#fanfic dealbreakers
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What I really think media with ensemble casts, especially those in a traveling group of some kind, are missing are big, blow-out arguments between the group. Especially when there's a conflict of interests, I am such a sucker for when two or more characters disagree so strongly that they realize very little is actually holding them together as a group, and wonder if it's time to go their separate ways.
I feel like a lot of video games, specifically, just kind of assume once the traveling band is "complete", it's forced to stay together until the player expressly permits it, but I don't really find that very compelling and a lot of times it feels more like they're relying on some kind of immediately strong bond that hasn't really been earned. Which is a shame, because in my opinion one of the best ways to strengthen that bond is to have the characters disagree and argue. Maybe they realize they're only being superficially held together and so they temporarily split up, only to then realize how much they've come to care for the others in the group. Then they reunite, make-up, formulate a plan to go forward, and boom, the group bond is that much stronger. Or maybe they don't even split up, and maybe they never learn to like each other, but they decide whatever cause their working toward is more important. Something else, bigger than them, is holding them together.
It just feels like a lot of potential is going to waste to just skip straight to the intense found family bond, without earning it.
#there are exceptions of course#like I thought it was clever how bg3 did it where the group didn't necessarily intend to be traveling together this long#and then once they learned about the tadpoles and the artifact it turns out it's either stay together or die#but a disagreement between them every once and a while instead of assuming they're all insta-besties couldn't hurt#and DA2 kinda circumvents this by Hawke not really going anywhere#so if Fenris isn't having a good time with Anders he can just like stay home and vice versa#but games like Octopath Traveler 2 would really benefit from some stronger disagreements#like my first playthrough Castti's ch. 4 and Osvald's ch. 5 lined up right next to each other#and like vague ot2 spoilers#but what I would give to see them hash it out#over whether to save thousands of people Castti doesn't know potentially at the cost of saving one person Osvald cares a great deal for#or vice versa#especially with how hardened Osvald's become it would have been soooo juicy#i get that would've been difficult to implement and that's probably more the job of fanfic#but that's just an example of what I mean#idk I just think more creators shouldn't be afraid to have their characters seriously argue with each other#because not every disagreement is a dealbreaker and can in fact strengthen their bonds#and like not every game cast needs to be found family! but if you want that found family effect you have to show them arguing like a family#poe1 is a good example of a group that travel together and don't necessarily have this tight bond#they just feel like good friends (mostly)#i had other examples that I can't think of now and may add later#I feel like I was going somewhere with this but yeah it's just something I've been thinking about#let characters fight sometimes. conflict is what makes stories good#edit: FE: 3 Houses was the other example I was thinking of!#like things get pretty dire in the Blue Lions route and Dimitri has some pretty questionable moments#but with the exception of like Felix hardly anyone calls him out on it they just kind of go along with it#and lo and behold Felix is one of my favorite 3H characters and his friendship with Dimitri is extremely compelling#bc their friendship was tested and survived#marie speaks
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The Stepford Lucien – Rated G – Lucien Bloodmarch & Dadsona with a side of background Damien Bloodmarch/Dadsona – slice-of-life stepdad/stepson bonding
Lucien wants to go on the haunted ride at the Carnival but isn't allowed on without a parent. Jason (Dadsona) being the horror lover and general good dad he is, agrees to take him so Damien doesn't have to. On the day of their spooky, scary bonding trip, though, it doesn't take long for something to seem… off, about Lucien.
#dream daddy#ddadds#damien bloodmarch#dadsona#yeah i've accepted this phase enough to actually format my fanfics properly when i share them on here#coming from someone for whom kids would be a 400% dealbreaker bc I don't like kids let alone want them#but was the kid whose single parent kept shoehorning awful partners who gave zero shits abt me into my life and wondered why i was mad:#when you are dating a parent YOU HAVE GOT TO CARE ABOUT THEIR KIDS AND FORGE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP W THEM#also jason is a cat person and lucien is like a teenage human cat-- it's not gonna happen all at once but they're gonna click
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In Defense of Bad Things
'Bad' here meaning mostly 'amateur'; stuff made enthusiastically by people at an unprofessional level. Art with visible gaps between what the artist imagined and what they achieved, products of flawed craftsmanship. I suppose everybody can appreciate them to some extent, it's a rare parent that doesn't put up their kid's drawings on the fridge in one way or another. But it turns out to be a fully general skill you can cultivate, and the more I do, the more I'm glad I did.
Partly, it's the teacher thing; finding delight in amateur work is one of the ways to find delight in the process of learning. Cultivating a love of striving-qua-striving can help make you a force for good in the world, as people start to feel safe trying to do things when you're around, even when their efforts are wobbly. You get to participate a little more in the process of atoms spinning themselves into ideas, even when there aren't any illusions about whether you're helping cultivate some revolutionary genius in the field.
And partly it's a fabulous way to build community. By necessity, our professional-level skills tend to be at the service of other people, performed for economic benefit; that's kind of how you get professionally good at something in the first place. When we're acting for our own sake, and among friends, most of what we do with one another is amateurish. I only cook middling-okay, I can't hold a tune that well, I'll never be a speed runner for anything. If you can only enjoy singing from the hundred best singers in the whole world, manufactured and polished by major studios, then you and your friends will sit shoulder-to-shoulder and passively listen to music. But it's so much richer an experience to sit face-to-face, actually singing together, even badly; you expose yourself to so many new ways to appreciate and respect one another, building relationships on what you've accomplished and not just by witty criticism or liking the same things.
And partly it's because some of the most powerful and innovative artistic experiences are in high-churn environments with low expectations and low barriers to entry, if only because those catch the passionate and driven young people that have been otherwise overlooked by our systems. The golden age of webcomics meant that a ton of the actual art involved was pretty lousy, but it also produced work that people still talk about today. D&D began as a profoundly unpolished collection of handmade rulebooks sold at cons in a plastic baggie. By the time these products of enthusiastic amateurs filter themselves through various levels of popularity and absorb mainstream cash influx, they're often risk-averse and missing a lot of the bold spark that inspired their fans in the first place; others will simply never drift towards the mainstream at all. I'm not saying you should be the person who goes out to dig through the slush piles of the internet looking for overlooked art, unless you want to be-- but sometimes a work of actual staggering genius also happens to be a Supernatural fanfic by a first-time author who's a little hazy on commas, and if that's a dealbreaker, you're going to miss out on some profoundly valuable experiences.
And hiding behind all of these things is, like...
Our appreciation of beauty has an odd structure, right? When things are done very skillfully, by brilliant artists with years of training, we can usually appreciate those accomplishments. And when we're looking at nature without human influence, and especially when we think very deeply about natural processes and understand them in context, we often rediscover that sense of beauty. There's just this bizarre hole in the middle where we declare things 'ugly'; as if a little skill is worse than none at all.
I really don't trust that gap. It feels like a trick my brain is playing on me, you know? It has me suspicious that a lot of what I consider 'ugly' or 'bad' is not a very direct experience of the world at all, or an informed judgment. That it is, rather, a declaration of (self-, social-) identity; a desire to be seen as a person of good taste, or as somebody who does things well, or just more primitively as one of the monkeys who is in the good-stuff-tribe and not one of the monkeys who is in the bad-stuff-tribe.
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I know this is the dumbest pet peeve any human being has ever sent to your inbox, but here it is: I cannot get myself to take the word 'diddled' seriously in a sex scene. It's to the point where it made me quit reading a fanfic because it kept coming up: "moaning, he diddled her pussy harder" "he diddled Veronica's cunt" "Veronica gasped as his fingers diddled her nipples" I just. I can't. I cannot take it seriously to the point where it becomes actively immersion-breaking. Setting aside that the only time I usually hear 'diddled' is referring to children and this woman is 42, I don't think I've actually heard it used in a serious manner in my entire life. It's exclusively a joke word.
I may have to plead ignorance on this one because US English vs. UK English vs. all other dialects are different. Maybe in the US diddled is sexual and raunchy and I'm just being immature by giggling when I read it. I am 100% aware that that might be the case. This is probably something that shouldn't be a dealbreaker. I feel like an immature twelve year old saying I'm bothered by the word.
But it's just so unsexy to me. I cannot convey the word's failures at being sexy accurately. It is to smut as krytonite is to Superman.
--
In the US, 'diddled' is exactly what you think: a silly-sounding word and one often used specifically in the construction "kiddie diddler".
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idk if i just have bad taste but i see a lot of people saying they don't like fanfic written in the second person (maybe because it feels too much like x reader insert fic? idk) but personally i love well written second person pov fics because they make me feel so much closer to the pov character, like i'm really seeing and experiencing things through their eyes and in their shoes. maybe that's too intimate for some people, but i really enjoy stepping into a character's headspace and getting up close and personal with their introspective thoughts and feelings, the lies they tell even to themself, and the processes they go through in order to make the decisions and take the actions they do. obviously like any writing device i wouldn't want every story to be written this way because it would get boring and stifle other means of creative expression, but it's really interesting to me and i don't get why it's often something people say they find unpleasant in comments sections about fic preferences and dealbreakers.
#🐉#fanfiction dot hell#like some of the best fics ive read have been ones that use the 'you' format despite obviously not being about me the reader#also to be clear i have nothing against them if you like them but im not talking about x reader y/n fic#im talking about fic where the pov character is referred to as 'you' despite not being the same person as the reader
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sleep/cuddle headcanons
characters: venti, albedo, kazuha, heizou, cyno
warnings: none
notes: gn reader ("you/your"). can be read as platonic or romantic.
venti
In terms of body temperature, Venti is usually neither too cold nor too warm. That being said-- if he is colder than usual, he will absolutely put his cold feet on you. He is a menace.
He is so darn cute, so I can't imagine him sleeping without snuggling something-- a pillow, Dvalin's tail, a plushie, etc.
(For your consideration... Venti snuggled up in a pile of little wind sprites... thank you).
And-- as long as you are comfortable with it-- he would be delighted to snuggle up to you, too!
I feel like he would be open to physical affection pretty soon after meeting you. He just strikes me as an affectionate guy, including platonically.
The first time you shared a bed, he clung to you as soon as you settled in.
He likes to wrap his arms around your waist and nuzzle his head into the crook of your neck. It tickles a little, but it's nice-- he feels secure, and you have your very own personal weighted blanket.
In general, I think Venti would prefer to face you when cuddling, instead of spooning. He gets to look into your eyes, with the added benefit of forehead kisses (both giving and receiving!!!)
I also think he would move around in his sleep-- but not necessarily enough to wake you. You would wake up in the morning to find him sprawled horizontally across you, making it difficult to get out of bed.
albedo
I'm so sorry, but Albedo is cold. It's not a dealbreaker, but I don't think he ever gets warm. At best, his body temperature is just... neutral.
The good news: hot, muggy summer nights with him are WONDERFUL. This also includes traveling in humid climates (like the rainforests of Sumeru). Because he does not really get warm, he is the perfect cuddle buddy for staying cool!
The bad news: there is no... "cuddling for warmth" fanfic trope on Dragonspine. That being said!-- he is well-prepared with heavy duty blankets and sleeping bags. Combine that with some marshmallows and a campfire, and every night on Dragonspine is cozy and warm.
Because he doesn't get warm himself, Albedo doesn't mind if you're warmer. He still can detect heat/cold, so if you're shivering, he'll catch on immediately and fetch another blanket.
I don't think Albedo is used to physical affection, but he still likes to receive it. Though he doesn't go out of his way to initiate, he gets a fuzzy feeling in his chest when you snuggle up to him at night.
Albedo doesn't mind being either the big or little spoon. I also think he would enjoy having you lay your head on his chest. It lets him have a physical reminder of your presence.
If you have hair/if it's long enough, he'll definitely comb his hands through your hair. He also likes to braid sections of it-- it helps him unwind from another long day of research.
kazuha
After describing Venti in a pile of wind sprites... I also had the thought of a sleepy Kazuha in a pile of (equally sleepy) kittens.
Kazuha might be cooler than average in terms of body temperature, but he's otherwise pretty average. He still will keep you warm if it's chilly out, and you won't be overheating in the summer.
I do think that he prefers to not feel too weighed down-- instead of weighted blankets, he prefers layered sheets or fluffy comforters.
He is still a sucker for physical affection, but he is a lot better at hiding it. He won't get very close unless you've asked him to cuddle with you.
If you do muster up the courage to ask him to cuddle-- you will end up creating a monster. Every night, unless you request otherwise, you'll have a very sleepy, very snuggly Kazuha pressed up against you. He'll sometimes prop a leg up and over your hip, just to make sure you aren't going anywhere.
Bonus points if you smell like shampoo/body wash before you go to bed. For the wandering samurai, that particular scent is what grounds him. After all, no matter where he roams, you are his home.
No matter how the two of you are cuddling, Kazuha likes being able to face you. Both before he falls asleep, as well as when he wakes up in the morning, he likes to have a visual reminder that you are still there. Despite his trust in his own senses, he starts to doubt himself when it gets to be too late. Being able to both hold and see you helps.
heizou
Heizou runs at a pretty average body temperature as well. He might be a little warm, but nothing that would be alarming. And if it's too hot out to be cuddling... uh, good luck trying to keep him away from you.
Heizou is both a blanket thief and a (somewhat) restless sleeper. He does the thing where he ends up cocooned in the blankets in the morning, so he has to scramble out of them every time.
If you are sharing a bed, please just get a weighted blanket. This can prevent him from accidentally kicking you in the stomach as he tries to free himself from the blanket burrito.
Alternatively, I suppose you could lie on top of him, and this would accomplish the same thing. But with the added bonus of being able to wake him up with a forehead kiss.
Heizou will be pretty clingy once you've become close enough friends. When you're still getting to know each other, he observes your behavior to deduce whether you'd be open to more physical affection. Once he feels confident enough, he'll start to be more affectionate with you.
Heizou will probably want to lie on top of you, or at the very least, he will use you as a pillow. It's very cute, but it will not prevent him from moving around while he sleeps. At this point, your best bet is to pull him closer and play with his hair. This relaxes him so much that he falls asleep faster, and he tends to wake up less in the night, too.
If he wakes up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep-- he will probably leave the bed to get water or a snack. If he stays up for too long, though, it starts to mess with his sleep schedule. So if you see him try to finish a report or re-read one of his ongoing cases, please drag him back to bed. He'll get back to sleep much faster if you're there to hold him and quiet down his thoughts.
cyno
Cyno is slightly cooler than average, because he is somehow able to get away with having his hair down while traversing the desert. If he were any warmer, he would absolutely have to put his hair back.
I do say "slightly" cooler, though, because he still has to wear light clothing in the hot desert. He's not completely unhinged.
I feel like Cyno would try to just "tough out" cold nights in the desert, with maybe one lightweight blanket or a compact sleeping bag. He insists he is fine without any additional warmth, but if you convince him to join you, he finds himself melting into your arms.
It takes a lot of trust to be able to cuddle with him. Cyno can get somewhat jaded after years of hunting down criminals and enacting justice. You need to show him-- through your actions, not your words-- that you are not hiding some malicious intent or an ulterior motive.
Once he does trust you, though, Cyno learns that cuddling with you is... really, really nice. Having nobody but himself to rely on is exhausting. It's nice to have somebody to comfort you at the end of a long, tiring day.
Cyno likes being able to hold you. He wants to feel like he can protect you, even if the two of you are asleep. He's especially fond of resting his head on top of yours, letting you bury your head into his neck/collarbone. Being held like this, you swear that you've never felt more secure in your life.
Cyno is also fond of pillow talk, but you'll probably have to coax it out of him. Cyno tends to travel alone, which means he rarely has somebody to talk to. He is happy to talk to you about anything, but he would be elated if you let him test out a joke or two.
#venti#albedo#kazuha#heizou#cyno#toes writes#genshin x reader#venti x reader#albedo x reader#kazuha x reader#heizou x reader#cyno x reader
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Romance IS precisely the genre where readers go to be catered to their very specific desires. And to find 100% comfort, however the reader wants it. There's no other genre where you find your books with such specificity: I want a one bed, second chance, age gap, small town read, with extra fries on the side. It's not strange that people want to weigh in the names of their characters too. I get it may be bother you, but I see it as perfectly on brand for the genre. Also ppl love their spicy reads but for many it's weird when the character is named like your son. For a "learn to read outside your comfort zone" is literally the rest of the bookstore.
First off:
Romance is a commercial genre, and it absolutely is not alone in the ways in which it caters to readers lmao. Mystery/thrillers are probably the books I’d compare to romance most easily. Want something lowkey? Cozy mystery. Want something about the everyday devastation of suburban life and its perils? Domestic thrillers. Want something sexy? Erotic thrillers.
And yes, that genre has tropes too. And yes, I can get pretty damn specific with it lmao. Maybe not as much as romance! But I tend to chafe at people summing the genre up as a trope factory. Because it’s not.
Believe it or not, although romance is written to be sold (as most books are) romance novelists, or at least the good ones, also write stories that they’re invested in. It’s not just about pleasing you—it’s about writing something you want to write and believe in and want to see on the page. The book you think is missing from your shelf. And I, personally, feel that you can tell the difference between a writer writing purely for the audience (and the money) and a writer writing something they want to see.
THAT is what makes the genre good. Not pick and choose tropes. Good fucking books written by people passionate about the genre. It’s not meant to be puzzle pieces that y’all can just pick and choose.
If that is truly how you see it… then yeah man, I guess the AI romance novels are the future.
As for “that is literally the rest of the bookstore” lmao dude that is literally the rest of the GENRE. Romance is more than tropes. There are books within the genre that push the envelope and make you feel things you perhaps didn’t expect. Romance is actually incredibly diverse and bold… if, again, you’re willing to explore outside your comfort zone.
If you aren’t; that’s fine. You do you. There’s no right way to read the genre. But I’m gonna draw the line, personally, at tolerating people being unable to withstand a fucking name they don’t like. Truly, seek out y/n fanfic if that’s a dealbreaker.
#romance novel blogging#not going to discuss it any further because i truly don’t want to get any more inflammatory#just …. y’all need to accept limits to the degree to which human beings can and should cater to you#like truly i see the audience for AI books in these takes and it’s disheartening
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Controversial Character Tournament Round 2: Elias Bouchard / Jonah Magnus from The Magnus Archives vs France from Hetalia
(remember that these characters are fictional and your fellow tumblr users are real. i will block you if you harass others in the notes, please consider sending your unhinged harassment to my inbox instead)
Propaganda under the cut, may contain spoilers:
Elias Bouchard / Jonah Magnus:
HATE:
- "i hate him so much with a burning passion he's the worst but people thirst over him so idk"
- "Bitchass crustyfuckin manager lookin Victorian bastard man"
- "bastard."
- "WHY do people keep insisting that Elias is sexy??? He's not sexy. He's creepy. He's not even creepy in a sexy way. He's not a suave queer-coded Disney villain, he's a power-tripping Reddit mod who THINKS he's a mastermind but really just loves bullying the weak. He's a middle manager who, faced with his own ultimate lack of control, comforts himself by making his employees' lives hell and going "At least I'm not as pathetic as THEM." His plan ONLY worked because he was being used, like a really shitty puppet, by evil forces much smarter and more powerful than himself. Because the truth is, he's powerless, even as an Avatar; he has no way to defend himself against real threats and has to weasel his way out with blackmail and lies and contracts, because even Beholding doesn't really like him. There is nothing sexy about Elias Bouchard."
- "He's the wooooorst. Asshole manipulative boss arranges for his employee to get kidnapped multiple times to bring about the end of the world. Also he's smarmy and that's the biggest dealbreaker tbh"
BOTH:
- "He's an asshole. This is an immortal (ish) man who's over 200 years old, has Dread Powers that feed on Fear, and decided that he REALLY wanted to bring about the end of the world, so he went ahead and started a institute just to gather power and more information on the Dread Powers of Fear... but then he thought "well, I think I can't do this without dying, so I'll make someone ELSE become my linchpin, that's nice" and so proceeded to hire someone with no knowledge of the Dread Powers, made sure 14 different Dread Powers would almost kill him, and then when he was satisfied, controlled him into starting the end of the world.
He's SUCH an asshole, however, that he was also incredibly possessive and caring about his linchpin. Sure, he was trying to get him half-killed, and played with him the entire time, but he also made sure he didn't DIE-die, and always made sure he had enough Fear to eat. And that he would have A Lot Of Power in the end of the world itself! He doesn't want his acolyte to DIE after all! He wants him to enjoy his new Powers!"
France:
LOVE:
- "Were you there when the deep magic was written? Were you in the Hetalia trenches of the 2010s? His impact was undeniable. A brooding romantic or the villain in your fanfic, the king of controversy himself, Francis Bonnefoy."
#poll#round 2#6 submissions#1 submission#elias bouchard#jonah magnus#the magnus archives#tma#hetalia#hetalia/#france#france hetalia
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Looks like I’m kickstarting this blog with a post about my favorite genre type - fairy tale retellings.
So recently I had to travel by plane for reasons, and when you’re on a plane flight with nothing to do aside from write fanfic or read, sometimes you continue to procrastinate on all your writing projects and pick up an old favorite for a fresh reread.
The Black Swan by Mercedes Lackey is a book I’ve probably read about a dozen times now, enough that I’m not really picking up anything new from it, but still enjoy the journey back through familiar swamps. It’s a retelling of Swan Lake as told through the eyes of the Odile von Rothbart, along with the prince who is now known as Siegfried and his mother, the Queen Regent Clothilde.
So the main theme of the story is ~*~Misogyny~*~ and how much it sucks. The setting itself is a world in which women have no power outside of the men they are related to and are blamed for mens’ actions as well as their own. Odette, along with the rest of her flock, was turned into a swan by Rothbart due to their perceived betrayal of men and it is seen as their penance for their actions. It’s so prominent a theme in the story that it can be a little hard to read at times, especially before the viewpoint characters put in their character development and start doing things about it. For me, I’ve read the book enough that it has ceased to be shocking and instead is a nice read for a certain mood, though I can certainly see it being off putting to someone who comes to this book for the first time.
To me, it’s an interesting book in that it starts all three of its viewpoint characters in unlikeable places. Siegfried is a prince raised entirely to be hedonistic and selfish, taking what he pleases and acting without respect or care to those around him to the extent that he commits rape, Clothilde has schemed and machinated her way into keeping her son the way he is so that she can continue to rule indefinitely, even planning for such a thing as her son meeting with an accident so that she never loses her position as ruler, whatever the cost to others, and Odile has completely bought into her father’s misogyny and hatred of women and sees his capturing women and turning them into swans as a good thing for them. While each of them get touches of sympathy so that we know they could be better: Siegfried is very much a product of his mother’s manipulations, Clothilde has grown up in a world that has denied her the ability to do or be anything that she did not manipulate her way into because she was female, and Odile has grown up with her father’s poison in her ears and no experience of others to show her how toxic the things she’s internalized is, they still start at a point where it’s hard to really feel for any of them, especially Siegfried.
Siegfried in particular, who I personally think how you feel about his redemption and turn determines whether or not you can enjoy the book at all, is definitely the hardest sell of the three, given that as part of the theme of the book, he does commit a rape of a young woman and society gives him no punishment for it whatsoever, even when he starts having nightmares and believing that he has done something wrong. Whether it’s merely a product of his mind or an actual visitation, the only comeuppance the world gives him is visions of the girl he raped showing him the monster he is becoming in a mirror she holds before an Angel comes to spirit her away and shows Siegfried a more extended vision of a monster destroying and ravaging everything in its path, to which he wakes up, takes stock of himself and considers it a warning that while he is not yet that far gone, he was on that path and he himself has to be the one to stop it now because no one else will hold him accountable in this world.
It’s an interesting take to be sure, but I can definitely see that being a dealbreaker too. I’m not certain myself that the whole plot consistently works for me, but for me, the most important part is Odette and Odile’s story and so I can set aside my feelings about Siegfried’s plot and whether or not it does enough in it’s time to make it feel like it works.
What I do really love though, is the swans. Odile begins the story on the cusp of the realization she will fight for the whole story, as it is a truly painful realization to have - that her father, who she has adored her whole life and has done everything she can think of to please - does not care about her beyond as a tool to use in his schemes, and that the people who will love her are the people who she has currently rejected. Over the course of the story, through her interactions with Odette and the rest of the flock, Odile goes from distant and hostile to the other women, to finding kinship and sincerely rooting for their success in Rothbart’s plot, and devastated when Rothbart forces them to fail. Odette and the other swans are much kinder than Odile believed, and as the story progresses, she finds out why they were cursed and why they did what they did and comes to realize that she was wrong about them, and they welcome her in as one of theirs now. The swan girls are not deep characters, many of them are never named, but their quiet bravery and willingness to be kind to Odile is what really draws me into the story.
The climax of the story does contain Odette and Siegfried throwing themselves to the lake rather than be parted by Rothbart’s machinations again, but the victor and hero of the story is Odile, who finally finds the courage to pull herself free of her father, end his life and save Odette and Siegfried from the heart wrenching end of their fairytale. The moment that she chooses to act again, and again, and again, yanking a happy ending out of the jaws of misery, is my absolute favorite part of the story. I read the whole book from cover to cover just to reexperience the glee and joy I felt the first time around seeing Odile take control and say no to father and fate.
I do wish honestly that there was a book like this that was more about the swans than Rothbart or the prince. Only five of the swans besides Odette are named and many of them never get a chance to do much besides be swans and swan girls and part of Odette’s court. In addition, while the decision to not have Odette be one of the viewpoint characters makes it stand out as we see her strength and heart through the eyes of those she touches, it does sort of also make it not her story in the same way anymore. She is at the center of it, but it lacks a certain something that I think I would have really liked to have. Also, it would be fun to have a subversion of the swan lake plot where by Odette and Odile bonding and falling in love unexpectedly, even though Rothbart intends to trick Odette with the prince’s failure into staying his swan captive forever, it’s the bond he never saw coming that shatters his hold and frees the swans. Misogynists do tend to be bad at spotting lesbians after all.
(Now I wonder if this telling exists yet, there’s got to be more lesbians fairytale options than there were eleven years ago when I first found this book)
Anyway, as far as fairy tale retellings go, it’s well enough. It’s not a mind blowing or particularly original take on the story, and the themes and premise of the book can be a difficult entry. But I enjoy it enough to have given it a permanent spot on my bookshelf and regular rereads whenever I need a snarky heroine who discovers that she’s a much better person than anyone, including herself, ever gave herself credit for.
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ibuki 🤪
Yeethaw it's Best Character
Favorite thing about her: There's so much to love!!! Her spunk, her look, her distinct voice ... Something really underrated about her, though, is her emotional maturity. For all her quirks and silliness, she's among the wisest people on the island. Her FTEs with Hajime are unique in that she's the one helping him deal with personal hang-ups, not the other way around. The advice she gives resonates perfectly with the themes surrounding the characters' dark past and the better future they can create.
Least favorite thing about her: It really is messed up that she tells Mahiru to "snatch some shots" when Mikan accidentally exposes herself in a tumble, but I think she'd relent if she knew about that girl's circumstances. So maybe the real worst thing is her hilariously rude takes on music. No, Ibuki, there is more to drumming than making loud noises!
Favorite line: "Welcome to the world of girls' love! It's slippery when wet!" There's much to criticize about DR's portrayal of LGBTQIA+ chars but I love how overtly queer many of these characters are, especially the enthusiastically girl-loving Ibuki.
brOTP: Whether you like it as a romantic ship or a friendship, Ibuki's bond with Imposter is a genuine delight. She takes their crappy Byakuya attitude so good-naturedly that they can't help but respect it. If they'd lived past Chapter 1 ... well, I'll go into that more as I develop my Ibuki protag swap project, but suffice to say they'd have a strong impact on each other. She'll help bring the individual at the core of the Imposter, and they'll help Ibuki channel her boundless energy into being a genuine force for hope.
OTP: You already know. I've liked some noncanon ships even before I knew the concept of shipping (zutara was just so obvious to me even as a kid), but tsumioda is the first to make me lose my damn mind. "Sweet girl helps sad girl" is irresistible, especially with my spin where the sad girl helps the sweet girl right back. The whole "Mikan once killed Ibuki" is a dealbreaker for some, but it actually seals the deal for me. This extreme interpersonal conflict is the kind of barrier that, once overcome, will make them both better people and better partners for each other than they ever could've been ... Oh my god, I talk about them like Nagito talks about hope, HELP
nOTP: I don't think I have any nOTPs - only ships that are more interesting (or funnier) as failures. Sayabuki is one. Ibuki strives to always be herself, no matter how that might alienate potential friends and fans. Sayaka would call that idealistic and naive, having her own motivations for doing things she otherwise never would. A clash would be inevitable. In fact, have a surprisingly detailed relationship arc for them in my head, taking them from musicians on the same tour to secret lovers (and first love, on Ibuki's end) to bitter exes. I'll write that fanfic someday.
Random headcanon: Ibuki's always so brazen when flirting with people, but when she develops an actually serious crush, she gets really awkward and even more motormouthed.
Unpopular opinion: I don't think Ibuki would immediately be all smiles and forgiveness with Mikan after they all wake up in the pods. A girl who prizes being real with people got taken advantage of in the worst way by someone she called a friend. Even for someone as friendly and emotionally stable as Ibuki, that's gonna require some deep reflection, emotional processing, and tough conversation! I do agree, though, that they'll eventually work it out (and fall in love)
Song I associate with her: HEY BIG MAN PUT THE MONEY IN MY POCKET
Favorite picture of her: The one I drew!
#danganronpa#super danganronpa 2#sdr2#goodbye despair#ibuki mioda#tsumioda#answering asks about characters
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I love fanfic writers, they provide us with hundreds of hours of emotion and tears, and they do it all for free. That's why this post is in no way intended to offend any particular author, everyone has their own taste, it's about what they read and what they like.
BUT WHAT ARE YOUR DEALBREAKERS WHILE READING? So much so that you turn on a fic and never come back to it?
For me it's an overuse of character traits instead of pronouns and names. "the blonde entered the compartment", "the Slytherin looked". I can't stand it, especially when it is overused all the time, even if the plot seems interesting, it makes me cringe too much
#ych#Fanficdealbreaker#dead gay wizards#marauders fanfiction#fanfiction#jegulus#wolfstar#Ao3#fanfic writing
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Doctor Who Fic Recs
¡The specials are nigh upon us (or maybe the first one will already be out by the time I finish writing this, who knows)! Over the course of 60 years, there’s been quite a few absolute gems that some anonymous, talented souls have put out for our enjoyment. So here’s some of the highlights, scraped together from various corners of the internet:
This one is centered around Nine, after his regeneration. He has to confront his trauma as he goes on a journey through his past, traveling through his memories and meeting his past selves. It goes really deep into a lot of lore surrounding the daleks and Classic Who, so if you don’t know a lot about that this probably isn’t for you. It also came out before the 50th anniversary special, so there’s no War Doctor, and it has its own interpretation of the last moments of the Time War. But if that’s not a dealbreaker, definitely check this one out, because it’s got a fantastic story about regret and identity.
This story is a prequel to both series set on Gallifrey, with some rare Doctor/Master/Rani shipping, a very eldritch approach to Time Lord society, and a really interesting fusion of TARDISes with daemons. If you’re not familiar with the concept of daemons, this story really isn’t a good starting point, plus there are some references to the Big Finish audio stories that are rather important. It’s not exactly a story as much as it is a bunch of fragments set in the same universe exploring a lot of the ideas it introduces. A must-read if you enjoy Doctor Nyarlathotep.
A personal favorite of mine, centering around the unexpected pairing of Martha Jones and Lucy Saxon. It deals with the fallout of a certain couple of Time Lord’s actions during The Year That Never Was and is very short, but manages to squeeze in a lot of emotions. It will make you understand how this pairing could work while doing justice to Martha’s character.
Drop whatever it is you’re doing. Go read this. Now. It is one of the most well-written fics you will ever find, period, and probably the best Academy Era fanfic out there. The author has an excellent grasp on how an unlikely friendship would develop into something more and then break down, making it one of the most compelling and believable explorations of the Doctor and the Master’s relationship before they were the Doctor and the Master. It can get pretty dark (we’re talking self-inflicted regeneration) but if you can stomach those topics then you’ll find something amazingly well-written.
¿Do you wish that we could’ve seen tiny Amelia as a child companion on the TARDIS instead of her adult self? ¿Are you a fan of platonic fluff? ¿Are you in the mood to have your heart explode from a cuteness overload? ¡Then check this one out! The only possible complaint is that it’s too short.
Wherein Rose decides to haul around the dalek from Van Statten’s bunker instead of Adam. ¡Very funny and enjoyable and underrated! It has a dalek named Pedro and Nine being enjoyably grumpy until he decides he can make an exception against hating all daleks just this once. ¿What more could you possibly want?
This one is a short piece about Martha and Ten going to watch a supernova, but what makes it extra special is that it’s a real supernova and the fic was written by an irl astronomer. Their passion for their work really bleeds through into their writing, and it helps to emphasize the sense of wonder and exploration that Doctor Who at its best can bring.
¿Remember Jethro from Midnight? ¿The guy who looked like Merlin? ¿No? You will after reading this.
Mostly crack that doesn’t take itself too seriously and isn’t afraid to poke fun at some of the classic sci-fi setting fanfic cliches. ¡¡Number one shipper TARDIS, sex pollen, and Martha Jones having a good time abound (¿have you figured out which companion is my favorite yet?)!!
https://www.whofic.com/viewstory.php?sid=53318
Set during the Day of the Doctor, this little oneshot is just a slight au where we get to see every Doctor (up to that point) play their part in saving Gallifrey. Obviously they couldn’t have done anything like that in the show itself without resorting to dubious CGI necromancy bullshit, but man does it make you wish they could’ve had something similar.
And last but not least, ¡some classic Donna and the Doctor friendship! This is pretty much the distilled essence of everything everyone loved about their dynamic, being sweet, silly, and sad. It leans more on emotions than action or humor, but with the upcoming specials it is well worth a read just to remind yourself of everything they went through.
#phew finally done#waaaaay after the first special finally came out#this list easily could’ve been twice as long but it turns out there’s a limit to how many links you can add to a post#shout out to that one user that helped me find my drafts#you’re a lifesaver#lemme know if any of you want a part 2#doctor who#doctor who fic#fic rec#my laptop broke so i can’t write a lot of shit#time to live up to the other half of my thing ig
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There is so much potential for Buddie next season, so much potential. So abc writers if you see this, and hopefully you’ve won the strike: take notes. Fanfic writers please feel free to use these ideas, they’re not even all mine, for fics and tag me in them if you do because I would love to read them all, please and thank you.
Buck/Natalia and Eddie/Marisol Double Date: They all decide to go on a double date and Buck and Eddie act a little too much like a married couple. They taste each others food, tell each other what not to order because they know the other won’t like it, make inside jokes that only they get etc.
Buck starts acting out: In order to try and and get more near death experience stories to impress Natalia with Buck starts acting reckless at work. Eddie is not happy about this at all. Maybe this is how the will is brought up? Eddie gets upset with him and tells him he has to think of Christopher? Maybe also leads to Buck’s Breakdown?
Marisol is terrible with Christopher: She’s not mean to him or anything, she’s just really awkward with him and afraid to do anything with him for fear she might hurt him and kinda treats him like a 2 year old. This is a dealbreaker for Eddie and he breaks up with her.
Buck Breakdown: Maybe Natalia breaks up with him, another person who leaves him, because how she see him with the Diaz’s, which leads to a breakdown in which Eddie comes over to comfort him. But, it turns into a fight which leads us to #5.
Angry Love Confession: Eddie gets fed up with how oblivious Buck is being. Buck brings back the whole “she really sees me” line only it’s, “I thought she really saw me” and Eddie just snaps and starts going off on Buck about how almost cruel it is for him to say that to him and that he sees him and he always has, and then he says I love you, but this is all out of anger anger and now they’re both shocked and Eddie is still angry and he just leaves Buck standing there (in the loft). After this big angsty love confession fight they stop talking to each other and act purely professional around each other and we don’t really know yet how Buck feels about this love confession. This distancing goes on for a couple episodes and we, as an audience, don’t know what the fate of their relationship will be, maybe they’ll never be friends again? I want all the angst.
Matchmaker Bobby: Eddie and Buck both talk to Bobby in private at separate times for advice about what’s going on and he gives each of them some of his Bobby Wisdom.
Madney Wedding Speach: As they’re all preparing at Madney’s house Eddie see’s Buck helping Christopher get ready (tying his tie and buttoning his shirt) and his anger softens a little, although he’s been more sad than angry lately. Then after the wedding at the reception (we gotta make sure Madney gets their moment, it’s their wedding of course) Buck is making his toast to the couple and that’s when he has his “oh moment”. He was very confused about everything up until this moment when everything clicks. Bobby’s advice plays in his head and then we get a Buckley-Diaz Family Montage. Throughout the rest of the reception they keep sharing glances from across the room. Then after the wedding Buck goes to Eddie’s house (although I do like the idea of them kissing once again don’t want to take away from Madney’s Wedding) and they talk and really pour out feelings and then Eddie asks Buck to stay and we see them all sitting on the couch together.
I personally like them all together as one big story, but they absolutely don’t have to be that way. Do you. And may Season 7 be a great one 🙌🏻
#back on my bullshit#911 fox#911 abc#buddie#evan buck buckley#eddie diaz#buck and eddie#matchmaker Bobby
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Started out this new anime abt medicine and imperial palace intrigue with some high hopes since there were some unusual choices for the design of the main cast. It's been a great watch so far. For some reason there was one episode that was entirely just animators flexing how well they could animate cloth. I also really love that the official subs for this show is very good at finding ways to explain medical conditions using only vocabulary that would make sense with the time period and maintains immersion this way (which is smth the manga scanlators seem to struggle a lot with).
But I also think I figured out one of the character twists by episode 5 and I've seen more hints of it being real by episode 7, so I'm a little disappointed that the story is a lot more straightforward than I thought. Not a complete dealbreaker for me, but walking back a lot of character design choices and playing them off as twists actually ends up simplifying their characters and their relationships instead of making them more complex and unique in comparison to the many other palace intrigue stories out there.
I learned this story originated as a serialized web novel (same origin as My Happy Marriage), so the writing choices in regards to romance make more sense when approaching this from the style I expect from a web novel (and fanfic). Both stories have twists or developments that are somewhat angsty to pull at your heartstrings, enough to get you invested to check in from time to time. However, the conflicts don't feel high stakes enough to have particularly lasting consequences or challenges, and the twists never deviate too far from the usual conventions of romance and never threaten a guaranteed happy ending (i.e. everyone is conventionally attractive and wealthy somehow, babies ever after, etc.). Some people may call this kind of writing toothless, but I like to think it's a self indulgent desire for a path of least resistance.
#phantom rambling#the apothecary diaries#i love stories with a lot of struggle but i know some people don't so...
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today’s early morning sargust poll
This may be preemptive since I still have the final chapters of Heart and Homeland to work on (and a grad school deadline the 28th on top of that) but I’m thinking about the next fanfics I want to write/co-author for Young Royals fandom. I have a few ideas rattling around in my brain, all of them quite enticing to me. Of course, the characters I am best at writing and enjoy writing most are Sara and August, and I’m particularly interested in exploring their romantic relationship. I’ve got both Tragic Endings in mind and Fix It Endings for them in mind, and I’d like to try both out. I am also aware that they are not widely beloved, and I fully understand why. Nonetheless, the heart must write what it yearns to write.
I tend to write for myself first and then hope my fics resonate with someone out there so that I can make connections, so your answers won’t necessarily determine what I write next. More what I’m trying to gauge here is if any aspects of my existing ideas are resonating with people, and how I’d pitch/summarize my work to attract readers in the first place.
Also, I’m motivated by good, old-fashioned scientific curiosity. So:
If I’m feeling silly, I may do a less serious version of the poll later.
Note: I’m also asking folks to kindly refrain from explaining to me why sargust is an unpopular ship in the tags and comments of this post. I’m 100% aware why they’re unpopular—it’s because August fully embraces his capacity to be a shitbag far more than we want him to and Sara fell in love with him anyway, and that ended up hurting Simon and Wilhelm. I know that for many of you, fic that includes August at all (and sometimes Sara as well) is a dealbreaker. That’s okay to have that dealbreaker! However, in this post, I’m trying to carve out some discussion space for the more sargust-curious among us, and for the people who find them deeply compelling. I know some of you exist, and I’m interested in hearing what you have to say.
Thank you for your understanding and your consideration. I hope everyone has a restful and/or exciting weekend!
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𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐍𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐓 𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐄𝐑. REPOST DO NOT REBLOG!
NAME: Serena or Stella
PRONOUNS: she / her
PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION: don’t really have one but I guess you could name DMs or discord here (I only give my discord to closer friends though) but for my own defense: I can be very bad at communicating. That has nothing to do with anyone just that I often need my peace and don’t feel like talking every day
NAME OF MUSE(S): Rick, Alexis, Negan, Tommy, Daemon, Daena
BEST EXPERIENCE: making real connections with my mutuals I write with since years ❤️ talking to you ooc, having you visit my streams, watching series with you, plotting and sharing headcanons out of the blue and getting the feeling that no matter how long I’m inactive you’ll always be here to write with me without any judgement
RP PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS: not respecting my rules (or not even reading them!) and the whole dashboard drama and callouts that’s a huge dealbreaker
MUSE PREFERENCES: I guess most of you know by now that my characters will always be troubled. I will never write a character who’s all rainbow and butterflies or without a dark past or story. I process things through writing and it helps me a lot with reflecting on topics that are hard for myself that’s why I often choose muses (especially canon ones) who can help me deal with stuff better. That’s why Rick will always be my favorite and main muse cause he’s most alike to me just in a more powerful and grown version I wanna learn from. But if you look at my canon men I’m writing, they all have things in common and they will always be the kinda grey characters: never just good or just bad.
PLOTS OR MEMES: let’s say I NEED plotting to start with someone, but I prefer memes to endless continued threads or starters that’s for sure. The memes on here are the reason why I rp on tumblr cause I struggle so much with continuing stories with the right timeline and everything, that’s why I love to more than fanfics as well cause I hate structure. I love to jump from scene to scene and mood to mood and I need that to keep my muse thriving.
LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: long. I need something to work with and always had the tendency to write too much and not being able to keep myself short
BEST TIME TO WRITE: evening and night
ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S): absolutely. It’s no secret that some of my friends call me Ricky cause I’m so alike to him and consider him my soulmate and internal protector. He’s definitely most like me and most different is probably Alex and Negan that’s why I struggle most with writing them sometimes, but they all have character traits that I would find in myself as well.
Stolen from: @theirmadness
Tagging: everyone who wants ❤️
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