#bc it's just shitty like the authority figure needs to be called out but ppl are already starting to and i didn't want to be the one

[kulekrizpy]

my friend/ex was really upset yesterday. his body is all messed up from various injuries, he needs dental work. i told him to call out of work bc he wasn’t going to get any sleep before his shift

he moved near his hometown with some planning but not a lot. he wants to go to school. but he won’t have in-state tuition since he was living in my state prior to moving. he works really hard at work but it’s physical labor and it only makes his health issues worse. he also doesn’t want to move up to a less labor-intensive position :/ he honestly needs to take medical leave

and he’s upset with my brother for various reasons, but last night he was drinking and it all came out and he messaged my brother and my mother about how upset he was about my brother breaking something of mine and not paying in full to replace it. he’s struggling with money on his own and he resents my brother for having a cushy job that he complains about and flouts authority on. in many ways my brother IS entitled and probably WOULD benefit from being punched in the face at least once for his shitty political views, especially bc my ex is genderqueer. but he has definitely not spoken frankly about it with my brother

speaking of which, now he’s in a less accepting place and tho he “toned down the queer” he still gets looks from ppl and it’s stressing him out a lot. he worries about going thru backroads in case his car breaks down and someone kills him

all his friends from back home are druggies or complete deadbeats or both and he’s had a falling out with everyone since he moved. he’s also worried one of his older friends won’t live beyond this year. so now all the friends he does rely on are in my area and not his and he’s very lonely and isolated. and that also means i’m his best friend rn, which he’s told me several times

a week or so ago he wanted to make a risky and illegal change in career and after i told him i wouldn’t have been friends with him anymore if he decided to do it, he told me he still wants to fuck me. when i told him i can’t be casual with him anymore so don’t say that, he said he didn’t say it properly and that he meant he wants to be with me, eventually. and it’s just a whole fucking thing. he can’t even articulate what he wants. i told him not to mention it again unless he was sure and confident he could actually be a good partner to me. and i told him i need time to get over him too

and last night, we were chatting and i realized he’d been drinking, and he’s in a negative spiral/combative. he messaged my family. i told him he should wait til the morning and he did it anyway. at that point i said whatever. the call dragged on for hours tho he needed to sleep for work. he was in such a state i didn’t feel comfortable getting off the phone with him in case he did something very risky, like driving drunk or idk what else. he talked about wanting to lay down on some train tracks…

AND he called me again at work the other day. like. on the work phone. he used to work there but it’s just… not professional. feels weird. esp bc he was doing it cuz he was drunk. told him to text or call my phone next time

he gets drunk and disregards boundaries. bc he also mentioned the dating thing last night while we were talking. and when i told him not to he sidestepped and kept going on about whatever rant. and he just argues abt everything when he’s drunk. DUMB shit. like me taking my bike apart to store it easier. like bruh leave me alone ??

in the end he called out of work, then talked to his sister and i guess she convinced him to drive up instead of doing something dumber. i asked if he was sober enough and he said yeah. which he would’ve said no matter what i’m sure :|

so. he got to his family’s place and i guess i’ll see him today sometime. i told him i don’t want to drink and my brother doesn’t wanna drink with him either, so we’ll avoid that at our house at least

he’s trying, but he’s also falling back on stupid habits. i just hope he can figure out how to get the help he needs

and i need to figure out how to keep my boundaries

the cats woke me up earlier. i need to sleep more before i see him. good night

[aclosetfan]

I’d argue the worst part of ‘violent perv’ Butch is it reflects how the author views the girls, especially Buttercup. These are girls who have good in their heart and stand for what’s right, why would they keep around a guy who is constantly fighting and constantly horny (and gross about it)? Why do they (and it’s usually BC) never see themselves as deserving better and just accept that Butch is the guy they’re meant to fall for/be with? WHERE’S THE PROFESSOR HE WOULDN’T ALLOW THIS? Surely Miss Bellum or Ms Keane would intervene at this point seeing as they intervened once upon a time. It just makes my feel icky for the girls and sad they’d have to end up with that kind of Butch, especially when in terms of BC, it’s just to quickly push the greens together so the focus can go back to the reds being absolute gods. On a better note, I love your additions!! Especially escargot I love the thought that it’s forbidden food at the rowdy home.

EXACTLY.

In terms of Buttercup, it’s always the most annoying thing in the world. It disregards any character growth she went through in the show regarding her aggression, highlights her personality when she was groomed by ace, and ignores how important her family’s opinion is to her. Ppl always make her excessively violent or verbally degrading towards Butch (ig as Butch’s punishment even tho it never fixes the behavior), and I’m there like 🫢🫢 “is it suppose to be funny??” “are they going to get over themselves??”

I don’t know if ppl enjoy it for the “taming the beast” fantasy, but the taming part is always like:

Butch sat at the bar. His drink was empty. A girl across the way was looking at him.

I should fuck her, he thought. She’s was a ten and so obviously desperate for his attention, but he knew her type of girl and he wasn’t interested anymore.

Wait!? He wasn’t interested anymore? When did that happen?

He thought of Buttercup. She was an unlikeable bitch, who was still feminine and hot. She was also the one bitch who could kick his ass and drink him underneath the table. And she was mouthy. He liked mouthy. And he wanted her, but she was always saying no to him. How was he supposed to sleep with her, if she was too strong to fight off his advances?

He slammed his drink down on the bar.

He was done being a playboy. He needed to find Buttercup.

And then it’s like:

“Butterbitch, I love you.”

“No, fuck you. I bet you have a small dick. I’m badass and you suck.” Buttercup said with feminine tears in her eyes because she was badass but still a girl. She struggled against his rougher masculine body as he pinned her to a wall. This surprised her because she was so strong and tough, and no one—no man—could hold her down.

A wolfish smile spread across his face because Butch was a lone wolf kind of bad boy, “you wanna bet?”

[aggressive but incredibly vanilla sex scene]

And then it’s like:

“Blossom, me and asshole had sex, so I guess he’s my friend-with-benefits now. I’m still feminine, but not as feminine as you, so the sex is rough. Also, we’re both too cool for labels, even though the plot is clearly setting us up as a couple, so if you call him my boyfriend before the shitty half paragraph 15 chapters from now establishing that, I will punch a hole through your downtown hip loft and storm out.”

“As long as you don’t cuss, I will literally never care about or hear anything you ever say to me, Buttercup.“ Blossom rolled her eyes, “Now, I’m too busy to focus on your boyfriend. Unfortunately, his older, hotter, and more mature older-dad-brother has figured out a riddle the fanfic author spent two minutes googling, and has demonstrated that he’s smarter then me. This is distressing because I find his degrading, patronizing gloating hot.”

“HE’S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!” Buttercup growled like a wild woman, punching a wall. Her green eyes sparked with fury, but the look was nothing like Blossom’s. Her incredibly pink globes cut Buttercup like ice, reminding them all that she had ice powers and stopping Buttercup in her tracks. Buttercup was intimidated, which, for the 100th time in this story, showed that while Buttercup was supposedly the toughest, wildest, and most violent powerpuff girl, Blossom was still the better one in charge.

A second ticked by before Buttercup stormed out.

“I’ll never understand why she hates me,” Blossom sighed, a single tear running down her left cheek, “I need to call Brick.”

“I’ll always be there for—“ Bubbles tried to say something from her corner of the room after the author realized they had forgotten to mention her in awhile.

“Bubbles, stop. Don’t get involved. Please,” Blossom smiled sadly because she was always sad and had ice powers and the weight of the world on her shoulders, “shouldn’t you be getting ready for your date with Boomer, the nice brother we also haven’t mentioned in awhile?”

“Boomie!” Bubbles cried, snuggling her stuff animals because she was mentally still a child, “You’re not dumb!”

And he wasn’t. In fact, he had a degree in Astro physics he was just hiding for some reason or something. Idk, Brick was still smarter tho.

And then, to be extra salty, the fic reviews are always like:

rrbboyzlovrrs: this is LITERALLY the best thing I have ever read. Like butch is so hot and omg I love how you added the blues, so cute. >///< and go blossom!!!! She really went off!! I hope brick makes her feeelllll better~~ update soon!

[sexycontainmentprocedures]

/gallery/pJncP6W this is the imgur url also there was a post on reddit i can’t link it is it about you

Oh shit, that person just... posted my private DM. With no reply to me at all. WOW. (EDIT: See reblog, turns out they did reply but no they did not ask if they could just share all that shit with everyone)

WOW.

Today I learned "I would like to have an open and honest conversation with you" translates to "I want this posted publicly without receiving a response from you or giving my consent"

"It was, actually."

NO IT WASN'T.

***THIS RIGHT HERE IS MY PUBLIC STATEMENT THAT NO IT WAS FUCKING NOT SUPPOSED TO BE PUBLIC, NO REASONABLE PERSON INTERPRETS ASKING FOR A "CONVERSATION" AS ASKING FOR A PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT, AND I WAS NOT ASKED IF IT COULD BE SHOWN TO ANYONE MUCH LESS EVERYONE***

I'm honestly turning anon off, absolutely nothing against you here anon (or anyone else who is just confused or asking questions) this is just the final straw and I'm so so so tired of this nonsense

I'll make a video sometime before the 1-year anniversary of my ban from the wiki (trying to keep the bullshit confined to one year for whatever it's worth) I'm still not going to talk about these ppl by name bc that was meant to be a fucking private DM conversation with someone that I knew knew the names. and it's insane that they just. Posted it on Imgur. What the fuck.

[certifiedceraunophile]

Hi! A fan of your writing here. I just love the way you write Caroline. An Avoidable Heart is my comfort fic and I am constantly in awe with the way you write and craft the dynamics in that story. Caroline's inner monologue is just priceless and God! I just love that intro scene where Caroline is walking into the Mikaelson compound with vampires and hybrids in the surrounding ready to pounce on her.

I would love to hear how you would have visualized Caroline crossing over into TO or not? Like in what season and why? How it would have likely gone?

Thank you!

First of all lovely anon gimme a moment to breathe, asdfghjkl why are people so lovely 😭😭🥺✨ It means sooo much to me that you’d take the time to jump into my inbox and send these kind words, like please I’m not worthyyyyy, But you make me smile and feel really freaking warm so *handcuffs your hand to mine* you aint leaving 💖✨💞🙃

But OK ALSO oh my god dude THAT CAROLINE WALTZS INTO THE COMPOUND AND TAKES ON A COUPLE HUNDRED VAMPIRES BY HERSELF SCENE???? Ughhhhh I’m sorry but I have SUCH a boner for Caroline in that, like my badass -I admit kinda op- QUEEN IS HERE and she’s fucking shit up, I’m sorry but I love that scene so much it’s so dear to me I was killing myself over how self-indulgent and grossly Over powered Caroline is but like idgaf man it’s such a hot scene and Caroline is practically invincible and we just love to see that, so seriously lovely anon, you telling me you LOVE that scene??? Puts the biggest smile on my face and reassures me a LOT bc I was whining and cribbing over how absolutely unbalanced that scene is to literally everyone BUT LIKE YOU JUMPING OUT OF NOWHERE and pointing that exact scene UGHH…...meant to fucking be the both of us 💖💞✨

And ALSO Caroline’s monologue is quite honestly the easiest inner monologue out of the three voices I wrote for that work, Klaus’s is the real pain in the ass tbvh like it is NOT easy writing pretentious besotted losers with a Kardashian complex especially when you need to make them sound cool when they’re the lamest OP dude bros to ever exist - and no I don’t hate Klaus although I seem to try my darndest to convince ppl I do- I just personally believe that a feral fucker like that with a thousand years of existence under his belt can grow a pair and graduate from his kindergarten level of emotional maturity to adult sometime soon, But then on the flipside he’s so grossly adorkably smitten and feral for Caroline plus hella horny for her all the time that its usually easy to write the trashed and devoted idiot he is into something pretentious and powerful and potent when relating to his unflappable arrogance and his narcissism, but sometimes I also need him to be *deep* and ffs profound for the sake of the plot and jfc my muse just wont work with me on that, she’s like I’m sorry I’m not about to bust my ass to make this mongrel intelligible like no sir all I wanna do is make him uncomfortably horny for Caroline and leave him like that.

So smh yeah the struggle is real….but lmao Caroline is just so precious and fiercely protective and just so achingly lonely in that story, so desperate for connection and trust and intimacy yet so guarded and impervious to everyone like it hurts me to write her like that but it really challenges me as an author to balance out her inherent light with the “void” I create in her and through her, so yeah it’s a very fulfilling task and I wouldnt change it one bit, and also I had to balance out her physical op-ness w half a millennium of the ugliest emotional trauma lol so I guess that figures, but the point being….once again I am overjoyed knowing that you liked a facet of the story that I tried so hard to make as authentically Caroline and achingly real and moving as I can and I cannot possibly feel more accomplished than rn for it so ty ty ty ty for reaching out to me and telling me *tackle hugs* It makes me GIDDY knowing that you enjoyed that particular part of the story like ugh stab me please you're too sweet.

And ok NOW, coming to The Originals part of the ask, (also please note that when I say TO headcanon; Hope does not exist, Hayley is a dead in a ditch and ofc Klaus will stop being that lil bitch they tried to pawn off as Klaus in TO) 

HEADCANON 1

Honestly my biggest headcanon when it comes to TO crossovers somehow always include non-humanity!Caroline like it’s just so perfect to me?? The opportunity to make shit BLOW UP b/w them like imagine the DEBAUCHERY, the heat, the SEXUAL TENSION, the repression of one Klaus Mikaelson, the EXPLORATIONS, and omg the role reversal when Klaus has to be the voice of moral reason between them and not bc he believes Caroline would not be able to stand herself if she does something heinous and monstrous but bc he wants her to be completely and utterly herself, and yk *aware*, when she DECIMATES ppl to the ground and is in full-on predator mode, like he wants her monster to come out and play with him when no part of Caroline is locked away or suppressed, so obviously when she is w/o her humanity KLAUS exercises restraint on her behalf, like can you imagine that, Klaus restraining himself and being the vague, extremely broken and just largely inaccurate moral compass between the two of them for ALL the wrong reasons- and the entirety of NOLA just standing there watching him herd this baby vampire who seems to be intent on riling him up and angering him when all she is doing is giving him a massive hybrid hard on, like IMAGINE THE GOODNESS of non-humanity Caroline wrecking NOLA and Klaus letting her wreck it bc he is helpless in the face of Caroline Forbes and also bc he is quite honestly *enjoying* the debauchery himself so why put a damper on the festivities.

-I might wanna add that I favour this headcanon a lot bc I genuinely do not even remotely *like* the idea of NOLA as Klaus's chosen place to set his roots so like I would love Caroline going to NOLA and destroying everything there just bc I detest NOLA and the storyline behind it in TO. (yes is it petty? Obvi, but like I am a petty soul and I make no apologies ma’am)

HEADCANON 2

So yeah that’s my main TO headcanon, but my other one being, one I talk about very frequently, scream about in tag rants to an obsessive level, and like this is a cracky one but still very valid, where Caroline rolls up to NOLA humanity intact and all, finds Hayley preggo and is just laughing her fucking ass off bc anybody ANYBODY, with half a brain and a two minute convo w klaus would know how UTTERLY stupid the entire baby shit is especially when it’s with an immemorable one night stand, and Caroline’s just losing her shit about how like an entire city is obssessed w this baby and she just straight up tells Klaus he’d SUCK as a dad (which he really does tho like he was a shitty fucking dad canonically too) and Klaus is just like *sigh* girl tell me about it. I mean basically he’s finally relieved that someone is on his side about the whole baby thing and how he definitely does not want his entire millennium of life to finally sum up to this one squalling leaking stinky infant/unicorn Hayley is apparently baking in her oven, and I say this headcanon is cracky bc klaus would never have put up w this mess long enough for Caroline to come in and sort it out, there’s this preferred method of disposal of his called heart ripping that would've been employed quite early on and honestly saved us all a lot of brain cells and minused years of life, bc let’s be real any Klaus who’s NOT a lil snivelling bitch wearing a Klaus skinsuit would’ve yeeted the baby and the mama first chance he got, and that’s just how I see it.

Lmao I really hope I didnt scare you away w my *strong* opinions Ik they can be a bit much but I enjoy having them so theyre not going anywhere, anyways this ask answer got WAYYYY too long but I’m hoping I answered your question well with this or atleast left you slightly confused and bemused over my feral screaming....either ways I’m really really really happy to have got your ask and the chance to rant so much bs, Twas cathartic and honestly I had nothing to do today so I was more than happy to dish this baby out for you. Thank you so much sweet anon for putting a smile on my face today I am absolutely HONOURED by your words you’sa cutie 💖💞✨🗣🗣

[moonmothmama]

ok. so. The Princess Bride. i read it yesterday.

and right up front, before even a review, i’m gonna go ahead and list everything objectionable in the book that i can recall. please don’t take the length of the bullet pointed items to follow as an indication that the book was wildly problematic and offended me at every turn; it wasn’t and it didn’t. but there were some things that made me go: 😑 or 😒, and here it all is, presented with context, before anything else, because to be honest, i didn’t expect any of it. the film is relatively spotless, which is pretty rare for that era, and if any of you are thinking of reading it, you could do with being more prepared for this than i was.

first off, racism. two passing remarks. one isn’t even in the story proper; it’s in the first whole long intro bit from the author/narrator. that takes some explanation, i suppose: like in the film, the story is presented as a book having been written by “S. Morganstern,” except instead of a grandfather reading to his sick grandson, the narrator is interjecting with notes on the original text that he has abridged. the beginning is a whole long shpiel that, in my opinion, could have been significantly pared down with absolutely zero loss to the story (which! hey! the film did perfectly! go figure!). anyway, the first racist remark is an absolutely tasteless line in which the narrator pisses and moans about his fat son, making a crack about “painting him yellow” and making him a sumo wrestler. y i k e. the other passing remark is from Miracle Max (really, truly, the film version of this scene is miles better than the book version, but contains an important plot detail, so you should prob still read it, but i’ll give you the lowdown if you wanna skip). he refers to Iñigo as a sp*ck (rather bafflingly, i might add, bc Iñigo is a Spanish man... from Spain... not a Hispanic or Latino man from Latin America. so. i mean i’m certainly not an expert on slurs but... i have never in my life heard that term in reference to a person from Spain, and am virtually certain it was invented to refer to ppl from the americas) and in the same breath uses an objectionable term for a Polish person. sooo... again: y i k e. what gets me is that... these could’ve just been edited out? why weren’t they? i mean i know why but

fat shaming! see above. though to be honest, any true negativity about fatness is restricted to the author/narrator’s interjections; there are a few minor fat characters in the story and those depictions, without being too long-winded or spoilery, didn’t offend me (fyi: i’m fat). if you want the details, please feel free to message me about it.

if we can go back to the whole long beginning shpiel from the author/narrator, it’s just... eh. he comes off as kind of a jackass, tbh. not even halfway through it i found myself more than a little impatient for the story to begin, and that could be at least partly because the film spoiled me with a lovely, not annoying, not problematic scene of Granddad Columbo reading to Baby Fred Savage where no one made any racist remarks or ragged on fat kids. the basic gist, if you want to skip it, is that the author, as a kid, had this book read to HIM by his father, who was a Florinese immigrant, and nearly illiterate in English, but still labored over reading the English translation to his American-born son, who adored the book and requested it read to him dozens and dozens of times over the years, refusing to read it himself (though he read plenty of other books). as an adult, he buys his son the book, and is crushed when the son doesn’t like it. he then reads it for the first time, and realizes his father skipped over huge, boring blocks of text. he read his son only The Good Parts. so he decides to edit that shit out himself and release the abridged version he loves so much. add into that some complaining about his wife and some extra blah blah, and that’s pretty much it.

you remember the scene in the movie where The Man In Black/Westley almost slaps Buttercup for what he believes is lying? in the book he actually slaps her. not that his actions seem supported or endorsed by the text, but still, there you are. Buttercup does push him off a cliff soon after, though, so. i wouldn’t call that ‘even’ exactly but, shrug

Vizzini, in the book, has a fucky leg and his back isn’t quite straight, and he’s referred to repeatedly as a “humpback” or “hunchback” which needless to say is Not Kosher

that, as i recall, is it. i hope i’m not forgetting anything. now onto content/trigger warnings:

alcoholism. this shouldn’t be a surprise if you’ve seen the movie: Iñigo has some, shall we say, issues

Fezzik’s parents were... terrible. CPS would be all over them. spoiler: basically they emotionally blackmailed their son into fighting professionally, which they knew he hated, by telling him they’d abandon him if he didn’t

Buttercup has some kinda messed up (read: unsettling but in no way graphic) nightmares after leaving Westley when they’re found by Prince Humperdinck at the Fire Swamp, mostly involving bearing children to the Prince who she once again is set to marry

the slurs and whatnot i mentioned above

violence, obviously. nothing worse than the film as i recall.

that’s it i think. 

okay. all that said. did i enjoy the book? yes i did. a lot.

now, you might be thinking: jesus, Kathleen, after all the shit you just listed? and to this i reply: listen. there is no Unproblematic Media, so you either enjoy some things that are flawed, or you enjoy nothing at all. there is plenty of objectionable shit in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit! fucking plenty! and i love those books! and so do plenty of other people! in my own humble opinion, the good story is worth the shitty bits, because the shitty bits aren’t like, fundamental to the plotline. the story isn’t built on offensive humor or nasty, bigoted attitudes. and they’re also not the most egregious examples of Objectionable Content i’ve come across- not by a longshot. there are levels to offense. there are tiers of bullshit. this is on a far lower tier than a whole host of other things i could mention. but if any of this stuff i’ve listed crosses a line for you, i totally understand and respect that. that’s why i’ve bothered to list it at all. imo, how you respond to objectionable content is important: you don’t ignore it or excuse it, you acknowledge and criticize it. and if you still enjoy whatever the thing is, you allow yourself to enjoy it, without getting hissy or defensive with people for whom the objectionable content ruined the book/movie/whatever. 

there you go, there’s my disclaimer for having enjoyed the book. your mileage may vary.

okay. so. review time.

Buttercup is a far more interesting character in the book than the movie, for which the movie can’t be faulted all that much, because you can’t easily translate a character’s inner monologue/unspoken thoughts to the screen, especially not with the time limit that comes with the medium of film. but watching her struggle with her feelings and life choices (and... lack thereof, since her choice is between marrying the prince and being put to death, which isn’t much of a choice, even if she tries to reason it out later by telling herself she COULD have said no... and initially did) creates far more of a bond between her and the reader in the book than, personally, i felt watching the movie. also she has a great line after Westley calls her beautiful at their reunion- she says something like, ‘everyone’s always calling me beautiful, i have a mind too, why don’t you talk about that’

Both Westley and Buttercup are immature, naive, and foolish in the beginning, and if Westley strikes you as Extra Dickish, a) rewatch the film! he did act like a bit of a dick, there, didn’t he? b) remember that in the story he’s a young man between the ages of eighteen and twenty five, which in my considerable experience is the age at which young men are generally at their peak of Asshole. sorry dudes

and not that Buttercup herself is a complete peach! she deals very poorly with her emotions in general and acts kinda shitty herself once or twice. i won’t say too much lest i spoil everything that’s different between the film and the book.

Prince Humperdinck is also a more three dimensional character; still a rat bastard tho.

onto Fezzik and Iñigo.

as i have said in other blog posts, these boys are... pretty much the whole reason i sought out the book. and... jesus. 

you get all the way into the tragic backstories that were only hinted at in the film. okay, Iñigo’s backstory was more than hinted- but of course you go so much deeper in the book- and Fezzik’s was less than hinted, reduced mostly to a peek at the insecurity that Vizzini exploits and preys upon to keep him in line. not that you’d have to expend a great effort to him to keep him in line; his personality is docile and non-confrontational. truly not the slightest bit aggressive by nature. he’s also kinda clingy and needy, which is a thousand percent understandable given his childhood, and tbqh doesn’t need to be browbeaten for Vizzini to keep him on his short, cruel leash. which makes it all the more painful! hurrah! 😭

also you actually get to meet Iñigo’s father, Domingo Montoya, in a flashback, aaaand... i kinda love him. probably predictable if you know me.

anyway. tragic backstories. which further illuminate the emotional and psychological issues that make them so dependent on Vizzini, and turn them to lives of crime in his employ. poor boys! oy gevalt. sympathy abounds; i honestly don’t know how you could go through the book and not fall at least a little bit in love with this duo, whose friendship is precious and adorable and a balm to the soul that is aching from their painful life stories and unhealthy coping mechanisms. they’re each, very plainly, the only friend the other has in the world, and are constantly helping and bolstering one another. it’s heartbreakingly sweet. i think those boys will be alright as long as they stick together.

and now, the repeated theme of the book, that is presented with far less intensity in the film: life isn’t fair. which, one supposes, is true. but while the narrator’s framing of that assertion may give you the same misgivings they gave me- bitching about his fat son and his less than ideal relationship with his wife- you can also step back and appreciate it as a wee pearl of wisdom. life is often unfair, but that doesn’t mean it’s altogether bad or that you can’t enjoy it. idk, that’s my attitude, man. 

i could talk about the ending here, but i won’t. at least not too much. not to spoiler-ish-ly. if you don’t want to know anything about the book’s ending at all, feel free to not read the last bit here, except for the very last lines which are bolded.

ready? yes? no?

...

the ending to the book is different than the movie. there is a more philosophical, open ended conclusion than you could really get away with in a movie. at least this movie.

just throwing it out there: i believe in happy endings. ones in real life. but i kind of disagree with the author a little bit, in that i don’t think happy endings necessarily have to be perfect and unblemished to qualify as happy endings. that may be the way “happily ever after” is generally presented, but to me, “happily ever after” means, maybe some shit happened, but none of it was completely devastating, and in the final analysis, life was satisfying. that’s the kind of real life happy ending i’m aiming (and hoping) for. this might sound vague but i hope it’ll make sense if you read the book.

if you wanna do that, btw, i read it for free online at allnovel dot net.

[its-love-u-asshole]

about me as a writer

I was tagged by @oiivkawa <3 Thanks so much, this was super fun!

Tagging: @emeraldwaves @ivyfics @calmgeyama @ohoholyshit @yatatsukki and?? anyone else who wants to I guess lol, I feel like most ppl I know how been tagged ^^ 

I’m putting my responses under the cut as well bc I know myself lmao, my responses can be long af ^^’’

1. How did you come up with your username and what does it mean? bleh I have two usernames, and both stories are embarrassing LOL I’ll go with my actual ao3 name though I guess?? When I was in middle (?) school I used to watch the anime HOTD, which is like...awful first off. It’s borderline hentai, shitty fanservice, the whole thing (don’t ask me why I watched it, bc who knows, the music was A+) but my favorite character’s name was Saya, and her servants would call her ladysaya, so that’s the explanation for that ha. I put the x in front because I used to be obsessed with x men and all the marvel/dc animated series, so it felt appropriate pft. Man, even talking about this brings back so many cringe worthy memories lmao forgive me. 

2. Which fanfic of yours has the most feedback? (Bookmarks/ Subscriptions/ Hits/ Kudos) for Haikyuu!! it’s definitely Slipping Underneath, and for K Project it’s There You Are <3 

3. What is your AO3 profile icon and why did you choose it? It’s Semi! The reasoning for this is because I have 3 fav Haikyuu!! characters: Tsukishima, Oikawa, and Semi. So I just try to distribute my love evenly tbh lol. I have a Tsukki icon on here and discord, Semi for AO3, and Oikawa is on my phone case ^^ 

4. Do you have any regular/favourite commenters? ahhh I have several but I’m not aware if many of them have tumblr?? A lot of people who comment on every chapter of my multichapters are very special to me, I love them all! Ofc on here there’s @emeraldwaves @ivyfics @momomirasaki124 @uselessvalshit @starjem and then I have my other fav supporters @serviceace @caelestisxyz and @urikawa-miyuki  <3 

5. Is there a fanfic you keep going back to read again and again? Ah damn there are so many lmfao, I have a lot of fav fics and I don’t want to make this post super long. Please check out the rec posts I’ve done here and here ! Or also message me for specific types of fics <3 I will say though, one fic I always go back to read even though it’s been YEARS is a kyoukao fic by potionwine! 

6. How many stories are you subscribed to? How many do you have bookmarked? I consider myself pretty picky, but I do read a LOT of fic, so I have a decent amount of both ^^ About 187 bookmarks, and 16 fic/author subscriptions! 

7. Which AU do you find yourself writing the most? Probably college?? even though I know that’s super broad, and all kinds of different AUs can be based in college but that’s how it is lol. I think that’s because I honestly don’t like redoing AUs?? I like experimenting and making up really weird shit and original scenarios as much as possible. Though, I’m sure you can find apparent trends across all my fics ^^ 

8. How many people are subscribed and bookmarked to you in total? haha...I have 76 user subscriptions, 436 general fic subscriptions, and 792 bookmarks. I don’t even know how that’s real lmao I feel so blessed that so many people enjoy my writing <3 

9. Is there something you’d like to write about but are afraid of people judging you for it? (Feeling brave? If so, share it!) not really honestly, if I have an embarrassing or indulgent idea at this point, I just write it lmao idc but there are lots of types of fics I am scared to write just bc I don’t know if I could do them justice heh....

10. Is there anything you’d like to be better at? Writing certain scenes or genres, replying to comments, updating better, etc. yes lmao updating better would be something I’d LOVE to improve on ; ; Also writing action scenes too fff fuck action scenes

11. Do you write rarepairs or popular ships more often? Uhhh I’ve dabbled in both but yeah, more often than not I stick to more popular pairs just because I need content to motivate me pftt

12. How many stories have you posted on AO3 to this day? 50! 

13. How many stories do you have saved in/ with your writing program? Like WIPs? ffff WIPs...maybe like 4 or 5 at this point, including multichapters, and wow that’s actually not a lot, usually I have a ton and I’m drowning in them loool

14. Do you write down story ideas or just keep them in your head? Both...I usually just keep things in my head, but if a fic starts giving me issues, I like to plot it out

15. Have you ever co- authored a story? Nope, but I’d really love to at some point with a friend! 

16. How did you discover AO3? Uh I honestly don’t remember loool I think one day I sorta just saw that no one was using ff anymore and I was like ‘aight’ 

17. Do you consider yourself to be a popular or famous author in your fandom(s) on AO3? Not really lmao, I mean...my siren au does pretty well, but otherwise my fics get kinda slept on -shrug- it is what it is 

18. Do you have a nickname or fandom name for your readers? lol i do not

19. Was there an author who inspired or encouraged you to write? Well I’ve always loved to write so no, but @brynne-lagaao is a big reason I started writing sarumi fics back when I was in K fandom! And nowadays in the hq fandom, a lot of amazing authors really push me to keep writing ^^ 

20. What writing advice would you give to a beginning author? don’t be afraid to write and write whatever you want basically lmao I know it can be daunting if you think your writing skills aren’t matching up with other authors, but the best thing you can do is practice, practice, and eventually you will see results! Also read a lot, reading other ppl’s stories really helps, and above all, just have fun with it! 

21. Do you plot out your stories or do you just figure it out as you go? I try to have a basic plot (beginning, middle, end) because I used to just DIVE IN to stories and it was awful lmao I need some sort of guideline, even if it’s small

22. Have you ever gotten a bad comment on a story? If so, what did you do? yes ofc, but I honestly try not to dwell on them because they’re not worth it. I either ignore or delete in most cases

23. Is there a certain type of scene that you have a hard time writing? (Action, smut, etc) action and smut are never easy for me lol

24. What story(s) are you working on now? well right now I’m working on two secret santa fics for iwaoi, as well as my two kurotsuki multichapters! I am also trying to write kacchako as a x-mas present for a friend lol

25. Do you plan your new projects before you finish your current ongoing story(s)? ha yeah, it’s a bad habit but I have no self-control

26. Do you have a daily writing goal set for yourself? I do not! I just try to write at least a little bit each day if I can, but there’s never a word minimum I try to reach ^^ 

27. Do you think you’ve improved as a writer since you first started? oh 100% lmao comparing some of my old fics from even a year ago to my fics now is eye opening 

28. What is your favourite story that you have written? Shaking in My Skull for sarumi, it’s also the longest fic I’ve ever written and it holds a special place in my heart ; ; For kurotsuki it’s gotta be Let My Love 

29. What is your least favourite story that you have written? fuck me, Pencils and Paper LOL it was an earlier sarumi fic of mine and I just...hate it. I’m not even gonna link it LOL 

30. Where do you see yourself (as a writer) in 5 years? Still writing fanfic most likely, maybe some original stuff (I hope!)

31. What’s the easiest part about writing? lmao nothing, writing is super hard work, sometimes even just thinking up ideas can be difficult, then there’s actually writing and making the ideas come to life, and don’t get me started on editing lmaooo writers are my heroes 

32. What is the hardest part about writing? Finding the motivation, at least for me. I struggle sometimes with it because I’ll have the time and inspiration but depression just kicks my ass every time fff

33. Why do you write? For me it’s super therapeutic, I love the satisfaction of putting hard work into an idea you love and finishing it, and the high that comes with that. Plus sharing the story with others and getting positive feedback is a feeling that can’t be beat. I’ve always loved writing, I love how the possibilities are endless, and I hope I never stop <3 

[herotheshiro]

so in abt 2017-18, i came across this manga called sneaky red by thanat. most of the 1st volume, translated, got posted online but i knew there was a continuation. while i don’t remember too much specifics abt my reaction to it then, i distinctly remember being affected by it and by that i mean ... liking it. i remember that i had the feeling of wanting to read the 2nd volume and even a year ago (almost the date!) on this very blog i noted that i “wanna read all of [their] works so bad” and at this point i had only ever read sneaky red so going off of that, i liked it apparently.

fast forward 2-3 years to tonight, where i finally forced myself to finish reading the series since the free month-long futekiya trial is ending soon. and well ... i thought i would be satisfied afterwards since i’ve wanted to finish reading this series for literal years but all i felt was ... disappointment. i’ve had the futekiya subscription for abt 1/2 a month already but i’ve been putting off reading sneaky red bc i mean i’ve read the 1st volume, i knew it was abt abuse pretty much and i wasn’t really into reading something so depressing (i had to reread the 1st volume in this read bc i legit have not touched the manga since whenever i read it last). and ... yeah it is a downer to read with little positive payoff. [putting under cut bc WOW this got long]

let’s get this straight, my perception of what this author is trying to do is this: two guys meet, one of them (A) has anger/emotion management issues and is quick to react with his fists and the other one (B) just so happens to get off at pain (...no further comment at this) ... which is coincidentally a “nice” set-up but A wants to turn over a new leaf bc eventually he feels bad whaling on B all the time ... except suddenly turning over a new leaf when you’ve been living and thinking a certain way for almost two entire decades is not that easy. which alright tl;dr, an abuser/someone quick to physical violence trying to reform. a rather heavy topic to tackle for your debut work ... and unfortunately i don’t think this author really succeeds in doing so. 1st volume was written in 2013 and is their debut work and it definitely feels like a new author work ... the story developments are kind of unclear at times and misaki (i think that was his name?) just accepting getting beaten up by a rando is just so incredibly sad to read bc like ... wtf? i cannot figure out how they came to love each other. i mean haru i can kind of see bc they kind of implied that misaki was one of the 1st ppl to have hope in him even though he himself felt like he was a lost cause, but misaki i just have no fucking idea what happened there. like lust turning into love? idk man falling in love from physical abuse frankly makes no fucking sense esp since it’s not even implied that misaki has low self-esteem or something that would make him accept this treatment. i legitimately would like to go back in time to meet me from 2-3 years and ask them what the fucking hell made me like this manga bc it’s messed up and the topics aren’t even handled that well! this is truly a manga that somehow depicts abuse as being shitty but also romanticizes it somehow?? even though i legit just read it a few hours ago i’m starting to mix up what happened in vol 1 and 2 so let’s just move on to vol 2 now.

vol 2 was definitely more put together in terms of story progression than vol 1 (i mean, being done 3 yrs later i would hope so). i did like it a bit more than vol 1 and there were some cute scenes bw misaki and haru but ... the scenes where misaki still went to see haru even after some seriously messed up scenes being like ‘i still love you’ ... really rubbed me the wrong way bc it kind of felt like a ‘you can heal abusive behavior through love’. i mean yes haru acknowledged his behavior and treatment of misaki was absolute shit and that he’d try to change, but also that ch where they kind of just substituted bdsm as a more socially acceptable way for haru to hit/hurt misaki during sex? BRO THAT’S NOT HOW IT WORKS !! i mean there were some scenes that felt realistic (misaki instinctively defending himself when haru raised his hand) but at the same time it also felt like the author didn’t really know what they were doing. like i get it, haru is supposed to be a nice person who just so happens to react badly to things but ... these kinds of things you kind of legit need professional help for. simply learning to depend more on friends/SOs, completely cutting out your toxic fam from your life... that kind of stuff is not really enough to help you heal. i mean this is a japanese manga, and ik east asian culture has ... thoughts on mental health care but the way the story was presented just didn’t feel realistic at all. yes they did show haru struggling to hold his emotions in check, i did like the scenes where haru was in his own head and saw his brother berating him for his behavior, and i do appreciate they didn’t merely just 180 change his personality and pretend it was easy to change for the better but ... idk. i just simply did not enjoy reading this story and about this relationship, i felt like their issues never really got resolved or are moving in a more constructive direction. i mean i guess this happens irl (bc ppl do stay in abusive relationships despite how bad it gets) but like i just had no fucking idea what misaki even saw in haru in the first place which sounds mean to haru but it’s true ?? like you gotta be attracted to SOMETHING first right, is it just bc he’s nice sometimes (this is worrying bc i’m someone who is weak to ppl simply being nice to me but also bruh if someone is beating my ass idk if i can be attracted to that) ?? it legit at times reminded me of bj alex which is an extremely unfortunate comparison in my book and you know what i just remembered that misaki was attracted to haru partly bc of his looks so uh yeah the comparison holds up.

i don’t even know if i can say i’m glad i read through these 2 volumes of sneaky red. apparently a 3rd volume is getting published next month and i’m like WHAT THE FUCK ELSE IS THERE TO TALK ABOUT ?? i saw a graphic of the side pairing (story covered in motion emotion) on the back cover which i got a lil excited abt bc i am intrigued by that pairing but like ... what else is there to talk abt re: sneaky red’s pairing. they’ve gotten together, they’re growing up and dealing with adult worries (jobs), and they’re moving in a more “positive” direction with their relationship (i.e., haru is opening up more to misaki) while attempting to hurdle the lingering issue of haru’s abuse -- what else is there to cover ... i think this artist really likes this couple which like makes sense for them since they’re their first published OCs but it’s prob just gonna be more senseless writing. the translated caption was like ‘the sequel of the famous debut work is here!’ and i’m like sneaky red is popular? this very unclearly written thing? but then again ppl liked k!lling st@alking and some of harada’s works that are OUT THERE are popular so i guess the fetish for abuse/hurt is strong ...

i didn’t really say anything coherent in this post bc deadass i don’t even remember what the fuck i read even though i read this manga like mere hrs ago which goes to show how much of an impact the story had on me (hint none). abuser stories are usually pretty hit or miss stories i feel, although tbh i don’t think i’ve ever read a hit story because the abuse is usually romanticized or somehow resolved without any issue which is frankly unrealistic and kind of dangerous to be telling people. i admit i don’t have personal experience with abuse (thankfully) so i guess i can’t really say stuff abt how realistic it is or not but ... just very disappointed with the story. i am still struggling to figure out what i liked abt this manga so much back then. i do like the art style a lot bc it’s unique compared to what you see in other BLs but the author’s writing is just very unclear sometimes ... it’s definitely improved since 2013 but ... hah. it was not really an enjoyable read. i legit wanted to stop reading at times but i’ve wanted to finish it for so long so i pushed on ... maybe i should reread so i can more definitively say what exactly i disliked but i don’t wanna read this again.

[writerdragon]

Hi I thought of an actual plot for transformers movies and then wrote it down in bullet points because I loathe Bay and all the wasted potential in his movies.

Keep in mind this is just me putting down words at 1AM so

it's a trilogy now i guess

 1st movie:

- okay so this thing started entirely bc i wanted to make the trailer w humans and imply that they're important

- scene opens to show that all the trailer bits are a show the autobots are watching in-between battles

- fuck earth we're not going there

- i'm making it a mcfucking SPACE OPERA

- and mashing up bits from everywhere and also mtmte

- 1st movie is autobot-focused

- they're still in a heroic light, show them winning a bit

- war's been going on a while and the decepticons look like they're flagging, unlike the autobots of course

- it's a slog

- what's this about a truce? coded message?

- oh hey tyrest is here

- tyrest says the cons are lying

- maybe subplot megs is on the dark energon again

- blah blah trying to fish for info from unknown sender

- megs suddenly disappears/looks like he's gone into hiding

- autobot council meeting

- tyrest is like "true peace can only be achieved if the decepticon threat is removed" or something

- OP still thinks they can come to an agreement

- lots of ppl are for eradication

- what's this? it's jazz!

- with some pretty damning evidence that tyrest has been lying about details of various truces and ceasefires in the past to both sides

- tyrest secretly keeping the war going on bc he hates cons

- had history of being bribed by the senate

- his entire thing was that big truce he managed to get them to agree to and he's terrified of losing his authority and power if the war ends and that he'll be "reduced" to judging petty crimes

- figure more out later

- idk i just want this one to be all heroic autobots and then showing how they still started from senate enforcers, and that they've also got their fair share of horrifying shit

- at the end after wrap up have the coded message send a signal frequency

- some autobot high commmand members in a room as they tune in

- surprise it's soundwave

- short speech about how they've been going at it for way too long, their population is near extinction, the whole point where it all started has been mostly forgotten/overshadowed by all the death

 "We: are tired."

"And what does Megatron have to say about all this?"

"...Megatron: temporarily deposed."

 2nd movie

- SUP BINCH DECEPTICON TIME bc they don't get enough love

- 1st movie covered the present war, now we go back in time and get all the juicy cybertron history, leadup to and outbreak of all the shit

- kaon slums w soundwave bc he's my favourite

- gets nabbed by the senate bc of telepathy

- all that delicious political drama

- all the shitty capitalistic bs the senate does

- meets megatron

- soundwave just wants to keep his family together

- soundwave would do anything for that

- include help to incite a rebellion and execute the senate

- the plan is going well (fuck canon they didn't touch six lasers, what even is the POINT, that's just giving the senate more ammo in their propaganda campaign against the cons)

- also gimme that good good soundwave and starscream friendship I want them to be the saltiest mutual bitching coworker friends

- also soundwave and orion and ratchet being friends at this point would be cool too

- also see jazz at the club he gets dragged to bc I’M NOT FORGETTING THE PARTY AMBULANCE THING and they lowkey nerd out about music stuff

- it’s going well

- uh oh soundwave saw/overheard some info he shouldn't have

- welp having a pet telepath was nice but yknow they really don't want this security risk

- THE INSTITUTE FOR YOU

- fuck the institute btw

- also meet shockwave

- hi shockwave

- he's been stuck here for a while, doing their science and trying to mess it up/delay it as much as possible

- he's so, so angry, angry past the point of rage and going straight on to cold

- he's almost on autopilot at this point except for fucking w shit as much as possible

- oh look there's an important con in here

- ...an important con who knows COMMS STUFF

- take shockwave w you when you leave and he'll help

- fuck yeah ping a comm off to the cons

- CAVALRY'S HERE

- CONS BUSTING IN

- WAVES BUSTING OUT

- starscream's here too bc he's chaotic vengeful fucker and they took his friend

- you don't take starscream's anything

- i just really want decepticon high command kicking ass

- afterwards screamer and shocky can bond over science

- also WAVEWAVE ROMANCE

- shockwave has been cold for so, so long, but soundwave makes him feel like he might be able to feel warmth again, one day

- meanwhile sounders is like fUCK i'm GAY and the cassettes are like yea we know this is fuckin HILARIOUS

- also shockwave and ratchet bond over being old grumps who know medical shit

- knockout and breakdown are also there bc I like them

- megs and OP drama happens but like i don't want it to be a focus it's just a thing that happens while the DHC try to keep this rebellion together

- SENATE MURDERTIME

- cybertron starts dividing up

- shit happens

- friends meet for one last time, OP and megs in the bg having their big breakup or whatevs

- lines in the sand are drawn

- TEAR MY HEART OUT FRIEND-TO-ENEMIES SCENE

- they all walk away at the end

- war takes over the planet

- flash forward/catch up to near present

- dark energon, yet another one of megs' increasingly desparate schemes

- we all know what happens w dark energon

- at this rate they'll wipe out the population

- DHC have had enough

- lowkey arguing amongst themselves about what to do, shit gets tense

- they've been doing damage control for megs for some time now (the truce message in movie 1 is their doing, they need time to recover and regroup)

- it's not suspicious to see them talking together real close

- except dark energon so megs is real paranoid

- don't do unicron drug kids

- they have a rep at this point for shadowy sneaky shit

- megs attacks DHC

- they remember how to work together but it's a close thing

- megs is in stasis

- they get their shit together, they're not just in this for themselves, they're responsible for all the cons

- starscream gets his leader on, they discuss terms for a treaty, what to do if the bots accept or reject it, contingency plans

- shockwave is willing to do drastic things to keep megs in stasis and also if things don't pan out

- at the end they're like soundwave you contact them, ur the spymaster but also comms officer

- starscream's rep is what it is, and shockwave couldn't persuade his way out of a paper bag (he could so, /starscream/)

- hyperempathy working for him for once

- starscream, as an aside, almost smirking: "besides, they did like you best, back then"

- make the call

 3rd movie:

- TIME FOR MEGA TRUCE NEGOTIATIONS AND DRAMA

- rebuilding?

- well fuck it’s the quintessons

- look we still hate each other but for the sake of there actually being a tomorrow, we have to work together

[paris-geller-was-straightwashed]

@mrschimpf ‘I don't think there's bad fanfic...but there is a lot of awful fic for het couples that advance the same six plots, hate supporting characters and authority figures and denigrate LGBTQ relationships. I rant a lot about Rory/Logan fics, because they just seem...very limited and make their coupling look anachronistic.’

‘But...I long decided that I refuse to call out the author or story or flame it. Because I know they're learning. I reserve flames for shitty stories where the author is there just to write the worst Ikea sex and indulge (bad fetish here).’

right - I’ve seen my fair share of fic like that. fic that upholds/uses harmful tropes, subjugates minority characters via their minority status whatever that might be, or puts characters with blatantly, non-redeemable horrible traits on a pedestal or even above other characters (not to keeping shitting on stranger things, but honestly, this is literally all stuff I’ve found in that fandom specifically..)

but that to me is a separate thing. that’s more about harmful ideas and how they impact fandom art, and potentially looking at ways we as creators can keep from doing that. that’s not so much ‘bad’ fic that’s bad bc of the way it’s written, but more bc of the harmful content that’s within.

when I talk about ‘bad’ fanfiction, I’m mostly talking about the fics with those aforementioned traits, of either being poorly put together or it doesn’t portray the characters in a certain way that maybe the show does, or how most of the fandom sees them, etc. THAT to me can’t be considered ‘bad’, bc the person writing it is doing their best to create a good story and still be true to the characters bc THEY care about them, and isn’t harmful on a lager scale, just only ‘harmful’ to that one reader who’s maybe annoyed bc they think the fic has too many run-on sentences or doesn’t think that character would wear that outfit in canon.

HOWEVER, I think you bring up an interesting point in saying it’s bc a lot of those writers are young. I think that’s what ppl often forget when they criticize fic; they don’t realize that the writer is young and therefore maybe isn’t at the skillset they wanna be/could be with their art, or they just aren’t there yet in realizing that maybe that certain way to describe something isn’t the best or that they outta space up their paragraph to be easier on the reader. we were ALL once teenage writers guys, and we must remember to be patient with the new generation who’re exploring their art and building their skills. and also, that yes, some young ppl might write a harmful trope bc they just don’t know better. we just gotta be patient with each other, I think is what I’m getting at.

and also, another interesting point here to me, is the overlap perhaps between writing a character ooc and crossing into a harmful trope. I’ve been reading lots of Birds of Prey fanfic of course, mostly starring Helena x Dinah. and more then once, has there been fic of Dinah usually looking after Helena when she’s hurt herself, or when she’s had a bad nightmare supports her, etc. Dinah is for sure kind, but she’s not like...mushy or super dotting, like I’ve seen in a LOT of these fics - an ooc thing that would normally just irk me, but then this also happens to fall into a harmful trope. that being where the black woman (ps. I say this also being a white person) is often having to be the one to pick up the pieces when the other (usually white) character falls apart, be the support and everything else, but very rarely do her own needs get met or is she supported (and very rarely do I see fic of Dinah talking about her trauma like Helena gets too, often just being allowed an offhand remark about her dead mom before we move back to Helena). I like to think no one writing these fics has done this on purpose, but that’s not so much the issue - the issue is that it’s happening, and I often see Dinah put in these fictional situations bc the fandom has a hyper fiction on Helena due to her looks and muscles and whatnot (and whiteness).

anyway, I don’t know where this is going, but I thought it was compelling to point it all out!

I’ve been thinking about something for a while so now I’m going to come at y’all with a Hot Take™

and that is that there’s no such thing as a bad fanfic.

I hear often from ppl, about having to ‘sort through a pile of crap to find that one Good Fic’ or overall complaining about how much bad fic there is around and whatnot and I FOR ONE am sick of hearing it.

firstly, bypassing the fact that these ppl saying these things can get off their lazy asses and do it themselves if they want, the way we’re judging ‘bad’ fanfic is totally skewed (and often, very much based on that single person’s opinions). there’s no way we can really judge that a fic is ‘bad’ without taking into account lots of other stuff.

look, have I read fic that’s poorly edited, has bad grammar/spelling, run on sentences, ooc characters, and just generally can’t follow or enjoy it? YES! abso-fucking-lutely I have. have I also found fic that has impeccable characterization and to-a-t grammar and a great plot/premise I love? also yes!

but here’s the thing kids - these two things aren’t polar opposites like ppl have been saying. because, regardless of these added factors, the effort and care put into the fic is the same.

no one makes fic bc they’re forced to. it’s not like school work. no one sits around and goes ‘eh, well, guess I HAVE TO finish that fic..’ like they would about a paper that has to be done and then potentially half-ass it. the thing that separates fandom art from original art I think, is the fact that while most original art does have passion behind it, that can die out and creators can stop caring, which then shows in the art (game of thrones, s3 of stranger things, shows that that should’ve stopped long ago and are now a husk of their former selves like supernatural, some james patterson books I could name). whether that’s bc they’re no longer invested in that world, or it’s now just a cash-cow and no longer a project (*cough*STRANGERTHINGS*cough*), whatever, it then bleeds into the art and makes it a horrible mess no one enjoys - and THAT my friends, does create and then constitute bad writing. but that’s not exactly what I’ve seen in fandom art. ppl get burnt-out sure, but most if not all fandom creators are doing it bc of the passion. therefore, you don’t find the same kind of ‘bad’ writing you might find in season 57 of ‘long-running t.v show that should’ve been laid to bed years ago’ bc the creators are still invested in it. what you’re REALLY complaining about, is poor grammar or editing or that someone’s written a character in an way you don’t like or you don’t think the plots very good, etc. AND THAT’S VASTLY DIFFERENT THEN ACTUAL BAD WRITING

this is why I believe that no matter how ‘bad’ a fic is, the passion behind it is the same as a ‘good’ one. therefore, I find, no fanfic can truly be ‘bad’ bc the writer has done their all to make a world their passionate about and for characters they’re passionate about. and who can be mad about that??? and even if you take that into account and still DON’T like it, then just move on for christ’s sake!! just fucking do something else!! no one is PUTTING A DAMN GUN to your head to read that fic!!

secondly, there’s also a myriad of reasons why a fic might have all those ‘bad’ traits. the writer could be very young/new to writing/not fluent in the language they’re writing in/could have a disability or multiple that affect their writing - you never know! OR, that’s literally just where they skillset is at. that’s it. so to sit around shitting on these ppl all day for creating free art makes you, guess what, AN ASSHAT it could also be multilayered. I’ve written a lot of fic in my life, and so have become much better at writing overtime. I know I’m good at characterization and plotting/pacing (or I get told this at least), but you know what I’m still not great at despite trying to work on it? spelling and or grammar!! it’s a fucking bizmol! ergo, there isn’t always a clean way to differentiate ‘good’ art from ‘bad’ if you’re thinking about it in that regard!

this is all to say, you can’t separate ‘bad’ fic from ‘good.’ not only is it a dick move to (inadvertently) criticize ppl’s art they care about and are making for free, but the way we categorize a ‘bad’ fic is hella shallow and I don’t think equates to the sometimes terrible writing we see in books, shows, etc. also I don’t think it helps anyone; not the fandom, not their readers, and certainly not the writers. bc guess what everyone, if you spend all your day complaining about the onslaught of ‘bad’ fic and the rarity of ‘good’ fic, soon no one is going to WANT to make fic bc you keep piling your arbitrary standards so fucking high.

tl;dr: fic (and fandom art in general) can’t be considered ‘bad’ when the writer is doing their all, no matter the skill level, to make a good story & also don’t shit on ppl’s art regardless of it’s ‘quality’, jerks.