#hopefully i tagged enough for blacklists

[ranseur]

actual scene as it happened in the show

[memorys-skyscraper]

hey atlus? what the fuck

[namisweatheria]

A Rough Outline of A Female Character-Focused Punk Hazard/Dressrosa (and on) Rewrite, mostly starring Tashigi but starting with Reiju:

So Reiju sneaks into Punk Hazard wearing Sanji's unused Stealth Black Suit to investigate SMILE fruits under Judge's orders. She goes alone because regular Germa grunts can't handle the hazardous conditions in and around the island and her brothers are you know, busy being soldiers. I think also none of them have the self-control and discernment that she has, so she's the only one who could cut it as a spy.

I'd have to reread the arc to get the details right, but my loose idea is the only people she'd interact with directly is one of the children, perhaps Mocha, and Tashigi, who suspiciously attempts to apprehend her. I think Reiju would pretty easily talk her way out of that, and have fun flirtatiously teasing her and getting her riled up. She'd be utterly calm and unbothered when Tashigi brandishes a sword at her neck, so despite only knowing her briefly it would still be shocking for Tashigi to witness Reiju's cool composure momentary crack when together they uncover the forced genetic experimentation on the children. (Something Reiju obviously has a personal stake in.)

When Reiju pulls herself back together a moment later, pushing down her feelings and putting the uncaring mask back on, pretending her face never betrayed her and there was nothing special or particularly upsetting about the situation, Tashigi would be outraged at her pretend apathy. But the best part is that after her initial shocked angry yelling, she'd remember the brief horrified expression, the flash of anger in her eyes coolly put away, and decide her apathy is all fake and call her the fuck out.

Reiju threatens to prove her own sadism, moving toward one of the oblivious children menacingly, before suddenly feeling the lack of Germa's judgement on her. The closed doors, the lack of cameras. Just Tashigi's eyes burning into hers. She falters and pulls back. Before pushing away from the group, ignoring them, and going back to trying to find an exit. She doesn't make herself invisible again yet though. Having someone suspect her as not the cruel mercenary she pretends to be is very dangerous, but doesn't want those eyes, that have yet to fill with hatred, off of her yet. It's a new and rare sensation to be regarded so clearly and she allows herself to feel it for just awhile longer, far away from Germa, in an isolated lab.

We never see the process of Tashigi joining Sword, a part of The Navy that isn't obligated to follow all orders. However, I imagine her dissatisfaction with the bulk of The Navy began when it was The Strawhats, not them, who freed Alabasta from a World Government sanctioned tyrant. She still works with Smoker, still respects him, so she hasn't needed to move elsewhere yet. But in Punk Hazard, his continual disrespect of her grates. It makes it much more difficult for her to deal with the horror that once again innocent people were harmed at the WG's behest, and once again saved by pirates instead of The Navy. The undeniable evidence in front of her in the form of kidnapped, drug-addicted children in a cold lab makes being berated for being clumsy and stupid by her equally culpable boss just unbearable.

Maybe there's a moment where Mocha comforts a younger blonde boy and Reiju allows some of her pain to slip through as she watches them. Maybe Tashigi tries to give her a hand of comfort, and Reiju briefly leans into it before pulling away and brushing her off. Maybe when she says goodbye to Tashigi and good luck on her journey to bring the kids back home she's the most genuine and open she's been the whole time and the light in her face is breathtaking. Maybe Tashigi thinks about her often afterwards, wondering why she was the way she was, wondering what's trapping her.

It turns out that many of the children were kidnapped from Dressrosa, as they didn't have any family (apparently) to miss them. Tashigi brings them last, and immediately notices there is something terribly amiss when she brings them to their empty homes and they have no explanation or distress for the evidence that once there were caring adults who lived here, a long time ago. Perhaps her investigation lands her in the gladiator pit, where she meets Viola. I think being branded as a criminal "despite doing nothing wrong" would not immediately upend her black-and-white thinking, as neither did a single day with the clearly tortured Reiju, but combined, with now witnessing two major failures of The Navy made up for by kindness of The Strawhats, Tashigi would start to have some major internal conflict at this point.

Viola, meanwhile, is in the gladiator pit because her guilt drives her to self-punishment, and her desire to save Rebecca, (Becca 5, in this au, as I think Rebecca and Baby 5 would be more narratively effective and less stereotypical if they were collapsed into one character that explores the oppression of the country and the oppression of Doffy's family simultaneously) drives her to try to get stronger. Like other open rebellions by Doffy Family members this is amusedly tolerated and never taken seriously.

I think Viola and Tashigi would have an extremely emotionally charged battle, arguing while physically clashing, Viola taunting Tashigi for not being able to understand the situation she is in, for being just another Marine who only knows how to think like a Marine, for thinking of herself as a hero while being part of the same Navy that has repeatedly failed to save the people of her country. Tashigi asks her "Save them from what? Save them from you?" And Viola is SO ANGRY. "How dare you come in here and blame me for doing the best I can in a terrible situation that you don't know the first thing about?" And Tashigi puts down her sword, making herself defenseless to Viola's incoming lethal strike. She stops. And Tashigi apologizes. And asks her "What terrible situation? Please tell me about it. Please let me help." And Viola wavers, saying "I can't accept help from The Marines." And Tashigi says "Then let me help as Tashigi, someone cares about the children that were kidnapped from this country, and is trying to bring them back to their homes."

AAANND that's how Koala and Nami get involved! Nami, watching the fight, is alarmed to find out that the children from Punk Hazard are here and still in danger. She decides Tashigi needs help and runs down to her. Koala, also watching the fight, is 1) bored of waiting around for Sabo and 2) very interested to see anyone rebel against The Marines.

This is the part where I can't make up any more details without accidentally overwriting things that I don't even remember that might be worth working in, but I can't stop, so basically: I want the four of them to pursue their own side objective in the course of the larger overall goal, and in doing so have all their dynamics and parallels explored.

Nami recognizing her past self in Viola being forced to work for the destroyer of her family, being angry at her for giving up and just as easily supporting her and encouraging her when she decides to fight back directly. Unfortunately The Strawhats all seem to be allergic to sharing their own backstories, except Usopp, (love u storytelling king❤️), so it would be hard for Nami and Koala to realize what they have in common. BUT GOD I WANT IT SOOO BAAAAD. Perhaps Viola talks shit about all the warlords and includes Jinbei, and both Nami and Koala angrily jump to defend him. I think Koala would share her connection with The Sun Pirates more easily, as someone who wants to improve the reputation of Fishmen overall. That's when Nami is like oh my god you're Koala!!!! Jinbei told us about you!!!! And they talk about it very joyfully.

I think probably Nami would ask her what happened to her and what is she doing these days and Koala just straight up tells her LOL. In front of Tashigi, known Marine, and everything. I know Koala is SMART enough to be evasive but I do think that her brashness and urge To Bother is big enough that she'd do it anyways. Like Oh Tashigi does that make you uncomfortable? :) Don't worry I'm not going to try to kill you if you don't try to kill me :) Haha!

Meanwhile Tashigi is already having her assumptions challenged in a Big Way as someone who was DEFINITELY taught to fear Fishmen as a Navy Soldier so then hearing that Koala is part of the REV ARMY just basically overloads her system. Nami and Viola are laughing and giggling and the atmosphere is so light and they've already been allied and fought together for awhile so Tashigi feels fucking crazy. Like ok this might as well happen. I don't know fuck all actually. Is the sky blue? If I look up will the sky still be blue? I don't even care anymore OK. Like. OKAY!

She is too dazed to even protest more than very weakly and totally unheard as they simply Move On! Okay that was fun let's go back to planning Doffy's downfall haha!

So I imagine they do two tag team battles, Tashigi and Viola vs. Some Doffy Family Fuckhead, which is fun because they get to bring everything they learned about each other's moves from fighting against each other in the beginning to fighting TOGETHER in a very satisfying way. And Nami and Koala vs. Some Other Doffy Family Fuckhead which is fun because I think Koala is smart enough to keep up with Nami's weather tricks and I think they would simply have a blast together. They're laughing and winking at each other from across the battlefield while beating some poor man to a pulp.

I think before Tashigi and Viola begin their fight they come across Law, and Viola and him immediately Get Into It. Viola angry at Law and Cora for leaving Becca 5 behind, Law having survivor's guilt that he's too angry to process, getting mad at Viola for criticizing Cora even though he wonders why too, feels bad about it too. Getting angry at Viola for not doing anything herself, for letting Becca 5 be clueless all these years. I imagine the two of them, Law and Becca 5, as the only children in the Doffy Family, would have a much closer and more important relationship than depicted in canon. If he's not just trying to avenge Cora, but also free someone he sees as an abandoned sister, I think that could be very tragic and compelling.

And Viola breaks down first, because she knows she didn't tell Becca 5 because she was too afraid to cross Doffy in a way that would get herself killed, and she begs him to leave saving Becca 5 to her, that she's finally strong enough to do it. When he agrees and entrusts the task to her she cries more with the meaning of that trust, before heading off with determination. (In a very typical One Piece fashion.)

But when Tashigi and Viola win their fight, and they're weak and battered and bloody, and finally able to go find Becca 5 and tell her the truth, that's when Becca 5 shows up. And before Viola can begin to explain, she sees the beaten body of the other Doffy Family Member and attacks in rage. There's no way they could win this fight, both of them are seriously injured and exhausted. But right as Becca 5 fires her first shot, Usopp succeeds in breaking the spell. And Becca falls to her knees as her memories flood back.

And you know what fuck everything it's her MOTHER actually that was turned into a toy and secretly tried to raise her and protect her. We can sacrifice one father in order to save one mother from joining the ranks of endless dead one piece moms, it's worth it.

And I think this whole experience changes things for Tashigi. She's finally forced to face the fact that her Righteous Navy Officer - Innocent Civilian - Unforgivable Criminal trinary is not an accurate or kind reflection of the world. That if she had acted as an uncompromising Marine she never would have understood and befriended Viola, or Koala, or Nami. She never would have been able to reunite the children with their forgotten families. So when, shortly after this, she finds out about Reiju being a member of Germa, she decides to abandon her post and go find her and free her. And she's able to make more friends along the way that she couldn't have before, notably Pudding, and succeed in convincing Reiju to defect and go out to sea together as two people who want to right the wrongs of their past and make the world a better place. (And maybe fall in love...)

Maybe together they could go to Wano, and Reiju would get to experience helping to free a country while acting on her heart, in defiance of a lifetime of coldly burning them down on her father's orders. She could befriend Hiyori as two women who have held their families' complicated legacies on their backs and had to put up a cruel front to survive. Also there would be more opportunities for Law's fanboy antics, which would be funny.

Tashigi could find her place in a culture that truly values swords and created many of the ones that she chases, could prove herself as an honorable and capable swordswoman to gain acceptance, could befriend O-Kiku, and stay after the battle is won to receive special training, learn more sword related history, and help rebuild.

Maybe later they learn of Pudding being kidnapped and go after her. I don't need them to be in the main Egghead/Elbalf plot, but I am sick of Tashigi having to be in the background of The Navy B plot. And Reiju being relegated to cover stories. They should both be changing the story under their own wills! And meeting and helping women!

[monsterbisexual]

it would be soo kind n considerate if everybody could just not post abt the new ep til ive seen it, thank uuuuu

[bittwitchy]

cw anti st*ggy and st*cky joke:

its funny how much i hate st*ggy considering i also dont like st*cky romantically

[felidthing]

i feel like certain areas of the internet have reached a "scars of all kinds are a normal part of life and shouldnt be hidden behind content warnings" level of general acceptance, but it still feels like theres a taboo on truly open discussion of self harm. we can make reassuring, sympathetic posts about how its okay to be scarred, but its in bad taste for me to joke about my experiences. self harm is still treated as something that shouldnt be talked about unless completely necessary.

but it feels great to talk openly about it! its freeing to share things from my experiences, whether its a joke or advice to anyone who might see me posting. and i feel like self harm is often neglected in discussions about bodily autonomy. sometimes people do things that are causing some level of harm, but it can be managed and made safe without institutionalizing or treating people against their will

[kagaminestereo]

I’d like to start a no-endo kin Discord server since there are next to no spaces like that, but 1) I’m too depressed for maintaining Discord servers and have failed when I tried, 2) I go through deeply antisocial periods, which is another reason I cannot run or even be regularly active in a server, and 3) even though I just want this to be its own space that’s just for those of us who aren’t endo, it will definitely cause discourse, and I’m afraid people will try and “infiltrate” it for whatever reason

[foxgloveinspace]

I tried to post this From Procreate, but it made the quality go way down for some reason? So here it is, cropped down and better detailed etc.

[tkbrokkoli]

I think you mistakenly tagged that Disco Elysium fanart as uncaptioned/undescribed?

Helllo!!! Yes I have, tysm for telling me! I fixed the tags now

[velvetvexations]

it’s so bizarre to me that you never, EVER reblog or post anything about transmisogyny or the transfem experience. like, can you even recommend any transfem-centric blogs for me to follow? for someone so into “solidarity” your trans activism seems pretty focused on trans men only

So there are multiple things going on with this ask.

As I've explained several times before - I don't necessarily blame you for not seeing it, but I have - most social issues give me panic attacks to contemplate. The thing I mentioned triggered me so badly yesterday was something in the transmisogyny tag that wasn't tagged with anything I had blacklisted (not that OP's fault, I added more variations of transphobia warnings so it hopefully won't happen again).

Intercommunity issues are less existential. Things like hate crimes and legislative assaults on queer people freak me out and leave me a shaking, crying, doomscrolling mess. I don't even follow like, literally any of the people who followed me for transandrophobia advocacy because they reblog other things that gives me heart palpitations.

That limits my exposure to intercommunity issues facing transfems specifically as well, the vast majority of people I follow don't put any discourse on my dash at all. However, I have in fact reblogged posts purely about transmisogyny (other than the kind transandrophobes throw at me lol) only to immediately delete them when I see the OP is vile towards transmascs in other posts, completely spoling the message. At least one was even specifically about ways transmascs can be transmisogynistic, which I thought was a fair enough criticism before realizing it was at best one good point in a sea of bullshit directed at our trans brothers. Another time I specifically asked someone how they felt about trasnmascs before I reblogged their very good post about transmisogyny and was delighted when they gave a fantastic response.

Furthermore, I do actually just speak on pure transmisogyny myself sometimes! I talked at length about the immense pain it caused me realizing Alison Bechdel was TERFier than I thought in a way that completely contradicts the strip that made me cry out of appreciation for her. Recently, I've also been talking a lot about the ways butch transfems are treated for not looking cis.

Do I mention these things less than transandrophobia and other issues that affect people other than transfems? Sure. But like...so what? I like doing things for other people.

I don't mean to act like I'm some kinna savior or anything, but as I said just yesterday, helping people outside of your own issues is something I'm kinna obsessed with not just in myself but others too. I'm constantly stressing how cis allies should be appreciated e.g. my previous feelings about Bechdel, and despite how she turned out I still firmly believe that cis allies should be treasured. I've donated money to multiple cis allies to say thanks for their statements.

It's not like I'm just so saintly selfless or anything like that, I'm very self-centered, it's just that being an ally to [x], [x] being allies to me, and [x] being allies to [y] who have nothing to do with me is not only a rare area of activism I can function in, it's one that actively brings me joy. This includes having sent multiple messages to transmascs thanking them when they speak up about transmisogyny, because I want to show them the love so many of them have shown me for the same thing.

Finally, you say my trans activism is focused on trans men. Maybe so, by volume. But, and I've mentioned this before, I've been wanting to do more for everyone else as well, literally everyone. I've asked a bit about intersex issues and am trying to learn more about what non-binary people who don't lean to one end or the other deal with as well, and I also want all my cis followers to feel just as comfortable and supported by me as well - and, of course, that all goes for other transfems as well, whose pain cuts me to the bone.

I'm radically pro-everyone, anon, and I want to help uplift them all without exception. I understand focusing on one's own lane, and I neither judge that nor am attempting to portray myself as a uniquely noble white knight. That's just what I personally choose to put my efforts towards.

[gottastayawake]

Stay Awake or Perish at the Edge of Sleep

Welcome to my TEOS sideblog!!

A place for me to reblog stuff about this wonderful series and make some noise! I have also got a Twitter/X acct at Gotta_StayAwake!

Spoilers are under #The Edge of Sleep Spoilers and #TEOS Spoilers, so if you want to avoid them, make sure to blacklist these two tags.

#Information will be used in regard of what you can do or how to help out in making some noise so TEOS is noticed. Check out this amazing post by @/lady-raziel, it comes with the PLAN of ACTION for what we can do to give our support to Mark and TEOS.

SO, WHAT CAN I DO?

Listen, I get it. I have to work a job I don't like, barely surviving my day to day, and I certainly have no money or a big following enough to try to change the mind of Amazon Execs about Mark and his projects. Hell, I made a whole new blog (which I have not done for anything else in fandom, my blog is an amalgamation of all my hyperfixations thrown in together) BUT I'm still gonna try by doing what I like to do. I'm gonna make posts and I'm gonna reblog, and I what I can do is sign up for a 30-day free trial to binge the series all day. I'm gonna livetweet my reactions to the show on Twitter and I'm gonna make memes and talk about my faves from the show. It's not much, but it's something I can do and will gladly do for Mark.

Markiplier has been a big part of my life and I really owe him keeping me going during the worst of my depression, I'm pretty sure without him, I wouldn't have been able to finish university. So now, I want to do as much as I can to support "The Edge of Sleep", its success will allow Mark to get his movie "Iron Lung" out and some bigshots in Amazon/Hollywood have now done their best to stop him. So it's important for us to do as much noise to get TEOS out there!!

Remember Our Flag Means Death, cut one season short before we could finish their story.

Remember KAOS, a show that Netflix cancelled a month after it premiere and that no one knew even existed bc Netflix never advertised it.

Now, TEOS has been dealt the same uncaring hand by Amazon. They made Mark not be able to reveal where it was coming out, we barely got a premiere date (October 18, 2024) AND THEN they shadow dropped it on the 15th with no notice and for the US audience only. We also know that they told Mark that if the show didn't get into the Top 10, then his movie is at risk of never coming out. Despite all of that, as of today Wednesday 16th, the movie is #7 and #Markiplier is trending on Twitter/X.

So if you can:

Stream the show. I'm cancelling the trial two days before they charge my card and streaming TEOS until then. If you are outside the US, you can use a VPN, and it will work, believe me. Hopefully, on the 18th we can get a world premier and everyone will be able to stream it, but if not, those options are available.

Make posts about it. Anywhere online where you gush about your faves, talk about it! Whether you have seen it or just know the Podcast, don't forget to tag it with #TheEdgeofSleeponPrime to make sure it stays trending.

If you have seen the show, leave a review on Prime, IMBD and anywhere else you can find!

Have fun! It's really awesome to engage with others who love the things you do, even if its just reading and liking posts (but if you are here on Tumblr then you must know that reblogging is the norm here!), so go out there and engage with the fandom, even if its just in your own corner.

Don't let the anxiety get to you, every little thing helps! Now let's get this to be the No. 1 show on Prime!!

[imabillyami]

Hi friends 💜 I gained lots of lovely new followers lately, so here I am - (re)introducing myself for everyone new to my blog.

I’m Billy, 29, non-binary, vegan, queer. My pronouns are they/them. I’ve been doing fandom stuff on this website for about 15 years. I’ve been a wrestling fan for even longer than that.

I’m European, but my sleep schedule is absolute whack, so you’ll likely see me up and online at all weird times of the day. I do have a nightly queue set up, indicated my the little "q" at the end of my tags, but I oftentimes end up being awake and posting during those hours, still.

What got me hooked on Wrestling? My uncles (who might as well be my older brothers, not much of an age difference there), showed me all the wrestling videos when I was a kid. And then we watched WrestleMania 22 together and I saw the Mick Foley vs. Edge hardcore match and well - the rest is history. 

I’m a pro wrestling enthusiast in general and try my best to keep up with as much of it as possible - WWE, TNA/Impact, AEW, some indie stuff if it looks interesting enough (I really enjoy WOW for example). I post whatever brings me joy, though I’d say my content favors WWE heavily most of the time (old habits die hard). 

My ultimate favorite since the day he stepped foot into NXT has been and will forever be Sami Zayn. Undisputed. 

Before him I was a huge Edge fan, Punk fan, AJ Lee fan, Dean Ambrose fan. I'm still a huge Moxley fan to this day. 

I was & still am a sucker for The Shield too (they got me back into watching WWE after Edge’s first retirement). I came back for the group, stayed for Roman, Dean and Seth as individuals. I didn’t think I could love anyone more, ever, until the day Sami walked in and said “challenge accepted”. And here we are.

Generally I’m enthusiastic about any and all wrestlers unless stated otherwise. What finally got me to participate in the online fandom though? The Bloodline & Samijey. I’m a Sami fan. I’m a Roman fan. A Jey fan, a Jimmy fan, a Solo fan. So I enthuse about these guys a lot more than about all the others.

I freaking adore women’s wrestling. No female wrestlers are getting slandered on my watch. My current favs are Naomi, Becky, Bayley, Indi, Asuka, Shayna & Rhea in WWE, Jordynne in TNA & Willow, Mercedes and Toni in AEW. My forever undisputed favorite will be AJ Lee though. 

I enthuse about a lot of different wrestlers on a regular basis. So you’ll basically see lots of content about all the people from all the promotions. I don’t believe in the whole weird tribalism bullshit. Wrestling is awesome and no matter what you enjoy, I love that there’s so much variety for everyone these days.

I’m a writer and a shipper. I’m a multishipper. Wrestling is beautiful and very very gay. My absolute favorite ships are Samijey, Ambreigns/Romox (& JimmyKev & BayRhea), but I have a few others I like & I’m always open to writing and reading other new stuff too. Nothing’s set in stone when it comes to shipping.

If you enjoy M/M fanfic (and hopefully soon to be added F/F fanfic), you can find that pinned to the top of my blog, but also on my AO3 (don’t need an account). If you want something written, you can request it, I just kindly ask you to check my requests post for rules and limitations first. 

Other than wrestling, I’m very much a lover of TV shows, movies, books, music and all kinds of media in general, especially the queer kind. 

I’ve been in many fandoms over the years and I’m always happy to talk about them and post stuff about them (though admittedly a less often lately, wrestling has kinda completely taken over my blog at this point). These posts are usually tagged with “non wrestling” or “other obsessions” and the specific fandom name for blacklisting purposes, since these days this is my only blog & I don’t intend to change that.

I think that pretty much covers it. If you wanna come chat about anything, my inbox is always open, anon is always on. Unless you’re a minor, I’m happy to interact. I’m an adult. I post adult themes and content occasionally, so if you’re a minor I kindly ask you to not follow me. This is for your own safety. 

Anyway. It’s nice to meet you all! I hope you’ll enjoy what you see & that you’ll stick around! Come around for a chat if you ever feel up for it!

Little added PSA with TW for addiction/alcoholism:

I am a recovering alcoholic and drug/narcotics addict (sober for 2+ years at this point). It gets mentioned sometimes. I'm not ashamed of my past.

I'm rather strict (and very mindful) about tagging things correctly as to not trigger anyone or get triggered myself. 

If that info causes any issues on your end, whether that’s cause it’s a personal trigger and you want to (understandably) keep yourself safe, or because you’re simply being an unkind person who doesn’t believe that people can change and grow, I kindly ask you to turn around and leave for your sake, but also for my own.)

[reasonsforhope]

Please tag American politics as American politics

American politics should all be tagged as "US politics"

I would add "American politics," but to be totally honest, I know my brain well enough to know that I can't promise to tag things consistently. It's just wildly unlikely to be a promise I can keep, unfortunately, so I try to be up front about that

I am pretty sure I get "US politics" on there at least 90% of the time, for what that's worth, so hopefully you can just add that to your blacklist, and that will cover it

If something slips through, I'm sorry about that. If there's a specific post you saw that didn't have US politics, let me know and I'll add it rn, but otherwise, I hope adding "US politics" to your blacklist is a workable solution

[greentrickster]

When looking for fanfics on AO3, specifically ones catered to your taste in a fandom/interest, how do you go about? Any tips on how to scout “good” stories from than “mediocre”?

First off, make sure you know what you want and what you're looking for! Choose your fandom, what characters you want to see, what relationships (romantic are A/J, platonic are A&J for formatting), rating, length, any of those that you have a specific preference for, make it known! When searching AO3 on PC, there's a whole bar of drop-down menus so you can choose all of these things you want to include AND anything you want to exclude:

If a tag you want to see or avoid isn't there, there's a place to search for and then add it as well. You also have a few options for how the fics you get are sorted as well - update date, word count, kudos count, comments, bookmarks, etc. There are also a few more options, but the image is already big enough - seriously, AO3 lets you customize your search so much, even if you don't add AO3dr to use their blacklisting function.

Myself, I usually put in my relationship preferences, exclude a few warnings, then organize by number of bookmarks or comments. I'll do a quick scan of the first three to four pages, clicking the 'mark for later' button inside the fics on anything that seems promising until I have anywhere between eight and a couple dozen fics.

After that? The reading begins, but the process isn't over! Because if one of the fics I read turns out to be really good, the next step isn't to go back to my 'marked for later' list, it's to go to the writer's dashboard, see if they've written anything else for this fandom that sounds good, read anything of theirs that sounds good, and when I'm finished that check their bookmarks page for anything they've read and bookmarked for this fandom, marking things for later until I've gone through the whole thing, then choosing a new fic from my now (hopefully) expanded marked for later list and repeating the whole process all over again. This generally keeps me, at least, well fed and well read when it comes to fics!

Sometimes I also add my preferences in the AO3 search and just take a peek at what's come out recently, even if it's incomplete - yes, you'll be left wanting at times if the story's unfinished, but it's worth it to get to accompany other writers and readers on the journey of a really good ongoing fic and getting a delightful update notification in you inbox from time to time. :D

(I should note, what makes a fic 'good' or 'mediocre' is at least partially subjective. I've seen loads of fics that have obviously been widely read and well loved by many, but they weren't to my taste.)

Also, keep in mind the age of the fan base a piece of media is aimed towards - The Owl House is generally going to have a lower overall quality of writing than, say, Ace Attorney, not because one is objectively superior to the other (they're both fantastic and I would pay money to see Phoenix defend Eda in court), but because one's aimed at kids and young teens and the other's aimed at older teens and adults. And one of these demographics is going to have had more practice with writing than the other. It's worth going through both still, they both have plenty of great fics, but it helps to enter a younger-aimed fandom with a more lenient frame of mind.

Anyway, that's all the advice that I've got, and I hope it helps! Thanks for the ask!

[orionsangel86]

Honestly same about the spoiler, here’s the thing…

I NEVER in a million years thought they’d go there I thought it was just gonna be strictly platonic but besties whatever and the fact we even have this has made more happy and invested because Ofc I can ready my fan fictions of this being a conclusion after the show but the fact it’s real?! I’m so happy and I don’t even care that it was spoiled

Yeah exactly. I was kinda really pissed off at Neil reblogging that post that was like "ShOw SoMe ReSpEcT" because it was a stupid post policing and attempting to blame FANS for something AMAZON did. I get Neil was prob angry and upset at the time and he has since tried to clarify, but I still think its a shitty post.

Its a 2 second clip that just so happens to confirm something that the majority of fans have been desperately hoping for for 4 YEARS. Would it have been better to only find out whilst watching the show? Of course! But honestly? I now get to go into the show comfortably happy to watch it without any residual anxiety and fear of disappointment.

Because no matter how many posts people scream on this site about how "we dont need Crowley and Aziraphale to explicitly show us they are in love and together" deep down we know thats bullshit. Deep down we know that for it to actually count towards representation we needed season 2 to give us SOMETHING more than season 1. So that the queer media sites like Pink News could include Gomens in their articles, so that buzzfeed could include it in their canon queer ships listicles. So that heteronormative types could finally say "oh so not just best friends!" So that homophobes could stop screaming "WhY dO yOu PeOpLe HaVe To MaKe EvErYtHiNg GaY" at US and instead scream that at the creators like they did with Sandman whilst we all laugh at them.

People try to downplay the importance of a kiss because they are trying to prevent their own disappointment. So if a kiss doesnt happen they can say "i never needed a kiss. I KNOW it is queer anyway." But we should never downplay the importance of a kiss in queer media. Not when in the real world there are still people trying to make out that queer kissing is gross and explicit and obscene and should be kept hidden from children. Queer kissing needs to be as commonplace as straight kissing and only when THAT happens will I say "nah i didnt need a kiss to know they were queer."

So yes. This spoiler is everything. Not just everything. It's the breath of relief that I've been holding for 4 years. Its the weight of anxiety that has pressed on my shoulders finally being lifted. It's the faith in my favourite author and showrunner finally being rewarded. I was already excited to watch the show, but with the knowledge of the spoiler I am absolutely bouncing off the walls desperate to watch the show, chewing on my own arm desperate to watch the show! I know there are people who REALLY care about not being spoiled, and thats fine. I'll tag everything. I'll tag this post, and hopefully those people have been smart enough to blacklist the tags. Because thats all we can do. I don't think people should stop talking about it and supress their excitement just because Neil Gaiman got angry. Just tag the spoilers and revel in this new knowledge and love the show even more.

[kidspawn]

this isn’t meant to be mean or anything but. “tag pjo spoilers” the books have been out for 18 years??? obviously i know some people are only just getting introduced to pjo but if they look up pjo on ANY socmed platform, there’s going to be posts dating back years full of spoilers? i think it’s common sense not to look into the tags of show you don’t want spoiled.

When I refer to tagging PJO spoilers, I'm referring to common etiquette for new posts when an adaptation is being made. While the books have been out for years, the tv show has not. There are some spoilers that will genuinely ruin the experience for people watching the show for the first time - people who, for whatever reason they chose, may decide NOT to read the books. I'm referring to tagging relevant spoilers (which I'll list some examples below) not just... everything. I'm not saying go through all our old posts and tag everything, but I am saying to think about tagging newer content!

People will watch the show on its own. It is a piece of media that will stand alone. Some may decide to read the books and it's not fair for them to go into it with spoilers. If they want to dip into the tag to discuss a new episode, I'd hope they wouldn't be bombarded with spoilers from recent posts.

People going into fandom for the first time have every right to experience the story spoiler-free for the first time, and while lifelong fans like us have no obligation to, I'd hope we would all have the compassion to cultivate a positive experience for PJO newcomers! We have the ability to cultivate a safe and wonderful place to enjoy this world! Why should we not?

If they want to go into the Percy Jackson and the Olympians tag and talk about the episodes, where they think the plot will go - why should they not have that right? Why should book readers gatekeep the fandom and prevent them enjoying this show? If they don't want to blacklist tagged spoilers or willing engage in posts marked with spoilers, that's one thing, but it's common etiquette to acknowledge that, in this environment, we can take a simple step and tag spoilers. It doesn't really take very long.

Hopefully, if they feel this is an accepting and warm fanbase, they'll decide to read the books. If not, who cares? They still deserve to read the story. The idea of "the books have been out long enough!!" is, frankly, a little "holier-than-thou" and condescending. It implies that you're only a real fan if you've read the book prior - which just isn't true!

There are some elements of the story that we can tease online (Dr. Kane, Blackjack, any Nico or Bianca reference, etc.) but there's a lot that forms the fabric of the story Rick Riordan and the team behind this show is trying to tell.

Some examples of spoilers I mean when I say to censor/tag: (You'll notice this is just a list of spoilers that would ruin the story to know ahead of time)

Luke betraying Percy (this one is pretty obvious to tag)

Luke's ultimate fate (I've seen this one get spoilers)

Kronos being the final villain (that's a well-written mystery in the books, unless you're like me and obsessed with greek myth)

Ares being a villain fake-out

Hades being a villain fake-out

Tyson being a cyclops and Percy's brother

Bianca Di Angelo. Specifically, her decision to join the hunters and her literal death.

Zoë's death. Zoë's backstory.

Most things Nico related. His villain fake-out in the fourth book, especially. That was so well written in the books. I ADORE Nico, he's my first little guy. He's so cool, and I want to see people fall in love with his arc in the same way we all got to!

Hate to say it, Nico is a walking spoiler lol.

Thalia coming back!! That was such a fun twist!

Pretty much the entire plot of the last book. I hate to say it, but that book is so well-written. There's so much foreshadowing. So much care put into crafting the story to erupt into what is one of the BEST books in the riordanverse, imo.

Notice I'm not saying anything too obvious - like certain character relationships (Percabeth is fair game, its iconic!) or even letting people know where the book differs. I'm talking about major plot elements. Major plot spoilers. If your friend was reading the books for the first time, what would you refrain from telling them?

Of course, there's no obligation to tag or censor your spoilers. I'm not telling anyone to do that. It's a gentle suggestion. I'm going to tag spoilers. That's just my choice, and i hope other people do but I'm not going to enforce it or start fights about it.

I do understand that if people want to avoid spoilers completely, they should stay away from main fandom spaces, but there are certain aspects of fandom that should be safe - like, somewhere online to gush about the show between seasons!

To reiterate: I'm not upset when people aren't tagging spoilers, I just think it'd be nice! Percy Jackson is one of the best fandoms I've been involved in! I hope other people experience that warmth and joy! One way to do that is by helping craft a courteous and spoiler-free experience.