#and like of course my mind loves to constantly think about fandom drama

[arson-09]

How people are trying to change fandom (the rise of hatred against non-canon media)

This was inspired by the rise of backlash against the "Rhysta" ship.

Traditionally throughout the history of fandom spaces on social media, a very important factor has been creativity of course. Art and Fics by fans being the backbone of a fandom. Including non-canon ships, Aus, etc. And of course there was drama (when is there not drama?) BUT there wasn't as much hate because there was an understanding that it's not REAL. People in fandoms understood creativity and thinking outside the box (canon)

But something interesting happened in 2020 with the pandemic, people who weren't apart of fandom spaces started joining cause what else were you going to do? but there started the divide. These people wouldn't have joined fandoms originally because they didn't have that sort of creativity. Which isn't a bad or negative thing, everyone is different and that what makes the world go around, but these people were not used to fandom spaces and that divergency. To them, things have to be how it was written and non-canon things, ships or au's that can't hurt you or become canon, were blasphemous. Because why change the foundation if you liked the original media? this also ties into the "why do you read or interact with this media?" questions when people engage with media in their own way even if they dislike the majority of it. which is valid to do, I do it personally with acotar. I dislike the majority of acotar from the way it's written to lots of the characters, but I interact with a certain subset of the fandom that shares a love for the same characters as I.

But these people, these mostly neurotypical, TikTok people, intrude into these safe creative spaces and cause a ruckus over non-canon Aus and ships. for no reason! Ships like Rhysta are harmless, of course people who make and consume this media don't think it's going to be real, and that's the misconception! Making and consuming non-canon media doesn't mean you think it's going to happen or want it to happen, it's just existing. existing for the sake of existing and stretching creative muscles. You can't grow as an artist if you do not break from the mold, from the restraints of canon.

What you are doing by constantly harassing and posting shit about non-canon media is showing you lack a fundamental understanding of Fandom. Policing what people do is a fruitless endeavor. of course, calling out actually problematic creators is okay, when what they're doing is actually harmful and not them being creative or God forbid, a little weird.

There has been and still needs to be respect in the places. Filtering tags for things that upset you and blocking creators you disagree with is key to being someone people will actually listen to and respect. If you refuse to do that, no one you harass, or attack will take you seriously. and maybe that's not your objective but that means you're going to be blocked on main and made fun of. And this segment is somewhat targeted at someone who has been consistently harassing my mutuals, but I've seen so many people like this and it's a real issue. And its such an issue in Booktok popular books and shows, and media that becomes popular with the masses.

Fandom spaces aren't meant to follow canon to a T. People will have non-canon ships, opinions on how they think the series should have gone, opinions on characters, etc. Constantly harassing and targeting creators won't change that.

I know this won't stop this behavior, it will continue to happen but it's been bothering me and maybe this will change some people's minds on how they interact with the media they like, and they hate.

I love rhysta, I think that the dynamic is very interesting and that people are free to explore that and say whatever they want about how it could have gone in canon. None of that means i think its going to happen or that it should. Lord, people are just having fun. Like they should in fandom places.

[llawlieta]

What’s your most unpopular DN opinion? (It can be about canon, fanon the fandom)

This is a hard to answer question for me because I don't know that I have many unpopular opinions, or any at all?! So I'm just going to ramble a little bit at you. I hope this is the quality content you were looking for.

I am FAR from confident that my own characterization of Light and L is right, but I sometimes feel like my view of them is an unpopular one because I see different sides of fandom taking certain traits and pulling in totally different directions - Light is either dramatic with a hair-trigger temperament and ready for Violence OR he is very soft and fluffy. (Or, he is either constantly openly and shamelessly putting women down or actually a #feminist.) Same thing with L. L is very soft and gentle and full of angsty feelings, or (and I think the following is a view that some people have adopted as a rejection to the Uwu L ™ characterization that was king in the early days of the fandom, sjsksjd) he is a confident asshole with almost no consideration towards other people beyond what is useful to him to be able to solve a case.

But then of course I know this is a bit like saying nothing because all fandoms will do this to their blorbos, and all characters are more complex than you'd think from a cursory search through their Tumblr tag. I was discussing this with a beloved friend and she illuminated me by mentioning that fandom... just loves Drama and Heightened Feelings... People consume the source material and want more Feels out of it (especially media like Death Note, I'd imagine, which really doesn't spend more time than necessary dwelling on anyone's feelings) and so they take... Light having a yelling fit and make it a very prominent trait of his personality. Or L having a soft moment and fill him with soft feelings that are coming out all the time. Which is a reasonable instinct to have! even though I think the interesting part of those moments in canon is precisely the fact that they are extraordinary in some way.

So I AM saying nothing and this does happen in every fandom, and contrary to what that cursory search through any fandom tag would tell you, a lot of people certainly treat the characters with subtlety and pay careful attention to all of their dimensions. I mean, evidently, most people do it much better than I could ever hope to do!! (In my defense I have to say that if I stress myself out with writing Light and L properly in-character I will drive myself insane, so not doing it is Self Care for me). But, ah! hopefully this is still some sort of answer, anon!

The L thing bothers me more, because he is my beloved boy and because I think people insist a bit too much on the view of him as confident asshole who doesn't give a fuck. Cleverer people than me have discussed this, particularly in the Lawlight server in which I am, but L does in fact Give Some Fucks. I'm noticing it more now that I'm rereading the manga! A lot of soft little L moments are making me sort of understand why people back in the early fandom days really ran with that Soft Uwu L interpretation haha. It's not remotely accurate to reduce him to those traits! but it's not accurate either to reduce him to the opposite ones?

And I feel like the same phenomenon happens with Lawlight, My Beloved Ship. Sometimes it feels like, if people don't portray them as a very soft and fluffy couple, they can portray them as a couple that would be so toxic and unhealthy that they couldn't have a normal, loving relationship without mind games and manipulation always running through the undercurrent of it. Idk we all know these boys are crazy insane but I don't think they'd be quite THAT toxic!!

Rereading the manga has made me have the realization once again that (I think) L and Light honestly just fit together very well, and don't hate each other with nearly as much venom and intensity as one might think, and there's a lot of common interests and genuine mutual appreciation and fun in their relationship. Particularly in a no notebook AU where there'd be no need for 70% of their mind games of course lol, but it's also there just, like, canonically.

↑ they discuss the news and buy groceries together and read different books silently on the couch actually.

[ejzah]

In lieu of writing a story, I decided to spend far too much time writing an essay like post on a topic that’s been on my mind recently.

***

Recently I’ve been thinking about characters who change over the course of a series. Particularly, characters who start out fairly normal or serious and then become increasingly more silly, ridiculous, or stupid. For instance, Frank Burns from MASH, Marty Deeks and Eric Beale from NCIS: LA, and Eric Matthews from Boy Meets World, and Tony from NCIS to name a few.

It could be argued that each of these characters had a comedic quality from the beginning. However, comedy was not their sole or defining characteristic. At some point though, the writers seemed to realize that they had a gift for comedy and leaned into that side. The problem is that this occurs with increasing frequency and often without reason.

Some start out as an antagonist, such as Frank Burns. In his first season, he’s described as a “fair” surgeon. He can be ridiculous at times, but is competent enough and mostly known for being overly by the book and military crazed. By the end of his run on the series, he’s a terrible surgeon, constantly makes a fool of himself, and finally ends up chasing after his now married mistress. In this case, instead of making Frank increasingly nasty or, he was made ridiculous to highlight why he wasn’t a suitable leader or surgeon.

In many shows that lean towards the more serious, it’s common to have a character who breaks up the angst, drama, and heaviness. Enter the likes of Eric Beale and Marty Deeks. Though they remained comparatively unscathed compared to some, both characters suffered in the name of comedy.

Eric Beale was a highly skilled tech operator who kept things running from behind the scenes and was critical to the team solving cases. Yet as the series progressed he went an eccentric genius to often odd and ridiculous.

From the beginning of his introduction, Deeks was established as a master at undercover, uniquely intelligent, and capable of using people’s assumptions about himself to his own advantage. Yes, he always talked a lot, but there was usually a purpose. Even in moments when he rambled, it was genuinely funny and not overplayed. However, as the series progressed the very writers who created this extremely intriguing, intelligent, and competent man, seemed to forget these aspects.

In an arc where Deeks is sent to the federal academy, we should have seen him excel. He had years of experience and knowledge compared to his younger peers. Instead, he seemed to forget how engage in arm-to-arm combat, fell asleep during an important task, and could barely keep up during a run. For many fans, this felt like a betrayal of a beloved character we knew.

Often, funny characters are sacrificed to promote a new character. Particularly as a series progresses, instead of letting the newbie gain popularity naturally, they force their merits by downgrading an established character.

You might be wondering, what’s the point of all this? Well, a lot of fans care when their favorite character changes drastically, especially not in a positive way. There’s a difference between a character who can be funny or has select silly/stupid moments, and one who becomes a caricature. We build fandoms our these characters. We invest hours and time, energy and love into writing about them, drawing, and discussing them. Of course it matters when it feels like that same character has been mistreated and disrespected.

I wish that before writers decide to go for the easy laugh, for the stupid joke, for the ridiculous, that they consider the impact on the character and show. It not only destroys your audience’s trust, but also makes it unbelievable when the character is given any content of substance.

[verdemoun]

this is entirely self indulgent but id love to hear your imput if you dont mind. my oc, sean, and karen had a love triangle in VLG times. mainly sean being in a situationship with both oc and karen. if oc came back do you think they could make a polyamorous relationship work, hinge or throuple? this is karens boyfriend sean and seans boyfriend oc /ref also if you dont think so thats ok too i like drama.

no pressure to respond. i love your timewarp AU im rotating it in my brain constantly.

so funny sean macguire is literally the only character in any fandom i have ever been in where i love all the ships involving him so much i need them to happen simultaneously so sean is literally already in a polyamorous relationship in timewarp au but find your oc hypotheticals below

ignoring that - i actually think sean would be really conflicted about loving multiple people at once because it wasn't something he would've seen in his life or grown up hearing about. having sex with multiple people of course but the idea of being romantically in love with multiple people at the same time and calling that a relationship (the term polyamory was literally first used in 1990s) would be completely foreign. when he loves people he is absolute puppy energy head over heels in love with them, i think he would feel like he's betraying one person feeling that for someone else. it would literally take his partners being the ones to talk through how the dynamic would work and assuring him that they were okay and honestly happy with the situation regardless of if it was hinge or throuple.

and i think a hinge would work better because sean would be very paranoid about the amazing people he loves falling in love with each other and out of love with him and it would make him too sad unless your oc had a really healthy dynamic of recognizing what makes sean and karen work as a couple and supports that. sean would also only be okay with a throuple only if oc cared about karen as much as he did otherwise it would have to be a hinge. he would resort to violence protecting karen from someone trying to manipulate/be otherwise unsupportive of her. literally their thing is they have had to safeguard and look out for themselves their entire lives and so much of their relationship is 'no i'll protect you now' and recognizing that vulnerability in one another. i don't think loving someone would be enough to stop sean from throwing hands if he saw them as a threat to karen physically or emotionally

[where-did-the-groove-go]

On Sparks and Asexuality.

National Crime Asexual Awareness Week last week seemed a pretty good excuse to ignore my other obligations and force myself to sit down and start writing the essay post I promised to you all back when I started my blog...

First, a brief bit of backstory on my relationship with this topic. I’m writing from my experience as a sex-repulsed, heteroromantic asexual, who, up until recently, had only ever met 3 other asexuals. Enter the Sparks fandom. I now know 6 asexual Sparks fans, if I’m counting myself! I realize there could be other factors at play regarding the demographics of Tumblr and Instagram users, but nevertheless, there seems to be a disproportionately large aspec population in this fandom. And so it begs the question: why are there so many asexual fans of this band? Or perhaps more specifically: why are there so many asexual fans of a band for which it’s a running joke that “every Sparks song is about sex”???

Despite the joke, sex songs hardly constitute the majority of Sparks’ music. Indeed, there are plenty of Sparks songs that aren’t remotely related to sex or love or relationships (185, if you’re counting, apparently), and I think this is a large part of why people on the ace spectrum seem to particularly enjoy Sparks. Especially for those who are aromantic, I’m sure it’s frustrating that love is the most-written-about subject in popular music, and refreshing to find songs outside of this norm. Personally I’ve never minded love songs since I can still relate to them, but even for me, romance and heartbreak haven’t been frequent experiences. Why listen to songs about those somewhat foreign topics when you could be listening to songs about Albert Einstein or lawnmowers or inadvertently buying the BBC?!

That’s not to say that Ron doesn’t like writing about relationships, because clearly he does—but he almost always defies the normal conventions of doing so. Frequently it seems that he writes from the perspective of an outsider, which I think is something that those of us on the ace spectrum can connect with strongly. In many songs, the narrator is the guy who never gets the girl (“Lots of Reasons”, “Ugly Guys with Beautiful Girls”, “Equator”, “Johnny Delusional”, etc.), often due to no fault of his own. If that doesn’t describe the asexual experience, I don’t know what does—there’s nothing ‘wrong’ with us, we still crave love though for some of us it may be platonic rather than romantic, but we’re rejected because we’re misunderstood. Songs about failed relationships are also prominent (“B.C.”, “Dick Around”, “Tits”, etc.), but they aren’t really about heartbreak; they might be written in the first person, but they aren’t personal. Again, this creates a sense of alienation that I think asexuals often feel regarding the whole subject of sex/love/romance/relationships. The relationships in the songs are just used as a means of telling a larger story, which the listener is watching from the outside—and that’s a very familiar place for me to be, constantly an observer to my friends’ relationship drama rather than a participant.

And then of course there’s the cynical view of love represented in “I Can’t Believe That You Would Fall for All the Crap in This Song”, and the ace/aro anthem “Eaten by the Monster of Love”... At the end of the day, I think most people find more meaning in songs that reflect their own lives, and for us ace folk, I think Ron’s approach to writing about relationships resonates with us more so than the depictions of relationships in mainstream music. 

But in my opinion, there’s another reason that asexuals seem to be drawn to Sparks’ music, a reason that’s even more important than the things I’ve mentioned so far: the sex songs. Yeah, you read that right. Because maybe not every Sparks song is about sex, but... clearly Ron likes writing about sex, too, so I don’t think it’s something that can be overlooked, and while it may seem ironic on the surface, I think that the sex songs compel me, as an asexual, to enjoy Sparks MORE rather than less. 

I don’t know if Ron intentionally tries to save his catchiest tunes for the sex songs or if it just works out that way, but I can’t deny that the likes of “Amateur Hour”, “Missionary Position”, and “Good Morning” are some of my favorites in the Sparks discography. And that drove me insane at first. I realize that sex is a normal and healthy and enjoyable thing for most people, but considering that I personally want no part of it, I still usually try to avoid sex in the media that I consume. I even attribute this as being one of the reasons why I prefer music from the 20th century over whatever my peers listen to, because back then songwriters typically relied on innuendo… innuendo is a lot less uncomfortable for me than the explicit sexual references that have become increasingly common in contemporary popular music, since it’s a lot easier to distance myself from it and thus frame sex in a more positive context, and at least I can appreciate a clever metaphor! And while the aforementioned Sparks songs have some of the best metaphors ever, they’re still VERY obviously about sex. Yet here I was, continuing to listen to these songs because for some reason, the fact that they were about sex wasn’t turning me off from them.

At first I figured that I was just able to overlook the lyrical content of these songs because the music was so infectious, and I’ve never been one to focus on lyrics much anyway. But the longer I listened to Sparks, the more I came to the realization that I also enjoyed the lyrics to these songs, precisely because they were about sex—because they put sex in a context that I’m able to comprehend. Much like the songs about relationships I mentioned earlier, Sparks’ sex songs seem more concerned with the larger story and social commentary of the situations they portray, the outside perspective, rather than with sexual desire or the physical aspects of the act of sex. I think Ron said it best himself in a 1977 interview: “I think there’s a slightly asexual sensibility… I take a more intellectual—as opposed to body approach to what I do.”

So Sparks’ sex songs may be blunt, but I don’t mind them since they’re not graphic, and I can actually understand them since the baffling notion of lust isn’t involved… and on top of that they’re downright funny. Asexuals may not be able to understand sexual desire, but we can certainly understand humor! Even if it is sexual in nature, and even if we’re sex-repulsed! And frankly I’d argue that the humor in question isn’t even all that sexual, it’s more down to Sparks’ penchant for subverting expectations. There’s something undeniably amusing about the plight of the guy who can’t remember anything about his one-night stand, or of the pubescent boy who naturally isn’t a pro when having sex for the first time, if only because these aren’t what you’d expect in your typical song about sex. And a sex song written from the point of view of the sperm, just wanting to fulfill their biological purpose, of all things!

In all of these scenarios, Sparks play around with the conception that sex is a Big Deal. Again, this puts sex on a level that I can comprehend—because I still have a hard time believing that anything about sex culture is actually genuine, that the way most allosexuals talk and brag about sex isn’t full of lies, that all of the confusing and elaborate and almost ritualistic social behaviors surrounding sex aren’t just frivolous. Sparks songs are so real, so objective, so human about sex…  they don’t make it any less meaningful, but the humor and lightheartedness removes it from this weird exalted position that it seems to hold. What a pity that sex culture has trained us that this isn’t what we’re supposed to expect in a song about sex, because it’s an appropriate silliness with which to approach a topic that feels, to me, like a massive inside joke that I haven’t been let in on.

“Missionary Position” defies conventions too, because, as the lyrics say, “the acrobats, well they tend to scoff”—according to the confusing social rules, no one in their right mind would be singing the praises of unadventurous sex. This is one of those often-overlooked moments of sincerity in the Sparks catalogue that I say separates out the fans who truly get Sparks and the ones that don’t, because apparently some people think there’s a catch to this song. Why is being ‘vanilla’ considered a bad thing? This is clearly a healthy relationship and both partners are clearly happy, so why do they need to be doing anything differently? This song’s take on sex is so overwhelmingly positive and down-to-earth that I can only describe it as ‘wholesome’. A round of applause for you, Mael bros, you’ve just made a sex-repulsed asexual describe sex portrayal in media as ‘wholesome’.

“All You Ever Think About Is Sex” is a particularly interesting one to me. If you take it at face value, it’s humorous: both the outrageous situations that the narrator and his partner find themselves in, and the plot-twist that the narrator doesn’t mind that their relationship is solely based around sex (because even allosexuals seem to think that this isn’t very meaningful). However, I’ve always interpreted this song as being EXTREMELY satirical. While the narrator is alright with having a purely physical relationship (or at least says he is), I doubt the author agrees, because the lines “In a world of lovers, we don’t love each other much / Fact is, we’re too busy to love each other much” suggest that ‘making love’ isn’t love at all—a sentiment which is echoed in “More Than a Sex Machine”. Asexuals are well aware that love/romance and sexual attraction aren’t the same thing and don’t necessarily coexist, but allos seem to have a hard time grasping this. To see this view expressed in pop music is validating, to say the least! What’s also cool about this song is that depending on how far you want to read into the satire, either the narrator and his partner agree that they just want a casual relationship; there’s no criticism because there are no expectations beyond this, and sex is treated as a very mundane thing… or the line “Alright with me” is ironic; the narrator is disillusioned because sex is the most important thing in his relationship, and it isn’t the love he was looking for. Either way, it implies that sex shouldn’t be as hyped-up as it is.

There are obviously more songs I could analyze, but this has already been an over-long answer to get my point across: the way that Sparks discuss sex in their songs—an intellectual discussion, poking fun at the seriousness and importance with which society regards sex, emphasizing the need for an emotional connection in a loving relationship—attracts me and likely other asexuals to their music because it’s relatable for us. I may love songs like “Come On Eileen” for the melody but I’ll never be able to fully understand the lyrics, whereas with Sparks I can enjoy the songs for 100% of their worth.

[epic-and-kitty]

for the ask game, dedf1sh or clover

i did both, not apologizing.

First up, the Dedw1fe

Bites them is meant lovingly of course, sometimes you just gotta gnaw on those you love

I didn't really get Dedf1sh for awhile, I liked her music and design but she wasn't a blorbo....yet. I think I just got hyperfixated on her design for a bit which lead me to want to ship her with an OC (that's how i love my blorbos, it's just how i am) and that's how my current wip Why Is There A Dedf1sh On Our Couch? started. It's currently on hiatus because I am stuck on it and don't really use the OC I started it with a lot anymore, but my love for The Wife remains.

Canon doesn't exist applies to Why Is There A Dedf1sh On Our Couch?, considering that in order for that fic to work, Dedf1sh can't be Fuzzified, which she almost definitely was considering #35 caught.

She is literally the fandom's 'things happen to her' guinea pig, I think that choice is obvious 😅.

Therapy, bbg and soup and a blankie are all because HOLY SHIT SOMEONE HELP THIS GIRL. Please, I don't think she has many 'it is what it is' left in her.

Studying her brain and doing violent things are also related to WITADOC in that I want explore her healing from Sanitization but I'm not going to be nice about it (Becoming my blorbo means you will be traumatized for drama and angst and I'll only be a little sorry)

And yeah I wanna wildly click her head like a pen, crushing like a can is the closest I can think of.

And now my sweet child Clover (You asked about my OC, I will now become Feral)

Yeah that top row pic is just me thinking of any oc, Clover absolutely included.

Canon doesn't exist is because she kinda breaks canon???? Like she's Sanitized, she's green and has no life signs, she should be compliant and mindless.....but she's not. For some reason, she kept her mind and wasn't following orders and it absolutely pissed off Tartar, who just ran her through the Sanitation process multiple times before separating her for study.

Why must things keep happening to her, I say as I make so many more worse things happen to her

Yeah, just...just push all my characters into the therapy pile at this point 😅

Yes I want to study the brain of someone constantly put into horrible situations with no power of her own to get out of them for the longest time, definitely gonna be some messed up stuff in there

She is a sad little meow meow through and through, the most pathetic creature for most of her story.

She is going to be crushed to death(pos) by her girlfriend Moss I swear to Cod...

She's Moss's bbg and is going to be cuddled and wrapped in blankets and fed so much soup. Moss is dumb as a post but damn if she doesn't love sweet little Clover with her whole heart.

[fiercehildr]

Hi! I have 3 things if that’s okay!

Firstly, is it bothersome to ask why you stopped any ACOTAR blogging? Was it just to much toxicity? All good either way, still love you <3 I was just wondering. Pls ignore this if you want.

Secondly, what about ghost do you love? I love the art and such you’ve been posting even though I’ve never consumed any of that media lol

Thirdly, not a question but thanks for all the commissions you’ve posted! I love to see them (and I’m trying to read glow! It’s of course quite in demand at the library) k that’s all. Sorry to bother you!

Hi Nonnie! ♥️ Thanks for the ask! Sorry the answer might be long and trigger warnings: Traumatic events (second question)/A quick reference to s**cide (first question)

1- It’s fine, I can answer that no worries 🤗 What happened is that I realized the ACOTAR toxicity made my depression worse and constantly had me in a haze of anger as I could not really ignore everything going in that fandom, not with how deeply I was involved in it.

I was heavily bullied numerous times for liking a different fictional ship and I guess the last straw for me was when I was falsely accused of racism because of a commission of mine- never mind that the one thing they (-the usual suspects and bullies) complained about was the decision of the PoC artist I worked with and who they silenced or that their complaints actually highlighted how they automatically viewed a WoC serving tea as her being a slave.

I think we pretty much all knew that it was never our (the artist and mine) intent or that this drama was started with something else in mind. I even had numerous PoC in my asks and IG inbox telling me it was all good and that they couldn’t understand the issue at all. BUT… I was at a very low moment of my life, my mental health was extremely bad and I did a massive panic attack which was quickly followed by some pretty bad s**cidal thoughts where I almost did something really bad.

That’s when I decided to stop everything and after a 4 months long break from the internet and social medias, I came back but with not much love for ACOTAR anymore. I do not find joy in anything related to this fandom. My maximum is liking pretty arts from artists I like or friends and sometimes making games with the characters in my Insta stories. But I don’t even care about the characters anymore and I even feel a certain dislike for the author, for allowing us all to suffer this shitwar for the sake of her mental health. I know that, PERHAPS, the issue is more complicated than that from her side but I consider that my anger is justified anyway.

Will I come back at some point and rewrite posts and theories about the characters etc? Hopefully, but I’m fine in my little bubble right now. I’ll let the dogs eat their bones.

I hope I answer that first question for you and I’m sorry, I know it’s quite a long answer. 😅 I do love to hear you enjoyed my commissions! Always glad when I know they brought happiness to someone. ♥️

2- As for Ghost, funnily enough, he is not my favorite CoD character. I’d say he’s actually third on that list behind Soap and Price but he’s so aesthetically pleasing and makes for such beautiful art pieces! ♥️ I do appreciate his character though, mostly because I’m appreciative of his inner strenght. Now as you’re not familiar with the lore, to make it short, Ghost had a pretty horrible childhood, tortured by his father who was a notorious trash (like forced to kiss living snakes when he was terrified of them kind of stuff). Sadly, when he was in the army, he was also captured and tortured for month before finding his freedom again. Only to lose his mother, brother, sister-in-law and nephew to an atrocious murder. His past is basically the worst thing you could be imagining and if you’re interested in it, there is actually a comic about it you can find online. Do beware though, it’s pretty graphic.

So what I like is that even with that, he still remains level headed, tactical, and, to some extend, even kind. Seeing him develop a relationship with Soap and open up, even making jokes when he’s seen as this gigantic grumpy man, was actually a nice insight in who he really is! 🤗

Also watching plenty of tiktoks of him and Soap, even before I played the game (and I had never touched a CoD before!) helped me so much during my hard post acotar time.

There you go, I hope my answers was good enough and I do hope you get glow! If you do and read it, don’t hesitate to share your thoughts with me! 🤗

[zee-has-commitment-issues]

Zee what fandoms do you think the YR characters are in? 💜

That is a good question, Meg, and I will do my best to figure this out. It may take me a long time. We did indeed have to talk through these with Dani. Some of these are going to have very well thought out explanations, and others will absolutely have nothing:

I feel like Wilhelm would be in like the Shadow and Bone/Six of Crows fandom. He would have been well read growing up, because reading is kind of a hobby that is universally seen as "proper." I feel like he'd pick up fantasy books just to escape for a while. It would probably make him feel more normal (even these characters in this highly unrealistic world are still just like him - anxious, queer, wanting an escape). He was excited when the Netflix show got announced.

Simon is in the Beyblade fandom, if that's a thing. I have evidence for this one - the towel from the S2 stills. He loves gaming online, and he loves gaming in person. He and Ayub had Beyblades growing up. The show was his gateway drug into Anime. I don't know if I'd go as far as to say that he's an avid anime fan, but he certainly has a few that he watches and rewatches.

Nikita answered this for me in the video from this morning, but Felice is in the Sex Education fandom. She loves the drama and the comedy and the sex. She relates it to her life, and she relates it to her friends' lives. Sometimes she talks about it so much that people get annoyed.

Sara had a Power Puff Girls phase. I have no evidence for this. I cannot explain mine and Dani's thought process. This just clicked. Sara likes the Power Puff Girls. Also My Little Pony, but not as much, which surprised everyone because that one has horses.

Henry would be one of those guys that claims he "doesn't do fandoms" because they're cringy, but then he makes fancams of his favorite football (soccer) players. And he has a bazillion edits saved on his social medias of those same players. And his room is decorated with the colors of his favorite team.

Dani and I have absolutely nothing to back this up except ✨vibes✨ but Walter was playing Kingdom Hearts before it was cool and he was playing it after it was cool. He's got group chats and stuff for it.

August might be part of the Harry Potter fandom. Again, I don't have much to back this up other than pure vibes. He, like Wille, would have been really well read as a child because of how proper the hobby of reading and writing is. August doesn't strike me as a huge fandom guy, though. Like I feel like he enjoyed media in a casual way (unless, of course, the media is his cousin's sex tape. then he watches it many, many times).

Stella was 100% a Once Upon a Time defender. Dark and twisted fairytales are her shit. She adores it. She even enjoyed the last season of it when everyone else abandoned ship. No one will watch it with her, but it's her comfort show, so she rewatches it constantly.

Everyone must agree with this one. I do not care who you are or what arguments you have: Fredrika never once grew out of her One Direction phase. She briefly got distracted by FOO and 5SOS, but One Direction will always have her heart. She is still hoping they get back together. She has posters and notebooks and collectable items that cost more than the average house.

Vincent vibes with Game of Thrones. I have no evidence, I cannot tell you why I think this, but it is what came to mind. Dragons? Absolutely a Vincent hyper-fixation. Also, I headcanon Vincent as non-binary or gender fluid, and non-binary people and swords mix well.

I can't tell if Nils would be more into Star Wars or Marvel, but probably one of the two. Something nerdy that he will for the life of him pretend is not nerdy because "I am not a nerd!"

Many of them have written fanfiction for their fandoms. None of them will talk about it.

This post got so far away from me. I don't even remember writing half of it. I think I blacked out.

Thank you @the-navistar-carol for talking me through this 💀

Last Unhinged Hours before Season 2 drops.

[petrifiedcrange]

Rules

First of all, thank you for visiting this page!)

I don’t have very long nor very strict rules, but there are a few things I’d like to point out:

And the main rule in interacting with me is that this blog is hate free. I don’t have anything against drama and hate as long as it stays within the threads and our muses’ relationships. But ooc drama and anon hate I just won’t tolerate. This is a hobby, after all. It shouldn’t be stressful.

I’m selective in a way that I will most likely answer to what I can see happening for my muse and what I have muse for at the moment, but I’m not mutuals only, which means that you are more than welcome to send me asks / memes / anything and come say hi in DMs even if we are not mutuals!

I’m OC and Crossover friendly, but if I’m not familiar with your character / fandom, it would be more comfortable for the both of us if you had an about page in your blog or wouldn’t mind telling me some basics about your character so I could see how our muses could click.

My main ships when it comes to Stede, Ed and Izzy are, of course, Blackbonnet, Blackhands and Steddyhands. However, both with them and with my other muses (except for Alma and Louis, for obvious reasons), I’m more than open to exploring other ships, as long as they’re based on chemistry. Honestly, I love shipping dearly, so don’t hesitate to come in my DMs if you think that our muses could be a couple - chances are that I’m already thinking about it)

That said, I’m more than open to the idea of a pre-established relationship! And it doesn’t necessarily have to be a romantic one. I’m all for platonic, antagonistic, found family etc. kinds of dynamics. Just pop in my DMs, and I’m sure we can figure something out)

When it comes to asks/memes and open starters, as I’ve already said before, you are more than welcome to send them in, regardless of whether we are mutuals or interacted before. I love to chat and roleplay with new people! The date I posted the meme or open starter doesn’t matter either as they don’t have an expiration date)

Sending more than one ask is allowed and encouraged.

If you have an idea, there are big chances that I will try it, so don’t be shy to DM me!

My length very much depends on the particular thread and on my partner’s length, but I’m usually writing para/multi-para. I use minimal formatting - bold and italics ( also, small text at times, but only if you’re using it too / comfortable with it ) - and either 100x100 round icons with border or go iconless.

Due to the nature of the fandom, there will be dark and triggering themes on this blog, so it will be better for everyone if you’re 18+. I don’t really have triggers, but if you do - let me know about them and I’ll be tagging them.

Explicit NSFW stuff probably won’t be present here, as I don’t feel particularly comfortable writing sex so publicly (even though mun and most muses - except, of course, the Bonnet kids - are 18+). However, the events leading right up to it - as in teasing / light foreplay - and its aftermath might be present.

No God-modding, obviously.

If you are a personal blog, you are free to follow me, but, please, DO NOT like my starter calls and DO NOT reblog my threads.

I must admit that I can be quite slow with replies and a bit forgetful, so you are free to poke me once in a while. But don’t nag me constantly, that makes me nervous and uncomfortable.

If you follow me, I will most likely follow you back if I had a look at your blog, but I will unfollow you if you post too many unrelated to the theme of your blog content or make me feel uncomfortable.

All the graphics are made by me unless stated otherwise. Coloring PSD I use was made by @womenstuffs

[calware]

.

[masqueradeball]

I have seen a lot of hate for BotBots on social media sites so I want to share my thoughts on it. Please note that I have consumed every cartoon, movie, and almost every comic over the past 30+ year history of the franchise and that variety is key to have a long lasting fandom like Transformers.

I think it's very refreshing when my kids (17 and 9, respectively) and I (an older 30 something) can enjoy the same Transformers show. We are 3 very different Transformers fans in terms of what and who we like, but there we were this morning laughing hysterically over BotBots. We binge watched the entire 10 episodes. My kids and I have nothing but love for this show, and if you go in expecting nothing, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

But why are some fans so hellbent on hating a show like this? Why constantly demand all shows cater to one specific type of fan? It seems silly to limit the potential of bringing in new young fans. Times change, and you have to accept that Transformers has to change with it.

Because let's be real, Transformers wasn't always a dark, dreary colorless drama for adults. G1 was a bright, colorful toy ad to appeal to the youth of the 1980s, and the characters were filled with humor and personality relevant to that generation. Botbots nails that very same concept for a modern day kids audience and I applaud this show for not being another depressing, edgy, heavy political drama full of stuffy and pretentious dialouge in some half assed attempt to please snooty geeks who want to gatekeep children out of a fandom that is based on toys.

Alien robots are for everyone. There is no rule that states all Transformers content must cater to adults only all the time. There's also no rule that says Transformers is just for kids. The truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Botbots did whatever the heck it wanted to do (there's a whole episode centered on LARPing, another one about going to Prom, and one episode has Burgertron admitting he writes fanfic!) and it all works great because it doesn't care what "hardcore" or "real" fans think. The levels of chaos and insanity in this show is glorious, but so is the relatable-ness of the main chatacters. It's truly heartwarming to see those little bots trying to find their way amongst their own kind that repeatedly rejects them for being too different or for messing everything up just by existing. Kinda like how I feel in the Transformers fandom most of the time.

And of course the serious political drama side of Transformers has a place in the fandom too. Just because I love TFPrime and the MTMTE/LL comics, doesn't mean I have to stop loving Car Robots and Cyberverse.

This post is not bashing those who enjoy the Netflix trilogy/Combiner Wars trilogy or the current comics. I love them dearly, as I love all TF media, and they deserve to exist in the fandom. I'm glad they do.

This post is about how some fans have been trying to keep out new or younger ones by being hyper critical toward a show with a different target audience than what they are. Bashing the fans who enjoy stuff like BotBots or Rescue Bots is ultimately unhelpful. It drives people away from participating in fandom spaces, making diversity of thought in those fan places stagnant.

New fans = growth. Growth = more cool new stuff. It's not advanced science folks. (Leave that to Brainstorm and Shockwave please.)

This post is about making room for a variety of shows and being inclusive to all fans, whether they like IDW, Bayverse, the Unicron trilogy, BW, RiD2015, or whatever. And for a fandom that revolves around characters physically changing their bodies, some of y'all ironically have issues accepting changes.

It's sad that adult fans can't appreciate humor and joy in animated shows anymore and feel the need to rip on stuff like BotBots or Rescue Bots Academy to somehow make their own nerd butts look superior. Because in their minds, why should Transformers be fun or inclusive for everyone?

I've been told numerous times that those who don't like the more mature content within the fandom don't matter or belong here 🙄 which brings up something else I've been wanting to say to some adult fans on various TF Facebook pages:

Black Lives Matter. If you have a problem with two black kids being the main characters in the upcoming new show Earthspark, then gtfo of this fandom and go die mad about it you racist twatwaffles. It absolutely enrages me to see adults make gross racist comments about children, and hate like that has no place in this fandom.

I look forward to watching Earthspark with my kids and giving it a chance, as well as seeing Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback in the new live action Transformers movie 'Rise of the Beasts' next summer.

Because at the end of the day, if I can get a cool action figure to add to my collection, see the joy in my kids eyes as we spend time together watching a cartoon, read people's indepth analysis of characters, or give likes to cool fanarts by talented people inspired by Transformers, then it's all worth it. That's some of the stuff that makes our fandom so much fun, and that is what keeps me coming back for the past 30 years now, and hopefully 30 more years yet to come.

Until then... Til all are one! ❤

[northern-passage]

Honestly it's been extremely disappointing seeing authors that I followed and supported go and trash mishka. And its extremely hard to listen to you guys preach kindness and support towards IF authors and then see you guys do the exact opposite. And for what? Because of racial stereotypes? Which ones? When she called one of her characters "animalistic" (which she apologized for)? That had more to do with her being a vampire rather than her race so I really hope that isn't what you guys are talking about. Or is it because you feel she hasn't properly researched? If that's the case, I can name 5+ IF books that definitely need to do more research so I hope you're out here "criticizing" them too and not just targeting mishka because of her bigger platform. If you truly feel this why not reach out to mishka and let her know "hey there's a couple questionable things in your story that I think you should fix" you know like a fellow supportive if author should do? Instead of basing on her on your account?And I know this will have some people pissed, but oh well, race and sexuality has very little to do with it and this is coming from a bisexual poc. When finding a new story most people know nothing about the author, let alone their race and sexuality, so the authors that I've seen discrediting mishka and insinuating that her success is due to the fact that she's white and cis are not only straight up assholes but are also completely false. Its become abundantly clear this week that the readers aren't the only reason for this community's toxicity. What makes it more sad is that I started following a lot of you a while ago and totally planned to support you guys once your stories were finished, all this drama sort of just left a sour taste in my mouth. I completely understand some of twc fans are being horrible to you guys and I'm sorry for that but that's doesn't call for you all to shit on mishka and her writing. We all just need to do better

no one is shitting on mishka, literally the whole problem is people like you coming into my and other authors inboxes for no reason other than to throw around accusations and play victim. i have no problem with twc and i don't give a shit if you read it and enjoy it. i don't mind people defending authors either, when it's necessary - i've done it myself. but here is the problem - you people don't know the difference between harassment and criticism. you send harassment, claim it's criticism so you can be absolved of any wrong doing, and then when your faves are actually rightfully criticized, you claim it's harassment so you can ignore it.

yes people are going to be harsher to mishka because she has a huge fucking platform and is making insane amounts of money. of course we should criticize other authors as well and everyone knows that i have! but again there is a huge fucking imbalance here comparing some authors to someone like mishka, who very rarely actually has to take accountability, because again - she has a massive platform, swaths of fans that act as an echo chamber, and people like you running to send annoying ass messages to anyone who so much as breathes in her direction. this is the fucking problem.

at this point you are just being willfully ignorant and choosing to ignore the fact that twc is written by someone with privilege and that people have every right to criticize her for the things she's gotten wrong, especially when it comes to depictions of marginalized communities. people have constantly brought up these criticisms all throughout the fandom, people who are directly affected by the things she has done - telling me to "just message her" is literally so fucking dense. you really think no one else has ever tried that?

no one is out here trying to "cancel" mishka, literally none of us care about that. i'm not going to downplay the harm mishka has caused with the stereotypes portrayed in her depiction of M or the way she poorly handled A's asexuality as well as the countless other things that people far more qualified than me have brought up before - i don't think mishka is willfully malicious, and i don't think she's responsible for any of the annoying shit you all make other IF authors deal with. it's great that she has apologized for some of her mistakes, i do appreciate that.

as for today, she never should have had to apologize for this shit.

what was being talked about was never actually mishka herself. you all just purposefully misconstrued people's posts to make it seem like she was a victim so you could come harass us - because you all just love doing that so much.

mishka really had to take time out of her day to come on tumblr dot com to apologize to authors because of YOU. none of us asked for an apology from her, none of us expected anything from her in regards to this because it's not her fault. we simply wanted people like you to fucking leave us alone! and you can't even do that, not even after mishka asks you to. at this point i don't think it has anything to do with her or twc i think it's just a bunch of you itching to be rude and nasty as fuck to people online and you use mishka as an excuse to do that.

fucking log off and go read any other book besides twc. i'm so fucking tired of talking about those books - which i did enjoy at one point! but not anymore after all the shit you people constantly send me and the way you all act and treat others in this community, all in the name of an author who disavows your vile fucking behavior and wants nothing to do with you.

you think it's extremely disappointing for you? how about all the authors who have to grapple with the fact that there are readers who have no respect for us as people, don't give a shit about our feelings, constantly harass us and feel entitled to our work and our characters? how about mishka who has to come on here and apologize for her readers and their awful fucking behavior, and see all the messages sent on "her behalf"? literally get the fuck out of here.

[itsclydebitches]

I kinda wonder, what could bakugou do (hori write bakugou to do) to make him less popular with the "anti" crowd. Like He was a horrid child no doubt and people who try to put blame on Deku or lessen the terrible shit bakugou did aren't great. But as we don't rly see it, we have to assume bakugous behaviour wasn't stopped, we only ever saw his mum "punishing" him when he was being rude after getting kiddnapped. Nothing will excuse what bakugou did, but he has stopped? He's overall a harsh person but he's not harrassing and bullying people anymore, specifically not deku, he's trying to attone for what he did to deku and has now apologised for it. His behaviour was never viewed as justified or good in the series, he's a scary figure in middle school, we're not meant to like his behaviour, so the series itself hasn't justified his actions.

As someone who relate to both bakugou and deku more than I'd like to admit (never told someone to jump tho, that's fucked lol) so I can 100% understand not liking or even hating bakugou but as someone who's not 15 anymore, looking back I also made a lot of really shitty decisions and like bakugou have tried to make up for it, and like deku I was 'friends' with people who hurt me.

Is there anything he can do for the "antis" to just dislike him rather that be "anti"?

(I'm very sorry if you've talked about this somewhere, you can just tell me to look for it if you have, I'll continue to look for your posts on the subject)

Hey there, anon! I think I’ve spoken about this only tangentially and/or in my main Bakugo meta, which is too big for anyone sane to read. So yeah, let’s chat here!

For me personally—and that’s all I can ever do: speak personally. I think it’s important to keep in mind that there is no single solution to please the “anti” crowd. Each fan will be looking for something slightly different in Bakugo’s character, much of which might contradict what a “stan” is currently enjoying. Given how charged a character he is, I'm not sure it's possible to get the entire fandom to like him—what I’m looking for hinges on having a different reading of the story than you seem to. Meaning, I think the series does justify his behavior. Not in any overt, super obvious way like having all the characters go, “Wow, Bakugo! I sure do love how you threaten people all the time. That’s super cool and heroic!” Things are rarely that straightforward. Rather, it’s in a more subtle, but consistent manner that paints a rather conclusive picture across hundreds of chapters.

Simply put, Bakugo is continually rewarded for his actions. Or, if not outright rewarded, his actions are ignored in a way that implies silent acceptance. Characters may not always like what he does... but they're willing to let it slide because Bakugo's heroism was always treated as a given, not something he had to earn and prove.

With the ever necessary disclaimer that I’m not fully caught up yet, here’s a list of some of the things that stood out to me in the first half of the series:

Bakugo’s bullying made him the most popular kid in school.

Bakugo’s bullying was ignored by/outright supported by the teachers.

Bakugo’s bullying did not hinder him from getting into U.A., one of the most prestigious hero schools around.

Despite acting horribly throughout his time at U.A. too, this behavior was continually ignored by the teachers and other authority figures around him.

Bakugo’s struggle to realize that other people aren’t “trash” doesn’t hurt his achievements in any way. He still gets top scores, still wins the tournament, etc.

Bakugo’s behavior gets him special attention from All Might, the greatest hero and Bakugo’s personal idol.

His behavior doesn’t make others dislike him in any manner that’s taken seriously. Everybody is still willing to not just put up with Bakugo, but—in time—start treating his behavior as a quirk (no pun intended lol) that they’re secretly fond of, rather than something he should legitimately be striving to change. Kirishima is the most overt example of this.

This is compounded by his behavior constantly being framed as humorous. Much like with Mineta’s perverted actions, characters might superficially go, “No, that’s bad!” but the story never demands any significant development because then we’d lose the “joke” of Bakugo screaming in rage at the slightest inconvenience, threatening to murder someone over nothing, constantly belittling everyone around him in a “funny” manner, etc. When fans talk about development of a manga character as archetypal and extreme as Bakugo, most don’t really want to see significant change to his base personality. Because then that would result in someone who doesn’t look like the “real” Bakugo: someone nicer, more even-tempered, more mature, etc. But for those of us who were never drawn to that personality in the first place, the continued acceptance of his rude, egotistical, and violent behavior is discomforting. The easiest comparison I can draw is between this and Bakugo’s mother slapping him. That slap is meant to be another “joke”—we see it constantly in shonen anime, something "humorous" you shouldn’t take too seriously because haha, it's just an overprotective mother—but many fans do take it seriously, using it as the basis for a whole “Bakugo was abused and this explains his behavior” reading. Well, I take the “joke” of Bakugo’s threats and insults seriously, especially in a story that starts with something like telling Izuku to jump off the roof. In the same way that many fans want others to treat Bakugo’s mother as a serious topic that has had a negative influence on his development, I want the series to take Bakugo’s everyday actions seriously as a negative influence on… well, everyone around him. But it doesn’t. His base personality is grudgingly adored.

The above two points are seen most overtly in Izuku, who never wavers in his respect for Bakugo despite how Bakugo treats him. Not just prior to U.A., but during their training too. Izuku, as the protagonist, is the emotional heart of this tale, so when he talks about how inspiring Bakugo is, it encourages the reader to see his behavior as inspiring too. Rather than, as said, something that needs to change. Izuku's continued friendship with Bakugo, his adoration of him, and his acceptance of the way he's treated has severely warped how the entire story sees Bakugo's actions. After all, if #pure Izuku can see the good in Bakugo, why can't everyone else? He must not be that bad after all.

I could get into detailed analyses of all the above—like how Bakugo was the one comforted after attacking Izuku outside the dorms at night and how the messed up relationship he has with Izuku is upheld as something to nurture; how the remedial courses he had to take were made to be rather silly, thereby undermining their supposed importance to his development; how Bakugo’s kidnapping had nothing to do with his flaws, but much of the fandom uses it as a way to dismiss any appropriate consequences because, “Hasn’t he suffered enough?” etc.—but in the interest of keeping this within a readable length, I’ll leave it at that. The point is that Bakugo has always been privileged when it comes to his behavior, resulting in others either outright praising it, ignoring it, or demanding that he change a miniscule bit, which always keeps him far below the standards of both his peers and the expectations of a hero. Everyone in 1-A must learn to be even better than the good people they already are... Bakugo needs to learn that other people aren't dirt at the bottom of his shoes. It's never been a particularly impressive development when pit against the rest of the class. All of which can make something like an apology feel pretty hollow. Yes, he’s apologized and I say with all seriousness that that’s great! But how does that apology stack up against 300+ chapters of content? As Bakugo’s words highlight, he's been a really awful person up "until now": he was consumed by Izuku being “miles ahead of [him],” he “looked down on [him]” because he didn’t have a quirk, he “didn’t want to recognize that,” he “hated that,” “grew distant,” “tried to beat you down,” “opposed you and tried to show my superiority over you,” and ends it all with, “it probably doesn’t mean anything telling you all this” before finally getting to the “I’m sorry.” This is basically a laundry list of how horrible a person Bakugo has been for the entire series, with an acknowledgement that this apology is coming really, really late. This is the moment where I could START to like Bakugo, depending on how he acts form here on out, but that pivotal moment arrived after six years of content and in the final arc of the story. It’s too late. Bakugo needed this kind of self-reflection and positive action 250+ chapters ago so he could (hopefully) grow into a better person across the story, not at the story's end. What we got instead is 322 chapters of him being a really horrible person, but the story going out of its way to excuse or even praise that behavior the majority of the time.

As a quick comparison to end on, I think what Bakugo needed was what Soo Jin got in True Beauty. You don’t need to have seen the drama to follow along. The tl;dr is that she has a lot of the core qualities of Bakugo: an all-consuming drive to win that was created due to abusive parents with high expectations, resulting in her bullying a peer to a pretty horrific extent. The difference between them is how the story frames their actions. When Soo Jin becomes the bully she loses everything. Rather than succeeding academically, her grades plummet, making it clear that this anxiety and self-doubt (things the fandom keeps insisting Bakugo is struggling with, but that rarely ever show up in the text) is actually impacting her day-to-day life. Her best friend drops her because she’s not going to support her choices. The boy she likes rejects her. She’s eventually forced to start over somewhere new - which importantly separates her from the girl she was bullying - and get some distance from her parents, resulting in the growth needed to become a healthier, happier, good person again. So when Soo Jin apologizes to the girl she hurt, it feels earned. The story continually recognized how horrific her actions were and put her into a place where she either had to change, or continue losing at everything else that was important to her. Bakugo? Bakugo doesn’t lose. Oh, he claims he does because he’s comparing himself to Izuku constantly, but that’s just him thinking in extremes. He still wins academically. Still wins many battles. Still wins at having friends. Still wins by maintaining the prestige of being a U.A. student. Still wins by getting All Might’s attention. Still wins by receiving Izuku’s respect and an agreement to maintain this rivalry that Bakugo is so obsessed with. Bakugo comes out well 99% of the time, he just thinks he's "lost" because he can't stand not being the absolute best.

For me, the story needed to have Bakugo face consequences for his behavior, not receive rewards and/or have others ignore it, and that revelation/apology needed to come way, way sooner. For me the issue is not a specific action that Horikoshi can have Bakugo do in the next chapter and them bam, I like him now. The problem is Bakugo’s entire concept, how he’s received by the entire cast, and his run across this entire series. "Entire" is the key word there. Which is why the “But he’s apologized. What more do you antis want?” reactions don’t sit well. What we wanted is a better written redemption arc across those 300+ chapters, not a single scene that’s meant to have us forget all the other problems inherent in the story. At this point it’s a far more complicated situation than, “Bakugo just needs to do X, Y, and Z and then we’re golden.” At the end of the day, Horikoshi failed to make me like him as a person and I’m pretty sure he isn’t going to change Bakugo enough to make him likable to me. Bakugo was never the sort of character I’d be inclined towards without a serious, nuanced redemption arc, but sadly, a core, crucial part of that redemption arc took six years to arrive. At this point there’s no way to change the problems in Bakugo’s writing for that huge chunk of the series and not enough time left in the series, it seems, to do the work we should have seen across the entire run. Honestly, idk if the Bakugo we'll get going forward is someone I can just dislike as opposed to being really uncomfortable with, but my money is on there being too little story left and too much investment in upholding Bakugo's base personality for that to happen. I could absolutely be proven wrong! But I think the problems are structural and needed to be better dealt with from page one, not hastily patched over in the final hour.

[demonic-intervention]

To this day a year ago, Word of Honor/Shan He Ling aired for the first time.

At that time, I was still neck deep in processing The Untamed that I had watched just mere weeks ago. I was totally new to Chinese dramas. But after weeks of getting SHL recommended to me on YouTube, I finally gave in mid-March and couldn't get enough of it. I binged the episodes that had already aired in record time after which I was constantly torn between waiting patiently for the next episode or getting myself spoiled on tumblr.

These weeks all seems like a blur in hindsight, yet I still remember that feeling of absolute excitement and emotional involvement that I hadn't felt for years, if ever. Watching SHL was very much spring for me: something blossomed in me. And as I learned to nurish it well, it eventually bloomed.

It is not just the interest in Chinese culture, history, and language that has kept me going until now. It's the connections I've made - or rather the feeling of belonging somewhere.

I wrote fic for the first time in ages, remembering why I love it so much. SHL was like an electric shock to my creativity. My mind has been in creative overdrive since that. (Well, sometimes it's just Wenzhou brainrot, but I guess we've all been there.)

Of course, it hasn't always been easy. The events in August were and still are gut-wrenching if I just think about it. My heart still aches for Zhang Zhehan. But the collective effort I've seen since then, of people posting translations, rumor clarifications, legal information, sometimes makes me swell with pride and gratitude. There will always be people who choose to spew hate, violence, and rumors but the majority does not. I chose to focus on the good. And I trust that the legal process that has been kicked into motion will allow Zhang Zhehan to clear his name, regain his rights, and make a return if he wants to. Whatever will happen, whatever he'll chose, he has my support.

For the coming year, I have just one wish: for people to stay. Keep being the beautiful, creative, and engaged people that you are, that fill this fandom with so much life.

So, happy first anniversary, 山河令! For all the laughs and the tears, the inspiration and motivation, your cast and crew who worked tirelessly to bring the show to life, and all the friends we made along the way - thank you.

Who would have thought that this silly, little show with its peanuts budget (forever grateful for Wolong Nuts) would still be with us one year later? To many more years!

[thatiranianphantom]

Can you say more about why you're confident BH/VA are endgame and, more specifically, why you think BH will make progress by the end of the upcoming event? Sorry, it's hard to trust RAS to do anything non-stupid at this point.

Well, fortunately I love to talk, and I spend my days talking to four year olds, so I would love to rant about something unrelated to the fact that I know you're not hurt, kid. You can tell me your leg hurts as much as you want, but I saw you at PE and recess running around like crazy, I ain't buying what you're selling.

Okay, so I tend to take a different tack to this shitstorm than my fellow Riverdale prisoners here. I'm actually quite calm. Don't get me wrong, I'm....upset? But mostly upset because watching them constantly default to useless drama because they have nothing else, jerking the fandom around after an awful season, is just....not the thing.

But also, there's a certain and very profound amusement that I've never experienced before at watching a show completely self-destruct. Like, it's imploding. The fandom has abandoned it. The desperation just reeks from it. The numbers across the board are abysmal. I don't mind telling you I'm a bit gleeful, anon. Last Thursday I had parent conferences all day and in between in them I was obsessively checking the ratings and was I not disappointed.

But also, I'm not worried. These people operate off drama that is always, always ultimately pointless. They've established their endgames from day 1, and I really don't see that changing. Bughead is the story they've been telling the entirety of S5. It's been maddeningly slow, yes, but it was there. Think about it: Betty saved me from the darkness was pretty profound. Season 5 has been screaming how not over each other they are.

I'd estimate Roberto found out about the 5 episode event around April, which would have been about the time they'd be getting ready to shoot the musical, and hastily changed the plan for Bughead. And the core of it is, Bughead is all they have to pull the viewers in.

All indications we've gotten from Twitter, Tumblr or otherwise need to be taken with a grain of salt of course, but all of them said Bughead was always the plan. I'd say it still is, anon. They will not, cannot sustain themselves off Jabitha and Barchie. They won't survive. The fanbases are simply not big enough to make up the viewers they lose by torpedoing Bughead. They are stopgaps and the complete lack of buildup and the way they're being treated as such prove it.

I would put actual money on the fact that they had completely planned to reunite Bughead by the end of S5, but ratings were so low that they knew if they resolved it, nobody would watch the 5 episode event. So they moved the reunion there. Bughead is coming, anon. It super doesn't matter what happens with Barchie or Jabitha in the next few episodes. It's all going to be moot anyway. Their stories have nowhere to go. They're there to create drama and keep Bughead apart longer, and that won't and can't last. Bughead is their ace, their trump card. They'll pull it out, and they can't wait much longer. The show simply will not survive.

[sityoursiredassdown]

Nobody asked for this rant and I rarely comment on the acotar fandom but it still amazes me that people don’t seem to get they very real running theme of people aren’t perfect that Sarah has put into just about every book she writes. It was a problem I saw in the ToG fandom as well but I’m paying attention to Acotar because a lot of familiar (and new) drama has stirred up with Acosf being out. 

Probably gonna ramble so if you’re as tired as I am hit the “read more.” Also, spoilers, obviously. 

Morality in Characters

Characters being named problematic or irredeemable for something or another is a long running issue in multiple fandoms across a variety of media. That’s its whole separate issue, but one thing that drew me to SJM’s books in the first place was how willing she is to let characters make mistakes. To let themselves believe they are in the right even if we, the readers, know they’re not. 

She lets them justify their anger, lust, panic, doubt, longing, the scope of human emotions. She lets them be right but she also lets them, most often, be incredibly wrong about an emotional situation they are in. She lets them hit rock fucking bottom. But most of all she lets them change their mind, lets them gain a new perspective or move on from something that had felt so important fifty chapters before. And it is an incredibly realistic journey of being human (I know they’re all fae but you get what I mean.)

Any book written by Sarah is going to feature characters that have flaws, some changeable some that are ingrained in them--no person alive is created without personality traits that can never quite shake, can only try to work on, or suffer the consequences from their mistakes. 

Rhysand and Nesta are big examples in the Acotar series. 

Rhysand can be manipulative and scheming, withholding information and thinking he knows what’s best because he’s the smartest person in the room. 

Nesta can be as cold as ice, petty, and downright cruel with her words alone, lashing out and biting like a rabig dog for trying to get close.  

People in different sides of the fandom will lash out at either for these respective traits, citing the mistakes and problematic behavior each character has exhibited in the various books as reason. And I, by no means, am saying that we need to condone the different things various characters have done. The mistake is believing that’s ALL they are. 

Rhysand is also incredibly loyal, generous, thoughtful, and caring to not only his family but to essentially anyone he comes across when not in High Lord Mode.

Nesta is also fiercely protective, brave, insightful, and capable of being incredibly selfless when she cares, when something truly matters. 

The good and bad traits exist in both characters, as they exist in all characters because that’s how people work. Their bad traits lead to mistakes that we can criticize for what they are without condemning the character on a whole, because that is not all they are. And whether there is fallout/forgiveness with other characters makes sense because these are all people intricately connected with their own thoughts and feelings and reactions to situations. 

Which brings me to: 

Nesta vs. Feyre

This, by far, continues to be one of the most aggravating parts of the fandom. Nesta is a naturally divisive character, one I’ve always loved. Because, as stated above, I can find issue with how she treats those around her but also understand that it comes from a place of trauma. The whole point of Acosf is for her to go on that journey and explore why she is the way she is and the journey she takes, it was never going to be solved in the trilogy or the novella. 

While I don’t think Feyre is perfect (that’s the point, none of them are) it does rankle me that parts of the fandom read the trilogy, went on that journey with her, and decided she had become some entitled snob that didn’t deserve to be in the books anymore because she got fed up with how Nesta was acting. The inner circle also was treated similarly. 

In Acosf, there are certainly scenes where Nesta isn’t trusted or respected by members of the inner circle, and at that point we can say they’re in the wrong because we were on Nesta’s journey with her. But trust, understanding, often takes time to rebuild/gain when its been broken and Nesta had certainly been burning bridges back in Frost and Starlight.  

Nesta and Feyre have both suffered trauma, and the thing about trauma is everyone handles it differently. A reason it took Nesta much longer to get help and go on that journey to self love is because she continuously fought against and pushed away the people that reached out to her. Feyre, while wary of Rhysand and the inner circle as they took her in, was more willing to open up. 

Nesta being criticized by other characters for her self-destructive behavior doesn’t mean they don’t care about her or are terrible people. She was never going to go on that journey of self-love and personal growth we all wanted her to have, without a push. The point in the storytelling is to fray those dynamics so they can be rebuilt stronger and from a healthier foundation because Nesta finally loves herself. 

Despite how different they are and the way they’ve clashed, Feyre and Nesta love each other. Because by the end of Acosf, they’ve truly seen and accepted each other as complex people, good and bad. Yet we as fandoms so often seem to think if there’s bad, there can be no good. 

Change

Circling back around to the overall morality of the characters, their mistakes and flaws, one thing SJM has always shown in her books is change. That people and what they want are constantly changing and evolving. 

Characters can be in love, look like they’re meant to be....until they’re not. 

A Character can have a goal, a reasoning, a desire so strong that it feels like they couldn’t want anything else...until they realize it’s not what they needed at all. 

SJM has always let this build across her stories, always goes through her characters emotions and reasonings for this change rather than telling us to accept it. 

The one time I think she erred in this was Morrigan’s sexuality and the sub sequential dismantling of the Morrigan/Azriel ship that had felt so certain in Acomaf. I will clarify. I have no issue with Mor being queer and only mean that the reveal was used as a plot device/twist. 

And of course, that shifted into quite a bit of debate about Lucien/Elain/Azriel, which has rebirthed with Acosf and the special Azriel chapter (I will say I have not read the chapter, didn’t get that copy, but lord I’ve seen the metas.)

Change is a big theme in SJM’s books, especially with ships. She is not afraid to jump around more than once, but most often, the endgame love story feels right. Of course not everyone may agree with this, but that’s always where I ended up after finishing her various books. And of course, everyone is free to ship what isn’t endgame to their heart’s content. 

My final point of this long winded rant is, these characters across these books are messy, complex individuals. Sometimes they have unhealthy behavior, say or do terrible things, and have thoughts that are going to lead to self-destruction. But that’s what makes them vibrant and real, because they can never be perfect. We can love these characters without it meaning we condone whatever it is they do. 

And if you’re this far into a SJM series and haven’t realized that these journeys and these people are never going to be simple and clean-cut for some idealized standard you have, then you may have picked up the wrong book.    

P.S. If you have read all this just so you can try to tell me whatever stan camp you’re in is the only correct one; you’re getting blocked.