#(also the way this movie inspired Buffy)

[wasted-women]

ROUND 1C, MATCH 1 OUT OF 8!

Cause of Death & Propaganda Under the Cut:

Allison Argent

Cause of Death: Stabbed by a demon

Propaganda:

She's so cool! She fights with a bow and arrow, she has complicated feelings on her werewolf boyfriend and is allowed to work through that, she's best friends with another girl who's also a banshee (should've dated her) and one of her first scenes is her hitting a dog with her car and bringing it to a vet(she's a mess! She's caring)

she was the protag's girlfriend and only died because the actress had to leave the show. it left a hole in the show that they never really managed to fill, and she is only really brought up to say "let's do this, it's what allison would tell us to do" or "I wish she was here." her father stays on the show and helps them in her memory but he and the protag suffer and learn from it the way most male characters in this trope do. she is brought back to life in the movie but it was mostly an excuse to get the cast back together again and took place years after the show finished. I don't really feel that it counts since she died in season 3 and the show had 6 seasons.

Jenny Calendar

Cause of Death: Neck snapped

Propaganda:

Jenny is so beloved to me. She was sent to Sunnydale, California to watch over the vampire that killed her family (Angel), told that he was supposed to suffer for all eternity, but after he saved her life + after she spent some time with him and the people who cared about him, she realized that she'd changed her mind and didn't want anything to do with continuing a mission of vengeance -- especially since Angel's girlfriend Buffy was also the mentee/surrogate daughter of Jenny's boyfriend Giles! Messy! Despite this, when Angel lost his soul and it came out that Jenny had been sent there to watch him, Jenny was immediately blamed, even though she'd had no idea that Angel would turn evil and TOLD everyone as much! She decided to try and find a way to resurrect old magic and give Angel his soul back, and Angel killed her in retaliation. Parts of the fandom talk about Jenny's death like it was necessary/a good thing/a good writing choice, but I don't think it was. Jenny's death is talked about by the showrunners as "proving that anyone could die," and her dead body was placed in Giles's bed, surrounded by red roses, subsequently inspiring him to try to go on a suicide mission and kill Angel. When the kids are looking at a drawing of her dead body, one of them says, "Wow. Poor Giles." Her death is very clearly engineered to raise the stakes by emphasizing how sad it is for Giles to lose her, and before her death, nearly all of her scenes centered around being Giles's girlfriend/love interest. She was never given a chance to develop as a character, and the only backstory they gave her was designed to push her towards death.

Amber Volakis

Cause of Death: Organ failure after bus crash

Propaganda:

This show likes to introduce new casts of supporting characters and cycle through old ones (some of them leave, some of them stay in reduced roles, and sometimes they come back into a main role later, but sometimes they don't) and I do like that. Amber was probably one of the best ones introduced in the row of new characters in Season 4 and even stayed interesting after being fired. I wasn't a big fan of her dating Wilson but it wasn't the worst thing. And then she was killed off. And her death basically only existed to make Wilson sad, or House sad and "crazy", and just. I don't know. It sucked that her death even happened when she had so much more potential as a living character!

#wasted women poll #round 1 #round 1c #allison argent #teen wolf #jenny calendar #buffy the vampire slayer #amber volakis #house md #house m.d. #poll bracket #poll tournament #character polls #polls

[grace--le--domas]

PJO- Some Show Recommendations for the showrunners if s2 is greenlit

Season 1 was kinda...boring? Honestly, that is the last thing I expected a PJO adaptation to be. The books aren't perfect, but they are fun! There is friendship, adventure, humour, all while still the characters grapple with some pretty serious stuff. The show (except for the first two episodes and the finale) feels stiff.

Show is too exposition-y, the pacing is off and it of course breaks the cardinal rule of show- don't -tell.

Thankfully, the concerns are easily remedied. Coming of age stories are a dime and dozen, and I think that the showrunners could actually learn from the TV shows and movies of past. So, I compiled some recommendations for them :) Read on if extensive analysis is your thing :)

Buffy The Vampire Slayer- Honestly, this is theee coming of age story. It follows Buffy (the chosen one), as she navigates high school, college and eventually adulthood, along with slaying vampires. And instead of a sullen main character, we as an audience are treated to a sassy, take-no-prisoners variant of the chosen one trope. There are so many similarities between Percy and Buffy- both are loyal to a fault, sarcastic and stubborn. They understand that they cannot escape their respective destinies, but they'll be damned if they don't see things through their own way. Both are brave to a fault, and adore their found families. The writers could take some inspiration from BTVS and Buffy's character arc (to an extent). Bonus- BTVS has great examples of melding humour in serious situations.

2. Mission Impossible Series- This one might be a bit controversial, but hear me out. I know most people consider the MI films popcorn flicks-and they are- but most the movies in the series are paced excellently. There is a sense of urgency in MI films- which was severely lacking in the PJO show. Have a deadline, let me feel anxious for these kids.

MI also has some excellent action scenes. And before you say, well PJO is not an action series, I would like to say that I agree- but the beauty of adaptating something is that you get to change things. Well paced action sequences, even if they are about a minute or so, are necessary break up the exposition dumps. It breaks the monotony. It makes you feel afraid for these kids, who are running from one dangerous situation/monster to another.

3. Dune (2023)- Thematically, Dune is vastly different from PJO. I am including it in this list for several reasons- editing, cinematography world building and sound editing.

To put it bluntly, I don't feel connected to the world of the PJO series at all- which is a shame because it is an incredible world! Greek mythological creatures co-existing with the modern world! Modern myths! Greek gods!. But it is all introduced in the most boring, exposition-y way possible.

The cinematography doesn't shine until the last episode. I want interesting shots, fluid camera movements- just anything that breaks the monotony of scenes. For example- I loved Poseidon's introduction, why wasn't this type of cinematography present in the rest of the series. Shoot the gods differently, make use of different camera compositions. Experiment a little for god's sake.

Coming to sound, yeah this one was the most disappointing of all. There are no memorable sound motifs, which is a shame because sound can convey so much more than words in certain scenes. I say Harry Potter music and you instantly think about the charcteristic symphony. This is missing sorely in the tv show.

Sidenote- I would have chosen Nathan Barr as the music composer (missed opportunity Disney). Look up his work, and you'll understand why I said this.

Coming to editing, yeah the editing is clunky at best. That is all I have to say about that for the moment.

Let me know if anyone wants a part 2 :)

#percy series #percy jackson tv show #percy jackson and the olympians #PJO #PJO tv series #pjo spoilers #percy jackson #annabeth chase #grover underwood #disney #percy and annabeth #pjo #disney plus

[k-s-morgan]

Do you know any series similar to Hannibal? Cause you know he is so perfect I can’t find one.

Another ask: Hi hope u are ok what are Ur fav series and which series would u recommend that has like hannigram vibes into it

Thanks

--------

Hello! I don't think anything fills the Hannibal void, really, but there are some similar shows. Although most of them are so popular that you probably heard of them!

Interview with the Vampire is the latest creation. This and 'Hannibal' universes have a history of mutually inspiring one another, which makes it fascinating to watch both. IwtV features two co-dependent male characters in love; they are both monsters, but one is out and proud while another one is drowning in shame self-loathing. They have a surrogate daughter who's monstrous by herself, and they also share a tragedy. Darkness, possessiveness, mutually inflicted hurt, rich atmosphere - I'm very excited about IwtV.

Killing Eve, although I suggest watching without the last 5 minutes or so. Better stop at Eve and Villanelle hugging each other on the boat and the camera slowly floating away. This show is more light-hearted and entertaining: it features an actual psychopath who's obsessed with the FBI agent, who's in turn obsessed with her. I think their relationship is much shallower and they should have interacted way more, but it's still satisfying, and by the end, I finally believed they are in love.

Black Butler anime features a demon and his master who constantly play mind games with each other and other people. Both are killers, both are manipulative and smart, and they share an obsessive relationship.

There is the movie Let Us Prey that my friend recommended to me a long time ago, but I still haven’t watched it myself. It seems to fit the description, though.

As for my favorite series in general that would have at least something in common with Hannigram... Probably Xena: while my primary ship is Xena/Ares, Xena and Gabrielle are definite wives who kill bad people and who share a great dynamic that sometimes gets dark.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy/Spike is amazing. It's one of the most toxic but fascinating canon relationships I've seen, and the fact that they are the love of each other's life will never stop making me happy.

I'm a big fan of Merlin and Shadowhunters as both feature profound, beautiful, obsessive and co-dependent love, but they aren't really similar to Hannigram in any other respects. Supernatural and Destiel is also from this category: obsessive bond, two characters who struggle to live without each other and who are bad-asses, but they fight for good.

#hannibal #hannigram #recs #spuffy #black butler #killing eve #loustat #destiel

[imdefyingmavity]

Need to talk a bit about how important Bangel was as a ship to me when I was a tween. Because even though I prefer Spuffy and Fuffy now, and find Angel's early character to be a little dull and flat, theirs was still the first ship I remember being truly feral over. I recorded my first viewing of Becoming Pt 2 and wore the VHS out rewatching that episode.

And I think a huge part of that hyperfix, despite me not really being attracted to "boys" without fully understanding why at the time, was how much Angel was a part of the whole "flipped gender roles" the show was going for. Because back in the 90s, or hell even nowadays, the only male characters who were constantly needing to be rescued were scrawny nerd guys or fragile old men. And if a woman was a hero she was mostly rescuing either other, usually more petite, women - or kids. Angel was a very feared and powerful vampire, but the show brilliantly laid out the reason for why he's not the hero of the show in the first episode.

"Because I'm afraid."

Courage is typically seen as a "masculine" trait, particularly in the context of battle, yet it's Buffy - the sixteen year old cheerleader - who is braver than the two hundred year old vampire. To quote my favorite Doctor; "Courage isn't a matter of not being frightened. It's being afraid and doing what you have to do anyway." Buffy is still afraid but she doesn't let that fear hold her back like Angel does. Also I think the fact Angel is humble enough to admit this to someone who is still a stranger at this point is pretty damn attractive. Hell, just the fact that he never complains about feeling emasculated or sidelined by Buffy constantly rescuing him or taking the lead in fights is Very Sexy, and I say that as a lesbian. It's one thing him and Spike have in common, these two are both proud simps for their queen (Spike probably a little more) and to this day I still don't see enough of Strong Man Saved By Even Stronger Girlfriend than I would like and why mlw ships rarely do anything for me because this show altered my brain chemistry so much. I will never not swoon at Buffy saying "No one hurts my boyfriend!" in What's My Line. Seriously, how often do you get to see the girl be the Protective Alpha in a mlw ship?! Not enough. Also I think it's telling how the least popular Buffy ships were involving the guys who did seem to take issue with the whole "not being man enough to be her equal" thing....*clears throat*

But as well as the fact he's the one being saved, he also owes most of his growth to her. When people say "Angel couldn't have existed without Buffy" it's true in both the meta sense but also who Angel was between S1 and S3. He starts off as someone too crippled by fear and guilt to act and cleaves to Buffy as his chance of redemption, starts to get more involved with the Scoobies only to eventually be trapped in his own body (and then Hell), then ends basically flying the coop to his own adventures. Even though Angel starts off as a mysterious guide and support role, in a way he ends up being her protégé because he learns how to be a hero from watching her. I truly believe she's what inspires him to stop lurking in the shadows and Do Something, which eventually leads to him getting his own show where he can be a more traditional hero (sometimes to the level of missing the whole point about gender roles of the OG show but we'll leave that for another rant).

Honestly imagine the reactions if they made a show like Buffy today, considering the vitriol haters have for something like the Barbie movie, or any female Marvel / Star Wars character just existing.

#trying not to get depressed thinking about it tbh #btvs #bangel #gender roles #buffy the vampire slayer

[calicomarie11]

🏵️ 20 questions for fic writers - tagged by @thistableforone

How many works do you have on AO3? 8

What's your total AO3 word count? 60,689

What fandoms do you write for? Ted Lasso

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Everton After Hours, A Lovely Night, Pour Some Sugar on Me (in the Name of Love), Cleaning House (Happy New Year), Some Kind of Way

Do you respond to comments? I try to respond to at least one comment per person per fic.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? All my fics have/will have a happy ending, but my current WIP, Yes I'm a Mess, is by far the darkest and angstiest thing I've written and the current chapter is a doozy (Chapter 6).

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Probably Cleaning House (Happy New Year) as it's a short one shot and inspired by Hallmark movies and the holidays.

Do you get hate on fics? Not yet

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? The majority of my fics include at least one explicit smut chapter and I only write M/M pairings for now. I don't write kink.

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? No.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? No

Have you ever had a fic translated? No

Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, I only started writing again in October, so there's a lot I haven't done.

What’s your all time favorite ship? Ted/Trent

What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I keep poking at a fic about Beard meeting Barbara instead of Jane at the end of his night on the town in Beard After Hours, but there's not much interest in that ship so it keeps getting pushed to the back burner.

What are your writing strengths? I have a strong sense of character and spend a lot of time working on motivations and making sure actions follow the internal logic of the work for longer fics. I also like my sense of humor and think it shows through in my writing.

What are your writing weaknesses? Descriptions. I don't spend a lot of time on setting or describing characters.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I only speak English, so I wouldn't do more than a line or two and only then something obvious.

First fandom you wrote for? Buffy the Vampire Slayer back in the day of email chains and geocities sites.

Favourite fic you’ve written? Currently, Some Kind of Way. I really like the way it turned out.

Tagging my sprinting partners for funsies

@huntforachievements @strangeannamaul @orbitalpirate @writer-and-thrasher @kissykissymouth @starghost-fics

#fanfic #ao3 #tag game #writers on tumblr #ted lasso #trent crimm/ted lasso

[isagrimorie]

[initial reactions] Star Trek: SNW 2x09 - Subspace Rhapsody

This was a fun musical episode! I still say Trek shows should be more than 10 episodes because there are some character beats here that feel it needs more than a few episodes to just be and breathe.

(Once again laughing that Paul Wesley managed to escape a musical in TVD only to leap headfirst into a show that would do a musical and he can't walk away. This is laughing in fun btw 'cause I do like Paul Wasilewski and his real-life snarky dry sense of humor, but also, HAHAHA. They got you, Wasilewski!)

I liked it! It wasn't Buffy the Musical, but that's okay, it was fun and it moved character arcs along!

I haven't mentioned before but I really love the medical uniform Chapel's wearing, which I think originated from Discovery s1 and 2.

I love how it took a while for Uhura to sing but when she did, she hit a breakthrough. I love that this was her episode but it wasn't just about Uhura.

The musical numbers I really enjoyed: Uhura's solo, La'an's solo, and Chapel's whole musical number. The three strongest singers of the show.

I'm glad that La'an was able to tell her secret because it was weighing on her so much and I'm glad that

Speaking of episodes where character beats needed more than 10 episodes. It's such a whiplash to go from Spock and T'Pol breaking up to Christine and Spock being together for what 2 episodes? I am glad we got Christine's song how this was something that can change her life forever. (If I'm not mistaken that guy running the program will be her ill-fated fiance). But we've gone from Christine pinint for Spock, to being ambivalent with him, to Boimler throwing cold water into the fledgling relationship with Spock. I wish we got to see Spock and Christine have just an episode or more to be in a relationship and happy.

There's not enough Pelia! (Speaking of, where are the other engineers? I know the answer is most likely covid restrictions but I wish there were some engineers working in Engineering in the background).

You know what? I've tried but I just had a thrill of happiness at all the moments Spock and Uhura were together. I know it's not as popular a ship as Spock/Kirk and Spock/Chapel but the TOS version I'm most familiar with (aside from the original TOS movies) is AOS. And since then Spock/Uhura is my ship. So, I'm just gonna embrace it. I ship them!

The Klingon boy band!

Uhura really is my favorite! I love how she started as someone uncertain of Starfleet to finding connection and family in the Enterprise even though she still felt alone at times. I love that Communications Officer is a vital part of ship's functions. Also, with the way Uhura is, it makes so much sense she makes Captain in the future. She has an air of someone who would be so good in Command.

Speaking of, I wish Discovery had these kind of fun episodes instead of one long story and I think this episode really highlighted the problem with the crew of Disco. Aside from 4 characters we really don't know the Disco crew as well as the SNW crew, I don't know what the Disco bridge crew's 'I want song'.

"I wan't" songs are, according to Playbill:

"The term is thought to have been coined by Lehman Engel, founder of the BMI Workshop for musical theatre composers, librettists, and lyricists. These songs are more than just inspiring musical numbers—in many cases, they launch the journey of a play, allowing the audience to get an inside look at force driving a character's action. They express a dissatisfaction or a dream of the character that propels them through the musical."

It's really sad that it seems season 5 is the season when the show regains their sense of fun. I hope the crew is written more of an ensemble in the final season. Disco is a good show, it just really needs to fix its ensemble writing.

Back to SNW, that was such a fun episode I'm also glad Una's taking her second chance to build more relationships and be more open with her crew. It makes sense.

BTW with all the Red in security and the Gold in Command... it occurred to me that SNW Enterprise crew probably thought Mariner and Boimler were Ops!

Anyway, that's a good episode! Good penultimate episode!

#initial reactions #star trek snw #strange new worlds spoilers #snw spoilers #snw 2x08

[daimonpriestess]

So I think Lilith wants me to get into Vampirism again. I haven't been interested in that since I was 21. Most notably Vampyric Magic which I didn't know was an actual thing until very recently.

It makes sense and given I nor Levathia (A past life self) is attached romantically to our former master/ex anymore, I think it would work out a lot better.

Lilith being a literal ancient goddess/Succubus & an aspect of Asmodeus being an Incubus (which are energy vampires in a sense IMO, maybe they don't have "fangs" but they do similar things that Psi Vamps do. It's just usually in a sexual way.) it would make more sense them being our "masters/mistress" (more notably Lilith, but I am spoused to Asmodeus.) then a narcissistic human who doesn't even believe in being a vampire anymore.

I consider myself both a PsiVamp (I'm an empath) and a Sanguine Vampire, I will admit to being a fan of Vampire culture before I knew about true vampires (Lost Boys, Buffy, Underworld, John Carpenters Vampires, Blade, The Last Vampire books, The Amelia Atwater Rhodes books ect.) I was also obsessed with Twilight for a time but I knew those books were fiction. I also really liked and still do like The Vampire Diaries and True Blood. Also more obscure or low budget movies and shows like Razorblade Smile (which my ex introduced me to) Blood Ties, Only Lovers Left Alive and A Discovery of Witches.(which I loved because it was witches and vampires)

I've also written stories based on my past life (lives?) as Levathia, idk if I'll finish them though as I did base most of the characters on real people who's influence or inspiration is now gone.

I was into Wicca when I met my ex and found out I was an actual vampyre when I was 18. But I never put them together, being a vampyre (or baby vamp att) was always separate from my craft and I was never in a coven. I never thought to use blood in my practice (especially since my goddess then was Aphrodite) or siphon others energy for a spell. (Not knowingly anyway.) I'm sure as I mostly did spells or rituals with him that Valenn and I used one another's energy but I didn't do it consciously. I also grew up with the mindset that energy vampires are bad, though some are. I didn't realize that empaths and Psivamps are two sides of the same coin until recently.

I've never actively drank blood, or used it anyway, or done blood play ect. But I've always been drawn to it. Just att there's no way I would have done it safely or had anyone around me (not manipulating me) that knew what they were doing.

That being said I'm pretty sure my demons would know to show me how to do it safely and I am married to someone (on the 3D) that I absolutly trust and is with Lilith.

It is still hard to find things about Vampyric Magic (other than the book by Father Sebastian which I have yet to read) or about real Vampirism in general. I've come across a couple on tumblr and YouTube but it doesn't seem to be as prevalent or "trendy" as it once was. If anyone has any suggestions or you are one let me know!

#vampyr #vampire magic #vampirism #sanguine #psi vamp #past lives #queen lilith #king asmodeus #Succubi #Inccubi #personal #no hate allowed

[cto10121]

Twilight Clown Takes Special Edition - Stupid Romance Novel Focuses On Stupid Romance!1!!1

Another video whining about how great the Twilight lore is and how ~awful the romance is, and how to ~fix it. Well, I do know what needs to be fixed—clowns not understanding what romance is. And thus we feast, on nom nom nom

Bella Hate Dumb Round ♾️

I did not read thousands of pages of four books to be told this character, whom I know now like the back of my hand, has no personality. In fact—fuck it, homegirl has too much!!!! Plus a full on character arc from low self-worth and poverty to wealth and empowerment!!! Give me literally any situation and I could tell you, 100%, how Bella would react to it.

Clown OP: Bella is so selfish and narcissistic!!1!!1

Bella: *relieved that James tricked her and she is going to die instead of her mother* 😮‍💨

Also, Bella not wanting to live without Edward and doing reckless shit…is because she is in love with him. It’s literally passion. As soon as Edward comes back 99% of her reckless behaviors disappear. And of course she is not stupid enough to pick fights with actual vampires!!!

“I hate X about Twilight!!!1!!! I only saw the movies!!!” Not again…I’m not strong enough…

But the Lore!!! The Lore!!!!

If the upcoming show does this, that is the day it will be dead to me and pretty much all thinking audiences. There is literally no other plot in Twilight but the romance plot, and if you take that away and replace it with yet another vampire lore shit, then what is the difference between Twilight and, say, Vampire Diaries? Nothing, which would suck because VD was godawful trash (the books at least, but from what I’ve heard of the show…😒)

These clowns never realize that in many ways Bella and Edward’s relationship go against the religious paradigm as well and subvert typical gender roles and behaviors (the girl wanting sex, the boy wanting to abstain, the girl not wanting marriage, the boy wanting marriage).

Actually, had Meyer decided to go full-on lore and ditched the romance entirely that would have been more in line with her religion. Christianity of all kinds is savagely anti-sex and eroticism and adores magic, fantasy, and made-up histories. That is what it is made of, after all.

Oh, Clown OP. You just opened a big can of worms that is my detestation for how the utterly creepy purity culture shitshow that was the Buffy/Angel saga went down.

As far as I remember, Buffy/Angel started out okay, if not particularly inspiring—just your typical teen drama romance. But then Angel loses his soul after sleeping with Buffy and become evil. Because of course sex is dirty and nasty and evil, and if you sleep with someone you and/or your partner ~lose your morality and become depraved.

Now that subplot reeked of toxic purity culture and I will always hate, hate, hate Whedon for doing that bullshit. To this very day, I get so angry at this stupid plotline—they literally could have done anything else to separate the two and they chose this! Awful.

“I hate X about Twilight!!!1!!! I only saw the movies!!!” Reprise (Scherzo, petulante)

(As for the hybrid thing, technically Jacob is a hybrid as well. He and Renesmee both have supernatural and human characteristics! Definitely not bad in terms of a basis for a future relationship. But once again, the imprinting mechanism is biological.)

Jasper already turned his back to his violent (vampire) past and deserted the (vampire) war. That was his redemption arc—choosing peace over war. We don’t know his feelings towards his time as a Confederate, but given the parallels the narrative between the human war and the vampiric one—as well as the neutral and distant way he spoke of it—that his Confederate past is nothing he holds dear. Jasper out of all the Cullens is the most vampiric, so it makes little sense for him to still be the proud Confederate or remember his human life well.

Also. Breaking Dawn literally had Brazilian, Spanish, Russian, English, Irish, Romanian, and Middle Eastern vampires—on top of our American vampires, our Italian-Greek vampire royal family, and our Native American werewolves. Oh, and indigenous Latin American hybrids. You clearly have not read the books, Clown OP.

There are no other storylines. Alice’s story was over the moment James was killed. Rosalie already got revenge on her rapists. The Volturi are power-hungry opportunists, but they don’t act without provocation. James and Victoria and Laurent are random nomads. What other storyline, OP???

To Conclude, Once Again

Thank you.

#twilight #twilight renaissance #twilight clown takes #twilight clownery #sir this is a romance novel

[morganoperandi]

So, I had never seen or used ChatGPT before, but I figured I ought to familiarize myself with it, considering all the kerfuffle surrounding AI and the fact that I work in Education. Here's what I've found:

ChatGPT is a potentially fun and useful tool, but it's also dumb as a brick.

Like, I would never want to use this to write a whole story or a script. But, as a writing prompt exercise? I can see it's value.

I tossed it a few challenges. It turns out that you can have multiple "chats" going and what happens in one does not carry over to another. I gave it multiple scenarios of "What if the Power Rings from the DC Universe ended up in the Marvel Universe?" In one version, it made Spider-man a Green Lantern, Thor a Yellow Lantern (named "The Fearful Thor"), and Black Widow a Star Sapphire (named "Red Widow"). In another chat, it suggested the following list:

Me What color lantern rings would different Marvel characters get?

ChatGPT Interesting question! Let's see...

Iron Man: Yellow (Fear) - Tony Stark has often struggled with fear and insecurity, especially regarding the safety of the world.

Captain America: Blue (Hope) - Cap embodies hope and inspires others with his unwavering optimism and sense of duty.

Thor: Green (Willpower) - The God of Thunder has incredible willpower, as seen in his determination to protect Asgard and Midgard.

Hulk: Red (Rage) - The Hulk's power is fueled by rage, making him a perfect candidate for the Red Lantern ring.

Black Widow: Indigo (Compassion) - Natasha Romanoff has a complex past, but her experiences have cultivated a deep sense of compassion for others.

Doctor Strange: Violet (Love) - Strange's journey often revolves around love, be it his relationships or his commitment to protecting the universe.

Black Panther: Green (Willpower) - T'Challa's strong will and determination to protect Wakanda make him a fitting Green Lantern.

Spider-Man: Blue (Hope) - Spider-Man is the embodiment of hope, even in the face of personal struggles and challenges.

Scarlet Witch: Indigo (Compassion) - Wanda Maximoff's story is one of tragedy and empathy, making her a good candidate for the Indigo Tribe.

Deadpool: Orange (Avarice/Greed) - Deadpool's love for money, chimichangas, and his materialistic tendencies align well with the Orange Lantern Corps.

This version, I actually like a little better, but it differs quite a bit from the other version and I've noticed that ChatGPT is far more likely to reference characters that have movies about them than any of the even slightly more obscure characters.

In yet another, I asked "Would any Marvel heroes use the Yellow Lantern Ring?" and it responded "Heroes using a power based on fear is a bit of a paradox, but in the world of comics, anything is possible!" And ultimately suggested Dr. Strange. It also suggested either Norman Osborn or Loki for the Orange Ring, this time.

So, the way you phrase the question can definitely change the answer it gives.

Also, when you ask it to write a scene, you get quite a lot of "They would not say that!" moments. The scene it wrote of Batman adopting Spider-man was fairly strange and stilted and the scene it wrote of Captain America going on a date with Wonder Woman had them just leaving in the middle of an epic battle to go have dinner!

The dialogue it wrote between Dean Winchester and Buffy Summers was a little better, but it's scene of Tom Paris meeting Nick Locarno was simply not good.

Now, areas where it excelled were in simpler tasks. I asked it to write an e-mail regarding a graduation issue and, aside from some missing specifics, it actually wrote a better version than I had come up with.

Similarly, when I spelled out the ideas I had for a TTRPG, it was able to fill in some of the blanks in a way that I quite enjoyed and hadn't come up with and fit the theme I was going for.

All in all? I'm going to keep using it, but I would warn against relying on it heavily. Most of what it writes, especially if asked to do something creative, barely meets what I would consider a first draft, but it can be a fun jumping off point.

#morgan original #thoughts #ChatGPT #AI #long post

[tinderbox210]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💗

Thank you so much for asking. This was a tough question to answer since I'm overly critical of my stories and writing skills, but here we go:

One way to find out

Teen Wolf / Dydia - An old story and one of my first multi chapter stories. I don't write multi chapter stories often, so I'm still proud that I finished this one. It's also the most popular story I ever wrote.

Of Sun and Moon

Shadow And Bone / Darklina - AU inspired by a very lovely animated movie about the guardians of the sun and the moon which imo works really well with the show's mythology of sun and shadow summoners.

Schrödinger's Claus And The Mistletoe Variable

Terra Nova / Lucket - Modern Christmas AU. This was the first story I wrote after having not written anything for 5 years. If it weren't for this show/ship, I'm not sure if I would have gotten back into writing, so this story will always be dear to me.

Memento Mori

Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol / Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossover - I've never written crossover stories before, so this was an exciting experiment. Sadly I liked this idea much more than everyone else so the story never really found readers which is why I abandoned it pretty quickly. But I still love the idea and who knows, maybe someday I will be inspired to revisit the story.

Meditation in Motion

Star Trek Strange New Worlds /Spocklaan - One of my first stories for this fandom/ship which has become so important and such a source of creativity for me. I still like this story a lot because it delves into the characters bonding, and I just like the concept of Spock teaching La'an to meditate and her teaching him Tai Chi.

#ask meme #writers meme #fanfiction #my fanfiction #writing #fic authors self rec

[dixkens]

MI6 Cafe Creators Tag Game

So late getting to this, but thanks to @silverbrume for tagging me in!

We’d love for people to keep getting to know each other after this year’s 007 Fest, so we’re starting this tag game!

Rules: Answer the questions, then tag 3 new people to complete this. Also tag the person who tagged you and @mi6-cafe so we can reblog your response.

Note that when we say ‘fanwork’ in the questions below, that could mean a fanfic, gif, fanart, headcanon, cosplay, crocheted work—any kind of fancreation counts!

What work of yours challenged you when you were creating it?

Everything I’ve written?

But seriously. There’s Nothing to Fear https://archiveofourown.org/works/27674746 from my Bondverse x Leverage crossover series The Incredibly True Adventures of 2 Hackers in Love where Q, seriously wounded in Afghanistan after a plane crash, has to cope with recovering from a life-changing injury.

Deciding that Q’s backstory was wounded veteran always felt right. On the other hand, writing the immediate aftermath of his injury felt like a challenge and a risk and one I wasn’t sure I was up to executing. Particularly since it was important to me to keep the story respectful of the realities of the situation I was fictionalizing.

What is a fanwork you’ve seen which gave you a new headcanon about a character?

There was a fic with a line about how much more dangerous Q is than an agent. I latched onto the idea that Q is dangerous and, more importantly, aware of it quite hard. The fic was good in several ways but also had plot points that irritated me (to the point that if you ask me about it, I WILL rant at you) so I’m not going to track it down to link.

Is there a fanwork that you really want to make, but you haven’t started yet?

Two that I can think of.

The first’s working title is Yusef’s Tale. A backstory for the man Vesper loved and was betrayed by.

The second is a femslash crossover with the movie Red where M (Mansfield) and Victoria Winslow (the assassin played by Helen Mirrin) were/are lovers.

What fanwork of yours surprised you, and how?

High Water Mark https://archiveofourown.org/works/36281518 - I wrote a magical AU. I made up a mythos. I made Q a god. I made M his priestess. I wrote M/Q.  The whole thing was very different from what I would have said that I ‘usually write’.

What doesn’t surprise me is it will probably have a sequel. This keeps happening to me.

What themes/styles/subjects are common across many of your fanworks? Alternatively, what themes/styles/subjects are you most interested in creating?

High-trust committed relationships, stories where the conflict is Individual vs System, complex examinations of consent, agency, and autonomy. I also tend to sprinkle in references to other fandoms and geeky jokes in a variety of subjects.

I find myself writing similar things from different angles, making something that seems innocuous at first glance threatening later, or taking the same situation and interpreting it multiple ways. For example, in my branching series Curriculum Vitae https://archiveofourown.org/series/2276666 Q ends up wrapped in a blanket several times but because of circumstances his responses vary from nearly having a panic attack to falling asleep.

What other fandoms do you create for, if any?

I’ve posted in Leverage, Good Omens, Discworld, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Norse Mythology and likely will again.

I also have WIPs for the Wayward Children series and Thor: Ragnarok. I aspire to someday write fanfic for my favorite spy movie of all time Hopscotch.

Is there an artist that you like to listen to while you create? Or one whose work always inspires you?

I don’t generally listen to anything while I’m writing though I do sometimes find songs that fit a fic’s theme. I’ve been slowly building a playlist to go with 2 Hackers for example.

Share a fanwork that you’ve found yourself thinking about weeks after reading/seeing it.

This is not a Bond fanwork but it is one I think about from time to time even now, years after I first saw it. This Firefly video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZr9wsZz_bk (I hesitate to call it a fanvid) is an excellent example of a creative work that takes a critical look at the source material’s flaws.

Finally, share where you post your works!

Mostly at https://archiveofourown.org/users/hypatia

Occasionally on https://dixkens.tumblr.com/

Tagging: I’m so late to this party I don’t know who hasn’t already been tagged. If you haven’t and read this, comment, and I’ll tag you!

Edited: Tagging @verdigrissoup

#mi6cafe #mi6 cafe tag game

[damnslippyplanet]

time to do memes

tagged by @coffeeandorange!

3 ships: Arrrrrrrrgh. I have so many? Blorbos? Let's go with one I'm currently feral about (Pete/Vegas from Kinnporsche), a classic (Hannibal/Will), and one I feel creeping up on me (Mo Ran/Chu Wanning, like...I'm being held slightly at bay on this one by the books not being fully translated and me suffering through the agony of machine translation, but I feel in my soul that once I get to read a less choppy translation it's going to be a real problem.) (Yes I KNOW what this list says about me as a person.)

first ever ship. I'm sure I had ships for baby's first fandom, the Dragonriders of Pern, but honestly I don't remember what they were - I was mostly just feral about the telepathic dragons. The first time I ever remember shipping online in like a fannish way would have been somewhere around the heyday of the WB, so it was probably either Spike/Buffy or Joey/Pacey both things I have spent hours and hours of my one wild and precious life yelling about on the internet. Dawson Leery apologists DNI, I still think you're wrong.

last song. I've been watching a lot of Game Changer lately and I've had the opening song from the improvised musical episode in my head for about three days straight and honestly, much as I like it, I'm beyond ready for my brain to move on to something else.

last movie. I rewatched All About Eve last week and it was, as always, impeccable. I'm tentatively lining up a movie night with friends this weekend to finally watch Everything Everywhere All At Once, and I'm so excited about it.

currently reading. I've been having trouble getting my brain out of fic mode and into book mode lately, so I just finished off a reread of the Captive Prince books as a sort of transition and I think maybe I'm ready to try reading another actual book again. Not sure what it will be. I'm also following along with the Moby Dick readalong at Whale Weekly but I'm a few installments behind. I've read it before, know that Melville takes his own sweet time getting around to his own story, and so can I.

currently watching. The aforementioned Game Changer as the show I watch with my partner, the Thai show Lovely Writer as my weekly watch with a friend, and for my watch-alone show I just started wuxia-nonsense Blood of Youth last night. I do like to have an English-language show going as well to watch while I do crafts or other fiddly things that keep me from reading subtitles, so I need to find a new one of those.

currently consuming. I just finished lunch - crackers, cheddar cheese, and summer sausage. My partner is on his way back from a trip to Home Depot to buy something or other to fix our toilet which has started to make an alarming wheezing sound, and he usually brings me back some form of checkout-line candy. So there's probably a Snickers in my near future.

currently craving. That Snickers. Time and inspiration to write. Some recreational stabbing - I'm not picky, I'd take new piercings or new ink at this point. One of this is much more attainable than the others, but let a girl dream.

#slippy talks too much

[quelsentiment]

15, 27 and 28. if you want 💫❄📓

hi friend, thanks for these!! 💕

15- How would you summarize the themes of your work this year in one sentence?

it's hard to find a common theme for every one of them. i guess if you disregard the most light-hearted pieces and only keep the more serious/thoughtful ones, maybe they're all about the difficulty of embracing change but managing to do it anyway? but that feels like a cop-out answer, because aren't all fictional works about change? i can't think of anything else, though 😌

27- Which books, movies, etc, helped instruct your storytelling this year?

in terms of books, i haven't read a lot of published fiction this year. almost none, actually (meaning i can't remember what was the last novel i read :/ i've been focusing on graphic novels and non-fiction lately) i read fewer fics than i used to as well, but there's a few that had quite an impact on me (x x x x) they all have in common that they have darker themes + morally grey characters, and that's a direction i'd definitely like to explore more in my own work. i did that a little with my Buffy AU but i'd definitely like to take it further next year.

otherwise, music has been my number one source of inspo as always. just to cite a few, jeff buckley's grace (and what he said about it) was the inspiration for this. alex g's runner prompted me to write this in one night. and I've been obsessed with french band feu! chatterton lately—their lyrics are very poetic and evocative and i hope i find a way to channel that in my own writing somehow. i have a tendency (partly born out of laziness) to want to keep things direct and to the point, so i think my writing could use some more... how should i put it? style lol

28- What are your writing goals for next year?

see previous question about exploring darker themes 👀 otherwise i don't really know, i've never been the kind of person to make new year's resolutions, much less keep them

there's also the fact that i'm kind of in between fandoms right now, so i'm not sure there'll be much 1d content from me next year, apart from a fic for the zouis fest. if inspiration strikes, maybe i'll try my hand at some original writing, but who knows. it also depends on real life stuff and how (un)busy i’ll be over the coming months

#how's your december been so far?? #sending love your way <3 #asks #sof 😌

[psionotic]

My favorite culture, 2022

I haven’t posted to this thing in years, and I’m not even sure if I have any followers left. But in any case, here are some of my favorite new (or new to me) things in what was probably the most difficult year of my adult life...? -Paper-

Mexican Gothic (2021). Sure, Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s novel is basically a postcolonial mélange of “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Jane Eyre, and “The Yellow Wallpaper”, with a little dash of Lovecraft, but it absorbed and upset and disturbed me throughout.

The Priory of the Orange Tree (2020). A queer retelling of “St. George and the Dragon” within a mix of eastern and western fantasy, Samantha Shannon’s novel is full of delightful characters and magical hijinks.

The Three-Body Problem (2016). I mostly hated Cixin Liu’s Cultural Revolution-inspired anti-Contact while I was reading it. The characters are awful, both in their limited development and in their naked, selfish cruelty. The narrator is detached, looking down upon us from some distant star, without a care for those characters or for humanity generally. It is so profoundly cynical and pessimistic, at one point I almost threw it across the room. But then I kept reading and made it all the way to the end, frustrated and horrified all the while, and… I haven’t been able to shake this book since I’ve finished it. It’s burrowed its way into my psyche and won’t wend its way back out. Read/avoid at all costs.

I also enjoyed: The Windup Girl (2009), Gideon the Ninth (2020), Winter Tide (2018)

I was bummed out by: The Testaments (2019)

-Funny Pages-

Runaways volumes 1 – 5 (2018-). I put off reading this for years, because I’m so attached to BKV’s original run, and those that have followed in his footsteps have tripped over their imprint. But YA author Rainbow Rowell proved me wrong, letting me fall in love with these characters all over again.

Something is Killing the Children volumes 1 & 2 (2020-). Tynion and Dell’edera’s gothic monster slaying comic is a little X-Files, a bit Buffy, a smidge Sabrina, and basically a whole lot of the things I like.

Vision volumes 1 & 2 (2016). I read Tom King’s sad, wonderful run of Mister Miracle last year. This series (a partial inspiration for WandaVision) centers on the titular robot’s attempt to build himself a wife, two children, and a dog—the perfect American family. Things quickly go very very wrong in some ways that of course involve superhero shenanigans, but just as in MM and WV, the story zeroes in on the smaller tragedies of its misfit toys/wanna-be-real-boys inability to ever belong. 

-Movers-

Nope. Jordan Peele’s horror films become more diffuse in their themes and criticisms with each new installment, and many were apparently disappointed by Nope, but it really worked for me. Alien invasion story? Fable about our relationship to nature? A commentary on what we sacrifice to glut the slavering maw of spectacle? In any case, the film’s elusiveness is perhaps its great strength, and I went on thinking about it for months after seeing it.

Werewolf By Night. A direct-to-Disney Plus Marvel holiday short, featuring a character called The Man-Thing would not seem to promise much, but composer Michael Giacchino’s love letter to classic Universal monster movies is so focused, so economical, so un-tethered and therefore un-burdened by the MCU juggernaut (not Juggernaut) that I was just completely taken by it. Elsa, Jack, and Ted forever.

The Northman. Robert Eggers’ third film does everything his first two do, albeit on a larger scale: A particular/peculiar view of the past through the eyes of rejects and outsiders? Check. Long close-ups of actors staring intensely into the camera? Check. The presence of Anna Taylor-Joy and/or Willem Dafoe? Double check. It’s of course very possible that in a few years Eggers will descend into self-parody and become widely belittled for his repeating concerns and stylisms, but I for one am on board ‘til the longship sinks. (Also, I’d just like to point out that Taylor-Joy is an immortal mystical being, and all of her ‘characters’ are just different guises she takes throughout history. Do the research and follow the signs, you know this to be true.)

Glass Onion. Rian Johnson can’t miss. The Last Jedi was easily the best modern Star Wars movie (duel me). Knives Out was a titanic hit, beloved by audiences and critics. Follow-up Glass Onion is just as tight and fun, and it heavily features Janelle Monae, which is obviously a double-plus. It’s also quite timely, with characters resembling some of our time’s most obnoxious and narcissistic Main Characters.

I also enjoyed: Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio, Prey, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, It Follows (2015) I was bummed out by: Thor: Love and Thunder  

-Telefusion-

Andor. It’s hard to sell anything Star Wars to those who aren’t already there. Long-time fans largely aren’t to be trusted, and I say this as one of them. For the already initiated/indoctrinated, the current wealth of SW content would seem to be everything we’ve ever wanted. No doubt that it is for some, but for me, at least, for every worthwhile product (The Last Jedi, The Mandalorian’s first season), we have been given a Book of Boba Fett or The Bad Batch or—force help us—The Rise of Skywalker. The problem with Star Wars is its caretakers have become increasingly terrified of doing anything new or interesting lest the fanboys strike back. As a result, so much of what is produced is nostalgia porn and easter-egg bait, endless fodder for YouTube channels churning out videos like “37 things you missed in Obi-Wan!”, and the effect of most of it is just to continually remind us of better movies made 40 years ago, to which all new content eternally apes and refers back to. It’s just terminally up its own tauntaun. Not Andor, though. Showrunner and head writer Tony Gilroy doesn’t like Star Wars. And this is evident watching the show—a show with no space wizards, no muppets, no Skywalkers or Solos or really anything that reminds the viewer of what’s come before. The villains in Andor are bureaucrats and pencil pushers simply upholding a system that benefits them; the heroes are not chosen ones from a Joseph Campbell diatribe, but ordinary people just trying to live their lives under creeping authoritarianism. There is some action—a heist and a prison break are highlights—but mostly it’s a political thriller, with a writer’s room built from veterans of Michael Clayton, The Americans, and House of Cards. Andor is brutal and bloody and timely and occasionally even hopeful. It is, as Lisa Simpson once said, “what I believe in now.”

Severance. Part corporate conspiracy thriller, part allegory on the meaningless of modern work and the cheap mythology of the great man entrepreneur, completely riveting. The finale simultaneously spools out four separate cliffhangers, making for the most anxious hour of TV I saw all year.

The Sandman. But isn’t this just a pretty-faithful live-action adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s classic and probably superior comic? I mean, yeah, that’s it, that’s the show, and honestly it’s all I ever wanted.

Interview with the Vampire. AMC’s adaptation is both exceedingly faithful and revisionist, and if that sounds paradoxical, well, as the great man said, “Very well then I contradict myself”. The core of Rice’s story remains untouched, while the concerns have been expanded to illumine American racial and sexual politics, life under the pandemic, and more. And that cast is incredible.

Players. This mockumentary by the creators of American Vandal explores professional eSports, following a team of League of Legends players over the course of one turbulent season. It’s a sports story, and a satire, and a character piece, and beyond all expectation the most heartwarming thing I watched all year.

I also enjoyed: Ghosts, What We Do in the Shadows, Our Flag Means Death, Wednesday, Stranger Things 4, She-Hulk, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Ms. Marvel, Lego Masters, How to Change Your Mind, Heartstopper, Murderville, Moon Knight, Star Wars: Visions, Light and Magic, Nailed It!, Rings of Power, The Wheel of Time, House of the Dragon, Get Up

I need to catch up on: Atlanta, Reservation Dogs, Derry Girls, Station Eleven

I was bummed out by: Obi-Wan 

-Pixel-o-Games-

Elden Ring. I played FROM Software’s newest opus three separate times this year, about 300 hours. I’m not sure that it’s my favorite of their games (that’s still Bloodborne), but you could make a real argument that it’s their best.

Fortnite: Zero Build. For about three months I played Fortnite. A lot of Fornite. I never thought I’d be one of those people who plays Fortnite. But I was, all summer. The new-ish no build mode means that even newb-plebs like me can occasionally win. Still the best monetization model of any free-to-play game: I spent $10 and played for about 100 hours.

Marvel Snap! A collectible card game for those who are bad at collectible card games. That means me. I’m bad at collectible card games. But the fast matches, equalizing random battlefields, and generous card distribution and monetization (I have spent a total of $2.99 over about 75 hours) makes this thing addictive as hell. Speaking of, I just got Magik, the greatest comic book character of all time.

I also enjoyed God of War: Ragnarok, V Rising, Vampire Survivors, Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose, Stray, The Past Within, Dicey Dungeons (2019)

I was bummed out by: Diablo: Immortal and its rapacious monetization

-Sounds-

Susanne Sundfør – Ten Love Songs (2015). I just discovered Sundfør this year, and this album dominated my drive time over the summer and fall. Hard to classify--arty Europop, maybe? But she switches genres so frequently, often within tracks, that all schemas fail. Those songs, though.

Phoebe Bridgers – So Much Wine. Leave it to Bridgers to put out the most depressing Christmas album ever made. A nice follow-up to her 2021 album Punisher, already a modern classic. 

Andor - Original Soundtrack. Nicholas Britell scores small prestige films (Moonlight), and big prestige shows (Succession), and his compositions for Andor work in party by taking as wide of a diversion from John Williams as possible. Instead Britell relies on moody synths and itchy atonal noise, punctuated by really striking percussion sections.  

-Cast Pods- 

You’re Wrong About. Even with Michael Hobbes’ recent departure, this is still the best debunker/trivia/nuance podcast around. Sarah Marshall is a national treasure, which is something that I’m certainly right about.

Triple Click. Talking vidya games with Jason, Maddy, and Kirk is still the highlight of my week. 

WTF with Marc Maron. This is one of the oldest big podcasts, but I only recently started listening. Maron’s interviewing style is divisive—he often interrupts, mostly to speculate or spool out an anecdote—and he’s certainly not for everyone, but the old man’s really grown on me. I mostly tune in to the shows where I like the guest. And my god, what guests! Just this fall I’ve listened to his interviews with Neil Gaiman, Patton Oswalt, Clea Duvall, Elvis Mitchell, Rian Johnson, Tony Gilroy, and Quinta Brunson.

I also enjoyed: Strong Songs, The Besties, Get Played, Video Palace (2018) 

-Tube You’ers- 

VaatiVidya. This is a channel specializing in FROM Software games’ lore and secrets. I’m obsessed with them, obviously, but also the host has the most charming, mellifluous British voice. 

Folding Ideas. Dan Olson’s video essays on politics and culture always get me thinking, and the breadth of the subject matter he covers is staggering. His video on crypto and NFTs, and his one on modern conspiracy theories, are musts.

Girlfriend Reviews. He’s a dork and a video editor. She’s a backseat gamer and performer. Together they mock video games and games culture. Much hilarity ensues. 

I also enjoyed: YongYea, Digital Foundry, Nerdwriter1, Pitch Meeting, PBS Storied, Zullie the Witch, Weird Rules, Alanah Pierce, PeruseProject, Ellie Dashwood, Second Thought, Emmalition, LegalEagle, Jim Sterling, Game Maker’s Toolkit, Penguin0

[amyinmyheart]

I dreamt something before that but I had this dream tonight where I was a make teenager and living with my dad (12 years I think?) and I had a friend over and this absolutely cool room with a long couch and lots of monitors (funnily enough a tiny TV, reminded me of the retro TV in Sims 4). No bed to be seen though.

We wanted to play a video game and I went to my little brother's room to ask him if he wanted to join also. He was about to tackle homework but agreed to join. I (male teenager me) tossled his dreadlocks. My little bro was mixed race and his mum was not in the picture for some reason. We were about to play the videogame and had a POV change

I was me (closer to awake self as female, but aged 16/17). My older sister (21-23ish) was over and showing me this completely decked out nursery (that for some reason had been assembled here and now she'd have to move it). We chatted a bit and middle younger brother had friends over and they asked me if I could wear my school uniform for them and if I looked sexy wearing it. I declined to dress up for a bunch of 12 year olds and told them that our uniforms where more like chic prisoners anyway. Cut to my school the next day and then a collage what every one could be wearing at school (we had a surprising variety of allowed pieces).

Today we had a movie showing and I went to get a seat. Somehow Giles from Buffy was our school director? Visiting movie presenter? Not really clear.

I couldn't find my friends nor any free seats really. Tried to sit next to some girls in hijabis but they said another friend was coming. I ended up leaning against the last row of seats, because they had made this kind of wood podium for them.

The movie startet and it was about vampires. Many people had also worn clothes with bat motives on them. Suddenly there was (subdued) screaming, the movie was stopped and some students started to flee in panic. I felt myself being hugged/held from being. Probably should have been scared but kinda melted into the embrace. I turned around and there was this person - gender unclear. Short, wild, blondish- honey hair. Kinda like the characters I liked as a young teenager tbh. I was like "hey are you a girl or a boy, because I'm kinda over boys after my first BF but well we can work with it.". The person (well vampire obviously) asked a bit surprised that I had a relationship already and I was like" "yeah a BF and a GF but girlfriend was more serious but still were just finding ourselves and trying this relationship thing you know?". Then I noticed they had boobs under their frilly blouse and vest combo and went "we can work with that". Meanwhile some people were eaten by vampires. My vampire decided to go back to my place though and on the way I was praying to Hecate to keep my siblings safe because I already felt mostly safe anyway. I was chanting under my breath "Hecate, Hecate please" and I had this brief flash forward moment that my vampire would approve of my faith and we'd bond over this. We missed the train home but hoped onto the end piece and rode that way.

Later we were girlfriends (they were fine with that term though still kinda genderfluid) and prepping for a lolita fashion teaparty. My vampire GF wanted to wear gothic lolita with a kinda on the nose vampire theme and I had this blue koi print dress I made myself and wanted to pick up accessories to go with it. I had left it at this place that made custom pieces to go with your existing wardrobe and they mislaid my dress. GF was about to go berserk on them for losing my work but they said they found it after all. (I own the fabric that inspired this koi dream dress btw but not enough for a dress I think. Hmm.)

#today i dreamt

[zadien]

For the Fic Writer Ask Game. 7. What do you love most about being a fic writer for your fandom? 9. What inspired you to write your first fic?

11. Who is your favorite character (s) to write about and why? 14. Share a snippet.

7. The fact that I get to sit in my own little corner of the fandom, play with the characters the way I want to and people just accept that. No one’s coming up and trying to police what I do, no one’s telling me I’m wrong for shipping what I ship, it’s really nice. Everyone’s very ship and let ship, and while what I write might not be everyone’s cup of tea, if I reach out to the fandom for help, I know there’ll be a response.

It’s such a unique fandom; the show has been over for decades, I know there was a manga recently, but for the most part there’s been years without content but this fandom still produces content. There’s been no real absence and it has kept me motivated to keep writing all this time. I love the characters of course, but it’s been the fandom too, even if I’m just existing on the fringes. It’s like we’re all in this big playground and people are hanging with their friends, but they’re casually keeping an eye out for everyone else too. And that’s just a really good feeling. And if me creating content makes someone else feel inspired to keep going too, then all the better.

9. I used to write Buffy fanfic decades ago, based on just wanting to take that world and do more with it. But for this, I’ll use SLTS (because technically it was published before L/H). And that came about because of my endless love of Mighty Ducks and wanting more from it - more female characters, more character shenanigans etc. And there were only 3 films, so I needed to create more. I was also currently watching Beyblade and there were so many characters, all of them with these odd dynamics and then they all joined up in Russia and I just thought, let me scoop all of you kids up and put you on a high school hockey team. Nothing can go wrong. Also I wanted someone to get under Kai’s skin. I’d also read a lot of CanonxOC (it was big at the time) and while the fics were great, I didn’t relate to the OCs. They were so feisty and pretty and guys loved them, girls wanted to be them (and often fought with them). I wanted someone I could relate to, a little less OC/ One Tree Hill drama. I wanted team camaraderie, the kind of friendships where they can insult you but if anyone else does they’ll suffer, I wanted girl friendships and movie night in the common room. So I created SLTS, which has its own many problems, but still remains something I’m super proud of.

11. IIIAAANNN!! I love Ian. Ian has the best dialogue, the best internal thoughts, he’s funny and witty, gets annoyed by the slightest things. He’s just so entertaining and he has such range, from the little brat, to the over protective brother. Depending on who he’s with in any one scene, I get a different version of Ian to play with. He’s has a fantastic dynamic.

Honourable mention must go to Hilary of course because her thought process is nuts, and she’s so strait laced in some scenes but then goes full on neurosis and it’s 0-100 in the blink of an eye, and half the time I’m left with whiplash. Which is also very fun to write. Kai too needs a nod, because he’s just the polar opposite in parts. Depending on what fic I’m writing, he’s either very stoic or very suspicious, bordering on conspiracy theorist (and with his past why wouldn’t he suspect every person of being out to get them?). He’s just very internal and I end up with paragraphs upon paragraphs of just Kai’s very brusque thoughts. (And Mystel too - actually I love everyone, it’s why I write an ensemble fic.)

14. Kane pushed himself to his feet, showing off those explosive movements everyone wanted to see from him. “What? Are we going to a rink?” He frowned. “The only one around is Bakuten high and I’m not setting foot in Reject territory.” They’d already run into the resident moron brigade and Kane was loathed to do it again. 

“No, we’re definitely not asking the rejects for any favours. I’ve had enough of them for the day.” 

“Oh?” Kane asked, bending down to grab his energy drink from his bag that still carried the scent of chlorine from the pool. If he’d known Tala was going to be late, he could have swung home and dropped it off. 

“Ran into Foxy at the garage when he was dropping off his car.” 

“You sure he didn’t know you were going to be there? The amount of times one of their little youth leaguers has wandered past this place during the week he must know every step we take.” 

“It was probably just a coincidence. He had a few things to say though.” 

“Of course he did, loves the sound of his own voice.” He’d say it was a genetic thing but he didn’t want to piss Valkov off further in case he did tie him to the nets before going on his weekend away. “Most of what Foxy has to say doesn’t hold water. It’s just a waste of—” Kane’s words of wisdom died when he caught sight of two familiar figures entering the other side of the basketball court. “Why are they here?”

#Fanfic asks #ask me #zadien replies #luxahheart #thank you so much for the ask #it’s lovely to talk about fandom and writing #Long post because I don’t know how to write small things #even replies