Without any set schedule, I want to talk about each of the theme days, why I chose them, and what they had to do with the woman we knew as @rubynye .
Day One: Overlooked Gems - June 1, 2026
stories with no comments; stores with less than 100 kudos; stories in fandoms with less than 1000 fics, stories about a main character or pairing that makes up less than 5% of a fandom’s output
One of the things I always admired about Ruby was her ability to find something to praise in stories I might not think were very good. While I might click away or not finish them, Ruby understood that a new artist of any kind is someone who needs to be nurtured.
We all know why a story might not have a high comment or kudo count. But that story, Ruby knew, was still written by a person. And when she would reach into her giant heart and give that person praise, she was building her community just a little larger. Maybe that person would get her comment and write again, and again, and hone their muscle. Maybe they’d become great, or maybe they would just find a fun hobby they enjoyed. Either way, Ruby could be part of that growth. And how many of us were encouraged by her along the way? How many of us improved because she believed in us?
She also was a voracious reader and a member of a truly shocking number of fandoms in her life. So shining a light on smaller fandoms seems to be appropriate. Who knows, maybe if you go and read something in a fandom you’ve never seen before, you might end up enjoying it and staying?
And finally, rarepairs and underserved characters. We’ve all been in fandom, we know what characters and pairings are likely to be underserved. Characters of color. F/F ships. PolyShips in all their forms and configurations. All things that Ruby appreciated and all things that represent parts of who she was, as a poly, queer woman of color. I know she always wanted to see more love for characters who looked like her.
Ruby was also what the kids today would call a proshipper, a believer in IDIC and YKINMKATO. She loved to see people exploring the canon and the characters, and took great joy in reading something new and unexpected. She was overjoyed to see rarepairs in her fandoms, and I wanted to celebrate that part of her.
If you have any ideas for fandoms, pairings, or specific fics that will meet the brief, feel free to drop them in the comments! Help people find things you love!
As a reminder, there are no police of this week. No one is going to tell you that you did a bad job because a ship wasn’t rare enough or a story low comment enough. The point is positivity and community. The prompts are guidelines, you won’t be punished for not doing something perfectly.
theartofmadeline
dededos
origamiaround
kaledo-art
pixelskylines
tangentwithtanner
ellievsbear
