#fic; community blowback

[bisexualnathanyoung]

Tell me more 👀

In front of God and everybody?

Uhhhh putting a readmore bc I just got to typing and didn’t stop. Anybody feel free to comment how you feel about it ✌️.

No but like I just felt like the Nathan I write wouldn’t be stupid enough to try to risk fucking up his entire life while he has a little baby, but then I remembered canon Nathan did, and I also realize that’s how a lot of people end up in jail or prison. When someone just needs money and uses the resources they have, but it still breaks the law, and they get caught, but people do things like that to support their families in any way they can sometimes.

And we know he’s cocky and confident, and that’s always how it goes isn’t it? “Those people got caught, but not me, I know what I’m doing.”And I’m not gonna put him away for life or anything, but just a few months while he’s got a little tiny baby is so heartbreaking.

I don’t know if I’m going to do the America thing. I don’t know how I’d write it if I decide to, but part of it is Mel that absolutely can’t stand Louise, but she’s got no one else to go to, and it wouldn’t be a redemption for Louise by any means, just a “oh this fucking sucks.”

And I just feel like that’d be something Nathan would never get over, and it would just contribute to him wondering why his dad was never around because he’s felt shitty for over a decade because he made one or a few mistakes and missed his daughter’s first birthday.

And I mean we could all write really scary fics about what could happen in jails and prisons, but I feel like if something awful did happen, he’d never tell Mel about it.

He’d just never stop apologizing for it because he feels like (and maybe he did) he let her down just like his dad did to his mum, and even if she tries and tries to tell him that it is different, he’d never believe her.

And I know there’d be a part of her that doesn’t want to forgive him. Because how could he be so stupid? How could he risk something like that? How could he leave her alone with her tiny baby with no else to care for her?

And then, Mel’s got her own trauma with not wanting to turn out like her mum, and she’s just like “here I am at 21 years old with my bastard kid whose dad is in jail, is this the rest of my life?” And I think a part of her would definitely go to knowing where and how they got together, knowing he’s done bullshit like this before, and wondering if her daughter is going to have a dad. And she doesn’t regret having her baby. She loves her baby. But she wonders if it was the right decision. She wonders if it’s fair to Rowan that she’s going to grow up exactly like Mel did. Council flat. Mum never home from working two jobs. Living in an area where people get mugged at 10am. (she doesn’t, but, in the moment, Mel definitely sees it that way).

I don’t know. I’ve thought about it a lot in a couple of different ways, and I’m not sure how I’d write it. I’m writing a couple of things now that the basic idea is that it was something money related, but they’ve stayed in England, and it’s for a few months when Ro is a baby.

Idk if any of that made sense

[meowzilla93]

Hello! I saw your rant post and I wanted to ask if we could get the context behind it? It seems kinda out of nowhere and I saw the tag list on tumblr and didn't saw anything negative towards any character. I also just want to know to avoid this person, I really don't want to interact with toxic people ://

Thank you for your answer

hello anon!

i hope you are doing well ᓚᘏᗢ

first and foremost, i won't be naming any names here. yes, my post was vague, and that was the point of it. because the truth of the matter is that no matter the fandom, this sort of behaviour is evident in all of them and i was calling it all out. identifying the people directly can cause more harm than good, and it is not my intention to victimize anyone.

it just so happened that recent events regarding a specific community pissed me off to no end this time round, and it was a long time coming.

in a way i am glad that you have not seen anything yourself from specific tags and the community, but the reality is that people who choose to target a set group or a set character and don't want blowback from it wont tag their posts to make them easily accessible. however, if you interact with enough blogs, basically the '6 degrees of separation' rule comes into affect, where blogs that interact with that fandom start to link to each other and you unfortunately will end up with a blog that doesnt align with your taste or morals on your feed and you get an unhealthy dose of toxicity from it

this happens on all forms of social media; where i have been seeing this kind of activity is more so on twitter, but it has happened here on tumblr too.

i do want to stress that when i do see this kind of toxicity i do block/mute them from my feed so i dont have to see it, but it doesnt stop it from existing. and then seeing how it affects the people around me because unfortunately its not so easy for them to get away from it, it just hurts me deeply

if you know my blog well enough, you know i am a massive fan of OLBA currently, and thats typically what i post, amongst other fandom stuff that interests me, however its typically OLBA.

the OL series is all about acceptance and understanding and openness with one another. discrimination, bullying, anything like that doesnt exist in the story and shouldnt exist in the fandom either.

its unfortunate to see that regardless of the type of community it should be, that negativity and toxicity exists regardless. as some one as part of the LGBTQIA+ community, i have unfortunately seen comments that are against what the community stands for. i have seen commentary that is essentially bullying of one account or a collective for the sort of content they produce. hyprocritical comments, calling out someone for their content but going ahead and making that content themselves.

if you have not seen this sort of activity, im grateful for it. truly, its not nice to see this kind of stuff, and if you do, blocking and muting it is the best option to avoid them and keep to the healthier side of the fandom

please note, this blog will always be an open blog, other than calling out this poor behaviour, the entire purpose of this blog is to be positive!

to share fics and and art and headcannons and thoughts about all characters in the fandom i am a part of, because i am trying to share the love i have for the series with others and have great discussions around them

i know this was a vague answer anon, but i hope you understand the reasoning behind why and wish you all the best

your friendly neighborhood kaiju,

ᓚᘏᗢ

[antimony-medusa]

Question for the qsmp community. If I wrote a modern au that had background/implied qphil/qwilbur where they are both adults and definitely not related would people be normal. Or would everyone immediately hate it bc of the ship. I wanna make it clear im not trying to get attention for a potential fic i just want to know if you guys think i would get death threats.

Asking here for further reach, to remain anonymous, and to generate opinions and discussion! Thanks :)

That's an interesting question, and I welcome other people weighing in on that! I think I have definitely seen fics float by that have implied background qphil/qwilbur, and I don't recall the authors getting hate in their notes. Your milage may vary, but I've seen people do it and be fine. Note that these were e-rated fics however so people were already a bit more ready to be freaky, you might find more pushback if you're writing something teen-rated?

But the familial relationship on QSMP is much less firmly defined than it was on DSMP, and frankly a fair bit of the sandduo interactions are kind of uncomfortable to interpret as being between a father son duo, so when it comes to things people are doing with ships, saying "actually they're not related and wilbur's extended sexual discussions with someone he wants to approve of him are /sex" is not the craziest ship out there.

If you were doing main focus philbur I would say be prepped for hate comments or people telling you to add warning tags— I did once see someone with a "they're not related" tag with someone in their notes arguing with them that they should tag it for incest or pseudo-incest, even though best as I could tell that wasn't a feature of the work at all, it was an au where they were like, unrelated coworkers. But just as a background ship, honestly most people are not reading that closely.

My general guess would be that you'd be fine if it was e-rated, you're not gonna get more blowback than you would for smut for any other english-speaking streamer. It's a bit more dicey if you're wandering into the wilds of the t-rated and m-rated fics.

I would recommend starting out in the Anon collection if you're unsure, I have literally done the research and people will still happily read anon fics. It just won't be traceable back to you if someone decides they hate the author of this HORRIBLE fic where the cubitos do (less than they've done on screen in sorry boy videos now).

Anyways I'm very sleepy so if someone else has opinions, feel free to weigh in! I am just someone who browses in the tag sometimes, I don't have a lot of experience with posting QSMP fic. Tell anon your thoughts if you will.

[livebloggingmydescentintomadness]

now that it’s all over, i gotta say how incredible and bitterly hilarious it is that not even greed is stronger than homophobia.

like, people love misha collins. people love castiel. when they killed cas off in s7, viewership dropped by thirty percent and they had to scramble to rewrite him back into the show - and he’s only gotten more popular since then. at spn conventions, they have two costume competitions - one for castiel cosplayers, and one for everyone else. there are only a fraction of sam and dean costumes compared to cas costumes. misha is, as far as i know, the only cast member to do photo ops as his character - he puts on the suit and coat and takes pictures with fans while behaving like cas. people love it.

and people love destiel. it’s one of the biggest ships on the fucking planet. it has 90k+ fics on ao3. you can find destiel merch just about anywhere. after 15x18, destiel trended online over the presidential election. 

a ton of people tuned into the finale just on the hope that cas/misha would return, that they’d been lied to when it was said 15x18 was his last episode. if they had teased a clip of cas coming back - forget that, if they had teased a clip of a kiss? millions of people would have tuned in to see it happen. people who’d never watched the show and never would have watched the finale would have watched. sure, they would have faced some blowback from the conservative fans, but that wouldn’t have mattered after the finale.

and if they had embraced cas and embraced destiel, they could have milked that cash cow for years. they could have marketed to the entire queer community, they could have patted themselves on the back and “proven” they were never queerbaiting at all. they could have grown the fandom instead of shrinking it. the money-making opportunities on cas and destiel are practically limitless.

instead, they fucked over not only cas fans and destiel fans, but dean fans and sam fans; i’m not in w*ncest and bronly circles, but i can’t imagine even they enjoyed this, considering sam just moved on with his life after dean died and they were separated for 50 years. people are utterly furious. there’s a real chance that this fandom is going to completely implode, game of thrones style, and nobody will want to go to cons or buy spn merch anymore. it could have been cool to like spn, now it’s more embarrassing than ever before.

and all that because some dudes out there were like, i hate the idea of two men kissing more than i love piles of money. that’s fucking wild.

[gullethead]

what is your opinion on tamsyn muir discourse (and also what is the discourse)

THANK you. okay warning for discussion of fictional sexual assault, real life CSA (not something she did), plus 2012-era homestuck fandom typical stuff

please rb this btw, unless you dont want to, in which case dont. also if you have any corrections or additional information to consider please add by all means

disclaimer: im not in the habit of writing essays defending whichever internet personalities i like. ill admit theres potential bias, given that i read the books before i learned about this, but im really being as objective as possible and i just think people are taking a misguided or half-formed stance on this. if you still dislike her or w/e after this thats, like, perfectly in your rights. im not defending an adult woman on the internet, im explaining the facts as ive seen them and understand them. additional disclaimer that i havent experienced sexual assault at all myself

okay so tamsyn muir is currently well-known as the author of the locked tomb trilogy (aka gideon the ninth and harrow the ninth), but for a certain section of tumblr shes also well known as urbanAnchorite, and used to be a big name fan on here up until around 2014 - pretty close to everything here is going to be from roughly 2011 through 2014, except for an interview im gonna get into, so 7-10 years ago. i was only vaguely aware of her until after i got into the locked tomb and saw people talking about this. with that in mind:

so the MAJORITY of the discourse revolves around a single fic she wrote on AO3. her account has 19 works in homestuck, and some of them are Kinda Weird to Pretty Bad in retrospect, but being completely honest this is the only one that isnt completely stock standard for homestuck fandom in that time period. like if we started casting stones about ten year old fandom stuff we'd be here all day

here is the fic (warning for CSA)

in most of the posts about it ive seen, theyve described it as a "rapefic," but actually reading it, it's a lot more nuanced than that description implies. its a dark story where a grown man abuses a girl, from the man's perspective, and the story ends with him being killed by her friend. the description of the assault is treated very seriously by the story and barely even touches on any actual sex, before immediately cutting to him being killed. its lolita if humbert got shot to death; the title itself comes FROM lolita

(sidenote - it was inspired by a prompt on kinkmeme, but that doesn't really mean anything vis a vis being intended for sexual enjoyment, and according to the note actually went against the spirit of the request)

ive seen fics, lots and lots of fics, that would qualify as the term "rapefic." it tends to be pretty fucking obvious when someone is using sexual assault as a fetish, and this is Not That

tamsyn herself actually responded to this in an excellent interview early last year. she gets into some Fandom Mom type language, but essentially says what i said above. in it, she also says this:

It’s not the first time I’ve been accused of being a paedophile. I grew up gay in the nineties. Homosexuality and paedophilia were enmeshed in society’s minds. When I came out, I got told that I shouldn’t be around children. I was used to that because it was common discourse, and it hurt like all hell, but it didn’t shock me. When I got called a paedophile by Twitter I got clotheslined. My support network had to get in pronto. I was very ready to have a hot date with a length of rope, a date I have arranged and cancelled multiple times over my life. I have had lots and lots of therapy over the years for various conditions, some of them lifelong and some not, but when that Twitter call-out happened it was hard to want to live. I thought I knew so intimately what I was doing with my fiction; my therapist was always so supportive of me writing about it. I have not been open about being a CSA survivor because, again, I grew up in the ‘90s. ‘Lesbian’ and ‘CSA survivor’ is just carte blanche so a whole queue of people can tell you, I HOPE ONE DAY, WITH LOVE AND SUPPORT, YOU CAN BE STRAIGHT. It was like, right this way to the invalidation booth. I didn’t even tell most of my girlfriends! I told one! It’s not a topic of discussion between me and my family; I am relying on them not reading my interviews so it can remain where it belongs: thoroughly undiscussed!

with this context it becomes... a lot more nuanced of a topic. an author who experienced CSA in addition to growing up in a cultural climate where gay people were pedophiles by default, especially growing up catholic in a rural community, wrote a work about childhood sexual assault (which also happened to be fanfiction) as a way of working through it for herself, which is... something a lot of artists do with their art? and in return she got a massive blowback on twitter accusing her of pedophilia and demanding she talk about a massively traumatic moment in her life

this is the major sticking point of the discourse, im not gonna get into anything else on this post, but this is my view of it. if you disagree or have anything to add then feel free to add on. again, i know what it looks like, but im not trying to uncritically defend a stranger just cause i like her book. this is the conclusion i came to after doing a lot of digging for myself

[angst-fairygodmother]

OMG OMG YOUR NATHAN FICS ARE SOOOO GOOD. LIKE I CAN HEAR HIM. I NEED MORE

Hi Nonny!

You are very sweet, and I'm flattered that you took the time to read, and send me such a sweet message. Unfortunately, I am taking a break from writing for the Misfits universe. It just...doesn't suit me all that well.

That said, I can recommend someone even better.

I've been rereading (to finish reading) @bisexualnathanyoung's Community Blowback series and I have to say Mel is one of the best additions to Misfits I've read. The series and its side bits are all a really fantastic blend of elements, and a really solid passionate "Fuck you Howard Overman" and we love. Seriously, if you haven't checked it out, go now. It's worth it.

[meggannn]

shepard/garrus?

oh boy, sorry for the late response! I always end up posting these things and then going to read/take a nap/play a game or something. anyway writing this up took two hours, i hope it is even slightly interesting to read. cut because this is looooooong

What made you ship it?

I think I was interested in this ship before I even played ME. I was just like “I know Shepard is a character and an alien named Garrus is a character, and people draw porn of them together.” because I think it’s reasonable to say it’s one of, if not the most, popular ship in the fandom, or at least in ME’s tumblr fandom? and the way people talked about it, I knew their tropes were #banter, #battle couple, #partnerships, and... and as we’ve learned from royai, I am a bit weak to those tropes (assuming I like both of the characters). the way people talked about them also from a “best friends” angle—which is sort of forced in-game in a way that seems strange to me now—was also a plus in its favor at the time. (if they get together, I do see their friendship/companionship, in whatever form, in some ways integral to their romance—unless you’re playing full far-right renegade who’s like a xenophobe and hate-fucking Garrus, I guess?—but Bioware also kind of shoehorned Garrus into that best-friend role and that’s a topic for another day.)

What are your favorite things about the ship?

(my friend will hit me if I say “partnerships” again) I’m gonna talk about the way I play my Shepard now, because so much is dependent on the unique Shepard. for Lydia’s journey over the series, I see a large part of her journey as basically a study of her (often self-inflicted) loneliness. and she never entirely breaks her habits of self-isolation, but the events of the series force her to be vulnerable in a way she would prefer not to be in front of a crew, or, y’know, ever. Garrus becomes an integral part of that story to help her break her out of these bad habits (all of the crew does, particularly also Ashley for my Shep), but to my eyes, the story of “Shepard and Garrus’s relationship” is also one of mutual respect, burden-sharing, and sanity and morality checks.

I don’t think of their “mentor” relationship in ME1 very often mostly because I don’t think it was done particularly well, but for all its faults, I do like how naturally the jump from “subordinate” in ME1 to “ally” in ME2 felt; once you meet Garrus on Omega you feel more on the same footing as two friends greeting each other because you’ve both recently been through trauma and the sight of a friendly face in a station full of hostiles is so unexpectedly welcome that it lets them both hope things will be okay for a minute. starting from that moment, Garrus becomes one of the few people who can see “under” her mask, I guess: partly because he’s one of the few combatants from the SR-1 who knows Shepard well and sees who she is both on the field and onboard the SR-2, with the ability to compare both to the times of “before you died”; partly because he has trauma response training and recognizes it in others even if he doesn’t in himself; partly because his loyal personality makes him sensitive to wonder how she’s dealing with being resurrected; and also partly because they’ve both gone through similar things. namely, getting your squad killed and blaming yourself for it, and it possibly being your fault (BioWare is inconsistent on what Shepard’s role was on Akuze, but in ME1 she has the chance to reply that she was responsible for getting them out safely, and failed).

necessity forces Shepard to adapt to things like being effectively forced to work for terrorists; being isolated from her support system; being resurrected and feeling like a stranger in her own body; later, getting decommissioned for making an incredibly difficult call to save the galaxy; watching your homeworld burn; being forced into a political role negotiating high stakes you don’t know how to play; being told you’re the spearhead of a galactic war; doing all of this without a full crew complement; the list goes on. those are all, on their own, incredibly isolating, traumatic experiences, and my Shepard’s not emotionally sane at the best of times. (emotionally stable, perhaps, only in the most literal of terms, at least on the surface. she’s like a rock when shit hits the fan. emotionally sane, no, for that reason and more.)

the tables have turned, and Garrus ends up becoming a large part of helping her regain agency in most if not all of those things: in ME2 he was a former crew member she trusted, and he was eager to work for her and be distracted from his failures on Omega. over in the battery, he is himself recovering from a major injury (like Shepard) and going through the aftermath of a bloodbath he feels responsible for (like Shepard), working on a crew that holds him at arm’s length, that he also... arguably... didn’t have much choice in joining (like Shepard—I’m assuming he wasn’t held hostage and joined voluntarily after waking up, but lbr this is unconfirmed). their reasons are different and varied, but they don’t realize until much later that they have found each other at the most opportune time, providing a sense of stability for each other, and also, frankly, sanity and morality checks.

in ME3, he steps into this role more fully because he’s become more disciplined, is doing work firmly in his wheelhouse, and paired up against Shepard struggling with their positions somewhat reversed from ME1: him more confident and her now completely out of her element, floundering with her place on a galactic scale. without Garrus—and Chakwas, and Joker, and Tali, and later the loyalty of the entire SR-2—the story of ME would be a tragedy, and it would end shortly in ME2; it’d be the story of how my Shepard slowly went insane being forced to fight boogeymen under a terrorist banner. Garrus isn’t, like, the keeper of her sanity, but their ability to check each other, and see themselves in the eyes of each other, provides stability and occasionally a bit of a wake-up call to both of them. when they’re both vulnerable, they both feel most seen, and most understood, by an alien that listens.

one angle of this ship that highly interests me at the moment, along with the above, is that while it’s not illegal for them to be together, it’s still... a really bad fucking idea lmao. (I could make the argument that it’s a bad idea for Shepard to be in any relationship with their crew but I think there are a few ships—Garrus, Tali, any Alliance crew at all—that realistically would be huge political clusterfucks.) so overcoming personal insecurity and fear of the unknown to acknowledge interest in each other, and the desire to become an item, getting roadblocked by a reality wake-up call with the fact that 1) she’s his boss, 2) Garrus comes from a society where station matters, like, sort of a lot and it even determines your job and how much legal power you have, 3) the potential political blowback (which would be ENORMOUS because lbr the hierarchy may not care about what turians do in off-hours but they WOULD care about the superior/subordinate thing, the human thing, the fact that they’re doing this while a war is going on. basically one of their best agents is on the Normandy to negotiate their interests and they’re basically at the whims of their relationship the whole time)... it’s a lot! all of that sort of makes it tragic, but I’m curious to see how they’d overcome it.

anyway, all of that is where I’m coming from when I think or write about this ship, but there’s a lot more I’m not mentioning here. there are a lot of juxtapositions that in my head that I’ve either added or extrapolated from canon that also interest me about this pairing. Garrus is a former cop, as is his father; Lydia is a poor kid who used to be in a gang out of necessity. Garrus is a turian with often traditionalist thinking; Shepard is a human who has much less sociopolitical power than him, even if she is his superior on the Normandy. both of them are roughly as old as the First Contact War, when their people were at each other’s throats not thirty years ago. Garrus idolizes Spectrehood while Lydia hates it, feeling it was forced on her. they can’t eat the same food. and yet despite all of that, and the fact that they need translators to communicate, they manage to understand each other when a lot of the world around them doesn’t.

god this is not even the full list of it. anyway I could go on but I’ll stop there lol.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

oh jesus, so much. I’m a grouchy and picky shipper, be warned.

pining can always make my ships more interesting, and imo it’s a consistent part of any ship of Shepard’s, considering it’s wildly inappropriate and unprofessional for her to be fucking any subordinate, so I think more consideration could be given to shakarian in the “we shouldn’t be having a thing and oh also you’re an alien and I’m kind of scared of both your government and your body” angle! I hope to explore that a bit with a fic I’m writing (if I ever finish it, god).

I hate the flavor of fandom!shakarian where Shepard romanced Kaidan in ME1 then felt “betrayed” when he’s confused and hurt on Horizon, so she gets with Garrus as like... revenge? idk. and then Garrus usually develops this bias against Kaidan as a sort of author mouthpiece (which is inconsistent with his characterization cause Garrus is nothing but pleased to have Kaidan back on the SR-2 in ME3!) and takes up the anti-Kaidan crusade cause K ~questioned the commander~ (since when does Garrus fall over himself defending a superior from criticism?) like, idk. I think Garrus can be sensitive to the fact that that reuniting must’ve been painful for Shepard, but also be aware that it was also really painful for Kaidan because all of Kaidan’s complicated feelings about Shepard’s resurrection were, realistically, things Garrus should’ve felt too! this trope is very popular but just feels like manufactured drama for drama’s sake, idk, I’m also not big on love triangles so. I would much rather people just rescue Ashley on Virmire and avoid the whole thing rather than have previously-romanced Kaidan around in ME3 for the sole purpose of forcing him to watch Shepard/Garrus being happy together tbh.

I think full goody-goody paragon Shepard is too preachy to make a good partner for Garrus and full shoot-anyone-in-my-way renegade Shepard encourages and emboldens his worst tendencies (and Castis Vakarian is right to disapprove of them). most people end up playing some combination of both, or if they do settle in one camp or the other, usually there is some sense of realism where Shepard doesn’t play nice/naive or play mean all the time, so it’s rare I see either of those kinds of extreme Shepards depicted, but in general if there is a Shepard that is so far in one direction it seems illogical to me that they ever stay together.

I think wanting a mShep romance for Garrus is a pretty welcome idea in fandom, but adding onto that, I think Garrus should’ve been romanceable in ME3 for players who changed their minds on other romances or want to play slow-burn romances! we had it for Kaidan—and should’ve had it for Ash—so (pounds fist on desk) Garrus too imo!

I hate the canon get-together because Shepard walking into the battery and asking “do you want to fuck” feels very tailored to the players who want to romance Garrus, not to who Commander Shepard is, imo. it lacked all of the subtlety and depth of some other romances—until the scene of Garrus coming to her cabin with a wine bottle, at least, cause I do like that scene, but anyway, I dislike the actual get-together.

just in general, I’m a stick in the mud, so my favorite iteration of this ship is where Shepard is resolutely professional, and the challenge of it becomes him getting her to open up, not the other way around. like, I think on some level every iteration of Shepard is a bit of a lunatic/eccentric, because you have to be to do the things they do, but I like to see their flirting with less of her calling him “big guy” (not sure where that came from, is that in canon? I must’ve missed it, but personally I don’t like it) and more of Garrus making wisecracks in the canteen while he’s talking to Joker, but he’s looking at her out of the corner of his eyes and he really said his joke with the aim of making her laugh, and as she’s reading her datapad she hears him, and even when she wants to chuckle she stops himself and just smirks cause she doesn’t want to give him the satisfaction of a laugh, but he sees her lips twitch and feels his heart flutter. that. I want more of that.

oh lastly, I hate “Shepard takes Vakarian clan markings” in any iteration. there is no canon relation to turians being poc—in fact I’d argue they have sociopolitical privilege real-world bipoc do not—but the concept of social face markings, face tattoos, etc., is rooted in non-white cultures and with the fact that 1) turians had a literal civil war over the territories those markings represent, 2) we don’t even know if marriage is how markings are shared or if non-turians are ever invited to wear them in the first place, 3) most of the art of this trend, lbr, is of mostly white Shepards in wedding dresses and blue face paint... all that combined just makes me frown and scroll faster every time I see it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bipoc Shepard with Vakarian face markings in fic/art, and that to me is very telling (not because they should have them, but because bipoc fans who make bipoc Shepards usually recognize when a racially-coded trope is uhhhhh not so great to appropriate for someone not of that group).

[seanfalco]

Fic Recs

I was challenged by @salvador-daley to pick three of my favourite fics to rec and here they areeee

@imagine-you‘s TUA/Danger Days crossover: Look Alive, Sunshine [Klaus Hargreeves x f!Reader] - It’s still ongoing, but it’s kept me on the edge of my seat!  It’s got angst, it’s got action, it’s got pining and tension, and most importantly it’s got Cowboy Klaus.  Mel does such a good job of seamlessly transplanting the Hargreeves into the world of the Fabulous Killjoys and the reader character is so interesting and relatable.

@super-unpredictable98‘s Irresistible Trouble AU [Spiller x f!Reader] - I don’t think I’ve encountered anyone else so far that writes for Robbie’s depiction of Spiller and I love how Flor captures his cocky personality so perfectly.  This series is super sweet with lots of fun banter and a really sexy smut scene.

@bisexualnathanyoung‘s Community Blowback [Nathan Young x OC (Melanie Albright)] - I absolutely love how Ry writes Nathan, and Mel is super relatable and so human, I love her to bits, and her relationship with Nathan is otp worthy.  There’s so much heart and Ry really fleshes out the canon story.

[honestsycrets]

Hey Sy, I was hoping you could help me find two Vikings fics, I can't remember who wrote them and I enjoyed both very much. The first is about a reader who was a ballerina and wanted children but Sigurd (who she was with) didn't want any kids and just kept telling her they'd have kids later. She left him because of this and got together with Ivar who was very sweet to her. She had sex with Ivar then a one night stand with Sigurd who steathed her and he reveals that at the baby shower. The second one is about a reader who was a nurse/history buff who fell back in time during a storm and was taken in by the Ragnarssons. She gives Ivar with hydrotherapy and helps a woman give birth by righting the child in the birth canal. She's told by the seer(?) that her only chance of getting home is during another storm and that's all I can remember. Even if you don't know which they are thank you

I can’t help you with the second as I’ve not read that one. However, the first one is mine called Red Little Shoes. I ended up discontinuing it because of fierce blowback between the Sigurd and Ivar communities that was making it too stressful to write in but it's mostly finished.

[opbackgrounds]

Why do you think that Nico Robin is such a popular character? It seems like everyone in the fandom (including me) absolutely loves her!

I think Robin’s popularity actually depends a lot depending on what demographic you’re in. I for one have always latched on to her character archetype and loved her even in her terrible 4Kids! southern accent voice, so I didn’t stand a chance. 

In the last popularity poll in Japan, Robin was ranked 12th, making her the 7th highest Straw Hat (when you include Jimbe) and the 3rd highest woman after Nami and Hancock. She’s not super popular in the fanfiction and fan art communities either, although she does get more art than fanfic from what I’ve seen (to be fair I don’t read as much fanfic as I used to, but dear god trying to find good Robin fics is like panning for gold). 

The most common complaints I’ve stumbled across are that Robin is boring, her power underutilized, and her ability to read the poneglyphs made superfluous because of Luffy’s ability to hear the Voice of All Things. 

Which is certainly a take. A bad one, but a take nonetheless.

I think what counterbalances this is that there are very few Robin haters. She doesn’t have the polarizing traits of say, a Sanji, nor is she outspoken like Nami in a way that draws in detractors. For the people who don’t like her she’s just kinda there, which helps the people who do like her gush without much blowback.

And there’s a lot to like. Robin has a strong design (pre-time skip especially), an amazing devil fruit, was introduced as a mysterious villain with a dark past turned Straw Hat Pirate, and brings a whole different dynamic to the crew. She exudes peak cool goth aunt energy, and then you read her backstory and you just want to give her a hug if you weren’t afraid she’d break your spine. It’s like Wednesday Addams was fused with Matilda Wormwood, and wouldn’t you know it those two are also very popular characters within certain circles. 

Robin’s struggles resonate with a lot of people in a powerful way, and the resolution to that struggle is heart warming and makes you want to cheer her on. I liked Robin way before the Enies Lobby arc, but the writing is so tight and so good that a lot of people latch on to her there. It makes sense to me that the character who received the most focus during the most well-regarded arc in the series would also be well regarded within the fandom.    

[bisexualnathanyoung]

Your favorite WIP or finished fic? 👀

It has to be Community Blowback from how much work I’ve put into it. I love all of my emotional little fics, but Community Blowback is one of the first big projects I’ve ever dedicated my energy too, and I just love Nathan and Mel. I also really like the Nathan/Kelly fic I wrote.

[wayhaughtficrec]

To piggy back off your last ask I been having some trouble with moving forward in my fic. It's just smut after smut chapter (some wayhaught, some other ships) and I am debating of adding something (to be blunt, incest which I know can get some blowback) to it but i haven't tagged it from the beginning. Unsure if it happens and I am unsure how to properly warn readers if I do add it. Will just a massive warning at the chapter (along with adding the tag) work? Especially as itll be just 1 chapter

Look, I’m very biased here when it comes to incest and I have a tricky time looking at it objectively. I’m just really not a fan of it on my own personal level. But if you MUST include it in your fic, I’d recommend adding that into the tags and a warning in the notes for that chapter. I’d also recommend making that chapter not super critical to the plot if possible so that if a reader does decide to skip the chapter they can at least jump into the next and understand what’s happening.

But yes, be prepared for blow back. And maybe think about why you’re planning on including that in your story? Does it add anything? Does it change anything? Is it actually needed? Is the the shock value? And if it is a matter of just needing to move forward in writing on a person level, maybe write that chapter for yourself to get it out of the way. You don’t have to post it even if it gets you were you need to be writing wise. I would sit down and think this one out, I don’t think it should be taken lightly.

This might be a weird comparison, and I could be like totally off, and if I am, sorry! But this kind of feels like when a couple wants to have a kid because their marriage isn’t working, because maybe it will spice things up! But really, what it needs is work on the marriage. With that said, there are tons of resources out there for getting back into the grove of writing, things like prompt pages, blog posts, beta readers, and writing communities both on tumblr and elsewhere. Visit those places and feel it out all your ideas, get feedback and inspiration. You can even come here to ask about ideas and feel things out. I just want you to think critically about your choices before you make the.

Folks, what do you all think? How do you help yourself move forward when writing?

[sidmjkgc]

FicRec: General Hux x Rare Pairs

Guess who’s my favorite character in the new SW trilogy? That’s right, it's Hux! 

Last year I had fun making a multishipping fic rec list (check it here), that’s why I decided to make another one for all your needs.  This time I chose to go with the theme: rare pairs focused on Hux. 

Enjoy your reading!

(and remember: if you don’t like it, don’t read it)

Gingerpilot (Hux / Poe Dameron)

• Future Crimes by glitterstim (8,497 words) • If I Ever Leave This World Alive by @jrcashwrites (10,533 words - WIP) • Lucky Me by Angryangryowl (446 words) • Clandestine by @jrcashwrites (4,243 words) • Hate Sex on the Line by @mugglelissa (4,246 words - series) • A Deal Struck by @kylo-ren-has-an-8pack (2,477 words)

Reyux (Hux / Rey)

• Blowback by @fatalfascination (2,587 words) • Party Your Way to Fitness! by @isharan (2,732 words) • Tailor Hux by @darth-ej (4,913 words)

Damereyux (Hux / Poe Dameron / Rey)

• Between the Lines by @poerosehux (4,297 words - WIP)

Huxma (Hux / Captain Phasma)

• Violets by @saloontime (2,112 words) • A General visit by Aoratos (1,071 words) • Before you go by GhostOfDorothyStreet (781 words) • True Reverence by @frillyfacefins (3,059 words) • Schöne Schuhe by schreibwarenhandlung (1,438 words)

Hitaka (Hux / Dopheld Mitaka)

• Marked as Mine by rudbeckia (1,536 words) • "Just Stay, Dammit" by @white-rainbowff (2,509 words) • Jenny by @aicosu (2,705 words)

Finnhux (Hux / Finn)

• Advancement by amoretpsyche (2,395 words) • Quid Pro Quo by @glare-gryphon (2,332 words) • Architect of His Own Betrayal by valda (748 words) • Sweet Beginnings, Bitter Ends by @disregardcanon (4,048 words)

Gingerbuns (Hux / Leia Organa)

• A Word of Advice by @eralkfang (2,275 words) • Playing Offense by @millicentthecat (451 words)

Hux x [others / mentioned ship]

• Magic Mirror on the Wall, Who is the Fairest of Them All? by Lady_Zri (53,948 words) • Wanted by Skitty_Kat (344 words) • More Than Enough by @sithofren (694 words) • Choices by lionofwrath (1,135 words) • put me through my paces, sir by @misayawriting (4,562 words)

(tags, summaries and comments under the read more) 

Future Crimes by glitterstim

- rating: Explicit - tags: Pre-Star Wars: TFA,  Orgasm Denial, Spanking, Drugs, Alcohol - summary: Poe can't say no to Leia. Hux only wants to say no to Poe.

comment: My brain can only say that meme “this shit is so good, so good, some good shit right here” and I can’t honestly blame it.  There's a nice setting that sets you on fire alongside with Poe. It hits every single spot you can think of, and even more. That good smut that makes you want to howl at the moon, to be honest.

If I Ever Leave This World Alive by jrcashwrites

- rating: Teen And Up Audiences - tags: Established Relationship, Black Mirror-AU, Force Ghosts, Paranormal, Probably an inappropriate use of the Force, Beyond the Grave, Technology, Communicating with spirits, Technically one character is dead, But they are very much "alive" - summary: After General Hux is confirmed dead in the destruction of Starkiller, Poe is left with nothing aside from the grief that the man he loved is gone forever...or so he thinks. The Force can work in mysterious ways.

comment:  It starts with Poe grieving for his dead lover, and you feel all the pain he feels, but then something magical happens and Hux comes back. Sort of. Based on the episdoe “Be right back” form Black Mirror (go watch it if you haven’t), I know I am gonna cry at some point on this fic. I know it. 

Lucky Me by Angryangryowl

- rating: Explicit - tags: Captive Hux, Power Play, Kissing, Biting, Dirty Talk, Rimming - summary: Hux is captured by the Resistance, and confronted by an ace pilot who may not be a total stranger..

comment:  Can a fic of less than 500 words hit you in the nice spots and leave you craving for more? Yes, yes, it can. Fuck yes if it can.

Clandestine by jrcashwrites

- rating: Explicit - tags: Ending up at the same place at the same time, some smut, Some Plot, Blow Jobs, Booty Calls, One Shot - summary: Poe pilots Leia to negotiations between the Resistance and First Order, not expecting to run into General Hux. The pilot and General use the situation to their advantage.

comment: The sexual tension between these two is so palpable in this fic, and it's hot and sexy and it makes you crave more. On a side note, I loved this universe/canon divergence: it was so nice to read it, the entire world unfolds under your eyes. And Leia is sweet.

Hate Sex on the Line by mugglelissa

- rating: Explicit - tags: Post-Star Wars: TLJ, Humor, Crack, Smut, Prank Wars, Phone Sex, Masturbation, Dirty Talk, Smut, Resolved Sexual Tension - summary: Poe's weekly prank call to one General Hux quickly and unexpectedly turns into something else. /  Poe continues his calls to Hux. Some things are too good to quit. / Hux receives a suspicious delivery he's certain he didn't order. He's only too eager to open it up.

comment: Thanks to Rian Johnson, now we have an iconic canon interaction between Poe and Hux. Of course Rian couldn’t put some smut in SW, thank the Maker we have fanfictions! In the first two story they talk via phone, and in the third part they finally meet. And oh boy, I giggled the entire time!

A Deal Struck by kylo-ren-has-an-8pack​

- rating: Explicit - tags: Alcohol, One Night Stands, Oral Sex, Rimming, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Anal Play, Biting, Power Bottom Hux, Top Poe Dameron, Blow Jobs - summary: After a night of too much drinking, Poe wakes up in the middle of the night to find out that his passionate one night stand was none other than Armitage Hux of the First Order. Oneshot. Gingerpilot.

comment:  Yummy. Yummy is the only coherent comment I can say. The setting, the story, the mexican standoff, how they speak to eachother, the memories of the night before, the little details in the memories. Yummy. 

Blowback by fatalfascination

- rating: Mature - tags: Smoking, Mild breath play, Blowjob, Deepthroating, Hux is Not Nice - summary: It’s not a question, this time. He’s not asking, he’s ordering....

comment: You know what’s hot? Hux in charge. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself holding your breath while reading this fic. 

Party Your Way to Fitness! by isharan

- rating: Teen And Up Audiences - tags: Modern Setting AU, Hux Has No Chill, Aerobics!Hux, Spin, Zumba, Rey is a fitness instructor, Ben Solo is an asshole - summary: Crossfit instructor Hux loses a bet to rival Ben, the annoying bodybuilder gym owner. Unfortunately, the forfeit involves a yellow lycra bodysuit, the ugliest fanny pack ever, and the zumba class from hell.

comment:  This fic is adorable, I laughed out loud more than once and almost woke up my mom! 

Tailor Hux by darth-ej

- rating: Mature - tags: Seamstress Rey and Tailor Hux, Who's playing who?, of course there's smut, but there's also fluff - summary: Armitage Hux, son of Brendol Hux, a renown fashion designer, is a little out of his depth. You see, he's promised this wonderful girl that he'd help her with her project only ... he actually can't sew ...

comment:  I loved Hux's train of thought, his embarrassment, all the times he blushes. But most of all, I loved the "inside joke" of the fandom, and how it unfolds once you get there. So cute!

Between the Lines by poerosehux

- rating: Mature - tags: Neighbors / Modern Setting AU, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, Pining, Getting Together, Threesome - F/M/M, Slow Burn, background finnlo - summary: Poe Dameron wants just one thing - to get a few hours of sleep, which is easier said then done when his two British neighbors won't stop screaming at each other. Why do they hate him so much? (Or do they?)

comment: Can you believe that in the entire Ao3, we have only one damreyux fic? And it’s so good, so good! Poe is totally clueless, Rey is so kind, and Hux well is Hux. It’s a nice and crispy slowburn and you should totally read it and ship this ship.

Violets by saloontime

- rating: Teen And Up Audiences - tags: mild dominance, I swear they like each other, Character Study, Slow Build, Slightly Masochistic Hux - summary: It is like being lured into a trap, only she wants to be caught by him, by his ambition and indomitable will. He is a scientist by mind, by design, and she is fascinated by the way he controls his power.

comment: I already read this fic twice in a span of a week. I like their characterization, how cold he his at first and how professional she remains. But can we talk about the eye? I need to talk about the eye, especially after TLJ. 

A General visit by Aoratos

- rating: Teen And Up Audiences - tags: Post Star Wars: TLJ, Hospitalization, Major Character Injury, Eye Trauma, Burns, Secret Relationship, Coma, Short & Sweet, Paranoia - summary: Armitage Visits Phasma after the finale of the Last Jedi. The premise being hinged on that they've had a secret relationship for a while.

comment: It’s ok if you cry reading this. It's sad and sweet at the same time.

Before you go by GhostOfDorothyStreet 

- rating: Explicit - tags: Clothed Sex, more feelings than I expected - summary: They did not have much time, but they had this down to an art...

comment:  How about a quick smut scene with a bit of feelings? Do I have to say it’s also semi-public sex? 

True Reverence by frillyfacefins

- rating: Explicit - tags: Femdom, Cunnilingus, Pegging, Breathplay - summary: Her armor, splendor; her body, a masterpiece. There is so much about Phasma for Hux to worship - and so much to receive.

comment:  This is from back in the day when we still didn’t know Hux’s first name, and I still remember this fic with great pleasure. 

Schöne Schuhe by schreibwarenhandlung

- rating:  Explicit - tags: Femdom, Boot Worship, PWP, Cunnilingus - summary: "Er kroch auf allen Vieren auf mich zu und wollte meine Stiefel küssen." Sie lachte. "Das musst du dir vorstellen."

comment: I don't speak a word in German, that's why I used google translate to read it. Because those tags were calling me. I know I should feel ashamed, but at this point I don't care anymore. I fucking hope google did you justice. The title should be “nice/beatiful shoes”, while the summary says: «"He crawled towards me on all fours and wanted to kiss my boots." She laughed. "You have to imagine that."» 

Marked as Mine by rudbeckia

- rating: Explicit - tags: Knifeplay, Kinktober 2017 - summary: Hux has asked Mitaka to play a game he really is not sure about, but it's Hux and Mitaka wants to please.

comment: Can knifeplay be sweet and cute? It can also be adorable. There’s also a bit of aftercare and concern, wich makes it double adorable.

"Just Stay, Dammit" by white-rainbowff

- rating: Mature - tags: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Injured Hux, Mitaka helps, Hux gets a shot, only briefly mentioned, Hux hates needles, Hux is shirtless, Mitaka is flustered, Mutual Pining - summary:  Fic Excerpt: “No,” Hux snarled, slamming his fist on the chair arm. “You are here now.” He glanced quickly at the medic who was tapping the obscenely long needle. Hux paled. “Please, just...stay, dammit.” Swallowing hard, Mitaka pulled up a chair. In the years serving under the General, Mitaka had never seen this side of him. Hux was always so self-assured, an unwavering statue of control in a well-tailored uniform. Now, Hux sat in the examination chair trembling as a fever spread over his body.

comment:  Who likes injured Hux? Me. Oh, and Mitaka likes it too. Also, who doesn’t like mutual pining as a trope? Don’t lie.

Jenny by aicosu

- rating: Teen And Up Audiences - tags: Pining, Unrequited Love, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Stalking, Creepy Fluff, Murder, Blood, Mitaka Origin Story, Young Hux, Young Mitaka - summary: In the Imperial Academy, prospective graduates had to kill a fellow cadet while making their deaths appear to be an accident. As a result, several cadets were killed under suspicious circumstances during training exercises.

comment:  I am now convinced I am Mitaka. I have his same obsession for Hux, who doesn't look at me because he's not real. But anyway, it’s nice to read about young Mitaka and his backstory.

Advancement by amoretpsyche

- rating: Explicit - tags: Dubious Consent, Light BDSM - summary: “The First Order has always presented itself as a united front, but it thrives on a network of secrets." General Hux is in need of an outlet for his frustrations and Phasma, in her infinite wisdom has a solution–a Stormtrooper with the designation FN-2187.

comment: So yummy. Masochist power bottom Hux is my favourite. And Finn is so nice and adorable here, so cute and tender. Featuring, also, a powerful Phasma.

Quid Pro Quo by glare-gryphon

- rating: Explicit   - tags: Mildly Dubious Consent, Oral Sex, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Sex for Favors - summary: Finn and Hux had a mutually beneficial relationship aboard the Finalizer. When Hux is captured by the Resistance with valuable knowledge, Finn decides to use that connection to get his hands on it.

comment:  Do you want some past feelings, a stubborn Hux and Finn who fights for the greater good? Read this fic. 

Architect of His Own Betrayal by valda 

- rating: Teen And Up Audiences - tags: A New Interpretation of Canon Scenes, I'm very sorry, Inferiority Complex - summary: “The one from the village,” Ren says immediately, and Hux knew it, he already knew it, but it is impossible. “FN-2187,” Ren says, as if Hux doesn’t know intimately which Stormtrooper he means.

comment:  I find very interesting to read a scene from the canon, but seen from another point of view. And it's also interesting to find a new meaning of a scene from the canon of the books. Really nice and interesting!

Sweet Beginnings, Bitter Ends by disregardcanon 

- rating: Mature - tags: Inherently the consent is kind of dubious because of the power imbalances, kink meme fill, kind of, Character Study, Unhealthy Relationships, Like there are a good deal of fluffy parts but overall this is not supposed to read as health, Slash, Finn is a good person, Hux mostly isn't, that's it that's the fic - summary: Finn and Hux are in a relationship before the events of tfa and all that entails. Or, the one where finn is trying to learn how to be his own person even as everything is pressing back against him.

comment:  The title doesn’t lie. It’s sweet and fluff, even with the power imbalance of the relationship, and Finn debates the whole time with himself. Until the very bitter end. 

A Word of Advice by eralkfang

- rating: Explicit - tags: Politics, Oral Sex, Cunnilingus - summary: How far will this little fascist go based on his assumptions about who she is and her—circumstances? Leia uncrosses her arms so she can reach down—not far, he’s so tall—and traces the shell of his left ear. “Well, then. I’m listening, Major Hux.”

comment:  Listen. This could have happened at some point. I mean, no, because it’s a Disney movie, but... Leia is in charge, Hux is on his knees. She is a badass, he is arrogant. It’s also hot. What more do you want?

Playing Offense by millicentthecat

- rating: General Audiences - tags: Drabble, Snippet, teaser - summary: Very short snippet inspired by those photos of Carrie and Domhnall together at the BAFTAs...

comment:  Hux has been captured, Hux meets Leia. And I do need to know more now. 

Magic Mirror on the Wall, Who is the Fairest of Them All? by Lady_Zri

- relationship: Hux & Rey, Hux/Poe Dameron - rating: Mature - tags: Implied/Referenced Torture, Hypocrisy, Self-Doubt, Original Characters - summary: Hux is a Resistance prisoner. His only chance to get away is to feign having amnesia. Will he be able to deceive a base full of Resistance fighters?

comment:  This is mostly Hux x his own thoughs, with a bunch of OCs and a bit of Hux/Poe and Hux/Rey. But it's so intriguing, that I was hooked after just one chapter. There is so much going on, lots of plot twist, entire worlds, backgrounds, and a very worrying cliff hanger that left me there without breathe. But there’s a sequel in progress, called Substrate. And I’m gonna read it.

Wanted by Skitty_Kat

- relationship: Hux & Kylo Ren, Hux/Poe Dameron - rating: General Audiences - tags: Hux likes to irritate Kylo, Kylo just doesn't get it, Poe Dameron Hurts So Prettil, fic with art - summary: Hux and Kylo discover the difficulties of putting up Wanted posters with Poe Dameron's pretty face on.

comment: I’m not saying that this is canon, I’m just saying that it might happen in the next movie. I mean, please JJ, make it canon?

More Than Enough by sithofren

- relationship: Hux/Captain Phasma - rating: General Audiences - tags: Asexual Relationship - summary: Hux panics. Phasma... helps.

comment: This is a huxma fic, they have an actual relationship. I decided to put it in this segment because it’s an asexual relationship, and it’s simply perfect. 

Choices by lionofwrath 

- relationship: Hux/Brendol Hux  - rating: Explicit - tags: Accidental Incest, Sexual Slavery, Unhappy Ending  - summary:  For a kink meme prompt. Hux Sr sold his son into slavery to escape the Republic after the Empire fell. Years later he visits a brothel and has an unpleasant revelation.

comment:  Yes, I went there. How could I have not done it with this premises? It's hot, and sad, and wrong. And by that I mean that it's depressingly sad, and I gasped more than once. But at the same time it's amazing. And very sad, like really truly very sad. 

put me through my paces, sir by misayawriting 

- relationship: Hux/Orson Krennic - rating: Explicit - tags: Modern Setting AU, Alcohol, Bottom Armitage Hux, Dom/sub Undertones, Young Hux, Sub Hux, Bathroom Sex, Authority Figures, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Orgasm Control, Anal Sex, Begging - summary: Hux has always been attracted to authority figures.

comment:  I don't know if I can say something clever right now, or just say something at all. My brain is not working, I'm a puddle on the floor. This is not hot: this is "I just take it out of the oven" hot. I love how bratty is Hux here. And the setting with rich people and the proper etiquette? Exquisite.

[asoiafrarepairs]

I want to participate in some of the asoiafrarepairs events, but one of the characters in a ship I have has an incredibly protective fanbase, and given the characters' backstory in the books, I can imagine some people might turn my art or fic into a character-bashing opportunity. Do you have any advice for artists who are afraid of blowback for their rarepairs?

Speaking as an artist and writer who has gotten hate on her fan art and fic, I know that it’s really disheartening to get mean, hurtful comments bashing the characters, the pairing you’re writing for, and your efforts in general. You can take precautions by disabling comments when you post your work, or turning off anon for a bit.

Ultimately, though, I think at the end of the day what’s important to remember is that you worked hard to create something, whether it’s art or a fanfic. You’re creative and expressive and talented. The people who bash your efforts, more often than not, are simply people who have nothing better to do than criticize, and don’t understand what it means to positively contribute to a fan community.

Be confident in your work. And don’t let the haters get you down.

-ari

[of-suns-and-guns]

I've shipped Kalex from the moment I started watching Supergirl. But I don't reblog any obviously Kalex posts anymore cause when I did I got...less then desirable feedback. I just like everything. And i feel bad cause some of the fics and edits are SO good, I just don't know how to deal being attacked over who I like on a TV show.

So here’s the thing.

The spirit of ship-positivity will urge you to just turn off anon, swallow that feeling of rejection when your follower-count goes down, and block anyone who gives you shit, and just enjoy the stuff you enjoy, guilt-free.

And while that’s all well and good, I’d be a damned hypocrite for telling you that, because that is NOT what I did when I faced this EXACT problem; I made a sideblog that I do not explicitly advertise/claim on my main.

It was probably the best thing I could’ve done for myself. It allowed me to revel in the pairing in a way I hadn’t felt comfortable doing before, and gave me a place to connect with the community I’d only been tangentially involved in prior to this.

If you want a safe space for you to just enjoy Kalex and get fully involved with the rest of the community, I highly recommend you make that safe space for yourself.

There’s no shame in admitting your main blog isn’t a safe space for you to show interest the way you want to, and you can still have pride in Kalex while protecting yourself from the possible blowback you’d receive from people on your main.

Do whatever you need to do to enjoy your time here. That is the most important part of all of this.

[elizabethrobertajones]

Hi! Do you think the teeth-gnashing and outrage about queerbaiting that happened after s8 was because s8 was when the Destiel narrative really kicked into gear in a more visible way? Like, suddenly Dean/Cas is a huge part of the story, romance tropes are everywhere in a way it never was before and then as the show got renewed things slowed down and people felt, well robbed? I'm rewatching s8 right and I feel Dean is like so close to just kissing Cas but I think Cas wasn't there yet. And now...

Yeah, I think so, and it seems weird now because it all feels so kind of abstract and NONE of it was REALLY there yet when you look at it with hindsight and knowing it didn’t happen.

A lot of accounts I’ve heard say basically the same thing - that the combination of the Netflix watchers marathoning and Tumblr’s rise as a fandom space made the destiel community blossom here, and season 8 felt like a huge fresh start and the tropes were different and the showrunner was different and there was a whole fresh new optimism and excitement about the show like it was basically brand new but also, like, already closer to 200 episodes than not… And a lot of meta got written which was very very optimistic and excited for Destiel. 

I know at least one notorious fandom-hopping troll got in on it because it was a great way to earn popularity and followers… No one had said it wasn’t happening yet, and the show was using really obvious and easy to read romance tropes and like, it seems to me like a gold rush town fandom? People were writing a lot of speculation and stuff about three act structures and what have you, and I think “meta” became synonymous with “writing about how Destiel will go canon” and it was being gobbled up.

Something that makes me sad now is that I see a lot of people in stuff like the arty gifsets, edits, fanart or fic side of the community who talk about how they’re never trusting or reading meta again after feeling burned by its promises? (ETA: And meta is SO much more than this; I think that sort of stuff is just speculation, but actual meta is the deep analysis. You can USE it to speculate, but usually more like themes and plot and character than endgame and story structure and HOW these things will manifest)

Because one of the other things was if you survived the season 8 finale and hiatus, which sound like hell (there was teasing that Cas would have an episodes-long love interest in either/both Nora or April by the sounds of things, and maaaybe Dean would have one too with Robin, so that must have been a delight >.>) and the actual 9x03 AND fandom vs TPTB fight that followed, AND JIB that year where Jensen said they “don’t play it that way” (that is, like a secret relationship where Dean and Cas are fucking off screen) then by the end of season 9 the whole bubble seemed popped, AND after all that, they began what Jeremy Carver kept on calling the “Plot Accordion” of the Mark of Cain, where they still had a plan (that three act arc meta I mentioned tentatively circled as an idea still but with a wiggly line in the middle stretching it all out :P) and they had to keep on stretching and circling, and so all the speculative meta from previously or even just before whatever was currently happening was often useless. And if it’s main plot speculative meta, well okay you can probably nail the themes but be baffled by their application or misuse of connected characters, but you’re not missing out on much. But if it’s waiting for payoff on an emotional arc (ANY emotional arc) it’s a horrific wait, and if you’re only or mainly in it for Destiel, the season renewals start to feel like a horrible game with your feelings?

(I mean I’m a fairly content-to-sit-here type fan, mostly because I’ve been invested since season 2 was as far as you could get in this country, and actually *remember* my friend being excited to grab season 3 DVDs and being there in the shop when she found them :P And I’m invested in a lot more than Destiel, I’d buy season 12 on DVD JUST for Mary… At the end of the day I am a bad sample fan for just being a Destiel blog even though I ship it to the ends of the earth and see it firmly embedded in canon at every level) 

But yeah, idk, I think season 8 is such a weird one to me, especially as season 7 & 8 correspond to a horrendously painful and busy time in my life and I was all hopped up on painkillers for most of them so I really do not remember those seasons clearly. Of season 8, I remember the LARP episode from first impressions, and that’s it. But it seems such a weird and inoffensive season to me (I mean… ignoring 8x15 entirely, as I usually do :P). 

In hindsight it’s got a beautiful and well-written Destiel subtext and romantic arc, which lays it all out extremely clearly, but wasn’t ever really heading to canon, just exploring and explaining, and putting tools on the board, to build up for angst and tension. And a lot of stuff for character development for later - the seeds of a lot of things are in season 8 that get repeated again and again getting closer and closer to the truth underneath them that was only a hint or a suggestion or wry comment in season 8. I don’t think they ever were going to make it canon that year because the build up was subtextual instead of overt. In season 12 a lot of things like the mix tape or 12x10 were so in your face romantic tropes or the elusive episode about angels falling in love with humans that was always needed to crack the whole thing open, complete with making it all about Dean n Cas at the end, and the season ending with a heap of Destiel vs John and Mary or Sam and Jess parallels, that it’s feeling like the REAL build up to what you might have to do… 

It’s SUBSTANTIALLY different to season 8, which for example, used Remember The Titans to make the same point as Lily Sunder, and it would be fascinating to compare them as sister episodes, but the first thing you see is that one is about an allegorical thing with greek gods, and one is *literally* using OUR Cas and HIS feelings in the story, even the historical part of it, and it’s about ACTUAL angels falling in love with humans and doing plot-mirroring stuff as a result. 8x16 has a Crypt Scene parallel the episode before the Crypt Scene and Sam specifically READS THE SUBTEXT that it was about love, whereas in Lily Sunder, Ishim is just like, yep I wanted to bang Lily woe is me, I’m gonna go murder her kid to make myself feel better and also Dean because that will probably cheer you up. 

(I’m now having a weird “I cba to check this but I think Zeus and Ishim wore the same costume” moment)

Anyway, idk where I was going with that. I think to say, that the blowback against season 8 was maybe because it was so unprecedented, and I think we trod the same waters for the rest of Carver era, but now it’s Dabb era and I am very very scared :P