Nothing like a broken heart to bleed ink

There are many reasons why people start writing fanfiction. Most of the time, it's because they want to see this one, very specific scenario, but there's no content quite like it, so they're left with no choice but to open a Google Doc and do it themselves.

But other times, it's the opposite. There are fics about the very scenario you want to see, only you find that it either doesn't do the characters and/or their dynamic justice, or it's too OOC, or something like that. So you're left like, "Thanks for the food. Now, let's show these bitches how it's done."

Every reasonable, mature fan has experienced that moment where they see a take that differs so greatly from their own interpretation of canon it makes you cringe, but they know better than to stir shit up for it that their automatic response instead is:

COVID-19 really fucked up my sense of time when I'm reading a really good fanfic that's last updated in 2019 and I'm like, "Huh. Well, it wasn't that long ago, I'm sure they'll update again soon," and it legit takes me a while to realise just how much time exactly has passed and go, "Oh. Shit..."

Reasons why artists are good for my mental health:

I cracked the code

I don't know if there is, but in case there isn't, there should be a vocabulary website where not only can you find how to describe an action, but also provides visual aid to make sure what you're saying makes sense. Even better if it comes in different languages, almost like WordReference.

As a non-native English speaker who writes mostly in English, this would be hella useful.

Shipping isn't just about whether there's chemistry between the characters; it's about if there's chemistry between the ships and you.

As much as I love it, I gotta admit the whole "my loved one is the only light in the darkness of my world" metaphors are a little over done. Does my heart skip a beat when I read someone who's the only source of joy and hope in another person's life being described as their personal ray of sunshine in their shadowy world? Abso-fucking-lutely! But when are we going to reverse the metaphor? As in, "The world around me shone so bright it often blinded me, but she was the one place where I could rest my eyes."

Eh?

Eh?

One of the best het ship dynamics (although it's not limited to straight couples) is, and will always be, Single Woman Seeks Good Man.

There's something so inherently tender and sweet in a woman that is canonically amazing, gorgeous, brilliant, confident, and just the perfect catch in general; someone you would expect to date the TM Hollywood Hunk, to be in love with a regular nice guy.

What really sells the trope is that she's not settling. Quite the contrary, it's what she deserves. Because those men are usually nice, caring, wonderful individuals who're hopelessly in love with their partner and treat them like the queens they are! Just like those women only have eyes for them.

And if the woman's been mistreated or objectified before, it only makes the fact that they finally found the one all the sweeter.