#honestly the socializing on social media is the point of this kind of tag game I just self sabotage by being too insecure to tag people

[apocraphelion]

9 people I'd like to get to know better

tagged by @seiya-starsniper thank u!

🎶 Last song I listened to: I genuinely haven't listened to music in a week, last CD I had in was Big Lazy's "New Everything"

📺 Currently watching: I'm halfway through a sandman rewatch (just finished A Hope In Hell)

🌶️ Sweet/Savory/Spicy?: spicy!!!

❤️ Relationship status: polyamorous :)

🤩 Current obsession: honestly, watercolor painting.

(I do not do enough socializing on this social media to actually have 9 people to tag, so here's two @saphoblin and @rustycreekspoon , and anyone else if you see this wanna do this please tag me as tagging you!!!)

[hayleythesugarbowl]

hello! I've been seeing a lot of smosh vidcon content lately as well as rewatching shayne guesses and it made me brainstorm a bit!

How about a Spencer x reader where he freaks out about his favorite creator being at vidcon (the reader obvi) and the other cast members trying so hard to get them to meet and they hit it off? *you know Kiana would be allll over helping a bestie out lol*

or maybe even the same kind of thing but instead of meeting, reader is one of Spencer's fav youtubers in Shayne's guessing favorite youtubers video? Shayne immediately knows it's spencer and kind of outs his crush! reader is a big fan of smosh so she sees the video and it goes from there!

absolutely adore your work and keep it up queen! 🫶

See You Online || Spencer Agnew x reader

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ masterlist • smosh masterlist  ⋆˚｡⋆୨୧⋆

summary: when you see a smosh video of spencer saying you’re one of his favorite youtubers, you begin to interact online. then, when you both attend vidcon (and spencer’s friends convince him to talk to you) you hit it off

word count: 2.6k

warnings: mild language

a/n: hey darling! so i kind of went with both of these ideas and i hope you like what i did 🤭 i included some fake insta/yt in this because it fit so this is partially a social media au. fem!reader. enjoy!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~°~❦~°~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     “Well, this is obviously Spencer.”

     Shayne tapped his pen against the desk as he looked at the screen in front of him.

     Three YouTuber names had appeared next to him for the viewers to see. 

     “What makes it me?” Spencer’s teasing voice came from off camera. 

     “C’mon,” Shayne said. “We got Retro Game Corp, MandaloreGaming, and (Y/n) (Y/l/n).”

     He continued. “Everyone knows you love retro shit. MandaloreGaming sounds like just the kind of nerd thing you’d be into. And (Y/n)—that one’s just self explanatory. I mean, Spencer’s obsessed with (Y/n). Ask anyone in the office.”

     “Ok woah,” Spencer piped in again. “I don’t know about obsessed.”

     “Dude, you just told me yesterday that you watched her videos until two in the morning the night before,” Shayne addressed him.

      Then he faced back to the screen, to the viewers. “Spencer’s got a little bit of a crush on (Y/n). It’s uh, it’s honestly adorable.”

      A woman’s muffled voice came from offscreen. 

     Shayne laughed. “Kiana said Spencer would have (Y/n)’s babies.”

     “Dude!” Spencer yelled at Kiana offscreen. “What if she sees this!”

     “There’s no way,” Shayne laughed. “There’s no way any of the YouTubers from this video are seeing this.”

      “Imagine,” Spencer joked. “I’m like, ‘hey (Y/n), hit me up’, and then she sees this, bro.”

      “Hey,” Shayne raised his eyebrows. “You never know. I mean, I married a YouTuber.”

      “Just an excuse to bring up Courtney,” Spencer coughed.

      “Anyway,” Shayne put his hands on the table in front of him. “We’re getting a little off track here. We’ve established Spencer’s in love with (Y/n). Now—do I even have to guess?—show me Spencer!”

      He pointed to the side as an imagine of Spencer popped up on the screen. 

      “Well, thanks for that easy round,” Shayne joked. “Now, let’s see the next set of YouTubers…”

     And that was where you stopped watching the video every time. You’d seen the whole of Shayne Guesses Favorite YouTubers before, but when you went back to rewatch it, it was always this clip.

     You’d been sent this specific clip by hundreds of people. Your followers and subscribers on all different platforms. The comments ranged from ‘oh my gosh look at this’ to ‘you have to see this smosh video’ to ‘petition to get Spencer and (Y/n) to go out’.

     What they didn’t know, was that you’d seen it long before they began tagging you in it.

     You were a huge Smosh fan, and had been for years. Imagine your shock when you yourself were named in one of their videos. 

     You’d only been a creator for a little over a year now, but you’d quickly gained a following and were becoming more and more popular online. It still all felt so surreal, and seeing yourself named as someone’s favorite YouTuber—especially on one of your favorite channels—felt like a huge moment.

      That, and you were flattered by Shayne’s comments about Spencer. You thought it was sweet that he enjoyed your content and—you couldn’t stop the blush from spreading to your cheeks—you. 

      That was what prompted you to leave a comment under the video—a comment which Spencer responded to.

──────────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆──────────

Can Shayne Guess Our Favorite YouTubers? Smosh Games • 721k views • 38k 👍

comments 2.9k

yourusername ✓: does this count as being in the youtuber and the celeb crush vid?

♥️ by creator

spennser ✓: it was actually only until 1am i swear smoshyyy651: spensser LMAOOOO chumbawumbasnumbertwofan: the fact that (y/n) (y/l/n) saw this ✋😭 y/nstanforlifeee: oh my gosh my queen is here 👑 I love you and your vids (not as much as Spencer apparently asksfsk)

mya_sol: how many times have you watched 8:04? me: yes

yourfavoritepizzaplace: ‘spencer would have (y/n)’s babies’ KIANA THATS WILDDDD 💀

──────────���⋅☆⋅⋆──────────

    And from there, you began interacting. Leaving comments and likes on each other’s videos and instagram posts. Leaving fans to obsess over your every interaction, to make compilations, to wonder if you were dating.

     Because you’d be lying if you said you didn’t read most of the comments about you two. 

    You enjoyed your little online back-and-forth. You’d known who Spencer was before the Shayne Guesses video had come out. Watching Smosh on-and-off for years, you’d seen him in multiple videos.

     It still felt so unreal for him to know who you were—not only know who you were but like your videos.

     And now look at you, messaging him and liking his posts like you were old friends. Spencer pretty much liked and commented on every one of your feeds or stories or uploads.

     After your original comment on the Smosh video, things just…took off. You didn’t really know how it started, one comment led to another, and suddenly it was like you had always congratulated each other and left witty comments on each other’s pages. 

     You smiled as you stared at the screen of your phone, looking over your’s and Spencer’s latest interaction. You couldn’t deny that he was really cute. You’d always thought so. 

     You thought of Shayne saying that Spencer had a crush on you and you felt your smile grow bigger.

     Your empty suitcase caught your eye as you looked up, sitting on your bed and reminding you that you still had to pack.

     You set your phone down. Fangirling over Spencer could wait. You still had yet to pack for your flight that that was in two days, and you didn’t want to leave it ‘till the last minute—or, more last minute than it already was.  

     You had been lucky enough to be invited to VidCon this year, and you were thrilled about getting to go as a creator and meet other artists who had inspired you. You were less thrilled about the packing.

      You stood up and walked towards your closet, starting to decide which outfits you wanted to bring, daydreaming about what VidCon would be like. All while thinking about Spencer.

──────────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆──────────

yourusername

liked by hannahmontoya, spennser, and 21,449 others

yourusername: new vid up now !! 💌

view all comments

haleypham: about to go watch it right now xoxo love you

yourusername: stop ilysm 🤭

ynsgirlfriend: WAKE UP SHE POSTED 🙏

spennser: guess what i’m going to be doing at 2am

⤷ liked by yourusername

darlingdaisy: please do a grwm next i need to see your skincare routine!!

ryla768: we’re being fed well today 🙇‍♀️

──────────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆──────────

spennser

liked by yourusername, filmingamanda, and 17,914 others

spennser: it’s giving cat lady

view all comments

phatchanse: *cat queen

yourusername: my cat says to tell ur cat hi

spennser: my cat says ur cat’s pretty cute carmensanfransisco: LOL 😂🐈 urmom17: oh my gosh she commented spencer are you freaking out? spennser: urmom17 shitting my pants fr

jessicarabbitsimp: who else has noticed spencer and (y/n) all over each other’s igs 😏

smoshismylife: love you spencer 🫶

──────────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆────────── yourusername

liked by spennser, iamjordiofficial, and 32,712 others

yourusername: thx for 100k 🥂

view all comments

spensser: yay i contributed

⤷ liked by yourusername

yourusername: how’d you have time to create 100k accs tho? ⤷ liked by spennser

lucindajones101: congrats girlie!! you deserve it

ynfan7: my queen 🧎‍♀️

butterflyenjoyer: been here since the beginning 🥹 keep shining!!

getyninasmoshvideo: the way spencer makes an appearance on all her posts 😭

──────────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆──────────

VidCon was amazing. 

      Today was the first day, and you couldn’t wait for all the festive still to come. You had already seen so many cool presentations and been a part of so many workshops and met so many interesting people. 

      And now, as you stood at the table set aside for you, staring at the slowing line of people still waiting to meet you, you thought that this was definitely your favorite part.

     You’d gotten to talk to people who watched your channel and hear how your content had impacted their lives or inspired them to create. It really made it all feel worth it. It made you love your job and all of the opportunities it had given you.

     You’d been here for nearly two hours already, and still there were a few more fans waiting to speak with you and get a picture.  

     You smiled to yourself as the last of the people filed through, letting the momentary silence wash over you. You had just picked up your phone to take a quick selfie for a later post, when you heard a commotion to your left.

     You turned to the source of the noise and had to do a double take when you saw the entire cast of Smosh at a setup similar to yours, having their own meet and greet.

     You didn’t know why in all of your thinking about Spencer you hadn’t assumed that Smosh would be at VidCon. It seemed obvious now. They were YouTubers, weren’t they?

     Speaking of Spencer, you saw him talking to Courtney and your heart did a little flip in your chest. After interacting with him online these past few weeks, and watching his channel for these past few years, it seemed crazy to see him in person. 

     As if sensing your presence, he looked your way and you turned away in time so it didn’t look like you’d been staring. You didn’t think he’d caught you watching him. 

     “Wait? Spencer, is that (Y/n) (Y/l/n)?” Courtney’s voice carried over the several feet that separated you.

     “Oh, is it? I hadn’t noticed,” you heard him say sarcastically, even though your back was turned to him. You stepped a little bit closer to their location, pretending to be fixing something on your lanyard.

     “Dude, you have to go talk to her,” you heard a male voice—Shayne? You didn’t dare turn around—say.

     “No way man,” Spencer answered, “What would I even say?”

     “You’ve been commenting on each other’s instagrams for like a month, you’ll think of something,” Courtney said.

     “Yeah, but that’s different. This would be, like, a real conversation,” he answered. “I don’t actually know her. What if she thinks I’m just some creepy fan, and it’s like bro back off.”

     You bit your lip, stifling a giggle. Oh, what he didn’t know.

     Then the music in the venue picked up and you couldn’t hear their conversation for nearly a minute. You walked a few feet back over to your table, picking up and looking at a few of the gifts fans had given you, finding a new way to look busy. This went on for another minute before you heard a new voice say,

     “What’s this about Spence and (Y/n) (Y/l/n)?”

     “Just that Spencer’s going to go up to her,” Courtney announced. 

     “I’ll get the popcorn,” the voice said. 

     “No, Kiana,” you heard Spencer say. “That’s not what’s happening.”

     “You’ll regret if forever if you don’t go talk to (Y/n),” The voice—Kiana—stated. 

     “No way. That’d be like if I asked you to just ‘go up and talk to’ Darren Chris,” Spencer said

     “My favorite white guy,” Kiana joked.

     “Hey bro, I thought we established that was me!” Spencer said in outrage. 

     “You will be if you go and talk to (Y/n),” she finished. 

     “I will not be manipulated,” you heard him say, and you stifled another chuckle. 

     “No, but you will be shoved,” Kiana said.

     “Wait what?” Spencer got out, before you heard a scuffing sound.

     You turned around just as Kiana pushed Spencer and suddenly he was right before you. 

     “Hey,” he said, looking uncomfortable, shooting a glare behind him at Kiana. “I heard there was a meet and greet?”

     You smiled. “You just missed it, actually.” 

     “Damn, next year then,” he said.

     “I suppose I could make an exception,” you teased. “I wouldn’t want to be the one to take away anyone’s Favorite White Guy title.”

     Spencer winced. “How much of that conversation did you hear?”

     “What conversation?” You winked at him. 

     “I can’t remember,” Spencer said, smiling as he rubbed a hand along the side of his face.

     You were both silent for a moment.

     “So,” Spencer started, breaking it. “I would tell you that I love watching your content—until a very reasonable hour of the night, might I add—but you kind of already know that. And I bet you’ve already been told that by hundreds of people today.”

     “Not by anyone nearly as cute though,” you replied, before leaning in to mock-whisper. “And I don’t mind hearing it again.”

     “Also,” you continued. “I could say the same to you. I love Smosh—I’ve watched your channel for years. You guys are all so talented.”

     “Really? No way,” Spencer smiled. “You watch Smosh?”

     “Really,” you smiled back. “I did know who you were before the Shayne Guesses video, you know.”

     “Don’t remind me,” Spencer said, shaking his head.

     “I thought it was sweet,” you told him, laughing. “And if that video had never happened, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

     “Or at Buca Di Beppo tonight at 8?” Spencer said, with trepidation.

     “Or that,” you agreed, nodding. “Are you asking me out on a date, Spencer Agnew?” 

     You felt a blush creeping up your cheeks. 

     “I guess I am,” he said. “Unless you’re going to slap me, in which case no.”

     “Only if the date goes badly,” you teased. “And if you don’t make 100,000 more accounts to subscribe to my channel with.”

     Spencer grinned. “Done. And I can introduce you to the rest of the gang.”

     “Are they good with me crashing your guys’ dinner?” You asked. You couldn’t believe you were going to meet the members of Smosh.

     You couldn’t believe you were going on a date with Spencer. 

     “Oh, they already know about it. They’re listening to every word of our conversation right now.” Spencer pointed a thumb behind him and you looked over his shoulder to see all of the Smosh cast watching you.

     They all waved at you.

     “Hey girl hey!” Kiana called to you, smirking at Spencer. 

     You waved back at them, grinning. 

     “Well, I don’t want to keep you from meet-and-greet-ing any longer,” you said, turning back to Spencer.

     “Isn’t that what we’re doing right now?” Spencer joked, gesturing between the two of you.

     “Doesn’t count,” you said back. “Technically we’ve already met on the internet.”

     “Yeah, well, you’re much prettier in person,” Spencer said, as he backed up towards the rest of the Smosh cast.

     “Well then,” you said, only a little bit breathless. “I guess I’ll see you tonight.”

     “Unless I see you on the internet first,” Spencer said, turning around and walking away. 

     You couldn’t wait. Not only did you have your date with Spencer to look forward to, you also had the rest of VidCon to get to know Spencer better and hopefully hang out with him before all this was over. 

     You turned to leave as well, walking in the opposite direction of Spencer as you tried to think where you had to be next. It was hard to focus when all your thoughts were occupied by something else. Someone else.

     You were almost out of earshot when you heard Kiana’s voice, carrying over the crowds of people.

     “Get over here, loser. I’ll take my thanks in the form of cash and/or worsted weight yarn.”

──────────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆──────────

yourusername

liked by spennser, co_mill, and 41,813 others

yourusername: had the best time with spennser at vidcon ‘24 ❣️

view all comments

kianaparker: ok but i’m glowing (also yw 💁🏾‍♀️)

⤷ liked by yourusername

spennser: new phone who dis?

yourusername: definitely not your gf ⤷ liked by spennser materialgorl199: GF?!? AHHHHH heatherscandystore: wait they’re together? I’m so happy for them ily both sm 🤭

jessicarabbitsimp: I KNEW IT WAIT 😭

thirdcutestsmoshboy: i met both of them there and they were so sweet

ynislife: so are they dating???

angelagiovanagiarratana: GUYS 🥹

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~°~❦~°~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ˋ°•*⁀➷ hope you guys enjoyed this little bit of a different format. i had sm fun writing this. check out my other spencer fics if u want more like this 🎀

[cartierre]

QUEEN'S GAMBIT | cl16

SOCIAL MEDIA!AU charles leclerc x latina!chess player!reader (fc: alexa demie)

part two: giuoco piano

♡ liked by charles_leclerc, anyataylorjoy, netflix and 61,230 others

tagged: anyataylorjoy, netflix

yourusername it has been an absolute pleasure and honour to help my fellow latina anyataylorjoy on set for netflix's new series 'the queen's gambit' as a professional chess player. it's available on the 23th of october, only on netflix.

view all 5,373 comments

user1 so we're all here because of the dating rumour, huh? ⤷ user2 kind of mad her whole content is just chess. girl i wanna know how you look ⤷ user3 just google her she's a literal grandmaster, i'm sure she has wikipedia with some pictures

user4 'fellow latina' she's latina?? omg now i know i have a chance with charles ⤷ user5 charles expanded his taste in women and i'm here for it

anyataylorjoy the most fun i had on a set in a long time! ⤷ yourusername <3

♡ liked by charles_leclerc, magnus_carlsen and 34,492 others

yourusername i guess someone's eager to learn how to play chess. magnus_carlsen feel threatened because he's serious competition. (for context; magnus carlsen is the currently best ranked male chess player)

view all 928 comments

magnus_carlsen i'm going to feel threatened once i see his rankings ⤷ yourusername don't tell him i said that, but i fear there's no hope for him

user6 confirmed: charles dates y/n to have a chess teacher for free ⤷ user7 i mean honestly chess players aren't known to be pretty ⤷ user8 ??????????

user9 charles liking every post, yet y/n not tagging him or mentioning his name is so funny. like bffr we know you're dating just admit it ⤷ user10 it's giving saying 'my ex' instead of their name like we all know who you're talking about

♡ liked by yourusername, charles_leclerc and 123,207 others

tagged: yourusername

sportsillustrated Meet the grandmaster Y/N Y/L/N in an exclusive interview about chess, representation and working on set for Netflix' new series 'The Queen's Gambit' in our November issue 2020!

view all 1,703 comments

yourusername it was such an honour and privilege to work with you! i'm thankful to have had a chance to bring some awareness to chess, its greatness as well as some issues as a poc and woman in the sport! comment liked by charles_leclerc

user11 you're telling me THIS is the girl charles BAGGED?? ⤷ user12 absolutely gagged because why does charles lowkey look crusty now that i know his girlfriend is this gorgeous

♡ liked by charles_leclerc, anyataylorjoy, samohtsangster and 62,049 others

tagged: netflix

yourusername such a fun night at the premiere of 'the queen's gambit'! thank you so much for the invite netflix. an unforgettable night for sure!

view all 1,293 comments

user13 just confirm you're dating charles already we're getting sick and tired of this game ⤷ user14 fr they're so obvious. she's wearing red, she gets picked up by a ferrari, the hands??!!

user15 it's been enough soft launching i need a hard launch

anyataylorjoy looking absolutely gorgeous! ⤷ yourusername my favourite colour <3

♡ liked by 29,301 people

tagged: yourusername, charles_leclerc

f1wagupdates for the first time, y/n y/l/n has been spotted attending the first gp of the new season in bahrain. she's been seen arriving to the paddock next to charles leclerc.

view all 982 comments

user16 i'm at a point where i don't even give a fuck wheter or not they officially confirmed their relationship. i'm deciding that it's canon from now on ⤷ user17 fr their relationship has been rumoured about since june last year, we're tired.

user18 this is enough confirmation i need, they're dating.

user19 she's the definition of minimal effort maximum beauty ⤷ user20 still shocked she's dating charles. no offence, he isn't ugly but girl she's multiple levels above him for sure!

♡ liked by charles_leclerc, pierregasly, carlossainz55 and 129,301 others

tagged: charles_leclerc

yourusername confirmation enough?

comments have been disabled for this post

[babydollmarauders]

MEDIA MANAGEMENT — JACK HUGHES (23-24 SZN PART 11)

au masterlist

y/ndevils00

liked by jackhughes, nicohischier, and 251,869 others

y/ndevils00 well… that was painful

welcome back to my post-game recap! if you don’t know who i am because you’ve been living under a rock, or you’ve been in jail (don’t do crimes unless you can get away with them), i’m y/n! or as my boyfriend calls me, ‘dove’! i work as the social media manager for one of the sluttiest teams (and maybe the worst this season…) in the National Hockey League: the New Jersey Devils!

let get into it! your favorite (or maybe least favorite. i wouldn’t blame you!) men from hell lost 4-6 against the patriotic old guys tonight…. i can’t say i wasn’t surprised

we had an absolutely scoreless (and sinless) first period on our end, transitioning into intermission down by 3!

but second period is when we really started heating up! we got FOUR lovely goals by THREE lovely people!!

starting with uncle Toffee!! who scored our first AND our fourth goal!! he’s been so queen girlboss slay recently! who knew he would be this good?! not me! i doubted him severely! (i cannot apologize for my previous thoughts about you uncle, i can only ask you to forgive me anyways because you took my DILH and i’m still recovering)

Timo the absolute Tank Engine got us our second goal of the night with his first goal of the season! and no penalties!! i feel like a proud mother to a usually extremely horribly behaved little boy 🥹

and of course, my favorite whore, my very best swiss, my least favorite kind of cheese; captain slut got our third goal of the night!! THAT’S MY HOE!! POP OFF! (he also got a penalty tonight but i’ve opted not to show that because he paid me $20)

and i could never forget to mention that my beautiful angel of a bad bitch, Rowdy, got an assist on THREE out of four of our goals tonight!! he’s only 3 points away from 20 points already!! THAT’S MY (baby)GIRL!

and third period is when we immediately went as cool as the ice they skate on… giving up three goals (including an empty netter to the oldest looking man alive)… we got no goals of our own and my sweet baby angel face bestie number 1 got a penalty for being too perfect 😔

all-in-all, let’s wish the boys luck against the sabres on friday because apparently they need it! i think friday’s enemy gave them some pretty good advice though and they should put it to use!

p.s. ikea baby and merc-dog are my exact reactions to how badly we played in the third

p.p.s. ovi… when i catch you ovi 🥊😑

tagged john.marino97, tofff73, tmeier96, nicohischier, jackhughes, lhughes_06, jesperbratt, and dawson1417

Load more comments

jackhughes dove, baby, what is that abomination of a 5th photo?

y/ndevils00 my camera wouldn’t focus :(

jackhughes so why post it?

y/ndevils00 you don’t appreciate my talents

jackhughes i can assure you, i appreciate your talents plenty. photo taking is just usually not one of them

lhughes_06 gross

user29 did she just threaten OVECHKIN?! 😭

user17 i fear we may lose these updates after this threat 😪

jesperbratt what was i 😦 at?

y/ndevils00 i honestly couldn’t tell you— i was too busy wondering the best way to fit you in my pocket

john.marino97 i got a picture?!

y/ndevils00 you got an assist and no penalties!

john.marino97 but dawson got a penalty and no assists and still got a picture?

y/ndevils00 you’re not dawson, the standards for you are different

john.marino97 i’ve known you for 4 years and this is how i get treated? DAWSON HAS ONLY KNOWN YOU FOR 2!

y/ndevils00 you tattle on me, you deserve your treatment

dawson1417 she’s got you there, bud

tofff73 you doubted me?!

y/ndevils00 in my defense, i didn’t know you were chill like that

tofff73 jack has informed me that you cried at the trade, i forgive your doubts

y/ndevils00 @/jackhughes YOU’RE TELLING HIM MY SECRETS?!

jackhughes @/y/ndevils00 i wasn’t aware that you usually blast your “secrets” on your instagram story

user81 the random luke picture… y/n loves her smush 🥹

tmeier96 did you just call me a tank engine?

tmeier96 also, i’m OLDER than you!

y/ndevils00 that was a compliment! i’m saying you’re built!

tmeier96 you’re a funny little thing

y/ndevils00 also yes you are older— i said i FELT like a proud mother, not that i AM one. i already have one reckless child at home, i don’t want another

jackhughes @/y/ndevils00 she’s a cat.

y/ndevils00 @/jackhughes SHE IS OUR BABY

trevorzegras you love testing how far you can push before you get a warning for your behavior, don’t you?

y/ndevils00 i learned from you 🫶

trevorzegras you’re a cockroach

y/ndevils00 all i’m hearing is that i’m resilient and can live through anything

trevorzegras i hate you

y/ndevils00 you WISH you hated me— if you really did then you wouldn’t facetime me twice a week

nicohischier there are so many things i take issue with about my paragraph

y/ndevils00 is it that it’s not long enough? i’m sorry, i’ll make it longer next time!

nicohischier please DON’T.

lhughes_06 ya know, you were a lot nicer before i joined the team

y/ndevils00 oh good! that means i’m doing this right!

lhughes_06 doing what right?

y/ndevils00 tough love!

dawson1417 i didn’t do anything :(

y/ndevils00 i know, sugarplum!

dawson1417 they jailed me…

y/ndevils00 i can’t imagine how traumatic that must’ve been for you

dawson1417 oh it wasn’t that bad, you were in there too

y/ndevils00 yeah…. lindy put me there in 2nd intermission. he said if i wouldn’t stop chirping the capitals as though i was a player, then i needed to be treated like a player and get a penalty…. then i couldn’t get out because the game started again

dawson1417 you can’t skate, how did you get in?

y/ndevils00 i was betrayed

nicohischier @/y/ndevils00 i stand by it.

y/ndevils00 @/nicohischier YOU ALMOST DROPPED ME TWICE

nicohischier those were on purpose.

dawson1417 and how did you get out?

y/ndevils00 my knight in shining armor!

jackhughes @/y/ndevils00 i didn’t get you out?

jesperbratt i did!

jackhughes oh, yeah, that makes sense

[alpaca-clouds]

The Thing About Solarpunk Romance

Something that is quite interesting to me is a certain dualogy within the few novels that have been released for the genre is that there are basically two different kinds of novels there - and then there is Fox Hunt, but let me first talk about the novels there are.

Now, mind you. This list involves only novels that according to my information were written to be Solarpunk Fiction, rather than novels written at times before the invention of Solarpunk, that the label was later applied to. And these novels are:

The Biodome Chronicles by Jesikah Sundin (a Solarpunk vs Cyberpunk story)

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson (Solarpunk YA)

Foxhunt by Rem Wigmore (a Solarpunk action novel)

Seeds of the Swarm by Sim Kern (a story focusing on establishing Utopia)

Another Life by Sarena Ulibarri (kinda an anthology in a meta narrative and with a heavy philosophical focus)

When We Hold Each Other Up by Phoebe Wagner (a story about a Solarpunk society emerging after ecocide)

Now, it might be that I am overlooking some books here, especially as most Solarpunk publishing is happening within the context of Indie publishing and self publishing. So, if I do not hear about it through social media, I will probably not hear about it at all. And sure, I can go through Amazon and look at books tagged as "Solarpunk", but I am just guessing.

Outside of that, there is only the many, many anthologies that have been released, but I will not generally talk about them right now.

Now, I generally have the feeling that a lot of Solarpunk writers are like me: Oh, I have a story idea for a Solarpunk novel, but... I am not quite motivated to write it. Pretty much all writers I have been in contact with who were at some point writing a Solarpunk novel have put that project on pause to write something else. (Which is probably an issue for another day.)

But no, what I wanted to talk about is: Of those six books above I have read three so far. The first three. The first two I would actually categorize as romances. While both Biodome and Summer Prince involve of course the dystopia/utopia connundrum happening, they both have very much the same feel I would argue a lot of the dystopian YA novels that were released around the same time as those two novels (earlier half of the 2010s) had to me. Sure, there is a story, but in the end the books have a strong core in the main relationships.

Foxhunt also had a romance, but it really felt more tertiary to the plot and was not a focus of the story for the most part.

As I said, I have not read the other three novels yet. But yeah, this is what I can say about it. And I do wonder...

I am honestly not quite sure whether those first two novels were written as Solarpunk. I know that at the very least The Summer Prince was marketed under the tag, but that is pretty much where my knowledge ends.

It makes sense though, that those books came out at the time they did. They were just riding the dystopia high related by the Hunger Games, nothing else. And because of that there are the romance subparts there.

But here is the thing: In some way romance is a strange viability marker. No matter what kind of base idea exists, there is a romance subgenre that deals with it. Because no matter how much pretty much everyone derides the romance genre, it is actually the best selling genre of literature there is. If you look at the fiction genres, there is romance (including smut), then there is mystery/crime, then there is nothing, and then there is everything else in terms of both sales and the number of stories there is. Romance sells more books than fantasy or scifi can dream off. But at the same time Romance has crossover with pretty much every other genre, because Romance can happen in any genre.

Let's face it, the different between most superhero movies and a romance is the central focus of the story. You absolutely could restructure the Iron Man movies in a way to make them romance movies that happen to also feature one of the main couple to be a superhero.

And yes, there is a ton of superhero romance out there in the book market. Because no matter what concept there is: There is romance of it.

Now, I will openly admit: Cyberpunk is also a genre where at least the English and German market does not have a whole lot of romance. Sure, there is some, but not a whole lot. (Japanese Cyberpunk ironically has spawned a whole lot more romance - but again, a topic for a later date.)

But it is interesting to me. Romance is fairly accessible in terms of the SP market, and I note that it is interesting how there is little in terms of Solarpunk romance out there. Now there is the question: Is this because the main audience for Romance does not know much about Solarpunk - or because they don't gel with it.

I don't have the answer for this. But I cannot keep but wondering.

What do you think?

[autismasgore]

i'm leaving the fandom

so i already posted about this on twitter with a shorter explanation but after a long while of being in the undertale fandom, i've decided to distance myself from it. i'm not sure if i'll ever make a public return on any of these accounts, but for now i've decided that i feel this is what's best for me mentally.

i'm kind of surprised i haven't already, to be honest, but i guess for a good while i was able to focus on the passion and love i had for the game. nowadays, i've been finding it harder and harder to interact with the fandom as a whole - for a multitude of reasons really.

many of you are already aware i went through a stalking incident over asgore discourse, which lasted from late 2019 to 2023. it was the most traumatizing years of my life, and i don't even remember a time where i actually felt at peace with myself during those years. the only time i remember being happy was pouring all of my focus onto undertale even harder, just to try and cope with what was going on. it didn't help that at the time, my abusive family was blaming me for being stalked and telling me i was just doing this all for attention and that i loved the "drama" of it.

i really didn't want to do this, because it feels like such a huge betrayal of everything i've loved for so long (hi, i'm autistic and undertale was my special interest, in case you haven't noticed yet LOL) but at this point i associate too many traumatic memories with undertale, specifically the fandom.

since getting more into steven universe and browsing the fandom casually it made me realise just how toxic the undertale fandom is as a community right now. i mean, let's be real, it's always been this way, but i feel like it's gotten a whole lot more worse lately - more insane.

it honestly felt like such a huge breath of fresh air to go into a fandom tag that Didn't have any toxic sludge or people discoursing about liking certain characters (cough Asgore cough) and whether or not that makes you a bad person. it felt like total whiplash, seeing people discussing a show they liked and sharing fanart instead of seeing constant discourse about it.

i've also been seeing a lot of my friends go through absolute fucking bullshit lately, and it's honestly really stressful because it felt like my stalker incident was becoming a more popularized and public sentiment in the fandom. which... honestly is scary to me. people are becoming more openly hostile, more openly insane with their accusations. i've been trying to remain hopeful and optimistic about the fandom, but the more things that have happened, the less hopeful i feel.

i don't want to be in this sort of community. i don't want to be in a community where people feel glee in hurting others, tearing other people down and slinging around serious accusations because it makes them feel powerful.

i want to be in a community/fandom that makes me feel actual joy, and not a constant source of stress.

there's also another reason why i decided to distance myself online rn as well, and it's not really related, but it was enough that i feel incredibly uncomfortable going by the name "pixie" rn.

last year, a youtuber i knew decided to put me on blast and straight up called me an abuse apologist and that i should be avoided at all costs, all bc i quietly distanced myself from posting publicly about the situation and decided to avoid jumping to conclusions.

i don't entirely blame them, since there's definitely things i feel i could have done better, but a lot of what they said was already privately resolved between us, and they left a lot of that out in order to paint a false narrative about me. i mean they literally had saved hundreds of deleted posts from my deleted old social media accounts. i know this because they've done this before with other people. i also know that this comes from a place of hurt and anger, they're lashing out at a community they felt hurt by, but their way of coping with it isn't healthy.

because they had thousands of followers, i started getting a ton of harassment, from people saying i wasn't trustworthy and calling me an abuse apologist, and even private nasty dms i don't really want to get into.

i didn't say anything at the time bc i was worried i'd come across as attention seeking/manipulative but. i became straight up actively suicidal after this. i was convinced nothing was going to ever get better for me and that i was an active danger to everyone. my mum ended up dragging me all the way to the city literally just to buy me the macbook i wanted in order to try and cheer me up, and even then i felt so depressed that i felt like i didn't have anything to look forward to. honestly the only thing that really kept me going was my friends privately supporting me.

to put it short, it felt like a repeat of my stalker situation and i don't feel comfortable going by pixie anymore because i associate so much trauma with that name right now. i feel like so many people who don't have good faith intentions know me as that name, more than people i'm friends with.

i don't even know if i'll ever post on social media ever again, or at least not in the way i used to. if i do end up making a new social media with a new rebrand, you won't hear from me about it. i want to be more private now.

tl;dr if you're still reading this, thank you for sticking by me for so long. this ended up being a lot longer than i anticipated, but i think i'm done with the name "pixie", and i think i'm done with the undertale fandom for now.

i know i'll be able to move on into a better place once i move forward to this chapter.

thanks for the memories.

[paintedbutton]

2024 Recap Tag

@writernopal tagged me in this, and it came at just the right time since I didn't manage doing an actual reflection post before the end of the year (working between christmas and new years is always weird that way for me).

2024 Accomplishments

Let's start with the big one, obviously: I finished and shared Worthy of a King! I'm incredibly happy that I accomplished this. Sharing my boys with the world and having people love them as much as I do was absolutely something special. <3

Beside that, I wrote a silly little pirate story inspired by a silly little song just because I wanted to. That also feels like it matters a lot.

I managed to figure out the vague shape the Queen's Guard series is going to take. I always said it was gonna be somewhat like the Paladin books by T. Kingfisher - interconnected standalones. It's not quite that, obviously, but I'm looking forward to exploring this world more.

All in all I wrote about 82k words in 2024, and that's with about 4 months that I took as planned breaks in between. I feel pretty comfortable with that number.

I also had a pretty active year, non-writing wise. So many concerts, festivals, markets, etc. This isn't in any way writing related but I feel like every year I've been chipping a way at prioritising myself and the things that make me happy more. I finally managed to get rid of a pretty big burden in my work-life that's made me breathe a lot easier. (It probably says a lot that I haven't had a crying breakdown about work this year ... for the first time. In fact, the last time I broke down crying was when I thought they wouldn't let me give up the position they forced me into. Damn.)

2025 Writing Goals

Again, the big one: Shadow of a Queen is my one serious goal for 2025. I wrote the first draft of WoaK in six months in 2023 and then took a couple months break before starting on revising it, and that felt like a pretty good workflow for me, so the goal is pretty much the same: Write draft 1 until the summer (I am probably aiming for August, here, because June and July are already packed full with other activities). See where we go after.

(Re)establish a writing routine that works for me. With the break, I've kind of fallen out of it and I'm having a bit of a hard time getting started again right now. I know I'll get there, but kicking my own ass into gear is one of the first goals I'm gonna have to achieve this year.

Figure out a writing setup that is future proof. I'm a Word girlie. I've been a Word girlie my whole life, and while I've looked into dedicated novel writing programs before (it's kind of hard not to stub your foot on Scrivener at some point in any writing community you stumble into), I've never felt the need to dive deeper. But with AI growing ever more ubiquitous (and all the big companies pushing it lbr), I at least want to give my options another look. Maybe I'll stay a Word girlie, idk. I want it to be an informed decision if I do. Tentative searches so far have turned up a whole lot of browser based bullshit that I do not want, subscription services galore, and nothing that works as a program both on Windows and Android, which I would need because I write on my tablet on the go. Related to that, I might just look into getting a refurbished laptop or something. But we'll see. If you have any recommendations for me to look into, please do send them my way.

I want to be more active on Tumblr again, and on Writeblr specifically. I go through phases with social media where mindless consumption is all I can muster, and I fucking hate it. But I love sharing my stuff and reading other peoples' and doing tag games. Sometimes I just need to remind myself of that.

Not exactly writing related, and a little bit silly: One of my goals for the year is to dress more like a fantasy character. Simply because it makes me happy. And, honestly, I wouldn't mind closet cosplaying my own little guys to be a part of that goal. ;)

Tagging @winterandwords , @malimaywrite and @boundedsea if you all feel like doing it. No pressure though. :)

[not-poignant]

Stain is such a great story, Alex and Sebastian have made so much progress understanding each other, and I'm excited for their relationship to continue to develop (not just physically... but okay really excited for that too!!)

Wondering what gave you the inspiration and what you like most about the Alex/Sebastian pairing, or any other thoughts about Stardew Valley as a fandom you want to share!

Honestly the thing that inspired me the most was just playing the game! :D

I have nearly 1800 hours in Stardew Valley, and that's like...what I would call a few hours to just daydream about all the characters. And me being the multi-shipping fiend that I am, I do also just like to imagine all the characters in relationships with each other.

I'm not someone who really cares about my farmer (or PC) in the central romance, which is why I don't write this in video games that have you as a player character! I didn't do that for Stuck on the Puzzle, or The Wind that Cuts the Night, or Palmarosa. I don't actually care as much about whoever I'm romancing, I care more about what relationships can happen between other characters.

And I think because I daydream about that, rather than my farmer character (or me) with the NPCs, that gives me like a lot of time to think of different things.

I started daydreaming about Sebastian as a top several years ago, he had that energy to me even like 2 years before I romanced him (the amount of times I've romanced Alex is criminal at this point). I sometimes imagined him with like Sam, but mostly Alex. I also imagined him being good goth literature friends with Elliott lol

Even in The Wind that Cuts the Night I have Sebastian as a top with the farmer :D

I don't actually get that involved with the fandom in general. I've tried a few times, and some of the fanart is incredible (and the MODS omg), but I've never really loved any of the SDV fic that I've read (or more accurately: skimmed). I don't like farmer/NPC pairings. The vast majority of people wrote Sebastian as a bottom (or a fluffy vanilla top which is somehow worse) in m/m like 4-5 years ago and I'm too tired to check how much that's changed.

Alex actually gets a lot of hate in the fandom - at least amongst most of the queer players - and seeing a character who is a victim of child abuse treated like that just kind of left me with a bad taste in my mouth (it seemed to be based around Alex's initial rudeness, which doesn't last nearly as long as Shane's, who was hero-worshipped long before he got his whole storyline, because he wasn't romanceable for years).

So I really avoid the fandom, and I couldn't tell you who's writing the most popular fics or the most popular pairings or anything like that. I don't look into the tags, and almost all the fanart I've ever shared here or at @capillata has been shared to me by someone else first.

So yeah the answer is mostly just that I daydream a lot and I've had many many hours to do it in! :D

I like Alex/Sebastian as a pairing mostly because I've always just liked troped opposites in enemies to lovers. The jock vs. the goth nerd has been a long-term media troped opposition romance pairing, and even outside of romances, is often shown as 'oppositional.' Many people even have memories of that in their school experience.

To me, the idea that Alex is always shown as completely alone (sans Haley or grandparents), and that Sebastian is nearly always shown with friends when he's not being like... deeply moody in a goth way, was really fascinating to me. ConcernedApe was already working hard to say 'this isn't what you think it is' even within the game. Alex is the one who apologises to you for being so desperate and also unrealistic about his sporting/goth abilities. Sebastian is the one who already has a job and is incredibly social - he's in a band that regularly practices and even performs outside of his hometown, he regularly plays TTRPGs with friends, and he regularly goes to the bar and plays pool and hangs out with friends. He's not a 'loner nerd.' He is hands down the most popular and social person in Stardew Valley who you can romance, outside of Sam, who is the same amount of popular. Like, Sebastian is literally a socialite social butterfly who is successful and charismatic and rides a motorbike. Subversion pretty fucking successful on that trope :D

To me, the game gives us the set up to a bullies-to-lovers scenario just by giving us the trope, and then subverting the trope. I always kind of liked that, but could never imagine writing it, until I aged them up and had Sebastian and Alex both mentally kind of growing up a little.

All right that's enough rambling from me! It's time to make lunch. But yeah, that's basically sadlfkjas er the sum of it (I say after rambling for ages)

[avidaraku]

Hi!!!! ʕ •̀ o •́ ʔ

welcome to my pinned post I honestly still dont know what to do with my blog like ever but still :) nice stuff. This blog contains whatever the fuck I reblog, including fandom and 18+ stuff - I do not tag my porn reblogs so if you're following me for fandom things, this is an all in one blog bc i do what i want <3 you are warned! leave if you dislike my beloved freak blog

|･ω･)

just be nice and kind babygirls, that's all i ask of <3 human decency lets go!!!! (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)

my ao3 account is https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daimashiko :) I like writing porn, my brain is constantly on khr mode :) I also never have any consistent name for my accounts, so thats also why my names are different. Hi to any discord friends who know me from well, discord <3 im sure u guys are familiar with my socials in this case

TAGS. ─=≡Σ((( つ＞＜)つ ／(＞×＜)＼

#my art (very self explanatory I am not a creative person with names?? sorryyyyy - i also considered making my art tag into artvidaraku but like. thats too much effort jklsjgkldKJDF:SJ:JKL:JK:LDG ;;)

#khr (that is my main fandom ofc <333 - overlaps with my art but also other people's khr stuff so haha... its a mess but oh well)

#poll (i like answering them! or just reblogging polls i wanted to volunteer in but its too late </3)

#lotta tags (i tend to comment a lot in tags but these are the ones where i usually write like. a lot of commentary to the point im like ohhhh i should tag this right? curious if anyone's ever went through them but also i've never talked abt these things so. oopsssss <3 - lot of it is kinda sad / depressing but usually i am pretty reflective. kinda?)

#animals (self explanatory. i love me some fucking creatures. respect nature babygirls i adore them fellas <3)

#tumblr classic (i love getting to see the classics / things i'd personally consider a classic on my feed)

#fandom (this one's pretty commonly used! yadda yadda, talks abt fanfic and stuff / sometimes i get disappointed with fandom but that's not new lol)

#fashion (i don't use this as much as I should be?? but if you want to check out what i think is fun / a vibe <3)

#avidarecs (****i literally just made this on impulse so there's not much rn but i want to share more of my recs for things in general! fandom / songs / whatever other thing comes to mind?***// will probably be rarely used? but you never know~)

there might be more tags I haven't included but from the top of my head this is it?? Might add more, i have no clue. But anyways back to my other interests and what I'm into!

media i like: khr (its number one bc i am unable to pry reborn's hands on my stupid silly little soul so i cannot escape even if i wanted to), slay the princess + scarlet hollow (games made by the same studio. i love the art and vibes sooo much and also the fanart is sooo beautiful), Jenna Marbles (i've been obsessed w her stuff recently and I hope she's having a good time w her dogs and Julien :), kpop (honestly its only just loona bc im tired and feel old as fuck despite only being in my 20s so i am not gonna get into another thing lol), and sanrio!!! i love my melody she's a cutie patootie <3

-probably more stuff I like but this post would be a lot longer

I'm certain its obvious but I am a proshipper (also i am always in rarepair hell girl HELP. but also i will chain myself to that random mix of characters without prompting. ah....), if you don't like proshippers, leave my page and block me <3

But anyways my fav tropes (i definitely have more i just cant think of them but in general im chill with lots of stuff!)

incest (i am so fr when i say somehow i always revolve around incest ships they're just soooo good. my brain is absolutely destroyed in favor of tasty fucking food. shout out to incest shippers you guys rock luv yall :3)

age gap / size difference (these tropes are lovers and they're already fucking each other within one yard of each other. good fucking food yk?)

any toxic/problematic food (necro + lolisho rights!!!) in general. i am just. yeahhhhhhhhhhh MMMM LOAD THAT SHIT UP. i also have very little memory but still whatever

genderbend - i know it's a dwindling trope in popularity but there is nothing better than mindlessly turning a guy chara into a girl like wow..... so hot.... <3 this has also been a long time trope i've adored and i'll probably never stop using it bc its just that good for me <3 mmm. girls. cute.

monsterfucker stuff is great! (does this include animal hybrids? im going to include it with that soooo)

i think this is enough, but also before you go explore whatever maze my blog is in bc i cant be bothered enough by my blog, i will also reblog things in tandem to politics / real world things (I support Palestine <3). Am American. Am Mess. But I hope the world is kinder even just a little bit more. This world is cruel, but I hope we can continue to offer each other support and love, even when times are harrowing as always.

(っ ᵔ◡ᵔ)っ have a hug/kiss!!!! (i like gifs hehe)

[invinciblerodent]

Honestly i want to start playing DAO and then go up by release from there till the new one cause it all looks so nice and enjoyable but i haven't even started and i keep hearing about the fandom being the worst of the worst and people actually got truamtized from it im genuinely scared... Im only so new to this gaming fandom thing it started with bg3 and sims 4 and stardew valley for me lol everytime i want to install DAO Tumblr shows me a post about the toxicity of the fandom like its fate herself trying to warn me not to go there lmao

Oh babe, don't worry, really!!!! I'm sorry if I made it sound bad earlier lol, it's... well, it's no worse than regular fandom drama I reckon, it's just the one I'm familiar with, and one that's been around a very, very, very long time. The kind of toxicity there is, I genuinely do not think it is any worse than any other fandom's, it's just kind of what happens to every petri dish if you leave it alone for ten years: turns into something of a meme. But if you follow nice people, and stay out of the tags (as is recommended for every fandom tbh), I don't think you have anything specific to worry about.

I'd be DELIGHTED to see more people feel inspired to pick up Origins, partly because I'm a huge believer of art preservation, and think that old games, old books, and old movies alike deserve to be seen/read/played and enjoyed- in part to be able to appreciate what we have now, in part to see where exactly we came from, and in part to see how things have changed. I think that kind of context is necessary for any meaningful commentary to exist.

DAO is an excellent game, despite what people may say- it's just like 15 years old. Naturally, over that time, it has started to show its age: jokes have aged poorly, mechanics feel dated, people and views have mutated and evolved (nobody is the same person in 2024 that they were in 2009, or at least I hope), and the surrounding social environment as well as the technology have changed drastically, to the point that what was once scandalous and a bold, daring move, now just feels dated, stuck in the past, or even offensive. Media that is already out there does not have the luxury of being able to change and adapt as time passes, and I think we need to keep that in mind.

(Edit: adding a paragraph here because the previous one sounded very apologetic and negative: the cinematics in particular still feel intimately real in DAO, its treatment of the ambient and the limited tools it had is still very immersive, and the writing is very strong. I also remember blushing my way through flirting with Leliana that the first time [as a closeted bi woman who hadn't even realized that she's bi at the time], I remember feeling lost, and vulnerable, and terrified at certain parts, and elated, excited, joyful at others. And I really want everyone to be able to feel like that, and also gain the kind of insight they need to be able to see how far gaming as a genre had come.)

I honestly hope you do end up picking it up, because despite its age, it's still one of my absolute favorite games, and one of the stories that made me fall in love with RPGs, and games in general. I still vividly remember the first time I played it, when I was like 18 (which was 12 years ago at this point), and how it broadened my horizons, because until then, I kinda thought that games were either like the Sims, or like.... idk, first person shooters, not these big, sweeping, immersive stories you can get lost in.

I LOVE these games- I feel like that much is clear, lol. I just don't love the people who insist that there is one right way to love them.

I don't want to turn off anon for exactly messages like yours, but honestly, I do recommend to everyone who is at all concerned to do just that, to block liberally, and control their experience of engaging with the games as harshly or as leniently as they like.

It'll be fine. There will likely be an influx of new people picking the series up for the first time (just like there was with BG3) (though lbr, there will probably be a lot of people FORGETTING that the series is 15 years old but I hope they'll keep an open mind), we'll get a much-needed blood transfusion with people like you, and I genuinely hope that you'll have a very nice experience overall. ❤️

........

Also maybe save my favorite reaction image from ten years ago, and use it liberally. I know I'm gonna:

[venacoeurva]

IRT the slavery jokes, and the tag about how bad it must have been years ago: I’ve been in the fandom for almost twenty years, and it honestly wasn’t too bad until Oblivion came out? The fandom shifted from quiet nerds to mainstream very quickly. Could be that I was insulated to some specific forums where the biggest drama was “stop asking us where the puzzle cube is” and one of the mods wanted to make dremoras and atronachs kiss, but I don’t remember much in the way of slavery jokes and offensive bullshit until Oblivion happened and attracted a bunch of randos, a lot of whom were edgy teens who started the whole thing. Worryingly, a lot of people also came in and played Morrowind out of curiosity, then walked away thinking the whole Dunmer xenophobia thing was “cool.”

HOMOPHOBIA, on the other hand, was a big deal even before Oblivion. Lots of people gnashing their teeth over Vivec being canonically bi and AlienSlof making mods that had assless chaps for men. It’s kind of funny that Voryn/Nerevar is the big ship nowadays because I can still remember all the dudes who felt personally threatened by mesh shirts for elves, and screaming “IM NOT GAY” while staring at the Nude Better Bodies option on GameSpy.

Yeah, I can see that happening (keep in mind I was like 6 when mw came out and I wasn't exactly Online), Oblivion promo was everywhere around when it came out and permeated everything for YEARS (at least around here, everyone had it, everyone was playing it, same with Skyrim, but I feel like Oblivion was a BIG big thing because the high fantasy sort of appeal, the lore wasn't prohibitive for new players, and it looked graphically ambitious for the time). I think the aughts were around when being a Gamer started being seen as a semi-cool/acceptable subculture, too, so I'm sure that emboldened a lot of those dickweeds because they felt like revolutionaries or something and circlejerked, including their shared bigotry (and then the skyrim nazi problem happened). Biiig gateways to get people into the older games.

But yeah, I remember constant homophobia and every other [minority]phobia was just a Fandom Problem in general regardless of series... at least the fragility of homophobic dudebros toward even the most basic shit like a male character being shirtless or had tight pants, or having long hair (or a female character having short hair, because they're afraid that's too gay for them) was funny and pathetic as hell when they weren't expressing a wish that people like me die or something. The fact that people still act like this makes me wonder how they survive.

I saw it in multiple places. I think it helps along with general social progress that social media is more than mostly just forums, old style blogs, webcomics, and dA so more lgbtq+ people can just be out there and not get flamed and harassed to the point of just leaving all available mainstream platforms for fans of something and sites are (usually) more proactive about preventing as much hate speech and the average person will shut down or ignore and simply report/block anyone trying to be bold with it.

Also yeah it's kind of funny it's so big suddenly? I think people just really like running with subtexts with fanbases in general these days instead of just sticking to staunch, outright and stated canon that's put directly in your face (which is kind of moot with dying on that latter hill for this series lmao) because people used to just fight you on that shit back in the day for any series, and going nuts and finally have the freedom to do so. New people coming in with their pre-established behavior and accepted norms from other fandoms helps as well I'm guessing. And judging by tags on my art, gay dudes just really like Voryn and see him as a projection character/he was a gay awakening for some of them? I think being on the gay trans website in an era that shipping is its own subculture within fandoms helps

[yesterdayiwrote]

just saw your tags on the charles pr post and you are so right, george so needs a more competent pr team but i def think there has been a recent change. like the hair (literally might have given him sponserships) and the memes might have genuinely shifted something within the public perception of george, esp since it seems much more natural compared the so called "pr persona" people hated in 2022. all he absolutely needs right now is a good racing season with minimal contact with other cars (this is key i will not lie) and the ingredients are there to work with. like deadass if that happens there is chance to regain his williams era adoration (im not even being delulu bc uni has taught me that rebranding is incredibly effective if done well). tho imo i have no idea how competent mercedes are to utilise and strategise tho (they make too much of a mess every given chance). he needs someone else to correctly handle this.

I know there's been loads said about George's PR strategy going back years. I've always found it interesting because Charles is very 'pr', Lando, Lewis, Carlos... the list is endless, and yet its only ever really been George who seems to have really had their 'pr friendly' vibe viewed in such an overwhelmingly derogatory way. I've never really been able to put my finger on what it is, but that post does highlight how the slightest difference can make the tone change.

I don't think the hair is that powerful, although I think it's kind of... 'softened' his face slightly, given him more of a 'cute' vibe in a kind of foppish disney prince charming way? Then again I think people have always thought George was attractive they've just moved their attention from his body to his face?

I don't think things will ever go back to the days at Williams when everyone loved him. That was in part due to the underdog element and he was a lot more under the radar back then. I don't think he was hated in 2022, it's only really in 2023 that I've seen so much negativity thrown in his direction. We've tried to pick apart what exactly it is that causes people to hate him and honestly, I don't think we'll ever find an answer. It just... is what it is.

I think he could definitely stand to be more relatable though, but then again how relatable can you be when you're a millionaire racing driver? I think he sometimes looks too 'perfect' and I know that's something everyone falls into on sm, but sometimes I just kind of want to see him looking... dumb? He laughs at himself, he embraces the memes, but sometimes his pictures don't embrace his personality if that makes sense and that's a shame.

The Charles post pointed out about the photos of him falling over and if you think about Alex, Lando, even Lewis, they all post stuff that purposely doesn't show them at their best (whilst simultaneously being picture perfect) and I guess that's the reason that social media isn't easy, because you've got to strike that balance between aesthetic and humanity to really strike gold.

Idk, I'm not really in a position to tell him what to do, my IG game is non existent. I know he's said he's not using social media himself anymore, but then that's even more reason to have a great team managing that for him. Idk that Merc actually have much to do with it, but yeah, I feel like he could benefit from mixing it up a few times on there?

[cheese-water]

hi im sorry I just need to ramble gen loss crap somewhere this s relating to the pole you did I really don’t wanna ramble literal paragraphs in tags:

The dehumanization of content creator by both corporations and fans alike: Lets me honest this is just kind a the surface metaphorical meaning of it all im pretty its been confirmed if not I dont think I need to explain why.

How when our perception of reality is manipulated, our choices mean nothing: tbh this is kinda correct in a way?? Because it all ends in Ranboo dying right? Like let’s if he refuses to do the activities in ep 2 like he’s just gonna die yknow? Like the more you think about it our own choices didn’t really matter they all lead up to the ending scene of rans death. What if we chose live? Something tells me showfall would just erase his memory and reuse them and then the cycle could repeat until inevitable death.

One of many attempts to escape the facility that always ends in death: Kinda what i js said but like: Also it would be extremely hard for Ranboo in any way to escape. Primarily bc mind control. But let’s say that doesn’t apply. Try to escape the mall? Let’s be real the doors are gonna be jammed and there’s showfall people everywhere they’re probably just gonna inject Ranboo with something. Tries to prove to the cameras he being held hostage by showfall? In a ‘real world’ situation Is anyone gonna believe him? They might just think he’s acting. At some point showfall is js gonna get bored of dealing with them and just off him.

also did you see sneeg trying to escape-

The sanitization of today's media to better cater to and profit off of children: I could see this because it is also a VERY common thing in the world with like family channels, child beauty pageants, and what is more similar to genloss’s implementation of this: Ranboo blew up when he was 17! Tommy and Tubbo 16! They were literal minors! They were kids! It was and still is disgusting how much sexual content was produced of them when they were CHILDREN. There are endless examples of this: hundreds, if not THOUSANDS or articles made about an ‘offensive comment’ that was literally just taken out of context, tiktoks and threads saying THAT THEY SHOULD GROW UP?? they are kids!

honestly unsure what the cannon ages of the genloss characters are but if were going by irl ages Ranboo is still 19! Honestly more rambling about how kinda sad this is like, bro is 19 he is literally getting doxxed, death threats, and still creating genloss! Like their 19 and made a work that was considered for an Emmy! (Also being the only not virtual reality work)

The favorable interpretation of events we're supposed to believe vs. the truth: A LOT of ep 2 how they par-take in these games with seem innocent at first, just playing some mouse trap, introducing yourself, etc. but they are literally being held a gunpoint. The scene where Ranboo rips open Charlie it just seems like a comedic scene but for a few seconds the slime is blood. Ranboo is being forced to rip open Charlie simply to survive himself. The puzzler straight up shoots Niki TWICE and the audience(LITERALLY US LOL) feel bad, but a lot people find it funny(kinda is tho- low key loved that scene) obviously Niki is alive so its funnier but what if she actually died?

here’s more of my ramble on genloss meanings and stuff

I just the horrible effects of social media. hate from just being yourself, hate for being ‘fake’/ a ‘catfish’, hate for having fun, hate for not enjoying yourself and people telling you should be grateful. To the point where instead of being yourself you force yourself to shape into this emotionless mold just to appeal to the internet. You could try to ask for help(ranboo spelling sos in Morse code w hand),but your to far gone “you already bought a ticket and there’s no turning back now” I know this isn’t the most accurate but it’s literally 4am lol

Social Media|Showfall Media ya see it?

Srry for the such unorganized thoughts and crap im a dying autistic. -☁︎🪷(just a name to recognize me by you never know also I’m rambling more here about random shit-)

I’ve been trying to think of a response to this ask for a solid five minutes but I just can’t. I just, I’m so so so happy right now. Like, literally smiling ear to ear. You have no idea how happy this makes me. :DDDDD

I adore analyzing media to pieces but with genloss specifically, I also enjoy understanding all of the different influences and interpretations from the audience. Normally, once I find an interpretation I like (either created by me, the most popular, or simply the first one I see) I stick with it, hard. All future thoughts about that media run through the certain interpretation filter only, which isn’t y’know the most open mindset I’ll admit lmao. I think what was different about genloss was a combination of me being a genlosser from the very beginning, being share my theories publicly for the first time, and probably the biggest reason, I didn’t believe the most popular interpretation.

I’ve always been an OUR CHOICE DOESNT MATTER believer since the beginning and could never get on the content creator exploitation train before it left the station. So I guess it gave me a different perspective in regards to reading and sharing analysis posts. Somehow both more critical and more understanding, like I could tell you how the dehumanizing cc theory only applies to eps 2 and 3, while acknowledging that the end of ep 3 literally had a choice that supposedly did matter so who tf cares we’re all having fun. And then I wondered if the cc interpretation was the most popular one and now we’re here.

And so far, it turns out that yeah it very much is lol. But all the notes going into detail about why they believe what they believe just gave me so much more insight and appreciation for the theory. Not just that one but all other interpretations, timeloops, capitalism allegories, your social media parallels just to name a few, have grown a special place in my heart in a way that hasn’t happened to me before genloss. Idk it’s just very cool and I love hearing ‘em all.

Also so I can be told very obvious things I haven’t noticed before. Like how am I just now understanding Social Media -> Showfall Media pfffff

[porkyratt]

(i hope its ok to respond in an ask! if you want to answer privately and not clog up your blog feel free ^_^!!)

unfortunately something with tumblr (and a lot of english speaking fanbase in general) is that being mean / callous is really normalized! i dont think what you said was especially cruel or evil or anything, but the wording of "getting the characters completely wrong" is just a very blanket statement that can come off a bit mean especially when fic authors are usually pretty unappreciated in fandom in general. i hope that makes sense?? i also think having the experience of being in disco elysium fanbase sort of sets you up to fail when it comes to rvb. its a superbly written game about intense political theory, and a large majority of people who write fanfiction for it will be people with a vested interest in that political theory who have a lot of writing experience / experience reading advanced nonfiction (karl marx for example since hes a such a huge influence on disco elysium itself)

meanwhile, rvb has a main character named donut. whos thing is that hes gay. because donuts have holes. kind of like a butthole. like for gay sex??... /teasing

but seriously if you need good fic recommendations ive got plenty! !!ive been in the fanbase almost a decade so ive been around LOL there are definitely some baaaad fics in the world but this is not necessarily indicative of grimmons fic as a whole

(if any of this is hard to understand please tell me and ill do my best to rephrase!!! ^_^ )

tysm for coming into my askbox... I feel like an oldman facetiming whenever I use the tags to respond like "help how do I switch the camera" Again thank you for pointing it out. I genuinely do not realize when somethings I am saying are coming across as mean since I am translating it from a different language in my head. I did go back and edit the post because last thing I would want is to bash or belittle people making content for a fandom. That was not my intention in the slightest, and I deeply deepplly apologize. Also for the disco elysium example, yeahhhh maybe not the best one to give! I was more trying to point out how they write ship dynamics where it feels a lot less playing into steriotypes if that makes sense. Not trying to box them(I am saying this with a big fat question mark idk if this is coming across as intended?) Also, wasn't my intention to belittle all grimmons fics because I have read some really beautiful ones. I have just ran into really questionable ones especially recently which made me raise an eyebrow. And yes I am on my hand and knees I need good fics so bad:'))))) Tsym for taking the time to write all of this... I honestly didn't expect my little "let me ramble about what I'm thinking" post to get this much attention I think I forget that I have a bigger reach now compared to when I started posting like a couple of months ago. ( also this is my first social media in like 4 years I have def forgotten social media etiquette a bit) I will be more careful with my wording in the future bc last thing I want is to hurt people even if it's completely unintentional</3

[redwineconversation]

the laughter penetrates my silence as drunken men find flaws in science (WOB - Lyon Postgame Thoughts)

Lyon didn't play a perfect game. But they could have, so let's talk about that instead.

It was one of the better games of the season. As a team, Lyon played pretty well. I wish people would pay more attention to them because when they're on, they play really, really pretty football. We saw a lot of that tonight: quick passes, a relentless press, a stable defense who took its job seriously for the most part. I like Lyon like this: quiet, methodical, and good. They're a pretty cool team to watch if you're interested in the actual game and not social media content.

It wasn't perfect, and I'll get to that, but like I said - it could have been, and that's kind of the point. There was a lot of screaming when Joe Montemurro took over and not without cause. But we owe it to ourselves as much as we owe it to him to say that Lyon is playing better under him that they have in quite a while. They're playing pretty football again. Someone commented that we saw more pretty football from Lyon in the first 30 mins of the WOB game than we did of last season under Bompastor.

It was pitched as Montemurro's first big test and that was true in so many ways. But I disagree that it was the first hard test because I do think Fleury is a tough team to play against. It was the first big test in that this was the first time Montemurro was on the big stage with Lyon and people could legitimately be like "okay, cool, convince me then."

I hope they were.

Lyon played well. It wasn't a perfect game and I will get to that but there were a lot of positives. I don't think honestly you can look at the team and be like "you're colossal disappointment" and I say that as someone who has been advocating for Maorzsan to be sold since 2020. (I am still right though). They played well but more importantly the team played well. This felt like Lyon was, well, Lyon again. And I think we have to give Montemurro just a little bit of credit for that, just like we have to give him credit for making the decision of minimizing the amount of travel and having the team stay in Wolfsburg through Saturday instead of flying back to Lyon and then traveling to Paris.

But I digress. Lyon played well. Let's call it as it is.

There's still stuff we need to talk about. The inability to finish is starting to become an issue as AS Roma is already ahead on goal differential [+6 for AS Roma; +5 for Lyon]. Granted AS Roma and Lyon still have to play each other, but if it comes down to goal differential, Lyon will have shot themselves in the foot.

There was quite a few examples of bad decision making: Horan's only good decision was really the penalty; Dumornay chose a complicated shot at goal while Carpenter was basically alone in front of it; van de Donk missed a face-to-face so easy the spirit of Becho must have possessed her. Chawinga's decision-making continues to be poor as well. I'm semi-tempted to give Dumornay a pass because Carpenter is not a striker by any means, but sometimes you just have to let someone who is in a better position take the shot. Showboating is costly.

Chawinga I go back and forth on a lot. I don't agree that PSG is less technical than Lyon; she has been around technical players before so let's stop pretending Lyon's passing/press is some form of culture shock for her. But I do agree she has been underperforming so far and needs to start justifying her price tag sooner rather than later.

[kitkatt0430]

Do you know where I can find a following for my niche fandom?

Honestly i don't know that I'll be a lot of help on this topic. I don't use much in the way of social media beyond Tumblr. And here you just kind of have to put together what you think the most relevant tags for your fandom are and then check to see if the tag search gets you any hits.

Or use the google search trick of searching the tag + tumblr.com

You also have to keep in mind that character tags are going to see a lot of crossover between fandoms. Even fandom names may have cross contamination between fandoms. "Riven: The Sequel to Myst", for example, is pretty straightforward tag wise. You're really only going to see posts about the game Riven tagged this way. But a lot of people who have played the game don't use the full name. It's just "Riven". And they'll tag it as such. But "Riven" is also the name of a character in another fandom, so searching the "Riven" tag for posts about the game is also going to get posts about the unrelated character. Khione from the Flash also shares her name with characters from other fandoms, so the tag "Khione" has several different characters all grouped together. But not a lot of people who discuss Khione specifically from the Flash remember to use the "Khione (The Flash)" or "Khione [The Flash]" tags

So basically you're going to have to be patient and diligent and check through a lot of tag permutations that may or may not be populated from equally valid uses from other fandoms.

I don't really know much about discord beyond that using it tends to make me really anxious in a way that forums don't, so I honestly don't know how easy it is to find fandom spaces there.

Reddit might actually be useful here, it can serve as a gateway to fandom spaces. But it's very hit or miss.

Older fandoms may still have a presence on LiveJournal though a lot of those have migrated to Dreamwidth or Tumblr over the years. Pillowfort's a good tumblr alternative as well.

Older fandoms are also more likely to have a presence on older fanfic sites. Squidge - including the SquidgeWorld fanfic site - is older than Ao3 and is associated with a number of older fandoms. Fanfiction.net may be slowly falling apart but it has a huge repository of fic still that goes back several decades at this point. adult-fanfiction.org is still hanging around, though that one does cater more heavily towards R/NC-17 rated fics hence the 'adult' specified in the name and it will ask you if you're 18+ or not to view the site. And of course Ao3 itself is constantly absorbing new niche fanfic sites of varying ages in order to preserve the fandom history those sites and their fanfics represent.

But sometimes you just have to see where googling the fandom name + "fandom" will take you. And sometimes you have to be willing to be the first person to post a fic for the fandom on Ao3, or post a fic to a mostly dead fandom, and hope that someone else in the fandom will see it and choose to comment. Or start posting rambly meta commentary on places like tumblr and hope the tags attract the fellow fans you're hoping for. Though that last one might generate enough interest from your mutuals or followers that a few of them might check out the source material and wind up sucked into the fandom with you.