#I'm not going to block the tag because then I'd miss like discussions and stuff with him

[gingermintpepper]

There is a distressing amount of Achilles content on my dashboard this morning. Universe, tumblr gods, friends of the state and those abandoned by it, please explain this to me.

[trashquisitor-shirozora]

hey there! hope i'm not catching you at a bad time. i was wondering about your latest post on your concerns with the dinluke fandom. i'm really sorry about that. i'm not as active on socmed as i used to be so i might have missed on how the fandom is slowly, urm, going up into flames(?) but if you don't mind, what are your major concerns that's making you question your association? i love your dinluke stuff sm and i'd hate to lose someone like you :(

Hi there!

For a long while now, a certain "genre" of dinluke content has been dominating the Tumblr and AO3 tags and - more importantly - the general impression of the ship itself, which is dark!dinluke. Unfortunately, dark!dinluke is usually not about "dark" themes but about a racist, fetishizing, gendered relationship/dynamic between Din and Luke where Din is hypersexualized, aggressive, and possessive and Luke is a virginal effeminate twink with tradwife traits. You'll note that Din is the darker-skinned character and Luke is lily white in this particular dynamic (Bobadin has a similar problem where the darker-skinned Boba is the aggressive/possessive one while the lighter-skinned Din is the delicate flower). That's an extreme generalization of the general trend of assigning incredibly uncomfortable characteristics to characters who don't have them.

Fandom tends to vibe by the "live and let live" philosophy, and that's okay IF everyone follows general "guidelines" for fandoming, like proper tagging so that people who don't want to see that content for ANY REASON don't have to see it. A lot of these content creators have been terrible at tagging (or don't tag at all) using inappropriate or targetted tags that only make sense to people who are already in the know. If you had never seen Arrested Development before and don't know the context of the tag "dead dove do not eat" how do you know it's supposed to warn you for dark content? How do you know "cinnamon role Luke Skywalker" isn't always about a sweet soft Luke or that "protective Din Djarin" is actually about an aggressively possessive Din? Gotcha phrases like "don't like, don't read" can't work if people don't know what they're supposed to be blacklisting before they click the ship tag. So, you have posts that no one can block until it's too late dominating the ship tags, which makes for an incredibly uncomfortable experience.

But it's not just the tagging fiasco, it's also the idea that dark!dinluke creators were allowed to exist and dominate fandom conversations in the first place. It's why I said we should've been louder and meaner sooner. There is no point in living by the "live and let live" fandom philosophy if your idea of inclusivity includes allowing people to create harmful toxic tropes and trends unbothered and unscathed. This is really part of the larger conversation around POCs in fandom spaces; we have to contend with a lot of shit that makes us uncomfortable and a lot of times we are in spaces dominated by white/white-adjacent fans who don't want anyone harshing their good time or making them look bad.

I have not forgotten the utter shitshow around finnpoe (and Finn/John Boyega in general) where the concerns of Black and Latine fans were ignored in favor of protecting white feelings. I follow people on Tumblr and Twitter who discuss racism in fandom and are also harassed constantly by fans who don't want to hear the truth. It's not comfortable and you must always be aware of when it's time to speak up and when to amplify other voices, but if you want your fandom spaces to be inclusive and more safe, you have to be willing to listen and put yourself out there. I didn't because I get anxious about interacting in larger communal spaces but I always wondered if I could've helped if I did speak up about the troubling tropes and trends that dinluke fandom was heading towards. I'm just one person but it still has to mean something even if the larger fandom still chooses to ignore you.

Someone added their own thoughts to my post about fandom ignoring Latine fans expressing their concerns about Din and Pedro's other characters and I remember seeing those conversations in the old dinluke server. I tell myself I was at work at the time and that's why I didn't comment when people started nitpicking or just generally ignored the criticisms, but I wish I could've done more. So instead, here I am posting to the tumblr tag.

I'm not leaving the dinluke fandom anytime soon. I have a story to tell that I want to see to its conclusion. The day after making that post, I was doodling some thoughts about Luke (mainly his clothes, but also I should be writing instead of doodling????? get your act together, shiro). I'm in a good space where I'm still comfortable enough and I won't be chased off by the people I share space with, but it hurts knowing that they're there and they contributed a lot to the current state of dinluke. I've been in enough fandoms that crashed and burned over this sort of shit so I know when it's time to pack up my bags and leave but hopefully I'll get all my stories out before that day comes.

[from-the-clouds]

Hi, I was wondering, if you had any advice on posting? I Have this blurb-like thing for Kendall I really would like to post, but I'm not sure what I'm doing? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

omg of course! i don't know if you are asking about like...logistics-wise or what so i will go over everything!

this got really long so i'll put all my advice and everything below the cut haha

before i post i always try to proofread my fic 1-2x. i still always miss stuff because it can be easy to not find them when reading your own writing. so you can always have someone ELSE proofread. i find mistakes in my own writing and in other people's all the time, but in general it's not a huge deal as long as it doesn't distract from the content/plot

within my writing i also find it important to avoid giant paragraphs/blocks of text as that can be intimidating to the reader. leave spaces in between new paragraphs, and never have two different people speaking within the same paragraph. that's just like, general grammar/writing rules but i've still seen a lot of fics do that as a fanfic reader it definitely turns me off and even can make a fic difficult to read.

whenever i post fics i generally like to find a gif/photo/make a graphic of the character i am writing about about to put at the top of the post. it helps grab the eye. then you can put like a summary-whatever the fic is about, content warning - any potentially triggering topics in the fic (i'll usually tag any mental health issues discussed or drug/alcohol use/abuse), and an authors note (optional, unless you have any comments you'd like to make) and the rest of the fic.

depending on the content of the fic/length i'll usually do a 'keep reading' button so people who follow me aren't forced to scroll through a long post if they aren't interested in the fic, or if there's any potentially triggering content.

the most important thing will be what you tag it with at the bottom. there are probably better people to ask on here about how tumblr's tagging system works, but in general this will be the best way to have other people outside of your followers see your stuff. so tag the character, the type of story it is, anything you think is relevant. if you want to look at thinking of a place pt 1 for an example of what to tag, scroll to the bottom and you can see what all i did. that would be a good place to start with a kendall fic, and then you can add on from there based on the content. i had almost no one following me in the succession fandom before i posted that fic, and so the tags helped it get more eyes on it.

the time of day you post also has an effect too. I am in PST, and usually try to post my fics in the early evening, as it seems like that's when people are generally most active on here. or you can post in the morning and reblog it with tags again at night to 'signal boost'. down at the bottom of the post editor, if you click the little arrow, there's a drop down menu that let's you schedule when something posts.

some people have separate blogs from their personal ones that are just for writing. i have never done that. but it's something you can consider if you think it's a good idea. i'd also post it to Archive of Our Own (AO3). whether or not you have an account, it's free to join after a brief waiting period, but definitely worth it. There are people on there who don't get on tumblr, but there's also a lot of crossover, so just another way to get more exposure. I know some people also use Wattpad/Fanfiction and I have too, but i don't love their format too much.

and last but not least have fun! It can be somewhat scary/vulnerable to post something you've put a lot of yourself into on here at first, but i've found everyone to be generally supportive and kind. when i first started writing i was SO BAD, i literally look at my old fics and cringe, but the more i keep writing the better i feel about what i put out, and i can tell i've improved over the years. in general, i don't write fic because i'm trying to get the most amount of followers or attention. don't get me wrong, i love when people engage with my writing and leave me comments, etc, but it's not the ONLY reason i write fic. i do it because it's a way to explore different characters and a fun creative outlet. when you write/post with that mindset i think it takes a lot of the pressure off.

also, feel free to tag me/send me the blurb once it's posted and I can reblog it! there's very few people on here writing for succession, so i always try to support the ones who do as much as possible!

i'd also say don't be afraid to talk to people on here and engage with people who read the same stuff/write the same stuff/are apart of the fandom. being apart of the community can help get your stuff read/get feedback!

i know this was SUPER long-winded, but i hope this helps? let me know if you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a DM if you do :)