#fan culture history

[historian-crown]

WE HAVE BEEN ROBBED!!

Source: Spockanalia issue one 1967

Where the hell is my silly Lord of the Rings album, Mr. Nimoy????

[canichangemyblogname]

Please, please, please reblog for sample size. Make this a very popular poll on this site.

[epitome-of-an-openbook]

unpopular opinion, but this anon thinks that people should stop focusing on webcomics in fandoms and focus on ao3 fanfics? anon saw a big webcomic series that lasted for a long time end... but knows that the fans will just expect another high quality web comic for quality content, and not read fanfics on ao3?? smaller level stuff isn't bad...

That sure is an interesting take. I'd like to know what your reason for believing that web-based fancomics will take away from AO3 is?

Fancomics, even high quality ones, have been around longer than the internet has, they were parts of fan zines just as often as written fanfiction back when the only way you could get fanfic/fan content was through mailing lists and underground subscriptions to zines. There were fancomics for Star Trek only a year or two after color TV sets had become the household standard. Even then, webcomics have been around since Witches and Stitches which had started coming out in 1985, 25 years before AO3 was created.

Personally, I think it's extremely limiting to focus on just one type of fancontent - webcomics/fancomics take longer to produce than the purely written works that are most popular on websites like AO3, FF.Net, and Wattpad because the creator has to not only outline and write their story, but they also have to illustrate it. A high quality webcomic is likely to take twice to three times as long as most fanfics to update, so I feel like even if someone is more invested in a webcomic than the fanfics they're reading it takes very minimal time away from them reading fics.

Also, people have media preferences - some people in fan spaces prefer webseries and fan videos over fanfics, some people only look at fan art, some people struggle with reading and only consume fanfic through podfics.

Accessibility in fan spaces is weird as well and should also be considered, especially for young fans and people with disabilities. Say a fan is blind or visually impaired, their preferred fancontent might be podfics, podcasts, or video essays. Say a young member of a fandom, around 12-13 years old, uses a computer or phone that has parental security on it which has most social media and websites like DeviantArt and Ao3 blocked because their parents don't want them exposed to anything too explicit - a lot of younger kids first social media exposure comes through Pinterest - there's not gonna be a lot (if any) written fanworks that they have access to, but web comics and fanart are the staples of Fandom on Pinterest. Say a fan is dyslexic, there have also been studies that show that text in comics is better suited for people with dyslexia - so accessibility in fan spaces for them means that its going to be easier for them to consume fancomics than longform fanfic. Also some people just don't like comics that much, and some people don't like reading that much, so whenever someone has a preference they will look for their fancontent somewhere where their needs and preferences are met.

Personally my preferred form of fan content to consume is written fanfiction, but I will still read a fancomic if it catches my interest, especially if I'm in some kind of reading slump.

I don't know for sure what your reasoning is behind advocating for less fancomics in comparison to fanfics, but just try to remember that fandom and fancontent have been around for a long time in all shapes and forms and we should respect the various mediums that fancontent comes in because all of those creators work hard and that deserves to be recognized.

[tygerland]

Fan Kuan Travelers among Mountains and Streams. c. 1020. Ink and slight color on silk: 206 × 103 cm (81 × 40 in).

[freckliedan]

hi jam, what actually happened in 2012/2013? i got into the phandom in 2020, so i guess i just never fully understood? of course no worries if you don’t want to bring it up for whatever reason. (:

hi anon! i am always happy to discuss dan and phil history (editing to add: you can check out my tag on that here), especially since i've been around for long enough to have seen a Lot of it. the biggest factor is that dan and phil were outed in 2012; i have written about that before here.

i would reccomend rewatching dan's mental health series of videos (meaning of life, something i'm forgetting, daniel and depression, trying to live my truth) + BIG with the additional understanding that being outed at that point had a catastrophic impact on dan's mental health, especially considering his past traumas.

there were a lot of other reasons 2012 and 2013 were bad, some of which we knew at the time and some that we didn't.

dan's younger brother started to have social media, and fans were harassing him for information/pretending to be friends with him to get information/bullying him. that's something dan shut down HARD.

dan's grandma was also on twitter around this time iirc? so there was a very real chance he could've been outed to his family if someone had decided to cross the line in the worst way they could.

dan and phil had moved to london in 2012 without being able to afford it and without being sure they would get the bbc radio 1 jobs. so they were also under stupid amounts of financial stress while also adjusting to life in a new city when all of this happened.

2013 is also the year phil's dad was diagnosed with cancer. that's something that phil never shared until 2019 in his draw my life 2, but that's such a scary and overwhelming thing to be dealing with!

all at the same time!

the radio show era is also a time when dan and phil were so busy with projects and opportunities and saying yes to everything that it very, very clearly had a negative impact on them, which is something they have mentioned a number of times.

they were dealing with the transition into proper fame, too. i don't have enough toughts to gather about that but i'm sure someone else can speak to what that was like. a lot of youtubers of their original era left the platform at that that time due to the everything.

so. short answer. 2012-2013 was one of the most intense, overwhelming and difficult periods we know of in dan and phil's lives for so many reasons, even without factoring in the fact that they were outed. which also happened then.

they did not, in fact, have a difficult 2012 because people posted smut of them and they accidentally saw it. dan had already mentioned reading fic about himself on purpose at that point in time.

[kryptonbabe]

Today is TOS Amok Time's 57th anniversary, officially Spirk Day so I'm honoring the date by reading a paper on how the ideas behind Kirk/Spock slash fanfiction articulate queer love in a way that makes it accessible to everyone, queer or not, and it is the most romantic paper I've read! Happy Spirk Day!

An excerpt of the text:

This paper argues that what the characters of Kirk and Spock represent is an archetypal pairing that transcends gender altogether. By reading K/S queerly and broadly, these gender distinctions become irrelevant. What matters are the characters themselves, and the unique qualities that make fan authors - straight, gay, indifferent - feel the need to pair them. Specifically, the Kirk/Spock pairing represents not a bonded pair, but a divided self. Sexuality, like the mindmeld, becomes a stand-in for the reunification spoken of in Aristophanes' tale of the Children of the Sun - two humans once whole separated and ever seeking their other half. The corporate caretakers of these characters have proven themselves, to a broad readership, unwilling to realize the "particular style of the 23rd century" as one in which queer love is acceptable love. And so, for close to forty years, an active and activist readership has been doing it for them through the creation of an aberrant folklore that they believe adheres more closely to the spirit of the narrative's utopian origins. It has fallen upon the fan to become creator, the reader to become the author, and the author to become active in the reuniting of this divided self.

From The Final Frontier Is Queer: Aberrancy, Archetype and Audience Generated Folklore in K/S Slashfiction (2005) by P. J. Falzone on @jstor

[artidiya]

Medusa

[ellapastoral]

okay, y'all my homestuck deep dive is live on youtube. let's boost this one.

[jessamine-rose]

*lovingly tackles Aine*

Read my Yandere! Pierro longfics first ♪( ´▽｀)

Last week, my beloved mutual @ainescribe surprised me with Savior! Darling fan art and AHAI9232@2-!/! CRYING SCREAMING I WANT TO LOOK AT THIS ART AND WORSHIP YOUR VERSION OF SAVIOR THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BLESSING ME WITH YOUR ART—

*clears throat* Anyway, now that I finally have the time to properly sit down and comment on the fan art, I’ll do just that. Feedback will be in the tags and it will be unhinged. Once again, thank you so much to Aine for drawing this <3

[ishouldbedoingalright]

the number of people cheering that gareth's gone... babe he ranks third for all-time victories as england manager and all european championship runs to the final have been under his management. no men's manager has ever done that. he completely transformed how the england team are viewed not only by the public but by the players.

[sneeplerbeepler]

y'all remember onlyleigh? what's she doing rn

[thecharmingchimaera]

I think this goes hand-in-hand with the whole "why fanfic writers aren't receiving as much engagement/as many comments" situation, but I'm sure a lot of it has to do with this culture at the moment of like... immediately dismissing and trivialising and being expected to find faults in the things you love?

I see this a lot on YouTube - "Why This Thing is overrated", "Is Such-and-Such really actually good" etcetera etcetera, because someone for some godforsaken reason somewhere decided that being negative gets more clicks, and it's just like... when do people actually get to relax and enjoy things? Where can people go to wholeheartedly gush about their favourite thing, and not immediately have people criticising and pointing out the flaws in the story/character/book/insert-medium-of-choice here. It terrifies me.

I was only a young'un back in the early-to-mid 2010s, but from my experience of voraciously reading fanfic around that time, it feels like there was a lot more space for people to openly gush and express their love back then? From my vague memory, it feels like there was some unspoken agreement to keep immediate, reactionary "you should feel bad for liking this" to a minimum - sure, there was the dreaded fandom discourse, but I don't remember there being quite this much "this piece of media/character/art is not actually one hundred percent perfect, and therefore you're a horrible person for loving it, even if it makes your little heart sing".

I just feel like it was so much more communally acceptable to just... love stuff? Be unashamedly and unabashedly into things, and having that love and enjoyment and engagement respected? I'm sure that, coupled with the fact that most comment sections on other social media are rife with negativity, explains a lot. Where can people just wholeheartedly adore things without judgement?

Ugh, I dunno man. Anyway, comment on your favourite fanfics.

[melodioustear]

Let's Learn About Mental Illness and Fandom!

ETA: This survey has now closed. Thank you for so many more responses than I expected! I will announce as soon as the data is available to others to use and as I make my own discoveries in working with it.

Thank you so much everyone for your responses to my fanfiction and mental illness survey. As of posting we have 108 responses which is fantastic and very much enough for my own thesis, but I don't just want this data to be for me - I want it to be available to other fan studies researchers to work with and build upon.

This is the work I spoke about when I was on the @fansplaining podcast just a few months ago, and something that we just don't have in the fan stats community - our only related information is on whump, which whilst useful isn't by any means the same thing.

So if you'd like to help us learn more about how we read, write and interact with fanfiction about mental illness, please take the survey & share this post!

The survey will take you just 5-15 minutes, and will help to gather groundbreaking insights for fan studies. You’ll be asked about yourself, about how you read, write and find fanfiction about mental illness, and what interacting with this kind of fanfic has been like for you.

Full data on the study, including consent, privacy and GDPR information, can be found on the survey page.

Submissions will remain open until the 25th June 2023. Thank you so much!

[lime-ether]

I'm curious... What would Ivy and the rest of the group look like in Ukrainian costumes? I've seen several of them and they are just plain GORGEOUS!

Okay , You know how to make me happy.. 💅💅💅💅

DPG IN UKRAINIAN CLOTHES

So When I was drawing them... I wasn't just sitting there mindlessly drawing them in the same embroidered shirts....

So, Below I have written down some of my decisions regarding the costumes, so if anyone is interested...

It may be a little cursed but I tried-

Ivy would rather have a Hutsul style suit. This is a region associated with the Carpathians and Molfarism, the ancient art of magic and healing. Her image has elements that echo the role of the mole: bright colors (red, yellow), a floral wreath on her head with colored ribbons, symbolizing a connection with nature, and embroidered patterns on her clothes, which were often used to protect against evil forces. Her style reflects the power and wisdom associated with molfaroks, who according to legend could control the elements and predict the future. This type of clothing, particularly the upper cloak and neck ornaments, give her a majestic appearance, which may allude to her status as a wise woman or shaman in Ukrainian mythology.

For shi..

The image of Shi Inspired by the clothes of central Ukraine or Poltava, also echoes the image of the Mavka - the spirit of the forest and a natural entity from Ukrainian mythology. Her tenderness, lightness, and clothes convey ephemerality and magic, which is associated with nature, beauty and mystery. Her clothes emphasize the traditional image of mavoks as spirits, which are both beautiful and sometimes strong. Her gaze and general style of dress suggest tenderness and a certain melancholy often associated with these mythical creatures, which can be both benevolent and dangerous.

For Catri is

Catri costume also has the style of the Hutsul region. Hutsul costumes often clear geometric patterns and contrasting colors like black with red or white, for her I chose a poppy wreath.

The poppy is traditionally associated with the memory of the dead, to honor the memory of fallen soldiers or victims of various disasters.

In addition, the poppy symbolizes calm, peace and eternal rest. In folk beliefs, the poppy is also considered a talisman that protects against evil spirits.

For Dravolo

Her image is more suitable for the Transcarpathian region, where folk costumes are distinguished by a large number of colors and multi-layeredness. Transcarpathian costumes often contain green, red and yellow colors combined with embroidery and decorations. Dravolo also holds Trimba Trimbita is a traditional Ukrainian wind musical instrument in the shape of a long wooden horn. It is made of wood, often fir or pine, and can be up to several meters long. Trimbita is used mainly in the mountainous regions of Ukraine, in particular in the Carpathians. This instrument produces a loud, shrill sound and is usually used to announce various events such as holidays, weddings or gatherings. The trimbita is also an important element of Hutsul culture and is often used in folk music, and its sound is associated with nature and the traditional life of mountain regions.

For ali...

His positive, bright nature and voluminous forms of flowers suggest the Poltava region, where costumes are known for their exquisite patterns and delicate colors. The Poltava style of embroidery usually has floral motifs with an emphasis on pink, red and white colors. I also gave him a mask that reminds me of myself... Motanku doll is a traditional Ukrainian folk toy made from natural materials such as straw, threads and cloth. It is a symbol of family comfort, goodness and protection. Motanka usually do not have a face, as it is believed that this allows them to be universal and not be attached to specific features. The patterns on his mask are red diamonds and flowers. Red color in this context is associated with love, passion and protection, rhombuses are associated with charms that protect against negativity.

And Den just in White embroidered shirt ;)

[emry-stars-art]

please can u tell us more of ur thoughts on branding.

can u tell us ALL ur thoughts on branding.

can u tell us all your thoughts.

ANGST ANGST ANGST ANGST

Why yes I CAN tell you my thoughts! but this post will stay pretty much about the branding, even tho there will be other points you can notice below; unfortunately I have limited space and time on these posts. One thing at a time for my brainnn 🙏

Also. This is another “there’s too much going on here for me to cover it all” concept, so this is actually in two parts just to make sure it doesn’t get too ungodly long 😂 and one day there’s a bunch of stuff I want so badly to write about it! For now, I’ll put the link to the second post [here] as well as at the very end for your reading convenience

Find the royal au writing masterpost here 💕

(This was supposed to be for showing the brands; it turned into an explanation of some of the physical effects of things that happened in Evermore and the direct aftermath.)

Ahem. So Riko’s pretty determined to make it as difficult as possible for Abram to sneak away again, blend into other places. The best way to do that, obviously, is to brand him to his court as he had the rest.

Abram expects that. He’s completely prepared to have this done, it’s all but inevitable. He’d been dodging his number III for far too long now. Even Day has the II still on his own cheek - Abram can deal with it. Riko’s too proud not to let it heal nicely. He needs his court to look as neat and uniform as possible.

Still hurts like hell.

But after, when Abram wants nothing more than to be completely alone until he can see properly out of that eye, Riko orders him to strip down. Abram doesn’t - his time in Palmetto and with Prince Andrew took away Abram’s only survival technique. He’s known good people now, he knows how a person is supposed to be treated and he’s learned at least some degree of self-respect. Nathaniel relied on a day-to-day understanding that he could die in any terrible, inhuman way at another’s whim. Abram knows better. (It ruins him.)

Of course, Riko gets his demands met anyway. They have to hold Nathaniel down to get the second brand on him. This one isn’t for show, though perhaps that was a thought in Riko’s mind - branded cattle is hard to steal and easy to identify. Mostly it’s the beginning of pushing onto Abram that he isn’t more than property, he’s a work animal and he’s expected to act like it. And Riko doesn’t care that this one heals as neatly. Since it’s not going to be for the public eye, Riko can let it fester and infect as long as it stays recognizable. As long as Abram can look at it and remember what it is and what it’s there for.

When Abram is brought back, when Day is with him in that cart, it’s another thing he begs for the prince not to see. The muzzle and the brand. At first Day is confused; “The prince will want to see your face, Abram. You know he won’t care. It’s just like mine.”

But Abram shakes his head. Says no. No, the other one. Please don’t let him see.

Maybe Day doesn’t fully realize what that means until he forces that bath on Abram. Abram doesn’t try to hide it; he’s already told Day about it, and if there’s anyone that will take Evermore cruelty in stride it will be Day. (That doesn’t mean Day isn’t enraged to see it. Healed ugly, even still a little inflamed from rough fabrics and no care. He knew Riko was always mad with power; this was something else entirely.)

So Day heeds Abram’s pleas and doesn’t let Andrew see the brand. It’s always covered in bandages. When Andrew begins to help with Abram’s care, Day tells him he shouldn’t remove that bandage. It would cause Abram a lot of pain. Andrew tries to ask about it, but Day gives him the same answer as with the strange little punctures in Abram’s face: he will tell you if and when he wants to. And again, Andrew cannot argue.

By this point I think Andrew and Day have reached an agreement. Abram’s eyesight is getting clearer by the day, and Andrew understands how serious Day is about both his and Abram’s safety. But Day agreed that as long as Abram can confirm he recognizes Andrew, Andrew is allowed to help when Day is unavailable.

So when Andrew is sent for, told that Abram has reopened some wounds or torn some bandages and won’t let any of the medics touch him, Andrew goes.

Abram is calm enough by the time he arrives. He lets the prince check the wounds, nodding allowances between each article of clothing and bandage that Andrew removes. And by then they may as well shower too, while Andrew is there. He’d like to try and do what he can for Abram’s hair.

Even then Andrew doesn’t remove the bandage. It falls off on its own under the stream of water. Andrew feels the slight tensing of Abram’s stomach, the way he pauses. For a second, Andrew can only stare, struck dumb with anger. Then, slowly and very carefully, he pushes the bandage back over the brand. Hardly breathing.

“Abram. What is that.”

And Abram tenses more. He can see enough now to place a good guess as to where Andrew’s eyes would be, himself wide eyed and suddenly fearful. (For a moment, the prince’s apparent calm response made Abram think that he’d somehow already seen the brand, which wasn’t impossible considering the circumstances. But his tone now, the ice in his voice as he confronts Abram on it - it feels like all of Abram’s worst fears have materialized there in front of him. Of course Andrew would be disgusted. Princes deserve better than damaged goods. Andrew deserves better.)

“I’m sorry,” Abram says automatically, which is the last thing Andrew wants to hear. “I’ll - you don’t have to anymore, just get Day -”

“Abram,” Andrew says again sharply, which is not the right thing because Abram flinches and pushes Andrew’s hands from him. He’s up and away from the hole-riddled bucket that serves as the infirmary’s makeshift shower almost immediately and finds his things half by memory and half blurry sight. Andrew wouldn’t want someone like him around, even as a guard. Especially in this state, when he can’t perform his duties at all.

Abram finds his way to Day’s room. Even with Andrew’s voice after him as he leaves the bath and infirmary altogether. Thankfully, it isn’t long before Day has returned from a routine check of the outer walls - Abram cannot handle being seen by the prince again, he’s shaking and slipping further from reality by the minute. Day takes one look at Abram in the hall and brings him into his room, trying to calm Abram enough to tell him what’s happened. Eventually, he pieces it together when Abram apologizes for making Day’s work for naught. You kept it from him this long time and I ruined it. Don’t let him be angry with you, it was my fault, just let him do what he wants and -

But Day won’t hear it. He figures out what it’s about, he tries to reassure Abram that it was a misunderstanding. Day knows for a fact, like any sane person and then as a person that knows Andrew, that the prince is not angry with Abram for having a brand or anything it was supposed to represent. He had been angry like anyone was angry to see it. Like Day had been. Day had just been much better about hiding it.

Abram isn’t in a state for rational thought or explanations. The panic and crying exhausts him, but nothing Day offers can comfort him. He won’t take the bed or couch or even the chair, too far in his head about Andrew finally seeing him for an animal. He ends up curled on the carpet near the fireplace, asleep by the time Andrew manages to find him. (He’d gone looking out by the gate, along any path Abram might have taken to run. It was either good or very bad that he didn’t find him there.)

Day answers the door and Andrew opens his mouth at the same time he scans the room, then stops. He sees Abram and tries to come in, but Day stands firmly in his way.

“Is he all right?” Andrew asks before he can stop himself. He messed up, this is his fault. He needs to be sure he hasn’t caused any real harm.

“Physically, yes,” Day says tersely. “But he’s asleep, and I will not be waking him yet. Out, in the hall. I need to speak with you.”

[part2 here]

[plush0fairy]

- Fashion of the clans -