#I'm really appreciative of everyone's support in my inbox and replies it really does mean a lot especially given that about 2/3 of my

[bixels]

While I do think anon was rude, I do think it's pretty shitty to set up all this stuff you were going to add the au and then just drop it. It's disappointing. Definitely unfollowing.

Bye.

[rrxnjun]

(im really stupid but i hope u like this fanletter 😭)

hello <3 this is for my favourite writer on tumblr; to the the same writer who does not realise how much their works could mean to someone, the lovely @rrxnjun 🎀 !!!

so, i found your blog at the beginning ot this month– november, 2023, and now that the month's about to end, i have nearly finished reading all your nct works.

to me, this month is the most special one of this year. why? because i found your blog, your stories– some pieces of your mind. i found you through one of those nct fanfic recs, 'take the stairs - njm' being the first work i read from you. it was sweet, it made me happy. and then i read the other two parts of the 'simplify romance' series, which will always hold a special place in my heart.

this year has been the worst for me, with no one for me to lean on to, weird identify crisis shit, and losing myself in this tiring process of growing up. but you know what? you saved 2023 for me. when no one's words could speak to me, yours did. you make me feel a little less lonely.

im a silly teenager, who never read sad/mainly angsty stories before i found you because i was scared, i was confident i'd cry. and i did. i gathered the courage to read angst only because you'd written it, and it was so worth it. ive stayed up so many nights this month just to read your works in peace and privacy, hidden from my family, and then spend the days thinking about how you literally create art, and telling my bestfriends about it. you are blessed. you are phenomenal. no amount of thank yous or i love yous could be enough for me to express my gratitude. you've made me feel so at peace with my thoughts sometimes and you've made me feel like i'm not alone. you have magic in your hands. i owe you so much, i wish i could gift you something, but sadly im still a minor and theres a few years until i finish uni and then get a job, and then i promise i'll get you something, because i am so lucky to be able to read your stories for free. you deserve so much more than followers, likes and reblogs. each one of your fics have made me tear up and all of them are too special for me.

this month ive read all of your nct dream '00 line fics, and my favourite was 'happier than ever' which i finished a week ago— AND I SWEAR THAT FIC DESTROYED ME 😭😭😭 it had me bawling my eyes out for two hours on a school night i love it so so fucking much, i literally think about it daily and i told all my friends about it and im so in love with it, please tell me, for my inner peace that renjun and the reader ended up getting together and being fine because im gonna cry over it for the rest of my life IDC IF THEY DIDNT END UP TOGETHER please lie to me and tell me they did 💔💔💔💔💔😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

i want you to know, and to remember this whenever you feel even a little like giving up— you have magic, bar, don't ever let go of that magic.

your stories make me want to heal and to help everyone heal. to be loved and to love everyone. to be cared for and care for everyone. your magic helps me survive my days with a little smile. thank you so much for everything you've done for me, without realising you're helping me live.

every single word i wrote here– i swear on everything i have, i genuinely mean it. you are the best thing that happened this year :) i hope that one day someone will love you as much as i love your blog.

(me when i talk about your work)

P.S. permission to take a screenshot of your blog and paste it to my scrapbook by which i can remember my teenage years that your stories mended, please?

thank you for reading, ily ❤️

- your biggest fan (hopefully no one's more dedicated!!) 💘

when i saw this in my inbox i got so emotional i couldnt reply immidiately because i genuinely wanted to sob. this is so so sweet and it mustve taken a long time to type out and i appreciate you a WHOLE lot, not only for this, but also for supporting me sm over the last month. :,)

take the stairs is a very sweet and fun fic and i am glad you found my blog through this one, haha. the simplify romance series holds my favorite fics and i PROMISE to finish jeno's entry at the beginning of the next year!! it HAS to be done. it means a lot to me that you took the time of your day to read my works and that you enjoyed them so much to let me know.

i am happy to hear that my work could help you through some hard times. as a reader on this platform as well, i do know that feeling very well and i could never imagine being that person to someone, but i am glad my words could be there for you when no one else could. hearing this makes all the effort feel worth it, and it's something i'll think of whenever im having a hard time with my work again. i also hope life is nicer to you in the future, and if you ever need someone, my inbox is always open.

having my fics be called art is something i never imagined could happen. it's beyond what i think about my work, but i am honored to hear this compliment, truly. despite being a writer i cant find the words to express my gratitude towards you and your supportive words right now >:( it does mean the whole entire world to me. please do NOT worry about "paying me back" or something, i do this because it's what i love doing and sharing my work with others makes me happy, so an ask like this is more than enough for me. you made me feel really appreciated and i will remember and treasure your kind words forever.

happier than ever is definitely a heavier read, since it's partly from personal experience, hh. i tend to project on renjun a lot so take this as a warning for my other renjun fics LMAO. TT this fic has a special place in my heart and hearing you talk so highly about it makes me all warm on the inside hhhhh my love langugage is words of affirmation stop this or ill cry. i enjoy leaving my fics open-ended to interpretation of the reader, so whatever you feels fits their story is how the story ends for you. <3

i will definitely use this ask as a reminder to not give up when i feel like doing so. it really brought me a lot of strength :) thank you for calling my writing magic. i never imagined someone describing it that way, but it does feel good to hear haha

knowing that my work helped somebody and made them heal and feel all sorts of emotions inside makes me feel at peace. thank you so much. SO much.

also u really make me want to bawl with that scrapbook comment. cant believe im an important part of someone's teenage years :((

once again, words cant express how much this means to me. thank you and i hope my fics continue to be a source of good things for you :) i will think of this often. ily

[missingn000]

So I did join the discord so I could theoretically say this there but I feel weird doing that cause I haven't really talked in it, and I could leave a comment on the new chapter but I already left one so you're getting an ask instead. I just wanted to let you know that I think TPG is genuinely such a good fic and every time I see an update it makes my day better. There are some fics I've bookmarked that I'm not exactly excited to see update, TPG has never been one of them. It's one of my favorite fics to read and I've read it more than once, which I feel says a lot considering how long the fic is at this point. Granted my last reread was when the fic was in the 300ks not the 400ks, but still I thoroughly enjoy it and it would not be far fetched to say that it has improved my life in a not insignificant manner. And it's not just the fic itself, it's so nice to see other people comment on it and see what they liked compared to what I liked and it is genuinely so nice that you reply to all of us. I love seeing the notification in my inbox that you replied to my comment because it means soon there'll be a new chapter and also I get to read your reply to my comment. I don't know, maybe the concussion screwed with my brain a little bit, maybe it's 2am and I'm just being emotional, but thank you so much for all this, I genuinely think it's wonderful. I hope it makes you as happy to write this as it does for me to read it.

HI OH MY GOD I LOVE U...wait i'm gonna CRY, it means so much to me that you think tpg has genuinely improved your life. it warms my heart that you look forward to updates and enjoy both the fic and the community (which is still wild to me that there is one omfg.) thank YOU for your support!! i love seeing your comments on each chapter and i appreciate that you always take the time to leave one. tpg does indeed make me very happy, and it's amazing that reading it makes you happy too <3

and by the way, don't feel bad/weird about talking in the discord if you haven't yet! it's a super chill space and i'm sure everyone would love to chat with ya, myself included :D

[fighttoshine]

I saw your post and I just wanted to let you know that writing Alex as anything other than gay would be erasing his sexuality. Writing him as aroace is the same thing as writing him as bisexual, which he isn't. You can write him as asexual if you want, as long as he is still gay. I hope this doesn't come across as rude! Go and write the fanfic if you want, but if you post it publicly it might be offensive & erasing his sexuality. Sorry if I seem like I'm disrespecting you!

Hey anon! Thanks for getting in touch.

I appreciate that this message was probably intended as helpful and informative but unfortunately, it was neither of those things.

First of all, I was writing Alex as asexual and aromantic and gay. And yes, you can be all those things at once! For some people, the fact they don’t experience sexual or romantic attraction to others doesn’t stop them from wanting a sexual or romantic relationship. So being aroace doesn’t stop him being gay, and is not the same thing as writing him as bisexual.

Secondly, saying “I hope this doesn’t come across as rude!” and “Sorry if I seem like I’m disrespecting you!” doesn’t stop this message being rude and disrespectful to me. In my post I was reaching out for help and support with my writing, and made it clear that the story I was writing is personal and directly relates to me. And yet you still came to me and instead of being kind and supportive, attacked me and accused me of erasing Alex’s sexuality, without a full understanding of what I was intending to write. That is rude, and that is disrespectful, and that is not what the anon function on this site is for.

And finally, this is EXACTLY the kind of prejudice and misunderstanding that has made it so hard for me to accept who I am. I do not experience sexual or romantic attraction to anyone, and also want a committed, long term, loving relationship. But if I tell anyone that, I’ll get people talking to me like this. As if I’m the ignorant one. As if I have no idea what I’m talking about, and have to choose between the two things. As if I’m so broken and wrong and damaged and useless I can’t even be aroace right.

I know you probably won’t even see this reply, anon. That’s okay. I probably wouldn’t have been able to make you understand anyway, no matter how long my response was, or how hard I tried to explain it.

But for everyone else, please stop to think about this. Please try to understand that there are seven billion people on this planet and every single one of them will have a different experience of sexuality. Please don’t use labels to put people into little boxes and build these damaging stereotypes about them. Please don’t assume that because someone uses a label for themselves they will fit into your idea of what that label means.

And if that’s really too hard, if you can’t imagine someone else being their own person, who does not meet your narrow minded expectations, please at least do this:

Be kind, and don’t leave this kind of nonsense in someone’s inbox unprompted.

[laraslandlockedblues]

I am absolutely stuck in rarepair hell (though I love Rylen, my heart beats for Samson) and I don't know how to get out - I don't even know if I want to. I think I'll just... indulge in this and create something for my ship in the future. Now my question - how do you deal with hate that you got for your rarepair (if it even happened, that is) and how do you deal with the lack of feedback compared to all The Big Ships (TM)? I'm really impressed with what you built here and would love to know more

Hello Nonny! I am so sorry on the delay answering this but I really wanted to give you a well thought out answer that wasn’t influenced by cold meds (they make me really loopy, haha). You deserve a better answer than “tell ‘em to eff off!” which is what it would have boiled down to last week.

First off - welcome to Rarepair Hell! So far I’ve learned the beauty of Rarepair Hell is that everyone who’s in it with you - even for other rarepairs - tends to be super lovely. We all understand each other’s pain, haha. But also, I can guarantee you that there are others out there who will love your pairing just as much as you do. Even if it’s just one other person, they will be out there and ready to consume ANY content you make for the rarepair. The one beauty of rarepairs I’ve found is that content is so scarce when anything is produced for it, everyone who loves the ship JUMPS at the new content because we’re all so desperate for something to satisfy our rarepair cravings. It’s fun, in a way, even though it’s not as prevalent as for bigger ships.

I’d also like to point you in the direction of my Writer BFF and love @dismalzelenka if you haven’t already found her - she’s a Samson positive writer/blog and you will be very, very welcome in her corner of Rarepair Hell. Don’t hesitate to reach out to her, she would LOVE to talk Samson with you, I can guarantee it.

You’ve already got the right idea in your response as well - “I’ll just indulge in this and create something for my ship.” That is EXACTLY the right mentality. Just as with any pairing, even the Big Ships™, write it for you. Write it (or art it, but I’ll address writing since I can’t draw for shit) for you, because you have a story you want to tell your way. When I started writing Cullen fic, it wasn’t because there wasn’t already a plethora of Cullen fic out there - it was because I had a story with my Evelyn that I wanted to tell for me. I didn’t expect anyone to read it because there was already so much out there, so I wrote it for me with zero expectations and shared it in case there was anyone else who would appreciate the story I was telling.

And honestly, that’s all I do with writing Rylen fic. I want to write about and tell his and Abby’s story(ies), for me, because I enjoy them. I’ve shared them hoping perhaps other people were looking for that story as well. One of the greatest bits of writing advice I’ve ever seen boiled down to - write and tell your story because you never know who might be waiting for it. That held so true with writing and sharing Rylen fic - I had no idea how many people it would resonate with. You might find a similar response to your content as well, so I suggest trying. Without trying you won’t know.

Now for the more serious parts - I haven’t really received direct hate for my ship or writing Rylen fic. I’ve heard indirect bits of “ugh why him?” from around the fandom, but you know, I approach fandom with the core rules at heart:

1) Live and Let Ship.

2) Don’t Like, Don’t Read.

3) Your Kink is Not My Kink. (Not super applicable here but throwing it out there)

The truth of the matter is, your work is not for everyone. It isn’t. Even my Big Ship™ fics aren’t for everyone, and I know that. That shouldn’t prevent you from writing or sharing the story that you want to tell. Everyone has their own taste, their own preferences, and honestly that’s what makes fandom such a fun and diverse place. It’d be boring if we were all cranking out the same canon Cullen/Trevelyan fic over and over and over.

Now, does that mean that everyone will have the same response and know to keep their opinion to themselves if they don’t like your pairing? Unfortunately, no. Not everyone knows that saying “Opinions are like penises. It’s ok to have one and it’s certainly ok to be proud of it, but don’t shove it in people’s faces.” (Crude but accurate.) Not everyone knows that an opinion is an opinion, and not a fact shared by everyone else. There may be the occasional comment from people who can’t make this distinction and try to criticize you based on their opinion. Hell, I’ve had this happen most often on my Cullen fic and not my Rylen fic, surprisingly. I once got a few comments from someone who was admittedly NOT a Cullenmancer that boiled down to “I still hate him” and I was baffled that they felt the need to make certain I knew that on something I had spent so much time writing.

But you know what? That was a them problem, not a me problem. In the end, I just ignored the comments. It wasn’t worth engaging, because I wasn’t going to change their mind, and they weren’t going to change mine. For whatever reason they felt the need to slap their opinion on something I had poured time and effort into because I love Cullen, and I decided not to expend any more of my time or effort into acknowledging their opinion. It wasn’t worth it.

So if you receive hate, there are several choices you can make:

1) Ignore and move on with your life, because everyone is entitled to their opinion, and some are just louder about them than others. That is not a reflection on you or your pairing, and if they’re not addressing your writing or story but your choice of rarepair, well - that’s their issue. You DO NOT have to engage with everyone. I know we all get it in our head that we owe everyone a response, but let me reassure you now - you DO NOT owe anyone your time. Period. 

2) Politely thank them for trying out your work, even if it turned out not to be their cup of tea. A polite and thoughtful “Thank you for reading, and I’m sorry this isn’t the fic for you. I hope you have better luck in the future,” can be simple and effective to get the point across to them that you’re not engaging further.

3) If it’s particularly hateful, don’t engage at all. Delete it and move on with your life. Trolls and haters thrive off of reactions and responses, and the best thing you can do for yourself is to not give them any.

4) Go the sarcastic route and find a gif of the back button to instruct them how to handle the situation in the future. Possibly best for repeat commenters who seem particularly masochistic about reading things they don’t enjoy. Perhaps they don’t know where the back button is, and you can help them learn the lesson of “Don’t Like, Don’t Read” in your reply.

Honestly, though, I think you’ll be surprised at the response to your work. Most people are looking for fic and art that cater to their tastes and that they’ll enjoy. The majority of us are here for fun, and not to stress ourselves out hating on things we don’t like or agree with. Yes, there is a small minority to whom that is fun - but I think you’ll be surprised that the support far outweighs that group.

In the meantime, for rarepairs, you’ll have to work a little harder to cultivate your fandom experience. Seek out other people who like Samson, and engage with them. I know they’re out there, and it’s a smaller part of fandom - but they’ll be happy for more content, I’m sure of it. And if you ever need more rarepair commiserating or support or advice, my inbox is always open. Good luck creating, Nonny! xx