#saying this both as a reader & as a writer

[up-in-flames-writing]

In lieu of Stuff Your Kindle day, can we talk about the issue of how the m/m genre of books, romance or not, is almost entirely dominated by women? Can we talk about how the most recognisable gay couples in media are written by women? Can we talk about how queer men can't even write about ourselves, how we are only allowed to exist when it's from the point of view of a straight woman sexualising us?

Can we talk about that? Or am I going to get called misogynistic for pointing out the disparity between who gets the writing deals, & who gets their books turned into movies, & whose shit gets popular versus whose doesn't? Can we talk about how m/m fiction is only allowed when it appeals to a cishet gaze, or is that too much for tumblr to take?

Can we also talk about how trans queer men are even more hated by publishing? Can we talk about how we get shit from both sides? Can we talk about how books about the experiences of being a queer man, written by queer men, never get the same recognition as books written by women on this subject (barring academia which has its own problems)?

Can we talk about that? Can we?

#booker speaks #no bloody clue how to tag this #this is for the tags only but #people would get up in arms if the f/f book scene was dominated by cismen only #why are we not extending this same energy to ciswomen writers of m/m? #why did we forget about the original meaning of own voices? #why are queer men pushed out of publishing in the way that we are? #& im not just talking about romance here #like there are fantasy & scifi & contemporary novels about men loving men that are written by ciswomen who have a very narrow view of what #m/m relationships are like. & this extends towards stuff like manga too but im not gonna get into that cause i dont read mangs/comics #can we talk about how hard it is to find queer masc authors nowadays? #saying this both as a reader & as a writer #can we also talk about how lists of queer & especially trans novels almost always forget to include anything by transmascs & gay transmascs #or if they do include us its 1 transmasc book to 1 enby book to 8 transfem books or books about the 'trans experience' in nebulous terms #can we stop reccing detransition baby & start reccing the spirit bares its teeth? #can we look at works written by queer masc people that arent just red white royal blue & stone butch blues? #go read cemetary boys #read alexis hall & max turner #read bloom if you like comics. or nimona #read my shit too! #im gonna be focusing on my writing blog way more this year #& im working on some projects that may or may not end up being published in physical form #read more queer masc stories by queer masc authors!

[always-a-joyful-note]

You don't know how much I can Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint code Enstars because I could. Because you have a set up where you are basically taking the place of Anzu--a person created simply to be the reader's/player's self-insert. Because the characters all exist to love Anzu while they're going through their own arcs. Because Anzu also exists to love and support the characters by the game's own coding. She is their world and their hope, and the enstars characters are her idols (and I don't just mean that as singers and dancers).

But slowly, I've seen posts and even small summaries of how Anzu starts becoming her own person, small ways apart from the characters. Yes, she's still quiet. Yes, she is almost always a Viewer. Except for the fact that this is a game story, not just a book or novel story. And games are meant to be played...not by the characters but by someone who is watching them but has not created them.

This is how Anzu has more power than a normal reader. This is also how she has less power than a normal reader. The game allows her to exercise power over the characters' lives that a normal reader of a book cannot--she can help along Trickstar, be the behind the scenes producer for a number of the idol groups in the school, doing something to make them shine. But she is always a puppet, controlled by the player. She has a silly personality with a questionable naming sense and determination and hard-headedness to boot...her preferences for the units and who she builds up are always changing according to the player. Her only goal is to make sure her idols shine (what more does a reader want than to see their characters shine?), yet the goal of the Enstars characters is to adore Anzu and make people like her who support them happy (where would the characters be without a reader?)

Like the Oldest Dream, she is the most powerful and weakest god of all. A puppet steered by the fantasies of many, many individuals yet always loved by the characters for "herself."

#okay first of all #orv spoilers #i know this is incoherent and slightly dramatic but FJIASOJEIRWERe #i am honestly OBSESSED with the self-insert aspect of this game #i know this is probably not how self-insert is supposed to work #and i stay far away from self-insert fics cause theyre not my thing #but like....a y/n character as an actual character???? #i latch onto anzu so much like girl i love you. you are yourself. you are me. you are the other people in the fandom who play this game #she really is everything and everyone #please forgive me i know its not that deep but i think it would be so cool of the writers to one day release a story that has an anzu card #where she becomes part of the world.... #that would be both the most hilarious thing and horrifying as well if written right #fandom spamdom #enstars #ensemble stars #stuff i say #seriously tho i keep thinking about it compared to orv #and how people always talk about yjh and kdj as a ship. and how anzu sometimes gets romance-coded words thrown at her #(maybe more in basic but i still need to read the basic stories) #and when you really think about it the relationship between the characters and reader really is like....every kind of love #its a romance that isnt a romance. a family that isnt a family. a friendship that isnt a friendship #you know what i mean? #yeah someone gag me before i start overthinking this i swear i am very normal about this game #okay finally finished this thing in my drafts and im having second thoughts about posting but ah well.... #this game is making me insane i think

[scrawnytreedemon]

Is it so bad that I don't really like ships of characters I simp and I only like the reader insert fics with them?

Yeah I can't deny I'm jealous of the canon x canon ships with my faves, knowing that they possibly can be together while I can't. I know it's dumb,so that's why I never hate on someone who likes those ships I just ignore it

Like Sefikura for example, I don't like it cuz I'm a massive hoe for Sephiroth,also bcuz sometimes they make the ship pretty icky,also bcuz Cloud is baby and I'm still angy at Sephy for mentally torturing my Babyboy like that

IT'S CHAOS WITH MY FICTIONAL FAVES!!!!!!

Nothing wrong with that, personally! I get wanting to indulge in the warmth of a good fantasy-- That is what alot of fiction is for, after all.

Bless you, anon. Alas, as someone also plagued with my own Dumb and Horrid Fictional Feelings, the brain can be such a little bitch when it comes to that stuff. Good on you for recognising how and why you feel that way, ignoring the stuff you don't like and focusing on what you do.

LMAO I get that completely. I should mention, though, that I am one of those people who indulges in the nastier side of the ship, lmaooo. Even so, I get why it wouldn't click with you.

(FR when is it not?)

#scrawny rambles #scrawny answers #ty for your letter anon <3 #completely different tangent aside from yours #very introspective stuff ahead feel free to ignore you know the deal #i have alot of respect for selfshippers #considering my sisters kicked me out of the habit very early on and i've been Mortified ever since #but man... i think if i want an reader!fic i can jive with i'd have to write my own #once again no shade to the writers you guys keep living it up #but alot of it ends up being 'i would NOT say that' for mehgkjfgdjh #GOD i remember this ghirahimxreader fic i read ages ago #and at some point y/n's parents show up as yiga #and i'm like. what father. I HAVE NO FATHER. or i have two. it fucking depends. both absent either way. #POINT IS i think there are alot of ways my life and cultural experiences differ that if anything makes it *harder* for me to be immersed #also the Shame. but i think that can be overcome. spite my siblings lmaooo. #again anon entirely different thread from yours #just plopping some thoughts here i've had for awhile

[iwantyoursexmp3]

i dont always like the term trauma porn and think it gets diluted but i think there are absolutely stories out there that involve trauma that treat it really weirdly, almost fetishise it. the fact that many marginalised writers can be expected by the industry to write deeply about their trauma from bigotry so it can be ‘educational’ ‘representation’. the writing industry turning writing into product ultimately, as a consequence, turns trauma into a product too, and there is absolutely commercialisation and commodification of that. writers writing about complex trauma they haven’t experienced whilst not examining why they want to write this trauma beyond being “curious” or liking “dark topics”, the fact that some writers genuinely take the fact it’s fiction as to not examine how certain portrayals of real life trauma can become harmful, which really all you need to do is check in with your work and yourself and have a compassionately critical approach. like as someone with many different complex traumas who has been treated differently because of it, i have so many thoughts considering my trauma informs my writing (that have no conclusion because I don’t think you can really make any, just that it needs to be discussed with nuance), but it makes me upset when it seems like the extent other people think about this is just “fiction isn’t reality so depiction is just depiction”. but anyway that’s not the extent of my thoughts at all i just wrote this to procrastinate sending an email

#the day I’m brave enough to talk abt this on main #and no I’m not saying there’s a line between what people can and can’t write it’s about being critical with #your approach both as a writer and a reader #why is this particular writer writing this thing? why do YOU want to write this thing?

[dreamlandiasims]

Hi, after your last post I wanted to let you know some of the new aspects of your story reminded me of a few antisemitic tropes and wanted to let you know in case you weren't aware. Here are excerpts from wikipedia's articles on antisemitic tropes and blood libel:

"Reptilian conspiracies, prominent in ufology theories, have also been linked to anti-semitism,[59][116] as "a very old trope with disturbing links to anti-immigrant and antisemitic hostilities dating to the 19th century."[117] Conspiracy author David Icke suggests numerous Jewish political figures are reptilian shapeshifters and "the Jewish Rothschild family is part of a bloodline of reptilian humanoids that secretly control the world".[118] Critics contend these theories to be antisemitic, although he denies animosity towards Jewish people.[117] Other far-right ufologists speculate that the Jewish race originated from genetic engineering by malevolent extraterrestrials engaged in interstellar conflict with Anunnaki or Pleiadians.[119]"

"Blood libel or ritual murder libel (also blood accusation)[1][2] is an antisemitic canard[3][4][5] which falsely accuses Jews of murdering Christians in order to use their blood in the performance of religious rituals."

There's no ill intent behind this ask I only want to bring this to your attention. Phrases like "the elites", secret groups pulling strings behind the scenes and controlling the economy, experimenting/killing innocents to acquire eternal youth are all parts widespread antisemitic tropes/conspiracy theories and I hope you understand my concern seeing them in your story.

Hi! Thank you so much for sending me this, genuinely. I definitely am aware of those tropes and how harmful they are, but I seriously didn’t realize I was playing into them with my own story.

For a little context, this was my perspective on those plot decisions:

Partly, I wanted to play into the idea that corporations control society and often one parent company will own a lot of smaller companies across industries. With Nancy Landgraab’s character specifically, I see her as representative of the extremes of capitalist rhetoric - aging is vilified, you must constantly be bettering yourself/optimizing yourself, etc. I acknowledge now that phrasing like “eternal youth” doesn’t necessarily have the connotation that I’ve intended.

Another big focus of my story is integrating my original characters with the premade characters of the Sims universe - linking all these characters from different Sims worlds was my way of establishing a connection that will allow me to pull in new characters later in the story, hence the “secret society” that spans across the whole world.

HOWEVER all of that being said, my intentions are only as good as the way they’re being received. I can totally understand the connections you made to all of the tropes you referenced, and I’m now thinking through ways that I can adjust my story to be framed differently. If the original Anon or anyone reading this who feels similarly has thoughts or ideas that they’d like to share, please send them my way! There’s also definitely the possibility that the plot I’ve thought out is too reliant on these harmful tropes, and it may be worth evaluating whether I should be telling this story at all.

#thank you again for reaching out to me in such a respectful way! #it’s honestly a wake up call that even though I feel well-educated on antisemitism and examples of harmful media #I certainly still have a lot to learn #I also hope the last bit doesn’t sound too much like ‘tell me how to fix this’ #because I don’t expect that at all! I just feel like a collaborative discussion of how it could be better would be helpful #both for me and other readers/writers #ok that’s all I have to say right now - I will let you all know if I decide to rewrite the post or just redirect the story going forward #for now I’ve turned off reblogs on the most recent post just in case

[ink-of-a-thousand-currents]

Mmm I definitely have Thoughts on site lore and Ancient lore. And I mean, for the most part I (as well as many people) use site lore more as Inspiration/Building Blocks for further lore building.

I've been meaning to get around to writing lore for my Clan and in general, so. I guess I'll just make some notes on the current Ancient Lore and what I think and where I'd go.

Deciding to put this under a read more since it's a lot more than I meant to write lmao

Gaolers - Part of this being because they were the first, and therefore had the most hype around their introduction, but so far lorewise Gaolers still have probably the most impactful story. Them being forgotten by modern society makes sense; withdrawn, a small population of creatures that never evolved into their softer modern counterparts. Which is another thing that makes Gaolers stand out; they're the only Ancient with an explicit connection as being ancestors of one of the Modern breeds. The whole This Thing Is You But Older, More Primal And Dangerous is just. Soooo good. Gaolers as a design have grown on me recently, so it definitely generates some ideas.

Banescales - BANESCALE LORE. BANESCALE LORE. My favorite of the bunch, but this is partially that I am someone who loooves music. The idea of Banescales having been a musical society, and now all that remains is the song that was left to their children as they protected their eggs... god it's just so beautiful to me. Plus the parallel to how Coatls ended up having a notably musical language... The idea of the Flamecaller mourning her first children and passing on their gift. The Coatls and Banes bonding over this similarity. I love them, I need more Banes.

Veilspuns - I'll be honest. I don't remember anything about the Veilspun lore. Legitimately. I love Veil's designs but their lore just Did Not Stick. I'll have to go reread it and probably rebuild it somehow lmaooo

Aberrations - Okay, I also kinda forgot this one, but they literally crawled out of the Wyrmwound, right?? Like, sort of had a "cast away by their god" type of thing? Failed experiment energy? Idk if that was actually what happened, but it's the take I'm going with.

Undertides - They felt betrayed by their god so turned their back on him, and then reintroduced themselves to modern society upon the Surge in the Elements. Cool! Interesting! I think this could be very cool to explore, especially with the modern members of Water Flight who have effectively been abandoned by Tidelord (as far as we know. Dad come back.) Also, strong ties with a specific sect of Maren! Neat! Not as potent of lore to me, maybe, but it's interesting and has potential. Execution was ehhg but I can work with the concepts.

Aethers - I love their lore yes its stupid yes its goofy and I adore them for it. If I go through with my lore crafting I'll keep all this because the other Ancients having cool and fucked up lore next to these dumbass sparkly floofs is hilarious to me.

Sandsurges - Okay I DID. Think the "pay" bit in the story was funny. But I do think a "cooler" take could have been done, with Sandsurges having a better reason to have been unknown to modern dragons aside from "They were underground all along" whsgsgs. I think you can combine the best of both world by saying they return upon seeing the exploitation of modern Lightning society, and the building of something Big and Dangerous, with allusions to this having been done in the past and having had consequences to Ancient Sandsurge society... AKA, they're here to teach the young'uns about unions.

Auraboas - Okay, so. The issues have been brought up several times, and most of us are aware at this point. I can see the angle they were going for, for a sci-fi-esque hivemind tyoe of situation. I also don't necessarily disagree with the decision to make it Nature. While Arcane might make more sense for sci-fi themeing, I think choosing a different Flight makes it a little less on the nose. In any case, I think the concepts are there, but were executed very poorly and with a decent dose of "ignorance and tone-deafness." I think the story specifically should have treated the elder Auraboas with more compassion for their fears for their children and difficulty in communicating with modern dragons. Way less infantilization, and more "person struggling with a language they barely know, reaching out to someone they never would have otherwise out of desperation." (By this I mean I think they could have written the difficulty in communicating far better than they did). The Loop is interesting as well, though very hard to grasp as a concept. This is partially on purpose, and partially because I kind if think staff purposefully left some things vague because they didn't actually want to try and figure out how the concept would work, lol (which I can't entirely blame them for, especially since with Site Lore sometimes less is more, allowing for multiple interpretations by users).

Another note: in both the recent Lightning and Nature ancient stories, they're both stated and/or heavily implied to have already been known about by certain dragons In The Know, so to speak. I have some mixed thoughts on either, and might incorporate them differently. Sandsurges as sort of secret workers was a little funny and backed up the Weird Shady Company Execs thing, but it could be interesting to make it a sort of, deliberately covered up because We Can't Have Them Teaching The New Hires How To Unionize!

As for Auraboas... Not really sure. I can see them being a culture that has been largely self-reliant for their existance, hence the lack of contact with modern dragons. But, given their connection to the Behemoth (and maybe a connection that could be elaborated on), maybe they've appeared or collaborated with moderns in the past over threats to the Behemoth. So, mutual knowledge, but no sustained contact since it was A) difficult and B) outside of curiosity, most on both sides saw little reason to establish further contact. A sort of living alongside one another but never really talking, like neighbors you see sometimes but don't talk to. It's only the disruption of the Loop in the younger generation that both kickstarts a greater Need to connect, but also a bridge for easier communication.

#flight rising #ink writes lore #lore notes #also yea disclaimer i am Very White and while i try to be educated i am aware i will likely Fuck Up #this is personal brainstorming. so if you think there's something i said here abt auraboas that i should rethink feel free to tell me #it's a difficult line to walk when engaging with Interesting concepts that potentially reflect real life situations #i do believe staff was entirely accidental. like this is a game abt dragons and therefore the parallels to IRL aren't intuitive #like its a bit of a different beast to navigate than a fictional world based around humans #bc with humans you can say 'oh this fictional society is modeled after irl society' and can research from there #and therefore judge things based on how well researched the creators have been #whereas with magical animals worlds. it's not intuitive if you're not doing it on purpose! and you're a lot more likely #to unconsciously draw on inspiration sources both good and bad without really Thinking About The Source On Purpose. if that makes sense #so yea we can say staff Probably Should Have thought it through #and i think a firm criticism is that they should at least hire sensitivity readers if not outright hiring More Diverse Writers #but i don't think we should demonize them for it. constructive criticism and all that

[nomazee]

i need people who write midoriya x reader to write about him with the intensity and complexity of the people who write midoriya character study fics on ao3

#i want cute stuff of COURSE #but i also want to cry and have my chest be torn apart and ache and bleed everywhere #i’ve actually scrolled thru so many pages of ao3 in the last few days it might be unhealthy #i kind of maybe don’t even try finding midoriya x reader stuff because i can get just as much satisfaction from like #those ten thousand word count bakugo izuku platonic twin flames fics those go insane. i NEED u guys to listen to me #the ones that make u nauseous with how strongly they write both of them as characters #i love the midoriya & (character) tags they bring me joy and love and wonder #i love. writers. i love fanfiction. thank u for tearing my heart out and stomping on it on the cold dead floor guys #nat says stuff #Also this is to say. please recommend good midoriya fics to me. much love. #under 30k words because i CANT HANDLE ANOTHER SERIES ILL DIE #maybe i’m looking in the wrong places and tags bc all the mha reader insert fics i’ve seen r not what i’m looking for #and i do NOT believe that nobody at ALL is writing the very specific niche fics that i want

[handspunyarns]

who else does this?

So yeah, I'm working on my next chapter, but my brain keeps bugging me about a future chapter (like, way future chapter), so I gotta write that down too ... anyway, here's a tiny bit of dialogue from the future chapter, which has a bit of a spoiler, so under the cut, but hey, y'all know I'm not killing off my female OC, right? I like her too much.

Cobb: Sit on my face.

Marathel: I beg your pardon?

#excuse me what were you saying #excuse me what #wait what #the hell #are you serious #yeah i'm serious #but i really love you #din djarin fanfiction #cobb x fem oc #but for how long #fanfic writers both love and hate their readers

[dangerous-advantage]

do you ever just remember like... fanfiction is free? like on god, people are just writing this shit and putting it up?? just so other people can look at it??? thats wild man

#/pos #i say this as both a writer and reader of fic #i cannot pay you so i will scream at you in your comments #honestly thats better than cash #i mean it doesn't feed me but i do this out of love not money

[aeide-thea]

also: i just finished n*torious sorcerer, and enjoyed certain aspects of it but was left unimpressed/unconvinced by others (longer letter later on this, maybe? no promises tho), which i guess makes it yet another addition to the growing list of m/m tradpub fantasy novels i wanted to love but ultimately didn't, quite? part of me is honestly starting to wonder if the capacity for love is burnt out of me, although that sounds awfully dramatic and i quite frankly think it's equally possible that we're just getting more and more writers coming up by way of fandom and that it's eaten particular, recognizable sorts of holes (ha) in their skillsets...

#i mean—i don't know‚ that may be confirmation bias #it's not as if writers who didn't cut their teeth on fandom are universally good at‚ say‚ establishing worldbuilding #and not just sketching it out suggestively and relying on readers to supply what's not stated #(also like. at some level good worldbuilding can be sketched out as long as the sketch is *sufficiently* suggestive. sargent style.) #(and certainly overexplaining can easily sour into exposition dump. but like. you know what i mean maybe.) #or at writing women #(and actually on that point i thought this book was notably more successful than‚ say‚ meadows' or rowland's most recent efforts) #(still a bit unbalanced in that there were arguably four major characters—the central m/m couple and then a pair of sisters— #and the men had their arcs‚ i thought‚ much more resolved than the women did) #(in fairness i think the 'gotta leave something for the sequels!' factor may be relevant there) #(but—idk. something to be said abt priorities and whose stories we feel it's necessary to resolve at least the opening act of #vs whose stories we think we can leave in-progress and still feel as though we've tied up enough loose ends to have a satisfying book) #anyway—i hope obviously!—i'm not saying writing romance between two men is somehow an intrinsically misogynist move #but like. esp if you're writing something that's got a plot bigger than just the romance‚ i do feel like you ought to have women characters #and they ought to be given enough weight to feel like full people‚ even if they're full people we aren't focusing on #or otherwise spending a ton of time with #i don't know. i don't want to carp about any of this. i want to be magically presented with stories i love #where i don't feel the need to start squinting suspiciously at aspects of them because they've successfully convinced me #i wish i could tell whether the problems are with what i'm reading or with me :/ #(very possibly both. road to el dorado gif only it's the dark version so no one has a goatee.) #bookblogging #you may have gotten the impression that i love to be a hater but i'm actually very tired of it #would love to be transported actually! cue patrick wolf the days

[maaarshieee]

hellooo im very conflicted rn so if you wanna listen to me ramble about my life then uhh read the tags LOL this is a 1 time thing dw sorry for the new followers <3

#:;dontlookifyoudontlikeventing #as a writer and a reader my number 1 coping mechanism is reading and writing! #now #i wanna request so bad to a writer for a comfort fic fr but its very very like #i dunno smth not writers would be comfy of? #im really struggling with so much shit rn its crazy #i got both parental issues they both drive me crazy #health issues that can led me to future risky surgery #financial issues thats tied to my parental issues #and the fact i cant get diagnosed anything mental health related for shit bc again we broke and my parents don't believe in that shit #annnyyways i just cant pop up in writer's ask box and say i wanna request with a reader's life falling apart LMAO #i dunno im past the point of talking and fantasy helps me cope better #i dont wanna write either for myself bc i prefer writing the drafts i already have plus its hella tiring #thats all LMAO #this just came out bc my dad messaged me again and everytime he does i just get in a really bad mood

[kohakhearts]

once we move beyond the dialogue vs narration shit goodly and truly and accept that they are and have always been interconnected, in many ways one and the same - then and only then , will we know world peace.

#taylor.txt #obviously a joke but also like…its reductive to say writers excel at one or the other #when they both rely on the same skills. when they feed into each other. when both operate to tell us something never mind the format #im not saying write everything The Same Way - im just saying that your narration is a type of dialogue (with the reader whose answers of #course you will never hear but which nonetheless exist!) and your dialogue a type of narration - by characters who as it turns out have #important things to say about the plot and the themes and all of it! they are not forces in opposition! they are brothers in arms!!!

[screechthemighty]

Okay, back to that thought I put a pin in like hours ago. Putting aside the inconsistent DID writing, putting aside the general badness of a lot of these plots, if you take everything in the comics at face value and as canon...it becomes HORRIFICALLY sad for Jake starting in the 2000s (if not sooner b/c I missed a lot of the late 80s/90s). Note that this is going to be a very pro-Jake reinterpretation that ignores some authorial intent, but there's like a billion different authors and the ones I'm ignoring the hardest wrote bad MK comics so yeah I'm not apologizing for that.

The long and short of it is that Marc has pushed away everyone who was in Jake's friend group. Gena, Ray, and Crawley are all gone, and these are all absences that occurred while Marc was the primary and entirely because of his actions. (Yes, the Lemire run establishes that Marc considers them HIS friends too, and that's perfectly valid and definitely part of the reason he pushed them away...but that's an action he took without considering how Jake would feel).

That leaves Marlene. Now, the relationship with Marlene and the system has ALWAYS been weird due to the inconsistent writing, but again, putting that aside...Jake, at one point, loved Marlene enough to propose to her. They were going to get married. Marlene was pregnant with a baby conceived while she was in a relationship with JAKE. He was happy with her. Granted, the cracks are there, and to be fair, these aren’t on Marc. That’s about Marlene’s inability to see them as separate people. But it is significant to what follows.

After Shadowland, Marc becomes the primary again, drives away Marlene again. At some point presumably when they get back to New York, Jake reaches out to Marlene to rekindle the relationship. It’s entirely possible he still loves her (again. They were going to get married)...but Marlene loves Marc. By her own admission, Marc is the one she misses. One could even make the argument that the perceived lack of warmth on Jake’s part is a combination of a) Marlene’s dissatisfaction with not being with the system member she actually wants and b) Jake being aware of that and withdrawing emotionally. Now, I’m not saying Jake is completely innocent here, he makes several bad calls, but you can read an element of tragedy here. Especially when Diatrice shows up.

Listen, Marc is allowed to be emotionally attached to Diatrice, he’s allowed to consider her his kid, I’m not saying he’s wrong for doing so, but like. Jake has just as much a claim to being her father as Marc does. He was the one fronting when she was conceived, he helped Marlene raise her. But he did so as Uncle Jake, and I can’t escape the feeling it’s because he knew that this was never going to work out. Marlene loved Marc. She never loved him. Whatever they had once was gone, if it ever existed, and him trying to have any kind of emotional relationship with Diatrice would always be overshadowed by that. So he steps back. He’s Uncle Jake, and lets Marc be her father, because that’s what Marlene wants. It’s what makes Marc happy.

And then Marc fucks it up and drives them both away again. Jake will never see Diatrice again, not even as Uncle Jake.

So, in conclusion, Marc’s behavior has deliberately or accidentally shoved away almost everyone Jake has ever cared about, so yeah, Jake should tell off Marc for driving Diatrice away actually-

#this has been a post #IDK if I should tag this I don't want the comic readers to bite my head off #to be clear I don't...ACTUALLY really blame marc for a lot of this #because a lot of the bullshit in their story is just........bad writing #bad or inconsistent #or both. usually both. #but again if you take it at face value and just accept it all as canon it's like???? shit dude #edit: I should clarify when i say ''i don't blame marc'' I mean ''I'm not trying to imply he meant to hurt jake'' #or even that he was actively uncaring #like lbr the writers forgot jake existed and has feelings and that's what's going on here lmao

[actual-changeling]

In the spirit of encouraging people to comment on fanfics while also making it easier to do so, I feel obliged to share a browser extension for ao3 that has quite literally revolutionized the comment game for me.

I present to you: the floating ao3 comment box!

From what I've seen, a big problem for many people is that once you reach the comments at the bottom of a fic, your memory of it miraculously disappears. Anything you wanted to say is stuck ten paragraphs ago, and you barely remember what you thought while reading. This fixes that!

I'll give a little explanation on the features and how it works, but if you want to skip all that, here's the link.

The extension is visible as a small blue box in the upper left corner.

(Side note: The green colouring is not from the extension, that's me.)

If you click on it, you open a comment box window at the bottom of your screen but not at the bottom of the fic. I opened my own fic for demonstrative purposes.

The website also gives explanations on how exactly it functions, but I'll summarize regardless.

insert selection -> if you highlight a sentence in the fic it will be added in italics to the comment box

add to comment box -> once you're done writing your comment, you click this button and the entire thing will automatically copied to the ao3 comment box

delete -> self explanatory

on mulitchapter fics, you will be given the option to either add the comment to just the current chapter or the entire fic

The best part? You can simply close the window the same way you opened it and your progress will automatically be saved. So you can open it, comment on a paragraph, and then close it and keep reading without having the box in your face.

Comments are what keep writers going, and as both a writer and a reader, I think it's such an easy way of showing support and enthusiasm.

#alex yells at the void #ao3 #archive of our own #ao3 stuff #fanfic comments #fandom

[magicshopaholic]

Why don’t you write fics with y/n instead of named characters? Don’t get me wrong I enjoy your fics very much but it’s just… odd. A lot of people like seeing themselves in fics and I dont know if your fics allow them to do that

True, but I guess my fics aren’t for them then. There are writers who write specifically for readers to be able to insert themselves into the story and do a great job of it - I’m just not one of them. I’m not trying to get readers to pretend they are the OCs - if they do, that’s totally fine, but it’s just not my objective. My objective is to create real and diverse characters with names, backgrounds, appearances and personalities and allow people to relate to them, not be them - it is one of the most fun parts of writing for me.

If we’re being honest, the Y/N format was a little odd to me when I joined this fandom because I’ve only ever seen OCs in fanfiction before this. But I’ve read so many Y/N fics that are absolutely amazing - I just don’t insert myself into it; instead I picture a vague person with the name Y/N. At the end of the day, it’s up to writers and readers to write and read what they enjoy; thankfully the BTS fanfic community is big enough that everyone can find a space for what they prefer.

I’m aware that my readership is lower due to the OC format - which is why you will see that my earlier fics tried a hybrid of second POV and names, but it just didn’t work out. It didn’t come naturally to me, editing was a pain and re-reading them is borderline weird. If I’m putting in this much time and effort into writing, I want an outcome that will satisfy my creative instincts. Anything else just feels disingenuous.

Glad you’re enjoying the fics though :)

#also from a logistical pov #how would I go about keeping track of seven y/ns #it’s hurting my brain just thinking about it #but I hope I answered your question anon #it’s not about saying one format is better than the other #it’s about personal preferences for both readers and writers #fanfiction is about having an outlet and enjoyment #for both readers and writers #so with all my love to both - it’s to each their own #notes🍷

[paganinpurple]

AO3 Etiquette -UPDATED

Based on both decent and not so decent replies, I have made some changes to my original post below.

It would seem a whole new kind of AO3 reader/writer is emerging and it is becoming clear not everyone quite understands how the website community works. Here is some basic guidance on how most people expect you to go about using AO3 to keep this a fun community archive that funtions correctly:

As well as likes, kudos is for when the story was interesting enough to make you finish reading. If it sucked or was badly written, you probably left. If you finished it, you liked it - so kudos.

If you really liked it, you should try to comment. It can be long and detailed or a literal keysmash. Writers don't care, we just love comments.

No critisism unless the author has specifically asked or agreed to hear it (so use your notes to say if you want some constructive feedback). Even constructive critisism is a no-no unless an author note tells you it's okay. No, posting it online is not an open invitation for that. Many people write as a fun hobby or a way to cope with, among other things, insecurity and just want to share. Don't ruin that for them. I've seen so many authors just stop writing coz they can't handle the negative emotions the critism brings, and it's only meant to be a fun thing shared for free (pointing out tagging errors is not included in this).

Do not comment to ask the author to write/update something else. It's tacky and off-putting and will probably have the opposite effect than the one you want.

There is no algorithm, it's an archive. Use the search and filter function to add/remove the pairings/characters/tropes etc. you want to read about and it will find you the fics that fit the bill.

For this to work, writers must tag and rate stories. This avoids readers finding the wrong things and missing the stuff they want. I don't care how cringy that trope is in your eyes - it gets tagged.

The tag exception is if you don't want to tag a million things or spoil your story, you can rate it as "chose not to use warnings," and maybe tag the bare minimum.

Don't censor tags. How can someone exclude a tag if the word isn't typed out correctly? There are no content bans for terms so don't censor them.

If the tags are mostly content/trigger warnings, especially if they are things considered very fucked up or graphic, you might want to use "dead dove - do not eat" to ensure people know that you're not messing around with tags and what they get is exactly what you've warned them about.

Character A/Character B means a ROMANTIC or SEXUAL relationship of some kind. Character A&Character B is PLATONIC, like friendship or family.

Nothing is banned. This is an rule because banning one thing is a slipperly slope to banning another and another, until nothing is allowed anymore. Do not expect anyone to censor for you. Because of the tags system, you are responsible for your own reading experience.

People can create new chapters and sequels/fic series any time after they "complete" a story. So it's considered perfectly normal to subscribe, even to a finished story. You can even subscribe to the author instead just to cover your bases.

Do not repost stories or change the publishing date without an extremely good reason (like a complete top to bottom rewrite or an exchange youve written for going public). It's an archive, not social media. No one cares what's the most recent, only what fits their tag needs.

Instead of deleting a story you wrote if you hate it - consider making it anonymous or orphaning it so others can still enjoy it, without it being connected to your name anymore. If you still want to delete it, fair enough.

It's come to my attention that metaworks ARE allowed on AO3, which is something I wasn't aware of. So if you do post an essay or theory, please tag it as such so others can choose to search for it or exclude it. Art is also allowed.

The only reason this archive works is because NON ONE PROFITS. Do not link to your ko-fi or patreon or mention monetary gain in any way or you violate the terms and risk having your account removed. If anyone does link, it leaves the archive open to people claiming it's for profit and having the whole thing removed.

I KNOW there's plenty more I missed but I'm trying to cover most of the basics that people seem to be struggling with.

I invite anyone to add to this, but please explain, don't berate.

#ao3 #using ao3 #archive of our own #fanfiction #fanworks