#these are real fics in other fandoms

[kkbardd]

Reverse Nerd!AU in which Asuka is a fictional character and Rei is a diehard weeb who makes her their entire personality

[untitledgoosegay]

re last reblog I do see fanfic culture pushing/replicating a certain model of "what trauma looks like," "how trauma works"

this is a problem across all areas of society obviously, but transformative works are, well, transformative. they're about crafting and modifying narratives where the fan-creator sees a flaw or a lack -- often for the better! don't get me wrong, I've done my fair share of "I take a hammer and I fix the canon," it's the main thing that gets my creative gears spinning -- but what happens when that "flaw" is simply a narrative not conforming to popular expectations?

some people just don't get PTSD from events that sound obviously traumatic. they're not masking, and they're not coping; they just straight-up didn't get the permanently-locked stress-response that defines PTSD. they walk away from a horrible experience going "well, that sucked, but it's over now." some people do get PTSD from events most people wouldn't find traumatic. we don't really know why some people get PTSD and others don't. but fandom has an idea of events that must be traumatizing, of a "correct" way to portray trauma. you see the problems with this lack of understanding in e.g. fans pressuring the devs of Baldur's Gate 3 to add dialogue where the player character badgers Halsin about his own feelings on his abuse -- because he must be traumatized, and his trauma must fit a certain mold and presentation of sexual trauma, under the mistaken impression that anything outside that narrow window is somehow "wrong" and disrespectful or even harmful to survivors.

take, for another example, the very common trope of a traumatized character who hates touch or sex "learning" to like touch or sex as a part of their healing process. certainly that can be healing for some people; other people will never like, or want, touch or sex, because of trauma or because they just don't. the assumption that someone who doesn't want sex or doesn't like to be touched must be traumatized, must be suffering from this perceived lack, is seriously harmful -- to asexual people, to people with sensory issues around touch, and to people for whom healing from trauma means freedom to refuse sex or touch.

and there's a secondary trope, one that's slightly more thoughtful but ultimately repeats the problem -- that once someone has learned that their boundaries will be respected, they'll feel it's safe to soften those boundaries. once they feel safe refusing touch or sex, they'll feel comfortable allowing it on their own terms. but many people don't, and many people won't! many people will simply never want to be touched, and never want sex, and they are not suffering or broken or lacking because of it. the idea that proving you'll respect someone's boundaries entitles you to test those boundaries -- the paradox is obvious, and yet this is something i've seen hurt (re-traumatize) people i care for.

people are imperfect victims. people don't heal in the ways you expect. many people have positive memories of their abuse, of their abusers. many people hurt others in the course of their trauma, in ways that can't easily be unpacked in a 5k oneshot. very few narratives of trauma and recovery actually fit the ones put forward by popular children's media and romance novels -- which are the ones I most see replicated in fandom spaces, because they provide the clearest narrative and easiest catharsis, and so they're easy and soothing to reach for.

that's not necessarily a bad thing! i am not immune to goopy romance tropes. i am not immune to teary catharsis. not every fic has to grapple with ugly realities. but there's a problem when these narratives become predominant, when people think they're accurate and realistic depictions of trauma, when the truth of trauma is unpleasant and uncomfortable, and doesn't fit any single narrative, let alone one of comforting catharsis

[ping-ski]

castle faz regent and handler? whew

[bamsara]

hey did you know you're the #1 kudos fic in Fnaf? congrats!

hi this is actually terrifying

[queerofthedagger]

i mean this in the like... nicest way possible, but there is no way to post your writing and/or art on the internet without running the very high risk of it getting scraped, whether you post it on tumblr, pillowfort, or ao3. sites being 'anti ai' does not mean your art cannot be scraped. it is simply almost impossible to prevent, much less guarantee that. I'm not saying this to be a pessimist or to stop people from being rightfully pissed about this. it sucks. massively so! but if the idea does in fact bother you that much, you should know that moving sites won't fix the issue. ao3, as far as we know, has been scraped/is getting scraped. you can set your fics so that only logged in users can access them, but it only makes scraping one step more difficult, and by no means impossible and the otw has stated this clearly.

which, again, this sucks! i don't have a great solution either!! but tumblr is relatively honest, at least, when it tells you that it cannot prevent, only discourage it. ao3 said the same thing. any site promising you otherwise is, to the best of my knowledge, lying to you.

[simplydnp]

what's your opinion on fanfics about dnp? (more in a way of do you think that it's crossing boundaries and/or being parasocial)

i'm of the same mind of dnp in that phanfic is fucking incredible. it's an important and valid way to express yourself, as well as a building block of our community. i don't think it's crossing boundaries, as it's fiction. i don't see it as parasocial either--you're writing for you and others like you. most people don't want dnp reading their fics, it's not for them in a sense, it's for us.

i think dnp are extremely aware of fanfic and its value and place in community. they've always encouraged it, appreciated the support, and given us space about it. they're not ones to make videos about it and mock fans for it (which happened to some of our lovely fic writers here writing for other yt fandoms, and i'm so sorry about it). dnp are fandom culture people. they've written fic themselves! and published it in their book!

the word parasocial has been twisted lately to imply any fan support is unnatural and should be shamed, which is complete fucking bullshit. making art is always important and valued. and it is necessary for your existence as a human, but also for the thing you're a fan of to thrive.

the parasocial side comes in once you start believing you know this person. and that you're their real friend. when in reality, they do not know you specifically, and you are not their friend, you are an audience member.

so a parasocial relationship only occurs when people start crossing boundaries (digging for not publicly available information, contacting people in their personal life, showing up to their house, etc). which, is absolutely nowhere close to real fan behaviour.

tl;dr: phanfic is great, i love you fic writers, parasociality is a problem but not one that we have

[thelaurenshippen]

genuinely think it's good and healthy to follow at least one person in each of your fandoms who reblogs good gifsets but has just...absolutely dogshit takes on the show, or who ships that ship you despise. keeps things fresh. keeps things grounded. you gotta stay humble

[crystaltreebee]

just putting this out there

just because you are a minor does not make the things your saying about the minors ok.

This is directed towards most fandoms with young characters and actors.

just because you’re a minor doesn’t make your actions any less creepy/harmful. ESPECIALLY WHEN YOURE TALK ABOUT THE REAL ACTUAL ACTORS.

[tumbleweedtech]

okay happy to give a prompt because I need alerudy like I need air they are so underwritten. I’m too Latino and too gay to not need them. Beware because it’s fluffy.

Dance lessons! I headcanon Alejandro as coming from a big family where Rudy might have only had one or no siblings, and you might think that means Ale had more opportunity to dance, that would be wrong. Alejandro got lost in the mix of family and by the time he’s like 15 he 1) can’t dance a basic cumbia because everyone figured he’d just pick it up and 2) is old enough that being bad at dancing is embarrassing rather than endearing. Rudy, by contrast, has been his single mom’s dance partner for years, right up until she got re-married (and he danced his ass off at the wedding too).

So Ale sucks it up and asks Rudy to teach him how to dance because it’s quinceañera season and he can’t go another year claiming he twisted his ankle. So the lessons begin. In secret, late at night on top of a roof near the bar district, where they can hear the music from below. Where no one can see two boys dancing. Rudy has him start by following, then by leading, and then they switch off. Dealer’s choice whether Rudy is dying inside because he’s wanted to dance with Ale for years, or if this is a Gay Awakening, but either way. They’re feeling Something.

I have no idea where this ends which is why I’m giving up custody to you!

how could you possibly know i am currently writing a cumbia fic with alerudy

how. *How*, Nonny? Alright. *cracks knuckles* Let's have at'er. (note: I'm going with Alejandro's mom is Rudy's madrino, and vice versa. Because idk about you, but my nina was treated like my second mother, no questions or argument allowed.) No CWs, just fluff of teenage boys with crushes dancing.

~~

"Alejandro."

"Rodolfo."  

Rudy rolls his eyes at the way Alejo parrots back, defensive. "Si se puede, Alejo."

Alejandro's refusing to look at him, frowning deeply, and it's heartbreaking how beautiful he is even now, gripping his own elbows, hair hanging in his eyes.

It was Alejo's tío who originally showed the boys this spot. The bright lights of the mercado cast its long flat roof into shadow; the strangely blinking red lights on its sign left it feeling private and alone. It hadn't been what Rudy had been looking for at the time. He'd heard there would be a meteor shower, and his mama was working that night. He knew Alejandro would go with him, he just had to find a place dark enough to see the stars.

They never did see the stars falling, but Alejandro held his hand as they watched the grey clouds cover a red-tinted sky and that was enough.

Tonight? The sky was clear and they could hear the distant but cheerful beat of the bar in the alley below. Rudy hoped it'd be loud enough to dance to.

Alejandro never liked failing, grouchy and embarrassed even as Rudy tried to model the steps.

"Alejandro, ven. Por favor. ¿Bailar conmigo?"

Rudy held a hand out, waiting. It was rare that Alejandro would deny him anything he wanted, a fact his mother had pointed out to him with a sly smile. He'd asked her once why she never went out dancing. She had cupped his cheeks and squeezed. "Mijo, there is nothing better than dancing with someone you love with your entire heart. Dancing in a club? You can go with your friends and have fun. Take Alejito, he needs the fun. But I am happy, here, dancing with you."

He was tall enough now that it was easier for him to lead when dancing with her, but she'd taught him both skills. “You never know who you will want to dance with”, she'd insisted.

He was pretty sure she knew who he wanted to dance with.

And that person didn't want to dance with him.

Rudy sighed. "If you want, Tía Lucía is probably still awake. I can—"

With an angry snarl, Alejandro stomped over, holding his arms out stiffly. He still refused to look directly at Rudy now that they were standing so close together under the aging neon sign. Rudy couldn't help but feel a whisper of hope that the tint of red across Alejandro's face was the blush his mama swore was there when he wasn't looking.

"I'm not asking Tía Lucía to teach me to dance for her own daughter's quinceañera. She'll know why I didn't dance at Letty's."

"Okay. You sure you're not going to punch me? It's easier to learn the steps at first if you follow."

Alejandro's shoulders dropped, the frustration leaching out of him with a heavy sigh. He looked around again, taking in the soft echo of the music from below, the flickering light, and gestured for Rudy to come closer. "Not going to punch you. Not your fault, I—"

Whatever he was going to say was startled out of him as Rudy took his hand to pull him close, the other hand on his waist. "Relax."

Rudy shifted him gently, and Alejandro panicked, tightly gripping his shoulder, glancing down at their feet.

"Don't look. Just trust me, okay? Count with me."

Rudy counted a quiet beat, letting Alejandro slowly relax into the rhythm. He was good at it, once he relaxed. Rudy encouraged him around, into a small circle, before the song changed again, a bouncy, cheerful song that Rudy recognized from his mother's small, crackly radio.

"You try leading now." Rudy shifted their joined hands, rubbing his sweaty palm on his thigh before reaching up to clasp Alejandro's shoulder. He desperately wanted to wrap both arms around his neck and press close, but he was fairly sure he couldn't get away with claiming it was part of teaching him to dance.

Alejandro approached it like he did everything else new to him. Brow furrowed, concentrating. Rudy doesn't know exactly when Alejandro managed to get taller than him, but it took his breath away to look up, the bright glow reflecting in Alejandro's dark eyes that met his, studying him so intently.

He tested, his fingers gently pressing, guiding Rudy. His confidence grew as the song went on, and Rudy surrendered to the warmth of Alejandro's arm around him, hand gentle on his back. "Not so hard, is it?"

Alejandro's wry smile as he ducked his head was answer enough. It wasn't a difficult dance, at least not the basics. Alejandro lifted a shoulder at Rudy's questioning eyebrow. The movement shifted Rudy’s hand, and it was excuse enough. He took the moment to curl his hand around Alejandro's neck, feeling the knobs of his spine and tangling his fingers in his long, dark curls.

"Plenty to learn still, besides just the basic steps. Unless this is enough for you?"

Alejandro's voice cracked slightly, eyes wide as he pulled Rudy closer, both of them moving slower as the song faded out. "Might need more practice. I've seen you dance with Nina Antonia, there's spinning involved."

"Then come over tomorrow, after school. You know my mom won't make fun, and we've got the music. She's making pozole anyway, you know you want to."

"Fine," Alejandro huffed, pretending it was a hardship like they weren't always at each other's homes for dinner anyway. Tomorrow was a rare day off for Rudy’s mom, but he knew she wouldn't mind. "One more song first?"

Rudy shifted close again as Alejandro's too-warm hand gripped his ribs and they moved with the rhythm of the drums. Rudy had always enjoyed dancing with his mama, but he thought that maybe she had a point. Dancing with her was very, very different than dancing with Alejandro, especially with the way his eyes glittered in the dark.

[evadingreallife]

DISCLAIMER: i have my own opinions but mainly i just enjoy stirring up chaos. Tell me in the tags what you all think!!✨

Reblog for sample size etc etc you know it

ps. Yeah thats not a walrus emoji but its the closest i had cmooon cut me some slack guys

pps. bts as in BEHIND THE SCENES dont come @ me talking about BTS the group yall (<-actual mistake i have done. multiple times. yay.)

[softestepilogue]

are yall ready for the influx of fics portraying eddie as a bad father to christopher so alwaysaheroandvictim buck takes christopher in cause he’s obviously a better father than eddie and him and tommy raise chris together? cause i stg those fics are coming.

[coffinsister]

I can and will develop unhealthy parasocial completely one-sided relationships the likes of which you never seen before

[fisheito]

still thinking about them

[helenofblackthorns]

my current favourite fic has not updated in months. when will my beloved return from war 💔

[secret-origins-crossover]

SECRET QUARTET UPDATES

I was waiting impatiently for the poll to finish and dare I say, I have never been more excited for the next part- especially because this is set after the first installation. Now, one thing I'm sure all of you are curious about: can ghosts be stanked?

Much like what I said about Akumas, no- this simply isn't possible for, well, a few reasons but that will come later, so you'll just have to wait! (as for halfas, the answer to that question is also being left ambiguous-)

This does mean that whatever happens in the next part won’t be involving ghosts being affected by the Sorcerer’s magic- now whether ghosts exist inside Norrisville, well, we’ll just have to see won’t we? I do like to think ghosts aren't a common phenomenon everywhere because of other reasons

For now, these are my current forming ideas. Either Danny ends up in Norrisville somehow (which would be partially dependent on the timeline-), or Randy is sent to Amity Park as a result of... other reasons. This is a bare minimum draft to say the least and I have some stuff that will be included immediately and the rest will be added in as the series continues!

I will say that Danny’s going to be having a time if he’s the one to arrive in Norrisville. Poor Danny gets to go through the burner during a lot of this- he is one of the protagonists after all hahaha

Though I decided to use this time to explain some of the lore and information about this AU people are still interested in (which I’m admittedly surprised about-), so without much further ado- let's get right to the point!

Also, one last thing before I start: this takes place before the season two finale of RC9GN for what I feel is kind of obvious, but moving on-

Lore Dumping + Headcanons

Something that was canonized in the first installation: not all heroes are aware of another- due to certain restrictions and, well, some magic of the universe... a lot of the organizations basically were sanctioned off to specific locations as a way of maintaining the peace. What this means is that clashing will go down at first- perhaps not between the main heroes but say, a certain council with other groups but we'll get to that later

Norrisville does not have a high concentration of ghostly energy since there isn't a portal (natural portals are an entirely different story; i'm more referring about something like what's at fenton works-). This didn't really need to be said but just in case! I'm shoving it into the lore dump anyway

Randy faces a lot of pressure just for being the Ninja but without the added knowledge of other heroes- he's genuinely living the best life and having fun while still being the protector, though we all know this won't last. I also will say this is going to explore the whole thing with the tengu but I'm not sure how much just yet-

Could someone else be shloomped inside the Nomicon? Hahaha, you'll find out later- I thought about saying it, but decided to hold myself back for now. I will say this: the Nomicon is still a sentient being and, well, who is able to go inside it (since technically, in one of the episodes, Howard did but I'm not sure how far into the RC9GN 'canon' it's set in-) has some rules to it

Danny and Randy are obviously different in terms of personality- having them work together is going to come with its challenges, but I do think they'd have a good partnership going. They just have to get comfortable with one another

I'm trying to keep myself from saying things about future installations lol, but- I will say that so far, Vlad has zero connections to Norrisville. This one-shot is going to be a little different and that's all I'm going to say for the time being

If anyone's curious about the difference in strength between Danny and Randy- well, their methods of combat are different so, do with this what you will for now :)

As of right now, there are no confirmed ships within the series! To be honest, I don't fully see it as important but it may show- just... not right this second

So far, this is all I got! It's getting a little late and I am honestly really tired which means posting will have to wait until later, but do expect more content soon! I am very excited for the continuation of this project to say the least!

Goodnight, my lovely readers!

[cacodaemonia]

5. what made you start your blog?

6. what’s the best and worst part of being online/a creator?

Hiii!

Well, according to this post (which should show you the date you joined Tumblr if you click on it - idk some coding magic), I joined Tumblr on March 20, 2007, so I don't actually have any memory of that XD My guess was going to be that I joined because I wanted to use the site as an art portfolio to promote my stuff, but I was still living in Japan at that point, so I'm not sure if that's accurate (iirc, I didn't start really freelancing until 2008). Lost to the sands of time XD

Hm, I think the best part is just interacting with people about the things I love, but that's totally possible without being a creator, so it's not really exclusive, haha. So I'll go with... it's really nice when people have thoughtful things to say about what I make! :D AO3 comments and anything nice that friends say about my stuff really do make my day! <3

The worst part for me is probably due to how some people see me as a BNF (hurrk🤢) even though I'm just a hermit goblin sitting at my desk writing and drawing stuff 🤡 But I've noticed that any time people perceive others as having some power or status (whether or not they actually have it), they tend to dehumanize the person. It's common to see people on the internet feeling entitled to what online creators do or say, and they get mad when the person doesn't make what they like or doesn't 100% conform to their notions of what is correct/moral/whatever. At the same time, many people put these creators on a pedestal and treat them like they're some kind of aspirational celebrities who can do no wrong—which is just as uncomfortable and dehumanizing to me as the behavior of the angry, entitled people. 😅 This is why I would never, for any amount of money, become actually famous. I literally cannot imagine anything worse XD

Thanks for the ask! These were interesting questions!