#in fandom in general. just to put it in perspective i'm not even reading fanfic anymore 😅

[nalivaa]

Do you still draw Midam? I haven't seen any of your art come across my dash in a long while.

ah. well. it's been a while since i've drawn,,, anything tbh. my brain is being really mean to me lately and my art has been the unfortunate victim here. i'd love to draw midam! they're still my favorite guys! i just can't promise when so,,, sorry about that 😅

[minty-mumbles]

Linked Universe Survey 2023

The long awaited results of the survey. Sorry it took me forever, making graphs is hard.

There were 452 responses to the survey as a whole, which is almost double what we got last year, so thank you to everyone who participated!

If you want to see the raw data, you can find that here. I had thoughts about the data, but compiling that into another post would be too much of a hassle. Feel free to send me asks about it though!

The rest of the post will be under a read more as it it large

Demographics

Other: Demigirl (4), Transmasc (3), Grey genderfluid, Unlabeled, Demiboy, Demiagender

Other: Omnisexual (4), Poly (2), Trixic, Abroromantic or Bellusromantic, Demisexual

General Questions

Other: Quotev, Discord, their own google docs

Other: Discord, Variations of "I haven't posted yet, but I pan to" and "I haven't posted my fics in ages",

Other: Wattpad, Deviantart, Discord

Other: Crochet dolls, Custom dolls, Roleplay blogs (2), Fan translations, Headcanons (2), Piano music

The purple section in the “Warriors vs Warrior” chart is supposed to read “Warrior.” I made a typo.

Favorites and Least Favorites

Selected Free Response Answers

im sorry warriors i just can't play your game (it is very very hard. i am stuck very early on in the game)

I love cats meow meow meow

was extremely tempted to put twilight for least favorite. unfortunately he is my favorite to write from the perspective of (he has taken over most of my wips. help) and that probably counts for something. WILD on the other hand. hooo boy how the hell do i characterize this gargoyle. why is he Like That. least favorite it is

Twiddy

very good fandom to be in :) everybody is very nice

It's a straight up crime that Wars lost the aesthetics poll so quickly. He has such a peak Link design with the best colors. Ugh I'm getting wistful.

FROGS. FROGS. FROGS. ALSO HAPPY PRIDE MONTH. FROGS. FROGS. FROGS. FROGS. FROGS.

I will fight Hylia herself and the next person who implies Twi can't handle spice. If we're going to lean into him being southern/Midwestern, which is an alright stero type for our rancher, please keep in mind the culture you're basing him off. The south and midwest can handle their spice, I assure you. Have you ever had authentic Louisiana gumbo? It will melt you tongue off. Or some good old fashion spicy fried chicken? I promise the real stuff has quite a kick. (In all seriousness, though. It's more important that you're having fun. And even I can admit the idea of Twi being an Ordonian who can't handle his spice is more than a little funny.)

I am an OoT Link edgelord and have been since early 2017. So, in September of that year, when an artist by the name of jojo56830 puts out a lineup of nine different Links and the Hero of Time is there – the oldest, no eye, Hero’s Shade armor? I saw that one sketch and just thought “oh this is gonna be bad.” Yeah of course he has the coolest design. By the way, it’s only a matter of time until Fierce Deity shows up in the comic and I have reason to believe it could be this current Dawn arc. Dawn … Dawn of a New Day … and who brought about the Dawn of a New Day? Fierce Deity. Twilight is recovering but still injured and what will happen if he falls again? Fierce Deity is coming and we need to be prepared. In this essay I will—

Remember that time when someone put the whole script of the bee movie in here? I’m not that dedicated, and I don’t have that time, but let us remember and hope someone else does it again this time. Cause someone is bound too. We’re all crazy enough to do it. Alright, love you and stay hydrated pls!

Hi! I joined this fandom really recent but i’ve always seen LU stuff on pinterest and elsewhere. Only recently have i actually took the time to understand the fandom and get back into LOZ stuff and i adore the characters and story! The more and more fanart, fanfics, and comics i see about the different Links the more i love them all. It’s such a pain to pick just one i like or one i don’t like because they’re all so unique. I love this fandom and hope to get more involved!! Have a wonderful rest of your day :]

Epona is an underrated queen

your mom

I really don't get why Zelda is called Artemis. Athena makes more sense???? It perplexes me

Anyone seeing this should check out Breanna’s E!Wild AU

Something something queer every Link into oblivion!

[natureboy96]

SJM, ACOTAR, Authorial Intent and what's "fair" to criticize/validate

So, the title of this post is, while accurate, a bit vague. I decided to put my two cents out on this because, since I joined the ACOTAR fandom a few months ago, I've found a lot of very harsh words being flung one way or another, largely based around the characters of the book or the direction people believe SJM has taken/will take the narrative. There's also been a lot of rather nasty attacks on people for their takes, their ships, and their criticism. I'm not an expert on writing, but I thought it worth having a proper, fleshed out discussion on these topics.

Author's Intent vs Reader's Interpretation

When it comes to understanding a text and gaining meaning from it, Author's Intent and Reader's Interpretation are generally the two fields which are subscribed to. Authorial Intent argues that the meaning of a text should be derived by what the author wanted the reader to take from it, and that a text is inherently connected to the intent of the author; for example, because SJM doesn't put as much emphasis on certain side characters, the reader shouldn't consider them important. Or, that SJM and the narrative intend and clearly state that the IC and Rhysand are the good guys, it only makes sense to view them as such. Reader's Interpretation posits that texts are meant to be interacted with, and that the meaning people can derive from them is subjective, because individuals have different life experiences and perspectives which can lead them to understand a text in different ways; A reader can see Rhysand's actions as hypocritical based on their interpretations of what he did and how in ACOSF. Or, coming at the text with a different understanding on trauma or sexuality, a reader can come away from a text finding Tamlin to be a more sympathetic character than hateful one. Both of these arguments have existed for decades, if not longer. And the thing is...

Neither of these are wrong or right ways to read a text

There is no "one right way" to engage with or criticize a text! If you believe that SJM is a bad writer because she uses characters as plot points rather than giving them actual growth/retcons things as needed for her narrative, or that Tam’s actions have earned him his redemption, that is a valid assessment based on what you read in a text. If you think Lucien and Elain have no chance because Elain has on multiple times been shown being friendly, even intimate (not romantic intimate, just close) with Azriel and that the author seems to hint towards a rejected mating bond, that is a valid assessment too. Anything in a text, written, implied or intended, is a valid avenue of criticism.

At the same time, people are fully allowed to have their own head cannons and fanfics about characters outside the written narrative. Just because SJM wants you to ship Feysand, doesn’t mean you can’t write or ship TamlinxRhysand, or Gwynriel or Rhysta. Art, including text, is open to interpretation and you are allowed to make it your own too, even if the text itself makes it clear it’ll never happen. Hell, shipping Elain and Tamlin because they both like flowers is entirely valid! Fan fiction and ships don’t have to be defended by the text/author’s intent, they are your own creation and can be based on whatever you want! Have fun, go crazy with em.

What isn’t ok for criticism

You can criticize the actions and choices and motivations of a book character all you want, using whichever method of critique you want. If you want to call Rhysand a pedo because he came to a pic of his child, you can make that take. If you call Tamlin a serial abuser who brought everything on himself, you can make that take.

What isn’t ok, is using your takes to criticize the people who disagree with you.

(These are just a few examples I’ve seen in the last few days, but I’m pretty sure everyone in this fandom has seen personal attacks along these lines, some far worse than the ones I grabbed. It’s also not a matter of degrees of bad faith criticism, all of these are of the same vein and one isn’t more ‘valid’ than others because it wasn’t as harsh.) Believing Rhysand is a pedo doesn’t make it ok to call people who like him the same. Believing Lucien is a terrible person doesn’t make someone who likes him a person of questionable morals. Having a different method of criticizing a text doesn’t make someone else’s different way of approaching the text wrong.

At the end of the day, these characters, this world, this narrative are all constructs, not people. You are not Feyre, you are not Tamlin, you are not Rhysand or a Valkyrie or Elain or Cassian. You do not deserve to be judged for the actions of fictional characters, and you should not be judged for your opinions on these characters either. And you need to let others have differing opinions on characters, even ones you dislike intensely.

Let people like the characters they want to like, let people criticize the characters they don’t like (or the ones they do) and for fuck’s sake, don’t take it or make it personal.

[bigskydreaming]

So, been awhile! Apologies for that - took a step back from most social media sites for a few months because the accumulated stresses and everpresent urgency to most things I've been dealing with for the past five plus years finally caught up with me and I kinda just....crashed, and needed some time to get my head on straight. Or whatever the non-obvious-pun version of that might be for a Known Bisexual. Everything was getting to be too constantly 'stop and go' for me, if that makes sense.....like I'd TRY to be more present on here, TRY to work on things like my patreon and fic and meta and stuff like that because I've really wanted to get back to creating actual stuff that people enjoy instead of being like My Issues: The Latest Installment and the like, but then something else would crop up and kill my momentum before it even really got going and I'd have to duck away yet again, and rinse and repeat.

HENCE! I took a more dedicated, extended leave to try and get into a headspace and build a buffer that better lends itself to me getting back to the kinds of posting/writing conditions I've thrived under in the past. It took longer than I thought, but I've never been good at accurately estimating things lol. I've still been on twitter somewhat sporadically, since a huge part of why I hate that site is its format makes it all but impossible to really get to ranting at length...y'know, as I do, my tried and true time-suck method of procrastinating...and with everything going on in the world these days I didn't want to disconnect entirely even though I did need time to work through some shit. BUT I DIGRESS.

Point is, felt like I needed something more substantial than the optimistic-but-lacking-in-actual-energy-and-planning measures I've attempted in the past couple years in order to get on top of things and achieve a measure of consistency and stability again. Less shooting for the moon because I just WANT to be back to my older, happier/more content patterns, more....putting some actual time and thought into how I can realistically make that happen instead of just trying to will it into existence through sheer stubbornness. Because obviously, THAT always works.

ANYWAY. It'll still be a couple days before I get back to regular posting/reblogging patterns or much of any of that at all.....don't be confused if you see some blink and you miss them temporary posts from me over the next day or two. I'm testing out the formatting and layout of a bunch of posts and graphics made for my patreon and original fiction stuff, since the preview post function doesn't always work with read mores in a post and they're all gonna need that lol. If anyone's up for it, I am finalizing the price/reward tiers of my patreon and could use some thoughts on the different levels - I think I have them mostly figured out but wouldn't mind some additional perspectives on how I broke things down and if I'm missing some alternatives. Just message me directly if you'd like to weigh in or lend me your thoughts!

I've never wanted my tumblr to be all about fic or just original content or anything like that, so the patreon's meant to kinda keep all that separate beyond just generalized update announcements on here. The blog will remain just a regular multi-purpose smorgasboard of my reblogs and thoughts on other posts and meta about my various fandoms and all that jazz. The patreon discord will have spaces having to do with my various fanfics, but they'll never be exclusive to it in any way, and every fic update I make will still be on my blog same as always. I've been building masterlists of all my Dick Grayson meta and all my Teen Wolf meta, as well as headcanons and writing snippets/scenes that never got posted elsewhere because I didn't consider them full fics, and I'm starting a series of posts that lean directly into my tendencies to be an Overly Opinionated Asshole who - historically speaking - has never been, uh, shy, shall we say, about Having Thoughts about various fandom patterns or trends.

So....look out for the upcoming "Kalen Vs Fandoms" post series. What? It sounded catchy to me. First up:

"Fandoms' tendency to pick one character per fandom to have every other character introduce as the dumbest person they've ever met, but no its okay, they're actually really fond of them and universally defaulting to a judgmental or patronizing shot at their intelligence every single time they're the topic of conversation among other characters just naturally happens to be part of every single other character's love language - is this perhaps NOT as endearing or affectionate as fandoms tend to treat it as?" Aka "How many people can actually say they'd be comfortable with the idea of every single person in their family or friend group leading with "I genuinely think they're stupid but I love them anyway" each time they talk about them to someone else, and if you don't think that's a normal conversation starter for people to have about a loved one, why do so many fandoms attempt to treat it as such?"

.....the length of post title should not be taken as an indicator of how long each post is. If people want to draw their own conclusions about post length based solely on the fact that they're, well, by me.....I mean. That's totally your prerogative. Nothing I can do about that!

Post topics will run the gamut, if for no other reason than gamut is an amazing word that doesn't get used enough and I wanted to use it. From "Its totally valid to project onto characters and use fic as a way to work through various issues via that projection but how much does this have to do with how defensively people react to the slighest criticism of character choices in their fics as though personally attacked - discuss" to "Criticizing and condemning the writers of source material for specific things - to rave reviews from followers - only to then do the exact same specific things in your own fics - to rave reviews from followers - while claiming that the mere fact of being a fan not getting paid for writing those specific things somehow makes them less worthy of criticism.....are we all seeing the problem here."

There's a slight chance those titles are perhaps....somewhat unnecessarily asshole-coded, but like, in a whimsical way! I think. Whatever. I'm sure it'll be fine!

Will either rhyme OR reason be involved in the order of post topics? No. Not even a little bit. Next question.

Aside from "Kalen vs Fandoms" I've been putting a lot of thought into what other topics or content I can expound upon at length, to the possible interest of people. I'm good at writing and editing and analyzing narratives. Not claiming to be the best, just not trying to fish for compliments or anything. I think my analysis of narrative and character choices has generally been of interest in most fandoms I've been in, but when I'm IN a fandom, I do personally invest in favorite characters and stories that inevitably put me in opposition to takes from fans of other characters and stories within that fandom, and when that happens, the Horseman of Discourse inevitably follows and I....do the discourse. Look, I am who I am. I see the discourse, I engage with the discourse. Unless I don't care about the topic of discourse, in which case I don't, because that discourse doesn't matter. Obviously.

SO! In the interest of posting about narrative analysis and breakdowns of writing choices, character arcs and the like but WITHOUT engaging in The Discourse, I'll be making an easy-to-find post of fandoms or source material whose characters and narratives I'm familiar enough with TO have opinions or analysises of, but for whatever reason, the fandom has never clicked for me and I've never actually felt a desire to be part of it. Thus I'm not likely to be invested or compelled enough to follow up on anyone disagreeing with my personal thoughts or analysis or various character arcs or narratives, because its literally just like, my opinion man, presented for no other purpose than to potentially be of interest to anyone who might be interested in it. No actual follow up needed on my part because I'm not particularly chuffed if people have different takes, they're totally valid, mine don't exist for the purpose of being defended there, they just exist because Opinions, I Had Them, Here Look. Or Don't. Its Totally Whatever.

Because I don't feel as strongly about these pieces of media as I do fandoms I'm personally invested in, it is trickier to come up with a comprehensive list of ones I can weigh in on. So please feel free to hit up my inbox with any fandoms, narrative or character arcs you're curious about my take on, and I'll let you know if they're fandoms I consider myself a participant in, and thus not really right for this series, or if they're something I'm just not knowledgeable about.....but if they're not an actual fandom of mine and I AM familiar enough with them to have an analytical take or response, I'll add them to the masterlist/post as a potential topic.

This series will be called and tagged "Kalen Vs Writing Choices" (That I Personally Don't Like Or Think Could Be Better). The parenthetical part is there solely to be a disclaimer clarifying that my ego is not so great that I think that My Subjective Take on the writing choices made or not made is the only one that matters. I mean, I don't intend to include the disclaimer as part of the actual tag and will mostly leave it as y'know, like, something IMPLIED, but the disclaimer still exists and thus counts. That's totally how that works.

And that's how I've chosen to awkwardly segue into the final intended-of-three post series.....Dramatically Abrupt Tonal Shift Ahoy!

This next part will get long, but I would truly appreciate it if you gave it a read despite its length and even if - especially if - the next topic isn't one you typically look for my take on, or even avoid my take on, because I don't think I'm likely to ever express my thoughts on this matter any more genuinely or directly than this. Like I'm not trying to guilt anyone or anything like that, its more I'm just trying to say if you ever read ANY single post of mine when it comes to the next topic or pick a post to base your decision on whether or not TO wade into something I have to say on this subject, I would appreciate it if you made that this next part here, as I think it best conveys where I'm coming from when it comes to most any post I make along these lines.

So. The thing is....most people who've followed me long know that in the past I've frequently been extremely vocal on topics of rape, incest and abuse, specifically through the lens of being a male survivor. These absolutely are personal for me. This has led to me having a lot of Overly Opinionated Takes on these topics and how they're talked about, depicted and treated within fandom conversations, fics, and social media spheres and conversations at large. I've also pretty obviously not posted on these topics nearly as much in recent years as I once did - but not because I feel any less strongly about them.

And that's one hundred percent because it's frustrating as hell to see a very good portion of the posts I make about any OTHER topic in my usual fandoms go on to accumulate hundreds of notes....while NONE of my posts on these topics ever break out of my direct circle of mutuals. I don't say it to be egotistical - look how many notes I get on stuff - I say it because its literally objectively factual, and the disparity is dramatic, and the disparity is a PROBLEM. Especially given how much the topics of male rape and abuse - in SPECIFIC - tend to be, within most of my past fandoms.

This disparity has a very clear reason for existing too: people have never been shy about citing that they refrain from reblogging or referencing my posts on these topics because they feel like I act like I'm the only opinion that matters on them, the sole authority to be listened to here, that I use my status as a male rape survivor as a cudgel, to shut down opposing takes or points of view.

Which I would totally be fine with or understand if not for the fact that I've always gone out of my way to express that I don't want or expect my opinions on these matters to be taken as anything other than my personal opinions born of my personal experiences, which I cite because they're relevant. I don't think that survivors should have to disclose their status or personal history or details in order to have their opinion heard on these topics, but I deeply resent how often survivors making the choice TO disclose their personal history or relationship with these topics in order to directly unpack how that informs our perspective....is weaponized AGAINST us, in order to shut down and discredit OUR takes even while literally accusing us of only disclosing in order to do the exact same thing to others.

Something that I've posted about a LOT in the hopes of getting it spread throughout fandoms that regularly talk about male rape is for literal decades I've seen people harp on about how men can be raped too, believe male survivors, don't believe the myth that men can't be raped, etc. Which like, I appreciate the sentiment, but the thing I've tried to express for years is that in my personal experience, and those of a lot of other male survivors I've talked to - this is not really the biggest or even ONE of the biggest issues most male survivors face.

And the fact that for all that there are many survivors in fandom who have made the difficult choice to be open about their traumas and recoveries - which I ALWAYS respect, as that is never easy for any of us - a huge part of why I've always made a point to disclose my own history as a male survivor is because there just flat out aren't a lot of perspectives from MALE survivors in specific, being circulated in pretty much any of the fandom spaces I've ever been in over the past twenty years. I don't even slightly think I'm any more of an expert or authority on topics of rape or abuse - beyond how they pertain to my own personal experiences - than any other survivor. But as long as the topic of MALE rape and abuse in specific, how men are affected by these things, how society reacts to us and treats us in the aftermath....as long as these are the topics explicitly being discussed.....I do think my perspective as a male survivor is pretty fucking relevant, and admittedly, I tend to get pretty heated about pushing BACK against attempts to invalidate it or shout it down as though I somehow have LESS of a stake in or right to be heard in these particular conversations. And I get how this has at times come across as attempting to dominate a given conversation.

But like.....I'm also going to point back up to the part where I said earlier....I'm an Overly Opinionated Asshole. I say it somewhat deprecatingly, for the lulz, but also not. I'm very passionate about conversations and topics I feel strongly about and I don't make apologies for it. And for the most part....this has NEVER stopped people from reblogging or liking posts I make about pretty much any other topic....despite me not really coming across that differently in most of them, compared to how I come across in most of my past posts on topics of rape and abuse.

See....I'm in complete agreement with everyone who emphasizes that rape isn't a gendered issue. That it can and does happen to individuals of any gender or identity. But the reason why I've always found the focus on 'remember that men can be raped too' more performative than helpful is because for almost twenty years, I've been posting on these topics in various fandom spaces and trying to express that in my personal experience, something that REALLY deserves to be talked about more is the fact that rape is not gendered. But rape CULTURE very much IS.

Like it or not, we live in a very gendered society still. While yes, men can be raped too.....for a number of reasons - most of them born of sexism and misogyny in specific - the conditions, catalysts and reasons for men being raped are NOT interchangeable with those at work in instances of women being raped, as an example. Because the way society treats men and women in pretty much EVERY situation is different. Similarly, the way society REACTS to men and women disclosing they've been raped is different. And so on and so on.

So 'remember that men can be raped too' has some basis in societal claims that men can't be raped or that rape IS a gendered issue....but not as much as I think most people tend to believe. And twenty years after I first started searching out perspectives of other male survivors in online fandom spaces, beyond just real world physical support groups, I'm STILL hearing 'remember that men can be raped too' dominating all conversations about male survivors just as regularly and repetitiously as it was twenty years ago....as though the world has not changed at all, and the needle on this particular facet of male survivorhood hasn't changed an inch in the past two decades when no, actually, it very much has.

The reason why I feel so strongly about offering up my perspective as a male survivor in a relative absence of seeing other male survivors' perspectives circulated is I honestly believe the reason this is so consistently upheld as the biggest problem facing male survivors is its a carry-over from women attempting to be heard and believed when disclosing....which makes sense and is completely understandable....as long as there's a complete absence of male survivors offering up any perspective that's to the contrary.

But the fact that we live in a gendered society where rape culture, not rape itself, still very much IS gendered due to being a product of....living in a gendered society....means that the differences in how society treats and reacts to men and women affects every aspect of how society treats and reacts to men and women survivors. And that starts with disclosure itself. In my personal experience - and fully acknowledging that I don't speak for any other male survivor in this moment, and I absolutely do believe there are those who have experiences to the contrary, and that matters too - MY experience, which also matters, is that not once in the twenty years since I've started disclosing about my own rape, or the csa I experienced as a child - have I actually had an issue being believed.

With full acknowledgment of how unfair it is, how gross, the reality of living in a sexist, patriarchal society where male privilege very much exists, is that while men can be raped too, this traumatic thing that happened to us does not in any way actually invalidate or negate our male privilege. It doesn't turn it off for the duration of our experience or any time its relevant to our experiences going forward. We carry that privilege with us through our recoveries and the rest of our lives just as much as we did before it, because its an inalienable result of being in a society that allocates privilege solely on the basis of being born a man who identifies and presents as a cis man (with respect to trans individuals having another axis of experience that very much differentiates all matters pertaining to rape culture, in comparison to cis men, just as much as in the case of cis women, albeit in different ways).

And the gross unfortunate reality of our society is that it ALWAYS prioritizes believing men over women, in all matters......especially cis white men like myself.

So the simple fact is....even the act of disclosure - and the likelihood of being believed when voluntarily choosing to share the information that we've been raped - means that a cis white man like myself does not receive the same reaction as most women receive when attempting to share that same information. Society preconditions a lot of people to be more receptive to taking cis white men at their word, comparative to affording anyone else that basic respect.

Getting people to believe me when I say I was raped has never been the issue for me that other individuals face.

But that doesn't mean that my disclosure doesn't result in issues for me.

Because while being raped never invalidated or negated any of my cis white male privilege, neither did having cis white male privilege negate the possibility of me being raped - OR the fact that society ALSO preconditions people to be really fucking shitty about survivors.

(Hell, ANY kind of living victim....with this also being very relevant to abuse survivors, survivors of physical assault, etc. Much like people can be overflowing with empathy for unborn children who can't offer up any take to the contrary to whatever people want to say "in defense or support of unborn children," only to turn around and cease caring about most of those babies the second they're born, people tend to be just as overflowing with empathy for deceased victims of abuse, rape, assault and the like....who, y'know, also can't offer up any take to the contrary of whatever they say or claim about what they WOULD want, what they DO deserve, etc. Present those same people with a living child or a living victim who can and DOES have an opinion that doesn't match what those people feel it SHOULD be? Watch attitudes shift VERY quickly, as allllll that empathy hurriedly flushes down the drain as though it was never there).

But the point is, my cis white male privilege is always here regardless. But that doesn't mean rape culture isn't shitty enough that it can't find a way to circumvent even that in pursuit of discrediting/invalidating/ignoring survivors, just like that privilege can be circumvented in order to create the situation where a man is raped in the first place.

Its just....the gendered nature of rape culture means HOW those attempts to discredit/invalidate/ignore male survivors manifests.....doesn't look the same as when it leads to just outright disbelieving other survivors when they attempt to disclose.

And that is how I can be listened to and reblogged on most any other topic, no matter HOW I go about presenting myself in those posts or conversations - ironically in no small part BECAUSE of my cis white male privilege - while only getting crickets when I post on these topics, BECAUSE people only choose THOSE posts to make my presentation or level of intensity a dealbreaker, and thus their very reason for ignoring anything I have to say there. Not because they don't believe me, but because the WAY I say it is too aggressive, too biased, too emotional, too intense....its an attack on their autonomy, an attempt to override whatever they previously thought or believed about the subject and just force them to adhere to my take.

Because the thing about living in a sexist, patriarchal society is.....that IS a thing that cis white men often do, and a lot of society is structured to make it easier for us to achieve this in most instances, frankly. This just happens to be a rare exception, because for a lot of reasons that would make this post even longer - and that again, I've often posted about before - upholding and reinforcing rape culture on a society wide level supersedes the usual focus on accommodating INDIVIDUAL cis white men in having their opinions heard and circulated.

I'm trying to be as frank as possible here about the intersection of privilege and experiences of being a male survivor because I don't believe its to anyone's benefit to be disingenuous about it, and I do think that it doesn't actually supplant the fact that male survivors do have just as much right - and NEED - to be heard and listened to about our experiences with rape and perspective there, and have those ACKNOWLEDGED, as anyone else.

Its just....the existence of privilege and how that differentiates most experiences in a gendered society matters, and thus.....it needs to be part of the conversation rather than just treating all responses to rape and survivors as agendered, just because rape itself can and does happen to people of all genders.

There's actually a fair amount to get into when it comes to differences in a lot of mens' disclosures vs womens' in my experience, but just as an extension of what I'm talking about here, one of the specific elements in my experience is that men often don't have a problem being believed about having been raped or abused.....but one of the predominant responses is society is heavily preconditioned to view male rape and abuse survivors as almost inevitably feeling they need to exert a similar power over someone else in order to claim back their own feelings of pride and safety in their masculinity. Effectively.....most every male rape or abuse survivor I've ever talked with at length shares a similar experience of being believed when they disclose about being a survivor....but noting a clear and direct shift in how whomever they disclosed to interacts with them....with EVERY expression of anger or outrage - particularly in the matter of their rape or abuse - being viewed as evidence of us being ticking time bombs who are inevitably primed to explode and take out what happened to us on someone else.

There's being cautious around cis white men, for example, because we're cis white men, which I totally get and am not expressing an opinion on. I'm just saying even with that acknowledged, there is a SHIFT in how people interact with me after I've disclosed to them personally, in how they....scrutinize me, for lack of a better way of putting it, in very noticeable ways and areas. Like its consistent. And think about how its not totally true that media doesn't portray men as being capable of being raped or abused, typically. Think about how often you've seen procedurals where the backstory of the rapist or abuser of the week is specifically THAT they were a rape or abuse survivor themselves, usually in childhood. Its NOT that society doesn't believe or accept that men can be raped too. Its that society is primed to default to viewing the very act of men being raped as an indicator of the shift from them being a man to being a man who is likely to become a predator themselves.

Rape appears all the time in regards to male survivors in media. Its just it usually just appears in the context of men who arent presented AS survivors, but rather as predators or aggressors themselves, and their past victimization treated as a catalyst rather than a trauma. This is not to excuse any such character or depiction of course, its simply to emphasize that the very angle from which male survivorhood is approached in most contexts is different from that of other survivors. Just like the angle from which their survivorhood is approached is different from that of male survivors. And thus the issue most men have with disclosing in my experience is NOT that we're afraid we won't be believed....its that we're afraid once we disclose, we'll be viewed as inherently more dangerous because our victimization primes us to be that much more likely to inflict ourselves on others in some attempt to reclaim our masculinity.

And its categorically NOT about any group of survivors having it better or worse than others, which is why I LOATHE people saying variations of 'you wouldn't say that about this if it happened to a woman' because anyone attempting to pit male survivors against other survivors en masse is NOT doing so for my benefit or with my endorsement. The point is just that each way society and rape culture interacts with a different group of survivors presents different problems and issues that need addressing, and aren't interchangeable.

There is a REASON why the subject of Dick Grayson's anger - usually in the context of things that have happened to him - is so important to me, specifically in terms of ensuring that its treated as something he's allowed to have....rather than an indicator that he's going to messily explode his life in a way that impacts everyone around him negatively.

Now.....if you've never considered that aspect of rape vs rape culture and how it can differently affect and shape the experiences and recovery of cis male survivors versus trans male survivors and nonbinary survivors and survivors who identify as women.....I ask that you consider what else my perspective might be able to add to actually productive, meaningful conversations about rape, rape culture and survivorhood, that you never would have thought TO think about before, without male survivors bringing it up based on it having played a role in personal experiences.

And then I just ask that you please think about the implications of someone known for being a vocal presence in certain fandoms, with a fairly sizable number of posts widely circulating throughout them......never having posts about male rape and survivorhood circulated to any noticeable degree, despite writing DOZENS of them, in all kinds of different moods, ways and intensity levels.....and all of them while active in fandoms where male rape is regularly discussed or focused on due to certain characters or storylines......and ask yourselves if it maybe seems a little off for the disparity to be THAT large. Again: I have written DOZENS of posts on this topic. All with less than twenty notes. I'll be composing a masterlist of them in the near future as well, but for now I'm just saying. Please just think about that.

While I'm going to make an effort to be more deliberate in how I approach this topic in posts going forward, tonally and in terms of word choice, I do have a right to be just as passionate about it as any other topic, and it is FUCKED UP to think that my personal experiences here should be pointed to as the very REASON I should need to be LESS passionate than I am anywhere else, in order to be heard or listened to. Still. I am not actually trying to override anyone else's viewpoint, present myself as some kind of ultimate authority, or shut down other survivors in any way....I'm just trying to uphold the relevancy and importance of adding my own perspective to the conversation.

I don't want to be the only voice listened to here. But as long as my voice is relevant, and I don't see or hear a lot of other voices speaking from a similar standpoint, I would like to be a RESOURCE on topics of male survivorhood, rape and recovery, from that particular standpoint. And even if and when other male survivors might perchance add their own perspectives with experiences and takes contrary to mine....I welcome that! Because mine is not the only one, cis white male survivors are no more a monolith than anyone else, and none of that will in any way actually invalidate my own perspective or experiences or render them no longer relevant at all.

Being a resource on a topic that has always been everpresent in most fandoms I've gravitated to - which has often been a reason FOR me gravitating to those fandoms in specific.....that has always been my ONLY goal with these kinds of posts. NOT an authority.

So, having my posts - which for all my willingness to write them, has never been easy for me and probably never will - reframed in such a negative way, dismissed and even weaponized against me - has over the years demoralized me and made it harder to find the energy TO tackle these topics, as much as I'd like to. But I do feel that I've found a second wind when it comes to this and think I'm ready to wade back into being Overly Opinionated on these topics as well.

So that's the third of the three post series I'll be starting, "Kalen vs Topics of Rape, Rape Culture and Survivorhood As Perceived Through A Singular Personalized Cis White Male Lens, Presented By (and With) My Middle Finger At Any Attempts to Subvert Or Undermine My Thoughts On Them By Reframing Them As Me Trying To Gatekeep Male Survivorhood No Matter How Many Times I Use The Words IN MY EXPERIENCE or IN MY OPINION, Which I Do A Lot, Because This Has Been Happening For A Very Long Time, And I Am Tired, But Still Very Opinionated, And Still Very Here, So Bite Me I Guess."

.....I'm still workshopping that one's title. Its a process.

ANYWAY. At the moment, I'm aiming to make one post of each once a month, and if I do more than that great, but not trying to pressure myself to do any more than that at the moment in the interests of Realism. We'll play it by ear. If I have more free time or energy than expected, maybe I'll do more. Its not like I have a shortage of Very Opinionated Opinions, after all. You've met me.

BUT I DIGRESS.

So in the interest of not making this long ass post any fucking longer, not that anyone really expected otherwise from my first post back in months, like could I REALLY even claim to ACTUALLY be back if all I had to show for it was some weak little lackluster drabble that wasn't even 3,000 words? Methinks the fuck not -

Well, have an abrupt and anticlimactic finish that comes out of nowhere despite giving myself literally 4,900 words to build to something appropriately profound or meaningful or whatthefuckever. Y'know. Your standard Kalen Classic. The abrupt and anticlimactic wrap up I mean, not the profound and deeply meaningful one. Eh. You get it.

Did ya miss me? I missed you!

PS - I was Informed that we are almost to the end of Tommy T's Tenure, is it almost safe to come back to Nightwing comics? Does anyone know when his last issue is? Have we planned the party yet? Who's on balloons, we definitely need balloons.

[isa-ghost]

✨️ A (Witchy) AMFMN Update ✨️

Also I finally admit I'm famous at the end, war is over and yall won, come read my confession /hj

Spoke to Apollo about AMFMN struggles just now. I say struggles but that sounds scarier than it is, really I just mean grappling with motivation and the energy to write for long periods of time.

It boiled down to the fact that I won the battle against my grief with QSMP ending and no more ongoing Death Family content, but it cost me my motivation to write. That's not to say that the fic is dying or anything, basically I just need to find a new source of motivation, even if that motivation is myself.

But as long as I stay in-tune with myself and keep at writing because I WANT to rather than relying on something fueling me to keep going, I'll be good. Which is what I Have been doing, it's just not been easy. But that's to be expected.

He ended things off saying don't feel discouraged just because the process has gotten a little harder and slower. If I'm ever struggling with motivation or something else to do with the writing process, I can always come to him for guidance and encouragement.

Tbh I really needed to hear the last part even though I already kinda knew it. I'm not entirely sure how me being cheered on by him and him being SO INVESTED in Phil and AMFMN has looked from an outside pov, but Apollo genuinely has been such a devoted fanboy and a great mentor through baby's first huge creative endeavor in a fandom. I've always stuck to OC and original stuff, so fanfic has been a really interesting and different experience.

Also for shits n giggles I asked him if I'm actually "famous" like everyone's been insisting because I love enabling him to be silly with messages. A while back he actually told me AMFMN was gonna pop off and get popular and stuff like that but I never really felt like it had? And some of my other circle members had echoed this to me too, but I still never felt that moment of like "okay yeah, it's popular."

Surprisingly, the first of two tarot cards he just gave me about "being famous" is actually a legit answer. He was saying don't be afraid to indulge the ego sometimes, it's okay to do that if you're not being a dick about it. I did something cool and I deserve to enjoy the pride I have in the success of the fic. And my refusal/denial to do so is kind of rooted in my broader issue with self confidence and whatnot. So lowkey he's bonking me on the head for Indeed Being Just Like Phil, Who Can't Actually Take A Fucking Compliment Or Praise.

The second card he pulled about it was sillier, since that WAS the intention of me jokingly asking him if he did think I was "a famous author." And of all fucking cards to pull he pulled DEATH. Which is SO FUNNY because *gestures to Phil's ties with death* but ALSO THAT CARD IS GENERALLY SO ALARMING TO PULL?? The gist of what he was saying with it is that if I stop letting self image related bs cloud how I look at "my popularity" so to speak, it'd actually hugely boost my confidence and lead to even more success with the fic. And while he can't confirm it'd get me "noticed" by Phil (as some people have for Some Reason said it should, it's not my goal), however that would go down, that IS a possibility. He just kinda said "take the fucking compliments, idiot. If you stay humble without downplaying things, you COULD pop off to the degree some people are already saying you should.

Which tbh,, I DID have a Phil pegs member recently put in perspective that most fics don't pass 1k hits on AO3. I don't know how true that is bc I Didn't Go Here (fic writing) until I got the idea for the AMFMN, but the fact that it has over 8k hits is apparently a huge deal?? And I guess my newness and inexperience with the fanfic scene just has kept me unaware of that?? So statistically speaking, AMFMN *is* famous? Which I just still cannot fathom LOL.

Idk, it's weird to think about. I legit do feel like just some guy who's simply passionately vocal about This Cool Thing I'm Doing. But I will admit, even if I don't Feel "famous" and can't take praise to save my life, it's been genuinely really sweet to have people drowning me in compliments and stuff??

And if I'm being honest, it really does motivate me to keep going, because it's nice to know that people really really like the thing I'm doing. People theorizing and being invested in the story has been the #1 thing making AMFMN so fun. I LOVE watching people try to work out what's gonna happen, when I'm foreshadowing, and yelling at me when I nuke them with angst.

I guess that's a long-winded and self-reflective way of saying thank you to everyone who's been so ride or die about AMFMN so far. Like seriously. It's hard to actually Process all the love but it means the world to still receive it??

But yeah, uh. God says I'm famous guys. Guess I have to admit it now. /silly

Anyway, AMFMN may be slower to update (for now) but I do absolutely mean it when I say it's not gonna die. I am legit too excited about shit I have planned to let it happen.

I wanted to finish Chapter 7 by yesterday but Shit Happened and so I'm gonna try to aim for this weekend instead. If I remember correctly I don't have any plans Saturday so,,, PauseChamp

Also as a quick note, I was gonna say this in the tags but it should actually probably be seen by people: #AMFMN things is the tag I use to save my own posts related to the fic on my blog, BUT if anyone wants to, or is already making theories, art, shitposts, memes, or just generally posting about the fic, I DO check that tag sometimes to see if there's anything not from me. So uh. If you haven't used it already, definitely feel free to use that tag for your own stuff related to the fic too, I will be looking. I 1000% want to see anything and everything people might be saying or posting. It's by far the most rewarding part of writing the fic. :)

[gilraina]

Sometimes when I browse the podfic tag I see posts like "I'd like to start making podfics, tell me what stories you'd like to see me podfic" and there's just something so weird about this to me? Imagine someone saying "I wanna get into making fanart, tell me what I should draw first", or "I'd like to try writing fanfic, give me ideas for stories". I know it's not a 1 to 1 comparison (and maybe it even happens sometimes, I dunno), but it just feels like such a backwards approach?

I started podficcing because I was reading a lot of fanfic and had so many fics I loved and wanted to try recording, either because I had an idea for what I wanted them to sound like when read out loud, or just wanted to experiment. Over the years I've had to tell multiple people that I don't take requests, or even commissions, because my to-pod list is already long and keeps expanding. Finding a good story, and reaching out to the author to get permission to record it, is all part of the process to me.

I don't know, maybe it just comes down to people being new to podfic and not fully understanding that part of fandom and its etiquette, but even so, my question is: if you don't know what stories you'd like to podfic, or it doesn't make a difference to you, to the point where your first instinct is to ask random strangers what they'd like you to record rather than to pick something yourself, then why would you even want to do it in the first place? Contrary to what some may believe, making a podfic is actually a lot of work (especially when you're new to it), and personally I just can't imagine putting all that work into something I'm not passionate about. And if you haven't even made a single podfic before, then how can anyone even give you a good suggestion, when they don't know yet what kinds of stories you gravitate towards, what would be the best match for your narration style, etc.?

Also, from the fic writers' perspective, I imagine there's a world of difference between

a) reaching out to the author for permission to podfic their fic, because you loved it so much that it inspired you to create something based on it

and

b) putting out a general "send me fics and (maybe) I'll record them" statement

One of those will get you a much more enthusiastic response from the writers than the other. Not to even mention that there are plenty of writers who have already given blanket permission for their fic to be podficced, and would love to get a surprise podfic of their story. If you're a podficcer or want to get into podficcing, I can't recommend using the Blanket Permission Highlighter extension enough. It highlights the names of AO3 authors who have given blanket permission for their works to be transformed, and allows you to filter the archive to only show works from authors who have BP statements.

If you'd like to try podficcing, but feel anxious about reaching out to authors to ask for permission, choosing a fic from an author who's already given that permission is a great place to start! Much better than announcing that you want to make podfics and waiting for people to reach out to you, I promise!

[pastafossa]

how long did it take for your fanfiction to start getting some recognition? did you "advertise" it or "promote" it in any way?

i know that people say this doesn't matter, but i feel like even if you love writing the feeling that you're just talking to yourself gets pretty exhausting at some point. so i'm not talking about having thousands of readers but rather like. what's your advice to have readers at least?

- someone who hasn't even started writing their ideas yet...

LONG POST INCOMING.

First I want you (and everyone else reading who may be struggling with this) to know I'm absolutely with you and generally think 'it doesn't matter' is a horseshit answer. It's this weird thing we do in fanfic that we generally don't apply to other artforms that I've seen. If you're a painter, a playwriter, a novel writer, and you say, 'I want at least a few people to love my paintings, I want some people to come see my play, I want my novel to be published and do at least ok' we all support them, we nod, we agree, we talk about how they can do that successfully. It's considered normal to want some amount of success. But hold up fanfic instead and it becomes, 'how dare you want that praise, you're being egotistical, you should be writing only for yourself'. I'm not saying you can't do that - there are some who do - but it's definitely this bizarre switchup to say there's this single artform in which we can't want attention on our work and that there's something wrong with us if we do. That can be an absolute creativity killer depending on what kind of writer you are (hi, extrovert writer here who only gets writy writy juice from social interaction - aka comments and discussion. So I totally get it being exhausting just doing this on your own).

So let me say this categorically: you're allowed to want things. You're allowed to want kudos, comments, and hits. You're allowed to want messages and asks. You're allowed to want some readers you can talk with about your story.

You. Are. Allowed.

Ok, now that that's out of the way.

Edit: more below the cut cause I didn't realize the length of this on mobile

TRT definitely didn't get popular overnight. The first four chapters were sporadic, and then I took a hiatus due to life things for a couple years. During that time, it kept slowly ticking up bit by bit on AO3, with occasional comments. Iirc it was hovering somewhere around 700 kudos by the time I came back in Jan 2021 - and that's a awesome! It's big! But it's also a number that was gained over a few years, to put it in perspective. It absolutely took off after I came back though, and over the past 2 years both TRT's popularity and the stats of my one-shots in the fandom have grown. Part of that's just the time frame (TRT's been up about 6 years), but it's also due to a couple things that I think built up TRT's popularity.

Building a tumblr presence was huge. Ironically I didn't really intend to do it for advertising; I just wanted a place readers could ask questions or we could all freak out about Matt or I could post some drabbles or updates on the fic. But considering the fact that AO3 and tumblr are the top fic sites online, I wound up promoting my fics unintentionally just by being a friendly, happy tumblr user and fandom goer. All I did was follow the courtesy rules I knew - post stuff regularly, reblog, comment, make friends with other writers, just be friendly in your neighborhood because you love the lady with the gif flower shop on the corner or the wise old pizza maker who serves hot fandom takes all day long. I built familiarity with my writing and name by posting short fics, and by taking part in challenges and prompt lists and short requests for drabbles if I saw them, though that's something that's hard to do if you don't have time (I've got less time now, but I started this blog in the early pandemic so I had aaaaall the time in the world to write and was using it to stay sane). I tagged religiously because I LOVE tags, but that helped, too. Tumblr's search system is half broken but the half that works means people CAN find your writing even if they aren't following. Doing all this over here got me a huge boost over on AO3.

I will say that if you can have a fandom tiktok presence, there's a lot of fic reviewers, edits, and good stuff that can get your fic some readers (I've had some people do this on tiktok for TRT and it sent a surge over). I personally haven't done anything there yet, in part because while I'm on tiktok I try to keep my actual, real person accounts separate from my fic/fandom accounts and i haven't bothered to make a second account solely dedicated to the Pasta name yet.

Longfics on AO3 have the advantage in fic stats in the sense that every time you add a chapter, it gets bumped to the top of the front page and you get seen again. Eventually a lot of people will click out of curiosity. They may not, however, give you a lot of user subs or add to your other fic stats at first, whereas if you do a bunch of oneshots you're more likely to get user subs but less hits on each fic. This is a decision you'll have to make, and I know folks in both camps who built their followings using different methods on each. Either way, it helps if you're posting regularly, either in a long fic or one-shots. I call this the Stephen King method, who said he just writes a ton and throws it all at the wall, and eventually you get enough good despite the bad that you start building a following.

Learn learn learn. This is standard fic advice I always give, but it's still relevant. I think one of the reasons imo TRT has done so well is that I've spent a lot of time over the years learning how to write and edit - I read a ton of books (sometimes just to figure out HOW good authors structure their stories), I took a lot of English classes, I've taken some creative writing courses in my spare time. That two year hiatus was heavily spent doing a lot of research and practice around an original novel I want published one day. And I used ALL of that in TRT, just to see what it was like to put it all together. Be hungry for knowledge, be hungry to learn. The more you learn, the better your fic will be, and the more people that will click.

That learning also includes a looooong string of fanfics that started at a very novice level (hello 12 year old me), to fics that were ok and did moderately well but weren't anything huge. Hell, I had a tumblr account for my previous fandoms before I wandered over to Pastafossa, and while those fics did decently, I never had the huge reaction I've gotten here. But I used each and every one of those fics to learn and grow and adapt. Treat your own fics the same way. If it doesn't get hits, try to learn from it before moving on to the next idea a little wiser and a slightly better writer than before. There will always be people who start to follow you along the way.

A small one, but important: I swear to god, do not shit-talk yourself. Not in the summary, not in the tags, not in the A/Ns. I'm not talking, 'this is my first fic!' That's fine. I mean trashing your own work. Shit like, 'ha ha this sucks, it's terrible but oh well' will absolutely lower your stats, because people will believe you and will ditch your fic. On top of that, it's just mean to yourself, and as I said above, you want to be a good person in the fandom neighborhood. That means not breaking the windows of your own house.

People generally think of summaries as a side note, but a shitty summary can absolutely tank your stats. Treat it like the rest of your fic - this is the trailer before the movie, and it's a huge element of what gets people interested in the first place.

Lastly, like I said at the top, the biggest factor is time. There are people who post one fic and explode in popularity, absolutely. But far, far more little followings are built on the bones of time, of abandoned fics, of muttering and highlighting phrases in books in the middle of the night, of trying and trying and trying until we have at last have a breakthrough and then drag that breakthrough forward with us to the next fic. TRT is absolutely one part lightning in a bottle - the biggest success I've ever had anywhere with my writing, a confluence of fandom factors and world events that gave people (and me!) time to write and read. But it's also standing on the back of whole lot of fics I wrote that look like everyone else's: ones with no comments, low interaction, insults; ones where I had precisely zero idea of what I was doing, but wanted to try anyway. And the way I got through that, as a writer who needs interaction in order to create, was by building friendships in fandom so that even when a fic didn't do all that well, I still had friends I could talk to about the characters, the world, the fandom itself. I asked friends to look them over and give advice. I had friends being my cheerleaders. And if you're an extrovert like me, or just a writer who needs that to create, then those connections are vital as you build up a following.

That's a lot of what I've done. I know there are other ways to build a following, but this is generally what I've done, what I've learned to do, and it seems to have worked. Just remember that there are no bad fics - just learning opportunities. Learn something, and that fic's a success, and work as hard as you can to make those fandom connections to carry you through the process.

I absolutely hope to see your work around one day, so that I can be on of those followers!

[i-only-know-fandoms]

Carlos's mention in the wedding special and how they handled it was disappointing and vague and, in my opinion, leaves the door open to either fate

Context

So I took a peak at the Barnes & Noble bonus chapter of Melissa de la Cruz's Beyond the Isle of the Lost and Mal and Evie and Jay and Ben and even Doug are there but there's no mention of Carlos, and I don't know, that really upsets me. The Core Four aren't going to be in the movies anymore, (Disney, though intent on making more movie, at least hasn't sunken as low to recast Cameron, and Dove, Sofia, and Booboo won't return without him) they still exist in the universe (Mal's portrait, this bonus chapter, etc). And it just seems to me, as long as it's not on screen and they're continuing the franchise, Disney should include Carlos in any future books they might appear in

(Which I also believe they should do to continue Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay's story. They're intent on continuing the franchise, they've made that clear, and so tossing aside the characters that created it seems callous. Obviously there can be no more movies with them, thus, books. Also, these theoretical books could be for the YA fans of the original trilogy and thus get into the grittier details of the Isle, not the watered down happy ending that made no sense canonically in D3. As many are pointing out, Rise of Red will be for a new generation of fans)

I, personally, think that if they're set on continuing the franchise they should honor they characters should still be used (again, offscreen in books) to continue their stories and the legacies of the characters and the actors who created them, especially Cameron, as this is really his only legacy character. It also gives another way of keeping his memory alive, if they dedicate the books to him, and raise awareness for his foundation by including an page promoting it in the books.

It also seems callous to me to just toss all the work of those characters to the side, like they don't mean anything now that they can't be used in movies.

But, I am also worried want wanting this (or even asking Disney this, though I doubt they'd pay attention) that I am also just using Cameron? I just, I miss him so much, and this would keep him alive (similar to Chadwick Boseman through T'Challa. Like, they had him die in the movies as to not recast him, but there's still all the Black Panther comics and merchandise that he lives through. Yes, it's not necessarily his iteration of the character, since it did exist before him, but he's still connected with it). But should this stay in the fandom through fanfics and fanart, and not touched by Disney? But they're continuing the universe, so feels like this is just forcing him to disappear? Idk, I did another post about this after the Wedding Special, because I don't know if I'm being insensitive by wanting this. I don't think I am, I don't mean to be, but that doesn't mean I'm not.

So I set up this poll, (and set it before my rambling since who wants to read all this, lol) to get some wider perspective. Should I keep asking Disney to try and get the Core four's stories continued in books (if you're on Instagram, yup this is me) or am I being insensitive towards as them by asking for this

(The utter hopelessness of asking Disney and if I should give up because of it isn't in question, I have nothing better to do with my life than scream into the void. But if it's morally wrong.... I trust the fandom for an honest opinion on this and tumblr is the best place. And now we have polls, so......)

[mewpangxin]

—🎈WRITERS AND ARTISTS APPRECIATION POST🧸— Contents: I'm being quite expressive AXCHOL-

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

For @the-v-lociraptor

Ayo, Raps, you are incredibly awesome, I would be down to know about your yuusona, an enthusiast Riddle fan I can simply sense it. Classic choice 😌! I have seen glimpses of you chatting with Ceru and it's only a few crumbs and holy, your brainrot has me invested about your oc lore and background. If we talk more together then I could rant longer---

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

For @twistedtalking / (Already sent.)

I gotta say, your concept is unique, I commend you for keeping the characters as accurate as the source material your best as a fellow newer twst writer. Love your incorrect quotes, your ramblings and your humor within the fics you do too. You're doing fantastically and I'm here to cheer you!

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

For @suiseisyojo / (Already sent.)

Your headcanons and stories are magnificent, Shye 🥺✨ I feel there's an air of being so well-put, something that when I look, it's like a fairytale with many wondrous moments happening inside and how you display is unprecedented, it's one of my favorites. Your characterization on the boys had me amazed when I go over it to study how it came to be. I love the header and fonts you have ♥️ it's a line with color like pink or black I suppose 🍬

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

For @ceruleancattail /(Already sent.)

Let me think how I'll break it down into words, your stories are as if they are cotton candies, tarts, so picture yourself getting thrown into a dream that has scenery so wonderful that you don't want to ever wake up from. In truth, anything sinister is hiding beneath that welcoming grace, the inhabitants there just won't let you leave💕 Your writing is both a paradise and can be nightmare depending on the will of your hands.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

For @kurukuryu / (Already sent.)

When I think about your art, it's as if I'm at a cafe ♥︎ where I can smell a lot variety of sweets with dozens of grand aesthetics paintings! Your sketches are marshmallows, I want to gobble them up honestly <33 they are precious, made me melt on my mind too🌷 I like seeing you talking about everything in general, your yume, ocs, literally anything. And I hope I can be a good friend to you ☕️ˊˎ·˚ ༘

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

For @cxlemon / @cxsinesis

I have to say, your portrayals are ornate and euphemistic to look and read at. In my opinion, the imagery, metaphors, how you deliver had me think that it's not just standard actions. Makes me wonder how many years and efforts did it take you to polish your vocabularies and style. Because it's an art and a masterpiece. Other nsfw fics highlights more on the behavior part, that's great too but there's loftiness in your themes and narration. You gave me inspiration on what I might do🥺

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

For @kunehori

Your illustrations are hypnotizing, it's as if I'm at the ocean, listening to seagulls chirping, it's peaceful, and I feel so happy and smile like a moron when I saw you on my dash. You can draw and devise texts to form a whole universe with the tip of your brush and on papers. It's fluffy. Beautiful. You captured my attention to your ideas and words. I'm speechless and honored you're here, Ari. (Ty for being a pal on my main too andgjshdheb.)

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

For @cupids-chamber

When I visualize about the imparting, it leaves butterflies in my stomach, it's so melodious to my ears, I would never get bored by your writing because it's like I'm in a land of ethereal with spells and myths. You have stolen my sight and mind. I'm enamored to whatever you described in the fable. You have motivated me to broaden my perspectives on that fanfics are frankly precious to me.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

For @blues824

YOUR DILIGENCE IS ADMIRABLE. You did for a lot of fandoms in your account, ranging from anime to even webtoons, you must be experienced on what you're doing, absolutely no doubt on it. And ahem, if you ever have a side blog, lemme notice, I'll be the first to follow you on it because you're amazing. Like seriously, I meant my praise 🍰

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

For @siphoklansan

Gurl, you have the most delicious abilities to craft things. I hope you will get excellent scores on tests by the way, rooting for you all the way there. I love how you transform our Thai culture and adapted it into your comic panels, it's truly refreshing because I'm very much immersed to when you verbalized it.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

For @oepionie

It's official that you are one of my favorites. Your headcanons, drabbles, and fics are poetic. They are what grasped my heart, had me blush and squeal to myself whenever I turned around to scrutinize them. Kind of like how it's luring me into the rabbit hole where Alice has once fallen into a dark abyss. To the unknown and it's going to be adventurous 🌻

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

For @treytheslay

I eat up your yandere and dark contents, especially if it's about my fav twst characters. Looking forward to the series and what you will plan in your blog. I'm weak to your prompts because I am so fond and curious on what type you will brew up for us to consume next. Will it be angst? Heartbreaking?

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

For @miinprn /Not related in twst fandom.

I have been a mutual with you a long time on twt, ever since tog and etc, your doodles and personality is just so comforting to be with and I adore how you color and draw your portraits, they are super pretty. Never stop being yourself, okay? I will always be here for you and encourage you to your goal🪴

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

For @hxjikonn

I am feral for your literature dear Haji, god tier stuff right there, I'm telling you 100% because I'm nuts for your imagination and snippets you have. I am totally fine with you being on hiatus as well. Drink a lot of water, have a great break as you look after yourself in reality and managing your life<3

[bisexualchrissycunningham]

What tropes DO you like to see in hellcheer fanfics? Now I'm worried that I've been incorporating things that are harmful without even realizing it and I want to write things that won't accidentally trigger or upset a reader. Our fandom is small but strong and I don't want to contribute to any discomfort.

Oh boy. Firstly, it’s really lovely to know someone takes reader discomfort seriously and wants to ensure they’re not causing harm. 

But secondly, don’t avoid writing anything out of fear of reader reaction. That’s what tags are for! Here’s the thing: I wish more people would use too many tags rather than too little just to be safe. Or give a much better idea of what a fic will entail in the description. If they don’t want to spoil readers, one thing I’ve done in the past has been stating in my authors note that I would put a detailed description of any potentially triggering content in the end notes on AO3 and they can choose whether to read or not. Just something, you know? 

I hold myself totally responsible for what I choose to read, which means I have chosen to limit my fic reading much more than I originally thought I would out of an overabundance of caution. I think tags can only go so far if the writers themselves don’t seem to be fully conscious of what they’re putting out there with their writing. 

Which I guess leads to a thing I’ve been biting my tongue on cause my thoughts on it are still so unformed and I’m always scared of provoking hatefulness.. there is a pattern across fic in general (not just Hellcheer) of power dynamics being written naturally into all ship interactions without proper tagging. Sometimes BDSM is tagged, but nothing to specify non-sexual power dynamics, which in my perspective can often be MORE important to warn for. It seems like a lot of writers have sort of internalized this idea that there always has to be a dominant partner and a submissive partner in any pairing, and of course it almost always means the male or more masculine-presenting partner is the dominant one.

I think in normalizing this, some people started missing the fact that this is, in fact, a kink and something that HAS to be warned for. Readers should always be aware of any type of unequal power dynamic before reading a fic. 

A lot of writers are aiming for the sub partner as a fully-empowered character with their own autonomy who chooses to be submissive, but tbh, not all writers are successful at demonstrating this and instead recreate pretty fucked up dynamics that can lead to otherwise fine content being distressing for readers. 

An unrelated issue I’ve run into that a lot of people aren’t gonna wanna hear: B*lly showing up in fics without being tagged. Fucking ALWAYS tag this character. You KNOW he’s upsetting/triggering for people due to his canon behaviour, regardless of how much you personally like/relate to him. I recently read a Hellcheer fic where he showed up out of nowhere, played a prominent role in several chapters AND was in a relationship that made me super uncomfortable. If it had been in the tags, I could have at least made an informed choice about reading it without being completely fucking blindsided. 

Like I said above, I don’t think anyone should not write something cause of the way readers might react. I fully believe there is room for all types of fic– I dabble in writing pretty taboo stuff privately, and I really love darkfic. Obviously I am fine with simply not reading things that don’t interest me based on what the tags and synopsis tell me. I guess I just wish the fandom was a little more united and therefore friendlier, and had more of the kind of environment that welcomed sticky conversations like this, but it’s not and it doesn’t, so being cautious feels like my best option. 

To speak to your concern about your own writing and possible harm.. honestly, I have only seen a single other person express discomfort with some of the things I described above, and I’ve never felt comfortable discussing it one on one with anyone to see if anyone else experiences anything similar. Fandom friendships are so precarious as it is–often just expressing an opinion a mutual doesn’t like can lead to them no longer engaging with you, so the risk doesn’t feel worth it. 

I genuinely worry this is only a me problem, and other people simply don’t care and think anyone who does should just toughen up, or be less uptight or something. Maybe I’m just bitter or cynical about this fandom though. 

As for tropes I do like reading.. hmm. I feel like if I list anything right now, it’s just going to be a bunch of things that are the opposite of everything I talked about above. Is there anything in particular that sparked your message you wanted to discuss? I'm happy to chat more.

[bthump]

I saw that one really long tumblr ask involving Casca and Griffguts so I wanted to add a different perspective. At this point from a narrative standpoint I am personally more annoyed with how Casca was treated after the eclipse than during the eclipse. The eclipse was an event specifically designed to put the band of the hawk through the worst suffering possible so the horrible stuff that happened to Casca had a purpose. What I don't like is that Casca's regression was never used as an opportunity to explore more of her character. Even if she had regressed to the point of a two year old she would've still had noticeable personality traits. Something as simple as giving her a favorite color or an object she really likes would've made so much of a difference in that regard. It would've made people reading the manga after the eclipse a little more sympathetic to Casca because they truly got to see bits of her. She clearly had basic emotions and instincts during her regression but it sucks that was never built upon.

Although I enjoy Gutsca, Golden Age Griffguts and Golden Age Griffgutsca I think Gutsca would be the best one to make canon. At this point I think Griffith has destroyed too much of himself to get the love he had wanted from Guts (and especially not from Casca if some interpretations are to be believed). In the canon of Berserk it wouldn't be fair for Guts to be with a man who traumatized him so completely unless the writers wanted to make a dark character study. At least with Casca they can mutually heal from the scars the sacrifice left. And even then Guts still has more growing to do if he doesn't want to destroy himself like Griffith did. It's honestly quite sad.

Also I really don't understand why people discredit the female characters of Berserk so much??? Even if there are hiccups in Casca's story she, Farnese and Charlotte are like my favorite characters in the series. They're all so well designed from a narrative perspective and they're also all just pretty neat. It's just sad that people in the fandom victim blame Casca. Or define her based off of Griffith or Guts. If anything her potential personal arc should culminate in her gaining more self esteem.

Yeah I get that, I think Casca's "character" post-Eclipse has been absolutely dismal writing, and honestly those are some good ideas for how the writing could've been imporved. I hate the regression concept in general, but it's true that it doesn't mean Casca needs to have absolutely no characterization beyond generic sexy baby and maternal instincts lol.

And tbf I don't think very many griffgutsers expect Guts and Griffith to end up together in a romantic capacity - a homoerotic emotional revelation followed by death seems to be the going theory in my circle at least, and that's what I'm pinning my hopes on. But when it comes to fanfic and headcanons, griffguts is straight up a lot more fun to me, so that's what I focus on.

Plus for me personally I'm not super interested in what the characters deserve, so I like the love still irrationally being there regardless of the Eclipse and Griffith's transformation, and I do think that's canon - platonic love at least. Guts' feelings are mixed, and the Beast of Darkness taunts him for longing for Griffith, and he still misses human Griffith, etc, and I think that suits the tone of the story very well. I don't think a happily ever after is likely to come from it, but a moment of catharsis where those feelings are untangled and likely still requited to an extent before a climactic death scene sounds right up my alley.

But yk, to each their own, there's room for a lot of different takes in the fandom.

As far as the female characters go, I think they're better than a lot of female characters in similar stories tbf, and I definitely love a lot of them, but I do think they're sometimes awkwardly written, and sometimes in misogynist ways (eg Casca's retconny suicide attempt, Farnese's total 180 from complicated fucked up pyromanic to caretaker after one montage, the vast majority of Berserk's women being motivated by crushes on men, etc). There's lots to love, but also lots to feel annoyed by imo, depending on what you're focused on, so I can't blame anyone who wants to complain about how Miura writes women, and I can't blame anyone who wholeheartedly loves the female characters either.

Anyway thanks for sharing your opinions as a counterpoint, it's good to hear different + thoughtful points of view, whether I agree with everything or not!

[claudiajcregg]

👻,🦋, 💭 & ✍️ for the fanfic writer ask game. Please & thank you!

Thank you for sending these over! (post) Really appreciate it. You might have guessed some of the hard ones, haha. I'm putting it under a cut because there were quite a few of them... And I inevitably rambled.

👻 What is your wildest headcanon?

Oh, boy. I don't know if I have wild headcanons... They can be weird or farfetched but not much. Generally, it's an additional kid for any of my OTPs, lol. (It's Christmas and my brain is fried. I can't remember some others atm, for the life of me.) A wild headcanon I've had these days is that CJ and Danny have two kids (either both surprise, or one conceived naturally and another adopted) – and it'd be wild because of their ages, but whatever. I'd usually think of the one (their little girl), but I can't help but think of a second one from time to time. I'm blaming @miabicicletta's wonderful story because thinking about it is how I started thinking about it once again. Also, read Mia's stuff. It's so good.

🦋 Which character is your favorite to write?

TBH, any of the regular ones these days! It also depends on the story. Outside observers are always interesting, and allow you to explore a different perspective. But otherwise? CJ is a good default one currently.

💭 What inspires you and your writing?

Many things! Sometimes it's a song, some lyric, some scene or moment in a TV show. Sometimes it's looking around at people and twisting it into something else. Sometimes it's just chatting with fandom friends and being inspired by conversations.

My stories are very much "no plot, just vibes" (with many beats that I come up with that I'd like to hit) but I think the ones with plot are triggered by a combination of these things. I'm not a v good writer, lbr here, but this is just to have fun

✍️ What’s your ideal writing setup?

My preferred one is definitely laptop + keyboard. My most common one has become my phone and Google Docs (or the Notes app) 😬 I can write during train commutes (if I don't get sick) or at random times during the day from it. Even right before bed, about to fall asleep! (This is the most common one, actually. Trying to make sense of some things the following morning is fun.)

Thank you again for asking!

[astrabear]

I posted 810 times in 2022

That's 489 more posts than 2021!

363 posts created (45%)

447 posts reblogged (55%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@fruityculture

@raedear

@astrabear

@beepbeepsan

@ongreenergrasses

I tagged 684 of my posts in 2022

Only 16% of my posts had no tags

#ask game - 102 posts

#my fic - 100 posts

#the old guard - 96 posts

#the old guard fanfiction - 35 posts

#life of a writer - 31 posts

#nicolo di genova - 22 posts

#andromache the scythian - 19 posts

#yusuf al kaysani - 18 posts

#nile freeman - 18 posts

#quynh - 16 posts

Longest Tag: 135 characters

#obligatory clarification that i don't think there's anything inherently bad about putting on different accessories and making them kiss

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I really enjoyed Our Flag Means Death and I'm glad a second season has been confirmed, but as an Old Guard fan it has been hilarious to see the OFMD crowd acting like waiting an entire ten weeks for news of a sequel was torture. You are a child, an infant. Your impatience is thus infantile. Our fandom has forgotten more ways to yearn for updates than entire stan armies will ever learn.

218 notes - Posted June 2, 2022

#4

Thinking about “We all remember what it was like.” They all remember, even Nicky and Joe who came into immortality together. After almost a thousand years, Nicky still remembers the confusion and fear and alienation, enough that it makes finding this new immortal their most urgent task.

My favorite fic treatments of their first deaths really lean into this. Not just surprise or awe, but horror. Going a little bit out of their minds, begging to die and stay dead, because that’s what humans do, that’s how the world is supposed to work. I feel it viscerally, imagining the terror of finding yourself so profoundly apart from everything you’ve ever known to be true.

And the only other person who’s in it with you is the enemy you were trying to kill. This is the real impediment to replicating their dynamic in an AU. Anyone can run the enemies-to-lovers course. But enemies to “I still hate you and I don’t understand you but you are the only solid ground in this terrifying new reality and I think if we don’t hold onto each other we’ll lose everything” to lovers is pretty hard to capture in any other setting. 

282 notes - Posted April 4, 2022

#3

unofficial poll time

You are reading fanfic. The source property is set in the present day. The fic, maybe because it’s an AU or the canon just works that way, is set in a noticeably different historical period. Which of these answers most accurately reflects your feelings? (choose all that apply)

A. I like it when the writing style (both dialogue and narration) is period-appropriate, or at least a general approximation thereof.

B. I like the dialogue to be period-appropriate, but it’s fine (or even preferred) for the narration to feel more modern.

C. I don’t care either way, as long as there aren’t glaring anachronisms.

D. I prefer that both the dialogue and narration are similar to what I’m used to reading and seeing. So not modern slang or anything like that, but I don’t want it to be jarringly different.

E. I like it when the characters speak the way I’m used to them speaking, even if it’s not period-appropriate.

F. I simply don’t read fics set in past eras.

G. The only thing that matters is that it’s well written.

H. English is not my first language, so old-fashioned phrasing and vocabulary is more difficult for me to read.

I. I actively dislike attempts at period language unless the writer has done enough research to do it correctly.

J. I honestly couldn’t tell you in advance what kinds of things are likely to throw me out of the story, I just know that there’s a potential for it to happen.

K. I read fic because I like the characters and tropes. I don’t pay attention to writing style.

L. Other (in tags)

Please share and answer in the tags. This is very relevant to something I’m working on and I’d like to get some outside perspective.

315 notes - Posted June 13, 2022

#2

The violence at the end of the episode was upsetting, but I tell you, what has stuck with me in the days since I watched it was "Which one of you gonna fuck me?!" It haunts me. Deeply shocking, viscerally repulsive, absolutely heartbreaking... and just the tiniest bit funny. It's like a gut punch every time I think about it.

I think a very young Claudia is much better suited to a written format. A five or six year old actor can't give the kind of performance that's required... and some things just wouldn't be right to do with a child actor of any age. But a 19-year-old playing a character who's physically 14 opens up so many tragic, horrifying possibilities.

And Bailey Bass is so good. I can't get her face out of my head. "And after forty years... still little boys?" God, there's just so much going on. And you feel all of it.

388 notes - Posted October 26, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

The tough thing about boundaries is that it’s not enough to state them, you have to enforce them.

I think some folks see “setting boundaries” as a kind of magic talisman to influence other people’s behavior. “I’ll tell you what I need or can’t accept, and you will act accordingly.” And sometimes that’s what happens, and that’s great! But if the other person disregards your stated boundaries, it doesn’t mean setting boundaries didn’t work.

Because boundaries aren’t about others’ behavior, they’re about your own. If the other person’s behavior doesn’t change, then yours has to. “Please don’t discuss [x topic] with me” is a request. “If you continue to talk about [x topic] then I will end this conversation/hang up/leave” is a boundary, which you must then enact. The point is less about stopping the other person (although that’s ideal) and more about protecting yourself. And you have to be committed to protecting yourself, because no one else will be.

You have to be so committed that you’re willing to tolerate other people being hurt or angry or uncomfortable. You have to accept that some relationships might change. You have to hold onto the idea that it’s all right for them to change, because the way they were before was hurting you, and you deserve to not be hurt. You gave them a choice: maintain a relationship or keep doing the thing that hurts you, and they chose to keep hurting you, so if the situation is now awkward or unpleasant that was because of their choice. Enforcing boundaries means deciding that if someone is going to feel bad here, it need not be always and only you.

There is no magic formula that will make other people treat you kindly and respectfully. But you can learn to treat yourself with kindness and respect. That’s what enforcing a boundary is.

9,690 notes - Posted July 17, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[redux-iterum]

Alright a bit of a weird question about RUNNING Iterum vs the iterum itself. was wondering as an online ‘creator’ (I hate that word but you know what I’m getting at), especially in a fandom such as warriors, how do you avoid the whole ‘pedastaling’ thing, overfamiliarity, and parasocial interaction? I’ve noticed it sooooo much in the warriors community, so I’ve been hesitant to try and out myself out there out of fear LOL.

Don’t feel obligated to answer! Also sending off anon if you’d rather keep it private. Thank you for your time, I hope your day is going excellent!

Well, truthfully, I didn't manage to avoid any of that! I can't tell you any cure-all way to escape them entirely, but I can give you my experiences in dealing with these things and my overall philosophy when it comes to putting out things online.

Firstly, the original Redux was held on a VERY high pedestal - people proclaiming it to be the true canon, at least one person trying to get the actual Erin Hunter team to read it and "take notes", little makeshift books being printed out for it, etc. - and, in the fashion of anything Tumblr held on a high pedestal in that era, it inevitably crashed and burned and led to a lot of drama and disheartening conflict. I won't say people were worshiping the ground I walked on, but they certainly gave me more credit than anyone should give a writer as inexperienced as I was. I think it's just the nature of fandom to get extremely excited about something even mildly good and the cumulative effect of thousands of people getting excited with each other causes a herd mentality that gets only more extreme over time before someone pipes up to the contrary and is actually listened to, whether or not their argument is legitimate, and then THAT becomes the most popular idea. It's way better now than it was back then, believe me - people seem to register when I make mistakes or have flaws without hating me for them, and it's been an overall very healthy perspective from readers and fans on who I am as a person.

To a degree. That's where we'll get into the other two.

Over-familiarity, as well, I certainly have had to deal with, and still do, and this kind of bleeds into parasocial relationships, so I'll tackle them both here. People nowadays seem to have forgotten the most important rule of being online, which is that you need to assume that the stranger you're talking to does not have your best interests at heart and you need to exercise a bit of caution before you get to personal stuff. I've had at least four separate people jump at me with their problems, troubled backstories and traumas (one incident being so severe I don't even want to describe it, and that was their opening line). There are some folk who genuinely want to start a dialog with me and exchange thoughts on things or ask questions about my writing, which is totally fine! That's how I met a great deal of my friends and have a friendly relationship with plenty of fans. I won't say that's invalid. But there are people who seem to think I'm a free therapist or that I know them like they're my buddy, when neither is true. I just recently put up a warning on the About page of this blog that I'm no longer tolerating that shit and will block if one pushes those boundaries. Which I should have done earlier, but I have a bad habit of being too passive and sensitive to strangers.

So those things do exist and can happen to anybody. I won't even try to convince you otherwise. However, they're a really small part of an overall great time I've had putting out fanfics and comics and general creative work. I've made amazing friends (and if it wasn't for me meeting Lynx via the Redux, this whole rewrite would never have happened), I've learned a lot about myself and how and why I create, and, most importantly, I've had people come to me and tell me I've inspired them to do their own thing and give it their all. My effect on the fandom was sizable, whether it was White!Scourge or rewrites as a whole, and it's been a great deal of fun to check my inbox and see enthusiastic messages or questions about lore or even seeking advice, like your ask. I can't give you any sure-fire road to success - I only have a very small idea of why I did as well as I did - but I can vouch for being brave enough to start creating and sharing it with people. If for nothing else, to prove to yourself that your work has worth and can brighten someone's day, even if they don't comment on it (and a lot of people who love stuff, including me, don't say a single thing ever to the creator!).

The piece of advice I would give, if I am to give one, is to establish boundaries. Block whoever makes you uncomfortable or is making your life and enjoyment of your stuff harder. Tell anons when they're being inappropriate or offensive. Delete asks that are probing or trying to get a rise out of you. Put a notice somewhere on your blog if you need to that you're not tolerating whatever it is you're willing to block over. It doesn't have to be some deep-seated trauma of yours. It could be talking about beagles, for all I care. You don't have to discuss shit if you don't want to. Be firm and assertive, especially with aggressively friendly strangers. You don't owe them a god damn thing, whether they think otherwise.

That's about all I can think of to say right now. I hope this answer helped! I encourage you to start posting stuff and just focus on enjoying yourself, rather than any ambiguous problems that could theoretically show up (and they may not ever!). Good luck!

[bugeyedfreaks]

Previous anon about ppgxrrb post (the first one lol)

I agree with a lot of what you say about the shipping of ppgxrrb and how the fans just depict them as ultra hot bad boys. Its a breath of fresh air to see others’ perspectives on this, cause as I said before I admit I am a fan sometimes but even seeing a lot of ooc works puts me off. I understand if older fans/people only like it because of nostalgia (I’m one of those) but I’m more baffled with seeing new/younger that also likes to ship them, I can see them just liking the Boys cause they think gender bent/evil/alternate versions of the main protagonist are just fun in general, but I don’t understand why a lot of new fans that also ships them, maybe its because of fanart/fanfic.

In regard of that fic (assuming we’re talking about the same thing) I think the reason why it was praised so much and put on high pedestal was because the standard of the ppgxrrb fics were pretty low (at the time anyway) and for me personally it does felt I’m watching the original when I read it, (aside from the shipping thing, but I only read it for the character writing mostly) imo probably the closest thing I can get to what an older/teenage ppg would sound/read like, it just had shipping… lol but also yea I agree with you about the other villains not getting enough fanfics for themselves, its unfortunate cause ppg has so many great villains and the fandom just chose the least interesting ones (rrb)

Also I love how you described Boomer, he’d definitely be a whiteknight type then probably go “bubblevicious” when he doesn’t get what he wants, in fics he’s usually the first, quickest and easiest to be redeemed which is just very boring and probably the reason why Blues (BubblesxBoomer) is the least favorite of the 3 ships.

Yeah, I think on the most basic, superficial level, taking NOTHING about the personality or history of the characters into account, if you were to show someone who never saw the show a lineup of the Powerpuff GIrls characters and ask them, "Who are the girls' boyfriends?" they would choose the Rowdyruff Boys. Just because of their character designs they're the easiest characters to pair them off with. And I don't use "superficial" or "easy" as an insult, like... it just is what it is by the very nature of it. On a little less of a basic level, they're probably the only boys in the show (including the boys that are in the girls' class like Mitch and Elmer and Harry, etc.) that would be considered "attractive" enough to match up with them. Which, y'know, I could go into a whole rant about the superficiality (negative this time, haha) of that and how that way of thinking feels very creatively limiting... but, yeah, when you're a new fan and you see all this fic/fanart, not to mention how the ship is ultra visible and popular, it's the simplest entry point.

We're totally talking about the same fic. 😂 Again, I've really tried to read it and have an open mind about it, and I guess the mere fact that (from what I remember) the girls occasionally do have fights in it is enough to make it different from a standard PPG/RRB fic where the girls' superpowers are completely forgotten about (a la the City of Clipsville girls)... but the villains and the crimefighting STILL just feel like an afterthought (and maybe it's just my pretentiously high standards for them talking, but I remember really disliking how the dialogue of some of the few villains that are even included in the story was written). For the most part it just seems like it's all just fancy set dressing to disguise your average high school teen fanfic. I remember trying to read it again a while ago and I got to an early point where like some characters were suddenly like making out and I was just like... ew, no, not for me. 😩 That doesn't make me feel like I'm watching the show, that just makes me sick to my stomach! Stuff like that just pulled me way out, I couldn't enjoy it.

And I guess that's also a thing I dislike about some of the fanfics, like... if the RRB are going to have any similarities to the girls it's going to be their negative attributes, but that doesn't seem like an issue that ever gets explored. It seems like, despite whether or not people write them as still having problematic misogynist qualities, Brick always just turns out to be the hot intelligent one, Butch is the tough dude bro, and Boomer is the sweet, sensitive boi. How boring IS that?! 🤣 It doesn't seem like anyone's really challenged themselves to see things from any different, meaningful perspectives, and I have always felt that way. It is a bummer though that, when I have found the rare fanfic that has great writing and feels like the show characters and tells a story that's interesting and new (or even has a ship for the girls that's completely off the wall but... somehow actually works!)... it's because I had to dig through all the PPG/RRB content to find it. And I've seen many people who've written cool stuff get frustrated enough about that difficulty of visibility that that they take down their fics, or they get discouraged from writing anything else, or they even get harassed for daring to write anything against the norm. It bums me out.

[dandelion-wings]

1, 12, and 15?

Thank you for the ask! <3

1. what's the fic youre most proud of?

There's a handful of contenders, but honestly, overall, probably An Open Hand. I managed to accomplish multiple things with it that I wanted to do and hadn't pulled off before, and it's the first fic of that length I've seen to completion (the longest I'd written and edited to posting-level satisfaction before that was 45k). Also it's an "everything and the kitchen sink" of elements and tropes I just plain like.

12. What’s your perfect environment to create/write?

One that doesn't have a lot of other inputs! I struggle with distractions a lot, and fare best when I have a large chunk of time ahead of me (so I don't have to fear getting really into my work and then being pulled abruptly out) and minimal distractions. At home I try to create that by working on my laptop instead of my big computer (the new laptop is not as helpful as the old one in this respect because it can actually have more than one program and/or two tabs open at a time, but the trade-off is it doesn't take 15-20 minutes to open a program or new tab), down in the sunroom where the only potential physical distraction is the cat. I also tend to write quite a lot when traveling because travel naturally creates those conditions for me--plane rides, spurts of not-driving on road trips, boring hotel rooms, etc.

A mug of tea helps a lot regardless of location and circumstance, of course. :>

15. How do you think your writing as improved over time?

Hmmm. I mean, over time in general, it's improved in a lot of ways. Over the last couple of years (a.k.a. the time I've been in the Genshin fandom), I think I've done a lot of improvements on plotting and pacing, though for anyone who hasn't seen my original/older work then those improvements may not be obvious? Fanfic turns out to be a good low-stress space to play with that stuff. (One of the reasons I am so proud of An Open Hand is that I tried a lot of things around pacing in revisions, not just writing, that taught me new tricks, and I was able to bring those into play in the year following as I revised an original novel I'm working on.)

I don't think my prose has improved that much in the sentence level, and in fact I have a number of what I consider Known Bugs in my fanfic prose at present that I'm not putting effort into fixing when I write or revise because I, honestly, like my current prose flow even if it isn't ideal, and so that's the sort of killing-my-darlings I only worry about with my original work. I like purple prose, both reading and writing, and fanfic is where I can just do what's fun instead of what's Good.

But yeah, from a personal perspective, my pacing and to a lesser extent my plot flows have leveled up a fair bit from where I was in early 2020! As an example, I have a novel I wrote the first draft of as my 2020 Nano and obviously a first draft is going to be rough and a Nano one very much so, but I can hold it up against my current longfic and even with the WIPs, sheerly on the planning levels, I can see where I know more and have more of a toolbox than I did when I was slamming that out.