#also about 'ancient fandoms':

[katyspersonal]

I will sound like I am 45 and not 25 ofc, but to be truthful, I am heading towards losing my joy and passion as a fan-artist. It is about the fandoms as a concept in general, without applying it to any specific one. More like about, WHAT fandoms are by now.

I tend to dive into a game/show/whatever ears deep because as an autist I interact with a lot of concepts vicariously through fiction, but also because I just have this natural wish to respect and love (revere, even) something, and complicated creative works that combine several art types work just well. But fandoms are... bad. They are just bad. Now this is absolutely normal for some gremlin that doesn't know anything about the source material to jump in and start to do their thing - be it being super inaccurate to begin with, breaking the source material to replace with their agenda and tastes, or simply spam a lot of samey, 'soulless'(?) fanart with clear clout in mind to, as kids call it, "build the platform" so they can let the STONKS roll in and promote their own stuff at last if they have it.

Like... This is what fandoms ARE by now. Halfway the grinding ground to gain following to sell commissions to, halfway a ground to spread politics and opinions. Business or propaganda. Not a matter of whether products and propaganda are for good things, they're value neutral concepts and can be used for good or bad equally, but both are not ABOUT the source material. Okay, not fully halfway - some ears-deep fans still are here. But why even? When we, actual fans, give people essays on why they are drastically wrong about a character - we get mocked for not having (highlight the correct: real life, girlfriend, touched the grass, job, all applies). When we demand respect and accuracy to the source material - we are called snobbish entitled gatekeepers at least, accused of various isms and phobias at large. When we try to encourage something deeper and more interesting - again, people tell us we are "boring" and that no one cares about this or that character, and outright boast about how they are only here for this sexy man or for that ship and not really lore dive.

Even basically ancient fandoms like Doctor Who, Star Wars or Star Trek that sprouted THANKS TO those exact "30+ loosers with no life" could no longer uphold the whole ears-deep fan mentality because new installments invited too much shallow fans that are prone to mocking too, and celebrities that are responsible for making awful reboots/continuations can just violate the source however they want under cover of "everyone who doesn't like it is just a sexist and racist incel". This is just how it is now. Passion, elaborate knowledge on the source and respect for a thing truly great creative minds created are now considered DIRTY things, and are a proof of one's inferiority in accomplishments and personality. Because fandoms are no longer a place to gather FANS. They are "platforms".

I just consider, would it be more fun to either invest in the fandoms for real people (composers, poets, scientists, etc) where loving the source material for what it is is a requirement (because...... real people... historical accuracy....), or to just head towards creation my own thing sooner than later? I got to say though, I am thankful for each and every fan in whatever fandom I visited that was/is just as passionate as me. It felt, and still feels less lonely to have more people that don't see shame in REALLY fucking loving stories and characters.

[bizarrelittlemew]

i can't wait to be 30+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 40+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 50+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 60+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 70+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 80+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 90+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to look back on my life and know that i loved things deeply and passionately and was inspired to create and was part of communities with incredible people from all over the world brought together by the stories that touched us

[tennessoui]

it’s like baby gorl there’s no way I, the author who wrote the fic you’re commenting on and who is the intended audience for this comment, am gonna agree with you 😿🙏 some things can just stay on your chest 🙏

[bogos-bint3d]

Fr though I have to say one difficult thing about writing undertale fancontent is that due to undertale taking place in the future (Chara canonically fell at some point in the 2010s and it can be assumed undertale takes place a long amount of time after that), you have to try and come up with new technology and stuff for this future world in a way that doesn't just sound really fucking outlandish. Like, what would future society be like? Who would be doing what in the future? Does my undertale fanfiction sound weird if characters regularly use flying hoverboards for no explained reason?

[asocial-skye]

as the holidays come to a close, i'm left to wonder....

how does religion work in the pjo universe?

[necrotic-nephilim]

i recently remembered DickTim Week 2024 is happening very soon and i looked at the prompts again to see if i could get anything out for it and. the Hades & Persephone AU prompt for day 1 has got me really thinking so here's a vague concept i plan to write.

i've been pretty burnt out on modern Hades & Persephone retellings because of how they always seem to fall into the same generic "innocent wide-eyed girl runs from her evil mean mother into the arms of a dark mysterious man because actually she went willingly and chose to marry him" which has gotten repetitive for my tastes. (for clarity i don't care if this retelling is your cup of tea personally, so long as you're not actively trying to rewrite the original myth and claim untrue things about it, if this is your favorite flavor i sincerely hope you enjoy the buffet i just have little interest in it since it feels overdone for me and exhausted of it's supposed commentary atp)

but? but. biblically accurate Hades & Persephone AU has me all kinds of interested. because wait listen so hear me out right. Hades!Dick and Persephone!Tim, obviously. i feel it'd be more loosely inspired by with themes and imagery (though playing with death and nature powers could be interesting, i haven't decided) rather than explicitly making them gods and all. but. something dark and fucked up where Dick and Bruce are especially estranged. maybe to do with Jason's return, maybe to do with them just clashing and having their usual explosive arguments. and Bruce knows the peace needs to be kept, if he and Dick are at odds then everyone starts to pick sides and things just fracture so he needs a peace offering.

and the peace offering is Tim.

Bruce (the stand-in for Zeus) offers up Tim. agrees to have Tim move to Bludhaven and be Dick's... whatever Dick wants him to be. knowing that with the implication comes the likelihood of Dick grooming Tim. and Tim has no real say and is hesitant to put up a real fight. he doesn't want this, he knows what this is going to imply Dick will do to him, but he also knows if he says no things have the possibility to just... fall apart. so he's the unwilling bride, dragged off to the metaphorical underworld (Bludhaven) with Dick, away from his family, his friends, the life he built.

and on the flip side, i think weirdly enough, your best pick for the Demeter stand-in is *Jason*. just, hear me out on that. not necessarily on the side of it being motherly, but on Jason being just estranged enough from the Batfamily to be the one willing to call it out for being bad and wrong and raising bloody hell to get Tim back. maybe it's because Jason wants Tim for himself, maybe it's truly out of a concern for Tim to have autonomy, i'm toying with the idea of it primarily being Tim's POV and him genuinely not knowing which of these is true. (and the truth possibly ends up being a complicated middle ground) and because i like Helena, i think you can use her as the Hekate stand in, the one who strikes a tentative alliance with Jason and tries to go find Tim and bring him back. Tim stuck with Dick, getting groomed and hyperaware of it, possibly even getting fucked the whole time as well, knowing he can't go back without causing massive issues for Dick and Bruce because well, Bruce did promise him to Dick. so he has to adjust his whole life, try to figure out being a vigilante in this new city with Dick breathing down his neck the whole time.

and then much like the ending of the myth, a sort of compromise is struck that's a shaky deal for everyone involved. Tim is put on an essential timeshare, going back and forth between Gotham, where he has friends and family and a support system, then getting dragged right back to Bludhaven with Dick in this brutal cycle that he slowly gets used to and stockholm'd into even liking it. Dick isn't so bad, once he gets used to the quirks of their unbalanced 'relationship'. the sex is even something he can adjust to as well. not quite a happy ending but one that sits in this realistic grey area that becomes Tim's life.

i will write this, eventually, but i don't know if i'll get to it before DickTim Week ends so by posting the idea i'm essentially putting it out into the world so the peer pressure holds me accountable. i just. really like the potential of making Hades/Persephone AUs as fucked up as they can be simply by adhering to the source material and making it a raw story of being stolen away and forced to like this new home you didn't ask for.

also a less fleshed-out aspect of this idea i have ties into Persephone becoming the Queen of the Underworld when she's taken and how the transition from Kore to Persephone could be reflected in Tim. how he makes the best of the worst situation and becomes something far more dangerous and dark when he's in Bludhaven, possibly takes on a new vigilante name/identity and leans into the worst quirks of his personality he tries to tamper because there's no point in not going full tilt Obsessively Weird if he has no choice anyway and it being one small way he takes back his autonomy, and that inevitably making Dick *more* into him, because he gets to see Tim finally just. let loose.

[wafflinglumos]

Sirius Black and his own arrogance, Sirius Black and his overcomplicated love hate relationship with his mother, Sirius Black and his stunted development due to Azkaban, Sirius Black and his need to be in the right, Sirius Black and his own failure to take accountability for his actions.

Sirius Black and actual thought out flaws, and complexities with his character.

[justa-smalltown-gargoyle]

Hey batman/batfam people, I wanted to talk about something. I know this might not be received well, but...this is my blog. So if you disagree with me, feel free to block me! Literally that's what's great about this site. (I've been trying to do so on my end, but I thought I'd reach out a bit.....idk maybe try to form some understanding?)

I have been a batman fan since like...age 13 or something. Batman as a character means so fucking much to me, as does all his kids and massive extended family. (can't forget Alfred, Kate, Lucius, and Jeff Gordon!!) And I know that they mean a lot to you guys too.

In comic book and fandom spaces we talk a lot about misrepresentation of characters in fandom, but even in "canon" or rather published/produced content. I have beef with a lot of live action adaptions of Batman for example.

The thing with comic book characters, even more than some fandoms/pieces of media, is that there is SO MUCH content out there, that two people can say they like this one character but those two versions might be in total contradiction. But does that make one right over the other? does that make one superior?

Now, I hate Ben Affleck's Batman. And to fans of his, I'd say, you want the punisher, not Batman, because to me, that goes against who Batman is fundamentally. I read the comics, watch a lot of the animated stuff, and formed my own opinion and version of Batman. However, and this seems to be a controversial take, i really enjoy Wayne Family Adventures.

I see a lot of hate on here for WFA (and on tiktok but they're another beast), which, it's not for everyone, that's okay! Not everyone has to like what I like. But what I don't agree with, is that people who like WFA are seen as "not true batman fans", "they haven't ever read a comic". "they only like the flat fanon versions of the characters", etc.

These comments I would like to rebut- some comic readers such as myself might enjoy WFA. There might be people that have never read a comic or even watched anything batman related but like WFA. Are they not valid to enjoy that and have their own fandom for that? Are they not allowed to be fans of Batman?

I also would ask, how much of WFA did you actually read? In it's nature, it's suppose to be the bat family on their time off, or more light stories, but it actually addresses things like Jason's trauma, Duke moving in to the Manor, Damian struggling to fit in at school, things like that. Now if you read pretty far and still didn't like the portrayal of the characters, that's fine, I'm not asking you to change your opinion, however I am asking you to make space for those who do enjoy it, or that WFA is their first introduction or only experience with the Batman and co.

WFA isn't perfect, but it holds a special place in my heart, and gives me more content for Not Perfect but Trying and Cares Dad Bruce Wayne which I am grateful for. And tbh I feel like it just shows other sides to the characters we don't see that often!

And again, obvi people have their opinions, I guess I'm just asking for us to be more aware and create a space where people can feel free and excited to talk about these characters that we all love. I enjoy content and discussions I see in the tags and different blogs but then I see the hate for WFA fans and it just puts a real damper on otherwise really good content.

Anyways, thanks for reading!

[spotsupstuff]

here's a neat vid, go watch it if you haven't yet

there's Some things that i don't completely agree with personally, like attributing the Third sin to Materialism rather than Connection (i'd argue that the Ancients had no big issue with being materialistic, considering their golden attires and such- and that going with Connection overall better addresses both the core of Materialism and relationships overall) and then attributing the word Dynasty specifically to asian cultures but that's more history/word definition beef more than anything djgklsjlcgjkd

oh how i'd love to have a debate with this guy about Ancients...

[firefly-factory]

How old is your Altmer (or other mer) OC?

I'm not sure how many people will see this, but I'm trying to get some details straight for one of my characters (might write a fic about her one day. We'll see)

She's a High Elf, and is young by Altmer standards, but not *super* young.

I'm curious about how old other people have made their characters because it might help me figure this out. Also how old do you think canon Skyrim characters (esp Ancano, Elenwen, Ondolemer, etc) are?

[thriveonanonymity]

BIG MOOD SISTER

[scattered-winter]

You know, another thing that always bugged me about VLD is the shape Keith’s Bayard takes.

People always calls it a sword, but honestly it’s more similar to a katar, a type of Indian push dagger. Which is the same overall design as Pidge’s Bayard.

It’s weird that Pidge and Keith both use the same weapon as the base for the form their Bayards take, but Pidge’s has a lot more utility with both its grappling hook and taser functions.

YEAHHH I've noticed how keith's bayard is a katar (ancient weaponry autism go brrrr) and I actually think that works really, really, really well for him. (I'm drawing from Autism Research that I did several years ago so I may be misremembering in which case I'm sorry </3) but iirc, a katar has a lot of power in the forward thrust (because the blade is lined up with the user's arm, so he can put his whole weight into a thrust) but they can also be used for swinging/slashing which is generally what keith's fighting style tends to lean toward. additionally, because traditional katar don't really have a lot of blocking protection on the hilt (unlike a zweihander, for example, which has a pretty useful crossguard) for someone to use a katar they have to be pretty quick and light on their feet to compensate for not having as many defensible qualities. which sounds a lot like keith's fighting style to me. katar are pretty versatile and rely on the intensity and power of their design/technique to punch through an opponent's armor and take them down as efficiently as possible, which just fits keith soooooooo well imo

and for pidge, I also really like her bayard because it reflects her personality and fighting style incredibly well, too. it's probably one of the most versatile weapons used in the entire show with its grappling hook, and the taser adds another range of uses (there's the obvious shocking, but I also remember seeing her use it to cut through hulls and things like that) and for a green paladin who thinks outside the box, a weapon that can be used in so many ways works so well. to address the similarities between pidge's and keith's, I actually think it might just be because of the shape of the bayards themselves. the only other two bayards we see take gun forms, so pidge and keith are the only ones with melee weapons which makes it hard to really tell if that handle shape is the norm for bayards or if it's just their unique personalities. but regardless, the H-shaped handle (the main characteristic in katar) is what all the bayards have in their dormant forms, so it might just be a matter of functionality that the handles for keith and pidge's weapons are also H-shaped

[fengshenjunlang]

WWX raising the dead is culturally unacceptable, why? Because CQL censored that part due to the current government regulation of even censoring the color of blood or bloody wounds in media.

Also China's current regulation: LGBTQ is not Culturally approved!

Also Chinese real-world orthodox culture: LGBTQ is taboo!

Does that mean those FUcKInN DaMn GAYs WangXian are Culturally and Morally unacceptable??

[claira-stars]

I think we should take the "a long time ago in a galaxy far far away" part of star wars more seriously.

By which I mean: all the lore inconsistencies and widly different fan interpretations are a whole lot funnier if you pretend this is like... a series of histories from some super ancient far off place and we are a series of resurchers with the world's messiest collection of primary and secondary sources. Every single peice of SW media was written by some unreliable narrator several thousand years ago. No one knows what atually happened because everything is a collection of fragmentory myths and legends. It's a fun way to cope with retcons and also incorporate any real life biases the creators of spusific media may have.

Why dose this spusific account say this when another book says that? "They were written at vastly different time periods and both authors interpreted the source text different, unfortunately we can't ever know what the truth was, yeah that historical figure sort of became a culture hero and as such a vast amount of regional folklore and legends were incorporated into their backstory"

Why do some people see this charecter as a hero and others a vilan? "Yeah historians can't agree what their overall role in the conflict was, and even primary documents about them disagree on weather or not they were helpful or harmful"

Are thease charecters lovers? "They wrote some very intimate letters to eachoter but no one can tell if "my love" was platonic or romantic and historians feel like giving it a lable under the current cultural understanding of love and romance would be an oversimplification"

Is that guy 50 or 500 "no one knows, some sources suggest their species could eaisally live to be 500, while others claim their planet of origin mearly has a widely diffrent method of counting years"

Why dose this account shower that charecter in praises while another seems to dislike them "well see, one was written by a friend of theirs and another written by a historical rival so..."

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

i do think it's kind of funny that ao3 seems to have made a blanket change to all the "mythology" tags to make them "religion and lore" (not a good change) EXCEPT the "arthurian mythology" tag, which remains intact despite a Number of people trying to get that one reworked or at least different wrangled for ages. they're like "we're taking mythology away from all the contexts where it might be applicable. and leaving it in the context where it's dubious. this is a sensible change"

[inverse-problem]

on one hand, tempted to join the new blood discord because I have an intense need to fill my brain with more of the game. on the other hand, I am Old and anything with more than 2 conversation threads melts my brain