#just appreciating the authors

[snowdroplady]

Authors who write the same two idiots falling in love with each other in the same type of AU, with just a slightly different plot: You have my entire heart <3

[frownyalfred]

want your favorite author to update but don’t want to be too pushy in their comment section?

here’s 5 things you can do to encourage them:

Reblog their fic link on tumblr (bonus if it’s with tags)

Bookmark the fic with a note about what you’re excited about/love in the fic

Recommend the fic to your friends or local discord channel

Draw art or create other media for the fic (as indicated by the author’s comfort level)

Leave them a comment when re-reading about the parts of the chapter/story that stood out to you the second time

[deuteragonist1]

Wait a damn minute Merlin is an actual nightmare of a servant. Imagine you're the Prince and all of a sudden and only two seconds after surviving an assassination attempt you're stuck with this scrawny, clumsy fucking dude with a really shifty air about him who spends literal days in the tavern with zero notice, steals your food, tried to spy on a guest, doesn't let you hunt, can never fucking be found when you need him even though he is the literal manservant to the prince, which you would think should be a priority but apparently he has better things to do, and is always talking like he's the only thing standing between you and certain death???? Then he gives you attitude? Literally I would throw things at him too. Arthur is misunderstood he's actually being too nice

[pomegranate-pancake]

Sometimes I look in the mirror and feel bad about the way I look. But then I think, “if my life was a story posted on ao3 by an OFMD fan they would wax poetic about the roundness of my cheeks and the softness of my jaw and the imperfections on my skin. And there would be someone else in the story who loved me for them.” And that thought alone makes me feel a bit more lovable.

[kazbiter]

very interested in how the storyline of ronan's sexuality is developed in the dream thieves as a battle between kavinsky and gansey while adam is almost never present in these scenes, which makes it even more interesting that we found out in CDTH that ronan was set on adam the moment he saw him. i think that ronan is attracted on some level to both gansey and kavinsky (you can draw the lines of how much romantic intention you think he hold towards either of the yourself, that's a rabbit hole I would need a whole other post to go down) but more so I think he was attracted to the IDEA of both of them and certain qualities that each possessed, and that the real question wasn't does ronan want gansey or kavinsky because we know he wants adam but rather who's qualities resonate more with who ronan is, or who he is choosing to be at this critical moment in his character development. kavinsky is a dangerous thrill and often comes wrapped in ronan's other favorite self destructive attempts to outrun himself, while gansey is ronan's history and proof of his deep capacities for loyalty and love. he tells kavinsky it was never going to be me and you and that it's not going to be ronan and gansey because that was never the question- maggie was obviously always planning on bluesy and pynch. the answer to who ronan WANTS in adam. the question of who ronan IS- that's what he's trying to decide here. his self hatred is such a heavy weight on him and theme in tdt, and the kavinsky/gansey dichotomy represents the the path he will choose to take to deal with it- keep try to drive faster than his demons or accept that he can still be loved even if he isn't the person he once was. the dream thieves my beloved ronan lynch my beloved

[hayatheauthor]

I feel a factor that largely contributes to the lack of success for self published or ‘unconventional’ authors is the general readers' growing lack of appreciation for literature.

Most readers, and publishers for that matter, now only look at a book's tropes and marketability rather than the actual writing and plot. Tropes were created as something that would help us easily find the perfect read, and yet they've now become something that defines a book.

The saddest part is we've not only lost appreciation for good writing but developed an aversion to literary comprehension.

People now seek to completely cut down on description and 'painting a scene' or character development and jump straight into the action. Prose is now seen as 'boring filler chapters' while the fight--the chase, the action, are highlighted. It's like going to a museum and complaining about how old everything is.

We've become impatient, unappreciative readers who care little for the emotional nuances of a beautifully crafted scene.

The genre that is most heavily impacted by this is romance. Romance used to be such a beautiful, emotionally evocative genre and now it's just watered down to its trope. People use romance as a way to escape from reality and fantasise about fictional men, which is acceptable, sure, but by doing so they've completely forgotten how to appreciate a book and its story.

Have your dark brooding morally grey love interest but also consider what makes him so. Rather than seeking a venereal connection with the character, look for an emotional one with the book and its beautiful prose and writing.

This is also why readers nowadays often complain about 'mainstream' authors not being that talented. This isn't because there aren't any talented authors with beautifully crafted books out there, it's because you're so caught up in a book's tropes and popularity you fail to acknowledge its true beauty, because by doing so you would recognise there are many other, unappreciated, novels that deserve that platform.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Fandom Trumps Hate 2024: All BBC Sherlock Creators!

BROWSING PERIOD FOR FTH 2024 IS NOW OPEN!!!

In an effort to celebrate one of my favourite multi-fandom events, and to make everyone, new and veteran, feel encouraged about being in FTH, I decided I would do that thing I do and park myself on the FTH's "fandom:BBC Sherlock" tag for a few hours and list out ALL of our wonderful creatives who are participating in FTH 2024!

Please be gentle with me, as I manually spent a few hours ensuring all BBC Sherlock Creatives are on the post as of the time of scheduling! I am only human and I have most definitely erred!

And finally, many of these creators are MULTI-CANON, so not just BBC Sherlock! Check them ALL out for what they're offering!

**NOTE MARCH 2, 2PM EST: I should have everyone added to this post now! If you are missing or are tagged with the wrong ship or section, please let me know, I will fix as soon as possible!!**

FANFICS

72reasons [Johnlock, OCs, Viclock, Jolto, Johnlockstrade, Mystrade]

Anyawen [Mystrade or Johnlock Remix Fic]

Aquilea-of-the-Lonely-Mountain [Johnlock]

BakerTumblings [Johnlock]

Bee_He_They [Johnlock]

Bluebuell33 [Mystrade, Johnlock]

BlueMoon0nTheRise [Mystrade, Anthea/Donovan]

Bridge [Johnlock]

Calais_Reno [Johnlock]

Catlock-Holmes [Johnlock]

CorvidCordelia [Any]

CumberCurlyGirl [Johnlock]

discordantwords [Johnlock]

elwinglyre [Johnlock]

FuckOffWatson & Holmesian_Love [Johnlock, Mystrade]

her_ladyships_soap [Mystrade, Donovan/Anthea]

Holmesian_love [Johnlock, Mystrade]

JRow [Any]

Lock_John_Silver [Johnlock, BG Mystrade or Mollstrade]

LoloLolly [Johnlock]

meet_me_in_samarra [Johnlock]

mydogwatson [Johnlock]

MusicIsMagic [Mystrade]

NinaSnakie [Johnlock]

Peanitbear [Johnlock]

PipMer [Johnlock]

Reveling-in-Mayhem [Johnlock]

Raina_at [Johnlock]

sherlockian4evr [M/M Ships Only]

Snowfilly1 [Johnlock, Mystrade]

StellaCartography [Johnlock, Mystrade]

standbygo [Johnlock]

ThaliaLunacy [Johnlock]

topsyturvy-turtely [Johnlock, Harry/Any]

==

FANART

bluebellofbakerstreet [Johnlock, Mystrade, Jolto]

chainedtothemirror [Johnlock]

DemonicAngeling [Any]

khorazir [Johnlock]

Kitten-kin  [Johnlock Comic]

PigeonTracks [Any]

safedistancefrombeingsmart [Johnlock]

Steph_I-J [Any] &lt;-- It me!

==

FANART and FANFICS (one per auction)

emilycare [Johnlock, Polyships]

helloliriels [Johnlock, Mystrade]

Iwantthatcoat [Any]

==

FAN LABOUR

A-Victorian-Girl [Johnlock Photo Manips]

AvengersReader [Assorted Fan Labour]

englandwouldfalljohn [Betaing]

emilycare [Betaing]

fireandhoney [English < > French Translation, Betaing]

PipMer [Betaing]

Sarah [Assorted Johnlock Fan Labour]

====

BIDDING BEGINS MARCH 5 and CLOSES MARCH 9!

[sableeira]

okay what is everyone’s bsd light novel scene/line that they didn’t believe was an actual canon part of bsd even though they read that with their own eyes

[la-pheacienne]

Y'all. Probably the most UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED criticism against grrm is the abundance of gratuitous extreme sexual violence against women in asoiaf. GoT doubled down on that and is endlessly criticized for that. On the ONE (1) INSTANCE where sexual violence was NOT part of a female character's arc in grrm's work, HotD decided to introduce it as a means of giving "nuance" to a story and making a character more sympathetic. And now not only is this not considered a sexist narrative but on top of that you call this an inspired twist ffs I'm gonna eat my hair

[o-vera-nalyzing]

look i totally get it’s all love now but genuinely every kipperlilly sympathizer that only talks about how it’s so valid she hates the bad kids and how she’s a side character getting fucked by the main characters simply just feels like they themselves have hella side character syndrome and are relating to kipperlilly a bit too hard and might need to consider that they’re only a side character if they convince themselves they are

(my tags explain it a bit better but i was too lazy to copy them up here)

[northern-passage]

i understand being disappointed when things change, and i don’t hold any ill will towards people that aren’t interested in siren’s call anymore. but i’ve been pretty transparent about regretting sharing sc publicly before & the game has been removed for over a year now, so i am surprised at so many negative reactions.

i don’t expect everyone to always love everything that i write, and i am aware that the majority of my audience is here for my IF writing (specifically tnp) but the fact is that i like to write other things sometimes and i would like to be able to share them without immediately receiving negative comments & guilt trippy messages about it.

it’s been disappointing for me this past year the way my work has been received; i’ve published four other projects and have had this kind of reaction almost every single time. i’ve held my tongue about it except for mentioning it briefly on my other blog after i published blood choke & immediately received a slew of 1 star ratings (most of which are the same people that have been rating all of my work that is not tnp in the same way)

i removed faith because of this same thing happening and quietly republished it without sharing it here. i’ve been using the kithj blog more in an effort to keep things separate but obviously i still shared siren’s call here yesterday because i like sharing my work with people! i want to be able to do that! and i know there are people here that wanted to see more of that story and more of Rome so i wanted to share it. but it’s been so frustrating this past year having to deal with this.

i am always open to feedback or genuine criticism; i am always looking to improve my work. but any messages or comments like this about being disappointed i’m not writing more IF or complaining about f/f are being ignored & i will block you.

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

A Tempest of Tea

first in a YA fantasy duology

follows a young immigrant woman in a fantasy Victorian city who runs a tearoom that doubles as an illegal bloodhouse for vampires at night

when their business is threatened, she gets a chance to save it by teaming up with her best friend, a rich girl with a talent for forgery, a vampire artist, and a mysterious city guard to do a heist to infiltrate high society and collect a logbook that may reveal the extent of the corruption in the city

fantasy city with a masked ruler, arthurian elements, themes of colonialism

[mitamicah]

This is random but Salena has my sticker and even wilder: she noticed me 😱

Sdgkljfsgjutfsvjtd

Context under the line

So back in October I went to käärijä Berlin gig giving out some Bojere stickers I made. Five of those went to Mikke (another story but I had sort of promised to give him some xD).

This was however also the same gig where Salena joined Jere on stage. I didnt meet her in person but had a blast seeing her perform with the boy 🥹💚

Fast forward three months later (here's to me feeling old 🫠) and Salena had an IG live performance yesterday. One friend in that live (hi Niini :3) noticed others speaking about a sticker and got curious: lo and behold Salena had decorated her laptop with the exact sticker I had given people at the Berlin gig 😳😱

My theory is that Mikke must have given one of his five stickers to Salena as a thank you for her coming. And now I have to live with the blessed knowledge that Salena has Bojere art I made on her laptop 😭

But that is not all - when I realised that yesterday I made a story about it and today I got a message that Salena has replied 😱:

This may not seem as huge news to most of you but to me this is wild 😭

I have just gotten used to never being noticed (JO boys seems to look anywhere but at my fanart and the same with Jere *I have had häärijä and Mikke react a few times and dont get me wrong i love that too yet since it was back in November I start to wonder if it was a fluke*) and then she does this 🥺 how am I supposed to react now without coming off as awkward or creepy :'D

[vampyrsm]

if you genuinely believe that demanding for a part two is a compliment to the author i want u to lose the ability to read fics for free

[techza]

one of my favorite tropes with techno and techno-adjacent characters is "looks like a normal creature but a little to the left". if it's caused due to his relation to the blood god so he just keeps attracting weird critters it's even better.

techno in osmp? sudden unexplainable changes to his appereance? sharp teeth? stronger than he looks? he's a rabbit with too many legs. where do they come from? i dont know why you're asking man, that's just a rabbit thing. everyone should know that.

in dsmp? yeah Carl is a man eater, actually. dont offer him food on your hand because he will think you're also part of the meal and eat it whole. the wolves are perfectly docile but don't look at them in the eye. they don't like getting looked at. best if we round the house and stay as far away from them as possible so they don't see you.

with phil too actually. he's an angel of death hiding amongst humans. what do you mean his face falls in uncanny valley territory? that's his every day human face. no he doesn't have another one. are you okay? you're sure asking a lot of questions. let's get you to bed.

[tackytigerfic]

hi! do you like comments on fanfic? I'd like to leave ones but I don't want to be annoying

Hello Anon, thanks so much for the ask.

Personally, I do love getting comments on my fics. I had one on a really old one of mine recently and it was such a treat to think of someone looking back over things I wrote many years ago and still reading them.

I'm a member of lots of fandom discords and writer spaces and I don't think i've ever heard any author say that they find comments annoying - in fact, it's quite the opposite! for most of us, comments are like gold and we treasure them.

I have fallen hideously behind on my replies to comments on my fics (i mean, i am years behind) and it's one of the things i miss the most about my early days in fandom. getting to chat to people who have read??? my writing??? and liked it??? amazing!!! But I usually write a note at the end of my fics to say that even though i may not be able to reply straight away, i read and appreciate every comment hugely. and it's true. from the long comment with quotes from the fic and personal anecdotes, to the comment with the single heart emoji, I feel genuine gratitude towards the commenter.

I myself often worry about leaving comments (silly intrusive worries like: does the author want to hear my stupid thoughts? what should i say to let them know how much i loved this? am i being weird about their fic? etc etc just bad brain stuff) and usually i try to focus on the fact that i'm just thanking them for a gift, and they are more than likely going to be really happy to know that i liked it at all. and a positive comment of any kind can convey that and make an author's day.

All that being said!!! I would never expect a comment from any reader. I love them when i get them but I don't expect them, and I definitely wouldn't want someone worrying about what to say, or to be stressed over leaving a comment. I want my fics to be enjoyed in whatever way makes the reader feel most at ease.