Figuring Life Out :]

River, they/them. Multifandom. Fanfic writer and tag essayist. PFP made by SAD-ist. Find me on AO3!

[egopocalypse]

River’s Masterlist (DSMP Edition)

So since Tumblr nukes all posts that have outside links from the tags, this will have the AO3 links to all of my DSMP fics. All links in chapter update posts will redirect here. Reblogs of this list are appreciated!

If you'd like to be added to my tag list, please reblog this list, send me an ask, or DM me and let me know!

(Updated 3/22/23 for the poll fic requests.)

Longfics:

Gone Away (c!Tubbo dies during the Disc War Finale. c!Dream decides he still has some use left. c!Tubbo-centric. 60k+, ten chapters, ongoing.): AO3 link

Next Update: July-August

A Warden’s Secrets (Are Too Tough To Hide) (c!Tommy is arrested for c!Tubbo's murder after the Disc War Finale. c!Sam, the new Warden, decides to figure out the truth. c!Sam-centric, 19k+, four chapters, ongoing.): AO3 link

Next Update: June

Pandora’s Locked Tight (Elpis Is Never Getting Out) (c!Dream decides to show c!Sam what the prison's original purpose was. c!Tommy ends up as his unwilling victim. c!Sam-centric, 5k+, two chapters, ongoing.): AO3 link

Next Update: TBD

Series:

Whumptober 2022: Run Boy Run, A Prisoner's Dilemma, True North

Poll Fic Requests: A Warden’s Choice, A Prisoner’s Compass, A Decision He Can’t Regret,

One Shots:

This Hearth is Big Enough For the Four of Us (c!benchtrio + Michael Christmas fluff): AO3 link

What Makes a Family? (Foster AU, young c!Tommy learns who qualifies as family): AO3 link

Halcyon Days Are Over (c!Sam talks with c!Dream a week before the Disc War Finale): AO3 link

Lead Us Home (c!Tommy builds c!Wilbur a grave. c!Sam helps.): AO3 link

L’Manberg’s Heart (c!Tubbo gives his life to save L'Manberg from Doomsday. c!Dream figures out how to use it): AO3 link

Taglists:

General Taglist: @/seaswalllow, @/in-honor-of-greg-the-ham, @/miishae, @/shrikecall, @/sleepypuffpastry, @/isa-ghost, @/limbo-voidline, @/a-humble-narcissus, @/cupsmp

Pandora’s Locked Tight: @/pips-squeak,

A Warden's Secrets: @/painless-and-colourful, @/piglinmania

Gone Away: @/cerhoney,

Whumptober: @/fear-is-nameless, @/pokemaniacgemini

[REDACTED]: @/limbo-voidline, @/sleepypuffpastry

[bambistjames]

non-writers will never understand the mental illness of writing an entire conversation in your head while doing dishes and then forgetting every word the second you open a blank doc

[bambistjames]

non-writers will never understand the mental illness of writing an entire conversation in your head while doing dishes and then forgetting every word the second you open a blank doc

[bambistjames]

non-writers will never understand the mental illness of writing an entire conversation in your head while doing dishes and then forgetting every word the second you open a blank doc

[gatesofminrathous]

there will never be anything as funny as the mutual disbelief between long form and short form fic writers about each other's style.

short form writers look at people writing 100k+ fics as though this is some sort of talent given as part of a fae bargain, that the commitment required shows some sort of ungodly mental fortitude.

meanwhile long form writers look at people writing 1000 word one shots like god I would cut off my left nipple to be able to say anything concisely. i would love to play with multiple ideas. free me from the shackles of this child I have birthed. i love them but I now must take them to t-ball and doctor's appointments and they're going to destroy everything I own.

[fforsythiaaa]

Once when I was in undergrad, someone described something as “problematic” in class and our professor was like, “That’s cool, but ‘problematic’ doesn’t really mean anything. It means that the thing you’re describing has a problem, and in and of itself that’s not bad. Art, especially, should always have problems, or else it’s not interesting and not art, either. It sounds like you’re trying to say that this is bad, but you don’t want to say ‘bad.’ Is that right?”

So from then on whenever one of us called something problematic, he would make us talk it out until we could name the “bad” thing we were hinting at. In this particular class, 7/10 it was some type of oppression, and the remainder was like, “I’m uncomfortable because this is very new/confusing/pushing boundaries that made me feel safe.”

Once we stopped calling things “problematic” and stopping at that, class got way more interesting and... we all had to say, like, “that’s racist” or “that’s misogynistic” or “ew capitalism gross” out loud, which a lot of us had never done in a classroom before. Or we had to be like, “Uhhh... I’m not sure what’s so bad?” and confront our own beliefs and that was maybe even more useful.

Anyway. Whenever I see the word problematic, I can’t help but think of this professor being like, “Good starting point, now let’s get specific.” I think when we have to commit to saying “that’s ___” it requires a lot more careful thought about the truth and impact and complexities of whatever we’re claiming. Sometimes there really is some bullshit afoot, and also sometimes it’s art, and it should be full of problems, because that’s what art is.

[hypokeimena]

#'this is present in the text' is often a good first step #but those second and third ones (naming it; describing its function) are vital (via @elucubrare)

[lovelylogans]

is there such a thing as a beta but instead of reading for line edits or plot notes, they just read my work and recommend what tags to put on ao3 outside of like. warnings.

[centrumlumina]

Lulu's Totally Unofficial Guide to the Top 10 Freeform Tags to Add to Your Fanfic

Genre - Fluff, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Slice of Life, Case Fic, etc.

AU - If it's an AU, what kind? What role do each of the characters play? How is it different to their canon role?

Parts of canon - If it's not an AU, what part of canon is it about? Is it set before, during or after a particular episode?

Themes - Are there any topics or ideas which you are trying to explore, or which come up repeatedly?

Minor Warnings - Is there anything you think you should warn for that isn't included in the archive warnings?

Format & Length - Is your work art, video, podfic, etc? Does it use a particular format like a Drabble or 5+1?

Characters - What is going on with each of your major characters? If you had to describe them with one or two adjectives, what would you pick? (Format as [Adjective] [Character Name].)

Relationships - What is going on with each of your major relationships? Are there any relationship tropes like Slow Burn or Enemies to Lovers in your story?

Tropes - Are there any tropes or common story elements in your story that haven't been tagged yet? If your work was on TV tropes, what are the first things you would add?

Sex - If your work includes sex, what kink(s) and specific act(s) does it involve?

Remember: you can always look at the drop-down menu for suggestions. But! If you want to tag something that doesn't appear on the drop-down menu, you can & should write in a new tag!

[mikkeneko]

This is a good guide!

[businesstiramisu]

This is one of the things r/ao3 is actually pretty helpful for, in fact I think centrumlumina's guide is almost word-for-word match for advice that i see posted regularly on there. Its also great for "here's a thing that happens in my story/i want to warn readers about, is there a tag for that?" (Or even "this tag i already know about doesn't suit my purposes for xyz reasons. What can i do instead?")

[flowersforvax]

haha nooooo fandom don't sand off all the rough edges and pointy bits off of that character those are the parts I scratch my brain with haha

[lovely-v]

Being crazy about a piece of media for any amount of time will leave a weird mark on you forever because years later you’ll see someone posting something about it like “can we talk about this frame” and you’ll be like “ah that frame. i know all about that frame. I was once a scholar of that frame.”

[shubidubisweets]

[ismenes]

you know those studies showing that cursing helps with pain tolerance or whatever. that’s how i feel about making my weird little noises to get through my basic daily activities. sometimes you just have to go hggblaaaah for a minute so you can find the strength within yourself to get up or wash the dishes or send an email. mmmnneh. urgh. the torments are unending but you can always make some little sounds about it.

[leighlew3]

[autisticcodex]

Happy pride month.

[chillyfeetsteak]

from this article, which is well worth the read, if only for the fun of seeing zuck get dunked on

[purplejabberwock]

My bestie's tags

[blissocean]

[draconym]

i would rather see the information for an event handwritten in sharpie on a paper towel than see another AI generated flyer

[aj-living-life]

Saving this post to show my boss who I told the AI flier makes us look lazy and ignorant, and offered to hand draw one. She still printed tons of ai fliers and I'm tempted to make a better one just because it annoys me so much.

[aj-living-life]

Fun update: event was canceled because literally nobody rsvp'd to the AI flier.

[euclyptodis]

My new year resolution is to have 36 - 48 hours per day

[succubusboyfriend]

you have permission to pick that 2 year old "abandoned" project back up. it's not mad at you for setting it aside. and maybe time and distance have helped ease or erase the things that made you put it down in the first place.

[succubusboyfriend]

i started this battle jacket before i got medicated for my adhd and it's literally been hanging in my closet with the patches pinned to it for two years + a move. and now that i am medicated, i had the ability to ask myself why exactly the hand stitching was giving me such an issue to begin with, and then i was able to carry that into searching up solutions to the problem. it hurt my hands! and using an embroidery hoop, sewing with a thimble, and using pliers to pull the needle through the really thick patches solved all those problems!

and look, it's not mad at me! it's like i never abandoned it in the first place!