#there's like three blogs i thought i was following

[familyvideostevie]

5k celebration: emma's garden

thank you so much for being here. i know this blog has changed a lot since i started it about a year and a half ago, but it means so much to me that even one person wants to hang out, let alone this many. writing is deeply personal and sharing my work with you continues to be both cathartic and also a challenge. i will never stop being grateful. none of this happens without you, so, please celebrate with me! : )

navigation, masterlist, guidelines

anyone can join whether you follow me or not!

send as many as you want, but make each ask separate please!

the deadline for this will be a tentative may 1!

DO SEND: anything for the characters listed in my guidelines/anyone you want to ask if i'd write/talk about, fun thoughts, questions about me

DON'T SEND: the things listed in don't send on my guidelines

i will be write nsfw blurbs if you ask off anon

i will try to do as many asks as i can but i cannot guarantee that i'll get to all of them!

everything will be tagged #emmas5kgarden and fics will be compiled into a masterlist once the celebration ends!

so, let's celebrate! send me any of these ⬇️

🪴 get your hands dirty and plant some seeds!

you do a little bit of work and i'll do the rest! pick a character from my guidelines, an au theme, and a prompt and i'll write a blurb (<1k words) for you. use this post or come up with your own!

🐝 look at the beautiful bee hive!

send me the title/description of a fic of mine and i'll tell you a little bit about what it was like working on it/a headcanon/behind the scenes moment.

📚 or 🎧 to sit in the sun and read or listen to music

send this and a little bit about your taste to get a personalized book or song recommendation.

🥕 let's gather some fresh veg from the garden!

send me this and i'll make you a three-pic moodboard (feel free to specify a little theme/aesthetic!)

🍇let's have a picnic!

let's hang out and talk! send me classic ask games (ama, fmk, tym, etc) or just come chat with me in my inbox. 

🌷 pick some flowers!

help spread the love and make a beautiful bouquet for someone else. send me a fic rec/author rec/gush about your favorites here.

please reblog to spread the word! thank you :)

#emmas5kgarden #joel miller x reader #steve harrington x reader #eddie munson x reader #james potter x reader #sirius black x reader #remus lupin x reader #rooster bradley bradshaw x reader

[sivvan]

@userdramas 2023 secret santa

↳ shin min ah roles through the years

merry christmas @junghaesin! sorry it's kinda late (i know it's within the posting time frame but still ahfkdsf) i was holding off on posting this bc there were a couple asks i sent through and i didn't know if i should wait for you to answer them or if tumblr just ate them (which- totally fine if you got them and just didn't have the time/energy to answer but if you didn't get them..grrrrrr tumblr)! but i had fun talking to you anyway hehe we were busy talking about kpop i didn't even ask about kdramas LMAO.

this set didn't really turn out the way i wanted it to but shin min ah pulls through so 😌 i hope you had a great christmas and have an amazing new year 💖

- your secret santa 🧑‍🎄

#userdramas #kdramaedit #kdramanetwork #shin min ah #mine #when i initially got you for secret santa and saw your “profile” of fave dramas etc i freaked out a lil bit bc i hadn't watched ANY LMAO #but! as soon as i saw you list shin min ah i was like okay!!!!! #thank you for making me go back to remember my girlfriend is a gumiho #lee seunggi and her were so young then!!!!! #so cute 😫 #i was going to include other dramas like our blues #and #tomorrow with you #but thought i'd stick with these three because i feel like they're her 3 most important ones in her career? #well these are the only ones i've watched from her and idk if i've watched them because they're the 3 most important ones or #if they seem like the 3 most important ones because i've watched them? #ajkhfksdhfl anyway #i hope you like it!! #off to follow your kpop blog hehe i need more xdinary heroes on my dash

[rawliverandgoronspice]

not dipping back there again after this, but my opinion on where the discourse re: us politics is heading is not getting any nicer.

#thoughts #personal #not a vagueblog about any blog in particular #because it's been a deluge on my dash for a good two to three weeks from every side and almost every US blog I follow #I don't even disagree with the endgoal (I mean I extremely do but I understand the stakes) #but I deeply *deeply* disagree with the way it's all being framed #though I'm not surprised. and I wasn't expecting better. #but yeah in a couple of years we might all need to unpack what that strategy looked like from the outside. #because wow #the weaponization of “white guilt” in particular to silence what is often (from what I see) PoCs trying to express their loss of faith #is. so very revealing to me. #the assumption of motive and identity here and how much more convenient it feels than the actual messy complicated truth #I think the usage of “white guilt” and “white saviorism” as a weapon thrown in between white people to control each other's behavior #especially in moments like these where PoCs are explicitely demanding our collective solidarity and voice #is actually a conversation we should all very seriously have at some point #anyway. #not mad at anyone for wanting to vote for biden #kinda mad at a good 75% of the posts prompting people to do so however.

[damsxlette]

ranting in the tags ⬇️

#hiii #I’m not dead just busy as shit #going through it between class work and my fucking sinuses acting up #i wanna draw like personal shit but honestly my uni is fucking overloading me with work 😩 #I have no time for like anything 😭 #I’m literally like three weeks in and I already need a vacation #anyways I'm thinking of changing my name again #mostly because I follow junjunjunko and everytume they mention their oc cherub i get confused 😭 #thought about just doing “cherry” but i also like “petri” like petri dish #i like names rhat are like kinda odd or unconventional #also I clearly like names that end with that ee sound #if anyone has any name ideas though like let me know #anyways I’m gonna q this to post sometime when I’m sleeping because I get embarrassed about people reading my rambling #love y’all<3 #note: my blog name would still be the same btw! i would just be changing my tag names with my name in them #though of another name: i could also do cosette with the nickname cosy #or i could just do cosy honestly #so many choices...

[gildedmuse]

So, I just know all of Tumblr was wondering, "hey, you remember that really weird ZoLaw fan with the annoyingly overly stylized post? I wonder if she's seen this and if she has any theories or thoughts, an observation or two?"

Well, allow me to set your wandering mind at ease, fictional Tumblr fan. The answer is: No. No, I really don't.

I have like three hundred.

[I also spent time just trying to track down as many translations as possible. Is Tera A Criminal's Daughter or The Daughter Of Thieving Bandits! These are CLEARLY separate things and can ENTIRELY change how her utter nonpresence in Zoro's life shaped him! Though I can take comfort in knowing that, regardless of what kind of crimes her father was committing they were more important than anything his daughter ever did in her entire life.]

And, hey, as might as well jump right into that whole mess.

1. Wait, Zoro's mom is dead? Thank goodness, I was worried Oda forgot one!

(AKA: Stop. Murdering. Moms.)

I'll go first, I don't mind saying when I was wrong. True, in the past I may have suggested that the vast majority of female characters in One Piece come off as ever so slightly, "leaning into sexist tropes with unadulterated joy; it's the misogynistic tropes equivalent of a child running naked through a grocery store. It's right there, everyone sees it, yet people shut up and continue shopping in part because, well, these days you just expect most people to cover that junk! What would you even say? And if you DO speak up and call out the inappropriate, be prepared for blank stares and tantrums; but THEY don't mind! THEY don't think it's wrong! You're just being mean!"

More or less a direct quote.

However, I see now that I rushed to judgement and the reality of the situation is far more nuanced. With that in mind, I was just wondering if someone could help answer some of the questions I have.

Like: Why does Oda believe that it's illegal for (maternal) female characters to survive other character's backstories?

More importantly, why hasn't someone just reached out to explain the misconception!? It can't be that difficult. If nothing else, just have a lawyer or judge or other expert in censorship on hand. Or is the one of those cases where back in highschool his friends made something up and then kept pretending it was real to see if he'd believe you and not only did he fall for it, it took over 20 years before he learned that, what, no that's not illegal. That would be crazy if it were an actual law. Cause you know, after the first 10 years I think yeah you have to just lean into it. Pretend it's a creative decision on your part and definitely not because you were terrified of being sentenced to a slow and humiliating public death.

Just to be clear that's definitely what's up, right? I mean, I'm struggling to think of another reason....able excuse why a story that I really enjoy keeps playing the same old sexist tropes cards again and again to the point of absurdity. It would just help if I had a valid excus- explanation. I almost mistyped the word explanation.

....

....

So I imagine it went like.

"That's the third mangaka they've had to Publically Execute this week!"

"They've started taking this law way more serious lately."

"This one really deserved it though! I heard his main character has a mother in her late forties!"

"That does seem old to have your first child."

"No, he's the middle of three and 22 years old. The story even has flashbacks of defining moments in his childhood and never once did she try to sacrifice herself for him, get murdered by his enemies, or die in meaningless unrelated accidents."

"Damn, that's cold to be there for all the protagonist core moments and not die and help him develop and grow a character? They must have a very antagonistic relationship. Is she actually the villain."

"Not that we know, and when they asked about this being a possible plot twist since - obviously if she's evil no laws are being broken."

"Well, of course, that's the whole reason Statue 2-dash-57 exists; if creators can show they have consistently been building up to a surprise twist then the female character in question can continue to live so long as she continues to be unrepentant and unlikable until the resolution of her arch by the protagonist."

"That's the thing! Under oath not only did man present no evidence to support her identity as a secret villain, he went on the record stating he wanted to depict their relationship as one of a normal modern 20 year old and his mother."

"That can't be true! What publishing company would even print that!?"

"It gets worse. I told you he was a middle child? Well, according to those who've read the actual manga, his younger sister was really sick as a child."

"Oh, well, at least-"

"It was just a fish allergy. She's perfectly fine."

"Sometimes I feel this law is unnecessarily harsh but.... Then you hear stories like that, and you realize that some people really are monsters."

#So this was going to be one post three parts (because obviously) then I remembered even people who have purposefully followed me hate that #I took into consideration that not everyone wants a unmountable wall of Zoro meta analysis on their dash so now its gonna be 3 post style #keeping in mind I've already written it all up and will just be posting them one after the other so effectively the same result #only with the illusion of my empathetic nature #I do have a lot of thoughts on what amounts to a very small amount of scribbled lines and a couple doodles #he literally didn't even bother giving Kuina's mom or grandmothers a name like they didn't even have a identity #In fairness there wasn't a need for them to have any kind of identities or individuality or identifiable features #everyone knows only one trait really matters when it comes to adult females: they go down #into the ground....as a corpse. After ensuring that their death would be the best way to help their children grow. As characters. #I'm joking cuz its funny. It's obvious why Zoro's mom got a name & description: she gave birth to a protagonist and not a human sacrifice #But have considered why those specific qualities are what he chose to define her by - she's fictional he could have made up anything! #I'll have to talk about it in the other posts I'm wasting precious tag room #one piece #roronoa zoro #one piece meta #one piece sexism #this post is not for everyone; actually its pretty much just for me #conversations with fictional people #more opinions than anyone asked for about subjects they don't even care about #Oh! I found the blogs new subtitle! #author gets sassy then preachy then sassy again and then swerves sharply to the weird #oh these tags are way too much #Zoro's backstory #Zoro family history #amusing musings #why am i the way that i am #three post style: part one!

[chryblossomjjk]

think im going to steal from here2bbtstrash and do a set day for reading and reviewing other content creators. my reading list is so long n i feel v guilty lol. part of having a healthy ecosystem on this platform is content creators supporting other content creators, especially since we share the same audience and the crossover from supporting eachother is huge. want to do my part in making everyone feel good about their work and giving them recognition because you all deserve it.

#maybe #hmmmm #tuesday #reviewsday #👀 #and ill do like two or three every tuesday #yeah #especially new creators i want to support bc starting out is scary #and the community labels have made it impossible to get interactions unless you already have a following #a separate rec blog would be easier to organize but #my following is on this platform obvi so maybe not #also like #should i reblog the fic itself with a review #OR make a separate post linking the fics with their reviews so they have a chance to get in the tags again #and new ppl can find them through the search #let me know your thoughts #💗

[todayisafridaynight]

there's normal thought exercise questions to be had about fave charas like 'what would your fave do in X situation' or 'does your fave like Y why or why not' but the most important question to me i could ever answer about my faves is 'do they like shadow the hedgehog and is it purely ironic or do they have all 326 route titles memorized'

#snap chats #'snap can you go three minutes without mentioning shadow' No its my brand at this point. hes in the pfp i gotta mention him once a week #anyway listen to me. its because its my favorite question and answering Who Likes Shadow is good for character analysis <- bullshitting #understanding shadow the hedgehog is something done by few as is so thats why its esp funny to think bout other charas's thoughts on him #i think its just funny to think about all these 40-70 y/o men getting In Too Deep about an anthropomorphic alien hedgehog #on the real tho i love Thought Exercise Questions when it comes to fave charas... #its a good way for me to stop and reflect on a chara and make sure i still have their character in mind whenever i go to portray them #i be asking these questions every day over the dumbest shit you can think of like 'who basically lives off an air fryer' #silly things like that..... plus then i make tier lists in my mind... fun organization games for the mentally unsound... #ok im drawing for myself now bye #i just needed to remind everyone im thinking of sonic. which i SHOULD make a blog for #but like i'll prob never make sonic fanart or talk about it that deeply- not consistently enough to make a blog for it #ok bye bye ill be back with actual rgg content and then you guys can remember why you followed me in the first place LMAO

[unproduciblesmackdown]

one in a million when i watch smthing in the horror genre and don't end up disappointed to/and/or pissed off about it so like "also yeah i liked it. ooo" is like relative to that an off the charts rave review of media of the millennium. also i did think about mh a lot along the way so would recommend its affect/effect if you like mh's horror too

#i didn't realize at first that's the director/creator tim's qrting. thought a rando went ''i love mh'' & he went ''& i love smthing else'' #saw this a few weeks ago while also like writing or drawing or smthing like oh good plot's beside the point? b/c i'm splitting this focus #even checking in w/recaps was both like oh ok i missed that / didn't realize xyz could be a Thread or something but each of the like three #or four recaps i went over Also saw points differently in terms of even like; who was there or said what lmfao. or noting sm detail at all. #i went ''oh worm?'' at some early shot that may or may not have even gone mentioned by any of them. depending lol. doesn't matter #anyways we don't have time for tags media analysis except that i'll count this as: once again horror for children wins. even tho it's... #not rated? well anyways you know. probably generally not advisable for children as a direct audience lmao. however #like yes as per the premise as a child we've all experienced this [the media] anyways. perturbing summons dreams we've all had em #anyhow fr i'd even struggle to think of horror movies i'd say i mostly liked / would or did rewatch but still wasn't like. i disliked major #elements / choices to the point of being pissed off abt it. so many movies i can't be bothered to watch b/c i already know specifics like #i don't like or respect any of you people. or choices or elements or premises or executions or effects. not even interested fr like lord... #but often what has better odds are mediums that Aren't straightforwardly tv / film. like i'd compare mh to a series of several movies and #that's also imo largely a more apt categorization than saying it's an ARG or smthing but anyways like i'd recommend it to someone sure.... #rare to be like yeah a movie was enjoyable. & if you already liked mh then that's a useful reference point here #which like usually i'd use mh as a categorical tag but idk i guess actually it's actively popular nowadays lmfao i really don't know #posting is already exhausting like whew but this one's for whosoever happens to follow me i guess #which is possible? nonzero ppl arrived for mh but unlikely lmfao. but also ppl see it on their own anyways coincidentally. #and you never know who observes the posts like hell yeah for an anon enjoying niche akd theatreposting who is to me ambiently out there #really odd the other day seeing an mh reblog like ''??? huh. i made that eons ago; then'' & people in the tags talking abt some repost like #on the one hand that Original Source post is two layers of deactivated blogs so a repost could be archival. but if they don't say as much #i.e. that it's even from a different source then that's not exactly it then is it. but also that even finding an original document For OP #is like. oh yeah that's me actually. but then knowing & technically saying as much doesn't / didn't actually affect me as that op lol #just kind of archival on both ends then. vs someone else in the tags saying they saw it on fb 9 yrs ago? definitely didn't post it there #my true op experience: keeping it nicheposting & just kind of saying sm shit & maybe some people are out there nodding thoughtfully #oh also in case fyi. that's tim as in actor playing [also tim] in mh. & did some writing for mh & other such behind the scenes efforts also #every time i look at the text in this post i notice a new typo of mine. get it tgoether (organic typo there. so; lol)

[shadowedvalesa]

so. i did a thing. perhaps it was an impulsive thing. perhaps it wasn’t. y’all can laugh at me if u want :covers face:

#this is NOT a promo or anything #i just thought everyone should know they’re following a princess fiona stan….. #jane is still the priority but like #Fiona is such a babe idc #if you do have fantasy blogs or anything like that #FEEL FREE TO FOLLOW #but otherwise. #just look at me put on my clown wig and try to run three blogs at once #AND i think people very easily forget #how good the first two shrek movies actually are #bc of the memes surrounding them

[ginalinettiofficial]

i am. still just so glad i got out of teen wolf when the cast started falling apart. like season three was such a shitshow from day one and made me INSANE as it was airing and i just could not continue to watch for season four after they killed off or wrote off essentially half the cast and killed all the found family potential and i will admit!!! that seeing crystal reed herself on a new teen wolf story DID tempt me!!!! i am only human!!!! i am not immune to allison argent!!!! but truly i know myself and i know that the show died a horrible death for me over the course of s3 and there’s a lot of good reasons i stopped watching it and those reasons will sustain me through my decision to not watch this new movie

all that said. @ my loyal six followers. please do not be alarmed if i end up temporarily in a teen wolf revival moment. i am not immune to allison argent and the nostalgia of it all DOES make me want to go back and reread all the old classic pack fics from before davis decided to start killing kids left and right !!! i am not immune to the powerful energy of sterek writers, nor to the call of pack-fics!!!!

#d speaks #teen wolf #god. teen fucking wolf #y’all know that when they killed erica i was mad but was like whatever that’s not a REAL death she can come back. i can ignore it. and then #they massacred my boy(d)…….. and i was in PAIN. but i thought to myself. it’s okay. i need to see what theyre doing. where they are going #and then. then they kicked motherfucking allison argent #and i KNOW! i know okay that it was crystal’s choice to leave!!! and yes i loved kira!!! but!!!!! #i was seventeen okay!!!! and they killed off one of the three MAIN CGARACTERS !!!!! in a stupid little mtv show!!!!! #i was not emotionally or mentally equipped to deal with that!!!! i genuinely MOURNED in the realest way y’all!!!! #my high school friends were concerned because i spent a week in like. a fugue state. like a zombie as if someone i actually knew had died #(yes i was mentally ill in high school and WHAT ABOUT IT?!?) #and at that point the show died for me. i couldn’t handle it #and some of the tw blogs i followed kept watching and going and i sort of peripherally experienced some of the new pack shit but just #could not make myself care for new baby characters when they Massacred My Boys……… #so i stepped out!!! cause i was happy for a while there to continue to just exist in that happy part of the fandom that said ‘nah fuck it.’ #‘solely post s2 aus here’. that shit was great #but then the more time passed the less fics like that came out and the more the fandom moved on….. onto the NEW plot…… and i Could Not Hang #and so teen wolf in my eyes was laid to rest like all the teenagers of color in the show #and now you come to me paramount plus. years later. when i am an ADULT with a fully developed prefrontal cortex #and you tell me. that allison argent is alive????? that you gave derek hale a child????? no #no you cannot and will not trick me into this. i will not watch it. i pretend i do not see it #however. i MAY end up rereading some of my classic fave fics. reblogging some old art. i am but a mere mortal #hearing tyler posey say ‘allison???’ DID hit me in my stomach. it did. i am weak #tw

[oh-hawkeye]

Today I was set to paint my toenails for the first time in blue moon (certainly for the first time since I started watching MASH).

As that was just after watching an episode my brain went that way, and I remembered that Hawkeye did paint one of the nurses' nails once...

... and I want that so bad!!

It's both so hot and so cute, and I can't stop thinking about it!

And if that wasn't enough - his face in this picture* looks so gorgeous I can't... I didn't need that. I was bad enough with the first fantasy.

*which is just the first, basically random, picture I could find of the scene

Honestly, I'm ashamed of myself, for real. At the very best seriously embarrassed, but I can't help it. After all, that's what tumblr is for, isn't it? For anonymously sharing cringe "interests", that you just can't keep inside or you would burst, but also would never ever admit openly.

To keep the remains of my dignity I'm not sharing any particular thoughts that those two aforementioned facts caused.m

#I'm definitely thirsting #I'm thirsting #thoughts around MASH #I'm getting personal #← those three are gonna be tags #my post #hawkeye #mash #mashposting #mashblr #mash blog #what can i say i like tags #if you follow me you surely already know that

[thefieldermethod]

and while i’m on here actually posting i do wonder if i want to truly genuinely post about the mundane and not just constantly be reblogging things. but i do also feel like posting on here is like the equivalent to being thrown up onto a stage with a bright light shining in my eyes and i’m expected to perform a flawless standup comedy set. i guess we’ll see.

#i think it’s because i talk to barely anyone on here besides my three friends that regularly interact with me elsewhere #sorrryyy i’ve been on twitter for too damn long and got used to having like. 40 followers. #i have thought about remaking but i’ve honest to god had the same blog since 2012/2013 (idr) and i don’t think i can part with this one #maybe i’ll just clear out my following. #i do want to interact with my mutuals here more.. i admire from a distance

[imagine-nerd]

MONTH FIFTEEN GIVE IT UP FOR MONTH FIFTEEN OF BLOCKING SPAM BOTS

#Look I have no sense of time and it probably has not been 15 months but I have been getting bot followers again and it's annoying #I'M NOT EVEN LIKE A 'BIG' BLOG OR WHATEVER GO AWAY SPAM BOTS #I THOUGHT WE WERE FREE IT WAS LIKE AT LEAST TWO OR THREE MONTHS SINCE THE LAST TIME I GOT ANY

[mysteries-x-mistakes]

I drew a map! Actually really proud of this! I used these brushes from magic-is-something-we-create. This story is turning into something so complicated like, I drew ALL of this for a tiny tiny corner of the map that the story actually takes place in 😭 but I had to come up with roughly three and a half thousand years of history because the one character is undead and is that old. I wanted to have a map so I could visualize the shifting tides of civilization and religion. So I came up with tectonic plates to know where the mountains go and latitude lines to figure out the climate, which is all probably too much work, but I’m having fun with it! For scale, from the northmost spot to the southmost spot in a straight line on this map is very roughly 3000 miles (about as tall as the US is wide). I just wanted to show this off because I love how it turned out!

#maps #fantasy #writing #writers on tumblr #i drew this in clip studio paint #i know i have like no followers here so it doesn't matter much #but I like filling out this blog as an archive to my writing process #this is only the terrain because it has to cover all three and a half thousand years that I've made up #I need to go back and paint out snapshot's of the continent's history #like the major civilizations of the times and all #i always thought i was the kind of writer that liked to discover things as they wrote #but omg having a clearly written history is really giving me the urge to write #i think the endless possibilities made me freeze up #more than anything else #having structure and a timeline is turning out to be very helpful for me #hope its ok that i watermarked this #one is for this blog #and the smaller one is for my art blog #just in case #its also a much lower res than the actual map #this one is like 3000 by 1500 or something #the actual file is 18000 by 9000 🤪 #the injustice of mhorgun

[chameleon-sting]

hello! my sense of time somehow has gotten even worse and it is bc in the time that ive been barely active, i have acquired Dragon Ball Hyperfixation in the year of our lord 2022. i watched all of the original show right at the end of last year and im now 30 episodes into z and i have had Many thoughts but ive been basically bombarding one of my friends with them. i would like to talk to more people about it bc as much fun as we're having i also feel incomprehensible. if you are queer, neurodivergent, and/or a person of color (or an ally for all three) who is also a fan of dragon ball and down to discuss with someone whose brain cells are being shaken around in a soda can by this series as we speak, please interact 🥺 i would like to be friends

#thoughts on #ive actually never done a. whatever these are called. 'mutual call'? sorry if its a little obstructive. i only plan to do this once #dragon ball #dbz #in the body of the post i pointed out three specific traits bc they are minority groups that i fall into that i struggle to find and that #ive found some people can be hostile toward. like im black and i have some. Opinions on parts of dragon ball. #you probably get it #also i am an artist! i draw! i havent posted anything db yet but if in the coming days i do (i may) then... this sentence doesnt make sense #if i posted dragon ball art on my art blog. i dont post it bc i did. no i didnt ❤️ #well if youre here in these tags this is how my brain works so if you dislike these vibes no worries we dont have to talk at all #but i may still want to follow #you know how it is

[jasontoddiefor]

Yeah sure we’ve all binged a long fic, but have you ever read a WIP and followed someone’s life?

Tidbits of information - (“I graduated today!”) - and small joys (“It’s my birthday!”) and you get to be there to say “This chapter made me cry, happy birthday, thank you for gifting us this”.

I remember reading this fic of someone at the end of high school, older than me then. They seemed infinitely wise, spoke of their future career and getting into the college they wanted. I remember them posting on days they felt like nothing could bring them down - and on days the whole world did and it’s the aftermath of a hospital visit. Cancer, I think it was, their father. I got to the end of the story, I know their father was fine, but also they got to finish their WIP. I graduated three years later than them, still dutifully wrote thank you notes in every comment. I wonder if they remember me, or just the collective of people reading the story as it updates.

Four years ago I was into my first year of university, my first year of figuring out being out in public spaces. I made excuses as to why my name didn’t match my paperwork and read a fic on the train, the same five chapters over and over again for the next years as I thought the story abandoned. It updated this week after such a long hiatus, I left another thank you comment.

There’s an author I love, they update their stories like a clockwork. When they don’t, I check their blog, just to see if their doing alright, not because I feel like they owe me, just to ensure whether I better get out my laptop to write that really detailed university level essay chapter analysis to get them smiling when their day sucked.

And then, once, when I was 17, I read a fic that hadn’t updated in over a decade. I wasn’t even in primary school when it started posting. On the last chapter, I left a comment that, in retrospect, was horribly rambly and most likely full of grammar mistakes. The author replied and though I couldn’t see their face, I thought of them crying. They were married now, had children, and hadn’t thought about this fic in years. They went through their files again, found another half written chapter and an outline. I got two new chapters to read that year.

And then, recently, someone told me they got back into writing original fiction because of my comments. I get to read nearly weekly chapters.

I love binge reading a finished fic, but nothing is ever going to top the feeling of anticipation of waiting for a chapter, the pure joy when someone tells you I was done with this, but you made me think of it again, so this is for you.

Anyway, I think we should romanticize reading WIPs more, growing up alongside the authors writing the stories we love.

#writing #fandom #fanfiction #ao3 #archive of our own