#analysing it and critiquing the critique I’m just like nice book report I’m sure that was super fun for you

[howdidthisevenhappenanyway]

thing I wrote out this morning but then put into drafts because I was like ‘is this just doing the thing I’m talking about?’ but this post is expressing a similar point so I’ll leave it here:

one thing that it’s really important to remember is that you might be smarter than 95% of the fandom you’re in or more good at reading text and sub text and intertextuality and seeing themes and sub themes beyond tropes and blorbos and if you are, good for you!

but like

if your whole fandom experience is telling everyone how much better than everyone else you are at reading or being smart, like…that kind of sounds very lonely and boring for you.

you may be smarter, but that doesn’t mean you’re having any fun.

There is a phenomenon happening on Tumblr right now which may be a product of the Twitter exodus or maybe its just modern fandom mentality vehemently rejecting the old, but you guys have GOT to stop being so damn MEAN about fandom.

There are posts circulating on Tumblr right now hating on so many aspects of fandom. Yeah we all know the incorrect quotes format can be cringe and most of the time its the same quotes used for every fandom ever reducing the characters to stereotypes. Yes we know most fandoms scramble to ship the two basic white guys over all the other characters. Yes we know your blorbo probably Does Not Fucking Say That. Yes we know A/B/O is weird AF (especially now its breached containment and found its way into mainstream hetero erotica). Yes we know SuperWhoLock was ridiculous and attempts to make modern shows into a new SuperWhoLock have got old fast.

But do you have to constantly drag these things all the time? Why is it suddenly cool and popular to ridicule and criticise and hate on peoples fun?

Let people be cringe

Let people play in the fandom sandbox

Let people have their fun

Not everything has to be an intellectual critique and it doesn't make you a better person to constantly shit on fandom ON THE FANDOM WEBSITE

Fandoms can be problematic, toxic, and infuriating at times. But all the negativity isn't making things better. Yeah okay some aspects of fandom can be annoying, but must we have so many call out posts go viral on here specifically for hating on parts of fandom culture? Yet people wonder why fandom creators are quitting and there isnt as much art and interaction on here as there used to be.

If you see another negative post shitting on aspects of fandom cross your dash, maybe think before you reblog it. Maybe ask yourself if that post may be hurtful to a mutual? Perhaps youve got a mutual who writers A/B/O or CharacterxReader fanfiction who doesnt wanna see your reblog of the callout post stating reader×character fanfic is gross, or perhaps your mutual creates fun text posts applying quotes to their fave characters and youve just reblogged a 90k+ note post calling them cringy and overdone.

Just THINK please. Its not necessary. We've got to be KINDER to each other. Please don't let this place become like Twitter. Twitter was a toxic cesspool where no one had anything worthwhile to add to the discussion, no one created, everyone was just screaming angry rants into the void. Dont let tumblr become like that, because it will be the death of this place. And where will you go to find fanart and gifsets of your blorbos then?

[legendarydreamerking]

Deadly Looks - Chapter 1

It was an ironically bright night. The wind came by silently, striking every corner of the city. However, the night was unusually cold for a summer. But there was no denial to the fact that the landscape was beautifully laid up. The bright neon lights around the rather modern city gave quite a majestic feeling to the citizens going by. From the outside it looked full of joy, all the shops and markets were still open, and everyone was out hanging out with family or friends. Even the street tricksters were having a good night as well, since everyone looked to be spreading the joy. However, there was an exception to this. In one specific area of the city, a mysterious atmosphere was covering a house located along the shore. It looked pretty crowded for a house. There were eight people, one of them looking extremely worried and agitated, she has been trying to control her breathing for quite a while now, maybe her mind was too confused to act so her heart was. The other seven people looked contrastingly calm. For them it was usual business. All of them wearing the same uniform with the same letters on the back. Except for one, he was wearing a simple pair of oversized blue jeans, along with a white plain long-sleeves t-shirt. Looks noticeably younger than the others, maybe in his early 20s. From the outside, his face looked emotionless; however, a glimpse of dedication and determination was shining from inside of him. He was sitting on a unusual way on the sofa, his legs were folded in front of him, while his back was curved for him to have a closer look at the scene. His look screamed focus and inspection. This character was analysing the bloody mess that had been made. The place had blood spread all over; however, he was looking at that specific place. He knew something was missing... The awkward figure kept staring at it like the scene was a museum exhibit. He wouldn't take his face of that single bit of space. A college of his then entered the room. "Are you fi-" his college said before he quickly interrupted him by waving his opened hand at the sky, giving his fellow a sign of no disruption. It may have seen rude at first, but he did it because he had a reason to. Find the missing piece of what he perceived as a puzzle. At the other end of the house, however, a communication was talking place. One of the other suit wearing men was establishing a rather relaxing conversation with the woman. "it is going to be okay" the man said in a trusting and warm voice. But the woman's introvert acts persisted. Although she was denying any interaction. Her heart rate seem stable, or at least calmer than before. The woman looked like in her middle 20s. She was very lean, she obviously looked out for her body. Teared deep blue eyes and long black hair. She was wearing a very classy black dress, maybe she was coming from work when it happened. She was at the front part of the house, on a opened conservatory. looking at the stars, in a hope of a moment of mental peace. "I don't think I caught your name" mentioned the man in the friendliest way he could, he went to stand next to her, trying to make sure she was going to be okay. His intentions were good, but his efforts were in vain. Although witnessing no response from the haunted woman, he decided to persist once again. "My name is john" he revealed with a wide smile on his face, "I am a police officer, I am here to help". "Elizabeth" let out the woman, "my name is Elizabeth Burton". "Nice to meet you Elizabeth!" said the man in a very cheerful voice, "everything is going to be alright, I promise you". "We're gonna take care of this" in a flash after the man's words. A scream was heard from inside the house. "Every officer please report to the crime scene now" It was a emotionless, but sharp voice. The voice demandings were shortly answer. Everyone came as quickly as they could. This voice was certainly commandant. When everyone was grouped around the specific place of the murder, The investigative character had a slight smile on his face. "Listen carefully" he said playfully. It was the only time he had shown any emotion. He the proceeded to put on a pair of gloves. Flipped open a part of the victim's blazer so he could reach inside one of his pockets. He then carefully took what looked like a folded note, which he then carefully opened. "Looks like I was right" he murmured to himself. "ehh Ichiro... you mind telling us what that is?" asked John "Oh sorry, I forgot about you" said Ichiro while inspecting the note "forgive me" "Ms. Burton" stated Ichiro, while gazing at Elizabeth sharply " Would you say your husband was corrupt?". "And I need you to be honest with me" Elizabeth was speechless. "Ichiro! what kinda question is that?" John quickly critique his colleague "you know all the pain that Elizabeth is going trough?" "With all due respect sir" the new voice tried to reason "I don't think to interrogate would be the best idea right now, after all Ms. Burton has went trough quite a lot today". "we should let her rest" the voice suggested. "As much as I would like Ms. Burton to rest" said Ichiro while taking a sweet out of his pocket, "I need to ask her some questions which will be crucial to the investigation, besides, Ms. Burton is a grown woman, I bet she can understand our motives" "Ms. Burton" said Ichiro while turning to gaze at her deeply once again, while unwrapping his sweet "Do you know where Mr. Burton used to keep his work files" "Yes" said Elizabeth nervously "His got- used to have a big wardrobe of documents in his old studio" "I'll take you there" While going up the stairs to the mentioned studio, the new voiced asked "Do you really think this is necessary, Ichiro?" "Well Bob, if I'm doing it, is because I'm supposed to be sure, don't I?" Ichiro's cheeky voice mocked Bob. However, Bob didn't mind, he knew Ichiro was just joking. When they arrived to the room and Elizabeth turned on the lights, the massive library looking room was covered in a peculiar smell, like a after shave, like one of those which you get at the poshest of places. Normally I wouldn't recognise the difference, however, this time it was noticeably better than average, but too strong for my taste. The walls were covered with a infinite number of shelves, half the room was actually made out of just books. Thankfully, to our advantage- "My husband used to keep all his documents on two specific parts of the room" mentioned Elizabeth, "sadly that's all I know about it, he always told me that it was better if I didn't know where they were" "hum" "I remember when we just got married, while he was gone for work I would entertain myself by looking for those documents, it was just like a treasure hunt for me" Elizabeth let out in an attempt at cheering herself up, however, it had just helped the tears. Ichiro came steadily towards the huge desk placed at the middle of the room, which stood out like a beacon in the sky. He put his gloves on once again. He opened the shelve that was at the very bottom, took out what looked like an ancient encyclopaedia. Then, carefully removed the inside bottom part of the shelve. He had found another note. "This was what he was looking for" murmured Ichiro to himself once again "whoever done this must have being very smart" ""Ichiro... you doing it again sir" said Bob as respectfully as he could. "Oh yeah" Ichiro quickly stood up, took the note and put it on a evidence envelope which he carried on his pocket. "I'm sorry Ms. Burton" "But from this point on this info will only regard the criminal investigation agency in responsibility of bringing justice to this local area" "us" Ichiro quickly ran down the stairs and off the house on the way to what looked like a massive shinning black limo. He then quickly opened the door and went in, he had a cocky and joyful look on his face, he finally had something to challenge his brilliance. "Straight to snake road" "Quick" And he knew exactly where to start his crusade.

[wannabeentertainer]

Stuff I'm Reading

At any given moment my reading list includes:

1 fiction

at least 1 non-fiction

weekly newspaper delivery of the Globe and Mail

monthly subscription to the Walrus magazine

1 fiction 

I like to read fiction in bed. It relaxes me and helps me fall asleep. If it's not interesting I fall asleep immediately and if it's too interesting I never want to put it down. What I’m into right now falls into the latter category:

Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead

This novel is weirdly brilliant. I'm always fascinated by a fiction author's ability to fully immerse themselves in a profession about which they know nothing - and that is the least interesting thing about this novel. I'm sure there are reams of articles and analyses of it so I won't even pretend to know what I'm talking about, but I do see bookclub and school curriculum written all over this one (figuratively) because after every chapter I'm always dying to talk to someone about what the heck just happened. I usually read a non-fiction and then immediately forget it, feeling safe in the knowledge that the author will carry me through the story, but this one feels different. Like a curveball could come at any time. Anyway, the writing is wonderful, the characters are beyond intriguing, and the philosophical underpinnings and socio-economic critiques are just hidden enough so you can forget about them and still just get sucked into an excellent story if you want to turn your brain off for a while. No wonder this one put her on the map.

At least 1 non-fiction

I like to read non-fiction during the day when I can still process complex information and maybe take notes or go for a walk to fully comprehend what it means for me. Lately I've been reading a lot of self-help type books to figure out what the heck I want to do with my life, and acting/improv books to help build my knowledge base for a curriculum to teach others, since I never went to school for that stuff. What I’m into right now:

Stephen R. Covey's The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness

Having never read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, I didn't know what to expect. But so far I'm digging it. From what I understand, Mr. Covey's 7 Habits book was one of the first really popular self-help books (published in 1989); a book that made a lot of people start paying attention to the genre. It's evolved into a bit of a monster with courses and certifications and the like (although Covey passed away in 2012), so I was surprised with how quickly it resonated with me. It's very geared towards finding you "voice" in a professional setting, i.e. finding meaningful employment. There's a whole lot to it, but I can definitely relate to the idea that in order to be a "whole person in a whole job", we require fulfillment of the mind ("use me creatively"), of the body ("pay me fairly"), of the heart ("treat me kindly"), and of the spirit ("In serving human needs in principled ways").

Charna Halpern, Del Close, and Kim "Howard" Johnson's, Truth in Comedy: the manual of improvisation

This book is a staple of any improv library, and was recommended to me by the delightful Lisa Merchant, although it's been on my list for a while. If you walk into a Second City training facility you will see this book for sale. So far it's an interesting historical perspective on the improv scene in the US and Canada and already I've come across some tasty tidbits about supporting your fellow players and looking for connections rather than going for laughs or cheap gags at the expense of the scene. Good stuff.

Globe and Mail

I've subscribed to the newspaper since university. The internet is great to learn about current events, but if I try to read the news online I get too distracted and end up reading short snippets of info rather then real in-depth reporting. And then likely fall down a rabbit hole of Britney Spears' videos or something. Plus, the paper paper is quiet and soothing on a Saturday or Sunday morning with a nice cup of hot tea :) My parents have always subscribed to the paper and I had a teacher in high school who used to read us legal articles and I learned how to fold a newspaper so it can be easily read anywhere and in any position. A weirdly useful life skill.

The Walrus

Reading the Walrus is like watching a series of documentaries. There are editorials and fiction and poems and essays. I always learn something new, and although it's largely left-leaning, it isn't always, and I appreciate that.

I <3 reading.

Keep Being Awesome,

Laura “The” Hall