#the children yearn for well written female centric stories

[bellart]

Edit: NOOO I forgot damian im sorry damian fans ik they interacted in the teen titans 😔 in my defense i was thinking abt a specific AU that takes place before he’s introduced

[alabasterswriting]

To the Anons in my Inbox:

Okay, so I just finally got to all the messages in my inbox and I saw quite a few anons that, while I’m not sure if they were from the same person, basically all revolved around the same few questions:

“Why don’t you/You need to write more Mileven/Byler/Lumax/Jopper?/.”

“Why don’t you/You need to write more about Eleven?/.”

“Why don’t you/You need to write more about Mike?/.”

And I would like to take the time here to address all of these anons since there were frankly too many to reply one at a time when they all have the same answer.

So, first things first: If you want me to write something, I will happily do so. I can’t say it will be in a timely manner since I’m super busy and a super slow writer, but if you want to send me a request I will always try to do my best to follow through with it. I never want to let anyone down if they have a request for me.

Second: Why don’t I write more romance?

Frankly, I don’t like romance. It honestly means very little to me. Now, this is not to say I don’t enjoy reading other people’s writings for Mileven/Byler/Jopper/Lumax. Those writers are fantastic and wonderful and they bring these relationships to life. I appreciate and love their work. But, honestly, I don’t enjoy romance. Romantic relationships have always felt very cheap to me in comparison to friendships. And I know this is a very unpopular opinion. I know a lot of people hold romantic relationships above platonic ones. I understand this and will wholeheartedly honor your opinion on it, so long as you honor mine. However, when it comes to my writing, romance is not high on my priorities; it always just feels like it ruins the wonders of the friendship (and yes, I do know that a lot of people feel like romance enhances a friendship, but I am not one of them). Hence why when I write it’s usually about the friendships between the boys, or between the boys and Eleven, or between Will and Eleven. It’s just so much more moving to me. Like I physically can’t bring myself to invest in the ships because I see too much beauty in the friends just being friends.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I do ship Mileven and Jopper and Lumax and Byler (though, once again, I hate feeling like I’m ruining a good friendship by adding romance), but they’re very low on my list of wants or desires (well except for Jopper if only because I want Eleven and Will to be siblings so badly). And this isn’t to say I won’t write about them or that the relationships won’t feature in my stories because they will. It’s just unless someone explicitly asks, it’s unlikely I will ever write a fluffy romance. Sorry.

Three: Why don’t I write more about Eleven and/or Mike?

Honesty hour: I don’t have much of an emotional attachment to Eleven outside of her connection to the boys. I know, I’m sorry! I do like her! She is one of my children, and the actress is phenomenal! Millie Bobby Brown deserves all the credit she receives, but that being said, as the character of Eleven, away from the boys, she doesn’t interest me. And this has nothing really to do with her. I have the same problem with Max and Joyce and Nancy, all of whom I do care about as characters and enjoy. But frankly, these characters are further under rankings in my heart, behind the four boys, Steve, Jonathan and Hopper. Now, this might sound horrible, or weird, or what have you, but it is exceptionally hard for me to get emotionally attached to female characters (and, yes, I am female).

Male characters are so much easier for me to get emotionally attached to, especially when it’s a pair or group of male characters who have a special friendship (because a good bromance will trump any type of relationship in my book). They could be completely 2-dimensional, and the male character would probably still trump a 3-dimensional, realistic, badass, intelligent, incredibly written and performed female character in my affections. And, no, I don’t know why this is. Maybe it’s because I am female that I like attaching myself to a different type of friendship. I don’t know, but that’s why I rarely write Eleven-centric fics. I like writing about her friendships with the boys (especially Will ‘cause he’s so traumatized and she can relate), more than just her.

As for Mike, well, Will is my favorite and I’m just more naturally drawn to writing about him over Mike. As much as I love Mike, I take a few issues with his character in the first season, and while I love his protective nature and loyalty, essentially what it comes down to is everyone always expects me to write a romance angle for him, and, as mentioned above, I hate romance. I love writing about him in the context of his relationships with the boys or Nancy, but I just can’t get myself to really write about his anguish over Eleven. It’s sad and horrible for him, but as someone who draws from my own interests, writing about his pining for El is very hard. I just can’t grasp the yearning for romantic affection. It doesn’t make sense to me in an emotional context. Intellectually, I understand it and can write it if given the time, but emotionally I don’t understand the difference in pining for someone as friends and pining for someone romantically. And if I don’t understand it, I fear doing it an injustice and would hate to let people down.

So sorry for the length, but I really had to let this be said. Now, I know my opinions are unpopular and I am sorry for that, but everyone connects with things differently. If you get heavily invested in these ships and characters then I wholeheartedly support you. Keep it up! Get invested! I know I have ships that I am a diehard fan of (though they’ve generally evolved over 15 years worth of story). And if you want me to write about romance or something El-centric or Mike-centric then I will do it! I will do my absolute best! But please don’t come into my inbox to dictate what I write. Request? Absolutely. Dictate? Absolutely not. Writers write for themselves a lot of the time and I happen to be more invested in platonic relationships than any others.

Thank you.