#literally 54+ fandoms...

[zipxa-raya]

MY FANDOMS:D (too many) dm if you wanna chat abt mutual fandoms!

UNDERTALE, Epic: The Musical, Fran Bow, Bungou Stray Dogs, Five Nights At Freddies, Hazbin Hotel, Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, OMORI, Hamilton, Heathers, Death Note, TBHK/JSHK, Don't Hug Me I'm Scared, No Longer Allowed In Another World, Little Nightmares franchise, The Stanley Parable, Paper Lily/Project Kat, I Became A Dog franchise, BNHA/MHA, MBTI, Bendy and The Ink Machine, Hilda, KNY/Demon Slayer, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Roblox, 90% of internet memes and trends (Like popular songs a few examples like Cupid in September 2022 and Sailor Song in Late December 2024-Early January 2025), Character AI, Genshin Impact, Gacha Lunime (Gacha Life 2, Gacha Club, Gacha Life), Poppy Playtime, The Greatest Estate Developer, Bad Parenting, Magic & Mystery/Coil, Death Pallette, Assasination Classroom, Hollow Knight, Parkour Civilization, PVP civilization, Block Tales, KinitoPet, Tensura (That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime), A Quiet Place, Cats Are Liquid (ABP and ALITS), The Conjuring universe, (there are too many to categorize but pretty much most horror movies to exist), Aznana, Steven Universe, Boba Story, Mr. Hopps Playhouse, Little Misfortune, Welcome Home, Sally Face, Kurzgesagt, Alan becker universe (Animation vs Minecraft, Animation vs Animator, anything by Alan Becker really), Little Witch Academia, Class of 09, Stardew Valley, Plants vs Zombies, Fishing Food, Alien Stage, The Theorists Channels (Game Theory, Film Theory... yk what I mean), Good Pizza Great Pizza, Toca Boca, The Hobbit/Lord Of The Rings, Attack On Titan, School Bus Graveyard, Forsaken, Animation Meme, My Little Pony, Miraculous Ladybug, The Dragon Prince, How To Train Your Dragon, The Strange Case of Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Edward Hyde, The Sims 4, She-ra, Mad Father, Vocaloid, Rachie/Mitski/Melanie Martinez/YOASOBI/Ado, A Silent Voice, The Metamorphosis, Agatha Christie, No Longer Human, AO3, and more.. Yes, I am chronically online.

[woundjob]

seconds away from ending it all

[queens-nightmare]

Step 54: How to (literally) be on cloud nine (1/2)

You guys don't know how excited I am that I can finally show them having a date without fearing anyone having a problem with this, because some of y'all might remember how the fandom was towards Snatchnessa ships. But they can. They had a carefully written build up with heart-to-hearts and other stuff >:3c

========

Step 53 | Step 55 | All steps of Route of Recovery

[darcyolsson]

ofc it's a little bit funny that eric bogosian posted literally 54 tiktoks about himself/daniel on his instagram but also like. i get it. i feel like people sometimes don't really realize how special it is for a show to actually have a fandom behind it, like even if you're lucky enough to be in a project that does exceptionally well in terms of viewership that STILL hardly ever means people are constantly discussing, speculating, making art, etc. for it. compared to the amount of creative projects that exist, fandom is rare! and to have a fanbase like that pretty much for the first time ever in your 40 year career must be so fascinating and incredible, to have a near-infinite stream of posts available from tens of thousands of people who love your work as much as you do. I GET IT!

[4str0nuts]

DEEP DIVE INTO HORROPEDIAS AUTISTIC CODING : A GIANT ANALYSIS THING

ALTERNATE TITLE IS WHY THE FANDOM SHOULD CHECK OUT HOW THEY TREAT AUTISTIC CHARACTERS

Disclaimer before I go in; i’m using the global translations and the english voice acting as I am on the global server lol. This may affect some things but hopefully not a lot! Also i’m using this video [https://youtu.be/ygAkz4L2AMo?si=elrUeXGompMKYXUJ] for my proof and will provide timestamps!

Horropedia is one of the most loved characters in Reverse:1999 (bc haha funny autistic guy) , yet I literally see no serious posts discussing his character or even going into his character— even at a basic level. I’ve kinda been off to the side observing how the fandom treats Horropedia and it makes me question if people actually like him or some alternate version of him. Yeah sure this is a problem in every fandom but I’m too attached to Horropedia and i’m going to make it everyone’s problem.

There's all sorts of mischaracterisations of him where his autism is reduced to him being an “asshole” and “uncaring”, or that he is some funny reddit meme sona when that’s the case at all! Every other character gets to have serious posts yet when it comes to a very blatant autistic coded character, suddenly no one knows how to act despite the fact the fandom (going off of the twitter fandom here) prides itself on neurodivergency; so I’m here to dump a ton of analysis on Horropedia using ingame sources as proof as well as my own knowledge (as someone who is autistic myself), whilst also debunking mischaracterisations of him. I’m also doing this as I don’t think people treat Horropedias autistic coding seriously, seeing it as silly and thus ignoring all of his character.

Jumping straight in, Horropedia is not an asshole and is actually quite a caring character, even if he doesn’t show it conventionally. To me, it’s quite obvious that he cannot understand people at an emotional level, and always relies on his logical way of thinking no matter the situation; for example, when he broke Blonneys camera, he clearly does not understand why she is mad/upset and instead tries to comfort her logically rather than emotionally. Even when Blonney is very much showing she is mad, Horropedia cannot process that and cannot understand until she actually explains it [Part 5 54:07-57:20]. I can see why people may see it as an asshole move since he tells her to be “reasonable” over the camera breaking, though it is clear that this is another one of his autistic traits as people with autism have a hard time connecting with others’ in an empathetic way(which can come off as being blunt and uncaring) yet no one seems to mention that. Despite this, he still offers her to buy her a new camera once Blonney vents out to Jessica, coming to terms with what he did and making it up to her. [Part 12 2:10:37]

Adding onto the last point, Horropedia shows concern and care multiple times throughout the story. Even if he is bad at comforting people, he still tries to acknowledge what is wrong in regards to the situation. I’m trying to keep this short as I don’t necessarily think this is due to his autism but a cool detail I found with the English voice acting is that his tone gets softer when he’s more genuine (it could be seen as masking but shrug. Not too sure on this one as I'm making this point to show he does care in his own way.) He constantly makes sure everyone is safe and goes out of his way to protect others [Part 4 51:08 , Part 6 1:16:18-1:16:39], which is a small detail I think people gloss over. It’s just nice seeing Horropedia care for others in his own way since I struggle with expressing affection / emotions like him.

Back to his way of thinking, it’s practically plastered everywhere that he thinks in a logical way and takes everything at face value no matter what, which is a trait associated with autism. At the very start of the very event, he even breaks down Vertins joke and still a conclusion was that she wasn’t the person he was looking for (knowing full well she was) [Part 1 11:06-11:50]. Horropedia also explains things at face value— in a basic and straightforward way no matter what it is, which is another example of not truly understanding things at an emotional level! [Part 9 1:42:45-1:43:09]This does not mean he does not consider the consequences of a situation, and Horropedia actively avoids situations where it poses a threat / harm to others. Mentioning this to point out how some people in the fandom treat him like he is stupid?— Despite how he is the basic definition of a nerd with references to it all over his character and voice lines! Yes, he could be seen as careless considering he goes to Green Lake just like that with no approval, but he certainly isn’t oblivious to dangers around him. Horropedia himself explains that he is into horror movies because of how illogical they are(stating how it is like a puzzle), not necessarily the fear of them; so it makes no sense for Horropedia to directly put himself or others in harm's way.

Still relating to his way of thinking, Horropedia uses his horror logic so he can understand situations around him. He directly links back to his special interest to understand things— and to an extent others— better, special interests are a trait exclusive to autistic people! By using his horror special interest, he can understand the world better from his perspective. I don't even need to get examples of this because throughout the Green Lake event he makes references and links to horror movies, basing predictions on what to do in order to survive in the stereotypical like scene of Green Lake. Horropedia is full of reasoning, and despite his “debatable manners” (thanks Sonetto),he is not always too absurd with his predictions. It baffles me that people treat Horropedia like he is some happy-go-lucky kid, running head first into danger; he takes the time to understand a given situation in a way he would understand before doing anything.

Another really obvious thing is that he can’t understand social cues, or the body languages of others at all. Essentially he cannot read the room. The whole “I know the rules of social courtesy” [Part 12 2:19:19] line doesn’t necessarily mean he understands social cues— rules are (usually) based in logic and reasoning, and not emotions. Social courtesy just means the rules of society (or the foundation in this case? eh), and Horropedia knows he HAS to abide by the rules or else he will be in trouble. Something seen as ‘basic’ and ‘simple’ to people considered ‘normal’ by society may be hard to grasp by people who do not benefit from society (autistic people). Horropedia understands the ‘logical reasoning’ of how someone acts but he can’t connect with or understand someone else’s emotional responses. Literally look at most of his interactions with the film crew and Blonney, Jessica even steps in at one point to stop him from making the fight between Jason and Blonney worse [Part 6 1:11:38]; and even then he tries to use logic to break down the situation. Horropedia can’t pick up on social cues for the life of him, including body language and tone.

Smaller point here but I have a feeling Horropedia’s tone is hard to understand to some of the characters. Tooth Fairy couldn’t tell if Horropedia was joking towards the end of the event , where he shows off his “sense of humour”. Nothing much to add here I just found that really interesting…

Ive rinsed out all the notes I’ve taken on Horropedias autistic coding so far…….. feel free to add on more….. I may have gotten some things wrong because I have been working on this for a few hours straight. Surprisingly I still have more to analyse outside of his autism so if people are interested let me know bc i’m desperate .

TLDR: horropedia is autistic thanks for reading.

[twst-hottest-takes]

i hate the twst fandom. i hate them. especially in twitter. all the same old 30 year old hags who still plays the game (which is not for them).

I hate them with their stupid internalize misogyny.

i dont even think its internalized. Because why do you keep hating in the the anime just cuz the yuu is gonna be a girl?

This also goes to the other people in the twst fandom. I despise how they always have a reason to hate on female yuus. (Ocs or canon.)

The japanese side hated and criticized yuuka so much because she was a girl in an all boy school.

Did you not read the story? It literally said yuu was inserted (or some sht) in twisted wonderland against theyre own will, they did not choose to be there.

Also, they keep excusing why yuuka is in nrc cuz its an all boy school, as if crowley's doing anything to help her.

Also, if yuuka DID go out of nrc, where would she go? Outside of rsa, where would she go? She doesn't know where she is.

I hate the japanese fandom too. I hate them more. I hate their yaoi-infested brain. Literally, get a life.

I also hate how aniplex or disney japan keeps promoting twst has a gender neutral mc, yet the canon mcs are always close, if not, to a boy. (exclude yuuka).

Hate is an understatement.

I hate how this fandom normalizes the misogyny. I hate how they dont bat an eye to its misogynistic yaoi infested mindset 'fans'. But they always bat an eye to people who likes the first years. Always yelling in your ear "Theyre minors you cant simp for them!!!🥺🥺!! Go to the teachers or 3rd years instead!!🥺"

Is that all they care about? They only care about the people who likes the first or second years, and the 'problem' isnt that serious too. Its not like im 54 years old. I can go say 'Jack is so hot.' whenever i can cuz im a minor too. Did the twst fandom forget the other half of this fandom are teenagers or minors too? Did the twst fandom forget that teenagers have this called hormones cuz this is the start of their puberty? Hormones can happen to anyone. So idc if i sound problematic, im gonna go sexualize the first and second years all i want because i have free will.

Twt twst players really said "lets keep this fandom clean and comfortable." As if this fandom was already clean and comfortable to begin with, lmfao.

This is a confession blog now too apparently.

This is another one that could have a long response to every part of the given take, but you know what? I'm not going to.

Go off, you vitriolic teenager. May you one day look back on this and reminisce with nostalgia.

The comments and reblogs will be going off as well I'm sure. Have fun, everyone.

Thank you for your take.

(Y'all can ask for my full response to this later if you want but for now, like. Not worth thr effort.)

[samsayswhatever]

For what it's worth, Saxon, as he remembers more details, looks confused, disgusted, uncomfortable, regretful, maybe even guilty.

When Lochlan remembers he looks afraid. What is he afraid of? His own gay thoughts? The repercussions of this? That Reddit is calling him a rapist? Saxon himself??

Hopefully he's not afraid of Saxon, but since I do want more angst, hopefully he's afraid of Saxon 😶 or at least what he thinks Saxon will think of him once they inevitably talk about it.

I mean it's the internet, everyone claims to be body language experts, but why do people ascribe fear to Saxon's facial expressions during the flashbacks and when he remembers, but ignore the fear in Lochlan's eyes which is obviously what the acting and direction were going for.

This is quickly becoming one of the most braindead fandom spaces I've ever been. It's all shallow analysis, actual misinformation, and lazy thoughtless moralism.

I think Lochlan is likely afraid of a lot of things, but my guess is he's mostly afraid of losing his family's respect and therefore their love and attention. He was so desperate for Saxon's attention that he had a threesome with him, and I hope now he might become aware of that desperation and what it means.

As far as the fandom being "braindead" I'd like to say that 4.2 MILLION people watched ep 6. And it only aired 2 days ago. Which means there are a lot of people making statements about the show in general, and they haven't had much time to analyze it. The show isn't over so not all the context is there for them to make a fair assessment of the characters or the show as a whole. As more people watch it, there are more episodes for them to binge watch rather than wait a week between episodes. So I think the thought put into the show is going to exponentially decrease as time goes on.

And even as much as I would love every person in the world to be fully media literate, even in America 54% of adults have literacy below a 6th grade level. I didn't learn to read english until the 7th grade, so maybe I'm not the most equipped person to say what a "6th grade reading level" actually means. But I do think that media literacy and regular literacy are connected concepts, and without regular literacy, media literacy could prove more difficult.

I would estimate there are about 2 million people who've seen the show that are going to have trouble reading into this shows complex and nuanced themes of desire and identity. This likely increases the amount of shallow analysis and misinformation.

As for the thoughtless moralism, that could maybe be contributed to the rise in conservatism that I've noticed in the last couple years. Maybe not, but it's just a thought. It could also be related to how this show likes to discuss taboo topics more than a lot of other shows I've watched in the same "famous actors, fun setting, murder mystery" type shows. So maybe people who aren't used to these topics are watching this show.

And even though this show has adult themes, I don't think it's only adults watching. I've seen a good number of people interacting with my tumblr content who's profiles say they are minors. So that is also something to take into account.

All that being said, it still sucks that the fandom can be like this. I initially tried finding twl takes on twitter, tiktok, and reddit - but a lot of it was really hard to read/watch. On tumblr its easier to filter out what I don't want to see with tags and blocking and such. I'm so glad I've found a lot of interesting people to interact with for this fandom though.

It's been a year since I participated in a fandom of a new show, and it's so alive. People are constantly making posts and realizations and putting together things I would never have thought to. It's amazing to get to see the fandom in action.

[walkingaline]

Tag Game!

We're going strong this week, so let's start with @enteselene's tag, and let's not forget, @thoughtslikeaminefield's as well!

How many works on AO3? 54, soon to be 55.

Total AO3 word count? 407,666

Top 5 fics by kudos? You Won't Know I'm Gone Broken Watches And Empty Hallways Fires Of War, A Thread Of Peace The Mistletoe Conspiracy A Royal Meal

What fandoms do you write for? I did have a few brushes with Star Wars (and made it on several rec lists for it, not so humble brag), Leverage and something from the Pedro Pascal universe, but my home is the Supernatural fandom.

Do you respond to comments? Always, always, always! Anyone who read my stuff and found time to give me any kind of feedback deserves to be showered in praise and love. Kudos for any commenter!!!

Angstiest ending? Uuuuhhh... I don't like writing unresolved angst, but honestly, I think the worst so far is Nightly View Of A Haunted Man.

Fic with the happiest ending? As we were saying, I generally tend to look for the light. At the moment, I'm torn between Happy Birthday "God" (which might even be a little too sappy) and The Brightest Night Of Nowhere City.

Do you get hate? It happened a couple of times, yes.

Do you write smut? Absolutely. I don't often share it, because I always fear it's too repetitive or formulaic, but I do.

Do you write crossovers? I have Stairway To Demons which is a Buffy/SPN crossover, and then I do have a Prospect/Firefly one (unposted). They can be a lot of fun!

Ever had a fic stolen? Not that I'm aware, no. But I'm not popular, great, or writing for majorly beloved characters, so...

Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope!

Have you ever co-written a fic? Hard question. Let's say no.

All-time favourite ship? Crowley and Magpie. I know she's my OC, but I don't give a flying fuck if it's cringe. I literally shaped her into someone I'd enjoy watching interact with Crowley, with a different emotional minefield to brave.

WIPs you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I have a ton of WIPs, but I'm slowly working on all of them. The one with Crowley and the seer is my oldest project, and I don't know if I ever will find the necessary courage to start rewriting it.

Writing strengths? My characters tend to stay true to themselves. And I'm usually pretty good at finding their voices. Plus, I will find and use a few traits to evoke a large, vivid picture without over-writing. Or, you know... try to.

Writing weaknesses? God, pick one. I'm not a great planner. My descriptions can get verbose if I try to expand too much. I may cut things to the bone while trying to keep the pace. I'm not a native speaker, so the structure of my sentences is a bit twisted. I'm not a good judge of my smut. Pick one!

Thoughts on mixed language dialogue? Either a character is bilingual or they're bye-lingual. The only times in which I used two languages in one sentence (IRL) was when my braincells were dying from overworking after a day in contexts where I didn't speak my native language, and I couldn't, for the life of me, recall certain words here or there. It's not a good situation, and it definitely doesn't happen that people "forget" to switch.

First fandom you wrote for? I'm not joking: Digimon. I didn't even know that I was writing fanfiction, because I was like 5 or 6 at the time. I just self-inserted myself and gave me my own adventure. Then, I was told that I was "killing my free fantasy because TV mushed my brain" and didn't write fanfic until I was much older. Star Wars and The Lord Of The Rings were the firsts.

Favourite fic you've ever written? ... this one is a tough question... I don't know, but I think I will bring up my MacLeod's Hunter Special. It's a quiet, softer installment, and it matches older ideas. With time and external circumstances, I came to feel some of the things described in there whenever I re-read it. The soft atmosphere and the sting of nostalgia mix, and make me want to hug it. It's a precious reminder of what comes out of love, and I suppose that's what this whole thing is about, no?

Now, tagging a few people, but please, if you want to engage, feel free!

@panthera-dei @risingphoenix761 @ladyorlandodream @mariekoukie6661 @mrswhozeewhatsis @oonajaeadira @letsby @mashathemachine @princessmisery666 @supernaturalfreewill

[darklingimp]

I'm a rando reading your old nicepants fic from a while back!! Super fun :p I was wondering if you're still around- and if you have any thoughts on the uhh.... At the very very very least, nicepants adjacent stuff in the latest dr chapters. It's been nearly 10 years, so it makes sense if you've lost interest in that ship- or if you never really got into dr in the first place (haven't really scoured your blog) regardless, I hope wherever you're at in life, you're doing well!! Would love to see an update 🧡

-k

Holy crap, it really has been nearly 10 years, hasn't it? As for the latest DR reveal...I literally just found out yesterday and was amused to see what was a niche pairing that slowly declined in fan support over the years now is canon to at least one of the Toby Fox games. I love when creators see something fans like and put that into their work. As for the blog, I've barely been on here in ages, so there's not much to scour. As for coming back, I did get out of the Undertale fandom for a bit. And, as for the Nicepants series I was doing, this might sound odd, but I felt at the time I honestly didn't have as much real world experience to do the fourth part, which would follow Burgerpants on the Surface trying to find his niche while navigating the start of a new romance and rebuilding his ties with his family. I even wanted to explore why Mettaton kept him around in the restaurant, because what seemed like UT-centric humor with the "54 other write-ups" BP had gotten from MTT, as well as the wacko things BP thought was just to humiliate him, actually were supposed to have a purpose. Now, I feel like I honestly could write that concept because I've not only had the life experience, I've had the writing experience. So yeah, maybe now's as good a time as ever to come back and actually do something in regards to finally getting around to that. I'll look into it.

[dichromaticdyke]

SKWISGAAR DOESN'T HAVE A TYPE AND I'M TIRED OF PRETENDING HE DOES

yeah, yeah, he's the guy who loves fat women and gmilfs. but he's not. fandom greatly overblows skwisgaar's "type" in women, and as the CEO of skwisgaar i won't stand for this anymore.

reminder before we get started, i'm not denying that skwisgaar is attracted to fat and elderly women, because he is. instead, this is a response to the way in which fandom acts like those are the only women he's attracted to.

because i have no life, i scrubbed through every episode and kept track of every woman who skwisgaar expresses interest in, whether with sexual comments, sexual encounters, making them his groupies, or giving them children. (no screencaps because i WILL go above tumblr's image limit). i might have missed some, but this is a large enough sample size to prove my point.

01x01 "The Curse of Dethklok": 1 (elderly/fat) 01x09 "Mordland": 1 (elderly/fat) 01x16 "Dethkids": 2 (1 elderly/fat) 01x18 "Girlfriendklok": 2 02x07 "Dethwedding": 2 02x10 "Dethgov": 3 (elderly/fat) 02x13 "Klokblocked": 4 (1 elderly/fat) 02x14 "Dethsources": 2 (elderly/fat) 03x05 "Fatherklok": 48 (8 elderly/fat) 03x06 "Fertilityklok": 54 (6 elderly/fat) 03x10 "Doublebookedklok": 18 (7 elderly/fat) 04x06 "Writersklok": 2 The Doomstar Requiem: 3 (1 elderly/fat)*

TOTALS: 142 young/thin women: 111 (78.17%) elderly/fat women: 31 (21.93%

*note: for DSR, since so many of the visuals are meant to be taken non-literally, i only focused on the ones that seemed to be direct representations of reality or of his genuine feelings. in this case, i focused on the beginning of Partyin' Around the World with the band at mordhaus and his fantasy in How Can I Be a Hero where he dreams about being married.

so. what does this tell us? more often than not, in canon, skwisgaar is depicted as having sex or sexual feelings towards thin women who are closer to his own age. despite this, even in canon, an emphasis is drawn to his attraction to gmilfs and fat women, most notably with him demanding to be put in charge of "dems old ladies" in florida.

i wanna draw attention to this interview, notably at timestamp 2:14

transcript:

Dethklok Minute Host Graham Hartmann: What is it exactly that you love about the-the larger and more elderly ladies? Skwisgaar: I thinks beautiful womens—what peoples calls "beautifuls womens"—amn'ts, uh...gets uglies after a whiles, you gets sicks of them, like eatings the same meals everydays, and you starts to turns to more exotics things that ams nots on the mains menus. So, uh, that would explains that. [underlines added for emphasis]

he doesn't have a type for fat or elderly women. he just can get any woman he wants whenever he wants, and since he does see beauty in all women, he wants to appreciate all women lest he get tired of them.

so, why is there such this hyperfixation on the elderly and fat women as objects of skwisgaar's attraction? as evidenced by both canon and his own words, he doesn't have a preference for them, he simply enjoys them as he would any other woman.

i'm gonna put it bluntly, this is where my silly skwisgaar analysis goes into actual feminist critique: it's because people still find it unusual at best or fetishistic at worst to be genuinely attracted to older and/or fat women. that's the whole thing. everyone—from fandom to interviewers to even the show (by making his attraction to older and fat women an inherent joke aspect of his character)—focusing on this aspect of his attraction does so because, on some level, they cannot fathom a young(ish, depending on what age you headcanon him to be), thin, conventionally attractive man being attracted to women who don't fit that mold.

and, in some ways, there is some reality to this—women's beauty is still held up to an insanely high standard, and generally it's more accepted for average-looking men to have attractive female partners than for average-looking women to have attractive male partners. societal standards for women's beauty and expectations for what men should find attractive is what this joke hinges on, and honestly? it's really frustrating to see this reiterated so often in the fandom. because skwisgaar never really acts particularly fetishistic towards any of the women he's attracted to. you could argue the "exotic" comment was, but he was still talking in terms of his food metaphor, and he's not exactly the best at expressing himself in english.

he loves all women. he genuinely does, his attraction to them has no size, race, or age—any consenting adult woman is game. i don't know about you, but it's fucking refreshing to see any kind of character like that. lesbian skwisgaar rights who said that

[idontknowreallywhy]

Thanks to @ficwip for the questions. Thought I’d have a go to see where I’ve got up to / maybe motivate myself out of a writing slump.

Didn’t quite manage to get it done by end of year but I never do finish anything by NYE and consequently as a mid-January birthday girl I often decide to have my new year start a little later in the month anyway so…

Herewith waffle mostly written while trying not to nod off on a plane…

1. How many fics have you worked on since January?

Complicated question… I THINK - 29 in total?

In terms of what I’ve actually POSTED here…

11 one-shots [ How to Infuriate Your Engineer , The Last of Them , Comb , Pressure , Push , Shine , Expert , Thread , Scott is Not Fine Catharsis , A Refrigeration Situation ] - 11,502 words total.

65 Chapters covering 10 fics [ Estera (3) ; Bearded (3) ; Presence (5) ; Composition (4) ; Resurface (36) ; Father’s Day (4) ; Teeth (2) ; 75 (3) ; Fishtank-ed Up (2) ; An Eyebrow-Razing Incident (3) ] - 72,263 words total.

54 WIP Snippets which haven’t become finished chapters or one-shots yet covering 3 of the above and 8 other fics [ Blue (15) ; Estera (12) ; Burn it All (8) ; Snapshots (2) , Octopus House (4) ; Red (3) ; Fishtank-ed Up (3) ; In a Glass Darkly (1) ; Oort Cloud (3) ; Resurface (1) ; ?? (2) ] - 17,703 words total.

All that totals 101,468 tumblr-posted fic-words so I did hit my target of 100k although I didn’t actually FINISH as many stories as I intended to!

Then there is an additional 46,000 I have in draft for the Estera universe… some of which might make in into publishable form at some stage, some just for my own amusement 🤣 plus another 4,000 or so for other fics including the end of Resurface… and a couple of brand new ones which may or may not see the light of day…

So objectively I really did do a fair bit of writing this year and shall endeavour to allow myself to be proud of this!

2. What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year?

Err… Finishing one? 🤣

Did I though… um…

Ok scratch that.

I wrote a cheesy little song for one of them then threaded references to it through some chapters in a couple of fics. That was new. Whether successful? Well I like it but I can hear it in my head which probably makes it work better for me than anyone else. However I enjoyed myself so…

3. What piece of media inspired you the most? (This can be the fandom you wrote the most for, the one that spawned the most ideas, the one you thought about the most, etc.).

Well, my beloved Thunderbirds are Go, obviously! Hyperfixation much?

4. How many fandoms did you write for this year?

Just the one :)

5. What ships captured your heart?

Newly this year? I guess to interpret the word ‘captured’ literally to mean ‘possessed entirely against my will’ then I guess… Scott/Havoc (even though I still scream NOOOoOoOOoOOOOOO internally when I type that!). It’s not a natural fit for me as I do tend to favour some potential for a happy ending and it’s harder to see how it is possible with this ship but some fabulous fics have emerged on it. I do love a redemption arc though and I like how various people have developed Havoc’s character in their stories. But also still noooooooo my little guy deserves better-happier-uncomplicated. But also also yeeeeeesssssssss.

6. What characters captured your heart?

Weirdly, because I did not intend this at all and most of the time I want to slap him with a really large fish… I’ve written a fair bit of Jeff POV in the latter part of the year! Both pre-Lucy death and post-ZeroX. In between those times I still want to slap him with that fish.

7. Did you write for any new fandoms or ships this year?

A new ship, yes. And one that was completely unexpected and I don’t think anyone else has tried yet but I’m enjoying it. Not made a lot of progress yet so won’t say any more than that!

8. What fic meant the most to you to write?

Resurface I think. It covers a heck of a lot of headcanons and yeah… it turns out walloping Virgil is a fun way to prod at all of the bro relationships. And I have enjoyed the process of iteratively fixing Earth&Sky because (as I seem to have written it at least) their partnership is beautiful but kind of messed up and I have to believe they can get a better balance back. I hope the way I’ve done it works for people.

9. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

I think 75. It was really fun to look forward and imagine a good love-and-family-filled future for them all, especially my boy who didn’t think he’d get one.

10. What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing?

Well I was hoping to say Resurface but given I haven’t yet… hmmm. I might also have said Father’s Day until I randomly started to write more of it 😅 err… what have I actually finished? Let’s say 75 cos I actually finished that! (and pretend I don’t have an idea for a follow on)

11. What fic was the most difficult to write?

Estera. Which is a strange answer in some respects as I’ve compulsively written loads of it (as above!) but well… I’ve had a bit of a crisis of confidence and hit a silly, anxious wall about writing the actual chapter that comes next in the story and thus it has hung in limbo for months. My dearest co-writer is despairing of me perhaps only marginally less than I am despairing of myself!

12. What fic was the easiest to write?

The early parts of Resurface just rushed out as fast as I could type them… it got harder as I tried to heal them from the mess I made though 🙃 More recently the Oort Jeff stuff has been the topic for the most readily flowing words.

13. What were your shortest and longest fics posted this year?

Ignoring WIP posts, shortest would be “Scott is Not Fine” which is barely more than a Drabble at 202 words.

Longest? If it needs to be entirely within the year - Resurface (49,720 & counting) but I added a little to Estera which is longest overall (72,319 posted) but that word count is shared with some other wonderful writers and is mostly 2023.

14. What were your go-to writing songs

I have a few playlists for depending on what I’m writing :)

I do listen to the OST a lot when out and about but often not when actually writing as I guess each part of it is so strongly linked to what is happening in the episodes that it is distracting if I’m writing something different. Often I get ideas by listening to something totally random. I listen to a lot of classical and it may only be a few phrases that nudge something -any kind of soprano/tenor instructment interaction (e.g. cello/violin, trumpet/french horn, flute/bassoon) immediately conjures Earth&Sky for me. 99% of my writing is with music of some kind in the background (because I usually have an earbud in) although in retrospect I might not be able to tell what it was.

15. What was the hardest fic to title?

Resurface. Because I had another title in mind but it was already the title of one of my all-time favourite fics. But then this one came to mind and fitted perfectly!

16. What's your favorite title of the year

Haha, well I like what I’ve been doing with the chapter titles of Resurface. But “An Eyebrow-Razing Incident” is probably my favourite for the pun / spoiler combo.

17. Share your favorite opening line

Virgil’s forehead sank onto the bar and squelched slightly.

18. Share your favorite ending line

A brand new score had been opened. But Virgil knew the notes now. They’d compose this next version together.

19. Share your favorite piece of dialogue

This one because I worked on it for so long to get it right. It’s by no means the only important moment between Scott and Virgil… but is the first of a few steps to sorting things out:

“And I’m… grey, then?”

“No! Not usually! You’ve always been blue, like the sky… there are so many shades of it, with hints of yellow or gold…”

“There’s a but coming, I can feel it.”

Virgil grabbed Scott’s hand again as if to reassure himself his brother wouldn’t float away before he managed to express this.

“Sometimes it’s like you fade a little.”

“I fade?”

“You try to be a lot of things, Scotty and it’s admirable, it really is, and you do it so well but sometimes I worry there isn’t enough of you left to be you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. You’re blue when you laugh at your own jokes, or smotherhen us and make a leaning tower of pancake… when you beat Gordy at his own prank game or act all melodramatic when you’re smuggling in the sweets Grandma doesn’t approve of. When someone says pie and your eyes gleam and when you randomly recite Shakespeare inaccurately and out of context or run up the stairs for no reason and surprise hug Allie… those times you’re a rainbow of blues. In the field when you’re problem solving at the speed of light and oh! That time you flew Shadow just for fun you came back shining so brightly…”

Yet again at the mention of Shadow, Scott had startled but recovered quickly and deflected:

“My Shakespeare is always in context.”

“Sure it is, Scott. And it’s very YOU.”

A flicker of resolve hardened his brother’s expression and Virgil was suddenly terrified as to how his clumsy explanation could have been interpreted by someone who was already chronically shackled to the ‘brave face’ impulse…

“But Scott, listen to me, this is important.”

He waited until his brother dropped his eyes from the horizon and met his own.

“I’m not saying it’s just when you are happy, you know? When you’re worried or angry or even sick or even… no, especially when you let yourself be vulnerable for one damn second, you’re you then too.”

“Then…” Scott sagged a little and an edge of indigo desperation coloured his voice “I don’t understand what the grey thing is meant to mean!”

“The grey thing… I guess it’s how my brain interprets the way I sometimes miss you when you are right in front of me. When you get hidden by everything else you think you are supposed to be. You lead so naturally, you do it without even trying but sometimes… sometimes you put on that damn grey baldric and it smothers you.”

“But the baldric is silver. My baldric is silver to match One!”

“It used to be blue though. Blue to match you.”

20. Share your funniest line

Ooh. I don’t know if I do “lines” - most of my attempts at humour are situation or context-specific…

But I’ll go with this little section from toddler-Scotty because it still makes me chuckle:

“Dada! ‘Cotty duck in fidge. Oh no!”

The tiny child lifted his apple sauce covered hands and looked at them as if suddenly realising they were attached to his arms. Bright blue eyes gazed down at him with an expression of extreme innocence:

“Oh no! ‘Cotty all messy! Ooopsiiiieee!”

Clearly realising his father had no follow-up questions to his comprehensive situational update, Scott plunged his hand back into the dish and shoved a fistful of pie crust into his mouth.

21. What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story?

This is a tricky one because frankly everything I manage to create surprises me.

Resurface surprised me with its length. I am a sucker for detail and dialogue and combining that with the fact I had a lot to get the boys to work through… it shouldn’t have surprised me really. But it did.

22. What writing programs did you use? Did you write by hand?

By hand? Hahaha, I’d never know what I’d written!

I’m still playing the risky game and throwing things down in apple notes on iphone, although have been trying to tag them a bit now so I can actually find things. I tried google docs - it drove me crackers by messing with my punctuation although I tend to copy paste into that when I’m finished to get a word count. Tried a couple of online drafting tools but they felt over-complicated. So am still in market for a good app I guess.

23. If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

In retrospect I think maybe the end of Composition. Which is funny because despite having planned it for AGES as a kind of bridge between Presence and Resurface, I rushed the last chapter out in a hurry as I’d hit the point in Resurface that refers back to it and needed to ensure all the parts of the circle were in place. But exploring how Virgil sees the world is one of my favourite things and setting that short fic in a musical context was very satisfying. And it may be cheesy but this line still makes me smile:

With a satisfied hum, Scott pressed his cheek into his head and the timid, hopeful note in Virgil’s heart swelled into a triumphant chord of determination.

24. Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic?

Yes. I commissioned a piece of fanart and it is beautiful and perfect and I desperately want to share it but I must not until I finish the darn story because the whole point was it was a reward for finishing (I just got it a touch early…)

SOOON THOUGH.

25. How did you recharge between fics?

What is this ‘between’ you speak of? 🧐

26. Did you create fanworks other than fic?

No, unless Tiny Tracys count 🤣

27. How many events did you take part in? (bangs, exchanges, ship weeks, zines, prompt memes, they all count!)

I’m not good at prompts with time limits, it seems. I did write a little for Fishtank Week and there was the Secret Santa of course.

28. If this were an awards show, who would you thank?

So many people, basically all of Thunderfam who have encouraged me to try something I never thought I could do. But if I start a list I know I’ll miss someone then feel bad so I’ll stick to just one shoutout to @sofasurf for constantly encouraging me in both writing and life in general and who is a most excellent co-conspirator.

29. What's left on your to-do list for 2024?

Well I WAS going to say “finish Resurface” but… *eyes calendar and sighs*

30. What would you like to write next year?

Obv finish Resurface, and then I want to find my confidence with Estera again. So many ideas for Scott & Jeff and Allie & Scott and some fish tank too… and I’d like to write more John and more Kayo… not to mention the big mad apocalyptic fic which I really need to plot out properly before doing any more with…

But probably I’ll just end up writing about the boys playing on an airport travelator or stuck at the bottom of a hole or something because sometimes the pieces I’m most proud of are the ones that come out of nowhere 🙄😅🤪

[thatgirlwithasquid]

Stranger Things M/M Pairings AO3 Ranking

It's that time againnnnnn. Ship stats fuck yeah!! These take me hours to do and it's literally only me who cares but WHATEVS ITS INTERESTING!

These numbers are as of 5th March 2025

1. Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson with 31,801 works

2. Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington with 11,828 works

3. Jonathan Byers/Steve Harrington with 1,357 works

4. Billy Hargrove/Eddie Munson with 995 works

5. Argyle/Jonathan Byers with 664 works

6. Tommy Hagan/Steve Harrington with 343 works

7. Jason Carver/Eddie Munson with 217 works

8. Jonathan Byers/Billy Hargrove with 99 works

9. Jonathan Byers/Eddie Munson with 98 works

10. Tommy Hagan/Billy Hargrove with 92 works

11. Argyle/Steve Harrington with 65 works

12. Gareth/Eddie Munson with 57 works

13. Andy/Gareth with 55 works

14. Tommy Hagan/Eddie Munson with 41 works

15. Gareth/Steve Harrington with 40 works

16. Argyle/Eddie Munson with 31 works

17. Argyle/Billy Hargrove with 29 works

18. Gareth/Jeff with 24 works

19. Jason Carver/Steve Harrington with 23 works

20. Jason Carver/Billy Hargrove with 22 works

21. Argyle/Gareth with 17 works

22. Andy/Jason Carver with 16 works

23. Jeff/Eddie Munson with 14 works

24. Jason Carver/Chance with 11 works || Jonathan Byers/Tommy Hagan with 11 works 

26. Andy/Chance with 10 works  || Gareth/Tommy Hagan with 10 works  || Steve Harrington/Jeff with 10 works 

29. Billy Hargrove/Patrick McKinney with 7 works  || Jason Carver/Gareth with 7 works 

31. Andy/Eddie Munson with 5 works || Gareth/Billy Hargrove with 5 works || Jason Carver/Patrick McKinney with 5 works || Steve Harrington/Kilt Guy* with 5 works

35. Chance/Patrick McKinney with 4 works 

36. Steve Harrington/Patrick McKinney with 3 works  || Jonathan Byers/Gareth with 3 works 

38. Andy/Steve Harrington with 2 works || Patrick McKinney/Eddie Munson with 2 works  || Tommy Hagan/Patrick McKinney with 2 works || Tommy Hagan/Jeff with 2 works  || Chance/Eddie Munson with 2 works 

43. Fred Benson/Billy Hargrove with 1 work || Fred Benson/Jonathan Byers with 1 work || Fred Benson/Patrick McKinney with 1 work || Argyle/Fred Benson with 1 work || Jeff/Patrick McKinney with 1 work || Jason Carver/Tommy Hagan with 1 work || Jonathan Byers/Jason Carver with 1 work || Chance/Gareth with 1 work || Chance/Tommy Hagan with 1 work || Jonathan Byers/Jeff with 1 work [NEW ARRIVAL!] || Argyle/Jason Carver with 1 work [NEW ARRIVAL!]

54. Gareth/Patrick McKinney with 0 works

*kilt guy, for those who are unaware, is a background extra visible in the scene at Tina’s halloween party. for a while he was doing numbers in the harringove fandom

Compared to last year... (see 2024 rankings)

the top 5 remain in the same ranking position

the largest increase in number of fics is: steddie, with 5,516 new works (goodness gracious you guys are dedicated)

the 2nd largest increase in number of fics is: harringrove, with 684 new works

the largest increase in ranking is: jeff x eddie, with an increase of 12 places

the 2nd largest increase in ranking is: stason, with an increase of 3 places

Pairings with no ao3 tag:

Eddie Munson/Kilt Guy, Tommy Hagan/Kilt Guy, Tommy Hagan/Argyle, Tommy Hagan/Fred Benson, Tommy Hagan/Andy, Billy Hargrove/Kilt Guy, Billy Hargrove/Jeff, Billy Hargrove/Andy, Jonathan Byers/Patrick McKinney, Jonathan Byers/Kilt Guy, Jonathan Byers/Andy, Patrick McKinney/Kilt Guy, Patrick McKinney/Argyle, Patrick McKinney/Andy, Jason Carver/Kilt Guy, Jason Carver/Jeff, Jason Carver/Fred Benson, Gareth/Kilt Guy, Gareth/Fred Benson, Kilt Guy/Argyle, Kilt Guy/Jeff, Kilt Guy/Fred Benson, Kilt Guy/Andy, Argyle/Jeff, Argyle/Andy, Jeff/Fred Benson, Jeff/Andy, Fred Benson/Andy

Interested in other categories?

M/M pairings for the stranger things have a total of 48,045 fics. This is 35,380 more than F/M pairings and 36,113 more than F/F pairings.

[nosferatuix]

omg I didn't realize you had a tumblr but the pink lighter is still an all time great sashisu fic i just reread it because all the HI movie pics were driving me insane. do you have a favorite photo?

omg hi!! i think i might start being a bit more active on tumblr because twitter fandom is driving me NUTS like why is everyone literally insane over there. i basically break into hives every time i log into that account lol but glad to hear you enjoyed the fic, thank you for reading! and to be completely honest, i reread it as well after seeing the movie pics lmao (and because i kinda... forgot what was going on in the fic... can you believe it's almost been two years since the last chapter?)

they were all such gorgeous materials to explore the dynamics between all five of them so it's really difficult to pick a favorite. but i'd have to say i'm especially fond of the baseball pic and the other sashisu+yaga selfie, the pic with shoko trying out her new converse, suguru princess-carrying satoru, suguru's messy hair and off-putting smile and... and maybe the pic with all five of them where satoru has suguru in a chokehold, with nanami and shoko doing peace signs from the corner? nanami mewing was a good addition too. i might as well list all 54 honestly because i just loved all of them so much but these were the ones i genuinely remember giggling at. thanks for stopping by!!

[splishsplashyouropinionistrash]

hello hello my loves, it's been a while since I've done a fic rec list and I'm feeling *inspired*

my qualifications are that i'm a loser and have read over a thousand fics so far in 2023

Was Sorta Hopin' That You'd Stay by jaydreamz (8/8)

Minyard Josten rivalry but they actually hate each other. They have a prank war. It's beautiful.

Eighteen Wheels And Three Beating Hearts by Autumnalpalmetto, IKnowWhoYouAre_Damianos (21/21)

Small town AU, Neil is a trucker with a son and Andrew runs a diner. So many found family feels, was giggling like a child the whole time. Connor owns my heart.

Die Free Or Die A Failure by Mickey_99 (54/54)

This one. This one!!! It's so good. Like, so good. It's a Raven!Neil fic, where Neil escapes the Nest and joins Kevin at PSU. It's super dark at times, but so lovely? The found family in this one is just *chefs kiss*

I Guess This Is Where I Say Goodbye by Artificiosus (2/2)

Listen y'all. I bawled like a baby reading this one. Full on ugly sobbing. It was amazing. It's MCD, so be careful. Neil gets in a car crash and calls Andrew, but Andrew doesn't pick up. The whole fic is Neil's voicemail and Andrew's reaction. It's so beautiful and so so sad.

Here And Where You Are by pentagrammed (1/1)

This one!!! It's almost sort-of MCD? But not actually. Read it, I'm begging. There's not much I can say about it without spoilers, so just... read it.

Dating & Other Disasters by lolainslackss, moonix (12/12)

Okok but this one. It's fake dating, the Foxes all go to a fine arts school. Neil is an actor and Andrew is a writer. It's so good !!! Andrew's poem lives rent-free in my head.

Murder Boyfriends by justadreamfox (3/3)

Heathers AU!!! It's beautiful, I'm in love with it. Go forth and read.

Better Than A Night Light by Ominous (1/1)

Literally 7k of fluff. Neil watches one of those alien horror movies and gets scared by it (but Drew is there to help, ofc)

Small Angry Gardeners by SensationalSunburst (8 part series)

Neil and Andrew's adventures in homeowning, gardening, meeting neighbors, owning animals, and other domestic bullshit. So fluffy, so sweet, so fun. Simply adore.

Heimkehr Means Homecoming by This_Witch_Writes (2 part series)

Cass is good! Andrew gets a mom! Family !!!! Literally so good, I cried a lot.

What Does 'Viral' Mean? by darkbluebox (1/1)

Kevin is a sports commentator after retirement, and Neil joins him for a game. So much bickering. Fucking hilarious

In Reel And Rout by maydaykevin (10/10)

Fantasy pirates AU. Vaguely Pirates of the Caribbean? So good though, oh my god. Andrew has water powers and shit. Neil is a pirate captain. I'm in love.

The Exy Team Is Nuts: A Survival Guide For The Uninitiated by Cute Negativity Cloud (Ofelia) (1/1)

The Foxes from the perspective of the other sports team. They have a whiteboard with rules for how to deal with them without being murdered/beaten up/insulted to death. It's fucking hilarious

Kill My Mind (Raise My Body Back To Life) by r3mus (1/1)

Ghostface!Andriel. They're murder boyfriends who kill bad people. It was such a fun read tbh

Queer Eye For The Demi Guy by neilwrites (13/13)

Neil goes on Queer Eye. The Monsters + Allison are the fab 5. it's wonderful, I love it.

Baby I'll Bleed You Dry by priorwalter (2 part series)

The Twilight AU this fandom desperately needed. In which Andrew is Edward, Neil is Bella, and many jokes are made. I spend a solid half an hour cackling

The Gaslights Burn Brightly by This_Witch_Writes (8/8)

Okok so Andrew and Neil were childhood friends, but Neil disappears one day and everyone convinces Andrew that he never existed at all. Eight years later, they meet again at PSU. It was so. Amazing. I love this author sm

A Dad By Any Other Name by SensationalSunburst (2/2)

Coach Wymack being a dad for 5k. That's it. That's the fic. (5+1 Wymack being a dad)

Called It Home by jingerhead (1/1)

Neil is spiderman. Spoilers for No Way Home. Guys it's so good !!

What We Ask by constellationqueen (40/40)

Neil gets hurt. Andrew helps him. SUUUUPER dark guys, like. Super dark. MCD too, so watch out. Really sad but so so beautiful, I sobbed so violently my sibling thought someone had died

The Suit Universe by marie_pothos (17 part series)

Ohhhhhh my god THIS ONE!!! My all time fave series. It's a popstar AU, but Neil is basically Taylor Swift. It's all based off of Taylor Swift songs. Absolute must read, even if you don't like TS that much. It's so beautiful, and funny, and so so sweet, and just- I could go on forever about this one.

Shake My Tomb by exactly13percent_OLD (hymbeaux) (10/10)

Butcher!Neil (sorta). kevin goes to Neil for protection from Riko, so neil goes to PSU. So beautifully written, I just re-read it today. It's so good guys.

Take To The Wing by iceEckos12 (20/20)

Neil signs the contract during his Christmas at Evermore. Surprisingly fluffy for a Nest fic, and there are some absolutely wonderful OCs. I would die for Joshua.

Something In Return by reaching_my_summit (10/10)

Neil and Andrew go to Disney World. That's the whole fic. Tooth-rotting fluff, it's amazing

Funky Happenings With The Fox Family by dobbypussypopper (27/27)

THE Fox group chat fic. It's fucking hilarious, I laughed so hard I started crying.

The Marks We Make by Fortheloveofexy (11/11)

Soulmate AU. Guys, this fic. It's one of my favorites. I reread it all the time. It's so good, and so sweet, and just UGH. I adore it so much.

Falling. by Idnis (16/16)

Art School AU where Andrew is a photographer and Neil is a painter. It's so poetic and beautiful, I'm begging you to read it.

Too Gay To Function by gluupor (1/1)

Mean Girls fusion. Andrew is Regina George. Enough said.

And there you go! This is a very very small fraction of the fics I've read this year, so obviously I have more if anyone's interested.

Go forth and read !

[alpaca-clouds]

Let me talk about Women in Refrigerators

You know what? This is a thing that is kinda annoying me in the Castlevania fandom. How everyone is screaming about Women in Refrigerators, while folks so clearly do not understand what the trope actually is about and why it is a bad trope.

Like, there is not a single death of a named woman in Castlevania, that not at least someone has called "fridged". Alright, maybe Drolta. But other than that... yeah, folks definitely have called Lenore and Carmilla fridged. And... No, people, you misunderstand the trope.

The name of the trope was coined based on Green Lantern vol. 3 #54 (from the 90s), in which Green Lantern finds his death girlfriend stuffed in a refrigerator - mostly for shock value in the reader. Mind you, this was the 90s, when superhero comics were really, really edgy and stuff. And in fact the kind of story happened a lot of times during this time. Female characters being killed, raped and tortured for pure shock value, with the story not featuring any idea of what this did to the female character, but rather focusing on what this does to the male characters. (And mind you: Yes, a woman can be considered fridged and still survive the ordeal. A lot of folks do consider Barbara in The Killing Joke fridged as well.)

So, what does "Fridging" in terms of the trope mean? Basically it means that a female character suffers a horrible fate just so that another (most probably male) character can be motivated to do something and react to this thing happening, setting in motion a character arc for the surviving character - or even setting into motion the plot.

In many examples it should also be noticed that at times the female characters mostly just exist to meet their horrible end. Supernatural as a show is really bad in this regard. Like, within the first episode of the show THREE FUCKING WOMEN get fridged, just so that the brothers can travel together and start the plot.

So, let's move back to Castlevania.

Lisa is fridged. There is no way around it. Yes, it does not feel like it, because they still managed to make her a character of sorts, but yeah, she definitely is fridged. She dies a horrible death and that death is what motivates the plot, as well as what motivates both Alucard and Dracula. That is very classical fridging no way around it.

Carmilla and Lenore, though? Yeah, they are not fridged. They are characters who just die. Their death is not used to motivate another character. Their death is also not random, like most fridging deaths. Especially Carmilla is basically asking for her death, of course. She is a villain and gets the same death as all other villains. And while it is a bit different with Lenore, she definitely is not fridged either, giving that she literally dies in the last episode with no plot or development happening because of her death.

In Nocturne it gets a bit more complicated. Is Julia fridged? In a way, I would argue, she is, mostly on the value that she exists as a character to die and for her death to be the basis for Richter's character arc, giving him the trauma he needs to overcome.

Esther meanwhile does not feel fridged to me. Because Annette's trauma is not deeply linked to her death, rather than the entire slavery experience in general.

Tera? Well, for Tera it is too early to tell. I still assume that her change into a vampire is going to be used to have the characters realize, that vampires are not inherently evil, and to give us a view into what vampire society looks like. At least that is what I assume.

By the way: The fridging of female characters is my big issue with the PS2 Castlevania games. Like, in Lament of Innocence both Sara and Elisabetha are getting fridged to motivate Leon and Mathias. And the same is true for Rosalie in Curse of Darkness, who as a character only exists to motivate Hector. I mean, she is so replacable as a character, that Hector fucking replaces her by the end of the game.

[starcanwrecked-confessions]

Starkid has aged like milk moments in their older shows, but what I love about them is that they acknowledge those moments, apologize and learn from them, and they have showed that they've learned and grown. Also the fandom doesn't go full cancel culture on them, which is also amazing

Starkid is a good example of what to do when confronted with (valid) criticism. No one is perfect, but if we accept our mistakes and are given space to grow then we can literally make some of the best stuff with the best fans

(this actually applies to TCB too. They've said how they'd like to rewrite some part in SAF, and the concert they did at 54 below shows some of those rewritten things)

I just love being a fan of people who aren't toxic :333

~~~