To All The Fic Writers Out There That Are Not Currently Writing. Either It's Because Of RL, Health, Writer's

Transgender Day of Visibility.

I made it

It's March 2021.

Breonna Taylor was murdered by the police on March 13, 2020.

Breonna Taylor has not received justice.

Oof okay this is just me being a tad frustrated overall but:

I'm... pretty fed up with the situation on tumblr right now, not gonna lie. Yes this is about fics, and yes I do have the right to complain about it.

Because yes, I write for myself. That's absolutely true.

But I write everything what's happening in my head down for you, and writing takes a LOT of work. I would not be staying up late at night, typing sentences away on my phone or on my laptop if it wasn't for readers.

I would not be trying to make pretty sentences and come up with metaphors and check over grammar again and again and again if not for you.

I would not be editing my fics so much I almost cannot stand to look at them anymore to the point I question the quality of my writing if not for you.

Don't tell me stuff like "yes but we are reading it! There is no reason we should be forced to leave feedback" because that's not what I'm asking of you. That's absolutely NOT what I'm asking of you. I don't want to force you to do anything and in the end I cannot at all because I'm just a simple blog in my corner of the internet but it all boils down to this:

Give your writers exposure.

We work harder than you readers would ever know to get those stories you love out and it's so freaking hard to get it on paper. It takes so much energy and yes it also takes energy to comment, I understand.

But I assure you, taking the time to write a 20 word long comment is WAY less energy than the writer did to get 9000 words out with cohesive plot and creative writing.

So please, reblog. Reblog the fics you read. We writers depend on you.

Why tagging female reader fics is so important

I’m starting to get really fed up with the lack of tagging in this fandom, so here’s a quick explanation as to why it’s so important to tag your female reader fics as female reader.

1- This should be common knowledge, but apparently not: not every person who reads fanfic is female.

It’s become standard to assume readers are female. And honestly, it’s just flat out disrespectful. It shows us non-female readers that you don’t care enough about our comfort in the fandom to do something as simple as put “character x F!reader” instead of “Character x reader”. It's incredibly othering and disrespectful towards those of us who are not female.

2- “Reader” can easily be assumed to be gender neutral.

It very rarely is, but there’s no way of knowing whether something is going to be gender neutral or not if you don’t tag it. It’s INCREDIBLY frustrating to start a fic and find out a few paragraphs in (or worse, halfway through), that it’s female reader. Not only is it frustrating, it can be triggering to some people: it can trigger gender dysphoria in trans people, bring up trauma from cis male readers that may have experience abuse related to their sexual orientation, and many, many more people.

3- It’s harmful to trans people.

Many AFAB trans people (trans men and AFAB non-binary people) experience gender dysphoria. It’s seen as incredibly dehumanising to misgender a trans person, and that’s essentially what you’re doing by assuming that all readers are female. At best, misgendering a trans person reminds them they don’t fit the cishet expectation society has of them. At worse, it triggers extreme feelings of gender dysphoria, memories of past (and current) abuse, and reminds us that representation is a luxury we rarely experience. It’s not just the pronouns either; sometimes I’ll read a fic and it’ll describe body parts that trigger my gender dysphoria (breasts, hips, reproductive parts, etc.). As a cis person reading this, it might not seem like a big deal. But trust me: it’s a huge deal. Being misgendered takes a HUGE toll on a trans person’s mental health. We spent a huge part of our lives being misgendered, pretending to be someone we’re not, and to read a self-insert fic and have the reader be gendered as female reminds us of the time when our lives were at the lowest. Trans people who don’t pass as their gender identity, who are non-binary, or who cannot transition, are misgendered all day, every day, and for many of us, fandom is the only escape… until we’re trying to read a fic and are misgendered there too.

It’s not as simple as “it’s not for us”. For me, it’s sometimes an inconvenience. Other days, it triggers my dysphoria so bad I totally shut down and can’t function for hours on end. And my gender dysphoria is much less intense than many trans people’s.

4- It’s not difficult.

It’s just not. It’s as simple as putting “f!reader” at the top of your fic. If you want to be extra awesome, you can put it in the tags too. Not doing it shows that you’re too lazy to respect people who aren’t comfortable reading female reader fics.

5- It’s a waste of our time.

You’re not getting any extra notes by doing this. You’re just not. If anything, you’re losing prospective readers. As a non-binary person, I occasionally read f!reader fics. But if I can’t mentally prepare for it in advance, I’m not going to be able to finish reading. Those of us who can’t read any female reader fics won’t be very likely to read any of your other fics, even if those are actually gender neutral. So we have to get partway through reading a fic that isn’t for us when we could have just scrolled past it. You’re proving to non-female readers that your blog isn’t a safe space for us, and it’s very unlikely you’ll get a second chance from that reader.

Please know: I’m not trying to personally attack anyone. If you didn’t know it was harmful, that’s okay, just start tagging your fics. It’s not difficult, and it means the world to non-female readers. I'm trying to be as polite and patient as I can with this, but I'm getting to the point where I'm done asking nicely. It's pushing a lot of people out of the fandom, and honestly I'm tempted to leave tumblr myself because of it.

You don't have to write for male or gender neutral readers, but telling people the reader is intended to be female is not optional.

ghosts

—CHAPTER THREE: happy

pairing: Javier Peña x f! reader

previous part | next part | masterlist 

a/n: okay wow, this was at 3k when I promised it two weeks ago and now it’s 5.7k. just a slight continuity warning: this whole series is kind of a ‘fuck you’ to the narcos timeline bc I can’t remember when they were in Medellin or when Connie left and came back all relative to everything happening with Carrillo so don’t hate me, I’m going to make it work out I think

also just a general thought – to everyone who responded so well to the last two parts, your enthusiasm is what made me get this part done and edited, tell your fav authors you love them whenever you get the chance ! it makes a difference :)))

The day had been sort of a daze. 

By the time the sun had set gently behind the horizon, muting the sunlit sky into hues of lavender, you were already a few drinks deep, laying back on the front steps of the complex. Time was passing, the seconds turning to minutes, turning to hours, playing out so beautifully in the sky overhead with clouds and colors floating, changing with every breath, and you weren’t moving. You just couldn’t find the energy. 

Not to take a picture, not to flip through the diligently kept journal in your lap, not to do a damn thing but drink. It wasn’t a solution but at this point, it didn’t seem like it could do any more damage. 

The lavender grew darker. The soft orange of the streetlamps ignited up and down the length of the barely busy street. Windows that had previously welcomed the temperate afternoon breeze shut to the aching chill that blew in with the gradual fall of the blanket of dusk over the city. Glasses and bottles clinked with a cheer of ‘salud’ in the small restaurant down the street, couple’s arguments behind closed doors leaking into the street, the roar of a motorcycle’s engine being cut short as the chastising slap of a mother knocked the poor boy in the adjacent alley out of his confident bluff. All the little things. 

It was always the little things. 

Keep reading

just the rushing wind on a rolling mind

pairing; frankie morales x reader summary; just some meet-cute fluff with frankie. you work up in a restaurant near where frankie likes to go backpacking. over a few months of talking, you start to catch feelings. rating; g warnings; a little bit of light angst? which is resolved pretty quickly.  word count; 4.3k

Keep reading

My advice to people, but especially kids, who are invested in celebrities, be they actors, musicians, bloggers, youtubers, authors, whatever, is to keep your distance. No matter how happy their content makes you, no matter how strong the pull of a special interest/hyperfixation/obsession might be, it’s important to step back every so often.

Do you find yourself following them on all forms of social media? Do you follow their friends and family, who might not even make content themselves? Do you research their lives? Step back. Just because they are famous doesn’t mean it’s okay to engage in stalking behavior.

Do you find yourself getting anxious if you miss a video, or they upload off schedule? Step back. I know they can help you through dark times but you can’t rely on them all the time.

Would you be devastated if they turned out to be a not-so-nice person? Step back. You can only trust them as much as you trust any stranger. Don’t see yourself up to be shattered if they fall off that pedestal you put them on.

No matter how much somebody interacts with their audience, the relationship is still parasocial. Just keep that in mind. Don’t put all your trust in a stranger. It’s okay to enjoy these people and their content, but keep your distance and step back.

Actor Wyatt Russell receiving death threats due to his portrayal of John Walker Captain America.

This is disgusting. Sending death threats to any actor in any circumstance is a horrific, pathetic, ridiculous way to express hatred. Wyatt's character is meant to cause apprehension and distain - everyone is aware that Steve Rogers will have no worthy replacement - that's the point.

If you hate the character, then good, Wyatt is doing his job! He would have no doubt gone into the role knowing that he would be playing a hated character - what he would not have expected however, are the swarms of absolute crybabies claiming their lives are ruined by a fictional story not conforming to their every whim.

With characters that are deliberately designed to be hated, there is often an awareness between the content creators, the actors, and their audience - often the actor of such a reviled character will relish in the hatred, and be adored by fans for not only managing to successfully strike a nerve (which again, is the point), but also because they enjoy the deliberate conflict caused.

This is a human being with human feelings. You can hate the character for all the right reasons (and for all the wrong reasons if needs be too), but that shouldn't transfer across to the actor. If the actor is doing a bad job of something, you can express your disapproval, but when the actor is meant to be playing someone you want to punch in the face, then newsflash, he isn't doing a bad job is he?

Captain America is my favourite hero in the MCU. I was sad to see him go, but I recognise it was a needed exit. It was perfect and cathartic and I'm happy with his ending. In Falcon and the Winter Soldier, John Walker is designed be a mockery of the original Cap - someone that will no doubt succumb to evil because *repeat after me* he is not meant to fill Steve's shoes (from a storytelling perspective).

I'm aware of the size of my following on this platform, and I can't let something like this go by without mentioning it. If you send death threats to anyone, please unfollow me and don't come back. Go to anger management therapy. Learn to detach real life from fiction. Apply common sense prior to taking irrational action. And most importantly, enjoy the show!

If you're sending death threats, you don't deserve to watch. Stop acting like an emperor at a colosseum with your thumb down and get a grip. I'm also aware that he isn't the first victim of such abhorrent behaviour, and sadly this will no doubt be the last instance too.

Hey so I’m hyped that Trump’s gone and all but let’s just remember that things don’t magically get better from here on out - we have to keep working for them.

Keep supporting blm.

Keep protecting trans kids.

Keep welcoming immigrants. 

Keep defending marriage equality.

Keep believing women.

Keep working to make our society more fair, just, and accepting of all.