"should we tell authors on ao3 when we have discord conversations about their fics" i don't speak for everyone here but if y'all ever find a group chat discussing my fics you can should must and WILL send me screenshots of the whole damn thing. inflate my ego. gimme
this whole thing with people discussing a fic in secret, on closed discord servers, instead of leaving a nice comment, is such a loss for fandom. we're losing fic writers with every fic with hundreds of hits and barely a comment.
writers publish to be read. fanfic is meant to be a conversation.
I say this very gently and with much love, and I say it not only as a writer myself but as someone who has been privy to many 'but how can they not know that work is amazing! I love it! I gushed about it to every friend I have and recced in x, y, z servers and [...]'
The writer or artist doesn't know this.
They have no way of knowing that you found their work beautiful and lifechanging or even just a bright spot on a bad day or that you think about it every day or that you told all your friends about it, and those things are great, but we have no way of knowing them! You may not be doing it intentionally, but you're excluding the writer or artist from the community feeling of fandom that you are carrying on (that is so great! fandom is a community! continue to talk and play!) even with their work.
Please, please just drop a line even that is "oh gosh I absolutely love this work, I screamed to every one of my friends about it when I first read/saw it!" even if you don't have the spoons to share more of the specifics that made you flail at your friends or what you said in private. (Though if you do, we will love you forever for it.)
Please include me in the conversations and let me know if you like my fics/where it's being discussed, it's disheartening to know someone somewhere is talking about it and I have no idea </3
Oh, definitely include authors in your conversations! We’re not faceless entities. We’re people, just like you, who have struggled to get words on pages, and who anxiously refresh AO3 waiting for those comments that may never cube because you’re discussing it elsewhere. Yes, even your favorite writers. Even the ones you perceive are popular. Tell. Writers. We are just like you and we want to know when our story is being loved on.
Comments are life to an author. Even if you comment with a ❤️ emoji, it tells me you took the time to do more than “press the kudo button”.
And sometimes, if you comment, that author will comment back and you can start a conversation and meet a new friend. Because that’s what fandom is. Fandom is community. Fandom is not faceless pushing a button and moving on.
There is no algorithm in fandom. There are genuine people who love a thing and love to get together and talk about a thing.
Let writers know their story is one of those things!
yes i know they skew rather tall but i mostly know people taller than me dispite being 5’5 so to me this is natural, i know someone who’s 6’5 in real life the only truly crazy one to me is mccracken which is on purpose! the ages are as of perilous journey!
i only included ethnicity for characters who have one canonically or who those who i have a particular one in mind.
due to the length of the image descriptions i’m putting the text under a cut, but they’re still in the alt text in full.
[ID in alt text: five images containing tmbs characters in a height chart decreasing in height from left to right
first image, the tallest end of the height chart, with three characters: Mccracken, SQ pedalian, and Sharpe in that order.
Mccracken is "7'0, 45, and irish" he is drawn tall and broad wearing his pinstriped ten man suit with a white pocket square, a black tie, and two watches. his pushed back hair is ginger at the root and dyed black. he's smirking and has a few freckles on his face.
SQ pedalian is "6'5, 20, and jewish/italian" he is very rectangular in shape, standing with his arms hugging himself. he has a white and orange T-shirt on, ripped jeans, and old brown boots. he has fluffy dark brown hair, rosy cheeks, lots of freckles, a scar on his right wrist, and noticeable arm hair.
Sharpe is “6’2 and 37” he is thinner and has one hand up waving. he has on the pinstriped ten man suit with a white pocket square his pants are wide leg and creased in the front, you can see one of his watches. he has large circular glasses, pushed back black hair and a more light brown skin tone.
the second image, the second tallest area in the height chart with three characters: Moocho Brazos, Number Two, and Garrotte in that order.
Moocho Brazos is “6’1, 40, and Mexican” he is very wide and is standing with his hands on his hips. he is wearing a yellow shirt, purple pants, and a cream apron with purple and green florals. he has a warm brown skin tone, a large black mustache that goes straight outward on either side, a chin dimple, and black hair that is parted in the middle and also looks a bit like a mustache.
Number Two is “6’1, 25, and east asian” she is thin and standing tall. she is wearing a yellow short sleeve button up with a black shirt underneath (making the neckline look like pencil tip), white cuffed jeans with a yellow bandana tied in some of the belt loops, and yellow sneakers. she has short wavy red hair but dark roots, dark eye bags, and her skin has more yellow undertones.
Garrotte is “6’0 and 47” he is fat and wide at the shoulders. he is wearing the pinstriped ten man uniform with a white pocket square and has two watches. he has light red-brown hair parted in the middle that is more thick, he has a beard and mustache that obscure his mouth, and a bat-like upturned triangular nose.
the third image, the middle height area of the height chart containing four characters: Jillson, Milligan Wetherall, Crawlings, and Martina Crowe in that order.
Jillson is “5’11 and 26” she is muscular and is standing with her hands on her hips, she is wearing a muted purple t-shirt and muted green cargo pants and geyish combat boots. she has brownish black hair with micro bangs parted in the middle and a slicked ponytail tied with wire and pale skin.
Milligan Wetherall is “5’10 and 38”. he’s wearing a greenish grey blazer jacket with the sleeves rolled up over a warm grey button up, a belt, brown scuffed pants, and brown combat boots. he has dirty blond hair, a scruffy chin, visible arm hair, and paler skin.
Crawlings is “5’10 and 35” he’s wearing the pinstriped ten man suit with a white pocket square and more baggy rumpled pants. he is bald, has only his left eyebrow, and has a reddish undertone to his skin.
Martina Crowe is “5’8, 17, and indian”. she is standing with her arms crossed and is wearing a pinkish red T-shirt, jeans, and light yellow sneakers. her black hair is in a neat ponytail and she has blunt neat bangs, her skin is a warm brown and she has a mole on her left cheek.
the fourth image, the second shortest area of the height chart with 4 characters: Jackson, Nicholas Benedict, Ledroptha Curtain, and Kate Wetherall in that order.
Jackson is “5’7 and 26” he is fat and is wearing a grey collarless asymmetrical button up, a brown belt, and khaki pants. he has wavy ginger hair, freckles, and paler skin.
Nicholas Benedict is “5’6, 65, and Dutch” he is fat and is wearing a green plaid suit over a white button up and a black and grey striped tie. the plaid has a lighter base and a darker pattern. he has white hair that is curly and fluffed up, thick square glasses, a rosy round nose, a 5 o’clock shadow, and a duller skin tone.
Ledroptha Curtain is “5’6, 65, and Dutch” he is fat and is wearing a green plaid suit over a white button up and a black and grey striped tie. the plaid has a darker base and a lighter pattern. he has white hair that is slicked back, reflective aviator sunglasses, a rosy round nose, and a duller skin tone.
Kate Wetherall is “5’4 and 13” she is standing with her fists on her hips with a big smile. she is wearing a red and white striped T-shirt, Jeans with a belt that is holding a red bucket, and red sneakers. she has a messy blonde ponytail and bangs, and paler skin.
last image, the shortest end of the height chart, with four characters: Rhonda Kazembe, Sticky Washington, Reynie Muldoon, and Constance Contraire in that order.
Rhonda Kazembe is “5’1, 21, and Zambian” she is a bit pear shaped, she is wearing a mint green cardigan, a white T-shirt, purple pants, and black mary jane’s with white socks. she has braids in her black hair, and very dark brown skin.
Sticky Washington is “5’1 and 12” he is wearing a blue sweater over a white button up, white pants, and brown shoes. he is bald, has large round glasses, and has dark brown skin.
Reynie Muldoon is “5’0, 12, and Filipino” he is wearing a green sweater vest with a dark stripe, a short sleeve button up, brown pants, and white shoes. he has short side parted black hair, lots of freckles, and light brown skin.
Constance Contraire is “3’6 and 4” she is wearing a red raincoat over a yellow dress, a blue pendant on a necklace, blue leggings, and red rain boots. she has wild very light almost white blonde hair that is slightly darker at the root, two red hair clips, rosy cheeks, and pale skin with red undertones.
Something about the TMBS show version of Nathaniel that’s just now occurring to me is that for all the talk about how “oh he’s so paranoid and closed off; he changed his name and hid himself away on an island”, it’s really worth considering that instead of choosing an island that’s in the middle of the ocean far away from the rest of society and any law enforcement, he chose an island that is not only right next to the mainland but specifically, right next to the very town his brother is living in. In fact, it’s so close to Stonetown that the children were able to send Morse code signals by flashlights, which means it has to be ~15-20 miles from the mainland at the very most if my research is accurate. He chose this location before Nicholas was even investigating his evil plans given that this is the location of the aforementioned evil plans.
He really said “I hate my brother. I never want to see him again”, hopped in a sail boat for a few hours and then was like “perfect, he won’t find me here”.
#can't remember if the twins grew up in stonetown in the show or not#but I can't decide which is funnier#curtain: I'm leaving my old life behind. I'm reinventing myself. I'll never see my twin again *stays in his hometown*#or if curtain keeps moving around the globe but nicholas just so happens to decide that paris/havana/stonetown is a great location actually#like the next day. every single time#he tries to move to antartica in a fit of rage and nicholas randomly decides his sole calling in life is to study penguins
This is incredibly funny because they are twins and both like similar intellectual things so I imagine Nathaniel being like “ah… they’re building a new engineering facility. The perfect place to learn and perfect my technology” but then Nicholas also moves there for the same reason, but A) just because he thinks the technology is cool and B) because he’s moving around trying to find a purpose/way to get away from the guilt of never being able to find Nathaniel. But of course, this frustrates Nathaniel because he does not want to be found and can’t have his brother disrupting his evil plans. So then Nathaniel has to keep finding new places to move and new disguises and accents so his brother doesn’t recognize him.
which raises the possibility of rhonda and number two trying to track down the sender and also nicholas' brother with increasing frustration, and little do they know Nicholas just. Is like a homing pigeon but specifically for Nathaniel.
#do you guys think that he tries to ruin his reputation in every town before he leaves #like he did in tpj #just out of spite #only like #that's half the reason they have to leave #so he's also just#creating the problem via @kaslynspeaks
SQ, but he's Toxic's brother. HOLD ON I'VE GOT IDEAS FOR THIS
SQ has similar properties to Toxic, but a little different: where Toxic is acidic, SQ is alkaline. A little less destructive (alkalines don't burn through skin as easily) but still dangerous. Best part is, they even each other out. Toxic doesn't burn as many people, and SQ can't turn their clothes into goop(alkalines are known to burn throuch fabric). They are dangerous on their own, but as long as they stick together they're safe to be around.
And then SQ goes missing.
Toxic goes off the deep end.
SQ really can't tell you why he falls over everything, even thin air. It's like the ground hates him. But that's impossible, right? It's not like the floor actually turns to soap under his feet.
(Alkalines are known to be quite slippery.)
OOOOOO this is very fun i like it, i’m getting déjà vu. I feel like I’ve seen this before. I know you’re Anon rn but it’s a very fun idea
This is a knitting WIP of mine, for a commission! It's going to a very lovely cat who overgrooms a little bit (especially in the winter). So far I'm really liking how it looks, and I think once it's done I'll be relieved to see it go, because counting back rows is stressful af.
Hot take but I love making Number Two “college aged”/barely out of college age in fanfics. Kids see anyone over eighteen and see them as an adult. But it makes everything so much more gut-wrenching if she’s barely out of “child” range herself (college kids, anyone?) because she has some experience with the world but not nearly enough to be secure in herself when kidnapped in TPJ. She’s twenty four, barely grasping how to be an adult in this world that is suddenly no longer in mortal peril, and she’s taken away from security, left to eat hardly anything, delirious, she’s probably convinced she’s going to die. And she still has so much life ahead of her, and she still is trying to find herself, and yet all these kids look up to her as someone reasonable, mature, and secure in her adulthood when she is anything but.
“The missing aren't missing, they're only departed. All minds keep all thoughts — so like gold — closely guarded.
Grow the lawn and mow the lawn. Always leave the TV on.
Brush your teeth and kill the germs. Poison apples, poison worms...”
“The free market must always be completely free. The free market must be controlled in certain cases. The free market must be free enough to control its freedom in certain cases. The free market must have enough control to free itself in certain cases...”
Much to my disappointment, I have concluded there is no such thing as perfect control. I have come to understand, however, that the illusion of perfect control can amount to the same thing.
— Trenton Lee Stewart, The Mysterious Benedict Society
theartofmadeline
gummygunk
