#.and I am putting them on a little pedestal in hopes that they won't. Jump down immediately

[sansloii]

me as I'm juggling 8 things at once: ... I need more ships for Mikah

[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!

[bella-studio]

Don't wanna lose

/Listen, this is my first ROTTMNT fan fiction. And I warn you that in the original I wrote it in Russian(because I am from Russia), so there may be a poor translation. Please don't scold me xd. And... My text typography is very different from how many others do it. So... I hope this is not a problem, and you will understand/

“Donnie had a nightmare, but to whom would he go for help, if not his brothers?”

   The body hurts unbearably. As if all the bones were crushed into small pieces, as if they were well ground in a blender. I barely rise to my elbows and look around. Blood. A lot of blood. My brothers! They are also in the blood. Do not move. No signs of breathing. They have terrible wounds, and Mikey... Oh no, my poor little brother, he got the most. Looking at his broken shell is worse than the pain that I feel from broken bones now. I try to get up, but I can’t. My tech-bo is broken in half, and the shell sparkles from damaged parts. I hear menacing breath behind me. I turn my head. Shredder. He stands in front of me and looks into my eyes with a predatory gaze. At any second, he could attack me, but he was waiting for something. I hear someone is running. April! She is alive! She runs straight at the enemy with a bat in her hands. What are you doing again?! Run from here! Shredder grabs O`Neil with his claws and throws her to the side under a huge box hanging on the chain of the lift. The next second, the armor quickly chopped off the chains. The load fell on April. I heard a loud crunch of bones, and blood poured out from under the load. The shock froze on my face. And in a split second, Shredder, waving his claws, was in front of me.

— NO! — softshell woke up.

   And the next thing he felt was already real pain from hitting the bed cover. Perhaps a broken solarium is not the best option for a place to sleep. Von Ryan rubbed his forehead. He began to breathe air through his teeth, squinting his eyes. Such a dream. But this is not surprising. After a three-day battle with Shredder, the destruction of Donnie’s entire tech and almost premature death, the turtle could not sleep well. All these thoughts of death from the claws of an obsessed armor scared him.

   Donatello slowly walked down the stairs from the bed. 03:15 AM. Third time in a week. He rubbed his eyes, leaning against the table. Terribly wanted to sleep, but did not want to return to the nightmare. He needs someone who will help to distract from this. But who? Brothers are not an option. Father too... April. Yes, she also suffered, but she can calmly listen and help. The best friend after all.

   Donnie took out his hoodie, left the room, looked around. No one, everyone is sleeping. He slowly but surely headed toward the exit to the surface. He climbed the rusty stairs and opened the hatch. It's raining. To match the mood. Softshell closed the hatch and climbed to the roof of the house. Jogging can also distract. He went straight to his friend, jumping from roof to roof and slapping his feet in the puddles. About ten minutes later he was at her window. It is closed: both the lock and the curtains. Donnie sighed sadly, with his hands in his pocket. Unexpectedly there was a screwdriver. How on time. The turtle held the tool to the lock and stopped. But will it not be a hack? ...Nah, Donnie has the right to do it. He continued to poke around the lock until it clicked, announcing the discovery. Von Ryan slowly opened the window and opened the curtains. But here's what surprised: April sat on her bed in headphones, reading a magazine, under a nightlight:

— Do you know that reading under a dim light is not safe for the eyes?  — he said loudly enough for the girl to hear him.

   She jerked and looked in his direction, pulling out her headphone. They looked at each other for about ten seconds, until O'Neil spoke:

— Said the one who spent days on end sitting at the phone or laptop. — she answered with a grin.

   The girl closed the magazine, put it and the headphones on the pedestal and got out of bed, going to the window from which the softshell peeked out. She shoved him forcefully into the room and closed the window:

— What are you doing here?

— Me? I just wanted to visit you, to check how you are... — he was silent for a while, looking away. — How are you?

   The girl raised an eyebrow, looking skeptically at a friend. Donnie sighed, admitting defeat:

— Yeah-yeah, I know, I'm lying bad. Just a mental problem, Apes.

— Do you want me to listen? — in response came a sad nod. — Sit down and wait. Be right back.

   April left the room. Donnie, as his friend ordered, sat on the bed and waited, looking at her modest room. Solid walls hung with posters, garlands and photos. Photos with her, his brothers, with Splinter, her mom and Mayhem. Even joint photos with him and April, of which there were about five. Donatello smiled involuntarily. For the sake of such moments as to be with the one you love and cherish every moment, you want to live. April came soon with two cups of tea that both of them like. She crouched next to Don, giving him a cup, he gladly took it:

— Well... What happened? — she asked after a moment of silence.

— I had a nightmare. It has been repeated day after day since we got rid of Shredder.

— And what was there?

   Donnie looked at April. And she understood from his gaze. She began to look at the floor, considering everything. It’s strange that it’s Donnie, not even Mikey, who dreams of it:

— It was terrible. — began von Ryan. — I am alone, brothers are dead, there is no tech, I can’t move. Shredder is in front of me, but I see that you are running towards him. But he throws you back and...

— And? — stuttered, the girl asked.

— He killed you. Crushed by a huge cargo box. — Donnie started looking at a point on the wall. — There was a lot of blood, I heard a bone crunch. Shredder wanted to attack me, but I woke up.

   April looked frightened at her friend. Everyone shared their dreams with her, even Leo. Even Splinter! But not a single dream was so strange and cruel. And then the first dream that her best friend shared turned out to be just that. She wanted to support him, but Donnie continued:

— You know, I wanted to make a copy of Sunita's brooch. I wanted to become a human, wanted to study at school, go to college... But it turns out that we must fight all the villains, defending New York, and only God knows when this will end! — Donatello sobbed, bitter tears flowed from his eyes, dripping into sweet tea. — I do not want all this... I don’t want eternal battles, I don’t want victims, I don’t want... To die.

— Drop these thoughts, please! — O'Neil exclaimed, wiping the tears from the turtle’s eyes and holding a hand on his cheek. — You know that won't happen. You know that everything will be alright! Yes, we will fight for the preservation of the city, we will fight with the villains, but we will not die.

— YOU DO NOT KNOW THIS! — Don cried out, almost crushing the mug in his hands. He put it quickly on the pedestal and got out of bed. —  All I hear is words! "Everything will be fine! We can do it! We will win!" But no one knows the real cruelty of life! However, I lost everything I created over the years in a couple of seconds! Shredder nearly killed me! He nearly crippled Raph and Mikey! He almost crippled YOU! I am glad that we generally survived those three days, but the uncertainty about what will happen scares me! I’m afraid that I can literally lose everything: our adventures, our games, watching TV, pizza, Leo’s jokes, Raph’s hugs, Mikey’s paintings, Splinter’s stories, and, most importantly, my only best friend! SO HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT!? — he abruptly fell silent.

   The room became very quiet, only sobs of the softshell and the sound of raindrops on the windowsill were audible. Donnie stood with his hands on his head, it seemed as if it would burst from his own scream. The throat now hurts, tears rolled down in a hail. This silence would have lasted longer if Von Ryan had not heard something. Is April... Crying? But she never... No... No, no, no! Donnie did not want to bring her to tears, he did not want to! The turtle knelt in front of her and put his hands on hers, holding a mug of tea that had already cooled down:

— Forgive me. I shouldn't have yelled at you. You are not to blame for our problems. You shouldn't have been involved.

— What!? — the girl was alarmed. Mayhem, which sat with her and reassured her, flinched. — You want to say that after all that we have experienced I am not a participant in all these troubles?! But I was the first to enter the Secret City. I helped you deal with the Purple Dragons, you guys saved me from Albearto, from Hypnopotamus, you defended my “Normal” day from Foot Clan, you helped to get Mayhem from the mirror, and I helped you with the missions. And remember, if I didn’t get on the train, we would not have guessed where Foot Clan had taken the armor! And you still think that I should not participate in this? So you don’t appreciate me as an important member of the team? As a family member?!

— It's not like that at all, April! — Donnie grabbed the girl by the shoulders. — I appreciate you! As a member of a team or family! And you can’t imagine how much I cherish you! I cherish the moment when we met! And I love you with all my heart, like a sister, but I'm afraid to lose you... — Donnie whispered.

   It was a shame. He just wanted help, support, and in the end he upset his friend. What kind of friend is he who raises his voice? April's hand touched turtle's cheek, and he looked at the her. She smiled faintly. She is no longer angry, but a precipitate of sadness remains in her eyes:

—  You're a fool. — O'Neil grinned. — Well, come here. — she put the mug down on the pedestal next to his and opened her arms for a hug.

   Donnie looked at April in surprise. They had not hugged together for so long, as if never. Von Ryan wiped away his tears and reached for his friend, clutching in "warm shackles." They sat like this for about five minutes. April began to giggle.

— What are you doing? — Donnie asked perplexedly, not breaking his arms.

— It's nothing. Just... To talk out, we had to yell at each other. I hope this does not happen again?

— We’ll try to prevent this... Listen, um... Can I stay with you this night?

— Of course, dude. Of course. Just sleep on the couch. — she laughed. — Just kidding, of course. You sleep with me, so that in case of what I reassured you.

— Pf! As you say, April.

I wanted to write that Donnie is more outspoken with April

Just adore these two

/if there are errors in the translation, then tell me about them. I am doing my best/