#fandom is political

[its-the-allure]

I’m a burgeoning podficcer and contributed something to the ETL Echo presents Fandom is Political collection today!

On Slash and Fanfic by lettered

Summary:

Lettered is the author of 120+ works in a variety of fandoms, including the Harry Potter fan favorite Away Childish Things. With over two decades of experience participating in fandom she has a unique perspective, and shares her thoughts often on her Tumblr @letteredlettered

In this piece Lettered explores such topics as: the difference between slash and erotica, what makes a fic "popular", whether fic has to contain smut to be popular or even be considered fic, and the rich history of why slash fanfic exists and who it was created for.

[etl-echo-audiobooks]

You can listen to the entire Fandom Is Political collection HERE!

Connecting Lines, Connecting Crimes by @sleepstxtic

As part of @etl-echo-audiobooks's January theme week, "Fandom IS Political", I recorded this stellar fic by @sleepstxtic. Come for Drarry exes to lovers with a side of Pansy/Parvati, stay for the scathing commentary on colonialism and post-colonial economic imperialism. Enjoy!

Connecting Lines, Connecting Crimes by @sleepstxtic Rating: M Pairing: Draco/Harry Length: 1.5 hours Tags: Indian Culture, Colonialism, Politics, Worldbuilding, Environmentalism, Adventure, Getting Back Together

Listen now on AO3

[incognito-duo]

[justaleafinthewind]

If any one of my posts is to break containment, make it this one.

Before January 2025, download your favorite fics, especially those with smut or queer content.

If Project 2025 goes into effect (which it very likely will now that we have three red branches of government in the US), they may attempt to restrict the use/sharing of media on sites like ao3.

This particularly applies to fics with smut or any type of queer content, because the official Project 2025 document states, "Pornography, manifested today in the omnipresent propagation of transgender ideology and sexualization of children, for instance... has no claim to First Amendment protection... Pornography should be outlawed."

Now, I don't expect ao3 to disappear or go anywhere without a fight, but it's best to be on the safe side these days.

To download your favorite fics:

Go to archiveofourown.org and open the fic you want to download.

At the top right corner, to the right of the 'subscribe' button, is a button that says 'download'. Click it.

A drop-down menu will give you the option to choose the format of your download. Choose your preferred format (.epub and .pdf are my personal favorites -- .epub lets you open a fic in the apple books app and .pdf is compatible with like every device and program out there).

When you click the button for your preferred format, a pop-up window appears confirming your choices. The title of the document will default to the title of the fic, so be aware of that and consider changing conspicuous titles to something ignorable, especially if you share the computer.

You're done! Now do this with all your favorite fics!

Stay safe out there, your favorite characters are rooting for you <3

[johnny-depp-is-loved]

“I’m not on tiktok anyway so this does not affect me” no???? it’s not just about tiktok or whether or not you like the app??? it’s about them being able to censor and control what they want and what they don’t want people to see. it’s about them being able to keep people uneducated for the sake of their personal gain and benefits.

(it’s also about small businesses who relied on tiktok to gain customers / income.)

that being said, if the only thing you care about is the platforms you’re on, sorry to break it to you, but if they can ban tiktok, they can go after any other platforms too.

they can go after tumblr, archive of our own, instagram, youtube, facebook, etc, you name it.

it actually does affect you.

[let-them-fight]

can we stop doing this trope

[dyleeart]

odysseus & polites & eurylochus

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

we must protect archive of our own at all costs

[insomniphic]

I like to think that Polites, and maybe the other men, would check up on Odysseus' mental state by talking about his wife lmao

he'll never waste a second to talk about her LMAO

[inkskinned]

you know, you know. no gods, no masters, no kings on pedestals. everyone is fallible. death of the author. you know! you are balanced about your intake of media - you allow the wiggle room, the grace, the gratitude, the skepticism. nobody above criticism.

but still. a weird gut-punch feeling, something akin to betrayal. you read the article. surprise! an author you love is actually: a serial fucking predator.

well, shit. what now. no, you knew he was a person (all people are), but now you're wondering - what have i overlooked by accident? what messages have i internalized that are strange and cruel? and also, like, what the fuck?

his actions lay a thick glaze on top of everything. like each place is now ruined, opaque in a new way. but okay, fine, you've done this before. you knew better, right? you've been betrayed by many a cherished childhood author.

still, this stickiness. fuck. can you pick up that book again. will you read it to your children. you've recommended it to others - will you ever do that again? and of course, of course, no parasocial relationships. you were theoretically above this kind of sentiment. but the artist informs the art, right.

so it's not something as clear-cut as feeling he owed you, specifically (a stranger) better behavior - just that you kind of, in a distant and odd way... sort of trusted him to do better. it's not like a real trust or something speakable, just the faint hope that the product (good books) was a thin representation of the soul. now it feels like the product (good? books?) was a mask. in some small or insignificant way, your previous support of this person lent them power. your money and your time and your laughter.

and the thing is - you have this terrible, echoing sensation. how many times will this happen? over and over. you find out that the singer you love is actually a predator. you learn over drinks that your favorite high school english teacher is in jail for what he did to her. you listen to the news idly and suddenly discover that a woman you used to idolize has been abusing her kids for an actual eon.

what can you touch without the static melting off. you can't even really complain about it too much (you were supposed to know better, and besides, you don't want the same re-split "it's not your fault, love what you love" basic advice), but now it's here. somehow, it feels like - you let him into your life.

it's not that things need to be pure or an artist has to be like, endlessly perfect, mindful. demure. it's more just this terrible truth that has been replayed through your veins so often it feels criminally vain. power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. did you want any one person to be worth that power?

it's just that he wrote books where he seemed to understand that. he seemed to know about hierarchies and unfair systems and bigotry and privilege. you thought they were books about what it means to struggle. you thought they were about having power and still using it for good rather than for control. he spooned you a narrative of being a good guy, a kind soul. you fucking bought what that fucking monster sold.

maybe that's why they were fantasies, after all.

[its-the-allure]

Another podfic from me today! This time by @wisteria-lodge

On Wizarding Weddings in Harry Potter

Summary: Blogger wisteria-lodge publishes meta-analysis essays on the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. In this piece, they explain the rules they follow whenever expanding on/filling in the Harry Potter world building, and speculate on what a Wizarding wedding might look like for Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy.

[unofficial-project-2025]

GAY FURRY HACKERS HACKED THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION AND RELEASED THE FOLLOWING CHAT LOGS. WHAT THE FUCK.

EDIT: https://files.catbox.moe/i0tkbp.txt here's the entire chatlog.

EDIT 2:

Since this post is gaining traction, I'm adding a link to a good summary of Project 2025.

[guardcanine]

killing myself if they’re banning AO3 next I’m being so serious

[eziojensenthe3rd]

Republicans nuked KOSA. Its considered DOA and wont be showing up at the house. This is good news certanly but its not entirely over. This bill got bipartisan support back in the senate, dickheads from both sides thought the idea behind kosa was worth doing, its just that the republican party decided to nuke it for reasons im trying to figure out? To try to deny a win for democrats similar to how they stopped a cancer research bill?

Something like kosa will pop up again, kosa itself may just rise from the grave and we'll have to go through this same song and dance so all i can say is stay informed on this type of shit. Inform your senators and reps not to support this shit and if they dont oppose it, vote them out in the next election they're running in.

There are bills that do in fact regulate the internet in a way that helps but also doesnt violate free speech by targeting how data is harvested. Thise bills should be pushed while censorship should die. For now, celebrate this day. KOSA atm is dead, done so in a manner so anticlimatic yet deserving. But be vigilant.

[fr3sh-c0rn]