#social media!marauders is so important to me

[del-stars]

regulus would accidentally go viral on tiktok and it would piss sirius off so bad. like sirius has lighting, editing, makeup, etc and then regulus just posts a video of him blinking w some trending sound and a shitty filter no tags and it gets hundreds of thousands of views in an hour

[rollercoasterwords]

the tiktokification of ao3

or: some of you fundamentally misunderstand ao3 and it really, really shows

i was talking about this with a friend a few days ago and since then i've seen multiple posts of various sorts that have just made me think about it more, so. here is me breaking down a disconnect i see particularly with younger members of the marauders fandom (i say marauders specifically just bc that's the only one i'm plugged into):

okay, so i've seen many (usually younger) marauders fans either talking online about how they wish ao3 was more like social media (specifically regarding algorithms) OR talking about ao3/fanfiction/fanfic writers as if they are operating under the same etiquette/guidelines/assumptions they would bring into social media platforms. this ranges from being mildly irritating to genuinely harmful, and i want to talk abt why.

first - you have to understand that social media, in this day and age, exists in a profit economy. and when i say social media here, i'm referring to platforms like tiktok, twitter, instagram, etc. all of these platforms exist in a profit economy where content is a product that can be monetized. this leads to a few important distinctions:

people posting on these social media platforms are generally posting with the intent to get their content seen by as many people as possible, as quickly as possible

they post with this intent because once their content is consumed by enough people, it becomes a product that they can monetize

therefore, if that content gets popular enough, these people can become influencers, where content creation is an actual job and their audience are, in a sort of vague and obscured way, similar to consumers purchasing a product

because of the profit economy surrounding social media, there are certain assumptions + forms of interaction that bleed across almost all social media platforms. the ones relevant to this little essay include:

operating under the assumption that anyone posting anything on the internet wants to go viral, ie. be seen by as many people as possible as quickly as possible in order to grow an "audience"

these influencers are creating content for us, their audience, so they should want to please us. they should also be trying to appeal to the broadest possible audience. therefore, if we dislike their content, we have a right to make that very, very clear.

in that same vein, we have a general right to critique content creators, as they are making a profit and we are the consumers purchasing their product--much like you might feel entitled to a certain standard of service in a restaurant where you are paying for the food.

when you carry these assumptions over to a platform like ao3, it creates problems. why? in a nutshell: because ao3 exists outside the profit economy

ao3 is a non-profit. it does not have an algorithm because it is not trying to sell you anything. this means that the writers posting their work on ao3 are not making a profit. we are not influencers. we are not creating monetized content to sell to a consumer-audience. where consuming content on other social media platforms might be comparable to eating at a restaurant, reading fanfiction on ao3 is more like coming over to someone's house and eating cookies that they made for free. you are in their house. the cookies are free, given as a gift. so what happens when those assumptions outlined above start to bleed over from other social media?

assuming that anyone posting fanfiction online wants their work to go viral -- i've seen this with popular fic writers getting questions like, "are you worried x isn't going to be as popular as y?" those questions are usually not ill-intended, but they demonstrate a fundamental lack of understanding about why writers post work on ao3. it's not to go viral. it's not to build any sort of online following. most of us who post on ao3 have jobs or schoolwork or other commitments, and writing fanfiction is something done for fun, out of a love for writing. those sharing their work online might be seeking community, but that is fundamentally different from seeking an audience, and in no way involves internet virality. if someone is posting fanfic on ao3 with the hope that it'll "go viral," then they likely either won't continue writing fanfic for long or will reach a point where they have to re-evalute their motivations, because seeking joy and validation by turning your art into a product for consumption just isn't very sustainable.

influencers are creating content for us, so we have a right to let them know if we don't like it -- nope!! fic writers are not influencers. yes, even the popular ones. no matter how much other people might blow their work up on social media, fic writers are still outside the profit economy. they are not creating content for an audience. they are not creating content for you. they are writing because they love it, and they are generously sharing it. if you don't like it, don't interact with it. you are never entitled to loudly and publicly proclaim how much you dislike a fic. i talk about this more here

we have a general right to critique fic writers, the same way we do with content creators/influencers -- again, no. you should not be treating fic writers the way you would treat an influencer on another social media platform, no matter how popular they may be. this is not to say fic writers are beyond all reproach; rather, it is a call-in to check your entitlement. fic writers are not little jesters entertaining in your court. they are not subject to your whims. they do not have to do things for you. they do not have to write things you like. in that post i linked on point 2, i talk about what etiquette might look like if you're really concerned that a fic writer is doing something harmful, but that is not what i'm talking about here. i am talking about the proliferation of negativity i have seen, especially on twitter and tiktok, where people essentially just talk shit about fics or fic writers as though they are entitled to have those fic writers working to please them. this is gross, and it needs to stop. you wouldn't go over to someone's house, eat the cookies they baked to share, and then spit those cookies back in their face and start shouting about what a shitty baker they are. or maybe you would--in which case, congratulations! you are Not A Good Person.

anyway, at the end of the day, a lot of this can be boiled down to: Because ao3 exists outside the profit economy, fic writers are not influencers, and you should never be treating them as though they are. i think i see this disconnect largely with younger people just because they've maybe only ever really understood social media within this sort of influencer-consumer-culture economy, and genuinely don't understand how to interact differently with the internet. so, consider this post a call-in to reevaluate the way you interact with fic writers and the etiquette you use when it comes to engaging with fanfic on ao3! i promise that ao3 being different from social media is a very, very good thing, and also a very, very rare thing, so let's treasure it and focus on fostering community rather than trying to morph it to fit the mould of influencer-audience dynamics that we see almost everywhere else <3

[the-colourful-witch]

The All the Young Dudes book covers project

I've been working on this fun project in my time off from social media. It consists of three illustrations to use as book covers for All the Young Dudes by MsKingBean89 on Ao3. This book has been the foundation of my involvement in the fandom. It's the first fic I read about the Marauders and I loved it so much! I laughed, and I cried, it was a real rollercoaster. After making the cover for A Brief History of Dragons by Eyra, I caught the bug and started thinking of more covers to illustrate. I loved working on the first cover, but I didn't love doing it on my tablet. At heart, I am a traditional illustrator and for this kind of illustration, I felt paper might work better. So I got to work. I knew I wanted to make three covers. From what I've seen online most people bind their own copies of All the Young Dudes in three parts: Year 1-4, Year 5-7 and Until the End. Therefore, I made three covers. I have not yet digitalized these illustrations, but I'll turn them into downloadable covers for binders to use for their book projects. I am working on binding my own physical copies of AtYD too :) It's fun! Right, to the covers. There's so much to say!

Book One

This is the start of Remus' life at Hogwarts and his friendship with the other Marauders. I wanted it to feel a bit like reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for the first time. It's the realisation that magic is real, it's that first spark you get when picking up a book you instantly connect with. That was the feeling I wanted to incorporate in this first cover. There are a bunch of little easter eggs for the story and I hope you'll pick them all out. Let me know in the comments what you think they are. Also, for this project, I studied the language of flowers. I am not sure if all my information is correct, but in this one, I put dandelions in the top corners. Dandelions represent new beginnings :)

Book Two

The second half of the Marauders' time at Hogwarts. This part is all about love and loyalty; something I liked a lot! It's also the time when the Marauders complete their animagus transformations. The animals had to be on the cover! That, I knew for sure. I went for a forest theme for this second cover, because of all the mischief the Marauders got up to in the Forbidden Forest during full moons. I used flower language here as well. For every Marauder I picked a flower I felt represented who they are. For Peter, at the top, I chose Bleeding Heart and Belladonna. Both of them represent betrayal and death. Nice and cheery :) For Sirius, on the Right, I chose Bluebell, which represents loyalty. For Remus, on the Left, I chose Acacia, which represents secret love or forbidden love, because he's hiding his sexuality for most of the book. But it's a love flower and in his core Remus is caring and loving, despite his rough edges. For James, on the bottom, I chose violets. And violets represent love at first sight. I know we all know why <3 I like this cover a lot. The picture is a bit grainy, but like I said, I'm still working on digitalising.

Book Three

Last but certainly not least. This book is about war, love and loss. It was definitely the most challenging piece out of the three, but worth the trouble. On this cover, I put Hogwarts at the top, because that's where it all started and where it ends. On the bottom, there's a prophecy, which is about Harry and Voldemort. There are a few gravestones at the bottom. Very cheerful, I know, but if you pay attention, you see a Deathly Hallows on one of them. On the sides are my favourite parts. I like the lily flower in the arms of death, because it's obvious, but also beautiful. I like the Death Eater on the other side because it's spooky. The snakes represent rebirth and Slytherin House, which is important to the story of the Second Wizarding War, connecting good and evil. Once again I put all the flowers in this piece, scattering them around because they're all interwoven in each other's stories. Finally, I want to say something about the three central images. In the first we see Remus as a child. He's alone and scared of the big scary wolf. The three images are a timeline. It represents Remus' relationship with the wolf in him. At first, he despises it and is scared of it. And finally, he stands with it, not quite embracing it, but he's not scared anymore. In the middle, I wanted to show Remus with his friends, because they banished his fear whenever they were together. With his friends, the wolf didn't control Remus and he could control the wolf. I hope it's all clear. I loved working on these pieces and I hope you like them too!

[cuverale]

Hey can you make marauders social media au with regulus black as the readers love interest. I loved your timothee chalamet sm au featuring our fan cast. Can we get a real one ?! 💗

a/n: hi! i’m so glad that you liked it! i didn’t used someone as face claim again i hope you don’t mind!

Part 2

What if marauders had social media?

yourusername

liked by regulusblack,jamespotter,remuslupin and 980,499 others

yourusername home🤎

view comments

pandoralovegood we should go together next time!

yourusername yess!!

siriusblack so this is the “work” you gotta do instead of going on a date with me :/

regulusblack you asked her out?

jamespotter bring some popcorns! @ remuslupin

remuslupin omw! also i liked your sweater i wonder where did you get it 🤨

yourusername i have no idea what are you talking about 🤭

evanrosier i love how she only answered remus haha

more comments

regulusblack

liked by yourusername,pandoralovegood,evanrosier 843,693 others

regulusblack ma meilleure moitié

tagged: yourusername

view comments

yourusername ma lumière des étoiles

regulusblack tu n'as aucune idée à quel point je t'aime

yourusername wait wait i’m not that good at french what did you say?

regulusblack nothing important

siriusblack ha! nOtHinG iMpoRtaNt my ass

pandoralovegood language Sirius!

evanrosier should i tell or…?

regulusblack don’t even think about it.

more comments

jamespotter

liked by siriusblack,remuslupin,yourusername and 854,592 others

jamespotter you can tell we love running around

tagged: siriusblack, yourusername, remuslupin

view comments

yourusername my guysss 🖤

regulusblack i’m your favorite tho

yourusername ofc you are

siriusblack Y/N aka TRAITOR

jamespotter you’re literally betraying us rn

regulusblack suck it idc

remuslupin everyone know who is REALLY her favorite

yourusername oh merlin…

bartycrouchjr you should give me credit for taking the pics

jamespotter hmm? should i?

more comments

yourusername

liked by pandoralovegood,evanrosier,remuslupin and 953,428 others

yourusername your lips, my lips, apocalypse

view comments

siriusblack don’t tell me you two are officially dating rn

regulusblack she’s mine back off

remuslupin congrats you two!

pandoralovegood i’m the matchmaker of this relationship 🙌🏻

evanrosier you’re welcome y/n

yourusername thank you for taking this photo evan!

*liked by evanrosier

jamespotter so new IT couple of Hogwarts?

yourusername definitely 😏

more comments

regulusblack’s story

[caputvulpinum]

hi, i am Not a troll but i came to ask questions about your stance on the hp thing. delete this ask if you dont wanna answer or explain, and im not a potterhead. i havent seen anything harrypotter for about 7 years and even then didnt get into it much.

i dont understand why its important to not even pirate hp, i know that being fandomy is a bit yikes and not cool, but to me, saying people shouldnt even pirate seems like its giving jkr more power, almost like we're confirming that anything even near hp fandom is giving her power, but it doesnt seem like she could actually benefit in any way from someone pirating something and not posting about it? and it almost feels like by warning people not to interact at all we are making her scarier. i dont know, i could be misunderstanding something here, or missing something obvious. feel free to ignore this ask, u dont have to answer. thanks if you do

If you pirate Harry Potter media and not publicly saying so/not publicly being a part of its fanworks, you:

-are not financially supporting JK Rowling

-are not directly granting social legitimacy to Rowling's works

However, you are:

-deciding that you wish to consume media in which JKR has placed her transmisogyny, antisemitism, homophobia, racism, classism, fatphobia, ableism, xenophobia...etc etc etc

-deciding that you need to prioritize experiencing a new harry potter thing despite knowing Exactly how your friends and loved ones who are directly affected by her bigotry would feel about this

The reasons we are saying to completely no-contact with Rowling's properties are twofold: The first is because she actively uses those properties and the monetary resources/social capital they give her to directly fund and enforce transphobic legislature. The second is because we are deciding it is better to respect and support the victims of her bigotry by refusing to take any part whatsoever in her works, because engaging with those works and its fandom spaces is something which makes the victims of her bigotry feel unsafe and ignored, as though their suffering is something you can justify because you want to talk about and write Marauders fanfiction.

[messrsrobyn]

Ok nobody I’ve asked seems to give me a direct answer so I figured I’d just voice all my concerns with you? You don’t have to answer everything 😭😭

When it comes to fandom friends how do you move from just being moots to being friend friends? I saw a video you made about it when somebody had asked you a similar question but I’m really struggling with getting them to feel like friends and not just random accounts in my phone.

I’ve seen videos people have made and you guys are sharing jokes in the comments. I saw video of 3 girls that said “Us when anyone hates on mesrsrobyn” and you said like “Fan behaviour” which obviously shows that you’re actually their friend and you’re just teasing them.

Also how do you find people who are ok with you not responding all the time (😭😭😭) I’m just genuinely not active very much on any forms of social media. I was in a marauders gc and I was really happy thinking I was gonna make fandom friends but because I wasn’t active all the time they had a bunch of inside jokes I didn’t get and I kinda felt like an outsider.

Most of the people I see you interacting with online seem really cool and fun, so I’m just wondering where to find people like that. Just genuinely from posting?

I’m sure I’ve worded all this so strangely but honestly I’m sad because I’ve been in this fandom for 3 years in November and I have made no real lasting friendships. I feel like you yapping so much LOL

IK THE VIDEO 😭 my besties yup !!

this is long so i'm putting the lil dashy line thingy

i have v limited advice actually bc i don't think i've initiated many of my friendships in fandom?? despite how little i stfu, i'm a shyyy person. i get scared to text first.

my BIGGEST bit of advice is take. it. off. the. app.

i try to get discords mainly (bc i use it most) but once you take it off of tiktok or wherever you met it feels so much less like mutuals. like yes, we met in fandom but now we are discussing our plans for the day and getting to know each other as Robyn not Messrsrobyn.

i made most of my friends from posting !! i made my account as a whole to meet people and (ive been flagging a bit recently actually but) i always try to reply to EVERYONEEE. so most of my friends were just people that commented that i replied to, their name kept popping up in my notifs? boom. friends. one of them said they loved crimson rivers so next time i found an edit i sent it to them.

ALSO !! i'm so bad at replying.

servers im more active in i think, but just... dms? not very good at all. anyone that doesn't respect that or gets mad? 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️ i dont want them as a friend.

like it's frustrating i know! i hate the amount of lil red bubbles i have on every single app but it doesn't mean i value my friends any less and they all know that <3 we don't always have the time or capacity to reply and that's okie.

i tend to get it out the way immediately and test the waters. just a lil "btw i'm really sorry for my reply times! i'm not the best at it but feel free to double text me as much as you want" and always make sure that i follow up on everything that's been said whilst i wasn't replying.

im rambling a bit i fear but the right friends won't get mad at it, or make you feel less important bc of it. it might just take some time to find them but You Will.

i feel like i havent actually given much advice?? i'm genuinely so so so lucky to have found the friends that i have but i did nothing. i think i said in a few of my tiktoks rightttt at the beginning that my dms were open for friends and then i think? hope? that i've kept that energy going of like someone that anyone can message and i'll get back to them (at some point 😭 my tiktok dms are a mess but thats an issue for future robyn) so i've been able to just sit back and naturally find them.

i live by the motto of "the worst they can do is not reply" every time i send a comment or dm to a new person

we're all just losers reading fanfiction !! we all want lil friends to talk to about it so interaction and reaching out gives us that BUT it's the taking it off of the app that takes it from mutuals to friends imo.

this is UNNECESSARILY LONG omg. i never know how to answer these ones but i hope it helps a lil? <3 social interaction is NOT my finest point. potentially my worst i fear.

[acewitch-writes]

Hello! I recently found your account, and I went on scrolling down and down...and now I hope you know how grateful I am. Thank u- Merci. About 90% of the content you share here has made me feel so much better. I realllyy hope wonderful things happen for you. I've been a fan of hp since 2001, but I'm not really a social media person so I haven't been active in the fandom. I had no idea what was happening here until recently..two months ago to be exact (other details are not important) and omg.. I ended up in a discussion with some I think, new fans. tbh I thought, "Great! I'm good at this, I read all the books more than once Let's talk :)"  and omg their very first question was "What do you think about Regulus?"

I was like, "Who?" *dying from secondhand embarrassment bc It turns out I'm not that good at this

but as the discussion continued, I became more and more baffled bc "Why was everyone talking about Barty, Evan, and Regulus? who is daddy Remu? and what do you mean people ship James Potter with R.A.B.? What?"

I swear for a moment I thought "Did the writer publish a new book? Did I miss something? " tbh, I respect everyone's opinion it's none of my business but I'm still shocked. The only thing that bothers me is everything that happened with this new Wolfsar

omg, for most fans around my age (or at least people I know), Sirius was the complete portrayal of a bad boy- a rebel, with boots, tattoos, a leather jacket, and a fucking motorcycle. so this new Sirius is like a stranger to me, and that's okay. Mein issue is kinda with this new Remus T T my beloved .

They (the fans I was talking with) told me Remus is "tall, so handsome, SO strong, and hot-headed person because,  yk he's a werewolf." I was like "hot headed? excuse me?" I tried to explain to them that Remus being a werewolf is a metaphor for illnesses like HIV, it's not some superpowery gift.  they didn't believe me, but then they literally looked me in the face and said, "Then why would Sirius like someone like him? He's poor, short, and ugly." I swear I wanted to cry right then and there.

What is this mindset that makes some people think that a person should be, Idk, hot and flawless to deserve to be loved? Yes I don't think Remus is tall and super hot and perfect and isn't it fine? and I am 100% sure he's so beautiful. not like Sirius ofc but he has this "warm, cozy, and soft" sort of beauty. and I don't think he was a coward (ok maybe he was a liitle) but I guess it's easier for us, humans, to take the worst or weakest moment of a character and amplify it until it defines them entirely. and omg I'm so sorry for my rant and my bad english. but once again thank you for your beautiful soul <3 thank you

Hi anon! I, too, am baffled by the recent obsession with Regulus in this fandom. I think Jegulus is fine as a crack ship, but it has become so mainstream that many fans have just gone ahead and canonized it to the point that you'll be vilified for not accepting it as canon. I underestimated how popular the "best friend's brother" trope was, apparently. I also think it appeals to many fans as a Marauders Era version of one of the most popular ships of all time, Drarry.

This new version of Wolfstar is my biggest complaint with today's fandom, too! I get that the Marauders have very limited canon information and therefore we have more creative freedom to flesh them out, but I really believe that it has gone way too far. Sirius and Remus in today's fandom don't bear any resemblance to the characters they're based on. Remus is just a generic alpha werewolf OC and Sirius is his generic himbo femboy love interest OC. They don't even share a physical description with their Canon counterparts, and their personalities and character traits are so far removed that I can't even fathom how we reached this point as a fandom. How can you claim to like these characters if you have to change everything the source material says about them?

You're English is great, by the way! I completely agree that Remus has a cozy-and-warm sort of beauty. He made a point to distance himself from the stigma surrounding Lycanthropy because it was the focal point of his shame and self-loathing. And I just adore Wolfstar's dynamic from this lens, with the intimidatingly beautiful, confident, headstrong Sirius Black, who could have his pick of anyone he wants, choosing this ordinary guy because he's cozy and soft and it's exactly what Sirius wants after surviving the harsh ideals and abuse of House Black.

[shrimpalbuspotter]

I am so sorry for lack of posts on my end as of recent... stuff has been hectic lately and I've always put my wellbeing ahead of my social-media life so I don't wanna rush myself into posting/fixing up drafts/writing fics since I know they won't be very coherent.

In the meanwhile, things I am working on and which will be out as soon as I am out of this slump are:

- "Marauders era Snape centric fic", quite low on my priority list since I have like 5 other much more important things I need to write for my classes and I just don't have the energy to also go home and write in my free time

- "In defense of Albus 'Severus' Potter", have been working on this any time I can, probably my top priority since it something I'm very passionate about but it'll take a while to be out since again, not alot of spare time and also I'm trying to pull up as much stuff as I can to add to it

- "Cursed Child band fic", lowest on the priority list solely because its not really planned and I don't have many ideas for it besides the main plot.

- "Dark Lord Albus Severus", I've written half of my answers for both asks I've gotten on this specific topic but plan to erase one and just link it to the other post. I just keep forgetting to be fair It's pretty low down in drafts...

- "Why Scorpius is a Slytherin and not a Ravenclaw" ok it came to me just last night and I had so many ideas and want it out ASAP. probably will be my next post!

And um... that's it! I don't know why I felt the need to make this post but usually when I blank an account link this it means I've made another one for another media I enjoy more now. This isn't what happened here!!! I still love Harry Potter!!! And to my 3 other accounts, I'm so sorry

[suncchaser]

this fandom takes literally everything out of me istg but i used to love these characters sm and leaving the fandom is hard cuz this was a hyperfixation for like 4 years straight. also not fully understanding why the marauders fandom is the only one i've seen with people completely changing characterizations and only caring abt ships etc. i'm not in many fandoms so idk if its common

I mean, I am not in too many fandoms but the marauders fandom is the only one I have seen, out right, deny the importance of canon and I think it’s due to two reasons.

The first is JKR. Her actions and her bigotry have ensured that any respect people had for her and her work is completely gone. When you combine that with the demographic of people currently entering the fandom — mostly teenagers, who did not grow up with the books and mostly get their content through social media, it’s very easy how we ended up here.

If you joined the fandom because you read Crimson Rivers or Choices (which is how most people are joining these days smh), do you really want to sit through 7 whole books that will have zero content you want? No, so it’s easier to claim canon doesn’t matter. And that because JK is a horrible person, her work doesn’t matter. Which is hilarious because even if they change the characters’ whole personality, they are still witches and wizards, who attend Hogwarts and everything else that comes with it. And guess who wrote all that? The old bat. So picking and choosing is a little stupid.

And I find it hilarious the whole “she would be so mad seeing what we did to her characters”. I promise you a woman who spends her time harassing real life people doesn’t care about what teenagers are heaecanoning her character as…

[rosekillerismylife]

Red White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Wow. Just wow. This book was so full of laughter and love and nonsense that it almost tunes out the important things that are mentioned.

Although there was so much nonsense in it, the real problem will never be forgotten. Henry and Alex almost had to deny their identities, their sexualities, themselves. Almost. Society took their outings from them. Social Media made them the hottest topic in the world. They had to endure slander, not only from strangers but also from their families, especially Henry. There was so much wrong in the last part of the book that it made me question why humans had to invent cellphones and social media with it. It made me question if this would've happened in a time where social media and all the techniques were nonexistent. Where people communicated through letters rather than messages on phones or posts on social media.

I almost had a mental breakdown because the Queen asked Henry to deny himself, to change his identity and to lie to the rest of the world. The book shows us that we need to stay true to ourselves in hopes that it'll all work out eventually. There was so much hope and also so much sadness which made it into a good book. There have to be two sides to make a story good.

For one, Alex discovered his sexuality and his parents had the reaction every queer person would want to get from their family.

For another, Henry's family partly didn't agree with him being gay but eventualy realized that they couldn't do anything against it but then still tried to make it up to him, to help him. That's real character improvement.

Oh and on the Marauder aspect: Shaan and Zhara are definitely Rosekiller. I mean, come on, they helped Henry and Alex with their relationship and basically knew everything before someone else did and were extremely cool while doing so. I had some struggle with naming the AlexHenry relationship because they have so many faces. It was pretty clear to me that Henry absolutely needed to be a member of the Black family. So maybe Jegulus? But then I realized that Alex was also really mean to Henry so James maybe wasn't a fit for him but Remus was. Maybe wolfstar? And then it accured to me that in Crimson Rivers by bizarrestars, Alphard and Elijah had a relationship and that Henry and Alex are the perfect fit for them and I can't see otherwise. So Alphard and Elijah. By the way, do they have a shipname?

On that note: I want to write a book where everyone (or most of the people) is heterophobic just to relieve my anger about how unfair it is that heterosexuality is called 'being normal'.

[rollercoasterwords]

Yes yes yes to all of your points about jegulus and the capitalism of fandom as a whole. I find the whole thing so interesting in a mildly terrifying way lmao

One thing I’ve noticed with jegulus on TikTok that I’ve never really registered seeing with another ship (tho I could obviously be wrong, thx algorithm) is that people advertise their fics in a way I’ve not really seen before in forms of countdowns and trailers pre posting. And yes be proud of what you’ve created, I am the biggest supporter of tooting your own horn but sometimes it feels a little… off to me. Like almost like people are viewing fic writing as becoming ‘content creators’ and trying to go viral with these pieces of work in the same way that art and TikToks goes viral. And with the marauders and jegulus in particular being such a TikTok heavy fandom (as you pointed out in your essay) maybe that’s why it’s more apparent, because a lot more people interacting with this subsection of the fandom have been ‘raised’ (for lack of a better word) to view the internet as a place where the point is to go viral and become well known, so to create art for the sake of creation is an entirely alien concept. So why would you not make a trailer for your story and post it half a dozen times to TikTok?

And then pair that with jegulus having fewer works than bigger ships which means that the ‘bigger’ fics are known and read by the majority, which ultimately means that people have a better chance of going ‘viral’ if they post a story with that pairing compared to wolfstar where the competition is higher.

I’ve never really kept a track of these fics that are advertised and hyped up before chapters are posted, but I would be interested in how many are abandoned if and when the author doesn’t get a barrage of kudos and comments, and the subsequent serotonin boost with it.

Sorry this ask doesn’t really have much of a point or direction, (and I’m not even sure if it even made much sense ☠️) it’s just something I’ve been noticing with increasing frequency recently and I was wondering if you had any thoughts, as you write your points and arguments so well!!

anon i literally want to kiss u on the mouth u brought up sooooo many good points!! yes i have so so so many thoughts about this maybe i need to make a separate post bc like....ive talked so much about the way that like. people interact as readers with the like tiktok/social media/influencer mindset but ive definitely seen it crop up with people who write fanfic too. and the thing is bc there aren't really cleanly delineated boundaries between readers + writers of fanfic (like....most of the writers are also readers, and many of the readers are also writers) it definitely comes from both sides.

i think for anyone who has like. internalized this mentality that art must be validated by an audience to be worthwhile and that you can only be Seen by turning urself into content for consumption it's very easy to approach fanfiction with a mindset stuck in a consumer economy. and like. that isn't a moral failing, because we are literally all being conditioned to think of any creative pursuit as something that is only worthwhile if it can be turned into Profitable Content. but i DO think it's important to recognize when we're falling into that mindset, because fanfiction is so antithetical to it. and also just like....i don't think any of these people who are approaching fanfiction with this underlying idea that they need to curate an audience for validation will be able to find deep or lasting joy, because if your primary motivation in writing is just to get as many eyes on it as possible, then like....idk. it will never be enough. there will always be someone with a more popular story, with more people reading it.

and like. i actually mentioned this in my little tiktokification essay that escaped confinement, and i got a bunch of responses of people in the tags or reblogs going "there is NOTHING WRONG with wanting to share your work and wanting people to read it!!!" and i was like...i didn't say there was anything wrong with it?? i said if your primary motivation in creating art is just to get as many eyes on it as possible, you probably will not find lasting joy in the creation of that art. so :/

anyway now i think i want to write another essay so thank u for that anon lmao

[vervainium]

Well im never quite sure what to tell people I like sometimes, but im more of an anime person. I just finished "Battle after 5 seconds" what im going to assume is an older anime.

My favorite thing of all is pokemon and like crime shows/ghost + parnormal shows n media online. I get hyperfixated really easily......

I spend a lot of my freetime watching youtube and chatting with friends on discord. I'm a little socially awkward though and sometimes can't keep up conversations.

i thought about adding what music i like but i never know what my favorites are since i listen to so many genres at once....

and any other important stuff should be in my carrd bc im a little forgetful..

sorry i was doing homework BUT allow me to introduce myself as well

i haven’t really watched any anime, the most i watched would be avatar the last air bender but beyond that, not me. i was more of a warrior cats girl yk i also fall victim to heavy hyperfixation. i have a tad of the tism so i hook into things with my nails like claws i’m so serious. right now i’m super into ncis and harry potter. ncis and i go way back like we have lore. i want to start reading again idk.

i spend my time drawing or watching movies and homework. school has become a big part of my life rn 😬 it’s getting kind of scary. but when i’m not doing those three things, i hang out with my friends i guess. my only friend actually is townes (i hate her).

i love music, i love instrumental music when i study ummm. i like lana, jeff buckley, the smiths, modest mouse, radio head, WEEZER LMFAO IM A PROUD WEEZER FAN. umm as far as fandoms, you can catch me with my toe in the following pools: game of thrones + house of the dragon, ncis (but only the original), the last of us, both the games and the tv show, teen wolf, harry potter + marauders, marvel and dc if you squint really really hard and you’ll occasionally hear tvdu but really you should just ignore that.

this ending up being longer than i wanted it to be but 😁 hi friend

[crowleying]

Rules for requesting

Important 

You need to be patient. I have ADHD, so I usually write about something when I’m hyper fixated on it. When the hyper fixation is gone, it’s hard to bring it back. When you request something, know you might have to wait years for me to write it (no, this is not an exaggeration.) 

I have the right to reject any request. There are things I’m not comfortable writing about. I will let know right away if I’m not comfortable with your request.

Sometimes I have gender dysphoria, and when that happens writing f!reader makes me uncomfortable. This only means that I’ll write it later when I’m not feeling dysphoric. 

I'm 24, but minors are welcome to follow, interact and request. If I write something that is not suitable for minors, I'll write MDNI at the top with all the other information.

Please, always read warnings before reading. If I missed some warning, please let me know and I will add it.

English is not my first language. I always reread and spell-check what I write, but I don't notice all the mistakes.

If you like my works please LIKE AND REBLOG.

Comments are always welcome.

These rules are subject to changes.

My inbox is always open, don’t be afraid to ask if you have any questions.

Formats 

Imagines 

Drabbles 

Songfics

One shots 

I usually don’t write series, but I might write a sequel to a one shot 

Reader insert 

Canon or uncanon ships 

Fandoms 

Basically everything you see on my blog 

9-1-1 

9-1-1: Lone Star  

Actors

Lord of the Rings

Marauders 

Marvel  

Merlin  

Narcos 

Peaky Blinders  

Singers 

Sherlock

SKAM 

SKAM Italia 

Star Trek AOS

Teen Wolf 

Tenet

The Mandalorian

Triple Frontier 

Un professore 

I DO write 

F!reader, gn!reader, m!reader, ftm!reader 

Neurodivergencies 

Depression, anxiety, anxiety attacks, suicidal thoughts 

Alcohol consumption 

Soulmates AUs 

AUs where someone lives 

I DON’T write 

Pregnancy, pregnant!reader, m!preg 

Mtf!reader 

Drugs 

Incest (including adopted or step relatives) 

Paedophilia (should go without saying) 

Rape, dub-con, non-con 

Yandere 

Stalking 

A/b/o 

Abusive or toxic relationships (past or present) 

Graphic depiction of violence, injuries, and administration of testosterone (I’m okay with writing someone who takes it and the changes that come with it, but not the act of administrating it.) 

When requesting 

Specify the gender of the reader if you are requesting a reader insert. If you don’t specify, the default is gn!reader.

Character(s) 

Summary or idea (optional if you request a prompt.) 

Prompt(s) (optional if you have an idea.) I need either an idea or a prompt, but you can give me both. I made my own list of prompts, but you can ask for others.

Song (only if you want a song fic.) 

You can also request 

Social media AUs

Specify the gender of the reader 

Character or real-life person 

Reader face claim or specific physical traits they should have (optional) 

Idea 

Moodboards

Character or series or film or ship or real-life person or name or zodiac sign 

A colour or an aesthetic (e.g. dark academia, cottage core, etc.)  

Icons, wallpapers, banners and Twitter layouts

What you want (icon, wallpaper, banner, etc.) 

Character or real-life person 

Pride flag or colour

ᅠ

Last updated: 02-11-2022

[wolfstarhaven]

Hi, thank you for all the recs, i’ve found so many new amazing fics!!!!

Do you happen to have any texting/social media fics to recommend? I’ve recently become obsessed with them for reasons my brain won’t tell me, and would love it if you could share your favs (if you have any).

Thanks ❤️❤️

Hi Anon🌸 Here you have a few!

Text Talk, by merlywhirls [141k]

Sirius is in boarding school, Remus is in hospital, and they don't know each other until Sirius texts the wrong number.

General themes/feeling: texting; muggle!au; boarding school; chronic illness!remus; some angst, a lot of fluff; funny!

If you like texting fics, then I’m sure you’ve already read this masterpiece. If you haven’t, read this classic now!

Crude and Proud, by beesandjam [25k]

Remus and Sirius are soulmates and whatever they write on their arms appears on the other person's.

General themes/feeling: soulmate!au; strangers to lovers; insecure!remus; slight angst; fluff.

This is a soulmate au, with the definite feeling of a texting fic (they kinda text through writing on their skin… sounds a bit weird but it’s brilliant, promise!). Also, Instagram is an important feature to of this fic: the author has made Instagram accounts for the characters, which are SPOT ON!

Staying Strangers, by 3amAndCounting [>170k, WIP]

Sirius get's given a wrong number, Remus definitely isn't being sarcastic, and they should probably agree to stay strangers...

General themes/feeling: texting; strangers to friends to lovers; slow burn; artist!Sirius; remus+lily friendship; demisexual!remus; hilarious; fluff.

A WIP that I absolutely adore! A perfect texting fic, in the way it portrays the boys slowly getting to know each other and then falling without meeting in person. (The amount of pining and flirting is astounding!) Sirius is silly, Remus is the king of sarcasm; oh how this fic has made me laugh!

The PB to my J, by aqua_myosotis [63k]

A Modern AU Marauders texting with prose fic set at University.

General themes/feeling: texting; group chats; friends to lovers; slow burn; pining; misunderstandings; smut; fluff.

A widely popular texting fic, for a reason! This fic of pure fluff and comedy is definitely a must-read if you like texting fics. This is basically a marauders gang romcom, and it’s hilarious. Also, it features some serious (don’t!) misunderstandings—it’s almost painful (I love it).

Did You Miss Me?, by Fantismal, Krethes [641k]

Though the new boy at Hogwarts University, James Potter, appears to be an adorable himbo with deep pockets, Remus Lupin and his friends instead find a horrifically dark past on Google. Did he really attack that boy and leave him for dead? Why won't he talk about his mysterious childhood best friend, "Pups"? Would it kill him to stop messing with his hair?

At least Remus got his phone back after losing it, but now he can't stop texting the mysterious number of the man who had sent it back. Padfoot is funny and charming, and Remus is NOT going to fall in love with him.

General themes/feeling: texting; group chats; strangers to lovers; famous!sirius; pop star!sirius; secret identities, kinda; smutty!; fluff; referenced SA and child abuse; read the tags!!

Another popular one that is now finished! And it’s MASSIVE (I think it’s the longest fic I’ve ever read??). Honestly, I don’t even know how to summarise this fic… Let me just say that it’s a fic with a very ‘dramatic’ plot (for lack of a better word). A lot happens, a lot that isn’t really centred around r/s. It’s also very (very) smutty!

Texts, Hugs and Rock & Roll, by All_write_now [>139k, WIP]

A new anonymous social media app 'Seekers' has everyone buzzing like their phones. Some people use it for quick hook ups or playing games. Some people use it to make new friends and find new hobbies.

Some people find a lot more than they were seeking.

General themes/feeling: texting; friends to lovers; slow burn; accidentally falling for each other anonymously (it makes sense, I promise); smut; fluff.

Another WIP, sorry! But this fic is currently giving me a lot of joy, so I think you should read it too (; This fic is also very romcom-y, with so much drama and many hilarious misunderstandings. It’s light-hearted and so funny!

keysmash, by AllThisAndLoveTooWillRuinUs [45k]

Unknown number (sun, 9:03 am): hey settle an argument chocolate milk in cereal is innovative and cool, right?

Remus (sun, 9:07 am): it absolutely is not who tf are u

Unknown number (sun, 9:08 am): first of all, fuck u and second of all i told james u said yes anyway that’s what u get for living in my phone

General themes/feeling: texting; strangers to lovers; referenced child abuse; anxiety and depression; fluff; funny.

Although this fic features some dark themes, it’s mainly pure fluff! I definitely recommend this if you need some cheering up—it’s so cute!

the memerauders chat, by hue, reachthetree [15k]

bantlers: this is the part where u go “ya wow sorry prongs thank u for saving my pathetic pining arse w a nicely timed nude”

fknserious: its starting to occur to me that maybe sending out mass nudes was not the best way to seduce moony

bantlers: yea bc you sent them to everYONE EXCEPT HIM

-

Modern texting au with magic featuring puns, a betting pool, crop tops, and too many nudes, aka all the good things in life.

General themes: texting; friends to lovers; pining; jealous!sirius; this is also a jily fic; fluff; funny!

I think you can gather from the summary that this fic is hilarious! Pure comedy, fluff and idiocy, in true marauder fashion. Also features Peter the meme-king, which might actually be one of the best things about this fic.

real life has no appeal, (orphaned) [8k]

In which Remus is Lily's roommate and Sirius, James and Peter break into places.

General themes/feeling: texting; strangers to lovers; YouTuber!au; fluff.

A texting and YouTuber fic on the shorter side. Cute and funny!

xx Elliot

[iambecomeyourvillain]

I decided to make an about me post deal with it:

19.

Name [nickname]: people call me jes i don't have control over it anymore (my mutuals decided it don't blame me even though I thoroughly enjoy it)

pronouns: she/her

birthday? are you nosy like me? here: 13th October.

other Social media:

Instagram - @iambecomeyourvillain

Spotify? idk - here's a link

Fandoms:

Books (i keep forgetting to update actually):

series -

The Grishaverse Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo

All for the game - Nora Sakavic

The Sunshine Court - Nora Sakavic

Six of Crows Duology - Leigh Bardugo

Marauders

The Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater

Percy Jackson & the Olympians - Rick Riordan

Heroes of Olympus - Rock Riordan

The Folk of the Air - Holly Black (READ IT READ IT READ IT)

The Infernal Devices - Cassandra Clare

These Violent Delights (not the sequel) - Chloe Gong

Red Queen (though I haven't finished it yet) - Victoria Aveyard

Carry On - Rainbow Rowell

Villains duology - V. E. Schwab (unfinished)

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Divergent - Veronica Roth

Harry Potter - that bitch of a woman

Royally Series - Emma Chase

Heartstopper - Alice Oseman

Throne of Glass - Sarah J. Maas

Crescent City - Sarah J. Maas

The Zodiac Academy - Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti (unfinished)

The Off-Campus series. (unfinished) - Elle Kennedy

someone find me the motivation to finish reading LOTR pLEASE

(sone of the) Standalones that I've read-

Red, White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston [READ IT READ IT READ IT]

The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

Circe - Madeline Miller

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

The Starless Sea - Erin Morgenstern (if you mention it to me I'll die i love it so much)

The Hating Game - Sally Thorne

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid (ouCh)

Ugly Love - Colleen Hoover (just.why)

Reminders Of Him - Colleen Hoover (the only good book this author ever wrote)

We Were Liars - E. Lockhart (WHY THE PAIN)

The Spanish Love Deception - Elena Armas (i'm sorry to myself for putting me through that)

The Love Hypothesis - Ali Hazelwood (*sigh*)

All the Bright Places- Jennifer Niven (fuckfuckfuck)

Books by Sophia Bennett (Love Song, The Look, You Don't Know Me)

Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

On the Come up - Angie Thomas (it's sO GOOD READ IT)

The Sun is also a Star - Nicola Yoon

The Fault in our Stars - John Green

Turtle all the way down - John Green (unpopular opinion? this is better than tfios)

Tv series (i don't watch much unless I start binging randomly and finish the whole thing within a day or two)

The Vampire Diaries

The Originals

Brooklyn Nine Nine

Young Royals

Riverdale (unfinished)

Stranger Things

Girl Meets World

Lucifer (unfinished)

Supernatural (also unfinished)

[there's probably more than I'm forgetting]

Side blogs:

@iambecomeindecisive for shitposting (which I do on main anyway)

@sankt-milo which is treated like the GV's Milo blog

@too-close-to-helios [photography blog]

@jesper-hendriks [where I'm @crowtube's jesper as well]

@darling-fucking-god which is basically my dedication to the King and Queen of Elfhame

@minyards-junkie - i did it. aftg side blog. help

there's more that i don't even remember the names of

important crazy shit that's gone down on this blog

my playlists

[suncchaser]

anti-intellectualism in the booktok & the whole tiktok generation is a real thing & I knew it would continue to get worse when my Gen-Z younger brother told me TikTok had overtaken Google as the most used search function. Just from observations over the years, these new young fans don’t really do their due diligence when entering pre-existing fandoms which I guess they don’t HAVE to, but it causes so much issues that the “old-head” fans constantly have to spell things out for them when they can literally look these things up themselves. It evolved from new younger fans trying to shame & push the narrative that adults in their 20s who engage in fandom are weird and it’s a space only for teenagers when it’s the adults who are the ones who create the best free fandom content and it adults who created the media they are fans of, then it went to younger fans advocating for a “For You Page” on Ao3 bc they can’t be bothered to use the basic search function and filter to discover new fics they want to read and that an archive is not a social media platform, to saying fanfic writers should be able to be paid/tipped directly on fanfic sites for their their hard work resulting in them getting lectured by older fans about how copyright works

This issue is very layered and very nuanced because there are so many factors that play into the current state of social media and fandom spaces due to the influence of Tiktok. 

I have seen so many people, including adults completely missing the point in the conversation about anti-intellectualism in booktok and acting like people are shaming them for reading “easy romance books” and being elitist and pretentious when it was never about that. It’s about the tropification, dumbing down and reducing books and even entire series to one little thing about them. It’s about no longer existing a place for real, nuanced conversations about books on booktok. It’s about the refusal to have open discussions on problematic books and authors because “let people have fun” and “it’s not that deep”. 

That is what anti-intellectualism is about - closing the door to any critical discussion simply because you enjoy something and therefore, no one should criticize it. And that is harmful because it actively shuts down important conversations. And I see this attitude often in the Marauders fandom. It’s always “it’s not that deep, it’s fictional” but like I said, I don’t believe actions can exist in a vacuum. I do not believe that you can exhibit biases and prejudices towards a female character, per example, and not carry those biases and prejudices in your real life because that has to come from somewhere. 

And regarding the younger generation, I think growing up on social media has done a lot of damage in the sense that they have become completely detached from empathy and kindness online. They do not understand the weight of their words on social media because they genuinely do not think it’s that deep. And that’s problematic. They like provoking, they like arguments, it’s all part of the fun for them. It’s normal for them because it’s what they grew up with. I remember when I was a teenager, 10 years ago, we used to be embarrassed to say we were 15, 16 years old. These kids nowadays are calling anyone over the age of 20 a hag and telling them to go get jobs (as if you can’t have a job and be on social media).