Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Prequel/teaser fic for Mechanic!Haknyeon, anyone? 👀

Hi. Sorry if I’m speaking out of turn but I saw your post and elitism reblog and thought I’d chime in, as a former member of the fandom who has been lurking around recently. Disclaimer I don’t speak for OP but it seems like OP might have been from the first few years of the fandom’s existence based on what they said in the post so I’d like to offer some context that could have led to OP’s “bad” take.

There was a lot of crap going on behind the scenes or on social media with Astruc and Zag that led to folks disliking both the show for its narrative choices and the creator/staff (around S1-S2, years 2016-2018). No details to share, just know many were often at odds with Astruc and/or Zag as early as 2016 (ML premiered late 2015).

So it’s difficult to blame them for being bitter or hyperbolic because at the time, we were given this idea it would be a great story based on its premise. then S2 rolled in and we were often disappointed by story decisions or what appeared to be regressions of character development. In other words, promises not delivered, expectations not met, money over quality. It got to a point some of us were able to point out which episodes were done by the cheaper studio and which were by SAMG cuz the cheaper one often had inferior animation.

There was also a ton of fandom discourse regarding the sexualization of the characters, with many people on both sides of the issue. Some of the most popular fics *at the time* were rated M or E (like that one BDSM aged-up fic or the one where teenage Adrien had no idea what a woman’s period was and part of the fic was just them getting into very sexualized situations). Heck, there was so much discourse on Gabrienette (yes Gabrienette). Idk how things are now wrt fanfiction or the state of the fandom but that was what it was like when I was around. I suspect that’s why some people have since stereotyped the ML fandom as people who like sexualizing teenagers in fic. Cuz the fics (and art) at the time often did it, esp prior to the Tumblr Purge of 2017. The word “p*dophilia* got thrown around a lot too.

Now that the fandom is so big though, it’s hard to generalize the whole community or even to take issue with elitism 😅 (elitism was also something talked about during my time...it was no use). Now some folks who may be coming back probably do prefer just the fan art and AUs. But that’s them.

Again, I’m sorry if I’ve spoken out of turn. You may ignore this ask if you’d like and esp if you already knew everything I talked about 😅

hey thank you anon for telling me the early years of the fandom! i only casually watched the show for s1-s3 so i didnt know what was happening in the fandom before and i dont follow any of the creators of the show since i dont want my feeling fot the show to be influencd by them.

about fanfictions... im not gonna say much... but every fandom has their fair share of questionable fanfics and i think it's not something we can control anymore... people will write what they wanna write

and yep the person maybe doesnt have any ill intention when posting it but i still feel it's not right for them to generalize (and kinda mock) the whole ml fanfictions community even if they are a veteran... because tbh i found a lot of good fanfics from 2016 that i think are wholesome and arent sexualized at all... so i believe even in the early year of the fandom there were a lot of good contents too ^^

sorry if i said something wrong! this is just my opinion as one of the rookie mlb fans ^^

Still not going to be posting for a while, but I had some Pokémon-related questions for you ^^

1) Not sure if you’re still doing the ship ratings, but what do you think of Giovanni x Cyrus? I go back and forth between them being in a relationship or Cyrus being ace…

2) I also have been thinking about trans Ghetsis and Colress… I was curious, how would a (pre-op) man prevent menstruation? In my headcannon, if either one of them were trans, both wouldn’t be able to get surgery.

Thanks uwu

---

Hello! I had stopped the ratings, with grades and all, but I don’t see any problem in commenting what you sent me. So let me see...

1) About Cyrus and Giovanni, I used to like that ship a bit more in the past, but I kinda grew tired of it, I don’t know. I mean, I’ve never actually shipped them, it’s never been too attractive for me, but there was a period of time when I thought it was rather cute. Now I feel pretty neutral, if not a bit negative about it. I can’t quite explain though, I think it’s because of how I have developped both the characters in my comics. Still it’s not like I would complain about people who ship them or whatever, I’ve seen some really cute pictures of them and really nice headcanons of them before. I’ve nothing against it, it’s just a ship that I don’t think I would be able to make work nowadays. About Cyrus being ace, it’s the headcanon that I’ve chosen for him in my comics. Aromantic and Asexual. Still, I’m also open to other headcanons for him. Gay Cyrus, straight Cyrus, demisexual Cyrus, aromantic but not ace, or ace but not aro... biromantic and gray-ace. There are thousands od possibilities  in terms of romanticism and sexuality for him, whatever you feel like working with will be fine. If you would like to have an ace Cyrus in a relationship with Gio, you can have him be, let’s say, demiromantic and gray-ace... Or homoromantic and asexual. Or demiromantic demisexual. There are ways to make that happen without having to completely discart the ace spectrum from his character. :) Also, nothing wrong with playing with two headcanons at the same time. Two different au’s maybe... Recently, I’ve become more interested on the idea of shipping Cyrus with Lysandre. This would never happen in my comics and is totally impossible in this headcanon, but that doesn’t mean I can’t think of what it would be like in a different hc, nd even write about it if I ever feel like it. ^^ 2) About trans Ghetsis and Colress, that’s great! All trans headcanons are valid. Actually, a while back, I thought about an intersex Ghetsis (More specifically, Ghetsis finding out he actually has ovaries and that he’s intersex and never knew it, and that helping him become less sexist and lgbtq-phobic). I don’t think it’s going to happen in my comics in reality, but it was interesting to think of. Anyway... About the period question, as a cis woman, I feel like I don’t really have the authority to talk about this in details... You should try to find some trans-focused blogs that could answer your questions. I did some research for writing my trans Piers, though, so I can try to say a few things... First, sadly, it seems like menstruation is not discussed a lot for men, which sucks, so it’s not that easy to find out info on that. Another consequence of that is, most of the things I saw were dysphoric men talking about how much period hurt them emotionally and psychologically, because it made their dysphoria much worse. I know it’s a huge issue for many trans men, as well as some NBs of course. Still, some trans man that don’t experience dysphoria have nearly just the same amount of discomfort as a women. No women likes having periods, we know that, so naturally no trans men like it either. But some can deal with it without getting dysphoric feelings. If you want to talk about period in a trans man’s life, there are many aspects of it that you can try to include. Many trans men I saw on the Internet talked about how they hated having to change their pads in a male bathroom, and how they had to hide pads or cups, and how much they feared having leaks in public. Many of them talked about incresed symptoms of other psychological conditions such as depression, nd suicidal thoughts related to “feeling like a woman despite knowing they are not” or like their bodies were trying to go against their minds. Well, you talk about “pre-op” men, that is, men who intend to have surgery at some point, but haven’t managed to yet. Still, surgery is not mandatory to stop having periods (although, of course, removing the person’s womb will do the trick). From what I’ve searched, you can stop periods with hormonal treatment. It takes a bit of a while for the periods to stop, since changes happen slowly, but eventually the bleeding stops. So yeah, not sure if you’re going to work with dysphoric men here or not, but you can headcanon that they take hormones and don’t have periods, or that they don’t take hormones and still have periods but that makes them dysphoric... Or, like my Piers, they don’t take hormones and have periods, but that doesn’t make them dysphoric. They can be pre-op, but haven’t got money for it yet, or are not ready yet, or whatever other reason for not doing it now, or they can be non-op, like my Piers, that is, trans men who don’t intend to ever have the surgery, even thought they identify as male. Basically, yeah, some men have periods and not all of them plan on making periods stop for good at some point, but that doesn’t mean they are less of a man. Well, that’s all I know from what I’ve researched on trans men and periods, I really wish there was more info about this subject, but I guess there’s still kind of a taboo around it, even for cis women, in fact. Anyway, if you want to know more about trans men dealing with periods, you should try looking for trans-themed blogs, some of them will surely answer asks on the matter. ^^

Also, any trans person that follows me and wants to contribute to this discussion, please do tell your experiences and all you know about it! (if you feel comfortable too, naturally!) I know that no one can talk about this better than trans men themselves, and I definitely would love to hear from you guys what it’s like dealing with that kind of thing. :) Not only it will help me with my headcanons for Piers, but also will happen many other artists and writers that want to work with trans characters, and may also help younger trans men who haven’t dealt with this yet. ^^ Feel free to submit, reblog and comment here, and please do correct me if I said anything wrong. :) 

1-3, 10

I don’t know which one you want me to answer these questions for so I’mma do all three of the recent ones i reblogged in rapid succession because I’m extra and cringey like that: 

Fanfic Writer Ask Game- 

1. Has a comment left on a fic of mine ever made me laugh out loud? 

Not yet! They always tend to make me smile a lot but I haven’t lol’d yet!

2. Has a comment ever made me cry? 

I’m going to be honest and say that whenever I get comments from people, saying that they read all my stuff, that they always look forward to an update from me, or that my writing is helping them through a difficult time, I tear up! It hits me in my chest like GWAH.

3. Have I ever made myself laugh out loud or cry when writing? 

Never cry but definitely laugh! I like writing comedy or adding it in my writing a lot because it’s fun for me and fun for the reader. It also gives me an excuse to get my horrible jokes out of my brain. 

10. What word do I keep using like it’s going out of style?

This is a hard one because I’m not sure! I spend a ridiculous amount of time worrying about repeating words. I know I love using the word ‘polite’ and ‘huff’! Also ‘offer’ and ‘oblige’. 

20 Fandom Ask Memes- 

1. If I could hit any character, who would it be? 

This is a hard one because I wanna hit A LOT of characters with no repercussions. Because I’m still VERY EMOTIONAL about Yakuza 7, I would like to hit Sawashiro as hard as I can. I know that I would also love to beat up Sid the Sloth from Ice Age. Lloyds from Tiger & Bunny. Oh! And Fuyuhiko from Junjou Romantica as well as Takano from SIH.

2. What fandoms am I no longer a part of? 

I also can’t really answer this one because I don’t really join fandoms. Like, the main purpose of this blog was to say whatever came to mind in regards to characters I liked/disliked whether or not I’d be met with hate from the fandom. So far, the reception for my stupid posts have been positive in JR land! I would say that I am not really in the One Piece fandom anymore. This is because I don’t write OP fanfiction as often as I used to and I find the discords to be rather intimidating because not only do A LOT of members tend to overwhelm me a bit but I’m so afraid of coming across as a bad person or cringey or stupid. TBH did leave an OP discord over something stupid I said that I know I blew out of proportion by overthinking. The discord was kinda dying anyways. [shrug]

3. Characters I’d marry in an instant? 

OMG EASY: Kasuga Ichiban from Yakuza 7 (he’s the perfect man), Legosi from Beastars (if only I were a white rabbit), and Sadie Adler from RDR2 (I have the biggest crush on her omg).

10. Characters that deserved worse? 

Hate to say it but Barnaby from Tiger & Bunny. I dunno, I felt like he kinda got off a little too easy with the way he treated Kotetsu in the beginning. (Kotetsu was his partner for their work as heroes since they have the same powers and they didn’t get along because of their differences. However, while Kotetsu was at least trying to befriend him after a while, Barnaby seemed to make more of an effort to be an ass.) 

Also, Takano from SIH. He deserves to be punched in half by Donkey Kong. Hiroki from JR needs a big serving of humble pie. Fuyuhiko from JR should be thrown in a well somewhere. 

Fun Meta Asks for Writers- 

1. Current projects? 

I signed up for my first ever creative writing class, so I’m working on a couple original stories that I have been way too lazy about AND finnicky about because I want my writing to be 100% perfect ALL THE TIME AND THE FIRST TIME OR I’M TERRIBLE. 

For fanfiction, I’m currently working on a Spiderman AU for JR, a Professer AU for Egoist because i guess I want to rewrite their story lol, FEUD of course, and for a T&B work called Firsts: Necessary Evils. 

2. What I most look forward to writing? 

In FEUD, I’m really looking forward to writing a new conflict that’s coming up between Ijuuin and pretty much everyone else. 

I am mainly excited about the Spiderman AU because I LOVE superheroes and I think the style and plots that I have for it are very good! I have it set up quite different where there’s a chapter where Akihiko is Spiderman, then another chapter where Misaki is, and the last chapter is them both being Spiderman. What I have set up for Misaki when he’s the hero is just YES SO MUCH FUN! 

For the Professor AU where Hiroki and Nowaki are both professors, I’m excited to be kind of boring. It’s a sweet, slice of life story about two dorks who are a little awkward falling in love. It’s charming and not very dramatic. I just want to take the advice of my creative writing prof which is to dare to be boring. 

Other than that, it’s my original stories. I’m becoming less afraid of writing them so the more I do, the more excited I become to write more.

3. What is one scene I want to write but at the moment can’t be arsed (I fucking hate this word ugh ‘arsed’ it sounds stupid)? 

I’m so sorry for those who read FEUD but it’s literally the next part of this coming chapter. I dunno, I’m just...lazyyyyyyyyy. Lol I’M GETTING TO IT, but at the moment, I’ve been kinda lazy with my writing. I don’t know why, probably because it’s sad bitch hour every hour. 

10. How would I describe my writing process?

I don’t know if I have something that counts as a writing process, but I just start writing when I feel really compelled by an idea. If I am inspired enough, I just write. Then, I figure out a beginning to it or an end to it or how to blend it into a story if I wish to. Afterwards, I edit the shit out of it and then let it sit on my laptop for a while until I’m brave enough to post it since I think a lot of what comes from my hands is terrible lol. If I’m craving inspiration, I’ll look up quotes and just go from there. I also tend to think about scenarios A LOT in terms of my favorite characters so I always seem to have some kind of idea. 

THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE ASK!! This was fun!!

ROTBTD TAG GAME

Okay, so I was tagged by

@ohlooksheswriting-wips

! Thanks for tagging me!

Answer these questions and tag your rotbtd friends! And please don’t reblog this, put your answer in a new post 😊✨

Name/nickname?

My blogging name is Owlswing, but I also go by Owl :)

How did you get into rotbtd?

Oh, gosh... I was about 15...? Anyways, I liked all of the movies individually, and I ended up stumbling across some fanart of all four of them together, and then I saw tags like “the big four”, and the rest is kinda history. I got in deep on a dying fandom and never left...

What made you stay/come back?

Hahaha! See, fandom was dying/dead when I came around, so I never left. I just started a really long Hogwarts AU that is still not finished... (also after checking the timeline for the last question, I realized that said Hogwarts AU is almost 5 YEARS OLD! Maybe I should do something special for the anniversary???)

Out of the four movies, which one is your favorite?

I mean, I absolutely love them all, probably wouldn’t be in the fandom if I didn’t, but... I have to go with Httyd. Hiccup is just a really relatable character for me, and I just love the exhilarating feeling I get every single time I watch Test Drive. It’s just so beautiful.

Dreamworks Dragons or Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure?

You know, I think I need to go with Tangled Adventure on this one. While I love the Dragons series, I feel like Tangled did a really good job of staying true to the original characters while also adding more at the same time for more dynamic plots and such. I think it was just really well done, and there are no plotholes/awkward overlaps like there are sometimes in httyd (that could be because there are less movies so not as many toes to step on) but still, I think Tangled Adventures was really, really well done and I must give credit where credit is due! :)

Which one do you prefer to be made a sequel of, Brave or Rise of the Guardians?

It’s hard because I really want BOTH... I think I would prefer a remake of Brave with the original director, Brenda Chapman, because I feel like it would’ve been so much better if she hadn’t been taken off a project that was inspired by her own relationship with her daughter. Yeah. I’m still mad about that Disney.

But for overall sequel I would probably go with Rise of the Guardians. Brave seems like more of a stand-alone plot to me, so trying to shoe-horn in something else has high chances of being not so great *coughfrozen2cough*. Where as rotg has many characters with different legends and stories to be told, a whole book series to draw from, it’s a whole world that we’ve only explored one small part of, and I would’ve liked to see well-adjusted team dynamics/family-team antics of the guardians! :)

OTP/BrOTP(s)?

Ah, see I’m really NOT against any of the ships, I’m just not big on shipping in general. There are very few ships that I’m actually, ya know, Into. So I’m definitely more of a Brotp kinda gal. I love me some good, healthy, and strong friendships! Found Family? That’s my ish! Love that!

Favorite character(s)?

Hiccup. But there’s a special place for each of them. I’ve seen myself in each of them and nothing can really replace that feeling.

Favorite AU(s)?

Okay, I gotta say Hogwarts AU cause I’m chin-deep in that right now. Soon to be drowning. Simultaneously the best and worst decision of my life. Haha! Just kidding! Anyways, I like this AU because I’m really big on fantasy, and it just makes sense; why four people from completely different walks of life ended up in the same place at the same time? I think it’s pretty cool and it’s such a big world to explore!

Besides that... I would say a War AU could be cool, like medieval fantasy or futuristic sci-fi. Pirate AUs and Circus AUs will also always catch my attention.

Pick one! favorite B4 house placement in Hogwarts AU? | favorite B4 nation/bending headcanons in ATLA AU?

Okay, so for Hogwarts Houses I definitely have preferred Houses, but the whole system is so generalizing to begin with I really believe that any of the four could be in pretty much any house if you really want, but here are my preferences:

Hiccup - Ravenclaw

Rapunzel - Hufflepuff

Merida - Gryffindor

Jack - Slytherin

As for bending headcannons, I really haven’t put a lot of thought into it, but that question is very intriguing... I’d probably do something like...

Hiccup - Air, because the peaceful Nomad lifestyle and the desire to fly and explore and be free is just very fitting. Also he could befriend Toothless instead of a Bison, confusing everyone because they thought Dragons were dangerous!

Rapunzel - Earth, because for one thing I love breaking norms in this way! I love the idea of Rapunzel being the dainty, pretty princess but then she busts out some of the most badass Earth Bending moves, invents metal bending to escape Gothel, is just very kind but if you piss her off she’ll totally wreck you. I think this would be A LOT of fun. Also, I think it would be fitting with the whole “flower” thing. I also think it could be an interesting character arc where she’s not very good because her personality doesn’t exactly fit the “traditional earth bender attitude” and being raised by Gothel (”You? A bender! Oh, honestly Rapunzel, don’t make me laugh!”) could leave a lot of insecurities that she would have to grow and work through. I think it could be really beautiful.

Merida - Fire, on the flip side this one is kinda typical I imagine, but I would say (also on the flip side) make her afraid of it. Make it the one thing that Merida isn’t, well, Brave about. She doesn’t like fire bending. It could potentially make her a disgrace to her royal/noble family. It also would explain why she’s so good with a bow and sword: she chooses weapons over bending. Unlike Rapunzel who wants to learn but is hindered and must overcome, Merida would be against learning and would eventually have to learn that it is a part of her and learn how to accept it (after possibly visiting the dragons with Hiccup or whoever the avatar would be cause who the heck knows? could be interesting if none of the Four are the Avatar. Make a fifth character the Avatar and the Four could just be the teachers...)

Jack - Water, obvious, I know, but giving Jack ice powers AND another element makes him WAY to OP. I would say Jack is actually not a natural at water bending. He’s always accidentally freezing everything! (not unlike Katara). He has to work hard and earn his title as a master, eventually becoming the best because he trained harder than any of the others and surpassed the other water benders that used to torment him back in his home village! I also think Blood Bending could be an interesting plot device here (maybe Jack is tempted to use the technique because he’s worked so hard and still isn’t good enough? Or just in general Jack’s inner battle between the darkness and his fun-loving personality...)

......Dang it. I think I just started plotting something. o_o

Pick one! since this is 2020, any hot takes you want to give us? | what old fanon tropes that you still enjoyed to this day?

I will always love brotp between Jack and Hiccup! Absolute favorite. I also love the idea of the four having sleepovers and telling each other everything and overall being supportive and loving towards each other. All the positivity and fluff!

Any fic recs? Or if you couldn’t think of any, what was the last rotbtd fanfiction that you read? (It could be an old work or a recent one, do share!)

Uh... I honestly haven’t been reading many as I barely have time to write, but I did hear of one that I think is pretty good! It’s a pokemon AU by Acecove! I’ll link it below...

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13320856/1/Pok%C3%A9mon-World-Evolving-Together

Whew! That was a lot! Anyways, I’ll tag @emixa26 and @adaminaart!

I recently read a fic on ao3 and it was funny and great and then I thought of a few major changes that would make it even more hilarious. Problem is, I don't know the etiquette here. Should I just go ahead and write my own version? Add a link to the original story and credit it as inspiration? It was based on a prompt so the idea isn't exclusively the author's I suppose. Anyway I'll only be borrowing the start scenario (which is the prompt) and there will be no other similarities. Please help

Hello there. I’m gonna start what I expect will be kind of a long essay by saying there is an awful lot to unpack here… Starting with the fact that there is a chasm of difference between taking inspiration from a prompt fill fic and imagining an entirely different scenario, and starting that from a mentality of “I can do better than you.” The first is at the root of all of human creativity. We all bounce off one another and take inspiration from each other, and the entire history of human storytelling is essentially one long conversation. But the second part of this historically leads to fisticuffs. No, really. Google “famous literary feuds” for all the reasons why.

It’s not so much a difference in practical terms, but in your approach and understanding here.

So this is why I saw this ask in my inbox late last night and decided I needed to go to sleep rather than trying to answer you right away. But now I have coffee, so let’s give this a try. :P

I’d start by asking what the source of the prompt was. Was it a tumblr post? A prompt from a prompt list? Even one of those “pick a pairing and a prompt and I’ll write a short ficlet” posts? If so, you’re probably free to use the prompt by going back to the original fic prompt list. People publish those as jumping off points to write fic, and they actively WANT people to use them this way.

If the prompt, however, was given to a specific author by someone, you might want to at least ask that author if it would be okay for you to write something of your own based on the prompt. And at least try not to frame it as “I can write something better than you did” when you ask. That’s just rude and demoralizing for the author who’s already published a fic for that prompt, you know?

I get fic ideas all the time from random places, but there’s a different etiquette for each of them.

Sometimes a random tumblr post will give me an idea, and I’ll go talk to the OP privately, both because it’s FUN to talk about someone’s wild headcanon with them, and because you’re approaching the person who had the initial idea with courtesy and in the spirit of collaboration, rather than from this place of “stealing their idea.” The first builds good fandom feelings, while the second tends to do the opposite. I have a couple of experiences here that will hopefully illustrate the difference.

A few years back, when Lizbob was running the Great Meta Scavenger Hunt during s12, it led to the creation of the Great Fic Writer Scavenger Hunt. The theory behind it was that any number of authors could take the same fic prompt based on a single trope paired with a single distinctive character trait and the results would all be entirely unique stories. The intent was to prove that just because an idea had been written before, it becomes a new story when written by someone else, you know? And it was TRUE.

http://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/tagged/the-great-fic-writer-scavenger-hunt/chrono

We had DOZENS of authors participate, and despite all writing “the same story” every week, NONE of the resulting stories were even remotely the same.

On the other hand, I posted an insomnia-inspired headcanon a few months ago, and within five minutes after posting it, my insomnia brain– with an assist from a more rational point of view thanks to lizbob– had taken that little notion and spun it out into long fic in my head. I went back to my original post to laugh at myself in a reblog, announcing that I was gonna write long fic of the thing and for people to stay tuned for more, but other folks had already reblogged the original with comments to the effect of, “Someone should write this fic!” The worst thing was that other authors were tagged into it. As if my highly specific headcanon was suddenly communal property. Because the implication behind it– whether it was the truth or not– felt like “I like this headcanon, but have decided that I don’t want the OP to actually write this story because I like XYZ author’s writing better.”

And I know that was not the intent of the folks who added those comments to my post, but as someone who actively writes fic for this fandom, it felt like a slap in the face.

Now if those same people had replied, “OP please write more of this!” or “What a cool idea!” or even if they’d come to me privately and said, “Hey this is a cool idea, do you mind if I use it to write a longer fic?” I would’ve been HAPPY about it.

Can you see the difference here, anon?

The result was a rather frustrating back and forth where I was told that because I posted the idea in public it was effectively free real estate for anyone else to squat on. I mean, isn’t that what we’re all doing with the source material we base all our fan creations on anyway? We don’t ask the Supernatural writers for permission to use their characters, their settings, their intellectual property to create our own stories and art, right?

But the difference here is apparently too subtle for some folks to grasp. The Supernatural writers aren’t part of our fandom community. And the culture within fandom operates on different rules. Fandom creators are not source creators, and yes we all collectively “steal” from the same source, but it sort of defies the underlying premise that fandom creators as a whole are operating on the same level to suggest that “stealing” from another fandom creator is the same thing.

From my understanding, the entire point of fandom creators doing what they do is to build a community together around the thing we all love. There is a way to do that in good faith, through collaboration and the free sharing of ideas and creations.

I hope this makes sense.

The result of all of that was that I set aside another project I’d been wanting to write and instead began spite writing my own headcanon post. It was like pulling teeth at first, because there was so much Bad Fandom Feeling attached to the concept that the words just didn’t want to come. It’s FINALLY flowing now, though (after several months of the aforementioned teeth-pulling), and is nearing 18k words. I’m hoping it’ll be done and ready to post by the end of March, so I can FINALLY go back to writing the thing I’d originally wanted to work on before this nonsense blew up.

I’ve also unfortunately been one of the authors tagged in on someone else’s headcanon post in the past. I know the folks who do this think it’s flattering, and they’re just excited about an idea and want to read more of it, but the correct etiquette is ALWAYS to approach the OP in PRIVATE before taking their idea and writing it yourself, or pointing another author in the direction of the post and suggesting they write it for you.

I can guarantee you that 99 times out of 100, the OP will actually be flattered you enjoyed their idea so much you want to read more of it if you frame it from a place of appreciation and excitement, rather than from a place of selfish entitlement or superiority.

I’ve talked about this before, but this is how I have always approached fic writing. I got my first idea for a long fic from the Valentine’s Day Collab fic that Winjennster ran back in 2015. I told her I had an idea based on her prompt that I wanted to write as a much longer fic than would fit into the 3k limit for the collab, and she told me to go forth and be fruitful with my words. Actually, I think her exact words were more like “HELL YES! YOU DO THAT!” or something, but the spirit was the same. :P

The next fic I wrote (Project Beyonce) was inspired by a series of tumblr crack posts about “what sort of tumblr blogs would each member of TFW run?” And I reblogged them with commentary about how this would make a hilarious fic, because they were that sort of “conversational thread” of crack headcanons where that sort of addition was more than welcome. Not to mention I was already on friendly terms with the other participants in the thread, so it wasn’t strange for me to zoom in out of the blue and announce I was writing fic inspired by those posts. Even though my fic was set in an AU, and the only commonality was the fact that Dean and Cas were on tumblr. Nothing else about my fic was even remotely similar to the canon crack headcanons from those posts, and I don’t think that anyone involved in the original threads was upset that I’d written fic based on Dean being Cas’s favorite tumblr anon…

My first DCBB (Revenge of the Subtext) was inspired by a crack post made by @nicelimabean. One single sentence about Jensen and Jared walking into a con dressed like Sam and Dean and covered in dirt and blood, and suddenly I had 80k of fic running through my head. I sat there and stared at her post for like five minutes and then went immediately to the chat bubbles to ask– nay, beg– to use her post as a fic prompt for the DCBB. We talked it over for a good long while, both of us growing more excited as the ideas spun out, and long story short, not only did I make a wonderful fandom friend, she ended up beta reading for me and being an ongoing source of encouragement and support in fandom. We even met in person at a con (!) and spent the weekend cackling about how everything felt like a reference to RotS (since at the time we were the only two people on the planet who’d read the fic or even knew what it was about, because DCBB rules of secrecy).

Since then, I’ve gotten ideas for fic from tumblr (and always asked the OP for permission to write their idea– like for fic such as Plotbunny which was based on the combination of ideas from @bluestar86 on a WONDERFUL way to confirm Dean’s bisexuality in canon and Lizbob’s long desire for an Easter Bunny episode, combined with the fact that Easter fell on April Fool’s Day last year… to ideas for The Terminal Job based on chats with @truebluecas about an airport AU WHICH I AM SO SORRY STROB I STILL HAVE IT ON MY LIST TO WRITE AND I SWEAR I WILL WRITE IT EVENTUALLY D:

I’ve also had the reverse happen, where someone read one of my fics and was inspired to write their own fic based on Revenge of the Subtext. They approached me in private with the idea and asked for my blessing to write it. Honestly, I was FLOORED that anyone would be inspired by my words like that, and eagerly encouraged them to write their idea. I’ve also had people give me fic ideas in comments on AO3, in chats both on tumblr and Discord, which turned into longer conversations and eventually more fic (or at the very least to ideas on my To Be Written list). But I always ALWAYS ask permission from the other person or people before writing their ideas. And I have NEVER been told that I was not permitted. People are usually PLEASED that their ideas are deemed worthy by another writer, you know? It’s exciting!

This also goes for art inspired by fic, but in a slightly different way. If someone (anyone!) was inspired to draw something based on something I wrote, I will UNIVERSALLY BE THRILLED that my words inspired someone’s creativity in a different medium. But the key here is it’s a different medium. Nobody ever has to ask permission to art my fic. But that’s not the same as wanting to rewrite my fic into a different story, you know?

Not to mention, collaborating and asking permission and sharing the enthusiasm for an idea or a story like this with others has the potential to boost ALL of your creations. You could build resentment in fandom from other creators, or you can all lift each other up. Starting from the standpoint of communal excitement can result in mutual promotion of each other’s works, you know? Do you want a built-in cheerleader for your work, to build connections in fandom that will eventually support ALL of your works? Then your approach to sharing ideas this way is the key that could potentially unlock that door, or conversely lock it behind you. Your choice, really.

Wait, what was I talking about again? OH right. The whole entire point of fandom. We’re all of us in this same boat, sailing the seas of our chosen Source Material together. You can use your creative abilities for Good, to build communities up, or you can be That Asshole who tries to build themselves up while effectively shading or demoralizing other fandom creators in the process.

So what I’m saying here isn’t necessarily about your desire to write something based on someone else’s idea, but more about the approach you take to it. It costs zero dollars to be polite about it and approach it from a direction of good will and joy in creating for the thing we all love together, you know?

I liked the post about a Daredevil reading list! I've read Waid's run and enjoyed it very much. I started on Bendis' run recently - loved the art on "Wake Up." What would be on your "Recommended" list?

So for those who missed the reading list when I reblogged it originally, it’s here. It’s incredibly comprehensive and I love that it lays out exactly which books you should buy for the stories in question, so definitely check that out.

Anyway here’s my (hopefully succinct?) recs and, uh, anti-recs. I’m designating everything by writing for convenience and not to insult the artists, who are brilliant and crucial. More specific thoughts on everything up to like 1998 is covered in my Daredevil 101 tag.

(ALSO please note that if you have Marvel Unlimited almost all of this stuff (plus tens of thousands of other comics) is available for like $10/month.)

Silver Age: This is pretty much skipped in the original recs list and I get why: Daredevil didn’t really become the character we know and shake our heads over until Miller in the 80s. I really love Silver Age comics, though, and Marvel’s recently put out a couple of omniboo so it’s easy (if not cheap) to find these early stories. They’re not the best Daredevil or the best Marvel Silver Age (for that I’d look at...oh, Fantastic Four and Spider-Man), but they’re fun, and beautifully drawn.

Bronze Age: This is, like, when Foggy was DA and Matt was dating Natasha and stuff. Gorgeous art, meh stories, hard to find. Might as well skip.

Frank Miller: Right, so Miller is controversial at best and these days is an angry old bigot, but when he was at his peak he was a legit virtuoso, and there’s no denying the impact he had on Daredevil. You will find sexism, racism, and homophobia in his work, but for me the storytelling, character work, and composition offer enough compensations for me to enjoy these stories. YMMV and that’s totally okay. Either way, don’t read anything he did after, like, 1990, it’s all downhill from there.

If you only read one Miller, I suggest “Born Again.” My second rec would be the numbered volumes the OP describes. I’m not a fan of “Man Without Fear” but it is considered a classic, so do with that what you will. DO NOT read the Elektra minis, they are misogynistic nonsense.

Denny O’Neil: Doesn’t seem to have been collected anywhere and for good reason - he did great work on other books, but his DD is hot (racist) garbage.

Ann Nocenti: Lately people have been calling her run an underrated gem but I disagree - I find it to be pretty sexist, and the dialogue is godawful.

Karl Kesel/Joe Kelly: These late 90s runs haven’t been collected, which is a shame because I love them.

Kevin Smith/Joe Quesada/“Guardian Devil”: This is next up on my DD101 schedule so I’ll be talking about it in more detail soon-ish, but UGH. Google the plot summary for the important character developments and skip the exploitative, sexist nonsense on the page.

David Mack/Joe Quesada/“Parts of a Hole”: I don’t actually like Quesada’s art but Mack’s is S T U N N I N G (he’s best known for his Jessica Jones/Alias covers, I think) and this arc introduces Maya Lopez, who is wonderful. Pick this up.

Brian Michael Bendis: YES. I have some issues with how Bendis writes women but this is unputdownable. Such compelling storytelling, great character work, gorgeous art by Alex Maleev, and Bendis writes probably the best Foggy out there.

Ed Brubaker: YES AGAIN, at least through Matt’s trip to Europe and his return, then it kind of falls apart a bit. But “Devil in Cell Block D” is one of the best Daredevil stories ever, it’s a must-read (and five years or whatever of Bendis leading up to it is necessary foreplay).

Andy Diggle/“Shadowland”: LOLOLOL Shadowland is a hot mess. I enjoy it for how comically terrible it is, but definitely don’t pay extra money for it, Marvel Unlimited that shit. (Also it takes place over like 8 different series so if you read it on MU the system will put them all in reading order for you, which is nice.)

Mark Waid: READ EVERY SINGLE ISSUE OF THIS IMMEDIATELY, THESE ARE SOME OF MY FAVORITE COMICS OF ALL TIME.

Charles Soule: I am super not enjoying this run but I buy it every month because I’m the worst. If you want to check it out the first trade is called “Back in Black: Chinatown.”

Miscellaneous: Here are some out-of-continuity minis and tangential books the OP mentioned, and my thoughts therein:

Daredevil: Yellow: Beautifully retro, gorgeous art, and Loeb doesn’t do that thing he usually does where his stories work right up until the last issue and then abruptly stop making sense.

Daredevil: End of Days: This comic makes literally zero sense and features a future!Matt with six illegitimate children with five different women. Do not buy (but do read it on MU to stare in bewilderment).

Daredevil: Father: More of that lumpy Quesada art, an unnecessarily complicated storyline, and the ending reveal kind of undercuts Matt’s entire origin and subsequent existence? No thanks.

Daredevil: Noir: Not mentioned in the OP’s post, but it’s a canon 1920s AU where Foggy’s a PI and Matt’s his assistant, and even though it does that annoying thing where Matt falls in love with a woman at first smell and acts like that’s not as cheap as just drawing a really hot chick, the art is gorgeous.

Alias: The original Jessica Jones comics. These were groundbreaking at the time but not all aspects of them have aged well (Jessica’s relationships with other women, some of the baggage around sex, some nice guy bullshit, and weird hairsplitting about sexual assault). But Jessica’s still the angry hot mess we know and love and I think they’re still worth a read.

Immortal Iron Fist: Man, you guys, I don’t know. Everyone says these are the only good solo Iron Fist comics, but...they’re not actually good. Like, it looks like a good comic, it seems like it should be a good comic (Brubaker! Fraction! Aja!), but it’s just boring stories about WWI OCs and sometimes Danny gets to talk. Read the David Walker Power Man and Iron Fist instead.