#i created the ao3 tag for my rarepair lol.....

[thedragonagebigbang]

Bang Creator Interview: Tumblr: @twist-shout-and-shells | AO3: Aint_No_Holy_Ghost

The Collaboration period has begun! In these quiet months before works are due, we want to foster a sense of excitement, camaraderie, and celebration among our participants. To that end, all participants were given the option of a formal interview by our mod, Dema, or an informal “ask-game” survey. We hope you enjoy getting to know our phenomenal creators as much as we have!

This is how local political unrest can help your love life!

Izzy and Dema talk writing (surprise!), trying and failing to catch a train, and Those Greek Guys

Dema: Starting current events (at the time of the interview): It's pitch writing time! How's it going?

Izzy: I've reached the part where the fun and games end and the heavier plot begins, so I'm moving more slowly. I totally lost control of the direction my story was going after chapter 3. But it's been a great time writing this story!

Dema: It is funny how our own stories can get away from us. I think I have my vibes pinned down and I almost always deviate. Does that tend to be your experience or are you usually a make-a-plan, stick-to-the-plan-type of writer?

Izzy: I try to be a no-plan writer. That's usually how my stories start: I get an idea and start in it with no real direction. But eventually I'm forced to develop some plan for where I'm going, and I try to stick to it. But I think the nature of stories is that sometimes they just write themselves and I'm simply their vessel.

Dema: I'm trying to remember which writer described it as trying to catch a train...

Izzy: That sounds familiar... But I can't remember either.

Dema: Wow, it's gunna drive me crazy. I'll put it in later… it was basically, you're on foot, and inspiration is like a train, and you're just grabbing onto whatever you can grab. Except I'm pretty sure a nobel prize-winning writer said it so it sounded much better.

[Narrator: Dema never did find the original source, and it really will drive her crazy. If you know it, tag her!]

When you say you eventually need to develop a plan, at what point do you realize you need to do that?

Izzy: Either when I run out of inspiration or when I have a clear idea of where I want to get, but no idea of how to get there. With my story for the DABB it was the former: after writing three chapters non-stop I hit a brick wall of "alright, and where am I going with this?"

Dema: I was going to ask about the DABB next! Did you have your preliminary idea before you decided to join in?

Izzy: Yes. It was an idea that had been kicking around in my head for a long while, but that I wasn't sure I should actually write because it's a) kind of a cliche and b) not a very popular pairing, but eventually I decided to just get it out there anyway. It started with a very particular line of dialogue and grew from there.

Dema: Oh, we love a rarepair in this house…And of course, I know what it is, and am excited.

Izzy: Lol! It was strange for me actually, becoming a rare pair writer. The first big bang I participated in was for Supernatural, a pairing with 100k fics on their tag. Now I'm writing for a pair with 100 fics, 4 of which are mine.

Dema: Incredible. You are holding down this fort. Also I love this little teaser. When did you start writing for DA?

Izzy: October 2022 (We're in 2024 already, jesus Christ)

Dema: Yes, unfortunately it is a daily shock for me as well. But I love how many people come into the fandom and create new fanworks even so long after the last game came out. What drew you in? Were you already hanging around the DA fandom before 2022?

Izzy: I started playing...at the end of 2021, I think. My brother introduced me to the franchise and my autistic little brain became obsessed with it. I was going to name my favorite game and protagonist, but considering they're the center of the fic, that'd be a spoiler. Anyway, I started following some DA blogs on Tumblr, and eventually thoughts of that game had consumed my every waking thought to the point I wrote two academic essays about it in my first year of uni. I wrote a significant portion of those 4 fics in the bus on the way to said uni. What drew me in most were the themes, really.

Dema: Any in particular?

Izzy: Found family and the tragic undertones of it all, mostly. I really like the way DA2 works as a tragedy in between two epics. The mage x templar conflict is also quite interesting. The tragedy x epic was totally the subject of one of those essays, btw. My professors suffer.

Dema: So I assume DA2 is your favorite of the franchise? Have you played all of them?

Izzy: Yes, it is! I've played all of them a couple of times, and DA2...several times. I don't know how many. 

Dema: I'm so curious if you played them in order or started with DA2. The "best order" to experience the DA universe is an interesting debate.

Izzy: No, I played them in order. Personally, I think it'd be strange to play them out of order, at least for the first time, because of the way the stories tie into each other. What I did do was play DA2 twice before I played Inquisition because on my first gameplay I didn't really check the writing desk (there wasn't anything like that in DAO and I was still new to games more complex than The Sims) and I missed Fenris entirely. Detail: he's one of my fave companions now

Dema: I'm pretty sure I missed Sera on my first DA:I playthrough. It's wild how much it impacts the story, if you miss a companion!

Izzy: Yes! I mean, it's a whole arc and a lot of banter you just don't get. Fenris has so much good banter!! I truly can't believe I missed him.

Dema: When it comes to the DA fandom, would you consider yourself a gamer first and a writer or reader second, or something else?

Izzy: That's a really difficult question. I'm not exactly a big gamer. Like, I'm not a completionist and I mostly play on casual because my real focus is the story being told. So I guess what I truly am is a "reader of the game" lol. Though I have been getting more into combat strategizing and stuff like that for DA2, because you can only play something on casual so many times before it loses the appeal. If you'll allow me an anecdote, to paint a picture of the kind of "gamer" I am: one time I was playing DAI in my brother's room (his computer), and he walks in, sees me with a vein popping on my forehead, stupidly focused, staring unflinchingly at the screen, and asks "what the f* are you doing?" I was in the undercroft tinting armors. 

And then, after that, I'm a writer.

Dema: This story is very relatable, lol. You've touched on the narrative structure of the franchise a bit and I'd love to hear more about that epic to tragedy to epic format, and why that resonated. Since you wrote a whole paper on it, just distill it into like four sentences, that shouldn't be hard right??? (I'm sorry)

Izzy: Oh, god. Ok. I'll try not to get too carried away :V

Dema: Please feel free. Here is a box to stand on, and a megaphone.

Izzy:  So. Uh. The Greeks, right? Those guys. Aristotle, more specifically. The Poetics and all that. I think DAO and DAI follow the formula of classic epics: you have this larger than life hero going on a very important quest to save the world. Notice that those games are longer than DA2, kind of like an odyssey, if you will. There are many quests, many steps to the journey before the hero can rest. It's glorious and grand, regardless of whether the hero survives or not. Now DA2 follows the formula of tragedies even closer than the other games follow the epic. And I mean step by step aristotelian formula. You have Hawke, who rises into fame and fortune. The rising movement is very important, because you later have the downfall. He gets fame and riches, but everything comes with a cost, usually the lives of his family. So in DA2 you have this constant rise and fall movement, leading up to the end where (if you defend the mages, at least) Hawke is forced to leave behind everything they spend 7+ years building. They lose everything. In the essay I compared it to Oedipus: he becomes king and etc, there's this looming prophecy (remember Flemmeth when you do the amulet ritual), and in the end everything falls apart. That's as summarized as I can get lol. And Hawke starts out as a nobody! And the game is actually divided in acts!!!

Dema: I read a LOT of classics/Homer in undergrad and I love this. Ten out of Ten. Thank you! I could honestly listen to you talk about that epic/tragedy structure for another hour but alas, we are out of time. To close the interview, and just for fun: Can you come up with a buzzfeed-style, misleading, click-bait title for your fic? Without giving anything major away that would identify you lol

Izzy: Ok, so, this is as vague as I managed: This is how local political unrest can help your love life (Also, I just realized I went out to get wifi and did the whole interview wearing a DA2 sweater. It was a complete accident, I swear)

Dema: AMAZING. Please show me the sweater!!

Izzy: The culprit:

Dema: I love it. Thank you for chatting with me, Izzy!

[lumosatnight]

Year in Review 2023

I did this for 2022 and I couldn't pass up the opportunity for more stats. Thanks @oknowkiss (x) for the tag! Here is my year in review: 2023 edition 🥳

Stats

Word Count: 339,585 (86,974 new)

Hits: 136,378 (68,393 new)

Number of Fics started and finished: 12 over 1k and 49 under 1k

Number of WIPs started: idk... like 10? 20?

Ships I wrote this year (not including background ships): Lots and lots and lots but mostly Drarry (8), Snarry (2), Drarius (2), Fleurmione (2), Lunansy (2), and Cissamione (2)

Favorite ship(s): This year maybe Narlily, Snarry, Luther, Mollytrix

Least favorite ship(s): This year I was introduced to Marylily and Rosekiller and idk they just don't vibe with me.

AO3 Fic Writers/Artists/Creators/Readers who have inspired me and my writing this year:

@itsphantasmagoria for their incredible Drarry video game

@sleepstxtic for her incredible range of fic and nuanced depictions of canon including my fav fic of the year!

@anaxandria-writes for binding my fic!!! I am so grateful and inspired.

@givereadersahug for organizing @hprecfest and always being so joyous and enthusiastic about rare pairs (you will be very missed, my dear 💗)

Countdown

5️⃣ Top 5 works I’m most proud of from 2022 (not necessarily my most popular)

For I have Found Salvation [Snarry, E, 7.1k] — for @snarryauctoberfest with priest Severus and parishioner Harry. My very first Snarry fic!

Of Dreams and Death [Dronarry, T, 2.3k] — for @dronarryfest and had so much fun plopping the characters into the Sandman AU.

up here, i'm floating [Mollytrix, M, 1.2k] — for the @hpsaffics Secret Santa Exchange. This is possibly one of my fav ships. I'm glad I got the chance to write them as angsty as I wanted.

Such a Sweetheart [Fleuratrix, T, 2.4k] — for the HPFC server Untagged Fest. A horror coffeeshop AU!

Kinktober 2023 [Multiship, E, total 15.5k] — technically a series but my first time participating in Kinktober. I was worried I wasn't going to finish all the days in time.

4️⃣ Top 4 current WIPs that I’m most excited to release in 2023

Honestly no idea yet. I have a lot of ideas on the back burner but none that are MUST DO RIGHT NOW. But I will say that I'm excited for bunch of fests like @hptransfest @ladiesofhpfest @hptriadfest and @hp-rarepairs

3️⃣ Top 3 biggest improvements in my writing over the past year

Smut!! I've developed my smut writing a lot. Kinktober really opened my eyes to a lot of kinks as well 👀

Tone: I think I'm getting a lot better at matching tone in my writing for consistent characterizations and building atmosphere

Estimating word count: I've gotten so much better at looking at an idea and predicting how long the final story is going to be.

2️⃣ Top 2 resolutions (ways I wish to improve my writing/blog) for the new year

FINISH A LONGER WORK!! This was on my resolutions from last which I didn't complete lol. It's okay, I'll try again this year.

Create a more consistent writing schedule

1️⃣ Number 1 favorite line I’ve written this year!

Harry Potter has a tiny dick. It’s just a fact of life. The Chosen Microdick, the Small Saviour, the Boy with an Itty Bitty Package. And oh, how Draco loves it.

From The Chosen Microdick [Drarry, E, 500], part of my Kinktober 2023 series and I just love the play on words here. A banging start to a banging series 🤣

Not sure who has already done a stats roundup/fic review/2023 thingy, so I'll leave the tag open.

Happy 2024! 💖

[roxannarambles]

wait. wait wait wait WAIT. WHAT??? Julinemo is a RAREPAIR? I ship those two since the beginning of my playthrough. I genuinely didn't knew??????

Admittedly 'rarepair' is a subjective term, but considering how massive a franchise Pokemon is and that Nemona is the primary rival of the newest Pokemon game, I'd say the fact that Nemona/Juliana only has 114 works listed on AO3 at the moment (only 92 if you remove Explicit ones) is pretty shockingly low. Although the # of fics there that pair her with the other main characters are also low (only 35 for Nemona/Arven and 70 for Nemona/Penny); the most popular pairing seems to be Nemona/Florian (163), by these metrics at least

In terms of Tumblr, I definitely get the impression that Nemona x Penny and Nemona x Arven are topics that get far more posts than Nemona x Juliana. Now that's just my impression, but I've spent over a year obsessed with Julinemo and searching tags, and I think I have a decent sense of how much content is out there on Tumblr. (Still, if folks have other perspectives, please do chime in and share!)

Nemona x Juliana is definitely more popular if you expand your search online to Japanese artists. Also, I personally believe that the majority of Nemona x Juliana fans do not create fan content for the ship or original posts about them, based on the number of interactions & reblogs I see on Julinemo posts. So, I think there are a lot more Julinemo fans than it initially seems, they just aren't super active or talkative in fandom spaces. When the Yoasobi music video came out, it especially highlighted this; I saw SO many people losing their minds on Twitter, super excited about the ship, but many of those seemed to be people who normally didn't make posts otherwise.

So, yeah! That was probably a more wordy reply than you wanted, lol, but in summary, they do indeed seem to be rarepair, relative to other Scarlet/Violet ships and especially relative to the fan content you can find dedicated to ships in similarly-sized fandoms. But like I said, I think there are a lot of Julinemo fans out there who just aren't super active-- I'm hoping Julinemo Week helps encourage more participation! :)

[dytabytes]

Fic Writer 20 Questions

tagged by @sweaterkittensahoy

How many works do you have on AO3? 184

What's your total AO3 word count? 270,123

What fandoms do you write for? Currently I'm writing a lot for One Piece with a side of FF14, but I've hopped around a lot over time!

Top Five Fics by Kudos drown the bed in kerosene and let your matches fall (Monster Prom) Local Dumpster Fire Didn't Try, Still Got Laid (BnHA) flock (Haikyuu!!) (love is like ice cream) we've always got room for more (俺物語!! | Ore Monogatari!!) this isn't breaking news (BnHA)

Do you respond to comments? I do my best! Sometimes it takes me a very long time, and some fics I just never reply on because I'm so long out of the fandom that it feels disingenuous to reply though...

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Oh boy, you know, I really don't write a lot of sad things? Emotionally, maybe the only victim of these innocent crimes (is me), which is a heavily one-sided love focused DCMK fic In terms of actual tragedy, Corporeal (or: Oa is only slightly better than a shopping mall) wherein the concept is "what if we took the zombie apocalypse concept of Blackest Night and really just turned the dial up to 11?"

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Most of them? Most of them. I write a lot of adult content, and PWPs tend to end happily. My current fave is we carry our oceans within us, wherein Chopper celebrates his birthday over three different years. The last one is the happiest ending possible c:

Do you get hate on fics? Rarely! I think the most issues I've had were in MZDS fandom. I set commenting to registered users only around then, and haven't had issues since. I think being mostly a rarepair writer helps a lot with that lol

Do you write smut? Enthusiastically and with great regularity

Craziest Crossover? A tie between DCMK x FF14 (you are sweet like honey and I am filthy from it) and Untitled Goose Game x Fallout 4 (Fallout 4: Goose Game Redux)

Have you ever had a fic stolen? If I have, I don't know about it!

Have you ever had a fic translated? A couple! I feel like it's rare, but it's happened at least once or twice?

Have you ever co-written a fic before? In theory yes? I have a bunch of WIPs that have never been finished that live in my documents, and then I have one (1) fic that was created based on an RP with a friend years ago!

All time favorite ship? That's like asking me to name my favourite child. I am aghast, I am offended, I am waving my hands in a speechless manner, I am going to say Wrightworth because I keep coming back to read it again and again, even though I've only written fic for it maybe once

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I mean, if it's unlikely I'll finish a WIP, it's because I don't want to work on it anymore? If I had to choose, it would be a fic that I was co-writing with a friend from a fandom that I'm still into, but that they're desperately no longer interested in. I'm not going to tell you about it, because I'd hate to pressure them about it c:

What are your writing strengths? Insert gif of frightened cat with its back arched and tail puffed up. I'm bad at identifying my own strengths. If forced to offer an answer, I'd say that I'm good at writing strong emotions between characters, both during smut and outside of it? That seems to be what my top kudos'd fic indicate, at least.

What are your writing weaknesses? 1) Commas. Fuck those guys. 2) Finding synonyms for the word "moan". Why must English limit me so? 3) Writing money shots is annoying and boring. I can come up with innovative ways to skip writing prep (some of which are: what about a blow job instead?) but you can't really write a porn without someone having an orgasm and let me tell you, it's really fucking hard to come up with a new and inventive way to write "and then [character] came. all things considered, it was pretty good." you know? Most of my WIPs are all of the foreplay and cut off right before that bit. There's a joke to be made about orgasm denial here, probably.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language? Sometimes useful, but I categorically ignore footnotes, so if you put words from a foreign language into a fic and translate them that way, I will 100% never know what they mean.

First fandom you wrote in? Harry Potter. I'm a product of my generation.

Favorite fic you've written? Again, why are you making me name my favourite child? I'm proud of a lot of my fic, I think, but off the top of my head, I'm going to list off a top 5 of fics that I haven't mentioned yet: love is a sacrament that should be taken kneeling (BnHA) now he calling me nyquil (MZDS) make of my arms a castle (FF14) DAREDEVIL'S RAINY NIGHT: A HARROWING TALE OF MANPAIN (Daredevil) ridiculous, unacceptable, pls don’t (DCMK)

Tags (very optional): @kaijuscientists, @janzoo, @elementalsight, and now I can think of precisely zero other friends who I'm fairly sure write the fanfiction haha

[afaramir]

20 questions for writers!

tagged by @emyn-arnens literally over a month ago and im finally getting to it now lol much love thank you for continuing to tag me in things even though im the worst at doing them sometimes.

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 65 (15 of them are under my archive pseud though lol)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 265,381

3. What fandoms do you write for? actively writing for lotr, pacific rim, my secret little marvel rarepair

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? these are so funny they're all my avatar work from before i remade on this blog. well throwback i guess. they're still dear to me.

open arms, atla sokka coming out to his dad

earth system history, atla sokka/zuko college au where zuko is an earth scientist

[redacted h*rry p*tter work from 2016]

love's not for show, atla bato/hakoda sokka creates a master plan to get his dad and bato to admit that theyre dating but they're NOT

knife loves heart, human loves human, james bond 007/q post-spectre fixit fic (my Only 00q and possibly also my only fixit fic?)

5. Do you respond to comments? i try so so so hard but the executive function that allows me to say anything coherent only comes around every so often lol

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? a couple contenders for this one but if we're talking strictly the ending probably i'm not leaving (til we make it home) (exu calamity patia & laerryn / patia & the ring of brass exploring her relationship with love and loneliness and finally being free to express how much she loves her friends only in the last hours of her life and dying happy for it).

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? also a couple contenders for this one but i feel like many of them are tinged with not a small amount of melancholy. so we are going with a big throwback to sun through open windows (atlok mako/wu plotless little morning routines fic that is about nothing in particular but also about realizing you have everything your younger self thought you would never have).

8. Do you get hate on fics? not in a long long time (like probably 7-8 years) thank god!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? yes although none of it is published (yet). what kind? idk man whatever im horny about this month. ok but for serious. really been into character developing smut. do u know what i mean. i’m telling you something about who each of these people are and how they view each other through the way they fuck. this probably says quite a lot about me

10. Do you write crossovers? i'm not much for the kind where characters from different franchises Interact, but i am partial to taking some guys and translating them to a different setting. ah to put characters in a situation and watch as the fundamental core of their being stays the same....

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? hope not lol

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? not that i'm aware of!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? yes! we have not finished it but it's absolutely CORE thesis-level influential on my entire psyche. even if we never get back to it i'll think about it until the day i die and that is not an exaggeration.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? of ALL TIME? i straight up dont know if i can answer this one. ALL TIME???? my long-term emotional permanence is NOT good enough and my recency bias is too strong for this. ok i think the only way i can answer this is with the ship that has gotten the deepest into my psyche and my soul. which is yancytendo pacific rim. they. affect me. on a level i will probably never be able to fully explain. the 'giving a guy built only to be a thematic device a personality and a history and deep gut-wrenching grief' of it all. the 'you are in love with a guy who is doomed by the narrative and despite your best efforts it means that he is a personification of all the grief you carry inside of you' of it all. yancy becket you will live forever in my heart tendo choi you will ALWAYS be famous. augh. yeah i picked right

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

hmm probably something about the way you look tonight, my mallorytanner thesis statement fic, the genesis of which was genuinely a life-altering event to me. i was listening to the titular elton john song walking home from a general chemistry exam in the snow and i was struck so violently with An Image for truly the first time in my life. truly not ONCE before that moment had that happened to me. this was in my freshman year of college this fic has existed in various forms for going on FIVE YEARS. will it ever be done. GOD i fucking hope so. i actually do hold out hope for that one.

the one i am actually hopeless on ever finishing is orogenesis, the sprawling expanded stemverse pianjeong backstory au fic. the whole structure of it is quite clear in my head actually. i just didn't have the life experience to create the plot structure to go with the emotional beats when it generated itself in my mind in 2020-21 and now that i DO have it the problem is that the inciting event is incredibly clear to me and yet bears too close of a resemblance to. personal events and horrors. for me to ever finish it! i'll think about it forever though. creating and writing that au changed my life for real it was the longest thing i'd ever written and the best when i wrote it and it's still very close to my heart.

16. What are your writing strengths? characterization and character development baby. evocative use of metaphor in descriptions of both character and setting. lavish description.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? PLOT. cant create that from my brain and i rarely attempt it. i have plenty of stuff to write about that does not require it. relatedly not great at worldbuilding.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? generally don't do it much except for a stray word or two. i don't mind reading it though! tolkien fic writers who translate full sentences you are god's strongest soldiers.

19. First fandom you wrote for? ough this one will be embarrassing. entering the archive pseud. wait is it also tolkien that's funny. life is a circle in some ways. this is first fandom on my ao3 account btw. the VERY first one i wrote for...i will take that knowledge to the grave.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

ah i feel like my answer for this one changes every time but i can't help it, i love many of my darlings equally. this time im giving the spotlight to life holds onto you, my chris pike & jim kirk post-star trek 2009 fic that is a few thousand words of 'what if your sort of son feared that you thought he was taking everything you ever wanted from you and he is right that you have thought that but you are learning how wrong you are.' i cried in the university library writing it and reread it recently and remembered it was good. recency bias baby

tagging the usual suspects @potatoesandsunshine @aaronstveit

[caesarclowningaround]

Jess's 2023 AO3 wrapped!

tagged by @lumiereandcogsworth!! Thank youuu 💕

works published: 22

word count: 325,457

bookmarks: 26

shortest fic: Let it Snow at 209 words

longest fic: In terms of fics I started pre-2023 and continued: Somewhere in Time at 107,140 words. Though for fics written completely in 2023: Thursday's Child at 28,318 words

gifts: I received a few moodboards from @thatpratdragonlady thank you so much 🥺🥺 And I gave some to several people <3

collabs: Technically the Last Christmas movie poster. I made the icons 🥰

events: I made a Majid/Fabio moodboard for TJ's Valentine's Day event. I wrote 6 fics of my Incubus!Mickey series for TJ's There Will Be Monsters Halloween event. AND I created 12 pieces (11 fics and one moodboard) for each month of 2023 for Marwan Simposium's Year of Marwan event!!

most popular by kudos: Again, Somewhere in Time. But for 2023 only: Let it Snow

most popular by hits: Somewhere in Time (AGAIN), but for 2023: Good Morning

most popular by comments: SiT yadda yadda 2023: Thursday's Child :D

fic that made me smile: sunnysuguwu on ao3's ZoSan fic Chef's Kiss. This fic is so fucking funny I could not stop smiling while reading it XD

fic that made me cry: foxglove on ao3's Sanji fic cast your burdens out to sea (give them to me). It's very dark and realistic, but it's written so goddamn well, I'm constantly amazed. They haven't finished it yet, but I'm still enjoying it. Warning: the fic is about sexual assault and it gets pretty graphic, so be aware of that. But if that's something that you can handle, I definitely recommend checking this fic out

overall thoughts: I wrote A LOT of fics this year, most of them for events. The Year of Marwan challenge kicked my butt a lot, but I'm really proud of the works I created for it; Thursday's Child was my favorite fic I wrote this year and I wrote it for the June prompt. The big downside was that I ended up hardly working on any of my WIPs (particularly Snowblind). A year ago I thought I'd have Somewhere in Time finished before the year was out but tbh I barely worked on it. That'll be my goal for 2024: to get that fic done! XD Frankly, I might say no to most events this year just because I want to get those WIPs done, but I also want to work on my original book. And in terms of fanfic, I really want to write some One Piece fic this year lol Anyway, here's to more Mickey Miranda fic and maybe some OP rarepair fics for 2024~

tagging: @pigsinablanketfort, @heroofshield, @thatpratdragonlady, @zebsfloppyears, @aphroditestummyrolls, aaaaaaaand ANYBODY ELSE WHO WANTS TO DO IT CAN CONSIDER THEMSELVES TAGGED!!

[kitausuret]

I have trouble with my fanfics. I never really like them and I’m not sure if other’s enjoy them. I don’t get that many compliments or votes. What should I do? I want feedback.

Hi anon! It's always rough when you're feeling down about your writing. For that first part, unfortunately all you can really do is - you guessed it - practice. Keep writing! I know, nobody likes to hear that, but you've got to first and foremost allow yourself to write something that sucks. Just get it out onto the notebook, or word document, or whatever you use. That's always gonna be step one.

Secondly, think about what you enjoy about what you read, whether in fanfic or in other kinds of prose. What about it makes it enjoyable to you? Can you make note of anything that you can adapt into your own writing? Your old language arts and literature teachers probably had the right idea, that the best writers are also big readers. It's all about learning and adapting!

For specifically your own writing, if there's anything you're unsure of, I strongly recommend getting a beta, or at least a trusted writer friend that you can at least use as a sounding board. I personally have never used a beta, but I have people I can go to if I feel stuck on something or need to run a part by someone. Sometimes you can even find them in fandom communities!

Which then leads us to the second part of your ask - actually getting feedback. Now, I'm not sure where you post. I don't recognize the terminology of "votes", so if anyone can clue me in that might be helpful LOL. I personally do not post my fics outside of Ao3 and Tumblr. In the past I've also used FF.net and DeviantART. I have by far gotten the most feedback on Archive of Our Own, followed by fanfiction.net, but again, I don't use the latter anymore. I really like Ao3 so if you don't already, you might try posting there.

I also don't know what kind of fics you write, if it's with popular characters or a rarepair, if it's a huge fandom or a tiny one, on and on. Feel free to come off anon if you're comfortable and we can discuss this further. But I definitely collected my small handful of readers by simply being active in fandom - and by leaving feedback/communicating with other writers. I also would encourage you to look into fandom events, exchanges, Big Bangs, even just fandom weeks! There are lots of low-stress ways to almost guarantee more feedback.

Now, if you're like me, and you're literally creating the tags you want to see in the world, there may not be others that you know of yet. BUT, frequent communication and leaving feedback on works that are maybe similar to your own can help build relationships! I also love joining fandom Discords because a ton of them at least have a writing/fic channel.

Almost every single writer I've traded feedback with, I either met through commenting on multiple of their fics, finding them through fandom tags on Tumblr, or meeting them in a Discord server. Usually one of the above feeds into the other two. It's scary sometimes but putting yourself out there really does lead to more feedback and encouragement.

Finally, you have to accept that not all of your fics will take off. Even the ones you're really proud of. Hell, I just made a post about that yesterday. Typically, it's not that what you're making is bad or poorly written. Sometimes it's just niche. Sometimes it's just not what people click on when they're going through the tag. That's why it's important to, as much as you can, write for yourself.

Bottom line, keep practicing, reach out to friends for feedback, hang out with other writers, and get active! Above all, though, have fun. I know it sounds silly, but when you're doing something for free, please make sure that ultimately you're enjoying it. You have one guaranteed reader: yourself!

[queenlua]

17 & 21!

17. How did you get into Fire Emblem?

there was a review for one of the GBA games in Electronic Gaming Monthly, lol. (remember magazines? man magazines were great)

the screenshot + review made it seem interesting to me, even though the review was actually kind of middling—the reviewer was like "it's Advance Wars, but less good and with dragons instead of tanks"—but i was like "wait, dragons are objectively cooler than tanks, and i bounced off Advance Wars for some reason even though i liked the idea of it conceptually, let's check this out"

and yeah then i acquired a copy of Sacred Stones sometime thereafter and the rest is history. i still have ABSURDLY fond memories of the game boy sp i played the two gba games to death on. LOTS of sneaking turns in-between breaks during marching band practice, etc

21. Any rarepairs/crack ships you have?

the obvious answers are "Micaiah/Naesala" and "Zihark/Shinon" because i had to CREATE the TAG for both of those on ao3 (someone else join my tags plz it's so lonely)

and also rethi sold me on Pelleas/Naesala like a decade ago and it's burned into my soul

there's also two rarepairs i've never written much for but am quite fond of: Ike/Reyson and Ike/Ranulf. Ike/Ranulf because Power Couple Goals, there's just something so satisfying about two generally equanimous people being badass at their respective deals while still having a deep bond between them. Ike/Reyson because the vibe of their support conversations is so nice??? (and underrated/not noticed by many people, i think.) their dynamic feels like it could be a bit like Reyson/Tibarn but without the massive, massive baggage and massive, massive history. which i like, of course, but it'd also be fun to watch Reyson vibe with a jock & also do the Thing TM where they talk in SOLELY actions because they suck at feeling-words & maybe Reyson would grow a bit through the whole thing. whereas my endgame for Tibarn/Reyson usually looks more like "possesive murder-pet vibes" lol

[swanmaids]

13 and 15 for the smut asks please!

Thank youuuu 😎

13. What was the most surprising pairing you’ve written smut for?

In terms of just like general rarepairs, I did need to create a new ao3 tag for Luthien/Curufin’s wife, but anyone who knows me would NOT be surprised to know I wrote smut about them lol. In general I think my smut pairings aren’t that surprising, because they’re mostly my more beloved ships lol. But I have a Turgon/Glorfindel/Ecthelion nsfw fic in my drafts (tagline: healing cock but it doesn’t work) that I’m hoping to post sometime this week that might be a little outside my usual wheelhouse

15. Common words/phrases/imagery that shows up in your smut?

Lol I was actually thinking about this the other day…

Hands and fingers

“Deep inside”/ “deep within” / other variations

Characters being embarrassed by their own desires or thinking that they should be

Crying during or after sex

Wet and messy vibes 😎

[foxbearclub]

✷ june's notes ➊

hi there, i'm june! my pronouns are they/them and this is a space where i reblog a plethora of my current hyperfixations ✶

other than my tumblr, you can find me here:

twitter - i rt a lot and occasionally scream about my favs.

carrd - all other favs are mentioned here, so check it out!

AO3 - i write heavy angst, character studies, and maybe fluff.

my brainrot varies a lot so i desperately need to use the tagging system. my current favs are house of the dragon, hunter x hunter and mob psycho 100:

house of the dragon

my skrunkly lil babygirl, aegon ii targaryen is so pretty when he cries and i love him with every fiber of my being.

lucerys velaryon may have been offed too soon, but the lil dude will live in my heart forever idc!

my otps are aegon and lucemond bc i love their crazy dynamics uwu. but i do ship jacegan, jacegon and helaemond for funsies.

hunter x hunter

gon and killua are my absolute favs. i can talk about them all day.

i ship killugon, leopika and paraging. i also think hxh is an incredible piece of art. every aspect is just perfect!

greed island is the best arc, argue with a wall. chimera ant arc comes in second.

mob psycho 100

shigeo is the best boy, reigen is my wonderful, pathetic man and dimple is my emotional support ghost.

i love how well-written the characters are and the story as a whole. this just means so much to me.

that's about it! just remember: i curate this space for myself so if you're antis on any of my favs, just know that this isn't the acc for you. if you want to know more, click on "keep reading" ☻

other than the three that i mentioned, here are favs i will always go back to, so you should know bc i may or may not reblog posts about them:

tolkienverse

both lord of the rings and the hobbit encapsulate my childhood and adolescence and it seems to follow me in my adulthood too lol.

i love the dwarves so much, i kin them too ngl.

my fav ships are bagginshield, gigolas, and fingros but i also appreciate rarepairs bc why the hell not?

i've yet to read silmarillion (oh and children of hurin cos i hear the angst is great so let's go with that!)

percy jackson and the olympians/heroes of olympus

percy jackson and leo valdez, adhd bad boy supreme lovers only!

i kin percy so much to the point i created an oc twin cos he needs a sibling. read about my oc on twt!

haikyuu

no matter what, i will never let haikyuu go! it will forever be my comfort anime, it's just perfection to the core.

kageyama tobio is and will always be my first love in haikyuu ★

kita shinsuke and miya osamu are my role models, ngl (they're also vv pretty so yeah).

[the-black-bulls]

Can you elaborate on your answer for question 17 on the choose violence ask game? I'm a bit confused on the 'less gen-rated and ship-specific' part but I do want to make content for BC that is more niche or not overly similar to the content currently there.

Let me know if you'd rather reply privately and I'll msg you again without anon ^^

Sure I can! I'm delighted to see more fan creators in the fandom who wants to share more BC content and I'd be happy to have a chat with you in the messages regardless (cause I'd love to talk with more BC fans and exchange ideas with them!) 😁

alright, yeah, question 17, I realized I didn't make myself clear enough on my answer upon rereading it, my bad.

To quote myself:

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art: we definitly need more black bulls content that focuses on unusual and refreshing dynamics within the squad, especially if it's given to not very popular members, and the less gen-rated and ship-centric they are the better!!

(obviously this is 100% just my personal opinion, it shouldn't reflect or control what kind of fan content people create)

okay first, about the ship-centric part, there's plenty of content in the fandom that heavily focuses on ships (non-surprisingly since fandom is very tied to shipping culture), I'm the kind of person who would go through all the shipping tags on AO3 and turn off all the character pairings, especially black bulls ones, because I prefer non-romantic dynamics and interactions and I think there's not nearly enough content of this kind, unfortunetly, neither there are many crack or rarepairs which is one thing I'm willing to try with ships.

as for the gen (=general audiance) part, I don't know how "we need more niche and unique stuff" translated into "less gen-rated" lol, but I should make it clear that I have fanfics in mind when I typed this, and while I definitly enjoy gen stories — they'e simple and flexible and can involve many shades and colorful ideas — I'm a sucker for things that will have me at the edge of my seat which are often T-rated or higher and there's not enough of them, at least not black bulls related, in the fandom from my experience.

I hope I succeeded in making this clear enough! (for real though do what you love & have fun 🍀)

[afaramir]

3, 23, 24, 25, 27 and 30? 💕

hi hi ria!! blessings of rain be upon ye...

3. how you feel about your current wip

i am RATTLING the bars of the cage in my brain!!! by that i mean the faramir goes to rivendell au is possibly my favourite best thing ive ever written i am just stuck in the mudpit of the current conversation and i would like to. not be there. but i really do love working on it it feels like gradually assembling a structure around a framework and when i step back and really look at it its just. jrr tolkien and i are having A Conversation. you know? like yes!! i AM transforming the work!! i AM deciding whether he would fucking say that and i do think i am right at least 92% of the time!! ive had the concept of the au in my head for probably 3-4 years at least and i feel like. well i was never really going to feel Ready to write it. and yet i am grabbing it in my hands and doing it anyway and it IS making me a much better writer and i can Feel it. yeah i love it.

and umbar fic/situationship au is just me pushing the bounds of do it weird/do it horny/do it self-indulgent and it is. SO MUCH FUN. i think there has always been a little block in my head stopping me from doing that i mean like everything i write is kind of like. this is specifically created to cater to me. but the panopticon in my head is a crazy thing. but step by step we are defeating it. this is like the next step up from just so long as this thing's loaded which was kind of my first time pushing those bounds and. i mean there are a lot of things about that one that i think i could improve now (this is my REAL answer to that "would you rewrite anything" question from the other ask meme) but it definitely got me here. never underestimate the power of a rarepair to make you WEIRD. (<- abby rarepairnationcore sentences...)

23. pick three keywords that describe your writing

what is this a job application? LOL just kidding but i do suck at these. um. atmospheric. character-driven (yes this is two words but it is true). interrogative (i am IN THERE with. either the original text. or the minds of the characters. shakes u like a snow globe WHAT is going on in your head).

24. how do you recharge when you're not feeling creative?

im really bad at this. like actually spectacularly abysmal. i mostly sit around feeling sorry for myself for three to nine months. until i eventually buck up the motivation and executive function to actually (re)consume a piece of media and more often than not it will seize me by the throat and lead me out of the pit. yeah this does usually work best with things ive seen before that will awaken a dormant fixation.

25. besides writing, what are your other hobbies?

going to the grocery store. doing my dishes. LOL ok when i am Not Writing A Novel-Length Fic i knit. one day i will start doing it again i want to make. the extensive sweater vest collection of my dreams. but i already have this repetitive stress injury because i type for eight hours at work and then come home and type for four more and i think if i started knitting again on top of that i would immediately crumble to dust. and um. is that it? that can't be it. i do calligraphy sometimes. WAIT LOL I BIND BOOKS. -> @hexagonspress

27. your favourite part of the writing process

omg ok i'm not sure if this is like my Top Number One Favourite but ive recently started really enjoying drafting out ao3 tags and start/end notes it's really fun to work out what things i want people to notice that i might wanna talk about in the end notes and compressing everything down into tags (to varying extents) is also just a neat way to think about like. what was i trying to capture/convey with the fic. e.g. whether i wanna be really wordy with it and get it all out in there or just have the reader go in pretty much blind.

30. share a fic you're especially proud of

maybe i'll never shut up about TO THE VERY DEAR MEMORY OF [ ] but like...you guys. i love it so much. it's so so experimental because the place in my mind that is wrapped around yancy becket is so....complicated and full of grief and fundamentally altering to my brain chemistry and i can only capture it through the world's craziest extended metaphors but i kind of feel like i pulled it off. it is like truly the tip of the iceberg of a LOT of stuff that is really fundamental to honestly a lot of my? lotr work? i mean the way i think about water metaphors...the fundamental dead brother complex baked into my writer's brain...it's all pacific rim in there. this fic marinated in my head for THREE YEARS. that is the longest from inception to completion that any of my (published) work has existed (unpublished is a whole different story. there's a longfic that i created at the beginning of my freshman year of college and has stuck around into postgrad. i mean. girl). i wrote the poem that each first line of every section is extracted from in my parents' house during covid lockdown. and then it just had to sit and develop and develop until the yancy becket death anniversary this year yanked it forcibly out of my head and into a fully-formed format.

fic writer's asks

[munvermaniac]

Welcome to munvermaniac, your one stop hell shop for everything Jason/Eddie, this is your captain Louie speaking!

This sideblog was made from my unstoppable burning desire to see my rarepair validated, all freaks weirdos and fucked up little guys are welcome here, no matter what.

Any and all ships welcome, but mostly about jason/eddie (although I am also a big stonathan fan lol).

This blog will:

function as an RSS feed for the Jason Carver/Eddie Munson tag on ao3 (keep in mind that it is ALL fics in the tag. I moderate for glitches but all of them are posted)

reblog posts pertaining to both characters and their ship (and some that I just like ;) )

answer asks with small drabbles/headcanons/song or fic recs/etc

As a sidenote: almost all of my posts are queued. There’s no queue tag because basically all of them are queue, but asks, original posts, and reply reblogs are always bumped to the top :)

Remember: if you find yourself inspired to write, draw, etc based on any headcanons/posts, please please PLEASE do it!! Cringe culture is dead and there’s absolutely nothing stopping you from creating whatever you want!!

Tag me too!!! The whole reason this was made was because there wasn’t enough content for this ship!

[ensrensage]

Fanfic asks 7, 28, 35

7: Your favorite AO3 tag

Every fandom/micro-fandom variation of “no beta, we die like [fill in the blank]” makes me laugh and i have a handful that I use for my own works (“no beta we die like saiev” for my Zelda fics bc of Red, and “no beta we die like phandalin” for my TAZ: Balance fics). As for faves for things I like to read, Everybody Lives tends to be my go-to. I don’t actually have any tags favorited that aren’t ship tags

28: Any writing advice that works for you and you feel like sharing?

SO the answer to this one is yes and no. I have ADHD and I’m autistic - I’ve not yet found a method that works for me when it comes to writing consistently, keeping focused, etc, because habit forming is very difficult for me and so is keeping to schedules (this is why Habits hasn’t been updated in over a year, I think? And fuck knows when I updated Notos last)

For me, the main writing advice I both give and follow is “Just write the thing, stop thinking so hard”, “write the stories that you want to tell”, and “write it, even if you think it’s shit; you don’t get flowers without fertilizer”. These are all things I’ve had to learn for myself after years of having shitty fandom experiences. I sat back one day and realized that I write because I’m writing for myself, I’m writing the stories I want to read as well as tell, and told myself to stop caring about my numbers. I objectively don’t give a single solitary fuck about comments, hits, or kudos, outside of the fact that one of my rarepair one shots has way more than my long fic because it makes me smile - I don’t get a lot of engagement from what I can tell (I also dont have an active posting routine so lol), but I’m a lot happier creating this way.

One of the other things that I’m doing lately is just writing the fun part. Not “write the fun part first”, but just writing the fun part that’s grabbing me completely unconnected to whatever greater thing might have spawned it. Now, combining this with the [get there] method, which is what I do for the connective tissue scenes between the moments/beats I’ve written, this leads to not finishing a lot of things, but that’s between me and my ADHD.

35: Thoughts on writing challenges/contests

The only challenge i ever really partake in is NaNoWriMo. Knowing how my brain works and how I struggle with consistency and finishing projects, I don’t particularly feel comfortable doing things like big bangs, fic exchanges, or applying as a contributor for zines? I also don’t write for contests just because writing contracts adjacent to that stuff can get janky fast. It’s always super fucking cool to see what challenges produce, though, and I love seeing when a collection goes up that compiles everything from an exchange, bang, or challenge. It’s just not for me as a creator, which is lowkey a lil heartbreaking for me.

[leqclerc]

you might have said this already but what got you into sebchal? was there a fic, a person or even just a moment that made you go "yep those two"

Oh, good question, I love this 👏🏻

So it was lockdown 2020 and not having much else going on in my life I decided it'd be a great time to get back into actively following F1 after a two or so year hiatus I took during college. I was sort of vaguely aware that there are new, young drivers on the grid and that they're doing some virtual GP streaming in lieu of racing, but I wasn't very interested at the time. Anyway two seasons of DTS were already out by then so I figured I'd binge that as a sort of speedrun catch-up of what I forgot or missed in 2018 and 2019. I eventually got to Seeing Red and my initial reaction was (as the crew behind DTS no doubt intended) that it's a tense, awkward partnership at best and an antagonistic one at worst. I was intrigued by Charles but didn't think much of Seb and Charles's dynamic as teammates, going off of DTS alone.

I ended back up on F1 Tumblr, as one does, and had a bit of an identity crisis seeing all the new urls/icons, my old mutuals having moved on from the fandom or not being active anymore. For a while I tried to "re-create" the vibe from 2015-16 and mainly focused on what I did know/remember, which was Brocedes content. But there were no new developments, the relationship had fizzled out, and honestly, so had my fondness and fascination. I ended up following a few blogs, or following back. I eventually ended up doing a binge-read of Nat (redpaint) and Matilda's (4mulaone) blogs and kind of soaking up the Sebchal dynamic/narrative in retrospect. And I found that there were a lot of moments that were conveniently left out of DTS - Charles being there for Seb's Monaco win in 2017, the entire Bahrain 2019 weekend, their awkward but charming challenges and Q&A videos, Charles's endless praise for Seb and Seb's teasing fondness. It hit me that they didn't hate each other at all.

I remember watching the two Austrian races live, but I hadn't documented that on Tumblr yet, so I wasn't present for the post-Styria meltdown, lol. The first post I reblogged of the two of them together was from the post-Spa qualy, where they nod and smile at each other in acknowledgement after both of them failed to make it to Q3. And I tagged that as #i'm liking this solidarity #disappointed but disappointed TOGETHER sjdjefj I watched their challenge videos and Q&As with this new perspective, no longer viewing them through DTS's narrow they hate each other lens.

Somewhere around then I also checked out their ao3 tag, which housed very few fics by then. I mean they could probably be considered a rarepair at the time. I think the first Sebchal fic I properly read with, like, an actual understanding of past events (like Brazil) was the now-iconic no flowers, no flashbulbs. Closely followed by Nat redpaint's binary evolution and the rest of the conflict resolution series. So those were definitely my introduction to the literary side of things.

Then obviously I started making my own content, mostly fanvids and edits (first with Sebchal as a parallel to Brocedes and then just Sebchal) and the rest is, as they say, history ;') It's been a wild ride and I don't regret any of it.

TL;DR: DTS -> finding 2019 Sebchal content on Tumblr -> watching 2019 challenges on Youtube -> reading fics -> making my own posts

[afinepricklypear]

**Update: The works mentioned in this post have since been taken down. The “message” was removed by AO3 because it was a violation of their TOS and it seems the author chose to remove their “opinions” piece.**

Despite the ongoing world crisis, I hope everyone is doing great as the year comes to a close and prepping for a safe holiday season.

I don’t really post here a lot, but I just wanted to talk about a problem that exists in every fandom and has recently come up for me in the BSD fandom. This problem is typically referred to as: toxic behavior, however, I sort of hate that term because it’s an umbrella term that encapsulates a wide array of behaviors that is purposefully vague so as to imply everything can be toxic, which means the definition changes depending upon the person, and ends up getting thrown around to describe any behavior that a person dislikes. That said, most people can agree that the term ‘toxic behavior’ includes “shipper wars” and harassing people because of their “ship”.

Yesterday, a user on AO3 going by the penname E_C_arts posted a message titled “deer Soukoku fans” and giving it the not-innocuous summary “please we’re begging you, please stop”. Clicking through leads to a rather prime example of this particular flavor of toxic fandom behavior, guised as an attempt to defend those who were allegedly victims of this self-same behavior, also a lovely example of emotional manipulation.

Although what’s currently posted (and what I managed to screen shot below) may not seem terrible on first glance, if not a little cringey, and can be easy to agree with (don’t bully people that write for a ship you dislike), this was not their original message and has been edited since being posted and, and only after receiving the number of comments it did and which they’re now noting as “proving their point” – a point which they erased, thus manipulating perceptions. I wish I had gotten a screenshot of the original, but if you scroll through the comments, you can find some people that quoted it.

This person most definitely did open their “message” to Soukoku fans by literally telling them to “stop writing” for it. They claimed there was some unspecified AU (or maybe multiple unspecified AUs) that had been overwritten for, that it was overused, and not original. They went on to talk about how the abundance of soukoku content was turning off new fans to the series (don’t even know how that logics…) and bullying people from creating content for other ships, basing these irrational sentiments off some false claim that removing everything with the soukoku ship from the fandom would only leave behind a sad, inacccurate (and oddly specific) 305 posts.

Evidence of their now deleted perspective can be further seen in another post they made to AO3 a couple days before this ugly rant. Titled simply “My unpopular BSD opinions”, they didn’t manage to garner much attention and went mostly ignored because, well, it’s your opinions about the show and that’s whatever. Of course, when you click into it, the very first “opinion” shared, is that they hate Dazai x Chuuya. Okay, that’s an opinion everyone is entitled to, and that’s fine. You don’t like the popular ship, that’s…not exactly an unpopular opinion, there’s quite a number of people that don’t ship soukoku. No problem. Until, they go on to elaborate.

Despite the title of this piece being ‘their opinions’, they state as ‘fact’ that its confirmed that this is “not a thing”, so ‘please stop shipping them it doesn’t work, it’s way too overused for it to be “funny” anymore’ (I’m a little confused about this wording, because Shipping is Serious Business™, so…not sure there are too many soukoku shippers doing it because they think it’s hilarious or whatnot, in fact, most soukoku fics are tagged ‘angst’, which we all know, angst is very ‘haha, lol’…but whatevs). They then include the same sentiment they expanded on in their Dear John to soukoku fans and subsequently deleted: “Please stop, there are too many au’s with almost the exact same plot Chuuya and Dazai being together, its really difficult to find any non-Dazai x Chuuya au’s”.

On the surface, once again, there are some “truths” to this sentiment. DaiChuu is a popular ship and there is a disproportionate amount of soukoku ship fics on the fandom comparative to other ships (soukoku comes in at a whopping 10,000+ currently, with the next popular ship Aku/Atsushi sitting at a decidedly less 2500+). It’s really not that difficult to find non-DazaixChuuya fics, if you know how to use filters on AO3, but there are going to be less to read from when you filter it down, and depending on your ship, you may find yourself in a fic desert, and I can certainly understand why someone young and lacking in rational thought processes might want to blame the popular ship for this predicament.

The problem with this logic, and it permeates every fandom, not just BSD, is that the shippers sharing and loving their ship are not to blame for your lack of ship content. You just don’t have a popular ship. If all the people who love soukoku stopped creating content for it, as this person is ‘begging’ them to do, that’s not going to increase the amount of content for your ships, because the reason that content isn’t being created is because there aren’t enough shippers for it. So, the only way this person’s logic works, is if what this person is actually saying, isn’t that they want these people to stop creating content for the BSD fandom, they just want them to jump ship, stop creating content for soukoku and start creating content for their ships.

Any creator/fan is going to have a visceral reaction to that: who the fuck are you to tell me what to create? And for free, no less!

This moves us more towards a clearer definition of what is toxic fandom behavior. In short, its telling anyone how they should interact with or interpret their favorite content. I mean, even Word of God does not have this power. That’s because every single fan in a fandom is an individual human being. They are possessed of their own autonomy, and as a creator I know, that once you put something out into the world and give it over to others, you have little control over how people consume and feel about your work. You can tell them your intention, but that’s not going to sway them to interpret it that way, and that’s…just the way it works.

Now, the elephant in the room needs to be addressed. It’s easy for me to be ‘offended’ by this person’s post and not see their complaints because I am a soukoku fan. I’m also the target of this person’s rant, and one of those people this person is attempting to emotionally manipulate into writing for other ships in the fandom for which I have no preference. But I am capable of seeing the other side of this argument.

First, because I do have other fandoms in which I am part, and for which I have a rare-pair ship. For example, I am a Gundam Wing fan and a 2x5 (Duo/WuFei) shipper. I’ve posted two 2x5 fics on fanfiction.net. While 2x5 is not the rarest of rarepairs in the Gundam Wing fandom, it is significantly eclipsed (as are almost *all* ships in the fandom) by the 1x2 (Heero/Duo) ship. Do I hate 1x2 shippers for my lack of 2x5 content? No. I just appreciate what I’ve got all the more, and I’ll create content for it when I feel compelled, and I sure the fuck won’t implore 1x2 shippers to stop writing for their fave and write more for mine because I want more 2x5 – that’s sheer entitlement, right there, pure and simple. I also ship 3xD (Trowa/Dorothy) in Gundam Wing, which *is* the rarest of rarepairs – I think there’s only, like, two stories in existence that features this pair on the entirety of the internet. I’m also a RavenxMurphy (Murven) shipper in The 100 fandom and I do not hate Bellarke fans because…those people are scary and have canceled the show’s creator for not delivering on Bellarke, and in BSD, I ship Atsushi/Lucy (yes, I said it, they’re cute af and I hope Asagiri delivers on that ship). I also low-key ship Yosano/Ranpo (sorry, Ranpo/Poe shippers, I understand the appeal, I just think him and Yosano is sooo cute, please don’t kill me…), and I also ship Yosano with Kunikida – all of which are some of the rarest in the BSD fandom.

Second, because I have seen and called out shipping harassment in the BSD fandom, so I am well aware that this kind of thing exists – as it exists literally everywhere and in every flavor. Against soukoku shippers from antis and by soukoku shippers against shippers putting Dazai or Chuuya with any other characters and by soukoku shippers against other soukoku shippers that are, uh, “doing it wrong”. None of these is appropriate. You’re not fighting fire with fire if you’re an anti-attacking the popular ship, you’re just creating a bigger fire and burning the entire fandom down. You’re not defending your ship if you are a soukoku fan attacking non-soukoku fans, you’re just punching down by attacking a less popular ship. And top/bottom arguments aren’t just toxic, they’re also deeply entrenched in fetishization of same sex pairings through a forced heteronormative lens and is, kind of, sort of, actually homophobic in its basis (yes, I said it. It’s ignorant and homophobic and trying to argue with ‘personality/physical traits’ as evidence of who serves what position in the bedroom can be emotionally and mentally damaging to members of the LGBTQ community. Claiming that Chuuya should be bottom because he’s shorter/smaller, or that Dazai has ‘bottom energy’ because he’s more flamboyant and ‘feminine’ is straight up discrimination – a shorter guy can definitely be top, and a manly man can be bottom, it’s not a behavior based on perceived gendered traits, it is just a fucking preferred sexual position, and no, you are not ‘fixing it’ by purposely using positions for these characters that eschews the stereotypes either. Trying to justify positioning by personality/physical traits at all, in any way, shape, or form is just not okay – if it’s your preference, it’s your preference, no justification needed, just recognize that it is *your* preference and arguing what’s ‘right/wrong’ positioning is just plain wrong).

But this brings us to a different issue: bad actors and blaming a whole community for a ‘few rotten apples’. I could easily lump this one person in with everyone that does not ship soukoku and deem them all toxic, aggressive, entitled, bullies attempting to harass soukoku shippers off the platform. Or I could see them for what they are, individuals with individual motivations and drives and morals that also happen to share the same shipping preferences. Is it true to say that there are no soukoku fans that engage in the behaviors described by E_C_arts? No, there are definitely those that do, as there are antis that engage in that same behavior against soukoku fans. But this person also asserts that soukoku fans turning ‘every BSD post about soukoku’ is also a toxic behavior. To which I refer you back to one. This is how they engage with and interpret the work. Don’t yuck on someone else’s yum. People want to gush about how cute they thought soukoku were in an official art, or that they felt there was some hidden (or not so hidden) interaction between them that validates their ship, or their inspired to create soukoku content based on it, so what (for the record, it irks me too when people go ‘see it’s canon and Bones totally ships it’, because it’s unlikely, given BSDs genre, that any romantic relationship will be confirmed, soukoku notwithstanding). It is not, in fact, toxic to gush over it. Let them have their fun with it, let them enjoy their ship. Now, if you go and make a comment about liking the art for other reasons and they reply to you about “…but also soukoku”, then still, that’s not toxic, that’s just them enjoying the content the way that they enjoy it, so let them enjoy it, and you opened yourself to engagement without any qualifiers for the type of engagement you were soliciting, you can’t then backtrack and go ‘but I’m not a soukoku shipper, they should’ve been able to read my mind and known that, it’s totally toxic of them to share their personal reasons for loving the show in response to my sharing my love for the show’. But if you comment about another ship, and they reply to you “…ew, gross! It’s 100% soukoku” then yes, that’s toxic. A lot of people fail to make this distinction, that they are, maybe, merely being triggered and not actually harassed, by feeling like their ship isn’t being validated because they see another ship all over the place and everyone they engage with ships it.

It’s also toxic, to take an experience with one person and hold every soukoku shipper in existence responsible for that one person’s inappropriate behavior. The truth is, that bad actors amongst soukoku fans are not unique, not to the ship and not to the fandom and not even to fandom culture in general. Every group in existence everywhere has bad actors in it that, while the group disavows their behavior, they continue to be held accountable for those individuals and judged by them. For current events, look at how the BLM movement has been blamed for bad actors (many of whom were not actually BLM activists) that took advantage of the protests and started riots and chaos. A small percentage of people were involved in these behaviors, but the entire movement, despite speaking out against rioting, continues to take the blame for it. For me, that’s the root of toxicity. We need to start holding individuals accountable and stop blaming people who have no control over those individuals, because they share a few similar beliefs or interests. That’s throwing the baby out with the bathwater. But the shippers as a whole are not to blame for the actions of a few, and the reason that it feels that there are so many more soukoku fans that do this is because of volume, there are so many more soukoku fans. It’s basic math. If two percent of fans are these toxic kinds of shippers, then there’s going to be so many more of them in a larger population than a smaller one.

I try to call out toxic behavior, no matter if it’s my ship being lambasted or one of my fellow shippers doing the lambasting, whenever I see it, but the trouble is, I don’t typically go into fan content that isn’t for my ship and, thus, I don’t see it. The same goes for the vast majority of soukoku fans out there. We’re here for soukoku content, we’re seeking out soukoku content, and avoiding what isn’t soukoku content. But here is my offer to all of those who are outside of my ship. I like to argue. If someone is harassing you for having a non-soukoku ship, call me, let me know, I will argue with them for you. I will explain to them in no uncertain terms, and in many unpleasant ways, that they do not represent the soukoku shipping community and they are an embarrassment to us. Content for any and all ships is welcomed and encouraged within the fandom. Write, draw, contribute, be a part of the fandom and express yourself, please. If you are a soukoku shipper (or even if you’re not), and someone is harassing you about your top/bottom preference, call me, let me know, I will argue with them for you. I will explain to them why their justifications for which character should be top or bottom in a same sex pairing is grossly misrepresentative and exploitative of the LGBTQ community and rather disgusting. Do not assume that because we seem to remain silent on these types of harassment that it’s because we are in agreement with them, it is only because we haven’t seen them – why would we, we’re not going in those spaces that weren’t created for us. Ask the community for help, don’t attack the rest of us for the poor actions of a few that we were not even aware of. Let us help you in policing them, rather than assuming we don’t care. We are just too busy staying in our lanes, but if you need us, we are here. Majority of us want a clean, friendly, welcoming community for creators of all types as much as you do.

All of this aside, there are spaces and places for these debates and AO3 is not it. Posting this kind of message is actually a violation of AO3 TOS, constituting as harassment, which is defined on the AO3 TOS as “…any behavior that produces a generally hostile environment for its target…”( https://archiveofourown.org/tos#IV.G.). This general behavior also falls into the realm of another kind of toxic fandom behavior: hijacking a platform/tag for your own purposes that is a direct contradiction to its express usage (otherwise, known as trolling). AO3 is for posting fan-made content that contributes to a deeper understanding and expansion upon the original work. Using AO3 to attack people who are using AO3 for exactly what it is designed to be used for is an abuse of the platform. It’s not okay and invites similar content that will ultimately interfere with the original purpose of the platform. AO3 is for fan content, not for your own personal rants about other people in the community, please keep it that way

I do also want to note, that this person choosing to edit their post after receiving the justified ire from fans (notably soukoku and non-soukoku fans alike upset by the audacity of this person, who, as far as can be told, has never themselves contributed fanfiction to the community, to tell people what they can and cannot write) for their original comments, is a form of manipulative abuse called ‘gaslighting’. They are now claiming to be a victim that “never said to stop writing”, despite that having been the literal words they used in the opening of their original post. They are now pointing at these comments as “proof” of their point that soukoku fans are aggressive bullies that attack without cause when there was definitely cause from the original comments. This person clearly has bigger issues than just lacking shipper content for their personal preferences on the BSD fandom.

To all of those who are afraid to share content for your ship because you think you’ll be harassed, as evidenced by this person’s claims, that is simply not true. While there might be one or two people that say something, we all get them no matter if you have a popular ship or a rarepair ship, haters are gonna hate – I’ve gotten my share of hateful comments towards my ships too, but there are many more people that share your ship and are interested in your content, in fact, some of them are starved for it. While having a rarepair might mean you’ll garner less interactions with your content, you have a better opportunity to form a deeper bond with the people that do interact, and they may be more appreciative, because what you’re delivering to them is so much harder to come by. The existence of one ship does not affect your ship’s popularity, and if it simply went away, that doesn’t mean that your ship would receive more attention – in fact, it might mean the show itself would receive less attention.

Create and let others create and use platforms for their appropriate purposes, and most importantly, when it comes to addressing toxic behavior in a fandom, look to yourself first. Are you placing the blame where it belongs? Are you addressing the root cause of the problem or swinging blindly and attacking innocent bystanders in the process? Will what you say actually help the problem? Or will it contribute to the issue, and maybe even create an issue that didn’t exist before?