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#i've started 2 think about how i rarely write canons
thechekhov · 2 days
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Hey Chekhov! How do you start converting an AU idea from character sheets and mini comics into a plot outline for a full, continuous comic? Especially if the series you're basing it on isn't complete?
I've been following your white diamond Steven comics for years, and frankly, I love how it builds and continues the scaffolding canon laid to be something that is thematically still the same but also very unique. And I never thought I'll ever say this, but now I'm working on a canon-divergent AU with someone that's I think aiming to do something similar(continue the themes of canon but different). So I'll just like some advice, I suppose!
You might've answered something like this before, honestly, but I tried to dig a little and couldn't really find it.
Thanks, if you do answer this! I just want take the opportunity as well to say also that your comic and blog accompanied me through parts of my late teens, and I'm very grateful for you being a stabilizing influence during that time.
Thank you! I really appreciate you saying that, and I appreciate you respecting me enough to ask for advice.
As for your question...
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Well, to be frank, I don't START with character sheets and mini-comics. In fact, for WD!AU, I didn't have any character sheets until I started season 2.
Think of your story as an aquarium. Your characters are fish.
Yes, they're important, but having a whole bunch of fish without any substrate, tanks, feed and WATER..... will not really make for a memorable aquarium experience.
The reality is that all stories should start with an end.
That's my personal approach, anyway.
What I mean is - you need to know the general idea for your story before you begin to write or plan it.
Let's try this:
1.Tell me about your story in THREE sentences!
Just three. Not long ones, just regular ones.
For my AU, @ask-whitepearl-and-steven, it would be:
"A young orphan runs away from home with a mysterious lady who seems more cryptid than human. He realizes that he's not human either - he used to be the ruler of an alien planet! He and the other aliens he meets decide to (REDACTED) (REDACTED) (REDACTED) and he (REDACTED) (REDACTED) (READACTED) (READ ANDCTED) (READ AND FIND OUT)."
YOU should know how YOUR story ends too! Even vaguely.
It helps if you know at what point you plan to lay down the pencil. Because if you DO know, you are always going to know which direction to walk in, even if the end is so far away it's beyond your line of sight.
It's true that when I began WDAU, I didn't have much information about White Diamond and white Pearl, because they had literally ONLY been introduced. I had to guess a lot of the details (like WP being Pink's originally) and what White would be capable of. And thankfully, my original intent for the story's end fit pretty well with what was later revealed!
But don't forget - you could also just fuck around with stuff! It's your story, after all.
And don't forget... to also look back!
2.Tell me WHY the story is happening in the first place.
There's a reason that the beginning of your story happens when it does. If there is no reason to start somewhere, then find a different place to start.
You should be able to tell me "We're picking up the story here because something significant has happened... and that significant thing happened BECAUSE...."
That 'because' is your main background information that should be revealed slowly throughout the story. In WDAU's case, we only have a few pieces of the puzzle. We know Greg's side. He know Earl's side. But there are still little bits and pieces missing! And they're all important for finding out WHY Steven ended up an orphan and WHY he is being followed by White Pearl (Earl) at the very start of the comic!
3.Tell me what the coolest and most interesting things to happen would be....and then write them!
I think this may be something that's rarely said out loud, but I will speak on the behalf of the people...
We should write the scenes we want to read. If you don't want to read the scene you're writing, then DON'T write it!
If you feel like you "have to" do a page and a half of 'lore' because you think it's traditional to have that 'explanation' about the location of your story, or the history of the species or whatever, you're simply wrong. There are other ways to reveal information aside from just forced paragraphs upon paragraphs of information that would make an SAT Reading Section sweat.
Instead, I recommend that you find the most exciting or hilarious way for the characters to discover the most important bits of info. Find a dramatic twist. Shove it into the narrative. Then, figure out what needs to happen to get there.
Ultimately, though, remember this: When you're taking advice from me or from others, don't forget to take advice from yourself, too! It's your story, after all. You know it best, and only YOU can figure out how to get it written.
I hope that helps at least a little bit! Writing it never easy, but it should still be enjoyable!
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astrummorte · 22 days
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-pats my own brain- this bad boy can house so many doubts
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n3ptoonz · 5 months
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Part 2 of MK1 men pushing the reader to a wall while kissing them, please? 😊
i mean i GUESS i can do that 🤭 since you asked so nicely! part one here
how liu kang, reiko, sub-zero, havik, johnny cage, scorpion, and geras go about pushing reader to the wall while kissing them
just know it may not show the long pauses i took while writing this but know IT HAPPENED!! THE THINGS I DO FOR YALL🫵🏾don't say i never did none😫
havik's regeneration mentioned. i've also been told havik looks like that on purpose so like, let's act like he can make his face go back to where it was for the sake of shits, giggles, and pandering XD
tags: @luna18night20 @momopad
warnings: suggestive, fluff elements, sphinx tried her best, there will not be a part 3 im sorry y'all 💔
Liu Kang
Liu Kang was rarely ever rough with you. In fact, the only way he'd do it is if you either verbally say it's fine, or if he knows you're poking the bear just to get a reaction. And when you get a reaction...there's no going back. You've kissed with your back to the wall several times, and every time was gentle and loving and laced with care. However, if you've presented that you were that desperate for him to give you the attention you deserve, he will gladly be a little rougher in pushing you back with his lips on yours. Just be prepared for him to leave some handprints on your waist.
Reiko
Reiko is a warrior. Hardened by battle and discipline, so the way he kisses you usually starts off that way. He can't help it. Not only is it the way he was raised and what he was told a man is "supposed to be", but it also came with how his partners were to be treated. When it came to you his sense of duty and protection spiked every single time. So here you were, well within his unintentional bear hug as your back was against the wall. His kisses always started off like he was going away to war/fight (because he usually was) but he would eventually melt and become smoother because you're by his side.
Sub-Zero
Bi-Han, a truly complex character. I believe that whoever captures his heart will be the main obsession in his life. In this case, it is you. He constantly needs to be on you, around you, see you, hear you, you name it. He can't get enough of your lips and this is especially apparent the way he's almost always pushing you to the wall while kissing you. Can we blame him? He's a tall hunk of touch-starved and the only thing that will satiate that hunger is roughly making out with you every chance he gets all while still knowing how to treat you like a porcelain antique.
Havik
Havik...this guy. Even though I'm pretty sure it's not canon I still feel like he'd regenerate and degenerate for fun and for different purposes/occasions. For the sake of my sanity I can say I found him fine as hell before his face got fucked up, and so did you. But you don't mind him either way because you love his crazy ass. Allow me to set the scene: You say something snappy to get his attention and boom...he regenerates his facial wounds just to back you against the wall and shut you up with pure smugness and arrogance behind his kiss. But, this is what you wanted, nonetheless. And you'd do it again!
Johnny Cage
Who's to say Johnny Cage wouldn't try to get you in one of his films just so he could keep getting takes of him backing you to a wall and kissing you? For Elder God's sakes, he's the one who wrote the script! And of course it's something dramatic like him being a villain that captures the hero and tries to convince them to ditch their position to be with him. Dude would totally think he's Loki (did i say that bc i think it would be hot if Loki did that to me? ..don't worry about it!) He's for sure fucking up his takes on purpose and you know this, but you only pretend to be irritated and maybe even fuck up a few yourself.
Scorpion
Kuai Liang, the romantic this man is. Like Liu Kang, he's never rough with you. Except it would take a little more convincing to let him know it's fine for him to act on his feelings when he wants to. With him, his kisses are slow and gentle. They will always start off like that even if he has a hard day. All he wants is to hold you, but it's like whenever your back hits the wall a gear starts turning in his brain. The idea of you having nowhere to go and enjoying it? Not even an Elder God is pulling him from your embrace. He gets handsy and a lot more affectionate around this time; he's kissing your face, neck, and shoulders too, because why the hell not?
Geras
Geras is a special case. He's an immortal who has never experienced romantic love before. So naturally you will have to teach him some things and even point out things he has observed that can be taken as romantic love. But he's still a man who has seen a lot, so this guy knows what kissing is and how to kiss. Surely you didn't think this giant fine ass immortal being didn't know how to treat his partner? Crazy talk! Understand that when you introduce the classic wall kiss by showing him what to do, he's leaning in to kiss you as he lifts you in his arms with no effort to be found and there won't be kissing going on much longer!
a/n: thanks for reading and i hope you enjoyed! collapses onto the ground
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transmascaraa · 4 months
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Hi! I've currently been into Ga ming recently since he's released and your works for him are really cute 💗💗 so I was wondering if I can maybe request him, Bennett, tighnari, cyno, and Scaramouche (if you write for them ofc!) with a always nauseous and overheating reader?
I've been going through that for a long while now and it kinda adds onto not really eating all the time because of being afraid to throw up when it happens, sometimes feeling like a burden for having a different body temperature than most and feeling like it's just a problem, not being able to wear clothes I really want to because of how hot I may get, the possibility of passing out whenever and the embarrassment I get from that, ect 😭
I hope your day is well, and that hopefully you have a fun time writing this if you decide to 💗🫶
multiple characters headcannons!
how are they with overheating!reader?
characters: gaming, bennett, tighnari, cyno, wanderer x gn!reader
author's note: i love this idea so much😭 i'm not somebody that's overheating easily, but i still get hot faster than others, it's the main reason i hate summer and love winter👍 but i think i can understand people who suffer from overheating. i once almost passed out a few months ago and it's either that i felt sorry for this one dog, or because of sunstroke. either way, i'm glad to do this request, because i really like it<3
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Gaming
-he would be prepared ALL THE TIME. it's true. it's canon, i'm the mole on his neck.
-anyways, he would always have one of your t-shirts in his bag. he learnt how to do cpr and what to do IF you pass you. he reassured you that it was okay. that you having a warmer body temperature wasn't something you should be embarrassed of.
-in his eyes, he found the good in that whole problem.
-winter, you're not all the cold in winter, while he... freezes, despite being pyro.
-he's there with you, always ready for anything, encouraging you to eat.
-he also always has a cold drink in his bag, it might come in handy for you...
-either way, he wouldn't mind it. he just wants to help you. he sees nothing wrong with you.
-but he avoids teasing you that much, what if you get too hot and feel nauseous?
-he doesn't want that. instead, he knows when to stop.
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Bennett
-he's clumsy, and everyone knows that. but he does try his best to help. he WANTS to help.
-when you feel nauseous, he starts panicking a bit but tries to keep a more calm composure to not make it even harder for you.
-he knows how to treat you. he's trying his best, please, thank him.
-he asked lisa about how to help a nauseous person, and he listened closely.
-sometimes, he rants to razor about you, but not about your overheating problem, but about how strong you were. how brave you were.
-how he admired you.
-and when with you, he tries to tell you all of those same things, but he ends up blushing too much, and just telling you to "paint it over".
-but at rare times, when he makes you feel hotter by telling you such sweet praises, he apologizes immediately, and tries to cool you down.
-he's trying, he really is.
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Tighnari
-he has everything with him. if gaming had everything you needed, tighnari has 2 times more of them. what if you run out of cold water? what if the first shirt he brought with him was still making you hot? he even has an ice pack with him.
-he's like a mom. anything you need, he has it. he would take great care of you, making sure you're alright.
-if you're nauseous, don't worry! he has the medicide. you're allergic to something? you'll never see it again.
-if you're ever close to passing out, he knows exactly what to do, so you shouldn't worry all that much, because you have him.
-others, and even maybe you, might see him as overprotective, or overreacting, but he just says that "it's for your own good" and carries on with taking your mind off of things by talking to you about aranaras.
-he may be a bit strict, but it really is jsut because he cares for you. he wants the best for you, and hopes that he can be the one to help you get to there.
-i could talk about him for ages but i think you get the point.
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Cyno
-i'm virtually sighing right now. he would care for you, yes, do anything for you, do anything you want him to.
-he'll bring you anything and everything you need.
-he had anything you need with him, but if you run out of anything, he's thinking of a solution to stop that.
-in all seriousness, he'll skip anything and everything for you.
-yes, he does bore you with his horrible jokes no matter what, but if he sees that he's too annoying, he'll stop.
-if you're about to pass out, he's either gonna keep his composure and help you or just...
-call tighnari because he's panicking a bit too much.
-he avoids bringing you to the desert with him, completely, at all costs.
-he wants to to be okay, and reassures you when you have trouble eating.
-he's like a dad, the opposite of tighnari. he may not have anything you need at ALL times, but he always comes up with a solution.
-and he loves choosing outfits for you, and he gets hot easily too, that's why he doesn't wear much clothing himself.
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Wanderer
-uhhh he's complicated. he'll never show any interest in helping you, but deep down he so fucking worried about you. he would take your body heat if he could. he would splash you with ice-cold water if you wanted to.
-but he'd mask it with saying "weak."
-you know him good enough tho, he cares about you more than anyone else.
-you know he'd sacrifice anything and everything to help you.
-he literally forces you to eat.
-he has everything you need with him, and does his best to help you. if he runs out of something, he'll call nahida.
-nahida plays a huge part in this too, but you don't know.
-he secretly talks to nahida to teach him about overheating more. so he knows how to help. he asks her any question he has, and the almost immediately memorizes it. he needs to know how to help you. so, if you ever almost pass out, he'd just be telling you to shut up while trying to help, but on the inside, it's a mess, really.
-he doesn't want you in pain.
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i actually really like this one
HELP MY LAST MULTI-CHARACTER ONE GOT ALMOST 400 NOTES I'M GOING CRAZY
either way, i hope you like this one, anon! and that you i potrayed overheating good enough😭
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siilvan · 9 months
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sun showers
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characters: kyle "gaz" garrick
summary: gaz warms you up after you get caught in the rain.
prompts: 2. "do i make you nervous?"
genre: fluff, very light angst, roommate!gaz, fem!reader (no desc.)
warnings: semi-proofread, light cursing, brief references to canon-typical violence, like one innuendo at the end lol
word count: 1.5k
note: learned about gazfest and proceeded to speed-write a drabble-fic to celebrate :) big shoutout to @glitterypirateduck for curating this!
wrote half of this in one day and the other half the next. the quality drop is very obvious lol. i promise i've got better gaz fics planned for the future </3
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"y'look like you just went swimming."
you slam the front door behind you, dropping your bag on the floor unceremoniously as you glare daggers at your roommate. kyle is lounging on the sofa, hot cup of tea in hand, sending you an amused look after tearing his eyes from the television.
"there wasn't any rain in the forecast today," you grumble in response, kicking off your sopping wet boots. you can see kyle set his mug on the table and rise from his spot, casually strolling into the small kitchen you shared. you figure he's going to grab a snack for himself and ignore him before trudging to your room to change clothes.
when you emerge again, in dry clothes and with a slightly better attitude, you're immediately greeted by your designated mug sitting on the countertop, filled nearly to the brim with steaming tea. you glance over and see kyle standing at another counter, busying himself with building a small plate of snacks, quietly humming a random showtune under his breath.
you carefully pick up the cup and take a sip, a comfortable warmth flowing through you, chasing away the bone-deep cold that you couldn't seem to shake even after arriving home. your eyes squeeze close briefly as you revel in it, and you miss the way he glances at you with a smile on his lips.
"figured you could use a little pick-me-up," kyle says, catching your attention. he brushes past you gently, carrying the plate to the coffee table and setting it down. "c'mon, you're probably still freezing." he adds, patting the spot next to him after sitting on the couch again.
"sometimes i forget how sweet you are." you shake your head and settle in next to him, carefully lifting your cup as he tosses a blanket over your legs.
he turns whatever show he was watching back on - some history documentary, you realize - and munches on one of the cookies from the plate, quietly relaxing next to you. you, meanwhile, are sipping on your tea, split between paying attention the show and watching him from the corner of your eye.
moments like this were truly rare for you two, despite your living situation. you came home at the end of every day, but for kyle, that wasn't a guarantee. he'd be gone for weeks, sometimes months, at a time, leaving you to care for your flat until he returned. you've never said it aloud, but you've grown to dread him leaving. the place felt lonely without him, like there was something important missing.
the way he reassures you before leaving and the check-in texts you receive daily while he's gone makes you think he knows already, despite you never saying a word to him about your feelings. he's attentive to a fault - you wouldn't be surprised if he knows you just as well as you know yourself.
"you okay?" his voice interrupts your train of thought suddenly. you jolt, almost spilling your tea, and hastily set it down on the table before turning to him. kyle's gaze is already on you, and your eyes quickly dart anywhere but his face as a warmth slowly creeps up the back of your neck.
"yeah, of course." you wave him off, pulling the blanket closer around yourself. "just chilly, is all. i'm already starting to feel better."
he hums, and you can still sense his gaze on you when he goes quiet. you desperately avoid eye contract, electing to stare at the television whilst not comprehending a single thing on the screen. anything to convince him that you're not having an internal war over whether you like him as a roommate or as something more.
a minute passes, and you think he's dropped it. until his voice, dropped to a near whisper, suddenly speaks right next to your ear.
"do i make you nervous?"
you jump, again, and whip your head around to look at him. kyle's leaned in close, a kind yet nervous smile on his lips, his arm swung over the back cushion to face you properly.
you quirk a brow at him. "nervous?" you ask, gaze finally flicking up to meet his. "no, not at all. why?"
he shrugs his shoulders and chuckles, visibly relaxing at your reply. "i don't know, i just– i'm not here often, i guess. didn't know if i was overstepping or something." he waves his free hand as he talks, trying to find the right words.
"kyle, you're probably the person i feel the safest around." you remark, scooting just a bit closer to him to emphasize your point. well, and to steal some of the heat radiating off him.
"i get that you feel safe, but–" he drops his hand to his side and sighs. "maybe i'm misunderstanding, but you looked like you felt off. just wanted to check in."
tell him, your brain shouts at you, seeing the opportunity. he already knows, all you'll be doing is giving him the reassurance that he always gives to you. the worst thing he can say is no; you'll lose your best friend and have to find a new place to live if he rejects you. that isn't a terrible risk, right?
except, it is. you worry the inside of your cheek and leave the comment hanging in the air for far too long. just as kyle opens his mouth to say something, you interrupt him.
"i don't like when you leave for work," you start, hands fidgeting in your lap. "the apartment feels empty without you– i feel empty without you. i was thinking about that and how much i'll miss stuff like this when you leave again."
for a moment, he just stares at you. it doesn't help with the nerves at all, and you mentally squirm under his scrutiny. your discomfort seems to snap him back into the present, though. kyle's face lights up, practically beaming with joy as he finally responds.
"i'm not going anywhere, not right now." he cups your cheek when you attempt to look away, keeping your focus on him with gentle fingers holding your head in place. "i hate leaving you. if i could be in two places at once, i'd be here around the clock. seeing your smile fall every time i walk out the door hurts like nothing else."
you stifle a small laugh and place your palm over his. "kyle, you've been shot. pretty sure that hurts worse than seeing me sad."
he purses his lips, thinking, before making a noise of disagreement. "ah, think i'd rather take a bullet than see you cry." he counters with a pensive nod, sending you into a fit of bemused giggles.
when you manage to compose yourself, mouth split in a wide grin, you meet his gaze again. kyle's mirroring your expression, though his attention is very clearly elsewhere. his eyes narrow, head dipping ever so slightly as his eyes flit between your own and your lips. it's a subtle gesture, a quiet way of asking for something without pushing you in any particular direction. your tongue darts out to wet your lips, an action that he watches with great interest, and you take in a calming breath before making your next move.
you lean forward, hands finding purchase on his shoulders, and press a kiss to his barely-parted lips. he hesitates for a moment, taken aback, but the reluctance is short-lived as he responds in kind, his hand sliding from your cheek to wrap around the nape of your neck. he pulls you in closer as his unoccupied arm slides off the back cushion, snaking around your waist.
the kiss was saccharine sweet from the start, but as you both pour every pent-up emotion you've suppressed into it, it almost becomes too much.
keyword: almost. it's not enough to make you want to stop.
kyle pulls back just enough to talk a few seconds later, resting his forehead against yours. "that, uh... you have no idea how long i've been dreaming about this." he mutters, chuckling.
"dreamed about anything else?" you ask, lips ghosting over his. he leans in to the featherlight touch, chasing it, forcing you to tilt back with an amused huff. he groans under his breath and straightens his back, giving your words some thought.
"yeah, loads of stuff. about you, though?" he pauses, clicking his tongue as he recalls the aforementioned dreams. "not sure if you're ready to hear those yet. most of 'em are probably best saved until after a proper date."
"there's going to be a date, then?" you ask, draping your arms over his shoulders.
with a lighthearted roll of his eyes, kyle nods. "'course there will. several dates, if you'll have me long enough." he presses a lingering kiss to your lips, muffling your pleased hum.
your reply is a mere whisper fanning against his skin. "i'll have you as long as you're around. i'm already yours."
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taglist: @sofasoap, @rohansregret
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wlwcatalogue · 4 months
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Chinese GL Webseries & Shorts for the Wuxia-Uninclined
Have you ever wanted to venture into the world of Chinese GL webseries and short films, only to find yourself at a loss about where to begin, or intimidated by the unfamiliar tropes and terms of the wuxia genre?
Well, worry no more! Here's a selection of non-wuxia webseries and short films curated by yours truly. Now you too can enjoy the lavish costumes and location shoots of these Chinese productions, so rarely seen in F/F works outside of feature films and the occasional TV series~
By the way, these are all translated and subbed by the inimitable Douqi (@douqi7s), whose immense contribution to the English-language baihe fandom is surely in breach of anti-monopoly laws. Offer up your thanks at her Tumblr and Twitter!
At-a-glance list
Webseries:
Ye-Mu Season 2 (1 hr 20m total, 2023) - standalone
The Vampires (41m total, 2022)
Ye-Mu Season 1 (27m total, 2022) - standalone
The Lost World (1hr 5m total, 2023)
Short films - order corresponding to the pictures above:
A Tale of Yearning (5 mins, 2022)
"She Brought Colour Into My World" (2.5 mins, 2023)
"I'm Her Weapon" (3 mins, 2022)
Miss Shen and the Woman Warlord (6 mins, 2023)
Women's Script (5 mins, 2023)
The Caged Canary (5 mins, 2023)
The Beauty of the Law (6 mins, 2023)
Flowers Bloom; Flowers Wither (9 mins, 2022)
Commentary under the cut!
FYI, I've opted to link directly to the subtitled versions since they're probably more difficult to find than regular anime, TV series, movies etc. If a link is broken, please refer to Douqi's blog directly.
Important note for the uninitiated:
It’s a bit difficult to talk about canonicity in relation to live-action works made in the PRC, as things which would normally be used as evidence of canonicity all fall under the censorship regulations— explicit references to romantic relationships or queerness, declarations of love, kissing etc. are all off the table. So while these may not look canon in the most traditional sense, they are intended to be read as such and should certainly not be dismissed as queerbaiting or yuribait. Also, the creators can get very imaginative, so this is less of a problem than you may think – see the entries on Ye-Mu Season 2 and The Lost World in particular!
1. Ye-Mu Season 2 / 叶穆 2 (32 episodes / 1hr 20m total, 2023, dir. Zhang Zhiwei) - MyDramaList
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(Note: Despite the name, Ye-Mu Season 2 is completely unrelated to the first season; the only thing the two share is the cast, crew, and focus on Penthouse-style melodrama.)
Determined to take revenge for her mother's death, Xu Baiqing (Sheng Wei) marries a wealthy and much older businessman in the hope of finding evidence to put him behind bars. But first she must assuage the suspicions of his cheerily hostile second daughter, moody youngest son, and estranged eldest daughter (Ye-Mu Zhixia, played by Wang Laoji), the latter of whom Xu Baiqing dated in university and who is currently seething at the sight of her former girlfriend marrying her father...
If you want to get a sense of the potential breadth of Chinese GL webseries, this is a pretty good place to start. It does a decent job of matching the tone and presentation of a melodrama you might catch on TV (and in fact looks higher-budget than some I can think of), while committing to something that can’t be done on TV yet— namely, featuring an F/F exes-to-stepmother storyline and delivering on the drama inherent in such a premise. Of particular note is how the framing and behaviour of Ye-Mu Zhixia is very much consistent with that of a male romantic lead; thanks to some clever writing, it’s basically impossible to deny the nature of her relationship with the main character. They don’t even lean on the plausible deniability afforded by the label of “friendship”— in fact, in an early scene she is incensed when the protagonist refers to her as “[her] only friend”. There are a few caveats – the main character ends up in a lot of scrapes that her ex-girlfriend has to save her from, the reveals are often rather unsurprising, and the story shifts more to a mystery focus around halfway – but it’s still worth checking out if a Korean-style melodrama with an F/F take on a romantic storyline sounds appealing.
 (CW: violence, murder, attempted sexual assault)
Note: See The Lost World (below), from the same creative team, for an even more impressive example of Chinese GL pushing the limits of censorship.
Links: MEGA / Internet Archive (compilation)
2. The Vampires / 吸血鬼鬼盲盒 (7 episodes / 41m total, 2022, dir. Zhang Zhiwei) - MyDramaList
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(Note: Spoilers for the first 15 minutes or so, because otherwise the summary would be “They end up locked inside with the monsters on board”, which wouldn’t tell you much more than the title already does)
Every night, Tianyue (Ye Miao/夜喵) has been having dreams about the mysterious cruise ship docked at the pier. Convinced that there is treasure hidden inside, she and her exorcist-cultivator girlfriend Xiao Ling (Wei Miao/微渺) sneak on board only to find that they are trapped there until the sun comes up. Things don’t seem too bad at first: although they run into two vampires – the cute, cheeky Xingming (Yang Fuyu) and her elegant mistress Su Tanya (Sheng Wei) – they are able to call a truce, on the condition that the humans help search the ship for the latter’s beloved (Fu Cha, played by Wang Laoji). But when Fu Cha wakes up without her memories, it is clear that something is terribly wrong, and that the ship and its inhabitants harbour more secrets than expected.
For a webseries, The Vampires takes a while to get started— it’s a bit difficult to tell what kind of story or indeed what kind of tone it’s going for just based on the somewhat campy and comedic first section. But after that wobbly beginning, it manages to pull itself together to tell a compelling – and sometimes genuinely tense – tale about a motley band of humans and vampires, and the truths they have to face together. While the ending is no happily-ever-after, I found it satisfying and hopeful, and surprisingly affecting. Also, a bunch of the characters have real polyam energy, and this is reflected in the narrative beyond mere flirting!
(CW: abusive parents)
Links - MEGA / Internet Archive (compilation) / YouTube (compilation)
3. Ye-Mu Season 1 / 叶穆 (12 episodes / 27m total, 2022, dir. Zhang Zhiwei) - MyDramaList
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(Note: Ye-Mu Seasons 1 and 2 are standalone stories; each season is entirely self-contained and the second season is not a continuation of the first.)
The head of the Ye-Mu family has died, leaving the next generation to squabble over the inheritance. It's a web of secrets, lies, and hidden resentments, as the characters dig out old grievances and fresh accusations in a desperate attempt to one-up each other. They're tangled up together to an almost incestuous degree, and indeed, the F/F subtext here is the ambiguous relationship between eldest daughter Ye-Mu Nanzhu (Sheng Wei) and second daughter Ye-Mu Nanmo (Wang Laoji) (rest assured that they are at least not biologically related).
Those who prefer darker stories and don't mind the pseudo-incest or other content warnings will find a melodrama which makes good use of its short runtime to deliver on twists, turns, and an explosive - if tragic - conclusion. That being said, the story is about the family drama in general, so do note that while the relationship between Nanzhu and Nanmo is narratively important, it is not fleshed out in great detail and certainly not the focus of the series.
(CW: suicide, ableist trope (spoiler – disabled character turns out to have been faking it), ableist language)
Links - MEGA / Internet Archive (compilation)
4. The Lost World / 夏夜知道风的甜 (1hr 5m total, 2023, dir. Zhang Zhiwei) - MyDramaList
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(Note: Spoilers for the purpose of flagging triggering content, as it’s particularly easy to trip into for this show. Also, some vague spoilers for later episodes in order to highlight in order to highlight the themes etc.)
This webseries feels like two shows smushed into one: apart from the very beginning, the first half is a gritty, bullying-focused take on university life, while the second is a true-blue romantic comedy (aside from one blip – see the note below for details). But even if you’re wary of the bullying, I would still recommend watching the back half – which is basically standalone – as it’s a very funny and heartfelt story about two childhood friends finally getting their act together. Without further ado, here’s two blurbs!
From episode 1 onwards: After saving a classmate from the class bully, popular college student Xia Huaichu (Yang Fuyu) is subjected to a lengthy harassment campaign by the latter. She is suddenly faced with having to protect her reputation in the face of false allegations and fake nudes– despite the fact that all she wants to do is focus on reconciling with another classmate, a high school best friend whom she had previously lost touch with (Mu Qingfeng, played by Wang Laoji). From episode 14 onwards: Childhood friends Xia Huaichu (Yang Fuyu) and Mu Qingfeng (Wang Laoji) are caught in a weird gay purgatory where each has feelings for the other, and suspects that the other has feelings for them too. But both are exceedingly stubborn and want the other one to take the initiative in confessing, leading to ridiculous displays of I-don’t-care-isms and lots and lots of UST. (Does anybody use that term anymore??)
As you may have guessed, I’m not too keen on the first part of this show, nor the decidedly unnecessary attempted rape segment, though that’s partly on me for not checking the content warnings beforehand. And yet I’m very glad to have stuck with it, because the second half is not only hilarious, but also a masterclass in censorship-dodging that needs to be seen to be believed. Not just in terms of the suggestive scenes, of which there are many, either— the story is literally about two women starting a relationship and having to reckon with parental disapproval, homophobia, and other obstacles which platonic friends wouldn’t have to deal with. I honestly don’t know how this ever got approved, and can only applaud. Bravo.
Note: For those who want to avoid the triggering content, I’d recommend starting at episode 14, but make sure to skip episodes 19 and 20 as there is a foiled rape attempt.
(CW for entire series: bullying (incl. violence, fake nudes), sexual harassment, attempted sexual assault, fatphobic language, homophobia
CW for episodes 14-24: attempted sexual assault in episodes 19-20, homophobia)
Links - MEGA / Dropbox
SHORT FILMS
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Quick note: Click on the English titles for the subtitled versions, and the Chinese titles (which are really just the video titles) for the originals. And yes, although the majority of these are shampoo commercials, they really do hold up as short films in their own right. Give them a try, you might be surprised!
A Tale of Yearning / 一见误终生,不见终生误 (5 mins, 2022, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – A bittersweet story about a literature-minded young woman (Sheng Wei) and a Chinese opera performer (Ai Ye) who bond over their love of fiction, only to be torn apart by harsh reality. Tragic ending, but I liked the more literary turn of the dialogue. Shampoo ad. (CW: homophobia)
“She Brought Colour Into My World” / “她走后,我的世界又失去了颜色” (2.5 mins, 2023, dir. Zou Hui Qu Le/走回去了) – A very restrained short film (actually, more like a music video) set during the late Qing era, wherein a sheltered young woman (Xiao Yu Za/小宇咂) falls for her female neighbour, recently returned from studying abroad (Sheng Wei). Lovely use of music and visuals to create a dreamlike atmosphere. Tragic ending. Not a shampoo ad.
“I’m Her Weapon” / 我是你手里的一把刀 (3 mins, 2022, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – A moody, interior piece about an assassin (Ai Ye) who yearns for some sign of affection from her handler (Sheng Wei), only to be left devastated by her new assignment. Surprisingly not a shampoo ad.
Miss Shen and the Woman Warlord / 我们是孤独行走的钟,但也要做敲响希望的钟 (6 mins, 2023, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – I’d like to describe this as being inspired by the story of Mai Jia’s novel The Message and the aesthetics of Kawashima Yoshiko (1990), but most Tumblr users would probably find those references deeply unhelpful. Basically, a female spy (Sheng Wei) disguises herself as a male soldier and infiltrates the mansion of a Republican warlord. There, she meets the warlord’s daughter (Ai Ye), who quickly realises that there is more to the promising young officer than meets the eye. Shampoo ad.
Women’s Script / 纵使“科考”无女子,无碍红袖书香,星辰有光 (5 mins, 2023, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – While sailing down a river, a girl (Zhi Chun He/至春禾) catches sight of a woman writing poetry on the riverbank (Sheng Wei), and is fascinated by both her beauty and her flaunting of the rules against women’s literacy. Shampoo ad. (CW: domestic violence)
The Caged Canary / 如果这是一场骗局,那我也只愿意输给你 (5 mins, 2023, dir. Liu Yun Rui/流云蕊) – The protagonist (Ai Ye) is sent by her parents to beguile a wealthy young man into marriage, but ends up developing feelings for his modern-woman sister (Sheng Wei) instead. Shampoo ad. (CW: attempted sexual assault)
Flowers Bloom; Flowers Wither / 她们一个被铁链禁锢,一个被男装束缚,直到救赎彼此 (9 mins, 2022, dir. Qian Li Min/千里明) – Takes the romance between a cross-dressing noblewoman (Du Ruo/杜若) and her supposedly-mad stepmother (Rou Lian Cheng/肉脸橙) to tell a story about the restrictions placed on women in historical times, and how resistance, even when futile, can still have meaning. Tragic ending, obviously. Not a shampoo ad. (CW: domestic violence, misogyny, accidental misgendering, gender dysphoria)
238 notes · View notes
gendercomsumer · 1 year
Text
Twisted Wonderland Confessions Part 5!
A/N: We're almost finished with the series! Idk what I'll write for after but I'll figure it out eventually. Also my computer broke in the middle of writing this- so yayyyyy
Warnings: Not proof read, Ooc Sebek, Lilia being a menace /hj (Also not knowing how to write him-),
GN!Reader
Characters: Sebek Zigavolt (773 words), Lilia Vanrouge (509 words), Leona Kingscholar (761 words)
Sebek Zigavolt
You'd meet him during the spell drive tournament (Book 2 w/ savanaclaw) When there was the plan to take Diasmonia out of the running for the whole thing.
It was only a small moment you two saw each other but from first impressions he was loud, and most definitely not afraid of showing his loudness off.
You ran into each other again during school realizing you had more classes with the fae then you first thought.
While Sebek is very loud at times, he's diligent and takes great and very organized notes (Even if they're only in pencil with no indicating colors.)
As a friend Sebek is a bit strange
You'll usually find him doing his own thing or lecturing a student on the topic of respect.
You two would hangout during lunch usually close by Malleus in case he needs Sebek to guard him.
A personal head canon is that he's also a bit suspicious of everyone, not like heavily so but it came naturally with him being a knight.
So he might not fully trust you at first to be able to be at two arms length of Malleus.
I mean at least he's being a good guard am I right?
He will let you borrow his notes if you need to, saying some comment along the lines of, "Ha! Of course a human would need my notes!"
While he can help you in math and science he does struggle in art and the more creative classes.
Help him with those and he'll see it as a favors for favors situation.
I can't really see him easily identifying let alone accepting his feelings for you
He at first thinks he's sick, or if you know magic you've somehow slipped a curse on him
He goes to Lilia for guidance and this old man while he looked composed was cackling on the inside.
Lilia explains that Sebek is most likely falling in love with the human and Sebek seems almost appalled by the suggestion.
Him? A fae? Falling for you some random pathetic human?!
No no that can't be right!
This was one of the only times he started to question Lilias judgment and views on the matter.
After getting the same opinion of Silver as well, and a lot of thought, he comes to the conclusion that maybe, just maybe, he might have a teeny itty bitty crush on you.
That's as much as he was going to admit though.
Lilia what do you mean when will he tell them? He's not!
He tries to act the same but the words of his family stuck to the back of his head.
How passionate you were about things you loved and how you have done so much despite being only a human
at times you could catch his stone face starting to melt into a soft lovesick smile
Maybe that crush wasn't as small as he said it was
But he'd never admit that
Confession wise, either he puts it off for as long as he can or you decide to go up and confront him on his very badly hidden feelings.
So for this let's say you've picked up on his hiding of feelings and decide that now's the best time as any to let him know how you feel
You kept your fingers crossed that he felt the same as Lila led you through their dorm
"Alright third door on the left should be Sebek's, don't get too crazy now kids!"
Lilia left down the stairs with a childish laugh as you went down the hall hearing Sebeks voice through the walls.
It really showed how loud his voice could be considering the dorm was made of stone
Standing outside the door you could easily hear Sebek monologuing to himself about... He was talking about you?
The mention of your name was sudden followed by the names of Lilia and Silver.
"If both master Lilia and Silver say that I've... Fallen for this human, does that mean it's true!? mater Lilia is rarely wrong... But I can't be! They're just a human! A human who makes me feel like I'm in front of the thorn fairy herself at times... No no! How dare I compare the two!!"
He continued and a dust of color was brought to your cheeks to raise a hand to knock on his door hopefully loud enough he'd hear.
There was a long pause before the door was opened by Sebek and at the sight of you his face flushed.
In an uncharacteristically quiet way he asked "Please tell me you didn't hear any of that... Did you?"
Lilia Vanrouge
One day You walk out of your dorm planning to go get some food from Sam's shop since it had been awhile since you went on a grocery run.
It was a beautiful day out with the just right amount of clouds
You take a step out of your house, and Lilia appears seemingly out of thin air hanging upside down from your shade on the porch of your house
Yep that's how you met, him almost scaring the living shit out of you on a random Tuesday morning
What a fun way to start off!
After him almost killing you with that scare he would randomly pop up at times scaring anyone and everyone around you (after awhile you got used to it)
He's a very fun person over all despite what he's been through with the fae war and all
His jokes and lightheartedness are usually welcome lifting any bad mood you may have.
he'll try his best to help in any classes, he's a fucking god in history having lived though most of what they're teaching
And as the feelings start to appear he's a bit taken aback by their sudden appearance.
He's had many lovers in his years but this time the love feels different almost?
It's hard for him to describe, hell it's hard for him to comprehend, but nonetheless he enjoys the soft feeling you give him when you're around
He'd consider a long while on whether or not he would want a relationship with you
You are a human and he will most definitely out live you no matter what the world has in store
It's just the sad truth of having an extremely long life span like his
Once he is sure of this he will start to make more moves on you and attempt to gauge your reaction to them.
Depending on your reaction will depend when he confesses to you, or how much longer he wants to wait to confess.
I can see his confession being one on the more romantic side, but not like not as romantic as Rook.
Most likely he would confess in the middle of a hangout he'd be subtly flirting with you whether you notice or not is most likely up to how dense or oblivious you are
He'd be laying on the couch of the living room possibly (most defiantly) upside down
You'd be talking about some random topic and you look away for moment and suddenly oop there he is floating upside down in front of you.
You jumped and laughed questioning Lilia what he was doing
He stayed silent for a moment staring at you in a manner some would consider creepy before letting out a small laugh.
You asked what was so funny in a bit of a cautious manner and Lilia smiled at you "I've had plenty of lovers... but none were a stunning nor did they make me feel as strange as you do... so tell me, will you help me explore what makes you the one..?"
Leona Kingscholar
After the events, to say the least, of book two he's very salty about everything for at least a week
Eventually and inevitably the two of you need to work together (Either during or before book 3)
Or Ruggie some how convinced you to help him out with the lazy Lion
And either way hey it worked!
Most of the time Leona is either bored, sleeping, or secret option number 3! bored and wanting to sleep...
He's an interesting character to get along with and once you do it's a different side you see other than the one that's just a lazy ion that Ruggie and the other students need to deal with
You learn very quickly that he's very smart and knows most of what the teachers are teaching.
He just normally doesn't have the energy or the want to participate in classes.
Which in my opinion fair my dude
But because he's really book smart if you ask and he's in a good mood he would "dumb down the lesson" in reality he's reteaching it just in a way that's easier to understand.
He sleeps a lot so he knows how important it is to get enough of said sleep.
So if you're close (good friends and such) if he sees you start to drift off during class or fall asleep, he'll cover for you but will scold you that that's not a proper place to take a nap
He then proceeds to take a nap in potion class with Rook in the room. What was that about proper nap locations Leona?
But either than that he's a bit sassy at times and can joke around, hell he calls you Herbivore all the time, that should be evidence enough.
One time you had fallen asleep under a tree (Silver kinnie energy-) and Leona found you
He ended up staying with you and skipping class to take a nap of his own and that's when his feelings for you start to fully come into light.
When he saw you sleeping there, there was a small part of him who wanted to stay with you and protect you, silly right?
Now Leona's well versed in emotions. He'd seen how his brother acted around his now sister in law and here they were now with the menace of a child Cheeka.
So once these feelings start to become stronger and more prominent it starts to reflect in his behavior
I am an avid believer in the beast men/ mermen are possessive change my mind (warning you can't)
He'd start to stay around you a lot more than normal and once Ruggie joked that you had cat nip in your pocket and Leona was following you because of it.
Leona makes sure you get enough sleep a day. Didn't get 8 hours at least last night, whelp hopefully nothing important is happening in Crewels class cause you're skipping to take a nap!
He also makes sure you're eating right and not burying yourself in your work (I'm looking at you Crowley)
He also gets protective over you and if people look at you the wrong way they will have a lion glaring them down.
As for confessions I can see him being pretty nonchalant about it.
One day you had been studying in your room since you needed help in History.
Leona went to go get something and you decided to ley your head down on your bed to see if you could catch some quick rest
Leona returned sometime later and looked at you confused
you were still awake but you didn't want to bother to open your eyes as you were in a comfortable position and sleep sounded like a very nice idea at the moment
"Oi, Herbivore, are you asleep?" You stayed quiet and still as Leona looked over your face and gave a mischievous smile.
"Well isn't that adorable.. and here I thought I was the lazy one.." He gently brushed some hair out of your face and placed a feather light kiss to your temple
"It was your idea to study and you're the one to fall asleep.." You could feel the color come to your face as Leona sat at the end of the bed watching you
You eventually sat up and Leona laughed seeing the red color across your face "Thought so I wouldn't think you'd fall asleep that quickly, so tell me Herbivore.." Leona leaned closer to you with a smug smile
"you do know it's dangerous to fall asleep around a lion, don't you?"
485 notes · View notes
vodika-vibes · 8 months
Text
Overworked
Summary: After almost dying at a crime scene, Commander Thorn realizes that things need to change.
Pairing: Commander Thorn x Reader
Word Count: 2173
Warnings: Canon typical violence, Reader gets Blown up, mentions of a crime scene
Mando'a used: verd'ika - lit. little soldier
A/N: I've been meaning to write for Thorn for, like, weeks now. But I finally had an idea.
Divider by saradika
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In an ideal universe, you would never have to work a day in your life. You would be able to stay home, and spend your time writing novels, or painting pictures, or crocheting blankets, and you’d never have to worry about food or power or rent.
However, you don’t live in an ideal universe.
You live here, on Coruscant, which means that five days a week, you have to drag yourself out of bed, shower, brush your teeth, and put on your uniform for another 8 hour day of hell.
Also known as work.
And you, the clever person that you are, decided to major in Forensics. Which meant that not only do you have to drag yourself to work every morning, you also have to see the absolute worst of people every day.
Sometimes when you close your eyes, all you see are blood spatters and burn patterns and bullet trajectories. Those are the good days.
You don’t have many good days.
There is a reason that people in your line of work rarely last more than 10 years. Especially on Coruscant. 
You exhale slowly and press the palms of your hands against your eyes. You’ve been working close to ten hours, less than halfway through a double, that was probably going to turn into a triple, and you’re already so done with the day that you kind of want to cry.
You’re hungry, and tired, and you still have six hours before the next shift is supposed to roll in, and you have to start the DNA analysis from three different cases, and run the fingerprints from last night-
You look up when there’s a knock on the door, “It’s open.”
Your office door slides open, and you tiredly look up at the man who steps into the room, “You look like shit, verd’ika.” Commander Thorn says as he steps into the room, a teasing grin on his lips.
“Please tell me you didn’t just walk your happy ass all the way from the Corrie Bullpen to my office just to insult me?” You ask as you rest your chin on the palm of your hand as you half-heartedly glare at the handsome man who has made it his life's mission to make your life more difficult.
“I would never,” Commander Thorn replies as he presses the button to shut your office door, and lazily drops into a chair across from your desk.
“Oh, please, have a seat.” You say snarkily.
“Thanks, I think I will.” He counters cheerfully, as he slumps even further down the chair with a wide grin.
You close your eyes, and forcefully stamp down on your growing ire, it’s not his fault that you’re exhausted, and it’s not right to take it out on him. Especially since you actually enjoy his company, “Is there something you needed, Commander?”
“How long have we worked together, verd’ika?” He asks, dragging the nickname out obnoxiously. 
“I don’t…2 years, give or take?” You say with a shake of your head.
“Long enough that you should just call me by my name,” He says mildly, and he frowns when you curl in on yourself as though he yelled at you. He sits up and leans forward slightly, his sharp eyes scanning your face for a moment, and his scowl deepens, “How many hours have you been working?”
You glance at your chrono and sigh, “a little more than 10 hours. I’m working a double today…maybe a triple.” You tiredly rub your eyes, “What did you need, Commander Thorn?”
“...we have a case.” He says quietly, a look of guilt crossing his face as you utter an exhausted curse, “No one else is available for field work.”
“It’s fine, this is my job after all. Just let me grab my keys and I’ll meet you there. Send me the location?” You ask, as you get to your feet and grab your jacket off the back of your chair.
Thorn says nothing for a moment, and then he releases a deep sigh, and you hear the sound of some typing, “I’ll see you there. It’s just going to be the two of us, for now.”
“Alright, I’ll see you there.”
30 minutes later, you pull up in front of a run down building. The building itself is taped off, and Thorn is waiting for you with his arms crossed over his chest. You park near his speeder, and slip out of your jeep, having to essentially fall out of your van due to its height.
“Nice of you to join me,” Thorn teases lightly, though there’s tension in his shoulders and his hand rests on his blaster, “So we have a body.”
“It’s almost always a body in this part of Coruscant,” You reply as you pull your kit out of the back of your van, “You suspect foul play?”
“The person who called it in claimed that they witnessed a murder,” Thorn replies as he scans his datapad, “I have some shinies canvassing the area, looking for the witness.”
“Is that why you’re so tense?” You ask.
“What?”
“You’ve had your hand on your blaster like you’re expecting someone to jump out and start shooting at us.” You explain as you press the button that closes the trunk door.
“Just…a bad feeling, verd’ika.” His voice is tight, “I’m going to be staying close for now.”
You eye him for a moment, and then nod slowly, “If that will make you feel more comfortable.” You finally reply, “Is the body inside?”
“Yeah. The shinies cleared the house before you got here.” Thorn says, “At first blush, it looks like an execution.”
You flash him the smallest of smiles, “If you say so, then that’s probably what happened. But I’ll check anyway.”
“Ah, verd’ika, when you say stuff like that it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.” Thorn teases flirtatiously, and you know that if he wasn’t wearing his helmet, he’d be smirking at you, in spite of the tension running through his body.
You pull your gloves on and shoot him a look, “You know that you’re probably right. I just need to verify it for legal reasons.” You shake your head and take half a step towards the house, “I assume I’m free to enter?”
“Yep, the scene is yours.”
You nod at him, and grab your camera, and slowly make your way into the house, taking pictures as you go. You snap a series of photos of the victim, a woman, likely in her 70s. True to what Thorn told you, she had two bullet holes in her head.
“If the execution was what killed her,” You say to Thorn, “She wasn’t killed here. There’s not nearly enough blood.”
Thorn is somehow even more tense than he was outside as he makes a note on his datapad, “Anything else?”
“Give me a minute,” You reply, standing and moving around to the other side. You look over the victim, and then tilt your head when you notice something strange. “Huh. What’s this then?” You murmur, more to yourself then Thorn as you reach out and adjust the thick jacket the victim was wearing. Your hand presses against something hard, and metal, and you hear a click that makes your blood freeze, and you slam your hand down on the victim’s chest. 
“Verd’ika?”
“I think there’s a bomb.” You say, turning panicked eyes up towards Thorn.
Thorn swears and tosses his datapad out the front door, and crosses the room to kneel across from you. He scans the body, and then swears again, “It is.” He confirms, “It looks like a pressure plate.”
“Sorry.” You whisper, “You should probably-”
“If you think I’m leaving you here, alone, with a bomb then you don’t know me well at all,” His voice is sharp, and for a moment you hate that he’s wearing his helmet, because seeing his face would offer you a little comfort. “Okay. Disarming the bomb isn’t possible, not now that it’s been triggered,” Thorn explains as he stands and walks around the body until he’s behind you.
“So what do we do?” You ask, glancing over your shoulder as he turns a thick table onto it’s side and moves it so it’s nearly pressed against your back.
“You are going to sit there,” Thorn replies, moving so he’s behind the table, and then reaching over the table and grabbing you under the arms, “Verd’ika?”
“Yeah?”
“This is going to hurt.” Is the only warning he gives, as he tightens his grip and pulls, jerking you away from the bomb, and over the table, and covering you with his own body in one smooth motion that he’s had to have practiced before.
The bomb detonates at the exact same time, and the last thing you remember, clearly, is the pain the Thorn warned you about.
You wake to the sound of a heart monitor beeping annoyingly in your ear. You slowly blink the sleep out of your eyes, and you can taste bacta on your lips. 
You half expect to be in the hospital, but you’re also not really surprised to see that you’re in the Guard’s Medbay. Slowly you try to sit up, only to stop when gentle hands press against your shoulders, laying you back. “You’re not supposed to move, verd’ika.”
“Thorn?” You quickly look him over, he’s wearing casual clothes, rather than his armor, which means you can see the bruises covering his arms, “Are you okay?” You ask.
“Me? Yeah, a couple of bruises. A minor concussion.” Thorn waves away his injuries as unimportant, “How are you feeling? You’ve been in a bacta tank for two days.”
“Pretty good, all things considered.” You lightly take his hand and squeeze it, “I thought that I would be in the hospital?”
“Yeah, well…” There’s something grim on Thorn’s face, “Someone put a hit on you.”
“On…me?”
“You’re very good at what you do,” Thorn replies, “We moved you from the hospital when one of the nurses tried to kill you.”
“I don’t…why?”
“You’re very good at what you do, cyar’ika.” Thorn says with a sigh, “You’re being moved into protective custody until we can figure out who’s trying to kill you.” He lightly takes your hand and squeezes your fingers, “I’m afraid you’re not going to have much privacy for a bit.”
You lay in the bed, thinking on his words, “Am I being forced to leave Coruscant?” You ask.
“No. You’re being moved into protective custody under the care of the Coruscant Guard. Well, to be more specific, we’re being moved into protective custody.” Thorn explains.
“Ah, you got stuck with babysitting duty.”
“I volunteered, cyar’ika.” Thorn replies, “You almost died because I didn’t do my due diligence.”
“It’s not your-”
“It is my fault. If I had done my damned job, the bomb would have been disarmed before you even arrived on scene.” Thorn interrupts, “So, I’m afraid you’re going to be stuck with me for a while.”
You sigh quietly, “It’s not that much of a hardship,” You murmur, “When I’m not working, I actually like spending time with you.”
He laughs quietly, and slowly releases your fingers to brush his fingers against your cheek, and you turn your head into his touch. “You know I only bother you as much as I do because I want you to look at me, right?” He asks quietly.
You smile gently, “I’m looking now, Thorn.”
His fingers pause, mid stroke, and his gaze locks with yours, “Yeah. I guess you are. And…do you like what you see?” Thorn asks, something hesitant in his voice.
“Always did.”
“You never said anything.”
“You never come to talk to me alone when we’re not working,” You reply, “Or I would have.”
A look of amusement crosses his face, “I didn’t know that you’re shy.”
“I didn’t either,” You admit with a laugh, “Just about this one thing, I guess.”
You fall into a comfortable silence, with his fingers gentle on your cheek. “Cyar’ika,” He says slowly, “Do you know what that means?”
“Something less insulting than verd’ika, I hope.”
“It means sweetheart.”
“Oh, that’s much nicer than being called Little Soldier.” You joke lightly.
He laughs quietly, and his thumb lightly ghosts across your lips, “Can I kiss you, cyar’ika?”
“I’m in a hospital bed and covered in bacta.” You reply.
“That’s not a no,”
You smile at him, “Yes, Thorn. You can kiss me.”
He flashes an almost blinding grin, and then he leans in and gently presses his lips against yours. His kiss is so breathtakingly gentle that you’re helpless to do anything more than let out a quiet whine into the kiss.
He breaks the kiss, and lays his arms on the bed and then he lays his chin on his folded arms, a grin on his lips, as he looks at you with a lovesick look on his face. And all you can do is blush and try to pull the blanket up over your head.
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anavatazes · 6 months
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Learn to be a Texas Southern, From Austin.
Ok. First of all, I love you all. I truly do. I adore my fan fic writers, especially if you write my Joel crack... um, stories. *cough* The man keeps me in a bear hug and refuses to let go. Not that I am complaining ;).
BUT, for the LOVE of all that is holy and good and Joel, STOP using any American TV show or movie for reference to how things are in Texas as far as the food, the way they talk, the way the weather is, how and what a BBQ is, and I swear if I see another one with snow...
Like I said, I love you all. Yes, fan fiction is fantasy. You can write what you want. How you want. That's what is so great and wonderful about it. Get creative, get wild. Go crazy! But don't sit there and act like you do your research and are an accurate little miss that can do no wrong. Nuh-uh. I will find a slew of little old ladies that will Bless Your Hearts from here to Oblivion if you call Ribs with BBQ sauce proper BBQ in Texas. Believe you me. Every State in the Union has their own form of BBQ, and in the Southern States, it's a fucking religion akin to College Football and Jesus.
American TV and movies are pretty generic when it comes to the accuracy of our own culture and will take great liberties when trying to pass off one area for another. This includes accents, ways people speak, and how the areas they are in truly are. I touched on this briefly when I went over the whole Bless Your Heart phrase and how it does not mean what you think it means and it can get pretty offensive quick. American TV likes to go for the shock value, and the drama more than it likes to go for the accuracy and really doesn't care who it offends in the process. And older shows, like Dallas, Southerners don't talk like that anymore. Except maybe a few left in Kentucky... Maybe. Watch play-throughs of the games if you want a feel for how Joel speaks. Especially the first one. Stay away from the second one if you are trying to avoid season 2 spoilers for the show.
No Outbreak!/Pre-Outbreak!Joel will spend Saturday mornings with Sarah hiking. And there are next to no hills (unless man-made) in Austin. It's all flatland. No mountains. A few rivers, and Lake Travis isn't far away. A lot of trails all around Austin from 1999 to 2013, depending on when you wanted to have Outbreak Day if you wanted it at all. They'd probably go to one of a trillion restaurants in Austin for lunch, depending on their taste. It is canon that Joel can't cook. Tommy, Ellie, AND Sarah all bring it up in Pt. 1 and Pt. 2, if you know where to look. I would say one of their favorite places would be Home Slice for some great pizza. Or maybe even Torchies for a wide variety of tasty Tex-Mex food. Maybe even pick up some Brisket (Texas BBQ) to take home to get ready for an afternoon spent watching the University of Texas football game on the TV, if we're in August to January. Honestly, May through the beginning of October, they probably aren't doing too much hiking. The temperature of 100° plus (in Fahrenheit) is all the rage at this time. And you might have high humidity one day, with non-stop thunderstorms that might seem like a hurricane, and can spawn a tornado, but really isn't a hurricane. Then the next day, be the dryest heat that you've ever experienced in your life. Though, from what I've heard, the latter rarely happens now. More humid days are common now.
Texas BBQ.
If you are ever in the Southern United States, do yourself a favor, and just do not call anything related to the grill BBQ, ok. You will be better off and have a nicer visit, and life overall. If you like to live dangerously, go ahead and call the grill a BBQ. Call a cookout a BBQ. Go ahead. I'll wait. I'll have the tissues ready and waiting for the passive-aggressive politeness from the ladies and the open hostility from the not-so-gentlemen. You have a Cookout, or you Grill out. A BBQ is a way of life and means something different in each state (and will start a war in North Carolina because they are so special, they have two kinds of BBQ). Most everyone in (at least the South) can agree that BBQ food is some sort of slow cooked meat. In Texas, almost 99% of the population agrees it's Brisket, and the rest are wrong. (That's another Southern thing, they are right, and everyone else is just wrong. Drives me nuts when they use it in an argument). Now, they will have different ways of preparing it, and they will have fights over it (have witnessed several), but they all agree on Brisket.
Being close to the Mexican border and Texas' history as a part of Mexico once upon a time means that there is a heavy Mexican influence in Austin. As much as Texas likes to claim to be white bread, it really isn't. From the food to the people to the names of streets, cities, etc, there is a heavy Mexican influence. The idea that, somewhere, that Joel and Tommy have Latino blood is not far-fetched. Especially on the show. At the very least they would have a basic understanding of Spanish. That is being from Austin, regardless if they share any Mexican heritage or not.
Politeness and the True Southern Gentlemen.
I hate to break it to you, but there is no such thing as the great Southern Politeness and Hospitality. In fact, if a guy comes up to me and says he's a True Southern Gentleman, I'm running the other way. That "Gentleman" is 9/10 times a walking sexual assault case. This is not to say there are no nic+e and polite people in the South, but it is no different from any other place in the US. But, I will tell you, from the upper middle class on up, they can be some of the most passive-aggressive mother fuckers you will ever meet. From the Mid-Middle Class on down, the more hospitable they will be, and they fit the stereotype the upper class has somehow gotten. It's a mess.
Religion
Not everyone in the South is Christian, or devout, but will say a phrase that will make you think they are. I touched on this in my Bless Your Heart post. As God as my Witness, Good Lord Willin', Christ Almighty, and others are common phrases you will hear in the South. It DOES NOT mean the speaker is religious by any means. Trust me.
That's all I have for now. I could go on, as there is more. And please remember, fan fiction is fantasy, it's creative. Write what you want. This is just to help out those who are looking for more accuracy. And as it has been a while since Austin for me, and you are from Texas, and more specifically Austin, and you wish to add more info, and/or correct anything, feel free, please. There are a lot of differences among the Southern States, and it can be a pain to keep it all straight. So I have no problem in receiving help to keep in all in line :).
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no-psi-nan · 2 months
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[Context]
Ok @fluffydice, sorry for the lateness on this one but as anyone following this blog for over 5 minutes probably knows, I think Aiura x Saiki x Akechi makes so much sense and it is insanely compelling to me. I've posted so much fanfic about it already and that's only like 20% of the Thoughts™ I've had about them tbh.
But when you're doing an analysis of a triad, you have to breakdown 3 different ships and also how they would work simultaneously, so I needed time to write it all up. Buckle in!
Let's talk about Saiki x Aiura first since they had the most screen time together and they're the most "canon". I was genuinely shocked to see how rare this pairing is in fandom when they're literally canonically soulmates and also actually prove it on their every interaction.
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From their very first meeting, Aiura and Saiki work together flawlessly to save Yumehara's life many times in a row + the life of the truck driver. Aiura then figures out how to hang out with Saiki without having to deal with his tsundere rejection, which he can leave at any time (unlike with Teruhashi) because she knows about his powers and won't stir up trouble if he leaves. Saiki keeps allowing her to schedule 1:1 dates and is basically like "don't bother asking me, you know I'll go" about the dessert buffet date lol.
Even when they disagree and neither of them will back down, they still work wonderfully together and they both end up learning and growing from it. Saiki trusts Aiura to help him, and Aiura always agrees to help him just because she cares. That's HUGE considering how hard it is for Saiki to ask for literally anything!!
Aiura also respects Saiki's boundaries more than anyone else imo. She only joins him when he's out in public, she tries her usual heavy-handed flirting at first but quickly adjusts when she realizes he's not into it, she puts her clothes back on immediately after realizing that she misunderstood the situation, she starts asking him out instead of just joining him, she asks for a kiss and respects his "no", and she hugs him anyways because they both really need it after the stress of the day.
And Saiki responds to that, opening up more with Aiura than he has with anyone else in way less time. Aiura had under 2 years with Saiki while Saiki's core friend group had like 6 years, and yeah, she benefited some from his character growth over the past 4 years. But still, the way he banters with her shows how comfortable he is– he's more open with her than with anybody else, and not just with his annoyance like he is with Toritsuka lmao.
Also, come ON, there's just no one more deserving of an epic husband/wife local god with transformation powers than Aiura. She works so hard with her powers to help everyone and convinces Saiki to help others more and she helps him get the best outcomes for everyone. Let her get her hands on her soulmate who can make her bi dreams come true, who can give her third eye a break from constantly seeing auras and death marks, who can grow big fluffy wings to hug her with, etc etc etc!!!!! LET HER HAVE SOME FUN FFS!!
There's wayyyy more people forcing Aiura into the platonic bucket with Saiki than I've seen with Teruhashi (even though Aiura has way better chemistry with Saiki), which forces me to wonder whether it's because Aiura is more overtly sexual and "lowbrow" than Teruhashi, showing more cleavage, getting bad grades, putting stickers on her face because they're cute, showing pride in her sexual escapades. None of those make her a bad person, but a lot of people seem to think it does.
Some people more reasonably point out that if Saiki is very asexual and Aiura has a high libido then that could cause trouble for them. Well, first of all, while Saiki is pretty much obviously somewhere in the asexual and aromantic spectrum, his belief that boyfriend is the next level after best friend shows that demiromantic / demisexual is a strong possibility for him. And honestly I'd argue that whatever he has going on with Satou is at least partially sexual, though I'm not going to get into that in this already long-ass post lol.
But basically, I think there's a lot of room for a demiromantic and graysexual interpretation of Saiki and considering that Aiura has apparently stopped going out with other men for at least 2 years with no ill effects that we can see, it's quite possible that they'll be very compatible in bed after all. And if not, that's where consensual non-monogamy comes in lol. But genuinely I think that the fact that they're soulmates means that there probably aren't any major incompatibilities between them, otherwise the term would be meaningless.
So yeah, makes sense and really compelling because there's so much room for stories on how they actually got together, how they work together as their powers continue growing, and what their future looks like!
OKAY, now it's time for the Saikechi essay lol.
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Actually, I don't think Saikechi needs a ton of justification, because it's kinda standard extrovert x introvert childhood friends to lovers lol. Saikechi only isn't more popular because Akechi appears for like 5 whole minutes in the undubbed second season of the anime and he was annoying for 90% of that time hsfjdlshfks rip.
But yeah, Akechi and Saiki are quite perfect together, as shown by the horse gambling episode. Akechi can see right through Saiki's tsundere facade and Akechi is extremely open about his wants and needs, which is important since Saiki can't properly understand his thoughts most of the time and is very bad at figuring that stuff out even with telepathy.
They're both some flavor of ace. Akechi offu's at Teruhashi and comments that she's the most beautiful women he's ever seen, but does not express wanting to date her, which is big ace vibes, plus he's one of the few characters that doesn't have anything to say about Aiura's boobs lol (even Teruhashi can't shut up about them). They're also similar flavors of highly intelligent + neurodivergent. Consider Akechi's analysis skills vs Saiki's ability to come up with dozens, if not hundreds of plans in extremely short notice.
Akechi is also great at making accommodations for Saiki's powers, even without knowing about all of them, and coming up with activities they can do together that will be equally fun and challenging for both of them! And I still love that it was Akechi showing Saiki what a fun low-stakes game can be like that basically repaired Kusuo's relationship with his brother (see: manga, as this was cut from the anime 😩).
It's a very nice and straightforward ship that still leaves a lot of room for fun stories. I've been dying to write a Saikechi frogboil (plotted but needs writing) just because Akechi would be so perfect at it and he would be very likely to approach Saiki that way to get around all the tsundere bullshit lol.
OKAY, now for the third leg of the triangle lol, Aiura and Akechi!!
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(couldn't find an anime gif of this moment which is SO SAD)
Let's be real, Akechi and Aiura only share 5 moments on screen: the intro with all the chibis, when Aiura checks out his aura, when Aiura & Toritsuka kidnap him, the competition to find Saiki's hanky, and Akechi pestering Aiura about dress code violations in the every-character-appears episode. And 3 of those scenes are from the same chapter lmao.
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Actually I think this ⬆️ scene is kinda cute because Akechi's teasing Aiura lol, I think he's being friendly in his little freak way <3
HOWEVER, if shipping was only about what we saw on screen, then it would be way more boring. So let's think about it!
Aiura and Akechi actually share a lot of similarities: they're both extroverts, they're both incomprehensible, they are both almost immune to lies, they have both have a drive to help other people including strangers, and they're both seeking someone who will love and understand them as they are.
They would just make a really great fit! Akechi could help with Aiura's fortune-telling by prompting better questions for her to ask, and Aiura might actually make Akechi's mystery-solving TOO easy, so she probably holds back on that one lol. Akechi would throw himself wholeheartedly into working against a death mark on a stranger.
They're so fun to think about too because neither of them is embarrassed easily at all and they're both completely in touch with their own feelings so they are going to be SO lovey-dovey, no matter how cringe it seems on the outside lmao.
Akechi seems like he'd love doing traditional courtship if given half the chance, and Aiura seems like she's mostly had one-night-stand kind of situations until now, so what a perfect opportunity to indulge! What a change for Aiura to date someone who respects her and isn't just after her body! What a change for Akechi to date someone who actually wants to hear what he has to say and isn't put off by his frankness around taboo topics!
They'd pick up phrases from each other and develop so many ridiculous in-jokes that become their own sort of language, which makes them both even more incomprehensible.
We do also run into the allosexual x asexual problem here but Akechi is so unbothered by bodily functions and so quick to find compromises and enrichment that I genuinely think he'd kind of turn that into a game lmao.
And I think Akechi would be down to start a family and give his kid(s) the kind of loving home he never really got to enjoy with his parents' ongoing domestic turmoil. And their kid(s) would be sooooooooo incomprehensible, bless. 🙏🏾 Raised by 1.5 psychic parents and sprinkling both terminally online lingo and academia-level terminology into their speech from day 1. Imagine...
So Aikechi definitely gets the A+ on making sense and being compelling here!
Which FINALLY brings us back around to the main question... Does Aiura x Saiki x Akechi make sense, and is it compelling?
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Well, obviously I think so, since I've posted so much about it lol.
I think the main question for the viability of this ship is whether Saiki would be comfortable with polyamory, since Aiura and Akechi are unconcerned enough with social norms that they'd probably have no problem with it.
After some time getting used to the thought that he will never have the veneer of normal he's always wanted to project and that the pleasures of living authentically far outweigh the pains of being different, I think Saiki would actually love having his best friends as lovers and not having to choose only one person.
After all, most of his struggle is about lack of connection and his alienation from humanity. Well, here are Akechi and Aiura, who respectively mirror his lonely childhood and growing up with uncontrollable powers. They're both clever enough to see through his tsundere bullshit, they're both happy and able to help him with his powers & duties to save others, and they will both stand up to him if he's wrong or letting something slide to avoid conflict.
They're both perfect for him! And Akechi and Aiura would be much happier sharing him than trying to make him choose between them since they also get along so well. And let's be real, Saiki definitely deserves to be loved by the two people who know him the best. 💜
There's also a lot of story potential for how this ends up happening. In Extra Love Stories of Psychics, Saikechi and Saiura are basically happening in parallel and the Aikechi will close in the loop in a few chapters. But in Didn't see this one coming, I wanted to focus on Aikechi, so they get together and are basically ready for Saiki to finish his character growth and join whenever lmao.
You could also have them as like a hero team of lovers if you want more action-y plots, though tbh it's really hard to come up with situations they wouldn't immediately solve lol rip.
Another nice thing about Aiura, Akechi and Saiki being together is that Aiura and Akechi get a chance to help each other overcome some of Saiki's limitations, and the stuff they can't work around, Akechi and Aiura can do together.
An easy example is hand-holding. Changing Saiki's gloves to another texture is all well and good but sometimes you want to touch skin to skin, and it's much more overwhelming than calming for Saiki to do that. Akechi and Aiura can hold each other's hands without gloves though, and while it's not the same as holding Saiki's, it helps a lot to fulfill that desire.
Also, it's almost impossible for Aiura to surprise Saiki because he can read her thoughts, but while Akechi can probably figure out that she's planning something in general, she would have a much easier time surprising him. And similarly, since Saiki can't properly read Akechi's mind and doesn't have too much emotional intelligence, Akechi has to openly communicate his needs with Saiki all the time, which isn't a problem for him. But it's really nice when Aiura can tell from his aura or from her own emotional intelligence what Akechi wants/needs without having to explain himself. And even if Saiki can literally hear Aiura's thoughts, Akechi is still better at responding to her feelings because he's not tsundere and he actually understands feelings and what to do about them.
Additionally, Aiura has said she wants to be a mother, and while Saiki's affection for kids indicates to me that he wouldn't mind having kids, I think that he would be VERY opposed to passing on his genes due to how much trouble his powers have caused him. And Aiura's genes also are probably loaded with psychic powers! But if Akechi is there, then he can knock up Aiura no problem since he doesn't seem to have any psychic powers, and then the three of them can have their own family <3 Plus all the shenanigans that comes with having 2.5 psychics (and maybe more!) under one roof!
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In conclusion, they're perfect, your honor!!
Also I probably should've been writing more fic of them instead of writing this novel XD XD
Thanks for the ask!!
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cinnamontails-ff · 1 month
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The incredible @kittenintheden tagged me for this, so I'll give it my best shot!
1) How many works do you have on AO3?
Four.
2) What’s your total AO3 word count?
224,051 - which, honestly, is insane because that means I've written (and edited) pretty much two entire novels over the course of last 12 months. The vampire elf is too powerful, guys.
3) What fandoms do you write for?
BG3
4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
I'm a fandom newbie, so I don't even have 5, but here are my babies:
Accountant's Guide - Pre-Canon Astarion teams up with a human accountant to frame Cazador for tax fraud. It's exactly as whacky as it sounds.
Magistrate's Advocate - The Magistrate Astarion longfic someone had to write.
Vampire Stay-at-Home Trophy Husband - Reverse Isekai EA oneshot
An Empirical Science - My contribution to the Holy Rolan Empire
5) Do you respond to comments?
Always. Obsessively so. Love responding to comments and chatting with readers.
6) What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
My fics have a good bit of angst and tension and heartbreak, but I always strive for an overall "warm" feeling in my writing, so those moments tend to get resolved at some point. No angsty endings in my portfolio (yet).
7) What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
Accountant's Guide is where I gave Astarion everything I wish he could have. Zero regrets.
8) Do you get hate on fics?
Occasionally, but it's pretty rare. Not to make excuses for people hating on fics (because that is despicable; we're working for free here), but I don't think my fics are controversial enough to attract a lot of hate. They're cute. They're wholesome. They don't take themselves too seriously, so I think it's pretty difficult to hate on them.
Although someone once called Scarlett a b**** and sometimes I remember that and I become wrath.
9) Do you write smut? If so, what kind?
Explicit smut is something I've really only started doing when I got into fanfiction this past year. I like incorporating it into my longfics to emphasize key moments for my characters and their development, so it's part porn, part plot.
It can get kinky, but it will always be consensual. Dubcon/noncon is a big no for me, personally.
10) Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?
No crossovers, but An Empirical Science is where I have a lot of fun butchering adapting Pride & Prejudice lines. I mean, it's a Rolan fic. How could you not?
11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not that I know, but I have seen coincidences of very similar concepts and ideas popping up after I've introduced them in my fics.
12) Have you ever had a fic translated?
Yes, there's an ongoing Ukrainian translation for Accountant's Guide! I translate the comments every now and then and readers are really praising the language skills of the translator, so that's awesome!
13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?
No, but we chat a lot about my stories on my Discord server, so that's often a little like writing together.
14) What’s your all time favorite ship?
Shalladin (Kaladin x Shallan from Stormlight Archive). I love Brandon Sanderson with all my heart, but for this, I will never forgive him.
15) What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
I get very hyperfocused on my stories and rarely work on more than 1 project at a time, so I tend to finish what I start.
16) What are your writing strengths?
Look, my social anxiety makes me a pretty rizzless person to talk to in real life, but my writing is funny. It's charming. I am great at character voice. I keep things real. My OCs don't need to be perfect flawless beauty goddesses to woo the guy; they recite a few paragraphs and swing their fountain pen and the guy is on. the. floor.
Sometimes literally.
17) What are your writing weaknesses?
According to a rather charming public bookmark on my fic, I struggle with "pacing issues" and "questionable narrative choices". Clearly, this person knows what they're talking about, so let's accept it as fact.
18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?
I think this is generally really difficult to pull off without being confusing (check out "The Wee Free Men" by Sir Terry Pratchett for a really good example how to do it). So unless I had a very specific reason for it, I would prefer to write around it as I've done with Infernal in An Empirical Science.
19) First fandom you wrote for?
Still BG3. First and last? Who knows.
20) Favorite fic you’ve written?
Accountant's Guide. It's the story I wrote when I hit rock bottom and thought I couldn't write anymore. It's the story that made me believe again. My first story in English and by far the easiest thing I've ever written. It's the story I reread when I'm sad, when I'm happy, when I want a hug that reaches all the way into my soul. I am never happier than when people tell me this is a comfort read for them, just as it is for me.
I'm tagging @thedreamlessnights, @purdledooturt, @larvasmoon, @karinamay and @davenswitcher if they feel like sharing their answers!
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lumosatnight · 5 months
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Year in Review 2023
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I did this for 2022 and I couldn't pass up the opportunity for more stats. Thanks @oknowkiss (x) for the tag! Here is my year in review: 2023 edition 🥳
Stats
Word Count: 339,585 (86,974 new)
Hits: 136,378 (68,393 new)
Number of Fics started and finished: 12 over 1k and 49 under 1k
Number of WIPs started: idk... like 10? 20?
Ships I wrote this year (not including background ships): Lots and lots and lots but mostly Drarry (8), Snarry (2), Drarius (2), Fleurmione (2), Lunansy (2), and Cissamione (2)
Favorite ship(s): This year maybe Narlily, Snarry, Luther, Mollytrix
Least favorite ship(s): This year I was introduced to Marylily and Rosekiller and idk they just don't vibe with me.
AO3 Fic Writers/Artists/Creators/Readers who have inspired me and my writing this year:
@itsphantasmagoria for their incredible Drarry video game
@sleepstxtic for her incredible range of fic and nuanced depictions of canon including my fav fic of the year!
@anaxandria-writes for binding my fic!!! I am so grateful and inspired.
@givereadersahug for organizing @hprecfest and always being so joyous and enthusiastic about rare pairs (you will be very missed, my dear 💗)
Countdown
5️⃣ Top 5 works I’m most proud of from 2022 (not necessarily my most popular)
For I have Found Salvation [Snarry, E, 7.1k] — for @snarryauctoberfest with priest Severus and parishioner Harry. My very first Snarry fic!
Of Dreams and Death [Dronarry, T, 2.3k] — for @dronarryfest and had so much fun plopping the characters into the Sandman AU.
up here, i'm floating [Mollytrix, M, 1.2k] — for the @hpsaffics Secret Santa Exchange. This is possibly one of my fav ships. I'm glad I got the chance to write them as angsty as I wanted.
Such a Sweetheart [Fleuratrix, T, 2.4k] — for the HPFC server Untagged Fest. A horror coffeeshop AU!
Kinktober 2023 [Multiship, E, total 15.5k] — technically a series but my first time participating in Kinktober. I was worried I wasn't going to finish all the days in time.
4️⃣ Top 4 current WIPs that I’m most excited to release in 2023
Honestly no idea yet. I have a lot of ideas on the back burner but none that are MUST DO RIGHT NOW. But I will say that I'm excited for bunch of fests like @hptransfest @ladiesofhpfest @hptriadfest and @hp-rarepairs
3️⃣ Top 3 biggest improvements in my writing over the past year
Smut!! I've developed my smut writing a lot. Kinktober really opened my eyes to a lot of kinks as well 👀
Tone: I think I'm getting a lot better at matching tone in my writing for consistent characterizations and building atmosphere
Estimating word count: I've gotten so much better at looking at an idea and predicting how long the final story is going to be.
2️⃣ Top 2 resolutions (ways I wish to improve my writing/blog) for the new year
FINISH A LONGER WORK!! This was on my resolutions from last which I didn't complete lol. It's okay, I'll try again this year.
Create a more consistent writing schedule
1️⃣ Number 1 favorite line I’ve written this year!
Harry Potter has a tiny dick. It’s just a fact of life. The Chosen Microdick, the Small Saviour, the Boy with an Itty Bitty Package. And oh, how Draco loves it.
From The Chosen Microdick [Drarry, E, 500], part of my Kinktober 2023 series and I just love the play on words here. A banging start to a banging series 🤣
Not sure who has already done a stats roundup/fic review/2023 thingy, so I'll leave the tag open.
Happy 2024! 💖
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aeon-borealis · 4 months
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The simplest answer to why Alenoah became popular is a fanfic called Slippery Slopes by courtney-deserved-better on Ao3 happened. The fic saw Heather being eliminated rather than Noah during 'I See London…' as it explored how Alejandro and Noah's semi-friendship turned rivalry turned romance would look like in this TDWT rewrite.
Alenoah did exist as a rare pair before with a few authors who were loyal from the beginning, but that fic put it on the map. It led to an explosion of TDWT rewrites with Alenoah, which eventually to authors realizing they could put these two in even further Situations. It also led to a bunch of fanart for the fic being made on tumblr. Which exposed more people to the ship and its potential as a different flavor of Aleheather. Which led to even more art and it became a huge snowball until you now see.
I'm under the impression that it pulled most of its fans from Noco since Alenoah arguably has more basis in canon that you can work from. Not to diss on Noco of course, I just don't see where else the fans could have come from since I don't think they just popped out of nowhere, and Noco had the most fans with the potential of conversation purely based on the number of fans.
That's just my theory though! I've only been in the TD fandom for a couple of months thanks to Island of the Slaughtered so I'm basing all of this on my observations via tumblr and Ao3 rather than being in the fandom during rise of Alenoah.
Thanks for answering my question on where this might have started! I'm definitely curious about that fic. Noah has only so much screen time and following him to a final 2 scenario, regardless of ship fodder, sounds fantastic.
I think your theory is plausible. I was active in the Total Drama fandom between 2010-2014, but only came back recently. At that time, Noco was definitely one of the popular ships next to Duncey. The height of it was definitely 2007-09 because of the "ship tease" accidentally cuddling together scene in Island. Noah's always been a fan favorite. And the fandom fell in love with Alejandro the minute he appeared on screen.
This is a very generalized opinion, but early fandom for anything was really, really attached to whether or not a ship was canon. LGBT pairs of any kind were sparse in cartoons or Western animation at large. Noco makes sense from the perspective that these two had the closest, plausible chance at canon. Even if it was a snowball's chance in hell.
More recently, fans are a lot more open and receptive to crackships and rarepairs than the early 2010s. While this is a wildly different example, Alenoah kinda reminds me of how fan content helped Hanamusa (Pokemon) take off and become as popular as it is now. I want to do more research on this. I might end up writing an essay if I'm not careful, lol.
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ltwharfy · 2 months
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"Bob's Burgers" Season 9 Episode Ranking Rewatch (Long Post)
So, I've been rewatching "Bob's Burgers" from the beginning and ranking the episodes using the spreadsheet that @babsvibes created! If you want to know why I'm doing this or how I view the 1-5 rating scale, you can check out my Season 1 post! If you want to check out any of the other seasons, I've been using the "bob's burgers episode ranking rewatch" tag for all of them.
Now, on to Season 9:
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Average (Mean) Score: 4.55
Mode (Most Common) Ranking: 5
Ranking Breakdown: 12 5s 10 4s
Season as a whole thoughts:
"Bob's Burgers" is turning nine and it's feeling *uses inhaler* fine!
Seriously, this is just another really excellent season in my opinion. It joins Season 4 and 8 as one of the seasons to not getting any episodes rated lower than a 4, and it's average score is good enough for 4th place of the currently ranked seasons below 7, 4, and 5. In some ways, it reminds me a lot of Season 7- a great mix of humor and heart along with introducing some new characters and other innovations- it's definitely representative of the series at its best, in my opinion.
Some thoughts on specific episodes (and feel free to ask if you want my thoughts on an episode I didn't comment on):
"Just One of the Boyz 4 Now for Now": It's a tough call, but this might be my favorite season premiere and my favorite "musical episode" (ie: one with more than the typical 1-2 songs). All the songs are absolute classics and great parodies of romantic comedy tropes! it's really a brilliant episode. It's hard to name a favorite song, but I think I might have to go with "Friend Zone" just because "Now let's kiss over this cake/'Cause it's your birthday, I guess" always cracks me up. The baby rat subplot is also really fun, and a great use of Hugo. And this episode gives us another (brief) appearance of Louise's Boo Boo crush, which is one of my favorite running gags! A great way to start the season.
"The Taking of Funtime One Two Three": While we're on the subject of great songs (or we were recently) "let an egg roll, from your egg hole" and "if wooly mammoths had had wheels maybe they'd still be around" are among the "Bob's Burgers" song lyrics that are always living in my head. Sadly, I rarely have an occasion to say either of them in conversation. I do like to say "To what end, people?!" occasionally, so thanks for that, Trip. Anyway, this is another classic "The Belcher Kids and their friends have an adventure episode" with a healthy does of Mr. Fischoeder and some fun moments with Yuli the security guard, one of my favorite minor recurring characters.
"Tweentrepreneurs": I love this episode because it helped inspire one of my favorite future career headcanons for Louise (and an outlined multichapter fic I'll probably never write). While taking over the restaurant or being a film director seem like the most obvious future career for Louise, this episode has the biggest of about three canon moments that inspired my "Louise Belcher, future labor union organizer" headcanon. I worked in the labor movement for several years and I just think would Louise would love it- taking on the rich and powerful, helping other people stand up for themselves, causing good trouble- it's a really good fit for her. And here she is, leading a walkout at age 9! (And, given my fondness for her relationship with Rudy, I have to mention that it's her concern for his health that is the final straw leading to the walkout.)
"Nightmare on Ocean Avenue Street": Probably my favorite Halloween episode; definitely has my two favorite Halloween costumes! Rudy and Bob are probably the two characters I relate to the most, and it cracks me up that their costumes in this episode are totally things I would do: "what? It might look like I'm wearing normal clothes, but actually I'm totally Paul Rudd or Bruce Springsteen, can't you tell?!" Also, I don't think I've mentioned before how much I love the guy who's about to throw the candy into the incinerator. He's really one of my favorite one-off characters. Dude just got out of six month coma, doesn't know what day it is, still goes to work...and apparently will just throw anything into the incinerator that anybody tells him to (unless he gets a more compelling reason not to)? I think he might rank second after the "Boyz 4 Now" security guard as my favorite nameless one-off character.
"I Bob Your Pardon": Maybe my third or fourth favorite Thanksgiving episode! I've always had an interested in politics and journalism (I wanted to be a journalist when I was a kid) so this hilarious small town Thanksgiving turkey pardoning scandal really hits a lot of the right notes for me. If I had become a journalist, I definitely would've stolen "Well, somebody better call Huey Lewis because I may have found myself some news" as my catchphrase. And the end credits song is a total banger! "Don't you taint my mayor!"
"Better Off Sled": An excellent Christmas episode! Generally speaking, Louise and Logan's dynamic isn't really my jam, but I enjoy them here. The one-upsmanship of the snowball arms race is a lot of fun, and the "stupid Christmas" ending is sweet but not too sweet and feels totally in character for Louise. Also, I can't help but love this exchange: "Then why does it look like your butt could take a sheet of fresh-baked cookies out of the oven?" "Genetics?" (Kristen Schaal's delivery of "genetics?" is one of at least three times on the series when she absolutely kills me with her delivery of a single word). All that being said, I think Teddy is the real comedic MVP of this episode- pretty much everything he says cracks me up! And I love that Rudy is basically the one who saves the day for the Belcher kids! And Knitcracker, I can't believe I didn't mention Knitcracker yet! (That said, it's still not my favorite Christmas episode since it doesn't involve any references to murder mannequins.)
"The Helen Hunt": I feel like this might be one of my least popular shipping opinions but...I like Teddy/Kathleen! Not in the sense that I want to create fic or art for them, but I just think they are kind of sweet together. Like with Roger and Judy from "Aquaticism" they have that "awkward middle-aged people finding each other" vibe that this awkward middle-aged single person finds appealing. And I think her pretty easygoing, laidback nature is a nice contrast to how stressed out/excitable Teddy can be. And I always enjoy people who watch odd sports! Okay, Teddy/Kathleen aside, I also just enjoyed that they did a followup to "Housetrap", and the father and hot son plumbing duo subplot is so cute! "You, you make plumbing fun..."
"Bed, Bob, and Beyond": One of the things I've noticed in this rewatch, is that I really enjoy the three-story episodes (aka vignette episodes aka triptychs aka who knows what else some folks have called them.) I think what I really enjoy is that the reason for them is always different, and therefore it always says something different about the characters and their situations. it's not just the Simpsons having a trio of non-canon Halloween adventures ever year. I think showing Linda and Bob having a stupid fight, and the kids view of it and their efforts to get them to reconcile, was a really clever use of one of these stories. Also, if I am ever asked to do an English accent, I will likely say "I'm watching footie on the telly in the pubby where the beer is". (Which is probably offensive, so please don't ask me to do that!)
"Every Which Way But Goose": Another thing the rewatch has made me appreciate more: Jimmy Jr. and his relationship with Tina. I never hated J-Ju, but I will say that I probably took him and the Tinimmy relationship for granted- it's been there since almost the beginning but I never really thought much about it. But the rewatch has helped me realize how funny of a character J-Ju is (it's just a really funny voice by H. Jon Benjamin) and how the Tinimmy relationship has given us some really funny episodes- most notably this one and "Ex Mach Tina", which are both all-time classics in my book (and, of course, they play a big role in "Bob Actually" as well, but I like that one for other reasons as well.) To me, it's clear from this episode and others that J-Ju does care about Tina...he's just very much a 13 year old boy. So, he's occasionally thoughtful but more often dumb or oblivious. Also, the end credits song to this one is another classic. I wish I could go to a concert of "Bob's Burgers" music just so I could scream out "secret kiss with Bruce the Goose" with thousands of other excited concert goers, because that is what that lyric deserves, dammit!
"The Gene Mile": So, I recently posted about how much I enjoyed some of the Rudy moments in this one. This is another great "Belcher kids and their friends" adventure; and I really wish that Courtney and Alex had more appearances in stories like this- where they and their relationship with Gene isn't really the center of the story- they are just part of the gang! It's always fun to watch different combinations of the kids have fun together. Also, nice for Large Tommy to get his largest role- going back to Season 1 of the rewatch it's funny to think that he was introduced much earlier than some of Louise's more iconic classmates (Rudy, Chloe, Millie, Jessica, Harley, etc.).
"P.T.A. It Ain't So": I feel like this might be the first example in the rewatch of an episode that really grew on me. A lot of the episodes I've given 5s to were ones I remember loving as soon as I saw them. Or they were "sleeper hits" that I had basically forgotten about before rewatching. This episode I remember when I first saw it, and I remember thinking it was fine but nothing great. But on rewatches I just find myself enjoying it more and more. I really love the Kim and Sons hardware store bird subplot- especially the ridiculous flyer the kids make. Also, it's fun watching the kids play with their pipe in the background (such a great kids being kids moment)! But the PTA stuff is great too- I love the fact that Tammy's Dad is Linda's PTA bestie for some reason! And Linda's idea of Colleen being in the shark suit for the dramatic revelation! And the Bleach Boys! Also, as someone who headed a neighborhood political group for a while, Joanne's line "Do you have any idea how many emails I send a week? No, you don't because no one reads them" resonates with me.
Random thoughts (stuff that doesn't affect the ratings):
-More great new characters continue to arrive on the scene! Hi Susmita! Hi Arnold!
-I would totally watch Randy's movie "A Life, Well, Steved". "And I thought to myself, 'I can't take another hurdle. I think I am that baby turtle.'" That's some beautiful, profound stuff there.
See you in the Season 10 post! It could be pretty soon since I've already watched rated it all- just need time to write!
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eqt-95 · 5 months
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20 Questions More
A deeper and more detailed version of the 20 questions for AO3 fanfic writers. Thanks @fabulousglitch for the tag!!
1) How do you keep getting ideas for your ship/fandom?
The blorbos won't leave me alone.
2) Which authors inspire you in your fandom, and why are they so freakishly good?
There are too many to count. I was introduced to Supergirl through fanfic and the canon I know to be true has been built on the backs of hundreds of contributors. It wouldn't do anyone justice if I started a list because 1. it would become a monolith of names and 2. I would definitely miss one(s). If you're in this fandom, you've likely inspired me, and that counts both for written, gif-ed, and drawn works.
3) Aside from the characters of your main ship, who are the characters you love to write?
Alex, but I don't always get it right.
4) Are there pairings or tropes you know for sure you'd never write about? Which ones?
There is a lot I probably wouldn't do, but I also for sure never expected to write an F1 au, so...
5) What is your writing process and why is it cursed?
I can either sit down and crush 1-3k words or sit down and tweak the same seven sentences for two hours. There is rarely an in between.
6) What is your favorite part of your writing process?
Editing. Oh boy do I LOVE editing. Those opportunities for finessing and fine-tuning and tweaking are *mwah*
7) What’s the weirdest thing you’ve had to research for a fic?
This isn't weird but is more recent: I did a deep dive into star constellations for a throwaway line in 'new kind of romance'
8) Is there a particular writing rule you struggle with (grammar, spelling, tense, reality in general)?
This is a nonanswer, but I would love to expand my vocabulary. The thesaurus is my writing buddy, but there are very real moments where I pout and scowl and glare at the ceiling because I can't think of the word that I'm feeling.
9) What was your hardest scene to write so far and why?
Any sort of conflict/confession/confrontation is always really hard for me, but they're also maybe my favorite things to write. I want the characters to hash things out and be honest and vulnerable, and I think tackling big emotions is a delicate balance. I never want to sound too forceful, but I don't want to leave things unsaid, but I don't want anyone to do anything out of character, but i don't want to yadda yadda...
10) Have your characters ever done something you didn’t expect, changing your plot completely?
see: 'crisis of indulgence'
11) If you could converse with any of the characters, who would it be and why?
Lena; I think she'd be a lot of fun to debate/argue with (respectfully).
12) What are some of the tropes or themes that you find yourself returning to in your writing?
(so far) always a happy ending. the readers and these characters deserve it.
13) What's your most important resource as a writer?
Living experiences (which takes time!). I don't think I could write heartbreak without having experienced that guttural feeling of loss in the same way I don't think I could write about failure or anger or insecurity or love or laughter. I think reading and the act of writing every day are incredibly resourceful, but the act of my lived experiences and those feelings is something I draw from in everything I write.
14) Can you share some of your strategies for editing and revising your work?
I edit as I go which doesn't work for everyone; however, a super fun thing I've picked up in recent works is this: when going to do a final edit of a <insert: chapter, one-shot, etc>, I read the last few paragraphs first. That sets me up to know exactly what the chapter is aiming for: feelings, motivations, plot, etc. I then use that as the anchor for how I tweak/edit/add small details to the rest of the chapter during my final read-through. I find it helps flesh out the larger story with smaller details.
15) Which is worse: making the summary, picking the tags, or the anxiety when you post your fic?
none of the above really since nothing about posting is carved in stone. tags and summaries can always be tweaked.
16) How do you define success for your fanfic - hits? Kudos? Comments? Bookmarks? Or just if you like it?
If it's finished. Bonus points if people get something out of it, but the act of having written something feels like the biggest success.
17) Do you have a playlist for your favorite character/ship?
Not really. I have go-to soundtracks for 'writing vibes' but nothing project/ship dedicated. (though 'like we're made of glass' was definitely inspired by very specific songs)
18) If fan art was going to be made from your work, which fic would you pick and which fan artist would you like to create it?
Again there are too many jaw-droppingly talented artists in this fandom to choose just one. It would of course be a wild crazy honor to see a work inspired by one of my fics, but there's already so much in this fandom to be inspired by that it doesn't feel like a loss.
19) How many WIPs do you currently have?
*sighs* for supercorp? there are a few (five). but the one that has most of my creative down time is a supercorp wicked au i have wanted to write for years but only have the faintest wisps of an outline for.
20) What's your advice to new fanfic writers?
Do it, do it, do it!
But also, one of my favorite pieces of advice for ANY creative venture is from Marc Dalessio who made this super cool 'creative process' graph in 2010 and included this line to summarize it: The ability to see improves before technical skill, and we often have difficulty assessing honestly exactly how our work looks.
It helps during those ruts when I look at everything I've recently written/drawn/created and scrunch up my nose in snobbish disgust because it just means I'm growing in some new way and not that anything I'm doing is inherently bad.
- - - - -
tagging (respectfully and without pressure) @sideguitars @fazedlight @inkedroplets if you want some rapid-fire q's thrown your way. but also anyone who wants to take a swing, i'd be jazzed to read the different answers
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milkteamoon · 5 months
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20 questions for fic writers
Tagged by @shinyopals thank youuuu
1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 42!
2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 340,042
3. What fandoms do you write for? Currently and primarily The Magnus Archives — I only rarely write for multiple fandoms at a time. In the past I've written for Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun, Deltarune, Victoria's Electric Coffin......a friend and I used to write OC/Black Butler crossover fics in like, middle school lol
4. What are your top five fics by kudos?
Cicada Summar (JSHK, rated T, gen) — Pre-canon JSHK backstory fic
No Sort of Name for People Like Us (TMA, rated T, jmart) — mid s3 practice kissing fic
Our Own Personal Hell (TMA, rated T, jmart) — s2 time loop shenanigans
Tongue to Teeth (TMA, rated T, jmart) — victorian monster hunting au
Check Each Box That Applies (TMA, rated T, jmart) — s2 lunch dates and personal discussions
Cicada Summer was posted at the height of JSHK fandom popularity, so I don't think that one is super representative of my "best" fics, though I do think that No Sort of Name is pretty good haha
5. Do you respond to comments? I do my best to!
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Prooobably Hazy Days of December...I got a lot of people yelling at me for that one haha (even if I don't think it's too bad? It's open ended at least)
7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Umm I'm not sure! I think most of my fics are happy endings...maybe Worth More Than All the Silence
8. Do you get hate on fics? I've gotten a few weird comments but I don't think I've ever gotten anything outright hateful
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I've written a few fics but must of my smut stays in the Google docs. My asexual ass likes things more focused on the humorous lead up and/or kink than the actual sex part haha
10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I think the closest thing I've written to a crossover is the doctor who au I wrote earlier this year — I don't really write proper crossovers :,)
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge
12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Don't think so!
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Me and @indigosienna attempted to write a collab fic back in 2020, but we both ended up falling off of it before we finished (oops). The first chapter is still good though I think!
14. What’s your all time favorite ship? HARD question, but jmart and hananene both have very special places in my heart
15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Too many fic ideas to list haha
16. What are your writing strengths? I think I'm pretty good at humor and getting into a character's head. Also love writing an emotionally charged scene
17. What are your writing weaknesses? Dialogue heavy scenes are the WORST (writing dialogue tags without sounding stupidly repetitive...shaking my fist at the sun). Also forever complaining about editing
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I don't know any other languages well enough to do so
19. First fandom you wrote for? I have vague memories of writing warrior cats fanfiction waaaaay back in the day
20. Favorite fic you’ve written? This is a haaaaard question but currently I'd have to say 1. Learning the Ropes — I originally started this for the RQ big bang in June and didn't make it to the deadline, so it felt like a big accomplishment to actually finish it. Plus I just really like delving into that era of canon and Jon and Martin's whole not-quite-dating shtick they have going on. And 2. Tongue to Teeth — I really love this fic and this au and I was noooot at all expecting the love for it I ended up getting on it. I love this silly au and I'm glad others do as well :,)
Not sure who has been tagged so! Sorry for any repeats! @rakel-on-ao3 @asleeb @thatsrightdollface @crit20lesbian @phynoma @lo-fi-charming @pinehutch @cnnmonbimee
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