#ao3-enthusiast

[swaps55]

(Sorry in advance for the long message) Hey swaps!! It's been a while since I asked, I got into uni (with my best friend) and started studying creative literature and I needed to let you know that it's partially because of you, and I wanted to sincerely thank you. Otherwise I'd never have had the drive to do what I was passionate about instead of chasing an academic degree that would suck the soul out of me. When I read your stories it's incredible, I really experience the story, that only ever happens when I'm reading something you've written. And I'm not the biggest bookworm but there's something about yours, the way you narrate and tell your characters, you write the story but the characters truly do come alive, and I wanted to be able to tell stories like you. I'm currently attempting to flesh out my own story which I think is going not horribly, but I wanted to ask, how do you stay so true to your characters? I've read your posts and when people ask what would happen in certain scenarios, despite what you want to happen the characters have their own personality. Is there a system you use to get all your words out right or does it just come to you? Honestly any advice you could give would be amazing. Thank you again swaps, I know it might be silly to admire and choose a career because of someone on the internet that you've never met, but there's real passion in your work. We can all see how much you put into writing and it truly does make an impact, even if sometimes you can't see it. I think I speak for all dedicated mass effect, and more niche Mshenko, fans, thank you.

This is not silly. At least to me – this means the world to me, and I cannot thank you enough for telling me. And I am SO excited for you; my creative writing workshops taught me so many valuable things. I hope you love it, thrive in it, and write until your fingers fall off.

I can tell you from being in the workforce for a couple decades now that an English/Creative Writing degree can get you to so many places, because storytelling and the ability to write are skills that are crucial in so many industries. It’s so hard to know how much is out there until you get out in the world and really see it, but if you’re curious, adaptable, and passionate, having the ability to write and tell a good story can open so many doors. It has for me. My Real Life job doesn’t involve fiction, but I write and tell stories in ways I really enjoy every day. So whether you go off and become the next Neil Gaiman, and I hope you do, or you find other fulfilling opportunities, use that passion of yours to do something you love and enjoy the hell out of your uni experience.

On to your question: How do I stay true to my characters?

This is going to be a layered, multi-faceted answer because it’s a layered, multi-faceted question.

Developing characters is a very fluid process for me. I don’t like to get too prescriptive about them early on, because I want there to be room in the story for them to grow. I think there’s a relationship that develops between characters and story: characters shape the stories they’re in and are also shaped by them, and if you’re too rigid about the character sheet you have in your head (or on paper), you miss out on opportunities for them to grow with that story. But if you don’t know enough about them in the beginning, your characters will probably feel flat and inauthentic. I can’t really tell you where the line is between knowing too much and not enough – it’s something you learn by doing, and something you develop instincts for over time.

For instance, I don’t know if this will surprise you, but when I wrote Sonata, which was the first Opus story to get off the drafting board, here are just some of the things I didn’t know about Sam:

The nature of his relationship with Anderson.

What happened to his father aside from, “he went missing.”

Anything about his biotic mentor, other than “krogan.”

His biotic “handicap.”

Those line items are all pivotal to who Sam is as a character. But the details of them weren’t pivotal to Sonata, so I left them as broad strokes, and then filled them in when other Opus stories needed me to. This gave me some freedom to craft those details in ways that elevated both Sam and the story I was trying to tell.

There’s also a lot of value in developing characters from both ends: identifying a formative event/moment in their lives and using it as a guidepost to shape the way they see and interact with the world, and establishing a key behavioral or a character trait and then backing into where it comes from.   

Example of the former: Lora Alenko experienced having a teenage son who developed an alien medical condition that resulted in him being taken away from her and coming back as a stranger. What does that do to a parent? How does that shape the way she sees biotics? Sees Kaidan? I think about all of those questions when I write her.

Example of the latter: A simple question with a very complicated answer: Why is Sam Shepard the guy who saves the galaxy? Why him, and not someone else?

So that’s one way I think about characters. Here’s another that I think is equally important. I really subscribe to the ideology that every character is the hero of their own story. They don’t know they’re not the main character. They don’t know what comes next, what the plot is, what the themes are, or how they are supposed to serve the narrative. And for a character to really take on a life of their own, I think it’s really important to write them that way. Otherwise it’s easy for characters to get tangled up in dreams or lives that aren’t theirs, which robs them of some of their agency.

Therefore, whenever I park myself between the ears of a character, I do a lot of interrogation. What’s important to them? What isn’t? What does the world look like through their eyes, and how is that different from the other characters? What do they notice that other characters don’t? What do they miss that other characters don’t? How do they interpret the same series of events compared to another character? And then, here’s the kicker that often results in the gnashing of teeth, pulling of hair, and beating of foreheads against walls: how does that perspective tie into the narrative? Because yes, characters are the heroes of their own stories, but they also have to work within the story you, the writer, are telling, whether they know it or not.

That might sound overwhelmingly complex, and it is. But really what it comes down to is asking questions one by one and seeing where the answers lead you. Sometimes, especially with a character you don’t know well, this can be a lot of painstaking work. But in my experience it’s always worth doing.

I hope any of that helps. Sometimes I feel like the only good writing advice out there is that everyone works differently, and you have to find what works for you.

Thank you again, SO MUCH. Truly. This means so much to me, and I am so excited for you!!!!!

#swaps replies #ao3-enthusiast #how writing is written

[jedi-enthusiast]

Ok, I know I haven't been very kind about Anakin in my posts lately but like...I'm rewatching TCW while I'm writing and it's literally insane how many times Anakin just...doesn't give a shit about his men and/or fellow Jedi.

Like he consistently makes decisions that get his men killed and you can't even defend it as "he tried his best, but that's war" because nine times out of ten he's either disobeying orders or ignoring the input of someone else saying "this is a bad idea/this is gonna get people killed/we need to do something else."

Like Anakin will literally go out of his way to disobey orders, for literally no reason, and get his men killed.

Not to mention that he shows absolutely no concern for them except for very select situations, and if Padme (or sometimes Ahsoka) is involved then you can bet your ass he doesn't give a shit about his men.

Oh, Rex is also stuck in that lab and dying of some incurable disease? YOU WOULDN'T HAVE KNOWN IT FROM ANAKIN'S COMMENTARY!!!

It's just...it's very frustrating rewatching TCW because now I'm actually seeing seeing his actions and I want to hit him with a metal pipe.

#star wars #the clone wars #anti anakin skywalker #anakin skywalker critical #anti anakin #anakin skywalker #ao3 fanfic #fanfic #captain rex #padme amidala #ahsoka tano #jedi enthusiast's fandom debates

[solargeist]

not enough fics abt Grian enjoying being a watcher. Playing pranks. Spying on people. Even when the server is doomed and he gets to use so much TNT

#there’s an episode from s8 where grian is invisible and messing with mumbo #leaving signs that say ‘’always watching’’ and giggling so hard #i know I talk a lot of angst for watcher grian but he’d be such a little shit. An enthusiastic little shit. #also I have no idea abt the fics actually. i still don’t know how to use ao3 correctly #i read whatever is suggested and that is IT … I find fics in the wind #did he have fun ? yes. does he still run away to Hermitcraft ? yes 👍

[im-da-bronx]

@ everyone who was mean to @glimmerglanger, FIGHT ME

#glimmerglanger #ao3 #codywan #STOP HARASSING FANFIC AUTHORS #THEY DEDICATE SO MUCH LOVE AND ENERGY TO THEIR WORK #AND THEY DO IT ALL FOR FREE #AND SOME PEOPLE DECIDE TO BE ASSHOLES ABOUT THE FACT THAT FANFIC AUTHORS ARE AMATEUR ENTHUSIASTS INSTEAD OF PROFESSIONALS

[larkoneironaut]

Here’s the cover art for my Merrill x Abelas fic ✨Whispers of the Crossroads✨

Hope you’re a little intrigued 🌼🫶🏽

#dragon age #bioware #my art #da4 #dai #dragon age inquisition #Dreadwolf #Dragon age Dreadwolf #Abelas #DA2 #Abelas x Merrill #Merrill #Merrill x Abelas #Aberrill #My fanfic #AO3 #Stay tuned I'll post the banners of the fic on Saturday and will also reveal the name of it! #I'm so excited to share this with you #Hope Tumblr is more enthusiastic about this because it's been ten minutes and twt didn't react at all and I'm 💀🧍🏽‍♀️ #Hope someone out there enjoys #Reblogging is caring 🫶🏽

[benwvatt]

scavengers reign

[Image ID: A drawing of a lush, green forest on an alien planet in the TV show Scavengers Reign. On the left is a large, thick, white stone column covered with large, green, round globules of moss. The center contains large, white circular stepping stones on the ground, much larger than any living being in the image. A grey, deer-shaped alien with a slightly lighter grey underbelly and round, grey protrusions coming from its face sits curled up on one of the stones. On another stone, further back, sits a grey robot made up of a three large metal ovals next to each other. It tends to a small lily with four large, white petals growing from the stone.

In the center of the image, two thick, brown columns that could be stone or tree trunks rest behind the alien and the robot. One is diagonal and points to the upper right. The other is nearly upright and is tilted slightly to the left. The right side of the image contains three tall yellow broomstick-shaped stalks of what look like hay, and there are three jellyfish-shaped creatures with very short dark grey legs, small round red eyes, and dark grey bodies. One of the creatures looks sadly at the deer alien and the robot. The other two are walking away, out of the frame. End ID.]

Title: Scavengers Reign (2023-?)

Channel: HBO Max.

Origin: U.S. American.

Genres: 2D animation, science fiction, science fantasy, adventure, and horror.

Runtime: As of March 2024, there is 1 season with 12 episodes. Each episode is ~25 minutes. The show’s executive producers have mapped out future seasons and are excited to do more, but with HBO’s penchant for cancelling animated/sci-fi TV shows and removing them from streaming, I’m not sure if it’ll get renewed for more.

This show feels: Enthralling, wondrous, hypnotic, and horrifying.

Premise: Scavengers Reign is a science fiction show about the marooned survivors of a damaged cargo ship in outer space. They explore their mysterious, lush, and hostile new planet with caution, and, due to the crash, they have been isolated in three groups who must eventually make their way back to each other. Most of the cast are human, but one main character is a robot. The new planet contains fantasy-transformed plants, animals, and aliens. Does danger lurk around the next corner?

Themes explored by the show: Social isolation, mental health crises, survival in the wilderness, the ability to trust, human-alien interactions, grief, death, community, psychological horror/trauma, and the poisonous control that nostalgia holds over humans.

Representation & marginalized voices: Scavengers Reign has several nonwhite main characters, and about the half the cast are female while the other half are male. The nonwhite characters are also voiced by people of color, and there are many female voice actors in the cast. I appreciate that romance isn’t a core part of the show, as the story explores themes like survival and mistrust instead.

Notes:

Scavengers Reign is well-received by the public. It has a 100% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 8.7/10.

Scavengers Reign originally aired as an 8-minute, dialogue-free animated short film in 2016 on the Adult Swim channel. It is available to watch here on Vimeo.

Most U.S. American shows created by major streaming services or TV networks are available to pirate. Sites like FMovies or LookMovies should have it.

#scavengers reign #tv shows #tv recommendations #science fiction #science fantasy #adventure #2d animation #animation #look i'm just Very Very Enthusiastic #lol can you tell i've never seen it but i routinely absorb tv news through my skin the way that frogs breathe in water? #and i NEED HBO TO PAY CREDENCE TO THEIR ANIMATORS!!!! #welcome to my blog. let's hope my ao3 subscribers don't hate me for posting tv recs to ao3 of all sites #benwvatt #benwvatt alltt

[inksandpensblog]

What's the gladiator au?

An Animator vs Animation AU that won’t be seeing the light of day in fic form anytime soon for numerous reasons, the easiest of which to talk about being that the scope of the project grew to outstrip my capabilities at the time and now my focus is on other projects that I'd like to complete before attempting to tackle this one again, if ever.

(It's also what I'm referencing in this post. I wonder how many people a day reblog that post without knowing it's me vagueing myself about an AvA AU.)

But it was the first AU I ever came up with for this series, and I did get the first arc roughly plotted out! It would go something like this:

The plot kicks off when Orange and Alan discover that a weakened, post-Showdown Chosen has been captured (by sticks with a bone to pick about his and Dark’s rampages, though Alan and the color gang don’t know this at the time) and is being held at a "gladiator ring" or "arena" on a special-access server or website, run by human mods and admins but catering to spectators both stick and human.

Chosen is the arena's “special feature,” forced to fight in grudge matches against sticks seeking vengeance for what he and Dark did. To this end, a large screen over the ring where he fights is constantly displaying footage of Chosen and Dark destroying various stick-populated spaces. (This was before I realized that Chosen and Dark are never seen destroying stick-cities, only web pages...some of which happened to be populated almost exclusively by sticks). Nobody knows about The Showdown except the people involved in it. Nobody knows who created Chosen or Dark.

The arena keeps Chosen under control using these remote-controlled cuffs, which can do many things, including: electrocute him, force him into ragdoll-mode, control the potency of his various powers on a scale (some sticks actually want a real fight and aren't just there to beat up a muppet), and turn his powers off altogether (yes this is different from just scaling them down all the way; it's like the difference between lowering your volume to zero and just pressing the mute button).

The color gang call Purple in to help them plan a rescue, since he has familiarity with these gladiator spaces (I changed the backstory I had planned for him in this AU after AvM29 aired, so the one fic I actually have posted for this AU has been retconned, but Purple having familiarity with gladiator rings is maintained). This culminates in Yellow opening a backdoor into the arena so that Orange can sneak in as a spectator to rescue Chosen, with Green going along to keep lookout. Orange makes Green promise that if anything goes wrong, she won’t wait up for him and will retreat through the backdoor first. Green has every intention of keeping this promise.

Before the rescue is launched, Purple takes the quartet aside and tells them that there might be other sentient sticks held prisoner by the arena, and…not to tell Orange. Because he suspects that Orange would lose focus on rescuing Chosen in an attempt to rescue everybody. Purple tells them this because many arenas are supposed to be underground, and if they get discovered, there’s a very real risk that the humans will cut their losses and just delete the whole thing. Sticks or no sticks. So Orange needs to carry out this rescue as quickly and subtly as possible, no deviations.

Orange eventually locates the ring where Chosen’s grudge matches are held, and learns of Chosen's and Dark's past for the first time as he catches sight of the destruction footage. He feels conflicted about this new knowledge; finding out that the guy who saved the lives of you and your friends was once a bad dude and was once partners-in-crime with the bad dude who murdered you is pretty shocking. But Orange puts his feelings aside for the moment, rallying when he realizes that this info gives him an opportunity to get close enough to Chosen that he'll be able to grab the guy and get him outta there.

So Orange proclaims that he wants a grudge match against Chosen, showing off his scars from the Showdown as evidence of his grievance. All the other spectators that Orange interacts with have been absolutely charmed by him since his arrival (while Orange just hates every moment he spends there), so this ploy works and soon enough he’s down in the ring with Chosen. As the match goes on, Orange makes noise about wanting “a real fight,” so whoever controls the cuffs begins slowly allowing Chosen’s powers to scale up.

This goes great until Orange realizes that Chosen doesn’t know how to hold back in a fight. (Orange assumes that Chosen, having recognized Orange, has realized that this is a rescue effort. Chosen has not realized that this is a rescue effort.)

Before Orange can get punched in the nose, though, Alan enacts phase two of the rescue by…striking for copyright over Chosen. This sends an alert to the cuffs, which immediately force Chosen into ragdoll mode (literally as he’s about to punch Orange in the nose, for maximum drama), and fights across the entire arena screech to a halt as everyone realizes that an outsider has located their little operation. Orange picks Chosen up and the two make their getaway while everyone's too busy disputing the copyright claim to notice, meeting up with Green and fooling a staff member into disabling Chosen’s ragdoll-mode on the way to Yellow’s backdoor.

On their way out though, the arena catches on. The human mods discover Yellow’s communication channel and begin interfering with it, cutting off all remote contact between the color gang. It becomes a physical battle as stickfigure staff and a few of the spectators begin trying to apprehend them, and Green gets separated from Orange and Chosen.

There’s a pause in the fight when a human mod tries to end Orange’s task and all it does is make Orange angry. Chosen takes this opportunity to grab Orange and launch them towards Yellow’s backdoor. They’re almost there when whoever is controlling the cuffs toggles Chosen’s powers off altogether and starts tasering Chosen into oblivion as a last-ditch effort to stop the two from leaving, but by that point they’re close enough to the backdoor that Orange can grab Chosen and drag him through. He shuts the door and it locks behind them. Chosen is dealing with Showdown-levels of exhaustion by this point, so Orange piggybacks him to the PC, unknowingly leaving Green behind since she was unable to fulfill her promise of going through the door before him.

So ends the first arc!

After this point the AU becomes a lot less solid ideas of what will happen and a lot more vague ideas of what I want to happen. I discovered the hard way while trying to plot it out that I'm not very good at juggling multiple concurrent character arcs, especially if the characters in question aren't interacting regularly with each other. I'm also not very good at judging how much time certain plot developments should take, which left me in an awkward position as far as puzzle-piecing everyone's character growth and plot progression together into a neat chronological line.

There's also the fact that...I couldn't figure out what goals certain characters were supposed to have, after this first arc, which made it hard to write for them in any way that would advance the story instead of just dragging it along. Plus there were certain worldbuilding aspects that I...wasn't really savvy enough to try integrating into a story because I had trouble understanding them on a base level myself. A lot of it was having trouble figuring out where to start, or not knowing what info I even needed to begin working.

So yeah, this AU is on the backburner for the forseeable future.

If you have any questions about it though, I'd love to share some development notes! Feel free to ask me if you're interested.

#animator vs animation #avm shorts #ava enthusiasts #gladiator au #might put the plot summary on ao3 #if anemonic can do it then I can too XD

[fragmentofmemories]

False Aria of Rebirth. Character Profiles: Rin Alsparda

(Read FAoR here)

Rin Alsparda: Abandoned at an early age, Rin is a human nomad with no family or home to speak of — her last name being the only clue she has about her lineage.

Because of this, Rin learned how to survive on her own, carrying a handcrafted bow at all times. After a while, she also gained a reputation as a young nomad who traveled across the land, aiding travelers and adventurers alike. This was what allowed Rin to enter Particus' academy of adventurers.

Rin is generally joyful, if a bit slow on her studies, and loves teasing those close to her. She also feels attracted to only girls — especifically Hinako, a felpier whom she has a crush on. Deep down, however, Rin may come off as overly attached to her friends.

Rin is the leader of her own team, aptly named "Team Rin".

Extra Info:

Age: 19

Height: 171cm (5.6ft)

Major: Ranger

Likes: Traveling, Meat, Hunting

Dislikes: Reading, Fish, Staying indoors

Alignment: Neutral Good

#class of heroes #gekkouka writing #gekkouka art #coh1 #false aria of rebirth #fanfic writing #character profile #rin alsparda #fanfiction #ao3 fic #the original catgirl enthusiast...

[messrsprongs81]

"look," james says eventually, "i have to get going, i have quidditch."

no, regulus wants to say.

get back in bed.

i want to feel your hand in my hair.

i want to hear your heartbeat.

i want you to promise you still love me.

because he hadn't said it. last night regulus had cut himself open and laid himself bare but james hadn't said it. and he knows that it's just semantics, that it doesn't mean anything, but in this moment it feels important.

his whole being revolts as he finds himself saying none of that, silently moving out of the way instead.

"james?" he says as james gets one foot out the door. He turns back. "i love you." regulus fidgets, uncertainty smothering his words.

there's only a brief pause, but it's enough to sting. "i love you too reg," james says, and for the first time regulus isn't sure that he believes him."

SOBBING ON THE FLOOR

#james potter #jegulus #regulus angst #regulus black #sirius black #remus lupin #wolfstar #jegulus angst #jegulus enthusiast #choices messermoon #choices #jegulus fanfiction #jegulus fic #jegulus4life #ao3 #ao3fic

[jackkennedyirl]

haai intro !!!! ^__^

hi im jack//judas ...... i use he/him prns.... heres my rentry :-3 u can learn more about me there!

obvious DSAF lover since 2019(?) …. haven’t been super active in the community but tryna get back into it!!!! super into music as well!!! also I am open 2 being mutuals w people!!! esp people with my interests so please follow/dm!!!!

taken by my bae... @raincoquteee.... go follow him right now... 04.08.24

#intro post #pinned intro #davesport #ao3 enthusiast #bfdi #hfjone

[swaps55]

Do you think Sam misses the mako in the second and third games as much as I do :( ?

If you think there is a chance in hell that Sam comes back from visiting the Alchera without the battered remains of the Mako tucked in the Normandy's cargo bay with a blankie and a cup of hot chocolate you are in for a surprise.

#swaps replies #ao3-enthusiast #'shoot it again sam' shepard #the game won't let me salvage it #but i have two hands and a keyboard #and i'm gonna use 'em

[jedi-enthusiast]

Coruscant:

Fox, bone-tired and slightly delirious: Sorry I missed my appointment. I've just been losing a lot of time lately, it's hard keeping the days straight.

Grim, eyebrow twitching: ...give me like five minutes.

-----

Somewhere else in the galaxy:

*Epi's comm beeps*

Epi: Hello?

Grim: Can I assassinate the Chancellor on the grounds of patient safety and wellbeing?

Epi: uhhh idk, I'll have to ask Helix.

...

Epi: Helix says yes.

Grim: Excellent.

-----

Back on Coruscant:

Palpatine: Why do I hear boss music?

#the way I kinda wanna end my fic like this #I won't #but the urge is there #Grim is officially Done #this is how he chooses to hand in his resignation #jedi enthusiast's clone ocs #ao3 fanfic #codywan fanfic #star wars #fanfic #the clone wars #sw prequels #pro jedi #Clone Medic Epi #Clone Medic Grim #Clone Medic Helix #palpatine #commander fox #clone oc #clone medic oc

[kaftan]

once again not to be bitchy but “the femslash poll really shows how poor the state of f/f is” is a statement that could only be made by someone who doesn’t care to seek out f/f

#f/f is doing amazing actually. I can’t stress how much ao3 stats don’t mean shit #go ask your local himejoshi or f/f enthusiast for a rec list and you will see.

[sweetlullabyebye]

(I'm so excited about FINALLY having polls i don't even know what am doing)

#thiam #theo raeken #liam dunbar #theo raeken x liam dunbar #theo x liam #teen wolf #polls #ao3 fanfic #fanfic #help #look POLLS I HAVE POLLS FUCKING LET'S GO #as a uquiz enthusiast this is the best day of my life #monsters #basically i have four different thiam fic ideas which all have a different monster and idk which fic to focus on

[yeowche]

Every time I’m scrolling ao3 and I read a description that’s like, ‘x character and you are doing y thing’ I’m like no. I am not.

#ao3 #non-reader insert-enthusiasts where y’all at

[sugarcodedrena]

"Prapai thought the sweet-looking, tasting, and smelling boy he brought to his condo was an omega like himself, or at least a beta. However, one lick on his neck had him weak at the knees, and in no time he found himself under an alpha who was ready to give him what he wanted.

Sort of."

#fanfic #ao3 fanfic #paisky #prapai x sky #love in the air #lita #paisky fic #omegaverse #omegaverse fic #this one's for omega pai enthusiasts #and bossy sky lovers