#awanderingballoon

The long-story-short answer is that DW and LJ are pretty similar, at least in terms of the actual user experience; the interface is very much alike. Which was on purpose, because DW was created as an alternative to LJ that used essentially the same code, or similar enough to make no difference (back when most of fandom was on LJ, before Tumblr and Twitter really took off, so blog-style sites with threaded comments were the basic model that fandom was used to). It was supposed to look like LJ because it was supposed to be a place where LJ people could go and have a similar fandom experience to the site they left behind.

The big difference is that DW is run by a small US-based indy company, and LJ is run by a large Russia-based social media company that mainly caters to their Russian users and is also somewhat overrun with spambots these days. (It wasn’t always that way, but the site got bought out years ago.)

Fandom mostly left LJ for DW because of a series of similar issues to what’s currently going on with Tumblr - blog deletions and the like. DW was created in direct response to the early rounds of blog deletions, and seemed to pick up a new wave of users every time something new happened at LJ, to the point where most people who were in LJ fandom and hadn’t left for places like Twitter or Tumblr eventually ended up on DW. These days, LJ is kind of a ghost town, and even most of the people who stuck around are also on DW or elsewhere.

If you were going to pick one or the other, I’d recommend DW since it’s the place where a more active fandom community can be found (and LJ at this point has been basically abandoned by its corporate overlords; it’s likely that it’ll eventually be shut down by its parent company). You can do automatic crossposting between DW and LJ, so I do that to keep a toe in LJ and stay in touch with the handful of people I know who haven’t abandoned it, but I don’t spend much time on LJ anymore.

46. Family

~~

“I don’t get it!” Tim shouted over the sound of gunfire. He kept his hands over his ears, glancing up at Jason in annoyance. “You hate me!”

“To a point, yeah.” Jason hummed back easily, keeping himself firmly planted in front of Tim’s hunched, bleeding body. He stopped shooting for a moment, listened, then shot four more rounds in a blink.

“Then why are you trying to save my life?!”

“Family, kid.” Jason sniffed, calming reloading, ignoring the shout of pain from the criminals he’d hit. “You know the saying. Can’t live with ‘em, would kinda rather not live without ‘em, no matter how big a pain in your ass they are.”

Sure thing! Sorry for the wait, I’ve been working retail for Black Friday Season so I haven’t had the energy to do more than lay on my sofa and groan in weariness.

What they smell like:

Fast food mostly. Sweaty teenager. Tears. Loss of Innocence.

How they sleep (sleeping position, schedule, etc):

Despite what a lot of people think, Tim does actually sleep relatively often. He just tucks himself up in weird places to do it. It doesn’t register as weird to Bruce because his standard is tiny Dick Grayson sleeping on top of the bookshelves in the library, but Tim has been found curled up under desks, on top of desks, on the floor around his laptop like a cat with a toy, in a cupboard under the bathroom sink.

What music they enjoy:

Tim is and always will be a 90s grunge child in my heart. I also may or may not have an at length post about this here.

How much time they spend getting ready every morning:

It depends. Anywhere from “Bold of you to assume he gets ready in the morning” to a few minutes if he has a board meeting to 30 minutes if he has nothing to do that day.

Their favorite thing to collect:

He still collects photos of Batman and Robin. Articles and tweets and other social media snippets too. 

Left or right-handed:

Right-handed but he’s trained himself to be ambidextrous to the point that for some things he actually favors his left hand now.

Religion (if any):

He is somewhere in a nebulous zone between lapsed Catholic, atheist, and Jewish. He doesn’t even really know probably.

Favorite sport:

Does parkour count as a sport?

Favorite touristy thing to do when traveling (museums, local food, sightseeing, etc):

Tim’s a nerd. He just likes to wander around an enjoy things. He doesn’t get the opportunity very often.

Favorite kind of weather:

I have also headcanoned about this before. Cliff notes version is that sun makes Tim happy and helps his depression but then he is sunburned because this child has no melanin in his skin.

A weird/obscure fear they have:

I’m not going to take this opportunity to go into angsty depth because honestly, none of those are weird. Just sad. He can’t stand insects though. No actual reason. They just bug him (pun full intended.) Once Damian finds out...

The carnival/arcade game they always win without fail:

I am so sorry for not seeing this sooner!! The positivity ask is here 

9. Honestly, this is so hard. Nothing jumps to mind... so I’m just going to pick from something I’ve written recently! 

From my Day 1 of Inktobler this year— Poisonous:  The line of glass-colored bottles stretched before her, and she imagined each one giggling, whispering, begging for her to choose.

I just thought it was a really good bit of imagery that really gives the audience a peek into Elizabeta’s mindset, the tone of the piece, and possibly a bit of foreshadowing? That whole piece was pretty good in general! At least, I thought it was haha

10. I write fic (though I haven’t for the last couple of months) and I constantly get so much nice feedback! People who bother commenting at all are one of the main reasons I feel encouraged to keep writing, but the best ones are the paragraph long messages I can get. 

BUT two of the ones that made me the happiest (again, in recent memory) is when I got a message from someone who wanted to translate my work and when one of my works were added to a collection of the “best” for the fandom. I was that kind of happy where I have to throw myself onto my bed and roll around a little because I’m so giddy. 

writer asks 📃

!!!!! my goodness that’s a lot lol. Thanks for all these! 

ink: what do you do to “set the mood” when writing?I literally don’t lmao. I just sit down and do it. I think that’s one of my strengths with writing, honestly. I can arrive at a cafe and get on with it, sit down at my desk at home, be in a social group and ignore them for a bit, write on a train and so on. I don’t really need to be in any sort of mood.

pen and paper: do you prefer writing by hand or on a device? why?Ohhh on a device for sure. I used to write by hand many years ago but it got old fast. Nothing can replace a keyboard for me now. When I’m out and want to write I take a small tablet with me and a Bluetooth keyboard. 

diary: how many pieces have you written that are just for you or will never see the light of day?Way too many to count. I only started showing my work this time last year, when I found a little more confidence in my writing ability, but I can see so many flaws in even my most recent pieces that it’s hard to look past it.

journal: do you ever write just so you can enjoy something to read?Hmm usually not, I write with a purpose, even if it’s just to remember something or to practice. 

pulitzer: tell about/link a piece where you felt your writing was the best.I’ve answered this one before :’) it was with an experimental one shot I wrote this time last year. It wasn’t necessarily my best piece but I was very passionate about it.

genre: what genre do you prefer to write in?Fantasyyy :’)

narrator: what pov do you like writing in best?It’s always been a mix of first and third, but now I’m definitely leaning towards first. I guess it depends on what I’m writing, but I love first person for the intimacy it can build between a character and reader.

backstory: how did you come to love writing?I have literally always loved writing, but I think I only really realised how much this time last year, when I started getting shorter pieces out there. I think that was when I decided I wanted to move out of science / engineering.

time-lapse: how long have you been writing (as a hobby or for work)?Too long to remember, ever since I was a child!

carnegie: what authors and/or books/stories have inspired you to write or influenced your work?Ngl “Circe” has been a huge influence on me this year, for the pacing and writing quality. I’ve mentioned His Dark Materials before in the past but yeah, the concept of daemons from that trilogy has been an influence on the story. Interstellar (the film) also inspired me, as well as Phantom of the Opera.

dickinson: what insecurities do you have about your own writing? what do you think you should improve on?Oh I have like a million insecurities. I worry about my pacing, the quality of my writing, awkward tense shifts, bad dialogue, boring scenes, bland / terrible characters and so on. Trying to characterise angels can be very challenging, especially when readers may approach a piece with predefined thoughts about how angels should speak and behave, so I often keep that in mind. I also tend to lean towards purple prose and I really want to make sure I’m not overdoing it. I personally think I should improve on literally everything lmao.

playlist: what kind of music/songs help you write? do you have a writing playlist?Nope, I usually write in silence. That said, I often think of scenes whilst walking around and listening to music.

notepad: can you write anywhere or do you have to be in a specific place and mood to write?I can usually write anywhere, but libraries and cafes are my favourite places to work. That was something I found out whilst writing my doctoral thesis with my friends. I was lucky enough to live in a city where cafe culture was pretty big back in the UK, and my friends and I would write together in cafes for hours. Sigh.

Let’s play never have I ever!

Woo hoo! I certainly do!

I’m sorry this took a little while;I wanted to put together a solid list. I’ve gone back to both AO3 and FF.net toperuse my bookmarks and favs, and I’ll link to some writers I know here onTumblr, too. These are listed by fandom so it’ll be easier to get tosomething that interests you. And the summaries are taken from the ficsthemselves; anything I added is in parenthesis.

Tumblr writers I read: an-all-write-life, inanotherlifetimeiknowyou,crazyfreckledginger, pythiaaa, oh-mother-of-darkness, alittlewing, zombiesbecrazy, unavenged-robin, redhoodshood. (I know there aremore, but I can’t find them all at the moment!)

DC

The Enigmatic Death of Jason Todd - Origamidragons                

“This week on Buzzfeed Unsolved we’re discussing one of the most publicized mysteries of the last decade, and that is the death of Jason Todd.”

A Robin’sGotta Eat – RomanianDollar

When Jason gets injured in a gang fight he heads to the one person who willreceive him: Tim Drake. While there he finds his kid brother doesn’t have thebest diet habits, and decides to take matters in his own hands. (I love ficswith these two bonding.)

If He Had Come– bronwe-iris

Jason Todd has been a prisoner of the Joker for nine months. Then, against allodds and all hope, Batman rescues Jason and brings him back to Wayne Manor torecover. But has Batman come too late to save what is left of Jason? AU of theArkham Knight video game (There’s a sequel, too.)

feels like the world isresting on your shoulders - VioletSauce

Jason gives a startled laugh, then quietens immediately because hehasn’t laughed since before Bruce died, since before he took up the mantle. AsRobin, it was Jason’s personal mission to make Batman laugh, and as Red Hood,it was to make him angry. Now he’s Batman and he’s not laughing and he’s notfull of rage either. (So much angst, but it’s beautiful and an unexpectedtwist.)

The End of the Line - LemonadeGarden

Selina Kyle is asurvivor. It’s what she’s good at, and she knows that sometimes to survive,other people have to get left behind. And then one day, Bruce Wayne comes alongand proves her wrong. (Written from Selina’s POV and it’s one of the only ficsI’ve read where that’s the case.)

a trick of the mind, atraitorous heart - KatastrophicTodd

It was the result of a prompt from Tumblr: “Jason Todd trying to hidefrom his siblings in the days leading up to his birthday because he doesn’twant to celebrate. Angsty or fluff, write whatever you want!“ (I laughedand cried on this one. :)

The Thimble Ninja– Tiger Queen

Wally bets he can out-ninja Artemis. We shall see… (If you likeSpitfire, you’ll love this.)

Stargazer– LemonadeGarden

Jason Todd is seriously injured during patrol one night, and is forcedto stay at the manor to recuperate until his injuries are healed. To pass thetime, he makes a list of things he never got to do before he died.

Except there’s one small problem: most of them involve Bruce, and Jason doesn’treally think Bruce cares all that much about him anymore. (I’ve read thismultiple times and love it more every time.)

theyve broken me - Princex_N

Retraumatization isa conscious or unconscious reminder of past trauma that results in are-experiencing of the initial trauma event. It can be triggered by asituation, an attitude or expression, or by certain environments that replicatethe dynamics (loss of power/control/safety) of the original trauma. Beingforced to talk about your trauma before you’re mentally ready to do so can alsobe a trigger.

Jason agrees to talkto Bruce about the circumstances of his death and resurrection in Batman andRed Hood #20, at serious detriment to himself. (I needed tissues for this one..)

He is Risen - BloodFromTheThorn

Tim wakes up in a cell with an annoyingly cheerful Nightwing and really everythingjust goes downhill from there. Post Arkham Knight. (Angst like whoa. Tim &Dick are dealt a brutal beating, so take care.)

Thanksgiving at the Kents - cylobaby27

Clark convinces Diana to come to the farm for Thanksgiving, and Diana finallygets the chance to meet Bruce’s kids. There are far more of them than she hadexpected. (It’s told from Diana’s POV and is beautiful.)

Marvel

A Morbid Taste for Ice – sitehound

Darcy Lewis never imagined she’d be living in a house trailer in the New Mexicodesert with the God of Thunder and his sociopath brother, but she’s making thebest of the situation. Until a frozen corpse shows up on the front porch.Casting herself as amateur sleuth, she embarks on a journey that will challengeher definitions of good, evil, love and what it is to be human. (I’m a suckerfor Darcy/Loki.)

Wounded - PurpleArrowzandLeather

You and Loki are prisoners of war. You despise him. (There’s a sequel tothis, too.)

so collect your scars and wear ‘em well - fragileanimals

In which Loki stumbles upon a grieving Peter, and reluctantly offers tohelp the only way he knows how: with magic.

Un/Hurt - PoorYorick

5+1 - In which Loki got injured in the battle against Hela and tries tohide his moment of weakness from different people for different reasons. Andthe one person he tells the truth.

Supernatural

Thank You – clair beaubien

Ch1: The Apocalypse is almost upon them and Sam leaves his journal where pryingeyes can see. Ch 2 - what Dean wrote in his journal after Sam was gone. (Someangsty fluff and a wonderful plot idea.)

Three Words on an Index Card – staceycj

Christmas story set in S5 (This makes me cry every time.)

Pearl Harbor 1941 – Cheryl W

Total AU. The brothers are soldiers at Pearl Harbor during the sneak attack inWWII.

The Bizarre Winchester Murder Spree  - Origamidragons