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onereallygoodlambonastick · 4 years

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1, 2, 7, 8, 9 and 10 please

finally some good fucking food, thanks anon;

1. What themes would you like to write about that you feel don’t get explored very often?

Generally speaking, I think the in-betweens, the casual time-skips, and the quick intermissions are the things that get glossed over the most. The “missing scenes”, if you will--the hours after a squabble between a team, the morning before the battle, the months where a child sat idle, the dreams that turned into prophecy.

I also think the theme of re-connection is not often explored--its always “love on first sight” kind of deal, but what about the enduring kind of love, the kind that stays like an ache in your bones? the one you remember and miss? the one you long for like a phantom limb?

2. What are some common elements of stories you are tired of seeing? What would you avoid writing about?

This varies wildly between fandoms, but probably the thing they all have in common is: mindless smut. Just straight up down and dirty fucking, with no motive or prompting or characterization. Just the author smashing two guys (usually) at the hips and being done with it.

That’s fine; we all love to see it. It’s just so dull sometimes.

I need some intricacy, some intimacy, some ache, some angst, some destructive lines and some ruthless gut-punches, you know? Not a guy coming for the fifth time.

For the AFTG fandom: I’m tired of seeing people being fine with the way Sakavic treated her characters and coddling Neil & Andrew in the face of it. I don’t hate Andreil, I feel like I should say, but so much of it relies on one or the other sticking people with their knives or fists and that’s such a toxic love, a misconception of what a “good” relationship should be. Now, there are some brilliant fics I’ve read that are just gorgeous with the concept of Andreil--that was what I wished Sakavic had the ability to achieve in her series, while giving dignity to Kevin Day and the rest of the characters that were there and LIVED despite the romance.

So, obviously, I would avoid doing any of the above I just mentioned, and pray that you will too. Just let these ppl breathe, alright?

For the AoT fandom (yeah i dabbled cuz the manga is just. depressing man): same issue---too much fucking, not enough talking and emoting. Why are there so many goddamned high school AUs? My god. I need a fic that gets down and dirty with the shit going down in the manga and take me through it so I can stand to continue. What about the grief and mourning and the betrayal of it all? Can I get me some of that? Lord, don’t go near the Levi/Eren tag. Y’all just don’t even knock it. Go to Levi/Erwin or something. Or just don’t. Don’t.

For the BNHA fandom (lol. a staple): actually, there’s quite a bit of diversity here so I geniunely can’t complain about much. The sheer magnitude of the English-speaking fandom helps on that end, I suppose. I do think there should be more fics looking at the Shit n Grit of Hero’s society tho, Stain-style. The people the heroes couldn’t save or didn’t want to, the forgotten bodies and the cooling hands, the victims that never got closure, the heroes who got maimed and multilated and couldn’t get back on their feet once the limelight left em. Those sorts of things. I think the fact we see thru the rosy-eyed worldviews of a bunch of green-eared kids deludes people to the fact that People Are Fucking Bad and Disgusting almost all the time. So exploring that, I think, is far more worthwhile.

But I will also take injury aftermath. I’m not a monster.

For the KNY fandom: EYYY we talk about grief and suffering a lot which if you haven’t noticed, is kind of my Jam! Actually, this fandom prob hits a lot of my sweet spots: role reversals, grief/mourning aftermath, SabiGiyuu, Sabito Lives, the usual! Can’t really say much abt this. Except, there’s a lot of Demon Sex and Rape and, uh. Guys? Can we go back for a hot sec?

For the Code Geass fandom (*rubs hands in glee*): SO this is the fandom I’m most active in aside from AFTG at this precise moment. It’s pretty dead, tbh. My favorite two fics in the AO3 archive was published in 2014 and the author hasn’t written for my fav pairing (Suzaku/Lelouch) since. So. There’s that. There’s also a lot of fucking here! And gross cishet dynamics, but, uh, whatever. I think the Emperor Lelouch/Knight of Zero Suzaku has been overused and abused for rough sex and just general Angst-ing it out. I wanna see how their dynamic plays out like that for sure, but what about when they still had secrets between them a mile wide and had to tell each other half-lies and half-truths? How about them coping with the fact of their betrayals and the death of their loved ones at the hands of each other? Where’s the hardcore shit?

Think this fandom doesn’t want to dig their fingers in too deep. Shame.

Another thing: CC is not an immortal seductress. My god give her pizza and some fucking DEPTH. She’s a walking encyclopedia, not some mysterious slut machine! Get your stereotypes and fetishes outta here!

Final thing: TALK ABOUT THE SHIT SUZAKU HAS BEEN THROUGH! He’s not just Lelouch’s boytoy or knight! Stop that! Examine his abuse, his time with the military, his span as a pawn! Look at his motivations and his internalized disgust for himself as a Japanese that was ingrained in him by an oppressive fucking system! Why does he bow? Why is he silent? Speak for him!

7. Favorite description in your wip? (If asked more than once, respond with a new piece each time)

Suzaku watched him watch the discoloring, and Suzaku watched the stillness change into the bare bones of animosity. It was almost kind, the way Lelouch turned his face away and shifted his grip to snatch up the antiseptic.

Neither of them spoke as sharp hands dabbed at the slightly split skin and wet bruising. It stung, but only a little. Long minutes passed like this, Lelouch exchanging swabs for cloths, Suzaku sitting still and watching him work.

Neither of them mentioned the scatter of old deadened skin, puckered across Suzaku’s build like a migration of mutilated fish.

8. Favorite dialogue in your wip? (If asked more than once, respond with a new piece each time)

"You know I can't be seen with you two."

"And I just warned you to not be a coward." Lelouch's eyes gleamed. Again, the challenge was there, and like a fool only Lellouch could make of him, Suzaku took it, open-mouthed and open-palmed.

"Fine," Suzaku said, not knowing what he'd promised himself to: a dinner or a duel. Even though the last time Lelouch picked up a sword it was wooden and he was tiny and cute and clumsy. But Lelouch didn’t need blades to cut. "I'll be there. Does Nunnally still enjoy a good scone?"

"Bring the blueberry ones," Lelouch said, extending the comment like a plank between them, and leapt off the wall, into the white sun. "One for the bastardly son and one for the disowned daughter."

Suzaku followed him out into the blaze of heat, feeling the crude perch of his laughter at the base of his throat. He was so fucking dramatic. "Which one of us do you mean?"

9. What scene was the hardest to write for you and why?

From the same wip fic from above--I’m stuck on the “light” kind-of crackish scene where Suzaku is literally just exasperated with Rivalz and his porn mags. Like I just can’t write it. It’s too.....friendly. And “nice”.

10. What scene was the most fun to write for you and why?

Out of the same fic as above: probably the scene from #8. It was fun to see how coy and rough-mouthed Suzaku could get once he’s together with Lelouch. Just to see them fool around with each other whilst keeping secrets but also somehow be honest was very satisfying and interesting to write out. They are just boys, there. Just boys. In love.

#aftg #all for the game #code geass #suzalulu #bnha #aot #kny #my writing #my fic #soy replies #asks

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rauliskafan · 6 years

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Objection: The Unceremonious Exits of Rafael Barba and Elliot Stabler

During my post-Rafael Barba grief, I have cried so many times and vented to @vintagemichelle91 here, there, and everywhere. On Wednesday night, I shared my thoughts on a major missed opportunity since the son of Ben Stone is taking the reins. But as I worked yesterday (and then shopped for some pretty fabulous decorative boxes), I grew even angrier at the writers because what they did to Rafael and Raúl stretched back to an earlier SVU moment. And both are egregious.

SVU has seen so many come and go over the years (Munch and Cragen, Amaro and Dodds, Cabot and Novak, etc.). These departures were sudden and, with the seeming exception of Amaro and the definite demise of Dodds, far from final. Munch gets a retirement party, Amaro leaves wounded but ready to reunite with his family. Cragen gets to give his farewell speech to the troops. Yes, Cabot goes into witness protection (almost totally forgotten at a later date), Novak is censured (easier to explain when she pops back up), and Dodds... poor Mike. But what all of these exits have in common is that the characters stayed true to what viewers expected for a simple season (Dodds was a good cop and would have walked into danger even on his last day) or far longer (essentially everyone else). Then there are the exceptions to the rule.

I understand where Maggie was coming from in the most recent episode. I get why Barba would as well. But him pulling the plug? Makes zero sense. Does not fit with the character. ADA Barba was (I hate even thinking about him like that in the past tense!) a man of compassion but also common sense. Sometimes the intricacies of the law failed a victim or benefited a suspect, but even his so-called “suicidal streak” was basically a witty retort. Until, in the space of one episode, he unspooled like a ball of yarn and placed his need to right an old wrong above everyone else’s concerns. Now if the writers really wanted to tell this story with Barba at the center, then introduce Maggie instead of Sheila earlier in the season. Show Barba getting more involved with her family’s tragic tale. Not saying I still would have bought Barba literally taking matters into his own hands, but it couldn’t have hurt. Play the beats. And this brings me to another exit also bungled royally by the SVU writers: Elliot Stabler.

Stabler, the co-lead of the show for twelve seasons, so incredibly complex when onscreen. A family man who placed the squad before his wife and children, a survivor of child abuse who went into his share of wild rages. But he was never the type to run away from demons internal or external. So when he had no choice but to shoot the daughter of a murdered witness and the young girl subsequently died in his arms... that was it? Seriously? No examination of how this impacted him. No scenes where he struggled with the fallout and subsequently turned in his shield. He was just gone, and Cragen told Liv as much in Season 13′s premiere. It was a sin. Yes, Christopher Meloni’s contract negotiations stalled and finally fell apart. But to hang him off that cliff and come back without anything resembling a proper goodbye? That was a cynical ratings grab. That was the equivalent of #BarbaOnTrial.

Here’s the thing. Maybe both Stabler and Barba were destined to leave the SVU universe for different reasons. In Stabler’s case, even if the writers only suspected that Meloni might leave, have the accidental shooting occur in the first act of his last episode, play those devastated beats, and then give Stabler a speech where he says he doesn’t know if he can protect and serve in good conscience anymore. That’s a cliffhanger. Then his exit after so many seasons would not seem like a cheap throwaway, and Cragen could tell Liv as much when the show returned. In the case of Raúl, this should have been so much easier. He actually gave the writers the luxury of time with which to work. Either drop hints about Baby Drew’s fate from the word go or come up with something, anything else. Let Barba leave by transferring to another unit or becoming el juez to his late, lamented abuelita’s delight. The point here is that you can send a character into retirement for various reasons. You can even kill them if it stays true to principles in the line of duty (or in the case of Cabot make the misdirect even more tragic in its own way). But Stabler running away and never so much as saying goodbye? Barba acting on impulse to get to the hashtag? Not fair. Not when fans invest so much of their time and hearts into the lives playing out on screen. Both departures leave the door open for later returns. But the damage is done. The writers went against seasons of evidence while they showed the supposed men of the hour the door. And to that, I object.

#raúl esparza #rafael barba #christopher meloni #elliot stabler #law & order: svu #they done 'em wrong

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