#if it brings you joy

[phdmama]

I just got fucking CALLED OUT by my 15 year old daughter. I was showing her some new charms I got for my charm bracelet and she said, “I’ve noticed you do this thing a lot, mom, when you’re talking about stuff you love that makes you happy. You always say, ‘I know it’s silly,’ but if you love it and it makes you happy, it’s not silly. If it brings you joy, it’s important. It matters.”

[quinloki]

Canon Characters vs OC vs x Reader

Disclaimer: This is just my two cents, and my perspective on things, and I'm not trying to lay down the law for everyone. I needed to just put this to words though, in order to sleep.

I was thinking about this because of a post I saw, and some, we'll say, kind of useless comments associated with the post. Mean-spirited stuff.

Normally, in one ear and out the other, but the vibes just kicked me off down a rabbit hole of sorts an I wanted to try to put some of my thoughts to words.

First, some style vibes:

Canon x Canon Canon/Canon stories are, to me, like reading an episode of that show. I'm sitting down in front of a TV or whatever, and I'm experiencing the story As A Viewer. I like this style because I don't really have to expend much energy and I just kind of roll with whatever's happening. Generally some sort of 3rd person perspective.

OC x canon OC/Canon stories are like being on a carnival ride. I'm sitting in a car on a roller-coaster, and maybe the OC is sitting next me. I'm experiencing the story more deeply than strictly canon stories, but my connection with the OC is no deeper than say, my connection with Katniss Everdeen when I read The Hunger Games. Sometimes 3rd person, sometimes first person.

Reader x canon Reader/Canon (or Reader x/ OC) is like putting on a VR helmet. I don't get much physical input about the "Reader OC" because I'm experiencing the story through their eyes. I don't expect the reader to be me, but there's a bigger feeling of immersion to be had. Some description might happen cause it's relevant to the story, and it's still a type of ride, I can't jump the rails on the roller coaster, after all. (Even with a VN you still follow the tracks). Sometimes first person, sometimes second person (I'm partial to 2nd person perspective, but that's just me).

I love Fan Fiction, I love it. All of it, and man even more than anything, what I love is that I'm going to dislike 80% of it. Because that 80% was written for someone who is not me. (Hell, that number's probably closer to 99% if we're looking at ALL fandoms, but I digress).

Second - The VENT:

What got me the most in the post that prompted this, was someone saying "Bring back the Mary Sue OCs!" and then they went on to describe something more detailed, and I just -

Look, respectfully, fuck you.

The point is, you're not going to be happy no matter what. Whether it's "mary sue" OCs, or x readers, or alternative universes, or a ship you don't like, you're going to find something to be unhappy about.

Cause people have been bitching about all styles of fan fiction since the first "You've Got Mail" chimed in 1991. And until 1998 and ff.net you really had to hunt for it, and until 2007 and Ao3 the idea of tagging a fic for any reason wasn't really a thing. Every click was a surprise! \o/

I just have seen the same song and dance a dozen times. It's exhausting. People become okay with OCs and decide x readers are the enemy, and before that OCs were *all* Mary Sues and cringe and people who made OCs were the enemy, and before OCs people who wrote even a little OOC were the enemy, and people who wrote AUs were the enemy, and you can write fan fic but it HAS to be Canon Compliant, and everyone MUST be in-character at all times - "They would not fucking say that" was the enemy.

Look, just please - please - in any capacity, stop it with the "All X style of story telling is crap" mindset. There's over a dozen different ways to do x readers alone. I know 20 x reader writers and I don't think any of us have the same style, preferences, or vibes.

I've had a lot of comments along the lines of "I thought I hated x readers, but I really loved this." on a few different fics I've written. Sometimes it's not the style of the fic, sometimes it's the style of the writer, and my Brother In Christ - you're going to have to read some awful shit to shuffle through the thousands of writers out there to find the vibes that resonate with you.

Ostracizing entire swathes of fan fic because you need something to be "The Enemy" so you can lift up something else, and then bitching you can't find anything new to read seems like a personal problem.

And I know y'all are scrolling by TONS of posts that don't interest you, every day, as a matter of course. So don't give me that "clogging up the tag" BS, because we deserve to be here same as anyone else in the fandom.

[crabussy]

hey. don’t cry. crush four cloves of garlic into a pot with a dollop of olive oil and stir until golden then add one can of crushed tomatoes a bit of balsamic vinegar half a tablespoon of brown sugar and stir for a few minutes adding a handful of fresh spinach until wilted and mix in half a cup of grated parmesan cheese and pasta of your choice ok?

[loserfae]

i think everyone needs to adopt "i didnt say it was good, i said i liked it" into their vocabulary right now. it did me wonders

[artkaninchenbau]

A h-heartfelt reunion..?

Bonus

[noodles-and-tea]

JESUS I LOVE YOUR JAYVIK. I hope it brings you as much joy as it does to us, we are all collectively crying from happiness when we see your art ✨️❤️ if you ever decide to draw a quick sketch of them with an adopted puppy AAAAAAA that would be very amazing :) but honestly whatever you draw is just 10/10 I'm here for MORE I HOPE WE GET MORE HAVE A NICE DAY YOU CHAMPION AND AN AMAZING LIFE YOU DESERVE IT

They’d call it “Spanner” or something

[industrations]

I recently re-read Beneath a Big Blue Sky by @eyra and this fic just brings me so much joy that i had to draw a little something for it.

If you haven’t read it go do so and leave a nice comment <3

[shepscapades]

Contrary to popular belief etho and bdubs are not divorced and in this essay I will

[wildegeist-old]

Everyone talks about the joys of someone else being super invested in your OCs and while this undoubtedly feels absolutely awesome, I think there's also something to be said about the joy of being invested in someone else's OCs too. There's just vibes you get out of some people's casts of characters that you can't get anywhere else with their own unique flavor from that person, and they're just sitting there in relative obscurity spawned completely out of someone's mind with no media involvement or anything. Special kind of feeling

[jay-wasstuff]

[nagasleeps]

your teeth and your tongue, bright red from tiger's blood

[miyoriia]

rawr XD

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Loss.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[appleciderjulie]

siffrin if they were cool (oh wait they are)

[swampthing07]

I will boil your cookies

There is a certain kind of cookie that my mom makes the most

I used to really like it

Then I got Covid

Certain foods no longer take the same

I do not like the cookies that are usually at my house

[constantlyfalling]

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