#i'm also a relatively small blog and my work doesn't get much engagement so i figured it couldn't hurt to put it out there~

[jojosgaylittleadventure]

Josuyasu Fic Master Post

Unfortunately I didn't really have the time/energy this month to participate in the 2024 Josuyasu week, but a few of my fics that I already have published fit some of the prompts

So if anyone is interested here is a master post of my Josuyasu fic collections that I have on Ao3 (canon_compliant)

*note: all of my fics are relatively sfw, most that are rated "T" are due to possible triggers (and some good old make-out scenes lol)

The boys are a mess

This is a series of my short Josuyasu fics while they're still teenagers. All the fics go together and if you read them in order, they are chronological.

The Kids Aren't Alright (Rating: T)

Summary: After witnessing Keicho’s death, Josuke can’t quite bring himself to leave Okuyasu alone. In what others might see as the smallest gestures, Josuke offers Okuyasu his friendship. Taking place during cannon, this is just a short fic about the beginnings of Josuke and Okuyasu’s friendship. Tags: Higashikata Josuke (JoJo: Diamond is Unbreakable), Nijimura Okuyasu, Higashikata Tomoko, During Canon, Pre-Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Friendship, Depression, just a touch of bi-panic, Canon Compliant, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Tomoko loves her new son

WINDY SUMMER (Rating: G)

Summary: After the fight with Kira, Josuke has to spend his summer break recovering, but Okuyasu makes sure to keep him company. Tags: Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Fluff, Friendship, bi-panic, in fact Okuyasu is the definition of bi-panic, Fellas is it gay to want to kiss your homie?, also, Technically spoilers for the Japanese 1998 Ring film

spilling out (Rating: T)

Summary: Josuke and Okuyasu are both recovering in the hospital after the events of 4th Another Day. Tags: The Book: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure 4th Another Day, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Fluff, Hospitals, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Sickfic, kinda lol, bi-panic, cuz y'all know i can’t write josuyasu without some bi-panic, Friendship, Josuke and Okuyasu are a pair, they are co-dependent, pls do not separate them

soft and slow, like summer rain (Rating: T)

Summary: After a study session gone wrong, Josuke finds himself needing somewhere he can feel safe and at home and that some where turns out to be Okuyasu. Tags: Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, the following tags are not from/between the ship (just an fyi), Non-Consensual Kissing, Non-Consensual Touching, Side Character/Main Character Attempted Sexual Assault, Attempted Sexual Assault, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Victim Blaming

The boys are still a mess, but now they're adults

This is a series of my short Josuyasu fics while they're adults. All the fics go together and if you read them in order, they are chronological.

Sleep (Rating: T)

Summary: Josuke and Okuyasu have just moved into there own place and Okuyasu is struggling with his guilt over leaving his father behind. Tags: Adult Higashikata Josuke (JoJo: Diamond is Unbreakable), Adult Nijimura Okuyasu, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, PTSD, Childhood Trauma, Physical Abuse, Physical Abuse against a minor to be more specific, Okuyasu just really needs a hug, Nijimura Okuyasu-centric

Misguided Ghosts (Rating: G)

Summary: Josuke loves his job as a nurse, but sometimes it can get to be too much. Tags: Adult Higashikata Josuke (JoJo: Diamond is Unbreakable), Adult Nijimura Okuyasu, Nurse Higashikata Josuke (JoJo: Diamond is Unbreakable), Chef Nijimura Okuyasu, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Hospital, death mention, Josuke is secretly a very anxious stressed boy, Also all the people that think Josuke would be a cop can fight me

Sickday (Rating: G)

Summary: Josuke comes down with a fever while at work at the hospital. Tags: Adult Higashikata Josuke (JoJo: Diamond is Unbreakable), Adult Nijimura Okuyasu, Nurse Higashikata Josuke (JoJo: Diamond is Unbreakable), Sickfic, Caretaking, Gentle Okuyasu, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, sick Josuke, I stand by what I said last time, Everyone who thinks Josuke would be a cop can fight me, Nurse Josuke superiority

Collar Full (Raiting: G)

Summary: It’s Josuke’s 24th birthday. Okuyasu throws him a party and considers taking the risk and telling him how he feels after all these years. Tags: Adult Higashikata Josuke (JoJo: Diamond is Unbreakable), Adult Nijimura Okuyasu, Post-Canon, Fluff, Love Confessions, bi-panic, tbh Okuyasu is the definition of bi-panic lol, Tomoko is Josuke and Okuyasu’s biggest fans

Talk Too Much (Rating: T)

Summary: Josuke and Okuyasu invite Tomoko over for dinner to tell her about them. Tags: Adult Higashikata Josuke (JoJo: Diamond is Unbreakable), Adult Okuyasu, Post-Canon, Developing Relationship, Coming Out, Good Parent Higashikata Tomoko, Josuke is truly just an anxious bean, And Okuyasu needs to be nicer to himself, TAGS FROM THIS POINT ON CONTAIN SPOILERS, First Kiss, The tanuki will return as he is Okuyasu’s son now

Just Like a Movie (Rating: T)

Summary: For the first time since they’ve started dating, Josuke and Okuyasu go out with Yukako and Koichi to the Obon festival in S-City. It’s a double date, but Yukako and Koichi don’t know. Tags: Adult Higashikata Josuke (JoJo: Diamond is Unbreakable), Adult Nijimura Okuyasu, Post-CanonDeveloping Relationship, But also, Established Relationship, Adult Yamagashi Yukako/Hirose Koichi, Fluff, First Dates, Kinda, Also I’m not sure how to/if I need to tag this but just in case:, I’m not sure how to explain it but I don’t want to catch anyone by surprise, Mention of Non-con kissing, It’s not super serious but it could also boarder on a mention of Sexual Assault, Everyone loved a good festival episode, Return of the tanuki…, The boys are nervous about being gay™ in public, also Koichi is a clueless little dummy and I love him

You can find individual posts for each of these fics on my blog in my fic tag

@josuyasuweek-2024 you can ignore this if you want but i am sad my brain did not allow me to truly participate I know i didn't write these for the week but i still wanted to share if that's okay ;-;

[nyaagolor]

Bad Polls and the Art of Engagement Bait

So as anyone who follows this blog probably noticed, I posted a poll yesterday. Sorry ace attorney tumblr, it was bait. That was part of a little social experiment to test some theories I had about engagement bait and the tumblr "algorithm"-- and it was a resounding success!! I even made a replicate, that being a similar poll only hours later, which had basically the same result. Somehow. Now that the cat is officially out of the bag, I thought it would be fun to talk about it!

The entire point of this little social experiment was to combine some observations I had about what posts do well, the general attitude of tumblr users, and how to maximize engagement with minimal effort within fandom spaces. Thus, I'm combining all my thoughts into a little guide: how to make the lowest effort, highest engagement post possible:

Recognize that negative engagement on tumblr travels father than positive engagement Tumblr may not have an algorithm, but the system is still set up in a way where negative engagement rewards the poster more than positive engagement. A simple "like" is enough to show agreement or approval, but dissent or shock requires replies or reblogs (the latter of which are significantly more common). More reblogs = more people seeing the post, and thus posts that elicit a negative reaction tend to travel further than positive ones

Capitalize on the fact that people love to bitch about things when given the opportunity Generally speaking, going onto a random post you hate and exclaiming how much you hate it is a bit of a tumblr faux pas. Same thing with venting about how much you dislike something. While bringing up the topic yourself and being snippy to specific people are frowned upon, however, places like polls that provide an opportunity to bitch about things are a great outlet, and a LOT of people will take it

Take advantage of the poll's inherent anonymity This may seem counterintuitive-- the person posting the poll and everyone reblogging it aren't anonymous at all! This doesn't matter though, only the votes do. The anonymity of the votes on a tumblr poll turn the opinions of others, no matter their relative size, into a nebulous opinion of the indeterminate masses. THIS is the most important part of the engagement bait, because tumblr users love to complain but aren't likely to do so to someone directly for fear of hurting their feelings or getting called out for being rude. If you can take a dissenting opinion and remove the actual user from the equation, people are far more likely to share exactly what they think about it-- this is when the "no reading comprehension" and "you people seriously think (X)" and "ugh I hate fandom" takes come out en masse. Tumblr users may be mean, but more importantly we are also cowards. In the case of the poll I posted above, even extremely small minority opinions were being commented on in almost every single reblog, despite the fact that these opinions made up less than 10% of the votes for a majority of the poll's run.

More buzzwords, less nuance Buzzwords and a lack of nuance work together to make engagement more likely-- buzzwords are often both overused and misused, while a lack of nuance (typically in the form of a yes or no question) eggs people into explaining themselves. Combine these two and you add people justifying themselves, arguing with others, and complaining about the buzzword in general into your reblogs, boosting your numbers even more. In my case, I chose the lowest of the low when it comes to poll topics: "Is (recognizable character) (buzzword)?". How people fell for this twice I'm not sure, but it works!

If things are getting boring, stir the pot yourself You can use alt accounts or just make up tags yourself, but I was too lazy to do this. However, there's always the option of cherrypicking-- screenshot outlandish or dissenting tags, even if it's just one in a sea of hundreds, and post that in a reblog with an incredulous caption. Bringing tags to the attention of the majority invites new focus on those tags AND your poll, giving people another outlet to add their takes. Some people will likely even reblog it Again.

Now that the bait is set, watch people in your notes talk over themselves like a flock of seagulls

Congrats! You've now made a successful bait poll. Fortunately or unfortunately, mine worked so well that people fell for it twice, both of them got thousands of votes each within the day, my notifications are overflowing, and popular blogs have made posts referencing it. Point proven, hypothesis verified. As they say: easy website.

[bougiebutchbitch]

Hey I saw your post about anon haters and I agree. I've had some awful comments lately on one of my alternate blogs for a relatively small unknown fandom. Do you have any tips on dealing with this sort of thing?

Oh gosh nonnie - first off I'm so sorry you're having to deal with that. I say this to everyone who gets anon hate, but just... please know that they're useless pathetic cowards lmao.

By dint of being Loud And AnnoyingTM, I collect some anon hate from pretty much every fandom I’m in. It's easy to start wondering if the problem is you, until you realise you're literally just yelling happily about what you love on your blog.

If people don't like it, all they have to do is block and blacklist you and move on. There is never any excuse for harrassment.

Thankfully, as a result, I've developed a pretty solid way of handling anon hate!

Disclaimer: it goes without saying that there is no 'wrong' or 'right' way to deal with anon hate. It's horrible, and the victim is never at fault. The below is just some observations from having been on the internet and fielding this stuff since I was eleven (so, over a decade).

My heart goes out to you, and to everyone who's receiving anon hate. You deserve better.

First up, there are several different sorts of anon hate. Here are some of the common ones:

1. Basic trolling. Nasty messages that are just looking for engagement.

Solution: Just block it. Don't feed them. Laugh about it in your groupchat. Mock them mercilessly to your friends, but give them no public exposure.

2. Attempts to trigger. These are the cruellest: when people send you deliberately triggering content.

Solution: Blocking often doesn't work. A lot of these cunts use VPNs, because their sole purpose in life is to harass others, and they've figured out how to do it. Ignoring them doesn't work. They will just keep coming to your inbox and filling it with incredibly triggering stuff, because again, this is where they get off. Some of this stuff is very hard to even share and mock with your friends, because it's SO graphic and disgusting. If you're being targeted by a wanker like this, it's honestly best to turn off anon for at least a month.

I've tried to wait them out before while leaving anon on - for literally a year in one particularly pernicious case - and I got gross graphic triggering content in my inbox every fortnight or so despite me NEVER interacting or engaging.

So, just turn anon off. It's not worth it.

If they start making fake blogs to send you hate, report and block. If it gets too bad, turn off asks altogether. Again, it’s just not worth it.

3. People who are polite, but want you to change how you run your blog for literally no good reason except 'I am uncomfortable when you do not conform to my preferences'.

Solution: These are the most benign, but also the most annoying, lmao. I usually answer the first message I receive from people like this, mostly to mock them, because like... who does this rather than just unfollowing???? But if they keep trying to make it an argument when they're the ones coming into my online space and trying to make me change, rather than just... taking the very easy available measures to avoid me, I block 'em without warning or remorse.

Bye bitch.

I will say that one fun thing to do with this sort of person is to get one of your mates to send in another anon PRAISING you for EXACTLY what the anon is mad about lmaoooooooo

It makes them SO MAD, it's hilarious. I've farmed these idiots before and watched them have fucking breakdowns in my inbox from doing this skldflfsdjg. It's very satisfying, especially when you've got a whole groupchat laughing at them with you. But obviously, be aware that you're making them angry on purpose, and they might retaliate.

4. Bait. People who send you leading or misleading questions, in an attempt to get you to say something problematic, which will then encourage more hate.

Solution: You're under no obligation to answer. You don’t need to prove a nything to anyone.

Even if you answer perfectly, a lot of these weirdos will try to twist your words in any way they can, deliberately misquote or misinterpret what you’re saying. Just block 'em. It's not worth your energy to try and figure out their 'gotcha!’ games.

#

I hope that at least helps you feel a little less alone, nonnie. Please never be afraid to block people and turn off anon, if it's all getting too much. It doesn't make you weak; it doesn't mean they've won. It means you're taking important measures to set boundaries and show them that this sort of behaviour is unacceptable!

I'm wishing you all the best. It must be especially tough in a small fandom, where you feel like you know everyone. I’m really sorry you’re having to deal with this. x

[rpbetter]

Hmm.. I don't why I even bother with my mutuals. I'm the only one who engages with them. Yet, when I send a simple cool starter meme to a mutual they don't reply to mine, but other people. This has been happening for several months, it's a small rpc, but the fandom is large. Whenever I reblog a meme I don't ever expect anyone to send me anything that's their choice, but its quite dishearting when my mutuals doesn't send any. Only one or two do sometimes five, while I'm nice enough to send it in their askbox. Sometimes I wonder if its because I don't post my fanart on my blog or I write a popular character; some rpers have a negative stigma against.. which is unfair and wrong.. Its so depressing. I don't know why I'm sad I'm in my 30s I should not be feeling this way. Or perhaps I'm being taken advantage of due to how genuine and considerate I am.. its like they sit back and do nothing while I do the work. God I hope not. I'm very chill and respect my mutuals. It just seems as though I'm being lead on and I'm afraid to express how I feel.

I'm really sorry you're feeling like this, Anon, I don't know if anything I have to say will help, but maybe it'll at least be helpful that you've gotten to express it somewhere! I'm definitely going to try, though.

Unfortunately, all of this is way too common. You're not at all alone in feeling this way, any of it! I think we've all had the experience of what amounts to being in one-sided RP, if we haven't, it's because we haven't yet. You'd think that being in a smaller area of the RPC that it would make this less likely to happen, but I think it can be worse sometimes in this situation because people in smaller circles have a tendency to become insular in a way that can be really bad.

It isn't usually intentional, you just become very comfortable with this smaller number of people and your relationships with them, everyone ends up with a sort of role within it. We establish in our minds that muns a, b, and c are our go-to writing partners, b and c are those we always send to or answer memes from, a we always interact with extra OOC, and so on. When you're muse d, your efforts go nowhere, you're not the mutual for any of it in their minds.

There probably is something making this easier, though, and you might very well be right about you being genuine and considerate being a factor. As much as that is the way to be, it can act against you as well if you're being viewed not as just a nice, considerate mun, but as someone who just exists to quietly support others. People could be viewing you as so relaxed and without demand that it doesn't matter to you much, or that even if it does, you're not a priority compared to the mutuals they might be concerned about dropping them if they don't give enough attention to them.

To that end, there is honestly not much you can do. Anything you say on the dash is likely to come across as suddenly too demanding or guilting, and coming to them individually to ask if there is something you could be doing for more interactions might not be seen as a genuinely no-pressure question. I'd recommend, if there are any changes you end up enacting in order to help combat all of this, that you post a very pleasant message saying, essentially, "I've made some updates and I'm looking to do some new threads, if anyone is interested, here is my meme tag! If you'd like me to send you a meme, comment what your meme tag is so I can."

That way, you're making them aware that you have changed some things (you can even post about those specific changes so they can all see if those are things that they felt were holding them back from interacting), directly stating you want/are seeking new interactions with them, and giving them two options to start that up quickly. Nothing guilt-trippy about it, just informative and direct, but polite still.

Now, about those possible changes, because there might be some other factors compounding this situation.

Do your current mutuals seem to be just meme based? I mean, do they primarily interact only through memes, or do they prefer to do some plotting first? It could be that they don't feel like responding to the starter meme coming from you is going to turn into a lasting thread if they require some plotting. It's possible that they started out just doing memes, but as time has gone, they've changed...and not mentioned it.

For example, I do require plotting or established interactions between mun and muse alike before I'll do a starter-style meme with someone. That's because I want it to be a longer-lasting thread, and I don't have to do plotting with these muns to make that happen. I also put that in the tags on the incredibly rare occasion I reblog one because that's the polite thing to do, but they may feel afraid that they'll be accused of favoritism or elitism if they do that. I'm not saying that's right, it's not, it's unfair and kind of mean to ignore people for their failure to do something you require that you're not telling them about, but it could be part of what is happening.

If they have open starters, do starter calls, that they're also not responding to (or have things in their rules about plotting) that could be a big part of this issue. They'd rather you react to the open starters, or contact them about writing a starter, and/or contact them for plotting.

There is also the possibility that the memes you're sending do not seem, to them, like situations that are either going to work out or that are appealing from your muse. Obviously, you thought so, or you wouldn't have sent it! It's always hard to tell what someone else thinks, however.

The memes you're sending could be too vague, or conversely, too specific for a situation they don't see with your muse/don't want with your muse. If they're very simple sentence starters, that could be hard to respond to with a muse they don't have established interactions with. If they're too specific, they could feel it's implying a relationship with your muse that theirs doesn't have.

It's a difficult balance and a lot of guessing, but try to send something in the middle of the two. Something that doesn't imply the muses know each other, but also gives something interesting to go off of easily.

Could also be the number of memes you're sending. Everyone wants to get memes, we're all upset when we post a meme and get absolutely nothing! But one person sending us many memes can feel overwhelming or even demanding. I know you're not trying to come off that way, and I cannot say that it is being perceived as such, but this is a possibility and I am trying to cover as many of them as I can in case one works out so you can enjoy yourself in RP again!

If you think this may be the case, try holding off on sending them. Give yourself a set number...something very small at first like one to each mutual a month only when it comes to starter-style memes specifically. That's going to be lame, and I'm sorry! You clearly don't have the interactions you want and it's upsetting enough to you as it is, but if running this experiment means figuring out something that allows you to have them, it'll be worth it, right?

As for the memes you do receive from others, what kind are you getting? Are they sentence/starters, or ones you can answer OOC? Variety of both? Are they the most basic, non-committal sentence on the meme, or interesting, engaging ones? This could be an important clue as to what your mutuals want/where they hold the possibility of your interaction and why. It could also be adding to their perceptions.

I feel like I should say again, as I've no desire to add to how bad you're feeling, that I mean none of this in either an assured way or a judgmental one. I'm just covering all bases of possibility, and even if any of these things are the case, you're not being a bad RP partner, you just might be the wrong one for some of your current mutuals.

If you are primarily getting OOC or non-committal sort of sentence starters, they could be trying to send you memes to be nice, but not have an interest in writing with you. They could be trying to see more of your muse before making that commitment, too. It could be that they're seeking some more development on the muse from you, or more development of a verse they think their muse would work out best with yours in.

So, if you're getting questions that are giving you an opportunity to talk about your muse, develop them, show everyone how you write them, be sure you're taking that opportunity. Try not to reply to those with really short, obvious answers/responses. If it seems there is no way to answer without being obvious, think on ways you can give new information involved with the obvious answer.

If you are getting sentence/starter memes, make your reply as personally interesting to that mun as possible. Go through their wishlist tag if they have one and write your response based on one of them. If they haven't any plots they've expressed a desire to do, you can still get a good idea of what they find particularly appealing by both the threads they already have and the sort of things they reblog. It could just be that, in the past, what you've given in return wasn't something they felt drawn to enough.

Since you said in the second message you sent that this was a relatively recent thing, they used to interact with you, I'm really wondering if they've lost interest in your muse for another fandom favorite, or there is a similar issue going on. Because that certainly implies that something changed for them that did not change for you.

Has there been a significant change in fandom? An old favorite character returned, there is a new one the whole fandom is about, or yours did something in canon that the fandom didn't like? It's always the risk of playing a canon...even one that is canonically dead can end up having something in their story added to that drastically changes the fandom's opinion, so it's a possibility.

In any event, on the other points, big fandom favorite-of-the-moment canons always, I mean that, knock everyone else out. jusAnd it doesn't even have to be in your fandom, either! It can be in a popular enough fandom that your mutuals accept crossovers from, and can feel really shocking when you have a situation like...they all left that major fandom due to burnout with it or drama, but were still attached to it enough to accept crossovers, and suddenly, new media, especially with an old favorite, appears - you are categorically ignored for another fandom's MC lol Neat feeling!

So, it could have nothing at all to do with you. You're just not the hyperfixation right now.

There are some changes that could have happen that might be more involved with you. I don't want to say "have to do with you," because that implies fault and it's not a fault situation when people change and want different things than what they one enjoyed with you. It's possible that some of your mutuals have grown into lengthier writing, different plot genres (they were about hurt/comfort, now they're about fluff), are more/less into shipping than they were, things like that.

I feel I should clarify again that this isn't judgment! It's unfortunately stigmatized to call this "growing into/progressing/etc." when that's just the best way to put it. It implies that you lack growth, you're stuck somewhere, you need to progress. That's not what I'm implying, or that there's anything wrong with continuing to enjoy a hobby the same way you always have...just as there's nothing wrong with expanding on it.

This could be part of the situation. Especially if your mutuals are at one of those awful age ranges where people experience rapid changes in how they enjoy things. What is a great time when you're RPing in your late teens is really different from what you enjoy in your early twenties is really different from what you enjoy in your mid to late twenties is different from what you enjoy in your early thirties is...you get the point. (Though, I will say, for all y'all ageist folks out there: you need to both stop shitting on teens/early twenties people for writing at a lower level than you in your late twenties and stop acting like anyone over thirty is a pedo, unapproachable, and into their forties and beyond are just incomprehensible as writers. Writing is a skill, you improve by doing it, and there is no magical age at which one turns into a pedo and has to give up their interests.) It's really possible that many of them have moved into different aspects of RP than you have.

If that seems to be the case, you have a couple of options. Pay attention to what they are writing, see if that's something you would enjoy working on doing as well. If so, start working on it by increasing your writing skills with any threads you do have or memes you do get, practice is the best way. If you have literally nothing to practice with, you'll have to practice on your own by taking a meme line you would have loved to get, using it as a writing prompt, and writing out what comes to you, just as you would in a meme someone sent you.

Okay, so what if you aren't interested in doing what they are? That's fine! Instead, you may want to look into attracting new mutuals that are more into what you are.

Honestly? If you feel like you are questioning why you even bother with these people already...that's my honest opinion of what you should consider doing regardless. Find new mutuals.

We all know there's a bit of a promo issue, they don't bring in new partners the way they once did, but it's still a good idea to have one floating around. Promo yourself on any relevant lists of active RPers out there you can find. If it's something you'll be alright with, be sure you're crossover and OC friendly to attract the maximum amount of muns and advertise in the maximum number of lists (though, if you say you have a verse in a fandom, do actually make that verse). Verses are a great way to give your potential mutuals the possibility to interact with your muse, consider adding ones from any major fandoms you enjoy and the usual favorites like a "modern" verse.

Other things you can do/should check if you're going to try attracting new mutuals would be having some writing on your blog for them to see and being certain your rules, muse bio, etc. are all up to date and finished out.

With the writing, I realize the situation you have going on is not great for showing potential mutuals your writing! Whatever current things you have, be as active with them as possible, and consider doing some headcanons or one shots. That way there is something that shows you're active, a bit about what interacting with you and your muse is like, and what you're capable of writing.

And with the other things, they're all really important information for mutuals to have, especially new ones who haven't been there with you this whole time. Your old mutuals may know, for example, what putting in your rules "just don't be a dick" means to you, specifically, but new mutuals do not. So, give your rules a once-over to be sure they're clear on what you do/do not want, how you approach RP, etc. Make sure all the common things are covered, but things unique to yourself as well.

If you haven't finished your muse bio, or you feel there are new things for you to add to it now, it's the best time to do so! Since you have a canon, I have to say it - don't just link to a wiki. Take this time you've been unfortunately gifted by inactivity to write up your own take on this muse - your portrayal is different than anyone else's, show your new mutuals how.

If you haven't a page for verses yet, or that page/post is really brief and has things like, "this is a modern verse, it takes place in our world" now is also the time to either make it or improve this. Really tell them what is different about your muse in each verse, what's interesting about this verse, where they fit into the canon of whatever fandom. Treat these verses as foundations for what you'll build with your mutuals, not hard stories that have to be followed, and be sure you're clear about that on the page/post! It'll help more people engage with your muse when they don't feel like you have an immutable story already without them.

Consider adding a navigation page/post if you do not already have one. A pinned post can work for this! That way you can link by your tags as well, so new people checking out your blog can quickly see your memes, headcanons, aesthetic posts, everything. And if you haven't been tagging those things? Start doing it for this purpose! Give people a way to quickly and passively check out as much as possible on your muse before they choose to interact, it'll help them make that choice.

As a last thing...I have to ask, have you asked any of your present mutuals why you're not interacting anymore?

I understand if you haven't, especially if you hadn't developed a good rapport with them yet. They could take that as guilting or pressuring and get annoyed with you, so I get the anxiety and reluctance. People also have an unintentionally horrible way of lying, too. Their intentions are good, they just don't want to make anyone feel bad or start an argument, but the outcome isn't nice. Yeah, people do totally ask these things expressly to be lied to and validated, or even to start an argument, but we shouldn't be treating everyone like that's what they're doing. We should assume that when people ask for help understanding a problem that they want the help. Community problem we all need to work on!

But anyway, if you feel like any of them are going to be honest and polite with you, and you haven't done so already, try asking them what is going on. No one knows better than they do why they're not engaging with you anymore, after all. Even if this isn't a situation that is going to improve with these mutuals, it's good to know for the future.

To avoid sounding like you're pressuring/shaming/guilting them, choose your words and phrasing carefully. Instead of, "I noticed you don't respond to the memes I send you, but do respond to memes from other mutuals," try, "I noticed we don't interact much anymore, it's fine if you're just in a different place now, but if there is something I can be doing differently, it would help me a lot to know, if you're alright with discussing that with me."

I'm not trying to imply you don't know how to converse with people, Anon lol I just know that it can be a difficult situation, it can lead to us unintentionally saying something that come off wrong to the other party. I'd really love for you to get an answer, even if it isn't one you like, so you'd at least know what went on and could move on from it.

Because this, reasonably, is pretty upsetting.

You are never too old to feel disappointed, hurt, or confused, Anon! It's okay to be depressed at any age when you've invested your time and energy in a hobby only to have it passed over for nebulous reasons. Hobbies are supposed to be fun, but that's the thing...hobbies aren't your job, the time and energy you invest in them is just for you. It's a passionate pursuit, if you want it to be. So having this kind of situation is hurtful, and you don't even know why it's happening.

Tumblr has this extremely gross problem with throwing around shit to shame muns over twenty-five for having a hobby still, don't internalize it! I'm not remotely sorry that I have interests outside of my work, cleaning my house, paying my bills, or having offspring (which, I do not, but that's the expectation, at midnight on your twenty-sixth birthday, if you don't drop dead, you have three children and a spouse and they're your sole interests, this is the only way to be an adult)...and I'm not remotely sorry for being as passionate about those interests as I was ten and twenty years ago, either. Including the emotions that come with it. I'm sure that if being a PTA parent was my primary hobby and someone snubbed me repeatedly in it without telling me why, I'd be upset about that, too. It's okay to have a hobby, it's okay to have feelings, including negative ones like being depressed. No matter what the RPC has to say about it.

I just hope that something in here helps! It might take a little bit to find new mutuals, talk to your current mutuals, try out new things with your writing, whatever it is you end up trying, but try to stay patient and looking forward to better things to come. I believe this can work out, and you deserve for it to!

Oh, on a side note? If it is your muse being one the fandom has stigmatized? Same, and fuck them. Is that hostile? Yes, and I'm not sorry lol Don't feel like you need to change muses because of that. You need to find the right mutuals, not cater to negative, irrational, and almost certainly purity culture-based attitudes of the wrong ones. When you take up a muse your fandom, or even corner of your fandom's RPC, has taken issue with, your only responsibility is to accept that you likely will have fewer interactions as a part of that choice. Fewer does not mean none, nor does it mean the interactions you don't want/are not fulfilling or otherwise enjoyable for you. Again, you just need to find the right group of muns!

There are muns out there who will appreciate your muse, and exactly as you are writing them too. There are muns who will appreciate your writing style, activity level, and preferred genres. If it takes you a bit to find them, just look at it as an exercise to spend more time developing your muse and writing for when you find them. It'll all be worth it if you hang in there.