Ayo I may have missed their anniversary. but guess who discovered Sigh by iroha (sasaki), its kinda really sad anyway take this screencap redraw

(Also the original art in the mv was done by Suzunosuke)

So, let's delve a bit into the Spanish dub of Supernatural.

I'm going to go through a lot of terms here, and a lot of basics, in order to increase people's level of understanding as to how the dub may possibly have come about the way it did.

This post will provide information and, I hope, allow some members of the fandom to move forward with their own theories with more reassurance. Information is power. I will define and clarify industry terms to the best of my novice ability to make it easier for others who wish to do their own research.

This post was inspired by the fact that I've been part of multiple fandoms in which queerbaiting has played an enormous part: I am tired of seeing fandom friends left devastated and without answers, no emotional resolution in sight. So this post is, in spirit if not content, largely dedicated to my fellow Johnlockers and Queliot shippers. And most of all, for Quentin Coldwater, who deserved not just better but the very best.

Disclaimer: This is my own research and there is a bit of speculation involved; I can't guarantee 100% that I will get everything right (I hit some very frustrating walls looking up what should be easy-to-find facts), but I did a *lot* of work for this. Other people will doubtless be able to clarify points/give better specifics/correct what I've gotten wrong. I am not promising a concrete answer to “SPN gate” here, as without more information than we currently have that is impossible to declare with certainty.

More under the cut.

All that having been said, onwards (see end for sources):

First, who airs the Spanish dub of Supernatural?

Answer: the Warner Channel.

Why? It goes back to who owns The CW.

From Wikipedia (2): "The CW Network, LLC, a limited liability joint venture between the CBS Entertainment Group unit of ViacomCBS; and the Studios and Networks division of AT&T's WarnerMedia, the parent company of Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB. The network's name is an abbreviation derived from the first letters of the names of its two parent corporations (CBS and Warner Media)."

Warner Bros apparently is the side that handles the delegation of dubbing to outside studios. So, who does Warner use for their dubbing? Perhaps multiple studios, but the two I found in the course of my research were SPGStudios(5) (who specifically handle localization for Latin American Spanish productions) and Iyuno Media Group (formerly BTI Studios)(3).

What is localization?

Simply put, it refers to the translation of the home language of the show in question to the language of the new market it's entering. So, Supernatural 15x18 is translated from its native English to Spanish for Latin American viewers.

And what exactly *is* dubbing (actually called revoicing within the industry; dubbing is a widely-recognized term, however, and it's pretty well understood what is meant by it)?

Here is the Merriam-Webster definition:

"1 : to add (sound effects or new dialogue) to a film or to a radio or television production —usually used with "in"

They dubbed in the music.

2 : to provide (a motion-picture film) with a new soundtrack and especially dialogue in a different language

The film was dubbed in French and Spanish.

3 : to make a new recording of (sound or videotape already recorded) also : to mix (recorded sound or videotape from different sources) into a single recording"

There is a slang term, "dubby," which refers to any overdub that is comically jarring and obviously a dub. The history of dubbing has been such that this has become a way to think of and recognize it: by how awful and ineffective it used to be when it came to foreign films sloppily overlaid with English dubbing.

However, we are in the midst of an age of networks and companies scrambling to play catch-up, eager to use modern technology to create more effective, convincing dubs. In short, they see the moneymaking potential of presenting finished works that viewers may not even realize *are* dubbed without careful inspection. It's true that a good dub is about 10x more costly than subtitling, but it's hard to satisfy the viewer's desire for escapism if they can't suspend disbelief because they're busy reading.

The truth of that is reflected in internal statistics Netflix (for instance, but not just them) parses to gauge viewer interaction and retention with their various shows: when comparing subtitled vs. dubbed shows, it's easy to see which is the winner.(1)

So to be sure there is no nefarious intent here, we would need to be able to identify the following:

A.) What exactly was the process for this dub?

B.) Who decides what changes to make during a dubbing process?

C.) Who approves those changes?

*Can* there be such a thing as a "rogue translator," as Misha Collins put it? (I am going to clarify here that I think Misha is an upstanding person who believed the best of the show he was involved in and all the people who made it, so his assumption of a rogue translator makes sense in the context of that emotion-based reasoning).

I'm not sure which studio did the dub for the Latin American Spanish version of Supernatural; if I had access to that episode perhaps it's mentioned in the credits. You'd think that would be simple enough to figure out anyway, but I was unable. So maybe someone can take a look and let me know. But, as an example, here is how SPGStudios outlines their localization (dubbing) process:

1.) They make a digital or analog transcription of a show/movie.

2.) The translation, or localization, is done by their staff (in any of 40 available languages their staff can speak). When translating, they translate for meaning and then adapt for time, tempo, and style. They say that "extensive experience is required to capture the essence of the language dialog while accounting for variances in speaking time between the source and destination languages." i.e.,  wording/word choice will be kept as true as possible to the original intention of the native language, but at the same time the translation will need to use its chosen wording in a way that fits what is being shown on-screen. To produce a convincing/pleasing dub, they won't replace a word like "looked" with a longer phrase like "scanned the horizon" because it's not going to match what's onscreen. That would be venturing into "dubby" territory.

3.) They perform the ADR process: the voice actors (in this case it would normally be Guillermo Rojas performing for Dean Winchester, though it appears things may have been different in 15x18, possibly due to covid) record the new dialogue to replace the original actor's performance.

4.) The newly recorded dialogue goes to the sound editorial department "to ensure that lip-synch is optimized and technical aspects of the vocal performance match the original."

5.) All of the new audio--including dialogue, music, and sound effects--is mixed together to emulate the quality of the original production as closely as possible despite the changes in rhythm that resulted from the dialog having been translated.

6.) Designers, animators, and VFX editors assist with the localization or enhancement of graphics, if needed.

7.) Localized Master: SPG has a 'traffic team' who 'ensures that all client delivery and storage specifications are met, including file formatting, labeling, and uploading." So in other words, the files are heavily encrypted (or that's how I read this).

Presumably, after all steps are performed, SPGStudios transfers the show back to Warner, who then distributes it. The other studio, Iyuno, makes it very clear that *they* can coordinate and handle all distribution themselves to a vast number of networks. That means that if the client desires, Iyuno can send the finished product directly out into the world.

There seem to be two types of scripts that can be given to the dubbing company:

1.) "In-Production Dubbing indicates that dubbing production is active in tandem with post production. In-Production Dubbing fulfillment partners should expect potential changes to source materials."(4)

2.) "Final Asset Dubbing indicates that dubbing production takes place after final delivery of the show. All source assets will be in a final state. The dubbing fulfillment partner should not expect any changes to the source materials."(4)

Without knowing which of these was agreed upon for SPN 15x18, it is very hard to say exactly where or if additional edits may have been performed on the original material that weren't performed on the translated material (in other words, earlier draft).

If the studio was given the episode as an In-Production Dubbing project, this could explain why the title of the Spanish translation reflected the original script title, "The Truth," rather than the final title in English, "Despair".

Assuming this difference was unintentional, rather than a calculated marketing ploy re: audience enticement (which seems admittedly unlikely), then yes, it could indicate a screw-up on someone's part. The question is, was the dub company given the task of generating the title card, or did some other graphics department handle that before the project made it to them? If the latter is the case, the choice to add "Me too" instead of "Don't do this, Cas" could be either a conscious choice on the dub studio's part as sort of a nod to what they thought "the truth" was, or could just be them going with what they were given and making their translation choices based on something else, such as rhythm/timing.

SO, could there have been an original script that had Dean say "me too" in response to Cas, which then went through translation and made it out into the world? Teeechnically yes, but one would assume that the original script and original *footage* would have to have arrived at the dub studio together if the script is being transcribed in-house as SPGSTudios outlines in their process. I'm going to reason that the odds of them using a later edit of the visual--one that contained what in this instance we would be assuming was Warner's preferred dialogue ("Don't do this, Cas") yet choosing to stick with their own audio revoicing of the (supposed) original script/visual's "Me too, Cas" with its now subsequently poor timing, seems unlikely.

So either they would likely have to redo the exact same "Me too" audio again (having made the choice to keep the original dialogue, while also having to work under pandemic restrictions re: travel and talent availability) to make everything match the visual footage time-wise, OR, it was simply a matter that the English scene always was just as we saw it, but that the studio chose to interpret the script the way they did and were able to do their timing the first time around to match accordingly.

This still leaves a question in the air regarding the origin and fate of certain clips of Dean's more visually emotive reaction to Castiel's confession that have been floating around the internet. I've only seen very very brief glimpses of them, myself, and I'm not certain that they're really evidence of anything other than more than one take having been done of that scene, which wouldn't be uncommon and doesn't necessarily point to a conspiracy.

I also want to state that in the wake of 15x18, I opted to protect my mental health rather than follow every development/rumor/speculation that cropped up in the aftermath, so there’s probably a lot that I’m leaving out of this post that may be pertinent. Do me a favor and do assume that I know nothing of it. lol

I will also add this about the other studio, Iyuno: they are very careful to state on their site, repeatedly and with great pride, that they are committed to presenting the world with the smoothest, most true-to-the-original localized version of a film or show possible. Quote: "...our entire team of staff wants nothing more than to make every single one of our partner's content feel as if it were never translated." They are not fucking around. They want to please the client. Would they have done something like the translation in question without any direct go-ahead from Warner? It seems unlikely, though they don't outline their process on their site the way SPG does.

Notice that in the SPGStudios process outlined above, there is no mention made of a review step in which the studio presents the translated dialogue to the client for approval re: the new wording. That doesn't mean there isn't a review step; however, without seeing the contractual agreement that was made between Warner and whatever dub studio they used, or knowing Warner's preferred process by some other means, it's difficult to be certain whether or not there was a review process for the translated script. I did find evidence that Netflix reserves the right to review such translated scripts before air.

Speaking of Netflix, I will include here what their translation requirements are, as I did find those. They, like Warner, also use Iyuno Media Group much of the time for dubbing (voiceover style dubbing in which they apparently like to leave the original language audible underneath, so that's slightly different from revoicing, but I'm working on an assumption that the general expectations are the same for both):(4)

"1. Translation Requirements

1.1 Main Dialogue

   All main dialogue in the source (original) language should be translated unless specifically noted.

   Due to timing limitations, some of the dialogue may be condensed/truncated as long as it retains all essential elements of the plot.

   Please refrain from dubbing redundant words such as character names and repetitions.

       Additionally, do not recreate laughs, hesitations, reaction noises, etc."

I'm looking at that bit: "Due to timing limitations, some of the dialogue may be condensed/truncated as long as it retains all essential elements of the plot."

So let's say just for argument's sake that this is pretty standard language provided to the dubbing studios. Netflix is a giant, so I'll proceed with that assumption given the lack of more concrete information:

Does it really change essential elements of the remaining plot to have Dean return Castiel's declaration of love? Forgetting about the outside, emotional ripple effect such a declaration was bound to set off in the viewing audience, no. The two characters have no further scenes together, nor does Dean go on in the next episode to immediately embark on a new relationship, or tell anyone that Cas said he was in love with him but he couldn't return it because he didn't feel the same. So technically, no rule was broken. And that is what it comes down to, if you're thinking like a lawyer reading a contract: specifics, not theoretical implications or consequences.

So, possibly what we have is something that was simple to add and easy to get away with/argue for: translated dialog that fit a dub better due to its length, and didn't actually change anything plot-wise (or at least, the argument for that could easily be made). This points to the painful crux of the matter: why would the Spanish version of Supernatural which aired in Latin America allow Dean Winchester to return Castiel's declaration of love with a "Me too, Cas"? Could it *really* be as insulting as the fact that "Yo a ti, Cas" would be a quicker, smoother dub than "No hagas esto, Cas"? ("Don't do this, Cas" in English.) Or did they see something they could get away with, and a reasonable argument to provide for it, so they went ahead and claimed a small LGBT+ victory?

Is someone, somewhere, getting in trouble for all this? Maybe. But could action be taken against them? That would look pretty bad, public-relations-wise, for the party expressing condemnation if that got out. Could Iyuno, or whatever other studio (again, I don't actually know which one handled the dub) theoretically feel a ripple effect from the fallout of this? Could they quietly suffer a drop in acquisitions/revenue for "reasons unclear"? Sure. That sort of thing happens all the time, so theoretically yeah.

Whatever the reasoning behind the decision to have Dean return Cas' declaration of love, surely they didn't have to do it. Surely they could have chosen some other phrase that fit. But they chose to do exactly what they did. I don't know what went down, in the end, or whether censorship was indeed involved, but I will certainly say that I think it was a brave and admirable choice that was made with the Spanish dub. It doesn't undo the "bury your gays" trope of course, but for some LGBT+ audience members it surely provides a sense of validation and maybe even lends a little hope for better representation--which is long, long overdue.

Thanks if you read this far. I hope that even though it’s not perfect it will be helpful in some way.

Sources

(1) https://www.indiewire.com/2020/02/subtitles-vs-dubbing-what-you-need-to-know-1202212800/amp

(2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_CW

(3) https://www.iyunomg.com/

(4) https://partnerhelp.netflixstudios.com/hc/en-us/articles/115016062708-Dubbed-Audio-Style-Guide-VO-Style-Dubbing

(5) https://www.spgstudios.com/localization

I saw that ask meme with questions for gif makers going around, but I felt like answering them all on my own lmao

1. What are your top 3 favorite sets you’ve made

This one, this one (if the timing works lmao), and this one (I’m so proud of my AU gifsets... where did all that creativity go??)

2. What is your least favorite set you’ve made

I honestly don’t know... I don’t think I hate anything I’ve posted though. If I don’t like how it’s turning out, I just won’t post it lol

3. Which of your sets has the most notes

The most notes ever is this one I think

4. A set that flopped but deserved better

I don’t know... there’s a bunch, but I’m fine if a gifset flops

5. What is your favorite movie/TV show to gif

DOCTOR WHO

6. What is your least favorite movie/TV show to gif

I really don’t gif anything else lmao...

7. Who are your top 3 gif makers

I’ll just pick 3 people off the top of my head :) @shatner​, @melodyspond​, @stupidape​

8. What gif trend do you hate

The pale/black and white gifs that are so hard to see.......

9. What/who inspired you to start making gifs

I wanted to gif my favourite parts of DW that I didn’t see anyone else doing, so I was like alrighty, time to learn how to do this!! I think the people that inspired me are long gone from tumblr, or I’m no longer following them because they’ve moved blogs (Natasha aka lumos-maxima... wherever you are, I MISS YOU... also Courtney aka needlebug I MISS YOU TOO)

10. What was the first gif you ever posted

THIS ONE! I remember being so happy about posting it, haha. Also, I still love that Confidential episode so much. I miss my space hipsters...

11. What is that one set you made that just won’t die

The Zoboomafoo one

12. What is the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever giffed

Everything I’ve ever posted

13. Where or from whom did you learn how to gif

Various tutorials on here and just by experimenting. I don’t even think I used Photoshop to begin with, since back in my Neopets days I used Paint Shop Pro to make graphics so I think that’s what I used first to try making gifs of videos.

14. How long does it usually take you to make a set

45 minutes to an hour or so?? It’s been taking longer and longer because the screencaps are so huge though and my poor laptop can’t handle it.

15. Have you ever had gifs stolen and reposted

Yes, and don’t think that I can’t tell when those are my gifs, even without a watermark!!

16. How long have you been making gifs

Since 2011...... my god

17. 10 sets, 8 sets, 6 sets? How many gifs to you prefer in a set

As many as it takes!!!!! But usually between 6-8

18. For the aesthetic, for the laughs, or for the feels what your preference

For FUN!

19. What is your gifting process like

Open video, find scene, screencap, load screencaps in Photoshop, resize to gif dimensions, add colouring, curse myself for picking a hard-to-colour scene, continue adjusting colouring and become increasingly frustrated because it’s not turning out the way I want it to, give up, add text, save gif, POST!

20. Mac or PC

PC

21. PSDs or original coloring for each gif

Original colouring. PSD who???

22. What fandom/movie/show/person etc do you gif the most

DOCTOR WHO and more specifically, David Tennant... I think his tag has the most :’)

23. What is the thing you gif when you don’t have anything else you want to gif

Any episode with Ten and Donna, or The Eleventh Hour, or the Day of the Doctor, or Blink

24. 480p 720p 1080p? What is the minimum quality you’ll gif from

I used to be all good with giffing 480p back in the day, but I guess now it’s 720p since the gif limits have gone way up.

25. Old dimensions or new dimensions and why

New dimensions because they look nicer on the dashboard.

26. How many un posted sets are in your drafts right now

ZERO.

27. Have you ever made a set, decided you hated it and deleted it? What was it

Probably at least one or twice, but I don’t remember.

28. Have you ever posted a set, regretted it and immediately deleted it

No, I don’t think so. I’m leaving my mistakes there for all to see!

29. Have you ever posted a set, realized you made a mistake later but it was already too late

Yes, I did this just the other day with that Missy, Bill and Nardole set. I got the dialogue slightly wrong lmao..... shh

30. How frequently do you like to post

I try to do at least one gifset a day if I can!

31. Do you schedule/queue posts or do you post right after you’re done

Right away. These gifsets are fresh off the grill.

32. What is your favorite tool/adjustment layer in Photoshop

Selective Color or Color Balance

33. Do you like to/can you make edits and graphics too or only gifs

Yes, I can do both but gifs are way more fun imo

34. A set that took you a long time/was really hard but you’re really proud of how it came out

I’m gonna say this one again because I was so proud of it when I made it, and I can’t believe I used to put that much effort into my gifs.

35. Do you change your giffing style a lot or do you have a set routine

I have a routine, as described above. My gifs are pretty much all made the same way as I describe in my colouring tutorial too.

36. Do you gif with something specific in mind or do you just wing it

Usually a mixture of both. I like to try to gif a different Doctor each day, so I’ll know who I have in mind but I’m not planning on a specific episode. I’ll just open up one of their series and go from there!

37. What sets if any do you have planned to make in the future

Idk, I was thinking of doing yet another gifset with Donna in it since I just finished her Big Finish series... but maybe I’ll do one with Eleven and the Ponds??? We’ll see.

38. What are you really excited to gif that isn’t out yet

The next Doctor Who holiday special?? :D

39. How often, if ever, do you delete old sets that you don’t like anymore

Never!! I love seeing how my gifs have slowly changed and improved over time.

40. Why do you make gifs

Because it’s fun, and it’s a way for me to relax after a long and busy day at work.

41. What is your least favorite part about your gif making process

When it takes forever for my screencaps to load, and when it takes forever for my gifs to save sometimes

42. How is your gif folder organized? Is it organized at all?

Lol nope.

43. Do you keep videos forever or delete them once you’re done giffing

I keep the episodes forever, but honestly I think I keep everything forever because I forget about getting rid of the other stuff like trailers and interviews... I should go through my downloads folder.

44. Ever had a gif become a meme? Would you like that if you haven't

I’ve had people use my gifs as reaction gifs and it is a weird feeling, especially seeing the gifs being used on websites other than tumblr. I remember seeing one of my gifs used in someone’s book review on Goodreads and I was like “WAIT THAT LOOKS FAMILIAR!!”

45. Ever gotten hate over a set

Not really hate, but I do get a lot people that are like “WHERE IS ______?” in their tags. And sometimes I just want to be like “Make your own gifs if you think they should be there!!!”

46. Ever gotten a really sweet compliment over a set

Yes :’)

47. Any advice for novice gif makers/people who want to start making gifs

Don’t give up!! Make gifs of whatever makes you happy, don’t worry about the notes too much, and use your tags! KEEP PRACTICING!

48. How would you describe your giffing style

I don’t know??? If someone else has a way to describe my style, then please let me know haha

49. How much would you say you’ve improved since you first started giffing

It’s been almost 9 years since I’ve started, so I hope I’ve improved quite a bit! :P

Well, that was fun. Congrats on making it to the end of this post!!! Now I will go make a gifset.

11 Questions Tag

Thank you @readingbooksinisrael for tagging me! I found this waaaaay down in my drafts, so I have no idea how old this tag is. Better late than never?

1. What is your favorite underrated book? The Touchstone Triology by Steve Augarde (The Various, Celandine, Winter Wood). It is an amazing middle-grade fairy story.

2. What is your favorite fantastical creature and why? That changes depending on the stories I am reading ;-) Anything cat-shaped is always on top of the list though.

3. What is your favorite fairy tale trope? Your worst? I like stories such as The Six Swans (and the variations), i.e. a girl who saves her brothers. I am not so fond of Sleeping Beauty because I find it boring.

4. Do you prefer wood, stone/tiled or carpeted floors? In the summer, stone is better, in the winter I prefer carpet. Wood has a nice feeling but is difficult to clean (I lived in a flat with very old wood floor once, and it was infested). But stone is not so good for the cats because they slither around. Carpet is full of cat hairs quickly and has to be cleaned much more thoroughly ... I could go on forever :-) (stupid, being an adult!)

5. What, if any, languages can you read in but not speak? None

6. What was your first library like (or the earliest one you remember if you can’t remember that one)? Oh, I still have very fond memories of my library in my home town. It is in an old building and basically, many many small rooms after another. Full of alcoves and niches. Cozy. I think this is one of the reasons I am not going to the library anymore, none could compare so far (too small, to impersonal, ....)

7. Light rail or trains? I don’t know the difference.

8. What does your water bottle look like? I reuse shop bought bottles that held other things (water, liquid) until it gets too old and I recycle. At home I just use a glass and tap water. 

9. What do you think of superheroes? Do you have a favorite? I used to like superheroes but the superhero-overload the last couple of years has put me off. 

10. What’s your favorite weather? I like the change of seasons with sunny summers with some clouds, around 25 °C - like a good day in England or Ireland :-) Maybe some rain during the night (for the plants, so I do not have to water too much). And snowy, cold winters to cuddle up at home and take hot baths.

11. Tell me about one of your OCs. Write as much as you want. Be enthusiastic! No I feel old because I have no idea what I am supposed to write. I have trouble with a lot of abbreviations on the internet.

My questions:

1. What is your favourite movie and/or TV show based on a book? 2.  When you just can’t get into a book, do you quit or do you finish every book you start, no matter what? 3.  Which is your favourite bookstore? 4. Do you keep all the books you read? Do you keep none? 4.  What is the rarest color on your bookshelf? 5.  Is there a book that permanently changed you (opinions, style, fandom) when you read it? 6.  How do you unwind after a stressful day at work/school? 7.  Which fictional friendship/relationship is your goal? 8.  What is the one skill you wish you could master? 9.  You’re famous somehow and a University awards you one of those giveaway PhDs as a publicity stunt. What would you be a Doctor of? 10.  If nobody else is around and it’s cranked up loud, which song will you always dance to?

I tag: @the-head-in-the-clouds @thelivebookproject @flamingmirrorbookish @lizziethereader @books-are-portals and everyone who likes to do this.

Building Audience Engagement

I was thinking of other ways to build engagement and hopefully an audience for my fellow fic writers and artists. I’ll share some things that are working for me under the cut because it’s a long post. 

And a plus: I’m not even talking about updating your fics regularly! (But please do that, if you still are into those projects!)

Caveat: This is just stuff that works for me. It may not work as well for you, but it doesn’t hurt to try.

tl;dr: promote your own work, consider sharing and promoting others’ content, be consistent in how and when you publish/post, have fun. Use tags judiciously, have an easy way we can search for your content, and again, promote your work! This is just as applicable to original content as fanworks!

1) Promote your own work

This, I think, is one of the more awkward things about being a creator: self promotion. We have to celebrate and advocate for ourselves and our work! Once you post a drabble or an art piece, schedule a reblog for a day or two away, then again in another few days or a week. Maybe you decide you’ll reblog certain things on certain days: maybe you’ll promote your AO3 page on the weekend and call it Fanfic Friday, or you’ll find your older art pieces from four million years ago and reblog them one day a week. Whatever it is, prop up your own work! If you don’t care, no one else will, either. You spent so much time and energy creating whatever that was, make sure it gets its turn in the spotlight!

2) Weekly writing events. 

I participate in the DA Drunk Writing Circle hosted by @dadrunkwriting. You don’t have to drink to participate, and it’s really simple to get involved. Every Friday, we get together and send each other prompts, and we post our little drabbles. I personally aim for 3-5 a night. I don’t always make it, but I like to have a goal. When we post our drabbles, the DA DWC blog (tagged above) reblogs the posts to their audience, too. It’s really nice. 

3) Tag your posts like a mo-fo. 

I got a tip from @jawsandbones about an XKIT extension, Quick Tags. I make some bundles, or a pre-set list of tags, and I can tag my posts with the click of a button. Go check out some of her prompt fills and other writing, and you’ll see what I mean - Lisa has a MILLION TAGS on everything, but it’s organized. It’s not random. You’ll see probably every iteration of a single ship possibility, and that’s amazing. Make sure you tag your stuff, so that anyone who follows the tag or searches for specific content can find it. 

Related: I tag certain things within the first five tags, as the first five tags is used by Tumblr in searches. I try to use the following for the first five: NSFW (if applicable), ship name, alternate ship names or character names, specific game (if applicable), and fanfic, all within the first five. I also then include my writing tag for easy organization, and any series/timeline name as applicable. If I have an OC in there, I tag them. My general rule: tag often, tag as much as possible, and tag any NFSW and triggers so people can make the choice to see or not see your content.

4) MAKE AN ART/WRITING TAG

Make a tag specifically for your fanwork, whether it’s visual art, writing, Tibetan throat singing inspired by a character, whatever, and then PUT THAT LINK ON YOUR BLOG. Very important. Make it easy for people to navigate your blog and your tags. Help us find your content! 

5) Follow other fandom blogs

As other people have said, fandom doesn’t exist in a vacuum. If you’re building an audience, whether it’s for your own original work or fanworks, one of the easiest ways to do this is to follow other similar blogs. I have made some great friends and met wonderful content creators by checking out the folks my friends follow, or who interacts with the posts I share or create. It’s great! I love reading everyone’s fics and seeing lots of different art styles. Broaden your horizons and make friends at the same time! 

6) Interact (when appropriate, if you want)!

Reblog art! Comment on fics! Send in asks! All great ways to be involved with other creators. Did someone reblog an ask prompt from you? Go send them one! Did you see a friend share a prompt list? Send them one! Did a buddy of yours publish a drabble or a link to a bigger piece? Consider reblogging it! How about some art? Definitely reblog! It’s simple, and broadens everybody’s spheres of influence. Let’s help each other be seen! If you consume someone’s media and enjoyed it, consider commenting and sharing it when/if you can. 

7) If you have the time, energy, and motivation, join a writer’s group. 

I’m part of a couple different Discord servers specifically for writers; for example, Writers of Thedas, which I administrate for, is one of the ones I’m most active in at the moment. There’s a bunch of people online at any given moment to chat with, whether about headcanons, the craft of writing, or whatever catches your fancy in the moment. I have loved being a part of that server, and if you’re interested, send me a message to get involved. 

8) Do your friends have some cool OCs? Ask if you can write about them. 

Trade characters with a friend! Sharpen up your skills and practice accurate characterization and voice for OCs you didn’t develop. It’s hard, and a really great skill! A few friends of mine have a big cuddle puddle of OCs in various timelines that they co-write various plots for, and it’s so fun. (Also, if your friends already do this, share their stuff!)

9) Talk about your OCs and your stories

You might find a meme or a writing game floating around. Participate, even if you’re not tagged! Talk about your muses whenever the urge strikes! Tell us about your characters, about your art, about your writing. Like I said up top, if you don’t care about your work, no one else will, either. Plus, I find that simply talking about my OCs (what’s their favorite breakfast food? What would their story look like as a Historical AU mashed up with a runaway circus?) makes me inspired enough to continue working on my writing! 

10) Be consistent

Maybe you only produce one piece of fanwork a month. That’s okay! Make sure you treat it and yourself just as important as if you had created 100 pieces of work. Reblog them consistently. Set up a posting schedule. Pre-load drafts and set them to automatically publish on a certain day or time, then try to stick to your schedule as much as you can! This is a great tactic, no matter how much content you produce. 

==

These things have worked well for me. You may not enjoy these ideas, or you might not find them particularly helpful for what resources you’ve got available to personally dedicate to fandom, but I’m sure you can find similar ideas or ways to engage in meaningful ways.

Most importantly: Have fun!

do you have any tips for writing? Your writing is the best i've ever read, and I'm not exaggerating. I really want to be better, but i don't know how to improve. Is writing something you can improve in or is it just something you're born with?

hello anon~~ 

heres the thing: some people are born with a natural proclivity towards a certain skill. like you can be born with a good singing voice if it runs in your family or something - but that does not necessarily mean you are born being celine dion. you still have to work to hone your craft, practice, engage in ongoing trial and error. every talent or craft is something that needs to be continuously worked on - like a muscle! if you dont do the thing for a while, itll revert back to a previous state you might not be happy with. so, while you CAN be born skilled at something, no one is born perfect. AND YES. there are many things you can do to help yourself improve

- read. honestly, most of the authors/writers i admire are also avid readers. when you read a book or a fic or something, your vocabulary naturally expands. certain authors use certain words to describe things, others have various stylistic choices that determine how their story is paced. someone like hemingway might use very brief, short sentence with words that have high impact; while someone like isaac marion might use many sentences to get the same feeling across. its important you read BOTH authors because this will help you develop a style in your own writing, will help your own vocabulary grow - hemingway might say ‘the red seat looked like a feast’; isaac marion might say ‘the seat looked as though it were bleeding, and it made R terribly, terribly hungry.’ same sentiment - different way of explaining something (*note: those are not actual quotes, im just using an example idk) 

reading also helps your imagination expand!!

- consume various forms of media/art. what i mean by consume is just engage with different types of arts. listen to music - music ALWAYS helps me get inspired, either in the sound or in the lyrics. and its to a point where i cannot write if the music/soundtrack isnt right. watch tv or films - i can assure you that hero is only as gritty as it is because i was watching sense8 while writing it. show is dark and foreboding constantly, and it definitely helped me structure my mindset to be in that world. 

for both reading and tv and music - i dont mean copy the work. dont ever do that. that is plagiarism. but these things all help a person get inspired or feel creative or help them visualize a certain thing for their story. 

- destroy the blank word doc. its easy to fear a blank document. EVERYONE fears the empty word doc. something about all that white is terribly imposing and threatening and you immediately start to doubt yourself. its like looking into a void. so how do we combat that? put down a sentence or three. WHO CARES IF THEY ARE GROSS? the void certainly doesnt, the void is just like ‘wtf these words are so itchy’ and youre like ‘fuckin...deal with it.’ put down sentences for your story and get rid of that blank page. these are not final sentences, you are going to edit them. do you know how many times chapter 13 of hero has been edited? literally, over 5 at this point. i cant seem to get it right AND THATS OK!! because i will! and you will too! just throw some shit onto a page and then go back and change it. (more on this later)

- start in the middle. while its also easy to be intimidated by a blank word doc, its also easy to be intimidated by not knowing where to start. if you have a great idea of the middle of your chapter - WRITE THAT PART FIRST!! if you get inspired by a dialogue or by a vision you have, you will kill it almost instantly by going ‘ok but i have to get them there first’ and then trying to wrap your mind around it. immediately, the mood dies and it feels like pulling teeth to get some words down because thats not what your muse wants you to be thinking about. so, write that cool scene first. i PROMISE once its out, more will come. the ending of chapter 7 for hero was written before chapter 6 AND before even the start of 7. WRITE WHAT INSPIRES YOU AND I PROMISE MORE WILL COME!!

- edit, edit, edit. so. you started in the middle, drafted your Cool Scene and burned the white doc down. AMAZING GO YOU!! but youre not done. you have to edit that. the first thing your mind brings forth will not (not saying it cant but when youre trying to burn down a doc it likely isnt) be the final thing you release to the public. once you have your cool scene down, go back and edit. fill it in. make it better and pretty. change some words, fix your typos. when you think its great, move onto something else and THEN GO BACK. AND FIX IT AGAIN. i edit at least 3 times before i post something. no one ever puts a perfect thing down that they like first time round, and the only time thats ever happened to me was when i wrote pusher in a fit of GLORIOUS INSPIRATION THAT LIKELY WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN.

- have a friend read your work/be a hype man. rome was not build in a day and certainly was not built by one man alone. if you have a friend in the fandom or community, or even just a friend you trust enough to share work with, SHARE IT WITH THEM. my housemate likes kpop, but does not care nearly enough about it as i do, and also has no inclination to write fanfic whatsoever. BUT. hes super supportive of me and LOVES reading whatever i write - especially hero. sharing your work with a friend to get their opinion is the most vulnerable you will ever be but its EXCITING. i shared hero with him and all at once he was giving me tips on weapons and how the ear responds to gunfire and like his random interest in military strategy has helped guide hero so much. so while you might be shy, your friend might be dumb excited and become an incredible plot bunny. 

and lastly the biggest tip i can give you is: 

do not compare yourself to other writers. EVERY SINGLE PERSON has a different life experience or reason of interest that drives them to writing. for me and a few others, its therapy. for others, its simply a way to pass the time. for all of us: it is fun. keep this fun. comparing yourself to someone else almost instantly ruins any enjoyment you can get out of it. if i walked into this fandom expecting to be The Best, i certainly would not ever be that (gross, who does that anyway) and i certainly wouldnt be having fun. comparison pressures you unnecessarily and also taints your enjoyment of the fandom. write, enjoy what you write, DO NOT WRITE FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF PLEASING OTHER PEOPLE, and accept the fact that sometimes its going to be hard. BUT IT WILL ALWAYS. BE. FUN. so pls dont compare yourself. im an old fart who has been writing for a long time. walking in here and going ‘omfg im not that i cant be that jesus’ is not good! no, my hun. you will not be me. YOU WILL BE YOU. AND THATS EVEN BETTER!!!!

i hope this helped you dove

Writer Questions

I was tagged by @ma-sulevin

1. How many works in progress do you have?

Too many. >_<

I always have more ideas than I have the time or energy to write at any given time. That being said, I try my best these days to limit the number of published works-in-progress that I have so as not to frustrate my poor readership waiting for updates on things I’ve since lost the inspiration for. I have a few up on AO3 that are incomplete, but only two that I’m actively working on at the moment. “Symbiosis” for Pacific Rim (Hermann Gottlieb/Newton Geiszler), and “Come Undone” for Mass Effect (Jeff Moreau/Fem!Shep). Unlike some of my earlier WIPs I’ve been horrible about updating those two have fully-fleshed out outlines from beginning to end, character sheets, and some later chapters in various stages of drafts. They’re both very long/big stories, so it’s taking me some time, but I fully intend to finish both.

2. Do you/would you write fan fiction?

Absolutely. I’ve been writing fanfiction for nearly two decades now, actually.

3. Do you prefer paper books or ebooks?

Either one. I love the smell of paper, but it’s also nice to be able to carry a whole library with me at any given time. Lately, I’ve actually been consuming a lot of audiobooks more than anything else (except perhaps fanfic). It’s fun and convenient to listen to it while I power through various chores after I’ve put my daughters to bed for the night. Plus, as an auditory learner, I always retain the most if I can hear it. Although, that said, sometimes I will find a reader whose voice I simply cannot stand. Or, you know, go add every book by a certain reader to my wishlist for future purchases *cough, cough* Gideon Emery and Ramon Tikaram *cough, cough*

4. When did you start writing?

As soon as I learned how. My mother actually has a few issues of a pretend newspaper I put together when I was maybe six or seven. It consisted largely of stories about my various stuffed animals, recipes my mom/aunt/grandmother had recently taught me how to cook, and various other nonsense. I’ve been writing ever since.

5. Do you have someone you trust that you share your work with?

Precious few. Honestly, I’m generally so self-conscious about my work it’s a real struggle to share it with anyone. In part, because there are little pieces of me sprinkled into every story, whether it’s a character trait, a life experience/conflict. Writing for me is as much a process of exploration and healing, a compulsion, as it is a hobby. @seaweedredandbrown has read some of my works in various stages of completion, particularly for the Pacific Rim fandom. And @winternoble , who has the distinguished honor being the only person I know offline who reads my works finished or drafts with any sort of regularity.

6. Where is your favorite place to write?

I actually really love to get outside to write whenever I can. That’s not always easy living somewhere so rainy, but when weather permits I love getting some fresh air and natural light, whether that means carrying a notebook with me or toting my laptop. My desk is probably where I do most of my writing, though. On the plus side, it’s situated right next to a big window. Sometimes I’ll write on my phone if I’m in the bath, or insomnia is hard at work. After 2+ months of only having my phone to work on waiting to replace my dead laptop, though, I’ll be happy to take a break from that for a bit.

7. Favorite book as a child?

If we’re talking very young, then the Velveteen Rabbit. That was my absolute favorite before I learned how to read for myself. After that, the Harry Potter series, pretty much anything written by Jane Austen, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, The Great Gatsby, & Jane Eyre. Plenty of others, I’m sure, but those are the ones to this day I go back to whenever I feel nostalgic or need a pick-me-up/some escapism.

8. Writing for fun or publication?

Fun, first and foremost. Life is too short to bother with anything you don’t have to do if you aren’t having fun with it. That being said, I do have a fully-fleshed out set of original characters and worlds for a work of my own I hope to publish one day. It needs more outlining and plotting before I feel confident diving into it without setting myself up for failure, though.

9. Have you taken any writing classes?

TONS. And I’d still, quite happily take more. Sadly, it took me several years of college and therapy to recognize that I didn’t need a degree to tell me I could/was good at writing. But I very much enjoyed writing, exploring different styles, the discourse, and the exchange of work and ideas among peers aspects of it.

10. What inspired you to write?

I’m not sure it is a matter of inspiration, exactly. Or not exclusively, anyway. More a compulsion to record what I see in the world, what I’d like to see in the world, etc from a certain perspective/through a certain lens. I want to create the kind of content I wish had been around/more readily accessible to me growing up as a neurodivergent & questioning queer kid/young adult. Representation, I guess, that’s what inspires me to write most of the time.

Claims are now CLOSED

If you are unsure how this works, please read this post on how to claim. The blurbs are under the cut to make things easier on your dash. If you can’t read them on our tumblr, click here for the plain HTML page

All the arts have been claimed! Rejoice!!

Entry #1

Tony is an omega, who has always wanted to bond only with the very best, he refuses to settle for anything else. When he sees Loki's alpha side his inner omega swoons and the more he sees, the more head over heels in love he falls and wants him, because this alpha, Loki, is everything he always wanted. But Loki's not interested. So, obviously, Tony tries to convince him. Wooing, courting, plans, flirting, touching, clinging, seducing, letting his omeganess show, he tries absolutely everything he can think of. Still, he get's a no. Then one day, Tony wakes up to find Loki spooning him, he tells Tony that he said no because the human's lifespan is too short, that if he bonds with someone he wants it to last for all eternity, asking if he's serious about them bonding, because then he will offers Tony an golden apple and make him his forever... 

The drawing is of them spooning. I might draw another picture with Tony’s tries of courting.

Entry #2

Fantasy RPG AU where Avengers is a team of mercenaries in a need of a mage for the next quest. But none of their usual candidates are available at the moment, so Thor mentions that his brother Loki is a very powerful battle mage. The problem is Loki’s spiteful personality; besides he is a little too good in dark arts. Tony doesn’t care at first, he tends to find mages boring, but Loki proves to be different…

Pic description:  Loki is going to fight someone with his staff and spells while Tony in his full armor stands nearby and enjoys the view.

Entry #3

Modern AU where Tony is still the famous billionaire but one of his rivals have sent an assassin (Loki) after him, except well that didn't quite work. Ok so no set fic summary yet but how about a description of one of the arts? So Loki's at the door because he's leaving Tony and he won't tell why. And Tony, who's not understanding what's going on except that Loki is leaving (why is Loki leaving?!?) is on the floor begging Loki to stay, to make sense, to just turn around and talk to him for one hot second.

Entry #4

There's no concrete plot here, just some vague ideas, so the plotting and worldbuilding is up to the writer. 

Iron Man gets sent as an envoy to Jotunheim, or he's curious about the barbarian world that Thor describes and wants to see for himself, sceptical of the Aesir description of it... And he comes across Loki, who's either the prince or Loki who was adopted Loki, and is doing penance for the almost genocide.... And somehow - either the armour fails because ~handwave science~ that Tony couldn't account for, or Loki magical it off him .... Anyway, he's seen as a threat by Loki here.

Entry #5

Au where Loki never messes up Thor's coronation. Loki instead flees from Asgard after he finds out the truth of his heritage and finds a place in Midgard. Loki builds up his own franchise that soon rivals Stark Industries. Tony is intrigued by the owner of an uprising business and plans a merger. Loki and Tony combine their businesses and practically run the world. Thor gets corrupt with power, kills Laufey, and goes after the next king which happens to be Loki. My draft art is what I want the end result to be, a family between the two. (I know background is raggedy, pushing for time)Kinda in between iron man 1 and 2.

Entry #6

The art shows Loki doing some involved magic while kneeling, while Tony stands guard. There's no story to go with this, so knock yourself out, author!

Entry #7

Loki travels the Hidden Pathways/The Branches first to escape his brother’s shadow and later to deal with being on the run in plain sight (impersonating Odin). He meets Tony, or a version of him in time, who’s ended up there in his sleep on accident. At first, younger Loki thinks it’s just a weird coincidence but it keeps happening over the years. Eventually he accepts it as A Thing, then starts to enjoy it, and gets curious enough to investigate. It’s all weird dream time travel shenanigans to Tony. 

The story should feature magical/science fiction-y time travel and slow burn.

There will be at least two digital drawings/paintings, one of them of younger (pre-first Thor movie) Loki and pre-ironman Tony meeting on the branches and one of older (been ironman for a while now) Tony sleeping.

Entry #8

It's the first day of the Paris World Exposition in 1889. Tony, a promising young inventor, has just arrived in the city to participate in a flying contest - and by pure chance he happens to witness a young man performing as a magician at the local circus. Befuddled by the skills he displays and convinced that no such thing as 'magic' can possibly exist, he tries to befriend him and convince him to give up his 'secrets' - but the young man, Loki, seems immune to his charms. Suddenly, their meeting is interrupted when five strange people dressed as warriors appear and try to kidnap Loki, apparently determined to gain possession of his pendant. What mystery lies behind the small blue gem that Loki has been carrying with him since childhood?

(Basically the 'Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water' AU that I can't believe doesn't already exist in this fandom.)

I'd like to draw two pics for the story; one will show Tony and Loki in the process of escaping their 'enemies' on Tony's plane. The other… is still pending, as I'd like to see where my author wishes to take the story first. :D

Entry #9

Everyone is born with their soulmates name on their wrist. Finding them was nevertheless not that easy. On Earth there were matching agencies to help find them, which worked for some, but not all. Tony never even bothered registering in the first place, the name on his wrist was an indecipherable mess, matching no language known on earth. Meaning he was simply broken, doomed to be alone and had no soulmate, or his mate was an alien… which yeah, either sucked in their own way. Loki on the other hand was obsessed with looking for his soulmate, his Anthony, the one person who would accept, respect and love him for sure, just like he always longed for.  Picture is put together in three parts, kinda comic style, showing Loki and Tony's faces in the first two and in the third holding hands with the names showing on their wrists. 

Entry #10

Thor Movie AU. What if not only Thor was banished to Midgard? What if Odin decided to punish them all and cast out Loki too? And while Jane still found Thor, Loki landed somewhere else and was found by Tony. Things would have turned out way different for sure. 

Draw is of Loki being cast out and falling.

Entry #11

Loki shows up uninvited to Tony's housewarming party with a hateful bouquet of flowers. It's a party that only a few of Tony's friends have been invited to.

There will be one painting, a mix of traditional and digital art, where Loki is holding the flowers.

Entry #12

At the end of Thor: The Dark World, Thor thinks Loki is dead and he’s heading back to Earth, what if he spends some time with the Avengers in the following weeks then? Being depressed. After questioning him, Thor tells them what happened. In his eyes Loki redeemed himself so he won't take any bad comment from them. In the following months spending time with the Avengers he let's comments and stories slip about Loki and while at first they were uncomfortable with it and said nothing, after a few weeks they encouraged Thor to tell them things for various reasons. Thing is, the more Tony hears the more he's crushing on the guy, a dead guy, how insane is that? Then one day after spending some time in Asgard, Thor comes back carrying an unconscious and badly hurt Loki in his arms. Apparently he was not dead and Thor found him like this. Needless to say, Tony is the only one to eagerly help right away. 

Drawing is of Thor carrying Loki bridal style. Not even close to done yet, but it's going to be bloody.

Entry #13

Offering someone mortal an golden apple, wasn’t just offering them immortality, it was synonymous with asking them to spend eternity together, which was basically a marriage proposal and a question to become a family in one go. Which yeah, someone should have told Tony that. Loki totally failed to mention it, thinking it was common knowledge. Tony just thought that it was a weird gift of art decoration. It was a fucking golden apple, it didn't look like something to eat, he wasn't all that informed or interested into myths, how was he supposed to know that having the apple sit prettily on his desk and not eating it just showed a painful and long indecision akin to rejection to everyone who knew what the offering of an golden apple actually meant? 

Drawing is of Loki presenting the apple to Tony. I plan to draw another picture with the golden apple sitting on Tony's desk or somewhere in his workplace too.

Entry #14

Smartass Family AU. Loki and Tony have an established relationship and Peter Parker is their son, including Spider-Man powers and all. The picture shows them just hanging around in the kitchen together (some of them quite literally). The story is up to the author. No story at all and just domestic daily life is absolutely fine as well :D

Entry #15

"Tony and Loki have a secret relationship, and are quite happy like that. They also both sometimes like to have some kinky BDSM sex. When Steve hears screaming and bursts into the room, only to see Tony being tied up and in pain, he assumes the worst. Steve tries to defend Tony, and things escalate. How can Loki come back from that?

To me, this idea is less about the porn than about the misunderstandings, secret relationship, the hurt/comfort aspect, and generally the feels. (So if you only want to write implied porn/fade in, that's fine with me :) )

Pic: Loki in the foreground, naked but with a dagger, while Tony is tied up on the bed and Steve is behind him, looking shocked. (I'm not quite up to posting too explicit stuff, so the picture cuts off at the right places ;) )"

Entry #16

Grey Scale with red as the only pop of color. Loki draped in a plain chair, wearing nothing but heels and dark briefs, holding the leash attracted to Tony’s collar. Tony in similar briefs and a custom collar that exactly matches Loki’s shoes. And pulling the whole thing off with a Ta-Dah gesture and cheeky grin… While all of New York is spread out below them. There is a prompt available if desired. 

There is currently only one picture, but possibly another of a SFW-ish nature might be possible if there is something in the story that would make a good one. Would prefer consensual, minimal gore and happy endings.   

Entry #17

Your general coffeshop!AU, where Tony is, well, Tony, an extremely annoying customer coming up with the most ridiculous orders mostly just to spite Loki, who did nothing (but not really) to deserve all this and has to put up with Tony's shit. Oh, they also might or might not be friends with benefits, not that it changes anything.

Entry #18

Wanda’s powers get stronger and she can’t really control them anymore. They need someone who can teach her, a sorcerer would be best. But there is no one on earth that can help and there either are not many mages on Asgard or they are too weak to help. So after it gets worse and Wanda completely loses control, Thor decides to take Loki out of prison and bring him to earth to let him teach her. Which he does. To the surprise and horror of everyone. But it works. Thing is, after spending a bit of time with Loki and watching them do their magic thing, Tony falls hard and fast for Loki and starts to get jealous when Loki’s attention is solely on Wanda. So, he asks Loki to teach him magic too, anything to get Loki to look at him and hopefully getting him to reciprocate his feelings in the long run too. 

 The drawing is of Loki and Tony sitting on the floor practicing magic. Or more like Tony staring at Loki doing magic and failing himself. 

Entry #19

There isn't much to say, to be honest. I've got this idea of a drawing from a long, long time-- and now, hooray! I finally managed to put it into works! I came up with this visual (even if slightly different, at first) by listening to a song. I guess it was from one of those Frostiron mixes that, at the time, were everywhere (I kinda loved them, I think I've saved a couple of them as well, somewhere) 

Anyway. Seeing and then trying to cope with UnC*vil Whatever made finally up my mind about this drawing. Something where Tony at least looks happy and/or relaxed. In the very first idea, Loki wasn't even there. Then he just came in, and I couldn't say no to him :D 

Entry #20

The Avengers have a magic wielding villain on their hands, it gives them problems, because the best way to defeat magic is magic itself. Which they don't have. So when the villain does something that really threatens a city and lots of people, they need someone who is a skilled sorcerer to stop it. There either aren’t that many mages in Asgard or they just need the very best or a real powerful one, which yeah, that’s Loki currently rotting in his Asgardian prison. So Thor gets him out, brings him to Midgard, in chains and muzzled, wanting Loki to help out… which surprisingly the latter actually does. But what is even more surprising, is when afterwards Tony wants to keep him, not only because he would be an asset for the team, or because he’s terribly curious about magic, even if that does factor in a lot, but well, he has his personal reasons that count the most. Besides, no one touches his stuff, which yup, he pretty damn fast saw Loki as his and was pissed off enough already that Thor took Loki away in the first place, because again: Loki was his. 

Picture is of Loki muzzled... so far, planning to add chains and Thor next to him, maybe Tony and the others on the opposite side too.

Entry #21

Role reversal AU. Loki is a successful engineer, his company is well administered by his old friend Pepper, the Avengers are well liked by the general public and no one is trying to kill him. He could even believe he got a bit of good karma in his account. Except now Thor’s brother-in-law is on his balcony, being obnoxious and asking for a drink. And no matter how attractive or familiar the guy is, if he open his mouth again, he’s gonna be defenestrated.

The pic(s):

+ In Loki’s workshop, Tony shows his magic for a awestruck Loki, with Tony looking fondly to Loki and a lot of scans runs in the background.

+ A little comic strip of Tony arriving suddenly and freaking Loki out.

Entry #22

Pre Thor 1, during Iron Man 1. Kinda Reverse Role thing, where Loki is still loyal to Asgard while Tony as Iron Man is on a rampage to destroy warfare and terrorism after no one takes him seriously when he comes back from Afghanistan. Loki is part of the team to stop him.

The art shows Tony ready to blow something up with his repulsor while Loki clings to his back and grabs his wrist.

Entry #23

Due to their longevity, they take being in love really seriously. When a relationship gets serious in their eyes, when they can imagine being with that person for eternity, they stop even looking at other people, they take everything into being with just that one person, to be together forever. So it’s natural for Loki to feel like shit every time he sees Tony flirt playfully with someone else, not getting that it’s just fun for Tony and nothing more, thinking Tony does not take their relationship seriously, doesn’t want to spend their life together. And that hurts, really hurts, badly. It’s destroying him from the inside, but he says nothing. Just gets more and more depressed over time. And Tony sees that, but doesn't get why. Surprisingly, it’s Thor of all people, who after nearly strangling Tony for hurting his brother, clears that misunderstanding up.

Drawing is of Tony and Loki sitting together, Loki looking very depressed, Tony worried.

Entry #24

A lot of races are pregnant for a very long time compared to Midgardian pregnancies. But with a long pregnancy, the first few months are crucial, it leaves them very vulnerable and a lot miscarry. So when Loki notices that Tony knocked him up, he’s not saying anything about it, wants to see if he gets through these critical months first. Tony on the other hand is a constant bundle of worry, Loki is sick all the time, having regular fainting spells that freak him out, Loki even got so weak that the last time Thor hit him playfully on his shoulder it actually got him to stumble and show bruises for a few days, when it normally wouldn’t even move him one inch. Tony was sure Loki was so ill that he would die on him soon. Imagine his surprise when he wakes up one day to Loki grinning happily at him and telling him he's pregnant. Good thing that a pregnancy of over three years gives Tony at least enough time to wrap his head around it. Mpreg drawing of Tony touching Loki's baby bump.

Entry #25

Young Mer!Loki and Young Bird!Tony meet each other and become friends. 

There is not much world building, just they meet each other when they was young, become friends, when they getting older, they fall in love with each other. (And Happily ever after!)

mobile navigation: file

018. doctor

DOCTOR

here’s the doctor’s file. their complete bio is still a work in progress. unlike the other characters, the doctor is a past muse of mine && had their own blog ( that i no longer use ) and was very different from this version of the doctor i here present.   gradually,as i catch up with the series, i will update all the informations on their character.   

fandom: doctor who ; classic who

preferences: memes ; plotted threads

shipping:  selective \ extremely selective for Rose muses \

GENERAL INFORMATION.

full name: the doctor 

alias:  doc ; smith ; the valeyard ; thete ; the eldest

age:  unknown ; way over 998 years 

date of birth: unknown

date of death: spoilers unknown

place of birth: gallifrey

zodiac: taurus

gender: non binary (he/him pronouns)

nationality: gallifreyan 

religion: agnostic

orientation:  demisexual panromantic

relationship status:  married to Patience, Scarlette, Elizabeth I, Marilyn Monroe, Cleopatra, River Song  \ verse dependent

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES.

face claim: tilda swinton

height: 5'11

hair color: blonde \ reddish

eye color: green

tattoos: n/a

distinguishing marks:  vivid eyes ; pale features;  has a strong northerner accent when speaking in high gallifreyan.

clothing style: suits && vintage clothing

BACKGROUND INFORMATION.

spoken languages: high gallifreyan, english && many more; the tardis translates the languages he’s not familiar with.

financial status: n/a

education level: standard timelord education ( till the point he was exiled )

occupation:  traveler ; book seller

FAMILIAL INFORMATION.

mother: the woman ;  penelope gate

father: ulysses

siblings: irving braxiatel

children: his deceased sons and daughters ; jenny ; the sappling

BIOGRAPHY

“The Doctor” is the main alias used by a renegade Time Lord from Gallifrey who travelled through time and space with various companions in his obsolete and “borrowed” Type 40 TARDIS. He was once considered the universe’s “greatest defender”, having saved the cosmos thousands of times throughout his [extremely] long life, becoming some sort of “urban legend” across the whole universes and realities.

this version of the Doctor is DIFFERENT from the canon. during his 10th regeneration, we had a glimpse of the time lord Victorious. he remained hidden in the Doctor's mind for many years but he, eventually, took over the Doctor's body, taking the name of Valeyard.

Although he had saved untold numbers of lifes on his travels, he was thought to have caused the deaths of hundreds of billions during his time as THE VALEYARD [the darker side of the Doctor’s nature]. For his actions, he was banished from the universes, being trapped in a reality bubble for over 900 years in isolation. In his insane state, his mental collapse caused him burn his last lives and regenerate for the last time. His regeneration caused the reality bubble to move and explode, setting the Valeyard  free once again.

A trickster and full of malice, he did the unthinkable: he returned to Gallifrey and stole the cycle of regenerations of the  Inquisitor, another timelord who thought he was his friend, causing the man's death and at the same time, allowing himself to live on more 12 lives,using up the available regenerations.

His affinity for Earth and the human race grew again halfway this new cycle, in which he started a redemption mission with the ones he harmed. nowadays The Doctor travels by himself, visiting his past companions under the name of Joan  Smith and almost never revealing his true self. He barely interfers with the course of time and the things that happen, claiming to be RETIRED.…not that anyone - even himself - believes.

VERSES

as most characters found here, THE DOCTOR is multiverse & multiship; crossovers & ocs are more than welcomed !!

CANON VERSES

( VERSE 1 ) ---------- nothing beyond my reach. ; after taking over the Doctor’s body, the Time Lord Victorious transitions into the Valeyard and begins his reign of terror across the universes.

( VERSE 2 ) ----------   the blundering imbecile returns   ; threads that take place during the time The Doctor returns to his true self && takes the control. however, they still struggle.

( VERSE 3 ) ----------  let the past stay where it belongs ; my default verse. the doctor is old && tired, he decides to retire and settles down on earth, planning on living his last regeneration in peace....but some things are easier said than done.

AU VERSES

( VERSE 4 ) ----------  let the past die  ; star wars au! any threads that take place in the star wars universe.

( VERSE 5 ) ----------  tickling a sleepy dragon  ; threads that take place in the HP verse. The Doctor poses as a Alchemy professor.

( VERSE 6 ) ----------  you win or you die  ; threads that take place in the asoiaf universe.

EXTRA INFORMATIONS

as i write them, i’ll dump here some infos \ hcs that are important to know before approaching. 

Even though he is strong believer in non-violent resolutions,The Doctor is considered a great warrior and a very skilled strategist.

back when i first drafted this version of the Doctor, there was no signs of a woman playing the Doctor && the idea came from a gifset by the LOVELY adorbreyposen. 

the Doctor is non binary && personally prefers he\him pronouns and they\them. even though he is not all that used to this new body, he does not have a problem with using a female alias.

WARNINGS !

this character has violent & sadistic verses (as the valeyard). their views \ actions are not the same as the mun. do expect death && general adult themes to be mentioned \ played here. as usual, everything will be tagged accordingly so you can blacklist. i would like to note that, although my fc is a female/non binary person, the doctor remains a man; he just happened to regenerate in this female presenting body, but that does not make him a woman (i’ve always been against the idea of body=gender). i will simply delete anon hate.

CREDIT

this character belongs to the doctor who universe and i claim no ownership or affiliation with the character and the faceclaims here listed above. however, i do claim ownership of my personal headcanons written here as well my interpretation of the character. all rights go the actual owners 

*DOCTOR icon credit: some were made by me ; psd by kingsleigh ( same psd used for all characters in this blog )

Year-End Fic Round-Up and Meme

2017 Fanfiction Round-Up (Template adapted from https://trey.dreamwidth.org/584.html!) My AO3 page! Total Year-Long Wordcount: AO3 tells me 18,160. Actually about 4200 of those were written last year but at this point I will take what I can get, so, Genghis Khan, you belong to 2017 now. Also, I wrote a whole ton of words in draft form, but it doesn’t count until it gets published, so I guess this year’s work will bolster next year’s (fingers crossed) word count!!

This year I wrote and posted: 6 whole new shiny fics!!! (OK, 5, because Genghis Khan was actually written by 23 December 2016 or so... but it’s near enough to 2017 that I’ll count it.) They’re all oneshots varying from 1.5k-4k in length, and fall in either the Inazuma Eleven or Saint Seiya fandoms. More under the cut~

Overall Thoughts Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted? I wrote a heck of a lot less than I thought. Should probably figure out how to write faster next year. I have been thinking of taking 1 day out of the 5-day workweek off for writing, but ultimately I think it’s either anime/manga/video games or writing which is not a fun thing to consider. This year, I have played a lot more video games, which I think is a great thing, but maybe not if it affects my writing (not saying that it does... correlation does not equal causation x)) What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January? Saint Seiya fits the closest, because even though I had started watching it by then it firmly fell (and still falls) in the category of fandoms where I don’t feel like there’s anything I can contribute. What's your own favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest? It has to be What draws me to you. No contest. I feel like I just about put myself into a depressive funk for 2 weeks just writing it and it was really worth it. And, for once, the title came to me and I didn’t have to do silly Google tricks or listen to a million songs to come up with a title. Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? This year was so tame, I guess the biggest risk I took was in [redacted] (it is still not posted under my account due to being judged in a writing contest... but it is up, go look for it please) where I played around with nonlinear narratives... KIND OF. I guess I should take more risks next year, which I was already planning to do anyway but am definitely gonna do now! OKAY I went back to this because while I have mentally blocked out all the effort of working on [redacted] from my mind because it’s taking like four months to judge a contest and I’m a little frustrated... umm... I mean, anyway. I definitely thought long and hard about meta for once when writing it, and tried my hardest to make it so that readers had to put the pieces together to figure out what I was trying to do. One can say I was too subtle; honestly I’m not sure because there has not been a lot of feedback. Still, while it was a gruelling experience writing it, it was fun in the end, and the end result is pretty nice too. From my past year of writing, what was.... My best story of this year: What draws me to you My most popular story of this year: It was First Time according to hits, but that’s to be expected since the Saint Seiya fandom is a lot larger than the Inazuma Eleven fandom. Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: What draws me to you What draws me to you What draws me to you also [redacted] Most fun story to write: Okay to be honest, it was Peripeties, mostly because it was so fun to revisit the world of Renegade (my Fudou longfic about him between Shin Teikoku and Inazuma Japan) again and also think about what my convenience store gang OCs would be like a few years on. Antagonistic Fudou flowed so easily as well. Also I really enjoy thinking about Teikoku high school :^) Story with the single sexiest moment: I guess I’ll have to say [redacted], since there’s like, an established relationship in it which is probably the closest thing to sexy. I mean in Genghis Khan Someoka and Fubuki share a Look and in What draws me to you Fudou and Sakuma fucking hold hands. What more do you want from me!!! A kiss?! Most "Holy crap, that's wrong, even for you" story: I guess that’s on my to-do list for next year. Actually, one of my WIPs (the one I wrote 20k words of notes/first draft during NaNoWriMo for but haven’t got around to refining) will have elements of that...  Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: Definitely A Request, because I never write Gouenji or Kidou so I learned quite a bit about them while writing it. Which is probably a hint that I should challenge myself next year lol.  Hardest story to write: I don’t remember any of them being particularly difficult to write, which is weird because when I eat my own cooking I remember how much effort I had to put in to make it (although the fact that there’s a much shorter wait between cooking and eating probably explains that). Probably What draws me to you. I obsessed over every word, I did so much research (but it was interesting reading), I focused so hard on the vague images in my mind and tried to translate them faithfully into text... Biggest Disappointment: I am not entirely satisfied with [redacted] which is probably a good thing. I don’t think it’s quite exactly what I wanted to write, but only minutely different. Biggest Surprise: I guess I didn’t realise how big (or HyoShun-starved?) the Saint Seiya fandom was until I posted First Time and watched the hits grow day by day. Most Unintentionally Telling Story: I already did all of that in Renegade so I guess being its sequel, Peripeties is probably it. Favorite Opening Line(s): When Raimon had been told that they would all be sent to various schools around Japan to serve on their reinforcement committee, Someoka had been over the moon. Finally, some real responsibility. Then they had told him that he was assigned to the boondocks. From Genghis Khan Favorite Closing Line(s): I mean I could pick any of my emotional punchlines or whatever but who am I kidding, it has to be from First Time. "Nii-san," Shun finally said. He took the potent cocktail from the counter and drank, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Whoever said we weren't?"  Favorite 5 Line(s) from Anywhere: His heartbeat quickened, and he was about to drop Fudou's hands, only to freeze as Fudou started to tug his fingers closer in with his own and intertwine them together. Their palms touched, and Sakuma felt the calloused skin where Fudou's fingers met his palm. He couldn't help but close his fingers around Fudou's cool hands and give them just one light, hesitant squeeze. The answering pressure sent Sakuma's heart madly aflutter, and Fudou flushed, complexion growing darker even as he stubbornly maintained eye contact. The two of them stared at each other for the shortest eternity, or was it the longest moment? To be honest, there were multiple contenders for this just from What draws me to you alone, but after a close fight this won. Top 5 Scenes from Anywhere You Would Choose to Have Illustrated:  1. What draws me to you, New Year’s festival at the temple, Sakuma in a suit, Miyabino next to him, both staring at a rogueish corn vendor Fudou in a dark blue kimono who’s fanning the coals with a rolled up sheet of newspaper, to the orange backdrop of the setting sun. I WANT THIS SO BAD I CAN’T EVEN 2. The final punchline of First Time. Shun’s sly grin!!! 3. What draws me to you, Fudou and Sakuma holding hands and all around them is the flowy, fluffy white of sakura petals 4. The chicken nugget confrontation in Peripeties! 5. Sakuma being a badass in [redacted]. Shouldn’t be more specific than that but I don’t think there are many scenes of Sakuma being a badass in that fic anyway... Also I have to say that my friend Ro illustrated the shooting stars scene in Peripeties and it’s soooooooo. Good!! <3 Fic-writing goals for 2018: 1. Finish Real Illusions, my Souda- and Sonia-centric post-SDR2 [Super Danganronpa 2] fic. OHHHHHH MY GOD. I THOUGHT THIS YEAR WOULD BE THE YEAR SINCE DR3 /AND/ NDRV3 WERE BOTH RELEASED. APPARENTLY NOT. 2. Finish part 1 of Blind Sin AU, and also think of a title for it instead of constantly calling it Blind Sin AU all the time, I guess. 3. Finish Redemption? To be honest I want to focus equally on original next year so I’m not exactly going to write 20 fics or anything like that. 4. Oh, yes. Try to push myself by writing characters, situations, styles, structures etc. I’m not familiar with.