#like. author. what are you doing.
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Making a much longer post short:
If you are writing a Romance, especially one you want your readers to root for, please make sure you take the time to include lots of little scenes that show that:
your characters actually are *friends* as well as lovers,
they enjoy spending time with each other on a casual basis
they respect as well as love each other
they try to communicate their feelings clearly instead of bottling their ire up til it explodes in violent arguments
neither of your characters are genuinely afraid of the other when they're angry
that they do not threaten each other with bodily harm during arguments, or use physical force
they respect each other's consent, and respect their partner's wants and wishes when it comes to physical affection.
pretty much to sum it up: do your characters actually enjoy being with each other, or is the entire relationship built on lust and dramatic arguments and nothing else?
Because if your relationship is the latter, your readers are more likely to want them to *break up* rather than *stay together*.
#writing advice#romance#romance writing#cough cough especially if the romance novel in question has the guy almost murdering the girl because hes vigilante & didn't realize its he#like. author. what are you doing.#who on earth wants these two to stick together after this#relationship writing
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this manatee looks like it’s in a skyrim loading screen
#lol good luck finding all of the photoshopped versions in the rb history. ‘manatee restored’ is still my favorite of all time#misc#I encourage anyone dyslexic to try rotating him in your mind. I can’t do that; which is why I’m asking you to.#also: a bunch of tags are surprised this isn’t ‘shopped#it’s the lighting. backlit by the sun (which is diffused through the water) but also forelit artificially#the artificial light - a flash pack or something - casts a hard shadow under the creatures arm#which normally wouldn’t be possible if backlit by the SUN; you’d see a less-hard/more-fragmented shadow above water#as light sources ‘compete’ in a sense - and since there aren’t any light sources which can outshine the literal sun#it looks a bit weird when the darkest shadow is being cast from any other origin point - which is what’s essentially happening here#I don’t know the mechanics of how light travels through water; but I know the effect is substantial even with relatively short distances#also: it’s been balanced and color corrected by the author of the photo - who made deliberate choices to bring out the full potential#so it’s not like it’s a fresh and untouched export#but the kind of ‘tacked on’ appearance of the creature is a result of the lighting conditions within the image
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I am incredibly serious right now when I beg you all, please, and if you have Twitter or Tiktok or whatever to please spread the word: click on an author's profile on Ao3.
You want to know if an author has written more? Want to know if they're still writing? Want to see more from them? Want to know if they've written a trope or kink or sex scenario you enjoy?
Click on their name. And look at their profile.
I cannot tell you how many times in the last six months someone has read a new or newer fic of mine and said they (a new reader who has read nothing else I've done) "can't wait to see what you do next!" I've written 50+ fics and over a million words already.
"I don't know if you're still writing..." click on my profile. I am. I literally wrote a 128k+ fic for that ship last month.
"Would you ever do X?" "Please do Y!" I already did. Click on my name and look at my works.
Archive of our Own is a library. It's an archive. Not social media. It is your responsibility to fight back against the laziness that corporate algorithms have trained into you.
Click my author name. Just click it. Just click it.
Before you demand more, or ask if a writer will do XYZ, or wonder if the author still writing, or anything - click on their profile. Click on the author's profile.
I'm not trying to be mean or condescending or anything like that. I'm just exhausted. It's disheartening and frustrating to repeat myself ad nauseam, because someone couldn't take thirty seconds to do the tiniest bit of work to see if I've written lately, if I've written more for their ship, or scan my works to see if I've written what they're asking for. Please. Please. I'm begging.
Click the author's name, and explore before you ask.
#lincoln rants#I'm sorry but I'm at the end of my rope#I got a LOT of these comments on my Buddie Platonic Sugar Baby AU#acting like I was some new writer to the fandom#babes I've been here since the dawn of 2020 where the fuck have YOU been?#I am happy to answer questions! I love responding to reader comments!#but it is beyond frustrating to answer a question that if they'd literally just clicked on my author name#they would have gotten the answer to themselves#yes I have written more yes I am still writing yes I've been here longer than you have#and I don't mean that in a pulling rank/seniority way I just mean that in a could you please just CLICK ON MY NAME???#INSTEAD OF MAKING ASSUMPTIONS??? way#I'VE DONE MY TIME! FOUR AND A HALF YEARS! IN THE CIRCUS!#I'm sorry but sometimes I have to yell publicly a little#and I really do suspect this is people who are not on tumblr#so I am genuinely begging you#if you are on other social media platforms#PLEASE feel free to repeat what I have said#PLEASE I AM SO TIRED!!!
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Still thinking about none houses left grief, and while I understand where people are coming from, "it took me out of the world" is just... Really not a relevant criticism here. Like, that line is SUPPOSED to be jarring. It is supposed to be kind of darkly funny, but the point isnt for you to laugh. Its not trying to be a punchline. The point of that line IS to "take you out of the world" because the point is that *this world isn't what you thought it was.*
#if it startled you that something so irreverant and lowbrow would come up in a high fantasy serious world#...then maybe ask yourself if this is really a serious high fantasy world#also i do think its just elitist that everyone complains about the tumblr references and not the word for word bible quotes#like maybe the author was trying to make a point about why you accept that catholicism is a cultural constant but not memes?#maybe take a step back and ask yourself what kind of cultural artifacts you think are important enough to be worth mentioning#tlt#htn#the locked tomb#harrow the ninth#tlt spoilers
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i wrote an interactive poem for my girlfriend in 3 parts. she said you need to read it.
go here: take only the final quiz or take all 3. i don't mind. it's sad, though. this is a poem about choice. about fate and mental illness and how love fits inside of all of it. this is a poem about a long dark hallway. mostly this is a poem about mango sushi rolls.
good luck. i love you. despite it all, i'm hopeful.
#uqiz#she said i need to put it up here lmafo#something something feel free to send me 5 dollars towards my next sushi roll run#poetry#experimental poetry#there's no specific like warning on this except that im not doing well n therefore it LEAKS into my writing lol#the realllll shit as an author is like ohhhh fuck i write so much better when im mentally unwell lol#:( why cant i be sane AND rational. why does my creativity gotta stem from suffering.#(bc when im not suffering im outside saying YIPPEE and kicking my heels lol)#IF YOU SAW THIS BEFORE I CLICKED THE RIGHT LINK NO YOU DIDNT#hey btw if you're experiencing an error idk what's up with that bc it still loads on my end.#i'll look into solutions but sorry :(#hi friends: i have no idea why sometimes the links break for random people.#it might be a chrome/firefox/etc thing but i will say that the links still work on my end AND i still have people taking each quiz.#so i know it works .... i have no idea what the exact solution is - maybe reload it if urs isn't working?#sorry im not good at coding :(
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"Nora doesn't know anything about the things she writes about" "aftg is terrible queer rep" "the queer characters in aftg are so problematic"
Idk guys maybe the book series abt problematic ppl set in 2006 and written in the mid 2010s shouldn't be expected to hold up against scrutiny of what we consider to be moral and correct now, in 2024
Idk tho, idk
#“nicky is a terrible person” bitch he not supposed to be some kind of perfect angel is he????#sry to burst ur bubble but gay men are actually capable of being horrible people just as much as straight men#“death of the author” how abt death of you#instigated by me#nora sakavic#aftg#all for the game#aftg hot takes#nicky hemmick#andrew minyard#kevin day#neil josten#nora knew exactly what she was doing and i will die on this hill#i am so so sick and tired of peoe acting like shes some sort of incompetent idiot who barely scraped together a plot#you do not have to stay in the fandom if you don't actually like the media#you can leave i promise#we dont really want you here
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he could not control the class 😔
#tossing my hat into the trend ring#a little sumn in between pieces#got possessed by the silly for a moment#we love an unhealthy codependent sibling relationship#join me on my delusion of every behavior or habit Ludwig has has been ingrained and propagated into him at early childhood by Gilbert#I imagine Ludwig going thru one of his many social interaction debacles and thinking ‘quick Ludwig - what would brother do?!’#and Gil shows up in his head like the laissez faire voice of authority like#burn their fields and salt their crops 👍 [fades away]#do you understand me?#kinda like when mob thinks of Reigen during social anxieties but he comes up with the most useless advice in his head#Gil’s little puppy <3#hetalia#hetalia fanart#hws germany#hws prussia#aph germany#aph prussia#german bros#digital art#my art#drawing meme#Ludwig waiting for his daily chin scratch for being an agreeable young lad 🥺#on second thought maybe I should’ve done this in more historical clothing#like young Lud being put in charge of his first meeting as like training and doing horribly 😭#general Gil is not satisfied with his performance#do you guys think Gil is a boy mom#discuss
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"Are you going to break my heart?"
Eddie almost drives them off the road.
It's late, nearly 2 am, and the country road is narrow and winding, and this thing between them, fingers twinned above the gear shift, radio turned down low, Stevie Nicks singing to them softly, is new. Eddie wants to live in this moment forever, wants the smell of lake water and dying August heat to live in their clothes, wants the warmth of first kisses and whispered confessions to last in tingling sparks in their skin, the memory of touch to be permanent. It won't be, it'll all fade, but Eddie can visit it again, rewrite them into the cotton and the softness of Steve's mouth.
It's late, and this is new.
"It's okay if you do," Steve says, so quiet. He's holding on to Eddie's hand like he's dangling off a cliff. "I can handle it. I'd just like a heads up, so I can prepare."
Eddie almost feels guilty, basking in his joy when Steve was sinking into something else. He thinks, if he were a kid still, if he hadn't died, hadn't lost everything and managed to get it all back, he'd be angry. But he's not. He's not, and he did, and it's late and this is new—but it's not unfamiliar. The same, but more, an extra free scoop with whipped cream and sprinkles, a cherry on top.
"You trust me?" Eddie asks. He rubs his thumb along Steve's knuckles, feels the scars under his skin, little tears in someone so perfect.
"Of course," Steve croaks. Eddie can't look at him, because the road is dark and narrow and winding, and he has to get his boy home safe.
"And I trust you," Eddie says, brings Steve's hand up, presses a kiss like a seal to his skin. "And I love you, and you love me. I got you."
Steve's quiet for a long, long moment. Eddie can tell he's watching him, so he presses another kiss to Steve's hand, lets his lips linger on hard tendons and dark veins. Kisses in his promises to the place they're linked together.
When he speaks again, it's soft, and Eddie can hear the love, living and leaving in the air between Steve's teeth.
"Okay," he says, giving Eddie everything. "You got me."
#steddie#i was reading a wip fic from an author i love that looks like MCD but wasn't tagged MCD which is fine bcs of the set up#and i was trying to figure out if they were gonna hurt me too much or not#to prepare myself#so was leaving a comment to ask#and then i do what i always do and project my entire self on to steve harrington LMAO#anyways kisses love you mwah mwah mwah#my steddies
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the thing is, i love The Narrative, but i also absolutely adore a truly character-focused tragedy where everyone’s downfall is caused not by larger narrative forces, but by hundreds of tiny decisions made by characters who, despite their best efforts, just suck.
#like. The Narrative is inherently a factor in every story because that’s how fiction works#there is ALWAYS a writer pulling the strings#but sometimes characters are written SO well that you legitimately forget#and you can just focus 100% on them and their choices#most characters can’t make choices but some characters are so good that they can#i can only think of a few examples of this - but it is real and i stand by that#there are stories that were created plot-first#where the author had a plot in mind and then made up characters to play it out (who are controlled by The Narrative they were forced into)#and then there are stories that were created character-first#where the author made up some fucked up characters and then let them loose to see what they would do#and THAT is some good stuff#and like. tbf i have ABSOLUTELY no idea if the story i’m thinking of was created that way - but it just feels like it#because the characters feel so much like real people#it’s fucked up. i love it
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Gavin mentally: wait... that doesn't add up........
#detroit become human#gavin reed#rk900#because you guys have been so supportive i managed to pull through and actually draw a silly comic thing#also drew some of it while watching my favorite movie the incredible movie clue (1985)#and honestly i think the dynamic here is just like mustard and wadsworth going#are you trying to make me look stupid in front of the other guests / you dont need any help from me / THATS. RIGHT.#but anyway the take here is that hi i liked a lot of fics where (as i said before with mutual pining) nines finds gavins looks appealing#like wow hes so not perfect i am enamored with him hmmmm surely thats not mutual#while being v handsome himself so yeah!#it IS technically from the incorrect quotes generator but also! it fits i think#well fits enough for me to get away with#guys i like mutual pining too much and i like processing power of like wait a sec... supercomputer calculator brain cant do math what#while nines is like well if i cant do math then its no longer condescending so i win on a technicality in this conversation#because who doesnt want to win a conversation on a technicality when there isnt actually a competition#wanting to win conversations is so normal i love winning a conversation#(authors note - i failed a conversation today)
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saying this as respectfully as possible but. Do not put fandom content creators on a pedestal. We are also just fans contributing to a community just as you are. We have boundary on our own work and that’s it. What I say is not and should not be considered sth the whole fandom should listen to. I’m just a normal ass person ranting about things on my blog. If it does not have a fandom tag for others to engage in, do not make it out to be me trying to start fights or addressing the whole community. Because it’s not.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again, my art, my lore talk, is biased. I’ve never tried to hide that I view Marika a certain way and will always develop my theory following that base assumption.
Aside from translation stuffs and pointing out in-game items, everything else I say you can look at it, agree or disagree, and move on to form your own opinions. Just because I draw stuffs doesn’t mean you get to saddle me with responsibilities about managing fandom expectations. What the hell? I’m a fan artist, I’m the last person who you should look at for “leaderism” (?) WHAT?
I can and will be a hater in my own space, like I know sometimes other artists will just post their stuffs and not engage too heavily with fandom, and for a while I did try to do that here (because I’m already a dramatic ass on twitter), that’s just not me though.
You will get art and you will get my opinions as well.
#asking ppl to [celebrate different takes] is... WHAT?#different takes as in well I think she likes apples and you think she likes grapes. yeah that’s some fun discussion to be have#but different takes as in the fundamental of a character’s drive and personality??? NO#let’s put that down very clear here#I can still read fics where Marika is cold and calculate and manipulative as long as I can see there’re layers to it and the author#set it up in a way that I can see they got her backstory and build those layers based on that#and then there are ppl who literally only portray her as omg evil girlboss 101 let’s blame everything on this cardboard character#then I click back.#and there r ppl who might not vibe with how i portray her and they can ignore me. THAT'S OK TOO. we r in our own space.#it’s as simple as that!#ever since the dlc is out i literally could see the amount of ppl blocking me go up and im just “ok” because i do go around muting ppl too.#that's normal fandom space managing experience. pls do that#lore discussion is for ppl to engage in so u say ur piece i say mine and we can continue or not depending on situation#but FANWORK? leave each other alone or be a hater in ur own space ok?#personal#also where are these ppl who have been defending Marika at... because if u exclude me#and some others i can count on one hand. where are these ppl?#ppl saying headass stuffs about the HS aren't even Marika fans or engage too much in fandom to begin with#meanwhile u can't even find one youtube lore essay that says anything good about her#ppl are even trying to give Messmer's mother position to GEQ for no goddamn reason#like where is this overwhelming support for Marika at cuz as the active Marika stan around im not seeing it
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Just a bit of fun! Theoretically, the Shepherds' Corner is a place for the Shepherds to rank each other according to questions like "Who's the most generous?" or "Who's the biggest neat freak?" You usually get my opinions for those questions, but what about theirs? 😆
Would you like to see more of the Corner? If there's enough interest, maybe it'll become a once-a-week (or so) feature! Let me know in the comments or tags! 🌟
#to keep it manageable i won't open the corner for reader questions just yet - but maybe someday if there's a demand!#Shepherds of Haven#shepherds' corner#rankings#i got the idea because i saw a reblog about a page in an artbook for an anime i've never seen before lol#+ needed a small simple easy activity to blow off steam before my brain burnt out its bulb and here you go!#I like the added challenge of thinking who THEY'D vote for for these questions rather than just giving my canonical author answer lol#like i personally think Briony's temper is worse than Riel's (but lower than Trouble and Ayla's) but hey--it's THEIR corner!#i just do what they tell me ✋🤚🔫
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every time i interact with the silmarillion i get weirdly excited about the fact that the authorial intent is that it's a translation of historical accounts. it's a tertiary source! none of it is first hand. it makes it so much more interesting. was the legendarium a mannish tradition? what parts of these were written by pengolodh? by rumil? what loremaster has recorded this? would there be bias in the accounting? can i trust what i'm reading, from this viewpoint, this many years after it would have been written?
what has been mythologised, what has been sanitised, what is third-hand written on rumour? it's such an interesting thing to consider.
#i mean like. you can trust MOST of it#but authorial intent as a translation makes it interesting to approach it from a research pov#like are you going to trust this story in its totality when it was transcribed by someone who hated someone in the story#i guess depending on our definition the silm COULD be a secondary source#but thats nitpicky lol#tolkien#silmarillion#silm#i just unreliable narrators/retellings#the element of ambiguity#the way your interpretation can be shaped by how much you trust the author#i totally get why people are like “this is what it says in the silmarillion so there's nothing that supports different readings”#but also i think that is doing the format a disservice
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since I’m in my reporting and shaming era when it comes to ao3 hate now…
(PurpleSnow, I know you’re sad I blocked you and locked comments on that fic. Maybe that was a sign to stop leaving comments like this. It seems, from your other bookmarks, that you enjoy reading many fics — so maybe give mine a break if they keep making you so upset, yeah?)
#I’m profiling these to 1) show folks what kind of BS authors get regularly on here#and 2) to level the playing field if these kinds of things are left on public bookmarks on purpose because I can’t remove them#theresurrectionist#myfic#when I say I stumble across shit like this multiple times a day#I hope it helps explain why authors are going through it these days#be NICE and if you can’t be nice mute and move on#don’t do this shit#ao3#archive of our own#anon hate#ao3 hate
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Publishing has always been a fucking nightmare, but now it’s a layer of hell. It’s not enough that writers be good at what they do. Writers have to maintain an active social media presence and cultivate a following. Be available.
They have to be conventionally attractive enough to look good enough to see on a screen, aesthetically pleasing, kind, funny, up-to-date on trends, socially aware but not so controversial that they turn off a brand from California from slapping their discount code on a video promoting a book.
They have to do all of this with no media training, with little help from the companies that are supposed to be doing this for them.
Of course, a lot of this isn't possible for say, the 40-something mother of two who teaches English at a school and writes on the side. She’s boxed out of an already complex industry that already has enough walls.
On some level, I think authors have always marketed themselves a little, but we’ve reached such a crazy point where we’re demanding the author become the influencer. Accessibility in publishing has narrowed from an inch to a sliver. And that inch was hard enough to get in as is.
#This is about traditional publishing but there’s pretty privilege and ageism in self publishing too#I can’t think of the last time I saw an up and coming author recording videos who was over thirty#And frankly that’s a shame#It could be that I’m not looking hard enough#but it’s more likely that algorithms are trained the way they are#truly I don’t think they should have to do any of that at all#And forgive me but (and I know it’s rich because I’m an artist on a platform) but art shouldn’t be at the mercy of an algorithm#Now there’s also something to be said about self publishing becoming easier and easier to achieve success in#And doors opening because of influencer status is real and makes publishing wider in a way#But that doesn’t mean it’s accessible#I’m not gonna plaster my health issues over the wall but that life is certainly not accessible to me!#are you healthy enough to write and make sure people on social media still want to like your stuff#are you mentally well enough to be your own pr#I’m sure people who have studied this have more to say and have said it better but this is what I’ve observed#writing#publishing#publishing industry
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like idk it just seems actually nefarious to take one of the very few widely known instances of queerness in older history being a symbol to show queer people that we've always existed and aren't alone for CENTURIES and taking away the queerness from it. like. i know some people say that ''the queerness isnt important in the book" which i mean in my opinion i could go off for 10k words in an essay as to how basil's love for dorian is integral to the story BUT EVEN APART from that its really just. having a real explicitly queer character in such an old and widely regarded classic novel is HUGE for queer history and this is just. literally like. its 2024. why are you doing queer erasure to DORIAN GRAY
#MAKE YOUR OWN SHIT OR LIKE GET OUTTT#WHAT????#also not the cishets going ''omggg queer people are predatory enough so it shouldnt change it to ship incest now" WHAT??????#girl do you see. what you are doing. girl. @ the creator#why do they let these people make adaptations. what the actual hell#amory rambles#SORRY IM LITERALLY LIKE ACTUALLY SO LIKE. DEEPLY OFFENDED RN WHICH IS LIKE SUCH A WORD TO USE I KNOW BUT LIKE#ITS ALL I CAN THINK OF TO SAY BECAUSE WHAT. THE HELL.#as an anthropology/creative writing major the importance of having these types of evidences of queer culture in history so far back#is something insurmountable in validating queerness#and to take that and like. oh my goddd#like i could go off for ages about even queer authors that arent so widely known as queer/didnt write explicitly queer things like gogol#who are erased to a point where you have to dig to learn about his history because its been so covered up by people trying to erase us#and like#in the year 2024 dear fucking lord!!#what are we doing???#sorry my dfjlksdfjsdf dfih8sojidfk s. sidhfojl kmsdf . im so actually mad right now LMAOOO#the picture of dorian gray#dorian gray#oscar wilde#tpodg#and like tpodg isnt even one of my favorite novels like i like it a lot but i see it as so fucking important#anywho#so glad we are all being loud as hell about this bc thats the way to make this mfer take notice
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