#there I am again fanart for obscure media

[rkrq]

2022-2023 FKMT log

Both of the Akagi illustrations are incomplete.

[cupcakesmoothie]

...So I may have went a little insane designing the MC from @psychopomp-enthusiast's Blade x Reader fic To Mourn The Living

Am I confident in my art skills? Lmao (No)

I am not rendering this (I did have an idea for the highlights but) it's 5 am oh god and if I don't go lie down right now I am not waking up tomorrow (Today at 8)

I tried to keep the design androgynous but well. Am Girl. So I am a little biased towards Reader being also Girl. I think I did ok tho

The first HSR fanart I've made and it's fanart of a fanfic. Typical me behaviour tbh

I did research for this for some reason like I stared really hard at a couple wiki tabs for a while (Haven't seen actual scales on either of our High Elders) and skimmed the fic again. The scales were specified to be silver?

While doing the aforementioned research I think I've crafted a theory? I somehow completely missed that there is more than one High Elder, like there are other ships that have their own High Elders too and like??? I'm making some connections??? Is this a "I've connected the dots" moment? Who knows.

I did think maybe the whole storms thing had something to with Jing Yuan and his Lighting-Wielding Thunder-Clapping Spirit-Squashing Lord (YESSSSS FIRST TRY BABY OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD) but the whole thing with black hair and evil vibes just felt off to me. AND THEN. Until I get a reply on this/the fic gets updated I won't say anything further, but ough. I am so normal about the media I consume guys

I kinda felt like putting the scale pattern on the outfit was a little OOC since MC was mentioned to not really follow Vidyadharan customs, but I also figured they were close to Bailu and have horns so? Maybe?

I gave MC blue hair because Ice type. I was gonna give them really long hair, but then again, not a High Elder. The hair was mentioned to obscure their horns underwater tho so I think some length is fine?

It was actually really hard to find physical descriptions of the MC? I mean for a fic like this, that's actually a good thing, it gives me more leeway to do whatever I want but also literally one of the reasons why I don't do fanart is because I wanna be accurate as possible (This is probably some kind of anxiety thing, idk)

[danphantom]

oh hey i wanna talk abt smth thats been on my mind both lately and on and off for a while in general. sorry this ended up being a hella long post lol. but i have a lot to say

so...for context, ive been in the phandom for 10 years--since 2014--though it has admittedly been on and off in terms of engagement from me. in 2017 i got into dragon ball and all but dropped danny phantom completely with a few small drawings here and there. it was only like..within the past week that i actually got back into the phandom legitimately again, actively making art and posts about it and engaging with the source material and etc

anyway, i was obsessed with dp from 2014-late 2017 (until i got into dbz). i made lots and lots of fanart, played the gba games like all the damn time (i got to where i could speedrun tue lol), rewatched the show regularly...i was even one of those fans that bought obscure merch and learned useless trivia that ive since forgotten. in 2015 a lot of you may remember that i made @doppelgangercomic, a comic about an au i had where dan got a redemption arc (albeit a bumpy one) and future vlad was there and stuff happened (go read the comic LOL). it got a LOT of love and traction! it made me really happy to see all the positivity around my work like that :) i actually got a lot of positive responses towards my work in general. i had a really great time in the phandom back then

then i changed fandoms and kinda fell out of the phandom space. after being on a hiatus from the phandom until literally a week ago, i honestly have to say ive felt like i kind of...faded into obscurity in the phandom's eyes? basically i feel like old news. people dont generally know what doppelganger is now. they may have seen my art in passing here and there but they dont know who i am anymore. i think the only place people actively still find my old danny phantom art from when i was heavily active is...deviantart lol. i get notifications from favorites literally every day there. but uh anyway--im not saying this to garner pity or tell a sob story or anything! im just expressing some thoughts and feelings ive had for a long time lol.

the reason i bring this ^ up though, is because like...i know its not true? logically, i know that i DID make an impact in the fandom i loved/love so so much. i left my mark on both the fandom in an artistic sense, and also the people in the fandom, and sometimes i forget that because i get significantly less engagement on my posts than i used to. but i know that doesnt mean that people dont like my stuff anymore, or that ive been forgotten.

i actually got a message from someone today--a friend i made kinda recently who approached me bc they liked doppelganger actually. they told me that basically its surreal to them that theyre talking to me as a friend because they remember reading doppelganger when they were younger and looking up to me because of it. and it really reminded me of what i said previously--ive not been forgotten, and people still do appreciate and love what ive put out into the world (specifically about danny phantom in this case). ive made an impact on people's lives even when i dont realize it or see it physically. the message and sentiment made me feel really really good and nice and happy and honestly relieved, because the phandom and danny phantom as a media has been an extremely important and impactful part of my life ever since i got into it ten years ago. i literally changed my name to dan because of it lol. it was the reason i found stephen silver's work and went down that path of my art journey. its the reason i found so many amazing people and friends and artists and continue to do that even now. i owe a lot to danny phantom and the phandom as a whole, and i try to give back in the only ways i know how--mainly thru showing my passion through my art and posts.

anyway erm. yeah. all of this to say i wanted to thank yall--the phandom--for supporting me all this time, whether youve been with me from the beginning or if youre just joining me recently. youve been an absolute delight in my life and i know youll continue to be for a long time. :)

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

Halloween is approaching, so let’s watch some obscure spooky media

I am planning to draw fanart of some characters from a show dressing up as characters for halloween. And I thought about perhaps letting two of them be dressed as Emma and Victoria (the goth girl and the blonde girl), but I realised then I had to explain to everyone what Creepschool is. Then again, I could still do it just to give it some deserving love.

People who have not seen this show, I want you to tell me: Does the theme song slap or not?

[madamemachikonew]

24. Worst writing advice anyone ever gave you?

That’s a really good question and truthfully I don’t really have an answer in terms of advice given by someone else. 

Firstly, I am still very new to fanfic - I have only been writing for exactly one year. Consequently I don’t have a history of being active in fan spaces or talking to other authors - I've mainly done occasional fanart, animations or shitposting from non-Genshin fandoms on my main account. I’ve read the AO3 Reddit but apart from my comments section and on here I don’t really interact much to discuss the writing process itself. I am still familiarising myself with fanfic etiquette and customs.

So I am very much a one man band in terms of my writing and enjoyment of various media, though I do hang out on the occasional fandom discord and have made some good moots there. 

While I wouldn’t say it was bad advice, I kept seeing lots of posts or tags talking about having a beta reader. I had no idea what one of these was for months. Then when I looked it up I was like ‘nope, not for me’. Like I said, not bad advice per se because many people really thrive with them in terms of staying motivated or producing better quality work. But it seemed not only intrinsically incompatible with my style of working, but also felt like sacrificing my autonomy and by extension my enjoyment. I like my own unique flavour of work and a beta reader would feel like a dilution of that. I am, however, open to concrit after the fact, which I can then integrate into my autonomous writing process the next time.

I think the other piece of bad ‘advice’ came from myself to myself when I started the Pants fic. It’s heavily anchored on references to classical art, philosophy, Ancient Greek literature, Shakespeare, etc. I was afraid that this would scare off readers or be too culturally obscure or heavy for them and put them off reading because it was intellectually hard work. I don’t mean this in terms of underestimating their education or intelligence, but people read fanfic to relax, not for a wordy history lesson. Also some of the references are very niche so might need to be looked up or even missed altogether which, again, poses a potential headache for readers that risks diminishing the enjoyment. But these things seemed like such an integral part of my characterisation of Pants that it occurred to me that I wouldn’t be able to write the fic adequately without them. He would lack the depth and layers that I wanted to portray. I’m sure it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I have been really pleasantly surprised at how much people have commented on loving the art and philosophy aspects and his overall characterisation. Somebody even tweeted about it the other day which absolutely blew my mind.

So the lesson learned is to go with my gut instead of second guessing what readers ‘want’. I write for me at the end of the day. So my work will always naturally find its audience.

[atomiciva]

Hi hi!! Just so say in advance but for some reason i cant write questionmarks so ive just put them in brackets of where they go lmao. I wanted to shoot you a message and so I hope you dont mind but I was wondering what sort of portfolio you submitted to be able to work on Unicorn Warriors Eternal, I currently am an animator who has been struggling on getting a 2d animation job for a few years now and I was wondering if you would have any advice for someone who feels like they are struggling to get into the industry (Questionmark) Your animation for the show is amazing and I love the little bit of fanart that you made of melinda and edred too!! Once again, sorry if this is a bother but I figured that I would atleast try to ask :)

Heya! No worries at all!

I still feel super lucky honestly and I've only ever been at this one studio so far, so I don't know how helpful this is gonna be but I'll give it my best shot haha

This was my old showreel straight from the end of university which I had on my portfolio site when I applied:

https://youtu.be/42ubnrPGx2Y

I was lucky in the fact that the main thing I enjoyed doing during uni was animation clean-up in TVPaint, aaaand then I saw the job listing looking for... animation clean-up in TVPaint! I'm still not the best at rough animation, but as you can see my reel had lots and lots of clean-up examples, and that was exactly what Studio Zmei was looking for.

So, first tip: Focus your showreel on what you want to get a job for! If you're applying for rough traditional animation, show your roughs vs the final thing, or a clean-up heavy reel like mine if you wanna do clean-up, or a reel just for ToonBoom rigged animation if that's what you're applying for.

Second? Tip? Look for more obscure studios, or ask around your local studios (if you have any) if they offer internships or even junior level jobs? Studios are often really biased towards local people, and I was lucky that Zmei just happened to be situated in my home city. We often get interns not from any listings but just from people showing interest in an email. But I also know that's a bit unusual and a lot of studios are more closed off?? And going back to the more obscure studios part: The more well known a studio is, the more insane the competition to get a spot is, hence why usually it's not so much your portfolio's fault rather than the huge influx of candidates. This is where looking at general animation job listings sites can help a lot, and I even found Zmei's listing here in the first place:

https://animatedjobs.com/

aaand there's one for games too: https://gamejobs.work/

Lots of studios use these and they also have twitter/instagram pages to keep you updated as well. If a job is listed as remote, go for it! A lot of smaller studios that handle outsource animation are often starved for animators. (a lot of those do 2D rigged animation in ToonBoom or Adobe too, so it's def worth making a fresh reel for that if it's up your alley) Following a lot of studios on social media and especially LinkedIn helps too, as some of them post listings there exclusively.

And, third tip - there's no shame in starting small. I constantly get spammed by studios looking for mobile game animators or educational video animators on LinkedIn. Sure not all of those are gonna be worth looking into, but a lot of my friends started off like that. Every little bit of experience counts and builds up your CV. It's really hard to jump straight into being a rough animator, or a designer, or a storyboarder. Even my role of doing clean-up is considered more junior, and we had lots of people who did only coloring and shading too. And the more entry level version of a storyboard artist would be a storyboard revisionist. Everyone starts somewhere!

Other things like putting a direct link or linktree to your portfolio site or showreel easily accessible on all of your social medias could also help, as recruiters often have no time to dig for that stuff. (altho I'll be honest I've only ever been approached once (1) by a local studio on just instagram, so that's a really rare occurrence. still helps to be prepared though!)

I hope this was somewhat helpful haha. Good luck!!!

[clarktooncrossing]

Giraffe's Eye View: Christmas Specials Special (2023) | A Christmas Special: Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir

Chestnuts are roasting on an open fire. Jack Frost is nipping at your nose. Mom and dad can hardly wait for school to start again. All the dogs in the neighborhood somehow learned to bark Jingle Bells in sync. Yet retail workers are still more annoyed with Mariah Carey. Snow is getting shoveled, tossed, and formed into sentient beings leading parades without permits. It makes for an excellent distraction as the Krampus abducts children for bad behavior. Fruitcake is exchanged only to find its permanent home in the garbage. Terrorists have hijacked the Holiday office party right before your boss can give you a Jelly of the Month Club membership as your bonus. And of course, the Turducken has returned to wreak its fiery vengeance upon an unsuspecting world! If all this doesn’t put you in the Christmas spirit, perhaps these following Holiday specials will!

Greetings people of today and robots of tomorrow! It is I, Santa Clark, your geeky giraffe friend with a deep love of Christmas! My obsession for the yuletide is rivaled only by Maleficent’s hatred for it, which is saying a lot considering she once teamed up with Mad Madam Mim to kidnap the literal Spirit of Christmas. Yes, that really happened. I know this due to my annual pilgrimage to the Island of Misfit Specials, home to obscure or nerdy festive media ranging from movies, TV episodes, and comics. It’s no easy journey. Constantly I find myself confronted by sinister snowmen, genocidal gingerbread men, and worst of all, crappy commercials. Getting stabbed in the foot by a candy-cane wielding cookie is one thing, but I swear I’ve seen that ad for Wilbur’s White Elephant Gift Emporium more times than I’ve seen Miracle on 34th Street! Sometimes at night I catch myself reciting that jingle. Wilbur’s White Elephant Gift Emporium: Where Christmas meets Convenience! Huh, maybe Maleficent had a point.

Nah, my deep-rooted appreciation for this time of year can weather even the most moronic marketing! It helps that most of the merry media I’ve seen have put me in the perfect Holiday mood! Examples include the time a Ninja Turtle found himself trapped in a truck full of stollen toys, a drunk department store Santa stumbling onto a wish-granting magic bag, Big Bird nearly becoming a popsicle, Gwenpool waking up in a world where Galactus took the place of jolly ol’ Saint Nicholas, a terrifying tree stump trying to slaughter some saps over a stupid ship war, and the year when Death gave the Little Match Girl the greatest gift of all. Needless to say, I thought I had seen it all. That is, until I took my friends on a trip to the Island, tasking them to find me new, strange, seasonal specials to review! Some of them were fair, finding me festive favorites as comforting as coco in front of the fireplace. Others were fiendish, wanting to feed off my misery like Gremlins after midnight. Regardless of how naughty or nice my companions were, I’ve compiled all of their suggestions into a makeshift advent calendar! So stay tuned everyday until Christmas to see how badly my buddies can shred what little sanity I have left.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my buddies gave to me...

I am a geek. Yes, surprising innit? There’s a lot of dorky information about various things that live in my head rent free. Miraculous Ladybug is not one of them. My only exposure to this show has been the copious amount of fanart littering deviantART, otherwise I have no absolutely no connection to it. So naturally you can imagine my confusion when my companion Fluffy (xXFluffyPachirisuXx) asked me to check out the episode A Christmas Special: Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir. The confusion only grew after reading that title. Were the writers being paid by word? Did they think fans would be confused if it was simply called A Miraculous Ladybug Christmas? Why not go the extra mile by adding ‘Dawn of Justice’ or ‘Giant Monsters All-Out Attack’? I don’t know and I don’t care, for this title is très magnifique! Seriously, somebody give these peeps an award just for how ridiculously long that is! No kidding, this is actually how it’s listed on Netflix. Disney+ had the common sense to shorten it to Santa Claws, a more fitting name as you’ll soon see. Just a reminder, I’ve never seen any other Ladybug adventures before, so forgive me if I get a few details wrong.

We open with the titular Ladybug in her civilian identity Marinette (Cristina Valenzuela), passing out treats in her parents’ bakery while singing one of five subpar songs sprinkled throughout this episode. The first one is about Marionette's secret love for her friend Adrien (Bryce Papenbrook), her hidden desires on par with the title in terms of subtlety. Or at least, I presume that’s what she’s singing about. Much like a majority of the dialogue, it’s delivered so quickly that I barely have any time to register what was said. Was The Flash the vocal coach on this production? My only guess as to why everyone’s reads are so rapid is due to this show being Parisian, meaning they have to dub everything in English later. With French being the fast-paced language that it is, it’s no wonder all the characters are speaking at sixty syllables per second. I’ll have to go to a hospital when this is over due to how badly I suffered whiplash. 

Time to slow down is given when we are introduced to Adrien, having a notably less joyeux noel at home. His mom has recently passed away and his dad is too busy sulking in his office to mourn alongside his son. Realizing he’d rather not spend Christmas Eve alone in a mansion, Adrien activates a Sailor Moon transformation, becoming Cat Noir to spend Christmas Eve alone outside. Personally I would’ve just put on Die Hard, especially if it meant I didn’t have to go out in that skin-tight supersuit. People say Black Cat’s costume is senseless, but at least hers doesn’t come a pointless tail in the back. Bad guys must stomp on that thing all the time! It’s impressive how impractical this kid’s suit is. My mocking remarks can be applied to Mary’s form-fitting ladybug onesie too, having switched into it to find her runaway romantic interest. She finds him soon enough, having calmed down long enough to befriend a mysterious mall Santa. Aw, that’s nice. Ladybug proceeds to pummel the crap outta the old man. Our hero, folks! She assumes the jolly stranger is secretly under the control of  their enemy, Hawkmoth (Keith Silverstein), Adrien protesting that wasn’t the case. Ironically, it’s only after Bugbutt assaults this kindly elder that he’s mutated into a monster by the aforementioned fiend.

Gotta give Hawkmoth credit, his corrupted Claus looks more like the Grinch than Illumination’s iteration did. Now it’s up to the combined might of Cat and Bug to stop Santa Claws before he does something evil or something. All he ends up doing is riding around repeating the same song before having his reindeer eat some spoiled millennial’s presents. That twisted bastard! His sled can fly, yet the story goes nowhere, that being the major issue I have here.

Plot points are presented, then never given any proper conclusion. Mary gives Adrien a gift, he never tells her thank you. Adrien runs away, returning with some stranger dressed like Père Noël and everybody’s apparently cool with it. Hawkmoth corrupts the Claus, it’s fixed almost immediately. All that time spent coming up with that confusing title couldn’t have been spent streamlining the story? I know you folks only have eighteen-minutes but ease up on the gas please! Twenty-second Christmas commercials have better pacing, most of them delivering payoffs to whatever stories they started. Having said all that, there are aspects I liked. The characters themselves seem likable, I dig the idea of setting a superhero series in Paris since not a lot take place outside the States, and the animation style I thought would be awkward actually worked well for the action sequences. Overall this wasn’t bad, but it didn’t miraculously turn me into a fan. Maybe what I need are some different teenagers with attitude.

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[dimdiamond]

Love your page and all,I just have a curious question ,I wanted to ask isn't it difficult for you or the tintin fandom to be a fanpage of a thing that got published about almost 100 years ago and after that ended completely in one point?I mean with herge passing away there isn't any new content at all until now ,so how are you motivated to be a fanpage?just curious tho

Thank you a lot!

This is a valid question, I understand your curiosity.

I think what it means being a fan has being changed a lot during the years and not necessarily to the best. Being a fan doesn't mean follow the trends, consume content and demand more and when there's no more move to the next big new thing. This is an addicted client, not a fan.

A fan is an admirer, a lover, a supporter. A fan finds something in a book, a movie, a creator, a music, anything really, that resonates with them and connects to them. It can become an obsession, a hyperfixation or not. It can be strong for a short time or for years. The sure thing is that it never leaves completely. A fan isn't obligated to be an active member of the fandom and even if they are they're not obligated to make something and of course they have no right to ask for anything from others.

I won't continue longer with what it means to be a fan as everyone has their own opinions on that matter. I can't ignore however how the meaning has changed lately, probably because of social media but the issue is way more complex to just say "it's TikTok's fault". Kesha did nothing wrong.

You can ask fans from fandoms longer than your age, fandoms older than our parents, fandoms from obscure media and media that were once famous and never again or media that continue to be popular after years. I think we all will agree to the fact that for us this interest is growing with us and we always find things to discuss or wonder or analyze or create.

About me and Tintin, it hasn't been a long time and I don't know for how long I will be active in the fandom but I doubt my love for the series and the characters will go away ever. I would love for new Tintin things to come and more material to analyze but I don't need it to keep liking it and being interested in. I have found in this series and characters something that resonates with me, something that I can't easily put into words but it always gives me comfort. No matter how many times I watch the same movie, I read the same comic, I listen to the music intro of the cartoon, I will always find myself smiling or laughing or being moved or even getting crazy again and try to analyze it for the nth time.

So what motivates me isn't the expectation of the new material or counting the days till the new season or the number of interactions I get. They're all great and all. Of course I am more than happy when people like my content or when I find more fans to interact with. But being a fan isn't only that. What motivates me is my love for it, the people's love for the same thing as me. If I stop being an active member of the fandom one day it won't be because I don't have more fanart and fanfiction or if people stop interacting with me completely. It will simply be because I won't want to do it anymore.

For me it isn't difficult to be a fanpage for something that officially ended. Because it never actually ended. As long as there are people who keep creating about it and love it, it will never end.

Of course the traction is not the same as a fanpage for a recent fandom or a more famous media but personally I was never interested in that. I find myself more comfortable in a small fandom. The difficult part is that you hardly find things more specified in your likes but there's a solution for that. You just do them yourself no matter if the final results are good or bad. In a way you are more active in a small fandom than in a big one I suppose.

I think I may have overanalyzed this but in a few words I am motivated because I always find new things to like and revisiting the old just bring more motivation and inspiration.

I suggest asking older fans than me or fans from fandoms like Star Trek. They will have more things to say than me and maybe explain it better than me.

[imadhatt3r]

someone had to ask: Disco Elysium for the blorbo ask game 😔

Thank you for your sacrifice 😢7

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most): God, probably Harry or Kim, which shouldn't be suprising... I can't pick because it's geniuinely difficult for me to think about them as two separate characters, my brain always packages them in a set, like some leftover holiday-themed products right after said holiday ends and they want to clear the stock as fast as possible.

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped): Literally all the kids, Cuno and Cunoesse, Anette, Little Lily and her twin brothers... I am willing to beat anyone who's mean to them into a pulp. I saw this adorable fanart on twitter recently of Harry and Kim buying all the kids from the game ice cream as a thank-you for their contribution to the investigation, no matter how small and AHAHGAIAHAVAUAJAHHA 😭😭😭😭😭

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave) Probably Cindy the SKULL, I love this archetype of a snarky, mean girl with a lot of eyeshadow and an oversized coat with a good heart underneath, plus she's an artist who paints with gasoline and blood, so... yeah 🥰 I adore that pose she takes on when you talk to her, how she reclines on the wall and looks at you from an upside-down perspective, both to show off that she doesn't take you seriously and possibly because she's an artist so she's looking at the world in a different way... yeah. That "squeal for me piggy" convo is dear to my heart, something about girls making men who could easily crush them in a physical confrontation embarass themselves for them makes me 👀. I also really like Acele, she's clearly both very mature but still slightly childish and young, both things probably stemming from her past. I like this short but sweet friendship she can have with Harry, with both kinda reaching a quiet respect for eachother if you'll exhaust her dialogue tree and the "silver bird" convo.

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week): This one's kinda hard, since pretty much all characters are relevant to the plot in some way or another... Maybe Lilienne? She's awesome, I love her backstory of a hard-working woman just trying to keep herself and her kids afloat (hehe) and pretty much doing everything herself out of necessity. Her attitude towards her dead husband is interesting, very pragmatic, I guess it just goes to show how casually alcoholism is treated, like it's almost expected that your husband will abuse alcohol and die young, and you can count yourself lucky if he won't be aggressive towards you or the kids. On a lighter note, I like that she still has a bit of showmanship despite her pragmatism- her sword for example, because while it is factory-made, it's still something very eye-catching and distinct. Her lure earrings fascinate me- this seems like something she'd make herself out of whatever's lying around, which would once again imply that there's some desire for looking nice, despite that outward pragmatism. So yeah, cool, tough, working-class lady who's a leader of her community and has depths for people who look too deep into things like me and has a great design. A real pearl in all that silt. What more do you need?

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave): There's simply no meow meow more poor than Harry, that's just a fact. The more he embarasses himself in front of others the more I want to grab him by these mutton chops and press my face against his while going 👁👁. I vividly remember watching the Dora dream on youtube for the first time and howling in cringe-laughter over how awfully awkward that scene was (complimentory). I used to not understand people who felt cringe so severe when consuming media that they had to pause and walk it off, but now I do. Then again, this scene is supposed to make you cringe in how pathetic, delusional and sad Harry is, so that speaks about how good ZA/UM's writers are at their job. And that kiss, god, I was screaming "WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU DUMB FUCK, STOOOOOPPP!!!!!", it was so bad. Thankfully i could writhe to my heart's content because I was home alone, and it's good that I've picked that moment because my parents would probably get concerned 😖 Harry sucks so bad at everything at we love him for that <3

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason): Jean, for no other reason other than "I just think it would be funny". I do think that his anger and disappointment towards Harry is 100% justifiable, but something about his way of being just makes it seem like it would be funny to clown on him a little. Plus he dealt with Harry all those years, so he took his immunity boosters against teasing ages ago. He seems like he would be funny when he gets mad, would probably starts swearing in French or something.

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell): Taking obvious choices like the mercenaries out of the equation, probably Sunday Friend. Slimy liberal bastard who exploits younger and poorer Smoker, plus he talks like all the most annoying western EU politicians talking about problems in Eastern Europe while gleefully ignoring that they're responsible for at least a part of them, lol

[deliciousscaloppine]

Hot Takes Galore: A brief overview of fandom backlashes that influenced fanfiction writing traditions as I have personally experienced them:

In today’s segment I am going to talk about copyright infringement.

First let me preface this by saying I have only ever been in 3 fandoms, starting from 2008 and I have never been terribly active - like this blog has been the most active I’ve ever been in any fandom ever. I am not going to talk about particular fandom dramas because I am pretty clueless about that. What I am going to talk about is that friction between “reality” and online spaces that brought about changes that are still in effect today in the way fanfiction is written and perceived.

In 2008 as I was entering, nearly every piece of fanfiction had a disclaimer about the author not owning the characters, which were the property of Corporate Entity X, or Author Y, and also not profiting from the work in any shape or form. At the time getting money from writing fanfiction was a gigantic taboo, and almost no one did it, or advertised that they did. 

But as I understand through convention culture printed writing did circulate in exchange for money (zines), and at least in Japan one could sell doujinshis (self-published stories and comics, often within the framework of another work) in certain events. Although this was largely considered “illegal” under copyright laws, and artists could be persecuted or blacklisted from entering the industry if discovered. That’s also why fanartists often to this day may screen where and when their work is viewed, and move to take down reposts, or call others to protest if artworks are circulated without permission outside of the artist’s page.

Older fandom people also hated authors that moved against fanfiction, a big case being Anne Rice, the vampire lady everyone - including me - copies when writing about vampires. And now I am going to talk a little about that.

Usually, writers, just sit somewhere cosy and write, and often they have no idea, absolutely no idea, on how to manage their writing properties - usually a lawyer does that, and lawyers want A Lot Of Money (A brief brush with justice and lawyers over a civil dispute I won, cost me 1000 euros out of nowhere, in a single day, and no I couldn’t avoid it because I was the accused one, so I had to appear with some representation). 

So sometimes, quite often, it’s a lawyer that activates a writer or other artist to move against “smaller” copyright infringements, in order to make bank. And if one suffers such a case, they should make it as apparent as possible to the other party that they have no money, and the pressure will go away immediately. But even MORE OFTEN a small copyright infringement, may lead to a sequence of bigger ones, and ultimately the de facto loss of rights from one’s writing properties, and of course revenue. 

And for a lot of published authors, they just don’t know for how long they can publish things - publishing houses that have them signed can close, book sales can drop, tastes change, personal problems, and anything else may mean that they could find themselves without a source of income at any point in the future, while they are aging and becoming more and more irrelevant. 

A very famous case currently, is that of Alan Dean Foster, the writer who has done some novelizations for movies like Star Wars and Alien, and is no longer receiving revenue from that - while his wife is hospitalized and their family needs the income - because Disney absorbed the company that had signed the contract with him, and chose to not honor the previous contract. To make them pay he will have to go into a huge legal battle with a corporate giant, which he cannot afford. But they still absorb income from these novelizations.

But how does fanfiction tie into that, and Anne Rice’s case (which if memory serves right, also went through a series of personal problems, including her husband’s death during that time). 

So for a lot of writers, fanfiction may be that tiny breach that may threaten their rights in the future from tresspases of distribution networks. Meaning, people write vampire fanfiction based on Anne Rice’s work? What if another publishing house used the template of her works (historical settings, bleeding orifices, religious themes, homosexuality and sexual trauma etc) and produced a royalty free series of such works with a team of professional writers that do not own the work - who often have less rights, like not owning the characters, or the storylines, participating in a very small scale, so their payment goes down etc)

And in this way EVERYONE SUFFERS. Big Name Published Author fades into obscurity and goes into poverty and payroll writers are horrifically abused.  

A lot of hobbyists, and hobbyist writers whose sole dream is to be published in some shape or form, do not really care, and do not concern themselves with the legal aspect of creation, or the technical skill that it takes to produce writing on a consistent basis, which can only happen if you’ve got your basic needs covered. So they might see this type of backlash as inherently privileged. 

But it’s not really a privilege, there has been a global recession in basic working rights for everyone, and lovers of fiction don’t have to condone, of course, attacks against them, but they need to put that kind of backlash in perspective. Someone did write the content you enjoy, THEY ARE NOT DEAD YET, and may have opinions on how it should be managed, especially when it pertains to their livelihood. 

It’s a delicate balance that we all must keep in order to keep corporate regulations out of it.

For instance with the recent danmei explosion The Untamed brought forth, Ao3 was banned in China. Now a lot of you might know that this was caused by some real person fic involving the actor Xiao Zhan, which led to a whole other level of drama. But make no mistake this was a political act to protect the interests of the domestic publishing industry as it prepares to do an international opening that will bring in several billions from foreign markets.

Because Ao3 has been expanding as a platform globally it brings about changes, and in many cases steals readers away from traditional publishing, so it becomes unacceptable economically for a bunch of hobbyists to influence tastes, market mores, and create sensationalism around certain properties out of literally the blue. This is not a good thing for a lot of corporate thinking, they set the product and we are supposed to buy it. We are not supposed to go, it would look greater with a bunch of anal, and then put forth a million words altering the character of the intellectual property.

Why you ask? Again, because another publishing industry might choose to imitate the style of danmei fanfics and produce works that hijack readership, or lead to breach of contracts, making an unsafe environment for workers in this industry (Xiao Zhan’s case.)

Nowadays I see more and more fanfic authors coming out of their shell to ask money for writing in the form of donations, patronage and commissions, as fandom involvement is also becoming vastly monetized. The market of conventions coming into social media platforms. A strange more exists still in which while “legally wrong”, as long as money is not asked on the publishing platform (Ao3), it may not count as copyright infringement. But fanfic authors, may still be treated with hostility for this, for not “deserving” to profit from someone else’s properties, or even worse for “stealing” readership. 

For instance a recent argument I have seen from lgbtq authors, is that they remain unsupported by fandom spaces, who often proclaim themselves as lgbtq or lgbtq friendly (something that is not true), but at the same time they are not looking for published lgbtq stories, or authors, or even treat these with open hostility, or a lot of bias.

Fandom is not comprised from “readers” in the traditional sense, definitely not friends of literature, and it’s free, no one really has to pay anything to read a published fanfic.  So it’s a pretty loose demographic with no set characteristics, and no interest in investing time and money in something for long. It’s an online social activity and not a readers’ movement, highly influenced by peer pressure and branding. It’s basically a gigantic group of people who don’t really do anything for no one, and may develop a parasitic connection to intellectual properties (I am sorry peers, it’s the truth). 

And it’s perhaps the biggest counterculture scene at the moment in the developed world. To this day it treats even its own authors with tremendous suspicion, disregard and dismissal, meaning that even if someone can get some money and recognition locally through writing fanfic they are on thin fucking ice at all times for all the reasons but mostly attracting unnecessary attention to themselves and subsequently the scene.  A pattern that we will see is endemic to all forms of fandom backlashes.

So to this day in contrast with fanart, fan writers may not be compensated for their troubles, but may also be ousted from their domestic professional spaces for writing fanfic that may infringe on their intellectual property. 

The thing is, for me, that fandom culture can become incredibly supportive of corporate practices that harm actual people (writers, they are people too) but when they realize that the same corporate practices may be used against them, it’s too late to realize that it’s not a lottery of who wins by crying more, and by the time that happens, a corporation or industry who has used them to do its dark bidding, can stop catering to them  because ultimately they have become again irrelevant once a well defined demographic of  readers and viewers has been secured.

So if you are going to do counterculture, at least do it right. Be respectful of the writers/authors of the content you consume and mindful of their troubles, do not generate public strife that brings in political regulation in favor of corporate interests. Become interested in writing culture, support your fanfic authors with lasting engagement in their work, even if it escapes the narrow confines of a certain fandom. It’s simple. Eat, live, pray, fuck, or something.

[midnightspinel]

Vent post...! 

I feel that I can’t authentically be myself, anywhere. In real life, on social media... on tumblr, on twitter, on instagram... with my friends... like I can’t let myself be who I am. Stevinel has been a really big part of my identity since I discovered it in June (mainly because it connects to my childhood interests and explores abuse, which I face). Prior to it, I had a fairly generalized interest which was K-Pop, and it was easy to be part of something big and feel normal. But now I’m into something so hyper-specific and obscure, I find myself being one of the only people still making fanart for it. Since I hyperfixate on it (and I can’t help it, it truly is a galaxy-brain ship with lots to explore) it’s consumed most of my thoughts. For a while it has been the only interesting thing I can talk about; the rest of my fandoms have weakened exponentially since the ship has taken over. I’m on twitter, and even though it’s just private with 20 followers, I still feel so guilty when I bring up the special interest and reblog fanart... same with instagram with my k-pop mutuals. Many of them are very supportive and even follow my STVNL blog, and I love them with all my heart, but I still feel so ANNOYING... and I don’t even want to bring it up in my friend chats because I’m afraid I’m making the conversation about me just by talking about SU, which nobody else is into except for two people. And when I try to bring up my other fandoms in my STVNL spaces, nobody else can relate. Nobody else like magical girl anime or k-pop. I just don’t feel I can be me, all facets of me wholly, freaking anywhere. I have to divide myself wherever I go to avoid inconveniencing others. SU had been my special interest since 2013, but I dropped it in 2017 (even when I hated SU, I still sorta obsessed over it and was SU critical LMFAO) and joined a new fandom and made new friends... but now that I’m into SU again, and even more intensely perhaps as it’s a specific aspect of it, I’ve gradually faded away from these friends. Faded away from FOUR because I’m just not into Overwatch anymore. An old friend of mine told me that one must have multiple different friend groups with different interests and jump back and forth between them, and that’s very true... but I wish I could just be myself. :(( Very grateful to those friends who have been sticking by me despite changing as a person. Thanks for reading. 

[winteriron-trash]

Ok, so that fanfic questions ask meme? You wanna do ALL OF THEM?!

YES, LET’S DO IT, HERE WE GO, PREPARE YOURSELF I’m copy and pasting answers I’ve already done just so I don’t have to retype them and there’s a break because god this got long. I might link this on my About Me post, cause holy shit I spent time on this

1. What was the first fandom you got involved in?

Actual fandom? Probably DC. That’s when I started reading fanfiction and really poked my head around online communities dedicated to media and all.

2. What is your latest fandom?

I don’t know, probably Marvel? Maybe Riverdale, but I was a fan of the comics before so

3. What is the best fandom you’ve ever been involved in?

If I’m assuming this question is about the actual fandom and not the source material and the people in the fandom and its community as a whole? Probably the Percy Jackson fandom. Not really into it anymore so I don’t know the state of it now, but it was a pretty wholesome and positive community. Any community that calls it’s creator “Uncle Rick” has gotta be pretty dope.

4. Do you regret getting involved in any fandoms?

Oh lord save my soul for admitting I like this, but definitely Five Nights at Freddy’s. The indie gaming, creepypasta, underground subculture as a whole is something I regret getting into. Don’t get me wrong, I usually love the source material, but the fandom is just so bad. You probably know what I’m talking about, the fangirls who insist they’re insane and are in love with Slenderman or something.

But specifically on FNaF, lord, I don’t even know what the fandom is anymore. It’s a meme, a fetish, and a hellspace all at once. And I’m not gonna fucking lie, I’ve been in this hellhole long before any of that. Like, I can’t even try to escape it, I’m in it for the long haul. I was just someone who joined for the lore and now we’re here with fucking casual bongos and trash gang and fuck I didn’t ask for this. I can’t escape. I know so fucking much about the franchise it hurts my fucking soul. I remember when the FNaF 2 trailer came out and we were all micro-analyzing London Bridge Is Falling Down. I remember when Springtrap didn’t have a name and we called that fucking Spring Bonnie or Golden Bonnie. I survived that era and I have PTSD from it, trust me. I remember when we were naive enough to think FNaF 3 was the last game. I know what channels were born and what channels died because of that series. I know it all.

I’m sorry, I got off topic. BUT I DON’T GET TO FUCKING RANT ABOUT IT ENOUGH, FUCKING FUCKSHIT

Oh, and a lot of bandoms I was in too. I went through an alt phase where I’d only listen to shit like BVB, BMTH, MCR, PTV, SWS, and so on. Once again, that sort of fandom was the same as the indie/creepypasta in being ‘different’ and ‘insane’ and all that and I was no different. I was a weird fucking kid when I was like 13. I regret all of it.

5. Which fandoms have your written fanfiction for?

Marvel, DC, and a couple Riverdale. 

6. List your OTP from each fandom you’ve been involved in.

Not in many fandoms but

Marvel - WinterIronDC - SuperbatStar Trek Voyager - Captain Janeway/Seven of NinePercy Jackson - Solangelo

7. List your NoTPs from each fandom you’ve been in.

Marvel - Stucky, Stuckony, Romanogers, Clintasha, any incest ones, (save me for admitting this) SpideypoolDC - Any batboys shipped together, Bruce/Talia

And I don’t really have NOTPs for my other fandoms? Marvel and DC are really the only two things I’m invested in the fandom of. I guess you could count Wincest as well for Supernatural.

8. How did you get involved in your latest fandom?

What even is my latest fandom? Um, we’ll just say Marvel because I’m really not into joining fandoms much anymore. Honestly, I was a big DC fan who felt the need to hate Marvel because no shit. Eventually, I just got sick of the absolute shit movies DC had and I decided I had nothing to lose by just watching Iron Man. When I watched it I realized “wow, superhero movies can actually be good???” and I just binged the entire MCU in one month and was ready to see the next movie in theatres and I think I’ve seen every single MCU movie in theatres since Civil War? Definitely since Homecoming. I gave up on DC movies. The new Aquaman looks like shit, I’m so fucking pissed they redid Mera’s look when she looked perfectly fucking fine before and now she’s oversexualized and it’s gross. I’m excited for the new DC Batwoman TV show because I HAVE BEEN WAITING TO SEE A LIVE ACTION BATWOMAN SINCE THE DAWN OF FUCKING TIME

9. What are the best things about your current fandom?

Probably the Tony Stark Defense Squad. As a collective whole, I think the Defense Squad is one of the sweetest, nicest corners of the fandom. We’re incredibly kind to each other, write great meta and fic, and it’s just a great community. Of course, there are assholes, but you know.

I might get flamed for saying this, but also the HYDRA Trash Party corner of the fandom is actually really nice? Like, they understand consent and abuse aftermath and all the real shit better than the rest of the fandom, not gonna lie. Like, for as dark as the fic is you’d expect the people to be fucking nasties, but I have never met a rude HTP enthusiast. Or even one who’s unaware of how consent and whump work. They’re all very aware and kind. It’s bizarre, considering the source material. They get an awful rep though.

10.  Is there a fandom you read fic from but don’t write in?

Literally any fandom I’m in besides Marvel and DC. I think I wrote like 2 Riverdale fics. Getting into reading fanfic and getting into writing fanfic are two entirely different ballparks. I don’t really read that much fanfic anyway, especially not anymore. I read Marvel and DC, but even then. I think it’s hard because sometimes you can’t switch off the whole ‘reading like a writer’ thing. That’s why I enjoy classic literature. I’m a slut for some good ass prose and symbolism.

11. Who is your current OTP?

WinterIron, of ducking course.

12. Who is your current OT3?

I’m not really a fan of OT3s, to be honest, I find I’m personally pretty weak with writing poly relationships and I don’t really enjoy reading them because one character is usually focused on a lot more than the other two. But if I had to pick, I would say T’Challa/M’Baku/Bucky only because I am solely responsible for the creation of that abomination and you have no idea how much people begged me for a series after the first one, it astounded me.

13. Any NoTPs?

As before listed, Stucky, Stuckony, Spideypool, Clintasha, Romanogers

14. Go on, who are your BroTPs?

IronWidow is my top BroTP, but I also like WinterWidow as a BroTP. Stucky is good as a BroTP too, as well as Tony & Rhodey.

15. Is there an obscure ship which you love?

Literally any ship I have. Yall I’ve been here since WinterIron was obscure. But to name a specific one I’m just gonna go with Pietro/Tony. I don’t know, I just had an idea I was writing for them and I was thinking about how much missed out potential there was between them. And with Pietro as a whole, but you know. Marvel has to kill off the only good Maximoff they had.

Oh, Natasha/Pepper too, but they aren’t as obscure, I guess.

16. Are their any popular ships in your fandom which you dislike?

Stucky, clearly.

17. Who was your first OTP and are they still your favourite?

Stony, and no. They fell apart for me, at least MCU-wise.

18. What ship have you written the most about?

By now, WinterIron, I believe. I recently passed my count of fics for Superbat.

19. Is there a ship which you wished you could get behind, but you just don’t feel them?

Pepperony, probably. I think it’s actually a cute and sweet ship and I like their in-canon moments, but I just can’t get behind reading fanfic of them? It never works out for me, I don’t really get it. It sucks because I do enjoy seeing their cute moments.

20. Any ships which you surprised yourself by liking?

I’ll do a different answer I thought of besides the first time I answered this. But Thruce was a big shocker for me. I didn’t even think about it during Ragnorak but then I saw an incorrect quote for it and I was like? Oh? This? This is a good, pure ship right here. The funny thing is, I actually wrote a fic with them as a side ship long before they hit it big so like, I was shocked when they came out of nowhere. But hey, I’m fucking here for it. I’ll probably never write it, but I’m here for it. 

21. What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?

Goodnight, My Angel. It was a Superbat fic and really sad, but I still love it.

22. Is there anything you regret writing?

Probably... You Deserve Love And You’ll Get It. No, I won’t link it because I hate it that much. I’m not even gonna talk about it.  It’s my most popular fic too why

23. Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of & explain why you like it.

Super dorky, but The (Un)Wanted Kiss. It’s my first finished chapter fic, and the first chaptered fic I did on Tumblr and it just brings me a lot of nostalgia. It reminds me of where I was as a writer when I started it and it was an entire fic spawned from people wanting more of a simple 500-word prompt and that just blows my mind. It reminds me of the power of fans and how much love and support I got from it. It really kicked me off as a “serious fanfic writer” I think.

24. What fic do you desperately need to rewrite or edit?

All You Are Is All I Need. That is a hot fucking mess. Probably The Red Halo too.

25. What’s your most popular fanfic?

*sigh* You Deserve Love And You’ll Get It

26. How do you come up with your fanfic titles?

I bullshit my way through them. My most recent fics have actually followed a trend of being named after songs.

27. What do you hate more: Coming up with titles or writing summaries?

Summaries. I always make them so fucking corny, I hate it.

28. If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?

One Foot In Front Of The Other, probably. Just because I want more fem!WinterIron fanart. I can’t say what scene because spoilers but.... yeah, anything from that would be great, really.

29. Do you have a beta reader? Why/Why not?

Sort of. I make some of my friends like Pizza read over my shit before I post it, but that’s not often, only when I think I need it. I don’t just because I write a lot and I’d feel bad for constantly annoying someone with making them read everything I write. I hate inconveniencing people.

30. What inspires you to write?

The better question is what doesn’t. I never stop thinking like a writer. My brain forgot how to turn off that feature.

31. What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?

Ummmm, I can’t think of an exact thing? I get so many beyond sweet comments and messages, it’s hard to pin down one comment. I think if I had to pick, I once got a message from someone on Tumblr who was old enough to be my mother complimenting me and telling me I didn’t write like a teenager and I think that was really sweet.

32. Do you listen to music when you write or does music inspire you? If so, which band or genre of music does it for you?

Yes, yes, yes, yes. And honestly, any genre. I listen to everything. Everything. But specifically, Emilie Autumn has inspired a lot ideas/fics I’ve written.

33. Do you write oneshots, multi-chapter fics or huuuuuge epics?

All of the above.

34. What’s the word count on your longest fic?

Around 23k, I think?

35. Do you write drabbles? If so, what do you normally write them about?

Yes, and whatever I get prompted for, really.

36. What’s your favourite genre to write?

For fanfiction, I guess romance? I mean, that’s really all my fanfiction is. Otherwise, I’ll write quite literally any genre I feel like. I go wherever an idea takes me. I’m character based, not genre or plot based.

37. First person or third person - what do you write in and why?

Third. I fucking despise 1st person. I just do. That’s an entire rant we ain’t here for today.

38. Do you use established canon characters or do you create OCs?

Usually canon characters. I only use an OC when I absolutely have to, to make the plot do the plot stuff.

39. What is you greatest strength as a writer?

Nothing. My writing sucks. All of it is shit.

40. What do you struggle the most with in your writing?

Everything. I screech the most about pacing and sentence structures though.

41. List and link to 5 fanfics you are currently reading:

Most of these are actually on my to-read list but whatever.

Winter's End by ali_aliska Winter is Coming (aka Fifty First Avengers Dates) by 27dragons, tisfan My Love is Vengeance by seikaitsukimizu The caged Hawk by asamandra Fertile Ground by 27dragons, tisfan

42. List and link to 5 fanfiction authors who are amazing:

27dragons tisfanChiaki_Hamano arianapeterson19 thepartyresponsible

43. Is there anyone in your fandom who really inspires you?

Not really? I’m not knocking any of the other ‘big names’ in the Marvel fandom, but I don’t really draw inspiration from other fanfic writers. Not for plot, and definitely not for writing style. I get inspiration from fanart I see sometimes, but it’s never one main artist who I stalk to be inspired, just whatever I happen across online.

44. What ship do you feel needs more attention?

WinterIron, duh. I will not rest until WinterIron is the biggest ship in the Marvel fandom.

45. What is your all time favourite fanfic?

I’ve mentioned this fic before and honestly, it hasn’t been topped yet, but  In the Company of Monsters by Chiaki_Hamano. It’s not even a Marvel fic, and it’s not even a ship I like, but god, I fucking adore it. I’d love to write something like it, but with WinterIron if I had the time, I think the entire world and setting would fit WinterIron beautifully.

46. If someone was to read one of your fanfics, which fic would you recommend to them and why?

Well, that all depends on what they’re looking for in my fanfiction. If they’re looking for WinterIron, I’d probably tell them to start with The (Un)Wanted Kiss just because that’s one of my most loved fics and I think I did really well with it. But if they just want a general fic, A Great Connection is one I’m really proud of and I still get gushing feedback about.

47. Archive Of Our Own, Fanfiction.net or Tumblr - where do you prefer to post and why?

For just writing fanfic, Ao3. Tumblr can be a pain in the ass, and I don’t even use ff.net.

48. Do you leave reviews when you read fanfiction? Why/Why not?

Yes. But only if 1, I really, really loved it or 2, I don’t think the fic has enough attention. It also helps if the writer responds to comments. I don’t see the significance of saying “I loved this!” if the fic has dozens of other comments saying the same thing. As a writer, I know what comments writers prefer. Longer ones, deep comments pointing out what things they liked, and so on. However if I write a comment that long, I like to get a response because you know, I love seeing the writer talking about the elements of the story I liked. 

49. Do you care if people comment/reblog your writing? Why/why not?

Not really, to be perfectly honest. Yes, I love and cherish every kudos and note I get, and the sweet comments make me want to die of joy. But I write for me. Even when I take prompts, in the end, I write because it makes me happy. Yes, I love the validation. But even without it, I would still write. I do not write fanfiction for you, I share fanfiction with you. There’s a difference. Writing makes me happy. If I only cared about the validation, I wouldn’t have a folder reserved of fics I’ll never post but I wrote just because I wanted to. I write to write. The moment I start writing for validation, I might as well stop writing, because it’s not worth it.

50. How did you get into reading and/or writing fanfiction?

Ummmm I think I was just curious? I was new to internet culture, I saw fanart of Superbat and I discovered Ao3 and was like “wow, this stuff exists??? Words for free????? About my favourite characters being happy and dating each other??????????” and it was a downward spiral. I was like, 11 when I read my first fanfiction. I was obsessed with Superbat fanart, and I thought, what would it hurt to try actually reading it? Like, that was so taboo to me. And now we’re here. Tadaaaaaah

51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

Oh, a chance to ramble. Yay. I’m gonna rant because I’m a rant-y person.

I think something that annoys me about fanfiction is not necessarily a probably within fanfiction, but rather the outward view of it. Fanfic has an awful rep within the real world. The one-time fanfiction really took centre stage was when Fifty Shades came out, which only hurt the platform by furthering the stereotype that it’s all porn made for horny freaks who just want to get off.

I should not be ashamed to say I write fanfiction. I should not feel childish saying it to myself. No one should. At least half of my ‘fans’ are nearly a decade or more older than me. It’s clearly not something that’s immature or silly. Of course, it can be, but any hobby can be dumbed down to a kiddy version.

But fanfiction at its core is ignored for what it really is. When adults talk about fanfiction they belittle it and only see a tiny subsection of it, ignoring what it’s supposed to be about. It’s about creating transformative works for media you’re passionate about.

Fanfiction gets a worse rep than other transformative works such as fanart or whatever. Writing as a whole does. Fanfic is painted as this utter trash.

I’ve read fanfiction that made me cry, laugh, feel shit. I’ve read fanfiction that tackled heavy topics. Even on a sexual standpoint, I’ve read fanfiction that was willing to write erotica that published authors wouldn’t fucking touch. Both in a kink sense, but also in terms of how the relationship functions. I’ve read shitty fanfictions, sure. But I’ve read fanfictions that were better than 90% of the published books I’ve read. Even fanfics I didn’t like.

To put fanfiction into perspective, the average YA novel (the age group fanfiction is generally but not always aimed at) is 70k words. I’ve read fanfiction that blows that word count out of the water. And it takes fucking skill to write something that long. It’s not just writing a bunch of porn or cute scenes, that takes serious world building and character arcs.

Fanfiction kills so many tropes that are common in YA and literature in general. I read a YA after reading nothing but fanfiction for a long time and I was fucking appalled? It was a popular YA too. I won’t name what one because you could literally imagine anyone and it’d probably fit. The characters were flat, the romance was outright manipulative and toxic, the plot was dull, even the writing itself was bland. This was the type of book years ago I would’ve loved. But compared to most (of course, not all. Shit exists, but I think in fanfiction, we’re able to better filter out the shit) fanfictions, it was fucking trash.

When I started reading fanfiction, I assumed it’d lower my standards. The first time I picked up an actual novel I was relieved, excited to not have to deal with the problems that are in unpublished writings. But I quickly realized it was the complete opposite. Fanfiction threw my expectations through the roof. I expect fiction to include representation, fresh plots, interesting characters, thrilling romances, and decent fucking sex scenes if they’re there. But it just wasn’t there. It all fell flat. As someone seriously into the writing and reading community I hear so often that it’s hard for plots to be original and you shouldn’t judge on originality, but then I read fanfiction written by fucking teenagers that’s fucking mind-blowing with plot twists and original ideas, and I have to wonder is it really that hard? It’s clearly doable, you just have to take away the fanfiction part.

I have YA novels sitting on my sheld I know I’ll never read and enjoy because fanfiction just made my expectations too high. Which is good in a sense because I pray some of these amazing writers, when they get older will go on to write mind-blowing original novels and I hope that this generation of writers will put out great literature in ten to fifteen years, but for now I’m just… underwhelmed. I think it’s why I read a lot of classic literature too. Shit was better back then.

And yet despite all that, fanfiction is still made to look like shit in the modern media. It sucks so badly for fanfiction writers not to look like serious writers. I could publish one book, have it get the amount of attention my biggest fanfic got and be considered a serious author. My biggest fanfiction currently has 40k notes on Tumblr. Imagine if that were a published short story. It’d be a fucking hit. And there are others that make my numbers look small. And yet it’s brushed aside as unimpactful.

I think a lot of that stems from the fact that fanfic writers do generally start out younger. I’m 16. Others either are or were my age. But age does not equate to skill in writing. Sure, that is a factor, but it is not the entire story. I know a 14 yr old who writes some of the best prose I have ever seen. And even if younger fic writers aren’t on level yet, fanfiction is what’s helping them grow as a writer. But because we’re teenagers, we’re turned away just because of that. Even more specifically because we’re teenage girls (for the most part, I’m not saying other genders and/or age groups aren’t writing/reading fanfic) and we all know how society feels about them. It’s just a fucking shame that fanfiction can’t be respected for the legitimate form of writing it is because of the stigma. I’ve seen fanfic writers say they aren’t real writers because of the stigma, it’s awful. We feel the need to tear ourselves down for an admirable hobby. I can’t say my favourite book is a fanfiction I read, when I has every right to be a valid answer.

We’ll cut this ramble off here because wow I really went on didn’t I.

[shame-on-nyall]

hiatus

Uhhh... sorry for everyone who juuust followed me, I’m going on hiatus from social media, so forgive me if I have no idea what’s going on if I come back and post my fanart or whatever. I will never give up on Shimada bros, still loving them and Overwatch, but the general culture of harassment and witch hunts these days is too much, and where once I could stew about in relative quiet and obscurity in fandom for 5, 3, 2 years, now it’s coming up within months, weeks, days. Perhaps in your next fandom, you will be harassed within seconds of creating a rule 63 genderbend. Perhaps you will receive anonymous death threats for a fandom that hasn’t been created yet, because these haters are so hateful they found a time machine and went back in time just to make sure you, an oppressed minority creative, can never show your face online or create again, instead of, I don’t know, doing something about the actual oppressors who cause harm and deprivation to millions of people.

Anyway, I am pretty sure I will not get around to the art project I had plans for, which would have been really great, but oh well. Not feeling too optimistic about finishing Hot Milky either. We’ll see. Until then... uhhh... chin up!