#IM NOT A CREATIVE PERSON BUT I HOPE I CAN MAKE MY OWN FAN CONTENT JUST TO SHOW HOW MUCH I CARE FOR IT

[wigglecoin]

I FINISHED IN STARS AND TIME AND I CAN FINALLY GO IN THE TAGS FOR THIS GAME AND INTERACT WITH FANDOM

I WAS TOO SCARED OF SPOILERS BEFORE BUT NOW THAT ITS OVER ITS THAT FEELING WHEN YOU BEAT A GAME THAT IS LIKE IM WITHOUT PURPOSE ANYMORE BUT IN A GOOD WAY?? LIKE YOU LOVE IT SO MUCH HAVING IT END MAKES YOU FEEL EMPTY? I LOVED THIS GAME I LOVED THIS GAME AND I LOVE THIS GAME FOREVER AAAAAA

[daubigny-stan]

i watch a lot of youtube because i do not like having nothing on in the background lest i consume myself with my own thoughts. one of my most watched genres is fashion youtube. i've been watching fashion youtube since highschool, back in 2016-2017. and from watching all those yearly trends, thrift flips, and hauls, i've come to the conclusion that if i ever want to do youtube, i would not start until ive got a dayjob and like... robust self-esteem. age 27 AT LEAST.

so let me take you through my thought process. the queen of fashion youtube at the time was Ashley bestdressed. she did thrift hauls, thrift flips, outift inspos, the whole shebang. i think she was college - fresh graduate age when her channel was at peak popularity? and in 2020 she just dipped. disappeared. she makes content for ig only now and is working for many major fashion houses (good for her!). she vanished for a variety of reasons, in her videos she has always talked about her mental health struggles, having a stalker so she had to move a couple times during covid nonetheless, and honestly having the worst fanbase. i was on bestdressed reddit and discord at the time, these fans were horrible.

now, the most popular girlies on fashion youtube are kathleen illustrated, beepworld, mina le, and steal the spotlight (although im sorry to say in numbers not doing nearly as well as ashley; give em a watch if you're into fashion!). many of them started around the same time citing Ashley as a big influence. here i want to compare these creators to Ashley, not to incite hate but to understand what makes a healthy and sustainable content creator career.

I think age and career are a big factor because although social media content creation is usually a young man's job (because young people can keep up with trends and what not), the social part of social media is grueling. the horror of being known times like. a million. in ashley's case she had 3 million subscribers. and when you're around 21-25 ish you are the most insecure you will ever be. at least for me, i hope (im 22 now). so not only was ashley most likely struggling (she was very open about it, she made a lot of self deprecating jokes) but her biggest demographic was people her age who's insecurities were probably fueled by her content. like i will stress, im NOT blaming ashley, but like. 20 year olds watching another 20 yr old live her best life? oh my god the jealousy. the insecurity. it didn't help that she was so relatable and humble about it, i think we get more jealous of other people's success the closer they are to us (why i dont look at my personal instagram anymore lol). badabing badaboom parasocial relationship and 3 million people watching your every move and critiquing every bit of it. her fanbase had THE most baseless critiques. disguising her rich background or whatever, hating on her for being privileged (which she recognized a lot btw), literally going incel mode and making comments about every inch of her body, the only critique that holds up is prob the amazon video which she deleted. also she was not white which i think people were very weird about. i cant deny that her white contemporaries got much less hate.

what works with the creators now is some of them have careers outside of youtube and are also less personal with their content. for example, kathleen illustrated has a career in the creative industry which means she mostly does youtube for fun. you can tell it's not a source of stress for her, from the way she is in her videos. they also don't really talk about their lives in a personable way which separates them from their audience. now i know this point in particular in contentious, authenticity and relatability are huge selling points on youtube. but i guess it's more of analyzing the costs and benefits of it? is it worth to put your whole life out there? showing your boyfriend, your girlfriend, your friends? what if you split up? you can have a personable aura without revealing private details. in mina le's videos, since most of them are video essays she has the opportunity to show off her personality without revealing private details.

i hope the creators i mentioned and others don't have to go through what ashley bestdressed has gone through. i know content creation is a very passion filled career and to end up in circumstances where you lose your love for it sounds awful

[controversial-blorbo-bracket]

(I break down the door)

hello there as a jack bright fan here to explain what's up with the dude. block me if you hate it and say hi if you dont

Like somebody else said, Bright is a SCP researcher from the. The website. Ya know, the website. His story is that his soul is trapped in an amulet that basically makes him entirely immortal. This is the base story for the character, with a lot of the other information coming from the various writers. The site has no definitive canon apart from that base description.

Often he's depicted as a Chaotic Neutral funny dude. With trauma. And that's I T. He's a stock character with flavor.

A lot of the controversy comes from two things: 1) The List 2) The creator.

The List is basically a really infamous list of things the guy is not allowed to do, and its known for being... really NSFW and raunchy. There's things there that are... mm. mmmm. I hate that list personally and I would not mourn it if it gets nuked from orbit. But one important thing to remember is that there is no canon in the site, and therefore the list is not a definitive canon for the character. Yes, it sucks and its NSFW as hell and has some horrible stuff implied on it, but IMO its not really something you have to use?? I've seen great takes on the character that don't use it at all. brb while i get my chainsaw cannon out for that list (and the guy below)

The bigger one at the moment is the creator, who is an Absolute Dick and I Do Not Support Him In Any Way. Other people can likely do a better job explaining what's wrong with the guy and I agree the guy is a verified Bad Dude. As the character was originally the guy's self insert (he eventually did distance himself from the character) a lot of people are uncomfortable with the character because of the associations to the guy. Plus, the creator using the character's popularity to... get to people. So being uncomfortable is totally valid! Personally since the character is more so a stock character for the website and a lot of the content has been made by other people, I don't blame the character himself for the actions of the creator- he's mostly been taken and ran with by wildly different people. The creator using the popularity to harm people absolutely sucks, but that's because the creator is a sucky dude that would use any sort of popularity he gets for his own nefarious purposes.

Since of the creator stuff people have been trying to remove the character from the site. Its a whole thing. It sucks. Since as you can tell from my own bias (yes im happily in the love category) I think the character is literally a stock character on a Creative Commons licensed website where most of the content is not from the creator and a lot of it is very, very well done. The creator should be widely ostracized and people should know what they've done yet not have that impact their enjoyment of a fancy stock character. Plus, harassing fans of the character is 100% NOT OKAY. And that dang list... use it or ignore it, I blame the community for letting it happen more so than the character himself. why are yall like that (this is why fandom can't have nice things)

This is already stupidly long. No guarantees I won't send more propaganda for this dude since gegrggr44g I love him ngl. he's so good when distanced from this nonsense. but i hope this shows at least some of the issues going on plus my personal takes on it!

.

[transgender-png]

i didn't wanna tack this on my last reblog bc its so long and i didnt wanna take away from ranboos speech either but. theres some specific parts my brain has latched on to from that.

first off being bazoingas, them acknowledging how busty their vtuber and people's art of them was hilarious. i love seeing him explore his identity more, i love that he's comfortable enough to do that. it gives me hope and courage to do the same, and i see a lot of myself in ranboo in terms of gender identity and expression. and something about the phrase "young queer kid" and how we helped that queer kid makes my heart sing. like. they were a young queer kid. they were scared at one point. just like me. just like a lot of us. but if he can make it this far, maybe we can too

and although the whole thing is mostly addressing what the community has been doing wrong recently, i melted when he mentioned how much he appreciates us. bAcK iN tHe dAy, before live streaming and especially twitch became so popular, there was always such a big barrier between the content creator and their audience. you knew your favourite CC appreciated you, sure, but you were always aware of that barrier and how it would always be there. now tho, for better or for worse (thafs a different topic that im too migrainey to tackle rn) that barrier has become a little.. transparent? i guess? it's more like glass now. it's still there, and you're still aware of it, but it has become so much easier to make a real connection with your audience as a creator, and vice versa.

seeing ranboo talk about how he has fun with chat and appreciates us.. it makes me happier than i can accurately describe. ranboo always seems genuinely excited to meet fans and is so active in their own community. it's one of the things about them that charmed me when i was first getting into their content, is how much they clearly loved their community.

but it also makes me sad how much he's been having to correct the community lately. i wont pretend im not part of that issue at all, bc im not perfect and ive definitely broken a rule or two or crossed a boundary once, intentional or not.

but ive been stepping away from ranboos content recently. part of it was not being into their new content as much, as im not a huge fan of horror (but that has been steadily changing for me) but a lot of it was the community. ive watched a lot of great fandoms and communities go sour because people cared too much about the wrong things. i don't want that to happen to something/one that has helped me so much.

but i don't want to end this on a bad note. one of my favourite parts of being a boober is the community (and the name). ranboo fans are some of the most creative, supportive, passionate (even if the passion is misplaced) and welcoming people ive met. even though its easy to forget, especially with what's been going on lately, i try to remind myself and others that there are good people in this community. they can be funny and witty and talented and inventive and observant and so many other things!! this community is filled with good people!!

and at the end of the day, we're qll here for more or less the same reason.

we like ranboo. we enjoy his content and his personality. for a lot of us, ranboo has helped us through some dark times, and led us to make some great friends. some of us are here from the old enderian-platonic-husband days and some of us are here from generation loss and some of us are here for the variety horror games and some of us are just here for minecraft content and a million other reasons. ranboo has charmed their way into the jearts of me and many others. some of us consider finding ranboo to be one of the best things to ever happen to us.

ive never been good at wrapping up these things but ig ill end with. remember where we all came from, and why we're all here.

whether you're a long term fan, a new boober, or have stepped away as the content has shifted, we all were impacted in some way, hopefully positive, by this creator. he's helped a lot kf us, whether it's with mental health, starting our own content creation journeys, inspiring us to make art or mess around with how we present ourselves, or just made us laugh with their jokes and offhand comments, we're all here because of ranboo.

and idk about you, but the fact that so many people can and do come together all because of one person.. that's pretty fucking beautiful to me.

basically, live, laugh, love ranboo. <3

[hoghtastic]

“And when did his mom not having an opportunity when she was younger to express her creative side, turn into she wants to be Johanne, and the implication is that his mom is also all the ugly things you call Johanne? That she wants to live vicariously through her or him? How can you imagine to know A, his mom's ambitions? B, his mom's intent when sending him to the theater? C, how can you imagine you know his mother's thoughts and intentions on her son's life and what's good for him? This is so ludicrous. “

Im sorry 🤣 “this is so ludicrous🤓☝️”

it’s just that people get their assumptions from statements that Alex has made about his mom or specifically what he says his mom tells him. Him saying in 1 or 2 interviews that his mom put him in theater even though he didn’t want to and her explanation to him being that she thought he would like it (even though at the time he said he didn’t like it. He said it took a couple of months for it to grow on him though. And he said in an interview recently that his mom wanted to be an actor or do some kind of work in the industry but correct me if I’m wrong, I think she couldn’t do it because she had him? In those cases it’s widely known (or assumed) parents tend to living vicariously through their kids by forcing them into the work they couldn’t do, and again we know his moms intentions of sending him to theater because he said in an interview that’s what her intentions were. Did it come from her mouth no, but he’s the messenger in this case of said source so his word is what people have to go off of, and that’s what they based their assumptions off of so far? It’s a simple analysis of what has been said in interviews recently and in the past by Alex himself, what is so ludicrous about it lol? You know what I think is ludicrous though, someone turning a beautiful page dedicated to their love of ballet to a page dedicated to showing how beautiful johanne and Alex are by posting photos of them and of her (im not even sure she was tagged in a lot of them so who knows how much stalking you had to do to find them) and dedicated to responding to every posts that has been posted on this blog for months, giving your “opinion” or “two cents” on what’s being said on “other blogs”(but it’s obviously directed at a specific one) slyly insulting people while doing it.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this, anon. 😊

I'm also not a fan of cross-talking, because I think conversations make a lot more sense if they're had in the same space, where people can easily follow them and respond. I've always kept the blog open to everyone and every kind of opinion, still this person preferred to respond to most of its content on their own blog. Since this is a blog whose content they clearly don't approve of, and because the anons who take the time to share their opinions here don't exist to provide them with content for their own blog, I made the very conscious decision of blocking said blog. (They're obviously still lurking, but my reasoning and my position still stands.)

That said, I'd really prefer if those who visit it could reply to their posts directly on their blog, if possible. 😊 I hope you understand! 💖

[always-andromeda]

teehee hiii hello! :D im very new to the danonation community, despite being an admirer of mr paul for almost a year now,,, there's so many amazing people and content they make but, it's really overwhelming and a bit scary to explore on my own! you're one of the few people i instantly felt safe to approach so, would you be so kind as to direct me a little bit? which danonation blogs are active right now, or maybe even personal friends of yours, just to start my journey in this community? i really really wanna participate, but since i don't have a single creative bone in me and can't contribute in art or writing, the least i can do is give love to all of you lovely people!! 🥰 thank you for your time 💛

p.s. if you don't mind, i might have more questions later!

p.s.s. your blog themes are always so adorable and so so aesthetically pleasing it's amazing 😭💞

Hey hi hello, my friend!! Thank you so much!! I’m gonna leave all of my account recommendations under the cut because wHOO I went a little bonkers! Other than that, you’re always welcome to shoot me an ask whether you have a question or you just wanna say hello! Super glad to have you here and I hope that you have fun getting to know everyone and everything!!

@lost-in-sokovia

I couldn’t get through a post about talking about creators in Danonation and/or my friends without mentioning Soph. Not only is she immensely talented, but her ability to shift between writing the sweetest moments and angst is basically unmatched. Shoutout to her for warming me up to the concept of having kids tbh bc wOW I did not see that one coming! She’s also one of my closest friends on here and I would heavily recommend giving her a follow and sending an ask; she’s absolutely precious to me and deserves all the love this community can possibly give her (but that’s just my opinion 🙄).

@quietsounds

Now, if we're talking about my friends, I have to drag my wonderful Storm into the conversation as well since we met through Danonation. Storm has a wiiiide range of interests and gifs a lot of different things bUT his gif sets are fucking phenomenal. He hasn't been super active on here lately but I would still recommend dropping him a follow because lmao I am hugely biased (because I love and adore him) and because he's one of the most creative people I know and his work deserves to be seen by as many eyeballs as possible and fully appreciated.

@riddlersbimbo

Okay, I should preface that Bowie is on a bit of a hiatus and they’re kind of running on a queue schedule. However. I still adore Bowie with all of my heart. I genuinely cannot explain it; all I know is that I was born to be Bowie's biggest fan. Aside from that, they are such a pillar in this community. The work they put into giffing every Paul movie?? And furthering the Chubby!Eddie agenda?? And the bimbo agenda?? Listen, on this account, we’re all Bowie stans (lmao, new mandate, friends; we’re all Bowie stans now).

@puzzlekinq

It’s only been for the last few months that I’ve been following Ethan bUT LEMME JUST SAY. I cannot fathom how my dash survived beforehand. You can be sure that Ethan will always have something either slightly unhinged, horny, or downright hilarious to post. They also write a bit as well and it’s some damn good writing if I do say so myself!! Also literally every time they post this plays in my head (but that piece of information is more for Ethan's benefit than anyone else's lol).

@riddlers-den

I feel like almost everyone in my little circle has read or at least heard of Max’s Edward fic, Disarm. And I can confirm, Disarm is fantastic. But I also adore basically everything else of hers that I’ve read. Max’s interpretation of characters (specifically Eddie and Calvin) just makes my writing brain so happy. She is also incredibly funny, a massively talented artist, and a very lovely person to talk to and I couldn’t imagine this little community without her.

@finniestoncrane

I should preface this recommendation by saying that Finnie doesn't post purely Dano content and is more in the realm of the DC fandom in general. I would also give her content warnings a once over beforehand since they might not be everyone's cup of tea! But I still wanted to include her here because, her work and her personality has always inspired me so heavily and...goodness, I love being able to call her one of my mutuals. Her sense of humor is top notch; like truly, whenever she posts her little pictures where she draws herself as a stick figure wrapped around one of the Rogues, I lose my absolute mind. Anyways, stan Finnie too, Finnie is the coolest.

@bloomdolly

If you are in the market for a cutesy, coquettish aesthetic and Paul content wrapped up in one super sweet and kind person? Look no further than Ushuaia! I swear, every time I interact with her it feels like I’ve been hit was this pastel ray of light complete with lace frills and ribbons. She’s the absolute sweetest and the bits of her creations that she’s put out reflect that entirely and I can’t wait to see what else she can think up!

@the-odd-devil

Goodness, it feels like Odd and I have been mutuals for literally forever because they’ve been there pretty much since the beginning of this account?? I always love getting a chance to interact with them and it’s been so cool seeing them start to develop their own ideas (and I swear, Odd, I will get to your dark academia college!Eddie fic as soon as I get a chance to actually sit down and read it). Also…their 70s Pornstar!Jimmy Tree headcanons…god if they ever post about them, I will actually lose my mind.

@starlightsearches

Fun fact: Star was among the first fic writers I read from when I first got into Danonation! They are a multi-fandom blog but again, I just had to include them because their writing is fucking intoxicating and I'm sorry but I'll never get over it.

@danoberry

So this serves as apology to Wren for being awful at keeping up with fics lately because ages ago I know I promised to read one of her Calvin fics and then I never did sO I AM SO SORRY. But this also serves as me taking the chance to gush over her work. Like y'all know I will fawn over anything Joby Taylor related and her Joby fic, i'm so sick...GIRL I'M SO SICK ARE YOU KIDDING MEEEE. Like truly...I lost my mind for part of a day when she followed me because hahahah I'm a nervy little guy and I am always so hesitant to make new mutuals (especially when they're this talented goodness gracious).

@jeusschrist2005

Okay, I will admit that I'm also a little newer to their work! But goodness gracious, just from the bits I've seen of both their Joby fic and their Eli stuff, I love what I've read so far and I really wanted to include them on this list as well!!

[the1975attheirverybest]

(This is very random and i havent been arpund here for a while so feel free to ignore this!!)

Hi! I wanted to talk abput this with someone but im not brave enough to tell my friends and doing anonymously seems a way put of it.

Does it scare you to put your writing out there? Im not scared of being vulnerable and im quite open with everything i do but im scared of putting my music out there and people being able to put a face to it . I know we dont do the same thing but i guess i was wondering if you feel this way too

- 🤖

Hiiii welcome back! 💕

I totally understand what you mean. And, yeah, it does scare me. All the time. Because even though I write fiction, so it’s less immediately autobiographical in the way that most listeners assume the singer/songwriter is the pov of the song, my writing is still based on my thoughts, feelings, my perspective of the world. So if I write something about, like, relationships, or sex, or mental health or whatever the fuck, it’s based on my subjective experience of these things and if someone doesn’t like them it’s like they’re saying they don’t like me or they reject my world view.

Also, like, people knowing who I am means that they can look me up and kind of see the “person” behind the writing and draw their own conclusions or whatever. It’s one thing to write vulnerably, it’s another thing to open yourself up to strangers lol. You’re like subject to misunderstanding/ misinterpretation. People will walk around with opinions about you, in their heads, and you will never know these people or have access to their thoughts about you and your work. It’s weird.

Obviously, I’m just a fan blog on tumblr (which is a ‘dead platform’ compared to others) and if even I feel this way, then idk how actual artists, celebrities, content creators etc deal with that.

I’m working on something rn (will tell yall about it soon ish) that’s different that writing and more personal and the idea of someone I don’t know knowing of my existence because of it is sooo weird to me lol. BUUUUTTT I do think that most of us make the things that we make (fiction, music, or if you paint or film content or whatever it is) as a means of 1. Connecting with others and 2. Expressing ourselves. Whenever I have written a fic and shared it, it’s usually because I’ve felt that I have “something to say” or because I have a certain kind of experience, wonder if someone else has it too, and hope that if I put mine out there, they might see it and feel less alone. You know? Cuz, as a consumer of art, those are two of the main things that draw me to it. Not to be Matty Healy about it, but “we create in the way that we consume” is real. I love I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes) because I know exactly how that feels. I DO IN FACT always wanna die (sometimes) and sometimes I think must be weird, broken, etc because there’s no way someone in the world also feels the way that I feel. But then he wrote that song and put those feelings into words and put it out there and I listen to it and sob in bed any time that I’m having a depressive episode lol.

Songs like POTB and Looking For Somebody (To Love) are kind of different. I don’t relate to them in the same way. I’m never gonna be a school shooter (thank fuck) and I’ve never been an emo edgelord sexy rockstar who does cultural commentary, is a recovering drug addict, gets canceled on a weekly basis lmao. But because he made those songs and presented those povs in the way that he did, I now know that I am connected to both of those. And I now have access to the minds and hearts of people that I otherwise couldn’t relate to or understand. And it makes me better for it.

Also, again, not to be Matty Healy about it, but, you know that Karate podcast that he did during Covid? He talked about how the pandemic kind of made everything stop for a while. And how if you’re a creative person and you, for whatever reason, can’t / don’t have access to creating stuff then it’s kind of like a death. It might as well drive you mad.

So, I guess, ask yourself if you’re more afraid of putting yourself out there than you are of not being able to create, connect to others, or express yourself. Then you’ll have your answer.

I’m not sure if this helps or makes things worse lol. But that’s usually how I feel about it.

Fellow writers and creators on here feel free to jump in.

[caelumsnuff]

I think it’s more than fair and reasonable for creators to have things that they’re uncomfortable with especially with their creations and the spaces they made. Why is that such a problem for you I’m sincerely asking? Everyone has things they’re uncomfortable with and no one wants others to go against those things ya know? Especially when it comes to sexualizing and things like that. And to just say “I don’t care I’m gonna do whatever the fuck I want no one can stop me” feels disrespectful. I would just genuinely like to understand where you’re coming from.

you're the only anon im gonna let continue to be in my inbox after this. you can thank my partner for convincing me that this is in good faith, cause imma answer it as such.

Everyone has things they're uncomfortable with. Literally everyone, myself included. Some of us have things that don't just make us uncomfortable, but actually trigger us and put us in psychological distress, myself included.

But that being true doesn't give people the right to demand that they cease making the art they wish to make. People in this fandom make things that trigger me, and yanno how i act? I block them and move on.

As I've said before, respect is subjective. Personally i find it disrespectful to try to dictate what are other people make because some of it might make you uncomfortable. Everyone has the right to creative liberty, and it is wrong to step on other people's feet in that regard because something they create makes you uncomfortable. If we bent to the will of anyone and everyone that didn't like certain things in art, art just.... wouldn't exist. Or if it did, it'd be the most sanitized shit in existence.

To avoid that happening, we use sites' features to cultivate our own experiences, and do our part to help others do the same. Block, mute, ignore, tag, spoiler, and trigger warn our art. I do the same. I appropriately tag every single one of my fanfics to the best of my ability. The one thing i have refused to tag my fics as is "underage" when they're not. Caelum is 24. He's not underage, he's not a child. And quite frankly i've been thinking of him as a mentally capable adult from day 1, so I'm not going to tag my fic as something it isn't. But i've done my job to let you know that there is sexual NFSW of Caelum in my fics, i make it very clear. If you proceed to read it when you believe he is a child, that is your choice and your responsibility. I have done my job. If you interpret Caelum as not being capable to consent, i can't and won't stop you. Hell, i don't want to stop you. You're free to do such a thing, that's your right.

It's not disrespectful to write something that someone dislikes, or makes them uncomfortable. People can ask nicely, or demand, or try to control you all they want, but their right to not be challenged by art ends where your right to creative liberty begins. Nobody has the right to tell you what you can and can't make, and that includes Erik.

I've said it before and i'll say it again, but fandoms just simply aren't for the creators, they're for the fans.

I'll admit that if i didn't tag my fics as i do, or if i intentially tried to shove them in Erik's face despite his possible wishes to not see them, then i'd be a disrespectful asshole. But i don't do that. No one has to see or like my fanfics, they're written for me and i share them for anyone who would like to read them.

I hope you understand a little bit of where i come from. If not, that's fine. If interacting with me or even seeing me or my content on tumblr or on AO3 makes you uncomfortable, i really do insist that you just block me. It's not worth it.

[lillymakesart]

i wanna add on if that's okay!!

+1000 to op's sentiment above, and im so happy that op is expressing this sentiment because it makes a safe space for us to think and analyze and discuss

any time i ingest media i am always in the "death of the author" camp and i let the media serve me however i can. i apply this for others too so when i see ppl hc mizu as any gender or any sexuality i dont get nothin to say to that because it's not my job to tell them how this media should make them feel. if they wanna hc mizu as trans, pans, bi, straight, anything at all i think that's all totally completely fine!! if you like it i love it

i think the line that op is toeing is the line where "death of the author" meets media analysis. i can sense that there's some disappointment in reading clues of what the creators originally intended for the audience to ingest (e.g. some strong hinting that mizu might be straight or strictly a woman) vs what op and maybe a majority of bes fans actually want.

i think all this shows is that op (and by transitive property any fans that feel this way) is just really smart and capable of critical analysis. despite your personal preferences you're not dumb and selectively ignoring all the layers of meaning that the creators have left for us to unravel.

my hope is that everyone can separate media analysis from "death of the author" and continue to hc mizu however they want while not missing out on the juicy details that the creators left for us to ingest. i think this is the main problem that i've seen around, it's that ppl let their own personal preferences for mizu overwrite their critical thinking capabilities to the point that they completely conflate the two - e.g. really bending over backwards to "logically" argue for interpretations of mizu being trans, mizu being lesbian, taigen "bad" for her, akemi and mizu are in love after like 2 scenes together, etc. this results in some very strange analysis that come out being presented as critical media analysis when in fact there's some persional bias mixed in there that leaves the conclusion rather empty.

personally i want aketaimizu so bad. i want them bad like alucard in that one ep of castlevania where he got jumped by those 2 idiots in bed. to me, aketaimizu is endgame. i'm okay with things starting off as taimizu for now. i was also upset that the creators hit us with that dumb "we're not friends" in ep 8, like what?? why not "i can't believe you left me like that" or "why are you helping me" or just anything to help the yearning. but it's what the creators wrote in. when i'm doing deep dives into bes analysis im not gonna just ignore it

but that's not gonna stop me from consuming akemizu and aketaimizu content. i'm also not gonna vocalize hate or annoyance at others that strictly ship akemizu or hc mizu as lesbian or hc mizu as a sex god with an 8 inch strap. some of the best fan media that i've consumed are actually mizu x readers and akemizu fics that literally changed the way i approach my own fic writing. it's really that inspriational

all that to say: media is here to serve you in more ways than one. it can serve you personally (headcanons, kinning, seeing yourself in the characters), it can serve you in a community (media analysis, critical thinking, deep discussions, deep dives into the content), and from these vantage points you can bloom creatively and learn things about yourself that you've never thought to consider before. this is why we make art, why we create shows, why the creators/writors/animators broke their backs for 2+ years weaving all of these layers, compositions, colors, characters, feelings, deep meanings together into an 8-episode netflix show. it's literally changing lives, inspiring creativity, bringing us all together. i'm not even being dramatic this show literally changed my life. i never thought i'd draw again and here i am, on a 3.5 month streak posting multiple times a week to my previously dead instagram, 30k words into my first ever fanfiction, writing smut for the first time like what???? who am i??? this show changed me. and from what i can tell, it's changed many others of us too.

this show is the gift that keeps on giving. there's lessons hidden in there for audiences of all ages. originally i was shocked that there's many young teens also consuming this show with so much blood and peepees out, but honestly??? you guys are more than capable of learning these lessons, as op has already demonstrated. i want to see you guys challenged MORE, think MORE about it, ask yourselves why you hate certain characters, why you can only hold empathy for some and not others, what exactly is triggering your strong emotions

if you guys are sitting here having conflicting feelings about this show, getting uncomfortable, getting frustrated, then good. you are doing it 10000% correctly and i love to see it so keep the rants coming

y’know I respect a fan’s choice about how they want to view mizu but tiny ramble about it here. this isn’t any sort of discussion or ‘matter of fact’ essay, just a simple rant about headcannons about her being TRANS and her SEXUALITY.

Warning: extremely long.

Given the numerous limitations that would arise from traveling as a woman, I find it very difficult to understand why some people believe Mizu is transgender when it's obvious that she is hiding this information in order to survive. This was particularly true during the Edo period, when women were dehumanized and treated like objects because we only ever see them as a slave or working in a brothel (majority of the show at least). They were also seen having to depend on men for nearly everything, as demonstrated in the episode where the mother and daughter were left outside to freeze to death since her husband was not present to accompany them. There were a subtle hints presented to us that show how comfortable she is when in touch with her femininity like a few moments in the episode where she came back to Swords-father Eiji’s hut

Next, not gonna lie, I’m insanely guilty of this—but I feel that she is leaning more toward heterosexuality in terms of her sexuality. I have the biggest fattest crush on her so I have no problem stating how much I'm crying and wailing over this. Like c’mon, let's be real, I guarantee that 98% of simps are female, and I’m sure every single one of us has mentioned the fact that we can all treat her better than Mikio and Taigen. Speaking of him, I have to say that they have the best chemistry of everyone in the show (AAAH WHY WHY WHY), which pains me to admit. The moment when she pulls him away from those arrows that are shooting because she fears for his safety if he follows, saving him from Fowler's castle even though she could have easily just left him to die and slain Fowler, when she also brought him away from those shooting arrows, etc. I have dedicated my time to search for ANY hint (ok not rlly) that she might be attracted to women, but the only time I ever see her become flustered by one is when she appears to be taken aback by the woman she tried to ask for directions to the Shindo Dojo. Plus, there were only two occasions where she interacted with Akemi that people use to automatically ship them which is when she saw Akemi in her carriage and pinned her down in Madame Kaji's brothel, which is regrettable. Unfortunately, I can’t imagine them as a couple in later episodes, something I’m been dying to see. Despite that, I’m still rooting for AT LEAST bisexual Mizu because for the love of god and for the sake of all of the gay women here, PLEASE. (Sorry for bringing her sexuality into this, I’m aware of how the show isn’t circling over it and not every single thing has to be LGBTQ-related. I respect your opinion and if I come off as rude, I’m sorry, just random midnight thoughts🙏)

[afraidparade]

Hey! Kinda two asks in one (just dont wanna spam ya) 1. do you have any ocs you would consider a self insert? or like,,, most self-insert-y? no shame ofc. i think self inserts should be more accepted in writing and stuff. im just curious 2. how did you start making g/t content? or any writing content tbh? ive been a huge fan of g/t stuff for as long as i can remember and i've been a massive fan of yours for,, tbh for as long as ive had twitter lol, and ive started wanting to try writing my own g/t original fic. But I feel like anything I do will be too cringey or self indulgent. Do you have any experience with that or any advice? thank you! i hope youre doing well and have a great day!

ehmm i don’t really do self-inserts or sonas, it’s kind of a complicated personal thing (and the reason my only ‘sona’ is a dumpy ugly bunny creature) but i guess the oc i relate to most is luka? i definitely project a lot of my own problems and insecurities onto him, but we’re not alike in personality or appearance lolol. i guess i could also say rookie (more of a twitter/patreon oc) but in the way that i make him the kind of person i’d like to be. i’ve tried self-inserts in the past but it’s not something that really resonates with me, especially with g/t stuff. i generally prefer to be an onlooker than imagine myself in situations like that.

i’ve been into g/t my whole life but was too shy to explore it and lurked for a long time. i only stopped caring because i was in a really bad depressive episode and was truly out of fucks to give, which probably isn’t a great answer, but that’s how it happened lolol. moral of the story: ignore your inhibitions long enough to just do it and let the momentum carry you from there

you’re probably asking the wrong person for writing tips tho, i don’t consider myself to be very good at it. i roleplayed a bit as a teenager and would occasionally write fics (i never shared them anywhere) and that’s the extent of my experience lolol. publishing anything creative is going to make you feel vulnerable, especially if you’re not used to it; it’s a very personal outlet of self expression, even if you’re not writing about your life story, it’s still a part of you and it’s scary to submit that to the sea of anonymous viewers. but the key a lot of creatives need to be reminded of is that you shouldn’t be writing/creating to please anyone else, you should be writing for yourself. make something you’d be a fan of. self-indulgence is a phenomenal feeling, cringe is subjective and fake. if posting it online is too daunting, then don’t post it. but if you feel that itch for others to know your story, then go for it. you might end up with this same ask in your inbox after an (almost) year of your account being active. you won’t know unless you try ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[vethbrenatto]

Hi! Not hoping to start drama or anything but I just wanted to say I totally get the fear of tlovm. I'm more scared of hyping it up than of it disappointing me which makes no sense at all but thats where I'm at.

Im so excited for it and also I wish we would stay in the countdown with only the trailer forever. I want every single scene animated and also a whole new story so the animation of my fave scenes can't fail to meet expectations.

I join you in Fear is what I'm trying to say.

(different ask, same vibes) i am in the same headspace as you about tlovm. i have a lot of faith in cr in terms of adapting their own story but retcons are not new to them (just... slowly and surely erasing tiber*us out of canon) and for the first time i think i realized they could change things i am actually very fond of and made the story special to me.

i understand those fears, though for myself i'm specifically worried about the couple of characters i mentioned

as an overall, to bring you some positivity back, i'm fairly optimistic about this adaption. given how much say the cast had, i have a good amount of faith in their ability to bring their own stories to life, specifically and especially in terms of plot. are scanbo and The Cows ever going to be as good as the original? probably not, but they can still be great.

i also think you have to be open to the medium of animation and the kind of storytelling that involves. i'm personally a huge animation fan and am perfectly fine with changes (especially plotwise, less so concerning relationships and dynamics), and considering the format, i'd advise any fan to go in with that mentality. the meatiness of D&D is just TOO much for animated show, but i think we're going to get the essence of vox machina and for the most part, i think they can pull that off.

everything from the clips released, i've enjoyed so far. i think the designs of the characters are spectacular, the animation is good for the budget they had, and i feel like certain clips were great for the character's energy (especially grog's moments!).

i will say that i'm with you with not wanting much retconning. that's a personal preference of mine as well.

lastly, be prepared that they might erase scenes that were important to you. there were so many important scenes, they couldn't possibly fit them all in. plus they have to make room for new content that will not have been in the original material. you might miss those scenes, but they'll still exist in the original, and the original VM can still be that special to you, TLOVM is an adaptation. similar to novel to movie adaptations, things will fall to the wayside, but they can still be good if the creators really understand the source material (and i'd say there's a good chance with how much creative say CR cast had, they do.)

but also being in a fearful headspace rather than a hyped one is often a defense response (that i pull a lot myself) because if you don’t have expectations you’ll be less disappointed

[monoxiid]

can i request for first date headcanons for any blue lock boys of your choice 🥺 im so glad more people wanna write for it

of course, honey! ^^ ❤️ it's true that blue lock content is rare 😔— anyway, thankchu for requesting! hope u like the characters i chose :›

⋮☰ ┋ 𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 : headcanons about the first date of some blue lock characters ⌕

⋮☰ ┋ 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 : Bachira Meguru、Nagi Seishiro ⌕

⋮☰ ┋ 𝐓𝐇𝐄̀𝐌𝐄 : fluff ⌕

⋮☰ ┋ 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 : probably a lot of mistakes of all kinds, lightness of content? ⌕

(well, help me to find an appropriate aesthetic-)

⠀⠀‘ ℬ𝒶𝒸𝒽𝒾𝓇𝒶 ℳℯℊ𝓊𝓇𝓊 ’ :

┃Meguru will be so excited!! You'll probably be his first girlfriend because of ... you know, his somewhat complicated childhood. Obviously, to be his partner, you would surely be someone who accepts him despite his faults, and who recognizes his qualities. He will be infinitely grateful to you for that, and the first way to show it to you will be to take you to its favorite places in the city!

┃The dark haired boy is an energetic person, naturally he will push you to be the same, pulling you out as soon as he can. He will introduce you to his friends -especially Isagi- with this proud smile on the lips. Meguru feels happy to have a girlfriend to take care of, to play video games with, but also to show off his football skills!

┃Yes, a lot of football dates. He won't hesitate to tell you if he thinks you're not good with a ball, thanks to his honest self, but it is with patience and pleasure that he will teach you how to play.

❛❛ And this is another goal from the striker Bachira Megury, what a man!!!

—I leave.

— (y/n) no—! ❜❜

┃He will not show the same enthusiasm to follow you in your own activities, but to thank you for agreeing to stay with him, he will stay with you as well. He will try as much as he can to be curious, to ask questions and to be interested in what you do, your hobbies ...

┃For an artistic s / o, he will obviously be titillated, his mother does art and it is sure that Bachira is no less creative than her. I can see him accompanying you in your painting sessions, or posing as a model for one of your drawings -not too long, though, he's a teenager who likes to move.

┃For someone as athletic as him, he will be equally happy. He will absolutely learn to play the sport you practice, go to your performances, matches etc ... and watch your training, the first to cheer you on without shame! If it's something like dancing, he'll totally be the type to carry you and turn with you in his arms.

❛❛ You see? I do the same as you!

— Ahah, you should think about converting to a dancer, then!

— I don't think that's a good idea ... Wait a minute!

— I was jok—! ❜❜

┃If you do things like team sport, he'll be more in his comfort zone, and learn to do like you faster! He will get to know your team, play with you, learn the rules...No matter what sport you play, he will act the same, with interest, because you are his girlfriend and he want to be there for you, with you.

┃If you don't even play sports, or you don't really do activities that he will be comfortable with, then maybe even better! It will be an opportunity for both of you to discover new things together and to test new experiences, without one to teach the other, just the two of you at the same level. It seems funny, isn't it?

┃The first date will probably be chaotic, Meguru will take you to any place that crosses his mind, and leave the unfinished behind, but all he wants is for you to familiarize yourself with his world, and to familiarize himself with yours.

⠀⠀‘ 𝒩𝒶ℊ𝒾 𝒮ℯ𝒾𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓇ℴ ’ :

┃👏date👏inside 👏

┃For the first time, it will be really simple, probably Seishiro pulling you into his house after school. And cuddles, that's all. Not even video games, not even televisions, screens, chatting, just the two of you cuddling on his bed. And always a nap that could take time.

┃Take advantage of Reo's money? Take advantage of Reo's money. But only sometimes, because Nagi is never for expensive and luxurious things. He prefers sofa to caviar, logical coming from someone like him.

┃But, being a soccer fan, it makes sense that if you ask him, he won't refuse to come out to shoot the ball a bit. He's not going to take it easy with you, though. If he's easier to block, it's only because of his incredible laziness, sorry.

┃As for your hobbies, he will only be interested if you mention them, he will not join you -or rarely- but will accept with pleasure to watch you. You are his girlfriend, he will make exceptions.

┃But the majority of the time, your dates will consist of you finding yourself on the couch, arms in each other, on your phones, talking to each other, even if it can end in a monologue. He's not very talkative, but absolutely loves it when you're having a conversation on your own without necessarily responding. He could listen to your voice for hours, and even fall asleep more easily with it.

┃If you like video games, he will be happy to play with you. He could be a bad player if you win, but he still enjoys these common moments that you both have. Obviously, he will be the first to taunt you if you win.

❛❛Oh, I won again. Strange, I thought you were the best at this game, (y / n) ...

—Sh-shut up! I'll take back control!!

— Ahah, of course, darling. ❜❜

┃He doesn't care that you don't want to go out, he will always agree with you on this point but sometimes he doubts himself and thinks that you would have had enough of him, who never takes you in places as fancy as Reo could, so sometimes he'll invite you to a restaurant. But it's not hard to see that he's not in his element, and you should quickly figure out what's going on. Seishiro will be relieved to hear you say that you don't care about the superfluous, that what you love is to be with him, no matter where you are.

❛❛ Oh my god, you are so sweet. I dunno what to say. ❜❜

[ghosthan]

hello!! i saw that you made a lot of stuff for 1872 and i was wondering if 1872 tony is similar to regular comics tony?? i know mcu and comics tony are different and i want to get into 616, but if 1872 comics are more easy to read i might try those first! 😅

Hello, hello! 

Thank you for asking, and sorry it took me so long to get back to you! I wanted to think about it and put together a thoughtful response because I am desperately trying to convert MCU fans to 1872. Or comics fans who just haven’t gotten into 1872.

This post will contain some 1872 spoilers, but not the Big Spoiler that you probably already know about anyways. 

Anyways, let’s get into it. Yeehaw.

What is 1872? It’s Steve/Tony in the wild west.

1872 comics are very easy to read, very short, and you need absolutely no prior knowledge to get into them; I highly recommend these as a start point for MCU fans who are curious about dipping their toes into some of the other Steve/Tony universes. And 1872 is, indeed, a Steve/Tony universe. It’s really gay, (and dramatic.) Uh. So gay, in fact, that one of the comic artists who drew pages even occasionally shares Steve/Tony shipping memes. So.

Marvel 1872 is a four issue series released as a part of the Secret Wars event; you really do not need to know anything about this to enjoy 1872, because it is a self-contained alternate universe in a “pocket dimension”, meaning it’s totally separate from the 616 cannon but technically exists in the expanse of the multiverse!

Here’s the summary:

In the Battleworld zone of 1872, Sheriff Steve Rogers faces corruption and fear in the boom town of Timely. Can Anthony Stark pull Rogers' fat from the fire? Probably not, since the only thing he seems capable of pulling is a cork from a bottle. Things in Timely are bad, and getting worse — and when a stranger arrives in town, Timely will be changed forever.

Now, to compare “regular comics Tony”, or 616 Tony, with 1872 Tony.

The main difference? 616 Tony wears this sexy little under suit (or nothing) under his armor, like this:

And 1872 Tony wears dirty, stinky one-piece pajamas under his armor (not sexy):

He’s so gross, he’s a mess. I love him. You’ll love him, too. 

No, okay. Being serious.

 616!Tony’s backstory is a lot more complicated just due to how long the character has existed, and the decades of cannon (much of it self-contradictory at points.) Like MCU Tony, 616 Tony used to manufacture weapons, experiences something life-changing, and becomes who he is as a result of this as a catalyst. 616 Tony’s backstory has been rebooted a few times, and I’m definitely not the definitive source on Iron Man lore compared to people who have read all of his comics, but I’ll try to touch on the basics.

Originally, 616 Tony Stark is shaped by his experience in the Vietnam War. This is later rebooted and changed to war in the middle East (we see this in the MCU when Tony is held captive in Afghanistan.) In both circumstances, he is taken captive after being in the air for war technology, and then he creates the suit to save his own life (losing a beloved mentor in the process, the guilt of which stays with him after.)

Tales of Suspense #39

In 1872, Tony’s formative event is the Civil War in some ways, but in other ways, this is only half of it, because this is not the event which causes him to build armor or set him onto his “become a better person” trajectory, like in the other comics. Mainly, the Civil War functions to cause Tony to stop weapons manufacturing and throw his life away down a bottle.

We get a flashback of Tony in the year 1862 with his female companion, picnicking and about to watch a battle, (rich people from the North did this in real life. If you’re interested, read more here!) We don’t get much of his past, but we discover that he is a rifle manufacturer and that he has created something called the ‘Stark Repeating Rifle’, and it seems that he has done so with the hope of encouraging a cease-fire, more than a slaughter.

Well. We don’t always get what we ask for.

Tony vows to actually never touch a weapon ever again, and this personal oath means so much to him that he gets creative at times during 1872 when he’s being chased by baddies:

Witnessing the extreme bloodshed of the Civil War, and feeling responsible for a huge amount of deaths, Tony turns to drinking, (and presumably moves to the west to escape the Pain of his Past, but this is not shown explicitly on panel; I have assumed, though, that Tony’s weapons manufacturing company was in the East, probably Boston or New York, since he comes from family money and because the American West was still “young” at this point in time so it would be unlikely that an established business would be supplying a war from lawless territory with little infrastructure.)

In 616, it’s worth noting that Tony builds the armor to save himself from danger in a war scenario; this is not the case in 1872, things unfold a bit differently. The Civil War certainly sets in motion the chain of events that eventually lead to the creation of Tony’s armor, but he’s not in physical danger or physically traumatized by the war in this verse as he is in other verses, and 616 Tony seems to have a stronger sense of duty than 1872 Tony, but this might be a complication of the depression/apathy related to the alcoholism.

What I mean by this is that both iterations of Tony struggle with alcoholism, but differently. Mainly, while 616 Tony has several alcohol themed arcs, and hits rock bottom with his alcoholism to cope with his trauma, he is sober more than he is drunk in the comics. His drinking almost kills him, and he almost loses everything because of the drink. It’s a source of enormous shame for him.

In fact, during this time in 616, I think Tony at his lowest reminds me a lot of 1872 Tony; 616 Tony is not an apathetic person and he holds himself accountable for an obscene amount of responsibility, but during what is referred to in fandom as The Second Drinking Arc, Tony basically gives up. This is the most “like” 1872 Tony, at least at the start of his arc. Rhodey takes over the mantle of Iron Man, and 616 Tony spirals, not caring whether he lives or dies, not hero-ing certainly.

We see both versions of Tony express similar sentiments, a certain cavalier attitude about their lives (and outright suicidality at other points) with nothing left but the drink.

Iron Man Vol. 1 #182

Compare with:

And you can certainly see a resemblance between this set of panels from IM v.1 #176 and in 1872:

Iron Man Vol. 1 #176 and Marvel 1872 #1

It’s a little different in 1872, where his drinking really is purely a result of his existing despair, and it doesn’t cause enormous problems for him, (minor problems, sure. He spends a lot of time drunkenly singing to Sheriff Rogers, or bothering him from the inside of a jail cell.) But this Tony lives at rock bottom, whereas 616 Tony only stays at rock bottom long enough to get his life back together (as many times as it takes.)

This Tony really doesn’t show any outward shame about his drinking; presumably, the people he knows in Timely have only ever known Tony as a drunk, and none of the people from his old life are here to see him like this. 

This is a Tony who has essentially given up on himself and has moved out West to hide from his shame and his past; this is not a Tony who is scared of letting down his friends by drinking, or scared of shirking his “duty”, because this Tony has moved away from all of his friends and has given himself no duties. He’s a bit more apathetic, but I would argue that this is not because he inherently is a less moral version of Tony, but because in this verse, he was drinking for a very long time and circumstances unfolded differently so it took him a longer time to find that sense of purpose and responsibility (beyond just shutting down manufacturing guns,) which is awakened in him by Steve Rogers. 

616 Tony’s sobriety is a major part of his character, and a conscious choice that he makes, even during some lowest points:

Civil War: The Confession

He takes some amount of pride in his sobriety, and when he does fall off the wagon at times (or magic makes everyone think he did,) it absolutely tears him up because 616 Tony cares very, very much about his sobriety and does not like who he is when he’s drinking. We do not know if 1872 Tony’s father had been a drunk or not, but we know 616 Tony’s father was, and that the drink lead to him treating Tony abusively.

Iron Man Vol. 1 #285 

Avengers Disassembled #1 (This was when ~magic~ made Tony drunk and it wrecked him breaking sobriety without ever having actually drank. Oof.)

616 Tony’s long struggle with alcoholism is a major part of his character and he has had relapses over the years and throughout the reboots, but in general, he does not drink.

1872 Tony starts drinking in 1862 and doesn’t stop until the last pages of the story, so in terms of the cannon we have for him, he is a current drunk, rather than a former drunk. This isn’t to say he doesn’t stop; but since it’s in the last page or so, it sets the reader up to imagine his sober future, rather than exploring his sobriety as 616 does. (Calling all fanfic writers!)

Anyways, both Tony’s are excellent. Both are damaged and traumatized, both are Iron Man in their own ways, both (eventually) find sobriety, both have some cute, quippy dialogue (though 616 Tony tends to be more reserved/polite for sure, in general). 

The last thing I’ll point out, is that both Tonys’ narratives are intertwined with and influenced by their respective Steve Rogers. I’m not saying soulmates but I’m saying soulmates.

Anyways. Sorry this post got super long, and I apologize if any of it is confusing or redundant, I am not functioning at my highest capacity currently. Please read 1872. Let it rock your world. Create & consume the fanworks, I would love to see a boom of 1872 content (more than the fics and art I keep making!) And my ask-box is always open!

[kyu-bri]

PMMM Medieval AU

Ok I've been Checked Out of the Meduka Meguca fandom recently but last night during a 11hr post-work week sleep I dreamed up a balls to the wall insanely intricate AU, because my subconcious is ever more creative than my waking self.

A TLDR role list and under the cut I will ramble and speculate in detail:

SAYAKA: An ex squire Knight trainee whose new mission is to overthrow the fucking monarchy after its corrupt rule led to the deaths of her friends. Now seducing an established Knight woman to help her on the inside while she recruits peasants for her rebellion.

MAMI: A rich snobbish merchant, rolling in wealth from inheriting both her dead parents businesses. She too is looking to overthrow the monarchy but is at odds with Sayakas faction because her plan is to become ruler herself.

KYOKO: a thief with brooding backstory. Mami recruits her to do her dirty work behind the scenes to keep her social standing clean.

MADOKA: A young training Goddess of Hope who fell from the moon. She has come to enthusiastically stop all the warring drama and devious plotting. She is in way over her head.

HOMURA: when Madoka fell she brought with her only a magical talisman that would bring one corpse to life to be her right hand. While looking for a noble muscular soldier Madoka tripped and dropped it into an open grave resurrecting a sickly peasant girl. Homura now worships Madoka and they are best friends who are in way over their heads.

Now me screaming trying to decipher my own subconscious:

GOD this AU is so ME. Sayaka going feral and living her best life kicking ass and a catty mean girl Mami countering her specifically. Kyoko poised to compliment, counter and even them out. Oh and MadoHomu are Cute and In Love. If that isnt the core of all of my AUs-

Sayaka was absolutely nuts in this though. My brain didn't spare Kyosuke or Hitomi so much as a cameo but so they're free to be the only reasonable cause for this. Im thinking Kyosuke was ailing as per usual and all that canon drama was the Same but Medieval.

So I'm thinking Sayakas all set to cope with Hitomi financing some lifesaving Medieval leech centric surgery or something before the Evil King whose color scheme is White And Maroon decides to execute Hitomis family for something petty. Hitomi is tragically killed right before Sayaka. Leaving Kyosuke to go shortly after and Sayaka to swear off the monarchy and all traditional law. Withdrawing from her training to be a knight to Be Gay And Do Crime.

Mamis role is both hilarious and perfect. In the dream she didn't do much besides bribe Kyoko and Anime Princess Laugh, but then Madoka was lore dumping (because yes, I DREAMED Madoka explaining LORE to Homura for the audiences (my) benefit.) And she said that Mami was possessed by a Demon of Greed. I'm thinking we could also say a desperate grieving Mami made some sort of deal with it asking for the ability to manage her parents legacy and it's resulted in her becoming the Onceler instead.

Madoka also mentions Kyoko has been scared away from her God bc of humans' actions. Ie she was the holy dutiful priests daughter and then Shit Hit The Fan but Medieval Flavored. The dream legit shows her God was Jesus so I'm declaring the dude God of Redemption, which is a very Kyoko Thing to boot.

While my brain didn't give me any KyoSaya Content tm they're in the perfect position for their epic Rivalry Turned Eternal Companions. Kyoko would be who Mami sends to fuck w Sayaka. Sayaka having probably trying to recruit Mami to her cause before realizing Mamis The Fucking Onceler and inspiring her to create a Rival Gang Of King Hating Rebels.

I'm picturing Sayakas plan fucking up in just the way Kyoko once mocked her that it would and all of Sayakas fight leaving her. As epic as her role is seducing the enemy to benefit her is very Unlike Her, so while the dream poised her as a power couple with the random blond knight lady I'm saying nnnno. And that the arrangement is fitfully miserable and dangerous. Sayaka used to be a loyal hopeless romantic and the Evil that's been committed against her and and those she loves has forced her to harden herself into someone else to be able to fight it.

But while Sayakas in Inevitable Peril and lamenting all of her mistakes and tragedy Kyokos there, fully able to escape but instead of course is like "no fuck that fuck this take my hand dreams come true lets give this nightmare a happily ever after." And its gay.

This would probably pit them both against Mami now but knowing me it would absolutely solve it with gay. And probably a bit of exorcism from Madoka. I theorized briefly if Mami would be a singular tragic death bc she cant be freed bc i liked the idea of tiny baby trumpet blower Nagisa slitting the Evil rich ladies throat and that being the only way to free her from the demon was cool but unless I can give Madoka a second resurrection clause then i would just exorcise her with Homosexuality and Friendship and a bit of Fairy Dust.

Meanwhile with Madoka and Homura they were just off still being cute and oblivious in the dream. I think the dream wanted her to be The One True God but she then shows all the personality traits of Naïve Angel In Training, so bc of the mythology already surrounding her I'm saying thinks a society where Literal Concepts Are Still Being Born and Madoka is the first inkling of Hope that Homosexuality and Friendship can fight Medieval Capitalism on its own.

She's just this bright white and pink pastel glowing entity skipping through a dark dreary forest graveyard looking for soldiers graves to ressurect somebody noble and powerful, gathering twigs in her long Repuntzel hair, when she trips and drops her talisman on a homeless orphan who died of the plague or some shit.

Bonus points to the idea that Madokas supposed to be able to reuse it but bc Homura died of sickness she just dies again right away and Madoka doesn't wanna be mean.

So Homura worships this glowing self positioned manic pixie dream girl bc shes definitely never felt hopeful in her life and so this glowing pastel goddess and drab zombie girl begin a road trip to where the actual plot of the story is happening. Because the moon dropped Madoka like inconveniently far away ig.

And so is the skeleton of a fabulous AU that I will probably not develop further but might make art for because my subconscious brain Also has AMAZING cinematography like when Madoka comes out of her moon all her hair flows out first so from earth it looks like a long pink gunshot through the moon which I suppose all the other characters would see and thus foreshadow their inevitable downfall to the powers of Homosexuality and Friendship and HOPE.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[rainbowsky]

Final round-up of fan fic asks

I've gotten a few more interesting responses to the fan fic discussion so I'm going to round them all up here. This will be my final post on the topic until/unless there's a dramatic new development, or a particularly notable response I want to highlight. Thanks to everyone who brought their thoughts and experiences to the topic. I hope everyone at least feels heard.

The biggest piece of advice that I would like to offer is for everyone to focus on what they love rather than what they hate. If we all did that, the world would be a better place. Alongside that, I'd like to remind everyone to please support authors whose work you like. It's so important. Give them a kudos, give them a nice comment, recommend their work to others. You never know what kind of grief and harassment they are dealing with to bring you these great stories, and our support means a lot.

This is in reference to previous posts here and here.

Anonymous asked:

With regard to fandom and fan fic issue, my years of experience being part of very large fandoms has led me to believe that big accounts are v important in facilitating and enforcing the general consensus of the whole fandom. Unless there will be big accs who'll remind everyone of being respectful & just not being a dick over other's preferences, nothing will change.

This is also the reason why I think certain solo fandoms have adapted weird and twisted narratives as their general fandom story because no big acc has tried to police them & and say hey pls be rational. Whether we like it or not, in a place where how far voices, ideas, tweets, posts get heard is based on the number of followers you have, big accs will have the power and influence in creating/curating/shifting the narratives.

So, if you want to know why your/our fandom thinks like this in general, look at what big accs are tweeting/posting, look at what ideas & values they follow, look at their preferences or how strongly they react to certain situations. it's taxing and toxic for big accs given the nature of social media these days, but it's also the reality of system, the more followers/audience you have, the more influence you will have.

So to anyone reading this I hope we all practice more restraint and reflection before we post anything. Remember that words, no matter what medium you write it in, will always carry weight.

So true. It is easy - even for myself who spends a fair chunk of time answering people's asks - to forget that people can sometimes be impressionable and what we say can influence people whether that's our intent or not. I get used to thinking of myself as a regular guy just doing my own thing when sometimes my thoughts and words go well beyond where I initially posted them.

I think it's important for us to be careful what we say, and it's equally important to be careful what we take from what other people say. Especially when it comes to big claims. Always get a second, third, fourth opinion and don't be afraid to ask for clarification if something doesn't sit right or sounds confusing.

It's also important to reflect on how our words and actions might affect other people's experience of fandom, and err on the side of 'live and let live' wherever possible. It's great to have our own preferences and to champion them, but we should try to do so in a way that leaves space for other people and perspectives.

The more unique perspectives and the more friendly, open dialog there is, the healthier the community will be as a whole.

There's nothing wrong with encouraging and guiding growth in the particular areas we are interested in, as long as it doesn't step on, oppress or attack those who are peacefully enjoying something different.

Anonymous 2 asked: bjyx fans attacking gdgdbaby for including zsww/lsfy dynamics in an event named bjyx then turning right around and attacking the zsww/lsfy event organizer for excluding bjyx? god, can you hear my facepalm and sigh of resignation and incredulity from over there? im genuinely not surprised that they're trying to drive an entire part of the fandom out by disgusting them (and me) with these immature tactics. i believe what im about to say next will sound quite bait-y and i respect your decision 1/?

should you choose not to post this. but i do know that it is not only me, in fact there are many out there, that is of this opinion. we just dont talk about it on twitter to avoid the potential mess it will bring lol. okay, here goes nothing. (do note that im talking about the majority here, not every single person is like this) so bjyx fans tend to be cishet females whereas zsww/lsfy fans are more diverse in terms of age and gender, and most of them are part of the queer community too 2/?

i would like to clarify that most of these zsww/lsfy fans are not dynamic exclusive (in the sense that they are friendly and interact with all ggdd fans) they just prefer to "identify" themselves as zsww/lsfy fans (on twitter specifically) just to form a distinction from bjyx fans who mostly are dynamic exclusive (as in; they do not consume non-bjyx content, and straightup refuse to interact with non-bjyx fans, often blocking them). as a result, id say that the zsww/lsfy communiy is way more 3/?

mature and respectful (after all, they're mostly queer people talking about a queer ship) whereas many problems in this fandom, such as the homophobia, adamantly insisting on "drawing lines" between dynamics, stem from the bjyx exclusive fans, comprised of cishet females who "may not know better". so, it is of no surprise to me that they're resorting to these immature tactics of calling gg unsavory names, and organizing retaliatory events with controversial topics in an attempt to "purify". 4/4

I trust that you have arrived at that theory through your own experience and observation. I haven't personally spent much time immersed in this stuff so I can't claim to have any real insight or expertise. If you say that's your experience of it, then at the very least that's how you've seen things up to this point.

I just want to say that I think we should always be careful about making assumptions about people's age, gender/gender identity, etc.

There are plenty of good reasons to avoid doing that; because those assumptions could be very wrong, because those assumptions are often laced with ageism, sexism, etc., because those assumptions - even when correct - might not be an accurate basis for the conclusions we draw.

But the primary reason I recommend avoiding those type of assumptions is because anything that enables us to clump a group of people together in our minds like that will tend to make them easier to demonize and dehumanize. They are no longer individuals who are each responsible for their own unique perspectives, they are now 'the X group' who is known for 'A B C series of easily attackable ideas or behaviors'.

If we attribute undesirable traits and behaviors to a group of people we feel opposed to in some way, that makes us feel more righteous and justified in behaving unfairly toward them, dismissing their humanity and warring with them. It's just risky behavior to engage in, even when it's well-intentioned.

There might actually be some truth to what you're saying. It could very well be that most of these people are young, inexperienced, heteronormative, etc. but if that's the case then we should try to use those traits to better understand and empathize rather than to better dismiss and discredit.

Just my two cents on that.

It can be really frustrating dealing with what feels like other people attacking us, trying to oppress us, etc. - especially when there are more of them than there are of us. In my experience the best solutions to that sort of problem are generally the ones that focus on what we are doing and want to do rather than what they are doing that we don't want them to do.

As I am always preaching, we can't control what other people say, do or think. The only thing we have any control over is what we say, do and think (and how we respond to what they say, do and think).

I have found in my experience that the moment I step out of a conflict mindset and instead step into a problem-solving mindset, everything starts to come together. I feel better, my outlook is more positive, I can begin to see solutions and allies rather than problems and enemies, and most of all, I become more focused on what I am doing than what others are doing.

So I would recommend everyone who is invested in resolving these conflicts focus on that. "How can we best showcase and encourage the types of stories we enjoy?" instead of "How can we stop these other people from doing things we dislike?"

Anonymous 3 asked:

Hello again! It’s anon #3 from the fanfic post. I really do appreciate reading your thoughts on various issues like this, so thank you for always taking time to write in depth. As for supporting without going to war, the simplest way has always been to just show appreciation for the creators, hype them up. Kudos are the easiest way on ao3 but comments in addition are great. This goes for all content—art, fics, vids..etc. Creators love to see and read how people react to their content. Sharing is also great, fic recs are very helpful, just be cautious with art and reposting though. Hope this helps a bit!

Thanks so much, Anon. I think this is excellent advice. And it's true that appreciation is great, but helping to expand the audience is also great. Recommending stories, pointing people to the pages/websites of artists we like (as opposed to reposting), sharing our own ideas and approaches, encouraging people to try new things... all of this helps build healthier communities.

And here's another one: WRITE! DRAW! CREATE!

I urge anyone with creative interests or talents to bring their voices to the community because we all can benefit from hearing from you.

Thanks again everyone for sharing your thoughts on this issue. I hope that over time we can all work in positive ways to improve the situation.

I think this subject has been well-covered now so I'm going to retire it for the time being. If anyone still feels they want to discuss it further please feel free to message me privately. Thanks.

[fipindustries]

critical missive

dedicated to @cryptovexillologist

oh boy arent we in a fine pickle now?

usually i enjoy talking openly and bluntly about my opinions on whatever the last thing i read is, safe and secure in the knowledge that the author will most likely never stumble on my measily 700 followers tumblr blog, so i am free to express my opinion to my heart’s content knowing that no feelings will get hurt. 

mission critical would be no different except i talked with the author and read their acknoledgement and the AMA they did on discord after writing the story and they have endeared themselves thoroughly to me so my language will have to be neutered, at least for the first half of this excercise. afterwards things will get a bit harsher but i’ll try to rest at ease in the knowledge that we seem to be kindred spirits and i would be delighted in hearing any kind of criticism of my work either positive or negative. 

ok, enough coaching done, lets go on to what i thought of this novel.

it is a delightful romp, as i said before, the worldbuilding is understated and realistic with enough glimpses of depth and detail to suggest a much larger picture. this world feels inhabited, lived in, like it was well chewed on for long by the author before putting pen to paper. consequentially the characters that arose from this world feel like they belong, they feel like real people with real lifes. by far the strongest sections of the book were the flashbacks to their lives before the plot started. their voices, regretably, do sound very similar when interacting with each other but in their own sections the characters shine in their charm and cleverness. every time one of their flashbacks ended i was left with the intrigue and the desire to know how their particular story would continue.

the terra ignota influences are very noticeable, the world and its people carry the same kind of almost childlike positivity and innocence, the same kind of cheerful, happy go lucky trust in human progress and the great project of humanity for the future with the same sobering forlorn attitude towards the horrors of the past.

on top of that its silly, gosh in heaven it is silly. it has moments of cringe, in the best of ways. strange slapdash bits of flavor, immature non sequiturs, small indulgences from the author’s own weird interests and dumb meme humor. i do love me my awkward corners in a book, after all it is those that make something unique. there is a clear personality poking through and it is a delightful personality to meet.

i cant help but like this almost more for the context in which it was written than for the content itself, it was done during quarentine as a way to both stave off cavin fever and to process the author’s feelings regarding their gender identity. as someone who also wrote a story where i almost deliberatly tried to trick my self into breaking my own egg and who turned madly towards creative endeavors to survive the pandemic i can sympathize strongly with this. i am really happy that the author got to do this and kickstarted a project towards a big, possibly decades spanning trilogy.

so, yeah, those were the nice things i had to say, if you are content enough with that you can stop here but if you are curious to know more, well... you can

in short: it is a bit of a mess. again, im willing to be lenient, considering the way in which this was worked on, this is very much a really early first draft. the second half of this story was a very slow and very boring trudge towards a sudden end.

first, the fact that the flashbacks and the worldbuilding bits are the strongest part of this story means the actual plot itself suffers from being fairly boring and generic. “astronauts explore alien planet, find spooky stuff there” was already old hat by the 50′s. it is a plot so worn down and archetypical that it really cant survive if that is literally all you are going to do with it, and that is kind of all that this book does. i did mention moments of flavor and strange self indulgence. we needed way more of those. yes thats right, im saying that this story was not self indulgent enough. when you have such a well trodden plot such as this, worn down to the point that it becomes paint by the numbers, we need quirky, we need cringe, we need strange excess and personality. the author mentioned that they would love to see some of the weirder alexandria fan fics, well so do i! be the miracle you want to see in the world! the moments alexandria debated if wether identifying as a trilateral were amazing but they were not enough. we have a great structure here but lets put some proper meat on these bones, some proper fat and skin, some clown make up and a weird novelty hat and outrageous clown shoes. im getting carried away here, lets get back to the point.

the other problem is  there is not a clear trajectory for the story here, no well defined moment of climax and the emotional beats tend to fall a bit flat or to come out of nowhere. there are emotional crisis which i sort of missed or didnt get where they came from. the characters act in ways that are hard to relate to  that come off as stilted. the way they conduct themselves through the mission felt at times weirdly unprofessional and like it didnt follow much of a logical throughline, and when i say logical i dont meant “i wanted the characters to act hyperrational at all times” i mean i want the characters to act in ways that make human sense. ironically the one character that acted a bit too human for my tastes was the AI. alexandria is an interesting character but i feel that the place to explore that idea is not in the middle of an incredibly important mission where having your mainframe experience a crisis might not be the most practical thing in the world.

the ending was jarringly sudden, i didnt feel there was a proper resolution and finishing it off with flashbacks to the time the characters were training was... odd. i reached the last line and it felt like the story had just decided to stop without ever having reached anything that came even close to the third act. all of this can be easily fixed with some concientious editing and a complete rearrangement of the different sections of this story.

all in all a great first step in what i hope will be a long career as a writer.