#im sorry. that this is my sole contribution to the fandom

[bowtiestash]

sleeping amongst the poppies

[communistkenobi]

I think that one thing that makes the MCU different from past franchises like SW is how much it's relying on its conglomerate of Marvel source materials across various mediums. The MCU does not need to establish Peter Parker's Spider-Man or the values that went into creating the character and his canon (as in his comics/cartoons/shows as a whole, not in-universe character continuity) bc its target audience already has a rough concept of the character due to prior exposure to Spider-Man canon/media in pop culture—which means there's just enough of a foundation for the MCU Spider-Man to be widely recognizable as Spider-Man without portraying what makes Peter Parker Peter Parker (poor financial situation from childhood to adulthood, low self-esteem, learning up to stand up to his bullies and his boss, survivor's guilt, etc.) on-screen. But it's like the franchise is then relying primarily on the audience's concept of the character of Spider-Man from exposure to other (including both subjectively and objectively better) versions in other mediums to establish their iteration of the charracter and by extension those films. And that's how adaptations work, of course, but I think the MCU as a whole fails to capitalize on the benefits of adapting into another medium, so all that's left for the critical audience are elements like the military propaganda, the racism and whitewashing, the imperialism apologism, and so on that are consequences of franchising decisions rather than creative decisions.

Like yeah, franchises and fandom aren't new and are direct results of capitalism and mass-media consumption, but the MCU feels like its own special blend within the Marvel franchise (as a whole) in how much it relies on this idea of The Brand and being just recognizable enough that it doesn't (and won't) go further than surface level. It's insular to a degree that I don't know what I can compare it to. I think SW has started to shift toward this template(????) with the D+ shows (well really since Solo), but I don't know how to explain where this shift occurred or where it falls between MCU and traditional franchise media????? Even the DCEU differs enough despite still imo having the mass-produced/soulless/lacking in substance feel. It's like you said, we don't have any specific term that quite defines this yet, and not to be a snob but I really really REALLY hate that I added a yet there even though I know it's only a matter of time.

(Sorry for the rambling, I just really like your analyses, especially where capitalism and fascism intersect even tho I didn't really bring those points up bc I'm not sure what I could contribute in that area lol)

sorry for the late reply i know this was like two days ago now lol

anyway i think my framing of the mcu as uniquely bad is incorrect in the sense of what you said, which is that fandoms and mass media are not new. mcu is just a good shorthand to refer to mass media because its the most glaring and obnoxious example of it.

i also don't want to be ahistorical about it because the first marvel movies weren't like the recent ones, they felt more real in the sense that there was more to them than simple reference. @sashacore made a good point about not categorising art into low/high categories because you can quickly get into reactionary territory. which i don't want to do, obviously, but i'm coming up short on language that describes what im trying to articulate. and i dont think im being reactionary when i say the mcu is devoid of meaning

agh idk i guess i just have a motivated desire to call the mcu uniquely bad in a way. like when scorsese said that the mcu isn't art i want to agree with him. like it literally just feels like an infomercial for capital and empire. if you wanted to point to something as the logical endpoint to art produced with the sole goal of capital accumulation i would point to the mcu. but it's not unique in that sense. the difference is of degree, not kind

[a-slut-for-smut]

A 12 year old on Twitter literally told me and I quote, "isn't your stupid musty wrinkly ass supposed to be studying for college instead of fangirling over ships on Twitter? Spend your time wisely and contribute to society as a grown adult 🏃‍♀️"

I'm literally an aeronautical engineering student who also sells their ship art and donates 50% of it to the homeless in our third world country. I'm also not aware that a 19 year old isn't allowed to actively participate in a fandom. Too bad majority of fan artists and fanfiction writers are adults, especially the creators of NSFW works minors like you aren't supposed to interact with. Plus, 12 doesn't even meet the required age for the stupid bird app.

Spouting shit on Twitter over fictional characters isn't the activism these bratty kids think it is. They're a plague.

Hi Anon,

I am very sorry for the delay and what you had to go through, and if im being honest your ask did slightly irk me as a Oldie (not your ask itself, but what you went thru) which probably didn't help the response time!

Honestly, what does this 12 year old and others who think like them expect? For fandom to exclusively comprise of other 12 year olds? Who the fuck really wants to see fanfic and fanart solely written/drawn in freakin crayon??? NOBODY that's who (not to gatekeep artistic tools, im sure crayons are valid but my point still stands). As you say, what would fandom be without its older/non-adolescent fans?

Anyway anon, don't sweat it- immature brats crying for whatever attention they can get online even via nasty means because they can't get it in their actual life gonna immature brat. You do you, don't let them dampen your spirit and keep shining bright. To put it simply, the haters can't handle your brilliance.

and feel free to DM me, i'd love to see your art! good on you for the charity work :)

[modernvintage]

hi!! i just wanted to say thank you for the whole minors in the jatp fandom post. being a teen in fandoms is so difficult because it IS heavily policed by adults telling us how to enjoy content. its even harder to interact with (like you said earlier) more sexualized content as a teenage girl because enjoying sex is so demonized for us. and that’s not very feminist lmao

this is very rambling but just seriously, t h a n k y o u for posting it, i feel so much more seen and comfortable knowing that im not a terrible person for exploring sexual preferences. <3

This ask broke my heart. I’ve thought about it all night. And I want to thank you for sending it.

I think we - adults - need to remember sometimes what it was like to be a teenager. Especially teenage girls.

Gosh. I remember being told how to exist, from the bottom of my soles to the top of my head; how to look, think, breathe, act, smile, cry (don’t cry), and more. And I think back to my escape, where I felt most comfortable - in my own private fantasies where I could exist however I wanted - and how even today, those secrets are things I don’t share but make me feel like me. Fandom is an extension of that world in so many ways, especially when it is created and curated by women. It’s a space we carved out for ourselves and it should be a safe one for everybody because we know exactly how unsafe the world is.

Everyone should have that. Everyone should have the chance to explore their own mind and desires and curiosities in a safe and healthy way. So much of popular fandom for so long has been exclusionary, a lot of the time by men, and now by women telling other women (and girls who will grow up to become women) how to act and think and be. I just can’t accept that.

You are not a terrible person for having a sex drive and wanting to explore it. Likewise, you are not a terrible person for not having a sex drive. Sexuality or the absence of sexuality is a completely neutral, natural occurrence. For anyone and everyone. In and outside of fandom. I am so terribly sorry that your experience in fandom has made you potentially change how you see yourself. Especially when Jatp is a show about self empowerment.

I do want to encourage you to explore and learn and grow and totally fangirl out and make friends and remember to have fun without letting other people in fandom affect how you see yourself and your self worth. You are a person, and people are complicated bags of bones and brains. However you exist and become true with yourself is ok. It’s your right. And learning this now will help you later in “adult fandom land” too because guess what - there’s always drama. 😂

But because I am the grown up and I’m going to get a dozen asks calling me a predator for responding this message ...

I also want to acknowledge that there is a huge difference between interacting with content and interacting with adults. I think that minors (re: everyone) should be free and able to consume the content they wish ... while adults simultaneously draw the boundary of how and when interactions with minors happen (without suffocating and policing another person’s experience, or completely taking over fandom and not allowing minors to have their own experiences).

For example, I feel comfortable posting this message to you publicly because you submitted it anonymously and I can respond, once; whereas I wouldn’t feel comfortable having the same interaction in a private message where I could identify you and we were going back and forth 1:1.

It is up to me as an adult to help keep you safe in fandom by guiding my own interactions and contributions with your agency in mind - such as rating any writing appropriately with tags or putting graphic artwork behind a read more. It is not up to me as an adult in fandom to control your development, experience, fantasies, or person, or the content you have access to. It is up to you to curate your experience and/or for your parents to help guide you, too. I can help keep you safe by tagging content appropriately and setting boundaries when they need to be set. I can’t control your entire experience for you and nor should I. It’s yours. You may be a teen but you still have agency. I think that’s what’s lost on the censorship crowd. They seem to be very black and white, good vs. bad folk, and most of us humans are made of shades of gray.

You’ve given me so much to think about, and I hope your message gives the censorship crowd a different perspective, too. Because this ask just may be one example, but it’s proof that there is at least one teen out there who wants the same opportunities we adults had as teenagers - the rites of passage that make us who we are later in life.

Thank you for sharing, for teaching me something, and for enriching my fandom experience. Keep on staying safe and smart and cool and growing and learning and just being you, because you are the future of fandom, and it’s one we all need.

And I guess for other adults, this is a nice reminder to be the adult we wish we had in our lives when we were kids. At least it was, for me. Because I do care about kids - the whole kid. The whole little person. Their growth, development, and yes, their safety. Not sure I can say the same for others who are screaming really loudly.

[deafmatteo]

hi hi so first i really love your writing, it’s so comforting and lovely, and i look forward to every little bit of it!

and idk if you’ve already answered something like this but i was wondering about your thoughts on skam france season 5?

hello, thank u! 🖤🖤🖤

and i have talked a bit about skam france s5 when i was watching it live but im more than happy to talk about it again & put all of my thoughts into one post JFJSJD.

let me just put a disclaimer here for abuse, both personal & what was shown in the season. also adding a read more because this got LONG, i am so sorry. i talk a lot </3 (ignore the spelling errors, i literally woke up and saw this anon and jumped out of bed to answer dflkgjkdlg)

also! i talk about deafness as a disability in this but that’s my own personal experience & what was written into the season. we know arthur sees it as a disability because he was raised in a hearing society as a hearing person. not all D/deaf people believe this!! this isn’t universal.

first things first, i just wanted to let people know these feelings come from a very personal place. i lost my hearing similarly to arthur — i was beaten as a young child and as the years have gone on and i’ve grown, my hearing has gotten worse. i was hard of hearing with mild to moderate hearing loss in both ears and now i call myself deaf because i have severe hearing loss in my left ear & i am completely deaf in my right ear. (don’t worry about being apologetic or anything! i’m very open about how i lost my hearing because although it’s sad & traumatic, it’s talking about how trauma and disabilities are often more intertwined than people realize. you don’t ever see a disabled person thriving in their natural environment. you see traumatized disabled people learning how to survive.)

i don’t have problems with how arthur lost his hearing. i think it’s a very important story to tell & it’s one that does occur — even if people don’t recognize it. it added to the fear and isolation he felt during his season because he was suddenly extremely disconnected from his peers and the people he called his best friends.

i also absolutely ADORE noee and camille. having a Deaf* woman who was as sassy and blunt and straight-forward as she was is a good thing. people often talk about how D/deaf individuals can come across as rude or unattentive or too blunt and it can be true but when people often talk about it, they do it in a rude/offensive manner! noee did it in a manner that wasn’t stereotypical and felt real. she also had the distain towards hearing people because they continually traumatized & belittled her and they showed that in a way that you knew was justified. she had been hurt by these people and she knew what arthur was experiencing, hence why she was so warm around him. having a Deaf love interest who wasn’t a hearing-people pleaser or someone who needed approval from hearing people was so good because it helped add layers of her own identity that the audience may not even realize exists.

camille as well. having a hard of hearing gay (queer? i can’t remember what he labelled himself as) person on screen without fetishism or trauma porn was refreshing. that doesn’t happen and seeing it was?? amazing. he was able to have fun, be himself, etc. also him acting as a connector between noee and arthur is a reality as well. he exists inbetween both of their worlds and while it’s clear that he is comfortable and okay with it, it’s a reality that often stems into feelings of anger and hurt. (as shown in arthur!) it’s good to see a hard of hearing person who doesn’t feel ostracized from the Deaf community & or the hearing community. he’s just vibing!

the isolation that arthur felt. the lonelines, the pain, the fear—all of it is a reality of the situation he was in. even with his friends attempting to support him in the ways they knew how, he still felt alone. having noee and camille there was such a good!! good thing!!! to have. the way noee criticized his friends, the way ARTHUR eventually yelled at them (especially lucas, like wtf was up his ass), the growth of arthur from clinging onto his fantasy world and accepting himself. i geniunely enjoyed these aspects.

NOW ONTO MY CRITICISMS.

my biggest one is the abuse clip. it was absolutely unnecessary for them to include the audio (and the shadowing) of arthur’s violent abuse. i understand they needed to potray his dad’s behaviours but there were many other ways to go about it that doesn’t re-traumatize people. i rarely rarely get triggered by things due to desensitization & repression and this made me extremely nauseous and it caused me to spiral into memories of my own abuse. yes, i understand the story of arthur’s dad being the villain and contributing to the trauma. no, it did not need to be done in this way.

also the way it was brushed aside & arthur forgave him after the car accident. i know it’s contributing to the cycle of abuse and it will continue after the seasons have passed but i think it should have had more fear, confusion or anger. we could see that arthur hated his father, just by how he constantly attempted to fight back and argue. i understand that it was him acting from a place of survival and trying to mediate to make things calmer but this is his perspective—we could have felt the underlying emotions or seen a brief moment where arthur let his anger take over when he was alone. the abuse was written solely for hearing people. it was trauma porn. it was used as a way to make people feel sorry for arthur and to weaken him. it wasn’t written as integrated into the plot as it should have been and was brought up only to deter the plot away from his cheating. it was one of the things that made it clear the plot was more written for hearing people than for deaf people.

(again, it’s not the actual story i’m criticizing. it’s how they integrated it.)

the second was noee using her voice to essentially beg arthur to love her. using her voice was a moment of vulnerability and fear that they could have either: a. used in a different manner or b. not included at ALL. i am an oral deaf person—i was raised in a hearing environment & i went to speech thrapy for many, many years. i use my voice a lot. however, whenever i am without my hearing aid and i am tired, i don’t often use my voice because i am insecure about my deaf accent.

noee doesn’t use her voice at all. she has talked about how using only sign language gives her power and stregethnes her identity in a way that the hearing world would never be able to. it was a pivotal moment of her own identity and growth and they threw it out the window to tell arthur she loved him. he rejected her so she used her voice, something that reminds her of her trauma and pain, to beg him to love her back.

another is how alexia said that she wasn’t wired to love disabled people. i love alexia as well, except for this alone was enough to hurt my opinion of her. it’s a reality of abled people—they often act like loving a disabled person is more work and view disabled people as less than to avoid seeing them as potential lovers/friends/etc. my main problem is the fact it wasn’t ever properly addressed and they used it as a plot device after she had been nothing but loving and supportive to arthur during the beginning of his journey. she was so, so loving and caring and they could have used to as a way to talk about how relationships and perspective changes rather having her just be straight up ableist.

when arthur first got his hearing aids, he got smaller ones that were less visible to avoid having other people see. this is a big example of internalized ableism and is a very important point but they never touched on it again. i think it would have been more personal and monumental of his growth to have him go back & change the hearing aids he uses to better aid him in his day-to-day rather than aid his desire to be hearing-passing. i just wanted to see continuation of this.

the love triangle. ABSOLUTELY USELESS. i love both alexia and noee as love interests. they are well-developed women who both had vulnerable moments in the season where they talked about their insecurities and were vulnerable and still had arthur reject/use them both. this is more of a fandom criticism but the love triangle was used solely to demonize noee while they continued to put arthur on a pedestal. the season could have gone either/or with them as love interests or not at all. the season was meant to focus on his journey as a now disabled person and the love triangle took up a large portion of that.

(don’t think i’ve forgotten about people calling others fatphobic/biphobic for preferring noee as a love interest)

this isn’t entirely a criticism but a good point to note. i don’t think skam france had a plan in regards to season five when they casted arthur but he should have been played by a hard of hearing person and there should have been foreshadowing in the earlier seasons for this. i think arthur’s actor did a fantastic job with the content he was given but it would have been a bit more personal if played by a truly deaf/hoh person. noee’s actress talked about this! she said how good of an opportunity it was for season five to occur because it’s extremely rare for deaf people to get opportunities and casting designed for them. having a main actress talk about this and still having the main actor being abled is a bit? bad taste. i just think it’s a product of lack of planning, is all.

ALSO THE CAR CRASH????? this isn’t a big criticism, i’m just like HUH? me & arthur really out hear being deaf and getting hit by cars ig. arthur kinnie

*definitions that add as to why i use deaf & Deaf in this piece.*

[shrinkthisviolet]

Author Interview Tag!

Tagged by @maipreciation, thanks for thinking of me! This looks really fun :D

(Note: I’m keeping this as a running list, so if you’re ever wondering what fics im working on/brainstorming, make sure to check here! Last update was on 12/12/2020)

Name: Lavi! As of 12/5, I’m no longer going by my real name (see this post)

Fandoms: so many 😂 check my bio, I think I have them all listed. I’ve posted fic for Hamilton and ATLA, and then there was a huge Inktober compilation I posted last year with a whole host of fandoms. Currently, my major fandom is ATLA, and probably Kipo as I’m starting to move through S1

Where you post: I have an AO3 (lavi0123)! I used to have an FFN and a Wattpad, but I don’t use either of those anymore :/ tbh, I’m embarrassed of anything I still have up there 😂

Most popular one-shot: Most definitely we’ll give the world to you (and you’ll blow us all away), one of my contributions to Maiko Week! I’m not surprised it’s an ATLA fic, but I find it interesting that a fic with Izumi in it blew up so quickly. But hey, if y’all want more Izumi content, you won’t be disappointed 😉

Most popular multi-chapter fic: ...I’m really embarrassed to say because I don’t think I’ll ever finish it...but En Hamilton Heights is the only multichap fic I’ve published so it’s gotta be that one 😂 hopefully soon I’ll have another fic to add to that, since I’m working on one (sorry EHH fans but it’s been too long and tbh I don’t remember where I was going with it :/ I’m thinking I might orphan it)

Favorite story you’ve written so far: you think this world is a dream come true (but you’re wrong) for sure! It’s super niche but it’s something I wrote out of love for a movie I discovered this Halloween and absolutely love. Though all you’ve got to do is want something (and then let yourself have it) is a close second. Basically, anything I write that sounds absolutely bonkers as a concept is one that I love 😂 (and it’s no coincidence that both fics are Mai-centric! I love all my Mai-centric fics nearly equally)

Fic you were nervous to post: Is there an “all of the above” option? 😂 I’m always nervous to post. But in particular, I was nervous for if you ran away (come back home), because it was Mai-centric and longer than any one-shot I’d written thus far, and also you think this world is a dream come true (but you’re wrong), because it’s Mai-centric and a Coraline AU, which makes it BONKERS as an idea

Why was I nervous to post Mai-centric fics, you ask? Two reasons: 1) Mai is very different from who I am as a person (I vibe a lot more with Aang and Ty Lee, sometimes Katara and Sokka), so I didn’t want to upset the Mai stans by writing her incorrectly. 2) Mai is generally not well-liked in the fandom at large, so I especially didn’t want to attract antis who would accuse me of writing Mai as too emotional and loving (which is why I tried to justify that in my tags). Luckily, my comments have all been lovely, and I’m far less afraid to post fics about her now that I’ve written three fics with her as the focus! And the shoutout from @nonbinary-crafter-aang praising my portrayal of her?? I was touched 🥺 still am

How you choose your titles: Song lyrics or movie/book lines that speak to me, occasionally a pun. Remember that post I rb’d about how authors title their works? My tags pretty much say it all 😂

Do you outline: Ehh...define outlining 😂 for my one-shots, nope. But for my upcoming multichap works (see below) and Nanowrimo work (original fiction, so I won’t talk about it on here, but send an ask if you’re curious), YES ABSOLUTELY!

For my Nanowrimo work and one of my upcoming AUs (a Soulmate AU), the worldbuilding is so complex that it’s an absolute necessity. For the other upcoming AU (a time travel AU), there are just too many things that need to happen at certain times so as not to interfere with canon events, and things I want to change from canon and things I want to keep...I think you get the idea 😂

Complete: Basically my entire maiko halloweek series! Check it out if you want some fics about the most underrated canon ATLA couple :)

In-progress: ...En Hamilton Heights again...but not for long, sadly. Still trying to decide between a quick conclusion and just flat-out orphaning it. Still haven’t made up my mind, but either way, it won’t be what I originally planned, unfortunately.

I’m also counting my ATLA Soulmate AU on the basis of forever in my mind (only you), which has the worldbuilding and fits into the AU without much problem (the AU is going to be a series of one-shots, not a multichap fic, because there won’t be enough deviations from canon imo to justify multiple chapters. And one-shots are just less pressure for me 😂)

[EDIT 12/12/2020: added another fic because I’m an idiot and forgot about this too 🤦‍♀️😂 it’s a year-old idea that I started writing but I’m picking it back up thanks to the Heist banter in MatPat’s St Jude stream!]

-A fic series combining Escape the Night and Who Killed Markiplier (Heist and Date are part of it too, but only tangentially at the moment. Depends on how involved I want DA Y/N to be). Tentatively titled A Heavy Cost, and definitely won’t happen in any of Mark’s projects, but in a way that’s actually for the best 😂 the canonicity for me stops at ETN S3 (with some S4), then it’s canon divergence

Coming soon/not yet started: OOOH YESSS HERE WE GO

Okay okay sooo we’ve got two main things:

–An ATLA Soulmate AU, featuring platonic and romantic soulmates! I know I called it in-progress, and I stand by that even though I haven’t actually set up the series on AO3 yet, but this AU is about to be SO MUCH MORE than just a few Maiko moments. Because...drum roll...it’s gonna be entirely Aang-centric (with maybe one or two exceptions)! Like Mai, Aang is a character that doesn’t get as many -centric fics as he should (and being an Aang stan also isn’t unanimous for some reason??), so I’m gonna fix that. Plus I want to dive further into his mind, and I think I’m more equipped to do that than I was with Mai, since Aang and I are very similar in attitude.

–Bumizumi time travel AU, which can be read as platonic until the last couple chapters (it’ll be multichap) but definitely has a romantic agenda throughout. So just. Be warned if you don’t ship them. It’s gonna be chock full of comedy and antics! Also A LOT of platonic affection between Izumi and teen Zuko (and just between Izumi, Bumi, and the Gaang in general), because platonic affection is underrated and also I can :D I’m also probably gonna make fun of how some elements of affection have become solely romantic territory, because...um, no, hugging and holding hands and cuddling can be done between friends, thanks! (Maybe it’s the ace in me talking. But regardless)

There are also vague concepts I’m spitballing, like:

-Zukaang telepathy AU (Platonic Zukaang, the only romance I’ll ever write in ATLA is for the canon ships, prompted by a dream because apparently ATLA lives in my head rent-free forever now 😂)

-Evil Zuko AU (Azula doesn’t exist, mostly prompted after watching Aang make fun of Zhao and realizing that if Zuko had been in any position of power during the War...the Gaang would have stood no chance at all)

-Bumizumi Arranged Marriage AU (Bumi and Izumi both think the other is hotheaded/reckless (Izumi @ Bumi) or uptight (Bumi @ Izumi). So Kataang and Maiko (along with Sukka, Ty Lee, and Toph because...duh) set them up in an arranged marriage, with the presented reasoning being that they already know each other’s families, it’ll be a great symbol of unity, and this way Izumi doesn’t have to worry about suitors. They both agree to it (it’s arranged, not forced), and over time, they warm up to each other...and maybe even...fall in love?? Prompted because we need more arranged marriage fics! On that note, I’m gonna plug shadows and steel by @dearestpartnerofgreatness because arranged marriage needs more rep and this fic does it and with Maiko to boot!)

-Zukaang as Brothers AU (I saw a fic about this, but it wasn’t complete. If it’s not done by the time I get to this concept, I’m gonna write it, because just...imagine the possibilities! Zuko and Aang are already basically brothers in canon anyway, this is just making them brothers in blood as well as in their hearts. This is especially vague because I have no concept of how this is gonna work 🤷‍♀️ I’ll get to it eventually)

(Can you tell I’m obsessed with Zuko and Aang’s friendship? Because I am!)

[EDIT 11/25/2020: I’m adding two more because I forgot these have been swirling around in my head too 😂]

-A fix-it fic based on May You Always Be Satisfied, a backstory fic for Who Killed Markiplier by @blackaquokat! I recently reread it and remembered that I was gonna write a fix-it for that fic. Not because the fic sucks, it’s actually amazing! I’m just a sucker for the main (requited unrequited) pairing, and there’s at least five ways to make that pairing canon and avoid the mess of Who Killed Markiplier. And THEY ALL DESERVE TO BE HAPPY OKAY

-A Finnrey fix-it for the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy (this one is especially vague, and I probably won’t write it since a bunch of these already exist, but it’s fun to think about. Maybe if I ever run out of WIPs 🤷���♀️)

Upcoming story that you’re most excited to write: I’m equally excited for the Soulmate AU and the Bumizumi Time Travel AU! I’m also excited for my Nanowrimo work to be finished, but that’s more so in-progress than upcoming

Tagging:

@nonbinary-crafter-aang @dearestpartnerofgreatness @ohsalamanders @blackaquokat (no pressure ofc, only if you want to! But please tag me if you do, I’d love to see it!)

[transrightsjimin]

ariana's fans hate bts hdjfjfjfj also let's not forget that almost every fandom and journalist is looking for an excuse to discredit them. i don't mind the collab as a single i honestly don't care, to this is what boys want then sure, but if they were to feature ari on the album people would just claim that she is the sole reason it did numbers. I saw people saying that mots7 is selling so well thanks to sia when most of the fandom hates her version.. they just hate seeing bts achieve anything

ohh i didnt know that but im not surprised. i mainly see fans of both post / tweet abt wanting to see a collab between the two nd make wild theories to prove so thats what my post responded to. i get that itd be nice for them, esp since jungkook is such a big fan of hers, but im not the fondest of various artists they like or have collabed w due to their racism / misogyny (the chainsmokers in the case of both) / being a predator (halsey who had a thing for years for kissing minors on the mouth at meet & greets and a concert nd joking abt going to jail for it) or ppl who side w multiple predators (e.g. nicki minaj), not to mention the countless of cloutchasers who have tried to, and sometimes did get involved in production or collabs (counting the chainsmokers in that too, just like now w the jason derulo mess and also melanie fontana before, who claimed a song she barely added anything to as ‘her’ hit). and then theres ofc Lauv who queerbaits during his whole career lmfao

urgh ppl said that abt the Sia collab? yeah that does indeed not add up. i personally find that version of ON hilarious, and i do wish the version had turned out differently as she’s an amazing singer but that ver was rly underwhelming. but yeah to say it was successful bc of her while it was an extra song that isnt even on all kinds of releases of the album nd has found poor reception in the fandom, makes no sense. the fandom has been steadily growing over the years and become more and more well-organized in streaming, plus bts has already accomplished so much in the past w songs that didnt have major Western producers or singers attached to it.

it’s rly telling that before bts performed at big american music award shows or got picked up by the gp in the US, things like an mv w effort put into it, boy bands, and music award show viewers were considered less of the time and irrelevant, nd after, suddenly others (cough cough Simon Powell, SM ent) tried to make a group that would supposedly compete w bts in popularity, suddenly performances at music awards became more elaborate and attendance became more important, nd that some of the bigger artists bts had collabed w, hadnt reached a no.1 song under AFTER their collab.

like i hate to repeat the ‘the blueprint‘ meme but there truly has been a shift in how western music industries approach releasing and promoting music since it got to hear abt bts, and bangtan’s fandom has grown a lot over the years while the group made steady growth in their recognition. so to see ppl claim a collab is only successful bc of another artist involved, only shows wilful ignorance of the group’s history and their impact. also the ‘on ft sia is popular bc of the collab‘ argument makes no sense bc armys didnt receive the song well and the general public didnt get exposed to it much due to no promotion by fans, nor by radio which largely ignored mots7.

sorry for going on a tangent there, my thoughts are always going 100km/h, but as a final note, i do want to add that i dont think all collabs have been bad! the western cloutchasers / racists / predators / otherwise shitty ppl who have collabed w bangtan, have generally contributed not much to the song or even made demos that were a challenge for bts and other in-house producers to try to fix and try to make interesting and pleasant (e.g. melanie fontana w lyrics that had to be scrapped nd changed for 90%, also ed sheeran w make it right was discussed as a song that was only made interesting bc of bts’s changes to it and vocals).

i rly enjoyed Namjoons past collab w Wale on Change, MNEK who produced Paradise nd seems genuine in how he discusses the group, of course JUICEWRLD (r.i.p.) who did an amaaazing collab for a freaking OST for their mobile game??, ofc Steve Aoki who theyve worked w on various songs nd has mentioned nd defended the group well in interviews, MAX who collabed for a mixtape song nd included Yoongi in his own album nd had very fun interactiond for years. and then of course there are many others such as the Korean artists who get overlooked a lot in these discussions!! i especially love winter flower by Younha and Namjoon, and NiiHWa singing on yoongi’s mixtape song 28. i def think that those only seeking fame instead of creativity, audibly do not add much to their songs as cloutchasers and white westerners who are used to making hits by lifting a finger (or payola lol) dont put much effort into their work.

like, it just baffles me that ppl r hyping up a supposed collab w ariana grande based on vague theories, while there are also people like Rina Sawayama who we (and she, and bts!!) have been hoping to see work together w bts for years! like collabs are what i find the least interesting in future music, partially bc it’s all american interviewers want to ask bts abt, but if there is one, pls just let it be a genuine person, whos in it for the music and doesnt show repeated shitty behaviour.

OK rant is over, sorry it got so long!! i just never know when to stop writing gdhfjh

[the-mad-starker]

hi i just wanna ask (and every one who ships underage pairs) about "fiction isn't reality". But how bout representation? Fiction does affect reality because what you see online could influence u in a way. So does that mean if someone writes underage Peter and all those dark fics means they're contributing to 'pedophilia' in some way or another? just asking bc i also write starker and im scared ppl will get the wrong notion (will also ask this to other starkers to get more opinions)

Hello!

I understand your concern so I'll try my best to answer the way I see it.

I agree that fiction does affect reality, but I don't believe humans are as easily persuaded as most seem to think they are. Ahh I found the post I was thinking about. Here's the link that made me think on this:

What really stuck to me was this part:

Also, controversial fiction can affect a person’s values or ideas of society if that’s either their sole or biggest influence while growing up - but that doesn’t happen nearly as much as some (self-identifying, they choose that term) antis would like you to believe.

Usually parenting and real society, like high school in the case of teenagers, are much bigger influencers of a child’s values. Fiction, no matter how much you like it or read it, holds no candle to real experiences. A good family will make sure the child understands healthy human relationships before they even come into contact with fandom. Or their teachers do. Understandably, there’s also some pretty horrible parents around - but that still doesn’t mean that the responsibility of parenting the teen then falls on fandom. Teens are welcome to make older friends and ask them for advice, but someone on the internet cannot and should not ever parent someone else’s kid.

--

So when you said "Fiction does affect reality because what you see online could influence u in a way." I do agree with you there, but what else is influencing you/a reader? 

There has to be an understanding that fiction is not reality. I think that is a very important part that has to be understood when stepping into fandom. People will write all sorts of things, but it doesn't mean those same people want to see it happen in real life. People write for whatever reasons they want to write, it's up to the reader to be able to look at a piece of (properly tagged) work and then decide if they can handle it or not.

And if the reader is incapable of making that decision, then perhaps that person isn't ready to interact with fandom and that's honestly 100% okay.

Oh and hmm, in terms of contributing to those things… There'll always be terrible people out there but the thing is, (I believe) if someone truly wanted to cause another person harm, they'll use whatever they want in order to do so. Sorry, this is referencing another post (Link) I've read and agreed with.

My suggestion to you is, if you're worried about getting attacked for writing Starker, create a whole new blog/account for it. Keep your main and Starker content separated and avoid divulging personal info. I've seen people get mean about it so if that's something you want to avoid, then separate accounts and being careful is the way to go. 

Beyond that, I've known the Starker community to be really supportive and welcoming. And… I don't know, having that support and solidarity has made my fandom experience worthwhile. (only saying this because your ask said "im scared ppl will get the wrong notion" and sighh people will form their own opinions no matter what. They'll either think poorly, be indifferent, or understand. Having support from other people, imo, really helps ease worries like this. For me anyway).

I hope some of my rambling helped? 😬

[shin-and-soukoku-blog]

Safari ruined my efforts but im still going to post this

.....

something happened really pissed me off, i was writing my long nonsense post about the changes in this acct and a new acct that i just created but my safari just crashed and 3000 words were lost...

so yeah thank you so much, safari, thank you for wasting me efforts.

im too lazy to post those 3000 words again so im just gonna put a summary:

1st acct: Shin-and-Soukoku - Recent BSD news reactions, seldom post of my works such as convos, aus, situations, what ifs, etc.

2nd acct: Soukoku-and-Cultivation - a 2 fandom blog about BSD and MDZS (Mo Dao Zu Shi / Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation), prompts, drabbles, headcanons, aus, convos, etc.

yeah i entered a new fandom BSD IS STILL THE LOVE OF MY LAYF, if anyone is curious why i got into it, just message me in my 2nd acct because shin-and-soukoku is solely dedicated to bsd while 2nd is both so its okay to ask me anything there. My love for them is tied and equal so yeah. lol

I created a new one because I realized that if my 2nd acct will be all about my own fanworks then why don’t i just combine the two so yeah as it is said in the username, soukoku and cultivation, i entered 2 fandoms in one acct.

AH but of course, im not gonna leave this out...

I’m an idiot because I just realized that I have 800+ followers already and im like “ghaddamn what the hell have i been doing, not noticing the number of my followers” I wanted to contribute something for the fandom after following me but that will be soon because idk what i should do, if you guys have any ideas, feel free to message me.

i am trying my best to be active as much as i can but college entrance exams and final senior high of the year are both stressing me out but still trying.

That’s all for today and I’m sorry for wasting your time guys for reading this lame post of mine again, and its okay to ignore this because im only just want to inform about the small changes i will make and most will be transferred in my other acct.

[cruelzy]

I'm sorry to bother you, but I saw your dictionary prose post and was wondering when they may be open again? Your writing is very beautiful, and reminds me about the works of Hemingway. Thank you so much for your contributions into the Detroit fandom. :)

Wow that's the biggest compliment I've gotten ever so far I believe. thank you. 

[discoursecatharsis]

Could you just answer my fucking question, how does fiction not affect reality.

I honestly thought you were one of my followers making a joke, sorry! I didn’t realize you were seriously asking. I don’t get asks directly from ant1s often, people usually just use this inbox to vent.

First to answer your “if fiction doesn’t affect reality, then where did fandoms even come from” question from before. 

Fandoms would exist with or without fiction. If there weren’t fandoms for fictional shows/movies/books, there’d be fandoms for real life things, like musicians and athletes. I’m sure there was a Mozart fandom back in the day. There are sports fandoms now, and sports/atheletes aren’t fiction. So fandoms simply… existing doesn’t really have anything to do with the “fiction vs reality” argument.

Now for “how does fiction not affect reality:”

Fiction doesn’t affect reality in the way antis think. The anti argument that “fiction affects reality” is very black and white, and it doesn’t work like that. 

I don’t think I’m very eloquent, so I’m gonna share a few links that explain this better that I could:

https://educating-antis.tumblr.com/post/160093953547/deadass-im-just-straight-up-gonna-copy-and-paste

https://yourshipisfine.tumblr.com/post/166386973514/todays-shitcourse-menu-debunking-the

And especially this link which I’m gonna copy-paste the response from below because it’s short and sweet and to the point and sums up the above links:

https://educating-antis.tumblr.com/post/166340404442/i-think-both-shaladins-and-antis-kindof-miss-the

It’s the fact that fiction affects reality when other factors are present. E.g. if someone who is very mentally unsound plays a violent video game, that may influence them to go out and shoot people. That however isn’t solely down to the video game bc if that was the case every single person who played that game would be shooting people which we know doesn’t happen. It’s the fact people are so fast to blame the media and completely overlook the other relevant factors in the situation. Fiction can affect reality but it’s the fact people argue fiction affects reality in a black and white sense and people ignore the other factors which ultimately lead to fiction affecting reality. It’s the fact thinking that fiction always blindly affects reality is overlooking the actual contributing factors in those specific situations which lead to whatever incident occurred 

Maybe I’ll add my hot take later if I can think of how to word a response articulately, but I hope these links from others are helpful! 

If anyone else wants to add to this to answer anon’s question, please do!

[pidger]

honest question here, im sorry but what exactly IS problematic about kallura? if they become canon, it IS possible for other characters to be same-sex attracted and they are both poc yaknow, so its not like its whitewashing and claiming the last remaining characters as hetero(they can still be bi too), while i was on episode one and didn't know anything abt fandom i thought that keith and allura's personalities would match well so that's why i'm so confused as to why everyone hates them so much

i’ve been getting so many asks making me explain why i hate this blandass pairing so much like y’all….. i literally have an #anti kallura tag. tumblr literally has that tag. the reasons are right there and answering the same thing over and over is repetitive and, frankly, annoying.

but since this ask basically sums up most of the questions i’ve gotten, i’ll bite.

1. “they are both poc” where?? has it ever?? been stated that keith is poc?? asian!keith is a popular HEADcanon, particularly korean!keith because steven yeun voices him. but the only earthlings confirmed to be poc are lance (cuban), hunk (samoan), and shiro (japanese). the only heritage info we’ve gotten from keith so far is that he’s half galra, and somehow his dad has a texan accent. there’s been zero confirmation that he’s asian.

2. “they can still be bi too just because they get together doesn’t mean they’re hetero” what i need you to understand is that literally none of us are going to be against a ship just for the sole reason that it’s heterosexual. what we ARE against is how heteronormative that shit is. like, oh it’s so romantic isn’t it! he’s an attractive guy and she’s an attractive girl and they’re standing in the same room together! OTP UWU!!!!!!!!!1~ fuck outta here with that shit. all their interactions so far have been nothing but forced and strained, with keith giving jackshit consideration for allura’s feelings about his whole galra reveal. like “oh allura hates me :’(( it’s not like i chose to be galra!!! :’(( maybe they’re not all that bad allura, did you ever think about that? :’((” as if her entire civilization wasn’t wiped out by the people he’s now defending. as if she even had the time to properly mourn for the death of her entire planet because she has a universe to save from the very people he’s trying to make out as possibly good. as if she has ANY reason to trust her own oppressors after everything they had done to her and her people, and everything they are STILL doing to everyone else in the universe. but despite it all, allura realized that maybe she has been considering nothing but her own standpoint without taking keith’s side of the situation into consideration. so she apologized for it. and keith literally just. stood there without even giving his OWN apology. it was all set up as if he’s the victim of the situation and she’s the one who did all the wrong when the reality is they both had good and bad points. a sincere and heartfelt apology is a two-way street given their situation, but allura had to do all the work, and keith did next to nothing but brood and mope and whine and be angsty. it was like all she was there for was to further his manpain. it’s not an equal and balanced relationship between two individuals who understand and recognize each other’s differences, and that’s heteronormative. that’s what we don’t like.

3. “on episode one i thought they would match well” they barely interacted in episode one. in season one in general. and the only interactions they had in season two were the “maybe not all galra” pod talk and the galra reveal (which, in itself, was just handled so poorly because of how rushed it was), and each and every single one of their interactions are done only to contribute to the “galra keith” story arc. it’s very plot-driven, not character-driven (which is obviously essential when you’re setting up a romance between two characters). of all the people involved in the ensemble cast they have the most awkward and forced interactions. and i know some of y’all would be like “you’re just saying that because they’re a boy/girl pairing!!!1” but there are lots of boy/girl pairings there that are honestly really nice and cute, but the sole difference is that they actually have, you know, chemistry.

and yes, i’ve read some posts defending this blandass ship. i’ve seen the meta, i’ve seen the arguments, i’ve seen the possibilities they put up, and i’m still not here for it. like don’t get me wrong, it’s not a nasty ship because they’re both teenagers, it’s just bad. and those things i said above are the reasons why i think it’s bad (or, at least, the reasons i remember)

so unless we’ve got new content that somehow makes me think better of this ship, i’m not changing my goddamn mind about my opinions on it. i’m not going to purposefully attack anyone who’s just enjoying this pairing’s content and staying in their lane. like, go on, the ship isn’t a nasty shaladin one, you do you, i don’t really give a shit.

i’ll just be over here, having a good time with people who have good taste.

[h4nnibalism]

That guide has been walked over by many fans. It is done every time someone mentions drama, speak of certain people and the past few days nearly all fans have done it. But other fans set low standards when they target a sole blog. When they turn something private public. When they encourage others to kick people out of groups or not socialise with them. They encourage cliques and public humiliation

hi nonny! im not sure I completely understood what you were saying. I'm sorry. English is not my native language, and I'm hitting a barrier here. I was not addressing one specific event in my published posts. were you in my drafts!? 😉🙃there are three things going on right now, I'm aware of, so hey! at least it means our little fandom must be thriving, right!? it is really easy to talk to artists here. people are super friendly. fannibals suck up new art like a vacuum cleaner, if they see it. reblog your own art at different times to see if it makes a difference. time zones are a thing. I can't see shit, if I sleep. there's three ways to exist in a fandom: passively watch, reblog and like. contribute. pass on art, add your own, help out with ideas when someone starts an event, to improve things. Talk shit. the Internet attracts people who like to do the last thing, and only this. there seems to be at least one person who does this in this Fandom. I don't know what sets them. off, last they were around was for the auction, they came back for the Toronto fanfest, apparently, and I'm sure they also have a part in the Hannigram/Clannibal hate and the Radiance controversy. now ask yourself simply, what your truth is. are we a nice fandom, or full of dicks that trash talk behind each hand others back!?if you feel its the latter, move on. why stay!? and then I ask you: if this is such an ugly fandom , why do so many people stay, have fun, become active, but only this one person continues to be hostile!? look at the views of your fanfic. all these people read your work. look at the kudos. these guys liked it. comments!? even better. do you write to tell a story, or just for the attention!? if it's the latter, maybe you should only do paid commissions - I don't think writing fanfic is going to satisfy you long term. 💗