#and thus we don't actually get to understand how sai feels abt most things. only the superficial funny silly

[1punch]

I actually have so many thoughts & ideas abt saitama & relationships but for some reason I feel I'd get looks talking abt it

[charlie-artlie]

It's 4am and I can't sleep so I'm ranting abt transformers comics again

The transformers (2009), and largely all of the "on earth content" thus far, has been kinda annoying tbh. There's lots of good stuff in there and I'm still overall enjoying myself but basically anything involving the humans is just. Wack.

This is largely because none of the human characters are interesting or likeable at all. Verity Jimmy and Hunter were interesting!!! I liked their dynamics for the most part and enjoyed how they interacted with the autobots but all of these badass military guys are boring and stupid! I mean the only one who's fleshed out in the least is Spike who's just supposed to be this sexy badass who's a tactical genius and gets lot of trim but he's the worst lmao. He's overpowered and annoying and just a nothing of a character. Also it's outrageously stupid that he's able to single handedly take down a constructicon with nothing but "dumb tech" like I can't even take that seriously.

But the really irritating thing is I just can't understand why they're still on earth! They keep acting like they're the last of their race and they have no where to go but new people keep showing up! Where tf did cosmos come from?? Shouldn't Optimus, as the leader of their species be like, be trying to pick up the scattered remains of this army after the war?? why ARE we kicking around on the mud ball im with Roddy and the decepticons on this one. Like it's irritating because hot rod is objectively right when he wants to leave! The humans don't want them there and are actively killing them! Perdonally i dont rly like thr implications of what theyre doing to the captured decepticons (but who cares right) but if the concern is decepticon attack roddys right they literally have thay covered (see above, one human single handedly taking down a constructicon). Not to mention we already know they've tortured and mutilated autobots in the past so who's to say they aren't still??

I just don't understand. the constant dick sucking of the human race. Speaking as a human, I don't need this in the story. Why are we constantly being shown that actually it's the humans who are the badasses and the transformers who are at their mercy. First off, I don't believe you, and second off, then why don't they leave??? Like every five minutes we get a speech abt how humans are amazing and resiliant and so powerful and resourceful and and kind and wonderful and the humans are meanwhile like sorry we weren't listening we were too busy inventing a device that makes autobots explode while simultaneously setting off all our nuclear weapons at once.

Honestly I think I wouldn't be so annoyed with the overpowered human race thing, like to a certain extent its an interesting dynamic, but what's most irritating is the autobots reactions to it. After literally everything humans have done to them they're still just like wow, humans are amazing, we should live here forever. This plan sucks!!!! Pls can we plsss just go back to space!!!

........ALSO Optimus just turning himself into the humans custody for bad leadership crimes because,,,,,, humans killed ironhide,, and he feels responsible,,,,,, so he's going to get captured by then, so they can kill the rest of his men without impediment???? Dude, get your boys out of there!!!!

[maiverie]

🧀 anon joining the CIA as in Central Intelligence Agency??? 😲

AND NO‼️here we do not apologize for prioritizing our mental health and other things in life !! actually when i pressed "sent" my internet was cut off so i was kinda scared my ask was deleted/ u didn't receive it 😵

i live in vietnam !! (also for the record i didn't know u live in australia until i scrolled a bit 😗) AND NOOO UR VIET IS FINE! (most of the media i watch/ read is in english + limited social interactions so my viet is just tragic... and i literally live in the country🧍‍♀️(the "i'm turning into a white woman" audio is literally me 😭) like can u believe i only know abt the new slangs and all after downloading tiktok (DAWG THIS IS EMBARRASSING 😭😭)

TYSM cuz some of the majors i might aim for has literature in it and well over the years i've considered literature my #1 enemy... (it's literally a joke/ univeral knowledge in my family (+extended) 🥲) UR ADVICE WASN'T IRRELEVANT ‼️‼️ IT'S ACTUALLY USEFUL FOR PART 1 IN THE TESTS (where they gave you part of a poem/ a paragraph and ask you to analyze the method and ur thoughts on the message)

mùa thu ở đây mát với trời mây mây, đỡ nắng còn mùa hè ở thành phố em thì nắng nóng ko chịu nỗi luôn, mùa đông mà tối đi á gió nhiều, có mấy bữa em bệnh chỉ vì thời tiết đó 🫠

enhypen. that's it. that's the thought cuz 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 (heeseung singing despacito got me 😳)

à chị cũng đừng cảm thức áp lực về việc inactive/ active trên đây hay viết truyện nha, để tránh bị burnout/ mất động lực á 💝 (im sorry if this sounds like im forcing u 😭😭 i don't know how to word it but i hope u get what i mean 🫶🫶🫶)

- em anon ☆

EXACTLYYYY im like ?? HUH??? CIA ???!!$&@

also yep i’m in australia rn 😭😭 which means i’m far away from everything 😟💔 also OMGGG whereabouts in vn do u live?? :0 my dad is from sóc trăng and my mum is from rạch giá !!! unfortunately i was born & raised here so my viet is like questionable at best (but thank u anyway for the encouragement hsjdjsjsj) and it doesn’t help that i don’t have many viet speaking friends 😭😭 i rlly gotta brush up on my viet tho (i’m actually visiting next yr hehehe) and ALSO DAWG WYS YOURE LITERALLY FLUENT ???? NOT U SAYING ALL THIS TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER I CANT 😭😭😭😭 AND HAJDJAA THATS SO FUNNY PLS EDUCATE ME ON ALL THE SLANG COS I LITERALLY DO NOT COMMUNICATE W ANYONE BUT MY PARENTS IN VIET SO IDK ANYTHING THATS LIKE YOUNG OR MODERN IF YK WHAT I MEAN 💀💀💀 i’ve tried to understand some but damn they’re complicated af like wth wdym gòy soq is supposed to be r��i xong idk if it’s just me cos i only ever speak viet to old ass people but like WHAT ??)&@$ it’s okay lucky i have u to guide me 😽🙏🙏

and omgggg no way??? so if not lit, what do u plan on studying for uni? :o ALSO AAAA IM GLAD !!! my exams for english were always the same 😭 they always gave us various texts and we just had to analyse + write essays on them so that’s what i rambled on abt devices and stuff BHSJDJJS

hahaha chị chỉ đi vn 1 lần (lâu quá r… chắc khoảng 10-12 năm? 😟). khi đó mùa hè, rồi chị kb đại sao mọi người mặc áo tay dài, nhưng sau 1-2 ngày chị mới hiểu đc mắy con muỗi ở vn là… idk … FUCKING RABID????? 😭😭💀 my GAWD chị ghét nhứt bị cắn con đó $@2@8;93&( đang nhớ lại chị bị ngứa 😭😭 aaaa thiết ha?? tội nghiệp em quá 😭😭 pls take care of urself 🥹💓💖🫶

ALSO OMG HAVE U SEEN THE NEW PICS FROM THEIR CONCERT IM SKFELFIEOIROEIRKDS (also IS HEESEUNG UR BIAS TOO??? idk if you’ve already told me or not 🫢 but it’s 2am here & my brain is half dead) also i’m not sure if you stan aespa or not but i believe they were recently in vn 🥹🥹💖

ALSO THANK U MY LOVE!!!!! aiya chị thương em quá nhiều so pls pls take care of urself and eat lots of healthy food MWAH MWAH 😽😽🫶🫶

[atundratoadstool]

Hello there! Thank you for sharing so much amazing information abt Dracula! Tbh your posts are making me nostalgic for literature classes, and that is HIGH praise coming from me (points to blog title).

Anyway, I'm really grappling with Jack Seward's character right now as I (re)read ahead in Dracula. I like him a lot, especially early on, but his treatment of Renfield is, shall we say, not quite up to the ethical standards of the modern day, and the way Jack talks about him gets uhhh, pretty fuckin uncomfy, as I know you're aware ("pet lunatic," indeed)!

In this vein, I'm curious to know more about the history of psychiatry at the time, both the actual practice and the public perception thereof, so I can begin to tease out how much of his behavior was accepted practice, vs how much was Bram Stoker's PERCEPTION of accepted practice, vs how much was, in fact, intended to not look Super Great to contemporary readers (and thus, among other things, contribute to the hints at Jack's own possible mental deterioration, as well as to his rather overly "cerebral" personality).

As far as I can tell, this is something you've studied in some depth, so I was wondering if you could recommend any resources? Preferably free or easily accessible ones, since I don't have logins for any academic institutions or anything.

Please feel free to take your time answering this btw, I know it might be a tall order and I can be patient! I also understand if you just don't have time or energy, so no worries if you can't get to it.

Thank you either way!

[Spoilers and content warning: Discussions of Seward and Renfield later in the text; mentions of vivisection and psychiatric abuse]

Answering this somewhat late, as I have--in fact--had a lot of things draining my time and energy. As always, I'll open with a caveat that it's been a while since Dracula was my primary research topic, so new and exciting insights into Jack Seward may have cropped up since I was last writing about him.

I by no means have a comprehensive understanding of nineteenth-century psychiatry, although combing my tags and my website will turn up some of the specific research I did for little details concerning Dracula (I discussed things a little bit here) . However, I will say that one of the better hints--in my opinion--as to Stoker's intentions for Seward and his perceptions of medical ethics is the extent to which Seward (and later Van Helsing) parrot statements made by Bram Stoker's brother William Thornley Stoker, who was--among other things--a brain surgeon, a visiting physician at St. Patrick's Hospital (a public asylum) in Dublin, and the inspector for Ireland under the vivisection act. There are elements of Dracula pretty clearly lifted from Thornley's articles, and without spoiling too much, R. M. Renfield appears to have had several elements of his character borrowed from an actual case study on one of Thornley's patients (available here, but be warned it has a major spoiler for later events).

We have every indication that Stoker was on good terms with Thornley and respected his medical knowledge (Thornley provided Stoker with notes as to medical procedures in the text), and I feel the choicest bit of Thornleyism we get in the text is a later moment where Seward, in what strikes me as an absolutely chilling passage, compares is plans for Renfield to vivisectionist experiments:

It would almost be worth while to complete the experiment. It might be done if there were only a sufficient cause. Men sneered at vivisection, and yet look at its results to-day! Why not advance science in its most difficult and vital aspect – the knowledge of the brain? Had I even the secret of one such mind – did I hold the key to the fancy of even one lunatic – I might advance my own branch of science to a pitch compared with which Burdon-Sanderson's physiology or Ferrier's brain-knowledge would be as nothing. If only there were a sufficient cause!

This echoes Thornley's pro-vivisectionist sentiments in the aforementioned case study, where he says:

To what, I ask, do I owe the knowledge on which this judgement was founded? Largely to the humane and benevolent investigationsof those biologist who weak, credulous, or mistaken people are actively pelting with the verbal filth of prejudice and ignorance--people who would prefer that this man, formed the image of his Maker, should die, rather than their feeble sentiment be offended by a painless experiment on an ape.

HOWEVER, it is also worth noting here that both Seward and Thornley specify the necessity of an overriding cause, and it is highly debatable whether Seward has one. Thornley elsewhere in his writing takes an anti-vivisectionist stance when it comes to procedures he deems to be unnecessary:

"[…] the arguments of want of necessity and cruelty apply to most, or all, of the experiments in illustration of lectures. Such demonstrations cannot but be demoralising to the young men and women who witness their performance. They seem to me an offense against humanity. (from this 1907 report)

The big question I have here, to my mind, is whether we should read Seward's treatment of Renfield as having "a sufficient cause," and I think how you answer this question will inform your understanding as to where Stoker probably stood with regards to Jack's ethics as a character and whether he intended us to read Jack as unnerving (although, as any 21st century literary scholar, I must offer a quick nod to the author being dead and Jack's creepiness not being contingent on Stoker's intentions for him).

If you want to take a deep dive into the sources with which I was most familiar back when I was fiddling with this argument and penning my unified theory of Seward, Renfield, and Dracula, I will link to my own masters thesis on the matter, which should have a pretty decent biography with regards to the works I consulted when I last really thought through this conundrum.

[nexyra]

What is your take on rwby chara's mbti types? I think

Weiss - xSTJ, thought that she was ESTJ at first but ISTJ makes a lot of sense too.

Winter - ESTJ

Pyrrha - ESFJ

Emerald - ISFJ (I've seen some ppl type her as INFJ but I don't see how she is a Ni dom?)

Whitley - ENTJ? I'm honestly not sure abt that..

Adam - fucked up xNFJ, probably INFJ (seen him typed as xNTJ but his delusional thinking process imo screams unhealthy Ti and I think his manipulation of Blake and the WF is more Fe than Te

Qrow - was thinking ISTP but with the more recent volumes I'm really not sure..

Penny - ENFP

Ozpin - Uuuuuh INTP maybe?? But I've seen some people type him as INFJ. INFJ 5w6 would make sense as to why he might appear as an INTP but idk..

Bartholomew- ENTP

Jaune - no fucking idea honestly

Ironwood - ENTJ

Sun - Seen ppl type him as ENFP but I don't see any Ne at all..,,ESFP?

Yang - ESxP, maybe ESTP

Cinder - INTJ

Mercury - ISTP

Oscar - ISFJ

Ren - ISTx?

Hello anon ! I see my love for typology hasn't gone unnoticed 😂 Thank you so much for the ask !

I prefer enneagram over MBTI because I find it easier to type; so fair warning that I'm not an authority on MBTI-typing. But I do have have an ongoing RWBY typing that includes MBTI sooo... here goes !

(I'm putting my ennea typings along with it, but not explaining them on this post)

➸ RWBYJNPR

Ruby • xNFP 6w7 9w1 2w3?

I just can't decide between the two fors Ruby because... it kind of goes both way ??? Like Ruby definitely feels as INFP for the first half of the series; she's got a clear Fi > Ne preference... But then when she develops her Tert in V6 it's just... Te ? And she really doesn't show much Si actually she fits more the Si inf vibe in the form of forgetting about bad memories and her mom until people dig it up and she's like "nooo !" ?? So it looks like Te > Si but also Fi > Ne; conclusion idfk

Weiss • ISTJ 1w2 6w5 3w4 sp/so

Clear Fi tert rearing its head along with the 1 so I'm going with ISTJ; I also never really saw any Ne. Her type isn't too disagreed upon so tell me if you want a lenghtier explanation.

Blake • ISFP 6w5 9w8 4w3 (in some order)

Wooh this might get the anger of some (i have experience with the INFJ typers) but Blake goddamn REEKS of Fi. Less so recently but for the first seasons oh my god. She straights up catch you by the shirt and tells you "I'm doing the right thing"; and said right thing is so heavily dependant on her own subjectives values, which is why Blake can't reconcile with the current White Fang; because she doesn't have a strong Je vision of "what objectively works in the end", she only sees actions in terms of immediate right and wrong, and this b&w dichotomy stems from herself. What the WF is doing is wrong and the circumstances don't matter for judging the morality of their actions (of course I'm not talking about murder here bc that's pretty wrong ALL THE TIME but for example the stealing occuring in V1 bc of the WF is a better example)

Yang • ESXP 7w8 8w7 2w3

I'm sorry about that but I can't help you on that aspect anon, I still can't make up my mind about whether Yang has Fi or Ti. I have seen arguments for both, and i'm not the best at picking up on Ti so it's hard for me to tell.

Jaune • ESFJ 6w7 3w2 9w1

No strong opinions on his MBTI, it's kinda just based on vibes

Nora • ENFP 6w7 9w8 3w2

Textbook ENFP, not much to say here x))

Pyrrha • XXFJ 2w1 1w2 6?

In my list Pyrrha is currently written down as ISFJ but that's mostly based on the general consensus and me wanting to get rid of the XX. I don't actually have any convincing arguments to decide on Ni or Si, so I could go either way if someone else makes their case well. I feel like she's Fe aux more than dom, but even about that I could change my mind. Pyrrha didn't have that much screentime in the end :((

Ren • ISTJ? 9w1 5w4 4w5

Ironically I'm not sure about his type, kind of like you. I've mentionned I'm not very good at picking up on Ti right ? And Ren was a background character before V4 really. I had him written down as ISTP for a while but I've seen some convincing arguments for ISTJ so I might lean toward that actually but who knows. The thing I'm very confident about is his 5 fix = )

➸ Faunus bonus

Sun • ESFP 7w6 2w3 9w1 so/sx

I don't see any Ne at all either so I don't understand the ENFP typings...?? Maybe the 7 stereotypes ? Imo Sun is just a very good boy; certified ESFP 7 himbo; triple positive sunshine !

Ilia • Ti-Fe axis ?

Again, not enough screentime for me to make an educated guess. My only certainty is : not high Fi. It's the source of their conflicts. Blake confidence in absolute right & wrong, tracing lines in the sand between acceptable & unacceptable. Whereas Ilia can only shake her head and say "Because it works", or cry out "I don't know what else to do !"

Adam • 3w4 8w7 6w5

I honestly don't really have much of an opinion about Adam's MBTI, i'm sorry anon ;; I don't know enough about how he thinks

➸ Oz-related things and his circle

Ozpin • INFJ 5w4 2w1 1w9

I would personally call him an INFJ. I... never really got INTP vibes from him ? I don't see the Fe inf work out with his interactions : he's always rather at ease, he knows how to navigate around people... His focus inherently lies on doing what's best for the "group", the people, humanity. Fx functions are both concerned with ethics, in different ways, and I think Oz reflects that well. He IS concerned with the moral weight of his actions, but it's a more adaptable and unpersonnal concern than Fi people. He regards Ironwood's soul machines as something wrong, but can still agree to use it if the situations demand it for example. So... if the INFJ + 5 makes sense to you, well that's what I'm typing him personally. I also feel like Ni fits him more than Ne. Ozpin has a very linear way of planning, he does use his fair share of symbolism in every day conversation... Even when taking decisions, he... kind of cares about the meaning of things a lot ? It's hard to explain but like; the way he highlights the difference between an army and a guardian, and the emotionnal response it brings. I don't know it feels like there's some Ni vibes in there x)

Oscar • ISFJ 9w8 6w7 3w2

Oscar's type honestly isn't the one I would have the easiest time explaining in lenght but yea. It's mostly vibes; also just like Ozpin he doesn't seem to have a particularly Fi reasonning. And he feels more grounded, I don't really remember any Ni so... yay ?

Ironwood • ENFJ 6w5 1w2 3w4 (pre-Vol8); ENTJ (post-Vol8)

Might be weird if you think he was a dictator from the start, but I kind of entertained the idea of Ironwood being Fe dom ? From his very first interaction it was very clear that he was a Je dom to me; he's all about objective results; he doesn't give off the "internal framework" or "personnal values" vibe AT ALL; so it was more a matter of picking Te or Fe. He LOOKS super Te don't get me wrong; but he also has an enneagram tritype that is very common amongst XXTJs (and TJs stereotypes thus derive from it). And just like Oz, his focus at all time seemed to be the greater good and doing what's best for the people still. So I was like... Eh, a "harsh" ENFJ I think that's interesting ? Plus Fe ethics actually derive from their environment, kinda like "everyone agrees that Y is wrong", and if you consider that James is from Atlas... Well his way of thinking and ethics align pretty well with the military.

His character took a turn for the worse in V8 (whether too quick or not depends on who you ask) and past that point he's a clear ENTJ; but I feel like it was more debatable before that. Idk though I might be overthinking this in the hope of making more interesting combinations xD

Qrow • ISTP 4w3 6w7? 1w9? sp/sx

I don't really see anything else than ISTP for Qrow... But he's not a character I would want to find Ti arguments for either.

Raven • ENTJ Cp6w5 8w9 3w4

Most villains get called ENTJ at the first occasions tbh zlqfznhqzkf but I think it fits Raven for the most part actually...

➸ Atlas

Winter • ESTJ 1w9 3w4 6w5

The whole Schnee family has the same enneagram tritype in different order/different wings, it's ridiculous I think she has a higher Te than Weiss, and Fi inf fits her more. She struggles more to reconcile with her emotions and the idea of a personal right/wrong than her little sis.

Penny • ENFP 4w3 6w7 9w1 sx/so

Perfect example of a healthy 4, she's a great friend a cutie pie. ... Sorry we were talking about MBTI x) Well again, textbook ENFP. Not much to debate here.

Whitley • 3w4 1w9 6w5?

Not enough material for me to guess a MBTI type correctly either, sorry... I could see some kind of xNTJ yea but it's really just vibes and not enough concrete.

➸ Antagonists and Extras

Cinder • 8w7 3w4 6w5

Never cared to guess her MBTI type. I hereby type her as insufferable qkfqskfq. More seriously, I don't really know sorry Anon :/

Emerald • 2w3 ?w? ?w?

I never got Fe vibes from her tbh, I just think she's a 2. And Fe as a function is very infused with 2 stereotypes. So yea. Like, she isn't even that worried about the morality of her actions or anything more than the other villains. She just cares more about her personal relationships and being loved, so she automatically looks much nicer, especially with 2 mechanisms of trying to make herself useful and needed. Also because she's surrounded by 8-ish people xD

Mercury • 8w9 7w8 ?w?

ISTP doesn't sound too farfeteched, but I never MBTI-typed him either, sorry.

+

Bartholomew Oobleck • xSxJ 5w4

The only vibe he gave me is Si somewhere because of all his talks about learning from the past and everything repeats itself and it's a mine of informations at Mountain Glen... That's really the only time I tried to put down anything for him, and it was Si + 5. He could be some kind of xNTP nerd too for sure, but that's more vibe and I couldn't make an actual argument for it.

[yazthebookish]

Hey I wasn’t sure if my ask went through, my phone has been acting up but hope u don’t mind if I send another ask😂 if it actually did go through just ignore this hahahaa

so I saw ur other post abt how should femininity be defined and I just wanna put my two cents into this. This is only my opinion others might view it differently, so please correct me if I’m wrong in anything, I’m willing to learn and get educated more!So here’s the thing, femininity is a social construct.

There’s gender and there’s sex. Sex are the biological traits that societies use to assign people into the category of either male or female, whether it be through genitalia, chromosomes or some other physical traits.

Gender is fluid, you could or not depend upon biological traits, it decides how society chooses to determine people into categories; it’s an understanding on how people view themselves, thus many people are not only limited to being a male or a female (ie. Trans, gender fluid/queer, etc) you could also determine gender as an identity, what a person feels and does and not by their biological traits.

Now this is where femininity and masculinity comes in, many people could confuse that with sex when it’s really not. This basically examines what Society deems appropriate “masculine” traits or “feminine” trait, thus being a social construct, because yet again femininity and masculinity is defined and determined by what the person feels comfortable in, ie. A person with a beard wearing makeup, does not make them any less feminine neither make them any less masculine (see how I chose not to put in any gender) it’s what they feel most comfortable in. Another one is our beloved nesta and gwyn whom we see has a very soft side but will cut a bitch if something were happen, just because girls fight does not mean that it makes them any less feminine bcz in the next few pages they’ll be wearing pretty gowns and dresses to make u feel stupid for thinking that.

Sex-are biological traits that have been defined by society

Gender-are cultural definition on what being feminine and masculine, which then influences a persons identity (she, her, they, them, he, him, etc)

Sexuality-is the sexual orientation of a person (het, queer, bi, gay, lesbian, etc.)

So saying a person does not look feminine makes you look stupid because you are not one to define a persons identity. My girls gwyn, nesta and emerie could neither be feminine neither masculine just because they fight but choose to wear pretty dresses. Do not feed into the society’s norm in grouping us in black and white when there are many beautiful and different colors out there! Which is why I think we shouldn’t put other characters down to add more into ur fav character by defining whether they’re not feminine enough. I personally headcanon emerie as a she/they but that does not define a person into being more feminine or more masculine, because it’s a social construct.

I’ve seen so many people get called misogynistic for not liking elain for being feminine but liking gwyn and shipping her with az more, babes I don’t like her because we never got to see enough of her, not bcz she keeps farting flowers and roses. Again what defines elain being feminine but not gwyn, nesta and emerie? I already wrote the answer before I asked the question. Nothing.

Hello!🤍

You addressed all the right points!

It's tiring to see this argument being brought up and as you said grouping it into either black or white.

It's a very broad term and for it to be defined to specific traits is.. I don't know what to even call that.

There are many reasons to why I do not like Elain and it's not even for a ridiculous reason such as a "ship" or because she's "more feminine".

I could have said this better honestly 👏🏼

[noctusfury]

hi -- saw that you rb'ed a post from ao3commentoftheday and added your own two cents abt writing for a smaller audience, and i wanted to ask, if you don't mind: i started writing again last year 'cause i wanted to impress these big-shot fandom people and along the way, maybe befriend them. except one year later and that plan has spectacularly backfired in my face; to a point where i want to turn off commenting on all my fics so i won't be tempted to befriend anyone in fandom ever again 1/2

Before I start, I’d like to say thank you, anon, for coming by and sending me this. You’re officially the first person to send me an ask. So thanks for that.

And I’m sorry to hear about your struggles. But let me ask you something: Are you wanting to gain their attention to make friends, or are you trying to get their attention for other reasons?

The thing is, the reason why one must write for one’s self, rather than for others, is because if you don’t, you’ll end up having a great amount of stress and get angry, anxious, frustrated, or depressed because you’re not supposedly fulfilling the goals that you’ve set up for yourself. I, for one, am one of those people. There are still days where I get mad because I squander many hours daily on procrastination and on social media, when I was wanting to write fanfiction. The fact of the matter is... readers are greatly understanding of the struggles that a writer has and won’t judge you or pressure you needlessly. 

And trust me, friend, there’s been days where I’ve spent hours daydreaming about how popular my stories will become and I’ll have my readers gifting me fanarts and fanfics based on them. The problem is that in order to get that, one must earn it. And in order to earn it, one must sit down and write to the best of one’s ability, whilst ignoring peer pressure that shouldn’t exist. Only when fanfics get written that one is able to attract people of like-mind as yours. And, if you’re blessed enough, the occasional fan comes by and loves your story or characters so much that they gift you with something. But you have to get your stories on paper first. lol XD

But at the end of it all, at the heart of the matter, it’s an ego and pride thing. Most people WANT to be recognized and praised for their stories. It’s natural. But at the end of the day, it’s fickle and leaves you empty. It’s like gorging yourself on chocolate and getting yourself high, only for it to go and you’re left with nothing but the wrapper and no chocolate left to eat. :’( So, as annoying as it may sound to hear the “write for yourself” speech (as it did me), there’s a good reason to listen to that advice.

Then there’s the fear of your stories not getting accepted because they’re about tropes or plots or characters or pairings that aren’t mainstream. (I actually have MANY story ideas that branch from the mainstream and there are times when I worry that they won’t be popular. Until I saw just how sorely the Fandom needed such content.) I mean, most of my “fanfics” are basically fanfic poetry — a genre few people are interested in. So I didn’t think that I’d get anybody. However, I’ve had a lot of people come by and comment how much they love them and there have been even a few that stated that they hated poetry because they usually weren’t written well, but after reading my poetry, they began to start liking poetry and even begin to have a love for it and urged me to keep doing it. That’s just one example.

Would you like to know how I overcame this?

1) I read fanfiction to learn what made a good fanfic, and what made a bad one. And what people liked or didn’t like. And I’ve learned a lot.

2) I made sure to leave long and quality reviews to authors I greatly liked.

3) I corrected my mindset and my goals and my motives.

Actually, if you’re looking to befriend “big-shot” authors, then simply going out of your way to send a nice PM or “ask me anything” message (like what you’ve done just now), or even a quality review. Never underestimate the power of a good review or PM. Don’t be surprised when you have a couple of “big-shots” come by and thank you and then all of a sudden you end up PMing each other and become good acquaintances if not good friends with that author. At the end of the day, they’re ordinary people like us — not gods. ;-)

There’s a good story that comes with that. I, myself, have had several instances where I’ve became good friends or acquaintances with popular authors by just the simple action of leaving a kind and quality and helpful review or a PM. Even had a couple from readers who liked my nonfiction for certain Fandoms. But oftentimes, I leave behind a really great review and then the author comes by and is just so grateful and then, without us knowing it, we grew to chatting and PM-ing each other and become great acquaintances or even friends. In fact, there was one such “big-shot” writer who, after reading my review, came to chat with me and eventually asked me to beta their updates, to which I agreed.

Cke1st, one of those authors whom I’ve become close with, was an author whom I had read almost since he first started writing fanfiction. First as a Guest Reviewer, and later once I had an account and followed him. If I remember correctly, I had sent him a PM to ask him a question concerning one of his stories, and then we eventually fell to chat and exchanged PMs. To this day, we’ve been good acquaintances, and I still read and re-read his works. And I am still writing him reviews and PMs when I get around to it.

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The thing that we must all keep in mind when wanting to interact with this “big-shot” writers is this: Do we want to be friends with them? For me, I was lucky in meeting people who had similar views and passions as I. But not everyone is like that.

An important and old saying that my mother had taught me growing up at an age when I struggled to make friends was “in order to have a good friend, you must BE a good friend.” The same applies here. If you’re wanting these authors to befriend you, you must make the effort to befriend them. If you’re wanting to establish a bond with them, then continue sending them PMs or reviews. Make the effort to communicate. If you feel like you don’t want to continue a conversation, then end it and move on to another one. Or if you just want to not be acquaintances or friends with that author, then stop PM-ing — or even reviewing if you want to go that far.

Also, be aware of time and commitment. How much time and commitment are you willing to invest in building a relationship with that author? How much time do you have to spare? How much time do you want to socialize versus writing your stories? We need to remember that sadly, as “big-shot” writers, they’re going to be busy — both with their stories and with their personal lives. So if they decide to befriend you, that’s a BIG compliment. And then, of course, there’s US — we also have to think about our own lives. But like with me and Cke1st, to reuse an example, there’s a lot of times where we start conversations and he decides to stop replying. I don’t take it personally, because I know that he’s trying to get writing done between his job at the railroad with psycho co-workers, on top of having a family of his own to take care of. I, myself, am busy at times, and thus aren’t able to review as often as I would like. Plus, health and energy are also contributing factors in my day-to-day life. 

And because these writers will be busy a lot of the time, it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to read your stories. A lot of writers end up being too busy to read fanfiction anymore, and not many are able to do both. I, myself, have had to drop reading fanfiction often in order to write fanfiction (which I fail and end up procrastinating and end up getting myself distracted with socializing). So if you DO end up having a big-name writer coming by to leave a kudos or even a review on your stories, then treasure it and make sure that you THANK the person!

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So, in conclusion, I would encourage you to keep writing and try your best, and write for yourself, or else it would be better for you to just remain a reader. If you still wish to attract people to your stories then make sure your writing is quality, that you take your time with it, use betas to help get second opinions and get your stories better, and breathe life into your stories. Trust me, a reader can SMELL and NOTICE when a writer isn’t taking their stories seriously and are being hap-hazard with it. They can even tell a writer’s motives just by how they write their stories or author’s notes.

So just be yourself. And be a good friend. And put yourself out there: leave a PM and/or a review, or offer a virtual “hey, how are ya, would you like to be friends” handshake. That is the only way to grow. :-)

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So sorry for this being so long, and I’m not sure if I’ve answered your question to your satisfaction or not, but I hope that this helps you. And thanks again, anon, for coming by and asking. That’s the first step. ^_^