#i'll be editing this instead of reblogging because of traction lol

[shinesurge]

in a fit of minor despair i blazed TWO (2) comic posts, and by chance a very kind reader ALSO blazed a completely different post the next day. Some insights from the new dashboard (assuming they're accurate lmfao), in case it helps anybody:

The major takeaway here is, as much as we all hate booktok ads and despite what people insist, nobody actually wants a real synopsis of your thing, they want zero-context clickbait.

All three of these were for 2500 views, mine were both targeted towards identical tag audiences and the Kind Follower's was ALSO for 2500 but they chose some different (still applicable) tags.

The pinned post, with some actual comic pages, the elevator pitch, and some basic info about the comic gained around 37 engagements, including 6 reblogs. Worth noting that I formatted this post specifically to be clear and painlessly sharable, it doesn't stretch the page or have clickable links and has all the info about the thing right out front, the sort of thing I respond to.

The softer world edit I originally made because I like making them, with no intention of using it for advertising and which includes zero context for the characters, also no links, got 80 engagements, 6 reblogs and one new follower.

And finally, the follower's blazed post was an actual comic update that differed from the usual for Reasons; instead of a real comic panel it ALSO had a softer world edit attached. None of the text was formatted well for an ad at all, just being the usual links to the comic's website. It gained 36 engagements overall, with 4 reblogs.

And no matter WHAT the post looks like: nobody clicks links.

I'll also mention that pinned post has been there since February, and before I blazed it it had gained around 175 notes in five months. A lot of my static character posts will get 70 or 80 notes without me tagging or trying or really doing anything to promote them, because. They're not meant to be used like that lol

Granted: tumblr as a website is a mess, these numbers could be wildly inaccurate, this is not a super scientific study, but Man.

Personally, I do not respond to this sort of clickbaity booktok shit very well when it's INTENDED for advertising, specifically because I feel like it disrespects the audience and, worse, imitates genuine art to exploit peoples' genuine feelings. It feels VERY close to those covert influencer ads, it honestly makes me kinda sick. But I have talked about this phenomenon before, and the numbers here do back it up. I do think there's some nuance here, but it would take a whole other post to get into it I think.

And I mean, when I make stuff about my own comic it IS always genuine. The audience for "fanwork" I make of my own stuff is extremely small (mostly Me) so it's not like it would be lucrative to crank out a ton of random fake fandom posts; they're not any less earnest if I use them for ads now and then. So I dunno, I guess it's not EXACTLY the same as those gross publisher ads pretending to be teen girls, but it's irritating to be here. I know what I'm looking for wrt ads and getting into new things and I try to treat others the same way. It would be cool to get some traction while treating my audience like Real People, but clearly that route doesn't work seeing as my comic career now has a very real expiration date lmfao. Get out there and make some memes I guess?

[not-so-mundane-after-all]

Hi my love

💝💌💘

Z, my darling!

💝what is a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

I have to talk about My Hand Was The One You Reached For here, my first ever TLOU fic. The response to it? INSANE. I came here from a fandom where, especially recently, stuff about a father-daughter relationship wasn't getting much traction, so since I was used to a small response, I wasn't really expecting anything. I first made a Tumblr post about it, again, not expecting more than a handful of notes. After all I'm a fandom newbie who only came here because of the show, I knew close to nothing about the game. And then the post got thousands of notes in a matter of hours. People were dropping their own fics in the reblogs!!! I dropped mine on ao3 and it got more kudos & comments in a single day than my most recent Titans fics got in months!!! That never happened to me before. I've had popular fics but never to this extent, never so fast. So I was absolutely blown away. Thank you guys for welcoming me so kindly 🥹

💌share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

Since I'm currently splitting my writing time between two fandoms, right now I don't have anything started for The Last of Us, but I can list the ideas I will be working on once I'm done working on my Titans ideas.

Ellie forgives Joel by writing a song about it, based on Back to December by Taylor Swift - but before I get to that I want to watch the gameplay of tlou2 and torture myself since I don't know the full story. For science.

Ellie overhears the word "adoption" at school and asks Joel to explain it to her.

Another dancing fic, something based in Jackson, though I don't have a clear picture of it yet. Although I'm thinking about the kitchen. You know, another T Swift lyrics, dancing in the refrigerator light.

As for Titans, I'm currently in the process of writing the last two chapters of my newest multi-chapter Acrida, which is a time travel fic that can cause you a baby fever 🤭 but come on, which fictional father we all know and love would pass on a chance to go back in time and get to know his adopted kid when they were just a tiny little baby? There's some angst though, I actually wrote the heaviest scene today and I spent a good ten minutes crying. But I'll be keeping that under wraps and instead share something sweet.

The snowflakes falling around them became bigger. Few of them settled on his hair, one dropping right onto his nose and that was a game changer; Rachel's eyes grew round like dinner plates, lips forming a tiny ooh as she swatted at it with her hand.

"What's that?" Dick gasped, his eyes as wide as hers. "Snow? You like snow?"

She blinked at him a few times, entranced by the sound of his voice. Then she broke into a giggle, twisting in his arms as she laughed.

Dick tucked her closer to himself, laughing as well. She was the sweetest child, her sparkling personality already shining through, and her baby laugh could easily have the power to clear the sky off the heaviest clouds.

💘Is there any posted fic you want to rework/re-edit/re-write?

I once had this thought to rewrite my earliest fics because reading them made me cringe and I know I would have done them better now when I'm more experienced. But I decided against it because it shows the progress I've made as a writer, how much I've actually learned. So they'll stay cringe. If y'all want to binge my fics, start from the bottom so they get better instead of getting worse lol 😂

There's one though, where I only realized the issue recently. There's this collab AU fic for Titans I wrote with a friend. Huge thing, our best work to date, HIGHLY RECOMMEND READING (shameless self promo but fuck it we ballin) it's called Wicked Game. Recently, we started developing a sequel. Nothing written yet, only brainstorming and exchanging notes for now, but I realized recently that damn we really fucking put ourselves into a corner with that epilogue 🫣🤭

[intergrader]

I wanted to redo my post on the asexuality discourse because it was all over the place and some of my opinions have changed, so here it is.

1. Asexuals shouldn't be a part of the lgb community because they aren't oppressed.

What I think matters is that our experiences still differ from the norm, heterosexuality, even if it's less than other identities. It's present in little things to big things - from seeing sex in media and being repulsed at the thought of doing it ourselves to corrective r*pe. If there's some range of oppression you need to face to be a part of the community, then feel free to cut us out I guess (although that just seems ridiculous imo). What's important is that asexuals and those who are questioning are able to find resources and outlets, even if there's less exposure after being shunned by the community. In other words, asexuals should be able to have their own community and spaces. The problem is, we can't. At least on tumblr, I've seen numerous ace themed blogs or posts get invaded by exclusionists when anything relevant to the discourse wasn't mentioned at all. Please just let us be, even if you can't accept us.

2. Heteromantic asexuals especially!

Again, everything mentioned above. Straight passing privilege is only received by not being able to talk about our identity.

3. Gray asexuals don't exist because asexuality isn't a spectrum; you're asexual and you don't experience sexual attraction or you aren't.

The only logic I can find for this is the etymology of the word, so I'd assume this is due to a misconception. Gray asexual should not be a label for allies who want to be a part of the community to hide behind, nor for those who are really just allosexual. If someone feels significantly less sexual attraction than what would be considered normal, enough to warrant them relating to both asexuality and other labels such as homosexuality, but not fully to either, they should be able to find others who feel the same.

Actually, I agree with this.

demisexual (someone who does not experience sexual attraction until they have formed a deep emotional connection with someone) = so you don't want hookups

fictosexual (umbrella term for anyone who experience exclusive sexual attraction toward fictional characters, a general type of fictional characters, or whose sexuality is influenced by fictional characters) = wth

fraysexual (someone only experiences sexual attraction towards those that they are not deeply connected with and lose that attraction as they get to know the person) = considering asexual generally means lack of sexual attraction, I don't see how this should be an identity

inactsexual (when one experiences sexual attraction and desires a sexual relationship despite being sex-repulsed) = have no idea how you can be repulsed by sex but still want it, could be similar to comphet but I doubt it

lithosexual (may experience sexual attraction but does not want it reciprocated) = again, how is this an asexual identity

reciprosexual (someone who does not experience sexual attraction unless they know that the other person is sexually attracted to them first) = so you just want to make sure the feeling's mutual before so you don't get your heart broken, how is this why is this

aceflux/acespike (someone whose sexual orientation fluctuates but generally stays on the asexual spectrum) = seems like the only valid one. Again, please make sure you're not just an ally or an allosexual member of lgb that has internalized homophobia or something. Additionally, make sure your lower sex drive isn't an effect of medication or the like.

In conclusion, the ace spectrum just seems like where "orientations" go when there's not really a category for them (that post saying most things on the lgbtq wiki were based on random tumblr posts definitely seems accurate rn). The only identity I was supporting when writing the crossed out above section was aceflux/acespike. My stance on this is definitely still iffy considering I haven't heard of an agreed upon definition of the amount of sexual attraction one experiences normally.

4. R*pe is something everyone experiences, not just asexuals

The difference is that this is corrective r*pe, i.e. it was done because of sexuality and the want of heteronormativity.

5. The split attraction model is harmful.

This one is actually pretty interesting. The main arguments seem to be misleading people with internalized homophobia and sexualizing identities too much. I'd agree that it probably does hurt some people. However, lgb talks a lot about internalized homophobia and how to deal with it, especially when just joining the community. Plus, many people don't even know about the split attraction model what with so little people being ace or aro and it does a lot more good than harm by allowing people to set further requirements they're comfortable with. As for the latter point, I don't see how saying ace bi or bi ace is so different from saying biromantic asexual. It means the same thing. Just like how if you only say you're bisexual, people are going to assume you mean biromantic bisexual.