#author ranting

[bamsara]

I think that one thing people fail to understand is that unsolicited literary criticism coming from an online stranger who is reading with no knowledge of what the authors intended goal is, is not going to be received the same as say: the authors beta reader or friends who know what the authors intended goal and has the sufficient knowledge and input to help the author reach that desired outcome.

"But I'm only trying to be helpful" How do I know you have the knowledge and literary skill for you to be able to actaully do that when we don't know each other and you are essentially a stranger to me? Are you applying this criticism based out of personal biased experience and desire to see the story or characterization be driven in another direction or tweaked, or do you know the author's intentions for the character? If the story is incomplete, are you basing your criticism of a character on the incomplete narration with only partial information available of them or are you building up a report until the story's completion? Did the author provide you with the information needed to make a fully informed criticism?

Have you discussed with the author what their plans are or are you assuming them based off the narration, especially if the narration is proven or implied to be unreliable or missing key points of the plot? Are you unbiased enough to help them reach their desired outcome for the characters and story regardless of your personal feelings towards the characters/antagonists and setting? Can you handle being told your specific input isn't wanted because you're a reader and/or have no written anything relating to their genre or topic? Do you understand and respect that the author's personal experiences might influence their writing and make it different than how you would have done it personally? Do you understand if an author only wants input from a specific demographic relating to their story?

If it's for fanfiction or other hobby media, are you holding a free hobby to a professional standard? Are you trying to give criticism because you feel like the author has produced 'subpar job performance' of their fic? Are you viewing their work as a personal intimate outlet or something that must conform with mass media? Are you applying rules and guidelines when the fic is shared for simple sharing sake? Is your criticism worded appropriately and focused on the parts where the author has requested input on rather than a general dismissal and or disapproval?

Have you put yourself in a place where you assumed you have the input needed for the story to evolve better, or have you asked what the author needs and what they're having trouble with? Can you handle having your criticism rejected if the author decides their story doesn't need the change and not take it as a personal offense against your character? Are you crossing that boundary because you think you are doing the author a favor? Are you trying to be helpful, or do you just want to be?

I think sometimes when people hear authors go 'please don't give me unsolicited writing advice or criticism' they automatically chalk it up to 'this author doesn't want ANY constructive feedback on their stuff at all' and not "i already have trusted individuals who will help me with my writing goals and- hey i don't know you like that, please stop acting so overly familiar with me'

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

I am incredibly serious right now when I beg you all, please, and if you have Twitter or Tiktok or whatever to please spread the word: click on an author's profile on Ao3.

You want to know if an author has written more? Want to know if they're still writing? Want to see more from them? Want to know if they've written a trope or kink or sex scenario you enjoy?

Click on their name. And look at their profile.

I cannot tell you how many times in the last six months someone has read a new or newer fic of mine and said they (a new reader who has read nothing else I've done) "can't wait to see what you do next!" I've written 50+ fics and over a million words already.

"I don't know if you're still writing..." click on my profile. I am. I literally wrote a 128k+ fic for that ship last month.

"Would you ever do X?" "Please do Y!" I already did. Click on my name and look at my works.

Archive of our Own is a library. It's an archive. Not social media. It is your responsibility to fight back against the laziness that corporate algorithms have trained into you.

Click my author name. Just click it. Just click it.

Before you demand more, or ask if a writer will do XYZ, or wonder if the author still writing, or anything - click on their profile. Click on the author's profile.

I'm not trying to be mean or condescending or anything like that. I'm just exhausted. It's disheartening and frustrating to repeat myself ad nauseam, because someone couldn't take thirty seconds to do the tiniest bit of work to see if I've written lately, if I've written more for their ship, or scan my works to see if I've written what they're asking for. Please. Please. I'm begging.

Click the author's name, and explore before you ask.

[millaniumcat]

"But we need to separate the art from the artist..."

NO. STOP.

"Separating the art from the artist" and "death of the author" does not mean what most people think it means, and i am so sick of people using this as an excuse for an artists horrible behaviour. Yes, i am looking at you, J.K Rowling and Till Lindemann (and so many more.)

"Death of the author" is a LITERARY THEORY that argues that the meaning of a piece of art is determined by the readers interpretation, not the authors intention. It is a TOOL used by LITERARY STUDIES to determine the meaning of a piece of art.

It is not a good argument in an everyday discussion about problematic authors. And it is certainly not an excuse for people to keep supporting artists (and art!) that are queerphobic, transphobic, anti-feminisitc, antisemitic and misogynistic.

And no, "separation of artist and art" is not a reason to ignore the problematic views of the author that are INHERENTLY INCOPORATED in the art.

DO NOT EVER use "death of the author" or "separate art from artist" as an excuse. It is not.

[frownyalfred]

“Bookmarks are for readers, I can say whatever I want in them” has the same energy as “I can say whatever I want in public, it’s not illegal.”

Like yeah, you can technically say whatever you want in public. But you’re not free from people judging you or being upset with what you say.

Which is to say. If you’re being a dick in the public bookmarks of someone’s fic, yes people are allowed to be upset. And no, you’re not cool or edgy or “honest.” You’re just an asshole who doesn’t know what a private bookmark is.

[doumadono]

ANNOUNCEMENT

This is a turning point for me. I've been silent for too long, but I can't stay quiet anymore.

I'm going through writer's burnout, and it has hit me hard. I've been writing on Tumblr and Ao3 for nearly eight years now (with about 1.5 years on my private blog, doumadono). Over that time, I've written more than 400 stories across various fandoms, created the Sinful Sunday event and a series that many people like, helped many with numerous emergency requests — so many that one masterlist wasn't enough to cover them all.

But all of this has brought me to a place where writing no longer feels like a joy, but rather a duty. In my effort to make everyone happy, I lost myself and took on too much, accepting even the most twisted and difficult requests. It made me anxious and unwell whenever I thought about writing. This is why I haven't been posting much these past few weeks. I missed the breaking point and let myself reach a place where I was seriously considering quitting writing altogether and closing both my Tumblr and Ao3 accounts.

There's something else I need to address. I feel completely detached from Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer. I no longer feel comfortable writing for those fandoms. From now on, I'll be focusing mostly on My Hero Academia. Even though the manga recently ended, both the manga and the anime hold a special place in my heart. I’ve fallen in love with the story and its amazing characters. This is what feels right to me at this moment. That doesn't mean I'll never write for Demon Slayer or other fandoms again, but not now, not at this time. Maybe in the future — who knows?

Some of you might know that I've been dealing with a flood of hateful anonymous messages. Even though I’ve grown stronger and no longer consider them relevant, it still hurts to read such nasty words. This is another factor why I need to take a break.

So, what's going to change?

Sinful Sunday will no longer cover requests, and the event won't be as regular as it used to be. From now on, I'll post some sinful pieces specifically written for this event whenever I feel it's right. I'll write only for the characters I feel attached too.

Emergency requests will be limited to two slots and will no longer have a 48-hour window to be fulfilled. Once both slots are taken, emergency requests will be closed until I manage to clear the current asks in my inbox.

As of today, my ask box has been completely cleared. I won't be replying to any past asks, regardless of their origin or topic.

Commissions will remain open, as nearly all the requests have been fulfilled.

Regarding the following projects:

The Kvitravn series will be completed this year, but I can't provide a specific date just yet as I'm still working hard to bring everything together.

There's also a new series on the horizon featuring Dabi in the lead role, with a psychiatrist!Reader as the other main character.

As for Kinktober, I made a hard decision it will not be held as an event on my blog this year at all.

As of now, I want to focus on my own little My Hero Academia based AU that I created with my best friend @crystalwolfblog , and this is something that brings me a lot of comfort nowadays, and it's what I want to focus on. I’ll likely create another blog to post everything related to this AU, to keep things organized (the blog will be linked to my pinned post). This little AU was and is my safe haven for the past year and half, and since it contains all of my favourite characters, I want to focus on it fully.

The time for purification has come. I need to rediscover my purpose and find joy in writing again. To those who understand and have stuck with me since the ThePaperPanda days — you’re amazing and adorable, and I can never express how much I appreciate you, guys 💞

I want to share one last thought. This isn’t a statement, but rather a plea to readers: please respect writers, no matter the content they choose to explore. Writing is not as easy as it may seem; it requires a significant amount of time and effort, often taking up our personal time to craft a story. Don't send anon hate. Spread love instead! The least you can do to show your appreciation is to leave a comment, even if it’s just a word or two. For you, it’s a small gesture that takes less than a minute, but for the writer on the other side, it may be a much-needed sign that their work is meaningful. So if you enjoy an author’s work, don’t hesitate to leave a comment. It truly makes us writers feel like we’re on cloud nine.

Love you all, Marcianna

[mithrilhearts]

Fanfic is supposed to be fun first and foremost.

The amount of disrespect I have seen lately regarding creators is both shocking and disgusting, especially when coming from other creators, and I honestly can't stay quiet about it any longer.

Maybe I'm looking at a lot of this very closely considering I've recently taken an indefinite break from one part of creating I once really enjoyed due to such disregard for my time and effort (rip gif making), but to see such careless comments and treatment for fic authors too??? BY OTHER FIC AUTHORS???

Isn't the world already cruel enough? We should be inviting in positivity and appreciation for the works of others. To celebrate the victories and accomplishments around something that is already nerve wrecking enough as it is. We should not be cultivating a circle where tearing authors apart is acceptable, regardless of if you liked a story or not.

Would you want it done to your works???

Fandom spaces should be fun. Fanfic is a free thing, typically done in what little free time we writers have, and shared with other people for the sake of having FUN. We are not professionals. This is not our full time job. We are not paid for it. Yet to treat fanfic like a professional literary circle is just...wrong. Criticism (constructive only, and when asked for it) is fine, and if you want to shit talk in your DMs to someone else, go for it, but to outright tear someone apart for their FREE fanfic that they wrote to HAVE FUN and ENJOY the fandom with other people in a public space for all eyes (including the author themselves) to see?

Gross.

We are all from different walks of life, and have different experiences that impact why we may or may not go about fic a certain way. Some of us don't speak English as our first language, and some don't go about having a beta reader, or are on a time crunch for an event, etc. You don't know someone's life, and have zero right to talk down another creator because they don't meet your small narrow-minded criteria of what is “good”. What's “bad” and “tear apart” worthy to you, may be a gem of a story to someone else.

There is no room for “if you hated xyz's work, come talk about it with us!”, and if this is something you feel is welcome in any community, fandom, social setting....DO BETTER.

 And do not interact with me.

[vyunok-obyknovenniy]

Really happy with how she turned out! I decided to give her some naiad features, inspired by this post and it was really fun! I hc that she can breathe underwater (even though she doesn't have gills. Do naiads have gills?), although I am not sure if she can do it freely or for a limited amount of time 🤔

The fabric piece covering her chest was loosely inspired by 18th century neckerchiefs, because I wasn't sure how the Mycenaean open chest fashion would fly with the censorship here or on other platforms ¯⁠\⁠_(•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

[silly-boi-broski]

"I wrote this book for a few reasons: Because I wanted more stories about boys like me. Because I was angry. Because I still am. But mainly, I wanted to show queer kids that they can walk through hell and come out alive. Maybe not in one piece, maybe forever changed, but alive and worthy of love all the same. "That's what you'll find here. Terrible things, survival, love, and a future worth fighting for. "Sharpen your teeth, take up your fire, and let's do this."

"For the kids who sharpen their teeth and bite."

I will never be over this book, bro. Just looking back at the author note makes me want to reread it again and I've read it 5 times now. It's a book that makes me want to scream and cry and throw it across the room and vomit up my insides and finally yell at the people who hurt me in the past. It makes me want to reach out to the people I used to know because it reminds me of them. Because Theo reminds me of one of my old best friends because Benji reminds me of myself and so many other beautiful and hurt and angry people because Nick reminds me that I'm not the only one going through this shit right now, that just because I'm neurodivergent doesn't mean I'm automatically weak or broken or less than even though that's what so many people that I grew up around want me to belive. This book makes me feel so many fucking things at once, and I don't understand half of them, but I have never felt so seen. I have never felt so real and understood. I have exhausted my friends of sharing about it and gushing it, but I don't care because it's a book about boys like me and I can't get enough of it. For fucks sake, I could already recite half of the god damned bible verses in the book and it made me cringe everytime but it made me feel so fucking seen because I know that I'm not alone in thinking like that. I know other people know that pain of not being able to get away from those verses and quotes, no matter how hard I try.

Andrew Joseph White has tickled my brain and touched my heart in so many fucking ways with his writing, and I don't know how to feel about it, but I know for one thing now, no matter how much shit is thrown at me. I am not alone, because I am one of the kids who needs to sharpen their teeth, and bite.

[some-messed-up-writing-for-you]

No greater horror than going to reread one of your favourite fics only to realize it was fucking deleted.

BUT THEN YOU REMEMBER THAT YOU SAVED IT ALL A WHILE BACK AND FIND THE SAVED COPY

So now Im just staring at the fucking PDF file of the fic, absolutely flabbergasted and shocked. This is it. This is the only way I'll ever be able to read it now. Holy shit 😭

The author deleted their entire accout too, so I guess they just wanted to get rid of everything. Which, I mean, is fine, it is their work after all. They can do whatever they want with it.

BUT MAN, Im gonna be saving stuff all the time from now on.

[chronically-ghosted]

day before a 5 day holiday weekend. office empty. got me thinking thoughts.

[bicheetopuff]

AND ANOTHER THING one of the major factors of the manga (which a lot of people thought thought felt unfinished, me included) was creating a society that encourages equal treatment and understanding no matter what your quirk or circumstance is in order to prevent the rebirth of villains. I’m just going to remind you that Deku could’ve easily grown up to be a villain or at least a very hateful person given the childhood he had.

He started the story quirkless, him and Katsuki kept referring to OFA as a “borrowed power” AND the vestiges even warned him that he’d probably be the last user. DEKU LOSING OFA AND BEING A QUIRKLESS HERO HAS BEEN FORESHADOWED FOR YEARS!!

Given Shoji and Ochako fighting for quirk equality and creating a new quirk counseling program, those two things can easily lead to a future with more quirkless heroes. I think it’s fitting that Deku does his part by setting an example and being someone quirkless children can look up to. Not to mention it can also easily lead to less people looking down upon quirklessness and preventing another child from going through the same things Deku had to as a child.

It’s never been just about preventing children from growing up to become villains, it’s preventing any form of inequality like making sure students aren’t put on such a high pedestal at such a young age (a mistake made with Katsuki), assuring that it’s taught that people are still people no matter their quirk (something Shoji, Deku, Toga, and Shigaraki all suffered the consequences of due to its lack), and making sure that no entity is so powerful that an entire society is dependent on it (which is why it’s so important that OFA and AFO die together. All Might making OFA so powerful that people looked at him as deity causing some people to even try to challenge him and being impossible to beat to everyone but his direct counterpart - AFO ie the “Demon Lord”… literally God vs Devil especially given the religious history behind the saying “one for all and all for one”).

All of this to say, it’s frustrating that people are upset about things that actually WERE hinted at but aren’t upset about the real inconsistencies and unfinished background arcs that presented themselves at the end. There are so many other things about the end that people could be upset about and I’d be able to understand but, being upset about deku losing OFA and being a teacher before becoming a quirkless hero? How did the story fly that far above your head?

[collophora]

Fic rec today is Chips on the Fritz by @scarletv0id MintyEcco on AO3

This is one of the rare fic where Wrecker talks with Crosshair about his chip, a small but nice fic pls read it and give some love on it éuè <3

[frownyalfred]

“if readers take the time to leave comments on fics, then authors should at least take the time to reply.”

gently pats you on head. Babe. They already wrote the fic. For free. They gave you thousands of words to be judged and criticized. They don’t owe you anything on top of that.

[doumadono]

"Hellish Todoroki Family - Finale" rant

I am indeed very unhappy and discontent with the "Hellish Todoroki Family - Finale" chapter. Although I'm relieved that Touya is still alive and had the opportunity to confront his family, the execution of the chapter felt incredibly rushed and rough around the edges. With only four chapters remaining, it's hard to imagine how the story can be steered back to a satisfying conclusion that honors or resolves the villains' plotlines in any meaningful way 🤷

Touya's journey has been one of the most poignant and complex within the series, and to see his narrative potentially reduced to a hurried wrap-up is disheartening. What he truly deserved was more than just a mere acknowledgment from his family; he deserved to forge a real connection, especially with his siblings. The hope now is that the author leaves his story at a point where Touya can just be—without the looming threat of a dramatic "funeral" or tearful "last goodbyes."

All Touya ever needed was the chance to heal with his family, to be acknowledged by them. It's these quieter, more personal reconciliations that could offer real closure to his character. Moving forward, I just want to believe that he, Rei, and Fuyumi can have those heartfelt conversations. I hope his family visits him every day, allowing them all to slowly 'rebuild' the bonds that were so tragically broken. It would be fitting for Touya’s family to consistently and supportively remain by his side, regardless of the time they have left together. I hope Shoto shares soba with his nii-san. This is what would truly honor Touya's character and provide a genuine resolution to his deeply emotional storyline.

I just find myself caught in a tumultuous middle ground between sheer joy and profound sadness.

[milomilesmib]

Does anyone else get rlly annoyed with PJO fanfics when they refer to characters as "the [size they are] [race they are]" like when they refer to Leo as "the tiny Latino" or Nico as "the scrawny Italian" or Frank as "the big Asian" like we know their size and race why the fuck does that matter to tell the story. It's an instant turnoff for me when they describe characters this way because I just. Do not care. If you're going to describe their size or their race, because as a writer I recognise that is often necessary for immersing your readers in the story, do so respectfully or don't do so at all because quite frankly I am sick of reading a fic only to be jump scared by "the tiny Latino elf"