#literally people on this platform celebrated writers deleting their blogs or getting help

[jackdaw-kraai]

Hey, Jack? Do you have any advice for dealing with those who do nothing but demand updates for your fics? I'm pretty sure most writers have to deal with this crap, it's just… I have one reasonably popular fic that's been on hiatus for over a year, and it feels like almost every comment I receive is just another demand for an update. I'm starting to regret ever posting that damnable fic in the first place. I don't want to delete it, that would be cruel to the other readers, but I'm already stressed as hell, I already felt guilty for the long hiatus, and these constant demands just kept grinding me down to the point I can't stand to even look at this fic, much less continue writing it. So… any advice?

Oh I have different tactics for different platforms, so I'll give you some tips for all the ones I use and how they synergize. First of, on Ao3, I generally put something in the notes like "writing takes a long time and real life doesn't always cooperate, so be patient. I'm the one actually working on this, so you can deal waiting for me to pour my labor and passion and time into this. Cool? Cool. If you can't be cool, I'll block/mute/freeze you." Then, I put places in the notes where they can find me outside of Ao3 like my tumblr and discord and explain what they can find there, usually this will help redirect. Then, once in a while, I'll answer a comment if I'm feeling like it like "life is still busy, working on this is still fun but very labor intensive in order to make it, ect". If they get pushy, I block them.

On tumblr, if people get pushy about it in the asks, I block them. No question about it, I block them. Once in a while I'll publish one of them with either a compassionate, curt, or snarky explanation depending on my mood, but I don't give all of them the time of day because oh my gods, who has the time once you ask box hits the triple digits?? I also keep a pinned post on my blog with links where you can find my stuff, so people can easily locate it instead of pestering me about it.

On discord I'm most active, so there's a lot of info to find there, but also, there's a lot of friends there who can help intercept anyone asking questions like that and inform them "writing takes time, cool your heels." Having a good moderating structure also helps with this, as well as spoiler channels where you can rant about your progress to people who are willing to be spoilered, or point at to people who aren't down for spoilers but still want info like "them's the rules for the info, if you don't like it, tough tits." I also flat out have a rule amongst the server rules list (mostly stuff like "don't be a bigoted cunt," "don't air your dirty laundry in #general," "if I catch you being a creep to minors, I WILL call the cops on your ass") that says "don't harass the author" and enforce it by having the server closed to anyone who doesn't tick the little box at the top saying "I have read the rules and agree to them." You very quickly get a self-selecting audience that way that knows you won't take their shit.

Key to all of this is to assert yourself and be willing to step on toes to make people back off and give back your personal space. You can't be shy about setting your boundaries, and you don't have to be polite to people crossing them. Even the kindest celebrities often have bodyguards for this reason, and while we may not be celebrities, we can be our own bodyguards enforcing our boundaries. Try giving people a space they can go for information, but information that's given on your terms, not theirs. Pinned posts and A/Ns and the like are excellent for this. And finally, just block people. Literally just block people, even if they're fans. If people make you uncomfortable, remove them from your space, you can literally just do that. You don't owe them access to be able to harass you, and if they can't be polite about this, you can deny them access to you, period.

Fans are a lot of fun, and I love interacting with them! I met some of my best friends as fans first, and they're lovely folks! But you gotta stick to your boundaries in order to keep it fun for everyone, and make sure you state them loud and clear. And if people pretend to not have heard them, you can remind them this isn't a court of law, and even if it was, ignorance of the law is not defense of breaking it. Evict them from the premise without further notice if they won't comply.

[kinktae]

just word vomiting,,but it’s crazy to me how literally all of my favorite bts writers are not active anymore and thinking ab it makes me all sad and nostalgic bc i miss just a few years ago when i’d come on tumblr and obsess over y’all’s posts (you, daisy, nez (idk if you guys talk to her or not), etc.) but honestly i got out of the fandom too and i kinda came back into kpop recently but now ult a different group,,i look back on these memories w happiness and i know it sound stupid to reminisce on tumblr accounts but i’m happy that you guys are moving forward w your lives and growing as people :’)

AWE NEZ I MISS THAT FUNKY LIL NOODLE i hope they're doing well!!!! Yeah bro like every single one of my friends has left the platform. every. single one. and honestly i only still talk to a handful of them. shit happens. a lot of ppl just grew out of the fanfic phase and are focusing on their real life which is a beautiful thing. like im sure that'll eventually happen to me too u know i dont wanna be 50 running a bts blog LMAFOOOOOO but its def kind of sad to see it happen. especially when some of my friendships also fizzle out as my internet friends leave the internet. ive talked about this before how there are Generations of BTS fanfic writers. I feel like.... i was 2nd gen??? like there were already established writers when i first joined and i considered them "1st gen" and then i made friends w other "newer" writers and then entire 2nd gen got nuked LMFAOOOO and now its 3rd gen running the platform along side with the OG 1st gen that have always just vibed and ran/continue to run their blogs for years. Although 2nd gen writers were HELLA MESSY like the shit the went behind the scenes??? PHEW! I did have a lot of fun w them i mean its so inspiring to have ur friends also write and grind with u to put out fics. Don't miss the drama and hate anons ppl sent it tho that was wack. I'm sure there is drama w the "new" writers and even with the 1st gen writers buuttttt i don't care about it im at a point in my life where its not even that fun to watch go down just sad bc i remember being on the other end. Its nuts to think bitches on tumblr used to hate each other so bad they'd STAY make vague posts like LMFAOOAAOOAOAO THAT SO FUCKING EMBARASSING????? now look at us at our big age.

[incarnateirony]

Isn't it cute how we keep finding RL parallels to show that what they're doing with Destiel is a Romance with a capital R, and now the show itself used Destiel as a parallel to show that Saileen is a romance (even tho everyone already knew That)? And they'll come back to eachother eventually? Wow. I hope I got my point across, but this thought hasn't left me since the "What's real?" "This is." convo between Sam and Eileen. Two sister ships are driving this season, and I'm all here for it.

Yeah.

The fandom result is less fun, with people calling text subtext because they simply don’t understand the text’s merit (eg, Last Call) that was settled long before anybody in this fandom considered themselves a genius to try to argue circles around it. Like Y2K called it wants to update fandom on some LGBT issues already settled. Oz was… what? 1997-2003? (Which is when Bobo ended up writing his LGBT rep sociopolitical commentary?)

The show has me ecstatic. The fandom has me reeling in horror in how willfully LGBT people have coded themselves into a performative-to-het-demands-culture that they’ll talk down content and structure used for romantic het pairings even when it’s front and center. 

This isn’t the world of subtextual secret handshakes anymore, guys. I don’t know if meta fandom is reeling on what an actual Will They/Won’t They looks like as opposed to, yes, S7 wallpapers or fish or whatever rando shit got chased as a stream; or even compared to lowkey structural subtext like Colette which hid so many layers beneath the surface that it needed to be actively negotiated and tracked. 

Not front, textual assertions that Dean does in fact have Oz-esque group encounters beyond even Deanmon, that he alone had to bury Cas and burying Eileen was the same for Sam, only to turn around and have them mirror shit and truncate their emotional adventure with a kiss and fandom’s out here footstomping and invalidating the text level bullshit because it’s not said how they want, when they want. 

Like guys that shit is text. People not understanding the text does not make it non-text. Whether or not you know your LGBT history and intersectional issues (or have modernly soaked dialogue from alt right platforms that XYZ isn’t gay if you yell no homo, since there’s even parts of the world where men identify “straight” despite routinely pursuing sex with men and abandoning women that FOR SOME REASON PEOPLE HERE CATER TO THE DIALOGUES OF) – whether you know any of this, whether you UNDERSTAND this – the information still exists. 

People still try to explain that the earth is flat instead of round because they don’t understand science, or evolution for the same reason. That doesn’t mean there’s actually reasonable permissive argument here. In fact, it’s embarrassing as fuck to watch anyone hold one of these arguments. People not understanding material does not invalidate what the material actually means.

And seriously like– “WE WANT–” … what, a love confession or a kiss, I guess. All the other goalposts that were set up were blown by. The former love yous and similar phrasings (I guess we’re herding love affirmations into ONLY three specific words and otherwise it’s not valid, because… Magic Meta Gay People Rules) weren’t enough! And! AND! Even the ones that WERE those three words, people could arGUE!!! It might not be gaY!!!

So let’s be honest bitters & meta fandom & alternate shippers having sixteen jealousy fits: You don’t even want an I Love You, because it would have to be “I love you, and like, only you, romantically, like in love with you, in the gay way, let’s go have gay sex” for this to pacify this utterly homophobic ball of bullshit they have going on.

So we’ll be honest. You want a kiss.

That’s great. I do too.

At the same time, I can gesture you to a literally endless amount of history where literature and TV did not require a kiss for the romantic content to be valid and even celebrated.

That’s not what magically makes all the text text. The text is the text.

The subtext is elements like Reno, and Mary/John, or Amara/Chuck, and even those are loud as FUCK still. Ironically, *the text is quieter than the subtext right now*

If you take the text: Dean has repeat group encounters that are decades-ago LGBT qualified as queer; Dean loses all hope without Cas, once he has to bury Cas, and Eileen does the same for Sam.

The subtext of this: Dean actually forgot an entire woman in his tryst, which means she wasn’t a focus, which makes this gayer than the default gay text; Dean yet again followed viking widower tradition with Cas as a spouse and buried him himself.

This is literally “Cas is Dean’s Collette” but 1. fully textual instead of 3 levels under and 2. much more personal with a full character we witnessed with Eileen rather than flashbacks of Colette for a few seconds. The text here has subtext. It is text. Whether people understand the text, like the LGBT issues around 15.07 or not is an onus on them, but does not invalidate the content. People not understanding Gays doesn’t delete Gays, that isn’t how that works.

Because the hilarity of the line people trying to keep their blogs valid at– that they’re running? All text is subtext unless all text is explained unto a point that it can’t be argued, but that of course leaves the explanation subtext until it, too, is explained beyond a shadow of a doubt to children, and then so on, ad infinity, in a quantum loop of calling everything under god’s written heaven subtext.

I had a conversation with a meta writer who won’t be named that went full bore in a loop. They called it subtext. I pointed out where it was flat surface text. Yes, they said, that IS text, but people can still argue, so that makes it subtext. Uh, no, I pointed out, that isn’t how this works or what those words mean, someone’s understanding of the meaning of text does not invalidate the actual meaning the words have. Arguing with a phantom menace of a GA that’s all catching on right now to contend with tinhatters and a few other oddballs out there that are hilariously small and not in the GA eye isn’t worth changing the entire dictionary. Because The Dictionary Is A Good Book. If someone doesn’t understand all the words in the dictionary and what they mean that, also, does not invalidate the dictionary if it doesn’t have an infinite set of asterisks defining every definition. Anyway, said meta person completely went postal about it after that because after trying to loop the same argument three times and realizing They Will Always End Up Here, off they went when I said that arguing with idiots online wasn’t worth demolishing the dictionary, media study, or queer content.

AV medium seems to be confusing the fuck out of people that fancy themselves or are even degreed lit savants.

But hey, maybe there’s a ruse being played. Maybe Bobo already got that lucky corporate dice roll and is playing into his thematic structure. Maybe he will manage to break through with a kiss. Maybe, maybe, maybe. 

Frankly more than to argue with idiots, I kind of want it to exemplify the gross homophobia going on in this fandom. And I don’t mean antis. I mean every single person, right here and right now, redefining things to maintain their hysteria and anger or even just their general relevance/podium that evaporates if they acknowledge that it is what it is; that every bit of queer text AND subtext they talked down and deleted and tried to wedge into “platonic” boxes due to their own lack of LGBT cultural understanding was real, and valid, and while antis screamed and shouted raging at the text as provided, they were the ones there, being enemies this year, deleting queer content until their arbitrary goalpost, fulfilling as it may be, and as much as I personally want it too, was met. But if that happens, IF that happens, it WILL be by Bobo’s hand or Dabb’s with Bobo’s guidance, and I can PROMISE you he will make it such a sociopolitical commentary on the heteronormative bullshit going on (like his DreamHunter commentary that BLEW BY everyone) that I expect several people to delete their damn accounts in mortal embarrassment.

This season is gorgeous everyone. Enjoy it.

For the record, if that million to one shot is on the table, the episode everyone should watch for results, beyond the finale, is 15.18. I’m not gonna get into all the reasons here beyond Putrefaction/Blackening > Whitening > Yellowing > Reddening = Gold and if anybody wants to know what the fuck I mean by that, send me an ask. (I’m working on a Putrefaction video to plug into my series to help with that. And beyond that pacing, structure, rhythm, and Bobo. But that also does not mean anyone should seriously place their emotional chips on it, just to stop getting cranked up and demanding THIS NEXT EPISODE OR PERISH.)

Because if you think there’s ever a point homophobes are gonna stop arguing shit down, you’re in for a bad time. Straight pairs like Mulder/Scully that kissed got no romos mental gymnasticsing around it. If you expect differently with DeanCas you’re IN FOR A RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE

But I don’t want to hear one more goddamn peep about representation from that wing of meta fandom. The representation is there, front and center, to relate to for the intended demographic, it just wasn’t what other demographics wanted. But it’s written by a middle aged LGBT man for middle aged LGBT men and if you aren’t in that bracket, and don’t like the results, you don’t get to go and try to destroy that representative material. Hell if you ARE in that demographic you don’t get to one-card steam roll over other LGBT men too, the way it works from there is you find other people in that demographic and discuss the content’s pros and cons. If it ends at “not the ship I like” instead of genuine problems with the content, you also don’t get to destroy that for other people in the demographic. So whether it’s like, desperate clout/platform/relevance clinging, or just complete lack of understanding of LGBT media history and the represented demographic, that shit needs to stop. Pick a side. 

You can’t genuinely fight for representation while going and kicking down rep sandcastles because they weren’t shaped how you want. That isn’t how it works. It works by owning the content, and requesting better or more. Requesting more explicit content does not require destroying the content you don’t consider “enough”, in front of you.

Overt queer subtext AND text remain an overt body within the text even if it does not reach a given explicit landmark that you personally have decided on and is 0% dependent on anyone’s understanding of the fucking content.

[crazycoke-addict]

Why Lena Dunham isn’t a feminist icon.

Lena Dunham is many things, but a feminist icon isn’t one of them. She doesn’t deserve to be called a feminist icon and shouldn’t be praised at all. When has Dunham ever done anything for women beside it being about herself? Lena Dunham is a white feminist and being a white feminist isn’t a compliment. The definition of white feminist is someone whom discredits women of colour and don’t seem to care about other women beside their own race. White feminist don’t seem to help out women of colour and they complain when women of colour “don’t speak out” about things like sexual abuse, the mistreatment of women when really they (WOC) have been the ones speaking out about those topic, but you just weren’t listening at all. Dunham has shown us from time to time that she’s the definition of white Feminism but for some people is considered to be a feminist icon. Whenever she’s make a bad choice, her first instinct is to apologise and call it a “mistake”. When you keeping making “mistakes” and your solution is to apologise all the time, it doesn’t become a mistake anymore and the apologies don’t mean anything at all.

Her comments about Abortion

Her first “mistake” was when she said that she was sad about never having had an abortion. Lena Dunham doesn’t have any kids, it isn’t ok say that you are sad about not having an abortion at all. Abortion is a serious thing, but many women get criticised for doing even though you have no idea why the woman decided to in the first place. She was raped, she can’t raise a baby financially, she isn’t ready to be a mum or maybe she was forced to. Dunham sounds delusional for saying that quote. She later apologised for the quote, but those “apologies” don’t seem to end there.

Her supposed anger and lie towards Odell Beckham Jr

The second “mistake” happened at a Met Gala, when she wrote in her feminist newsletter Lenny Letter, that she was upset Odell Beckham Jr. didn’t want have sex with her. I’m sorry you were bummed that a black man didn’t want have sex with her, but shows you a bit more about what your personality really is. She was describing Odell Beckham Jr. as a misogynist because she thought he judging her without even saying anything, “I was sitting next to Odell Beckham Jr., and it was so amazing because it was like he looked at me and he determined I was not the shape of a woman by his standards” she said. She apologise to Odell Beckham Jr and said that they never met before so how come you thought he was judging your base on your looks, when you didn’t even interact with him at the Met Gala.

Comparing a website to domestic abuse

In 2015 at a podcast interview, Dunham compared Gawker to an abusive husband. Gawker was a blog that was founded by Nick Denton and Elizabeth Spiers In 2002 and defuncted in 2016. Dunham said “it’s literally if I read it, it’s like going back to a husband who beat me in the face. It doesn’t make sense”. Comparing a website to a serious situation like abuse isn’t ok all. She apologised by saying domestic violence isn’t a joke, but seem to have deleted the post.

Comparing the Bill Cosby Accusations to the holocaust

In 2014, Comedian and American’s dad Bill Cosby was accused of sexual abuse by many women dating back to the 1960s. Many celebrities were discussing their opinion about the allegations against Cosby including Judd Apatow whom seemed very vocal about it in which people called it an obsession. In January 2015, Dunham said in an interview that Judd Apatow’s obsession with Bill Cosby is like people being obsessed with Holocaust meaning we shouldn’t talk about either of them. Cosby’s sex crime was a traumatic event towards his survivors he hurt and abuse, while the holocaust was the one of most horrifying events that happened in history and neither shouldn’t be not talked about.

Hipster Racism

Lena Dunham’s “feminist” newsletter the Lenny Letter got shut down during 2017. A journalist named Zinzi Clemons used to write for Lenny Letter, but left the company. She wrote an article about she knew Dunham when they were in college and said the group that Dunham hanged out used hipster racism. Hipster racism is basically saying something offensive or racist than defending it by saying it was a joke. You can also say that being hipster racist is when someone used the term “I’m not racist. I have black friends”. Although many people believe that Dunham doesn’t hang out with those people, Zinzi has said that many of those friends have guest starred in the TV show, GIRLS.

Defending an alleged rapist and discrediting a sexual assault survivor

In November 2017, an actress named Aurora Perrineau accused GIRLS writer Murray Miller of sexual assault. When the news broke out, Lena Dunham and GIRLS executive producer Jenni Konner publicly defended Miller by saying that his allegation fit the 3% of the false accusations. This ironic since months before, Dunham tweeted the only thing women don’t lie about is rape. This is very hypocritical because she basically saying that women don’t lie about rape, but won’t believe the woman whom accused her friend of sexual assault. Recently, Lena Dunham made an apology to the sexual assault survivor and that she thought Perrineau was lying due the insider information she was given, but get this Dunham never had any evidence or information to prove Perrineau was lying. This upset a lot of people including myself because 1) Aurora Perrineau is a black biracial woman and women of colour are always silenced or discredited by white feminist like Lena Dunham herself and 2) discrediting a survivor is a very low thing you can do. This is one of the worst things that Lena Dunham has ever done.

Every time, Lena Dunham makes a bad choice, her apologies become more and more excuses and bullshit each day. When apologising to Aurora Perrineau about discrediting her accusations on Murray Miller, Lena Dunham blamed Patriarchy. Patriarchy is something that women have to go through, women in the middle eastern have to face patriarchy every single day due men having control with them from father to husband. However Dunham discrediting Perrineau isn’t patriarchy. Many people think the reason why we don’t like her because she isn’t pretty, we could care less about her looks because we aren’t judging because she’s not pretty, because she makes similar mistakes all over again and expect us to forgive her. There are some people who’ll defend Dunham by saying how we should give her a break because she’s a rape victim or how she can’t have kids due getting her left ovary removed. All of this are sad, but that doesn’t change the fact, she’s a piece of shit. I don’t think Lena Dunham ever worked with the me Too movement of the Times Up Now than led on. Earlier this year, Dunham posted a group photo of the women whom are taking part in the Time’s Up initiative, however actress Tessa Thompson called out Dunham by saying Dunham was never present during the meetings and discussions, Dunham only seem to present when it was photo time. Dunham may considered to a perpetrator, when she wrote that controversial paragraph in her book, Not that kind of girl when she talked about how when she was seven, she examined her little sister’s genitals, bribing her with candy for kisses and casually masturbating while lying in bed next to her. Although child psychologists, sexual abuse experts and researchers in human sexuality researchers reject it as being sexual abuse like many people believe. It’s still creepy and disgusting to many people who don’t see this as normal behaviour.

These are many of the reasons why Lena Dunham isn’t a feminist icon and how she fits the definition of white Feminism. I don’t know why she’s given a platform, when it clear that not many want to hear what she has to say or even care what she does. Even Me Too founder, Tarana Burke isn’t a big fan of Lena Dunham. Like I said before, when has Lena Dunham has ever done anything for women beside it being about herself?