#especially since my main fandoms are not particularly active right now

[forcebookish]

I am Bashar Al-Habil

This is my new account. My old account has been banned

Please help spread my mother-in-law because is very slow 🙏🙏

Hello, 👋

I need your support and help. I have been displaced several times and we suffer from malnutrition and diseases. Our tent was burned.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-my-family-evacuate-from-gazah

Please donate and share for me 🙏💔

hi again, bashar!

HELP BASHAR'S FAMILY SURVIVE THE WAR IN GAZA

be safe!

[a-caterpillars-world]

So. I finished Homestuck.

Reading Homestuck in 2024, over a decade since it started, was definitely an experience. There was a lot that i was spoiled for, but a lot that took me by surprise, even though "spoilers" are just about everywhere. I'm glad I was able to go in blind, there's a lot that wouldn't have felt nearly as impactful had i known about it beforehand. I'm not great at just directionless rambling, so I'll organize it in the form of an FAQ of a sort, under a read more since I'm expecting this to be a longer post.

Did you enjoy yourself?

Honestly, yes. I know Homestuck has a kind of negative reputation, and now that I've finished I can certainly see where it comes from, but even considering all of that I can't say I had a bad time. I think Homestuck has a lot to love, even if there's also a lot to hate. Personally I think there's several elements and characters of Homestuck that deserve a better rep, there was a lot I read that was very funny or very narratively compelling even through all the obvious flaws. I had a good time, I don't regret picking up Homestuck.

Do you plan to read anything else related to Homestuck (eg Homestuck 2)?

Maybe! I'm not entirely sure how much I'm missing out on, or how much the various side stories impact the main canon. If one of them seems particularly interesting to me, I'll look into it, but right now I'm good. I'm not even entirely sure how deep the Homestuck rabbit hole goes, though I suppose I could look it up and find out for myself.

Do you have any favorites/what do you think about [character]?

This is a hard question to answer, as Homestuck is a series with a loooot of characters to talk about. If you want to know a more in-depth opinion on your favorites, send me an ask! I love conversation and even since I started my liveblog I've been open to asks being sent in even if we've never spoken. Maybe I'll make a tierlist to organize my favorites, that could be fun.

Should I read Homestuck?

It depends. Homestuck can be a very good and interesting story at times, but a lot of what makes it a great story is hidden behind layers of questionable-at-best humor and casual ableism. I think if you can approach it as it is and understand the flaws inherent to it, it's definitely worth at least checking out. And then if it isn't for you, then it isn't for you, but it did end up being for me so take it as you will. Even if you're just looking at it as a part of internet and webcomic history, I think it's not a waste of time to give it a read. Via the downloadable archive though, not the browser version. Homestuck suffered greatly from the death of Flash, so it's best to read on a version that can better support all the unique elements it utilized without much risk of it crapping out on you (like it did to me, in several key points including the finale.) I also recommend reading with a friend, preferably one who's read Homestuck before so you can talk about things as they come up naturally.

Final thoughts

Homestuck is a fascinating piece of internet history. It's a near-perfect capture of the humor and culture of the late 2000s and early 2010s, largely dependent on a web service that is now entirely defunct. Were it not for the actions of archivists and fans, it's entirely likely we could've lost massive chunks of an incredible piece of webcomic and fandom history. It certainly isn't for everyone, its flaws have been talked about with regularity by essayists and internet historians with the whole spectrum of opinions on it. Even with its flaws, though, it still puts together a quite lovely story, with several compelling characters and scenes that grab your attention and hold it tight. Not only do I not regret reading it, but I completely understand how Homestuck created such a storm of a fandom especially when it was being actively updated. I'm glad I read it, in the end. It brought me a lot of joy in the best moments, and even at the times when I was most frustrated with the story I can't say there was ever a point where it was too much for me. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to check on the liveblog, whether you're one of my friends or a stranger checking in from the Homestuck fandom. It has certainly been an interesting ride, and I'm glad that I got to take it, even if I am in fact several years late to the party. Until next time, everyone!

[lunar-serpentinite]

Introductory Post

Hello ~ I'm Cloud and welcome to my blog !

My pronouns are they/them ! I don't really have hard no's for gendered terms used to refer to me .

I'm a '02-liner (meaning i was born in 2002) and from Southeast Asia . I am currently in uni studying Geology and I use my spare time to think about my hyperfixations <3

I'm neurodivergent and I usually vibe on my own but I'm open to chats ! I'm bad at replying though so don't be afraid to bump up messages

I've been on Tumblr since 2012 but this is the first time I have ever tried to be more active instead of keeping in the background .

Fuck JKR !!

Free Palestine, Free Congo, Free Sudan, free everyone who has suffered and are currently suffering under a capitalistic, warmongering white supremacist society . Never stop talking about the genocides and human rights injustices currently happening around the world . Share, save, boycott, educate, donate when and if you can !

Current Fixations / Interests / Fandoms

Harry Potter (specifically the character himself, as well as Drarry)

MXTX Novels

Percy Jackson

ATEEZ

Genshin Impact, Honkai Star Rail

Disclaimer

(Especially for those who are particularly focused on Harry Potter canon and/or certain dynamics.)

In my headcanons and posts, I will stretch canon pretty thinly. I will rewrite and redo huge chunks of what we know as the Harry Potter canon. This includes huge changes in the history, the timeline, and the ethnicities of a lot of characters (read: majority of the characters we know in my AU are now BIPOC). Everything I am doing is purely for my own enjoyment and I just wanted to share the things I made with anyone who wanted to have a read.

I do not follow any Marauders fandom headcanons nor do I consider myself part of the fandom . This means my Lilys and Jameses will have vastly different friend groups than what you're used to if you're from the Marauders fandom .

If you're particular about dynamics, I am a fixed DMHP account . I don't post NSFW on this blog since I focus on worldbuilding and more SFW character building, but I'm just throwing this out there :3

Have a good day ! (My AUs under the cut)

Current AUs

Nandhini's Legacy - my main AU and the reason why I made this blog in the first place ! This is a Harry Potter AU where the Potter family are South Indian (specifically Tamil [James] and Telugu [Lily]) and the Black family are SWANA . New elements in the story include entirely new fancasts for the entire cast, the introduction of a Magical British Museum (the new primary antagonist besides Lord Voldemort), OC siblings for characters like Harry and Pansy, and several timeline changes .

Related Links : Families Masterlist, Fancast, Main Tag

pls ask me abt this au i have so much to say

Son of Hecate Harry AU - a PJO x HP crossover AU where Harry was born to Lily and James but with the additional blood from Hecate . In this AU he was taken away from the Dursleys by a satyr and raised in Camp Half-Blood . By the time he arrives at Hogwarts, Harry has already undergone one quest and is only at the institution because of another prophecy (not Trelawney's) . He is accompanied by fellow demigods and witches Yurika Haneda (Slytherin, Hermes) and Poppy Caxton (Hufflepuff, Athena)

My Mortal Companion - the AU in which post-War, Harry retains his title as Master of Death and believes his next destiny is to be the sole Unspeakable in the Death Room since he's the "only one who could do it" . Features Harry's relationships and dynamics with various psychopomps and death deities of diverse pantheons

Related Links : Main Tag

Favourite of the Fae Harry AU - an AU where Harry is highly favoured by the Fair Folk of Great Britain, but only in the way a human might highly favour what they deem a particularly cute pet . Includes tidbits of Harry being his mother's son because Lily was their previous favourite, and Harry having difficulties with socialising in the "proper" human way because he was used to the constant transactional socialising of the Fae

[torra-and-the-toons]

Heya! For the ask game, 2,3 and 16? For ed edd n eddy :)

Hi Mystic!!! :DD Some Eds comin' right up!

2. a headcanon you weren't sure about at first but have come to like

Hmmmm... I don't really know if this one counts, but the one that immediately comes to mind is the teen/adult Eds and alcohol/drugs, particularly weed. And it's not that I hate weed or people who partake, I just got so TIRED of always seeing the Eds smoking or drinking something, to the point that it felt like that's all people viewed of their potential older selves. Like, to me there are other rebellious things they could do too, like tattoos, piercings, petty theft etc, it just annoyed me to no end that it was always drugs, if that makes sense? Edd especially used to infuriate me because he's such a goodie two-shoes as a kid, there's no way he'd even think about such activities! But over the years I've seen pretty compelling explanations so I don't really view it like I used to, but it's still not my favorite thing, which is why I'm not really sure if it counts, but I'm writing it here anyways because it's all I thought of lol.

3. a character that fandom has helped you appreciate

Probably the strongest with Kevin. He's conditioned to be unlikable in the show, so it's no wonder I never cared for him growing up. But since being in the fandom I find him to be one of the most fascinating characters outside the main trio next to Jimmy, but Jimmy came to me all on his own, it was the fandom that got be to appreciate and understand Kevin.

16. a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

I honestly couldn't think of anything clever but I really enjoy when Eddy is just carried like a sack of rice, make Eddy more portable. Carry him in your mouth like a misbehaving kitten. Wait, no!! I thought of something, but I'm not erasing that text because it made me laugh writing it. It's been a while since I've been really active in the eene fandom so I can't remember if there was a lot of this then, or if there is now, but I wish people would explore Edd and Jimmy's friendship more. Jimmy has always been softer on Double Dee out of the three Eds (well, everyone has let's be honest,) but "Fistful of Ed" really solidified their friendship for me. The fact that it was Jimmy who saw through Double Dee's stroke of bad luck is still one of my favorite parts of this show. I always thought Edd and Jimmy would have a special friendship going on separate from their own respective friend groups. Of course Edd will always have Ed and Eddy as his main pals, and Jimmy has Sarah. but there's something about Edd and Jimmy just hanging out and helping one another with problems they can't otherwise go to their main friends with is so heart warming to me. Love me some platonic Jimmy and Double Dee.

Thanks for stopping by! Always great to see ya :D

[ironstrange-is-the-endgame]

PSA

I think it’s sort of time I make this tbqh, just to come out clean with you all (especially the people following me on AO3 too, but everyone in general).

I kind of fallen out of love with Marvel and while I do ship Ironstrange and I don’t see *THAT* changing - damn I shipped them since 2016 where the ship itself wasn’t even a thing to start with - I can’t bring myself to create more contents for them or generally for anything Marvel related because I’m not enjoying their products as much as I used to and I guess the reason of it it’s the crazy amount of stuff they are just vomiting out which is recently bad ™️ but, most importantly, I kind of miss the hype of waiting months for a 30 second long teaser trailer I guess?

Yes, it was painful, but it let space to lots of theories and actual conversations with the fandom which right now is completely lacking when not downright toxic.

And somehow I realized that doing a rewatch of stuff from another fandom I’ve always been in which even if is pretty much dead since the series finale aired has made of waiting for the next book a fandom inherited inner joke and has had people theorizing on it since 2010 or something I think… (whoever guess which fandom is gets a cookie 🍪)

Anyways, what does it mean? Nothing particularly bad in general because I’ll still reblog Ironstrange stuff when they’ll show up in the feed even if I won’t probably actively look for them in the tags daily as I used to do, and considering that I went back to writing but for the other fandom probably you’ll see those fics on my AO3 instead of Marvel related ones.

And that’s it, pretty much! Also if you think you might be interested in the other fandom, you’ll find it in my main blog @myrxellabaratheon

So, see you, eventually

— Juls ❤️

[my-sun-m00n-and-stars]

20 Questions for Fic Writers!

I was tagged by @sinisterexaggerator

I'm not very active on tumblr and I don't think I have anyone else to tag who hasn't done this already, but I thought this would be fun.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I joined AO3 just over a year ago, so right now I only have two works. They're the first two entries in my Cad Bane series. A third one is in development, and I plan to start updating it around the new year.

2. What's your total A03 word count?

188,065

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently I write for Star Wars only, but I have plans in the future to write a series for Skyrim/Elder Scrolls.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

As I currently only have two, they are:

Sex, Drugs, and Blasters

Credits, Lies, and Betrayal

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I respond to every comment. Any amount of interaction I get is precious to me, especially since this little niche in the fandom is so small.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Definitely Credits. *Spoilers* OC has an emotional breakup with Jango Fett, succumbs to Bane's seduction, and then gets shot in the chest by said blue bounty hunter.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Sex, Drugs, and Blasters. OC pays off her debt and makes some new bounty hunting friends.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I did get one particularly persistent hater who used multiple accounts to hate on the way I wrote Jango, eventually saying some homophobic stuff I had to delete from the comment section. It was pretty bizarre, but I did decide to take another look at my writing with Jango and made some small changes. It was a weird experience, but I decided to make the best of it.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Oh yes. I'm a big supporter of slow burn, but when it finally reaches that point, I go all-out. So far I have a couple scenes with Jango and one with Bane (my favorite one).

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I don't write crossovers and I'm generally not a fan. However, a couple years ago I read this really fun one that was a Marvel/Clone Wars crossover.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, and I don't think I would be open to it. I wouldn't mind having a beta, though. Sometimes I really need someone else to proof-read.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

I think I gotta go with Captain Swan from Once Upon a Time. That show was crazy, but Emma and Hook were just so good together. Not to mention Hook was HOT.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I only have one WIP, and that is my Bane slowburn series. However, I do believe I will finish it given enough time. At first I never thought I would start it, and now I have two novels under my belt.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'm good at planning plots and making things link together. I'm setting up long-term plotpoints in the series whilst juggling smaller plot threads and subplots. I sketch it all out ahead of time so I always know where I'm going.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Sometimes I struggle with coming up with creative description on the spot. I usually have to open thesauruses. My main goal as a writer is to use more figurative language. Then again, I'm only 19 so I still have plenty of room to grow.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I've written several scenes with Mando'a dialogue, and I usually just write it in English and italicize it. If I want to emphasize certain words, I'll say the direct translation, like "cyar'ika".

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Star Wars!

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Sex, Drugs, and Blasters is my firstborn child, but I think I enjoyed writing Credits, Lies, and Betrayal better.

[petewentzisblack1312]

hi i wanted to ask something but also share something personal as well. my q is: do you feel like your relationship w social media has changed? meaning, do you catch / notice when you are on it for too long and you start to notice, and then you say: okay let's take a break. for me, i have been online for a long time ever since i was a kid, and now my relationship to it is i only limit myself an hour to being on my phone. as an adult now i am no longer social media "obsessed". like, when i am in school i am not thinking about online, i am present when im at school. i feel like i am really close to just deleting sm tbh. it does not grant me happiness like it used to. now as an adult i feel this need to live my life freely.

i also wanted to ask what are ur thoughts on content influencers? to me when i see these ppl i think...i could never post about everything about my life, but then again understanding that it is just a highlight reel. no one is posting every sad / frustrating thing that happens in their life as influencer, only the "great" parts.

this is an interesting question! i think ive never really had a relationship to social media where i feel like i need to post constantly or felt pressured to share everything. while im definitely the most online out of my household, compared to a lot of other people im not really very present online. i dont like using twitter, i only really use instagram to look at and post art and occasionally post a picture of my cat or nature or food on my main account, i dont really get up to much and i never use facebook unless i have to. i hate it. even here on tumblr i dont post a lot about my personal life unprompted, and this is the social media site i use the most by far. i do scroll tumblr a lot, i do watch a lot of youtube videos (though almost exclusively video essays on politics and recently also artist vlogs) and i do notice myself scrolling a bit too much, particularly when im overstimulated but instead of doing something less stimulating im anxious and looking for a distraction so i like. scroll harder. but ive never been like doing something else and thought 'man, i wish i was scrolling right now'. i dont really know. i do have trouble putting my phone down, like when i need to sleep, but i have trouble putting ANYTHING down. games, books, art or writing or projects im working on, music im listening to, i dont think tumblr is special, its just another activity for me to be distracted by.

all that being said, i did leave social media for a while. i had a really bad experience in a fandom on tumblr (not the pwams incident. that led me to step away from bandom and move to another fandom) and honestly it made me realise that the problem i had with social media wasnt that i was using it too much, but that i had a toxic relationship with the communities i was interacting with on there. the nature of my relationship to social media was unhealthy, not the fact that i had one that was a large part of my life. i think when i wasnt using any social media i actually wasnt in a great place either, because i was isolated from people id cared about, especially since i had just undergone a very traumatic incident, and because of that became very isolated from my in person friends as well, even before the pandemic pushed me away from even the acquaintances i had made. i was worried about coming back to tumblr, but i think ive grown and learned in such a way that i know how i like to comport myself in cyberspaces, and that its been good for me in a way. which is weird, but. i think id kind of have to go in depth about my life and how the pandemic affected me and the specific nature of coming of age in st lucia and stuff. which i dont want to do haha.

as for influencers. i hate the concept. i understand it, and i dont universally hate influencers as a whole, but like. theres this specific kind of content creator where the thing they are sharing is just their life and there isnt like a specific thing theyre logging, like an artist sharing their creative process and how they manage their life around that, or a chef sharing recipes, and its not like theyre doing it just to do it, they have the goal of growing a following, and theyre not advertising anything but themself, like JUST themself, as a person-brand, and i find that so deeply annoying and repulsive. and like thats strong wording its a dog eat dog world and the girlies of all genders need to secure the bag like i get it. i get it. but its revolting to me. like. the vlogbrothers werent trying to get famous they were using youtube to communicate with each other and as an open video diary and people found them to be interesting personalities to watch. right. do you get it. annoyingly i gotta put myself out there if i want people to find my art and pins and stuff so i have to fuckin. make videos. sell people on me. the idea of making vlogs makes me dry heave bc im not important i dont want to have to sell myself like im important i dont want to put my face on a camera and implicitly say with every quirky performed statement i make 'i matter, pay attention to me, i need to exist so look at me' but unfortunately i might have to. a video essay i could do. thats me saying something. but a vlog? with the goal of people finding my stuff? good god. it sounds like poison.

[mystigaron]

I've been wanting to ask you this for quite some time now, but I keep forgetting about it until now.

I know about the KP situation and your wish to no longer have any association with the game. And I understood your reasons for it.

But I have to ask you about this one. I'm cureently writing a KP fanfic that has been planned before the announcement of about your partings. And unfortunately, three of the six main characters are a Panther, a Carneline, and a Lantern Shork, which is yours.

You clearly don't want to associate with KP anymore, and I really wanted to respect your wish and change the characters, but... I couldn't bring myself to do it.

I didn't expect myself to get SO attached to their designed, but these three have the coolest designs I've ever seen, espacially the felines.

I also plan on making a story based on some fandoms I'm in, which includes KP and MBD (aka transfur game without goo TFs and got darker lore). And one of the species in the story is a parasitic humanoid feline similar to Panther and Carneline combined, but right now it's starting to get too similar after I learn about the announcement.

Speaking of the fanfic, I also plan to make another version of it that replaces your species with the ones that will take their place in KP also I finish it.

In short: I got too attached with some of your designs.

i've been dwelling on this ask for some time now since i've been trying to find ways of getting across what i want to get across without sounding nasty, but this answer is probably going to sound at least very abrupt and irritable regardless, and i might end up making myself sound like a deranged maniac in it as well, but i feel like i'm repeating myself like a broken record at this point over my designs/species, especially since you've literally already stated in this ask that you are in fact aware of my stance on this subject and that you plan on disrespecting and going against my wishes anyway.

i am aware that i physically cannot stop you or anyone else from using them in your creative works since they are pretty much public domain and i have encouraged people to use and have fun with them, but i have also gone at length before to state how upsetting and uncomfortable i find their continued association with transfur games and the like to be, which is why i requested them to be removed from kaiju paradise in the first place.

my uncomfortability with that subject stems from the fact that the term "transfur" originates (as far as i know) from what could basically be considered a fetish game (changed) and the concept in and of itself is literally based around the transformation fetish. i initially did not seem to take issue with this for a while after i became a contributor and artist for kaiju paradise as i was told that they are attempting to branch as far away from this fetish and the aforementioned game as possible, but after a while, particularly after the incident with the owner of the charem design (fyi they were outed as a predator and were literally coaxing children and minors into drawing and participating in activities revolving around multiple fetishes, including transfur and transformation), i started becoming very uncomfortable and uneasy with my ties to this kind of game (games that were also being made accessible to children on a children's game platform no less) and started to come to the realisation that i no longer wanted anything to do with it. this state i was in was also not helped by my decline in mental health at the time as i was dealing with the losses of a few close family members as well.

you've already stated, as i've already mentioned, that you are aware of the fact that i do not want my designs associated with this subject and you are practically telling me with this ask that you know this, but are going to continue what you're doing anyway, which i find to be really selfish. while i know that writing is difficult, you've also mentioned that you are also at least planning on working on a version of the same piece of writing without my designs involved. again, i physically cannot stop you from continuing to do what you're doing, but if you're already planning on writing that alternate version anyway, please at least consider being somewhat respectful of my wishes and leave me and my designs out of this. i don't really care if the alternate version has characters that are "similar" or serve the same purpose without directly involving me or my designs. just as long as they're not involved i would be very grateful.

while i'm on the topic, i feel like i should also mention that i am currently working out redesigns for my species based around alien specbio since it's a subject i find super interesting. i haven't 100% worked every bit of it out since it's in the very early stages of conceptualisation but these sketches are what i've got so far. i'm also encouraging people to use these new redesigns for fun if they want to as long as what i've already stated in this fucking essay of a response is taken into account. if you've read this far thank you for at least taking the time to hear what i have to say and i apologise for it being so long-winded, but at this point i feel like i practically have to be in order for me to even begin to get the message across to you people

[lieutenantselnia]

So, I figured I could maybe do one of these intro posts as well ...

About me :)

That's me:

My name is Alexandra, generally I don't particularly mind which pronouns you use for me, though most people use she/her I guess.

I'm an adult, even though I sometimes still can't quite believe that yet (experiencing a pandemic during your adolescence surely fucks with your perception of time). I have my age in my header since I'd probably forget to update it here.

I speak German and English fluently, I also know a little Spanish. I have an interest in learning new languages, so far I've started to learn tiny bits of Russian, Japanese, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh!

~~~

My blog:

I originally made this blog mainly to post my art, however over time it turned a bit more into a selfship blog. Nowadays I post/reblog mostly selfship art and imagines/writing, but also "regular" stuff from fandoms that I like, and occasionally just some random memes or cute/funny things.

Some fandoms I'm in (more or less, I'm usually not super active in the sense that I engage a lot with other people - I'm sometimes kinda shy to approach/interact with new people - , but I enjoy these franchises): Star Wars, Hogan's Heroes, Phineas and Ferb, Warrior Cats, Pirates of the Caribbean, various cartoons and animated series (Gravity Falls, Amphibia, Trollhunters, The Dragon Prince, The Penguins of Madagascar, ...) and probably some more that I'm currently forgetting about xD Feel free to ask about them!

I selfship mainly for fun and for comfort, to me it's a kind of selfcare/selflove. I generally feel comfortable with sharing f/os, especially the ones that I'm not very focused at right now. However, I might not interact much with someone who has headcanons about them that heavily contradict with mine or just makes me somehow uncomfortable (you can still follow me though, I probably just won't follow back or initiate interactions). Otherwise feel free to interact so we can gush about them together^^

You are allowed to reblog everything unless stated otherwise!

~~~

Tags I use to keep my blog organised (or at least attempt to):

#selniasart - my own art

#selniaswriting - my own writing, will probably be mostly x reader stories, headcanons or f/o imagines

#selniaspost (previously #selniasoriginal) and #selnia talks - any other form of original post that doesn't fit into the categories above (memes, character screenshots, just me rambling about something etc.), basically anything that's not a reblog

#others' creations - art or writing made by other people

#asks for selnia - as the name says, any asks that I get

In theory I also have tags for my main f/os (mentioned in the f/o section), however I'm really not sure yet if I'm going to use them consistently or just stick to the character's names.

Also just fyi I started implementing my tagging system in February 2023, so most things before that (except my art) are unfortunately not tagged systematically!

~~~

Self shipping:

I have made a carrd for any information related to my self ships! This includes an overview of my fictional others, a short description of my main self-inserts, as well as an introduction to their relationships. It's a continuous work in progress, but I feel like it gives a decent overview since I didn't want this post to become to cluttered.

My self-insert is usually called Selina (or variations thereof, like Selena), I have different versions of her for different universes, but the basis is usually the same. You can also use her name(s) to refer to me, I don't mind at all!

"Disclaimer": My taste in fictional characters doesn't reflect my taste in real-life people (especially in regards to their age, since most of them are a lot older than me), also many of them are villains/have done questionable things and I wouldn't support their actions in real life. Since they're fictional they're allowed to be a little horrible though <3

Main f/os:

Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz (2nd Dimension) [Phineas and Ferb] | Tag: f/o: 🚂

Hector Barbossa [Pirates of the Caribbean] | Tag: f/o: 🏴‍☠️

Davy Jones [Pirates of the Caribbean] | Tag: f/o: 🐙

The Horned King [The Black Cauldron] | Tag: f/o: 💀

Other f/os I'm currently focused on:

Firmus Piett [Star Wars]

Maximilian Veers [Star Wars]

~~~

DNI:

Basic things that you find in pretty much everyone's DNI criteria like racists, neonazis, religious extremists, LGBTQ-phobes, pedophiles, zoophiles etc., I think you know the drill. Basically just don't be an asshole or be unnecessarily hateful/harmful towards people who just want to exist in peace. Also I'm not too familiar with the whole "pro-shipping" debate or what the exact definition of it is, I just don't want to have anything to do with adults who ship with literal children characters, or people who glorify/romanticise topics like pedophilia, incest, or abuse.

(I lowkey hate the term "pro-ship" because 1. from my experience people are so subjective with what the actual definition is and I feel like the meaning keeps getting twisted around to everyone's personal preferences, and 2. at this point it just feels like such a stupid typical "chronically online" thing to me. I know the term is commonly used so I mention it here, still I'd prefer if pedos etc. were just called what they are💀 I don't think they deserve a more downplaying or harmless term)

Also my blog is not a place for harassment towards me or anyone else!

Other than that I don't really have any specific criteria, but if you're hateful against selfshipping or shame people for having "cringe" interests, this might not be a place for you either.

All in all, as long as you're a decent person you're welcome to stay, I'm really just here to have fun and talk about my favourite characters :)

~~~

Additional info:

Most of the stuff I post/reblog is suitable for general audiences, and I generally don't mind people of any age following me (unless maybe you're under the age of 13, but then you shouldn't be on Tumblr anyway).

However I won't completely exclude posting/reblogging adult content, but I will try my best to tag it appropriately with tags like "nsfw", "nsft", "explicit", "spicy", "suggestive" and the like. If you don't want to see these things, I suggest blacklisting these tags, especially if you're a minor. For my own posts, I will also always put a "read more" link and a warning before the actual content, so it isn't right in your face and you can decide on your own if you want to look at it or not. [By now I do have a dedicated side blog for adult self ship content as well. I'm a little secretive about it, but I tend to share the @ every once in a while.]

I also have a roleplay side blog for my Pirates of the Caribbean OC/self-insert: @selenafinley-rp Feel free to follow there too! :)

~~~

My other social media:

Instagram (most active) | DeviantArt | Twitter | Artfol

I may edit this post in the future in case I feel like there needs something to be changed.

[britishdisasters]

Please Read!

To all my lovely larries and other 1D(/solo) fans who follow me,

I’m sure you have noticed that I have been backing away from the fandom over the past year or so and particularly in the past few months. I wanted to make a post to help and explain to you my reasoning and make a formal farewell post on the subject. This is going to be pretty long so I am going to put my reasoning below the cut.  

Alright, so there are two main reasons which I will explain here. I am going to put the part that interests you most first.

I am not really a Larrie anymore– I suppose perhaps I would be referred to as a Houie? To be clear I am absolutely not an anti but I am fairly certain they aren’t together anymore.

I have been sort of mulling this over since maybe mid 2020 but I do think a lot of credit should be given to @seasurfacefullofclouds1 who I started talking to about this in march of 2021. (to be clear I certainly don’t agree w/ her on everything, but her insight has been very helpful) It’s been evolving since that point but I think really it's been in the past few months that I've fully decided that I don’t think that they are together anymore. I’ve come to the conclusion that they likely broke up for the final time sometime in late 2018, though I think things were rocky for quite some time before that. It was really the release of Fine Line & Walls at the end of 2019/early 2020 that started my ponderings on this subject– they are both so very obviously breakup albums. H’s first album too was pretty angsty, though I do think they were still together at that point. 

This subject makes me sad so I really don’t follow what's going on in the fandom anymore and I can’t even really read canon fics anymore because it feels dishonest. 

If at some point in the future they do come out, especially if they say they are together, I will likely return to the fandom. But for now I am taking a major step back. I will still be listening to Louis’ solo music, though Harry's newer music really hasn’t appealed to me. 

       2.

This second reason is really the more important one for me but it will likely interest y’all less. Basically, I have come to the conclusion that fame/the entertainment industry is abusive and exploitative. It is exploitative of the celebrities, but also of the fans. 

This is really something which has been an evolving opinion of mine for many years (since 2015?), and I do want to give major credit to the larry fandom for opening my eyes to how fucked up this whole system is. But its really been over the past 2 years or so that I have matured enough to realize just how invasive and fucked up the entire concept of fame is. (This applies to social media celebs as well, but not nearly to the same degree as there isn't an entire powerful industry actively involved in exploiting them.)  

Celebrities are commodified and dehumanized, and their entire privacy and personal life is taken away from them. Industry closeting is just really one aspect of a much wider issue. It has become increasingly clear to me that this sort of fandom is not helping the situation. While we try and combat the closeting, we fall right back into the trap of invading celeb’s personal lives. The type of parasocial relationship which exists between celebrities and their fans is very unhealthy and damaging to the very people which fans claim to love. 

I cannot in good conscience continue to give attention, support, money, and publicity to the entertainment industry. 

An interesting video essay on this subject is https://youtu.be/OPxktlHjKEU which I watched a few days ago. 

I will still be lurking and I may occasionally reblog pictures or posts about the music itself, but I am taking a huge step back. I hope you all can understand.

[literateleah]

the paradox of emily prentiss’ audience perception and character design

some of y’all about to be real mad at me, but it must be said:

emily prentiss’ character design makes no sense: my personal opinion + an objective analysis

i think it can be challenging to separate the versions of characters we have in our little brains from actual canon content, but doing so is important for understanding what those characters are truly like, especially within the context of their environment and in contrast to others around them. plus developing a deeper understanding of the media we consume is super fun and interesting! with that being said: emily prentiss should not work for the fbi and here’s why (in three parts regarding who’s responsible: cbs, paget, and fans) (sit down and grab a snack i promise this is over 3k words)

quick disclaimer: i don’t dislike emily at all! that’s my girl, i just looked closer and realized some funky things the writers did and felt the need to analyze her of course: so let’s get into it

part one: what cbs did

cbs set the stage for emily’s introduction on the heels of the departure of lola glaudini as elle greenaway! lola has clarified that she decided to leave the show because filming in los angeles was not the best environment for her personally, and after one successful season on a major network (but not much established long term plot or drama beyond elle’s departure as a character) a consistent ensemble cast was required- particularly because the bau had been criticized for being predominantly male in the first few episodes of the show and not much development was given to penelope or jj yet. enter emily prentiss.

for the duration of seasons 2-3ish, emily was framed as a chip off the block that was elle greenaway, just slightly…richer? in her first few episodes emily was hesitantly polite but ambitious, clean cut, intellectually concise and held her own within the team. she seemed equal parts intimidated and frustrated by her male superiors (gideon, hotch) but certainly proves herself among other profilers. her childhood was explored only within reference to her strained relationship with her mother (which was only ever referenced once more after the fact) and we received a short overview of her educational and career history in her first few episodes. emily fit right into the hole elle had left, and didn’t have many major storylines yet.

seasons 4-6 brought a bit more development and depth to emily’s character! she begins dropping more snarky remarks, one liners, and socially deepening her relationships with the other team members. this seems more within the lines of elle’s design, but emily arguably took more time to grow into her place within the team. during the foyet arc she was vulnerable and supportive, and the doyle arc gave her some independence and agency she didn’t have previously. this era also solidified her appearance and persona as more edgy, which falls in line with general fanon perception of her character (especially when compared to jj or penelope). i can’t address this era or season 7 without mentioning that cbs was actively trying to remove paget from the cast, similar to how they did to aj cook as well. paget has spoken about this instance before, and i believe it slightly affected her portrayal of her character, and “lauren” was somewhat of a goodbye for both paget and emily (thus why she wished for mgg to direct since they were best friends).

season 7: in my opinion, one of the best seasons for emily. she was wisened and deeply wounded by her experiences with doyle, which was understandable of course. she returned to the team she loved and learned to appreciate life in a different way, remaining mature during this time period as well! though her departure was a bit less than graceful and sudden at the end of this season, it made sense compared to some other exits the team had seen.

now *sigh* all the rest.

paget as emily appears in two separate guest appearances (once in s9 and once in s11, and she is referenced offscreen as well) before permanently reprising her role as unit chief of the bau. these appearances were most likely to boost ratings and get the team back together (i.e. 200) or just to pepper in international cases (tribute). emily’s personality remains pretty consistent here, just more mature and comfortable in leadership positions (seeing as she is running an entire branch of an international law enforcement organization). then season 12 hit.

upon the departure of thomas gibson as hotch, cbs reached out to paget to see if she would be interested in fulfilling her role as emily within a longer term unit chief position. i’ll get into why this is wack in a few paragraphs, but the remainder of her time on the show is spent on a mature portrayal that seems very distant from her previous versions. emily is more authoritative, gives orders with ease, and has no qualms about leading a team of agents or even receiving promotion offers as director of the entire bureau.

thus concludes a general summary of the canon content cbs gave us as viewers. now let's talk about what they didn’t give us, regrettably

the primary aspect of emily’s design that comes to mind for many is her queer coding. though not much was to be expected from cbs, a prime time cable tv network, each of her relationships on the show (all with men) seemed oddly forced, and without much chemistry as compared to the SOs of other main characters. rumors of scrapped plotlines have floated around about what may have been, but the ultimate lack of acknowledgement of any queer characters in the main ensemble still leaves a feeling of disappointment to audiences, and leaves more to be desired as for how emily navigates social bonds.

part two (sidebar): what paget did

i think it could be agreed within audiences that paget brewster’s portrayal of emily made the role what it was! her dry witty delivery and emotional prowess combined with sitcom acting experience made her performance a mainstay for years. i think she did the best she could with a confusing and at times flat characterization, and brought the role to life.

paget also heavily contributes to fanon indirectly with her comments outside of the show (press, cameos, twitter etc). her general continued interest and fondness for the role post production affects fan perception, particularly in what she chooses to elevate and comment on. she and aj have both spoken about viewing jemily content, and paget and thomas have both also commented on hotchniss. most cast members feel free to comment on their characters in the appropriate timing, and seem open to discussing fanon ships and theories outside of canon!

part three: what fanon did

as we can tell from this fan space as well as the presence on insta, tik tok and twitter, fans LATCHED onto emily super quickly. she’s remained a favorite over the years, and this fan persistence is what brought her back so many times after leaving (so many times). in my opinion, queer coding and a bolder female trope (in contrast to her female counterparts) are the main pulls because they resonated with so many fans- new and old. with that being said, newer fans of the show in the past year in particular have been heavily influential in fanon, solely because of the large influx of fan content and popularity of it.

fan content began to take coding and bite size moments and snippets from the show as canon, and cemented it into much of the content and discourse they created. these small pieces of emily’s character are significant, but have become magnified by how easily they are to share and edit. for example, a collection of catchy one liners from emily over the seasons makes for a great video edit intro, or gifset! there’s absolutely no problem with this content, it just all combines to create a certain fanon perception no character escapes (this isn’t a phenomenon limited to emily or the cm fandom!)

these droves of content also solidified emily’s personality as much more defined, but at the same time, simplified it in a way that’s slightly harder to explain.

fanon: more emo/goth than canon basis

fanon: more introverted/anti social than canon basis

fanon: more violent/chaotic when canon emily is relatively well mannered and doesn’t start many conflicts (particularly in the workspace)

fanon: much less maternal when canon emily displays desire on multiple occasions (even crossing professional borders) for children, particularly teenage girls (possibly projection)

(again, nothing wrong with this interpretation at all and it still varies! This is just a generalization based on most of the popular content i have seen)

part 4: why it doesn’t work

let me start with this: emily prentiss does not like her job.

we don’t receive much in depth information about emily’s internal feelings and thoughts towards her mother beyond resentment. this stems from wanting to make it on her own, as a professional and as an individual (cough cough college deposits). this makes emily’s insistence on proving herself to authority figures in her earlier seasons is interesting to watch in different circumstances. she cites her experience and denies help from her mother when justifying her placement in the bau to hotch, she is extra vigilant about being helpful on her first case with gideon, etc. nevertheless, emily forges her own path outside of diplomacy and becomes a successful profiler and agent, with the help of her privilege, wealth and name whether she likes it or not. but if we read between the lines and fill in the blanks cbs neglected, these ambitions may subconsciously be oriented towards pleasing her mother.

example one: emily’s authority issues go further than just “rebellion” or “anarchy”, she frequently questions the ethics and sustainability of the work that the bau does. every team member does this, but emily much more so than anybody else.

in “amplification”, emily almost breaks federal protocol to inform civilians of anthrax threats. she butts heads with both hotch and rossi on this front, and ends the episode with having a conversation with rossi about the ethics of lying in their line of work. emily resigns to a solemn “it be like that” and moves along, accepting this reality.

on multiple different occasions emily laments to derek about the darkness she sees on the job, and it’s shown that this gets to her quickly on particularly bad cases. this is another contradiction of the design that she can supposedly “compartmentalize” better than others on the team, when she cannot unless the lives of others are at risk (doyle arc, s7 finale).

emily also responds in this way to many cases involving children, a similarity to jj many don’t notice upon first watching the series. “seven seconds” and “children of the dark” come to mind, during the latter in which emily is prepared to cross multiple professional lines to adopt a teenage girl left orphaned by the case, until hotch stops her and establishes that her emotions can’t rule her judgement on the job. regardless of hotch’s thoughts about her attempted caretaking abilities, these actions and impulses deeply contradict the typical bureaucratic pathways of the work the bau does.

the looming reputation of her mother’s diplomatic history hangs over emily, and after going to law school and working for the cia, she most likely did want to forge her own path as far away from being a socialite: being a spy. her inner nature doesn’t always reflect this profession, and leads me to believe that with her knowledge of psychology, law procedure and care for children: emily prentiss might be more inclined to working in social work, placing suffering children and teenagers in homes they deserve.

and finally, the hill i will die on: emily prentiss was an bad unit chief

this wonderful post touches on my general sentiment, but there were many reasons as to why emily prentiss’ career arc makes little to no sense (plot holes included).

first: her background. emily attended chesapeake bay university as well as yale and achieved a ba in criminal justice. keep in mind that though timelines evidently don’t exist in the cm universe, emily prentiss is ONE YEAR older than aaron hotchner (for context). in her first episode, she professes that she has worked for the bureau for a little under ten years in midwestern offices- something the audience laters knows to not be true. emily worked with the cia and interpol as a part of a profiling team and undercover agent up until roughly TWO YEARS before her canon introduction. plot holes and time gaps aside, this makes me wonder, why didn’t she just say the cia was a backstop without revealing the highly confidential nature of her work with doyle (similar to jj’s state department backstop and cover story)? penelope or hotch could have easily accessed her file and seen that she did not in fact have experience with the bureau in midwestern offices recently, and given the fact that erin strauss set up her bau placement, i’m presuming these formalities or references were overlooked.

second: her experience within the team. emily worked as a part of the bau with the bureau for roughly 6 or 7 years. after this, she is invited to run the entire london branch of interpol, one of the most renowned international law enforcement organizations. i’m surely not the most knowledgeable on requirements or standard timelines for such matters, but with the fact that emily had never led a team in her life (not in the bau or interpol previously) and had roughly 10 years of field experience, i don’t believe she would have ever realistically been considered eligible to run the whole london department.

third: her return to the bureau. fanon depiction of their relationship aside, if you believe aaron hotchner’s last wish before going into witsec was to entrust his team to emily prentiss, you’re dead mistaken. bringing emily back was clearly a pull for ratings after the loss of two main characters (hotch and derek), but logistically a bad decision. let’s suppose emily has had 4 or 5 years of experience in london now, this established authority position would be unlikely to change at the drop of a hat, even for old teammates or friends. also considering how close they were after a decade of working closely in bureaucratic and field contexts, i firmly believe hotch would have referred jj for the job of unit chief but that’s another discussion for another time.

emily’s reign as unit chief is odd, because of the many chaotic storylines crammed into it. but amidst bad writing and viewings plummeting, emily’s character is completely flattened. completely. emily is unrecognizable, both in appearance (that god awful wig) and personality. at times she acts as a complete wise authority, giving orders and delegating local authorities as hotch did. but at other times she makes multiple illegal, emotional, and incorrect judgement calls based on personal circumstances that lead to further chaos (deleting the recording of her and reid’s mexico conversation and reprimanding luke in “luke” for the exact same thing she did in season 6 even though she enabled her to do so come to mind).

i’m not sure if this is due to paget trying to find her footing in the role again, or the writer’s bad decisions towards the end of the show wrecking any previous design for their ensemble. then, there’s the infamous “wheels up” scene in s13e1. notoriously cringey, this seems like a vague caricature of something rossi would say many years in the past (the same goes for her pep talk in “red light” in the hunt for diana reid). these moments are meant to mature emily in the audience’s eye, but instead completely removed her from who we understood her to be, and made her an unreliable leader.

part five: and why it does

in theory, emily was a bolder foil to jj, similar to elle who she arguably replaced at first. she came into her own, and stands as a more uniquely developed character than almost any other in the main ensemble. she isn’t as maternal or domestically inspiring as canon jj, less bright and sunny than penelope, not quite as stoic or intimidating as derek or hotch. And yet at the same time, she’s a fairly blank slate. stripping fanon content away entirely, canon emily has few defining traits (all of which are constantly changing), and that may be the key to why we love her so much.

[itsbap]

EXCLUSIVE: Moon Jong Up Talks About ‘US’, His Journey, B.A.P Reunion & More!

Moon Jong Up mononymously known as Jongup, gained popularity as the main dancer and lead vocalist of the now-disbanded KPOP group B.A.P under TS Entertainment. At present, Jongup is signed with Big Ocean ENM as a soloist. He released his solo debut single album, ‘Headache’ featuring Yunhway on May 7, 2020, and garnered much support from his fans worldwide. He also recently featured in Mr Queen’s OST, ‘Venus.’

Besides his amazing vocal skills and dance, Jongup can also rap and is also an actor. He performed in the play ‘The Lost Village’ and has also been cast for the upcoming movie, ‘Idol Recipe’.  Jongup is truly a power packed artist. Ahead of his comeback, he pre-released an MV on 1st July 2021, for the song ‘Find‘, which features Moon Sujin. The song has a slow R&B beat with a soothing melody that reveals a deeper, more emotional side to his music.

Jongup is now back with his first mini-album titled ‘US‘ which released earlier today. The album has five tracks starting with the title song ‘US’, ‘Photo’ featuring Bang Yonguk, pre-release single – ‘Find’ featuring Moon Su-jin, ‘GOUP’ featuring EK from ‘Show Me the Money 8’, and his debut single, ‘HEADACHE’ featuring Yunhway.

Along with the featuring of such talented list of artists, Moon Jong-up also continues to explore his musical capabilities in this album, by participating in writing and composing lyrics for ‘Photo’, ‘Find’, and ‘GOUP’. He further shows why he was the lead vocalist in his former group with ‘US’.

With strong vocals and dance as well as the vintage theme aesthetic music video, ‘US’ has quickly jumped into our playlist and we cannot stop singing to it.

Ahead of his comeback, Jongup spoke with us about his latest album, his growth, B.A.P, Indian fans & more. As 2nd Generation fans, this was a wonderful opportunity to be able to speak with an artist who gained so much fame and made waves, even before internet took over the way it has right now.

From his debut in 2012 as part of B.A.P to now, Jongup believes that among all things, his thoughts have changed the most. He shares that the more he learn and know, the more he need to know and thus, he has a mindset, to live by learning for the rest of his life. He believes that the biggest difference of promoting as a group and as a soloist is that,  “Now I have to bear the burden which I shared with the members when I was in a group but at times, it’s also good to have that much love alone.”

The shift from group to solo, along with years of working as an idol has brought about a process of change and growth and opened new perspectives and views for the talented soloist, “Through many experiences, I have learned and felt that a person cannot live alone in the world. So, I want to say ‘thank you’ to the people who work for me and work with me.”

His former group B.A.P brought about a bad-boy image which was loved by fans across the world and their debut ep ‘Warrior’ landed at Billboard’s World Albums Chart at #10. The group then continuously made waves with their music and topped charts across the world hence showing their global status. Although the members parted ways with their previous company, the boys remain good friends as they continue on their own individual paths while cheering for each other for their solo activities. The boys are also often seen hanging out together hence making their fandom, ‘Baby’ very happy.

While talking about how former B.A.P leader Bang Yong-Guk has participated in his song “PHOTO” as a featuring, Jongup gives hope to the fandom as he assures,

“If the timing is right, I think a reunion of B.A.P is possible at any time.”

– Jongup

The day may not be far off, as along with Yongguk’s featuring, other B.A.P members Zelo and Youngjae also participated in his Listeners; Listen “US” and in the video, one could see how they truly enjoyed being with each other.  The members shared their honest thought on his comeback as they gave their opinions about how they loved the comeback, Jongup’s growth as an artist and that, the fans had lot to expect hence making the fandom anticipate more. This was also the first video in a very long time where the members had appeared together so for B.A.P fans, this was a blessing. The members were definitely right though as with ‘US’ we see a mature side of Jongup in terms of music, vocals or even style.

Jong-up was also recently cast in “Idol Recipe” and  he gave a sneak peak of his character, “My cast is ‘Jang Jun’, a member of a mixed group. He gets caught while dating at work and gets scolded”, thus building more anticipation for his upcoming appearance.

He shares that in terms of his style of music, over the years, the thing that has changed the most is that, he now listens to all genres and he particularly likes R&B dance hip-hop the most. When it comes to incorporating it to his music, he admits that there are so many genres he want to challenge himself with, but the one that comes to his mind right now is EDM.

For Jongup, the process of creating music/songwriting is mostly done with his friend, Min – “We usually start with the track. Sometimes when a track comes out first, we write melodies and lyrics together.” He further says that he has a lot of influence when it comes to his music but ever since his younger days, he admires Chris Brown and he still loves his music. This however doesn’t come as a surprise to his fans, after all, Jongup’s dancing and vocal skills have always been on point.

With ‘US’, the title track of this album, Jongup shares that, he liked it as soon as he heard the guide.

“I wanted each track to be different from genre to mood. I had a lot of meetings to go in the direction that I wanted. There were some disappointing parts in the process, but all the processes can’t always go perfectly in the direction I want, so those parts were difficult but overall, this was a great experience. ” – Jongup on the process of making ‘US’

Jongup agrees that he has gotten used to the life of an idol, after all, its been nearly 10 years since he debuted as an idol and if he had a chance to do any special activities with his fans, he would want to go camping with them. He further adds that if he could go back and give an advice to his former self, he would tell himself, “Be nice to Baby”.

‘Baby’ is the fandom name for B.A.P but now, Jongup also has another fandom name created by the fans themselves, ‘MOONW4LK.’  He shared his thoughts on his fandom name and also sent a messages for his fans across the world especially in India.

“‘MOONW4LK’ is such a cute name. I love you always. You know that, all this is done thinking only of ‘MOONW4LK’, right? As soon as Covid-19 calms down, I will fly to you.”

namastehallyu

[queenaryastark]

I saw your post regarding Aegon/Young Griff and I agree. I also have to say, I like him, and I’m disappointed by how he treated by a large part of fandom. The way people refer to him as a ‘fake’ as an insult really grates on my nerves. Really. How does it matter if he is a Trag or Blackfyre? HE believes himself to be Targ, he was raised to be a Targ. Regardless of his heritage, he’s as much a Targ as Jon is a Stark and I don’t see people scoffing at Jon for being ‘fake’. And I saw the same people that say Aegon /Young Griff “doesn’t have any right’ to the Iron Throne, writing about how cool it would be for a Stark/Baratheon/Tyrell/Lannister to become the King/Queen of 7kingdoms. And I’m like - ???

A lot of people also write his off as Targaryen Joffrey. And I’ll be really disappointed if he does turn out similarly. Like, ofc, obviously Dany is more important that Aegon/Young Griff, but I really think there’s potential in him. And I hope he won’t be just written off. And written off as pathetic antagonist at that.

For me, calling Aegon fake or using the name fAegon isn't annoying. But sometimes it confuses me since him being "fake" is treated as more detrimental to the character than it might be. Whether he is the son of Rhaegar and Elia or the latest Blackfyre pretender, it doesn't matter. He's still the blood of the dragon, his name in all likelihood is Aegon, and he still has a possibility of taking the Iron Throne. Blackfyres use Targaryen names because they are also Targaryens. They're just descended from a bastard branch of the family, similar to Baratheons which is also a branch of the family.

I think some focus on him being "fake" because they believe that that would neutralize the character and they REALLY want him neutralized. And why wouldn't they? Even though Aegon was introduced in the fifth out of a planned seven book series, he is doing what many want Dany and Jon to do. He's raised the Targaryen banner in Westeros and is in the process of conquering the realm, even taking Storm's End, which has never been taken. I can understand how many might not think his current storyline is earned because we never got to see him grow through struggle and how it could be argued that he's fulfilling narrative promises that were made for other characters.

That said, I do agree that many are too hard on him. Is Aegon perfect? No. He's a character created by GRRM. That means he's just as flawed as the rest of them. We see that he wants to be an active participant in the battles and that he succeeds, while also seeing him freeze up in his first skirmish. We see him demanding that Tyrion's life be saved while also losing his temper and being a dick when he realizes he's been tricked. Even though we don't get his POV, it's possible to see how layered he is as a character. So I agree that reducing him to a "Targaryen Joffrey" doesn't make sense, especially since we already have a ton of those in the form of Viserys, Aemond, Aerion, Aerys, etc.

I would also say that writing him off as already dead or defeated is a set up for disappointment. There's a very real possibility that he could play a significant role in the climax and endgame. It seems that the only reason he's dismissed so easily is, again, because people put so much value in him being "fake." Even if he is "fake" and he's a Blackfyre, that wouldn't mean that he couldn't ride a dragon, marry Dany, have an alliance with Dany, and/or sit the Iron Throne. Considering the fact that the main series starts with the Baratheon branch of the Targaryen family holding the throne, that should suggest to people that a Blackfyre descendant could do the same. I think some of this confusion comes from many not knowing actual history. Just look at the royal families in Europe, particularly the UK/England. While the name of the royal family changes from time to time, the belief is that they are all descended from the same royal family.

There are many parallels that can be made between ASOIAF and the Wars of the Roses. Well those wars ended with the ascension of Henry VII Tudor, a man whose claim to the throne came through his mother, who was herself descended from a branch of the royal family that was considered illegitimate and even outright barred from the throne by parliament. Yet, he took the throne, passed it on to his son, who then passed it on to his children, and now the current queen is (supposedly) descended from his oldest daughter. So there's absolutely no reason to discount Aegon regardless of his ancestry. A union between him and Dany would actually neatly align with the end of the Wars of the Roses, though I would prefer him being her consort, as he mentions himself.

[king-paimon]

HnK Post Chapter 95 Thoughts: 3 Months later...

Hi guys…. I’m so sorry for being away for so long and delaying this post. I can’t believe March is already almost over. This year is going by way too quickly, but honestly, is that really a surprise? I was working on this post back in January and was planning on posting it then, but life has been more busy than usual for me. I still feel really bad for promising to post this and not being able to keep it. But here it is now! I don’t know how many people will see it since the Houseki no Kuni tags have been pretty quiet, but you know what? I’m kind of glad I didn’t post this post right away because I wanted to properly talk about my feeling about the chapter, the series, and Ms. Haruko Ichikawa herself, and doing that when I was still emotionally charged wouldn’t have done this post justice. And though I don’t think my thoughts overall has changed too much, I’d still like to share my thoughts, if you are interested in hearing them. 

This will be another really, really long post, so be prepared! I’m definitely going to be doing a lot of edits on this one so please bare with me if anything doesn’t make sense. Please let me know if anything I said is too confusing.

Anywhoo~ here it goes:

My view of the story at this point

I had to go over my last post to see if any of my original opinions had changed and, well, for the most part, not too much. Most of the gripes I have with the story is still about the same, particularly the remaining gems becoming lunarian and the many implications that comes with it, though I would say some of my anger has subsided. I’m still bothered by it, though. I understand why the story would go in this direction and why the characters, especially Euclase, would choose to make this drastic decision to change themselves, since that was they ultimately wanted: to no longer live in fear of being destroyed and live peacefully, even if it means changing what they all were. It’s still bothers me a lot, mainly because I can relate this to similar real life events of people erasing their cultural and even racial identity as a means of survival in a different and so-called “better” society. I remember in one of my very first posts in the fandom, I stated how uncomfortable it made me that the first moon gems were totally fine assimilating into Moon society and were wanting to completely change themselves to fit in this society, even if it meant removing what made them who they were. For characters who didn’t like their original identity like Cairngorm (or Welegato but I’m not calling them that), or felt stunted in their original society like Dia, and found solace in Moon society, I can see how this transition as a liberating thing…but only to an extent. The thought of literally going to the extremes of changing yourself inside and out, erasing all traces of what made you “you”, while also destroying all old meaningful relationships in the process, to live in a place you were conditioned to be believe is the better option for you…It hits a little too close to home.

I’m talking about cultural assimilation and cultural destruction, where racial and cultural minorities sometimes go through drastic measures in order to assimilate into the “better” society, even if it means completely erasing their original identities physically and mentally. I’m not saying all forms of assimilation is inherently bad and I’m not saying that you must stick with your cultural upbringing for it’s a part of your identity; that is a toxic view and it’s especially bad if you experienced terrible things because of that upbringing.  I’m trying to talk about the extreme cases of assimilation when these individuals are essentially convinced to go through extreme measures to fit in to the “better” society because their old identity was “bad”, and by completely changing themselves, from their appearance to even their name, then they can finally be happy in the so-called “better” society. I’ve heard of people going through such lengths and it’s heartbreaking. It’s very cultish and that’s how I viewed the transition of the gems becoming Lunarians, with everyone accepting the change with seemingly no issue and especially after Aechmea literally gave Cairngorm that new name. It would have been one thing if Cairn picked that name themselves, but it was all Aechmea.  The lustrous don’t exist anymore and everyone is ok with it. The gem society that we knew, at this point of time, is gone now. It was far from perfect but the fact that it’s gone is sad and disturbing to me.

My view of the key characters of the chapter

Now that I stated how I feel about the gems essentially being erased, the next question is how do I feel about these characters themselves?

Conflicted. Very, very conflicted, and even a bit disappointed and upset, especially with certain characters more than others. But surprisingly, even after seeing how the turn of events turned out for all of them while Phos is stuck on Earth alone… I don’t hate them. Yeah. After everything that has happened, I currently don’t hate the gems… For now, anyways. It all depends on what happens next.

But the one character that I feel the most conflicted with is Adamant, especially after his interaction with Aechmea. Part of me is confused by Adamant’s and Aechmea’s seemingly friendly interaction because of Adamant’s past actions and words, for they don’t seem to belong to someone who would be on friendly terms with someone who they were actively resisting against before. I’m talking about all of the times that Adamant would fight off the Lunarians but also that moment in Chapter 85:

(Chapter 85, Pages 10-11)

After seeing things like this, I just find it odd how Adamant’s interactions with Aechmea are so friendly now. And with the horrifying implication that everything that had happened was planned between them, which also doesn’t make sense, I’m not sure what to think. Maybe Adamant’s changed attitude relates to him being free of his burdens and physical body? This could explain the change in attitude, but it still feels… off. Maybe I’m looking too much into this. I don’t want to hold hope that when he and the other gems were transformed that Aechmea somehow manipulated their memories to make them more compliant, even though it was made clear that memories were going to be lost in the process. Maybe this will be explained more in the next chapter, but I won’t hold my breath for that either. To me, this just made me feel weird about Adamant because remember, I was both sad and relieved when he disintegrated in the previous chapter because I really liked his character. Now though, I’m not so sure. I still don’t hate him or any of the other gems, but I’m definitely on the fence with him more so than the others. I certainly don’t hate Euclase like many other fans; I didn’t agree with their past actions (or rather lack of actions), but like with Phos and other characters, they did what they felt was right given what they knew. Still not excusing it, but I understand why. As for Antarcticite... I’m not sure, honestly. Though I’m glad at least they brought up Phos, I can’t help but feel that their main priority is still Adamant. Out of recently changed characters, Antarcticite is the main character I have the most positive opinion on, but again, that can easily change within the next chapter. 

So yeah, I still have mixed feeling about all that has happened that led to this point in the story, and I do have a more negative view of some of them. But regardless of that, I can’t bring myself to downright hate any of the characters. Disappointed with their decisions is one thing, but to hate them with every fiber of my being? No. I don’t think I can. At least for now. The same goes to the Lunarians, too. Hell, even though I’ve said before that I hated Aechmea for how he manipulated Phos and the other gems for personal gain, once again, I don’t think I downright hate him either (though I still want something bad to happen to him.) Aechmea is such an intriguing antagonist that I love to despise.

My view of Haruko Ichikawa at this point

Since the release of chapter 95, I’ve seen a lot of fans post their criticisms of Haruko Ichikawa herself regarding how she’s writing the story and her treatment of the characters. Someone even commented on my chapter post about how they don’t view her story as ‘amazing’ anymore because of her cruel treatment of Phos and the depressing turns in the story. Even popular commentors like @rinboz posted their criticism about what Ms. Ichikawa is doing with her story. As for me, I can agree with some of the comments made to an extent. Some of the choices Ms. Ichikawa made in the story has had me question her a few times; like the mentioned interaction between Aechmea and Adamant as well as the extremely predatorial relationship between Achmea and Cairngorm. I still think that chapter 95 was extremely rushed, especially going through the previous events that were stretched out into nearly 10 chapters. There are many other smaller issues that I personally have when it comes to how Ms. Ichikawa writes her story and characters, but I think the biggest criticism I’ve seen that I agree with is the concern about the current direction of the story. And at this point, the story can only go in so many directions and most of them are leading to anything but a genuinely happy ending for Phos. And it’s pretty depressing that Ms. Ichikawa has some of us pleading for Phos to die so they don’t suffer anymore. I can’t think of any other story that has me wanting the main character to die, not because I hate, but because I don’t want them to be mistreated anymore. This story is nothing but hopelessness.

But you know what’s crazy? I kind of like that.

Maybe Ms. Ichikawa has made me a glutton for tragic stories, or because I’ve been starving for a unique story, but I kind of like that this story hasn’t gone in the predictable, happy route for everything Phos has gone through. If this story were written by someone else, I can picture Phos somehow regaining their appearance and memories, be surrounded by the people who truly cared about them and their enemies dead, and pretty much having the picture-perfect happy ending with no form of problems whatsoever as an award for everything that Phos previously sacrificed. Yeah, this is the ending I’m sure fans want in some shape or form and to a degree, I do too. But to be honest, I’m kind of glad that’s not the story that we’re getting, at least right now.  In a weird way, it’s sort of refreshing to have a main character who doesn’t always win in the end, especially after all of the things the character sacrificed.

And I also how the story and it’s characters can be so simple and complexed at the same time, like in her anthology series. To me, this makes Ms. Ichikawa stand out from the many mangaka I’ve followed throughout the years. And because of that, part of me hopes she knows what she’s doing and has something extreme planned for the story’s future.

Now, I don’t want to shoot myself in the foot for still thinking highly of Ms. Ichikawa’s writing; there are still things that I think could have been handled differently, like the mentioned pacing and story details. But for now, those gripes are not too irritating for me and I’m not quite ready to downright say that her story is bad...YET. I want to reserve my final opinion of Ms. Ichikawa as a writer until the end of the series, whenever that will be, because despite how the story has progressed for last several chapters, I’m still enjoying writing. I just hope that when the series does come to an end that Ms. Ichikawa gives us a satisfying end. When it comes to ending a series, how an author does so can really affect how fans view the series and the author, and I think this will be the case for this story, though I’m sure there will be criticism regardless of what kind of end Ms. Ichikawa creates. For me, while I do care about whether Phos and the other characters get the endings they deserve, I just hope it will be told well. I’ve seen too many times really good series ending terribly because the creator didn’t know how to end a series properly. I sincerely hope that won’t be the case with Ms. Ichikawa.

From this point forward

I remember seeing a lot of readers who are upset with how the story has progressed thus far, with some even saying that they were going to drop the series because of how depressing it is. I think everyone who felt this way has every right to feel that way; it’s completely understandable. Houseki no Kuni is definitely not a story for everyone, and it can take an emotional toll on you.  I know it certainly affected me that way, and I can’t think of many other series that has done that. It’s been a long since I’ve been so invested in a series and despite the many emotional rollercoasters I’ve felt during parts of the story, I don’t think I will ever say that I regret picking this series up. And despite my mixed feeling about the latest chapter, I want to continue to stick with it. Even if the story continues to spiral in a never-ending pit of despair, I still want to stick with it until it ends. And you know, I think even if this series does have a somber, heartbreaking ending, I think I’d still view the story as overall amazing and I’d still be glad I got into it when I did...Unless Ms. Ichikawa gives us an abrupt, unsatisfying ending. Then that opinion goes out the window.

Until the next chapter comes out... 

Other than being busy, I admit that I’m glad to be taking a break from Houseki no Kuni. Despite my many praises, it still takes a lot out of me and I definitely needed that break. And though I personally don’t mind waiting a bit longer, I can’t wait for it to back. I sincerely hope that Ms. Ichikawa doing alright, especially after all of the chaos happening for the past year, and that she enjoys her time away from the series. I hope she’s staying healthy in body and mind, and I’ll wait with bated breath for the next chapter of this story.

Besides this post, I actually had a few post ideas that I want to work on, but because of my schedule, those will have to wait a while. I wanted to make another story prediction post because even though they are sometimes wrong, they are fun to do. I think I’ll wait until the next chapter to come out to make that one. The other post I’ve been somewhat working on is a bit different from my usual post; it’s somewhat of a character analysis/reflection and it’s on a controversial character that while many justifiably hate, I personally can’t. (Can you guess who that is? I’m sure you can!) Because of how many people hate this character, I was not sure if I wanted to write it. But you know what, I’m going to do it anyways. When that post will be done? I have no clue, but this will be an interesting writing exercise for me and I can’t wait share why I don’t hate this character the way many other fans do.

 The end!

Well, that’s the end of this post. I hope you enjoyed it. I will likely go over this again at some point but it’s getting really late and I need to get some sleep. I hope everyone is doing well and keeping themselves busy during this series hiatus. Maybe unwind by reading/watching a new series. There are some interesting ones that came out last year and this year. I personally stated watching Wonder Egg Priority. It’s really good but deals with a lot of heavy subject matters, so be warned. I’vve also watched lighter stuff like Lupin the Third (I love this franchise so much) and some of the new shows on Netflix. I would like to see some more stuff but I don’t know what to look for. If you have any recommendations, please feel free to leave a comment.

Until next time, I hope everyone has a pleasant week 😊

[bnhasalt]

Long post time

Okay unpopular opinion I guess but I. Really don’t like the takes I’m seeing in the anti B*ku tag right now. Particularly about M*tsuki.And I know she’s a character I haven’t talked about extensively on this blog, because it’s true that depending on what way you choose to dissect mha as a piece of media,[either by judging it on the basis of the content in-universe (ex: character a’s actions were affected by character b’s) or by judging it based on the real life aspect of it (ex: the author did this because x)], M*tsuki really can be pretty divisive.  On one end you have people saying that M*tsuki being abusive is what caused B*kugo to turn out... like that.. And use that as a justification of his behavior.  Then on the other end you have people saying ‘hey- no! Her hitting him was clearly just a joke- it was slapstick! the author clearly didn’t intend her to be interpreted as abusive so you shouldn’t blame her character at all! B*kugo is the ONLY one at fault’ And see, I don’t find either of these opinions fully correct. But since my main criticisms of the series have to do with B*kugo , and a lot of people in the anti side of the fandom subscribe to the second idea, I DID turn a blind eye to it for a rather long time. However when I see people actively DEFENDING HER, and saying her actions aren’t abuse at all? That’s when I have to put my foot down.  So. Ahem. Let’s clear a couple things up.

𝙄 𝘿𝙊 𝙉𝙊𝙏 𝘾𝘼𝙍𝙀 𝙃𝙊𝙒 𝙔𝙊𝙐'𝙍𝙀 𝘾𝙃𝙊𝙊𝙎𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙏𝙊 𝘼𝙉𝘼𝙇𝙔𝙕𝙀 𝙔𝙊𝙐𝙍 𝙈𝙀𝘿𝙄𝘼, 𝙃𝙄𝙏𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝘼 𝘾𝙃𝙄𝙇𝘿 𝙄𝙎 𝘼𝙇𝙒𝘼𝙔𝙎 𝘼𝘽𝙐𝙎𝙀, 𝙒𝙀𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘼𝙐𝙏𝙃𝙊𝙍 𝙄𝙉𝙏𝙀𝙉𝘿𝙀𝘿 𝙄𝙏 𝙊𝙍 𝙉𝙊𝙏. ’corporal punishment’ or whatever you want to call it is nothing but a shitty little scapegoat. Every single expert on the subject of child psychology (and psychology in general as well) - they’ve been screaming for ages how it’s a terrible way to raise a child, that only leads to trauma , the child becoming reclusive and -unlike what any abuser likes to claim- loosing respect for the perpetrator, either becoming hateful towards them or living in fear of them. (some sources: l. II. III.)

And if you’re still on the authorial intent intent train wondering just WHY I’m saying it shouldn’t be justified that way, let me phrase it like this:   H*rikoshi also intended for 𝙈*𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙖 to be just a comic relief character and nothing more, yet we still all seem to be in collective agreement that he’s actually a disgusting pervert and a danger to all the girls in ua.  Again: Authorial intent does NOT matter when the content itself is harmful. I’m hot telling you to crucify H*rikoshi over this, what I’m saying is that critical thought needs to be applied here.  If you think that the sexualization of the students,  M*neta’s entire existence, and scenes like the one where B*kugo throws the sharp bit at M-doriya and makes him bleed are bad/harmful even though they weren’t intended as such, there is no reason whatsoever to excuse M*tsuki from being judged the same way. If anything, it reads like this abusive behavior is being excused so the ‘’B*kugo is just a terrible person by himself, don’t bring anything/anyone else into it’’ narrative can be furthered. And because the abuse portrayed is ‘not bad/severe enough’ that’s apparently an acceptable take to make.  But not all abuse looks like the T-doroki family. Not all abusers are End*avors or Ov*rhauls. And just because the victim isn’t a Sh-to or an E-ri (see: a good person with the typical signs of trauma) , it doesn’t change the fact that they were abused. To imply otherwise is to undermine both the range of effects abuse has on real people, and those people’s experiences as a whole. So to sum up the first part of this post, say it with me kids: 

Good? good. So at this point you may be thinking ‘’so what then? If you do think that B*kugo was abused, does that mean you find his behavior justifiable?’’ And the answer to that is:

Haha, NO.

See, being abused doesn’t grant anyone saint status. Just how you can be abused and turn out an amazing person, you can also be abused an turn out an absolute sack of shit. At that point the abuse may explain the behavior, but it does not under any circumstances justify it.  (And no, young age doesn’t justify it either. Yes teenagers - young adults do get a bit more room for error generally speaking, but when they commit horrendous acts that doesn’t change jack shit about the magnitude of the act or how it affects others.) From a certain point on people are fully responsible for their own actions and you can’t pin their every error on something from their past (especially if they’re not even TRYING to correct said errors, or if the error itself is unforgivable). To conclude- The point of this post isn’t to show that either of these characters is morally ‘better’ or ‘worse’ than the other , but to point out that BOTH of them can be bad at the same time for different reasons, without using one’s behavior to justify the other’s, or ignoring one’s to attack the other. With the added secondary suggestion to analyze media from various angles for the most objective results in any critique. . . . Ps: i forgot to say anything about the couple of people i saw saying that B*ku deserves the beatings from his mom, so let me add it here. :) ahem. I do not CARE that the bastard is my most hated character of all time, I WILL manifest inside your house and drink your bone marrow like a fucking soup, FUCKING LISTEN TO WHAT YOU’RE SAYING FOR ONE DAMN SECOND P L E A S E-

[imaginedmelody]

Thanksgiving “Community” Fic Rec Post!

It’s been a hot second since I posted fic recs on this blog! When I went to put this list together, the “Community” fics vastly outnumbered everything else I was planning to include. So I’m dividing this into 2 posts: you’ll get the “Community” ones now, so I can take time to track down some of my faves from other fandoms.

Not to sound saccharine, but Thanksgiving is about gratitude, and the Community fandom is the one I’m most grateful for this year. Both the show and the people I’ve met because of it made 2020 go from a hell year to...well, a slightly more bearable hell year, if we’re honest. And the fandom produces some damn good fics. So here they are, in no particular order, for your quarantine reading pleasure! And be sure to let me know your favorites that I might have missed!

1. “Advanced Companion Reconciliation” by adorations; Troy/Abed, not rated, complete (but part of a series marked in-progress)

This is one of the first fics that really stood out to me when I started getting into Community fic in the late spring/early summer of this year. The fandom is filled with post-series reunion fics where Troy goes to find Abed in LA, and this one is particularly exquisite. The whole story is wonderful, but I’ll go ahead and publicly state that Chapter 4 of this fic is one of the best single pieces of writing I read on AO3 this year. The level of intimacy and understanding and protectiveness between the characters, even in a non-romantic context, is mind-blowing. Their relationship just builds and builds beautifully.

2. “Lessons in Adjustment” and “Remedial Recovery” by biggod ( @nadir-barnes ); Troy/Abed, mature (LiA) / explicit (RR), complete (but part of a series marked in-progress)

A tender, angsty, but absolutely beautiful pair of fics- the first about chronic illness, the second about mental health. It can be a real gamble to take characters from a piece of comedic media and write about them undergoing scary and sad things, but Cherie does it perfectly here. This series will break your heart and make it soar at the same time, because even as Abed struggles to face a painful (and painfully realistic) diagnosis, the love between the characters and their humanity just shines right through. By the end of “Remedial Recovery,” I could feel that moment of learning to wake up to life again just like the characters were. Can’t recommend it highly enough.

3. “Studies in Evolution of Affection” by onemechanicalalligator ( @1mechanicalalligator ); Jeff/Abed, explicit, complete

There are some writers where the main barrier to including them in rec posts like this is that you want to rec everything they’ve written. Maya is absolutely one of those writers. Her fics may not have been the first I read when I joined the fandom, but they were one of the first where I began to make friends, to have conversations and feel like an active participant in the fandom. Like Cherie (above), Maya has also written fics about the characters going through dark situations, especially Abed dealing with mental illness and Jeff recovering from alcoholism (both of which, while dealt with more seriously in her fics than in the show, are canon-compliant aspects of the characters). And there is a special place in my heart for those, but if I had to choose one fic to recommend out of all of her dozens of works, it would be this one. Jeff/Abed is a rarer, more niche pairing, but one with incredible potential, since both Jeff and Abed are damaged in their own ways (and often understand each other better than the others, especially in the later seasons- even when they’re at odds). Each of the chapters is a little glimpse into a different scenario as Jeff and Abed’s relationship develops. Some of them are connected, and some are more stand-alone, but they’re all filled with lovely fluff and hurt/comfort.

4. “Seminar on the Legality of RomCom Tropes” by ama ( @greenandhazy ); Troy/Abed, teen, complete

No joke, this fic may actually have made me cry a little from all the emotions it gave me. It definitely made me gasp and burrow into the pillows smiling and say “awww” out loud. It starts with a pretty solid romantic comedy fake-dating premise: instead of Pierce requiring Troy to sail around the world to earn his $14 million inheritance, the conditions in this fic are that he must get married in one month and remain married for at least a year. After trying and failing to find a partner, Abed agrees to marry him to fulfill the terms of the agreement. And this begins an epic slow-burn for the ages, that rivals any romance movie I’ve watched in recent memory. The way they have to act like a happily married couple while, at the same time, not acknowledging their growing feelings for each other- it’s so beautiful and the longing is exquisite. By the time it ended, the joy I felt was incredible. This is the only single-chapter non-series fic on this list, so if you’re looking to read just one standalone, this is a perfect heartwarming choice.

5. “Basic Heartbreak Repair” by lgbtrobed ( @lgbtrobed ); Troy/Abed, explicit, complete as of TODAY!

While we’re on the topic of slow-burn... This fic is another perfect example of that. It sets up a scenario where the study group reunites in Colorado at Troy’s house, which they are using for Jeff and Britta’s wedding, years after the finale. They’ve kept in touch, but Troy and Abed have only seen each other once since Troy got back from his time at sea- and they’ve never discussed their feelings. The romantic buildup between them is just amazing; they’ve had all this distance, so things feel new, but at the same time it’s palpable how well they know each other. So every little step they take towards one another is absolutely note-perfect.

I can easily think of a dozen amazing fics that I didn’t even have room to include on this list. This fandom is full of some of the most ridiculously talented writers you can imagine. And now that the show is on Netflix streaming and enjoying a revival of popularity, there’s more fandom activity than it’s seen in years. I can’t wait to see what amazing works are waiting for us in 2021!