Mibbian of the Week: fantastic bastards;

Maev (known to Mibbians as fantastic bastards; is a veteran Mibbian who frequents the blog and story sections. In this week’s edition of Mibbian of the Week, she’s here to tell us a bit more about herself!

How long have you been on Mibba?

I've been on Mibba for about three years, give or take. Probably more, but who knows for sure?

How often do you log on? How long would you say you spend on the site when you do log on?

I try to log on everyday but usually end up logging on four or five times a week and stay on for about five or six hours doing various challenges, chat rooms and updates.

Which part of the site are you most active in?

I mostly stay on the stories and blogs side of the site. Since becoming more active within the past few weeks, I've been doing more blog posts which has been really fun!

Are you more of a "life blogger" (things going on in your life) or do you like to focus on things like world issues when you write blogs?

Both. My life is constantly affected by the news and things that happen in the world. My life is filled with anxiety of being killed or hurt by police or shooters and I worry constantly for my family's life. I am not only a person of color but queer which brings my mortality rate in this world higher.

How often do you read stories and poems? How often do you comment or recommend the things you read?

I'm always reading a new story. I use the Comment Swap threads to find new stories and always comment on what I'm reading. I've been pretty good at commenting on every chapter of my updated subscribed stories.

What draws you to the that things you read?

Usually characters. I try to find stories about P.O.C. or unidentified race because I find that even in stories, original fiction and fan fiction, all the female, even male characters, all of them not even just main characters, are white. And as a woman of color, I'm not a big fan of white representation in literally everything I see.

Do you have any suggestions for people looking to include more people of color in their stories, especially if they aren't P.O.C.s themselves?

Do your research. The list of countries that make people of color is long. And be curious. Most people don't realize that they have an all white cast but when you think of your main character or who they're going to fall in love, stop to think, Why are you making them white? Are they going to benefit from being white or do you want them to have a bigger back story (family history, culture) and if you want them to have a bigger backstory, I always suggest making them P.O.C. because colored culture is vast and beautiful.

Tell us about a few of your favourite stories/works by other Mibbians.

I'm a big fan of almost everything by santi santi specifically All I Wanted and its following stories. I also love 102 Languages I Love You (tear jerker, I cried so hard) and right now I'm really into Freedom Interlude by slumflower.

Are you working on anything on Mibba right now?

I'm always working on something, but my heart is on my stories Where Do We Belong and For Storms and Saints. I also have three short story challenges I'm working on.

What do you hope to get out of your time on Mibba?

I always hope for feedback on my stories, readers and subscribers, like many others I hope to pursue writing as a career and one of the key components to making your writing better is criticism and feedback from people reading your works.

You're stuck on an island and can only bring three books with you to read. Which books do you choose and why?

I'd bring Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson because I identify with the depression and eating disorder elements of the book but in the end, the main character overcomes it and learns how to heal herself and start being healthy again.

I'd also bring And I Don't Want To Live This Life by Deborah Spungen because I love true crime. If you recognize the name or don't, this book is about Nancy Spungen, the girlfriend of late Sex Pistol's bassist Sid Vicious and her life before/after she met him.

Lastly, I'd bring Come Back by Claire & Mia Fontaine because I've never had a good relationship with my mother ever since she found out about my self harm and this book, written by a mother and daughter, helps me remind myself that it is possible to bounce back into a strong and healthy relationship when things get bad.

Anything you want to say to your fellow Mibbians?

I want to say that you have to keep trying. If you want to get noticed, add people as friends, read their works, comment on their stuff, do comment swaps and drabble swaps with other people to get yourself out there. Do public monthly challenges that require you to comment on many stories/poems/blogs or write a story/poem/article/blog or two and keep on going. Nothing happens overnight but sometimes it can.

Maev can also be found on Instagram and Twitter.

Special thanks to exploding boy. and Audrey T for editing!