to convince roman to keep going, and roman won’t. he can’t put virgil, put his family, at risk.

so he lies.

he doesn’t mean any of it. but he says it.

and maybe he kind of understands why janus lied, too.

he says he’s never had anyone to take care of him or remus, not like virgil does with his parents and his older brother. he says virgil will never know what it’s like.

virgil scoffs and glares and beneath all his fury looks crushed. but there’s still fire in his eyes, a spark roman saw that first day that only grew and engulfed any doubts virgil ever had.

roman says he’ll take the money and go, leave new york behind.

virgil says fine. we don’t need you. because you know what? all those words you said were mine. i didn’t have the courage to say them back then but now i do. we don’t need you.

(because i watched that scene in the movie and like YES go OFF davey i mean virgil)

roman flees to his “bedroom” which is really just a fire escape and just longs for remus’ reassurance. he has the letter but it doesn’t seem as encouraging now, not when he’s lost everything else important to him.

then janus shows up and roman’s mad at him but not mad enough to kick him out. and janus watched roman just give up on everything they’ve been fighting for and just wants to know WHY. why did he turn his back on the newsies when they were so close?

and roman, tired and upset and defeated, just says they wouldn’t succeed. even if all the newsies went on strike no one would report on it, anyway, because pultizer has all the printing presses on lockdown, even the one janus published from. and they already lost once! what more could they possibly do?

roman looks out over the railing, chest heaving from his rant, longing for his imaginary santa fe where he doesn’t have to face his failures. janus stands next to him and puts his hand over roman’s.

“i don’t have a simple answer to that question....but here’s a start.”

and janus pulls out a paper with roman’s words (well, and virgil’s, because virgil said it first but roman rephrased it powerfully, and that’s why they worked as a team) typed out, words that make the strike not about newsies but about ALL working children in the city who are being exploited for their youth and naivety.

it’s an entire article, expertly written. if published it would get the word out to the other newsies that they haven’t given up and show other working children and adults alike that this is IMPORTANT and they aren’t going away.

and then roman remembers his drawings of the refuge and remus’ graphic descriptions and shows them to janus and hey!!! they have a plan!!! they just need to print it....

roman’s like yo there’s an old press in ur dad’s basement he’d never suspect anything

and theyre both so excited and theyre gonna DO this, FINALLY, and janus sees hope on roman’s face again, maybe permanently this time, and janus just leans in and kisses him.

its very sweet and cute and theyre in LOVE

they pull back and kinda stand there awkwardly for a few seconds before both of them start grinning

and they both know its fragile, that they’ve hurt each other and trust was cracked, but it wasn’t broken completely, and they can fix this. they believe in each other and that’s enough for now.

and then they go find virgil at his house

roman knocks on the door and virgil opens it and just. glares at roman. and roman starts rambling apologies and explanations and tries to tell virgil about their plan and did he mention he’s sorry

virgil kinda just stares at him as he goes on and on and the only thing that stops him is patton running out and launching himself at roman

then logan appears behind virgil, and virgil kinda just smiles

“glad to have u back. again.”

and then they go sneak into pulitzer’s basement and print the article with jan’s writing and ro’s drawings and remus’ descriptions and the other newsies go spread the papers ALL around the city

the next morning EVERYONE is out on strike!!! u cant get ANYWHERE without seeing ppl, newsies or otherwise, filling the streets with chants of “seize the day”

roman, with the Bro Trio and Janus trailing close behind, waltzs on in to pulitzer’s office and flings the money pulitzer gave him back on the desk and is like whatcha gonna do NOW, joe??

pulitzer angrily tells them he’s a fool for going back on their deal and logan steps in sayin pulitzer is a fool for letting this get so out of hand over a 10 cent price increase. his sales are down 70%!! objectively the price increase was like the worst business decision ever

virgil’s like plus it’s making u look bad that ur business is the reason most of these kids are suffering. people really love kids, mr pulitzer and patton smiles brightly but in like a menacing way

then emile walks in with a ~dazzling smile~ and is like ur son told me about this whole situation, it’d be a shame if i contacted my good friend governor roosevelt who won’t be as kind as these brave newsies since u tried so hard to stop him from being elected :)

((in the show roosevelt is actually there but i want emile to have a moment to SHINE))

so pulitzer’s like FINE and talks to roman alone and roman wears him down, throwing words from janus, virgil, and pulitzer himself right in pulitzer’s face until FINALLY they have a deal. he’ll lower the prices by half AND pulitzer will buy back whatever they don’t sell full price

roman bursts out of the office into the streets where all the newsies are waiting and is like WE WONNN

and since they published all that stuff about the refuge in the paper, the guy who runs it is being arrested and REMUS IS FREE

the twins hug for like a full two minutes

then pulitzer offers roman a job as a political cartoonist and roman’s like. well idk now that this is over i should probably...head out

bc lowkey he’s thinking virgil still doesn’t wanna see roman ever again and he did say he would leave, so

but then virgil’s like come on, ro, you don’t really think we want u to leave, do u? what’s santa fe got that new york aint? tarantulas? sandstorms? stampedes? you can’t go to santa fe what if you DIE—

and logan says new york’s got us!

patton: and we’re family, right?

then janus is like you got a union to lead! and...you got me.

and remus is like bro, anyone can dream, all you do is close ur eyes! but some made up world is all you’ll ever see. (bc he’s the wordsy one, u see. he helps roman have the poetic realization that his santa fe isn’t real, but this IS)

so roman says well if u guys INSIST.....and then he takes jan’s hand and kinda asks w his eyes and then kisses jan in front of all the newsies who proceed to cheer obnoxiously

when they break apart roman leads janus by the hand over to the paper-buying-cart and slaps some couns down on the table and BUYS SOME PAPERS BC THEYRE NEWSIES BABEY

and everyone lived happily ever after🥰

#sanders sides #roceit #creativitwins #newsies #sanders sides fic #sanders sides fanfic #bullet fic #repost bc tumblr glitched hardcore #uhh anyway the original tags i had were smth like #‘i rewatched newsies and i love it also i love jeremy jordan also stan newsies the musical’ aldkaldla #roceit newsies au #donnie writes

[imagine-your-love-story]

Your story with Din is so cute! And lil' baby Yoda makes an appearance too🥺 How do you write so well? Is it just something where you start, then you get into The Zone™, and then you can't stop? ---Doomguy Anon

omg THANK YOU SO MUCH Doomguy Anon!!!!! ♥♥♥ (one day, I’m gonna figure out who you are and hug you ;)

So! Writing! Okay. This is my JAM. Prepare for the incoming info dump!!!

I’ve been writing for roughly 10-12 years. I’d always dreamed of writing and publishing a novel for as long as I could remember. So I read everything I could on the process and I started telling the stories I had in my head.

Now, having said that, I need to leave a side note here. 

It took a LONG time.

I’ve written hundreds of thousands of words across original stories, poems, fanfiction, you name it.

I didn’t start out well (and I also started “late”, around 18-ish, so I was no child prodigy writing since I could hold a pen). I received some pretty crushing criticism and a lot of rejections. But that’s okay! Around 2010, I had my first short story published in a very small independent press (I’m not even sure if they’re still active anymore!). I was paid $15 and even though I knew that wasn’t much at all, I was absolutely thrilled to get paid for my writing! (And it was no genius story either)

That really amped up my writing. I joined sites like Wattpad and fanfiction.net and AO3 and I wrote like crazy.

It also helped that I was in pretty large fandoms. About 4-5 years ago, I was heavy into the Star Wars fandom and I wrote like a woman possessed. Like, I couldn’t sleep because I had so many ideas boiling in my brain and I HAD to write or it would feel like an incessant itch I couldn’t scratch!

I continued focusing heavily on short stories with the occasional novel here and there. Author Ray Bradbury suggested writing short stories to become familiar with the art of writing. It gives you a project you can actually finish rather than the long-haul marathon of writing a novel. It teaches you how to tell a story in a short, compact, and snappy time frame that holds the reader’s attention.

I also joined NaNoWriMo, which, if you’re not familiar with it is National Novel Writing Month. I believe I’ve done it about six or seven times now? Did any of those  novels actually get to a final polished draft? Heck no! But it gave me the chance to become familiar with words, to let myself make mistakes and still keep writing. 

I also keep a journal daily. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron suggested it’s a great way for creatives to explore their creativity unhindered in its purest, raw form without feeling like they have to make everything perfect all the time.

So I write a minimum of 3 pages every day (sometimes 4x that much if I have a lot on my mind!) and I’ve been doing that for about 7 years.

Some people don’t care for journaling (which is okay!) but for me, it’s like a sanctuary. It’s just me and the words. I can just write. About anything and everything. I never reread it, I don’t edit. I let the words just GO.

I have trouble with wanting everything to be eXACTLY PERFECT and my journal reminds me that words and thoughts and concepts MUST be messy first. The words MUST get on the page before I can start to corral them into a story!

Because my anxiety causes me speech problems sometimes, writing has become a natural form of communication for me. I’m FAR more comfortable putting words on the page than I ever am with speaking, even to people I’m familiar with.

So the pieces of advice I have for writing are this:

1. Write. 

It’s literally the simplest thing and your brain does not want to accept it (trust me, every writer struggles with this). Classes and trainings can only teach you the basic tools but they can’t teach you how to tell YOUR stories. That’s a relationship you have to cultivate with only yourself and the blank page (as terrifying as that sounds).

2. Read.

The more you read, the more you fill your brain with words to use. And it also gives you the chance to recognize structures and styles that other authors use which will help you to build your own stories.

THIS INCLUDES FANFICTION. Plenty of traditionally published authors write fanfiction so it’s not a lesser form of literature/writing. Read everything!

3. LET IT BE MESSY AND “BAD”

I struggle with THIS SO MUCH. In order to have written a story, the words MUST be on the page. Not in your head. So put the words on the paper. ALL OF THEM. You can ALWAYS take out words or rearrange them later!

“Bad” writing doesn’t exist. It just means you’re learning. You don’t look at a child’s drawing and say, “That’s terrible.” You encourage them and you point out how you like the way they used color and lines. Because they’re learning. And so are you.

4. GET SUPPORT

This. is. soooo important. The act of writing is fairly solitary but the PROCESS of writing requires other people to motivate you when your creative batteries run dry.

When I was super active in the SW fandom, I was OBSESSED with writing 24/7. But I had a lot of people who were looking forward to my stories and that fed my enthusiasm. 

Due to fandom politics, I left the SW fandom two years ago and now I’m only on the fringes. That crazed MUST WRITE ALWAYS obsession I had? Nah. I haven’t been able to write that much anymore. So it’s super super super important to have a support group. 

But if you don’t have support right now, DON’T LET IT STOP YOU.

I didn’t have much support when I was starting out. But I really wanted to write so I kept doing it.

It’s a journey. It’s supposed to be fun and give you a chance to explore the thoughts in your head, the stories you want to tell.

I’m still not where I want to be with my writing goals (still working on that coveted novel!). But literally, the only way to get better at writing is to keep putting words on the page. Those early stories will be rough around the edges. They won’t be pretty. 

But they will be YOURS. And with every story you tell, you really do get better, I promise. ♥

p.s. almost forgot! For me, my writing fluctuates depending on what’s going on in my life at the time and energy-wise. It’s RARE for me to get In the Zone TM. That’s for very, very few stories. Most of the time, I have to plink it out. Word by word, phrase by phrase. 

Some days, the writing will flow really well and words will be like magic.

Other days, I don’t know how to put a sentence together to save my life. It feels like I’ve “forgotten” how words work.

So no matter how much time and effort you put into writing, it will never be easy but there is a rhythm to it and you learn to ride the highs and lows. And dang, when it’s done? And you have a story? It’s a head rush like nothing else!

#asks #Anonymous #doomguy anon #wow that was really rambly #i hope that helped??? #if you need more specific information #please let me know! #i was kind of all over the place on this response!

[disregardcanon]

I, L, R, V?

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?

honestly? a/b/o. i keep searching for good stuff (and sometimes i find it!) but mainly i just find eh stuff to bad stuff and then sigh and keep scrolling in disappointment.

L: What’s the weirdest AU you’ve ever come up with?

I think that my weirdest au is probably the one where all of the people that Hannibal Lecter murdered in the show Hannibal ended up reincarnated into the show Brooklyn Nine Nine?

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?

one fic writer (and friend) who I would say had a great influence on me has scrubbed her web presence nowadays, but she wrote Loud Pipes Save Lives and Autumn Blooms, which are both amazing game of thrones aus that influenced the way that I think about characterization, pacing, and plot a lot. I wouldn’t say that I’ve been able to implement all of that much of it (since I tend to stick to shorter projects still) but her influence on the ability of people to get better and her sense of humor seeped into my writing quite a bit

for published writers, the ones that first come to mind are gillian flynn, GRRM, and angie thomas. gillian flynn showed me both how to reach into the darkness of the human condition and womanhood specifically (which i did a lot as a youngster who had just binge-read all of her books) and how to mine my personal experiences with rural settings for writing purposes.

GRRM brought out my love of culture building. i wrote meta upon meta about how the cultures in westeros worked, which helped me understand more how my own culture worked and how cultures work in general, which has helped me think a lot about the creation of cultures. if i didn’t spend so much time thinking about that, i’m sure that i wouldn’t have either The Sith Touch or Rite of Passage.

angie thomas taught me that evocative literature can still have pop cultural references and dumb humor. i think that after reading the hate u give was probably the first time that i got what shakespeare must have been for people at the time; deep, but still funny as hell (and better for that humor). i know that sounds dumb, but being able to see such a moving story about a young girl coming of age that makes such moving points about both her as a character and the world at large where she’s still an adorable little nerd who cracks bad jokes and nerds out about harry potter got me thinking about how essential the dick jokes were to shakespeare. if we want to say Deep TM things about humanity we have to say the dumb stuff too. i can’t point to any specific fics that show that change but it got me to stop taking things quite so seriously, i think.

V: A secondary (or underrated) character you want to see more of in fic?

i haven’t gotten caught on a specific fandom for long enough to notice this in a while, to be honest. i’ve been more reading updates for fics that i’m already following and new fics by authors that i already know i like.

#ask games #mylordshesacactus

[chikelo]

Do you have any advice for starting to write a chaptered fic? Every time I read salad days I see things that I like about it and I was wondering if you had any suggestions about plot planning/organizing things/possibly getting a beta/when to upload and things of that nature? Also do you find any differences when writing fanfiction vs writing original works? Are there some things you don’t really approach?

hello! I apologize for being so late on this response, but I hope I can offer something useful to you! thank you for reading! ❤

lots of juicy info under the cut - enjoy!

1. try and plan everything before you even begin! just sit down for a couple hours, or go on a drive or something, and just imagine. let your brain run wild. think of every possibility and take a mental note of whatever you like. it seems daunting at first, but when you take it one step at a time, the plotline snowballs and gets quite sophisticated without you even realizing it. think it through and have fun!

2. WRITE DOWN THAT SHIT. before I jumped into salad days, I laid out the ENTIRE story (very loosely) in an extremely messy google doc. just bullet points outlining general plot details I wanted - nothing too fancy. and of course this can change and adapt rather easily over time, so don’t feel as if you have to necessarily stick to it. just having that base is so so so incredibly helpful. knowing what’s going to happen next allows me to foreshadow, which is an impishly delightful thing to do. it also keeps me organized and on track, so I’m not spending pages rambling about irrelevant shit that has no bearing in the future of the story.

3. be smort when you write chapters. as in: don’t make shit hard on yourself!! remember that messy bullet point thing you were doing to outline the whole story? well, jump into a fresh google doc and flesh out those bullet points for the chapter you’re writing. ALL my chapters look like this before I write it:

so as you can see I literally just ramble to myself as fast as possible, trying to get down as many little details as I can. and then I go step by step and flesh it out with some actual sophisticated writing, swapping each line for five paragraphs or whatever it takes to satisfy that plot point. THIS MAKES IT SO MUCH EASIER TO WRITE, OH MY GOD. like, this is the number one key secret to how I bang out chapters so fast. it’s this methodological approach that just streamlines everything.

4. I was blessed enough to have my beta come to me to offer her amazing help, so I’m not sure how to catch one in the wild haha. I’d say just post your stuff and maybe put the message out there that you’d like a beta, and hopefully the same happens for you!

5. I picked weekly uploads because I’m very excited to write and know I’m generally capable of doing it at such a fast pace. (though ngl, it obviously adds a a lot of stress sometimes, depending on how busy my real life is). wednesday was just convenient for me, plus I figured it’d be fun to help people get through hump day with my dummy little fic to look forward to. pick a schedule you can handle for sure!! don’t overwork yourself!! 

6. I’ve never actually written an original work, though I really want to!! I just wanna publish a novel For Real one day, I feel like that’d be super cool. I just don’t know what to write about other than eating disorders LMAO

7. on that note, there’s a lot I don’t approach! because my One Thing in creative writing so far has been the ED thing. that being said, I have been trying to shove a LOT of other stuff into my story (sexuality issues, relationships of all kinds, school and The Future TM) to both make it more dynamic and to practice talking about other topics. I don’t like to think there’s anything I wouldn’t approach, but there’s definitely stuff I avoid because I’m still a new author, and some stuff is downright challenging to articulate. for example - stuff that involves a lot of research (medical/historical/scientific/etc) is like pulling teeth for me. I like to write instinctively and emotionally, so taking time to thoroughly research one tiny thing is a real buzzkill. as a result, I tend to gloss over details a lot. wonder if anyone’s noticed? ;)

thanks so much for coming to me for advice! it’s an honor to hear that my writing has inspired you. hope this was helpful, and best of luck to you!

#writing advice #writing tips #writing #my fic #ask #advice #thewaythingsmustbe

[ilyiad]

can you rant about acotar too? i like the second book, but everyone is sk straight and white

honestly there is so much not included here i hate about these books but:

excessive use of ellipses and em-dashes aside, it still fucking sucks. it’s one of the straightest things i have ever read and it’s not even well written lmao making mor a wlw was an obvious last-minute addition to the series - which i could forgive bc, yknow, learning from the past and improving is always a wonderful thing - except her whole “i’m not out to protect azriel’s feelings” spiel was...how do i say this......dumb as Fuck

wait no there was another bit of crap representation! remember helion, our resident threesome-obsessed bisexual?  no that wasnt a joke the only thing i remember about him was that he kept trying to get people to sleep with him 

it was.......a good effort at not being a homophobe. just not a successful one! keep trying sarah you’ll get there i believe in you

WHERE ARE THE NON WHITE PEOPLE

this is !!! i shit you not !!!! a fucking fairy universe !!!!! why are they all white cishets !!!!!!!! white cishets are bland as fuck !!!!!!!!!!! make it stop !!!!!!!!!!!! 

so many opportunities and the fairies are still sexist dickbags. despite the human realm being treated as Backwards, the fairies are really no better...not only that, their society + magical system is fucking inherently sexist. why are there no high ladies? why can’t the title just pass to the most powerful regardless of gender? Who Knows

oooooh boy the fucking mate system. the fucking mate system. wow. i actually don’t know what to say. how fucking dumb is the fucking dumb-ass mate system? the answer is extremely fucking dumb!!!! it’s just an excuse for the dudes to be possessive assholes!!!!!!! what the fuck!!!!!!

also way to go having your poc-coded illyrians - who were, for the record, real people - be savage & backwards & in need of being Civilised. sound familiar? lmfao it’s both blatantly racist and just plain stupid to include it

i dont mean to nitpick (that’s a lie i absolutely do) but what the shit fucking hell kinda name is feyre archeron. when i found out it was pronounced fey-ruh i had a minor heart attack in the worst way possible. calling your protagonist Fairy Archer is the kinda laughably stupid thing id expect from my twelve-year-old self writing her first fanfic not from a published author u could at least PRETEND ur making an effort

whilst we’re on the subject of names her names have absolutely no consistency. tam lin is an existing character, is her tamlin meant to reflect that? isn’t this supposed to be a beauty and the beast retelling? how come lucien has a last name but no one else does? what’s going on? 

whilst we’re on the subject of consistency....oh boy there isn’t any

none. no consistency. not a drop of it. 

the magic system makes absolutely no sense. the whole idea of the courts is stupid. how come tamlin/his court is powerful enough to freeze the place in spring whilst Most Super Amazing Badass Powerful High Lord Rhysand’s court just has....prettier stars than everyone else or smth???? we may never know

oh also??? what do the fairies worship????? they go on about a Cauldron for ages (also they keep saying “cauldron boil me” which is absolutely fucking hilarious but i digress) and then in the second(?) book they start going on about the Mother and then some kinda Goddess completely out of the blue (well, because maas decided she wanted even more sexism and introduced the Slutty Bitchy High Priestess system) and yet they curse like we do in the real world as well as taking the name of the mother/cauldron/whatever by constantly talking about hell. this could work if it was handled by someone competent but their magic/religious system hasn’t had a whisper of any concept of hell and so it just sounds awkward and stupid

SWEET HOLY MOTHER OF GOD THE WRITING IS PISS-POOR THOUGH. they swear a lot but not in a normal way, just in a “can you tell this series is Edgy and Young Adult tm yet” because, sorry not sorry, i can’t believe they’re all-powerful 500-year-old magical beings when they curse like 12-year-olds do when they’re out of sight of their parents feeling really cool about it

tamlin’s characterisation is incredibly inconsistent and it’s so clearly because maas suddenly decided she wanted rhysand to be the love interest instead so she made him do a full 180 instead of having their relationship progress in a way that was, like...believable

feyre’s sisters??? are literally Evil Stepsister clones and i know they get redemption arcs later on but they can literally suck my dick they’re fucking useless materialistic assholes and feyre kinda flips between caring about them and thinking they need to fuck off. personally i think every single character in this godforsaken series needs to fuck off but im kind of biased

honestly it felt like maas was tryna take a page from the success of the hunger games and go for the ‘archer sister providing for her family bc her single parent is fucking useless and the siblings also can’t help’ but it felt like...how do i say this.....a Cheap Shitty & Poorly Executed Rip Off

speaking of rip offs the amount of lines that are paraphrased from harry potter & other series’ ??? “light can be found in even the darkest of hells” how unsubtle can you GET jesus

#anti acotar #the I Hate White Authors saga continues #anonymous #answered

[allenmendezsr]

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      From The Desk of Sean Lowry Medical Researcher & Former Scar Sufferer Author of The Scar Solution

Dear Friend,

Like most people, you probably have an ugly scar somewhere on your body that you wish you could get rid of but it just won’t seem to go away. Every day, millions of people suffer from skin damage that will result in a lasting scar, and for many of them, that scar will cause a lot of insecurity and grief.

If you are one of those people then keep reading, because this may be the most important letter you read all year.

Have you ever:

Obsessed in the mirror over the appearance of a scar?

Felt like people are looking or even staring at your scars?

Spent time covering a scar up with makeup or clothing?

Wasted time and money on expensive scar creams that didn’t deliver?

It’s OK… we’ve all done it. Take it from a person who suffered from major facial scarring after a bad skiing accident… scars don’t just affect your skin,

they affect your self confidence.

After my accident, I became very self conscious about my appearance.  I always  felt like people were looking at my scars and not at me. It had a serious impact on my work and social life. I know all about the anxiety that comes along with scarring.

You Are Not Alone

The worst part is that scars are almost impossible to get rid of. Ask most people and they will tell you that once you have a scar, you just have to live with it. The best you can do is spend boat loads of money on expensive and invasive procedures, or try your luck with some ‘miracle’ scar cream.

The problem  is that laser scar treatment costs over $350 dollars per hour and requires multiple treatments before you even start to see results.  You’re likely to end up paying several THOUSANDS dollars to fade even a moderately sized scar. And if you think your insurance will cover it… forget it.Not only that, but many people have suffered from horrific side effects and even worsened scarring from these risky procedures.

This is why many people turn to over-the-counter scar products and remedies, but they are almost always disappointed with the results. These products have very little medical backing behind them and are often very pricey to top it off.

After months of effort with little to no payoff, most people will give up and just live with the fact that they will have these scars for the rest of their lives. Depressing.

Fortunately for me, as a medical scientist I have access to a lot of information that the general public does not. My area of expertise is in holistic and alternative medicine, and after my accident, I took it upon myself to find a reliable and effective way to get rid of my ugly facial scarring.

I already knew that most of the currently available scar treatment products out there just didn’t have any real scientific backing behind and were, to be completely blunt, snake oil. But that wasn’t going to stop me. I knew I’d have to think outside the box and come up with my own plan if I  wanted to get my skin back.

The next few months weren’t easy. I spent endless hours intensively researching and testing skin resurfacing techniques and compounds that could reduce and fade the appearance of my scars. I became obsessed with finding a solution to my problem and I wouldn’t rest until I found it.

Fortunately, my hard work paid off. And the results… nothing short of astounding!

Not only did I uncover the worlds most effective scar treatment techniques and secrets from around the world, but I tested them all on my own scars. And now, I’m very happy to tell you that I am totally scar free!

Best of all, I am 100% confident YOU can be do. I’m talking about complete scar removal, with no doctor visits, from the comfort of your own home!

And forget about wasting your time on bogus creams or spending thousands of dollars on invasive and dangerous procedures to do it. My system is fast, effective, and inexpensive. I’m talking about The Scar SolutionTM.

Scarring is NOT Permanent

Using my highly effective system, you can get rid of your scars FOR GOOD.  There are no costly scar creams, no surgeries, no doctor visits required at all!

Here’s a sneak peak at what you’ll discover in The Scar SolutionTM:

Forget about Onion Extract – Forget about Vitamin E – They don’t work!

Trust me on this… an effective scar treatment program consists of MUCH more than just applying a cream once a day.  To get the results you want, you need a complete and comprehensive system.  A system consisting of only the most effective and scientifically proven products and techniques. This is stuff you won’t find anywhere else!

Using this simple system, you can:

Using this exact system I was able to completely eliminate my scars in under 3 months. You can’t even tell I was ever in an accident.

My Friends Couldn’t Believe Their Eyes

Forget everything you thought you knew about scar treatment.  The Internet is full of misinformation and old wives tales when it comes to scarring.  The vast majority of this information is outdated and some of it is just plain DANGEROUS. Don’t risk further skin damage on sketchy and untested information.

And forget about paying $100, $75, or even $50 dollars for expensive scar treatment products that don’t even work.  Everything you need to quickly eliminate your scars can be purchased for pocket change and some of it is probably in your home right now!

News Flash: many of the most popular scar treatment remedies found online do absolutely nothing, and some of them can even make your scars worse

By now you probably know that there are loads and loads of home remedies out there that are widely promoted, despite having absolutely no medical evidence that they do anything.  Some of them have even shown to make scars worse in scientific studies!

Stop getting ripped off by scams and marketing hype

Stop wasting your time with unproven products that don’t work

Stop wasting your money on expensive and dangerous medical procedures

The Scar SolutionTM costs a fraction of the price and can safely deliver better results for any and every scar you’ll ever have!

Get Rid of Your Scars, Keep Your Money

The Scar SolutionTM contains only scientifically proven, natural scar treatment methods that are guaranteed to work.  Everything is tested and proven to be 100% effective. Not only that, but many people start seeing results within the first 2 weeks!

All the products and treatments in this system are both natural and:

Clinically Proven

Dermatologist Approved

Personally Tested

Click Here to Claim Your Copy of The Scar Solution

So what are you waiting for? There are no stones left unturned. There are no scars too great. You can start fading your scars today and be scar-free faster than you ever thought possible, no matter how long you’ve had them.

My laser targeted program is effective against every type of scarring, including:

Regain Your Flawless, Scar-Free Skin

This is a no fluff, no BS, scar treatment guide that contains everything you need to know to get rid of your embarrassing scars once and for all.

But don’t take my word for it; see what others are saying about The Scar SolutionTM:

“I Had Tried Everything”

Thank you soooo much for writing this guide Sean. I had tried everything to get rid of my appendix scar and nothing worked.  Since I started using this, it has already started to fade and it’s only been 3 weeks!

-Jared, Mankato, MN

“Already Seeing a Huge Improvement”

Until I found you I had been using Mederma for months to try to fade a large scar on the side of my leg. I was wondering why it wasn’t working for me, but now I know. I started using your guide just a few weeks ago and already I’m seeing a huge improvement. I can’t believe  how fast it’s working!

-Samantha, West Palm Beach, FL

“I’ll Never Pay for Another Scar Cream”

Initially I was skeptical about some of the techniques you recommend in this guide. That was until I tried them. Holy cow! After only 8 weeks I’m, frankly, stunned at how well this worked on a scar I’ve had forever. So happy I‘ll never have to pay for another scar cream again.

-Jackie, San Diego, CA

“EVERYONE is Noticing”

You’re the best Sean! I honestly didn’t believe I could ever get rid of this ugly scar, but I decided to give your guide a try. It took a few months, but now everyone is noticing how much better my scar looks! It’s hard to believe how much it’s finally fading after all these years.

-Mark, Portland, Oregon

“My Acne Scars Are Gone”

I couldn’t believe that it could really be this simple to get rid of a scar, especially acne scars.  When I  found your site I assumed it was just another scam because I had already tried every scar treatment product out there. You name it, I’ve tried it. Luckily, I was wrong this time! I’m only 2 months in and my acne scars are almost GONE.

-Jake, Ontario, Canada

The Scar SolutionTM is not like any other product out there. It’s the result of months of in-depth research, testing, and personal trial and error. Yes, I’ve backed every page with medical studies and scientific research, but I’ve also gone so far as to this on my own scars to confirm their effectiveness. I know from personal experience that my system works!

Get Your Confidence Back

It doesn’t matter how or where you got it. My program contains detailed tutorials for treating scars from any type of skin damage, including:

Acne Scars

Facial Scars

Cut Scars

Burn Scars

Scrape Scars

Stretch Marks

Surgical Scars

… just about ANY type of scar tissue you could possibly have!

The Scar SolutionTM is 100% Guaranteed or Your Money Back

Just in case all this sounds too good to be true, we’re backing it with an unconditional 60 day money back guarantee!  We’re so confident that this is the best scar treatment product out there, we’re guaranteeing results!

If you don’t start seeing real, noticeable fading of your scars within 60 days, you can get a full refund.  It’s as simple as that. You’ll get instant access and can start today! This really is a risk-free offer, so what are you waiting for?

Your results are guaranteed.  You have nothing to lose!

Plus, Order Now and Get 4 FREE Bonuses!

1) Moles, Warts, & Skin Tags No More!

Do you suffer from moles, warts, skin tags, and other skin irregularities? Would you like them gone? Well, you’re in luck!

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It’s all natural, safe, and totally painless. Plus, it doesn’t require any expensive surgeries, topical products, or doctor visits. Get rid of ugly skin irregularities and enjoy flawless skin faster than you ever thought possible!

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Skin looking dull and lifeless? Not feeling as young as you used to? Not a problem.

Ageless is your step-by-step guide to stopping and reversing the aging process in just 3 days. It contains loads of highly effective natural treatments that can take years off your appearing in no time.

Ever notice how celebrities never seem to age like the rest of us? Well now you can use the same secrets to rejuvinate and revitilize your youthful appearance and get the look you once had.

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Ever wonder why you used to be able to eat whatever you want and you wouldn’t gain weight? Now, it seems like if you even look at food you start packing on pounds. That my friend, is called metabolism.

This simple guide designed by a leading nutitionists will show you how to crank your metabolism into high gear so you can burn fat and lose weight like never before. The best part? You don’t have to starve yourself or follow any crazy fad diets. Get your inner furnace burning red hot and lose weight fast!

4) Understanding Acne This is a simple, straight forward guide that shows you exactly how to treat and prevent acne from every different cause.

Stop wasting your time with harsh cleansers and expensive acne products that just irritate and worsen your skin. Find out exactly what is causing your acne and how to make it disappear fast.  

Plus, learn many of the most common acne myths that you’re probably falling for and why they aren’t improving your complexion.

The LAST Scar Treatment Product You’ll Ever Buy

So what are you waiting for?  You have nothing to lose but flawless skin.  Get your copy of The Scar SolutionTM today and you can be on your way to scar-free skin tomorrow.  It’s risk free, so try it today!

Order The Scar SolutionTM Now!

YES, I would like to quickly and naturally eliminate my scars for just $67 $37.

I understand that after ordering the The Scar Solution guide I’ll gain instant access to the download page with free updates FOR LIFE.

This is a RISK-FREE OFFER as The Scar Solution is backed by a 60-Day 100% Money Back Guarantee. Try it for 60 days, and if you don’t see a noticeable improvement in your scars simply e-mail me for a full refund.  No questions asked!

I want to use your medically proven products and techniques to:

Prevent scars from happening

Reduce visibility

Eliminate scars permanently

Get results FAST

Never suffer from scars again!

Retail Price $67 SALE Only $37

A Note To The Buyer: “The Scar Solution” is a digital guide in PDF format which will become available to you INSTANTLY after purchasing the program.

If you have any questions or need tech support after purchasing, simply send me an email and I’ll get back to you within one business day.

To Healthy Scar-Free Skin,

Medical Researcher & Former Scar Sufferer Author of The Scar Solution P.S. You have nothing to lose. The Scar SolutionTM is 100% guaranteed to work. Try it, and you’ll see for yourself that this is the most effective scar removal product out there.

[janiedean]

@nederys all of you guys kinda lost your shit but i don't think you're being consistent at all. you didn't go for it being misinformed or wrongly placed, just that it was "gross" bc it was "romanticizing" blabla, like if someone made a fic about ETA terrorists or whatever and i advocated censorship and asked for it not to exist. when you accept kink and RPF, you need to stand on that principle even when it's YOUR personal/national. shaming ppl into submission is the anti strategy and it doesnt actually convince anybody of anything, much literally if it's screaming in another language to the OPs. i didnt wanna reblog or anything but i was very unpleasantly surprised with how you guys handled the situation (and i say this bc i care and i know you value rationality, not to piss you off YOUR personal/national sensibility like if someone wants to write a fic 'romanticizing' tec bundy murders or a rape fantasy or whatever it's their field day just tag it properly, it's no different for a criminal organization as i see it. a piece of sexual fantasy or literary work is not a guarantee it's portrayed in an accurate way or that it's a moral endorsementj + I'll hear your argument on 'positive representation' so i'll take your word for now but it did really come of like "your evil porn is romanticizing evil irl so it should be censored". as for the bad taste etc thing - as long as the person in question doesn't find out i dont personally see the harm. other ppl getting second-handed distastefulness/offense about it is a slippery slope, bc again that quickly devolves into "ugh why you write about rape! / rpf! if you can write kink porn and you can do rpf (like i mean, what, we just tweak the hair color and the initials to make it 'fictional'?) - it follows you can write "distasteful" kink porn about rpf all you want. it's still fiction.okay in order

In order:

as I said in the other reply, people lost their shit because we’ve had this discussion for years and every time it happens SOMEONE (most likely american but not necessarily) shows yup informing us that since mafia in US english means generally organized crime and not THAT specific organized crime we need to chill and WHO CARES YOU’RE OVERREACTING. at some point there’s a limit to how much nice you can be when you’ve been trying nicely for years and people just dismiss you most likely also because you’re not poc enough to complain - again, when it happens with people who can fall into the POC definition doing this kinda stuff automatically means you’re racist, but with us it’s not even disrespectful? or recognized as potentially harmful? fine, we lost our shit, but it’s also not the first time it happens;

the point isn’t that they were making a fic about the mafia, but if we take the ETA terrorism similitude, it wasn’t ‘making a fic abut ETA’. it was, ‘we are making an RPF fic where we take a real living spanish actor who has a friend who died during an ETA bombing and we make him the commander of an ETA faction which plants a bomb in madrid’. I’d find it distasteful if it was about FICTIONAL CHARACTERS, but whatevr - it’s fictional. real people who are actually involved with those criminals on the other side? not so cool. and the fact that these people see nothing wrong with casting them as criminals for *the mafia* shows they have no idea of what they’re talking about and again, with fictional people you can try to ignore it (even if it irks me also because 90% of the time it shows a total failure of understanding the character just by casting them as mafiosi but never mind that’s my pet peeve), but real ones? who made a pro lgbt movie and are *allies* when a mafia killing actually was what kickstarted the creation of the hugest and first anti-homophobia/pro-gay lgbtq association in italy? like. that’s fucking with real people and honestly if I was the director and knew I’d feel personally slandered especially if I come from someplace where statistically everyone knows someone who’s been hurt by the mafia in the last fifty years if they weren’t themselves. like I had a friend whose father worked for the police and the antimafia division especially and lived in palermo back in the day and criminals did try to grab her out of her pre-school and they had to change cities VERY quickly after that, and I don’t even live in sicily. and she’s not even sicilian. it was twenty years ago when they planted bombs across the entire area and killed hundreds of people just in the 90s (comprehensive list). it’s not just WRITING FIC ABOUT THE MAFIA, which I could be relatively handwaving with if it was about fictional people and even then it irks me to hell and back, but real people? who make movies pro things that the mafia hates? really? and I have to hear ‘are you angry because you’re homophobes’? I don’t ask for it NOT TO EXIST, I’m asking a basic modicum of decency.

ted bundy vs mafia: ted bundy is ONE person and he’s been convicted and whatever. if someone’s personal fantasy is fucking ted bundy WHATEVER their problem. if THEY want to do the self-insert with real criminals whatever, idgi but if they’re aware of the implications whatever. the mafia is a bunch of people and they thrive on positive media representation and it’s such large scale that it fucks with this entire country on multiple levels (ad also other countries) and here you’re not using real criminals, you’re casting as criminals people who most likely have been hurt by that same organization. it’s a difference. and if you portray it as a nice organization where hey you help people bypassing the law and gay people are accepted it’s... just... not how it works.

rpf: I’m generally pro rpf as long as people don’t go to the actual real people and don’t harass them irl (which would make a lot of rpf shippers inappropriate) but like... idk if you were around in spn fandom at the time of the infamous j2 haiti fic, but if you weren’t, tldr: person sees the aftermath of the haiti earthquake on tv, thinks ‘well that’d make a perfect setting for my j2 bigbang fic’, writes an entire fic where jared and jensen go to haiti the month it happened, her artist makes art for it photoshopping those two over like... real pictures of real dead people and three betas don’t find nothing remotely cringy in this concept. the fic gets published. it gets slandered to hell and back and while I didn’t agree on assuming the author was a pre-trump (she most likely had no idea that stuff was kindaaa racist) and that she should have been educated, I’d like to presume that people would think thrice before setting a Romance Story TM on a background where when it was published people were still excavating corpses from the rubble. it’s about the same concept as the romantic mafia fic. but with the haiti fic anyone on tumblr would agree that it’s hardly appropriate, with mafia fic it’s just ‘meh shut up you’re whining’. also, while I do agree that jared and jensen, as famous people, signed up for this, too, I don’t really think using real people for this kind of thing is fair, educated or a favor to them. I get it’s all fantasy and so on, but at least use the fictional characters. I can imagine j2 wouldn’t be happy with knowing noncon fic where they’re protagonists exists, neither with the haiti fic, but the noncon is standard fandom kink and whatever and no one else is involved, the haiti fic DOES. and while the people in those pictures wouldn’t even know, if that’s what you jerk off to at least be aware that it’s not exactly tasteful. and the people mentioned had zero idea that jerking off to the *mafia* au is not tasteful and that the *mafia* is *not* random organized crime. no one would have a problem if they called them CRIMINALS or mob or whatever without using the specific mafia word, but they like it because AESTHETICS which 90% of the time aren’t even true because the godfather aesthetic is so NOT the camorra aesthetic it’s not even funny. and of course we shoudl educate people instead, too bad that if it’s about haiti they listen and if it’s about us, they don’t;

 kink: same as above but like, again, let’s always use the poor j2 guys. the j2 mafia au as above is absolutely ew to me but at least j2 are american and most likely didn’t grow up somewhere the mafia could kill their relatives or friends. guadagnino did. and whether he knows or not (HOPEFULLY HE NEVER FINDS OUT) it’s another level of disrespectful to take a guy who made a pro lgbt movie you liked and putting him in that scenario without being aware of it. and they don’t listen if you tell them. that’s the problem. I can be very tolerant, but good god at least hear people out on the subject. and if it concerns a situation that isn’t even old or a dead organization but one that’s thriving in the country still and fucks people over every day I’d like for these people to recognize that at least it’s something not cool and not just their jerk off fodder material. at this point do the GODFATHER AU, which is what they want anyway, stick with the american mafia and try to not give them positive rep, because this idea of the mafia as a cool thing plays a major role in actual mafia organization marketing themselves as a good thing and makes the work of people actually fighting them way harder. if no one thought it was cool, it wouldn’t have half the influence it has. but do I ever see mafia aus with cops or conflicted henchmen or the likes? nah. it’s all SAD ROMANTIC BACKSTORY WITH CRIMINALS. call it some other way. it’s not asking that much.

also: I am entirely down with mafia stories in media and stuff - again, I ove my sopranos and boardwalk empire and goodfellas and I actually do like the godfather when a lot of people here at this point hate it too, but none of those things make it look like it’s palatable to be in the mafia. people can jerk off to it I suppose, but at least they should be aware of that. lowering the bar, it’s why I get pissed at people passing jc as a healthy nice relationship - at least own up to your badwrong and don’t sugarcoat it. in this case they don’t even own up to the fact that it’s a real thing that hurts real people, never mind caring for the feelings of the people they’re fans of - I could jerk off to my rpf faves in anything but I’d like to know I’m not doing it to something they would loathe, and if you have to at least use the fictional characters as the jerk-off material. I mean I’d feel uncomfortable af using them as jerk-off material to something I know they as people would hate. obviously I’m pro write whatever you want, but I’m also pro ‘be aware of what you’re doing and know you’re possibly jerking off to things that are actually harmful to a lot of people and if you do and are cool with that whatever but at least try to not make it look as it’s a good thing’ while at the same time assuming that someone who tells you it’s not cool is doing it because they’re HOMOPHOBES when the mafia is the most homophobic organization in existence or close to it. we do need positive rep when it comes to mafia stories and we never get it.

like, final example: if I had seen one ‘steve rogers is a cop who wants to take down the mafia-like organization’ for every ten ‘tiny boss steve rogers and his russian henchman bucky are THE POWER COUPLE OF THE NY CRIME SCENE AND THEY KISS IN FRONT OF EVERYONE AND HELP THE WEAK WHEN THE POLICE SUCKS ASS’ fics I ran into it’d be lovely, but the point is that I’ve never seen one such fic even if it’s a lot more IC for steve rogers to take down criminals than being a criminal, and if you make people notice that nicely (which we did more than once) the usual answer is ‘go fuck yourself it’s just aesthetics the mafia doesn’t hurt anyone’ when it actually did, does and will do as long as they have means to, and since this recasting of canonically good characters as *mafia* henchmen who are happy to be there and not itching to get out just really makes pass the concept that the mafia isn’t really that bad I think I/we affected people have the rights to point out that it’s already a distasteful thing that people should at least read about before assuming it’s random organized crime that can be substituted for whichever worldbuilding they like, and if they don’t care for that fine, at least avoid involving real people who actually would loathe that irl in it or, if anything, at least recognize that it’s fucked up to hell and back. and none of the people in that thread had the grace to do that.

I mean, obviously if I had to take the choice between one such fic not existing at all but censoring stuff and it existing without censoring stuff I’d pick the latter even if I absolutely don’t like it, but what irks me and the other people involved in this debate is how nonchalantly people do these recasting assuming that they’re not romanticizing the thing (which they’re doing) and then don’t listen to others when they’re pointed out that they’re doing it and they should be aware.

like, again, I think the haiti fic was a thing that no one with some salt in their brain and a basic amount of decency should have published. someone did. they got criticized for it and it sprung a lot of discussion (including comparing it with a gen kill fic set in east timor during the war which actually did it right and so no one actually thought it was exploiting a tragedy or being in bad taste) and tbh I think that when doing fic about serious things you should at least read up on that. but the point is that these people don’t listen, haven’t listened for years and most likely will keep on not listening and sorry but seeing a person from palermo who shoots movies that would make any cosa nostra boss mad being recast as a cosa nostra/mafia sicilian boss who, if compared to a, uh, real life person who died recently would deal with people seceding from this organization by ordering to kidnap their children and have them dissolved in acid at the ripe age of nine is really goddamned distateful and hearing ‘so your problem is that they’re gay is that why you’re so angry’ as a response instead of reading it and thinking ‘damn maybe that was a bit out of line’ isn’t exactly that great.

especially because again, these organization thrive on people assuming they’re less bad than they actually are and we’re not talking about stuff that happened three hundred years ago - the kid dissolved in acid happened in 1996 and it’s hardly the last time something like that happened. it’s not a general crime organization, it’s a very specific one, and I’ll be fine with people jerking off to any italian stereotype in existence while I roll my eyes and be fine with it, but at least I’d like these people to know what they’re doing. and they aren’t. and they should be. and on top of that some positive rep where the mafia people are inherently bad and the good guys want to take them down would be nice. I do get that it looks like I’m being incoherent but I’m not saying they can’t do it, I’m saying they should show a minimum of consideration, and they aren’t. then no one’s stopping them from doing it of course but just the fact that they-won’t-listen kind of says a lot. :/ and when it comes to real people and real things it’s not just fiction and you should at least be aware of that.

#nederys #janie replies #janie rants #mafia #long post for ts #child murder tw

[bellarkefanfiction]

For the month of October, Lina got the chance to catch up with @kay-emm-gee, author of Small Favors, The More Things Change, Bedgate and many, many more, which you can find here. 

BFF: Tell us about yourself!

Kayla: Hi, I’m Kayla - twentysomething, from the USA, graduate student in cancer biology. And to keep myself sane from science, I spend a good chunk of my free time watching TV and reading. I adore any type of romance story, and those of the fantasy, sci-fi, and historical genres most of all. And, when I’m too tired to read or write, I’m also an avid knitter! #grandmastatus #proudofit

BFF: When did you start shipping Bellarke?

Kayla: Pretty late compared to most, I think? Not until season 2, even though I loved their dynamic from the beginning. I was intrigued by the idea of shipping them by the end of season 1, but I can’t say I really committed until The Hug^tm from 2x05 (I love that I have to specify which hug now lol) and then they went straight to OTP status from there!

BFF: How long have you been writing fanfiction?

Kayla: Funny enough…I actually wrote fanfiction when I was eight or nine, based on Pony Pals (I was obsessed with horses for many of my younger years), I believe, for a class assignment. So that was technically my start haha – but I guess my first published fanfiction was on FFN for Avatar The Last Airbender, a little piece that was supposed to be a prologue for a longer Zuko/Katara post-series multichapter AU…which I planned out entirely but never wrote (some things never change!). I posted a few other things there (for Smallville, Gossip Girl, The Infernal Devices series) but I was more in a reading stage then and couldn’t get enough of fanfiction (Tempest in A Teacup or Stormbenders, anyone??). I didn’t hit a prolific writing phase until Bellarke! And then the floodgates opened and I couldn’t stop writing, for them or for other ships too.

BFF: Are you a part of any other fandoms?

Kayla: Game of Thrones is something I have gotten into writing for recently, although it’s mostly for rarepair ships, which is strange for me (shameless plug for my sideblog, @winterfellslady). I’m usually very much about the narratively obvious pairings, but the Thrones universe is so expansive that it’s hard not to see so many possibilities. Aside from that, I’ve written here and there for a lot of other fandoms: Teen Wolf, A Court of Thorns & Roses series, From Dusk Till Dawn, The White Princess, The Shannara Chronicles, Reign, & Black Sails.  

BFF: Which of your fics was easiest to write, and why?

Kayla: First one that comes to mind as ‘easiest’ was my Peaky Blinders AU oneshot (Our Glory Days Are Numbered). It was a 3AM fic idea that just would not go away, and so I sat up and wrote it in less than an hour with barely any edits. It was a rare experience of producing something I was super proud of, super quickly. The process is usually much more laborious for me when it comes to fics that I want to stand out. As far as multi-chapters, strangely enough, my first one (Small Favors) was easiest to write? I think it was because I had very concise & defined ideas for each chapter, so it kept it simple and the ideas didn’t run away from me…like they do most times now.

BFF: Which fic did you find most challenging to write?

Kayla: It’s a tie between my modern scientist/lawyer AU i pick my poison (and it’s you) and my modern Sense & Sensibility AU by insensible degrees. The first never sat quite right with me (still doesn’t) because I never felt like the scientist perspective/experience came through smoothly enough. The second was tough because I had to power through writing it in its entirety before posting, which was a resolution for me so I didn’t leave it unfinished, but wow was it difficult. It ended up working, but it took almost a year to write (and honestly, it only got finished because @hawthornewhisperer gave me such good feedback & encouragement along the way so shoutout to her for that!). Even so, it’s probably one of my favorite fics that I’ve ever written.  

BFF: What do you predict will happen in season 5? Especially for our favourite duo?

Kayla: After being separated for six years and not knowing if the other is alive, Bellamy and Clarke are gonna have a lot of baggage to work through. Since I’m always here for the Bellarke Angst, I hope, predict, and expect we’ll get that in boatloads. Also, I don’t necessarily predict this will happen, but I’m interested to see if the Clarke & Madi dynamics mirrors season 1 Bellamy & Octavia at all, and if so, how that plays into Bellamy & Clarke’s dynamic (for better or worse). I’d love to see Bellarke get together on screen, of course, but honestly…I just want them to be each other’s centers again in season 5, that’s really all I ask for!

BFF: Do you have a specific process for your writing?

Kayla: Music is essential – I need thematic/atmospheric music to really get in the groove. Most of my Spotify is playlists for different story ideas actually. Aside from that, nothing too particular. I tend to edit as I go, which isn’t the most effective way to write, but I’m too much of a perfectionist to do proper draft editing.

BFF: Do you have any plans for other fics you’d like to write, if so could you spoil or tease us?

Kayla: Real life has been higher-than-average busy for like a year now, so I can’t find much time to write (and I’m working on Game of Thrones fics when I do find it), but there is one Bellarke fic WIP that is holding my interest right now. It was a request from a follower celebration winner for an Anastasia AU, but I wanted to put a spin on it, so I’m making it steampunk! Honestly, it’s the most inspired I’ve felt for this pairing in ages, which is promising. Here’s hoping the inspiration and motivation stays high!

BFF: What advice would you give novice writers?

Kayla: Keep writing. Even if you hate it now, it’ll make you better. And, later, when you do get better, don’t hate something you wrote early on, especially if you loved it when you wrote it. It’s where you came from, where you started, and it’s proof that practice makes a difference. And while you should mostly write what you want to write, it’s also okay to write for others. Because honestly, sometimes writing something that you definitely know other people will like or love is a safe way to boost your confidence (and get you motivated on stuff that you aren’t sure people will like!). One of the best tricks I’ve come across, and I use it often. Lastly, use a placemarker (like a unique, random combination of letters that you can easily Ctrl+F for) to note in the text when you need to look up a fact or something, and keep writing, instead of trying to find the info at that moment. It’s a useful way to prevent falling down a research hole and instead allows the inspiration and words to keep flowing.

We thank Lina and Kayla both for bringing us such a lovely interview! Please look forward to next month’s author interview!

#kay emm gee #bellarke fanfiction #features #author interview #by lina

[modernjobsearch]

Everyday Career Advice That's Not Everyday: Desperation - Going Rogue!

I keep thinking about a candidate I recently stopped working with.  He’s a very good upper middle management supply chain professional who has gotten stuck and is currently with a smaller, unstable company.  I like him.  He’s a good guy.  He’s very well qualified and he should be very employable.  However recently he’s become so frustrated with the job market he told me he’s now willing to do anything to get interviews, which may include exaggerating or omitting details from his experience package.  I explained that I couldn’t be involved in that, either as a fee-paid recruiter marketing him or as a career coach representing him.

In a way, I don’t blame him.

In addition to being ignored all the time, navigating today’s job market includes wading through a cesspool of unethical, dishonest, and misleading people and practices.  The job market itself has become an industry that includes level after level of parasites trying to extract money from desperate job seekers by promising outsized results from custom resumes, confidence building seminars, branding exercises, affirmations, and a million other gimmicks.  The list of things job seekers need to optimize their job searches is never ending.  The list of “gurus” happy to fulfill those needs is never ending too.  It’s kind of gross.

My former candidate simply got fed up, disgusted, frustrated with a capital F.

He said to himself “if that’s the way the world is, then I will join the world and get my hands dirty too.”  He told me that he sent out 600 applications.  I knew he only had a few replies.  We talked about his approach repeatedly.  I suggested changes but I don’t think he applied them.  I understand that too.  When time is limited, sometimes it’s just easier to keep doing the thing you know how to do.  Personally, I can’t imagine sending out so many applications, that’s not my style.  I like a researched, targeted, and personal approach.  Even so, he should have gotten better results.  From our conversations, with limited information about what exactly he was doing, I can’t say for sure what was wrong.  However, generally, taking a high-volume approach like that means applying for jobs for which you may not be qualified, just to generate numbers.  This makes your job search a lottery and your application-to-interview statistics will be worse.

He said he had offers for custom resumes and cover letters that went into the thousands of dollars.  We both know people who paid that much.  For reference, I might charge someone a couple of hundred if they have a draft resume or notes and history I can work with.  One good phone call, more notes, a bit of typing, that’s all it takes.  Resumes and cover letters are easy to write, way overvalued, and won’t get anyone a job on their own anyway.  I don’t get how people can charge so much and I can’t believe people pay it.  Fortunately, he didn’t bite either.

In the end he offered to hire me full-time to do his entire job search for him at the same rate that I might charge a client company.  In his case, it would be been between $35k and $40k.  He told me to “do whatever it takes” to include creating resumes based on job descriptions and putting his name and phone number on top.

He wanted me to apply to hundreds of jobs per week, to write resumes to match whatever supply chain jobs we found, and to do the kind of volume he couldn’t do while also working at his current job.  Executing this plan would have meant basically applying to every posted job in supply chain in any number of industries and locations despite the fact that his real experience is somewhat specialized.

As a strategy, this goes against everything I practiced as a recruiter and everything I learned from marketing candidates.

It’s just busy work.  Generating numbers.  The greater the volume of applications, the lower the frequency of responses.  It is simply a matter of quality.  Something has to give, if the output is that high, the quality will be crap.  If the quality is bad, ultimately the results will also be bad.

Again, I can’t blame him for this level of anger and desperation.  To date, our efforts to find him a job have had little success.  Making matters worse, we’ve both been lied to and misled over and over again by potential employers.  I guess I’m used to it but it really affected him.

He’s also extremely frustrated because nobody has had the courage to tell him why he is not being considered for any particular job.  All of the feedback he’s received as a candidate have been bullshit.  All of the feedback I’ve received as a recruiter who has marketed him into positions for which he was qualified was… none.  Feedback, at least constructive feedback, is rare.

We are both pretty sure it isn’t either of us.  I’m a good recruiter.  I have the numbers to back it up both in earnings and interview to placement ratios (a quality indicator).  He’s a good candidate with multiple bachelor’s degrees in business and international economics, an MBA, and a reasonable history of jobs with increasing responsibilities at companies people know.  We know our market spaces and we know our value propositions.  Neither of us know what to make of the situation.  I think he should keep trying and keep adjusting his methods.  Instead, he’s opted to go rogue.  Like I said, that’s not something I want to do, but I understand.

What should he do?

What should anyone do when they feel like they are being crushed by the Job Search Industrial Complex (JSICTM)?  I can’t possibly know all the answers but a few things seem right to me:

Number one:

Maintain your integrity.  Even if you’re amoral about it, strategically it is still the best thing to do to avoid getting fired unexpectedly.  Background checks are ubiquitous and employment and education verification are just phone calls away.

Number two:

Don’t outsource your job search.  You know you better than anyone else ever will.  You also have more vested in your success than anyone else ever will.  You are the one who has to do the work.  You are the only one who can be intimate with your job search.  That doesn’t mean that you should send out 600 applications.  There are other options and strategies.

I’m also not saying that job seekers shouldn’t seek help.  There are people who have mastered parts of the job search process and do have something to teach.  The best of them have made their knowledge and experience accessible in videos, books, or classes that are inexpensive and widely available.

I don’t care if you buy my book (buy my book!), someone else’s, or all of them (there are plenty of good ones) it’s better than hiring someone to try do it for you.  There’s a difference between spending thousands and pinning your hopes to someone else’s effort and spending a little bit and improving your own effort.  Invest in yourself, educate yourself.  Find resources, use them, and adapt.

Kurt Schmidt is the author of “Modern Job Search” and the President and Owner of Capto Systems, an executive search firm focused on supply chain and strategic sourcing jobs in manufacturing and energy. 

Everyday Career Advice That’s Not Everyday: Desperation – Going Rogue! was originally published on Modern Job Search

#career #career advancement #employers #headhunter #interview #job hunting #job interview #job search #leadership #linkedin #modern job search #networking #resume #search #work