Davilovesty - Tarlos Love/Tavi Love

😮🤤

tk & carlos (& lou) — 3x15 "down to clown"

I hate this theme. I can’t imagine Carlos is this way ever! He has so much love for TK and I just can’t imagine he’s not home for him more often. Not having dinner with him, spending every second possible with him. One reason I adore Carlos so much is because of how much he loves TK and how he will do anything to make sure the love of his life is happy! Hardly being home for dinner does not show that.

I do understand why people are running with it though. It’s because this is what the writers gave us in season 5. They showed him as distant and not as loving. Yeah he was grieving and had tunnel vision, but personally I do not feel like even in his grief, he would’ve ignored his husband. It’s just not in his character. The final season was their worst and I’m so sad they ended the show with Carlos this way and made TK, more or less, a housewife (not his passion). They changed our boys and took away the things we loved most about them. Season 5 pretty much just does not exist for me.

is it just me or is there this weird theme in future tarlos fics where Carlos is never home for dinner and sees his family for a few waking hours a week. and it’s not because they’re having problems or he’s avoiding them. there’s not even tension with this. he’s just often portrayed as always out of the house and only eating family dinner occasionally and working all the time and an outsider in his own family … for no reason

I’m noticing a trend here. Comments and feedback on all the stories I’ve seen on ao3 seem to be simply giving praise. Who doesn’t love to hear praise on the story they’ve put so much work into? But here’s the thing… these comments and the feedback don’t seem to be giving much in the way of advice or constructive criticism to help the authors better themselves and improve their writing. THIS is the kind of feedback I crave!

Absolutely I love to hear praise! But I want to improve my writing. I want to know my readers are happy and being taken care of. Tell me if I could make the story more gripping. Tell me if it’s too mushy. Tell me if it doesn’t have enough raw emotion. Want me to make you cry? Let me know so I can rip your heart out. Want to laugh more? Tell me so I can toss in some silly moments or stupid jokes. Or do something so outrageous you’ll need stitches. Is the writing itself not great? I need to know so I can take a refresher course or something. Or give me an example of how to improve a paragraph or two. Be willing to hurt my feelings so I don’t end up humiliating myself later on. That’s true feedback. That’s what I want!

@ronenstrand @hopefulwonderlandrunaway

Writers, never forget this: readers bring your stories to life.

If a reader comes back - acknowledge it. That means your words meant something.

If they tell you they liked something - acknowledge it. That connection deserves more than silence or a on emoji.

If they share that they didn’t like something - acknowledge that too. It takes courage to speak honestly.

Don’t ignore your readers. Don’t dismiss their thoughts with angry or vague response.

And above all, don’t attack them in your notes or your blog for simply engaging.

You don’t have to agree with every opinion, but if someone took the time to read your work, feel something, and reach out - you owe them basic respect.

Because without readers, stories are just words on a screen. Readers are the heartbeat of a fandom. Treat them like it.