How do you build confidence as a writer and start to feel okay with your own writing, as well as the stats your writing gets? I’m not a new writer, and I don’t think I’m a bad one, but I am really bad with capturing the fandom zeitgeist, and a lot of the times when I try to write characters based on how they acted in canon, I get accused of bashing them. I don’t care about rude or unflattering comments on my fics, but definitely fewer people kudos my fics when I try to write the characters how I see them instead of fanon characterization, and it sucks to know I don’t make fic recs lists or even get casually recced for anything I’ve ever written on Discord because of my writing choices. More and more often, I feel like I shouldn’t write because I know my fics will never get the praise and attention BNFs do, and then I feel guilty for not writing. But I also know that if I do, I’ll just end up with more fic readers won’t want, and let’s face it: it’s not like anyone will choose my fics when they could have a BNF’s. Is there any way for me to accept that no one will ever love my fic as much as they love fics by BNFs, and to stay motivated in spite of feeling like my writing is just permanently unwanted? Or would giving up at this point be kinder to myself if I can’t stop comparing? (I know frequent advice in these cases is to focus on building friendships and finding a community, but IME, people in fandom either aren’t interested, don’t reach out, or already have had their friends circle since the LJ days and don’t want to bother with you. Any advice on where I’d even begin?)

*hugs* Oof. That's a rough spot to be in, anon, and you're definitely not alone 💗

I think in this situation, you need to figure out what exactly it is that you're looking for. You start by asking how to get confidence as a writer, but I think you already have it. You know what stories you want to tell, and you write those stories the way you want to tell them. To me, that means that you have plenty of confidence. You have a clear vision and goal, and you write with them in mind.

Next, you mention stats but I don't think that's the issue either - except inasmuch as they can be a sign of other things. Stats on their own, however, are just numbers attached to your works. If seeing those numbers on your works and the works of others causes you distress or annoyance or another emotion you'd rather not experience, then I strongly recommend using a site skin to hide them.

The bulk of your message is about what it sounds like the issue really is: attention, praise, and yes community. You want people to get excited with about your works. You want people to talk to other people about the things that you write. You want to feel loved, or at least appreciated. You're not alone in wanting those things either.

I think the writing side of things is going well - at least from the information you've provided here. The part that isn't working for you is the posting. Putting your work up on AO3 is not only dissatisfying, it's actively discouraging you from writing more.

I'm going to make my own suggestion and then I'll leave the floor open for the blog to add in their thoughts: Have you considered role playing instead of fic writing? For the last several years, I've tucked my writing away in a discord server with my fandom bestie. We've written thousands of stories and millions of words, almost none of which have ever been posted to AO3. We don't feel the need for comments and kudos because we're both having so much fun collaborating with our blorbos and each other, writing things to make the other one happy (or sad or laugh etc), that what other people might think about it doesn't actually matter.

She also RPs in various servers with friends and strangers alike, but I haven't enjoyed that as much as just shooting replies back and forth with her. Your mileage may vary, as they say, but that might be one way to get the feedback and excitement that you're craving - whether it's in a big server with lots going on or just a little corner of 2 or 3 people.

What do the rest of you think?

Yuh so imma just drop this really old thing I wrote a while ago with my ocs hrhrr

Includes many outdated facts like Ren going out frequently and them living in a warehouse

actually Ren is not allowed to go out by himself and they live in Clyde's apartment but anyways

Oh also I hadn't really figured Clyde's personality out back when I wrote this so uhh ye

Oh ye also the kit having a cat thing was based on a drawing I made at the time, not sure if I'm keeping it in canon

Anyways onto the thing itself

Ren “RN-E5” finds a moth

One time, while Ren was outside on one of the buildings observing from a high place like usual, he found a moth, or rather a moth found him.

“Hmm? Whats this?” Ren said when he noticed a cool bug, “it looks so cool! And fluffy!” Ren said surprised by the coolness of the bug “i should go show everyone!” Ren said to himself excited about the cool bug. Ren then stood up and spread his wings, preparing to fly back home, which is the warehouse they stay in, except while doing so the moth got scared and flew away. “W-WAIT!” Ren asked the moth while trying to follow it. “I didnt mean to scare you!” Ren said while the moth continued to fly away.

Ren started to fly behind the moth, trying to not crash with it. The moth tried to speed up since there was a giant (compared to the moth) robot following it. “I dont wanna hurt you! I just wanna show you my friends thats all!” Ren said to the moth attempting to make it stop.

After a while of flying and attempts at persuading the moth, they started to get tired. Then the moth went into a narrow place, trying to escape the robot thats been following it for three hours now. Ren finally realised that he was scaring the moth all this time, and also decided he should probably save the charge he has left for the flight home. “Oh uhm, sorry i didnt mean to scare you like that.” ren said while preparing to leave.

After a bit he reached the warehouse and landed. When he went inside he took off his wings and decided that he should probably go to bed early this time since he flew alot that day, except he was interrupted by clyde who noticed he finally came home after staying outside later than usual. “So what were you up to today?” Clyde asked ren, “i found this really cool bug today and wanted to be friends with it and show you guys like kit did with their cat! Except i might have followed it for too long and scared it so i thought i should probably leave alone.” Ren told clyde. “And you were flying all this time? No wonder your battery started to run out.” Clyde said while leaning on the wall, “hehe, yeah, i did that!” Ren said while chuckling realising that he didnt really think this through. “Ok ill go now, i still need to recharge.” Ren said while starting to leave “alright, see ya!” Clyde said while waving to ren goodbye.

The next day ren went back to the building looking around as usual, until someone familiar came beside him, “oh hey! You came back! I honestly never expected this since what i did to you yesterday!” Ren said while laughing lightly, remembering his stupidity the previous day. Suddenly the moth started approaching ren slowly, “hm?” Ren said while noticing the moth approaching, “I thought you hated me.” Ren says while confused by the moth’s behaviour. Then the moth flew and sat on ren’s head, “huh, you seem to be a very forgiving lil guy!” Ren said happily, still confused by the moth’s behaviour. The moth stayed up their, seemingly forgiving the silly bot, though ren didnt notice since he couldnt feel the moth up their.

After a while when ren decided to go do something else, he noticed the moth, surprised by the fact that the moth was up their the whole time, he didnt really say anything, only making a “:O” face. Before he could say anything, the moth started to leave, maybe going home, “oh! Uhh bye mr bug! Or ms i couldnt really tell. Was nice hanging out with you!” Ren said while waving to the moth goodbye.

Ren was happy for the rest of the day, perhaps he made a new friend! Later when he went home he told kit and Clyde about how he became friends with the cool bug he saw the other day, kit seemed happy about the story, clyde was surprised by the bug’s behavior but he didnt think much of it.

do you ever think about how one of doctor who's most famous time loop episodes (heaven sent) isn't a time loop. like the fact that time is passing normally is a huge plot point

what if the 141 boys had a ridiculously tall husband. like. a little bit taller than konig, probably. and he's really scary to people, actually!!!! but not his s/o , nuh uh, he's disgustingly sweet to his beloved.. sorry i'm rambling, i think (jokes and idiocy aside i adore your headcanons <3)

Hey there! Thank you, that's very kind of you! Also thank you for sending in a request for a male reader, you're one of the first ones and I was very excited to write about a male reader for once :D

TF141 With A Very Tall Husband

Price: He didn’t really think he’d ever be dating someone much, much taller than him. Sure, he doesn’t particularly mind, but he’s not short either, with him standing at 1,88m himself. It makes him feel small at times, especially if you’re pretty muscular too. He doesn’t get insecure about it in the slightest, oh no, but it’s weird to be so much shorter than your loved ones. However, he’s pretty used to scary people by now. Ghost isn’t exactly a delight to have around at first when you don’t know him either, so he knows how to deal with scary people. Might ask you to tone it down a little bit when you’re scaring other people too much, he doesn’t particularly wanna attract attention like that. But you being a sweetheart towards him? It melts his heart. He knows what you’re like towards people that aren’t him, so it makes him smile that you’re willing to do just about anything for him just to spend some time with him. You wanna trim his beard? There’s a good chance you’ve got some experience with that anyway, so he really doesn’t mind it as much. Hell, he probably trusts you more than his own barber at times. Besides, it’s a nice little bonding activity. If you have a beard then he’ll offer to trim it for you as well. Price isn’t really opposed to being the little spoon, or just being held in general. Quite the opposite, you being this tall sometimes puts him in a cuddly mood where he just plops down into your arms. Gently scratch his scalp and there’s a good chance he’ll even fall asleep on you. He’s so used to being everyone’s protector, it feels nice to be protected for once. But he won’t always settle for being held either, it’s his job to make you feel safe and sound as well, and thus he will take on the role of cuddler as well. Will fight you for that role, actually. Price is a real sweetheart towards his loved ones as well, so I think the two of you would fit well together. His mere presence demands respect in the right people, which can sometimes scare others. So, from time to time, you might both scare other people together. Sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally.

Gaz: He makes so many jokes about you being this tall and feigns being hurt about being much shorter than you are. You’re his behemoth, his leviathan and his ziz. Loves calling you the names of monsters that are said to be pretty big, it’s endearing to him. Besides, you’re scary enough that some people call you a monster anyway, if just for your height. If anyone ever were to call you that in front of Gaz, then they’ll end up with a black eye. No one gets to call you a monster but him. While he won’t always approve of you scaring everyone, Gaz does have a few friends that he wants you to get along with, he won’t particularly do anything about it either if that’s just what you’re like. Might try to make you seem a bit less scary by being a bit more affectionate with you in public. Holding your hand, giving you a peck on the cheek, giving you a hug. Those kinds of things. He actually loves you being this tall since that means you can pick him up and spin him around. He’s not been picked up ever since he was a little boy, so he definitely wouldn’t mind you showing off to him just how strong you are. Is also always looking for an excuse to hold your hand. Oh, seems like he forgot just how big your hand actually is and how much it engulfs his. Remind him for a moment and hold his hand, will you? Gaz is a sweetheart towards his loved ones anyway, if you look past the fact he will sass anyone to show his affection, so he loves that you’re so sweet towards him. Though, sometimes he wishes you were about the same height so you could actually share each other’s wardrobe. But hey, at least he gets to wear your extremely oversized shirts and hoodies, one of his favorite things to do. Another thing he also adores is just sitting in your lap when you’re home together and will also place your hands so that you’re holding him in your arms. If you’ve got really warm hands then he’ll place them atop his thighs to keep himself warm. Gaz isn’t the warmest person out there, but that just means you get to warm him up yourself. Is actually a lot cuddlier because you’re this tall and will become your personal blanket.

Ghost: He feels kind of perplexed about you being so much taller than him. Ghost is 1,95m, he towers over pretty much anyone, so how dare you be so much taller than him. Pretends to hate you being this tall, actually loves it. Sometimes he dreams of sparring with you under the moonlight to assert his dominance, even though there’s really no need to since you’re such a sweetheart towards him. He probably just needs to ask and would get anything from you. He really doesn’t mind you scaring pretty much everyone off, he has the same effect on people he doesn’t know. That just means there’s less people to worry about in his life for the time being. You’ll be spending a lot of time alone with each other that way, which he really likes. Though, maybe don’t scare his teammates too much, he genuinely likes them and wants them to be well too. Though, it’s kind of hard to properly scare them anyway. Ghost is usually a pretty quiet man when there’s no need for chit chat, but he doesn’t mind hearing your voice. In fact, he might get worried if you suddenly stop talking and will ask you what’s wrong. If you’ve got nothing to talk about then he’ll ask some questions so he can continue hearing your voice. He also blushes from time to time when you suddenly give him some sugary sweet compliments. He’s a grown, scary military man, he really shouldn’t be, but it’s just so endearing, especially when you, even bigger and scarier, call him your little honey bunny. It actually motivates him to do house chores. Not that he won’t do them anyway, but you calling him embarrassingly domestic names makes him just a tad bit soft, which leads to him trying to be a good husband. You may cuddle him since he trusts you, but he will also want to hold you from time to time. Life is a constant give and take, so prepare to be cuddled. Won’t particularly ask for cuddles, though, since he’s kind of too embarrassed to admit he’s touch starved. To you it’s blatantly obvious, though, which is why you initiate those cuddling sessions. Ghost appreciates it and sometimes hides a smile in either the pillow or your neck. As long as you don’t see him being silly, all is good.

Soap: He used to hate you being this tall. Soap may “only” be of average height, but he’s the tallest in his family, which he was actually pretty proud of. He towered over his father, even. And then he joined the military, where quite a few people were taller than him. And then you had the audacity to introduce yourself to him. You, the tallest man he’s ever met. It hurt his ego. Ever since you got together, though, he slowly got over it. You’re just such a sweetheart, how could he hate you over something as trivial as this? However, nothing could ever stop him from trying to pick you up and spinning you around. Soap is a pretty strong lad too, he’ll make it work somehow. You will feel tiny and cared for too. There’s a good chance he can’t reach your lips to kiss you. Yes, he could just ask you to bend down, but where’s the fun in that? Climbs you like a tree instead. He’s also always thinking of that one post where, instead of asking their boyfriend, the person should just punch him in the stomach. He won’t do it, but he remembers it every time without fail. He doesn’t mind you being scary either. Hell, Ghost is also a pretty scary guy to have around when you don’t know him and he’s one of Soap’s closest friends. Besides, he knows better anyway. You’re a total goof and the biggest sweetheart this world has ever seen. You being scary towards others just means that he’s got you all to himself all the time. Soap is a clingy guy, so you can expect him to cling to you like a koala from time to time. Actually, that was a lie, you should expect him to jump at you and hold onto you very often. Cuddles over safety. You’re likely also one of the only people on the planet willing to hear him out when he’s talking about his passions. And he could go on for hours every time. Explosives, weapons, whatever show you’re watching together, all is fair game. See, you’re one of the biggest sweethearts to him because you actually listen to him, despite him going into great detail about it all. You may not always be able to understand him when he’s talking chemistry again, but you hear him out anyway, and for that alone you’ve won his heart. He also sits on your lap while talking. You’re his little throne now that he takes immense pride in.

Éclipse Éternelle | Teaser

PAIRING | Arlecchino x Original Character! Reader

Setting : Modern AU

SYNOPSIS | Character Preview

Genre : Angst, Hurt with Comfort, Found Family, Triggering Content.

PERUERE was once an orphan who had no future to look forward to, Clervie was the only person in his mind he hoped to hold onto his hand until the end. The day came, and she passed away too soon. How bittersweet it was, for a long time he lingered around as husk of the shell she left behind. A corpse of a spider, waiting to wither.

Until you unexpectedly entered his life and commenced a back to back chaos to stir in his life worthwhile. Arlecchino Di Knave, a celebrity undergoing pressure from society after his most recent controversial scandal with the Damselette. MASTERLIST | First Tentative Chapters CHAPTER 1 : The Arachnid's First Corpse Bell CHAPTER 2 : The Second Dove Who Caught Spider CHAPTER 3 : Spider and Moth to a Flame CHAPTER 4 : Arachnid's Web of Downfall CHAPTER 5 : A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing CHAPTER 6 : Ailurus Fulgens CAHPTER 7 : The Canis Lupus' Cave CAHPTER 8 : Nature's Serendipity CHAPTER 9 : Hearth's Infatuation CHAPTER 10: Lesser Panda's Snapped Bamboo CHAPTER 11: Fortunate Oddity CHAPTER 12: A Moment of Solitude CHAPTER 13: Wolf Has The Ailurus FUTURE CHAPTERS TO BE ANNOUNCED. . .

Be at ease, and ask to be tagged if I update!

read your fic about cooper and lucy (all i want) and i adored it so i just wanted to tell you that !!! keep writing because you're talented!!

THIS ACTUALLY MADE MY DAY TYSM ??? I DIDNT EXPECT ANYBODY TO ACTUALLY ENJOY IT MUCH LESS REACH OUT ON TUMBLR AND TELL ME

how does the raft not capsize.

Hello ^^🌹Are you planning to post something for Chrollo soon?

i think i almost always have a chrollo story in the works GRJMWK i'm not sure how long it'll take since this week looks rather busy, but he's an excerpt from hells bells (the story itself is not SFW but there's nothing super spicy in this snippet):

i'm currently alternating my attention between this story and that roy mustang idea i have.............. my brain is occupied by 2d men too often. i also watched across the spiderverse and like that miguel o'hara guy. someone pray for my keyboard

okay, the hyperfixation is BACK, and I am writing something for the first time in literal years. thank you gideon the ninth reread.

I’m always paranoid of my tumblr being deleted or malfunctioning or something like that someday, so here’s other places to find me/follow me, just in case lol

~ instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lucalicatte/

~ main youtube - https://www.youtube.com/c/LucaLiCatte

~ games/sims youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@cloudycatte

~ facebook page (I rarely use this because I hate facebook but.. it at least allows text posts better than instagram does, so idk maybe I’d use it more if tumblr went away? lol) - https://www.facebook.com/cloudycatteart/

~ Other Links (stuff I don’t use often/isn’t Main enough to list here, like twitter, neopets, other tumblr sideblogs, youtube channels, etc.) are here - http://icewindandboringhorror.tumblr.com/otherlinks )

I love my gx winx au and I love that it's just bits and pieces of me being like oh that's fun and not having any semblance of lore or plot. It's purely contained to the character designs I've drawn for the girls.

Welcome back, nice to see a post from you again. Hope you are well 🙂

Thank you, that is very kind of you. I've actually been on here this whole time, mostly lurking. :)

i have thought somewhat about what impulse would be like in wotr (aside from deeply hilarious, on account of them being a 20-22 year old dipshit put in charge of the fifth crusade. literally it'd just be like if you made woljif the KC). i was leaning towards aeon at first on account of the whole ego death, transformation into something cold & inhuman, the space motifs, emphasis on Logic and Reason, all that. but the focus on Justice - the self-sacrifice in pursuit of it (or at least the aeon's vision of it) - means it just doesn't work, because fundamentally impulse is a very selfish person as much as they (at least at the start) would like not to be, and i'm not sure they even believe in justice as a concept (virtue & idealism is a luxury they've never been afforded). so the real answer i think is trickster->swarm

does your doctors ever just drop something on you much later about your meds or your conditions and it explains a lot

we may be feeling brain power?? just a smidgen??? shall we attempt to take control of it for a moment???

Oh no the dragon age big bang is starting again am i gonna make the same mistake again