#When people who've sent in requests I've written for send in asks like this it really warms my heart aaa 😭🥺💕!!!

[mercurygray]

I've seen a couple of writers on my dash, new and old, getting discouraged about a drop in writing requests, or wondering why no one is sending them, or asking if they're doing something wrong because they feel they're being ignored.

I don't know if this helps at all, but it took a loooong time for me to get to a place where people send me prompts. I had to cultivate it and be intentional about it and I'm really lucky that now I've got a group of people who ask me things!

Firstly, the askbox is not always open. (I mean, it is, but it also ...isn't.) I'm always very specific about when I want requests, and I try to give some parameters, like a list, or a specific set of characters. I realized that as a reader and a friend when someone just said 'I need prompts!' my mind went blank and I didn't ever send anything. So I make a special post, and I give my guidelines, and a link to my character list, and I try to set expectations about what I will do and I won't do. When I do this, it helps me set up where my heart is in the moment, so that hopefully I'll get something in that moment that I really like. And it's like a little event! And people who know me and know my characters get excited!

The heart part is important. The love needs to be there, or otherwise it's just...noise.

I'm also not above asking my friends specifically for things! "Hey, I want to write X and Y today and I'm thinking about this AU. Can you help me? Here's a list." It's like a random generator with more oversight.

On a related note, I also had to give myself permission to say 'You know what, I don't think I can do anything with this' and delete some of them. It doesn't mean I value the person who sent it any less. This is a regular part of my guidelines.

I've been doing this for four years now, so regular followers to my blog now know exactly how this works but I also have a regular tag I use for this work, and there's this body of old work that new people can look at, too, to see what kind of writer I am. If I'm seeing someone new in a tag I track asking for prompts, I usually go to see what else they've written. Will I like their work? Is it easy to find things they've done before so I can see what they're like as a writer?

I also try to pay it forward as much as I can by sending requests to other people when they ask for prompts. I know that sometimes when I ask for requests, it's because I'm lonely, or I'm having a bad day, and maybe that's where that person is when they ask. I try to keep a running list of different writers and friends' characters. Maybe not all of them, but two or three that I know I've enjoyed reading before. It's a way to know your neighbors and your neighborhood.

And this is maybe going to be a spicy take, but - fandoms now seem to have life cycles, and the simple fact is that there is a sharp drop in interest after the show goes off the air. This is why cultivating community is more important than ever. The people who give me prompts are often friends who've come with me through several fandoms, not just my most recent one.

[arknights-imagines]

WOAHHHH i had a hunch that you picked up my request when you posted that teaser!! i’m so honored 🥺 the whole piece was really lovely and emotional and i felt so giddy reading it 🥹 thank you for your service 🫡🫡 carrying the whole arknights fandom on ur back as always 🤝 but seriously thank you much for picking my request and writing for our beloved darling catboy!!! 🐈‍⬛❤️

Sgsugs omg, the anon who sent in the request for my recent Phantom piece 🥳💕!!! Hiya there!

Aaaa it was my honour to write it, your idea was creative and had lots of potential, it was fun for me to write for ✨ so again ty for sending it in! I'm v v happy to hear that you liked the piece lots, and that the emotions I tried my best to capture were conveyed svshs 😭💞!!!!

I say this often, but it's really my honour to be of service to the Arknights fandom lolol 🥰~ I'll always be my trying best!!

Again, it's my pleasure and you're v welcome 🥳!!! Phantom definitely deserves lots of love so I'm happy to write for the theatre catboy anytime lolol 💕🥺~

I do hope you'll come by my inbox again sometime anon 👉👈!!

Tysm for your ask and again for your request 🥰! I hope you'll stick around and please have an awesome day 🌸!!!