#fandom writes back!

[mademoiselle-red]

Reading the Renault fandom dissertation, part 3

An academic decided to write about us, online fans of Mary Renault’s works, for her phd dissertation in 2018, and as the subject of her research, I will be covering & commenting on what she wrote over a series of posts ✍️📑

(Here is part 1, part 2, part 4, part 5, and part 6)

And now, for part 3 we jump to the Renault chapter:

“Chapter 2: From Greek Love to Boys’ Love: Mary Renault’s Romanticization of Pederasty”

Personally, I don’t read Renault’s works as romanticizing the institution of pederasty. They instead set up the ideal of “Greek love” in order to explore its problematic place and inadequacies within both its culture of origin (The Last of the Wine) and within early twentieth century gay culture (The Charioteer).

“Despite her contemporary fame, however, she is rarely mentioned today in either mainstream media or academic circles. Only in the form of a niche online fandom do Renault’s works continue to generate enthusiasm and contemporary relevance: male homoerotic fan art by women.”

I’m really surprised to see that she chose fan art as the primary form of fan media through which she uses to analyze the Renault fandom. I know it is more convenient to compare fan art to BL manga since both are visual mediums, but it doesn’t make sense for the Renault online fandom. I’d say the online TC community is 90% fanfic & meta and only 10% fan art. Even the Alexander Trilogy and LotW fanworks are mostly fic and meta. So focusing on art doesn’t make sense when you are trying to study the online fan reception of Renault’s works. This oversight in Chou’s methodology leads to some interesting results later…

“The second part of this chapter brings in the latest online fandom devoted to Renault, which focuses on Renault’s representation of male homoeroticism. These fan artworks and discussions based on Renault’s novels are located squarely within the BL sensibilities that I discussed in the previous chapter. By examining the unexpected affinities between the mid-twentieth century lesbian author and her millennial online fandom, I contend that the apparent contradictions between Renault and her works is best understood through the BL logic—which is the logic of fantasy.”

This is her central thesis about Renault and us, the fandom. A preview of what these “unexpected affinities” will be:

“More specifically, I argue that what critics have found problematic about Renault—her idealization of male homosexuality, her misogyny, and her indifference to identity politics—make sense for BL aesthetics.”

I will discuss Chou’s argument that Renault’s works appeal to her online fan community because they are indifferent to identity politics and modern reality in my next post (part 4), but first, the author explains her definition of “queerness,” which is crucial to understanding her distinction between BL/slash sensibilities vs queer sensibilities.

“Although Renault’s novels since The Charioteer almost exclusively focus on homosexual characters and relationships, and the word “queer” is in fact scattered all over The Charioteer referring to gay men in the postwar era, her books have never been considered “queer” in the post-gay, academic sense.”

This is a baffling sentence. And this definition of “queer” really narrows her analysis of queer fannish activity in my opinion, and prevents her from recognizing Renault’s online fandom as a form of queer culture and queer community. Also, I didn’t realize there is a “post-gay” academic culture. What does “post-gay” even mean? She goes on to explain:

“Queerness is understood as a mode of critique rather than about a specific sexuality, which is where queer theory divulges from lesbian and gay studies: whereas lesbian and gay studies tackles homosexuality as an object of study, queer theory defines itself as a philosophical and political strategy of critique rather than a study of particular objects. With representation no longer the measurement of political efficacy in textual analysis, writing about “queers” and being politically queer are two different, although not incompatible ideas.”

So queerness in Chou’s understanding for the purposes of this dissertation does not refer to a group of people who can be studied. I’d say it’s fine if you want queerness to be a mode of critique of normative structures in fiction & philosophy, but how useful is this definition when you are studying a fan community, a living breathing organism comprised of real people?

“The silence around Renault in academia today is a result of the awkward combination of who the author is, what she writes about, and how she proclaims an apolitical orientation. Queer criticism is used to heteronormative subjects being silent about politics and the mainstream’s lack of action is easily understood as complacency and sometimes homophobia. But queer criticism is not geared towards handling a non- normative subject with a voice that does not articulate political aspirations.”

Queer people can, you know, just exist, and write about other queer people, and have bad politics.

“In what follows, I propose that reading Renault from a different perspective—the BL perspective—not only dissolves her hopeless contradictions but is also more productive in understanding how her works can still be (if not more) relevant today.”

Buckle up, friends, she’s gonna analyze the TC fandom (us!!!) next 👀👀👀

More in part 4

[leewaizumi]

one of hajime's junior trainers approaches him as he's finishing up his last set of squats, jabbing his thumb behind him.

"yo, boss. the creep is back."

hajime drops the bar to the ground, the weight plates clattering loudly and bouncing, using the hem of his t-shirt to wipe his forehead.

"again?"

"yeah." the younger guy grimaces. "he's been eyeing this girl for a while now. i've told him to stop a few times but he keeps playing innocent.

there's a dull throbbing sensation forming behind hajime's left temple, and a swift glance confirms that the repeat offender is indeed staring at you lecherously while you deadlift.

as if he senses his opportunity slipping, The Creep (hajime refuses to do him the courtesy of remembering his name) sidles up next to you under the pretense of grabbing a weight plate and "accidentally" grabs a handful of your ass as he goes by.

hajime's eye twitches, and he's already berating himself for not acting sooner as he strides across the dark rubber flooring. but before he can intervene, you've already taken care of it.

one moment hajime was preparing to forcibly drag the man out of his gym and revoke his membership, and the next your fist is moving through the air in a swift, brutal arc, landing square on the pervert's face with a satisfying crunch.

standing there staring at the woman who just ko'd a creep in his gym, hajime swears this must be it.

this has to be love at first sight.

[painless-innit-colourful]

I love that the dsmp fandom had two really major fanfics. one was an rpf shipfic (with smut? vague smuttiness) that got way out of the small circles and flung a random pop song into the top 40 for over a year, and the other one was a family-based war-and-gods epic that got a major animatic, fansongs and tommyinnit to tweet 'why did I just watch myself get killed in HD'

[vaimetanyx]

There is no stopping a star from burning itself out of the night sky

Words taken from - you can love him, but you can’t keep him (Sylvie j.p.)

[helpallthenamesaretaken]

i hate how sometimes people make out rachel to be this tragic heartbroken mess. WELL FRIENDLY REMINDER THAT

she was the one who dumped percy in the first place

and the scene after that she said "I don't have to tell you what you have to do now, right?" with the next scene being percy confessing to annabeth

she genuinely CHOSE to be the oracle, if she was really serious about percy she would have not have gone along with the whole thing without being a tiny bit sad about not dating percy

she flat out admitted percy was just a vehicle for her to be involved with the greek world

she is not august by taylor swift. she is not driver's license by olivia rodrigo. she did not care less about percy once he didn't reciprocate pls 😭

[zephyrchama]

Leviathan waved the screen of his DDD in front of your face. He had finally achieved an impressive full rhythm combo in extreme hell mode. Twinkling particle effects and triumphant background music accompanied this feat.

"It was only a matter of time," he gloated. "I knew if I kept at it, I'd get the perfect combo eventually. I actually have, like, really good reflexes, you know? Probably some of the best in existence. They didn't promote me to admiral for noth-- aah!!"

The boasting was interrupted when Beelzebub walked up and swatted him in the forehead. While Beelzebub looked calm, a flood of emotions washed over Leviathan's face. Hurt, betrayal, anger, panic, and above all, confusion.

"What was that for!?" he yelled, rubbing at the red bump just starting to swell under his bangs.

"I was testing your reflexes," Beelzebub said. "You said they were fast."

Leviathan scoffed. "Well, I wasn't ready! I was too distracted by my full combo to really notice... A-anyway! I know I favor RPGs, but just so you know, I'm also pretty high ranking when it comes to FPS games. So I know I can handle-"

Beelzebub smacked his brother in the shoulder. Straight-on, in full view. Leviathan did not dodge. He stayed completely still and only moved once the blow had already striked his shoulder. He stared at his younger brother in disapproval with wide eyes and a deep frown.

"Beel. What gives?"

"Levi, your reflexes suck," Beelzebub observed.

Leviathan growled, "I just wasn't in the zone, ok!? If you had gotten a full combo on extreme hell mode, I know you'd be open to attacks, too!"

"No, I'm pretty sure you just suck. My reflexes are way better."

"Please don't fight," you sighed. "You both have great reflexes for different situations."

"Mine are better," Beelzebub said at the same time Leviathan insisted, "Mine are the best!"

[the-fyre-flie]

Bruce taking Clark out to dinner and spoiling him and kissing his cheek after every little date, causing Clark to fumble and quickly refuse his attention cuz "I-i dont w-wanna make a scene, M-Mr Wayne...////", but as soon as it's Batman and Superman, Supes is happily carrying Bats around and tending to him and always checking his heartrate/well being. He's so happy to just hug and lean on Batman, all while Batman huffes and scowls and pushes him away.

Their alternate egos are inverses of each other PDA wise and it's so cute :3c

[tearystarz]

Drew lil scene from @missylink 's dbh fanfic she's currently writing >:3 will link when published!!🫶

[buttercupshands]

Sketch dump of month old sketches I forgot to post

[erinwantstowrite]

was looking for a very specific image and instead stumbled across this gem that i don't believe i shared anywhere??? maybe on twitter but yknow what here we go

i do NOT remember the context of these doodles i think i was just being silly

i need to rewatch Saiki K again (it used to be my entire personality)

sobbing i miss this old pen (accidentally deleted it and have never been able to replicate it the way it was </3)

[keitorin3]

Short: Finding Merlin

Arthur: What do you mean you can't find Merlin?

Leon: I mean we can't find him, Sire. We've asked all the servants and before you ask, yes we've checked the Tavern.

Arthur: *Paces* Then search the forests I want him found understood!?

Leon: Yes Sire. *Walks out the door but hears the King mutter*

Arthur: *mutters* Idiot thinks he can escape this marriage... Ha just wait until I show him his wedding robes, he'll look like a noble and absolutely hate it. 👰🏻‍♂️

Leon: *suffers and leaves quickly*

Gwaine: So what did the princess do this time?

Leon: Apparently he gave Merlin his mother's sigil awhile back and Merlin only just found out, thanks to Gwen, what a noble offering a sigil means to their intended.

Gwaine: No way! The princess proposed marriage to Merlin without even telling him?!

Leon the long suffering: Indeed. Merlin is a commoner and while he has improved since he first arrived here, he still doesn't know all the intricacies of nobility.

Gwaine: So Merlin got mad and went off to who knows where?

Leon: It would seem.

Gwaine: How long do we have before his royalness starts going off to find Merlin himself?

Random Servant: *Shouts* The King is gone!

Gwaine: ... 😅

Leon: ... 😭

Merlin: *Returns dragging an unconscious and dirty Arthur on horseback*

Gwen: Oh, what happened? Did you get attacked? Are you both OK? Where have you been Merlin? Everyone has been looking for you.

Merlin: I'm ok Gwen, I went to talk about something important. Nothing bad happened, I left a note with Gaius on where I went.

Elyan: Ah, he got called on an emergency birth with one of the down town ladies, hasn't been back yet.

Merlin: *Huffs* And so that was reason for this idiot to go off and start a kingdom wide hunt for me? The Dollphead...

Gwen: *sigh* We did try to tell him he was being a bit paranoid. But he thought after your argument on the sigil he might have scared you off... *Looks to the unconscious King resting on the horse* What happened to him?

Merlin: Pfft, *smirks* the King fainted.

Elyan: He... Fainted...

Merlin: Yup. I found the idiot riding like a madman and when he finally calmed down enough to actually listen to me I told him I just went off to talk with Kilgharrah and Aithusa.

Gwen: Ok, that explains where you went, but then what happened to make Arthur faint?

Merlin: Aha, well... 😅

[BEFORE, IN THE FOREST]

Arthur: So what was it that you need to talk to dragons for? Did you get your answers? *Trying and failing not to stare at Merlin while walking beside him*

Merlin: Hmm I did *Reaches out to grasp Arthur's hand and paused their walking*

Arthur: Merlin?

Merlin: *Breathes deeply before taking something from his pocket and into Arthur's hand*

Arthur's heart dropped when he felt a round shape of a coin and it showed in his eyes what he believes this to be.

Merlin: *Noticed Arthur's sudden sad mood, rolled his eyes* Dollphead, opened your hand before jumping to conclusions! 🙄

Arthur: *Opens hand* Wait, is this...

Merlin: *Squirms and fidgets* I wanted to ask Kilgharrah about Dragon Lord Courting triditions. And well, he wasn't too informed in that but knew of Dragon Lords giving a Dragon scale as gifts and I asked Aithusa for one of hers, being her Dragon Lord after all... And well he said I could shape it, so I used my magic to carve it and well, being a dragon lord and you a Pendragon I thought why not Twin dragons?

In Arthurs hand was a white-silver sigil that shines faintly with Twin dragons circling each other and behind them he recognises the druids triskel symbol.

Arthur: *In Awe and too speechless for words*

Merlin: It also is embedded with my magic and acts like a... Connection between us. I'll be to find you as long as you have it and you'll be able to find me. My magic would guide you. Maybe then you won't have to go on a kingdom wide search for me. *Laughs*

Arthur: *Smiles* Heh, so a Merlin Finder? About time, do you know how hard it is to find idiot warlocks lately?

Merpin: *Smiles fondly* Prat.

Merlin: *Looks serious* That's not all either. Arthur, your a prat and a dollop head. I know I tell you you're always a bit thick in the head but I never knew how much until I realised the significance of your mother's sigil. You had to go about proposing to me in the most infuriating way without even telling me.

Merlin: But I know more then anyone how good of a man you are, how much you work to be fair to your people. And the thought of you having those kind of feelings for me was too good to be true. Because I would have said yes. Always I'd say yes. I feel like I was born to love you Arthur. Prophecys and destiny may play a part, but I would always chose you.

Arthur: *Dumbfounded*

Merlin: *Rolls his eyes* I'm proposing cabbagehead. I'll marry you. ❤️💍

Arthur: ... 😳🤯💞 *Faints and falls into a puddle*

Merlin: ...

[END OF FLASHBACK]

Merlin: *Blushes with a laugh* I accepted his proposal. He ended up going into shock after and fell over into a small puddle.

Gwen: Oh! 😃 Merlin I'm so happy for you!

Elyan: Yeah, cheers mate. *Mutters to himself* Thank god all the pining is over.

Arthur: *Wakes up* I had the most fantastic dream! Merlin gave me a sigil and accepted my proposal~!

Merlin: *Speaks from the fireplace* It wasn't a dream Arthur!

Arthur: 😍 You love me! 💖

Merlin: 🙄❤️ *Walks up and kisses Arthur* Yes I do.

Arthur: 💘🥴💕 Merlin Loves me~! Merlin will marry me~

Merlin: *Fond and in love* 🥰

The (Merlin's) Knights: FINALLY!

Castle Servants: FINALLY!

All of Camelot: FINALLY!

Kilgharrah: The two halves have finally become one.

Aithusa: *Chirps*

[egophiliac]

so on the subject of the "Crowley is secretly Revaan/Laverne/Levin/please Twst give us his name" theory, I think my feelings are best summed up as "I don't really buy it, but it's funny". like, in all seriousness, I'm not opposed to it; I have enjoyed the writing in Twst so far and I'm willing to trust that whatever happens will, you know, make sense and not be terrible. but I'm just not really convinced by the current evidence! maybe that'll change once we learn more, we'll see!

with that said, may I propose a few alternate theories about the possible Crowley/Revaan connection:

[ilkkawhat]

[orphicmeliora]

Secret identity au

You're what people call a walking disaster. You walk into a room, down a street, through a building, hell, even a park bench—anywhere at all—and it's almost guaranteed that someone, somehow, is getting hurt. Maybe a potted plant falls on a passerby. Maybe a toddler accidentally kicks you in the shin with a toy truck. Maybe a scooter mysteriously careens down a ramp and knocks over a vendor's hotdog stand. Either way, pain is usually involved, and statistically speaking, it’s either you or some other poor unfortunate soul caught in your gravitational field of chaos.

The worst part? Most of the time, it’s not even your fault. It’s like the universe itself has you on speed dial for comedic misfortune. Things just happen around you—doors swing open, drinks spill, ceiling tiles fall. Some say you’ve got a black cat’s luck. Others whisper it’s your evol to attract chaos like a lightning rod. Like some sort of cosmic magnet for near-death experiences.

Enter this Lumiere guy who shows up out of nowhere every time you need help. The masked man with a heroic streak and perfect timing. He always seems to be there the second you're dangling from a balcony, caught in a runaway shopping cart, or about to be squashed by a suspiciously fast-moving food delivery drone. He’s graceful, mysterious, and efficient—like if Batman had a Pinterest board full of soft lighting and silk capes. Naturally, you’re halfway in love. Because who doesn’t catch feelings for the guy who literally saves your life every 48 hours? The mask only makes it worse, honestly. What does he look like? Why won’t he take it off? Why does his voice sound like a lullaby dipped in espresso? It's all very stressful.

Anyway, fast forward. You're back from a long shift of not dying (you tripped, a ladder fell, long story), and you’re practically vibrating with excitement over your latest Lumiere sighting. So you do the most obvious thing: call your bestie to fangirl.

You're pacing in the hallway, phone pressed to your ear, animatedly relaying every detail ("I swear, his cape glowed when the sun hit it—no, I'm not exaggerating! And then he caught me—like, full-on princess-style caught me, I thought I was gonna die, but no, he just—ugh, the way he looked down at me, I swear—") when the elevator finally dings and the doors glide open.

That’s when you notice him.

You falter mid-sentence. “Hold on, I think my neighbor wants to murder me with his eyes.”

Xavier doesn’t even blink.

He’s standing a few feet away, waiting to get past you into the hallway, staring like you’ve personally offended his ancestors. As your words trail off, he levels you with the kind of look usually reserved for gum on expensive shoes.

You lower the phone slightly. “Uh…hi?”

Nothing. Just a sharp exhale through the nose and that judgmental, soul-piercing stink eye like you’re the human equivalent of elevator Muzak.

The man is wearing a plain white hoodie and sweatpants like he walked out of a moody fitness ad, and yet he exudes the same intensity as someone plotting world domination—or at the very least, filing a very strongly-worded HOA complaint.

You step aside as he brushes past, muttering something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like “loud.” The nerve.

Okay then.

You resume your call, lowering your voice only slightly. “I don’t know what this guy’s deal is. I’m not that loud. Maybe he’s allergic to joy?” Okay, maybe your voice carries, but you’re excited! You could’ve died! Again! Some people journal. Some people drink. You cope with high-volume storytelling and minor public disturbances.

And you’re just about to get over it when something weird happens. Just for a second, Xavier's hoodie sleeve slips up as he adjusts the grocery bag in his hand.

There’s a flicker of something silver peeking out from under the fabric. Thin, intricate. Almost…mask-like?

Wait.

No.

It can’t be.

Can it?

[somewhereincairparavel]

okay but imagine. Thalia Grace, after Jason's death, in a fit of desperation, comes racing to Nico di Angelo, wanting him to summon his ghost, because she just wants to talk to her brother one last time. Before it's too late. Before he reaches Elysium, since the closest she could get to talking to her brother after he goes to the hero's paradise is through dreams, and that wasn't enough for her. Seeing his fragmented soul through dreams is not nearly good enough. She wants the message to reach him. The real him. Not a loomy remnant. She wants to apologise, as she feels her soul being hollowed out with guilt.

She should've looked for Jason, even after their mother told her that he's dead.

She shouldn't have been so busy with the hunters that she would have to cut their brother-sister conversation short.

She should've realised how much her brother craved her attention.

She should've come to the chb meeting that she'd promised jason she'd come to, she shouldn't have made her brother wait like a lost puppy.

The look in jason's eyes when she told him she'd have to leave was etched on to her face. Permanently scarring her soul.

She should've been a better sister. She failed him. She failed to make him feel wanted. She hoped Jason didn't face his death thinking that she didn't need him. Because Gods of Olympus, that would break her.

And she poured all of these gut wrenching thoughts to Nico, who suprisingly listened. Yes. Nico did resent Thalia for being in the hunters of Artemis, the same group that got his sister killed. But listening to Thalia pour her heart out to him, really hit a little too close to home. The daughter of Zeus seemed to echo a young nico, trying aimlessly to summon his sister's ghost to talk to her. They both had the same hollow red eyes, burning with hot tears streaming down, the same crease in the eyebrows, the same flicker of rage over their siblings's murder. At that moment, Thalia Grace looked as unthreatening as the king of all god's daughter could possibly look like.

But Nico was glad, that Thalia, atleast cared about her little brother to this extent. Up until this point, Nico had these lingering doubts if Bianca had really cared about him like this, she had dropped everything to join the hunters after all. Hearing Thalia talk about jason had healed his inner child. Maybe big sisters do think about their younger brothers, no matter how busy they appear to be... So he complied to her wishes. She deserved closure from her brother's death. It would do Jason some good too.

He poured all of his concentration into summoning the son of Jupiter, as Thalia anxiously chewed on her nails, pacing around the murky woods in anticipation. Until a wispy figure with rimmed glasses and neatly cropped hair, appeared in front of them.

"Hello, sis."

Nico di Angelo and Thalia Grace were more or less the same, when it came to wanting to make amends with their deceased sibling.

Except Thalia was the older sister who wanted her younger brother back, And Nico was the younger brother who wanted his older sister back.

[crazymecjc]

goodbye, partner.