#but im not a plot person im a themes and character person so like
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The pain and struggle of ~noticing important things~ about characters you don't really have any interest in, but are very relevant to the story as a whole :(
#i dont want to write it up neatlyyyyyy because it is all very boring to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee#but i think im going to have to cos its driving me nuts lol#ugh. UGH.#how unfair to me personally.#like ive got nothin against her! but also like. shes plot. to me#at least since that bigass fire#we WATCH everyone else struggle with issues of leadership and entitlement#but we will only EXPERIENCE those things *with her*#shes the odd one out and also the reader insert to a degree#because she believes in prophecy in a way the others dont#and shes wrong lol. not her fault but it is what it is#but im not a plot person im a themes and character person so like#this is torture lol#i want to talk about AERON hes way cooler and i think his death is going to be very funny and make me cry also#but here we are >:(#as a wise man once said:#getting brain damage from pissing myself off
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wait hello?
#im watching this only now cus of this guy who i just realized THREE of my friends have/had a crush on#anyway its SOOOO GOOD BRUH#its so pretty and artistic and all these religious motifs#THE SHOT WITH VI UNDER THE BLOODY WINDOW LIGHT..#im obsessed with how human everyone looks#like jace's big ass chin. altho i was wishing his mom looked more like him. but also like the white hair streak says sm#jinx's movement is sooooooooo good its so unique and u literally understand her like i get her#also the voice acting augh.. all the crying scenes are so good#powder just as little girl. i feel her tbh. im so..#i love the plot so bad im going crasyy#but im forreal so obsessed with the character designs its so good its sooo. its so.. like idk their personality shows so much idk..#like the goggles? augh#fuck its so good. the themes.#rex.txt#arcane#<- i intend to talk abt this more..#wait no sorry jace's chin isnt big its just so normal like its so perfect. but his mom's chin does look short in comparison
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no one is doing fanfic like me btw
#IM A GOD AT THIS LITERALLY#never met a writer as good as me sorry about it but that's the facts#like oh my goddd the neurons are firing the themes are paralleling the plot is tying itself in a neat bow#im so good ive ended up with miss fuyumi todoroki as one of my favourite characters#like no beef to my girlypop but i love to hate her like imo she's a good character bc she frustrates me so much#i generally dislike her like i dont want to defend her but i can see her justifications etc etc#and me personally i LOVE when characters do that to me like ohhh i wanna hit you so bad but writing-wise i want to study you#and now ive gone full circle bc in the fic im planning ive made her so outrageously complex that im gripping her shoulders and shaking her#she's everything she's nothing she's an antagonist she's an enabler she's just a girl she's tired im kissing her forehead#me with my actually very close relationship with my sister every time i see sibling dynamics in media: what if i made them worse#aiaia u have a rant incoming btw i mean this threateningly#tams and taob and tbp watching me outline what is very much looking to be another behemoth of a fic: 😟😟😟
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truly do find 'perfect' sweet little kids who exist to be cute and protected extremely boring to the point of aggravation but alluka DOESN'T fit that description because she's been neglected and isolated her whole life, she is soul-bonded with a horrifying (to many) and nearly omniscient being, she is endlessly sweet and loving to really only one person, and she STANDS UP TO that person when he hurts someone else she cares about!! she may not have a lot going on but her character and personality contrasts her situation so much to make it really striking. and I'm a sucker for close brother/sister relationships!! so sue me!!!
#not to harp on this again but I would argue despite having similar roles as children supporting the protags and acting as#characters whose very existence means important plot or character things regardless of their personalities#alluka IS better-written than a-yuan. there is genuine conflict there. she has her own loyalties and motivations#on a plot level she may exist to 1. solve a problem 2. separate killua from gon and 3. introduce DC magic#but it doesn't feel like she exists to simply fill a shallow shipping-adjacent role quite so blatantly#or maybe I'm biased against using kids as shipping fodder.#or reducing an entire murdered family to one kid who's only referred to as the son of two unrelated characters. and whose survival#is only of value bc it helps gets them together idk!#I also really dislike how 'good' kids are treated by the narrative.#etc. etc. anyway authority figures and her own parents and siblings hate and fear and disrespect and misunderstand alluka.#and they are wrong! fuck them! it's always felt like togashi's had the backs of the kids he writes#it's um. anti-authoritarian not rly in its themes but in its general approach I think?#hm. can't rly elaborate rn as im sleepy#but alluka's sweetness isn't grating or irritating it's a breath of fresh air in the nightmare that is her home life#and it's a precious and wonderful thing to see her so affectionate with a character we the audience love so much but who has struggled#for so long to leave his past behind and do be a normal kid#her love and her kindness isn't empty or meaningless it's the lifeblood that killua needs to#have a healthy relationship w his best friend#bc it lets him step back and have more than one important person in his life#and he sends that love right back to her!!!! killua isn't just someone starved for love he's starved TO love!#the unconditional love the rest of his familiy has long denied him....he and alluka and nanika all find it with each other#and it's the most beautiful and special thing in the entire series I think. or one of them#cor.txt
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Hello it's me, back to rant about books I'm reading in the tags because it's a relatively unpleasant rant
#spazzcat barks#rant#delete later#book rant#im leading strong so ill just get the thought out of the way#🎵if youre writing a new female lead and think she needs assaulted for a plot point think again🎵#reading a new book series and for the most part im really liking it#but its just [sigh] its a pet peeve okay#it happens /so much/ in fantasy and probably other books as well but i see it a lot in fantasy#where you switch to a new lead who is female vs your previous male lead and suddenly s.assault has become a plot point#i understand its a thing that happens in the world i do understand that thats not my problem#my problem is its very obviously author bias#theres this Idea in media that if you want to show something Truly Terrible happening to a male lead its generally like... personal#but if you do the same with a female lead its s.assault#and especially if its written by a man who is trying to make a Strong Female Character said assault will be followed by a monologue#about how the woman is no stranger to the attentions/affections of men but this was Different and Scary and shes Never Been This Scared#its very tired okay#Strong Female Leads can have the same personal/existential fears as men#if s.assault against women specifically isnt a Major Plot Point that gets dealt with alongside your book's themes -- DONT PUT IT IN#no one wants to read about your Badass Swordswoman who is Just Like The Guys except she gets assaulted and they get to white knight#it feels very hypocritical#youre telling me this female character has equal character status to the men but her major fear is sex#while theirs is losing everyone they love or being a failure or a coward or whatever?#does that feel like theyre being treated the same?#it is was my same beef with The Deed of Paxinarian#youre telling me the main female lead gets assaulted as a major point of her every formative experience#meanwhile the male leads deal with like. the consequences of well intentioned follies and family deaths?#it reveals author bias on what The Worst Thing That Can Happen To Certain Gendered Characters are#the only book i will ever give a pass on this is The Blacktongue Thief -- because it happens to the male lead as well#showing the bias is not 'this is the worst that can happen to women' but instead 'this is a heinous act against everyone'
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i read all 205 chapters of demon slayer last night in one 11 hour sitting. it was pretty good! surprise! the anime people have been raving about for the past several years is actually good quality. who would have thunk it. anyway i wanted to search up some reviews of the anime to see what other ppl thought of it but then i remembered the youtube anime community, with a few notable exceptions, is allergic to media literacy
#demon slayer#tanjiro is a very good protag and really embodies the themes of the story#very fresh too kind of like emma tpn#hes got a phat ass and wining personality like all other shounen protags but unlike most he isnt just talk#like he actually goes the extra mile to purposely be kind and it justifies why ppl like him so much a lot better i think#i was unfair in comparing it to bnha when i didnt even watch it#bc unlike bnha the author has a clear direction and kept things concise to drive home the poin#every character and plot point had a purpose#at least it does now since i havent had much time to actually pick at it yet#but anyway its got the standard shounen sexism but i think it was a LOT better than like. bnha or naruto#the girls are few and far between and arent as deep as the boys mostly#but i liked the love hashiras examination of womanhood in the taisho era#and the depiction of sex workers is surprisingly respectful#also the romance subplots arent forced (cough izuocha cough) like maybe you get the sense the characters have crushes?#but like! there are demons eating people! who tf cares! “im glad kanao isn't dead” yeah tanjiro me too youre such a romantic#but yeah the romance between the love and serpent hashira was pretty nice if lowkey#and otherwise i like how the ending just indicates that they may begin to like each other and the epilogue indicates they eventually did#how did it happen? idk! what the fanfics come up with would be better than what the manga would have squeezed in!#also i love how inosuke wanted a homoerotic sasunaru-bakudeku rivalry with tanjiro but tanjiro was too nice#and for the pervert/coward type character zenitsu was fairly likeable as well#i was worried nezuko was just going to be a glorified macguffin for tanjiro but she at least DID have agency sometimes#though i think they should have explored how she felt about the demon thing more and also show her casually with tanjiro#bc it feels like they only show her doing stuff when its a big angsty battle but i want her and tanjiro to annoy each other a bit!#shut up pandora
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I think it should be a federal crime for a film to be jaw dropping gorgeous and hyped up beyond measure only for the plot to completly suck balls
#there is no greater betrayal I stg#many movies apply but this is specifically about Wendell and wild#I’m so mad#is SO GORGEOUS AND WELL ANIMATED#but WHAT THE FUCK#it’s hard because I can see all the elements of the plot#like I see the overarching theme I see the character arcs I see the foreshadowing it’s all there#it’s just not connected. at all#it’s like they were working off a first draft and IM MAD#I have simular opinions about nightmare before Christmas where the design was pretty but the plot is wack#so maybe I just don’t vibe with Henry selick :(#idk#on the opposite side of the spectrum. everything everywhere all at once#HOLY SHIT#THATS A FILM THAT LIVES UP TO HE HYPE#That’s all#I’m a changed person after that film
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oh yeah im def making that damn final presentation abt chainsaw man
#THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN TRAGEDY AND THE BONDS WE FORM AND CHAINSAWS !!!!#classic tragedies were made to foster sympathy and understanding even for people who have done unforgivable things#by calling attention to their horrific circumstances and their inescapable pride and grief and love and hate that will not die#while also making clever use of comedy and absurd moments to remind the audience that we are all just as insane as the#person whose life were watching fall apart in front of us and that we can continue living despite that#slasher films are literally built upon the foundation that the grotesque IS inherently human and entertaining despite being so disgusting#and slasher inspired media (like csm) are able to explore that idea while also including more traditional character arcs and plot structures#so yes slashers are tragedies but in a funny way and csm is tragedy because it cares so little about conforming to any genre or structured#expectations. which allows it to constantly shake the viewers attention and combine a million unrelated threads under a single core theme of#individual autonomy and the importance of connection. which the oldest tragedies known to man also did. both of them do it in weird ass ways#🌸.txt#if yall are not brushed up on the mel paeonies lore im in an intro to eng class which is themed around tragedy and the final presentation is#essentially describing what makes a contemporary piece of media a tragedy
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not me writing an IF game and writing the spicy scenes first sdidmflkm
#listen i know when to get to the good part#do i have a plot written yet? no#am i writing smut thats in character and hot as shit? yeah#yeah. i am.#im so brave. i know.#im so excited about the concept of the game. and whenever i get to put it out#i am so hoping at least one person plays it and wants to talk to me about the LIs#its gonna be a fantasy romance game - im really not sure if i wanna make it a modern fantasy or not...!!! big decisions to be made. i think#im not going to go with a modern tale JUST so one of my LIs can wear a slutty peasant shirt#he can in modern days but itd just be so out of place#ALSO. its going to be very dark. and address themes of isolation - loneliness - touch starvation - self hatred#its going to be a lot but like in a good way#and... again... ROMANCE!! bc im a bitch who loves romance!!#personal
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:3
#some tag rambles bc im having a bunch of loz thoughts to hey why not do a short lived tag ramble#starting with the bad i have thought more on how i feel totk fucked up its characters and its like. yeah any arcs that are there are bad#zeldas is dogshit all of the sages are just. VERY tell no show and it really doesnt matter and otherwise idk#nothing wrong with a static character but imo with a static character you then have to show more of them#reveal some things. also doesnt really happen. the main speaking cast are also kinda weak in relation to link#they dont really work off of him very well bc hes… not treated like a character. hes just some virtuous everyman in the story#so theres no actual chemistry between him or the other characters bc he isnt treated a character so like. he has almost no chemistry#its all mostly one sided and none of the sages but zelda have any real chemistry with other major characters either#and the major characters zelda has chemistry with barely matter so fuck it. like when ppl talk abt like. loz stories#and ppl talk abt how yeah they arent the best but totk is rlly bad. i dont feel like any other loz stories are baaaaad#not in the same way. but they dont feel as egregiously fumbled. imo its bc of the characters most of them time#ofc story can be strong enough and im not discounting stuff like mm and oots themes and atmosphere and stuff#it seeeems to me the most popular non zelda sage is tulin? but mostly bc hes a sweet kid and thats fine and all but there doesnt seem to#be much else to him hes otherwise kinda unremarkable bc he just doesnt do much else and seems to exists mostly to serve gameplay and plot#botw did it better bc the champions actively had a dynamic and a relationship with link they arent the deepest but they have more substance#botw zelda is arguably the strongest character in botw with a unique personality and genuine relationship to link even if we just see it#in the memories and seeing her warm up to link is cool but imp they fumble it in the ending of her arc and how it kinda contradicts stuff#and in totk they doubled the fuck down on her unlocking her powers for reasons related to link and decided ig shed figure she needs to be#links forever bestie and hypeman and she kinda just revolves around him in a really superficial way and this is the negative extreme#of a character being bolstered by being connected to link. but anyways in loz its the characters that tend to be the strongest points#and the characters with a clear dynamic and relationship to link shine the most. think groose ghirahim ravio midna fi marin linebeck sheik#the list could go on but the characters who get a chance to shine by interacting with the Player Character are the ones who stick out#and ofc they get more screen time but they cant avoid that character development or general character fleshing out bc they are in some way#tied to link and in a sort of way link himself is more fleshed out through how those other characters react to him if that makes sense#i think loz is at its best when a good bit of emphasis and effort is placed on characters and character relationships#and when thise relationships and character are written well ofc this fucking matters too#anyways thats why ph is one of the best we love our character heavy black sheep them ds characters carry so hard and so fucking well mwah
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i started watching a youtube video about cinemasins that just kind of mocks it for yknow being a content machine and whittling media criticism down to incredibly simple superficial observations like "this things has tropes/cliches" (not even mentioning how a lot of times those tropes and cliches are literally just. customs. things people do in real life, cultural details that someone would include in a story because again real people write things and they live in the fucking world. wearing all black to a funeral for example i remember they called that a cliche a lot) or "the director made choices" or "this thing is in a genre and has scene decoration fit to the genre or meant to convey meaning to the viewer!" like those are bad things instead of how you tell stories and by and large depreciating the ability of its viewers to conduct media analysis and watch things genuinely and appreciate art and meaning. okay the youtuber didn't say all of that specifically a lot of that is my opinion based on how in middle school i watched cinemasins a lot and observations i've made about people the same age as me who i can surmise also watched cinemasins based on how they watch movies and nitpick things like "this thing has tropes" and "this thing would never happen in real life/a person would never say or do this in real life" because cinemasins has distilled in them a lack of ability to engage in a story as a story crucially i cannot say it simpler than that as a story as a narrative someone wrote based on an idea they had because it was cool or to do something or mean something or have an effect and everything that happens is written by someone or a choice made by an actor because these aren't real people and the purpose of art is to AUUUGHHH I GOT DISTRACTED AGAIN!!!! THE POINT OF THIS POST IS i was watching the video and being like haha yeah hate those guys and then they played a clip from cinemasins to demonstrate what they meant and hearing the cinemasins guy's voice knocked me flat i had to pause the video and come write this post bc i had to recuperate
#you might think i'm being dramatic or ohh it's not all cinemasins fault and you're right hypothetical person it's not but its indicative of#a wider lack of ability to engage with art and understand that when you read or watch something it's to experience art. and not think about#whether it would happen in real life. or the logistics or chances of a precipitating event happening. when an action hero makes a shot he#shouldn't be able to make it's because it's a story and it was a stroke of luck that propels him through and it's because we all want to see#him make the shot and most importantly it's because someone wrote it to happen that way. when a character survives something you think they#shouldn't be able to it's not because they have 'plot armor' it's not 'unrealistic' it's because it was written that way to tell a story. i#could just keep going on like this foreverrrr sorry i'm just repeating the same stuff it just annoys me to no end and i see and hear so much#of it from people all the time on and offline and there's no use arguing about it bc i'll be like 'it's like that because it's a story and#someone came up with it. it's art meant to convey themes or meaning it's a story' and they'll be like 'well i don't like it so it's bad' and#im like. sometimes i really wish i could reach into someone's skull and squeeze their fucking brain goop#AND (i forgot how i started my series of tags) A LOT OF IT IS STILL CINEMASINS FAULT!#alex talks
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𝐚𝐭𝐳𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦'𝐬 𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐳 𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 .ᐟ
all works of writing/summaries are not owned by me, and all credits go to the respective writers! this list will be updated periodically with stories i have read ♡ i thought that as a writer myself who consumes talented stories on this site, it would be good for me to show you all a fraction of what i read myself tehe (i read majority poly!teez/mc so that category will be filled!!) ☆
— note: 90% of these fics will contain mature themes, since it's all i read! please read the specific author's notes before reading!
❤︎ - personal favorites
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— ❤︎ mists of celeste (??/reader, several pairings) by @hongism
genre: scifi/space au, pirate au, space pirate!ateez, angst, smut, fluff
summary: sneaking aboard the ship of a renowned space pirate may not have been the best idea, but you’ll have to make do with what fate has handed to you.
notes: as an atiny on tumblr.com, i feel like it's a rite of passage to read moc. it's one of the best written works i have had the privilege of reading. it's gripping, it's heartbreaking, it's filled with yearning and love, and has you hoping that the characters survive this ordeal. san i love you most you can tell by the masterlist alone that she has crafted a whole space pirate universe intricately and with the utmost care. she deals with the trauma of the characters so so well and i cant lie ive cried a lot reading it jdhdksjddj, it's the fic that made me start reading ateez ff, i mean, i started reading before even knowing ateez and i had to have a separate tab open to remember who was who. that alone can tell you how much of a work of art this is. omg, im blabbering, but please read this.
— hotel california (ot8/reader) by @mint-yooxgi
genre: yandere, demon!au
summary: checking in to a hotel ran by yandere!Ateez, the boys decide she can no longer leave
my notes: im not too sure how i came across this work, i think it was an endless scroll of me trying to find something to read, but nevertheless, this story. i have not finished it yet (a great and utter pity) but from what ive read so far. im actually very concerned on how much ive read of this in one night 😨, i think the plot is so so unique, i love a strong mc who does not take any shit whatsoever, i love gaslighting demon!ateez 🙂↕️. i had to stare at the wall several times while reading,, felt like jim in the office truly. UGH it's just so good??? i can't recommend enough!! PLEASE READ.
— ❤︎ the answer (ot8?/reader, side pairings) by @berryunho
genre: cult au, thriller
summary: life is great until your best friend goes missing your senior year of university, leaving little more than an apology and goodbye. Months later, you’re determined to find out what happened to him and discover a situation much more complicated than you would have ever anticipated - as in - Kim Hongjoong doesn’t like the word ‘cult.’ He prefers 'sect.'
my notes: i first discovered this fic on ao3 and somehow found out lauren had a tumblr blog but i digress – i found this one night and was so excited that i found something so so unique and different and i am pretty sure i didn't sleep until 4am reading everything omg . it's truly so funny and i adore the main character more than anything, the snide remarks truly encompass and make you feel their emotions? cult leader hongjoong is something else... without spoiling hfjdjf. i beg lauren often for a spoiler because it's just that good. please read.
— OUTLAW (ot8/reader, side pairings) by @staytinyville
genre: wild west!au, smut(?), angst
summary: you thought you would be spending the rest of your life tending to the hotel your family ran. while you knew it was common to see bandits come and go in your town, you felt safe in your home. at least safe enough with a weapon at your disposal. however you were no match for eight men who were known to most as outlaws around the plains. hawt kind of adventures did they go on?
my notes: i started reading this a while back and have yet to finish, but so far the premise is so so so interesting and i love readying cowboy aus rjkfjkdrfkj ITS SO GOOD!!!! I CANT WAIT TO CATCH UP
— sway with me (ot8/reader, wooyoung/reader) by @luvt0kki
genre: sci-fi/space/futuristic!au
summary: former noble turned space pirate, wooyoung was now part of one of the most revered and hunted group of pirates of the galaxy. sure he’s only known them for six months but there’s only so much you could do in a ship when you travel from one planet to the next. the ship was their home, his home…and the members of this crew were friends that he felt he was fated to meet.
my notes: tokki already knows all of this but,,, i started this a month or so ago? and i read the first chapter and i legit lost my mind,,, in the calmest way possible... the first chapter is gripping and it sets a environment that i very much would love to live in??? it's just so so well written, and the reader is very much my type NDFAKKJ ANYWAY... it's told from the pov of wooyoung and i love it??? so MUCH?? please read ok bye
— one more rep (woosan x reader) by @cheollipop
genre: smut, f2l, trainers woosan
summary: san got a little too excited watching you exercise in purple – his favourite colour – and wooyoung was nothing if not a tease. turning their attention back to you, they didn't expect to see you equally worked-up.
my notes: ???? i actually read this a few times,,,, this fic yall.... i cannot... the mental image of woosan in the gym makes me delusional enoughdsjkaskfjksd PLEASE.
— like a dream (yungi x reader) by cheollipop
genre: bf!yungi, smut
summary: with only the orange hues of the lamp illuminating the room, they have you for the first time, and it feels just like a dream.
my notes: yunho and mingi are my weakness,, so the both of them together.....
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ʜᴏɴɢᴊᴏᴏɴɢ
— horizon by @pxedpiper (ft. ateez/f.reader)
genre: pirate!au
summary: once a princess of a kingdom you loathed to call yours, you have somehow found yourself aboard a pirate ship, stuck on the ocean waves. now you try to figure out how to escape them, but as you continue to journey with them, you find yourself wondering if you even want to.
my notes: i just found this the other day but remembering reading it a while ago! it's so so well written and i enjoyed it sm 🥹
ʏᴜɴʜᴏ
to be added!
ʏᴇᴏsᴀɴɢ
to be added!
sᴀɴ
to be added!
ᴍɪɴɢɪ
— safe haven (mingi/reader) by @atxxzist
genre: bodyguard!au, fluff
summary: your father has had enough of your shit, and hires Song Mingi; his best friend's son, to be your personal bodyguard
my notes: is it possible to fall down the mingi hole deeper than i already have? maybe! this fic pretty much lives in my head,,, endlessly,,,, i love mingi. i love this au so much and i especially love bodyguard aus, i think it's one of my favorite genres and this deepens it.... PLEASE READ.
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— rough rider (wooyoung x afab!reader) by @choism
genre: smut
summary: In which you meet a hot twink at a club who has a slightly unhealthy obsession with the 2000's and y2k bimbocore.
my notes: i......... there's no way i can describe this fic... if u yearn for wooyoung the way i do. read this.
— what happened to slow down? (bf!wooyoung x reader) by @ja3hwa
genre: smut
summary: coming back from a house party, you and woo couldn't seem to keep your hands off one another. everything was happening so fast. you two didn't even make it to the bedroom.
my notes: insert a photo of someone throwing a phone and screaming crying, then picking it up to read the rest. thats me kjrfakfajkf
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to be added!
#ateez fanfiction#ateez fanfic#ateez smut#ateez angst#ateez fluff#hongjoong x reader#ateez x reader#seonghwa x reader#yunho x reader#wooyoung x reader#mingi x reader#san x reader#yeosang x reader
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Writing Advice #?: Don’t write out accents.
The Surface-Level Problem: It’s distracting at best, illegible at worst.
The following passage from Sons and Lovers has never made a whit of sense to me:
“I ham, Walter, my lad,’ ’e says; ‘ta’e which on ’em ter’s a mind.’ An’ so I took one, an’ thanked ’im. I didn’t like ter shake it afore ’is eyes, but ’e says, ‘Tha’d better ma’e sure it’s a good un. An’ so, yer see, I knowed it was.’”
There’s almost certainly a point to that dialogue — plot, character, theme — but I could not figure out what the words were meant to be, and gave up on the book. At a lesser extreme, most of Quincey’s lines from Dracula (“I know I ain’t good enough to regulate the fixin’s of your little shoes”) cause American readers to sputter into laughter, which isn’t ideal for a character who is supposed to be sweet and tragic. Accents-written-out draw attention to mechanical qualities of the text.
Solution #1: Use indicators outside of the quote marks to describe how a character talks. An Atlanta accent can be “drawling” and a London one “clipped”; a Princeton one can sound “stiff” and a Newark one “relaxed.” Do they exaggerate their vowels more (North America) or their consonants more (U.K., north Africa)? Do they sound happy, melodious, frustrated?
The Deeper Problem: It’s ignorant at best, and classist/racist/xenophobic at worst.
You pretty much never see authors writing out their own accents — to the person who has the accent, the words just sound like words. It’s only when the accent is somehow “other” to the author that it gets written out.
And the accents that we consider “other” and “wrong” (even if no one ever uses those words, the decision to deliberately misspell words still conveys it) are pretty much never the ones from wealthy and educated parts of the country. Instead, the accents with misspelled words and awkward inflection are those from other countries, from other social classes, from other ethnicities. If your Maine characters speak normally and your Florida characters have grammatical errors, then you have conveyed what you consider to be correct and normal speech. We know what J.K. Rowling thinks of French-accented English, because it’s dripping off of Fleur Delacour’s every line.
At the bizarre extreme, we see inappropriate application of North U.K. and South U.S.-isms to every uneducated and/or poor character ever to appear in fan fic. When wanting to get across that Steve Rogers is a simple Brooklyn boy, MCU fans have him slip into “mustn’t” and “we is.” When conveying that Robin 2.0 is raised poor in Newark, he uses “ain’t” and “y’all” and “din.” Never mind that Iron Man is from Manhattan, or that Robin 3.0 is raised wealthy in Newark; neither of them ever gets a written-out accent.
Solution #2: A little word choice can go a long way, and a little research can go even further. Listen carefully to the way people talk — on the bus, in a café, on unscripted YouTube — and write down their exact word choice. “We good” literally means the same thing as “no thank you,” but one’s a lot more formal than the other. “Ain’t” is a perfectly good synonym for “am not,” but not everyone will use it.
The Obscure Problem: It’s not even how people talk.
Look at how auto-transcription software messes up speaking styles, and it’s obvious that no one pronounces every spoken sound in every word that comes out of their mouth. Consider how Americans say “you all right?”; 99% of us actually say something like “yait?”, using tone and head tilt to convey meaning. Politicians speak very formally; friends at bars speak very informally.
An example: I’m from Baltimore, Maryland. Unless I’m speaking to an American from Texas, in which case I’m from “Baltmore, Marlind.” Unless I’m speaking to an American from Pennsylvania, in which case I’m from “Balmore, Marlin.” If I’m speaking to a fellow Marylander, I’m of course from “Bamor.” (If I’m speaking to a non-American, I’m of course from “Washington D.C.”) Trying to capture every phoneme of change from moment to moment and setting to setting would be ridiculous; better just to say I inflect more when talking to people from outside my region.
When you write out an accent, you insert yourself, the writer, as an implied listener. You inflict your value judgments and your linguistic ear on the reader, and you take away from the story.
Solution #3: When in doubt, just write the dialogue how you would talk.
#writing#writing advice#accents#fan fiction#classism#language#u.s.-centric af because I've only lived so many places
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ayo idk if this question has been asked before but did you have any character inspirations for nat, reagan and the demon dude? like, were they were inspired by any movie/tv show/video game characters or any ppl irl? ik the demon dude was probably based off of biblical lore (i feel like i heard you mention this, correct me if im wrong) but idk much about nat and reagan and i was wondering if there were any particular aspects that went into their personalities or any specific character designs choices. basically, how did you come up with their personalities and character designs lol. PS love your drawings <3
Tyyy and yep! Rabel was based off of Christian lore along with some other stuff, I talked about it a little before but there's more to it that I can't say at this time muahaha
As for Nat and Regan, I'll talk about them a bit under the cut! Here's the very first designs I made of them lol.
Originally Regan was conceived as a red herring candidate for the demonic possession who was actively seeking an encounter with the occult so I themed her to look kind of spooky and edgy. Over time, that aspect sort of got pushed out by how the plot was coming together and her character became more about opting out of agency over her own life and sitting back while the world around her did its thing, so she kinda morphed into being a disheveled losergirl who wears big clothes.
The idea behind Nat was to go in the opposite direction of Regan's original concept. Someone who looked clean cut and unassuming but felt small and powerless and restrained in every aspect of their life; the actual ideal target for a demon. Only thing that really changed about her is she looks gayer now.
In terms of external influences, there's some Jennifer's body baked into the premise for sure but additionally I'd say that the true sourdough starter for their personalities/dynamic can be traced back to... butterfly soup Noelle and Akarsha..
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the way you write is so beautiful... tips for somebody new to writing who wants to write like you?
YOU are so beautiful, thank you so much! im not sure about any tips i have, but ill give it a shot. these are what i personally believe to have been the most important things:
find your wavelength
my writing became a lot more stylized and personalized after i found an author that i resonated with, as well as a couple of themes. it just helps to know what you are actually interested in writing in, versus what you think other people would like to read. im personally interested in writing about relationships and dynamics, so my writing will always be more character than action driven. also, it helps, because youre always going to end up writing what you want to write, even in the smallest of ways, so why not embrace it fully? write what you want to read. otherwise, you wont have fun. and writing is SO MUCH FUN. knowing what youre into and what youre trying to channel gives you a really strong basis for all of your writing - not only will it take time for you to find your wavelength, meaning that youll have to expose yourself to many different genres and authors, which is a must, youll always be able to look back at that ONE creative piece and grab some motivation from it.
expose and explore
creativity is everywhere - tv shows, movies, books, fanfics, comics, art, architecture, history (!!!), mythology, sports, reality - literally everywhere you can think of. dont wait for inspiration because its everywhere if you look hard enough. familiarize yourself with the seven basic plots, the thirty-six dramatic situations, basic foreshadowing elements, and other essentials. this isnt something to study or memorize, just to KNOW - its good to be aware of the foundations of literature.
embrace the brainrot and maintain a balance
become obsessed w your own ocs, your own plots, your own everything. be your own biggest fan. to enter an abusive relationship with your own work is extremely upsetting, because youre doing wrong by the wonderful world youve made, and doing wrong by that part of you that just wants to be creative, too - and if that happens, its probably because you arent writing what you want to write, or controlling what doesnt want to be controlled. let your characters be individuals, let them go where they want to go, just follow and note what theyre doing. sometimes writing is a passive activity rather than active creation, and thats okay! thats when you know youve built a solid world that can run by itself and you just contribute to. that being said, while theres nothing quite like the hours spent ravenously typing, you need to find a balance. you are as important as your work, because without you, the work wouldnt exist. i also reccomend forcing yourself NOT to write on specific days. some ideas need to marinate, and some people need to rest.
i hope this was helpful <;3 if you ever need more help (and this also applies to those reading), feel free to reach out! im open to being a beta reader or just a brainstorming partner. lots of love!
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i never realised just how much tgb had changed how i thought about the characters (mostly vee) until yesterday when i was re-looking over my toh fan-art. You wrote them so well that i forgot that it wasnt all in the show. like how vee and gus weren't shown to being best friends, vee never got to be angry/shocked by hunter or just willow still holding a little grudge against amity. They are just cool details and im so clad they were added! ps your great
Thank you! Wow that's very flattering! I'm glad you are enjoying it!
I really like Vee, and the more I think about the gang's time in the human-realm, the more I sit back in my chair and think "Ah man, these arcs are really necessary and interesting though.."
Vee also holds a lot of plot, as a basilisk. We can speculate what the reason is that they were extinct, for example (grimwalkers were extinct too).
Wat I really enjoy about TOH's characters are how easily and smoothly they weave into each other's themes and arcs. Their personalities and histories makes them all perfect friends to both build them up and break them down. It's a chefs kiss.
Vee is no different! The set-up for her character was perfectly slotted in to what the other characters needed for their time in the human-realm. And the theme I think the human-realm was supposed to embody.
The demon-realm arc for Luz was a hero's journey, but because of the foil of the trope, and that the point was that: there is no hero/chosen one actually, and the rebels didn't make it in time like in the books, and just because it's a different realm it didn't mean Luz could escape - escapism is temporary.
Dana has said grief and hope are core elements of the story, and she chose to tell it through a foiled trope of being chosen/hero's journey, layered with a religious trauma lens.
To me, looking at Luz as the main character, means looking at her as a nerdy girl in need of escapism, wanting to find purpose, and avoiding her emotions about her dad's passing.
The return to human-realm would be, for Luz, a turning point where TOH turns from being about a hero's journey and a journey about the steps of grief and healing - at the end of it, she will find the light.
Vee, to me, is kind of like a new take on the guide character. She is not a guide, in the sense that she has all the answers, but rather all the truths.
She was right when she told Luz she had everything and still chose to run away. They're not the same. Vee is also a lot better than Luz at being normal and fitting in, something Luz has been playing off and avoiding facing.
Luz sees herself as being different as a bad thing, she tried to run away to a place where "weird" was normal and that didn't work out. Now she's back home and feels that it's all her fault bad things happened, because she is herself. And the person she is is different. And different didn't mean special, just different. Of course she's depressed.
The same is true for all the other characters. Vee gets to reflect their truths too, simply by being crafted, narratively, into being the guide.
Hunter gets to face his actions as the GG, come to terms with the nuances of his bad actions, whatever reason he committed what he did. Find forgiveness not just from Vee but himself too. He gets to start over, just like her. She shows him it's possible.
Gus gets someone to share his dream with, his love and enthusiasm for the human realm. A place that Vee feels is more home than where she came from. Gus gets to grow as a person, both morally and intelligently. As does Vee, she gets somebody who shows her that she doesn't just have to be a refugee, she can have a purpose here. She can be an ambassador.
Willow was set up to have an arc where she mistook her newfound magical and physical strengths (she is working out a lot in canon after she changed track), for inner strengths. Willow is a sensitive girl, and a bit of a berserk (I mean she was willing to burn her own mind just to hurt Amity).
Willow having to face Vee, who isn't physically stronger than her but is significantly further down the road of being internally strong, is something Willow can learn from. Perhaps even have conflict with! (but more so a conflict with herself than with Vee, really.)
With Amity, Vee has a simpler role. I think to Amity it's more so showing that it's possible to live in the human realm, and giving her hope that going back and forth is a future for everyone who wishes to do so. Creatively speaking, I think Amity and Vee more so to bounce off one another for the plot, rather than character growth or decline.
Camila, I think, is the most interesting. Because she has now spent approximately a year with Vee, half of it thinking she was Luz and having feelings about her daughter having changed so much, the line "I'm glad youre still creative" comes to mind. As well as the terror of losing Luz again.
But also, because she has had her own unseen arc and development with Vee, and them having bonded into a foster family that we never got to see glimpses of, it goes without saying that Camila has already done the internal work to take on more kids if that's necessary. I think she saw these kids by her door and thought "yep. They're mine now too."
Vee, I think, is interesting to toss into the family dynamic between Luz and Camila, who seemingly are misunderstanding one another significantly. Vee sees them both, and can be a voice of reason when it comes to it. Or if it would come to it.
ANYWAY MY RANTS ARE LONG. IM DONE. THANKS FOR READING.
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