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gilliebee · 2 years ago

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nine (9) people you'd like to know better

I got tagged by the wonderful @five4boarding and tumblr never gives me a little +1 notification icon when I get tagged in anything (like any other type of note would, so I don’t get it!!), so I live in fear that I’m always gonna miss these BUT I caught this one at least 👉😎👉

Last song: during my morning walk I randomly remembered the catchiest depression bop and then remembered the first time I looked up the guy's wiki and saw that he played hockey and I was like you're telling me a knife-footed ice-gremlin sang this???? (swiss juniors but still high level for his age bracket I think?) Anyway... Tomorrow May Not Be Better (specifically this version https://open.spotify.com/track/0V1quXmlVC6eH5kcfYPWEW ) by Bastian Baker still slaps to this very day 😌👌

Currently watching: My longstanding guilty pleasure is docs/commentary videos about any and all scams, particularly mlms/pyramid schemes. So it should come as no surprise that my brand new guilty pleasure is debt confessions/financial audits on youtube 🙈 I've been been watching a few by caleb hammer whose gimmick is that he gordon ramsey style shames people who come in with their financial records and he's like hey. why do you have $120,000 in consumer debt? why did you finance an ipad for your literal infant child?? why have you spent 30 dollars multiple times a day every day at dunkin for the last 3 months??? (the last one is an exaggeration but the first two I have seen LOL). His thumbnails are wretched I hate them so, so much, and his advice of living spartan-like for a few years to dig yourself out of the hole is ehhh maybe good in theory but generally not exactly...practical. And I think going cold turkey when you're used to constant impulse buying is basically a recipe for just eventually losing control and going on a bender. But. I'm nosy and love hearing about how people be spending their money so that's the best part of the videos for me lol

Currently reading: haven't picked up something new yet BUT I juuuust finished An Unauthorised Fan Treatise which was SO GOOD I literally slammed it nonstop for two days until I finished it. It's formatted like a rpf conspiracy theory livejournal where a fangirl of a supernatural-drama show compiles evidence that the two lead actors are secretly dating. BUT it's noted that the livejournal has been submitted as evidence into for a murder trial so y'know TWISTS AND TURNS lol. There's just something about the format that really compels me, idk I already love reading primers and conspiracies for hrpf couples that I literally have zero investment in and never will- I just enjoy the way the girlies spin a good narrative. (and also watching video essays about the uhhh less casual to super trainwreck ones like the whole larry fiasco even though I never got into 1D, as well as general fandom fiascos like msscribe and snapewives etc etc IT'S ALL SO FASCINATING TO ME 🍿👀) So it was a really natural fit for me to read in a fictional setting. And it's free to read! https://gottiewrites.com/2019/10/14/31/

Current obsession: I’m a hobbyist game maker so at all times I am rotating little bits of character development, experimental mechanics, aesthetics, ui design etc etc in my brain but it becomes much more mentally consuming during the off-season bc god knows when bruins hockey is live it is Featured Live 24/7 In My Brain. But for now... my OCs on my mind 😌💭

tagging (if you want to): OH NO I’M SO BASHFUL I NEVER KNOW WHO TO TAG IN THESE 🫣🫣🫣 uh uh uhh maybe @ghostgeno @alavenderleaf @tylerbertuzzi @reavenedges-lies @krugstrash if y’all are so inclined?? but also no pressure no pressure again I’m just NOSY hehe

#my main communication style is RAMBLING lol #also I didn't tag 9 people because I guess I'm just a rebel rule breaker #this was a great excuse to rant about an unauthorized fan treatise which has been on my mind after finishing it but like my bf didn't know #what tf to make of my rambling about it and all the like fandom culture references within #hopefully this is formatted correctly and hopefully none of the original words accidentally got left in when I copy-pasted that would be #very embarrassing

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lucytara · 3 years ago

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SOUTH OF NOWHERE??? i never thought i would see the day that someone on tumblr would mention SoN! please, would you expand more on how you feel about the fanfic? maybe even recommend something? i can’t find any of the stuff i used to read 😭

omg it was sooo long ago i don't know that i could find it either! it read it mostly on a spashley forum that i don't know even exists anymore and like livejournal and etc

the quality of fic in that fandom was absolutely NEXT level though like i have never read so many fics from so many different authors that could've been published as books. to this day lessons you learn and land of lincoln are some of the only successful fics i've ever seen where people genuinely LOVED the ocs as much as the show characters. those fics were insane. people made like ICONS of the ocs. julia west i will never forget you

even now some of the only things i remember are like, titles. in a handbasket (that one might've been on ff), anatomy of a tidal wave (i think?), blanket of stars...i think so many great authors were there because at the time there was little to no choice for f/f fandoms and the characters could easily be slipped into any kind of au.

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pleasemeosaur · 4 years ago

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Thank you for the tag @kookieisbaby 💕💕💕💕

1. why did you choose your url? it was a combo of my favorite jurassic reptile plesiosaurus + a dumb play on words haha

2. any side blogs? nope it stresses me out to manage more than one

3. how long have you been on tumblr? i created my account 11 years ago 😳😳😳 but i was active for like 7 years and then took a break in 2017 when jonghyun died 🖤 now i'm back bc i'm a hoe for ooo 💅

4. do you have a queue tag? nope too scatterbrained to schedule, i just leave things in my drafts until i'm ready lol

5. why did you start your blog in the first place? i honestly don't remember???? i just remember livejournal was losing steam and i needed a new place to scream into the void

6. why did you choose your icon/pfp? bruh have u seen wookjin

7. why did you choose your header? i needed some art to counteract the beauty of wookjin, also claire basler is one of my favorite artists (she lives in a beautiful estate in france and has transformed every room into a living gallery)

8. what’s your post with the most notes? crop top lace wookjin not surprised

9. how many mutuals do you have? 24, i'm terrible at making friends 🙃 i just like ppl's posts and hope that they notice me 🥺👉👈

10. how many followers do you have? 157!!! that's 14 more peeps that i've gained since i came back last month wow thank you!!

11. how many people do you follow? 180

12. have you ever made a shitpost? i am a shitpost (stealing this)

13. how often do you use tumblr each day? i check multiple times a day since y'all post A+++ content, not so good on posting myself tho

14. did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? nope i'm level 11 on the conflict avoidance chart ✋✋✋

15. how do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts? ??? i'm not sure i've encountered this, but would probably ignore

16. do you like tag games? i love them, i just take a long ass time to compile my answers haha

17. do you like ask games? love these too, just not good at thinking of content to ask

18. which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous? @henlex for your reactions and multi fandom thirst lmao & @onlyoneofyouuuuu for the dedication to the aesthetic and HQ posts 🙏

19. do you have a crush on a mutual? every single one of them (stealing this x2)

20. tags? moot fam roll call @thebandersnatchoftheshire @onlyverries @lazywriterinthedark @junquisite @we-called-monsta-for-a-reason @224-12 @parkmejeon004 @foxpuppylove @ghostfeather @reformedcharacter @uh0paque

#tag game #this one was really fun

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minusninelives · 4 years ago

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tag game

Thanks for tagging me @tinnike It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these posts. I’m also in the middle work, bored to death so this is a good distraction.

1. Why did you choose your URL? My URL is a part of a lyric from the song Panic Station by Muse. I adore Muse and this particular lyric always sounded like it could be a good name for a blog.

2. Any side blogs? Nope, none.

3. How long have you been on tumblr? Oh man! I had to go through my archive to see how long I’ve been on this hellsite and I’ve been here since January 2012. Does that make me one of the OG tumblr users? I’ve been on and off though, there was long period of time when I was completely off tumblr. I usually pop back when I’m obsessing over something in particular.

4. Do you have a queue tag? Nope, and I don’t know how it works despite having been here for so long. Never bothered to check.

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place? I don’t quite remember. At that time, I was part of a Muse community on LiveJournal and some folks there had tumblr. I was curious and wanted to check it out. That was the time I was properly introduced to what being in a fandom was all about.

6. Why did you choose your icon? Cos I’m in love with the man in my icon 🖤 My icon is a good way to tell what is ruining my life right now (in the best way possible). I adore Richard and Rammstein so it seemed fitting that I use his picture. He looks like a silver prince.

7. Why did you choose your header? Same reason as above, I guess. But I’ve been thinking about changing it to a more aesthetic shot of Rammstein or maybe something else entirely.

8. What's your post with the most notes? I have no idea. I used to post a lot of photo edits of people, musicians and movies that I like along with quotes. I used to be a graphic designer (UX designer now) so I loved playing around on Photoshop, editing photos and such. I remember one with Muse getting a lot of notes. So, maybe it’s that one.

9. How many mutuals do you have? I don’t know what this means. I guess this means how many I follow follow me? I don’t know that number.

10. How many followers do you have? 135

11. How many people do you follow? 103

12. Have you ever made a shitpost? Oh yes, I think I might’ve.

13. How often do you use tumblr each day? A lot! I’ve been coming back to tumblr a lot. Maybe it’s because I’ve gotten bored with Instagram. I’m on explore or even searching for a specific tag quite often. The content on tumblr is so unique and nothing can match its level of insanity 😆

14. Have you ever had a fight/argument with another blog. Who won? Nope. I barely interact with other users. Just reblog and enjoy the posts. Off late, however, I’ve been interacting with some lovely folks in the Rammstein fandom.

15. How do you feel about 'you need to reblog this' posts? There are times when I get influenced by those. Mostly because I don’t want any bad mojo because of my own subconscious.

16. Do you like tag games? Yes, I do! Please keep tagging me 😄

17. Do you like ask games? I feel like I might. But I’ve never tried it or never had enough followers to try it I suppose.

18. Which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous? I think each fandom has a few accounts who are popular, either for creating amazing gifsets or for the wikipedia of info they seem to have. Not really an answer but I don’t know what else to say.

19. Do you have a crush on a mutual? I guess the equivalent of a crush on tumblr is to feel seen or included in a group that likes the same things you do. At least that’s how I see it. So yeah, I guess I do have favourites and I like it when I can be part of their little circle.

Tagging some mutuals I guess 😛

@witchmoon @notafraidofredyellowandblue @creepycaro @myvirtuallove @acertaindragoncollection @butterfliesandresistance

#text #tag game #i enjoyed this #if there's a typo in the post please ignore

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flyandfamousblackgirls · 6 years ago

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RASHIDA RENEÉ WANTS YOU TO KNOW YOUR HISTORY by Alexis Rene Moten (Culture Jock)

Let’s start this article with a quiz: Name a Black model from the 1990’s that isn’t Naomi Campbell or Tyra Banks?

Stumped? It’s safe to say that if the question were asked to name a White model that wasn’t Kate Moss or Cyndi Crawford, best case scenario you would’ve excelled with a list to provide. Maybe something like: Linda Evangelista, Claudia Schiffer, Christy Turlington, Shalom Harlow, Carla Bruni, Heidi Klum..you get my point.

At times, Pop Culture can be a fair-weather friend. Monday’s It-girl becomes Friday’s nobody and by Sunday there’s a new hot thing in town to get all the girls in a fuss. But as nostalgia-trends rises as capitalism’s newest enterprise, endorsed largely by social media app, Instagram, history is being retold by the agenda of it’s curator. The selective hearing of Instagram accounts like @90scelebvibes (391K followers) and @90sanxiety (793K followers) present a facade that the past was rather beige, leaving largely out the credit due to the Black and people of color creatives that developed and inspired the trends imitated today.

Bay area based, Fashion archivist Rashida Reneé, takes on self-love to a familial level celebrating her love and the appreciation of Black designers, models and other fashion industry influencers that otherwise go forgotten in our modern culture. In fashion, as in anything else, things old become anew. However, Reneé takes on the responsibility as a trend gatekeeper, providing evidence of what fashion used to be and recognizing the faces we longed forgotten.

Q: Name a Black model from the 1990’s that isn’t Naomi Campbell or Tyra Banks?

A: Beverly Peele, Gail O’Neill, Iman, Kara, Young, Karen Alexander, Louise Vyent, Roshumba, Veronica Webb, etc.

Culture Jock: What is a typical day for the most hated hoe in the city?

RR: (laughs) It’s weird, I kind of like to keep it to myself. Keep track of what I like and my thoughts. I don’t know. I'm very low-key person in real life, but when I do leave the house (pauses) I do, I promise! I just like my personal time, but when it’s time to be out I am present, as much as possible. I do what I do becauseII like giving information to people and give them links and information just so they know.

CJ: What brought you into fashion archiving?

RR: My whole archiving process was originally for myself and filling in spots of information where there it was empty of black people. Of course, there is street fashion, but in terms of online fashion, sites like Manrepeller, you didn’t see a lot of black girls doing it and the people doing it I thought were lame. Finding other black people who weren’t anti-black in those kind of spaces. I felt a lot of people were trying to make us to assimilate. Everyone was kind of like doing the same things and it was like, ‘Naomi Campbell!’ But if it were any other dark girl it didn’t matter. So, I started my own blog and then I had to stop myself from posting Naomi Campbell’s photos too. I would do one picture of Naomi Campbell a day and try to really give props to other black woman involved and black people in general. When I was younger I was familiar with the other models not just Naomi Campbell, my mom was really in it with Naomi. She worked in a beauty salon, which had magazines of all the models. Like, black hair magazines, they always listed the models so, no matter what you knew who they were. Whoever it was in the 90s, ‘this is who that is and this who that is.’ You’d see the oldest Destiny Child’s video shoots in black hair magazines. I just haven’t seen other people doing that. There are other girls now that focus more on Hip Hop in 90s and 2000s. Livejournal, fashion spot, Tumblr, people didn’t go out of their way to scan the black models or even try to name them. It’s funny, people online, they don’t even try to hide their biases. No one was really fashion blogging the way I like or how I see .

CJ:In your piece for Office Magazine you mention, from Patrick Kelley to today’s influence of Dapper Dan, American culture from its roots drips of Black influence and culture. Why do you think Black culture is so immutable and where do you see the ownership of our creations.

RR: People I mean know, it’s just like, it’s weird and odd to even talk about. Not just people referencing me or copying, I feel like I am being gaslit all the time or being told that. People love stealing from black people. People love stealing from black people. People love stealing from black people and lying about it. People hate black people but they think we are cool. I can’t even (pauses)yeah it’s very weird. The twitter thing is weird (sighs).

CJ: It is weird.

RR: (sighs) It’s not really helping them. It’s boring to live with no personality. To see someone interesting and steal from them to bolster themselves. [On social media] we have the means to share with each other, like, moments that are of shared experiences of oppression and that is even imitated. I don’t know why the copy of things are okay. It is such a multi-layered thing. Or the way the Stans talk like mainly the Black queer and Black trans talk and how all of that is now being used by everyone. Ariana Grande, ya know, icons talk like girls on the ballrooms did back in 2006. Parodying things. It helps them develop their own brand, I don’t understand their fascination with us anyway. I’m into my own shit and own culture. I like the way black people express themselves and other people use us and what we do to talk to each other or communicate and then take that to feel cool. I’ve always been,like, ‘why would someone want to be like this?’ or pretend. I don’t get it. People run out of content. I know people used to make fun of me and the things I used to be and ironically they are into it now. People need to find their own hobbies. They are bored.

CJ: The internet is complex. It’s a parody of itself.

RR: Knowing your history is important. You need to know where you came from to know where you are going. When it comes to fashion archives the question is, ‘what is it that you are looking for or trying to highlight?’ My concern is that fashion archiving is feeding into nostalgic trends, where it’s easier to mimic what was done before rather then create new moments. Do you share the same sentiments?

CJ: What is it about fashion that excites you?

RR: It’s so fun and so funny. The dolls are taking over. That’s how most things go, the things that happened come back with a hyper focus. It really is going full out now. It’s interesting to see how people are dressing now. [Fashion] is always reflective of the political climate. Think about the 80s everyone is dressing like a dickhead. Then when people got sick of dressing like a dickhead, minimalism comes in. We cycle through trends so fast, today. I remember a girl wearing a hair clips and no one was into it. Then the next week everyone was wearing them, then I see Cyndi Lauper in an interview wearing hair clips. She’s like 50-something and she’s wearing hair clips made out of Swarovski crystals. It’s so interesting. It’s funny how it happens. Now everyone is into fashion.

CJ: Who are your biggest fashion influences ?

RR: My biggest influences are Naomi Campbell and my mom. Girls I follow on the internet. My mom is from San Francisco lives her own life and is very eclectic. I get a lot from her and different taste. Foxy Brown is also very inspiring, I reference her a lot I think about her and Steven Miesel. Steven knows how to do everything. Steven can do everything. Everyone knows I am a crazy Beyoncé fan. But, I have different girls for different moods. My main inspo is Naomi and Foxy Brown. I really gravitated to Foxy because she was more into Prada and Chloe when Stella McCartney was there. Because of Foxy I love Chloe. She was very cool. Naomi is, you just aspire to that level of greatness. There is no one else. Even in her flaws she handles them so well. I can’t imagine someone else with that kind of rap sheet to not get fully canceled. I judge people by how they react to criticism. She handles it really well. I find that really inspiring.

CJ: What film or television do you think has the best fashion catalog? If you could what character's closet would you love to raid?

RR: I am so frazzled. There’s so much stuff I like. I write things down specifically, because I can never remember. I watched The Nanny last year with Fran Drescher, when I was really depressed and was like, ‘Wow this is inspiring.’ Brenda Cooper, her mind. Everyone had a look in. Pose, is another one. Everything has intentions from the main characters to the background characters. I really like the first season of costume design. It’s commitment to that era. Someone is always dressed like, Karen White or Jodi Whitley. Elektra is very dynasty, that high lady energy. I love that about the show. I love Glow, the costume designer, Beth Morgan. I love when people do era shows, specifically the 80s and they don’t try to soften it, especially in makeup or hair. They aren’t scared to embrace the ugliness, I love that. That’s what good costume design is about. High fashion is easy, but what really gets me is watching old movies and looking at the clothes.

CJ: We are moving into a new decade of 2020. I have a feeling it may be the year of 2020 vision and final clarity. What are your aspirations for this new era and what do you hope to see from the world?

RR: I feel like the children are our future. That’s what I’m looking at, to see what the kids are into. People are more focused into what they look like and I remember if someone dressed a little bit out of fashion it was a huge deal and get talked about. But now they are embracing their weirdness and experimenting. Do you watch that Tik Tok stuff? I just want a regular life. Happy, healthy, all my kids are happy and healthy. When I move to [Los Angeles] and get hotter, hotter and I want to become, what is that called, a wellness person? I want a Goop moment, but with Solange aesthetics. Maybe make a propaganda film to get people to stop wearing wigs.

#Rashida Reneé #Rashida Renee #Foxy Brown #Naomi Campbell #Beyoncé #Black fashion

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charlies-strap · 5 years ago

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bring back deviantart/livejournal gif icons like rn. where else do u get this level of religious satirical art

#I DONT KNOW WHY I FIND IT SO FUNNY SKJFHD IT'S JUST SO STUPID BUT WHOLESOME IG

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lilydalexf · 5 years ago

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Old School X is a project interviewing X-Files fanfic authors who were posting fic during the original run of the show. New interviews are posted every Tuesday.

Interview with Jintian

Jintian has 21 X-Files stories at AO3 all posted during the original run of the show and all fics you should read if you like beautiful words and lovely character insights (and you do!). I've recced some of my favorites here before, including Argus, Diving, God's Breath, and Seven Days. Big thanks to Jintian for doing this interview.

Does it surprise you that people are still interested in reading your X-Files fanfics and others that were posted during the original run of the show (1993-2002)?

Many authors from the original run still loom large in my mind, so I'm glad to hear it. The show had great production values and cinematography and iconic characters, and I think that level of quality was reflected in fanworks. Good writing is good writing no matter how old. For myself, I'm happy if anything I made still resonates with people. What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?

Just doing the math, I first discovered XF over half my lifetime ago. I was a sheltered introverted young'un. Online fandom introduced me to a diversity of people and perspectives I couldn't have found in my "real" life at the time. I'm especially grateful for the wisdom of women who, over the years, advised or supported me or simply led by example – not only with writing, but with everything from relationships to job interviews to finances. And I love that in so many places I've lived or traveled, I've been able to meet someone local who already feels like a friend.

Social media didn't really exist during the show's original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)? The Scullyfic mailing list, ATXC, and archives were my main venues. Scullyfic was such a well-run group, with structured discussion topics, post-episode commentary, and writing challenges.

Also, an image comes to mind: for some reason my dad put our computer in the garage, where we had a fan but no air conditioning, and we lived in the US southeast which feels like the armpit of hell in the summertime. I'd sit in that sweltering muggy heat for hours getting my fandom fix. And the only way to connect to the internet was via landline, which I couldn't tie up during the day, so that meant a lot of late nights as well. My fandom equivalent of trudging miles uphill in the snow?

What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general? With regard to fanfic, I learned how to receive and give constructive criticism, before and after posting. Even if it was "just" fanfic, most everyone wanted to improve their writing. I think that was a good mindset for me to cultivate, personally and professionally.

With regard to fandom, I learned how to be an active and analytical consumer, and that there can be many (many!) interpretations of a text. What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show? The fanfic, actually. Somehow in my internet wanderings, I stumbled across Gossamer. Dawson Rambo's casefiles were also early finds. Curiosity about the characters drove me to check out the show.

What got you involved with X-Files fanfic?

As far as writing my own, I had an image in my head which I jotted down, and over several months I kept adding to it – mostly navel-gazing, not much plot. The resulting story was a hodgepodge of different POVs and different tenses. *facepalm* But I received some lovely feedback, and I felt very welcomed. For me the XF community, with everyone's creativity and dedication, was just as inspiring and motivating for fanfic as the show.

What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom?

I think of it like school. I learned a lot, I graduated, and now it's primarily occupied by a new generation. Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?

If XF was like university, then afterward was like graduate school. Sophiahelix and I started a multi-fandom mailing list called Glass Onion and met lots of folks. Livejournal/Dreamwidth became big public platforms which enabled tons of cross-fandom links, recs, and discussions – and sometimes clashes. Although it wasn't as intensely formative for me as XF, I realized that fandom in general has had an undeniable impact on my life. [Lilydale note: That’s a link to a wonderful little essay Jintian wrote about fandom.]

Who are some of your favorite fictional characters? Why? I love the sneak attackers, the ones who seem unassuming or perhaps disadvantaged, but they're actually out here killing the game. Dana Scully was a small-statured person who had to move the driver's seat to reach the pedals – like me – but she was an FBI agent, medical doctor, and forensic pathologist – unlike me, but goals. Other similar faves are Toph Beifong (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Mat Cauthon (Wheel of Time), and Jang Geurae (Misaeng). Do you ever still watch The X-Files or think about Mulder and Scully? Several years ago I had the notion to introduce my husband to the show, and it was totally enjoyable and could stand up with shows airing today. (Husband queried: "What is the deal with Mulder? He should have been fired 19 times already." We were in Season 2.)

Do you ever still read X-Files fic? Fic in another fandom?

No XF lately, but I'll check AO3 whenever I encounter a shiny new ship. Reading fic is my only fannish activity these days, so I stay happy and conflict-free.

Do you have any favorite X-Files fanfic stories or authors? It's been ages, but today I'm thinking of torch, Jane St Clair, Jordan, RivkaT, MustangSally, Khyber, nevdull, Justin Glasser, Vehemently, Nascent... On any other day it could be a whole different list. The fandom was so rich and deep in writers. What is your favorite of your own fics, X-Files and/or otherwise?

My XF stuff was kind of all over the place. I experimented a lot, with mixed results. I guess I'm glad about some of the subject matter I tackled, like Scully's trauma and post-abduction state of mind (and body) in Loss of Yesterday, and the thematically similar Longer Gone, which explored Samantha.

What's the story behind your pen name? Jintian means "today" in Mandarin Chinese. I was feeling existential. 🤷‍♀️

Do your friends and family know about your fic and, if so, what have been their reactions? I've only ever told an ex and my husband. They were allowed to read one story – which I chose. They thought it was cool, I guess. I can't remember clearly because I had my fingers stuck in my ears going "lalalala!"

However, I can always count on my husband to say something savagely funny about fandom mess, so I just try to curate his exposure. For instance, he could recap the Msscribe saga but couldn't tell you any of my usernames. He's also met a number of my fannish friends so he knows how we get, hah.

Is there a place online (tumblr, twitter, AO3, etc.) where people can find you and/or your stories now?

AO3 Is there anything else you'd like to share with fans of X-Files fic?

As I'm writing this, the world is grappling with COVID-19. I'm wishing everyone safety and health, both physical and mental. If fandom provides a positive escape, embrace and enjoy it!

(Posted by Lilydale on October 6, 2020)

#new post #old school x #xfiles fanfic #xf fanfic #xf fanfic author interviews #jintian

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corvidry · 5 years ago

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All About RP Icons For Beginners by Birdy

Hi OP, I’m not sure how experienced you are with all the nonsense surrounding the making and using of RP icons, so I’m gonna come at it as though you don’t have any experience with it at all and I’m sorry if that’s too simplified for you, but also if I’m gonna write many paragraphs about one topic I may as well make it accessible for as many people as possible ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This post goes into what tools are out there for the popular methods of finding/making RP icons in the first half and my personal methodology for choosing and using them in my RP for the second half. This is a very surface level answer to the question and is not meant to be an in depth tutorial for the more labor intensive aspects of the process, but if you guys want more information and can’t find it elsewhere, please ask and I'll know what I should be talking about next.

Also I’m also contractually obligated to mention to the masses that I do take commissions both for the drawing of RP icons and the service of capping, cutting, recoloring, and framing canon icons. Sometimes I even post batches of canon character icons for free on this blog so like,,,,, hit me up if you want. But!! You don’t need me, you can absolutely do all of it yourself!! I go into the broad strokes below.

Question 1: “How do you get icons?”

This is kind of a broad question and the answer depends on what your needs are. The right answer for you is gonna live in one of two camps

Find some that already exist that are free to use

Make them yourself / commission somebody else to make them for you.

What you'll choose is gonna depend a lot on your character first and foremost. The big determining factor in most cases is whether or not the face you want has been in anything you can take pictures of.

If you have a canon character who exists in visible media--

--you're in luck! The chances of you finding some resources that exist already is higher when you have a canon character who is in at least a few pieces of media. OP asked about Pearl from Steven Universe, and she's a great example of a character with a lot of resources. Searching for rp icons of a popular character will often yield packs of icons on Tumblr, Dreamwidth, Livejournal, etc. Most of these will be completely free to use or have very reasonable conditions for use (like credit the person who made them for example.) It's often a good first step to see what preexisting resources are available to you even if you still plan on making your own icons.

If you have an OC or a character that's not all that popular--

--you're gonna fall into the second camp. If you want icons, you have to have them made. So what are your options?

Help! My character appears in no media! What are my options?

If your character appears in no media you're in a tough spot. Different people approach this problem in different ways.

Face Claims

One option you have is to choose a face claim to represent your character. In roleplay a face claim or ‘FC’ is a person or character whose appearance you use for the physical description of your character. I personally am not big on doing this, I prefer drawn icons and I tend to RP as animated characters, but some people really like using celebrities and stuff to represent their characters. When I was playing Angus McDonald he hadn't appeared in any visual media yet, so I sometimes used Bryce Clyde Jenkins as the face claim for certain types of threads.

If you're somebody who likes to use face claims there are loads of resources out there for finding the perfect one, including here on tumblr. Try searching up RP Faceclaim Directory and playing around with some of the ones that pop up.

DIY RP Icons

The other option you have is to create those icons from scratch. Draw them yourself based on icons you like or commission an artist to draw some for you. If you can't draw yourself, I've seen some people get really creative with this. Some people create their character in the sims, dollmakers, or their favorite RPG and then take screenshots of that to use for icons. There's also no law that says every icon you use has to be your character's face. When I was writing a trashy mermaid AU I got a lot of mileage out of icons that depicted harbor and oceanic scenes with no actual faces. Get creative, go nuts, have fun.

Icons Aren’t That Important

The other thing to remember that icons are not a must in many RP circles. It's perfectly possible to have a great time and write cool stuff without any pictures at all. Depending on your platform of choice there are probably also other interesting ways you can make your posts unique to you by formatting the text or using symbols or emojis or otherwise denoting your personal style in text.

Help! My character appears in lots of media! How do I make icons?

Again, there are a million and one answers to this question and it really depends on what tools are available to you and what your preferences are. This section is not a tutorial but it will outline some of the options you can look into.

The icon making process is typically in 2 stages-- stage 1: get all your images of your character, and stage 2: edit all of those images into icons.

If you have access to the source material, any version of Photoshop, and software that automates the collection screencaps from video (KM Player, VLC, etc) you're pretty much gucci. You're gonna have no problem getting loads of nice icons in a reasonably short amount of time and there are a million different tutorials on how to use those things whichever way you prefer.

If you don't have access to those things you still have options.

You can still screencap things manually, and you can screencap in batches by holding down the windows key and pressing PrtSc any time you want to save an image. They should be saving to >pictures>screenshots unless you’ve set things up differently. It’s a good way to take a lot of screenshots without stopping in between.

( EDIT / UPDATE: to say that if you use automation for taking screencaps remember to turn that shit off when you’re not using because it oh mylanta it WILL continue to take images without you realizing. Figured out where all my disk space has been going with this rookie mistake, thanks OP)

Additionally, PhotoScape X is a really great little tool for windows and mac that I've never seen anybody talk about, but I use it sometimes and it's totally free with the exception of a few paid features I’ve never once needed or wanted. This program is not as efficient as using Photoshop but it has presets for cropping images easily as well as batch editing options for some basic borders and color retouching. While it’s not as powerful as Photoshop, you can get a lot done with it reasonably quickly compared to other choices. You can also take and edit snips of anything on your screen with it, which is really really useful if you don’t have access to the video or image files you would need on your hard drive for other version of this process. The program looks like this:

Also, not to be like a minimalist about it, but you can also just fucken use Microsoft Paint or whatever you have. Like, whatever, there’s no law. You graphics dont have to be comlpex or deep fried. Half of my icons have been made or edited in paint at some point. It wont be as fast as some of these other methods but a lot of us aren't out here making icons in batches of 100 at a time.

Anything that you can use to make smallish images of your characters face will work to make icons.

If you want more information about any of these methods of icon creation let me know and I’ll talk about them.

Question 2: “How do you make your icons ‘work’ in posts?”

I'm a little confused on what you mean by "make them work" so I'm gonna cover my bases here. I'm assuming what you're getting at is a sort of sense of cohesion in the icons I use, or having the "right" expression for the scene I'm writing. Either that or them not stretching and looking weird thanks to tumblr. I’ll get to both of those.

And before I go into my own rationale for icon choices I feel I should point out that a lot of people who aren't me do successfully manufacture cohesion out of their images by doing fun stylistic things like recoloring their images all the same way or putting cute borders and stuff around them or making them fun shapes, and that's totally something you can learn how to do if it interests you. I do this for icons commissioned by other people and I’m not against talking about how to do those things, but I don’t really bother with them for my own icons all that much. That stuff is all fun and it’s a neat thing you could get into that can make your icons all look really nice together.

BUT ANYWAY --

Since the character you asked about is Pearl, I’m going to focus on her. Nearly all of my Pearl icons are completely unedited and a lot of the credit I would have to give regarding icon quality goes to Pearl herself and the consistently good lighting that the show uses. I don’t have a huge need for editing or color retouching beyond making memes or whatever other goofy things I might be getting up to. Pearl is extremely expressive compared to other characters I have written and since she's in nearly every episode, I've managed to collect…

...oh god, that’s too many icons.

Pearl is a main character and I've been RPing as her for over 6 years now so I have a fuckload of images to choose from and I'm not gonna pretend that doesn't help when I wanna “make things work”. She gives me a lot of options.

That said, you absolutely don't need 3000 images to make a good post. The way I've collected and organized these images may be of use to you even if you dont have as many icons. I've done a lot with my setup to make finding the right icon very easy.

For starters, a minor subset of my Pearl icons are grouped by a particular defining feature. I have one large Pearly folder full of icons and then a few smaller folders inside for icons I thought worth grouping separately. For example, all icons of SUF Pearl in her new jacket are in the same folder. All icons of Pearl in short term alternate outfits are in the same folder. Anything I sourced from Attack the Light is in its own folder. I do this with anything that has a very specific use, such as writing AU content or flashbacks to specific time periods. If I can picture an icon in my head, I usually know where in my ridiculous hell collection to go to find it.

This folder was originally just for her pre-canon outfit but now all of her outfits that only appeared temporarily are in there.

Perhaps more important for the sake of cohesion is that nearly all of my icons that aren’t squirreled away in some smaller folder are loosely arranged by episode. What that means is that most of the time I have icons from the same scene right next to one another. It makes it incredibly easy to make my RP replies appear as though it's all one cohesive scene even if I use more than one icon. When you do it this way it becomes very easy to choose icons that have the same lighting or that appear to lead from one expression seamlessly into another. Exhibit A:

While the vast majority of my icons are numbered, I do take the time to name ones I find myself using a lot or that have particularly unique expressions. Usually I'll choose names that I'll find descriptive or easy to remember based on the context of the icon. You can have a lot of fun with that and never lose your favorites.

Also don't be afraid to lean on icons you got from weird places if you like them. The icons of Pearl from the official comics run don’t look like most of what I have. I think them being different would turn a lot of RPers off, but I use them a lot because I like the style and I almost never see other Pearl RPers using them. It either makes me stand out or it makes me tacky, one of the two, haven’t figured out which, but also I’m not stopping.

And just to reiterate, you can use icons that aren’t your character if they’re thematically relevant or vague enough to look like them. When I’m capping I’ve started saving a folder of miscellaneous environments of interests, hands, and other everyday types of scenery that appear in the thing I’m taking screencaps of.

You can use any size you want for RP icons but the most common is 100x100 or 150x150 pixels. Any smaller than that and the image gets to be difficult to read and work with in my opinion. That doesn’t stop people, of course, but I’m elderly and need glasses now, so no tiny icons for me. On that note, I rarely see RP icons larger than 300x300. Any larger than that it tends to get bulky and be in the way of other people’s comfortable internet browsing experience, especially on mobile. Of course, these are just my suggestions. What you choose will ultimately be up to you, but somewhere in that 100 to 300 px range is pretty safe.

A very tumblr specific thing to know is that any image that is wider than 300 pixels will be stretched to hell, so you probably want to keep it smaller than that.

Thanks, Tumblr, I hate it!

Also, don’t be afraid to make trash images for fun if you’re so inclined. People love that, or at least I do. Not having the right icon can be fun and lead to a very silly solution. Lean into being a shitposter if that’s what you’re called to do.

So yeah, that’s basically what my suggestions are. Collect your images in a way that helps cohesion and ease of use. Keep them a good size. Don’t be afraid to get unconventional with your choices or make memes or whatever. It’s all for a fun time.

Anyway, that’s all I can think of right now, but more info on any of this can be obtained at the price of one ask, I know it was a lot of different moving parts.

#rp #rp icons #birdy answers #my graphics #my icons #long post

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psyoungs · 5 years ago

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✨ /tagged/gfx /tagged/gifs (hi sarah😊 take care!)

excuse me? you came here to taunt me because i DON’T HAVE THE TALENT YOU POSSESS. oh god, mari. i’m always been so obsessed with your coloring, ever since you had taenghan on here and ON livejournal, when every time you posted on livejournal with new icons, I GET SO EXCITED. okay okay okay. let me see.

this is what the fuck I’M TALKING ABOUT!!! THE WAY IT’S SO CLEAN AND NICELY CROPPED, i DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M SAYING AT THIS POINT. the skin tone, i don’t know how you managed to keep it that way without diverting out the other ones. it’s so clean and crisp, i would die for your sharpening. idk how to explain it, it’s so smooth and not so... sharpened???? defined??? idk what i’m saying, i’m just speechless with it

i remember looking at this and was like, yeah, i will never reach this level of anything giffing wise. the sharpening... the colors? like you know how when you put a psd on one gif and it looks fantastic but you try to put it on another gif and the colors are all wonky, this isn’t the case. you pulled it together all so nicely. i’m so ENVIOUS.

i could cry on how hd this is. like honest to god. HOW?!?! HOW

this was just chef’s kiss, my fave color onto a lovely gifset of one of the most prettiest people

oof i remember scrolling down and seeing jennie in that green dress and i was like HOLD UP!? BUT THEN SAW THE REST AND I COULDNT EVEN COMPREHEND WHAT WAS GOING ON, EVERYTHING ABT THIS SET IS FLAWLESS

actually was going through this tumblr the other day and i just got hit with nostalgia, like i couldn’t comprehend how you were my favorite exo editor when i use to stan them. i even use some of these on my icons back in the day. the details to every texture, font, the soft subtle coloring but never making it white washing is astounding to me. like YOU’RE SOMEONE I LOOK UP TO HERE and when you followed me the first time before you revamp i couldn’t even imagine how i could get someone like you to follow me. LISTEN, UR LIKE A GFX/GIFS GOD TO ME

all in all, you really improved your gifs when you came back and i mean it in a good way. the talent, the excellency, mari i bow to THEE,

#sorry i rambled but oh my god #gifs queen and gfx #i could never #im IN LOVE WITH YOUR WORK OK BYE #replies #pls im so embarrassing #blackpinks

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highgaarden · 5 years ago

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I was wondering, could you give some tips for writing Caroline’s character? I feel like you grasp her so well.

Like, seriously you understand Caroline so well, and when I read your fics I feel like they’re very Caroline-oriented even when it’s being told from Klaus’ POV. So, just wanted some tips on how to write Caroline :)

this is really, inCREDIBLY sweet, and would it be anticlimatic if i told you i don’t really know how to answer this?

what i can say is that i know how my brain works when it comes to absorbing information, and when i first started watching tvd, it was because i’d spied that iconic, haunting 3x11 scene in a tumblr gifset (sans dialogue!!), and of course it only took one youtube search to find out that it actually WASN’T an already established relationship between two centuries old vampires, which was what i’d assumed from the way these characters were looking at each other? i sort of assumed that Big Hubs had disappointed Empress Wife somehow and they were having like, a serious, bittersweet convo about the state of their lives / marriage / beings????

but i digress. sorry, i had to set the scene. im getting there i promise. shocked and dismayed, i had to do the only thing anyone in my position would do: go on fanfiction.net and livejournal and read copious amounts of fanfiction.

mind you, ‘twas the early days, so there wasn’t even that many fic yet unless you count the crackfics here and there. but they were all really wonderful, fleshed-out, introspective pieces that sort of made a VERY lasting impression on me. and whatever i’d read, whatever grasp of the characters i got through these fics, i kept reinforcing the idea by seeking out the kind of stories with the same writing styles and narratives.

it helped that back in the day (shit am i one of THOSE people?) there was really great room for healthy discussions, forums, threads and whatnot that really helped reinforce for me the idea of who caroline is.

so what i’m trying to say is, you are what you read. and the more you read, the deeper your understanding of what it is you enjoy about reading and writing.

another thing i often do is that (this is probably bad writing advice so take from this what you will) whenever i start a new story, it usually starts from a scene that i can imagine very vividly in my head, which makes me hunger to write the rest of the fic just so i can write THAT SCENE. of course when you want to write the scene you already have in your arsenal a fistful of the character’s mannerisms, motivations, crutch words, but you also should probably take into account the different levels of intimacy they have with other characters which determine HOW they speak to each other - the tone, the mood, perhaps.

also whenever i write, i’m constantly asking the character (essentially myself lmao but shhh) WHY they do the things they do? what do they have to lose? where do they go from here? what’s one very predictable thing they might do? what nuances and idiosyncrasies can i add to the scene to make it more believable as something they’d do?

ALSO!!!!! having a beta or someone to bounce ideas off of is a great blessing as well. it really helps you because sometimes you get too used writing a character and forget to challenge them. a good beta not only checks whatever mistakes/typos you might make in your fic but also someone who understands not just these tvd characters but character in GENERAL. you know that fight club saying how “everything is a copy of a copy of a copy”? oftentimes in writing, it’s always the same tropes, traits, motivations, etc. what makes a difference - what keeps them from being carbon copies of one another, is the character’s mannerisms/idiosyncrasies.

tldr; read awesome fic, ask yourself constantly WWCD (what would caroline do?), get a beta/sounding board

i really hope this helps

#idk what i wrote it's 10am i haven't slept all night #but i hope you found something in here?#Anonymous

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marksloan · 6 years ago

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cristalcarrington’s icon tutorial!

a little treat for day 28 of my filmuary challenge!

i’ve honestly lost count of which one this is, but welcome to another icon tutorial! here i’m going to breaking down my icon creation process step by step. i currently am a mac user and all my previous tutorials have been windows orientated (which unfortunately were all lost in the great url loss of 2017). my process hasn’t changed much since then, but i have picked up quite a few new go-to tricks and i’ll be sharing these tips in this post!

anyway! here’s what you’ll need-

photoshop (i currently use photoshop cc so be aware that options and tools may not translate onto other programs/versions of ps) and yes, i do pay for my photoshop but if you’re in need of a decent, safe download i might be able to point you in the right direction so hmu

patience (believe me some of these icons have taken me a painfully long time to create) just don’t feel discouraged if things don’t work out perfectly right away!

a creative mind. please be aware that this tutorial is only for educational purposes. under no circumstance directly replicate my icons! the one involved in this tutorial is clearly fair game, but please try to take creative liberty with your work. what i’ve found a lot of fun is incorporating bits and pieces of what other people do into my own work.

further resources

if you need more reference/help, here’s an icon psd for you to have a look around while reading the tutorial or instead of the tutorial. again, please do not re-upload or redistribute.

please consider reblogging this if you’ve found it useful. or checking out my resources!

starting off

so today, i’m going to tackle a screencap for my ongoing filmuary challenge!

i tend to get my screencaps from google, so for this i literally just googled “mirror mirror screencaps” and selected a image from google images. when i’m not feeling lazy, i tend to go through the whole movie (great screencaps can be found at screencapped or kissthemgoodbye)

my first move is to open the screencap in the photoshop on it’s default canvas. the one i’ve chosen is normally the sort of screencap i’d go for-- one that has a central focus on the character and allows me to get a solid outline.

i tend to avoid screencaps that cut off the top of the characters head. i also tend to gravitate towards scenes that look easy to colour; if you choose overly saturated screencaps or screencaps that are too dark/light, then you will find it difficult to colour while conscious of the screencap quality.

base colouring

i then duplicate the screencap.

and then i set that duplicated layer to screen.

i like to make my icons super bright so i repeat this. it will vary depending on how dark the scene is. i prefer to do this to the screencaps as i find that it preserves the quality of the cap.

alternatively, you can use a psd-- my favourite as mentioned in previous tutorial is @blairsfelicity‘s icon psd which you can find in her tutorial here. my new method is just a whole lot lazier and i’ve been really enjoying the way my icons have turned out.

outlines

now here comes the menial part-- time for the outline.

remember to add a layer (unless you want to break your own heart by doing it directly onto the cap and being forced to start over (which i would NOT recommend by the way, crying over a screencap is as demoralising as it sounds)).

i vary between using the pen tool and a brush/eraser for my backgrounds. i like to shake it up depending on what i feel like doing or what the screencap would best fit. it also completely depends on whether i’m feeling particularly lazy or not-- if i have time to burn, i’ll use a brush. if i’m in a rush, i’ll use the polygonal lasso tool and refine my selection area with masks.

in this tutorial (due to my boredom of doing things over and over, this beautiful filmuary) i’m opting for the brush method. but if you want me to talk through polygonal lasso process which is a lot quicker and really streamlines the process-- then feel free to drop me a message and i’ll be happy to make another talk through.

i like to use a brush for my erasing, on 30-50% hardness. i like to use a diffused/low hardness so my icon doesn’t look too sharp and the background and model seem to go with each other more. i’ll go for a small brush size when it comes to detailing (for example, when it comes to profiles, hair etc).

once i’ve outlined the model, i select the area around her with the magic wand tool and fill in the selected area with either a brush or a fill layer. then i merge the outline layer with the new colour layer.

(these two examples are from another icon process bc im dumb and forgot to take screenshots)

there will be a full little line around the model once you’ve merged the layers. i just tend to fill it in manually with a brush.

now here comes the fun part-- the colouring.

make those colours pop!

as you can see, the screencap has a lot of colours, but we need to make them pop. i take one of the colours, make a new layer and just paint until it’s vibrant and bold. once you’re happy with your colour selection, set the layer to soft light and adjust accordingly.

i tend to go for softer brushes when it comes to facial features. the lips, to make them a darker colour, i opt to set the layer style to multiply instead of soft light, and paint over the lip shape with a light pink/red.

i always like to highlight the eyes to aid contrast in the screencap. i also like to fill all eyebrows in with a black (set on soft light) as well as the lashline, just to add further dimension and contrast to the model.

prepping the icon

this is what my screencap looks like with the colouring complete. as you can see, each colour is on a separate layer. this is so i can adjust/duplicate each colour accordingly. once i’m happy, i place everything into a group together.

i make all of my icons on a 100x100px canvas.

i like to edit the screencaps on their original canvas as it helps with the quality of the screencap as well as allowing me to outline accurately.

i just drag the files from one tab into another.

and then you can size it appropriately.

my next step is to select the same colour as the background and to paint over the white strip at the top of the icon. i do this directly onto my outline and then merge the two together. you now have the foundations of your icon to build onto!

final touches in the colouring department

there is honestly no direction that i could give you when it comes to these final colouring steps.

i like my icons to be very bright, so i target the contrast with levels and brightness/contrast layers. I like to also turn up the vibrancy to make the colours pop even more.

my preference is for the skin to be very neutral, so i try to combat the saturation of the skin with colour balance and selective colour layers (as well as another step i will explain later in the tutorial)

as you can see above, i place the final colouring all underneath the background layer as this makes it easier for me to place textures later on.

if you have problems with the model’s skin appearing too saturated, i’d recommend taking a solid fill layer of a black/white/grey and setting it to colour. place that layer just above the screencap and adjust it so it combats any saturation you might be experiencing.

textures and finishing touches!

clipping masks are honestly a god send for me. you can find them by right-clicking on the layers and selecting clipping masks. as you can see above, i use clipping masks to place a green texture on top of the icon’s background. i then layer above that by using further clipping masks, adding other textures and even layers to adjust the colouring of the background.

my favourite place to find textures are livejournal and deviantart-- soaked on livejournal is my go-to at the moment and i really enjoy evey-v’s icon textures. i also have my own resouces/textures that you can find here!

once i’m happy with how the icon looks, i copy all of the layers together and paste them under the background.

this is a super lazy way of sharpening the icon-- an alternative method is explained really well by @jennifergarner (aka the god of icons) on her icon faq page. i have used this in the past but after filmuary i’ve found a few little tricks.

i then just sharpen the icon and adjust the opacity of the sharpened layer depending on my preferences.

and then there we go---

my chosen export settings are just to go for PNG every time. this helps preserve the quality of the icon and help it look super clean and tidy for whoever wants to use it.

and with that, that’s a wrap up of my tutorial.

for other tips and tricks, here are some of my asks that i’ve responded to;

do you have any tips for cutting short/curly/messy hair?

hey, would you mind sharing a psd icon?

what are some of your favorite icons textures?

can you break down how to use different types of textures?

#icon tutorial #tutorial #mine: tutorial #mine: filmuary #resources

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phanfichallenge · 7 years ago

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Welcome to the Phanfiction Writing Challenge

What are you?

“We’re kind of like a video game, but for writing. Complete challenges to unlock badges, achievements, and a sense of accomplishment as you push yourself to write more often, and outside of your comfort zone!”

The Phanfiction Writing Challenge is a blog that seeks to encourage people to write more, and to push themselves beyond their comfort zones when it comes to writing Phanfic. We are here to challenge you with writing prompts that will make you think, and force you to come up with a way for the story to back the prompt in some way. This can be in the vaguest, or most obvious way possible. The only rule is that you meet the requirements set by each Challenge as the challenge is issued.

The most important thing to remember is this: this is not a competition. This is about challenging yourself. We welcome all levels of writing skill, ability, and perceived “talent.” This is about becoming a better, stronger writer. This is for you.

How does it work?

The Phanfiction Challenge Admins will set forth a challenge for the phanfiction community. This could be anything from “Write a fic based on this word,” to “Write 26 fics based on the 26 letters of the alphabet!”

Each challenge will come with it’s own requirements set forth to you right from the beginning, including a time limit (if we have one, which will be on special challenges only), word limit, and outlines on what qualifies.

You will write a phanfic following these guidelines, and post it wherever you’d like: Ff.net. Livejournal, AO3, Tumblr, Deviantart etc…

Then, you will submit your fic to us VIA the format given to you on the Challenge Prompt, with a link to your fic, and we will either reblog said fic, or post your submission to our blog via the appropriate tags!

As time goes on, and new challenges come up, you can always return to old challenges and complete those too (so long as the challenge does not say “closed”)!

What do we get out of participating?

A couple of things! The admins have prepared a few kinds of rewards, but most of all, it’s the Accomplishment you yourself will feel at having completed a challenge and pushing yourself past what you’re used to doing! In our bio, we liken ourselves to a Video Game. Let me explain what we meant here

Badges

With every challenge will come a Badge (an image/icon sort of thing) designed specifically by the admins. This badge will have the “PWC” logo on it, and reflect the theme of the challenge. Once the challenge is completed, the badge will be yours for the taking! This will be based on an honor system. Everyone will have access to the badge, but the only people who “unlock it” are the ones who actually completed the challenge. What you do with this badge is completely up to you! Add it to your fic somewhere, have it on your blog, have a page where you collect said badges, print them out - it’s all up to you!

Achievements

As time goes on, and more challenges are introduced on the blog, we will be unleashing achievements possible to unlock as well. These will include things such as “Complete 5 challenges,” or “Write 25K words overall in challenge fic.” As you can see, these tasks will take time to unlock, but if you complete these achievements, you will be added to the “achievement” page, with your URL under the achievement you have unlocked. Once again, this will be based on an honor system. If you complete the achievement, shoot us an ask letting us know, and we’ll add your requested URL to the achievement list! We will also post a small post saying “URL has competed blank achievement!”

Satisfaction

This one’s the Big One, the Give In. Participating in the challenges will honestly do nothing more than bring you personal satisfaction for having completed it, for having attempted something you might not have attempted otherwise. On top of this, these writing challenges are really just a fun way to Prompt you into writing, and spark your thoughts to doing something fun!

The Hall of Fame

Currently a vague idea, and something that will not start right away, challenges that we consider to be especially hard will be equipped with a Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is a specific page created for that challenge where we will link to and congratulate all fics/authors who managed to complete that challenge, as a special reward for all of your hard work! These fics will also be reblogged to the blog the same as all other challenge fics!

Do I have to participate in every challenge?

Absolutely not! If the challenge we set forth just doesn’t spark any ideas in you, or just feels like something too far out of your league, you do not have to participate! In fact, you don’t ever have to participate! There is nothing keeping you here or forcing you to continue working on the challenges. if one challenge sparks your interest, you can complete that challenge, and never complete another one again!

Do I have to sign up?

Nope! Signing up would imply that we’re expecting a commitment from you, when the fact is, we don’t! As stated above, if nothing every inspires you, you never have to get involved! If only one challenge inspires you, you can complete one and never do another! If only some of the challenges inspire you, that’s fine too! This is for fun, and whether thousands, or just one, person gets involved, that’s fine by us!

When will you release the first challenge?

On Saturday, March 10 we will be launching the first two challenges - a duo that we feel go quite well together but gives more people a chance to attempt a challenge!

In the meantime, if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

#welcome #faq #phanfic #phanfiction #phan #phanfichallenge

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