#i know i have not been active in the fandom for awhile and this honestly feels like it's been a long time coming

[acheemient]

R.I.P. Achievement Hunter

2008 - 2023

It was fun while it lasted.

[deadboydetectives-confessions]

To the person who talked about writing in-character vs kinks, I hear you and I agree with some of it and sympathize.

But on the other hand...I've been in enough fandoms to know that's just how things sort of go? The fic starts out very canon and canon-adjacent, but if it's an active fandom, those stories get churned through fairly quickly. Then people seem to get kinkier and kinkier, and AUs/fanon versions start to be more prominent. It seems to be a common pattern as people maybe get bored with canon, or they have enough canon stories to last them awhile.

Also as a fic writer? Readership starts to drop for anything canon after awhile. To keep people interested, you pretty much have to start mixing it up. For me, that's never in the porn direction but that's the way people will often take it. That's why there seems to be more and more AUs the longer a fandom is around.

That's the same for fics focused on people beyond the main couple. Focusing on non-shippy characters can be a really hard sell even when a fandom is new depending on the show. It becomes exponentially harder as the fandom ages and readers stop reading. The people who are left are also generally the fans of the main ship. And even if people are interested, there's far fewer of them later in fandom. I've seen fics that didn't feature Edwin or Charles or focused on anyone but them and it gets like 30 hits in an entire week. That's really discouraging as a writer and I think it's only natural to write the stuff where there's an actual audience.

Add to that, when it's the most natural to write Crystal, Niko, Jenny, the Night Nurse, etc...is in casefic. Casefic is a LOT of work and appetite for that also drops as a fandom ages. If you're writing a shippy fic that mainly focuses on a relationship, it can be cumbersome or feel forced to add in characters who aren't being shipped. Those four have the misfortune of not having canon ships to work with (Crystal and Charles could be an exception but they did agree to be just friends before the show ended.) They are also, frankly, not men. And the focus on M/M ships over F/F or M/F is something that is waaaay bigger than DBD and extends to fandom as a whole.

As a fellow ace person I also feel perplexed by the focus on kinky sex as a fandom ages. But I do honestly think it's just the way fandom works.

.

[crazylittlejester]

This might get venty so def pass over if u want- I apologize in advance😅

Being a Wars fan is definitely exhausting in the lu fandom as a whole, to a degree I’ve never experienced in past fandoms. I’ve been all around, from DC to HP, Undertale to Voltron (shudders), and many, many more. And honestly I can’t remember a time a character was more universally disliked for,, no clear reason? From villains to irritating characters, I’ve never seen this much negativity and, honestly, near bullying of a character. Shipping wars? 10000% yes. But individual character hating? It’s.. extreme.

It isn’t simple dislike either. From being made incompetent to being the butt of a joke, Wars is just.. dogpiled. And at first it was funny, but it’s gotten to a point that I can’t read other fics because Wars is just so poorly treated/portrayed that it’s disheartening. From mocking of his figure, to claiming he’s vain or a womanizer (derogatory), and even ignoring his background all together.

I think part of it comes from not knowing his game, so they don’t have a basis of his character. Honestly though that could be easily remedied by watching a few cutscenes or reading the plot synopsis of his game. I also think that some people just,, look at his vainer moments in the comic and say “this is all he is” rather than the additional moments when he displays his skills, or pulling his weight as a co-leader. Some people just see what they wanna see ig.

Overall I always try to not dwell on it because everyone is free to love the characters they love and express that, I just wish that it didn’t come at the cost of one of the characters being so plainly disliked and nearly hated. But I swear I’ve seen Dink get more love than Wars, and all we’ve seen from him is a freaking lizard!!!-

anyway, sorry this was so long, my Wars loving self has been holding this in for awhile and I just hate how short a stick Wars got in the lot. He 1000% deserves more love fr

I’ve seen too many fics where people outright villainize Wars in order to create more angst for other members of the chain and that’s INSANE to me. And Wars content has been seriously hard to find, especially last year, which is part of why I started writing so much Wars stuff 😭 He’s my favorite and I gotta feed the other Wars fans

I genuinely don’t get why some people actively dislike him, like am I biased? Absolutely. but i just dont understand?? is there some reason why people can look at like, Wild, for example, and go “OH MY GOD SO ACTUALLY-“ and go into a super deep beautiful well written character analysis but when it comes to Wars people are just like “womanizer twink” and that’s it?

(to clarify: this is NOT a dig at Wild fans, y’all are valid for liking your blorbo. I’m just using him as an example because I’ve seen a lot of really interesting takes on him, some of which are VERY different from each other. And there’s nothing wrong with that at all! He was just the first Link I thought of who has a lot of fans with a lot of theories and opinions alskljskslm. Y’all keep going crazy for your special guy 🫡)

[milkyplier]

I’m going to be taking a break sort of. From the fandom. I’m not leaving, you’ll still be able to talk to me and you may even see me post more LU stuff, so honestly there may not be very much of a change from how I currently am. But making things official helps me feel better and more organized, so here we are.

Again, I’m not leaving at all, but I’m going to stop hyper fixating on it (and I think I’ve been forcing the hyper fixation for awhile) and start getting into other things. Like I’ve been playing Genshin Impact and I listened to EPIC the musical lately. Ultimately, I’m hoping that an official break will just take the pressure I’ve somehow managed to amass off myself. So maybe I can start simply enjoying fandoms and creating again. Who knows? Maybe I’ll learn something from it and have a breakthrough and level up as an artist or a writer or both. But anyways, yeah.

I may also be less active on here. I know I already have been, but I lack a lot of energy these days and that often results in me putting off answering asks and stuff simply because if I did answer it now, I’d sound brief and half-hearted. So if I’m really active in here for three days and then the next three I’m suddenly gone, it’s just because I am exhausted 😌

Anyways. This went on a bit long, and I don’t think that was necessary since I’m not a big blog, but regardless! For those of you who read this, thanks for understanding—it really does help me feel more in control about my decisions. :)

[typewriter83]

Hi! I've been following your work for some time now, and I think you're such a prolifically skilled writer. I prefer the canon dynamic between Joel and Ellie, and the fact that their relationship has father-daughter themes but isnt purely that, yet also isn't romantic. However, I will dabble in some stories about Joellie and I do find that concept interesting. Just out of curiosity, I was wondering what your thoughts are on one of the OG fics, Flying to Wyoming? I noticed you mentioned it in a previous post listing fics. I know that while it's well-written, it's also considered a rather controversial (and at times, extreme) fic, and for good reason. I'm interested in seeing what other people think.

Oh, hello! First of all, sweet new cub, you’re too kind - I’m so touched that you enjoy my stories. Like sincerely touched. Thank you.

I came into the the TLOU fandom from the show, looking for Joel&Ellie stories, and had no interest in the romantic ship - shh, don’t tell the cubs - but it was fics that drew my attention and curiosity and eventually the brain rot sent in. I’m a fan of the canon dynamics too - minus Ellie’s treatment of Joel in Part 2, but that’s a topic for another day.

But yes, let’s talk about Flying to Wyoming because on the surface, it’s the quintessential Joellie story - discussion below the cut - it’s LONG, so buckle up.

FtW is one of those stories that I should have let lie, should have let it be a one and done, enjoyed it and never gone back. I read the entire 600k word behemoth in less than a week, which means I was speed-reading, skimming and not in great depth and detail. But at the end, those last paragraphs of the final installment, I was crying, like tears flowing down my cheeks and I wandered my house like I’d lost real people in my life. (Am dramatic, didn’t y’all know?)

The basic dynamics of the story are there - a sweeping epic, cross-country survival adventure where a teenaged orphan girl falls in love with her older male protector, one of the first people that’s ever protected her, ever put her first. Much like the canon story, Ellie starts off terrified of Joel and what he might be capable of, and Joel treats Ellie like cargo because he doesn’t want to get close to her and fail yet another that comes into his life. And, honestly, this story could have been a platonic story, 100% it would have worked - even with undertones of a teenager crushing on an older man, it would have worked. But, because of the twist the writer takes, we have a whole different angle that’s being built up to - trust me, guilt-ridden Joel is my bread and butter and there’s a lot of guilt in his inner dialogue. Ellie’s a very curious, horny teenager - which is pretty much on target for the character. I’ve written both these angles, myself, and so have others.

So, what’s my problem with it? It’s a lot. The change in dynamics after the FtW2 - it’s been awhile since I’ve read it, so if I mess up the timeline, that’s on me - Ellie is still 14 when they set out for SLC and the explicit sexual activities ramp up pretty quickly especially at the bed and breakfast. I’m judging here - okay, maybe a little, and I have no place to judge - but that’s a lot for a young teenage girl. My problem with it is simply a matter of opinion - Ellie was so young. Am I a prude? Was I sheltered? Maybe - or maybe it just wasn’t my cup of tea for reading material.

The writer is talented, his depictions of a broken world are brilliantly detailed. His depictions of how states would fight states and the scars left in the earth after battles that took place long before Ellie was born are gorgeously detailed. His descriptions of abandoned and desolate towns along the highways are incredible. Some of my favorite scenes come from their stops along the way, but namely the town at the edge of the Mississippi where they stop for bike repairs - it’s a real bonding moment for Joel & Ellie and the town’s description is vividly painted.

Those are my positive takeaways from the story - the writer draws you in with his depictions of the broken world and it’s part of the draw to the TLOU universe for me as well. The whole idea of two humans walking - or on the back of a bike - across a broken country, it’s just so compelling.

Back to the Joellie aspect of the saga.

It’s made very clear in the final story - which by the way is the best title: The Home at the End of the Road is just a perfect title to describe not only their home once they settle in Jackson, but Jackson itself is their home at the end of their long journey. I could weep - anyway, by the final story, it’s made clear that Ellie is considered an adult by end-of-the-world standards when she turns 16, and Joel is finally ready (at peace?) to give himself completely to her. I didn’t particularly care for the scene itself - it’s not how I would have written it, it’s not what I was looking for or expecting, but we’re not yucking on anyone’s yum here, it just wasn’t it for me.

The story jumps ahead by a good decade and immediately takes a sad, different kind of dark turn - we know Joel is mortal (for some of us, he’s not, but here he is) and the writer spends the last chapter showing that they’ve started a family but Joel’s mortality is this dark cloud over the home at the end of the road.

What I’m about to say next is entirely my opinion - I never had a chance to speak to the writer, he was long gone from ao3 by the time I read this story - this is my opinion. The idea of the war between FEDRA and surrounding communities felt like it was taken straight out of The Walking Dead - I don’t mean that in a bad way, just that it felt out of place for the universe. TWD and TLOU take place in different times beyond the start of their respective outbreaks - TWD is about 15ish years after the outbreak when the show ends and FtW is about 30-35 years after - that’s a big difference. I don’t think there are a lot of big communities out there in the TLOU universe - not like what was depicted in FtW, and an all out war against FEDRA. Again this is just my opinion.

When I set out to write Every Night Has Its Dawn, I wanted the epilogue to be an homage and draw inspiration from the final chapter of Home at the End of the Road. I wanted to show that living at the end of the world could be possible for Joel and Ellie and the family they have together. I was so devastated by FtW ending with not only Ellie losing Joel and one of her children, but then she loses her own life. It was too heartbreaking, and I had another vision.

That’s a lot of fucking rambling to get to the point. The story itself is a good story - the details and the way the Joel/Ellie relationship were written were not my cup of tea and I can see why you say that it’s an extreme example of the forbidden ship. It is. It’s a lot - there’s a lot of graphic descriptions of underage sexual activity, and it’s depraved, a lot of it. Does that make it bad? No, it makes it someone else’s enjoyment. It gives us writers inspiration though - there’s a lot he writes that I strive to write, but there’s a lot that I would change, and maybe did a little to fit into my universe.

Anyway, that’s my long winded take. If you stick around this long, y’all deserve a medal. Drop a line if you wanna add something to this. I would love to discuss more.

🫶🏻

[aroaceleovaldez]

Mark confirmed on twt that Will has anxiety, and that he was intentionally written as ignorant/ clueless about all things regarding the Underworld and Tartarus. Which- as someone with multiple anxiety disorders- feels inherently contradictory to me? You're anxious about a new place, so you resolve to learn EVERYTHING about it. You're anxious about being underprepared, so you overprepare. In my experience, at least. You think of every possible scenario and try to plan for it. Will's anxiety shouldn't have made him know nothing at all, he should've done extensive research and had a ridiculously long list of detailed questions for Nico. It's not "Will didn't bring weapons because he trusts Nico and he's not a fighter so he didn't think about it", it's "Will hid a bunch of weapons all over his person and his bag just in case". Or maybe my anxiety's just weird?

This has been my experience as well as someone with anxiety, alongside everybody I know with anxiety. In all my experience, particularly with anxiety combined with other things (including ADHD & related, which as far as we know Will has), Will's portrayal of anxiety in TSATS did not feel anywhere close to any of that. I honestly didn't even pick up on anything reading as him having anxiety at all - besides maybe the overpacking? But in the context of the scene and Will's experience that didn't feel like an anxiety disorder thing, that just felt more like a comedy thing playing off of Will being nervous for his first quest. His nightmares also don't quite work for this because we're explicitly told from the beginning all their dreams are being warped by Nyx and Epiales, specifically trying to tear the two of them apart (particularly targeting Will), so that doesn't read like Will's personal anxieties either, just as Nyx trying to make him doubt Nico. There's basically nothing indicating that Will has an anxiety disorder other than Word Of God confirmation, which in basic literary analysis, with Death of the Author, means absolutely nothing.

Usually with my own anxiety, some of the common stuff includes things like me being possessive of objects (if I lose track of something or an unable to actively be the one carrying it, I may panic or break down), be very particular about how things are gone about (directing/managing things or being in charge of planning), excessively checking things repeatedly (and very frequently), etc etc. All of which could have been easily applied to Will and his position in the narrative to indicate he has an anxiety disorder and those are ways in which he is able to control his situation to feel safe - show him always holding his sun lamp and refusing to let others touch it (or being extremely nervous when others are holding on to it). Have Will going over their plan in detail with Nico beforehand and being very insistent on sticking to it, getting upset if they aren't on schedule. Show him constantly fiddling with his bag (which in TSATS honestly it feels like they forget and remember he's carrying a bag half the time), pausing every once in awhile to rummage through it and check that everything is still there.

And you're absolutely right - if the intention was to depict Will as having anxiety, I definitely don't think he would go onto his first quest unarmed, no matter how much he trusts Nico, because the entire thing of anxiety is that it's illogical. Logically, he trusts Nico, logically he knows Nico will keep him safe. That doesn't matter! Give him a weapon of some kind, or since we gave Will like 3 whole new powers anyways, show him being aware he has a reliable power of being able to summon or create a weapon of some kind. At the very least like, a shield! Back in the day the popular fandom was he could make a whip/lasso out of light! Yknow, whatever! Just give him something!

Also it doesn't make sense for Will to have specific anxiety about the Underworld in particular because a.) If he has anxiety related to Underworld stuff specifically, why would he date Nico of all people? He knew what he was getting into. And b.) Apollo has chthonic aspects! Particularly the Roman Apollo Soranus. Soranus as an individual god was identified with both Apollo and Dis Pater (Often equated to Pluto) - so Will should not only not have anxiety about the Underworld, he should actually be perfectly fine down there (Imagine how cool it would have been for Will to spend the entire book wondering why he's fine, only to finally learn about that and more of his similarities to Nico?). And it's not like we haven't seen Greek or Roman demigods have powers more associated with their Roman/Greek counterparts, so that can't even be used as an excuse. (This also doesn't get into how Nyx is literally the mother of light [Aether], day [Hemera - who is constantly leaving/entering the Underworld in cycle with Nyx, so further reasoning why Will should be fine], the nymphs of the sunset [the Hesperides], and LITERAL FRIENDSHIP [Philotes], so it doesn't make any sense for her to even be an antagonist/dislike Will but WHATEVER.) And again, because Will is dating Nico, there's no reason for him to be ignorant of the Underworld. You're telling me they've been dating for a whole year and Will hasn't learned anything about the Underworld from Nico? Even if he had fears that for some reason Nico would be lying to him, that again leads to like you said, him going even further into double-checking things and seeking out more sources of information. Nico's not the only chthonic demigod in camp, and Will seemed to be friends with Lou Ellen in HoO, so there's at least one option. Heck, Dionysus has plenty enough connections to Hades that Will could probably just go directly to him. Will not knowing anything just doesn't make sense?

[constellationcrowned]

Everyone needs to read this post please and thank you!!

Rather than make a poll about this ongoing issue that's impossible to parse bc I can't see who picked what specifically I'll do this another way: Help me help you by telling me why you don't actively interact. I post and reblog plenty of content all day every day that can be sent in, utilized, etc and it's crickets from ya'll all of the time and that's frustrating af and we need to work things out.

It'd be a different situation if I never offered stuff like calls or what have you; that'd be my bad and I'd need to work on being more proactive, but I'm already doing that and it goes nowhere. I'm constantly offering to help you guys---like right now, because I know the majority of you have read a post similar to this from me and you're gonna do it again---and I mean it every single time no matter how many times I offer it but on the flip side of things you guys need to actually take me up on what I'm offering.

I'm not offering to help merely for fun, you know? I'm offering to help because I understand that this shit can be difficult, it can be hard to talk to people, hard to interact with super niche fandoms and characters, and so on, and there's nothing wrong with having trouble but after a certain point if you continuously refuse to step out of your bubble or accept someone trying to help you the fear argument kinda loses validity, at least in regards to rp related stuff. I'm extending a hand and you need to fucking grab on because chances are the thing that's stopping you---be it you need help with the characters or the lore, you need me to type the first interaction, we need to have an ooc chat about what interests us, whatever it is---can be resolved but we need to fuckin communicate. I'm already meeting all of you halfway; honestly I've been meeting you guys more than halfway for awhile now, and now you need to step up and get in here.

Now does this mean that I'm going to stop offering to help, providing opportunities to interact through calls, memes, etc? Absolutely not. That would defeat the whole purpose and, again, I love offering such things and will continue to do so because it's not only part of what I need to do as a good rp partner I also enjoy doing so, plain and simple. All that I'm asking is that my mutuals (and yes, this applies to everyone, because even those who've followed me for months or years across multiple blogs fail to engage, it's not just newer folks) be more proactive in general. If I'm offering to help you or posting a call or whatever else? Engage. Ask questions. Send a meme. Tell me you want to interact even if you don't know how and we'll figure it out together. I'm tired of constantly chasing people or pulling proverbial teeth, especially when it's completely unnecessary. Communicate and engage with enthusiasm; both on your own and when I offer, and we'll be writing together in no time. Stop getting in your own way. Stop depriving yourselves. Let's have fun and actually fuckin write together.

[flightfoot]

Do you have any advice for commenting on fics? I really admire how active you are in the ML fandom, and I'd like to follow in your footsteps with that regard, but where do I start? How do you find fics to read/comment on, especially considering there's so many? Do you focus on new/underrated authors? How do you make time to read/comment? I feel like sometimes I don't have the energy to write out my thoughts the way I'd like to, so any advice would be helpful <333

Awww thanks! I know a lot of authors appreciate getting comments, so this would be great!

I'll start with your more specific questions:

How do you find fics to read/comment on, especially considering there's so many?: I go through and check ML's AO3 page several times a day to see if any new fics or updates have been posted that I'm interested in. I've been doing this since 2019, so you'll see lots of comments from me going way back.

Do you focus on new/underrated authors?: Not particularly. I won't shy away from them, but I don't have a preference for them either. I just read and review SO MANY ML fics from so many different authors, that I end up reviewing a lot of fics from lesser-known authors as well.

How do you make time to read/comment?: Honestly I get a lot of it done even while I'm at work, I can usually keep up with most of the fic updates/new fics I want to read that come out during those 8 hours or so (unless someone drops like, a 50k chapter. Yes, that HAS happened), just by reading and reviewing during my breaks and lunch. I also check AO3 quite a bit while I'm at home and have free time, or even just when I'm using the bathroom.

As for advice for how to comment, it varies. Generally I'll start off with a generic "Awww this is adorable!" or "This is great!" or something of that sort, and if it's a really short fic (like under 1000 words) I might not say much more than that, especially if the fic itself is kinda generic. I don't always have a ton of stuff to say about every fic.

Then, I'll try to single out at least one part that I especially liked, like how much attention the author paid to Alya's thoughts, feelings, and problems, or how clever a Lucky Charm plan was, or how well the writer demonstrated Gabriel's manipulativeness during some particular section, something like that. I've even copied down a line or two from the fic itself and given commentary on it in particular. It's often not that insightful though, like I might just say "I'm glad Adrien got a hug, he really needs it!" or something like that.

Asking questions can also be a useful way to come up with something to write for a review, like if there's something you're wondering about concerning the fic. Like whether Adrien's a sentimonster in this fic because if he is, that's gonna recontextualize him submitting to Gabriel's orders.

There's also "live-commenting", which takes awhile and is more work than regular commenting, but I'll sometimes do when I really want to show authors how much I appreciate their writing, particularly when they're regularly dropping really long chapters (like, over 5000 words typically). I only do this when I'm on desktop and have a lot of bandwidth. I'll pull up two tabs with the chapter in both of them, and I'll read from the first tab and type up my commentary for the chapter on the second tab. This is helpful for getting out all your thought for the fic without forgetting anything. I'd only advise doing this on fics that you're pretty certain are going to be... if not "good", at least ones that you can trust the author isn't gonna do anything to piss you off. When I first started doing this back in 2019, I tried doing it on just any random fic I ran across at first, and quickly figured out that was a bad idea when one of the fics turned out to be a saltfic and I needed to abandon the review, and all the effort I put into it, because my commentary at that point would just be me getting mad at the author's choices.

Does anyone else have particular tips or tricks? I've been reading and reviewing fics basically since I started reading them fifteen years ago, so while I'm experienced in reviewing them, I'm not all that familiar on the hang-ups new prospective reviewers might have, as I just... never really had them. I've never exactly been shy.

[acaiasahi]

indefinite hiatus notice + thank you for 100k! ★

hi everyone!

i just wanted to hop on here and say a couple things before logging out indefinitely.

one, thank you so much for 100k followers! i never thought this day would come, let alone get so much love for my silly fics, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you. i couldn't have achieved such a big following w/o the love and support of you guys <3.

two, i'm super sorry for falling off the face of the earth but as you can clearly see, i haven't really been active on here for the past month or so. i actually deleted a bunch of my side blogs except for @/run2tzu so don't worry if you don't see my other ones (not that anyone's searching... i had no bitches awn there 😭)

but to go more in depth, i haven't been into kpop for awhile now. it's less about the music aspect, but more-so of the fandoms. some, emphasis on some, fandoms are toxic, and being completely transparent, i'm just super tired of having to deal with such negative people. i love and will always love kpop, especially with all the people i've been able to connect with through it, but you can't blame me for wanting to step away from such a tiresome hobby.

i'm not sure how long i'll be gone for, i honestly might be away for quite some time. i've gotten into other hobbies like crocheting, i'm busy with work, and trying to get my life together because i'm turning 20 this year and that's terrifying lol. please understand my reasoning and be respectful.

again, thank you so much for your love during the past year and a half, i'm hoping to come back but i know it won't be any time soon.

tldr; thank u for 100k, i love u all and i'm going on an indefinite hiatus for idk how long bc the kpop scene is toxic af lmao

with lots of love and hugs,

jaydi.

tagging: @i-luvsang @tranquilpetrichor @h4chi @sseastar-main @seung-scrittore @sunoo-bby @eulris

[lost-in-beacon-hills]

You know I feel like I see so much discourse over Richie and Eddie's sexuality. But no one really seems to bring up the fact that every version of IT we have gotten is different from one another. To me the problem really isn't people actively trying to make richie and Eddie one way or the other.

I think it comes down to what interpretation they are going off of. In the books I'd argue that Richie is Bisexual. He loves Eddie but he's also turned on by Bev. (As much as I love the movies I personally prefer Bisexual Richie).

In the 1990's version I'd say that every character we are given is comp het. I don't think a single character was allowed to be anything but straight. (I haven't watched this one in awhile I could be remembering wrong but I don't think they ever really explored beyond bev/bill/ben/audra). Eddie, Richie and Stan were more background characters in my opinion.

Now where I think the 2017 version is what most of the Fandom has watched I think. And there is nothing wrong with that. I think it's a good movie. But unlike the other two adaptations it heavily implies that Richie only likes men.

Eddie on the other hand is so hard to pin down. In every adaptation he has married Myra, a woman that is supposed to be a version of his mother. (I will forever argue that Myra is not a villain she is actually just as fucked over in that situation as Eddie. Just like Myra feeds into his fears of being sick Eddie feeds into Myras fears and treats her like he did his mother. She didnt start out like that. He helps mold her into his mother.) We never really get to see where Eddie stands. But again every adaptation is a little different.

Much like Book Richie I think Eddie is Bisexual. One of his biggest fears that IT preys on is STDs. Instead of just a leper he actually sees a Leper that says "I'll blow you for a dime." Which later becomes ill blow you for free. I think book Eddie was deeply suppressing his sexuality. Honestly every version of Eddie is.

Again 1990 version did next to nothing with other characters outside of the love triangle.

But in the newest version Eddie seems miserable. He's just as obsessed with Richie as Richie was with Eddie. They didn't really imply one way or the other. (Or at least any heavy implications.) But I think it was reciprocated. Whether gay or bisexual up to the viewer.

I know this is a rather long winded way to say it but I think Richie and Eddie can be either. I know it can be frustrating to have people argue one way or the other for the sake of shipping but it's fiction. Neither person is real. They've been practically every sexuality. I think we can pick and chose which we enjoy.

[softredrobin]

‼ emergency commissions ‼

hey folks of tumblr! i know i haven't been super active on here in awhile, and i dislike talking about personal circumstances on this blog, but here i am. i've been having a really rough few months involving a company rescinding a job offer that i was relying on, and subsequently struggling to find a job. i managed to get one for the summer, but it's physically demanding work that doesn't really pay enough to cover living expenses like rent and groceries and gas and insurance, and things have steadily declined over the past couple of months.

as such, i'm opening art commissions for a time. i've done a couple here and there before for irl friends but nothing further, so bear with me if i'm a little clunky at it.

i've set up a ko-fi and settled a goal. i also have paypal for payment purposes.

i'll draw for fandoms i'm in, fandoms i'm not in, ocs/dnd characters, etc. i won't draw nsfw, hate art, or RPF. backgrounds are an additional charge depending on complexity, and the prices above are per character.

if you want something other than character art, like say a book cover for a fic, or something similar to my hands series, we can negotiate the price on that together.

anything helps, honestly. you can message me here on tumblr or on discord (@/softredrobin). i probably won't be answering any straight away tonight because i'm both physically and emotionally exhausted and probably headed to bed, but i'll be checking first thing tomorrow morning.

[myrandomsuaus]

So I got this ask awhile back and it’s been rattling around in my brain

At the time I had no clue on how to answer the question because I hadn’t checked out the bpau in some time since I hadn’t been keeping up with the su fandom. However, now I have a bit more of an answer and I’ll be putting that here.

Firstly, I don’t have a lot of details on how it would go, but I do know that Purple would be existing on earth with her pearl and the two would be known as Amy and Aubie, two rouge gems not apart of any of the courts. The two would meet and befriend Pink/Rose and Pearl and join their rebellion because of their shared love of the earth. However, just like the AU goes, the rebellion fails and is cut short. Rose is revealed to be Pink and Amy ends up revealed as Purple, who confuses all except White (and Aubie). Earth is taken away from Pink, Pearl and Aubie are punished (Pearl losing her ability to speak and Aubie being rejuvenated), and Purple is reintroduced to Homeworld. A new era is brought in to celebrate the return of the diamond that had “disappeared”, which is White’s way of treating the little rebellion as just another tantrum of Pink’s while forcing Purple back into a role she didn’t enjoy (because she felt all gems should be treated equal, but White never agreed with this). Purple to satisfy White and to keep from losing her pearl (since White had intended to take her away just like Pink Pearl, but Purple begged to keep her pearl since she was only doing what she was told by her) went along with White’s plans, she even changed her form to look similar to White to also satisfy White (since the two have a history).

Here is Purple’s reform. I tried making it similar to White’s form while making it different to fit Purple, plus making it darker to show that she may look similar to White, but they are different. She’d much rather treat all gems as equals and show that each gem is their own not what their gem is (ex. A pearl may be a pearl, but they’re more than just a pearl).

Secondly, idk if I’ll actually make my own bpau because I’m trying to focus more on my main AU, but I’m down with making what if designs for the AU. I thought about making Sophie a design for the potential AU, but I haven’t. Though she’ll look similar to Purple and her canon design (aka my current design for Sophie). I will say as a random thing for the potential BPAU is that Sophie is the daughter of a poly ship (Purple, Thomas [her dad] and Janice [her step mom in canon au]) and will end up with a younger sibling from her dad and mama (what Sophie calls Janice). [this is all just silly hypothetical stuff because idk if I’ll actually make this an au]

Lastly, remember this is all just random and for fun. It was something I’ve talked about with some friends, but I’m not taking this seriously because like I said it’s just for fun. I honestly just love coming up with random story ideas because there’s just so much that could happen and I’ve been told that I have a very active imagination (I’ve been told this by my mom since I was a kid, like three years old or so) lol. Anyways, this is just a silly lil suau idea that probably won’t go anywhere. If people enjoy the idea enough maybe it could just be a silly random AU I occasionally talk about and develop. Otherwise it’ll just be some random thing that exists on my blog lol.

Likes are nice, but reblogs are appreciated.

That’s all for now. Stay creative my friends ^w^

~Mod Art

[urmomsfavelesbian]

hiya honey!!! how's your day going?? i hope you're having a great one <3 how many different fan communities/fandoms have you been in? how active are you in them? what was/is your favorite one to be a part of? do you say you spend a lot of time in fandom spaces, or is it something that you do occasionally as an escape?

hiiiiii gi my day is okay, i hope You’re having a great one! as always pretend this isn’t like ten years late! answer under the cut because it’s Obnoxiously long for no reason

tldr: i was rlly into PLL for awhile, but (tumblr) drag race is my favorite fandom home by far :))))

sooo other than this one i’ve actually only been active in the Pretty Little Liars fandom, i had like 10k followers at my peak (which is surprising bc it wasn’t that good at all, i was 12 🤭) and that’s really it! i’ve been ~apart of various other fandoms, but not Active in them. oitnb halsey steven universe danganronpa etc, various cringey faggot things. i Love minecraft but i’m not rlly part of the ?fandom? for it? im part of the furry fandom i suppose even tho i can’t draw and i don’t participate (im nervous). i spend a lot of time on twitter wishing i had the talent other people do, so i’d say i spend a lot of time in those spaces but not like. In Them yaknow? and as far as my favorite, it’s honestly gotta be this one, but only the tumblr variety. bc 1) the drag race fandom anywhere else is Evil and Terrible (and not in the sexy daya way), i wouldn’t even wanna call myself a drag race fan anywhere else. and 2) it’s so much more chill and safe over here. i would receive death threats from twitter drag race people for even Supporting daya, let alone the other ways i feel about her 😳 and also being able to say whatever i want abt the girlies with almost no chance of them seeing it is a perk 🤭 i also really love stanning ~accessible celebrities, if i felt the way i do about daya for like. spins wheel taylor swift or harry styles or beyoncé, i’d be so sad all the time bc the chance of real interaction or being noticed is slim to none. it’s not like that’s all fandom is of course, but it’s important to me bc i want the people i love and support to Know that i, specifically, love and support them. sooo i guess i love stanning people that are gaymous!! not to mention the fact that drag race saved my life and then drag race tumblr changed my life so !!!

[lucienne-thee-librarian]

Despoe 😏

When I started shipping it: I kind of knew about it in the background as a crack ship for awhile, but in earnest? A few months ago tbh when I sort of rediscovered secondhand the fact that the wonderful Jill Thompson Season of Mists mangas exist, with the help of people like you who also thought the pair was actually really cute so it wasn't just a "is literally ANYONE else thinking about this" situation. :) <3

My thoughts: God. Again it started as a crackship but it's become so real to me, I can't lie. They are unconventional but absolutely wonderful just as a concept. Let them be happy together. Let Despair have her human poet. It's what she deserves, goddammit.

What makes me happy about them: That they have a Gomez and Morticia Addams vibe, the fictional version of this real life poet dude writes morbid shit and Despair is the personification of sadness and yet she gets flustered when she notices him?? He genuinely sees inspiration and creativity in her and makes something where others see only darkness? Like in a weird gothic couple way they make sense. Also as I've said before there is really something genuinely deeply touching to me on a personal level about the idea that everyone has someone who loves them, including Despair. In her case of course she has multiple someone's, platonically in the case of her siblings but also with Despoe she gets romance. And isn't that what many people want, the hope that even at our lowest we'll still be lovable to someone?

What makes me sad about them: That they aren't technically canon anywhere else...but they're canon in my heart.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: So, yeah, there is SO LITTLE FIC of these two or Despair in general, I don't really gave an answer to this. I haven't yet been successful in even finding this pair of A03 yet. So...

Things I look for in fanfic: More. Of. It. This is a canoe of rarepairs.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Okay SO yes I know I've said I'm over how a certain ship and character (cough Dr*mling ahem ahem) have taken over the Sandman fandom to the detriment or reduction of so many other characters to the point where it feels totally inescapable without tag filtering out 3/4ths of the entire fandom BUT. But. @softest-punk and their Hobsbandverse au is just. It's so good and everybody is given great dynamics and characterization in it, I will die on this hill. And Despair gets like, the most genuine love and appreciation as a character that I've ever seen outside of this tiny dedicated corner of you me and a very few others. But I haven't really seen any other ships for her period, let alone any that really compel me.

My happily ever after for them: Where Death grants him a similar exemption because she likes to see her sister happy (or as close as she'll ever get to happiness) so Despair gets to keep her boyfriend.

Who is the big spoon/little spoon: They trade off because Poe likes to be held and surrounded by his muse. But also, honestly, Despair doesn't get a lot of people who want to hold her. Basically the only people we ever see get close and physically affectionate with her in any way are her twin and Destruction. So she deserves to be the little spoon and I think she thus tends to get cuddled a little more often.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Poe writing as Despair inspires him and admires his work.

[autumntouched]

I have an unpopular and probably a controversial opinion, but as a fanfic reader, I honestly believe Tumblr is NOT a good fit for posting fanfiction, let alone multi-chapter fics when it comes to engagement of readers for a number of reasons.

First, there is how hit or miss Tumblr can be with posts not showing up in the tags correctly or not getting notifications when you're tagged. Heck, there are several blogs I follow on here that even though I have it turned on to be notified any time they post, I've yet to get a notification when they do.

Second, there's the difficulty of trying to find the first chapter/previous chapter/next chapter of a fic if the writer didn't bother to link the chapters together in some way or use a dedicated tag. I've come across way too many fics on here where I had to spend an inordinate amount of time digging through the writers blog to find the next chapter because they didn't provide any links or even use a dedicated tag for their story. After awhile, I don't care how good a fic is, having to deal with stuff like that will quickly turn me off a fic.

Third, there isn't a unified & connected tagging system here like there is on AO3. I know I'm probably missing some really good fic because it's been tagged in a different way than how I search on here. Also, I hate that fics I don't want to read keep showing up in tags I'm searching because I can't filter out tags.

So with all of that, as a fanfic reader, I much prefer to read and follow fics on AO3. In fact, the only reason I even started to read fics on Tumblr was because for the first few months after TGM came out, Tumblr was really the only place to find TGM fics. Before TGM, I never read a single fic on Tumblr.

And as a fanfic writer, I also prefer to post my fics on AO3. The few times I've posted my one shots on here (in an active fandom), I got very little engagement. And I tagged those fics six ways to Sunday and even reblogged & reposted them a few times.

But on AO3, I have fics I wrote TEN years ago still getting kudos & bookmarks when fics I posted a year ago on here will never see the light of day again unless someone decides to spend a day going through my blog or I decide to reblog/repost them because the tagging system on here either shows you the current stuff or the most popular stuff when you search a tag.

Plus with AO3 I know a kudos means someone read and enjoyed my fic even if they didn't leave a comment. I can see when someone bookmarks or favorites a fic and I can even see how many hits each fic has. I don't have to manage a tag list or run a second "library" blog because on AO3 someone can just subscribe to my fic or follow my account & AO3 will automatically send them an email when I update a fic or post a new fic. I don't have to use a million tags because a dedicated group of tag wranglers makes sure similar tags are connected.

So yeah, I know how much it sucks when it feels like you're just posting into the void on here when all you're getting is likes. And I know there is still a large number of new users on here who think likes on Tumblr work the same way they do on all the other social media sites when they actually don't and that it feels like we're shouting at a brick wall anytime we try to explain that to the new users. But at this point, I feel like fic writers on here are just beating a dead horse with every "ENGAGE WITH MY FICS OR ELSE I STOP WRITING" post I see.

You can't force people to engage with your content. Those who want to will & those who don't will continue to do so and shame posts aren't going to change that. In fact, every shame post I see makes me not want to engage with that writer. Just like us as readers have no right to demand you write & post more, writers have no right to demand engagement of readers.

And if not getting enough engagement makes you want to stop writing, then that's on you the writer and not on us, the readers. Would people miss your writing if you stopped posting? Probably. But that's your prerogative and you shouldn't try to make people feel guilty about YOUR decision.

Fair point about the difference in platforms. There are pros and cons to each, and I think it's also fair for writers to weigh what works for them. AO3 does not have PMs, which makes it way less functional for me to engage as openly as I would like. The readers who have taken the time to get to know me understand and respect that is why I am here and not always on AO3

Talk to Me as an intentional multi-chapter fic is on AO3 for its better functionality for that format and is here on tumblr for anyone who didn't catch it on AO3 and so people drop into my dms to chat about it

This though: "Just like us as readers have no right to demand you write & post more, writers have no right to demand engagement of readers."

Asks are readers asking for writers to write and post more. And yes, writers voluntarily open their asks but that does not preclude wanting some kind of feedback for the effort they put into provide those stories. I am writing it because I LOVE the collaborative writing process of sharing ideas and getting to write something that will make someone happy. When people tell me exactly what makes them happy, I have the chance to give them more of that. I am asking for something that makes me a better writer for what they asked me for

Also, just to recap what's going on widely, readers ARE demanding that writers write and post more. That's part of the frustration people are trying to address

The Hannix Football Rivalry AU Series was "born" on tumblr (and was never meant to be a multi-chapter fic). It exists SOLELY because of reader requests, and I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a different level of engagement for that or want people to acknowledge you as the writer in their asks or to ask for feedback to ensure you're on the right track for making people happy

Yes, there are people who comment on and reblog everything I write. And while I deeply appreciate it, that is not at all what I expect or am asking of anyone. Just every now and then letting me know where your head's at, what you're feeling would be nice.

And this is MY controversial opinion, and I am only speaking for myself here. I'm on tumblr to engage with my readers. To me, fanfiction is a community and a relationship. That is what's meaningful about it to me. Knowing what people feel and think. I am here to write for you but also still want to feel like a person doing that. If any readers don't want to have to even consider who I am as a person or have a conversation about how I feel, I'm very comfortable with them no longer reading my work or waiting until I decide what to migrate to AO3. There are enough people in my life who only care about the work I do without caring about me as a person that I don't need that energy in a space I've created for myself <3

[twerkinirken]

I tried to send you a Very Important Check mark yesterday, cuz we love you & you're an amazing part of the IZ fandom, but I don't think it went through orz Just know in your heart that the attempt was made! Please revive that last shred of self esteem lol!

Gosh I wish you weren’t Anon so I could thank you so much and be besties but I respect your privacy. Yeah the gesture means more to be then the result! And I hope you didn’t lose your money since it didn’t work? You honestly have no clue how much it meant to me.

I often feel like I can’t produce content myself so I love sharing amazing art and trying to create positivity in my fandom that keeps me going through the hard time so to know I’m actively bringing happiness to others fills me with immense joy and self worth lmao

I’m gonna get all vulnerable and real with y’all I’ve had some pretty awful months, I moved out of my super shit and super dangerous building, finally had to move after getting directly harassed by an ice addict, I thought things would finally get better but someone I thought was my friend stole a bunch of stuff from me and took out a couple thousands of debt in my name. Weirdly enough I’m the most emotionally damaged about the stolen PlayStation4 because I’ve owned it for 8 years and it had all my PS3 and PS4 game data.

It’s been hard to prove and charge her since she was my ‘close’ friend who had access to a lot of my stuff which muddied the process and she moved suddenly so clearly she was planning this exit for awhile. I also found out she got caught stealing stuff before and got off scot free claiming mental health crisis which personally upsets me even more as someone who is severely mentally unwell so I’m worried she’ll do that again?

I’m physically disabled with a lot of mental health issues so I can’t work, I’ve had to take out a loan and it’s still no where near enough to make a dent in money I now owe. Even if the police CAN get her to pay me back I still have to pay it now.

It just feels like every time I move forward and try to be happy and thrive I get kicked in the chest and go back to drowning.

Anyway enough of that! Feel free to scroll past this, I know it’s a lot, sorry for clogging the feed, I suppose I needed to get it out somewhere so just ignore this if you want lmao