#and it’s fine when you just stick to the queer corners of those fandoms but you really don’t want your posts to breach containment

[lumiilys]

Gonna go find my old paper dolls and try to draw Ed in some of their dresses. This is a brilliant idea.

[castlebyersafterdark]

wow your blog is so comforting and cosy to me. not just the title and the open minded discussion, just you seem chill even if youre not chill (you mentioned your wips are all over the place haha). but youre so like... level headed seeming. i dont get the impression that what people say here could sway you or make you doubt or get angry. i think thats what people mean by safe corners of the internet (an oxymoron lol) because i feel chill and calm when i come here, even if i dont agree with a take (hasnt happened yet) i feel like i would be happy to not agree and just be interested in the different point of view? idk. the internet in general often has manic or victimised or dangerous energy, and this page doesnt for me. i logged out of twit and im never going back lol

but this is a vibe, thanks!

This ask got me through the rest of my work shift absolutely grinning ahhh ❤️❤️❤️ Genuinely flattered that you think all of this? Because i'm really trying to carve out a fun fresh little space with this blog.

I was initially so hesitant to toe into the fandom after s4, but being deep in different fandoms on twitter was so demoralizing and fandom was Not Fun Anymore so I ditched and shifted back to tumblr, discovered byler was a thriving place, and became obsessed! Eventually I got disheartened when I saw how contentious the fandom was becoming as well. It's fiction! So what if people like to explore allllllll sorts of topics with the fictional characters they either relate to or just really like. Took awhile, but I really hoped there was a corner where people could just be chill and - chat openly! I'm a guy who loves sharing ideas and jokes and being very anti-shame as a mantra.

We all have different tastes and perspectives and that's a cool thing. I really want to be a person people can feel safe talking to, like I really don't like the unkind state of the internet and I'm very much a really chill dude. Even if folks have differing theories or different kinks or different story ideas - I love reading the variety? I love discussing different things? I love analyzing media! I love hollywood! I looooove romance and I loooove sex! Look into what the colors of the historic gay pride flag means - I try to live my life by those tenets and as a very very happily gay/queer guy, I'm just sometimes looking for an outlet to blow off some steam when I come home from a very demanding job. I love these characters and these actors. Corny as hell, but stranger things feels like such a safe zone to chill in when you find the right corner. So here I am. And here you fine people are! I hope yall stick around with me because I don't think I'll be bouncing from this fandom anytime soon. got too many ideas and I am never not writing haha ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[my-happy-little-bean]

Bean’s Commission Corner ✨

hello pals! inspired by a previous impromptu commission (and also the fact that i’m now an Adult who must fund their own survival out in the wild), i have decided to open up some slots for commissions! 

in general, my commission rate is $7.00 USD / 500 words, with a base fee of $4.00 USD to pay upfront (though this will come with my proof of concept, often in the form of an outline – sort of like a makeshift contract, if you will). if there is any special exceptions (i.e. it’s a longer story, you want me to write a poem, etc.) we can negotiate that in our messages.

more detailed information can be found below! 

some things to have ready as we discuss your commission:

preferred length – more often than not, i’ll stick to your preferred length since it is directly correlated to the cost. however, i do tend to over-write (because i often enjoy the things i write lol), so if i find that i went over what we talked about and cutting things out would make the piece less good, don’t worry! that’s a bean freebie for you heh. this sort of stuff can be further discussed as the process continues! 

prompts/pairings – if you have anything in particular in mind, please tell me! i will include my will’s/will not’s below related to what content i’m comfy writing, but having a general idea of what you’d like goes a long way, and if you need any help brainstorming, i am here for ya!

publicity of post – i obviously won’t post anything i write for you that you wouldn’t want posted, though if you do want me to post the story, that’s perfectly fine! i will @ you and everything!

details details details – anything else that you’d like me to keep in mind as i write! i want you to be involved in the process too :))

i currently take payments through paypal, and i’ll give you all that necessary information as we talk it out! easiest way to contact me is to shoot me a DM here (i don’t get notifications for asks, so directly messaging me is preferred!) 

the fandom that i currently write for is the sanders sides fandom, but if you are interested in another fandom/want an original piece, we can also discuss that!

i’m comfortable writing pretty much any genre (definitely more in my element with hurt/comfort & romance stories, but i’m flexible!) or ship in the fandom. i am most in my element with contained one shots/short-story style writing (though again, we can discuss anything that is outside of those realms!)

i am not comfortable writing any explicit NSFW content (mild is fine, we’ll just have to talk about what you have in mind), incest/underage ships, and what i’ll call extreme angst (i.e. writing explicit details of suicide, self harm, etc.). 

if there is any content that you might think is considered triggering/sensitive topic, please let me know and we can discuss that. also you should note that while i am a queer person of colour, my perspectives of race, sexuality, etc. are inevitably limited, so please keep this in mind when suggesting certain themes/messages. 

and that is all! thank you for taking the time to read this if you did. if you’re not looking to commission me right now, a reblog would be very much appreciated!

if you are looking for examples of my writing, you can click here for a tumblr masterlist of all my works, or here to view my ao3! other examples of writing (for example, my original works) are available upon request. 

have a lovely day! :)

[author-archive]

Author Interview: awickedplacethisis

Name: Simon

Tumblr: @awickedplacethisis​

Where else you can find them: ao3

What is the main pairing you write for?

Harringrove - Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington from Stranger Things

What inspired you to start writing for them?

The obvious tension between them in the show, and all the queer subtext I could see in Billy’s character! Plus, of course, all the amazing creators I found in the fandom. I wanted to contribute too!

Do you remember the first fic you ever wrote?

The first fic I ever wrote was definitely something Harry Potter related. The first fic I SHARED was a Simon vs. fic I wrote when the book came out, when that fandom was even smaller than it still is.

What fic/scene has been the hardest for you to write and why?

Billy’s relationship with his dad is always a challenge for me to write. Because we saw so little of it, and the little we saw was a mess. There’s a lot that hits close to home, whenever I write Billy in general. When I look back to the first time I ever wrote their relationship, I just want to go back and change it all. It’s a struggle, to capture something real, there.

What inspires you?

When I write, I get a lot of inspiration from thoughts running around in my own head, true events or just random things that COULD happen, to me. To someone LIKE me. But also, a lot of the beautiful fanart in the fandom give me real good ideas for fics. Just generally in life, my inspiration comes from fiction, I think. I’ve always read a lot, and that feeling of seeing something on paper that could happen to you, or would never ever happen, having that grip you and keep you in a whole different world, that feeling means a lot to me. Literature plays a big part in all aspects of my life, in the end.

Do you have a writing process? If so, what's it like?

Oh... I don’t think I even know my own process, really. I try to always have something at hand, a phone or computer or notebook, so I can write down ideas as soon as inspiration hits. That’s probably the only consistent thing, I write down all my ideas, big ones or small ones, because I know I forget them within the minute if I don’t. And from there, I usually try to find the “eye of the storm” first. What does the whole fic revolve around? How does it come to that place? Why does it change? Honestly, my projects are messes right until they’re done. Snippets of dialogue here, some author notes to myself there, delusional 2 am writing hidden away in a corner.

How would you describe your writing style?

My writing style is... messy. But that’s why I like it. It’s filled with cut off thoughts and italics, ‘cause that’s how I think. And that’s how I’d like to imagine those characters think. It’s also slightly influenced by the poetry I read, and just other literature in general. All though I try to be careful when it comes to that, ‘cause I’d rather something be plain when it comes to wording, than to be all fancy in a way the characters would never think. My writing style is like mundane poetry, if that makes sense.

Is there anyone that influences your style?

Not really, at least not consciously. I definitely take up tips from other writers, both in fandom and published authors. I see things I like in someone else’s writing and remember it for the next time I write. Something I think influences me a little is “The book of disquiet” by Fernando Pessoa.

What's your favourite line that you've written? This was a tough one, really. Probably this one, from my fic “the first time I saw the ocean (it was in your eyes)”

“to find darker blue in the lighter, specs of green so vivid that it’s weird he’s never seen them before. Maybe he’s never really looked , before.”

It’s really not a deep line or anything, but it really just captures Steve’s unknowing longing. The way he wants but he doesn’t know what. The way he sees so much that he’s never seen before, doesn’t really know what to do with that.

What do you find to be the easiest part of writing?

I don’t know if it counts, but nsfw content is definitely the easiest and non challenging stuff for me to write. ‘Cause just on a base level, it doesn’t really hold any depth. It can, depending on what you do with it, how you write the characters inner turmoil and everythin’. Other than that, I feel like it’s easy for me to write dialogue, all sorts of it. As a theatre kid, scripts have always had a big appeal, I guess.

What's the hardest?

The hardest is definitely getting to the point. I’ll spend too many words on building up a backstory, and then the actual plot just never happens. Backstory can be nice, but some fics call for that “being plunged right into the chaos”, from the start.

Why do you write?

I write ‘cause I’ve learnt no one else is going to give me the fiction I want. No ones gonna write characters like me if I do nothing. Sure, it’s starting, the whole diversity thing. But I won’t sit around and hope someone will write a book or script a movie with characters I can see myself in. I’ll write it myself. Of course, writing is a passion of mine. It’s not just that I wanna see myself on a page or a screen. The way we have languages, ways of creating stories and immortalize them, it’s so amazing to me. And I love it.

Why do you share your work?

I share my work in hope to make someone feel something. I want people to read words I’ve put together and feel things, feel pain or happiness or sadness or hope. Anything. ‘Cause it’s so baffling to me that words can DO that. I also want other people to be able to see themselves in something. A lot of people turn to fanfiction to find some kinda story they can see themselves in, and if I make even one person feel like they belong thanks to my work, I’ve succeeded.

Is there anything you’d like to share from a current WIP?

I’ve got quite a few of ‘em, and too little organization to finish them. Here’s an excerpt from my fic “the first time you said sorry (you used all the wrong words)” - part 2 of my “a series of firsts (in a way)”

“Nothing changes, except Steve can’t stop thinking about it. And he’s great at not thinking about it, but blue eyes and rough hands and deft fingers keep following him. That feeling, too. The one that gripped him, locked him in place. It choked him, left him heaving. Maybe it’s ‘cause it was Hargrove. He’d find some way of hurting him, even if he didn’t pound his face in. Maybe it’s the queer thing. The thing he’s never, ever thought about. The thing he locked away, kept away. Maybe it’s a sign that he’s not, that it’s so wrong that his body protested against it, locked itself in.”

(Italics got removed, but you can imagine I overuse the hell outta them)

Question from an anon: as a gay man, how do you feel about straight women who enjoy m/m fanfiction?

Now, this is quite the heated subject. And I do have a lot of feelings about that. Both as a gay man, and as a fanfiction writer. First, and most importantly, if what you enjoy is not harmful to you or anyone else, it’s okay to enjoy it. I’m all for enjoying things. As a content provider, my whole goal is for people to enjoy themselves. And I’d never restrict my content to one group of people, ‘cause everyone has the right to consume free media, and I want to share my work with everyone.

Straight women have the same right to enjoy content as any other person. Whatever floats your boat, do that. But, one thing needs to be clear. Enjoying m/m fanfiction in itself is nothing more than that. It doesn’t make you an ally of the community, and it doesn’t make you apart of it. Honestly, its just fetishizing. If you consume gay porn, it’s ‘cause it gets you going. If a straight woman consciously searches out gay porn or m/m fan fiction, its fetishizing.

And the extreme fetishizing of gay men in media is a problem. We’ve been given breadcrumbs of representation only to now be used as bait for straight girls who think it’s just sooo cute to see Timothée Chalamet get fucked on screen. And I get angry about that. I get angry that the representation we need is redirected to other people, people who really don’t care about the community as a whole further than their cute gay (and cis, and white) couples. I hate that. But i can’t sit and pretend like I have some sort of moral high ground. ‘Cause I make content that feeds into that. But it’s different, with fanfiction. I make content for MYSELF, and then whoever sees it, good for them. If all of my readers were straight women, I’d be fine with that. As long as they know that all they do is enjoy porn that fits their fetish. Or, if its not the smut, its still to an extent that. Fetishizing or romanticizing a group of people. And you do you, as long as you know that’s all you do.

Enjoy the harmless content you want to enjoy. And fanfiction is harmless. Just, this is the important part, don’t act like you’re doing more than that. You’re not a gay icon or an ally or super woke for reading about two fictional characters who interacted once fuck. You’re enjoying yourself, and thats fine. But in the end, its nothing more than that.  We’re a community, and you gotta stick up for everyone if you think you’re even close to an ‘ally’. Queer folk stick together. And when i say i don’t mind straight women reading my work, I gotta make one thing clear:

My work is to LGBT+ people, from someone in the community. I write because we deserve to see authentic people like us in fiction. And I’m doing my part to make at least one person feel like they can see a character and think “this is me”.