#which would frankly be very cool to explore in fanfic

[powderblueblood]

hello, i hope you are well and having a nice day! you recently made this post (https://www.tumblr.com/powderblueblood/743847014582943744/any-additional-thoughts-on-fandom-and-writing-i) about fandom and writing and i wanted to say that i agree with lots of it and, if u didn't mind, share some of my thoughts about ur thoughts, if that's okay with you, because you brought up some points that i agree with a lot but never bothered to put into words.

firstly, omg dialogue is sooooo crazyyyy its the hardest part for me to write personally (in personal projects, i haven't really used this blog for writing yet) but also the most satisfying. i love the feeling of writing something that i feel a real person, and a specific kind of real person would say, and it's definitely the most interesting for me to read, especially in fanfiction because it's where fun relationships between characters can be explored, but t's also the trickiest because it takes me out of the story very quickly if i don't like the way it's written, both in fanfic and original works as well.

also, while i don't really mind shy readers or badass/snarky and sharp readers, my favourite is but reserved and cautious readers a lot.......like.....they aren't shy.....they are suspicious......they are friendly because that's the polite thing to do but they're not gonna freak it with randos who are weirdly hush hush about what they get up to in their free time. also yeah trying to get a middle schooler to think ur cool is the kind of herculean task that humbles you to the ground and i do think it's a little strange sometimes how quickly a very tight knit group of friends would accept a stranger in their midst, as established with max in s2

and yes omg more characters of colour PLEASE, and for stranger things specifically, imo, i want to just say about the show (which i'm not really watching anymore due to various reason amongst boycotting), i was always sort of put off by how they handled their non-white characters, specifically women of colour like kali, who i think is the only notable woc other than erica, and the way the showrunners handled her character rubs me the wrong way, esp as a desi girl. i also think it would be fun to just write like explicitly characters of colour, both oc and y/n/readers, Black readers, Asian readers, Desi readers, Hispanic readers, that are involved with their specific cultures and backgrounds instead of like, very generalised readers that still do, frankly, tend to come off as white, because of that non-specificity and the unfortunate reality that a lot of "blankness" does tend to get filled up by white norms (i really hope that made sense im so sorry if it didn't)

tbh i also don't really see haringrove because billy freaks me the hell out, but omg....what you said about steddie being any two guy syndrome.......tysm for giving me a word for it, i never knew how to put it other than like, not just that i *personally* don't think they had very good chemistry (not saying their not good actors, just that i don't think they had chemistry), but also i did not see it making thematic sense for either of them and their individual character arcs, as well as a little bit of "get the girl out of the way"-ness that a lot of these specific ships (specific as in the trend of any two guy-ness that can arise in fandom at times) tend to have.

also i never thought about it before, but yeah, having a best friend date your ex that you guys broke off on sort of bad, or at least awkward terms, would be a stressful experience to have to ANYONE in that dynamic. i think i like the idea of nancy and her issues with that, but i think exploring robin and the side of oops i like by bff's ex would be fun and the sort of hurt and weirdness that that could bring to a friendship that has been so far very positive and supporting for both steve and robin.

i am so so so sorry for the disjointed nature of this ask as well as its length, you just brought up some points well worthy of discussion and i wanted to talk to you about it. i'm sorry you feel alienated that's not a fun thing to experience, but if it's worth anything, i think it's nice that a (slightly) older person is still passionate and stuff about something i'm interested in. i feel like especially when your a teen it gets easy to imagine that people in their thirties, forties, fifties have lost all the sort of spark and passion that youthfulness is known for when that's not true! it just changes and evolves and maybe you discover new stuff (me rn as i'm sort of over st and not planning on watching s5 and am largely participatory based on joe keery/djo and maya hawke and caleb laughlin and sadie sink) or re-discover things you'd forgotten about, but idk, i hope i'm able to dedicate some time to my hobbies and such as i grow older which can get tough because of life. happy to hear your thoughts and excited to hear back if you choose to respond. have a pleasant day <3!

sanjana love, I hope you don’t mind me posting this but I think there’s some lovely and valuable bits here and I’m glad some of what I was yappin about resonated with you! big love to you pal

#powder room talk #procrastinationprincesses

[absentcaryatid]

Where Mingi Has Never Gone Before

An ATEEZ fanfic by AbsentCaryatid

Set in JC World after Sleeping With Seonghwa, 864 words, teen rating

Content note: reader has a vulva, is asexual, and is Mingi’s wife, healthcare mention, insect mention, polyamory

~

You looked at Mingi’s red hair between your spread legs. He seemed nervous, possibly more than you were, and frankly admitted, “I’ve never done this before and I don’t know how to start.” Your husband had just been exploring your skin all over with a gentle touch. The feel of his warm hands everywhere on your body had been appealing as he examined you closely. Until this moment, you both felt relaxed but all that changed as Mingi squirmed under your gaze when he started to poke around.

You really wished you could have asked Yunho to do this instead. He was so much better suited for the task. It was easy to see why you always used to seek out his help when you were together. Yunho was very professional, and it had surprised you how comfortable you had felt with his head at your thighs when you had expected it to be completely awkward. Yunho would dive in without hesitation and made it seem like he enjoyed the process.

You would not say it was a pleasure, but you were after the sense of relief. Unfortunately, you could no longer turn to Yunho since the break up with your polyamorous boyfriend, but despite being former lovers you wondered if asking him or your queerplatonic partner Jongho would have been better choices than what you had now. How could you have forgotten Mingi had never seen a vulva up close like this before? You had once thought he had experience with your friend Annie but it turned out he had only wanted to go as far as kissing when they tried out a vacation romance.

The novelty of Mingi’s view showed in his curiosity and your husband was having a field day with the opportunity. “Did you know you have some grey hairs down here?”

“Thank you Mingi,” you deadpanned.

“And you are slimy like you are part slug. Do you remember the yellow ones with the funny name we saw in California? They were really cool.”

“Oh yeah, banana slugs in the redwood forest park…wait.” You facepalmed audibly. “Mingi! Get on with it!” You had been through gynecology check ups which were less embarrassing. Still, this was not as mortifying as another trip to the emergency room for an embedded tick removal would be. The staff had been completely unfazed despite the position you had been in, but whatever medication they gave to make you less anxious would have come in handy again right now.

“Want me to do anything else while I am down here?”

“No!”

With a sly grin Mingi needled, “The people in the movies make it look like a lot of fun.”

“Okay, that’s it. You have helped enough. You are just supposed to be looking for ticks after I fell asleep in the tall grass with Hongjoong on our picnic with Yeosang’s family. I don’t need the commentary,” you emphasized. “Your turn next since you sat on the bank for so long fishing. I have to check all your fuzzy parts. Bend over and spread your cheeks.”

“You sure this isn’t your way of asking to try something?” He looked back at you with a gleam in his eye. “We might enjoy it.”

“Mingi! Even if I wanted to do a little more sexual experimenting with you, this is truly not the most conducive atmosphere when I am still wondering if I have one of those little bloodsuckers attached to my scalp so please, let me look you over and then you can finish in my hair.”

Eyes wide, he started laughing at your phrasing and it took a while for you to catch on aided by some rather graphic gesturing on his part. “Didn't know that was an option for us.”

“Mingi!” Again you were left in awe of the man you married. Everything was a source of laughter when you were together and he knew the aggravated way you were always saying his name held no real frustration. Shared jokes made every situation easier and he had gotten you through many stressful things by deliberately pushing your humor buttons. Still, if it was possible to get permanently stuck facepalming, this conversation was going to be what did it to you.

Mingi reveled in the reactions crossing your face and fruitless, open-mouthed attempts to think of something to say in return. Tenderly, he did take pity on you and added, “I can't help being attracted to my wife, even if you are asexual.”

That was it. Now your mouth was sore from smiling. No more grassy parks for you or else in the future you were going to have to rely on someone else, or doing the best you could with the help of a mirror to make sure you had picked up no ticks along the way. For now though, you kissed his head sweetly then dressed after deciding to seek out Jongho to look over your hair. Certainly there would be less innuendo from your asexual, queerplatonic partner. Mingi was still willing to investigate your scalp but by this point your body hurt from too much laughter and you could take no more.

~

On to Yunho Comes Back

Masterlist

#ATEEZ Fluff #ATEEZ Fanfic #Kpop Fanfic #JC World #Fake Smut #cross posted on ao3 #asexual main character #Song Mingi #ATEEZ Mingi #Mingi

[earmuffstar]

cant stop thinking about that part in the last encanto song where bruno sings "let it go" and it sounds like the let it go chorus from frozen 

because either frozen exists in the Encanto universe and bruno was the equivalent of the radio that wouldn’t stop playing let it go for the nth time (sometimes i can still hear his voice, says dolores as bruno hums it in the walls)

or, since Frozen certainly does not exist due to the time period and if it does it certainly is not accessible in Encanto which is contained by mountains and presumably has no access to the outside world, bruno could have seen the movie through his visions. which would be funny but also begs the question of whether the encanto eventually becomes open to the outside world (otherwise how would they come into contact with frozen)

OR frozen is one of the shows that the rats put on and bruno wrote the plot and songs to frozen himself

#its definitely a reference by disney but also in-universe????? #what would it MEAN #encanto #bruno #bruno madrigal #encanto meta #i did not think 'bruno is secretly a song/movie writer' was gonna be the hot take i hadafter this movie #but the alternative is that he has access to like. the entire Future Internet Database #which would frankly be very cool to explore in fanfic

[generatedreflection]

I kinda wrote this already, but this time I'm gonna be a Joshneku shipper about it

So. Neku. Shinjuku. Three years.

I don't like it.

Like, fanfic writers have already been doing some really cool stuff with it, but mentally I have to turn of the switch that keeps complaining about the premise.

I am super introverted with lower social batteries than most people I know, but I can still feel myself going squirrely after a few days of no contact. The longest I've ever gone was about two weeks. This is like, literally the movie Cast Away. Tom Hanks was talking to a volleyball in a matter of weeks (days?)

Three years alone in Shinjuku with no one to talk to but the lingering thoughts of the dead is mind-bogglingly traumatic. Isn't it? Like, no matter how introverted Neku is I just can't imagine it. Frankly, it seems far worse to me than the Long Game.

I need to know how he survived that. Neku being so chill is cool, but part of me wants to read it as a coping mechanism, like his brain has just shut out a lot of the unpleasantness so he could keep going.

And Joshua is the one responsible.

No matter how good his intentions were, Joshua is directly responsible for this. Three of his formative years just...lost. And so the "ahhhh Joshua tried to keep Neku away from the shitstorm in Shibuya because he Cares" is at war with "holy shit Joshua do you have any idea what you did."

A great continuation to the story in Neo, which a lot of people have been exploring, involves Neku feeling alienated from the RG, understandably. Feeling like he doesn't belong in either place. Feelings that Joshua would understand, that only Joshua would understand.

But Joshua is the one who did it to him. And...idk, I don't like the idea of Joshua essentially creating a version if Neku that would be drawn to him, intentionally or no?

And like I am down to explore toxic af Joshneku (in general, not that this specific instance is), I love their relationship from every angle frankly. But I don't think Josh *meant* to hurt him, and I care so much about Josh caring about Neku, and there being this big canon Thing in the way of that bums me out. Like, maybe if it were something a bit smaller than three years of trauma? On top of the Long Game? I don't know.

I'm not saying it shouldn't have happened or that Joshneku is cancelled because lmfao no. It's more just like...in my head, it's hard for me to plot out Joshneku post-Neo because I have to include that hurt, but yhe way that that hurt doesn't seem to exist in Neo is weird, and I also don't like Josh creating a situation where Neku needs him, even unintentionally, if Josh isn't aware that that's what he's doing.

On the other hand, Joshua protecting Neku in a way that hurts him because the alternative definitely would have been worse is very juicy (and I think what Neo was going for?) I don't know. There's an interesting angle to Joshua being a god who doesn't really see humans as humans but I've always believed Joshua stayed away from Hachiko because he believed involving himself with Neku would hurt him, and that the kindest thing he could do for the one person he cares about is to stay away. If we put Angels and Composers into one category as "higher beings," Joshua is definitely the most human of them, even if he doesn't acknowledge that to himself. He's too godlike for the humans and too human for the Angels. He's always been caught in between the RG and UG.

Anyway, something about the way Neo handles this like...touches that, but also not really. It feels off.

I'm really just thinking aloud, not making any value judgments on any of it. I'm already enjoying the post-Neo Joshneku fanworks a lot. I'm just having trouble detangling this and wanted to throw it out there.

#ntwewy spoilers #joshneku #long post #long rambly nonsense post #like talk to me if you get my vibes because this was very stream of consciousness

[zkfanworkweek]

ZFAW Fan Content Creator Interviews: HayleyNFoster

Hey everyone! We hope you’re all excited for ZFAW, and to honor (ha!) ZFAW’s commitment to supporting and celebrating fan content creators in the Zutara fandom, we’re going to be rolling out a series of interviews with well-known and widely-beloved content creators over the next few weeks. We’ve got artists and fanfiction authors, some names you recognize as well as a few phenomenal up-and-coming talents, and we can’t wait for you to meet them all!

For the second interview in this cycle, we have our best propaganda creator and this fandom’s hottest new artist/undisputed queen of the animatic, @hayleynfoster!

1. Tell us about how you came to ship Zutara. What does this ship mean to you?

When I was around 14 or 15 and caught Avatar: The Last Airbender on television, I was drawn in by the art style, the humor, and the wonderful characters. I caught the episodes out of order, and the first one I saw and wasn’t prepared to be sucked in by was The Waterbending Scroll. It intrigued me at that age, and the line “I’ll save you from the pirates” combined with the tension between Katara and Zuko in that whole scene was electrifying. I remember my teenage self thinking these two have so much chemistry! And when I saw a commercial on Nickelodeon that featured fanart submitted by fellow Avatar fans, I realized that I could do that to! So I set about making Zutara fanart for myself. I stumbled onto Youtube, practically in its infancy, and discovered that people set clips of Zuko and Katara set to music (And this was still in season 1 days… so people who made these amvs were the real mvps because they were able to make compelling narratives in their amvs with like practically nothing to work with!). The AMVs really spurred my interest in this couple, I remember distinctly one Zutara AMV using the Dido song White Flag utterly capturing my imagination. I found fandom shortly after, getting into deviantart and forums. But the ship really began to mean something to me when, as I was working on my drawings in the computer lab at school, a buoyant presence hovered over my shoulder noticing my Zutara art on the computer screen. The girl was someone I had never really talked to and had only seen from afar but she immediately started excitedly saying she shipped Zuko and Katara too! In this simple shared obsession, I made one of the best friends I’ve ever had and we’re still friends to this day. We would theorize and fangirl over Avatar like it was nobody’s business; we poured over bootleg San Diego Comic Con footage that showed spoilers for season 2 before it aired; we lost our freaking minds when we finally saw The Crossroads of Destiny. We had watch parties every week as Season 3 of A:TLA aired, and comforted each other when the show ended as it did (much ranting was shared). Those are some of my happiest memories from high school… all because this one pairing from this wonderful show. Even though Zutara didn’t happen, we still chat every now and then about it. Zutara will probably be a lifelong obsession, always bubbling under the surface. And without it, I would have never realized that animation was a viable career path. It really did inspire everything including the work I’m doing to this day in the animation industry. I owe a lot to this ship and to Avatar: the Last Airbender.

2. What inspires you to create zutara fanworks?

The resurgence of Avatar: The Last Airbender this year really helped sort of spark that dormant love I had for Zutara. The show’s ending still disappointed me on the rewatch, but Zuko and Katara’s relationship arc was as captivating as ever, so I turned to some fanfiction and looking at people’s pretty Zutara art and AMVs to just revel in fanon instead of getting to hung up on the actual ending of the show. But then I realized, with quarantine and my work load being pretty light, I had time to actually make all new Zutara art for myself, art I was never fully capable of making as a kid, but now could do with my 7 years of industry experience and just… life experience. And I was inspired to do some corrective animatics to satisfy my own desire for a different ending. I just really like exploring these two characters, doing different and interesting things with them, and frankly I’m inspired to make cute, fluffy, romantic art simply by virtue of living in a really sad and depressing world. Things are so crazy right now, creating art about two characters I love being in love, is comforting. And it helps to have inspiring music and amazing Zutara amvs to just sort of stir up my emotions and imagery in my head to make into animatics and art.

3. Be selfish - if you could request one fanwork based on your own art/fanfic, what would it be? What would you absolutely love to see someone create?

Ohhhh… Well, It’s always nice to have people write fanfiction that puts words to my animatics. I am not that great at coming up with dialog myself, so I’ve just chosen to indulge in visuals and emotions for my boards. But when I read things like RideBoldlyRide’s take on my Reunion Animatic, it makes me pretty giddy. (They finally have voices!) :) And this is the MOST selfish thing I could request, but I’m not shy about saying how much I love well done amvs, so I will literally kill for someone to make Zutara AMVs to songs I like… Like, most of AURORA’s songs but especially Exist for Love, Sunseeker by The Naked and Famous, Promises or Take Me by Aly & AJ, Adore You by Harry Styles, Human Enough by ONR, Never Let Me Go by Florence + The Machine, and/or Almost (Sweet Music) by Hozier just… I can see the AMVs so clearly to any of these songs in my head, but I don’t have the tools or skill set at my disposal to make a compelling fan video. When I was in high school, I originally thought I wanted to go into video editing simply because I loved making very crappy AMVs (they were so bad you guys), but I figured out being a storyboard artist was more in my wheelhouse. haha

4. Any words for people who are new to the fandom and/or nervous about sharing their work for the first time?

If you’re new to the Zutara fandom, just have a good time! Don’t waste too much time arguing with people over your shipping preferences. I wasted so much of my teen years having pointless shipping wars with people on DeviantArt, and I’m just so much happier nowadays because I’m just making Zutara art in my little corner of the internet, and honestly, in the politest of ways, I don’t give a shit if people don’t like my art or Zutara. haha I think that’s sort of a key thing for people thinking of posting creative works here in the fandom, just make art for yourself, satisfy your own desires for the pairing, get your creative sparks flying, and create just for the joy of creating. It’s always nice to get comments and such, but simply making the art should be what spurs you on, not the external validation. And have a good time, don’t worry too much - I say as someone who worries about EVERYTHING. But honestly, making art for A:TLA is some of the most relaxed I’ve been because I make it just for me. I’m lucky others seem to like it too!

5. What’s an idea for a fanwork that you have but haven't gotten around to making?

I have an idea for a second generation storyline with my Zutara kids that involves Kya (the eldest firebending daughter) falling in love with an airbender boy (tentatively named Gora in my headcanon who’s a bit of a rabble rouser and one of Aang’s kids he had with a Kyoshi Warrior), and then they start a socialist revolution in the Fire Nation in order to dismantle all of the hierarchical societies across the Avatar world… Together Kya and Gora Fan the Flames of revolution… ehhhhh... Get it?? Oh! Oh, and then Katara, who had put in legit liberal reforms in her time as Fire Lady listens to her daughter after resisting in the first part of the story, but then realizes she can actually play a part in the dissolution of the royalty and is also active in the revolution realizing that moderate liberal reforms are no substitute for a society free of serving royalty (which she had always been uncomfortable with but had rationalized with herself that she was doing good in her capacity as Fire Lady.) I just feel like there’s a lot of cool potential for discussing these ideas and also having some aspirational change in the Avatar world. lol For aesthetics and just happy fluffy times, I can indulge in Fire Lady and Fire Lord Zuko stuff, but really at the end of the day, I take issue with the structures in a society that have to exist for monarchies to exist. Soooo, I kind of want to do my own corrective story for that… if I ever have the time or guts. On a less ambitious note, I would love to do a Zutara sparring animatic to practice doing action, but I need a good story; I am not good at doing fights just for fighting’s sake. Those are just some things I have rattling around in my head.  

6. Are you participating in ZFAW? If so want to give us a hint as to your plans?

Yes! The most I can say is I have one animatic almost finished and one that’s still being thumbnailed. The rest are probably going to be comics or emotive single pieces based on the fanfics I really like right now. :)

#interviews #zutara fanworks appreciation week #zfaw #hayleynfoster #zutara

[alwaysthrowsscissors]

Fic Writer Questions!

Thanks for the tag @venhedish dont mind if I do darlin'! Loved reading your answers too!

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

17 and I started May 2020

2) What's your total AO3 word count?

84,430! Sooooo close to that 100k milestone I just need to get off my writing hiatus since I have a beefy one shot WIP and a couple kink-meme prompt fills started that will get me to the finish line!

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

On Ao3/as an adult, just Supernatural.

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Well Jung – This was my first and I’m still super surprised it took off so well considering all the head-hopping. I also hadn’t written fiction since high school so it’s pretty technically rough!

I Can’t Forget the Time and Place Where We Just Met – Who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned double amnesia fic! This was a SPN Masquerade fill and it was super fun to write!

Kiss the Cook – Another SPN Masquerade fill inspired by Dean in an apron in S15. Kitchen fucking is fun fucking!

Iodine and Stitches – 3/5 SPN Masquerade fills that I did fall 2020. Seriously such a fun event to participate in I cant recommend it enough. This is one my only fics with a serious tone throughout which is tough for this clown.

Double Jeopardy – Written for my buddy after finding out she has an intelligence kink! Cut to us giggling about Sam losing his damn mind when he plays Jeopardy with clever Dean!

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Listen…I can’t fully express how much comments give me LIFE! I want to know what you liked about my silly musings, I want to know your fav part, I want to know that I gave you a boner! I'll take a button smash, I'll take an emoticon. Anything, everything! I make a point to always respond back to show my appreciation for people taking time out of their day to make my day.

6) What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Without a shadow of a doubt Yesterday Don’t Matter if It’s Gone about what would happen if Sam and Dean hooked up during Mystery Spot and exacerbated Sam’s downward spiral during the months of Tuesdays. I write a lot of humour and this sucker is humourless PLUS has an unhappy ending! Weeee!

8) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you've written?

Never have but not opposed to the idea.

9) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Nope, I’ve been pretty fortunate but I also write pretty tame shit. So if I start dabbling more in the archive warnings it may change. I do have a fun multichap wincestiel non-con WIP in the works 😈

10) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

AHAHAHAHAHA I’d say a good 90-95% of my 84k wordcount is smut! All M/M all explicit! Fun times over at Casa Scissors 😏. I do have some upcoming stuff that’s more plot heavy though which I’m looking forward to.

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I fucking hope not that would be a big bummer.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! And as a noob I had to pinch myself, it still fucking blows my mind! A lovely Ao3 user Yigelulu translated I Can’t Forget the Time and Place Where We Just Met into Chinese. It was so incredibly cool to see my words in another language and a great honour that they liked my fic enough to put in all that work!

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yup! Turn Your Head and Cough with my budbud Wearingdeantoprom. Dean gets his prostate rubbed for the first time at the doctors office.

14) What's your all time favorite ship?

Wincest wincest all the wincest! My brain is infected and there is no cure! I am a pro-shipper though ship and let ship my dudes. I also dabble in wincestiel and LOVE any combination of winkline and may write it one day. I don’t really read much from other fandoms. I’ve read some George/Fred (I like brother fucking ok?) and I love me some Jess Mariano/Dean Forester over in the Gilmore Girls camp (the perfect enemies to lovers) but its unfortunately such a small ship. Any souls reading this who like those ships, please drop any recs into my box!

15) What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Anything I am passionate about I will finish. I’ve only killed one thing because I got bored with it but I posted my fav part for a fic challenge. I hate not having something to show for my spent time (I know it's a hobby but it's the principle damnit!) and I hate unfinished things. Those damn little ao3 red circles haunt me 🚫

16) What are your writing strengths?

Christ uhhh I’ll say I’m most consistently praised in comments for my dialogue and it’s what always flows the smoothest for me. I think my humour is also a strength, it comes very naturally when I write which is why I have a hard time keeping it out of my fics! Times are tough I just wanna make y’all giggle ok?

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

Frankly, my greatest weakness is that I don’t take it seriously enough to look at my past writing critically for improvement. I also write (non-fiction) for my job and had extensive training to do so, so when its for this hobby I honestly whip it out, edit a couple times, and slap it up ‘good enough’ styles and I don’t go back to re-read once posted. I think if I looked back, I could see lots of opportunities for improvement and could go from a fine writer to a good writer. I’d also say that I’ve written pretty fun fluffy cracky smutty stuff so I guess another weakness is a lack of depth of plot and subject matter. I do want to explore this stuff more though.

18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

My concern is if you don’t speak the language fluently, then native speakers reading your fic might feel a big disconnect if you get colloquialisms and euphemism etc. incorrect. It could take them out of your fic if its not authentic enough. I don’t speak any other language fluently so it would END BADLY. I can speak and read French VERY POORLY and that’s it so no, I will never write in another language unless its jibberish I invented myself!

19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

The only fanfic I wrote before SPN last year was a handful of super cracky, gen Gundam Wing fanfiction in high school!! They are on a broken USB stick which kills me I want to read them so badly! All my other creative writing was original fiction mainly horror/thrillers. I stopped when I started my undergrad cause...that shit is a lot of work yo.

20) What's your favorite fic you've written?

My first love is my first baby Well Jung. I love the plot, I love the humour in it, I love the heart, and it’s still some of my fav sex I’ve written. And the title makes me giggle too who doesn’t love a bad pun? I'm so thrilled it was so successful but it would still be my favourite even if 3 people read it. It made me rediscover writing as a hobby and helped me explore this wonderful (yet insane) fandom. I love all my babies and I even think the writing is stronger in other fics, but he will always be #1 in my heart.

OK this was fun I love talking about fic writing! If any of you read my stuff and want to know more, hit me with an ask; I love making new frans! Tagging @oddsocksandstuff @samanddeaninpanties @raidens-realm I think my other writer mutuals have been tagged by Ven!

#ask game #about me #fanfic writing #spn fanfiction #my writing

[seyaryminamoto]

One of the big things about "The Beach" to me is that it seems to suggest that Zuko may be the least empathetic among the Fire teens. Azula shows the most empathy to her brother and her friends, Ty Lee shows the second most, Mai the third most, and Zuko the least. So the point of the episode was to portray the three girls sympathetically while highlighting Zuko's limitations. The issue then is that they never really went back to Zuko's lack of empathy. Thoughts?

Eh, well... the show refuses to go back on a lot of Zuko’s exposed flaws, no matter how they may be highlighted and shown as a problem, so I guess I’d just say what’s one more, in the end, among a pile of many unresolved personal issues? :’D

I think some people would try to argue that Azula wasn’t empathetic at all, but I’d say the key element in these regards is that Azula seemed to backtrack at least once with Ty Lee when she apologizes to her after reducing her friend to tears with her harsh words. It’s fair enough that Azula was very insulting, but she takes it back quickly and admits she knows what her actual problem is, implying there’s self-reflection, self-awareness and remorse enough to not only acknowledge her behavior was out of place, but to know why she impulsively acted the way she did.

Meanwhile, Zuko mocks and calls Ty Lee a circus freak (and, yes, Azula laughs about it), and nothing he says suggests he regrets hurting her. That, honestly, is the core of the problem as far as I can tell: maybe Zuko felt bad for saying what he did? But nowhere in the episode will you find him saying it aloud, which is the typical Zuko issue: more than once he does genuine damage with his actions or words to real people, whether people who were kind to him or people who should be important to him, and he barely ever vocalizes any apologies or remorse for those actions. Heck, right after insulting Ty Lee he tries to rile up Mai to fight Ty Lee because she insulted Mai’s aura? And all of it really is reduced to “he’s angry at himself”. See... I don’t mind the explanation one bit. But I do mind that he not only faces next to no consequences for that behavior (since merely acknowledging what he’s angry about is no actual display of remorse for how he behaved), but he also displays no signs of change or wanting to act differently, and the whole thing’s swept under a rug just because his firebending outburst looks very cool and dramatic. Thus, yes, it’s very easy to conclude, as you did, that Zuko lacks empathy and fails to recognize this as a problem altogether.

Though I will disagree with you in one regard and that is Mai. I... don’t think she displayed any empathy, frankly. She’s more down-to-earth than the others, I’d say, but the way she talks to both Azula and Ty Lee doesn’t really suggest any empathy to me. She’s adamant about making sure Zuko knows she’s mad at him, and while she kisses him at the end, it’s not some sort of “omg I’m so sorry Zuko I didn’t stop to think about your feelings :(((” sort of kiss, it’s a way of showing him she cares about him even if he’s a trainwreck... which, sure, might make Zuko happier, but it doesn’t necessarily mean she “understands” him or is particularly invested in helping him out of his cycle of self-hatred.

I guess that’s one potential factor why Zuko and Mai are so conflictive in canon, I don’t think either one is particularly empathetic with the other -- or with anyone else, maybe except Iroh in Zuko’s case, and only in Book 3. This is certainly why the two of them really should grow up, A LOT, before being in a relationship, but I suppose it’s one thing where ATLA is ironically terrible and brilliant simultaneously: they don’t sugarcoat how conflictive they can be, the way a fanfic writer might reduce their problems to nothingness and absolute irrelevance just because they ship it. So their relationship is absolutely not “romance goals”, but it feels like a genuine teenage romance because of that.

Still, that’s not what we’re talking about: I agree on the most part, Anon, though I suspect the conclusion you’ve reached, and that many of us can and will reach, isn’t quite what the writers and showrunners intended for us to conclude with that episode. We’ve always heard that Book 3 was supposed to feature a storyline about Azula being arranged in marriage to someone, a plotline that was scrapped because she would have had far more focus than they could afford giving her (and what a mistake that was xD). This episode is said to be a minimized version of that plotline, to explore these characters and their dynamics (as well as introducing the factor of Combustion Man’s hunt of Aang, which starts in this episode), only, it may have highlighted a few issues with the characters (especially with Zuko) that simply aren’t dealt with properly, probably because this episode wasn’t intended to do that. Sadly, many episodes weren’t intended to do that with Zuko :’)

A lot of people have criticized The Beach for a myriad of reasons, most of all that the episode is “meaningless filler” (I couldn’t disagree more, but not everyone can appreciate downtime for characters, not even when it expands your understanding of who they are), or that the Fire Nation gang shouldn’t be framed as a happy group of friends we all should love when they vandalized and burned down a house just because they were mad at perfectly innocent (if dumb) teenagers :’D but I guess maybe one secret reason some Zuko fans might not be happy with this episode is that it really doesn’t paint him in a good light altogether and they’re appalled by that? 

Either way, I genuinely enjoy this episode because it humanized the characters, I’d say, and whether that humanization was flattering or not isn’t quite the most important element of the character work that was done this time. I guess I’ll spiral back to what I said above with Mai and Zuko: the show doesn’t sugarcoat the problems these four have, just as it doesn’t attempt to resolve them. Would I rather it had resolved them, at least a few of them? Personally, yes, though I doubt they could have done it in the span of a single episode. At the same time, I’m glad they didn’t hide these problems in the characters because they easily could have, so I’m grateful they didn’t do that. As usual, the problem with Zuko lies in the fact that a lot of people credit him with growth he never did, and values that he never displayed, that we would have to assume he learned just because he’s a better person now, not so much because we have solid evidence that proves he learned them at all. So it’s yet another issue with his character, and another thorn that pokes out of his redemption arc that shows it’s absolutely not as perfect and well-rounded as most his fans (and a lot of ATLA viewers) have convinced themselves it is.

#anon #I am sorry to everyone waiting for a reply #because I have been #a little consumed by a little story that isn't little at all #and well... #my heart's breaking in a million ways every day #might as well answer now before I start the mandatory waterworks tonight #sorry again for the delay <3

[recurring-polynya]

So you ever try to wrap your brain around Yachiru being Kenpachi's zanpakutō? It seems to violate all known (manga-canon) mechanics.

So, to be honest, that particular plot twist hit the note in my head that says “Yes, this is pleasing and not entirely unexpected to me!” I think it’s the fact that the idea of his zanpakutou being embodied this whole time made more sense than ::gestures vaguely at all of Yachiru:: this.

I don’t exactly remember, but I think I may have been spoiled on this one--I got spoiled on a lot of the Bleach endgame, and that always affects the way a plot twist lands, so please take my opinion with that grain of salt.

I think there were a lot of hints along the way-- that although Yachiru is very, very strong and somewhat bloodthirsty herself, she always seems more interested in seeing Zaraki gets the fights that he wants, and watching them raptly, deeply invested in his happiness. She doesn’t actually act like a child, she acts like someone would expect a child to act-- mischievous and silly, but she does not grow and explore or, most importantly, assert her personhood, the way a real person does. She never seeks to grow stronger, or to fight for herself. She wears the lieutenant’s badge and goes to the meetings, which she neither complains about, nor takes any interest in. A real child would either not put up with this shit, or seek to be taken seriously in this role (try to imagine young Byakuya, for example, being named a lieutenant). Most importantly: She is constantly trying to give him directions and they end up lost every time. We thought it was a running gag, but it was a metaphor.

It also seems to me that the other child characters in Bleach grow and age at times when their powers are developing. We see Rukia, Renji, Gin, Rangiku, and Shuuhei as powerless children, and then they age to teens when their powers develop. Toshirou is definitely seen as a smaller child in his Rukongai flashbacks, and it’s implied that he is currently at in impasse with his powers, having difficulty with the upper levels of his bankai. Even so, though his body is stuck in an adolescent state, he has the faculties and personality of an adult. Yachiru, if I am figuring things correctly, is older than Rukia and Renji. It seems like she must be an enormous outlier in the Bleach universe, and it’s frankly weird that, say, Yamamoto wouldn’t take a greater interest in her (unless he knows exactly what she is, and I suspect that both he and Unohana both do).

Unless I’ve missed something, we hardly know anything about zanpakutou-spirit dynamics within the Bleach manga canon. As far as I know, we only ever see two-- Zangetsu and Zabimaru. I think it’s safe to say that Zangetsu already violates all known normal mechanics. I also want to point out that I was a lot more pissed when Zangetsu turned out to be Yhwach (or whatever that was, please no one explain it to me I don’t want to think about it). It was telescoped well enough, but it poisoned a character who had always been there for Ichigo as a mentor and source of strength and it gave me the same yucky feeling as when they killed off Han Solo-- I do not like this. This does not feel right or enhance the story.

We don’t get a whole lot of Zabimaru either-- they can manifest on their own, and do so in order to bother Renji. They seem to be a fairly simplistic being-- they want to fight and be strong and are impatient with Renji’s (very reasonable) desire to take a minute to think things out.

Nobody asked, but I feel like it might be helpful if I unleashed my personal headcanon on Where Zanpakutou Come From. In the Zanpakutou Spirits Arc, the episodes are prefaced with a voiceover that says that zanpakutou are born and die with their shinigami, and I am sorry, anime filler arc, I reject this. One of my favorite Bleach phrases, which seems like it should it could have come from some angsty hurt-comfort fanfic, is “There are no ghosts in Soul Society.” (it actually came from a filler arc episode where Ikkaku, Nanao and Hanatarou get lost in the sewer). But I think there are! When shinigami are killed and reborn in the Living World, presumably, it is as a normal human with no powers. I like to think that some essence of their power and their zanpakutou are left behind, free-floating, nameless, formless, but with some distillation of the principles that guided their shinigami’s life. This ur-zanpakutou attaches itself to a young, spiritually strong person, and becomes intertwined with their soul. They develop a form based on the thoughts and memories and hopes and fears of their shinigami, and their names and specific powers are born of the union of zanpakutou and shinigami. Noble souls often get zanpakutou passed down from previous generations, who take the form of a grandparent, or form that their grandparents zanpakutou had. For kids from the Rukon, I think that most zanpakutou spirits takes the form of a barely remembered mother from the Living World, or a particularly frightening woodcut from a favorite storybook. As an aside, this theory also explains why almost every Rukongonian shinigami we see died as a child-- it’s easier for a free floating zanpakutou spirit to bond with a child’s developing psyche. It’s also a reminder of one more way that Zaraki himself is an outlier.

Zaraki is a really messed-up guy, I think we’re all on the same page there. Like, he just really needs a shit-ton of therapy, I can’t even start. He was a feral murder-child, and I think he saw Unohana as a mother-figure who rejected him. Unlike Ichigo, who needs a wise, experienced mentor to guide him through his warrior journey, Zaraki needs validation that he is a Normal Guy with Normal Murder Thoughts and Feelings, so his subconscious shapes his zanpakutou into another feral murder-child to love him and be his family. Zaraki doesn’t know how little girls act-- pink hair seems good? Stuffy people hate kids, right? It makes perfect sense that Yachiru would go fuck around with Byakuya. Zaraki finds all of Yachiru’s antics hilarious-- the names she makes up for people, the way she climbs all over Ichigo, her general proclivity for going ham. Zaraki is an incredibly simplistic person. My favorite Zaraki parts of Bleach are where you think he is about to get real deep and have some sort of insight, and it turns out to be “I’m gonna stab you, but I’m gonna use both hands” or this entire problem-solving process I’ve pasted in below, which ends in him finding Tousen by letting Tousen stab him. He’s just stupid, bless his heart, and having a murder gremlin for a guiding light just... tracks?

The weirdest thing about Yachiru is that she has her own zanpakutou. I spent about 10 minutes thinking about it, though, and decided that she’s just a recursion, and that the weird feeling I get thinking about her is exactly the way I feel about writing a function that calls itself, and I find that little paradoxical frisson to be kinda cool, actually. The second weirdest thing about Yachiru is that there does not seem to be any connection, thematically, between Yachiru and Nozarashi. After he finally learns his sword’s name, I would have liked to see Zaraki have a trip to his inner world (like Ichigo does, in the midst of battle) where he meets an adult spirit who has qualities of both Yachirus (which he absolutely does not recognize) and that there is some interesting explanation of Nozarashi’s special abilities. To be honest, I couldn’t even remember what they were. Kenpachi has always been one of the strongest Bleach characters and so much about him is just iconic, and then his bankai was just completely bland and unmemorable, with no symbolism whatsoever. Lame.

#kenpachi zaraki #yachiru kusajishi #yachiru unohana #zanpakutou spirits #bleach headcanons #feel free to reblog with your point-by-point complaints about where yachiru violates canon tho #they are probably better thought out than this answer #which is basically just 'i vibed with it'

[franklyshipping]

Day 18 ~ Christmas 2019 Ego Fanfics

WOOOO DAY NUMBER 18 WOWIE THIS IS MOVING FAST! TIME FOR SOME EXTRA CUTE CUTENESS NOW LET'S DO IT!

TAGGING: @the-authler

Discovering stuff when you’re a tiny kid is weird, you never retain those memories by the time you’re an adult but at the time….everything is just so frickin wild. New things and people appear here there and everywhere, and all you want to do is explore and discover all the new interesting things and people that you possibly can. That, currently, is what a certain young gentleman was doing now as he crawled down a corridor with a wide grin on his face. That’s Luca, chasing his dad Schneeple’s glob assistant Gooper down a corridor because when you’re one and see a cute squishy alive glob thing what else do you do? He was crawling on his hands and knees as fast as he could as he giggled his head off, hurriedly shuffling around a corridor corner….when suddenly, he found himself bumping into a pair of legs.

‘What the-oh….hey uh, kid….’

Luca looked up curiously, realising that the legs belonged to a person. The person had very dark black hair, wore a black shirt, dark jeans, and had the most amazing golden eyes that he had ever seen; Luca could only really gauge that he was an Ippy (aka an Iplier) because they all looked sort of similar, but this was one Luca hadn’t met before. That is because that this Iplier….was the Author. Needless to say, after certain humiliating events, the Author pretty much kept himself to himself as he slowly worked on his morality, and so was feeling a bit awkward at suddenly having a child in his midst. Luca meanwhile was ecstatic, he loved new people! He smiled up at the Author with wide, happy eyes and a grin.

‘Ah!’

Luca gripped a fistful of the man’s jeans excitedly, and the Author literally just had no idea what to do. Amidst all these socially involved festivities, he’d been trying his damnedest to avoid everyone else with all their feelings and traditions; he just didn’t know where he fitted in amongst it all. As he looked down at the little boy, he cleared his throat awkwardly.

‘Hey….uhm, it’s Luca right? You’re one of Schneeple’s?’

Author asked hopefully, he knew there was a bunch of people’s offspring in the household for the holidays and he was just hoping he was discerning which was which correctly. Thankfully, he’d gotten it right, and Luca lit up excitedly at hearing the familiar sound of his dad’s name.

‘Da!’

Relief washed over the Author at that, and he was thanking the heavens that the little boy at the very least understood some language; if it wasn’t clear, the Author wasn’t really sure how to interact with children….or anyone really. The Author figured he should return him to Schneeple, and so wriggled his leg a little.

‘Cool, uh, speaking of him, I can take you back to your dad if you want? Just let go of my leg…’

The Author was expecting the little guy to be eager to return to his dad, but to the Author’s surprise, the little boy just tightened his grip on his trouser leg. Luca giggled and grinned up at him.

‘Nuh!’

The Author blinked a few times down at him, befuddled as to what in the heck was happening.

‘Wha-? Kid, c’mon my leg isn’t that interesting.’

The Author let out a little laugh as he wiggled his shin more, but that just made the little boy wrap his tiny arms around his shin and let out peals of louder giggles. Basically, Luca had decided he wanted to play with the new Ippy man.

‘Nuhuuh! Leeeg!’

The Author felt himself smiling as he looked down at Luca, realising with amazement that this kid had decided he wanted to play with him. The Author knew that he could easily just pick the little boy up and carry him to Schneeple….but his smile was so cute and the Author found himself wanting to indulge the kid in his play. The Author put his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow down at Luca.

‘Oh? So you’re not gonna let go of my leg?’

Luca giggled and shook his head, wrapping his arms and legs tightly around his shin as he snuggled into it giddily. The Author snickered fondly down at him before humming in thought, trying to think of something playful for the kid….then, he had the most wonderful idea.

‘Y’know….I know someone who comes after those who don’t let go of people’s legs…’

Author whispered, and he had to fight a broad grin when the little boy gasped with wide, curious eyes. Luca was getting giddier and giddier by the second, and started looking around to see who else was coming….oh if only he knew.

‘Whooo?’

The Author looked around for a few moments, before letting himself grin and wiggle his fingers down at the little boy.

‘The tickle monster!’

Luca let out a mighty, happy squeal; he knew the tickle monster very well since his dad and Septic uncles knew the tickle monster too! Luca buried his face in the Author’s shin as the Author fluttered his fingers gently in his underarms.

‘Nahahaha! Tihihihick!’

The Author snickered, mainly at himself since he was still in disbelief that this was happening, but the kid was just too adorable. It was almost as if the Author was going soft.

‘You gonna let go?’

The Author cooed down at Luca, but the little boy merely shook his head and continued to hug the hell out of the Author’s leg. He was giggling his adorable heart out, and his dimples were showing now as he replied; he was having so much fun.

‘Nuhuhuhuhu!’

The Author let out a dramatic sigh, letting his fingertips scratch the little boy’s underarms still.

‘Well I guess the tickle monster’s gonna have to keep tickle tickle tickling then!’

Luca’s face scrunched up as he let out a joyful squeal, to be honest all his favourite games with his dad and funny uncles were tickle games; like father like son frankly. Luca particularly loved when Uncle Anti played because he growled a lot and was always a goofy tickle monster; Luca loved this new tickle monster though, he was super fun.

‘Mahahahstaahh nahah!’

The Author smiled fondly down at the pink cheeked boy, whilst also moving his tickling fingers down to his tummy, which was the softest, squishiest thing that the Author thought he’d ever come across in his whole life. Author didn’t know why, maybe it was because he was giving someone joy for once, but he was just having so much fun and getting more and more into his tickle monster role by the second.

‘Monster yeees! Oh my, what a soft tummy you have! Have you been eating lots of mince pies by any chance?’

The Author exclaimed with his mouth agape, which made Luca let out cute little snorts through his giggle fits.

‘Yuhuhuhu! Pihihiiiies!’

Luca nodded adorably amidst his reply, he loved mince pies SO much, especially the ones with the icing on top. At his reply the Author gasped, continuing to squish and tickle the little boy’s tummy as he spoke.

‘You have? Can the tickle monster have some?’

Now, don’t get Luca wrong, he was a very sweet and polite boy who would always share any food he had, including mince pies. However, the little boy had learnt that if you denied the tickle monster something, then the odds were that you’d get more tickles. Again, like father like son, Luca wanted more tickles.

‘Nuhuhuhuhuhu! Nuhuhuhu fohohor mahanstahhh!’

Luca shook his head up at the Author amidst his happy laughter, and frankly the Author was aghast! So, of course, he did what any tickle monster would do in this situation, and decided to make do with another snack.

‘Oh but I’m so hungry! I have to eat something!’

Luca squealed when he suddenly felt himself being hoisted up, and before he knew it he was trapped at the Author’s chest and having his tummy still tickled WHILST the shells of his ears were being nibbled! The Author was exceptionally gentle with the tickling though, even though he was a tickle monster he wasn’t cruel….though he did made teasy nomming noises.

‘EEEE! NAHAHA!’

Luca’s high-pitched, childish laughter seemed to just emulate bubbily joy as he wriggled about cutely, his small limbs flailing as he was tickled. The Author softly laughed as he felt small limbs batting his chest and face, but he kept up the tickling because the happiness in the air was just….unprecedented.

‘Mmmmm nummy little baby booooy!’

Luca writhed and squealed, his face and neck very pink now as he gazed up at the Author with wide, watery eyes, crying out amidst his mirth.

‘DUHUN EHEAT MEHEEEE!’

The Author threw his head back with his own laughter now….he hadn’t laughed in so long, who’d have known it would have taken the adorableness of the son of Dr Schneeplestein to coax it out.

‘Ahawww why nohot?’

The Author grinned at the little boy in his arms as he gave him mercy from the tickling, and he chuckled when the giggly boy gave his face a soft push as he replied.

‘Bahad!’

Author was impressed, this kid was succinct and to the point, he respected that in a fellow gentleman. The Author held him upright in his arms as he replied dramatically, with his eyebrows greatly furrowed.

‘Ohhh is eating people bad?’

Luca nodded extensively, making the Author smile and muse.

‘Say, you seem like you know the difference between good and bad. Could you teach me?’

As soon as the word “teach” left the Author’s mouth, Luca’s eyes were wide and he was squealing with excitement. Something about Luca was that he loved telling people things he knew, if he saw an advert on TV he’d ramble about it to anyone and everyone he saw. And in this case, Luca knew EVERYTHING about good and bad, and so he puffed out his little chest determinedly as he exclaimed.

‘Yah! Luca teach!’

The Author grinned at how adorably determined he was, and Luca went on to explain the finesses of right and wrong to the Author as the man slowly walked them in the direction of where he figured other people might be. The Author suddenly felt like he wanted to be around other people….he felt like he knew where to start when it came to fitting in.

WOOOO HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THIS FIC LEMME KNOW IF YA DO WOOOO LUV YOUS XX

#markiplier #markiplier egos #the author #author #jacksepticeye #jacksepticeye egos #luca schneeplestein #made-up name #sfw #platonic #ego fic #ego fanfic #tickle fic #tickle fanfic #tickle #tickles #tickling #ticklish #day 18 #christmas 2019

[jewpacabruhs]

hi guys! so this post is gonna be a rambly mess but fuck it, here ya go. if u dont wanna read all of it, u dont have to; skip down to underneath the tl;dr in bold text for the important bits :)

(there’s a brief & non-graphic mention of a triggering topic in the next paragraph. please be sure to skip this next paragraph if the thought of suicide is going to upset you.)

alright. so i didn't share this originally, but i spent some time in a psychiatric unit this month. suicidality related. 1000% unrelated from anything online, i've just struggled with depression for a very long time & shit happens. i didn't intend to share that at all & i certainly don't want pity; i'm telling u guys bc my time in the unit was extremely eye-opening, and i have some insight to share. since i've gotten out, with the help of my newest anti-depressant (fourth time’s a charm lol), i'm seeing the world in a better light & i finally have the energy to and the interest in exploring what it has to offer, which frankly i've never had before.

with that has come the realization that i’ve come to do something very unhealthy, and i want to break out of it. and that’s how much i’ve come to rely on my fandom life. i don’t want to get too candid publicly, but mental illness took a lot from me, and i lost most of my life, my future, and my options in the last few years. next year will involve a lot of working on rebuilding things. but in the time that i let things fall to pieces around me & i absolutely couldn’t get out of bed, i had a phone and i had a laptop. so when i couldn’t get up and physically face the world, i built up a new world online.

and i don’t think that’s a completely uncommon experience. most people are able to better manage things, and evenly juggle real life with an internet life (like i did back in middle school), because most people can’t abandon their real lives entirely like i managed to; but i do think a lot of people nowadays rely on their fandom life and their fandom friends when their irl situation isn’t ideal. and that’s an excellent coping mechanism in theory, but i think it’s debilitating in the long run.

forgive me for sounding like an old person, but i’m a heavy nostalgist and a bit of an anarcho-primitivist in that i resent modern technology's influence on society - but that hasn't stopped me from letting it be a big part of my life out of accessibility. the internet kept me occupied during my low points, and i became dependent, but i've realized i don't wanna live like that anymore. i’m vaguely grateful that it usually kept me busy enough that i wasn’t thinking the bad thoughts as frequently, but more than anything, i’m resentful that my grasp on reality got lost somewhere along the way, and i let time get away from me, too. because, again, an internet life should be a fun hobby, but when it’s a lifestyle and it becomes an excuse to avoid dealing with our real lives, bc our real lives aren’t as rewarding or as exciting, then it’s unhealthy.

everything’s at our fingertips these days, but i deeply believe human interaction, fun, and fulfillment shouldn't be spoon-fed to us through a screen. it's easy access, sure, but at the end of the day, is it any way to live? compared with how much world there is to see, i’m no longer satisfied with the thought of sitting behind a screen for another five years. i used to be, when i had no hope and no drive, but not anymore. i’m not gonna let myself settle for staying busy with the thing that takes the least amount of work & movement. not only because i’m a whole ass adult who needs to start sorting my shit out for the long run, but also because i deserve better.

and it’s fucking hard! especially for those of us who are neurodivergent. i dropped out of school three fucking times due to crippling social anxiety and utter lack of ambition and energy. i lost all my friends through that (making friends post-school is hard af); the thought of having to go out and remake friends makes me wanna fucking cry. i have a hard enough time making friends online, i’ve even come to struggle with correspondence thru text & email. phone calls? outta the question. but that’s therapy shit, and i know i’ll get there. i just have to stop putting life off by staying in a comfort zone.

and it’s interesting; depression and anxiety really took everything from me, and while i was dwelling in my own misery, my adhd worsened and decided to make my entire brain revolve around my fixations, so i didn’t have to deal with my own life. can’t think about how much you wanna die and how much you can’t function in society if you’re busy thinking about a ship you like or a character you find interesting. so i latched onto the safety of that. aggressively. problem with that is that once you let your “happiness” (as much of it as you can feel in the midst of your depressive episode, anyway) revolve around an interest, that’s all you have. so you become dependent and reliant, and that’s never good, especially if you’re someone like me who feels pathetic & ridiculous when you realize it’s all you can bring yourself to care about. 

and i think that’s what i realized in the psych ward (where there’s legitimately nothing to do; i did soooo much more thinking than usual, and i already think too much haha); mental illness will try to fuck up your lifestyle, so you have to eradicate the things that’ll let that happen in the first place. for example, like i said, my adhd tries to counteract my depression by making me hyperfixate and/or hyperfocus on something else to protect me from bad personal thoughts, and that’s good in theory (doing something you enjoy when you feel bad, to distract urself, is the number one most basic coping skill you learn), but i can’t do it in moderation, i let it run my life, and that’s made me worse in the long run. so i have to force myself out of that completely and not let myself fixate on things that make me happy in the short term, but don’t ultimately further me as a person. having fixations helped me through some awful times, but now i need to force myself to grow up, you know?

and while tumblr and other social media is an excellent way to indulge those fixations, it’s an aggressive enabler, in more ways than one. what i mean by that... okay, so while i’m the type of person who self-destructs while unhealthy, i do occasionally lash out. and i know some people completely explode rather than implode when they’re not doing well. and that’s how you get discourse, i think. because when mental illness makes us care much more about our interests than we ought to, and someone has a differing opinion about that interest, the instinct is of course to attack, if you’re that kind of person. i don’t think i am, but depression and boredom go hand in hand, and i might be inclined to care more about discourse than i would if i were healthy, purely because it’s entertaining and something to do. 

that’s a long winded way of saying, while i stand wholeheartedly by my past positions, i do regret starting shit in the first place. i’m not the kind of person who genuinely cares about much and i have little to no sense of morality (im a chaotic neutral bastard), so the fact i was bored enough to start shit really goes against my character and says a lot about how bad i’ve been. so i apologize for all that. but, again, i think that's just what happens when something is truly your everything. and i think the chronic negativity of modern fandom is a result of how damn seriously we all take it, because we care so much and we’re so dependent. fandom’s supposed to be fun, but it’s just too damn stressful this way.

idk my point in sharing all this, but i do think it'd be cool if this kinda got yall thinking. even if you don't engage in discourse, if fandom is just one of your only consistent sources of happiness, that's not healthy either. we all gotta break out & exist more & louder & more positively. and unfortunately i think tumblr fandom (and maybe all modern fandom) is no longer a place that encourages positivity and health.

but for all my criticism, i do just wanna say how eternally grateful i am that i was fortunate enough to meet the people i call my best friends through tumblr. they're my family, truly, and all the bullshit in this fandom has been worth it simply because it brought them to me. i love them to death and i always will, even if interests change, even if we grow apart, even if we quit speaking entirely in the next few years, i love them with my whole heart in a way that transcends a simple fandom friendship and i'm so glad we bonded over sp in the first place. that’ll never change.

i will also always love south park itself. now that the cat's outta the bag about my hospital visit, i can brag about my most pathetic and obsessive accomplishment; the fact that i've never let circumstance stop me from watching a new south park as it airs, and i've now watched sp on 1) an airplane, and 2) in a psych ward. i win for most dedicated fan tbfh. dsjkf & i'll keep that tradition, and i'll still watch this stupid show til it ends! it'll always hold a special place in my heart, & kyman's still my most meaningful & long-term ship. i'll never stop loving it. 

tl;dr

so, to recap; for 2020 i'm making myself step back from fandom (not just sp fandom, but fandom in general) and quit letting my world revolve around my fixations so i can enjoy the outside world a little more, mental illness be damned, and the first step is gonna be quitting tumblr. this blog won't be deleted and i may occasionally post (maybe when next season airs) but you're absolutely free to unfollow bc this'll be a mostly inactive blog. i’m also unfollowing everyone, so mutuals, please don’t take that personally. 

i will, however, try to write more prolifically, bc fic writing is something i'm able to do in moderation & enjoy, and i hope to get back into it. so if you'd like, you can keep an eye out for any upcoming fanfic i may post - my ao3 is leere. i also have snapchat, instagram, & twitter my mutuals can ask for asap (bc ill be logging out for good by the afternoon of the 31st, which is tomorrow) - though i'm not very active on any of them. still, if you wanna have access to me, i’ll be there.

i want some connection to the fandom still, albeit without letting my life revolve around it, so i'll be starting a new open-to-the-public kyman discord server! the post with the invite for that will go up soon. nvm im too anxious  

thank you for reading, thank you for the good times (thnks fr th mmrs), and i hope everyone has a good 2020! 

#txt #mine

[orenonahaichigoda]

ON CANON ADHERENCE AND OOC IN FANWORKS

I would post this on my shiny new personal, but this is actually super-relevant to RP.

I think in fanwork, there's a certain amount of"OOC" to be *expected,* because the whole point of fanworks, particularly written ones like RP or fic, or even visual/written blends like fan comics, is us writing something that didn't happen in canon.

I have a massive dual-prong project that eventually becomes a crossover (16 years into the story. No timeskips. Epic not by coolness definition, which is subjective, but by original definition. Not sure if I'll ever be able to complete it)

In the Bleach end, the former Espada are stabilised (goes into Urahara's original motive that I made up that led to the Hogyoku) and are given a new chance at life in 2002. So they spend most of the project away from the enslavement and otherwise abuse of Aizen, and with Hueco Mundo and its necessary cannibalism behind them (not to say that hasn't definitely scarred them, which I explore in-depth) So when you're not a canon-fodder slave for an abusive coloniser any more, naturally, you will be able to calm down to some extent.

I'm just gonna say Grimmjow's character definitely morphs over time. Coyote, too. Yammy, even. A lot. Ulquiorra, totally. Given hope and family will definitely change most people. Not all. That's where Noitora comes in.

And if you held what I have for, say, 2010 (eight years into the story) up to episode 160 without context, most of them would seem pretty OOC.

But fan-stories are literally our alterations of canon, and so, change the characters' trajectories. I mean, shoot, you *should* be behaving differently at an interview than you would in a fight! And you will hopefully always be different at age 40 than you were at age 15.

And that's exactly why this new fandom wave of "you must never go against canon" is frankly nonsensical. Just by existing, fan-stories are a fan's alteration of canon. It's been like that since the first Kirk/Spock shippers sat down at their typewriters. There are shows I think canon is perfect just the way it is. So I don't make my own stories about it. I don't read others', either. I stick to watching canon and looking at gifsets and"behind the scenes" articles, etc.

Now, I mean, I've seen stuff where Ichigo is Noitora with Ichigo's face, or Ichigo is hurt and wants to watch the world burn. That's definitely a different character, but the work isn't hurting anyone (assuming there's no bigotry upheld by the narrative in it) and they're free to write it and I just don't read because I find it at odds with the character over the point I personally find reasonable. A *personal* level.

But my point in mentioning it is to demonstrate that there's extents to what even truly constitutes OOC-- it's a gradient, not a switch, and if you're radically changing the character's situation, yes, they will act differently to an extent. People do that. Sentient beings in general do. I've seen a same dog that adored me become very hostile to someone he didn't trust. He was in two different situations.

So, I think maybe don't be super hard on yourself about it. I plan to have my epilogue for this project set in 2302A.D., Gundam 00, and they're basically part of the Resistance vs. an Empire. At 318 years old, Ichigo IS going to be very different than he was at 16. Even in 2019, where I'm fleshing out about March right now, he's 35, 15 years married, and his eldest is 21. He's much calmer than he was in canon, because he's older. He's learned some problems cannot be solved alone or by sword, like institutionalised bigotry, which needs mass social change and is intangible, even though he does fight neo-Nazis physically. Plot point, written with experience, obviously.

But the standard of what IC/ OOC consists of is really not super rigorous.

Don't freak--you're doing fine.

Also, seriously, stop bashing people for not adhering to some arbitrary amount of canon. If you want canon adherence, stick to gifsets and get out of the writing side of fandom. By writing, we're *all* altering canon to some extent. We're literally here to alter it with our "what-if"s and "I wanted to see X and it never happened, so I'll make it happen"s. Canon purism in fandom is nonsense. Doesn't belong in this type of fandom.

I have legitimate gripes with fanfic when it's all "I'm not Asian so let me garnish my human default English with strange and exotic Japanese because unlike Asians, who are just toys, I won't get my face bashed in for it ain't I cute!" any other racism, or misogyny, or any range of queerphobic stuff I've seen. As well as spreading false and harmful information about Japan (age of consent is 18 and not 13, paedos), etc. Because being a fan creator is not an excuse to treat oppressed demographs like dirt. Same has applied to canon works for *hundreds of years.* (Canon Bleach itself has a queerphobia problem) Same with reblogs without permission from Japanese fans, who then fold up and quit because their stuff keeps being stolen (I have a copy paste form letter to alert Japanese fans to theft *and* encourage them to fight for takedown instead of giving up, but it's too late a good bit of the time, and this is reprehensible)

But something like the character adapting to a new situation? That's what sentient beings do! And fanworks don't follow canon by *definition.* So don't be hard on yourself, and definitely don't attack other people for being slightly OOC when they've made a mage an astronaut, or, well, writing fanworks at all.

If their stuff is bigoted, yeah, bigots don't deserve to feel accepted. But what I'm talking about? Characters would be strange if they did *not* adapt. You can't write fanwork without bending canon, which is literally what it's meant for.

So, as long as you're not being a bigot, you're doing fine, and it's OK. Relax. You're doing good. I'm glad you're having fun, because that's what we all came here to do.

Now get out there, be nice, and have fun.

#rp positivity #fanfic positivity #canon purism #out of body #fanfiction positivity #bleach fanfiction #bigotry in fandom

[fountainpenguin]

S and T for the ask

S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist?

> Bittersweet endings. I don’t like completely perfect or completely depressing ends… I like little nibbles of both.

> Witty banter. Never get tired of it.

> I’m not normally one for AUs, but I love college AUs for worlds that don’t have a college equivalent. What do they study? I must know.

> Fleshing unliked/overlooked side character out with an interesting backstory and cool hobbies.

> We dislike each other but have to keep up appearances.

> Smooth, probably sexually experienced character is easily flustered.

> Alternatively: smooth character flirts with someone, takes it too far, and instantly backpedals while screaming internally.

> Sharing space on a road trip.

> Soft holiday stories! Especially fantasy holidays, because then I’m falling in love with the worldbuilding and pleased that the characters are happy.

> Blind dates.

> Tired but loving single parent who works very hard

> Two tired parents working very hard, so glad they’re in this together

> Someone falls in love with a single parent, asks their kid(s) permission to marry their parent, and lets kid help them pick out a ring and participate in wedding plans.

> HEALTHY!!! STEP-FAMILIES!!!

> Jerk messed with the wrong person and now they’re in for it… We don’t know when… but oh, they’re in for it.

> Petty villains (“Whoa, whoa, whoa! I call in an evil plan, and you send your B squad??? Frankly I’m a little insulted!” -Snaptrap)

> Petty heroes… Read: Randy Disher, a full-grown adult police lieutenant, getting his feelings hurt when the Captain says he’d save Monk, not him, if both were in the water because Monk can’t swim, and Randy persists by asking if his mind would change if Randy was holding an anchor and the Captain asks why he wouldn’t just let go of the anchor and Randy looks him in the eye and says “Family heirloom” and the Captain just >:|

> Gift giving is shown to be a valid form of affection and not played as a greedy, materialistic love language (Related: Character A buys cute little gifts for B sometimes and it doesn’t turn into a story about wasteful spending or needing to shower your partner in gifts or else they’ll freak out).

> Bed sharing / cuddles (As long as it doesn’t progress to sex… I have to be in the right mindset for that and 9.5 times out of 10 I’d rather have snuggles).

> Quick, casual, absentminded kisses. Convince me this character’s instinct is to express affection even when they’re distracted and you have me eating out of your hand.

> Kisses in awkward places… Up against walls, quickly stolen while the third wheel is out of the room, couple trying to hide even though their friends ship them and no one present will judge them for a kiss… Yes. The more uncomfortable the position or time, the better. Love that spontaneous cute.

> Fake dating and in the end they’re still good friends, no push into a romantic relationship just because they were in this situation together.

> Healthy mutual break-ups

> Asexual characters!!! I’m for any story that acknowledges people like me exist and are happy, whether it’s a story about discovery, the difficulties of being ace, or a story where the ace character is just at peace.

> People are close friends and not dating. Both are comfortable with their relationship and no one tries to make them feel bad.

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?

(Below the cut. Keep in mind these are my personal preferences and I’m not attacking anyone who likes tropes I dislike. This isn’t a comprehensive list, just some thoughts about tropes I don’t enjoy reading).

> Redemption through romantic love. So. Much.

> Everybody Lives AUs

> Soulmates

> Forbidden love

> Amnesia

> Coffee Shop AUs (I’m all for “In the future this character gets a job” stories, but I dislike “I’m going to flirt with this person while they’re in a position they can’t leave” stories)

> Psychic powers / Twins can read minds. It’s not an immediate deal-breaker, but my interest will drop sharply.

> Falling in love way too quickly / confusing infatuation with genuine love and the moral of the story is that you should risk your life plans and dive headfirst into relationships with people you don’t know well yet (I didn’t watch The Sun Is Also a Star, but the trailers pushed ALL my wrong buttons).

> Physical touch is the only or most important way to express affection. I’m all for love language miscommunication stories. I don’t like being told those who don’t express physical touch easily are frigid or uncaring.

> Big rescue scenes in romance (Ex: Hero carrying love interest from a burning building… I’d rather see hero helping love interest up a tough patch of the trail they’re hiking, or leaving a party to find their partner a dessert they’re not allergic to, something small and affectionate like that).

> Asexual invalidation/correction stories (Related: Virgin mockery). I don’t mind reading these if the main character is asexual and it’s a story about sexuality exploration or a character facing difficulties because they’re ace (That’s what Origin of the Pixies is, after all), but if the author legitimately believes asexuality needs to be fixed or that ace characters can’t be in fulfilling relationships, that’s what I don’t like.

> Canon: *Characters state they don’t want to be together romantically*  Fanfic: *Makes them romantic*  As a reader, I’m willing to let you take my hand if you show me careful thought processes and honest conversations while the characters work through changes together in early chapters, but if there’s absolutely no explanation (or indication that backstory will be given later) and the story just starts with them together for some reason… I won’t play along.

> When two people in canon are very close but not an official romantic couple and the only ‘fics about them are romantic. I don’t mind some stories being romantic, especially if they’re set in the future of canon, but if I can’t find more than a tiny handful of ‘fics that match their canon relationship, I get frustrated.

> Oh, here’s a trope I despise with the intensity of a thousand suns… Animals that are not dogs behaving like dogs (Ex: Maximus the horse in Tangled). Other animals are interesting too!

> I dislike a lot of angst tropes in general. I like psychological horror, like the slow recognition of your own sins (which is probably why I write villain backstories). A loved one dying in your arms, or trapped inside a burning house, does nothing to me. You could not get farther from affecting me if you tried. My heart will break if someone hesitates in an otherwise cheery story and the other person staggers back, realizing things aren’t as perfect as they thought. I live for moments where the bliss suddenly snaps and in an instant, everything’s changed. But deaths drawn out with gasps and bleeding, or houses going up in flames, don’t really land. Angst has to be fast and hard or I find it tedious.

> Developing a crush on someone before you even see or hear them interact. See also, liking someone you have no business liking when your people raised you to dislike theirs. How do you exist outside your culture? I want reasons.

> Using new pronouns for a character who hasn’t revealed their preferred pronouns to the narrator and/or a character outs someone by using new pronouns without ensuring they’re okay with that. I’m cool with long-established pronouns, but if some characters don’t know yet, they don’t know yet.

> I’m personally not a fan of self-insert stories, especially Self-Insert x Canon. Specifically, I dislike the trope that self-inserts will draw canon character attention and take the focus away from a canon character development story, which is what I prefer to read. Self-inserts who don’t disrupt the status quo are fine by me.

> I can accept OC x Canon if you don’t contradict canon, but the OC has to be well fleshed out with realistic flaws, and if the canon character is completely OOC, I’m backing out (It’s specifically Main Character OC x Canon that I don’t like- I’ll happily dive into “Failed relationships in canon character’s past involving OC exes because canon characters won’t work for this”).

> Timmy wakes up one day and realizes Tootie’s the girl for him. I need a looong slow burn to sell me on that one. I’m happy to see him recognize his own judgmental attitudes and accept her as a friend, but if it moves into romance while they’re still young, I’m out.

> Wanda being pregnant instead of Cosmo… I 100% forgive this for anything written before “Fairly Odd Baby,” but if Wanda’s the pregnant one then I immediately scroll up to check the upload date. If I can’t trust you with that piece of canon, what can I trust you with?

> Wanda confronts Cosmo and argues that he’s being mean to her. That’s a can of worms I’d rather skirt around.

> I’m all for Cosmo and Wanda having a second kid, but NOT while they’re still with Timmy.

> Abusive Juandissimo.

> I also don’t like fluff. I don’t deliberately avoid sweet, plotless stories, but I don’t seek them out. I lose interest in fluff more quickly than anything else.

… I’m realizing now that the reason I don’t like romantic stories is probably because most of them revolve around expressing affection the literal opposite way of how I prefer it (Ex: Way more stories about physical touch and making out until impulsive sex occurs, not enough quick kisses in passing or time spent existing quietly on the same couch enjoying your separate hobbies).

I don’t inherently hate romance, I just have different romantic preferences than the media that usually crosses my path. I’m more about companionate love than fiery passion. It’s hard to convey the comfortable silence I like in words.

Fanfic Ask Meme

#asks #Anon #FAIRIES! #ridwriting #99% true as far as we remember #Dragonfly parents #Perfect pink beaver boy #Deep Toot

[kangofu-cb]

28, 43, 45!!! ilu

28.  If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?

LBR any fanart of my fanfic would leave me sobbing in a corner of gratitude.  

But if I could PICK something, I’d probably choose the scene in Like Real People Do where Clint gets off the quinjet and Bucky meets him in the woods and like... hold his face and looks at him? 

OR ALTERNATIVELY any of the selfie things from Catch a Glimpse because it’s just hilarious. 

43. Is there anyone in your fandom who really inspires you?

Sara Holmes obviously, who basically founded a fandom, I would like to be half that cool XD But also her characterization is amazing and her ability to intersperse snappy dialogue with action and still keep all of it very tight writing-wise is so amazing and I’d like to get there.

Frankly there are a lot of writers who inspire me in really different ways with their styles and commitment to this pairing and like... just everything. 

45. What is your all time favourite fanfic?

Well this is going to really blow people away, but tbh it’s actually the Not Easily Conquered series which is Stucky and it is just.... devastating in all the best/worst ways.  It explores a universe where Steve didn’t go into the ice but came home and married Peggy and she still founded SHIELD and all the horrible, horrible shit still happened to Bucky.  In 1966 Bucky’s love letters are released to the public and Steve finds out for the first time Bucky was in love with him. And then he finds out... so many other things.  It turns his whole life upside down in every way you’d expect and some you wouldn’t, and he and Peggy go their separate ways but still rebuild a relationship and Steve gets to find himself and become this whole, amazing person. Then Bucky comes back.  Just writing about it gives me goosebumps but it is some of the most powerful writing I have ever read, so nuanced and emotionally overwhelming and just... everything I have ever wanted to be as a writer and everything I could ever ask for as a reader.  I can only read it like... when my mental space is basically perfect that’s how much power it has.

ILUUUUUUUUUUU thanks for asking me!!!!!!

#spacey-acey-artemis #cb answers

[thefudge]

Who did you ship in GOT and who do you ship now? (If it's changed lol)

good ask! this got long-ish so i’ll include everything after the cut

my OG ships (this includes the books too)

petyr/sansa - absolutely still do and will forever ship this morally ambiguous duo, though i prefer the book version of it. possibly my fave asoiaf/got pair.

jaime/brienne - shipped from the start and nothing’s changed frankly

gendry/arya - see above

jaqen/arya - i will admit the show’s sexy accented jaqen h’ghar may have also played a part in this lol

jon/dany - weirdly, i used to ship this more before the show made them a thing. i used to love AUs where ned sends jon to essos and he becomes part of dany’s khalasar and they meet somehow. i also liked the “romance at a distance” thing where book readers could obviously tell their journeys were being paralleled but they hadn’t met yet, and you’d get poetic wuthering heights-esque scenes like dany hearing a wolf howling on the dothraki plain when jon died, like that always got meeee. the show, i feel, has kind of botched their potential, but i still ship’em, especially their book counterparts.

jon/val (books only) - i know in the books she’s basically a dany-stand-in symbolically (a wildling “princess” with blond hair, come on), but i loooove their dynamic, i love their quiet fondness for each other and i hope they have more scenes together

elia martell/arthur dayne (books only) - the loyal kingsguard and the future king’s wife? SIGN ME THE FUCK UP. a part of me still hopes that GRRM will reveal that arthur secretly loved and pined after elia all his life and was furious on her behalf when rhaegar left her for lyanna. it’s CANON fight me.

arianne martell/arys oakheart (books only) - canon & doomed :(((( it’s the foolhardy kingsguard pining after forbidden princess trope again, but i can’t help it! they’re kind of an interesting subversion of the trope. arianne initially just plans to seduce him and use him, but arys falls for her hard and forgoes his vows for her and she realizes she may have feelings for him too and #imsad because it does not end well. but i live for the angssssst

hyle hunt/brienne (book only) - MAN. THESE TWO. ok so i may ship this almost as much as j/b and i can’t believe i’ve never talked about it.  I LOVE THIS PAIR. it’s exactly my kind of shit and it’s actually pretty similar to j/b. hyle hunt starts off as one of brienne’s bullies who even makes a bet about taking her maidenhead when she’s part of renly’s entourage. per the popular trope, ofc the idiot ends up playing himself. his “mock” wooing of brienne turns into actual wooing, cuz he catches feelings, but it’s played very subtle and brienne still thinks he’s just trying to fool her. by book 4 he’s following her around, trying to help her, he fights by her side and stays with her, trying to keep her safe, BEING SECRETLY IN LOVE WITH HER I MEAN THE DUMBASS LITERALLY ASKS FOR HER HAND IN MARRIAGE AND WHEN SHE SAYS NO HE PRETENDS HE ONLY DID IT BECAUSE SHE’S A HIGH-BORN LADY LIKE PUUUUHLEASE WE ALL KNOW YOU MEANT IT. and all the while you know it’s kind of doomed because brienne only has eyes for jaime, let’s be real. but i have a feeling that, in the event that jaime dies and brienne survives to the end of the series (which is very likely), she might end up with hyle who does honestly seem to love her and would make her happy. like maybe they’re setting him up as substitute (kind of like tormund/brienne on the show, i guess?) BUT ANYWAY. THESE TWO.

OG ships i don’t actively ship anymore but i am still fond of:

tywin/arya - i still totally think that arya stark would have paradoxically made a FANTASTIC lady lannister, but i ship it mainly in the show version where she’s aged up and they actually interact

sandor/arya - have a soft spot for an ambiguous, not quite romantic, not quite friendly bond between them (i mean i wrote fic too)

ned/cersei - i loved the idea of their arranged marriage, of ned having to step in and marry her after the sacking in king’s landing in order to appease tywin. there are some excellent fics based on this premise and i totally recommend because this dynamic is surprisingly rich.

ships that have snuck up on me over the years (mainly thx to fandom):

jon/sansa - really, the fandom has convinced me they could work and they make for an interesting dynamic, especially on the show where jon is sadly…not a very interesting guy but seems to have some edge when he interacts with sansa

jon/missandei - again, folks on tumblr made me realize how amazing this obscure pairing would be. they’re kind of perfect for each other when you think about it and i am writing oneshot

sansa/dany - that chemistry tho! the show is playing them off as adversaries and there is sufficient reason for sansa to be wary of the dragon queen, but i love AUs where they fall in love and the tension between them becomes something else *wink wink*

jaime/arya - fanfic & fandom have sold me on it, especially the show version. i’d add jaime/sansa here, though i think he’d have a bit more chemistry and push and pull with arya (it would be a different version of j/b if you think about it)

ramsay/sansa - gasp! but lemme explain. i always thought that if d&d really wanted to do the jeyne poole plot for theon’s sake and complete sansa’s training in the Vale, the best way to do this would’ve been to show her subtly manipulating ramsay in exactly the same way margaery manipulated joffrey in s3. imagine the parallels! i mean after s4 where we saw sansa walk down the stairs in that goth/sith dress i thought, okay! she’s gonna use her feminine wiles! we’re gonna see her in action! and then she just gets grossly traumatized for no conceivable reason except #shockvalue. imo, they could’ve shown ramsay’s brutality and also sansa’s abilities by having her play into his fantasies and try to skillfully win him over. gods i would’ve loved that shit. and at the end she could’ve still escaped with theon. ANYWAY maybe i’ll write fic

barbrey dustin/petyr baelish (books only) - some of the p/s shippers got me on this one. their backstories have an eerie echo. they both love and hate the starks, barbrey was supposed to marry brandon stark, petyr was almost killed by brandon and brandon also “stole” his love, catelyn. barbrey was jealous of catelyn and claimed brandon loved her (barbrey) and took her maidenhead. so you have two people who essentially wanted the same thing and were fucked over by the same arranged marriage. it’s so complex and cool and there are so many layers you can explore. she’s also scheming and crafty and has a wicked sense of humor, like can you imagine the interactions.

sansa/stannis - there are some AMAZING fics out there where this pairing actually makes a lot of sense, a la richard iii wanting to marry his niece, elizabeth of york. think for instance of him winning the battle of blackwater (as a parallel to the battle of bosworth between richard iii and henry vii) and stannis deciding to marry her to solidify his rule and to also bring the north into the fold. i also love fics where sansa is a little older and ned arranges the marriage between her and stannis. like i said, it’s the fic that rly brought me here

#got ships #asoiaf ships #asoiaf #got #replies

[orionsangel86]

Season 14 Wishlist

Alrighty then! As per the last few season’s, each autumn before the season premier I will write a wishlist of things that hopefully will happen in the coming season, which I will then go through once the season is over.

For those of you curious:

Here is my wishlist for season 12 and here is my season 12 wishlist review

Here is my wishlist for season 13 and here is my season 13 wishlist review

Now as a slight disclaimer I need to stress that this isn’t meta, or me promising anything to happen (since I’m not a showrunner nor psychic) and is purely meant for fun - having said that most of the items on my wishlist are at least somewhat realistic wishes and within the realms (at least in my opinion) of actually happening.

So without further rambling here we go:

A decent arc for Michael!Dean. Yes, we all expect it to only last 3 episodes. which I find deeply disappointing. I would prefer if things are not as they seem and it turns out to last far longer than that.

Scenes inside Dean’s head. Like we got with both Cas and Sam when they were possessed, I really want to know where Michael has got Dean stashed away inside his head - and exactly what kind of experience that is for him. I can think of a whole bunch of different ways that could go - will Michael put Dean through hell? Or will he distract him the way of the Djinn with his idea of heaven? I am extremely excited by this idea and hope they don’t pass on the potential.

The missing scene from 13x23 when Dean said yes to Michael. There was definitely more to that and I hope so much we will see it - though I don’t think this is particularly likely.

Cas’s grief. Obviously. Last year I was all about Dean’s grief arc. This year, I need Cas’s to be just as bad. This is 10 years since the original story. Stopping Michael and changing allegiance to stand with Dean was Cas’s origin story - Remember how he reacted in season 5 when Dean was thinking about saying yes to Michael? Oh ho ho I can’t even begin to imagine how this will affect Cas. I want this to be a mirror of last year, and far worse than season 10. 

Sam’s continued leadership role. Now where I want to see Cas absolutely broken with grief over Dean’s possession, what I think would compliment it perfectly is Sam’s fearsome determination and functional leadership. It would be a great way to show how far the brothers have come to breaking the toxic codependency which has bound them to each other - that Sam is capable of functioning without Dean and without immediately trying to sell his soul or give his life for his brother. 

Sam and Cas working together. One of the things that I really hated about the start of season 10, was that without Dean around, Sam and Cas’s relationship just fell apart, and Sam was made to look pretty much like a douche by the show implying he had kicked Cas out of the bunker and blamed him for breaking his shoulder?!? (I found the whole thing very out of character for Sam but then destiel’s continued refusal to become canon tends to make Sam look occasionally douchey - but that is a meta for another day). Give me Sam and Cas as a team. Supporting each other in their grief and acting like the brothers (in-law) that they are.

Jack and Cas father/son bonding time - I mean I saw the promo and it looks like Jack is gonna be grounded for a little while... >.> but once he has written 100 lines of “I will not suggest killing my dad in front of my father” I think Cas will forgive him. I’d like to see Cas trying to teach Jack human things or mundane tasks with Dean watching them with a fond expression!

Addressing Dean’s abuse trauma - this one has been going around on tumblr recently so I’m latching on to other wonderful meta a bit here, but since last season explored Sam’s Lucifer trauma (and to an extent Cas’s Naomi trauma), it would be fitting if this Michael!Dean arc is followed up with an arc of recovery for Dean, not just from Michael, but from everything he has suffered since the apocalypse.

More seeing “behind the mask” with Dean. I think he has already massively grown into himself and out of his fathers shadow, but I’d just like more examples like with the chick flicks and the cucumber water.

Cas truly breaking free from heaven. Now I think that the ideal situation would be that Cas is the one to fix heaven, and that he leaves the angels by choice, and with them all respecting him and being thankful to him. But Cas needs to start to break free from that duty and obligation that he still feels to heaven. Even in season 13 he carried that guilt, and whilst this is more endgame stuff, I desperately want to see more progress on this. 

More hints towards Cas desiring human things and human feelings and basically desiring humanity for himself (no jokes guys, this time I DON’T mean Dean). I am a staunch human!Cas endgame girl after all. The show spent a lot of time in season 9 and 10 building on this for Cas and then it went a bit quiet. I’d like to see those threads picked up again.

In fact, when it comes to Cas, how about he starts answering some of those hundreds of unanswered questions that have been thrown at him since Carver era? How about he finds his place, where he belongs and AS WHAT in general? Cas, you have a home now and a family. Stop lingering in doorways. 

Sam showing us more of his personality. I think now that his Lucifer trauma has been somewhat addressed, Sam should be a bit lighter and more carefree. I’d like to know some more about him other than his obsession with serial killers which is frankly a worrying hobby Sam!

Mary and Cas bonding - in fact I just want to see all of the rest of Dean’s family bonding with Cas more. I want more knowing looks from Mary and even a conversation about the topic - oh wouldn’t that be a dream!

Dean coming out of the closet. Yes yes I know I know. Every year... But it is 20gayteen and next year is 20BITEEN and dammit the world is full of rainbows right now - Bert and Ernie made it official... Why can’t Dean Winchester? I’m totally cool with someone slipping THIS to Dabb. I won’t even ask for credit. ;)

Last year I wanted Sam to build on his relationships outside of Dean and we did pretty well last year with that. But of course, I want more. Maybe some Sam x Rowena? I’m game. 

On that note WITCH!SAM. I am still a huge lover of Sam practicing magick. It’s a story line with so much potential.

More badass ladies kicking ass. Aww man we were kinda blessed with this last year weren’t we? Keep it up show. Please keep it up.

Billie continuing to play a large role as Death. I find her captivating and want more.

Wayward Sisters returning. It still hurts, but we need to know what happens next.

JODY AND CAS NEED TO MEET GODDAMMIT. Also I want Cas to reunite with Claire again.

As per last year: The return of the mixtape. BRING BACK THE MIXTAPE (yup I’m gonna wish for it until I get it).

Please dress Cas up. The closest we got last year was the cowboy hat and the dreadful nazi uniform of AU Cas. Why can’t we have him in plaid? PLEASE.

Absolutely no Lucifer, Lucifer vessel or any hint of Mark Pellegrino. Plus no Kentucky fried chicken pantomime villains either. I’ll be happy if season 14 is free from this nonsense.

Saving the best for last, what do I always wish for above all else? You guessed it - DESTIEL. Do I want it to be canon? Well yes eventually of course. But in season 14 my wish is for their story to continue as it did in early season 13. More obvious destiel content, more of destiel built into the narrative and ideally, made explicit. A love confession? Even if only to a third party? That is undeniably romantic. Zero “no homo’s” would be nice. I just wish for further development on the destiel narrative. That is all. 

As always feel free to add to this with your own wishes! 

BRING ON SEASON 14!! :D

#supernatural #season 14 wishlist #season 14 #destiel #castiel #dean winchester #sam winchester #rowena #michael!dean #wayward sisters #human!cas #breaking the toxic codependency #destiel dreaming #nougat winchester #jack kline #billie the reaper #spn positivity #spn speculation #my wishlist #my stuff #personal opinions

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Fav fanfic authors rec list!

In honor of fanfic writer appreciation day, here’s me gushing about some of my favorite fanfic authors of different fandoms. So much amazing talent out there, I feel so awed and honored to have discovered such good writers!! A lot of the fics I came across put published best-sellers to shame.

Here we go!

Marvel Cinematic Universe

I read an incredible amount of Stony (Tony Stark/Steve Rogers) fanfiction a while back, and it’s the gift that keeps on giving, super talented writers that produce metric tons of content without it growing boring. Some favorites:

FestiveFerret (@festiveferret): Steadily working their way through every gorgeous trope, and producing an impressive amount of high-quality fics of all length and kind as a result - fun, hot, brilliant stories that are compulsively readable and full of vibrant details. Hard to chose favorites, but Lost Together and Deafening Quiet, Silent Roar are frankly so excellent I can’t not name them here.

OrbingArrow (@orbingarrow): While their stories have a great style, awesome characterization, super cool sense of detail and of humor, the reason I particularly love Arrow is their focus on hope and recovery. Stories that helped me in rough times, and genuinely make me want to get better. For example, Good for you! So grateful for these fics.

sabrecmc (@sabrecmc): I will make the bold assumption that everyone in the Stony fandom has heard of sabrecmc; they are one of the Big, Big Name Fans. And there’s a reason for that: extremely unique, rich, deep, gorgeous fics that make you weep or scream into your pillow, or melt into a puddle at the glorious smut. Just...wow. (Also, genuinely awesome kind person online!)

AvocadoLove (@awesomeavocadolove): writes quick paced, thrilling, extremely readable fics with fantastic plots and characterization. Doesn’t get boring a single second. Some of my favorites include Enemy at the Gates and Prisoner’s Dilemma

Then comes Write_Like_An_American (@write-like-an-american), who writes for the Guardians of the Galaxy fandom, centered around Yondu Udonta. I have the BIGGEST CRUSH on their writing, it’s just...so fun, so real and fleshed-out! I love sci-fi and pirates, so it’s obviously my kind of content, but seriously, they would make me love everything they write. Lots of mature themes and reflections around abuse and recovery, + doesn’t shy away from nasty and gross aspects (fair warning, big amount of kink and gore). I love pretty much everything they write, but Blame It On The Stars and No Son of Mine seriously blew me away.

Harry Potter

Considering that I read more fanfics for Harry Potter than for any other fandom, this list is painfully short; but back then I was a completely passive consumer and barely took notice of the writers behind the stories I devoured. Also didn’t bookmark those I liked :/

justonemorefic (@oddhour) is thankfully an exception. etc. etc. (and life goes on) is one of my favorite stories in general, a next-gen fic centered around an incredible OC - hilarious, heart-breaking, analytical, lyrical writing that seriously blew my mind. I still catch myself giggling when I remember some scenes.

Soul Eater

aka the fandom I write for :D again there’s so many great authors and fics I didn’t bookmark, but I pledge to do better in the future.

tastewithouttalent (@tastewithouttalent): has an incredible, absolutely unique style of writing. In their capable hands, words are woven to an amazingly sensual, intense tapestry of sensations. Writes mostly PWPs, but seriously, it’s pure poetry (and also HOT, damn). Got me started on my trashy OTP, Giriko/Justin Law, and I reread all of their work for them on a truly embarassing basis, but Air and Capable are two of my favorites (and I would give a limb for a prequel to that one Psycho-Pass AU).

adulter_clavis (@adulterclavis): champion of crazy AUs, this author made me laugh so hard I cried. Several times. Has the baffling ability to twist the characters into something slightly more weird and dark and still keep them absolutely IC. Absolutely hilarious banter and situations, genuine comedy gold; Heistception is probably my favorite.

raining-down-hearts (on fanfiction.net) has written a SoMa fic I remember devouring at incredible speed, The Cost of Lamentations. Sad and brainy and well-tought through.

LueurdeLaube (@i-am-thesenate) has a very fun, elegant writing style. Writes SoMa, Red Silk is a big favorite.

Black Sails

I am absolutely obsessed with Black Sails as of late, but still weirdly reluctant to read fanfic for it. Maybe a part of me thinks I have to rewatch it and let it settle a bit more before fully exploring possibilities. Still, I’ve read a fair amount of shippy stuff and of smut, here are some favs:

arbitrarily (@widespindriftgaze) has written two EXCELLENT Flint/Billy hatesex fics (the men are called horsemen there and skeleton tree) that feel like a punch of the gut on each reread. Very painful, much good.

youatemytailor (@annevbonny) has...such a powerful style...and writes Silver with almost frightening accuracy. lost on you made my heart clench and ache

urcadelimabean (@urcadelimabean) writes super sweet, smutty fics and has written the pegging fics this fandom desperately needs (yours, always and anything for your queen)!

Vorkosigan Saga (book series by Lois McMaster Bujold)

Since I’m only halfway through the saga, there’s a lot of fanfics I can’t read in order not to spoiler myself, but luckily for me, there’s tons of amazing stories on the earlier timelines while I wait to get the other books.

Phylomytha is ... probably McMaster Bujold in disguise. At least that would explain why their style aligns so flawlessly with that of the author, and why every! single! fic!!! feels like a deleted chapter/scene from the books. Writes a lot of short one-shots which flesh out the universe and make me appreciate it so much more. Just...wow. Aral Vorkosigan’s Dog is a longer one exploring the POV of a minor character, and I loved it so much.

Dira Sudis (@dsudis) writes heart-achingly tender fics, while staying wonderfully true to the characters. A big favorite is Frequently Suggested Sexual Practices: An Aid to Communication.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Ah, I remember the good innocent times when the only things I associated with A:TLA were cute gen fics. But alas, the kink always finds me (maybe because I’m always searching for it, heh).

DracoMaleficium (@dracze) writes awesome, kinky stuff around Jee/Zuko, mostly AUs. Incredibly rich, sensory, readable writing style.

Nele (@fanjapanologist) also writes Jeeko, and adds tons of super elegant and good worldbuilding. I absolutely adore the fics they wrote.

attackfish (@attackfish) writes very psychological, often very dark gen fics which have super competent worldbuilding (and prominently feature Mai, which - GOOD). Until the Walls Break Like Waves had me gripping my seat - a very unsettling, extremely well-written fic.

and finally:

Brokeback Mountain

I absolutely had to include cathalin ( @cathalins) since they wrote Dreaming, a fanfic that made me genuinely bawl my eyes out. All of their fics are incredible though, just feel TRUE and IMPORTANT and I’m already half-crying just thinking about that fic (crying in the good ways, btw, it’s a fix-it). Can’t possibly recommend that fic enough.

Hope you will find something to like in my rec list!!

(all those authors are, unless specified otherwise, on AO3)

#fanfic writer appreciation day #personal #vorkosigan saga #fic rec #mcu #black sails #harry potter #soul eater #brokeback mountain