#I've been in fandom for 20 years you think I'm here for validation?

[queerfables]

Yes, I do know that Ryan described Buck and Eddie as brothers but jokes on him bc I'm into that shit.

[w1tchybusiness]

possible spoilers for Warframe: Jade Shadows ahead

i wish people would stop, take a breath, and actually think about jade shadows from an analytical place before they leave their reviews rather than just going "i think it's icky" because like. obviously it isn't perfect, i don't think anyone's arguing that, but it isn't gross or wrong- it's art, it's evocative, and it's going to resonate differently with everyone. i want to pick apart some common criticisms i've seen here from the perspective of someone who's played a lot of warframe and thought about some of the heavier themes present in the quest quite a lot.

It's weird that Jade is pregnant because I'm afraid of it/it's gross/it's fetishistic

Personal feelings of revulsion are not a reason to judge something on an objective level. It's perfectly valid to come out of Jade Shadows feeling weird about it- I do think that's kind of the point. The quest has a content warning before you begin it, because the subject matter is something that is really uncomfortable for a lot of people- that doesn't mean that the game shouldn't be allowed to explore it. Also, even if it was wrong to include something like this as fetish content, this argument would imply the game has already gone to weirder places. Looking at you, Grendel.

It's weird that they make the operator give birth via transference

This argument has a little more ground, but also kind of misunderstands how transference works. Yes, it is a hand-wavy "linking of the minds," but we do see clearly in quests like The Sacrifice that when linking with the more sentient frames like Umbra for the first time, the Operator is not fully controlling the frame. I think Umbra is the most appropriate comparison- when linking with Umbra properly for the first time, you don't immediately control Umbra- it's a more spiritual "linking souls helping him find peace" thing. I'd also say that even in the case the Operator was fully in control, I don't think what happened was remotely equatable to literally giving birth. Like. She breathed for 20 seconds and then dissolved into light and died, then there was a baby there. I don't know if you've ever seen a birth, but that isn't how it works. I feel like after all the shit our Operator has been through, "giving birth" through transference is kind of a drop in the bucket.

It's misogynistic to have Jade die in childbirth

????????

Ok. So let's pick apart the possible reasons that this would be misogynistic. Maybe fridging the woman? But. Not really, because she isn't really gone- the game even acknowledges that she will live on through you and through the motes in Hunhow's message. You can literally craft her and then boom, she's back. She may not have a gigantic speaking role, but no warframe does- hell, even the Stalker barely grunts out single words.

Another one I see a lot is the argument that her sole role in the quest is the whole "her whole personality is motherhood" situation- and that is fair, her role IS that- but that is the point of the quest. They hid this in the teasers because they wanted the reveal to be significant, not to intentionally obfuscate their misogynistic writing- while I certainly do agree that it is all too common for female characters to be pushed aside and relegated purely to motherhood, particularly in fandom spaces but that's an entirely different discussion. I think Warframe handled the motherhood issue well- a person used as a tool of unjust death for years (remember the Jade Light?) giving her own life to finally bring life into the world rather than taking it away- it clearly had purpose and thought behind it, and Warframe has already spent years providing female characters that don't revolve entirely around motherhood- though they aren't pushed into your face and provided immediately without any exploration, so it makes sense that some people on Tumblr would miss them. Warframes don't generally have fully fleshed-out personality- the more sentient frames like Dante and Umbra are an exception. Jade was on the verge of death, it's not shocking that we didn't see much of her personality. I don't doubt that we'll get some codex entries explaining more of her actual personality and story- the quest was just not the place and time.

At the end of the day, Warframe is a game about love, family, and sacrifice. Jade Shadows ticks all 3 of those boxes, probably in the most on-the-nose way we've seen yet. I'd love to make a post soon lauding the things I liked about it, the real narrative depth it presented, the meaning behind and the significance of the discomfort rooted in its themes, and its connections to Warframe's broader themes, but I've seen more negativity than positivity thus far which is... genuinely shocking. When I played it I had nothing but praise. Warframe's writing is usually a bit clunky, so I hadn't noticed anything particularly out of the ordinary, but a lot of people seem genuinely convinced that this expansion was somehow the worst we've ever seen when that is far from being the case. Operation Belly of the Beast has been a ton of fun, and the seeming finite nature of what's left adds a real gravitas to farming for Jade. I'm not shocked the quest itself felt a bit half-baked, I'm surprised they released this at all with 1999 coming up- I'm just happy to get some new content and a new frame whose concept I really enjoy.

[m-to-z-andbackto-m]

(TLDR at the bottom)

(I FORGOT TO POST THIS AND IT'S JUST BEEN SITTING IN MY DRAFTS COLLECTING DUST 😭)

More DreamTale ramble because it's their birthday and I still don't have their gift finished 😭

DreamTale By Joku 🫶

DREAMTALE is about BALANCE correct?

>:)

>:/

>:(

Okay, yeah I'm not too excited about this one but here we go (That's a lie, I'm hella invested):

Original:

Nightmare - Died once, is a pelvis hole, pretty sure he unalived one of Killer's cats or at least attacked it, being of hate, literally no one should be happy around him (He might KILL YOUR CAT if you are smh)

Dream - Was turned to stone once, definition of a cinnamon roll, authentic Disney princess (Reference), way too kind and hopeful for his own good, literally no one should be upset around him

Okay we got this? Nightmare? Super Uncool. Dream? Super Wholesome.

Right okay so DreamTale having this Balance shtick, I think it makes Sans (Ba Dum Tsss) that in versions where Nightmare is actually likable (DadMare), Dream is... Less likable...

Like canonically that's a load of bull shart and super unlikely to be the case, like, ever

But making one likable (In this case, Nightmare), more often than not, renders the other unlikable (Dream), I've seen it, over and over (Examples):

Rehabilitation Multiverse (I 🫶 Them) (Guys go read Little Assistant on Quotev, I beg, it's so cute, they have a blog on here too <3)

BJTBS and more of Dark's content

That one multiverse where Dream is essentially the embodiment of toxic positivity (Crazed? Dream?) and Nightmare has gotta go around fixing up mishaps (Really liked this idea, it takes the whole thing I'm talking about and multiplies it by 20)

I think Shattered Dreams should count too?

Okay actually those are the only ones I've personally looked into myself (I think DreamSwap by Kai might count too but I haven't looked into DS since... 3... years ago... yeah-) but I've seen it mentioned over and over, whether someone's ranting about a fanfic they read or doodles people make

Due to these observations, I conclude:

Common DreamTale Occurrence: To have a likable Nightmare, you need a less-than-ideal Dream. To keep your pure Dream, you gotta have a hateful Nightmare.

Exceptions:

Both Are Unlikable (Rare?)

Both are likable (but don't see eye socket to eye socket if you wanna keep that conflict, or they vibe together neutrally if you don't care for the conflict)

Redemption Variations

Most Truce Multiverses

Petty/Joke/Non Or Semi Serious Versions

Etc...

Examples of each exception except the first one because I haven't seen that yet:

Both Likable: Nightmare may be DadMare, neutral, hold his own morals that from his perspective are understandable, or secretly still cares for Dream. Dream may be angsty, close to canon, naive, or also hold his side of morals that are still valid I've also seen one where he's been manipulated by the village so any toxic (behavior isn't/beliefs aren't) his fault. (I think it was called RoseVerse, found it on YT, really cool stuff!)

Redemption Variations: This mainly revolves around Nightmare redeeming himself, or the group as a whole, possible P!Nightmare.

Truce Multiverses: Self explanatory, The Stars (Or in this case, mostly Dream) and Nightmare's Group (Again, in this case, mostly Nightmare) agree on a truce

Semi To Non Serious Multiverses: Joke comics can follow the observation but also not since they're not canon anyways, like Roxy's overprotective Nightmare (StareMare!) drawings, or The Worst Smile comic (I think... That was the name...)

Summary: DreamTale's Balance shtick and the pattern of having one Apple Brother likable rendering the other unlikable is so common, I propose it as sort of a common occurring rule(?) that has some exceptions because this fandom is limitless regardless of it's patterns

[best--dress]

WIP Wednesday - mushy edition

When I sat down to write out the things I wanted to *manifest* at the beginning of 2023, top of my list was an artistic community. I was halfway through my masters program and I had hoped that I'd find like-minded artists there, but my cohort was full of people who valued aesthetics over ideas, plus one guy who believed that to be able to call yourself an artist, you had to be able to draw technically well. (Totally valid positions to hold, but I was literally making websites and calling it art and having no one to talk to about it.)

Anyway, flash forward to June when I was in a deep deep depression and about to graduate having barely started my job hunt. I turned to the Simon Snow books for comfort, and then turned to tumblr for more. I'd never written fanfiction before and had barely read any. At first I was just reblogging memes, but then I started to find myself reading canon-compliant fic, and then AUs, and increasingly seeking out the crackiest fic I could find, because it's all so damn good in this fandom. I was also in awe of how kind and close-knit the community is - I've been on the internet for over 20 years, and I don't think I've ever seen anything else like it.

I signed up for @carryon-reverse-bang bc I wanted to get more involved & get to know people more. I gotta say I was intimidated when I realized I was paired with Ashton! Getting to bounce my ideas off her and Pati (beta extraordinaire) was honestly the creative collaboration I've been craving for so long. It's been so wild to make up this silly story about these characters who live in my head 24/7 and hear back from one of them, "oh, he would totally do that!"

Flash back, I guess, to this fall. I did get a job, I've been working as an art teacher since September. This is my first teaching job and it's been a lot, but as the months go by, I do feel like it's the "more meaningful" career I was seeking. Because in my best moments, when the kids are totally engaged in making something, I feel with total conviction:

Making things with other humans is the most sacred thing in the world.

Thanks for the tags today @alexalexinii, @cutestkilla & @nightimedreamersworld. I'm mostly at the final edits stage of The Tower Room, and I'm reluctant to share much from the last chapter, but here's something that should be fun out of context:

He smirks at me like he's figured out all my secrets.

Hiiiii to @artsyunderstudy, @aristocratic-otter, @aroace-genderfluid-sheep, @ileadacharmedlife, @youarenevertooold, @rimeswithpurple, @thewholelemon, @facewithoutheart, @leithillustration, @katatsumuli, @theimpossibledemon, @scribble-tier, @iamamythologicalcreature, @martsonmars, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe, @louisandtheaquarian

[naughtybg3confessions]

Regarding the dom/sub poll; I ABsoLUTELY do not envision MYSELF with characters personally (no hate to anyone who does!!) so the whole premise is irrelevant to my own experience of fandom.

I picture the characters together more-so, and my Tav's/Durge's are just other characters with their own things going on to me.

Though I might, like, identify majorly with Astarion getting dicked down good by Halsin or some such, and specifically ask to ride my partner next time because I've been thinking about the joy of cock, I don't personally picture characters and myself. It just feels foreign to me, and I'd MUCH prefer to picture characters and their dynamics.

Honestly, I've been in fandom nearly 20 years and I haven't seen a fandom with this much emphasis on self-inserts, OC/canon, original female character/whoever ect.... probably ever?

The closest I can think of would be bandoms (band fandoms)?

I think your experience isn't an uncommon one, and maybe we could have specified in the poll about envisioning yourself or whichever character whose role you are relating to more in the fantasy.

I've been in a number of fandoms, including a couple bandoms, and honestly even in those I saw less self-shipping than I have in the BG3 community, although every fandom has it of course. I also never self-shipped before until the BG3 fandom. But given the structure of the game, it makes perfect sense that it's prone to that kind of thing.

Since people experience the game for the most part as their OCs, there's definitely a spectrum going on here as well. For example, I have this whole elaborate ongoing daydream where my soul has been transferred across dimensions into my favorite Tav's body, who was loosely based on my appearance anyway. So my looks (and to an extent, my personality) are somewhat different from my IRL self, but I'm still identifying myself with them? So it's somewhere in between shipping and self-shipping, but more on the self-side. There are people who see their Tavs as an avatar of themselves, people who see their Tavs as their own distinct characters, and people who straight up ship their literal selves with the characters. And of course, many who ship the characters with each other. (which used to be me, BG3 is amazingly the first fandom where I have no strong opinions about ships and mostly self-ship!)

Anyway, all are perfectly valid, maybe I'll make a poll about it?

[queers-gambit]

Hello,I wanted to say I admire your work and hope you continue with your wonderful stories.

I would like advice as a new fic writer myself. How long did it take before your work got noticed. Did/do you have any doubts? I know I have. TYSM for the fics -🍋‍🟩

hey, poppet. thank you for popping in, it's so very kind of you! more advice? fuck yeah, 50 points to Slytherin!

this got a little longer than i anticipated.

new fic writer, huh? so... you're, like, the new sheriff in these here parts? well, i only got ONE thing to say to the likes of you...

that's exciting! welcome! this town is big enough for all of us!

let's jump in -

soooo i've been reading fanficition since i was a kid, right? it's a comfort, it made sense in my brain, and it was something so deeply personal, i never shared it with anyone - friends or family. so this was always very niche to me.

being said, i've been an author most of my life. i've been legitimately published a few times - first when i was about 9/10 and last around 5ish years ago. no, not professionally, i didn't make a cent on those publications. so, i've been in the game for a while - BUT i didn't start PUBLISHING my fanfictions until the past, say, 3ish years?

now, look: technically, i started writing fanfics when i was first hospitalized in my early teens, using a pen and notebook because i was poor and couldn't afford a laptop (no shame, pen and paper are underrated). night shift came every 3 hours for vitals, so, i didn't get a whole lot of sleep - but i was able to write. a lot. it distracted me, it comforted me, and it was 100% mine which meant i never had to show or explain to anyone what i was doing.

i say this to try to illustrate, i didn't just walk on the scene as a writer and BOOM! got all this recognition. i started writing for myself, nobody else.

the thing to remember is that you're not writing for instant gratification - and if you are, you're setting yourself up for failure because it's going to feel stressful and "not worth" because your fics aren't getting hundreds of likes. don't let your self-worth be decided by numbers: height, weight, money in your bank account, fanfiction notes...

however, being said, i fucking get it. first thing i published was HC's about dating Eddie Munson because i had read so many and felt a couple ideas were missed or overlooked, so, i just had this compulsion to write. then, it was this thought of, "well, if i had this idea, maybe other people have, too, or at the very least, might like to read it." so i sat on the front step of my house, overtagged my HC's, and hit publish. it garnered a couple hundred likes within a few hours, then every time i opened Tumblr, there was 99+ notifications. i felt like my soul lifted, realizing, "hey... maybe i could write some more? i have a few other ideas and it feels SO good to be recognized. validate me, internet strangers!"

so, i weaponized my mania and published some more.

but i still struggle with this on occasion. yes, most of the times, my fics warrant X numbers of likes, but i find myself disappointed in the amount of written responses - like comments or messaged praise. i see other authors having full on debates, conversations, theory projections, and being inundated with messages; and think "damn, maybe i'm really not that great since nobody comes around to express their impression; to feed me compliments!" but you see what that is, right?

it's Imposter Syndrome. none of this shit actually matters.

your writing is GOOD whether at 2, 20, 200, 2k notes and the only person who can bestow this title or confidence is yourself. you're the architect, the driver, the artist - so stand by your writing. stand on business. then nothing can touch or phase you; you'll become your own worst enemy and most supportive critic.

nobody's opinion matters if YOU have pride in YOURSELF.

got it? great. now -

here's my advice:

🍒 learn to tag. -> tag your fic appropriately by Muse, fandom, pairing. -> the more tags, the wider the audience it'll reach. -> if i want to read Aemond Targaryen, that's the tag i go to. if i want Daemon, that's the tag i go to. Readers do not want to scroll through Daemon fics on the Aemond tag - so learn to do it properly. -> it's respectful, you know? and it def helps picking up a few followers because they peep you respect the rules.

🍒 practice summary writing. -> give Readers just enough to hook them. -> i recommend just giving the basics so Readers can decide if your fic has the general gist of what they're interested in reading. i like alluding to plot twists in summaries because it piques Reader interest. -> i personally do not read fics that have no summary. i want to know what i'm jumping into, if this is worth my time to read, if it'll satisfy whatever craving i have. -> you can use a trick i learned in a journalism class where newspaper headlines have to be a single sentence that essentially answer "who, what, when, where, why?"

again, tag your fics properly because if i'm looking for angst (in the angst tag) and the summary alludes to something more fluffy, i can move on.

🍒 sharpen your diction and syntax skills. -> diction is your word choice and syntax is sentence structure. so play around with what sounds most natural in your head. -> what words would your Muse actually use? how would they say it? do they use flowery language (like TROP Elrond) or are they gruffer (like ST Billy Hargrove)? -> diction gives stories personalities. i said what i said.

🍒 give "enough" detail in your introduction. -> this is your fic's elevator pitch. -> i like listing: what's the summary, who's the Muse, what fandom, word count, any author notes, and content warnings. it gives your audience an idea of what you're about; like dipping a toe in water instead of diving in. -> a very frustrating feeling trying to read something that you have no genuine interest in but you don't know until you get X% of the way through it. -> again, i can't speak for others, but i won't entertain fics that don't have introductions - or at the very least, summaries.

🍒 get comfortable with your own humility. -> not every fic is going to be a hit. own that. accept that. -> do not gaslight yourself into thinking just because a fic has less notes (or kudos, whatever) it's lesser-than writing.

example: i was SO excited to publish Don't You (Forget About Me) because i thought it was so good. like, arguably some of my better work, but it didn't do well with Readers. it was disheartening but also humbling because while the fic picked up traction, i remind myself that i'm still a fanfic reader at heart and so long as i like it, who cares how many notes it has?

🍒 if you have a story, write that shit. -> don't be discouraged, "oh, nobody is gonna read this, nobody wants this," because who cares about that? you have a story to tell, so write that shit! tell your story! i promise there are people out there that will entertain it!

🍒 praise yourself because if you wait for strangers on the internet to do it, you're not always going to get the response you WANT.

🍒 be kind. -> to yourself. -> to others. -> to me... please 😂

i gave another anon some advice a bit back, you can check that out here if you'd like!

i hope this helps even a little. i encourage everyone to write, no matter what the driving factor. have fun with it, challenge yourself, practice practice practice.

come back anytime, poppet, and when you publish (or not, whatever), send it my way - i'd love to give your work a read! all my very best! i hope writing can do for you what it's done for me.

all my love 🖤

[lildevyl]

Hey, Guys, Gals, Demons, Ghouls and Multi-Fandom Fiends!

This isn't a theory as a matter-of-fact it's going to be long but I need to get this out there. So, I have been on this decision for the past week. And here it is. So, we all know what's been going on with the whole William "Wilbur Soot" Gold situation that's been all over YouTube, Twitter, and just about any other Social Media Platform out there. I'm 100% behind Shelby/Shubble. I think she was very brave in coming out against what she experienced so, please go show her some support.

With that said, I know many people on here have either made the decision to either,

A) Orphaned or Delete their FanFics that have c!Wilbur Soot in them. If have decided to do that, your decision is valid and I fully respect your decision.

B) Have decided to stop writing anything with c!Wilbur Soot in them. If you have decided to do that, your decision is valid and I fully respect your decision.

C) Have decided to continue to write c!Wilbur Soot because it was never about the Content Creators, but the Characters that we, the fans, have created ourselves. If you have decided to do that, your decision is valid and I fully respect your decision.

So, with that said, I'm sure many people have been wondering about what I'm going to do. Here's my decision on this.

What I'm going to do:

I'm going to continue to write. Tommy Innit's Secret Clinic is still going to be written. As selfish as this is going to sound, it was never about the Content Creator William "Wilbur Soot" Gold who owns the YouTube/Twitch Channel. But it was always, always, always, about the character he played. I love c!Wilbur Soot from the Earth SMP, Dream SMP, and Origins SMP. I even love the character he plays in Sorry Boys. And that's the Character I will be writing!

I know when I first joined the DSMP, it was already starting to go downhill. By that time, Covid was over, and the "Over Night Success" of the DSMP was over for a lot of fans. To the point, if you were still a fan of the DSMP during the Prison Arc and beyond then you were in the "So 5 Minutes Ago"/Cringe Territory. I also know that serval people have stopped writing, and got out of the DSMP/MCYT Community when Technoblade passed away. I can't blame them since many fans started watching the DSMP b/c of Techno and why bother watching something if the reason you even started is no longer there. I fully respect everyone's decision on that. And I know now that so many people will be leaving b/c of this being the "Last Nail in the Coffin" for a lot of people. Again I fully respect your decision if you decide to never write c!Wilbur Soot or just straight leave the Fandom entirely.

But I'm not. I'm not leaving. c!Wilbur Soot belongs to us fans and yes, this is 100% selfish of me, but I'll be damned if I let someone take away something that I find so much joy in doing! I've been writing FanFicion for the last 30 years and have been posting for the last 20 years.

I've been in many different fandoms and yes, many of them have had pretty toxic gatekeeping fans. But for once with the DSMP, I actually felt well safe for my writing. I didn't have to worry about if I was writing the Character right or not.

So, with that said, Tommy Innit's Secret Clinic is still underway! I have a few more chapters already written but it's going to be a major story and for once, I'm fucking motivated to finish this! For once, I'm not four to five chapters in and can't seem to figure out what to write b/c I'm so stuck on what others kept telling me how to write certain characters. But with this, no one's doing that. I want to write to these Characters how I want to write them!

I am NOT supporting the Content Creator! This has always been about the Characters. As far as I'm concerned, William "Wilbur Soot" Gold can go step on a pile of Legos for all I care!

However, with Tommy Innit's Secret Clinic, it's going to be until Summer that I will be able to fully start to update again. Right now, I think I'm just going to concentrate on School since my class started a month ago. And I might be focusing on other Writing/Art Projects until then.

So, when Summer hits, expect to see updates for Tommy Innit's Secret Clinic! Until then, Guys, Gals, Demons, Ghouls and Multi-Fandom Fiends! I'll see you later! HAPPY CREATING!

[abovetherainandroses]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Storm here! 🌩 Tysm for the tag @27-royal-teas! <3 I haven't done a tumblr meme thing in forever! And I don't really have any friends on this blog so I don't have anyone to tag, but if you're a writer who follows me, consider yourself tagged! (And also come be my friend)

This got long! I talk too much! Answers are below the cut!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

So I have two accounts lol, because for some reason I decided to make a separate RPF account even though I have other embarrassing things on main account anyway?? Anyway, I currently have 100 fics on my main and 5 on my RPF account.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

Across both accounts, 379,693 words for an average of 3.6k per fic. Longfic? I don't know her.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I usually write for one fandom at a time, but I will revisit/cycle through fandoms. Currently it's Fall Out Boy. Previously, I was writing some MCU stuff (mostly Spider-Man). Also wrote a handful of Good Omens stuff back when S1 came out. I have the most fics posted for Haikyuu (volleyball manga/anime) lol.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Oops I only have 5 fics so far on my RPF account and I'm still debating whether I want this account directly linked to my main.

But I will take this opportunity to tell anyone who needs it not to put too much stock into kudos!! Kudos count relies on a lot of factors, but a big two are fandom/ship size and when you post the fic relative to the height of the fandom's activity. (Getting in early with a fic right after a new movie/season/etc. comes out so you're one of the first fics for the New Thing can be huge too.)

External validation is obviously very nice but if you rely too much on it, you're not gonna have a good time.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Comments make my entire life and I always want to respond to them, but I inevitably fall off because the brain energy isn't there, and I keep putting it off, and putting it off, and putting it off, and then it feels too late. But seeing as I only have 5 fics on my RPF account, I recently went and responded to everything, even if it was years late. In the past few weeks I've actually gotten responses to some comments I left on fics like 3 years ago so it inspired me, haha.

I myself am not always good at leaving comments (continuous goal to get better at it), so I really appreciate the people who take the time to leave kind comments for me and I want to express that appreciation.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't usually write angsty fic... I'm too softhearted. That said, I have made a few forays into angst, but Your Mileage May Vary on which one is the angstiest. Is it the major character death? Is it the one where they're soulmates with the last words they'll say to each other written on their skin, and in the end it's not death that separates them, but their own inability to have a functional relationship with each other?

Or is it the one I didn't even think was super angsty and tagged "bittersweet ending" but then it made a bunch of people cry? I'm still like "...my bad" about that one lmao.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Fluff is my lifeblood and almost all of my fics have a happy ending. I couldn't tell you which was the happiest, haha. Again, I'm incredibly softhearted, and also a big sap. I cannot deny this!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Thinking very hard... I have been posting fic for............. several years so it is possible I am forgetting something but nothing comes to mind! I have always felt too relatively unknown for haters, which is just fine by me.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

"What kind" lol. What does that even mean. Listen, my kink is holding hands during sex and being ❤️ in love ❤️ (I mentioned I'm a softhearted sap, right??)

Sometimes I might explore some light kink but nothing too hardcore imo.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Again, I've been writing/posting fic for several years, so I could be forgetting something, but I don't remember ever writing a true crossover. Though in my personal definition of fandom terms, crossover = characters from fandom A meet characters from fandom B. I have written a few fusion AUs in my time (characters from fandom A existing in the world of fandom B), which you could say falls under the crossover umbrella. For example, I've written Kingdom Hearts characters in a Pacific Rim AU and Haikyuu characters in Dragon Age AU.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. Though I did once see (this was a SUPER long time ago) someone repost my fic on tumblr the same day I posted it on FFN, even though I also posted the full text of the fic on tumblr myself. They credited my FFN account, at least, but like. Hey. Don't do that.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, I've had some fics translated into various languages! It's definitely an honor that people want to share some of my stuff in other languages and take the time to do that translation work. I try to ask people keep translations on AO3 but it hasn't always succeeded so there are some translations of my works floating around on foreign language fic sites... Ah well.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I successfully co-wrote one (1) fic with one of my friends years ago. I've tried a few other times to co-write fics (including with the same person) but none of them ever finished... Co-writing fic is hard! Idk how to do it effectively. I've done a handful of fic/art collabs with my wife though!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I don't know that I have a single all-time favorite ship, but Peterick is definitely the current fave. I........ adore them. So much.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Listen, I am a hoarder of WIPs and a clinger to delusions that they will one day be finished. But okay, one of my peterick WIPs from 2016-2017 that I really liked but highly doubt I'll ever finish is a no-band, dating show AU where Pete is the eligible bachelor on a queer offshoot of the Bachelor/Bachelorette and Patrick (through machinations by Joe) ends up as a contestant on the show. Patrick is camera shy and does not want to be there, but he made a deal with Joe to stay til he was eliminated. Pete, who just went through a public and messy divorce with Ashlee, does not want to be there, but he was guilt-tripped into using his moderate fame to help bring viewership to the underfunded little queer show.

Pete finds out Patrick never wanted to be there in the first place and offers to eliminate Patrick. I will copy/paste the next bit from my gdoc:

"[...] pete’s like what if…i didn’t eliminate you and we just stayed friends and hung out and stuff and patrick finds himself agreeing bc pete’s a really nice dude and they have a lot of interests in common

But then Patrick keeps sticking around through the weeks and Patrick and Pete fall in love and both end up having separate private crises because they agreed to be friends. Patrick sees Pete spending time with other candidates and clearly being attracted to them and it sucks because now Patrick is in love with Pete and Pete isn’t considering him at all. Meanwhile Pete is having a good time with the other candidates and sure there’s lust there and even some like but he can’t stop thinking about how perfect Patrick is for him except for oh wait Patrick doesn’t even want to BE here and Pete was the one who convinced him to stay and now he’s fucking in love with him."

Blah blah blah, stuff happens, Pete eliminates Patrick in the last few weeks then when he has to make the choice between the final two candidates, calls Patrick and confesses to him instead, blah blah blah, happy ending.

Anyway. I wrote 11k of that fic and I was about 1/3 of the way through. It will never be finished. But now I've told you all about it and that's good enough, right?

16. What are your writing strengths?

Internal narration and emotions. Tightly focused fics that span 1-3 scenes. Spelling and grammar.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Longfic or fic with several scenes that take place over an extended stretch of time. Related to that, coming up with external plot events rather than just internal conflict HAHA. Describing the setting/environment so the characters don't just exist in a nebulous empty space.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

As with most of my preferences re: fic, it depends on the execution. It can feel clunky and maybe even cringey, or it can feel natural and realistic. Just be intentional about how you're using it. Also, it always helps if you know a fluent speaker who can review it for you but understandably you may not always have someone like that.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Warrior... cats...

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

This is impossible to answer hahahaha. Certainly if we look at my main AO3. But if we're looking at my grand total of 5 (as of yet) RPF fics, I can say that I'm still quite fond of get us right (quitters never win), a fob AU fic where everything is the same but they all have minor superpowers, featuring empath!Patrick and telepath!Pete.

Aaaaand we are done! If you got this far, I am giving you cookies.

[ikosburneraccount]

I’m the anon from earlier, thanks for correcting your mistake. I understand you didn’t realize what happened but the fact that you owned up to it means a lot because most blogs would’ve blocked me out of cowardice. It’s nice to see someone else standing up against the racism in this fandom especially from big blogs like IS (who really butchers asian culture in her writing, btw, idk why we’re letting yt people write fanfic in this fandom.) i’ve been in fandom spaces for 10 years now and as far as racism goes TLC is by far the worst considering most people still don’t even accept that the MC is asian. I’ve hated TS for years for her casual racism and the white supremacy themes/narrative implicit in her music and the fact that this fandom idolizes her is disappointing, but not surprising. No, Cinder would not listen to a deeply bigoted woman who openly and unapologetically condones violence against black women and hates jewish people. TS is more like Levana than any other tlc character. Anyways thank you again for taking me srsly and correcting your mistake.

OFC ANON!!!! Your ask was so informative and held me accountable (and let me know that some Swiftie blogs could still engage with my posts without my knowledge/consent). I will definitely be moving forward differently because of your ask, thank you so so so much <3

I don't block anons but I do delete anon hate from Swifties. And I KNOW the Tumblr culture that you're talking about, I've also been here for a while (10 years now). But I want to subvert that culture with my blog and with how I respond to my asks. I would rather take the time to respond and explain than be reactive, because 1) being reactive doesn't reflect well on me and the point I'm trying to make and 2) Engaging with anons with a thoughtful response makes them feel respected and validated regardless if we agree or not. I never want people to feel stupid, ignorant, or dumb by my responses, and that is never my intention as well.

Thank you for acknowledging and feeling the same way about the fandom racism. I do feel a bit isolated and lonely sometimes knowing a majority of the fandom are TS fans, but I remember that I would rather get 0 interactions on a post then engage with racists. And anons like you only validate my point that I'm not the only person who feels this way, I'm just the most vocal. I'm genuinely happy you feel seen and heard and feel this blog is a safe space to talk about fandom racism, because I do want people to ultimately feel safe as TLC fans of color to come and talk to me about how they feel. Despite being a small fandom, we still need safe spaces like this as we, tlc fans of color, can feel/have felt alienated by the overwhelming white presence of this fandom.

(And I think it speaks for itself when, after I blocked all swifties following my page, a majority of people who still follow me are other people of color.)

Talking about TS means talking about racism and people seem to elide the fact that I am hurt by their continued support for TS. Like that's the main point of racism, you're engaging in a power dynamic that reinforces the marginalize and violence towards marginalized and exploited communities. People don't understand that being born as and existing as a person of color is a political statement that we cannot evade but actively informs and filters our lives. And when people engage with open racists like TS, it reinforces the marginalization of people of color.

TLC racism is on a different level, but then again, this is the same fandom that where cresswell, a relationship between a 16 and 20 y/o is its second biggest ship :/ Like clearly people don't care about anyone they hurt as long as they can ship their faves. And yes, the race wars when it comes to Cinder racial/ethnic background are INSANE. It really has to do with the fact that a majority of white women see Y/A heroines as their self insert so Cinder not being white disrupts this assumptions and it's the same reason Cress is so popular. I was active in the TLC fandom back in 2014-16 and there was so much discourse about Cresswell (p*d* ship discourse) and about Cinder's race/ethnicity. I 100% agree with you that TLC fandom is one of the WORST fandoms in YA because of their extreme racism towards the Cinder and other main characters (the way I tear up when I see Black!Annabeth fan art being celebrated...why can't people here act correctly sometimes 😭).

I thought IS is Asian(Chinese)-Australian? Please correct me if I'm wrong though, I was just under this impression from how they responded to asks on their blog. If they're actually not Asian/Chinese-Australian I'm actually even more disgusted with their fanfiction now. But it also explains a lot.

"I’ve hated TS for years for her casual racism and the white supremacy themes/narrative implicit in her music and the fact that this fandom idolizes her is disappointing, but not surprising."

Anon you have NO idea how much I want to be your friend right now. YOU PUT HOW I FEEL PERFECTLY INTO WORDS. This is the EXACT issue I have with TS and why she attracts such racist, bigoted fans while still appealing to her liberal fanbase. She encodes her music with white supremacist messaging and simultaneously posits herself as liberal by perverting feminist ideology to deflect accountability for the harm she's caused. She is the PERFECT white woman because she straddles the apolitical white line to maximize her (white) fanbase. She's an evil person but a commercial and marketing genius, and because white supremacy reinforces the paradigm that wealth equates to good moral character, TS is consistently defended as a good person when she literally isn't. At all.

So that's why my original response to your ask was really weird because I couldn't tell if you were pro/anti-TS but still answered anyways just in case, you know? I'm glad to know that you aren't pro-TS and there are other people recognize the racist and white supremacist undertones of her music.

"No, Cinder would not listen to a deeply bigoted woman who openly and unapologetically condones violence against black women and hates jewish people."

If TS existed in the third era she would be bigoted towards cyborgs and lunars, point blank period. People thinking the TLC main characters would be swifties or love TS is 100% a projection of their whiteness (or delusional, or both) and basic misunderstanding of how PoC face and deal with overwhelmingly popular racist white artists. Also, I have so many thoughts on calling the Lunar people "the Lunar race" in both canon and fandom. That's definitely MM's whiteness not fully understanding how race is constructed and her white vision of a post-racial futuristic society. I could speak about that for hours (but that isn't the purpose of this post).

Also you aren't being dramatic with the TS Levana comparison. That's spot on: she literally manipulates people with her victim narrative despite being 33 years old and is able to make people forget the harm she causes with the amount of content she produces. TS since her debut has never taken direct accountability for her racist actions (like the antisemitic 2009 MTV photo where she poses with a guy wearing a swatstika t-shirt and her PR team justified the photo as her "not knowing." She was FIFTEEN).

I can literally write a completely separate post linking every single article by topic of all the racist and suspicious actions she's done and taken both as an artist and person, but this is a TLC blog and I want to focus on TLC content first. This isn't a dig towards you, nanny; this is just me saying I cannot be 100% responsible for educating people on TS racism, because it is a lot of emotional and time-intensive labor.

I hope this post makes sense. This was super heavy and took me a couple hours to write because you brought up so many brilliant points and I wanted to breakdown a proper response. Seriously, this has been my favorite ask so far. Anon, you are now my friend!

[zenkindoflove]

Hi! For the ask game (how much is too much lol):

5. something you see in fics a lot and love

6. something you see in art a lot and love

16. a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

25. a piece of advice for taking care of yourself in fandom spaces

Thank you, bb! There is never too much haha!

5. something you see in fics a lot and love

Elucien braiding or brushing each others hair. I love this headcanon we all collectively have and it's literally my FAVORITE. Anytime I see it, I swoon and lose my mind a little bit. Please, infuse hair intimacy in all your fics. There is never enough.

6. something you see in art a lot and love

I actually really love the diversity in depictions of Elain and Lucien. They definitely have an aesthetic, which is a lot of light and loveliness. You can see how complimentary they are to each other. But I think the thing that makes me the most excited is just how different people draw them every time. There are features that are consistent, but I love that we get a lot of size and hair texture diversity with Elain and color/racial diversity with Lucien. It feels like with them, there is a version of Elucien that fits however you might envision them and there is a lot of representation fans infuse into them that is beautiful I think.

16. a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

Honestly, the half step. Maybe it doesn't seem tiny but my heart tells me people don't talk about it enough haha. Because the half step is everything to me! It is the hint we have that Elain feels more for Lucien than she lets on. It's the glimpse we see into the pull she has to him. SJM wrote that scene so cinematically. It's like how you would see a romantic scene play out in a movie. And while there are a lot of great Elucien moments people focus on and write about, that scene to me lives in my head rent free everyday. And I think a lot of people who don't get Elucien and write off their bond just refuse to remember that scene and how significant it was for everything that is hidden right now about Elain's feelings (you can't convince me Elain isn't secretly harboring desires and swelling feelings of longing for Lucien that she keeps denying and fighting).

25. a piece of advice for taking care of yourself in fandom spaces

I have had different experiences depending on the fandom I've been in my 20 years of being a fangirl. But I think the biggest way to take care of yourself is to find your people. Find a core group of friends who you can be your authentic self with. People who you can vent about fandom wank and squee about your OTP. People who will support you and your work/creations. No matter how chill or dramatic a fandom space is, those people are so important for your sanity.

Also - focus on fanworks first and foremost before all the other stuff. I'm always in favor of metas and discourse and being "too serious" about these things we love. None of us would be here if we weren't too extra about all of this and all of those things have a valid, important place in fandom. But creating and making for the fandom and your ship is a balm to the soul when the other things are becoming too overwhelming. It helps keep you grounded when other demons are whispering in your ear, pulling you down with the fandom wank.

love your fandom asks

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Monday, February 24 - Tuesday, February 25, Part II

[Fandom Discussions]

Season 7 by bara_no_seidou

I always laugh out loud by ShayTre_77_inthelou

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Superhero Fatigue by ThroneofHope

nah you know what, i can see his appeal. by Possible-Poetry3832

Thoughts on the "modern" dvd covers compared to the original covers? by Ricks94

just finished ep 17 of season 2 and damn ''passion'' gotta be best buffy episode for me. by Possible-Poetry3832

Buffy Comics Question by Dontmindthelurker123

On a rewatch and got reminded that I want Giles’ apartment. by loki2002

Probability of the slayer in the sequel series being a minority? by Cool-Cantaloupe-9104

The notions of friendship on this sub are grim. by illvria

Striped blue shirt with striped red tie with black pants and a CREAM TOP?! by samantha_OwO

The best Once More, With Feeling song by StaticCloud

i hate to admit it, but i like him lol by Possible-Poetry3832

just finished season 2, i need therapy and rest. by Possible-Poetry3832

What's an opinion you kind of feel obligated to pushback against? by PristineSituation498

Giles really had no plan and was ready to just die by mbene913

Buffy's High School Grades by Cr1meMasterGoGo

Buffy The Vampire Slayer and/or Angel Saddest Quotes? by Big-Restaurant-2766

got to say dru is one of my favourite characters! by buffybot_1981

i wish the Scoobies got to see Cordelia’s growth! by hatchbackkk

Poor Buffy, this is so heartbreakingly accurate. by Big-Restaurant-2766

Which demon creeps out the most? by Fudge_pirate

Help finding a clip from The Girl in Question by AndrewHeard

I'll just say it: Angelus deserved what he got for this outfit choice alone. by loki2002

Lily in Anne by PirateJen78

The Watchers Council doesn't make sense by CauseProfessional512

Just finished AtS S1 E09 and I can't believe Doyle died!!! He was my favorite character! by nuggles00

The fact that it’s been over 20 years might play in the sequel’s favor by vampslayer84

Imagine you’ve only caught the show and not the fandom buzz here and elsewhere by unitedfan6191

Whatever Happened to Dennis? / Headcanon (BtVS subreddit) by RavenNight789

Whatever Happened to Dennis? / Headcanon. (AtS Subreddit) by RavenNight789

Spike's mum was just a demon, but he wasn't? by Aracoth

What kind of changes do you think would happen if Buffy was filmed today? by Easy-Distribution223

S7 Buffy is just like TWC in Helpless by primal_slayer

On this day in Sunnydale history, 25 years ago: by InfiniteMehdiLove

What's you favorite season and why? by SparklingStars82

Checkpoint by Dapper-Mirror1474

After Buffy is resurrected in Season 6…. by AmbitiousOutside7498

What is something in Buffy The Vampire Slayer you are glad it didn't do? by Big-Restaurant-2766

Sometimes i feel like I'm the only one in the fandom who doesn't ship spuffy. Need some validation! by freshsunberries

Does it ever drive you crazy, Just how fast the night changes? by EmpressBiscuits

So everybody in Sunnydale just knows MMA? by StinkyFishTits

I've got you under my skin by Vixen22213

S5 E 4 rewatch by Billlikeminded

Anyone else thought Fred’s parents were gonna be evil? by hatchbackkk

In "Band Candy" how much chocolate did they think they would need? by loki2002

Crystal Cathedral by persephonejones

[meruz]

im gonna reply to some asks but not that many bc the last time i tried to type up one of these posts i accidentally closed the tab and lost like several paragraphs so now im scared

lots of heavypaint questions

@porch-gremlin

its the fan tool on heavypaint!! which is a free drawing app that i love a lot. and the fan tool is my fave its kind of a crutch actually im trying to use other tools gkfdhgsdg but its so fun i can do a whole painting using it exclusively. heres a video of it in action while i mess w the configuration options. u can slide the noise jitter up and down so its more or less streaky hehe ^^

thank you!!! heavypaint ROCKS!!!!! I love it... its like the only art program ill be a shameless shill for lol

also im flattered you think of my art while playing splat...i should draw more splat i feel like i havent done enough.

my phone!! I have a samsung galaxy note 20 that I am still not done paying off LMAO.... but I've been a galaxy note user for years. combined with heavypaint its a shockingly good mobile sketchbook.

I'm sorry it's crashing on your tablet... I don't have a tablet so I don't really have an advice. Unfortunately because HP is a small dev app it can be kind of finicky... especially in between updates. I think if you reached out to vaughn ling/heavypoly he'd probably respond though! he seems to keep up with the community pretty well.

@hellisrealsign nice nice.. I'm glad our tastes match up a little! hopefully that means you don't mind my frequent fandom jumping LOL. I promise to always be true to my homestuck-loving infinity-train-loving self.

LMAOOOOOO I HOPE YOU HAD A GOOD TIME? (covered in blood)

idk is it worth it to read any shounen manga for female side characters?????? (??) HEAVILY DEBATABLE. on one hand the casual observer would say no but on the other hand femslash shippers are the strongest people on god's green earth and will endure great tortures for paltry table scraps.

I think mha is a good manga but it's still a shounen, some of the tropes they squeeze the girls into kind of suck. I can kind of put my annoyance aside because regardless im still a big fan of cool fight scenes and the power of friendship but I think your mileage will vary depending on how much tolerance you have for that kind of story...? There's an awful lot of chapters afterall. I will say this: though toga and ochako aren't the main characters they're not in the background either. the path of their relationship spans multiple arcs across the entire manga and is both plot relevant and relevant to the greater themes/thesis of the story. it's pretty clear that the mangaka and editorial team are dedicated to giving these characters the time and page space to play out. it's not perfect but thats better than a decent amount of big shounen femslash in my opinion? shrugs

Thank you! for both the compliments and the concern. but I want to assure you that... to be perfectly honest I don't think I'll ever stop posting my art regardless of AI. I don't want to make this into a hot take like this is an entirely personal opinion and I don't expect any other artists to share my position but: Everything about my art that I consider valuable is inherently impossible for AI to replicate and everything about my art that is replicable and monetizable is not something I'm interested in owning or protecting. (this is also why at the end of the day i dont really care that much about art theft, tracing etc. and i think 90% of the time style theft is just silly)

I believe art should be freely shared and to restrict that is to make art into a product which is morally despicable and moreover uninteresting... to me. lol. I DO RECOGNIZE HOWEVER I'm very lucky to have both more of an online audience than I even want + a fulltime job that takes the pressure off any of my other art to make money. it's totally valid for other artists to have differing opinions on this especially depending on personal circumstances. AND also I make art that is primarily a product above all else for work everyday so im a hypocrite but. yeah thats my two cents.

I love posting art online LOL. I do it because its fun for me.

HAPPY NEAR YEAR!!!!!!!!!11111111

[fereldanwench]

As I've been watching folks come forward with stories about bullying and gatekeeping in the Cyberpunk fandom, and watching other folks who are kind of on the sidelines (like me) chime in with their takes, I've been debating if there is any value to me speaking up outside of tags in reblogs from other folks.

To be honest, I'm still a little unsure if there is: I'm not directly involved in any of this, I feel like some of what I have to say has already been said, and I feel like I might be inserting myself into something I could more or less let pass by me. But I have a lot of friends who have been directly affected by this, and a common sentiment seems to be "Thank you for sharing. You're not alone."

So maybe my two cents can also help alleviate someone's pain or sense of isolation.

In spite of the current climate, I have actually found Cyberpunk on the whole to be one of the most chill fandoms I've ever been a part of. (Granted, weathering the Dragon Age fandom circa 2013-2015 might cloud my judgment a little here.) Although to be real: I'm also probably lucky that my blorbo of choice wasn't ~*claimed*~ by anyone, which has allowed me to create and vibe in peace.

But I will say when I "joined" last summer/fall, when I was basically a loner doing my thing, before I even knew most of my CP friends or any cliques or spilled tea, I got Bad Vibes™️ from certain parties pretty quickly. I generally prefer to give people the benefit of the doubt, sometimes at the expense of ignoring my gut instincts, but eventually, I felt like first impressions were accurate and I have maintained my distance.

I've participated in online fandom communities for over 20 years--While every fandom will have its unique flavor of drama, you eventually start to spot the troublemakers from a mile away. People who can't share their toys but still expect to be a part of a broader community, people who surround themselves with yes-men, people who crave validation to an unhealthy extent, people who insist their friends like and dislike the same community members they do, people who prey on other fans who are susceptible to manipulation, etc.

I felt relatively safe from all this behavior: I know what I like and what I'm about, I'm confident in my niche, and I met some really cool people I'm happy and honored to call my friends now. But I noticed over the past few months that almost every single one of them had a story about being wronged one way or another by this particular group. I also noticed that in spite of the hold this group seemed to have over fandom, a lot of people, directly affected or not, seemed to share a lot of the same concerns I had just weeks into the fandom. But everyone was afraid to say anything.

And I think to some extent, for good reason: callout posts and going public about ~*fandom drama*~ is a whole ass thing. They can often make things worse, they can often further divide a community, they almost always put the person doing the calling out under a microscope. Victims will have their valid concerns and legitimate experiences with harassment be dismissed as "clout chasing" or "just being jealous" while the perpetrators often just double-down on their behavior. It's scary and can feel futile to speak up and disrupt the status quo, even if the status quo sucks.

People will also be told "this should be handled privately." I do think a lot of things can and should be resolved privately, and I generally advocate this as a first step over going directly to callout posts. However, this requires both parties to have an investment in reaching some kind of reconciliation--I get the sense that this point has long passed. (Incidentally, it also requires being able to talk to someone privately, which can't be done if you block 80% of the community. It's pretty disingenuous of a person to say "this should have been handled privately" if they've removed that as an option.)

The exact goal of a callout post can also be muddied. Toxic in its own way, even. Yes, sometimes it is absolutely about trying to run people out of fandom. I can't honestly say I've never thought "this community would be better off without so-and-so." I have. I've probably said it, too. But at my core, I also genuinely believe in people having an opportunity to learn from their mistakes and be better. I don't think people who have been wronged need to stick around for that personal journey and I think a part of that journey might require taking a step back from a community, but I do understand the discomfort of witnessing (or experiencing) what feels like mass ostracization and retribution.

But in this particular situation, I think the greatest takeaway is that people who felt isolated are realizing they are not. The fact that so many people have come forward to share experiences that have been burdening them for months I think speaks volumes to the damage that has been done here. I also think trying to reduce this hurt and trauma to "clout chasing" or "being jealous" is not only reductive but perpetuates this harm.

And the last thing I'm going to say about this is really more criticism of CDPR than the fandom, but I feel it's still relevant since the two are rather entwined at this point.

Since witnessing the way David Gaider's behavior with fans contributed to a lot of wank in the Dragon Age fandom ten years ago, I have felt very strongly that it's important for the well-being of both parties to maintain a certain distance.

This isn't to say that they shouldn't interact at all or that there shouldn't any kind of community outreach--I have personally done some very cool things, like going to E3 (back when that was still a thing), as a result of an excellent community program from another franchise--But devs not on the community side (who are probably better equipped to handle things like the effects of parasocial relationships) can really run the risk of disrupting the already fragile ecosystem of a fandom, even with the best of intentions. I believe that has happened to an extent here as well, and I would just caution devs and fans alike about respecting the need for some boundaries.

I don't really have a clever little summation for this, so I'm just going to end with a screenshot of my Duolingo lesson for today being far too relevant because I honestly got a good laugh out of it:

[eddiemunsongf]

hey just wanna say that as a casual eddissy shipper i've been really appreciating your recent posts on the latest discourse, explaining it all in a very mature and intelligent way. i find it pretty ridiculous, this age-gap faux-moral outrage thing, and it reminds me of a similar happening in the euphoria fandom concerning fezco and lexi's age-gap. the age-gap with them was actually less obvious than eddie and chrissy's at the time and it became clear that fez's age was more than likely retconned from 20/21 in s1 to 19 in s2 — which just speaks to sam levinson's on-the-fly attitude to writing tbh. but anyway, that's all water under the bridge now, thankfully. what's bonkers to me with this case with eddissy is the vibe i get that certain people are clearly pissed off by the ship, so like you mentioned are seeking a moral justification for that fair enough dislike... all towards a ship that unfortunately (unless chrissy is miraculously resurrected) is a canon non-starter! i see these posts saying please stop shipping chrissy and eddie!!! like bestie?? gain a couple years worth of maturity, critical understanding and a little perspective please! it's a very valid point you made that eddissy are in fact peers due to them both being high schoolers... there is no power imbalance there to speak of and that's suppported by their canon interaction. i think it does speak to maybe people's competitiveness and possessiveness of characters when it comes to shipping that these faux-moral wars crop up like they do... certainly with fez and lexi, the age-gap debate came about after they had already become a hugely popular pairing, taking up a large part of the twitter discourse from shippers and general viewers alike. even though eddissy is a smaller ship by comparison, their wood scene did capture the general audience on twitter more so than perhaps other scenes from involving other canon/fanon ships this season so far, plus their chemistry/the ship itself has the acknowledgement of the duffers, joeseph and grace... that's fairly significant and likely a point of jealousy for some, fueling the (faux-)moral outrage. anyway, i won't ramble on any more, those are just my observations as someone on the sidelines! keep fighting the good fight! <3

thank you! it can feel reaaaally silly parsing this kind of drama out in a serious way, so i appreciate knowing it's of value to someone.

"what's bonkers to me with this case with eddissy is the vibe i get that certain people are clearly pissed off by the ship" / "i think it does speak to maybe people's competitiveness and possessiveness of characters when it comes to shipping" i think you nailed it here. possessiveness is a great word for the problem.

it's interesting to hear about the fexi discourse. i watch the show but i'm not exposed to the fandom at all. i knew fexi was a thing but i was shocked when i went to the euphoria ao3 and it was the most popular pairing by like,,, a mile.

i think it’s a different situation because this is a very particular problem that arises when a popular ship feels, like you said, possessive. maybe a little threatened. i could be wrong, but my guess is that the fexi drama came from legitimate (if misguided) concern that got blown out of proportion to become a moral panic, which in turn escalated when it put hardcore shippers on the defensive. 

it’s similar, but the subtle difference is where we see that hostility you mentioned come into play, as well as a kind of relentlessness. i’m hoping this will just fizzle out when the age thing is put to bed, but i’m a little concerned we’ll see another wave (or waves) of another kind after that. 

until the antis can recognize that what they’re engaged in is a ship war and not a righteous crusade, the core problem remains. edssy will never be morally pure enough because it isn’t their ship.

[engeneous]

this is really long, but the votes are concerning to me, so i hope people take the time to read through it. i know my opinion is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things yada yada, but so is literally anyone else's other than riki's, and i address that at the end, so here's my two cents as an adult baby-engene and longterm kpop fan and general fandom-space dweller.

i'm not sure what age you are or for how long you've been a fan of enhypen, both of which are factors that could influence your stance on this issue, but whether riki is a minor or an adult is actually irrelevant to this conversation. arguably, riki has lived most of his short (and underage) life sexualized and objectified. even before debuting, he was no stranger to provocative dancing and expression. enhypen adopted a mature concept immediately after debut, when riki was barely 15.

this is all to say, this type of public attention and exposure really fucks you up a lot. being a celebrity is one thing which children should not have to endure, but being a sexualized celebrity is on another level completely. i was a sexual and sexualized (mostly by people older than me) teen, and it still haunts me now, in my early 20s. i cannot imagine how this would feel whilst ALSO being in the public eye 24/7, having to project a fake, perfect image of yourself for hundreds of thousands of people to see and scrutinize.

i think riki should've played with his legos and drawn and read manga more in his youth instead of hip thrusting on stage. now he's slowly growing out of his teens and entering a scary world where adults are validated and believe they are justified in sexualizing and fantasizing about him. from an ethical perspective, this is insane. child stars should not exist, but they do, so as adults we should do our best to protect whatever sliver of privacy and dignity they have left.

yes, riki is 18 now. this makes him an adult in some places on earth. this is also completely irrelevant in the conversation about whether it's moral or ethical to sexualize him. in the usa he would only be an adult when he turns 21, so all i would have to say to refute you is that we should wait until he's 21, but that's simply just not the point. riki shouldn't be sexualized because he's a human person and it's fucking weird and damaging to do that to somebody in the first place. with riki it's even worse because he's been pushed in this position in his formative years so he may not even see it as a problem now - having grown used to presenting himself in this sexual light. his affinity towards sexual self expression does NOT make it okay for anyone to write nsfw stuff about him and post it on the internet.

you can't write smut about riki because it's invasive and gross and you's be objectifying a real, flesh and bones human person who's just minding his business and living his life the best he can. just because he's hot, just because he's an adult, just because he's famous, that doesn't make it ok to strip him of his dignity like that.

i know it's really hard to adopt this perspective because it is so fundamentally opposed to the common kpop fan perspective, where it's totally a-ok to sexualize and objectify idols (who are, by literal definition of the word, objects of worship), but please try to understand. think hard about it. would you like to be in his place? would you feel comfortable with people you don't know and will never know writing out of character sexual pieces about you, drawing you in compromising poses and instances you've never been in publicly, taking noises you make out of context and zooming in on your private parts, jerking off to all of it? he can't even defend himself. i've seen people writing x reader non con idol smut and i feel like that should be a legal offense akin to defamation. how can you become so desensitized to idols' humanity to think that it's ok to project this sort of image/'fantasy' onto them? anyone who's done that should feel so incredibly ashamed. these are real people. if anybody wrote something like that about me, an ordinary-ass person, i would feel so incredibly betrayed and viscerally repulsed.

anyway, the main takeaway is that we shouldn't post smut about anybody who's a real person (and i've been guilty of that myself in the past), but with riki it's doubly horrifying, because he's been in such a vulnerable place for such a long time of his life. it's not for you or me to decide whether he feels comfortable with it: only he could tell us, and he never will, so lacking this crucial piece of information, the best course of action is to simply not do it. i promise you won't die if you refrain from posting riki smut. write it and keep it to yourself if you really must.

(keep in mind that he’s an adult, a literal man y’all are babying)

[andiinaraethtash]

1, 9, 11, 17, 20, 21, 25, 30 and 41! <3

1. How long ago did you start reading fanfiction? Writing fanfiction?

Okay, so I started reading fanfiction when I was... probably sixteen almost seventeen? So about five years ago. As for writing it... Well my first fanfic was written in, like, 2015, so I was roughly around fourteen. I only started publishing fanfiction in 2019, and let me tell you, there is a vast difference in quality from 2015 to 2019 to now. It's ridiculous.

9. Tag 3 fic writers you think are underrated/unknown in the fandom/fanfiction community.

Hmm. See, the problem is, unless I know you on tumblr, I'm not going to avidly follow your works. So I'm just going to say: @itsybitsybatsyspider @pacificseaotter and @felicityphoenix5 (yes, you. No matter how many hits or kudos or comments or likes or reblogs you get, it'll never be enough to compensate for how awesome you are. That goes for you, Itsy, and you, too, Paci).

11. How do you come up with your fic titles?

Usually just by listening to music that fits the vibe of the fic, then picking a good lyric that encapsulates... something in my fic. It could be the character's feelings, their story arc, or the general story line. The few exceptions are when I asked for help with a name, and when I was just starting out.

17. How obsessively do you sit and stare at your fic after you’ve just posted and wait for feedback?

See, I don't just sit at tumblr/AO3 obsessively; oh make no mistake, I check on it, but really what I'm watching obsessively is my email. Because that's the one place I get to see when someone leaves kudos/comments, and when someone mentions me on tumblr. So I'll usually be checking that obsessively, and occasionally checking on tumblr.

To answer the actual question... um, 8/10. Pretty bad. I need validation.

20. What’s your favorite part about the fanfiction writing process?

Easily the part where I get to see this scene I've had in my head for days/months/years (in some instances) coming to life on the page. It's so cool. My second favorite part, is of course, interacting with my audience.

21. What’s your least favorite part about the fanfiction writing process?

Grinding out the "connective tissue" that joins together two important scenes. Like, there needs to be character growth in there, they need to get from point A to point B, but the journey is long and arduous, and I am a weary traveler with few words left in me by the time I get to where I'm going.

25. Do you listen to music as you write? If possible, link your writing playlist.

I listen to music all the time, not just when I'm writing. I have different playlists for different moods, and even different fics. Sadly, all my playlists are private, and I don't feel like trying to figure out how to un-list them as private.

30. Post a snippet from your current WIP without context - no more than 300 words.

I don't know if I'll ever post this, but it's been a passion project for years now. anyway, here's the snippet:

"The graveyard is quiet. No one’s there, no one’s watching, and he has to take several pauses to just breathe around the pain. He doesn’t want to do this. He doesn’t want to see their names on the gravestones, doesn’t want to have to talk to cold granite in order to say what he wants.

Doesn’t want to say goodbye in the first place."

41. What’s your most popular fic (with the most notes on tumblr, most hits/kudos on ao3)?

Without looking, I'm going to guess it's Let the Brokeness Be Felt, but lemme check real quick...

Yup. It's Let the Brokeness Be Felt. I'm so shocked. Truly. Deeply.

To be fair, it was the epic conclusion of a trilogy that I poured my heart, soul, and mental health into, and I took like, three long breaks in the midst of writing it, so there were lots of people begging me not to abandon it and adding theories and such. It was great, posting it, though looking back on it now... it's not my favourite. I don't hate it or anything, I just think I could have done better.

Thank you so much for the ask, I'll be sending you one... probably in the morning, I am so tired rn I wouldn't be able to properly think through the questions, or appreciate the response.