#and all the fan fic writers who denounce it

[kwop-kilawtley]

Us pretending to not see canon & smeyers shit narrative

[lowkeyrobin]

Hi, i was curious if you could do a fic where reader is the sister of thor and loki (loki is ofc apart of the VKs) and reader has something for both hades and hook. If that’s ok since marvel is apart of Disney, but they didn’t have to based off marvel.

okay I can definitely try although I don't write for Hades, but I will try! ; I also know nothing about Thor or Loki (not a big marvel fan) so I did some googling... also i couldnt really work loki in so were gonna pretend its an uliana-ursula situation im sorry ; also I do only write gn / they/them readers only so sorry ab that ; thanks for requesting, hope you enjoy! ; also this is lowkey awful I'm sorry writers block has been killing me and I'm prob going on a break soon :(

HOOK & HADES ; god

summary ; you, sibling of loki & thor, attend merlins academy. two of your friends are sadly becoming more than friends

warnings ; language

word count ; 1k

masterlist

"Don't think about it," you roll your eyes, sensing that Hades and Hook were behind you, planning something devious. "It's like you forget I'm telepathic," you speak, spinning on your heels to face them.

James, widely and awkwardly, smiles, Hades a blank expression on his face, holding his ember.

You slowly blink, awaiting an explanation.

"We weren't doing anything!" James quickly denounced.

"We were gonna scare you into teleporting away"

"Again"

You chuckle, spinning on your heels once more as they join you at your side. You rest your arms around their shoulders, a devious smirk on your face.

"Wanna play a game of Telepathy Telephone?"

"Oh, I do!"

"Yeah, sure"

The three of you sit at a metal outdoor table, Hades poking his fingers through the little holes. Hook spreads his hand out, pretending his hook was a knife -at least it's as sharp as one- as he taps it between the space of his fingers.

"Who wants to start?" You ask

"I do!"

"No, I want to. You went first last time"

"I'm Y/n's favorite"

"I'm literally a God. I'm they're favorite"

Never in a million years would you admit that you didn't have favorites because those two had you wrapped around their fingers. You'd be taking that to the grave.

"I rule the seas-"

"I rule the entire Underworld, James"

"Y/n, who's your favorite?"

"Dude, what's wrong?" You whisper to Hades, who sits next to you.

His eyes don't leave the person whom they're glued to as he mutters an answer back. "They were mocking you"

You furrow your eyebrows, "What?"

"They were mocking you" He repeats, raising his voice to normal as he speaks to them. "Hey, do you wanna say that to their face? Or no?"

The kids turn around, looking at you and Hades. He leans back in his chair casually, arms crossed, as you look confused beside him.

"Yeah. They're annoying. Maybe shut up sometime" one of them answers.

Hades flicks on his powers through his ember, his hair burning a bright blue flame, his eyes lightly glowing the same color. In his attempt to scare the kids, it kind of makes you stare at him for far too long.

Okay, that's kinda hot.

Even if you are the bullies, it was nice he was sticking up for you. It didn't bother you practically at all, as you could handle it yourself, but yeesh, this side of him was hot. You couldn't lie.

The kids turned back around, silencing themselves for the rest of the class, not wanting to be scorched to bits. He flicks his powers off, looking at you staring at him with hearts in your eyes.

"Whatcha looking at?"

You quickly look away, trying not to focus on the heat rising in your face. "Nothing," you mutter. "Thanks"

Hades rolls his eyes, knowing you found him attractive. It wasn't because of his ego, no, he'd known for months now. Though, he couldn't shake his head that someone else was in the equation as well.

"Uh, no-"

"Please. Just one date!"

You look around, trying to find a way out of this situation. You didn't want to go out with this random AK, and they wouldn't take no for an answer. You were bad at telling persistent people no.

Hook approaches, wrapping a hand around your waist. "Can I help you?" He speaks to the person.

"Who are you?" They question.

"Their boyfriend" He quickly answers, pulling you a little closer. He can feel your silent sigh of relief, the tension in your shoulders quickly dissipating. Butterflies storm your stomach to replace those awful feelings though.

The kid looks between you and Hook before quickly scurrying away. He turns to you, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

"So..."

"Very persistent" you answer, rolling your eyes.

"I see" He nods, removing his hand from your waist, butterflies still swirling in your stomach. "You alright?"

"Mhm" You quickly answer, the feeling inside slowly dissolving as his hand was removed.

He sees the look on your face, taking it as you were uncomfortable after the interaction, maybe because of him.

"Would you want to go get ice cream with me?" He asks, wanting to make you feel better.

"Uhm, sure" you smile lightly, accepting the kind gesture, temporarily staring at him a little too long in a friendly way. Eugh, you seemed to do that with everyone now.

He holds his hand out for you, awaiting for you to take it so he can lead you away. You smile kindly, taking his hand.

"Think I may love you, James," you speak, knowing he'd only take it as platonic.

"Love you too"

You, Hades, and Hook were in the Black Lagoon, messing around and chilling out during the night. Uliana, Morgie, and Maleficent were God knows where, probably having a sleepover or prank calling people.

You sit on a shell-shaped couch, all sprawled out and comfortable.

"If you don't shut up-"

You use your magic to silence Hades, not wanting to listen to him ramble on and on even more. He slaps your shoulder, trying to yet you to un-silence him.

You and Hook giggle and laugh, and do even more as you shape-shift to look like the blue haired friend, mocking him. You return to your natural shape, allowing Hades to speak again.

"You're not funny" he grumbles

"If you say so" you levitate off the couch, lazily making your way over to a little box where you kept snacks. "You guys want anything?"

"Nah"

"I'm good"

You return to the couch with some snacks and drinks, continuing the conversation about random things. Hades eventually gets up to wait for the others to get here, as they'd contacted thay they'd actually be on their way.

That leaves you and Hook on the couch, awkwardly sitting around.

He eventually speaks up, a thought wracking his mind.

"Did you mean that I love you the other day in a romantic way?"

You quickly turn your head to look at him. You think about your answer for a moment before attempting to shoot your shot. "What if I did?"

"I'd kiss you" He quickly replies.

You blink for a moment, deciding to be upfront and honest before you get yourself stuck anywhere. "Okay, uh, to be honest, I'm into you and Hades. So, uhm.."

"Ew." He quickly speaks, but then corrects himself. "Not because you're into two people, I couldn't care less. But Hades?"

You stifle a laugh. "Hades"

He shrugs. "You do have awful taste"

"Are you roasting yourself?"

"No?!"

[mitziholder]

apologies for being weird and hogging your inbox like this but i LOVE your thoughts on fandom and i think very few people talk about it in a critical way without completely condemning the entire occupation. in my experience people (not just on this website but in general) tend to take a very black and white view of fandom/fic, probably because it can feel like a very personal thing for many; either they're 'normies' who think all fanworks are 'cringe' or they're the anything goes kind of person. radfems seem to me to be the only ppl who aren't overly defensive of the enterprise but can still enjoy fanworks critically. its nice to see women who aren't like. Fandom Moms talking about these things at length. i think you're one of the few people i've agreed with regarding this subject so far :/ your analyses are very much appreciated and i'd love to read more of what you think (especially regarding the point about navigating trauma). have a good day!

oh and also regarding the whole 'i want women to read better thing' ive always felt this idea that fandom culture is above criticism (or criticising it is inherently misogynistic) is in some ways an extension or at least related to the societal notion that women should be confined to the fluffy feeling aspects of writing and art and aren't as capable of intellectually engaging with things (and of course some 'criticisms' of fan culture ARE misogynistic but i'm not referring to those atm). and obviously there isn't anything inherently WRONG with silly fluff novels or romance (especially romance of course as one can certainly explore that subject in depth and i actually think there's a lack of well written romance out there) but it still feels like a limitation on female growth to normalise women ONLY reading fanfiction or even only certain brands of genre fiction i guess? and i find it sad that so many women seem to almost buy into that idea nowadays or shoot down any sort of criticism with the 'stop shaming female desire' catchphrase. and considering that there is still a dearth of well made original female work for women in pop culture (that act as cultural touchstones in the same way a lot of male works do) it's even more depressing that a lot of fanwork centers men. sorry if this comes off as insufferably pretentious lmao! i'm not even against fanwork i mean this is tumblr i still enjoy things but hopefully you know what i mean lol

like i mean. there's a reason why fanfiction is seen as primarily a female affair (even though a lot of the highly regarded published fanfics are by men. u know the neil gaiman stuff or whatever). its sort of a reassurance that women are 'limited' to writing fanworks. idk. i guess i want women to do better idk if im making any sense

ok, mandatory disclaimer that what I’m describing here is a series of trends, trends I’ve observed within fandom at large including both fanfiction readers/writers and fujos more broadly. obviously, not everyone who reads fanfic or yaoi is a woman (though the vast majority are). obviously, not every woman who reads fanfic or yaoi is a stunted teenager who refuses to engage with any other media. I will also admit that not every fanfic is jimin ABO. I don’t think that fanfic is inherently cringe or low-quality, and there are certainly a lot of respectable published works that have been created with other people’s characters or settings. but, as I’ve said, the vast majority of fanworks in the modern day are essentially pornographic mad libs. I find that disappointing. and there’s no reason it has to be this way… except for all the reasons I’ve outlined in my other posts.

things that are lazy and thoughtless and easy, that provide instant gratification, are generally more popular than things that are difficult or uncomfortable. clearly. but people who denounce all fanfic/fanfic writers and pigeonhole it as low-effort slop are not actually interested in helping the women who write it achieve their fullest potential, because they do not believe those women have any potential. it’s true that some criticisms of fan culture and fanworks are purely misogynistic… but I care about women’s voices, and I do want women to be able to express themselves. I’m not on a quest to stop women from writing or reading fanfic. I’ve been slightly flip about the subject, but truthfully, not everything that is “derivative” is bad, and there’s no reason that fanworks couldn’t be good. it’s just that the culture around them is so intensely sensitive - anti-“shaming” - that women are terrified of saying anything about the level of quality or the potentially harmful nature of most fanfiction because they don’t want to devalue media created by and for other women.

I think that’s a disservice to women as a whole. not everything we write is valuable. I’ve written plenty of crap in the pursuit of getting better - plenty of crap I currently disagree with. and if our work can’t withstand criticism - if we shut down immediately at any hint of a deeper, more unflattering analysis of what’s really going on… then what’s the point? what are we communicating? that female fantasies exist in a compartmentalized bubble far and away from our politics and intellectual pursuits? that we should be able to j/o to rape fantasies without question because it’s not that serious? that the personal is political, except for when it isn’t… and we should all be quiet and let women write whatever they want free of criticism lest we shame them so hard they go into hiding? my standards might be a tad high, but that is setting the bar… dangerously low. it’s also patronizing. since when has “just let women enjoy things!!” ever gotten us anywhere? since when has that been a cornerstone of feminist thought? is that really the best we can do? are we really so fragile?

I’ve seen a glut of posts about how useless and harmful constructive criticism supposedly is. the reasoning is always basically the same:

criticism is mean/toxic/discouraging

maybe I’m too hardened by countless death wishes I got on my old blog, but, in my experience, whenever I have something I want to say or a point I want to make, very little can keep me from doing so. I can’t imagine being so bothered by what random Internet people think. it’s important to remember that being able to determine what criticism is valuable is a skill in itself. disavowing criticism as a whole because some of it is “toxic”/discouraging is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

criticism is pointless; perfection is unattainable

of course nothing is ever going to be perfect. but if that’s your attitude, why bother editing? (rhetorical question. some fanfic authors do post unedited works… just because they can.) hell, why write? why get up in the morning? why make your bed? why try anything new at all? it’s a completely absurd, defeatist attitude. like the first point, it also reeks of intellectual laziness and self-satisfaction.

you could just be nice and say what you liked instead because that’s helpful too

please don’t blow smoke up my ass. in editing, I want to fix things that don’t work and to trim the fat. is it “kind” or “helpful” to let me do something completely stupid because you’re too afraid of embarrassing or offending me to say as much? also, knowing what people like is useful in producing more of what people like - it doesn’t help me do anything new or different. there is nothing less helpful to me than saying “good job!” when I ask you to read my work. it’s certainly nice (as long as you actually read it), but it’s not helpful.

it’s published, the author is through with it, and they don’t want to touch it anymore

I plan to do everything I can to edit and improve my writing before the thing is drawn and published, but I’m sure some flaws will inevitably slip through the cracks. currently, I’m rewriting entire chapters from the beginning because they became incompatible with what I wanted out of the series as it progressed. considering that a lot of people write fanfic on a chapter-by-chapter basis with only a very vague trope-strung outline, I have to wonder why they’re so averse to major overhauls. sure, it’s not pleasant, but don’t you want your writing to be the best that it can be? what is the purpose of uploading it if you don’t want the thing to be responded to as it is, warts and all?

also, not all criticism is limited to the specific work it’s derived from; many things can be extrapolated to future works as well. how are we supposed to correct trends that could lead to a decrease in the quality of future works if we can’t even point them out?

fanfiction is a hobby, and hobbies should be fun

I’m not under the impression that I’ll ever be able to make a living from my writing. I do it as a “hobby” in my spare time simply for the fact that I need an outlet for my thoughts - I need to organize them in some way. writing is an art form that we use to communicate meaning and to make sense of the world around us. your goal as a writer may be to have fun, but it isn’t mine. overgeneralizing and building an entire subculture around the pursuit of mindless fun limits what fanfiction and amateur writing have the potential to be.

you could just go read something else that you like more

actually, no. I don’t like any of it. I’m sorry if saying that is offensive to the 38-year-old she/they whose blog post I grabbed this from. most fanfic is bad. I yearn for the exploration of topics that are categorically not explored in fanfic - because the scope of what fanfic is interested in is constantly narrowing, feeding on itself, like an ouroboros. this problem is only going to get worse over time. why wouldn’t I be bothered? why can’t I say it’s a shame?

mass media and tiktok are worse!

maybe, but so what? at least the majority of people who spend their time watching tiktok videos and bad TV don’t act like it’s a suitable replacement for real literature. and at least there aren’t tiktok compilations being listed on goodreads(?)

anyway, more to the point, fandom is full of technically competent writers. but if they continue to insulate themselves within fandom or fandom-adjacent offshoots, they will never be great writers, because great writing requires tight editing (the elimination of things that are pointless and redundant), syntactic fluency, organizational skills, and, most importantly, an individual voice - an artistic vision - interpreting individual ideas… things that are born of criticism and a diversity of influences that are not present or valued within fandom in its current state. great writing cannot be made in a vacuum. great writers don’t allow themselves to be broken or stifled by criticism they disagree with.

sure, no one has a responsibility to be a great writer, and mediocre writing isn’t a moral failure… but I’m certainly not going to be happy about it, especially when the prevailing attitude is “fanfic is art… but I make what I want for myself and sharing it with you is a privilege and therefore you can’t criticize it!” how boring! how utterly conceited! my god. throwing a temper tantrum because you’re not 100% in control of how others perceive or respond to your creation. put it in a diary and not on a public forum if that bothers you so much… (but then, of course, you couldn’t count kudos.)

I do have a plan to touch on some of my other gripes since you asked so nicely. but this response is, once again, getting too long, and those things have little to do with what I was complaining about here. I’ve got an outline for a post I’ll develop and publish later as a final note on this convo, since at that point I really will have said all that I have to say… thanks again for writing in :-)

[ronanwazlib]

even though i’m no longer as active here, nor do i currently write fic, i’ve wrestled with the repercussions of continuing to engage in the marauders/hp fandoms (such as just leaving this blog up and archiving my older fanworks here or on ao3 with disclaimers) after everything jkr has said and done (and continues to do) despite the extreme importance and comfort they once provided me. obviously, this decision has created a divide both in fan spaces and between average tumblr users over whether one should completely give up everything harry potter altogether or if you can denounce j*anne while still maintaining your presence in the fandom (either as a creator/artist/writer or just an observer) because it does not directly benefit the author monetarily as licensed merchandise and games, box office and book sales, or theme park attractions do.

the author has stated she sees any sort of support for her series as support for her beliefs or approval by fans that she’s justified in her behavior. i personally disagree with this, as i know better than she does how i feel about her politics and her bigotry, despite the fact that there is still an emotional attachment to fanon versions of her characters for me, and i already know she’d see all the ways in which i once enjoyed them as not supportive but mockery or bastardization or something. still, it must be taken into account. i don’t want to speak for minority groups i am not myself a part of on whether each individual is “valid” in reclaiming hp or not as that isn’t my place. as it is, i personally struggle enough with whether it’s okay to retain some sentimentality for the fandom and series at all as a queer person and whether i’m “trans enough” for it to be seen as justified. that is something we all must decide for ourselves and help each other to conclude. so although i’m not here to try and convince you one way or the other, i will recognize there IS an undeniable, tangible (if not financial) impact of creating fanworks and engaging in fandom practices. she has perpetuated so, so much harm, and her series itself was and has always been, rife with problematic themes, imagery, and worldbuilding. it is not enough to simply say you “reclaim” hp and put “jk sucks” in your bio; if you’re going to remain in the fandom you have to actively speak out against the systems she supports and upholds today and be critical of the flaws within the series itself. if you cannot completely let hp go right now, i encourage you to renounce jkr’s beliefs always, entirely stop supporting her through purchases or words, and contribute to lgbt/jewish/bipoc rights through donations to verified charities + legal support and/or their ability to survive and thrive through mutual aid funds so long as you continue to keep the hp series culturally relevant. it’s the least we can do, really.

of course i recognize this viewpoint will likely be upsetting to some who may want to block me. i completely respect that. i also welcome civil discussion in the replies, however i refuse to respond to discourse or trolling as that is a response to conflict i am actively trying to unlearn.

as always, terfs/bigots/homophobes/racists/antisemites are NOT welcome here

[littlemissidontcare]

We won,they will cry etc…" It's honestly pathetic,but again apparently here it's the hateful blog ! The amont of hate you all sent mod here and in other blogs is concerning ? Why, because mod doesn't like Annabelle and think the RS is fake and sometimes is rude with her comments. No need to be hateful to denounce hate. You love to denounce bullying but are cool by bullying and mocking mod ? And lot of you ( maybe not the shipper mod) were extremely hateful towards Ale. And don't start with the " she deserved it" and " it was the pandemie i was crazy" BS! Hate is hate ! / I pondered this point for a while before responding. I agree hate is hate. No one should be sending the mod, of any blog, hate.

This is all just my opinion btw. I don't think people sent mod hate because she doesn't like AW. There are plenty on the shipper side who don't like her also. They don't express it as vehemently as mod does usually though. I think the issue is the "sometimes rude with her comments" part. It's not just being rude, it's bullying and hate filled. It's treating anons this way that cause the "we won" mentality. It feels like justice is being served when bullies get their reward. The last couple of days people who expressed the opinion that Seb could be in Portugal were bullied on this blog. They were insulted, called names, called fan fic writers. Shippers is used as an insult here not just as a way to distinguish between people who think it's real and those who think it's PR. I know mod or some of the anons here don't feel like they are being bullies. You feel you are giving back what you're getting. But you wouldn't be 'getting' the trolls or hate or rude anons or shit stirrers or whatever you want to call it if anons, all anons no matter what their opinion, were treated with basic respect and courtesy. Even if the anon themselves are rude. Be better than them. Do the right thing even when someone else doesn't. You call out the other blogs for being rude to this blog. Do you ever call out this mod for being rude to anons? If not, well, I can't take you seriously calling out rudeness when it is only done for people you like. You must do it for those you dislike also or it's meaningless. As you said hate is hate.

[sharonisthebettercarter]

i've heard preacher is super good (tho i haven't read it) but i know this guy has also been credited with doing some incredible superman and justice league work, upholding the characters with major respect. props to that for sure, and reading the boys was honestly just a major eye opener on its own. it was *incredible* critique on the military industrial complex and capitalism, front and center with no holds barred.

as far as i know, this guy's (def a fan of gore lmao butt~) also a huge fan of graphic novel style works like miller's dark knight returns.

there's some intensely amazing stories out there. and when they do this kinda outside the norm/status quo rejecting stuff or don't have a 'disney style' lens or happy end, it just hardcore flies over peoples heads because the concept of 'not that simple' or 'artistic freedom' doesn't seem to stick with some folk. worse is that people have a habit of judging a book by its cover/what they hear through the grapevine (much like people) rather than checking it out themselves/making an effort to understand it first hand.

a lot of people don't want to make the effort to properly analyze and hold their own thoughts on stuff, they'd rather just someone else do it for them, parrot the same ideas they first heard, and declare any disagreement or additional debate wrong (even when you flat out prove them wrong)

it's really telling when we get a confession that says, 'i don't understand why x happened' for this kinda stuff (not limited to ennis but stuff clearly made to make the reader think/absent of an author's personal opinion) because it's a perfect example of someone who never learned how to read context or think for themselves.

which is tragic, honestly. and i get it, part of the problem is the education system.

i realized too that i write almost exclusively with unreliable narrators and aim for the same sorta neutral (mostly heheheheh i got some leans) set up the best writers out there tend to give. not just cause i find it hilarious, but cause i try to get inside the characters heads and define them as their own people, rather than just an extension of my hand fit up their ass for my fantasies or being my sock puppet.

i *WISH* we could have more neutral/morally grey *writing* out there with imperfect characters doing imperfect things or even being shitty people *without* people trying to act like it's a reflection/personal declaration of opinions on the writer. because understanding that helps us reflect on our own imperfections and biases, maybe even be a little less judgy on the world around us<3

but not understanding that *kills* good creativity in the absolute worst way.

i can't even count the amount of times i've seen fans go off, dehumanize and insult (sometimes even harass) a writer in the industry literally producing the content they enjoy for the crime of... not producing it *exactly* the way they wanted like a perfectly mind read script (jesus christ people, wtf do we even have fan fiction for if y'all go off and pull that shit). and that's not to say there isn't bad writing from supposed pros out there (there absolutely is *cough*cough*lookin' at you *endgame*mcu*), that's to remind people that these ain't frickin' robots.

they're not even the ones making all the money (if the recent strikes were any indication, always remember that artists/writers getting mistreated by the industry is STILL rampant, ESPECIALLY with big companies like *disney*, but most of hollywood ain't so good either)

they're also *people*, who ain't you, and ain't fuckin' perfect, and they don't gotta be neither. stories can be flawed or not made specifically revolving around our own ideas, and we can still enjoy them, just like we would from another fan fic author.

granted, we may still show favoritism towards our own work (LMAO), but seriously, how damn stuck up you gotta be to denounce everything that ain't made by you or for you or people like you?? (at least have the decency to recognize your own trashhood~<3 WOOOOOOOOOO--)

lmao prolly why i love neutral writing so much. just tells the story/ lesson in depth, leaves us to think for ourselves.

but c'mon y'all, we can do better<3

[illumiru]

Ooh can u talk about ur theory where batcest fucked up fanon?

okay sorry for taking so long anon- i was very sleepy when i got this. take all of this with a grain of salt bc i joined the fandom late and i made a huge guess on what might have happened based on patterns from previous fandoms and my knowledge of fandom history. and hearsay from older fans.

BUT okay, my THEORY is that people who made b*tcest content then at the initial rise of the modern dc fandom probably watched young justice first and then go on to read a few comics here and there to discover their favorite robin. young justice was around the time new 52 became a thing so for a lot of fans at that time, that's usually their introduction to the rest of the batfam.

fandom does and fandom is wont to do though and since the batboys p much look like each other, they skewed their characterizations into easily digestible shallow tropes to make it easier to distinguish one robin from the other.

dick got saddled with the sunshine cuddle-monster (highly suspect this was influenced by young justice and n52), jason is the bad boy with the heart of gold, the draco in leather pants (possibly rhato influenced), tim is the sad uwu twink coffee super genius (red robin influenced) and damian's personality is either hellspawn or diagnosed 13 years old. (depends if they like damian or not).

the thing with the batfandom though is that a lot of them tend to be insular. so when it comes to dc content, they consume batfam content ONLY. knowing fandom, they can't consume content without shipping so they're like why not with each other? around the time, people are also a lot more likely to ship incest and don't consider adopted siblings actually related so it's seen as "not as bad."

that said, b*tcest has existed way before this period. even in batman year one: deluxe edition, there was a comic that said that some people saw batman and robin as a metaphor for homosexuality. (what the fuck)

and there were livejournal groups for batslash. that said, fandoms were very small pockets of community at the time instead of the consolidated mass it will be on tumblr. so from what i heard from older fans is that at the very least people who were making any kind of fan content have read the comics. i think i read a meta that dick's fanon self at the time tended to be a bit like his outsiders self.

anyways, there wasn't even a reliable archive besides fanfiction dot net. so if people made ooc b*tcest fic or art then, it won't have the reach it has now in influencing fellow fans. (that said, dc managed to hire a writer who ships br*dick, giving these b*tcest shippers fuel. the resulting mischaracterization of the way devin writes dick will help fuel his fanon self later on. so that's one example already of how b*tcest fucked up fanon)

so with the influx of new fans from young justice and the rise of tumblr, modern dc fandom was born and in came the b*tcest shippers with fanon characterizations based off the show and n52 comics and their own headcanons.

with the way tumblr is set up, it's easy for non-fans of the franchise to see content from your fandom so people who haven't read the comics started coming in as well because they liked the fan content they saw. comics is a very daunting medium for people to get into because of the amount of material that can conflict with each other there is. so a lot of these new fans like to consume only fanon.

with the amount of b*tcest artists and writers there was, even people who didn't ship it would see non-explicit fanon content from these creators and assume it's is accurate. and so, the fanon characterizations became slowly accepted and popular and they end up adapting these b*tcest shippers' headcanons as well.

it did not help that a lot of b*tcest shippers will make meta to make certain batfam members closer than they actually are. and people took this plus the out of context panels as word of god of how they actually act around each other.

for example of fanon things that might be influenced by b*tcest

batfam living all in the manor (they don't.)

jason and tim's closeness with another (besides that one lobdell page where jason said tim's the only one he can stand and we shouldn't even consider bc lobdell does jackshit to research, they weren't very close at all.)

jason's use of the baby bird nickname for tim (major red flag)

dick being promiscuous/a womanizer/someone who likes getting naked (he's not. there's much canon evidence of him being uncomfortable with being objectified, unsure about nudity and being extremely monogamous. it's just a mischaracterization perpetuated by devin grayson (br*dick shipper) and tim seeley (hack)

i could list more (or you guys can comment more) but i'm honestly losing steam writing this. jnfenf i think as a fandom, we're getting better at debunking fanon at least - especially since the influx of batfans has slowed down compared to its peak. plus, inc*st is being more and more widely denounced in fandom spaces at all.

anyway, those are my rambling thoughts on how b*tcest shippers influenced fanon jkfnjkenf

[luxshine]

Ok. So... I have a complicated story/feelings about Charlie Bradbury.

However, I do get that she is beloved by 95% of the fandom so she will be in a ton of fics being the most amazing and wonderful person in the universe, the most geeky, the most supportive, the most intelligent and so on (yes, it does border on Mary Sue-traits, but hey, I can't really throw stones, given that I will NEVER complain about fics where Dean Winchester is literally the new god -And boy, do I weep that Unexpected Destinies was never finished). And I can live with that even if I miss other female characters who never get that treatment in fic more.

However, I can't help but get jerked out of the fic in question if it was written post 2020 and we get Charlie, UBER PERFECT LGBT+ Activist who will explain Dean (and sometimes Cas) their sexual preferences and gender expressions even when in average, real life lesbians don't have the best track record when dealing with bisexual people... also treats Harry Potter as the holy bible.

Because... I'd guess that a Charlie who loves her trans friends -when she has trans friends in the fic- would be empathic enough to denounce the franchise, no? Like, Charlie is no Terf. Charlie wouldn't give her money/time/promotion to a Terf, no?

And yes, I know that in her first episode, Charlie had a Hermione figurine and asked herself what Hermione would do. BUT that episode? Was written long before we knew how much of a Terf the author who must not be named is. And... Charlie HAS other geeky interests. LoTR, GoT and SW to name a few, and her connection to LoTR is far more mentioned in series than HP.

And yes, I know it's a small nitpick but, given RL and how smart and empathic Charlie is supposed to be? It is kind of weird, no?

ETA: This is NOT to say that people shouldn't write Charlie as a HP fan, NOR that if Charlie is a HP fan in a fic, then she's a secret Terf -in fact, I am CLEARLY saying that Charlie Is NOT a Terf. It's just a comment that for ME, as a READER, is weird to see a character written as an activist, who is 100% aware of all the social nuances of the discourse on LGBT+ rights, who still sings praises on the franchise. NOT a moral judgment on people who write her like that, hell, not even a moral judgment on real people who separate the work fro the writer. JUST a characterization thing. (I mean, there's a reason why I didn't tag this with the character name, or the series's name. This was more "me musing things" than "me wanting to actually create an argument about the issue")

[dramionediscussion]

I have a concern about Dramione fandom, which has been slightly troubling me lately. I am not saying that this is something that is going to happen, or is happening already. Naturally, I don’t think this is entirely unfounded either (hence why I am writing this), but I am just one Dramione shipper. If this doesn’t resonate at all, that’s totally fine! We are all aware of extremely boorish and fatuous anti-Dramione people, who troll, defame and accuse Dramione of being all sort of things. We are also probably all quite familiar with their claims about the ship and its shippers. You know, Dramione promotes racism, sexism, classism, unhealthy and abusive relationships, it’s all about bashing Ron, it’s just cuz actors are hot, we should all pay homage and tribute to canon relationships (and their shippers naturally), and offer respect and fawn over everything “canonical” for gracing us with all this HP bounty, and so on. This time I am not going to try to offer rebuttals, or deconstruct their arguments, or even psychoanalyze them more than absolutely necessarily. I am not even particularly upset about them (anymore). They are categorically wrong, their arguments are never insightful or thoughtful. Most importantly, they are disingenuous in their argumentation and especially about their own motives. I believe, the best course is ignore them totally. What I am afraid, that these endless arguments, relentless belittling, and even harassment of which they never seem to grow tired off actually might change Dramione shippers and community as well. Not in a conscious way, but constantly being on a defense can make people internalize some of these arguments. Or rather their premises and assumptions on which they are based upon. I don’t mean it, that Dramione shippers will suddenly wake up, and shout out that Dramione was actually all about abusing women all along, or anything like that. What I mean is, that people rather internalize certain assumptions, framing and logic chains, which are build into those arguments. In a defense, they start define what Dramione really means, what is ideal Dramione, what is acceptable or desirable in Dramione fics, in accordance of these attacks, by unconsciously defending their ship from slander. As an example, Romione people constantly accuse that Dramione is either all about mindless “Ron bashing”, and Dramione shippers rightly say that it’s not what Dramione is about at all. What I am afraid, that people might internalize the point, that “Ronbashing” is something truly heinous, and what should be avoided at all cost. And as a corollary to that, ideal Dramione fics are those in which there’s no conflicts between Ron, Draco and Hermione. Or the very least they are resolved in a conciliatory and harmonious manner. Or it is lazy Dramione writing, when Ron is “villainized”. Or another thing they say is, that Dramione just about glorifying and eroticizing abusive relationships. This might lead that some of us accept the framing, that describing or narrating something is totally same as promoting and celebrating it. If they accept it, then it’s quite easy to logically infer, that if Dramione is not defined by Draco abusing Hermione (it’s not), then it must be defined negatively as its opposite. Meaning that something cannot be genuine or accepted Dramione, if it contains an abusive Draco. Or as an induction from that, if a fic has an abusive Draco, it also must contain a redemption arc, and Draco has to change and make amends, and redeem himself as a person. That we start to define Dramione being really about redemption or redeeming, forgiveness, changing oneself for the better, etc (as contrary to their claim that its about abuse). Don’t get me wrong, I’d say the majority of Dramione fics contain a redemption story arc, and Draco either has changed or actively changes his views and behavior. It’s a common and wonderful theme, and almost all my favorite Dramione fics have those, and I like just for its own skae. Yet it’s not something what either makes or unmakes Dramione. There’s a minority of fics, in which Draco is never truly redeemed (usually a lust-filled obsession, with many many cognitive dissonances, which he never solves), and they are as Dramione as anything else, and some people enjoy writing them and some people reading them (or at least some of them). Also, a lot of gray areas, which can be quite delightful, thought inspiring and invigorating (and hot!).  Speaking for myself, I’d say maybe 1/20 of my favorite fics have this dynamic or something close to it. Maybe 33% are more in that gray area. It doesn’t do any harm, there’s nothing ethnically wrong about it, I never idolize that behavior. If Romione stans have problem with that, they can go away, cry and tell that Rupert Grint body pillow all their troubles, because I don’t give a damn. People don’t emulate or model their behavior or preferences from YA fanfics or smut in that sense in any significant numbers. If someone does, I am sorry to say, but you probably weren’t going to make it anyway. It’s the irl version of getting a comedy death in a video game, like if a smarter-than-average mushroom hypnotizes you and makes you walk into a bottomless pit, or something like that. Your problems are deep seated and numerous, which unless dealt with, will be triggered by just about anything. Its pure happenstance whether it will be Harlequin novels, Dramione fanfiction, urban legend your cousin told you, or whatever. This could go on, but seriously, Dramione shippers have nothing to prove or even argue with those antis. It’s just bottomless pit of resentment, what they twist into moral arguments, which they think will signify us as the worst kind of people, and they themselves as the most virtuous. Their antipathies are petty and personal concerns, in which they feel like the universe and the abominable cabal of Dramione shippers have cheated them out of all that attention, writers, fans, fics, and deference they feel entitled to. It’s natural for humans to cloak often even most pettiest and nonsensical slights and resentments into whatever moral or ethical language and arguments the society they live holds sacred. If we would be living in the 1600s, they’d be scouring the Bible for anti-Dramione arguments, and denouncing Dramione as unchristian and sinful. By their stated “moral standards”, there are a lot more “vile” and “harmful” ships out there, but they aren’t functionally bothered by them at all. So, unless really prompted, they don’t even bother to denounce them, little alone wage this never-ending crusade against them. That’s because they aren’t popular enough to trigger that envy and resentment (Hermione with basically any of the worst Death Eaters). Or they feel that they don’t compete in the same niche as their ship does (Drarry as an example). I wouldn’t be writing this, if this discourse with Antis hadn’t affected me as well. There was a time, I wanted to understand what they were about, and I read a lot of their grievances and internal discussions. While reading I couldn’t help but to be on a defense all the time. Sort of refuting and counter-arguing against their points in my mind, while reading their diatribes (I tried to start a dialog couple of times, but I was always totally ignored, which I am thankful for them in retrospect). Conditioning myself with that for long enough, I did notice that I started to feel a bit hesitant about certain tropes and Dramione fics I hadn’t before. I was thinking about Dramione like a defense attorney, excepting to be attacked from all directions. It actually took me quite long to figure this out, and how the bile of HP fandom had in subtle ways affected my sense and tastes without my really noticing.

Anonymous submitted: P.S. I wrote that previous submission, and I have to add, that I am not trying to say this is happening or pointing any fingers at anybody. There’s perfectly good reasons to not like any Dramione fic, as a Dramione shipper, in which Draco is irredeemable or evil. There’s perfectly legitimate reasons to prefer fics, which Ron is portrayed as a positive influence for Dramione. People can arrive to same conclusions or tastes from countless different routes and reasons. The negativity that the HP fandom and Romione shippers especially grace us just got to me in a way, that I wasn’t even cognizant about. It might be the case for others as well, if their own self-reflection so deems (or not).

------------------------

I agree with every point you’ve made. While it’s obviously okay to discuss why you like Dramione (or any other pairing), people also need to remember that they don’t have to justify why they ship Draco and Hermione together or prove (especially to haters as they’re not worth anyone’s time) that their OTP makes sense because even if it makes no sense whatsoever, it’s still fine to ship it as long as you can differentiate between fantasy and reality. I don’t know about you, but when I started shipping Dramione, it was like love at first sight. I didn’t think if they made sense, didn’t spend hours trying to make a list of arguments for Dramione, I just suddenly loved the idea of them together, believed they belonged together, and that was and still is enough. I don’t need to justify why I ship them, and neither does anyone.

It’s true that in most Dramione fics, Draco gets redeemed. It’s also true that most shippers prefer fics in which Draco gets a redemption arc, but we have to remember that there’s nothing wrong with enjoying fics in which Draco’s irredeemable or his relationship with Hermione is toxic. I myself read such stories from time to time. I like a good Ron bashing fic every now and then as well, and there’s nothing wrong with that either because it’s all fantasy, it’s all fiction, which, I believe, most Dramione shippers are aware of and accept. Hopefully, it won’t change, and no one will ever try to tell others what should and shouldn’t be written or what is and what’s not allowed in a Dramione fic.

- AgnMag

[daesungindistress]

not sure if you've been asked this before but do you think you will return to writing fic about bb and if so, would you include sr in your stories?

The last time I was asked this was back in March or April. And it’s difficult to give a final answer. I want to return to writing. The thought of abandoning all my WIPs and notes and ideas forever is a depressing one. And if I’m being honest, the longer I go without making something, be it art or fic, the emptier I feel.

Do I think I will? Return to writing? That I’m less certain about. The events of this year have left me feeling a bit disillusioned. Disenchanted. Disappointed. Yeah, they all kinda have the same meaning, but I guess I’m just trying to convey how this thing with Seungri, this tragedy, and the ongoing struggle within the fandom seems to have slowly stripped away my ability to separate BB’s public personas (and private selves) from the fictional versions we as writers play with. It’s broken down some necessary barriers.

The situation we’re in is too serious, too real, too heavy. And in my heart I feel there’s still too much uncertainty about their future. That uncertainty is steadily chipping away at the compartmentalization that let me comfortably turn them into characters and use them to tell stories. When I sit down and stare at all these notes from a happier, easier time I no longer see what I once did. I wonder, “Who wrote this? When? And how?” There’s some guilt too. Like, who am I to toy with them like this, to reduce them to fanfic fodder when so much has gone so wrong? Some fans have successfully escaped into fiction this year to forget; for me it’s the other way around. It’s been nine months but in a way the scandal is still front and center in my mind, and fanfic can’t overpower that. If anything, I’m almost… afraid to touch it again.

For example… the one fic I finished and posted this year, Sugar Kiss, was a smutty ToDae oneshot… and, regrettably, a sequel to a DaeRi fic. It was something I started late last year and had mostly completed by January, well before the scandal reached a boiling point. All the fic needed by then was a little polish, and it took me until July to find the energy for it. The teaser/summary was “It’s Daesung’s turn to be a bad influence” because in the fic before it he and Seungri had gotten up to some ~naughty fun~ together and Daesung decided he liked it enough to pass it on. So in Sugar Kiss Daesung shares what he learned from Seungri with Seunghyun. The joke was that Seungri persuaded him into mischief. Seunghyun even has a line in which he calls Seungri “a bad influence,” which one reader got really upset over, but I didn’t mean it in a bad way when I initially wrote it earlier this year. It was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. Just some silly, sexy, lighthearted fun, nothing more. I felt a little iffy posting it on the heels of Seungri’s scandal but in the end threw caution to the wind and went ahead with it.

Then, a few days later, the news about Daesung’s building broke and suddenly people were saying, “Daesung might be in on it!” and “He’s just like Seungri!” and “Daesung said they’d become close recently!” And I was like 😰 I had a few days to feel accomplished, after that it was pure regret. It’s like nothing is safe. Things I enjoyed before without thought or care… just aren’t that fun anymore. It’s really sucked the joy out of storytelling using real people. The thought lurks: what if some of the questionable stuff I write about them turns out to be, well, real? And then I have to either denounce or defend what I’ve written. People are still leaving kudos on that fic and its prequel, and every time I get the notification I wonder what they really think of it.

Anyway, to answer your other question: even though my view of Seungri has soured significantly since spring, my feelings on the matter of his involvement in my future fanfics, if any, have remained… largely the same. I think. The last time I talked about this I said I might continue to include him, but clarified that it would depend on the timeline (pre/post 2019) and setting (canon compliant, alternate universe). And also what role needs filling. Even after all we’ve learned about him, Seungri is still an interesting character to me with traits that I consider useful for the types of stories I like to tell. He’s a good foil for Daesung due to their opposing personalities, interests, lifestyles, values…. and for this reason I’ve always had a tendency to depict him as someone who brought conflict to the group in some form or another. His fans who found their way to my fanfics sometimes asked me to be kinder to him. Let’s just say now there will be no more pressure to pull my punches. That said, I expect any parts he does have will be small and fairly insignificant. A line or two, maybe even just a mention. My goal isn’t to pretend he never existed, just to avoid giving him undue attention that might, y’know… encourage people to like him.

…there is, however, one possible exception to that. Carnivores. Don’t think I’ve touched on this here yet? I had tentative plans to continue that series one day. Yes, even though I swore it was over. The story and setting is still meaningful to me and those characters feel more divorced from their inspirations, the Big Bang members, than any of my others. “They have lives of their own,” a reader once said to me, and I have to agree. You could change their names and I would still recognize them. I hoped it would be nothing too serious this time, nothing too intricate, just a oneshot catching up with the pack in their new home a year or two down the road. Here’s the problem though: Seungri was finally going to get something he’d always wanted. Something hinted at in the final scenes of Innocence & Instinct. And I wanted to scratch the surface of how they dealt with that.

Too bad 2019 has all but blown those plans to pieces. Carnivores!Seungri is not Big Bang’s Seungri or Lee Seunghyun, he is just a fictional character bearing his name and likeness, but even so, the absolute last thing I want to do right now is give him something he’s always wanted. No matter how I look at it, the thought of writing him into an important role comes off as really distasteful to me right now. So if that’s ever going to materialize, yeah, it’s gonna be awhile.

But wait. What if I give him something he’s always wanted… and then take it away. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? It came to me one day months ago, how I could work the events of this year into the series. Some parts of Carnivores do mirror real life events involving BB (such as Jiyong, Youngbae, Seunghyun, and Daesung confronting Seungri in Dreams Like Ashes over fears that he’s going to leave them for his newly formed group of human friends. Though I sort of glossed over it, this was based on things they were saying about him back in 2016, which was when that fic was written). So working his recent rise and fall into a future installment wouldn’t exactly be a new approach for this series. You could even say I’m a little intrigued by the idea.

Still, it’s too soon. Too fresh. And I don’t know how it ends, in this world or that one, or if I even have the creative energy to tackle something so… disruptive. Reality is hard enough. So until then, those plans will stay right where they’ve been all this time, boxed up in a dusty corner of my mind. I hope that one day I can reach back inside that box and share what I find with you all. Until then, I think what I need is a clearer sense of direction from BB… and more time to work up the courage to try.

[sometimesrosy]

hi rosy. i feel terrible, as u should see how part of the twitter fandom talks about you and describes you. it is disgusting. they are mutuals of mine, and are also here on tumblr masquerading as positive blarkes. i kinda want to denounce them, but am scared of repercussions. i am sorry, as i feel that i am a follower and am really torn. i truly appreciate and respect you. xoxo

They’re still talking about me even though I’m barely here?

And not on twitter as a fan at all.��

Oh shit, is it because I made a comment on someone’s tweet? Goddamn it. 

Every time I try to interact with people outside of my inbox or a few people who might be just as cranky and old as I am it starts up again. Well, it’s a good thing I don’t care about them. 

I continue to do what I want to do and be a fan in the way I want to be a fan, and to keep my boundaries tight and my internet bubble firm.

I’ve actually been more into the writing and creativity twitter community. Not that that also can’t get toxic, because twitter in general is a bad platform for positivity and encourages dogpiles and hot takes. 

This fandom is not nice. It’s not safe. It’s not well meaning. 

Meanwhile, you see how they’re going after fanfic writers and awards? 

Listen. This is the truth. I learned this about romantic relationships but it goes for friendships and communities, too. WATCH how people treat those they think are beneath them. Those they’ve decided to dismiss or hate, those with less power, those they declare as villains... because sooner or later, if you stay in a relationship with them, that treatment will be turned on you. 

If you have a boyfriend or girlfriend that likes to make people feel stupid because it’s fun, some day when they are angry at you, they’re going to try to make you feel stupid. If you have a group of friends that gang up on someone innocent because it’s a way of bonding and feeling superior? Someday, you’re going to do something they don’t like and gang up on you. If you see a fandom treating the show writer like he is a villain for telling a story that doesn’t go their way, sooner or later, they’re going to turn on the “good” content creators who create what they want, if they don’t follow their rules. I suppose that’s the most i’ve said about fandom in the last couple of days, because I’m watching them set their goddamn hyena jaws into fanfic writers. 

And you know what? 

You know it. 

That’s why you are letting it slide. Because you know if you speak out against their dogma, their clique, their kru, that they’ll turn on you.

Because that’s what happened to me. And that’s how they treat people who don’t bow down.

But they’re afraid of me because if they come at me I’ll tear them to pieces. I never bowed down and I questioned their dogma. They have no power over me. So they hide in their chat groups and talk about me though I’m just living my life and have nothing to do with them. I mean, I definitely stopped writing fanfiction because I know those people are out there and it makes the fanfic fandom feel fake and insincere, and manipulative. I’ll keep my stories for myself, and work on original work, instead of bellarke fic. I get an anon once in a while and then block them so they can’t send another. They probably dislike me most because I am not cowed by their nonsense and I ignore them. Oh you know they HATE being considered irrelevant. But they are.

Fucking fandom, man. 

I don’t know why you guys consent to be a part of this kind of community, and normalize their behavior. 

Oh wow. You know what? I just hit 4.5k followers. I didn’t even know because I don’t check. All those haters but no one hates me enough to unfollow me. Hm. I should do milestone celebration, and maybe it’ll be a fic. Hmm. That could be fun.

I have to finish this ghostwriting romance novel that’s due this week, but then I’ll give it a try. Let me get back to you on it.

Oh see. I won’t let them spoil my fandom. Fuck them.

[dgcatanisiri]

So... I have had THOUGHTS swirling in my head, and, well, I need to word vomit some. This gets LONG. I apologize for the lack of a cut, but nowhere really seemed fitting during my writing.

If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s going around - an article about fandom hating on women. A very long, very researched article. And I absolutely do not dispute that core premise. I am not going to dismiss the work that the writer put into it. I am not standing here saying to dismiss it at all. And, hell, I DO feel a little uncomfortable, writing this massive response to it, being a man writing something that is directly responding to a female experience. Just... My brain would not let me focus unless I wrote this all down, and wrote out my feelings on the matter to a conclusion.

When I first saw it the other day, it sparked a rant of my own, because something about it didn’t sit right. Its focus is on how this hatred of women has gone after those who ship a certain ship, one I avoid calling by name for a very specific reason. That reason being I legit fear being bombarded by people who search the tags for that ship getting a ping of me commenting about it negatively and lashing out at me.

Now, I am not saying that I discount the article writer’s experience or research. Far from it. This is, much as I am loathe to use the term, something I am willing to say that, within the fandom, develops an element of “both sides” to it, where an incident with one side (those in favor of the ship) leads the other (those against it) to respond on the defensive, and back and forth and back and forth, intensifying in each volley, because one random stranger attacked another random stranger and made them hostile to a third random stranger saying things similar to the first, and so on down the chain. It’s like the game of Telephone, just played with tactical nukes.

But, the thing for me in that rant, is that there is a very blatant MISSING of the element of racism that fueled that ship that will not be named, of there being a significant element of the fandom around that ship transplanting the characteristics and even history of the character played by the black man onto the character played by the white man. Like, talk about sock puppet accounts fanning flames and all, but I’ve SEEN fics for this pairing that vilifies the black man and props up the white man. I have SEEN the massive metas that try to explain how the white man kidnapping this woman involved a bridal carry that expresses his true love for this woman he’s just met, interpreting and reinterpreting and pouring over the screentime they have, and only a fraction of it being spent on what seemed like, in the first appearance of these characters. I have SEEN the ignoring and transferring of character backstories repeatedly. Like... Those are a lot of work for it to be mostly the work of sock puppet accounts - A Tweet is easy. A 15000 word fanfic takes time and effort. A meta dive that rivals the length of this post takes time and effort. 

That’s been MY experience in seeing this ship. That’s why I’m being non-specific, because I’ve SEEN the hostility come in and I am taking the steps that I can to avoid that coming in to my inbox. And even when it’s not hostility... I’ve gone and explored the tag for the female character in this pairing. On those occasions, frequently content solely for her is drowned out by the content for the pairing, or about her influence on him. His tag does not have the same issue - there, it’s probably around half shipping content, half individual character content. What I see is that she is neglected by those who claim to see her as part of the pairing they love, and he gets glorified. 

That’s the sexism that I see. That’s where I see the hatred of women happening. On the part of those who claim to love this pairing, but that really seems to just mean that they love him and want to make her stand in emotionally for everything they want to give him. That those who are against the pairing, at the least, want to see that character in particular, her unique characterization and dynamics, in a relationship with someone who is going to treat her with compassion, consideration, and respect.

And, of course, there’s the issue of the fact that this pairing EXPLODED in popularity, while her relationship with another character, with a black man, was from pretty much day one minimized and reduced and ignored, and the damage reflected into the on-screen portrayal so that they never really had any character rebound from the imposed separation in the middle of this content, while strengthening the reduction of this female character to the white guy’s sexy lamp.

It’s not that I’m opposed to women in fandom or that I see something inherently wrong with whoever ships this pairing. It is that I have seen the blatant and thinly veiled racism implicit in the ways that these people go about shipping it, dismissing and denouncing the canon portrayal of an interracial relationship, to the point that when even the (notoriously tumultuous) production came back to write the stories that followed up on their initial appearance, that black man and his relationship with this white woman was downplayed and rendered “less important” to her connection and relationship with the white man - the white man who, in that first appearance, had kidnapped and tortured her, greatly wounded her friend, and killed her mentor. 

Like, I’m just saying, I do not see how one goes from that point to everlasting true love, but I CAN see how that leads to a deep abiding hatred. And yet, you know, nearly 16000 fics for it on AO3, while only about 10% of the other pairing. So, hey, I guess I’M wrong.

This is, again, to say nothing of the reductionary way many portrayals of this ship approach the female half - she loses her characterization in their portrayals to become a stand-in for the (predominantly) female writer/reader, whose love redeems the bad boy from the darkness in his soul. Her contribution, as a singular, unique character vanishes so that she becomes his reward for turning around, and she cheers him on, supporting him while never upstaging him.

It’s the Twilight phenomenon all over again. And I say that as a fact statement, not a value judgement, that this is the kind of thing that we saw within the reactions to Twilight, a vocal segment dismissed it entirely, and we saw a relationship be romanticized when you could actually use it as a bullet-point list of abusive behavior (I say this because it has been - there are plenty of articles using those characters as such). 

I mean, I can easily see this whole thing basically as being “well, the Twilight readers are now adults, let’s throw them a bone and “grow up” the characters for them” on some level. And... Actually, this is going to get off topic, let’s stick a pin in this and come back.

So, look, if this ship is your jam, fine, okay? I’m not making any individual value statements on the subject. You do you. I’m not shaming that act in and of itself, even if, as I’ve made very clear, it is very much NOT my thing. Likewise, I won’t discount that it was investors and shareholders, a notoriously conservative group, who got cold feet and basically wanted to excise the “risk” of an interracial relationship, as opposed to trying to “appease the fans” or something like that.

Like, I know I’m not immune to propaganda. I know I don’t look too deep when a random post crosses my dashboard and talks about this group of people behaving badly - because I’ve seen fandoms and productions be racist. I’m not trying to start a round of victimization Olympics here, but in this case, this is discussing an issue that is wrapped up in BOTH sexism and racism. And on the one hand, that certainly makes it all the easier for bad faith actors to kick up dust and turn people against one another.

BUT...

As important as it is to bring up these issues on their own, you CANNOT. DISENTANGLE. THEM. FROM. EACH OTHER. Like, there are patterns to fandom. You see this repeat itself in every fandom. Fandom at large latches on to a pairing, and shoves most others to the margins. And frequently, when the media in question centers on a character of color, THEY are shoved aside in order to prop up a pairing of white characters. Major canon characters who are not white become secondary - or tertiary - characters in terms of their fandom’s creative output. This happens frequently enough that to try and say “well, maybe the character is just not appealing to the fandom” is actively ignoring the issue.

And this often takes the form of shoving aside healthy relationships and solid, established friendships in the name of pairing up antagonistic characters, declaring the antagonism to be “sexual tension,” that the characters dislike each other not because... y’know, they dislike each other, but because they’re repressing a deep-seated desire to fuck, and THEN they’ll miraculously starting being nice to one another.

Like, this is NOT an isolated thing, you can look beyond the scope of this particular fandom and this pairing and see the pattern repeat itself across media. It is still the outlier when the main fandom pairing is an interracial M/F pairing. 

It’s not isolated. But it’s magnified given the massive size of this fandom in particular. This is a generational fandom, where parents - even grandparents - are sharing it with their children. And those biases we as an audience have reinforce themselves on subconscious levels, we don’t even acknowledge these things until we finally have it pointed out to us - and then we see it everywhere, because we have been blind to it, but it is all over our media, our fiction, baked into the very tropes we are using to assemble our stories.

Pull out that pin, we’re back. When something engages with multiple generations, when this is something you can look back on as a fond memory you shared with prior generations, with people you love, you will become protective of that thing. So when someone comes along and says “hey, [thing] has issues with [whatever],” a gut reaction is to get defensive, coil protectively around it. 

I mean, tell a millennial you don’t like The Lion King (original animated version, I mean), and you’re liable to get crucified. And it traces its lineage to (at a minimum) Shakespeare and probably further. So if, for example, you want to criticize it for, say, only have three female characters of note, none of whom actually interact, in opposition to the nearly three times as many male characters of note, you need to approach the subject with some delicacy (okay, maybe not the most fitting example, since this was part of the reason that the Broadway version made Rafiki a woman, so the issue Is Known, but it does get the point across, okay?).

And it’s the same when it comes to a subject like this particular fandom and media that isn’t just something many get hooked on in their childhood, but is also something that may be among the fond and cherished memories of family figures, some who may have passed on. To say “that thing you love is flawed” becomes a personal attack, not just on you for loving it, but also that beloved family member who brought it into your life.

And absolutely, this is not a rational reaction. It’s pure emotion. But we are emotional beings, and we need to acknowledge that emotions will make us respond and often respond quickly and respond poorly.

Here’s where I think the bigger issue lies if what you want to talk about is how fandom hates women - rather than look at it in the lens of “this ship is called abusive and racist,” go in the direction of “why is THIS ship the one that seems to resonate?”

Because this is the kind of ship that fandom, as a monolithic entity, often gravitates to - the dynamic that says that being enemies will inevitable lead to being lovers. 

Once again, I do not want to shame anyone for enjoying this dynamic. Lord knows my search history has instances of them. BUT... We don’t really know how to approach the dynamic. It is frequently reduced to “well, we made out, so now I’m gonna become the snarky asshole friend no one likes and we’ll bone.” 

Like in general, writing redemption arcs seems to be a hard thing for media, but it really seems to only work when the active narrative endpoint does not end in a major romance - when a romance becomes a major narrative element in said redemption arc, it frequently reduces the subject to “[character] was bad, now they’re in love, so they’re good!” No further work needs to be done.

And so when you have a character who is in need of redemption, it is a problem to just toss them at another character and have them make kissy faces. But that’s what you can sum up much of the concept of enemies to lovers in this fashion. The work isn’t done to show the earning of redemption, just declaring it attained because of another character’s love.

And I’m being intentionally non-specific with gender, because I do have a prominent example of this happening in a female/female fanon relationship in mind, which I am also avoiding mentioning in the name of discretion. So this isn’t solely a M/F phenomenon. This is a media thing, this is an “our understanding and approach to these dynamics and portrayals in media seems flawed and needs examination” thing. 

I mentioned Twilight above, and how that features a relationship that is used as an example of domestic abuse. Now, look, we can go back and forth about interpretation, the thing to acknowledge about it is that there are a great many who walked away from these books, their movie adaptations, and saw this particular interpretation. While you can probably take any relationship in any media and spin it in such a way, I think there is something to be said for the ensuing argument: When this is exposed to young people who are beginning to seek out romantic relationships, if their example for what love is, what love looks like, has a basis that, based solely on interpreting the text alone, the actions and words of the characters involved, the narrative text, the exploration of their thoughts, is unhealthy, is something that doesn’t need to have a word or action changed to be legitimately cited by experts within domestic abuse counseling as the warning signs... What does that say about our perceptions of what love even is?

And this isn’t getting back into the element of racism, either. Because we could go in that direction, where the black characters in fandom see this selective reinterpreting of their characters, turning what are gentle, caring, loving men into scary figures who loom ominously when they feel threatened, which starts to seem like all the time. There are a set of stock characterizations for black characters, for really any minority character, and the fandom will make them exhibit them in their interpretations, even if it does not fit anything established on screen.

There are a lot of threads that tie into the problems within this fandom and in the approach to this ship in particular. I feel like just pulling at one of them is doing so at the expense of the others, ones that run as deep if not deeper. And it seems like a disservice, both to the complexity of the issue and to anyone impacted by these matters, to only do that deep dive on the one. And, if you are not capable of doing it alone, which, I understand, this is a tall order, then I think it also is important to acknowledge this and actively seek out the alternate views and perspectives that aren’t just total opposition to you (meaning the references to the groups that sprung up in alt-right forums and such), but also those who are going to say “okay, maybe you’re right about x, but your statement on y are missing a lot of context you do not have from your position,” and seek the necessary education.

While I can appreciate the time and effort put into this article and the points it wants to make, it IS wrapped up in elements that run far deeper than any single ship, and just really seems to ignore the intersectional element of fandom at large, how fandom’s problem run deeper than just hating women. To talk about how fandom hates women, you are also needing to open the door to how fandom hates black people, hates people of color.

There is a hierarchy to this, and at best, you are missing a lot when you only focus on the top layer of the issue, rather than even acknowledging the deeper dive that inevitably comes from this. Like, it’s bad for a white woman, dealing with sexism. It’s worse for black women, dealing with sexism AND racism. It is something of a position of privilege to only examine the sexism in fandom, without exploring or acknowledging the racism.

Fandom’s hatred of women IS real. I am in no way disputing that. But I do not think that this is the best example to that point, because it becomes all too easy to dismiss the valid complaints and concerns with the trolls and bots and sock puppets found in the process that deserve legitimate consideration - this is one of the things I have been over when I have (oh god, I’m about to break the self-imposed rule and directly reference the media and characters in specific...) been over the problems I have with The Last Jedi. It’s not that I dislike Rose or Holdo, but I feel like they came into the narrative to teach Finn and Poe (both men of color) lessons that either comes at the expense of the previous’s movies arc for Finn or the previous movie’s characterization for Poe. It is not the characters themselves, it is the utilization within the narrative, using these women to impose a lesson on these characters. That, as I said above, Rey is reduced to a sexy lamp, there to try and bring back to the light a character she has no reason to ever even care about.

That was my experience with The Last Jedi - I had honest issues with the film that weren’t “women? In my Star Wars? Unpossible!” But the surrounding discourse CONSTANTLY felt so toxic to anyone who disagreed with the idea that it had been a win, that it was a bold new direction for the series, and that anyone who disagreed MUST be a sexist/racist/whatever who couldn’t take a changing face to the franchise. 

Hell, that may even be why I got this ultimate feeling of defensiveness, both in my opinion of TLJ and the ship in question (yeah, that one I’m still not acknowledging), because what I saw was a lot of really prominent voices not seeing the issues I did, and making it come across like the people who disagreed with them HAD TO BE the ones who were mad on the basis of characters like Rose and Holdo existing, or complaining about Leia’s Force use, or things like that. But... THOSE things weren’t my issues. But I couldn’t talk about those issues on any platform where there was regular engagement on the subject, considering the amount of explanation I would have to do.

Probably also explains some of my inherent response of trying to figure out how I feel about this article, too, come to think of it...

That was how things were after TLJ, and that’s when a lot of this push and pushback really started to gain traction as far as I can see. And maybe we could go and blame this on *ahem* bigger issues that were happening in 2017/2018 that proceeded to exacerbate matters. Like, we’re still in the midst of cleaning up the worst of all of what went on because of the time we live in, since things are still getting messier while we deal with prior fallout.

So... I honestly don’t know how to sum this up as a TL;DR. It was kind of a process for me to get to this point, and I don’t even know if I really have a conclusion. The best way I can go about summarizing is that I do not disagree with the article’s core idea. But I do not agree with its focus, while I understand that a portion of it, if nothing else, justifies why it is the focus. We are dealing with a very complex and complicated web of issues on this, and while I understand focusing on a single thread of that web, it feels like doing so also fails to acknowledge the various connected threads that wrap around that singular thread, in particular the racial elements, which, considering the profile image included, I do not believe this article was written by someone who is inherently aware of these aspects (while I’m also aware that, as a white person myself, I only have so much room to talk). This is all a very long way for me to go about saying “fandom has a lot of issues.”

[writinggeisha]

LazyGeisha's Note: I'm putting the text under the "read more" due to explicit words being used. If this post becomes a problem, I'll stick it all up on Google docs and post a link.

**Updated in 2017**

My name is Quinn Anderson, and I've been writing smut for over ten years now. I'm also a published author. I've written the Murmur Inc. series and several other LGBT+ erotic novels, which you can find in the references section, and I've been an active member of fandom since childhood. Now that my entirely unimpressive credentials are out of the way, let's get to the point.

·                     A friend of mine recently told me that she has difficulty writing smut, because she feels like she's being repetitive or boring or that she just can't create the right mood. To help her, I agreed to put together what I consider to be the building blocks of writing erotic fiction, both heterosexual and homosexual. This is a comprehensive list that she (and now all of you) can consult when you're writing if you can't think of a word/feel like you've said the same thing over and over/just want to get some fresh ideas.

·                     This article is free for everyone to consult, and there's absolutely no need to credit me if you use something from this list. Most everything on here is fairly common, and an experienced smut writer will likely recognise everything here. I've attempted to categorise it neatly for easy reference, and some things are mentioned in more than one section because they are equally applicable. I also have a tendency to switch tenses/perspectives, depending on the wording, so hopefully that won't annoy the dickens out of most of you. If you think of something I missed and want me to add it to the list, please don't hesitate to leave a comment.

·                     Disclaimer: I am no way trying to give the impression that I know everything there is to know about writing smut. Literotica is an ever-evolving beast, and I just want to help my fellow writers. I give some general advice at the end that you're absolutely free to ignore. I'm not trying to suggest that anyone who does the things I warn against is a bad writer, nor am I attempting to criticise anyone (except perhaps E.L. James. We'll get to that). If I at any point give that impression, please let me know, and I'll change my wording. However, please keep in mind that this is a FREE resource intended to help others, and I'm under no obligation to anyone but myself.

All further notes/comment from me will either be in parenthesis or marked with an *.

Table of Contents

(to reach any section, use the control and f keys, then search for the heading)

i. Introduction

ii. Reaction Words

iii. Adverbs

iv. Sexy Alternatives to "Said"

v. Generally Sexy Actions

vi. Kissing

vii. Blow Jobs

viii. Cunnilingus

ix. Penetrative Intercourse

x. First Times and Losing Virginities

xi. The Orgasm (.:chorus of angels:.)

xii. Generally Acceptable Slang Terms

xiii. Feelings When Aroused

xiv. Sexy Words

xv. Things that Sound Good Until You Imagine Someone Actually Doing Them

xvi. Some Dos and Don'ts of Smut Writing

xvii. References

i. Introduction

If you read/write fan fiction for long enough, certain ideas, tropes, and terms will get ingrained in you. For instance, in nearly every fic I've ever read, when characters kiss, one of them gasps, and the other "uses the opportunity to slip their tongue into their mouth" or some nigh-identical variation. Also, in nearly every porn fic, when one character orgasms, the "feel of their muscles clenching/pulsing" pushes the other character "over the edge." Sound familiar? We've all done it. We've all written it. Hell, I'm guilty of half the things on my Don'ts list, and I'm comfortable with that. Does the ubiquity of certain fan-fictiony phrases make them bad? Not at all. Should we all be trying to find new ways of saying the same ideas? Maybe. Maybe not. I like to think that these classics are simply one of the steps we all use to convey certain ideas in a way we know everyone will understand. I'm not attempting to denounce creativity, and certainly it's always a good idea to introduce new ideas, but we all need to start somewhere. That's the true purpose of this smut-writing guide.

When my debut novel was published, I had a lot of fan fiction habits violently beaten out of me. I had to remove about a dozen adjectives for "eyes" that bordered on absurd but seemed like a marvellous idea at the time, and I was forbidden on pain of death to ever use the phrase "ministrations" again. I also unwittingly changed my main character's name from "Nik" to "Nick" halfway through the novel. That, however, was not the worst of it. Let me tell you that there is nothing more embarrassing than going through your raw manuscript, reaching a sex scene and seeing that the editors ripped the ever-loving piss out of it. Having the anatomical impossibilities of your seemingly mind-blowing smut pointed out is enough to make even the most hardened of hard-core-porn writers cringe. It's even worse when you misspell the word "public" in a truly unfortunate way (hint: I forgot a letter), and it leads the editor to say, "This made me laugh so hard, my cat got up and sprinted out the room in a panic." I'm not here to do that to you. I'm here to try and keep someone else from doing it to you to the very best of my ability. Enjoy, and may the smut be with you.

ii. Reaction Words

·                     Shivers

·                     Shudders

·                     Trembles

·                     Quivers

·                     Quakes

·                     Shakes

·                     Gasps

·                     Moans

·                     Groans

·                     Jolts

·                     Jerks

·                     Lurches

·                     Startles

·                     Pants

·                     Huffs

·                     Gulps

·                     Cries out

·                     Melts

·                     Bites back a moan

·                     Breath hitches

·                     Babbling/sputtering

·                     Collapsing

·                     Knees buckling

·                     Swallowing hard

·                     Going limp

·                     See stars

·                     Makes a strangled noise

·                     Inhales (combine with an adverb i.e "he inhaled sharply")

·                     Exhales

·                     Skin prickles

·                     Brain short-circuits or stops functioning

·                     Sweating (there's loads to be done with sweat: the musky smell of it, tasting the saltiness of it, seeing a lover coated in a thin sheen of it, having it slick their bodies, etc.)

·                     Flushing (Flushing tends to happen in fleshy and sensitive areas. Armpits, cheeks, neck, ears, chest, genitals, and whole-body flushes for maximum effect)

·                     Eyes roll back

·                     Clenches

·                     Is stunned

·                     Gagging for it

·                     Dizzy for it

·                     Arch back/hips

·                     iii. Adverbs - Use these with prudence. An abundance of adverbs in a text can weaken your writing.

·                     Shakily

·                     Heatedly

·                     Desperately

·                     Incoherently

·                     Roughly

·                     Raggedly

·                     Headily

·                     Readily

·                     In a Needy way

·                     Deeply

·                     Breathily

·                     Noisily

·                     Loudly

·                     Heavily

·                     Dangerously

·                     Seductively

·                     Languidly

·                     Lazily

·                     Sensually

·                     Silkily

·                     Oily

·                     Hungrily

·                     Sinfully

·                     Darkly

·                     Warmly

·                     Softly

·                     Gently

·                     Tenderly

·                     Harshly

·                     Lusciously

·                     Quickly

·                     Slowly

·                     Frantically

·                     Wantonly

·                     iv. Sexy Alternatives to "Said"

·                     Purred

·                     Cooed

·                     Murmured

·                     Whispered

·                     Stuttered

·                     Breathed

·                     Rasped

·                     Cried out

·                     Begged

·                     Muttered (I'm not a fan of this one because I associate muttering with being angry, but I see it often enough)

·                     Growled

·                     Grunted

·                     Husked

·                     Howled

·                     Keened

·                     Mewled

·                     Choked

·                     Sobbed (dub-con warnings; use with caution)

·                     Whimpered

·                     Blurted

·                     Bleated (I like to use this for comedic effect)

·                     Teased

·                     Pleaded

·                     v. Generally Sexy Actions

·                     Sinking to their knees

·                     Licking

·                     Biting

·                     Nipping

·                     Pressing foreheads together

·                     Shoving a hand between someone's legs

·                     Shoving your hips together

·                     Pinning their wrists

·                     Caress

·                     Wink

·                     Wet/lick lips

·                     Hike a skirt up/ruck a shirt up

·                     Stroke (skin, hair, genitals, etc.)

·                     (when one character is pressed against a wall) A does something, and B slams/throws their head back into the wall in reaction.

·                     Undoing buttons/zips with their teeth (I suggest only having experienced lovers do this. It's remarkably difficult and you run the risk of getting your lip caught in a zip. It's not something to have a virgin get right on their first time in fiction if you want to be believable).

·                     Splay hands across someone's chest or lower back

·                     Rake nails across skin/through hair

·                     Hooking a leg around someone's waist

·                     Knee between thighs

·                     Biting collarbones/hip bones/ribs (the bones that tend to protrude beneath the skin and draw it taut)

·                     Sucking neck skin into the mouth

·                     Cupping their cheeks

·                     Grasping their chin and tilting it up/down

·                     Placing a finger against their lips

·                     Letting breath tickle their ears

·                     Digging your nails in

·                     Dipping your tongue into collarbone/bellybutton/ears/etc.

·                     Tugging on earlobes with teeth

·                     Push their hair back/card through it/rake through it

·                     Hair pulling

·                     Lips brushing ears

·                     Ghosting over their neck with fingers/lips

·                     Running fingers lightly over someone's palm or wrist

·                     Hip grinding/rutting/thrusting/rolling/shifting/rockin g together

·                     Dirty Talk (this can be anything from a simple "Oh, God, yes" to a full-on "I want to feel your name burning on my skin for days*." I suggest loads of cursing and using the lord's name in vain. "Oh fuck, oh, Jesus, fuck yes, there, just like that, fucking Christ" is a good start.)

·                     Nipple play (Use caution depending on gender. Some men love it, some hate it, the majority of women love it)

·                     Nuzzle

·                     Tease/torture/torment

·                     *Credit for that line to a Sherlock/Moriarty fic called "Crescendo" by PlainJaneDoe. It's amazing and a prime example of dirty talk. 10/10 Highly recommend. It's listed in the References section.

·                     vi. Kissing

·                     Lip play – biting, running your tongue over the lips, over where they meet, just inside of them, tracing their outline with the tip of the tongue

·                     Massaging the tongues together

·                     Rolling them over each other

·                     Imitating sex/fucking the person's mouth with your tongue

·                     Brushing lips together

·                     Pausing when lips are just barely touching and breathing each other's air (can cause dizziness akin to sexual arousal)

·                     Sucking their bottom lip into your mouth

·                     Bruising/crushing/kissing hard

·                     Teeth clicking

·                     Sucking on the tongue

·                     Swirling your tongue around theirs

·                     Flicking your tongue (also for oral sex)

·                     vii. Blow Jobs

·                     Reddened lips

·                     Swollen lips

·                     Slick

·                     Sloppy

·                     Lips darkened and wet with saliva

·                     Making eye contact

·                     Hollowing cheeks

·                     Swirling tongue

·                     Gently, gently biting or scraping teeth (quickest way to make a man cringe is to mention biting his thing, so please exercise with caution)

·                     Dipping tongue into the slit

·                     Fucking someone's mouth (for the receiver of oral)

·                     Deep throating (for experienced lovers, usually)

·                     Playing with balls

·                     Rubbing the perineum* or frenulum**

·                     Swallowing around it

·                     Engulfed in wet heat

·                     Pulling the foreskin back to expose the head

·                     Using hands and lips together

·                     Suction

·                     Pressure

·                     * The perineum is an erogenous zone for both males and females. In males it's the stretch of skin between the balls and the anus, which is receptive to massage. In females, it's the area between the vulva and the anus.

·                     ** The frenulum is a band of tissue under the penis that connects to the foreskin, which some men find sensitive.

·                     And then just for general knowledge, the glans is the head of the penis, or head.

·                     viii. Cunilingus (Female Oral Sex)

·                     Lapping

·                     Playing with the woman's wetness/juices

·                     Fingering (make note of finger nail length. Long fingernails need to be careful)

·                     Parting the lips

·                     Flicking your tongue

·                     Flower comparisons (these are an old cliché, but you can refresh it a bit if you avoid the usual)

·                     Fleshy pink (red and occasionally purple are also acceptable colour comparisons)

·                     Delving the tongue in

·                     Playing with the inner thing

·                     Using synonyms for the clitoris should be done with caution. Some like "button" and "nub" are commonly accepted, but if you say "pleasure button" or "Southern nipple", you may get some sniggers.

·                     ix. Intercourse (Anal* and Vaginal**)

·                     Sinking into someone/down onto a cock

·                     Riding – descriptions of bouncing breasts for females, working thigh muscles for both, watching the man's cock disappear into their body

·                     Pulling hips down harder

·                     Digging fingers into their shoulders/chest/hips/back

·                     Setting a pace/rhythm – losing that rhythm as climax approaches

·                     Getting seated

·                     Buried in a person

·                     Snapping/slamming/pounding hips

* There's a LOT of debate about the "proper" amount of preparation needed before anal sex. Some people insist you can just go for it, while others (myself included), think those people are ruining anal sex for everyone else. I've had loads of female-identifying friends of mine say they tried anal once and hated it and will never do it again. This is almost the result of people who don't know what the hell they're doing. IF YOU'RE READING THIS, STOP IT. STOP PUTTING DICKS AND SEX TOYS IN THINGS WITHOUT LEARNING TO DO IT PROPERLY. DO A DAMN GOOGLE SEARCH ON HOW TO PREPARE FOR ANAL.

I could write a whole article on this alone, but for the sake of brevity, I'll break it down: before anal, 1) you need to clean out your ass, 2) you need to use lube, and 3) some people say you need to get your ass used to taking penis-sized objects. Personally, I think fingering/rimming will do just fine, but literally everyone has a different opinion on this. On a personal note, I think writing preparation (lubing up, fingering, etc.) can be really hot. I'm not sure why people shy away from them, thinking that it "kills the mood." Just deciding who does the preparing can be hot. Does Person A prepare Person B for hours, until they're begging for it? Or just until they can take it without being hurt because they're so desperate to fuck? Or does Person B insist on preparing themselves, letting Person A sit back and watch them finger themselves? There are all sorts of sexy possibilities.

Also, let's talk about appropriate lube. I have read some absolutely horrific fics where people used inappropriate, unsanitary things as lube. Butter is not lube. Soy Sauce is not lube. Candle Wax is not lube. No, I am not kidding when I say I have actually seen these things in fic. Please don't do that to the characters. Some of us love them deeply.

** It's important to note that both the G-spot and the clit are involved in female orgasm (and are tied to one another. Stimulating the G-spot stimulates the clit), so a number of women like to stimulate their clit while having penetrative sex to facilitate an easier climax. You can add this for a bit of extra realism—or just for the sexiness of it (Blythe, M. J., Rosenthal, S. L., & American Academy of Pediatrics, 2007, pp. 1335-1337).

It is also important to decide if you are going to mention safe sex practices in your fic (you should do this for oral sex as well, since you're just as likely to get STIs from oral sex as penetrative, though you can't get pregnant). I'm personally in favour of mentioning getting checked for STIs and using condoms in fic. I think it's important to mention these things so people start thinking about them/recognising the issues of unplanned pregnancy and disease. However, the counterargument is that this is fantasy, and obviously fictional characters can't get pregnant or diseased without the author writing it. It's up to you, but in the interest of realism, I highly suggest you at least have the characters have a conversation about why they're not using condoms, such as "Here's my bloodwork. I'm STI free. By the way, I'm on the pill." Not that flippant, obviously, but hopefully you get what I mean.

x. Writing First Times and Losing Virginities

First Times can be a mixed bag. Sometimes they're pure, animalistic, I-must-throw-you-down-and-fuck-you-right-now humping sessions, and other times they're slow, tender bouts of lovemaking between two characters who have been building up to this moment for 356 pages. Either way, they can go horribly awry. It will be more realistic if the characters fumble a bit or spend time learning each other's bodies. No one is magically endowed with a perfect knowledge of their partner's sexual likes and dislikes, so let your characters experiment. Have fun with it. Whether you go for the hard fuck or the candlelit seduction, a first time should have a sense of reverence, if not in canon than in your writing. Draw it out. Don't be shy with the foreplay. Have someone come too early and then spend their refractory period ruthlessly pleasuring the other until they're ready for round two. You really can't go wrong.

For vaginal sex, if the woman is a virgin, please refrain from pulling a Fifty Shades of Grey and expecting there to be anything as ridiculous as a "weird, pinching sensation deep inside [you]", and it is not possible for someone to "rip through [your] virginity" (James, 2011, p. 101). Also, for the love of God, if you ever make your characters feel anything of the sort, do not have them shout "Argh!" as it happens. I've never face-palmed so hard in my life. Losing your virginity can hurt, yes, and there can be blood and the breaking of the hymen, but if you are properly lubricated and take your time, there is no reason for these things to occur (Brion-Meisels, S., Lowenheim, G., Rendeiro, B., 1982, p. 157).

- For anal sex, if you think a character can take a 12-inch cock with minimal preparation on the first go and experience nothing but soul-sizzling pleasure, you are mistaken. See "Intercourse."

·                     xi. The Orgasm

·                     The Earth stops spinning/stutters on its axis

·                     Dissolve into pleasure

·                     Lightning

·                     Electricity

·                     Waves (overdone, but you can jazz this one up if you try – i.e. waves of fire instead of the usual)

·                     Explosions

·                     Shockwaves

·                     Rippling

·                     Trails of fire

·                     Fire pooling low in their abdomen

·                     A spring coiling tightly and then being release

·                     Fireworks (please only use this sparingly. It's the oldest term for kissing/pleasure/etc. in history)

·                     Light – white light in particular, or everything cutting to white noise

·                     Vision fading to black

·                     Static

·                     Shattering

·                     Splintering

·                     Pulsing (also feeling someone pulse whilst inside them)

·                     Time slows

·                     Falling

·                     Flying

·                     Rocketing

·                     Going still/tense

·                     Jerking

·                     Vocalisation in any form

·                     Moaning a mixture of curse words and their lover's name

·                     xii. Generally Acceptable Slang Terms*

·                     Clit

·                     G-spot

·                     Cock

·                     Dick

·                     Prick and Fanny for the Anglophiles (penis and vagina)

·                     Slit (male and female)

·                     Entrance

·                     If you want to channel your inner porn star you can say cunt, pussy and hole.

Cum or come (I have seen ragging debates about which one of these should be used, but really it's either)

* There are some slang terms that are generally accepted but should be used with a grain of salt. These usually have to do with genitalia, like saying shaft, rod, manhood etc. for penis and mound, core, cave, tunnel etc. for vagina. It's sort of an odd line, because using clinical terms like penis in fiction can be just as jarring as using vague terms like cavern for vagina. It took me until I was 19 to finally say the word "cock" in fan fiction, and I still sometimes default to the softer "erection." Go with what you're comfortable with, but keep your audience in mind. This also applies for things like semen and vaginal lubrication. There's no need to use creative terms for those things. I've seen the term "spunk trumpet" used, and I may never recover.

·                     xiii. Feelings when Aroused

·                     Feeling hazy

·                     Drunk

·                     Intoxicated

·                     Heady

·                     Fuzzy

·                     Dizzy

·                     Dazed

·                     Breathless

·                     Heart pounding/racing/stuttering/skipping

·                     Blood buzzing/roaring in ears

·                     Hot (and all obvious synonyms – warm, burning, smouldering, scorching, blazing etc. These are particularly good for describing eyes. i.e. "The moment their gaze met, her eyes blazed")

·                     Shaky

·                     Overwhelmed (a bit dub-con, so use with caution)

·                     Light

·                     Light-headed

·                     Fumbling

·                     Drowning in pleasure

·                     Burst

·                     Combust

·                     Sizzling

·                     Sparking

·                     Crackling

·                     Fiery

·                     Teeming

·                     Searing

·                     Passion

·                     Ecstasy

·                     Bliss

·                     Pleasure

·                     xiv. Sexy Words

·                     Dark

·                     Sinful

·                     Carnal

·                     Lithe

·                     Lissom

·                     Supine

·                     Wanton

·                     Animalistic

·                     Unadulterated

·                     Undulate

·                     Lust

·                     Want

·                     Need

·                     Velvet/Satin/Lace/Silk

·                     Hunger

·                     Burn

·                     Wet noises/slick/liquid/squelch

·                     Frenzy

·                     Frantic

·                     Frenetic

·                     Desire

·                     Heat

·                     Arousal

·                     Adrenaline

·                     Clenched

·                     Intensity/intense

·                     Intoxicate

·                     Flutter

·                     Strip

·                     Sluice

·                     Tease

·                     Spark

·                     Ignite

·                     Ride

·                     Friction

·                     Frisson

·                     Flicked

·                     Sinuous/sinewy/willowy

·                     Lilting

·                     Sonorous

·                     Rumbling

·                     Sweet

·                     Slide

·                     Frustration

·                     Squeeze

·                     Press

·                     Torturous

·                     Massage

·                     Pressure

·                     Tightening

·                     Possessive

·                     Raucous

·                     Cacophonic

·                     Harmony

·                     Taut

·                     Tension

xv. Things that Sound Good Until You Imagine Someone Actually Doing Them

- Shaking their head to clear their thoughts. Think of a wet dog drying itself off. That is what this would look like.

- Rolling their eyes back into their head. All I think of is The Exorcist.

- Having their mouth pop open in surprise. Unless something really, really surprising has just happened, this should not.

- Someone speaking in a way that their tongue seems to "caress your skin/name." This makes me again think of a dog slobbering all over someone, or else they're wearing a name tag and that person is literally licking it.

- Spending several minutes staring after someone who's left the room. Seconds, sure. Minutes? Um, no. I want you to go to any public place in the world and stare forward with a catatonic look on your face for several minutes. Count how long it takes for someone to ask you if you're all right, assuming that they don't just call for an ambulance to begin with.

- Rocking back and forth happily. Again, try doing this in public and see what happens (Parkins, 2012).

- Any and all entirely orchestrated moves, such as a character whipping their glasses off angrily or stroking their beard whilst thinking. No one actually does those things; we just see them in films and add them into our writing to convey outdated mannerisms.

xvi. Some Do's and Don'ts of Smut Writing

It's easy to get carried away when writing smut or to get self-conscious and end up writing something that sounds like your mum was looking over your shoulder the whole time. Remember to relax and just do what feels right. If the scene makes you feel hot, it'll probably do the same to your readers. But just in case, here are a few fan fiction pitfalls and tips.

Do describe how your characters are reacting/feeling in detail. There's a time and a place for quiet, controlled sex, and it's usually when your characters are in a public place and might get caught. Otherwise, feel free to have them grunting like beasts and throwing furniture about. Expressive sex is rarely viewed as a bad thing.

Don't be afraid to be realistic. Not all sex is magical, perfect, orgasmic sex where both characters are Porn Star-level Sex Gods who climax at precisely the same time. It can be messy, it can be sloppy, the friction can be too much, it can be painful and the characters can make embarrassing noises. A level of realism can actually make the sex hotter as opposed to spoiling the mood.

Do take that advice up there ^- with a grain of salt. Most people do like for their fantasy sex to be just that: a fantasy. You can use realism to advance the plot line (such as having two characters get walked in on when they didn't bother to lock the door), or you can use it for too much realism, like having someone accidentally burp while kissing their lover. Things like the latter example do happen in real life, and you're welcome to include them, but doing something like that in the middle of a sex scene for no reason can kill your audience's boner.

Don't feel the need to equate dirty talk with name calling or degradation. I read loads of fic when I was younger where characters would call each other sluts and whores when it wasn't a humiliation kink fic, and they were in a monogamous, loving relationship. Humiliation kinks are perfectly fine, but if you're not writing that sort of fic, you don't necessarily need to have one character call the other one a dirty slut just for the sake of doing it. "Oh yes, take my cock, you filthy whore" can be hot in the right circumstances, but if it's in the middle of 'regular' sex, it seems out of place. On a personal note, if a man or woman called me a filthy whore during non-roleplaying sex, I'd burn their clothes in my back garden and then turn them out. Sex is not something you should be made to feel ashamed of unnecessarily.

Do use metaphor (with caution). Comparing the sexual tension between two characters to a string drawn taut or crackling electricity is perfectly fine. Comparing someone's arsehole to the dark, unexplored stretches of an Amazon jungle is probably going to get you put on wtffanfiction. However, metaphor is one of the most honoured traditions of smut writing, from the crashing waves of the orgasm to the pert, pink buds of a fair maiden's nipples. Use it wisely and regularly.

Don't say that one of your character's voices jumped or dropped several octaves. That is a personal pet peeve of mine, and I see it in fiction all the time. The average human vocal range is one and a half octaves. A trained singer can reach two or three, and at four octaves, Freddie Mercury's voice was considered so exceptional, it's widely believed that very few people can properly sing his songs. Do not say your character's voice lowered several (i.e. three or more) octaves unless they went from a high soprano to a pitch only elephants can hear (Parkins, 2012, Kindle Location 393). This obviously does not apply to characters who aren't human. You're welcome to say their voice dropped an octave, however.

Do make sure that what you're writing is anatomically possible. For example, during gay intercourse where two males are face-to-face, the one who is receiving needs to have their hips at a relatively high angle because the arsehole is further back than a vaginal entrance. During straight sex, if a woman is twisting around to look at a man who's taking her from behind, don't have her go to such a degree that she should theoretically crack her spine. When writing things like this, imagine doing them yourself (or better yet, try to do them). If you can't manage it, chances are your characters can't either.

Don't use epithets if you can avoid it. Epithets are other ways of referring to someone, such as saying "the blonde" or "the shorter man". These are incredibly popular in fan fiction, but publishers will make you remove them (Trust me, my novel had 157 corrections of this sort alone). This can be quite difficult to avoid if you're writing male-on-male or female-on-female porn, since you can end up with a sentence like, "He pulled his hands above his head and drew his body up until he was a long, sinewy line" that leave you thinking, "Who the hell did what to who?" The trick here is to use their names and pronouns interchangeably, so you get, "Nik pulled Seth's hands above his head and drew his body up until it was a long, sinewy line."

Do get a trusted friend or beta to read over your work for you. There's no shame in using a beta; it's just like having an editor go over a manuscript. They'll tell you if you made any unfortunate typos (like mine. See "Introduction") or if something seems implausible. Be open to constructive criticism, though if anyone is unnecessarily or mean-spiritedly critical, send them my way, and I'll shove a virtual boot up their arse.

Don't use words without making sure you know what they mean. For example, loads of people are under the impression that "bemused" means "amused." It means "confused." Nonplussed" can mean surprised or not surprised at all, inflammable and flammable both mean easy to set on fire, nauseous means you're making everyone about you feel sick, droll does not mean dull—it means curious in a way that incites wry amusement, and "all right" is two words. Alright is not all right. Unique means literally one of a kind. Something cannot be "quite unique." It's either a golden flamingo or it's not (Clark, 2012, p. 3).

[gaycey-sketchit]

(Gary anon) Heh, he has more to him, but coming off of Paul's impact hurt him hard regardless. (A handshake between the two is definitely coming soon. And hopefully Gary leaving some mark on Ash again; preferably something different but hits the same as the previous times) They seem to have 'fixed' that by having the baby Cubone join Trace's team in "Let's Go". (Ah, the infamous Coma theory, at least that is not as rampant as it was years ago. Pokemon had quite a lot of)

.

(Part 2) (creepypastas; though the "cockfighting is bad" stems more from outside sources trying to denounce the franchise 'FOR TEH CHILDRENS') It's kinda funny how fans over the years kept trying to put some "traits" {headcanons} from Red unto Ash, but officially, it's the other way around. Red mainly has seniority. (It took a while for Red being mostly stoic to not mean "emotionless with serious eyes to look badass at all times") Probably gave him a voice cause making

(Part 3) him stay mute would've made some scenes difficult to convey or come off in the wrong way. {Though an "inner voice" maybe could have worked}. (Origins Red was more or less Ash with few changes. Blue is just a fun character in general) Yeah, gonna wait until we get more info to properly speculate. (I saw another try to "fix" the screen to include Serena. We know why she was deliberately omitted, but I at least remember there were a few beginning episodes where she didn't)

(Part 4) (join the group yet) Just the fact it's in Goh's possession is a stir in itself; I don't expect it having a HUGE role here other than purifying the water. If it is the Yamper episode. (If this is the last mission for Goh before the trip, I feel like Gary has to show up, even if not the focus. Gotta at least show who got the 3 spots) Oh, Happy Palletshipping Day btw. :D

I'll have to take your word for it because I have not seen much of BW and I don't know when I'll get around to watching it. But Paul was definitely a tough act to follow, rival-wise. I don't think Ash will ever have a rivalry that intense again.

(I keep telling myself I'll watch Pokeani all the way through someday, but I need to enlist someone willing to accompany me on that journey, because if I'm watching alone with nobody to bounce off commentary with, my attention span won't hold out enough to even make it through Johto. I love Pokeani more than just about anything but I am not immune to getting bored during filler episodes.)

Love the significance of handshakes in Pokeani. Especially in regards to rivals. Yeah, hopefully!

Yeah, I remember that--but unfortunately it does not hit the same because of different circumstances. Alas.

I've seen "Pokemon is cockfighting" from the moral guardians who don't really understand what Pokemon is and probably also think it's devil worship because there's a thing called evolution in it, "Pokemon training is slavery" is one that's seemingly mostly perpetuated by a certain notorious FFNet user, who is the most comically bitter and misanthropic person I've ever seen amongst Pokemon fanfic writers (I am talking about Farla). Both show a fundamental misunderstanding of what Pokemon is actually about, and trying to apply takes like those to it is like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole or however that saying goes.

But anyway. Yeah, it's a funny situation. All those Ash Betrayal Fics that essentially turn Ash into what the fandom thought Red was (before gen 7 revealed that he's just a nonverbal gay man and he's married to Blue now) meanwhile canon sort of did the reverse. As a video game protagonist, Red was probably originally intended to just be a blank slate for the player to project themselves onto, and he didn't gain his own personality until after the anime and manga came along--so of course even though game Red existed first, who he was as a person was influenced by those (except for him being pretty stoic and completely nonverbal or according to Masters, semiverbal, which is pretty different from his expressive and loud-mouthed counterparts Ash and Adventures!Red; he generally comes across as far more reserved than they do).

It'd be a challenge but I would've liked to see them try. As an autistic person who has difficulty speaking sometimes (often) all I really want out of any adaptation that does something with game!Red is for him to keep a trait I find comfort in--he doesn't talk and people accept it. Another character in the Pokemon games that comes across so strongly as autistic literally gets called a freak without a human heart in-game (albeit by one of the most depraved villains in the series) and like half the fandom speculates he's not even human in the first place, so I have some Feelings on the subject. (That said, I do enjoy that in Origins Red has the same English voice as Adrien Agreste from Miraculous Ladybug, something I can think of a number of jokes about.)

Yeah, Origins Red didn't really bring anything new to the table--he just sort of strikes me as a less interesting version of Ash. But every Blue incarnation is entertaining in their own ways, and Origins' take on him had great moments like "acts all bold and confident about going into Lavender Tower, then sees a ghost and runs away screaming" and that time he was up in a tree waiting who-knows-how-long for Red to come along, probably so he could look cool in front of his rival again after the ghost thing, and we are left wondering how much time he spent climbing up there for that one moment. Origins Blue is a delight.

Very eager to see what the future holds!

It'd honestly be kind of funny if she didn't show up again because her departure made it too difficult for the writers to know where to go from there. But she's probably coming up eventually, and her lack of cameo this time is just because they're saving her for later.

Yeah, though I never really got why people were so mad about that since we knew Goh's goal being to catch every Pokemon would mean catching legendaries eventually, and Suicune's still free to roam. It's really not that different from other characters in the anime who had legendaries on their teams (multiple Battle Frontier people, Tobias... though I suppose people don't really like Tobias either).

But anyway yeah, if it's the Yamper episode the Suicune thing probably won't be too major anyway.

Makes sense! I will be very happy to see him again even if briefly.

Heck yeah, PalletShipping Day!! Despite my valiant attempt I didn't manage to prepare anything I'd currently call passable, but looking at other people's fanart and stuff will be fun!! :D

[purple-spring]

In vain I have struggled - a BH-one shot

Author’s Note: What if Betty loved Jane Austen, and Jughead didn’t? What if he found out that Pride & Prejudice was her favourite book and, despite his misgivings, loaned it from the library? What if he ended up loving it? And what if it’s the catalyst for their first, sudden kiss in 1.06? 

I've always been curious about what propelled Jughead from helping Betty find Polly to climbing to her bedroom and kissing her. This is my twist on it, with a little Mr. Darcy thrown into the mix. A gift for all the Austen fans within the fandom, inspired by a prompt from the lovely @amab1060 for my Literary!Bughead writing giveaway. 

As always, thank you to my Wakefield twin, my meta and beta in one, @jandjsalmon, for cheering me on through my extremely slow progress (with Dylan pictures to boot), and for reading and editing this fic. I hope I did your favourite book justice. 

Summary: Jughead never liked Jane Austen. But the moment he finds out that Pride and Prejudice is Betty’s favourite book, he reluctantly borrows it from the library. What he finds is a story worth staying up for, and the courage to tell Betty how he feels about her.

“This was how Jughead Jones knew that he had a serious, inconvenient, irredeemable crush on Betty Cooper: after years of swearing her off, of dismissing her work as mere drivel, he was diving in and reading… Jane Austen.”

Read it on Ao3, or below the cut:

The librarian looked at him with barely-concealed bemusement as he discreetly slid the book across the counter.

“Pride and Prejudice? Jughead Jones, really?”

Jughead rolled his eyes. So much for subtlety. Whatever happened to librarian-reader confidentiality? He gave her a small nod and handed his library card over.

This was how Jughead Jones knew that he had a serious, inconvenient, irredeemable crush on Betty Cooper: after years of swearing her off, of dismissing her work as mere drivel, he was diving in and reading... Jane Austen.

Jane. Austen.

The gossip columnist of Regency era England. The marriage plot writer extraordinaire.

It had been a week since he and Betty got into a blistering debate in the Blue and Gold office, which ended with her uncharacteristically hurling a book at him. He couldn’t even remember how, but he had casually denounced Austen in favour of the Bronte sisters (“it doesn’t matter which one, they’d all trounce her work in a heartbeat”), at which point he heard her typing stop, then looked up to see a bewildered, green-eyed glare aimed his way.

A tense discussion ensued, which turned into a heated argument, which ended in said book being thrown at his head. They both paused, then burst out laughing when it landed with a thud on the floor, startled out of the intensity of their debate and amazed at the ridiculous turn it had taken. As she picked the book up, however, Betty announced that they were merely at a ceasefire, not a permanent peace treaty. Typical Betty Cooper: she wasn’t going to let this go.

“Have you even read any of her books, Jug?”

He scoffed. “No, but that’s not the point.”

Betty rolled her eyes. “Well, you can’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it. I’m just saying, Pride and Prejudice is epic. It’s not just marriage fluff and high-end gossip. It’s the story of two people who are so obviously in love with each other that it escapes their attention, and they spend most of the book dancing around that obvious truth. It’s hilarious. And it’s my absolute favourite.”

“You’re not really selling it well, Cooper.”

“Okay, how about this? It’s a social and satirical critique disguised as a love story.” She paused and gave him a questioning stare. “Come on. Any of that appeal to you?”

He chuckled and stood to leave, picking up his bag. “Betty, if I really needed a - what did you call it? - ‘social and satirical critique disguised as a love story’, I’d cover all my bases with The Great Gatsby. Much more succinct, and a totally kick-ass historical era.” She shook her head at him as he headed out the door. “You can keep Austen to yourself. Later, Betts.”

The whole conversation would have melted away from his subconscious had he not picked up a key phrase: “It’s my absolute favourite.” Desperate to know her better, he had spent weeks trying to figure out what her favourite book was. He couldn’t just ask her straight out, of course - any decent reader knew that that was pretty much bookspeak for “I like you. Please tell me if I can like you even more.”

No. He had to resort to something more stealthy. Like casually asking her friends.

Archie, of course, had no idea. Kevin thought it might have been something by John Green (Jughead scoffed at that. Did they even know the same Betty?). Veronica was still fairly new to the group, so she didn’t know.

So their little literary tiff in the Blue and Gold, which yielded the answer he was looking for, was perfect. Or, rather, it wasn’t. Because now he had to read a book he’d previously dismissed in favour of the Brontes’ weightier works, like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre.

When he started reading (late at night, in the tiny janitor’s closet in Riverdale High that he now called home), he was ready to hate the book, ready to demolish it with his proverbial red pen. When he read the first sentence, however - “it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” - he surprised himself by bursting into laughter at the pure, clean elegance of that sarcasm.

What the hell? Austen is... sardonic?

It was as if someone had taken his own narrative voice, transported it back into England in the 1800s and given it a feminine edge. Because wasn’t Austen essentially doing what he was doing now, writing about the failures and foibles of a little town? Sure, Riverdale’s undercurrent was much darker than Hertfordshire (although Rosings Park definitely gave him Thornhill vibes), but Austen’s voice still reminded him of his own - a detached figure with a penchant for sharp, critical social observation.

He took to carrying the book with him wherever he went, determined to finish reading it. Elizabeth Bennett reminded him so much of Betty - they shared a name after all, but also her sharp mind, her keen awareness of the world around her, her fierce love for her sister. Of course, the book was hidden well away whenever he was around her. If she ever saw it, she’d see straight through it immediately, and recognise that he was trying to peek into her soul. Because that’s what everyone’s favourite books are, he thought. Tiny little windows into the deepest, most intimate places of the soul.

His reading had to take a backseat, however, once he and Betty commenced their mission to find Polly amongst the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Whenever they were chasing a lead, they were both similarly tunnel-visioned in their focus, unrelenting in their pursuit. And so, as much as he was enjoying the fatuous absurdity of Mr. Collins, he knew he was going to have to drop it momentarily.

They were both taut with nerves as they boarded the bus to travel to the Sisters, but Jughead couldn’t help but be quietly thrilled as he sat down next to Betty. It was true that they were often alone in the Blue and Gold office, but they were usually working - too absorbed in their tasks for the paper to take much interest in each other.

Here, squashed into a two-seater with her, he was able to slow down and take in everything about her - the glint of the sun against her hair, the gentle pout of her lips, the startling green of her eyes. She was tense; he could tell from the occasional ripple in her jawline, the restlessness of her leg, which often brushed up against his. She did, however, manage to smile every now and then as he rattled off random commentary about their surroundings and the people around them (including one unimpressed retiree who was eyeing them with suspicion, undoubtedly disapproving of the fact that they had skipped class).

But the warmth of her smile was temporary, and soon Jughead would be sobered up by the imposing facade of the Sisters’ building, and, later on, the sight of Betty clinging fiercely to her sister, who was screaming as she was dragged away by two orderlies.

“I’ll get you out of out here, I swear to God.” Betty’s words were soft, but somehow Jughead could hear them as clear as day. “I love you, Polly.”

Without even thinking of his own safety, he’d tried to get to her, to shove off anyone who was trying to touch her. It wasn’t until he was being pushed against a wall by another staff member that he’d realised what his body was doing. It shocked him to see how much he actually cared for her - how quickly he reacted before his mind had time to catch up. He was certainly no fighter, but the adrenalin pumping through his veins told him that he would have faced a raging bull for her in those moments. The feeling of it was still buzzing in his skin long after Polly had been pushed through the doors, away from their sight.

“Jughead, you better get yourself home.” It was Alice Cooper’s clipped, stern voice that brought him back to reality. She was obviously displeased that he’d gone ahead and helped Betty to find Polly, but he didn’t care about that right now. He looked past her and to her daughter, who was looking at him dolefully.

Go, she mouthed at him. He gave her a small nod. The subtext was clear: there would be no point in protesting, in fighting Alice Cooper when she was in a mood. She was looking out for him, too.

At the bus stop, Jughead couldn’t stop thinking about Betty - her utter fearlessness as she held on to Polly, whispering fierce promises of protection. He thought of his earlier actions - his sudden click over into protectiveness - and they played over and over in his head like a loop, confronting him with their implications.

Frustrated, Jughead rubbed his face and readjusted his beanie, needing to focus on something else.

Pride and Prejudice. He’d put it in the inside pocket of his jacket out of pure habit. Bad idea, Jughead. It was her favourite book after all. How was he supposed to forget about her while reading it? But he had no choice. The bus wouldn’t be around for another half hour, and there wasn’t anything more compelling on his phone. He opened to the last page he read, and continued.

“...she was suddenly roused by the sound of the door-bell, and her spirits were a little fluttered by the idea of its being Colonel Fitzwilliam himself, who had once before called late in the evening, and might now come to inquire particularly after her. But this idea was soon banished, and her spirits were very differently affected, when, to her utter amazement, she saw Mr. Darcy walk into the room...”

Jughead raised an eyebrow. What the hell? What’s Darcy doing at the Parsonage? He read on.

“...in an hurried manner he immediately began an inquiry after her health, imputing his visit to a wish of hearing she were better. She answered him with cold civility. He sat down for a few moments, and then getting up, walked about the room. Elizabeth was surprised, but said not a word. After a silence of several minutes, he came towards her in an agitated manner and thus began…”

Jughead held his breath as Darcy spoke.

“‘In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.’”

He nearly dropped the book.

Mr. Darcy was in love with Elizabeth Bennett.

He should have seen that coming. After all, Darcy had been openly thinking about Elizabeth’s “fine eyes” all throughout the book. But this declaration of love floored Jughead. It was so sudden, so unlike Darcy, and yet it felt so right to have him so discomfited, so undone by his love for her.

He was starting to get it now, Betty’s fascination with this book. Pride and Prejudice was social critique, yes, but she was right - it was also an epic romance. And Darcy? He was a man smitten beyond all recognition, to the point where it boiled over in such an obvious way...

Hang on.

The book.

The bus ride.

The way he defended Betty at the Sisters.

No.

But there would be no denying it; it was already clicking into place. The realisation slid into him, hot and clean like a knife.

He was falling in love with his own Elizabeth.

Jughead stood up suddenly, his agitation mirroring Darcy’s, his breath becoming sharp and fast. This time, in his shock, he actually dropped the book, startling himself. Sheepishly, he recovered it from the ground, then looked around him self-consciously before returning to his seat.

Holy shit, Jughead. You’re falling for Betty.

But was it true? Was he right?

He had known for weeks that he liked Betty, but this… this was something else entirely. What happened at the Sisters woke him up to that. This was something deeper, stronger, more tangible, more intimate.

It all checked out. He was a detective, after all. He liked logical conclusions. And the only conclusion here was that he was falling in love with Betty. That he had already fallen in love with her.

This wasn’t just a crush. This was a problem.

And there would be no undoing it. Jughead had very little experience with love, but he knew himself well enough to know that there would be no turning away the tide. It was far too late, and he was in too deep. This wasn’t something he could just casually recover from. This was going to pry his cold heart open, pour gasoline into it, and set it alight.

He sat back down, clutching Pride and Prejudice in his hands. He was in shock, but he was also furious. To have been so blindsided by a book. By Jane fucking Austen. He sneered at the cover.  

He decided that he hated the book, after all.

…

But Jughead just couldn’t help himself.

Lying on his makeshift bed that night, he opened Pride and Prejudice again. It was a way of breathing her in indirectly. By reading her favourite lines, he was peering underneath her skin, to the words that made her.

He wanted to read on, to find out how Elizabeth - who was furious at Darcy for meddling in her sister’s relationship with Bingley (and fair enough, thought Jughead) - would react to his sudden declaration of love. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t make it past the speech. It was obvious why: he saw himself mirrored in those words. Darcy’s struggle was his own.

He sat up and looked at his phone, checking the time: 11.35 pm. Just then, a message from Betty popped up. He was so startled by the synchronicity between his thoughts and the appearance of her text that it made him slightly paranoid: did she know, somehow, that he was thinking of her? He unlocked his phone.

Betty: Thank you for today, and for being there for me and my sister.

It was simple and to the point, and Jughead appreciated it. It was as if the economy of her words spoke to the depth and significance of what they went through today, together.

He sent back an equally straightforward message. You’re welcome. I’ll see you soon. He figured they’d just talk about it on Monday, when they got back to school.

Or... would they? Now that he knew he had fallen for her, could he even muster any form of pretense that everything was normal between them? That he still only saw her as a friend? That there hadn’t been a shift in the atmosphere when he pushed all reason aside to try and defend her?

He laid back down in exhaustion. There was no sense in thinking himself into a corner. He picked the book up again.

…

Jughead was grateful for Saturday mornings. They meant quiet. They meant that he could sleep in without worrying about avoiding other students as he kept up the pretense that he had a home outside of the janitor’s closet at school.

Not this Saturday, though.

He thought that he’d eventually fall asleep while reading Pride and Prejudice, but the urgent need to avoid his feelings for Betty coupled with his sudden fascination with the story meant that he had only continued reading.

Elizabeth’s furious rejection of Darcy stung Jughead, but Darcy’s subsequent letter detailing Wickham’s rogue behaviour had him enthralled. Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s appearance at Longbourn, and the resulting face-off with Elizabeth, gave him joy. Lady de Bourgh was formidable, but Lizzie was easily her equal. It was that moment more than anything else that reminded him of Betty: her strong sense of fairness, her willingness to put up a fight for herself and what she believed in.

It was nearly 5 in the morning when he got up to one of the later chapters - the part where Kitty, much too afraid of Darcy to last in his presence, asked Elizabeth for permission to call upon Maria Lucas while the three of them were out walking together. Jughead sat up. Alright. Here we go. After the scandal of Lydia’s elopement and her marriage to Wickham, Darcy and Elizabeth were finally alone.

“Mr. Darcy, I am a very selfish creature; and for the sake of giving relief to my own feelings, care not much I may be wounding yours. I can no longer help thanking you for your unexampled kindness to my poor sister…”

Jughead shifted in his seat. Betty’s text message echoed unbidden in his mind. Thank you for today, and for being there for me and my sister. He ignored it, and read Darcy’s reply.

“If you will thank me, let it be for yourself alone. That the wish of giving happiness to you might add force to the other inducements which led me on, I shall not attempt to deny. But your family owe me nothing. Much as I respect them, I believe I thought only of you.”

Jughead wanted to throw something. He looked around and spotted a pile of paper - some worksheets for Biology. He crumpled all of them up, more furious than was necessary, and hurled them at the wall. And a pen, too, for added effect. It bounced off with a clatter.

“Fuck you, Jane Austen,” he muttered out loud, meeting dead silence. “Honestly. Fuck you.”

Jughead’s mind was aflame with frustration. The parallel was far too obvious to ignore: the scandal-ridden sister, the hapless but determined heroine, and the lovestruck suitor who wanted to come to her rescue. It was as if Austen was trying to tell him something.

But did he want to hear it? Did he even want to read on? Jughead rolled his eyes. Of course he did.

“Elizabeth was much too embarrassed to say a word. After a short pause, her companion added, ‘You are too generous to trifle with me. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged, but one word from you will silence me on this subject for ever.’”

He read over that line again. You are too generous to trifle with me.

Betty.

It all clicked into place. There was no way out of the tangled mess that he was in. Other than the one he could think of right now.

It was simple, really. He’d have to pull a Darcy.

He’d have to tell her.

Jughead felt his world shifting from the impact of the decision. At least the fallout would be minimal. Convinced as he was that she did not reciprocate his feelings, he knew Betty well enough to know that she wouldn’t laugh in his face, or use it against him, or shirk away from their friendship. It would be awkward for a while, but Betty, like Elizabeth, was too generous to trifle with him, too kind to be unnecessarily cruel or to give him any unwanted hope. In confessing to her, those feelings that he harboured in his heart would be out in the ether, and he could finally start thinking about how to get over her. It wouldn’t be easy, but at least the process could begin.

Jughead felt all of his anxiety melting away as it gave way to steely resolve. He lay back down and checked the time. It would be daylight soon.

A new day was dawning for Jughead Jones.

...

There were nine rungs on the ladder leading to Betty’s window.

Jughead knew the ladder well. As kids, he and Archie used to take turns daring each other to climb the whole thing. That all ended the day that Archie fell from the seventh rung and broke his arm. Hal and Alice had banned the boys from climbing the ladder since then. Archie was hurt, but smug - he had out-climbed Jughead.

Not today, Andrews.

There were no cars in the driveway when he walked up to the Coopers’ house. Good, he thought. No need for unnecessary complications.

Jughead went over to the side of the garage, where he knew the ladder had stayed put since Archie’s accident. He picked it up, propping it against the wall leading up to Betty’s bedroom. The distance was a mere nine steps, but in reality, he knew that he was crossing a line over to the point of no return.

Jughead hesitated as he looked up at the ladder. Shit. Am I really doing this?

But he already knew the answer to that. He had to. He had no choice. It was beyond his control.

He felt the book in his pocket, and thought of Darcy - his outburst of love, his rushed, sudden proposal. The thought gave him courage. In vain I have struggled. It will not do. Over and over again, he repeated those nine words to himself - a mantra for boldness, for overcoming his fears, for propelling him towards the inevitable overflow of his heart.

In vain I have struggled. It will not do.

Jughead was still chanting it in his head as he placed one foot on the first rung, and pulled himself up.

In…

Memories of Betty swam in his head. The bob of her ponytail as she sat hunched over her laptop, caught up in her prose, doggedly pursuing whatever story she was chasing that week for the Blue and Gold...

...vain…

...his foot hit the second rung. In his mind: the sway of her shoulders, the swish of her cheerleader’s skirt, the lights of Friday football nights setting her eyes aglow...

...I…

...the third rung. Her soft smile at the suit he had manage to cobble together for Jason’s funeral, her eyebrow arched in approval, his heart surging in elation...

...have…

...the fourth. He was still climbing. He hadn’t stopped. A sudden flashback of Betty, all of ten years old, sitting with him in the treehouse at their old place as they read together quietly…

...struggled…

…flashing forward to yesterday, her impassioned defense of her sister, the moment he knew with all certainty that he had fallen for her beyond his wildest imagination...

...it…

...slowly, his resolution gathered strength. But what was he to say?

...will…

How would he tell her?

...not….

Austen’s words? Romeo’s balcony speech? What? What?

...do.

The ninth and final rung on the ladder. He saw Betty seated at her vanity through the window. Every molecule in his body drew him towards her. Suddenly, it occurred to him.

Fuck it.

He was going to kiss her.

He took a deep breath, and knocked on her window.

...

[okoyespeare-blog]

"I, Tonya" and fandom

“I thought being famous was going to be fun. I was loved, for a minute. Then I was hated, and I was just a punch line. It was like being abused all over, again. Only this time, it was by you. All you. You’re all my attackers, too.” - Tonya Harding; I, Tonya (2017) 

"I, Tonya" was an awesome film. I really found it an interesting meditation on fame, notions of truth and the media. One of the parts that really struck me since seeing the film was when 'Tonya' addresses you, the audience member, looking you right in the eye, and says the quote above. In this case it's about the media catering to public desire to blame and shame, a culture which she accuses us of being complicit in. Even though I was only a kid when the Harding-Kerrigan incident made headlines worldwide, I remember the strong feeling around it here, how much she was hated on by people who weren't even that interested in ice skating.

It's a phenomenon now amplified significantly online, across all major social media platforms, with the immediacy of our contact with celebrities, the endless grind of the 24 hour news cycle. When 'Tonya' looked me in the face and said that I, as a consumer of media, was her attacker too, I couldn't help wondering at my own behaviour. Am I also culpable in this blame and shame culture? Even though I've never preoccupied myself with actively hating on anyone or anything online? Well, sadly, yes. Every time I click on an article with an inflammatory clickbait headline. Every time I read a bit of celeb gossip online, or a shitty daily fail article. I'm feeding into that culture, tacitly supporting it.

Oddly enough, my thoughts were drawn to fandom, especially Martin's comments about *that* ship and its fans. What he said was nothing new. He's denounced the shitty obsessive shipper part of the fandom before, and has more than adequate justification (that whole thing about death threats made against his now ex-partner and family, which I can verify, having witnessed one such threat made on here) for viewing that portion of the fandom with anger and contempt. He's also said that he doesn't see S+J as lovers before, a few times. Yet I'm seeing people get outraged at Martin for these comments, twist his words into something more favourable and palatable to their interests, or blame the journalist for misquoting him. 'Not all fans', I'm seeing people say. How dare he tar us fans all with the same 'crazy fan' brush, when it's apparently *just* a minority who behave like this? How dare he be so ungrateful, to say this about *us*, the fans who've made him famous! (There's a whole diatribe here I could go into about whether he even wants the fame, or his considerable level of fame before the show, but that's beside the point). What does it say, though, when one of the more 'pro-fandom' actors in the cast remarks that he doesn't want to do the show anymore because of *that* shitty portion of the fanbase turning him off? It says that there was enough of a problem present in the fandom as a whole, a culture within that was at best indifferent, and at worst tactily approving of this shitty behaviour.

One thing I've never seen the fandom do is to take a long, hard look at itself, despite criticisms from all quarters, and especially by others on Tumblr, many of whom were ex-fans who'd jumped ship. I've seen my fair share of J*hnlock shippers be like, 'well, I'm not doing the bullying and harassment and making threats, it's X group, or Y group doing it, and they're the 'crazy' ones. I'm just here ficcing or arting my ship quietly minding my own business tbh. I don't condone that behaviour at all, but eh, what can I do?' While I saw a few fans actively speak out against the bullying and doxxing within and outside the fandom towards the actors and tptb, there clearly wasn't enough of a collective effort to stop the more outlandish portions of fandom doing their thing. Even me, a self-confessed lurker. I'd seen a whole lot of shit go down over the years of my lurking, mutuals getting doxxed and ending up in hospital, lists of fic writers labelled pedophiles and rape apologists get circulated around, people being videoed without their consent telling their stories of abuse, and didn't say anything. I can't stand Moftiss myself, and ik they've provided their share of shitty stereotyped, sexist/misogynistic generalisations and derision about fans, as have the actors at various points. These comments warrant scathing criticism, definitely. But they didn't deserve harassment and threats in return, I'm never going to stand for that. Still, I didn't say anything, or do anything. I was too scared to cop the doxxing, to rock the boat and cop shit. Maybe, just maybe I should've said something. Talked with the many others who shared the same concerns. Gathered up a collective to buck against these extremist elements in the fandom. Maybe things would have been different if the parts of the fandom against the bullying and harassment sought to try stamping it out, helping support the people who were targets of it. Making them feel valued and appreciated in the fandom, whether they shipped S+J or not.

With the advent of the #metoo movement, as part of the cultural shift, men are being implored to call out their mates and male colleagues for inappropriate jokes and comments, for any behaviour that could be deemed sexual harassment. That as a collective, all men are responsible for eradicating the culture of misogyny. If we, many of us women, are going to call men to account on that front, we, as participants in fandom, need to consider our role and culpability in the cultivation of the fandom culture we share with others, especially with regard to negative behaviour.