#i am nothing but a valuable member to the fandom

[stood-onthecliffside]

i wanted to talk about this for a long time so naturally, i had to treat this as an academic journal (very sorry about that lol).

[clarenecessities]

He-man.org will close in 5 days.

He-man.org has been a staple of the Masters of the Universe community since the early days, originating as an email list that worked to document episodes before anything (not footage, not lists, nothing) was available online. It grew into a sprawling, multi-faceted beast of a thing, including an encyclopedia (an in-house wiki), merch lists, a marketplace, forums, anything you could think of.

Several years ago now, the main site went down for updates/maintenance. For a few weeks, we were told, maybe months. The forums remained open for fans to communicate, and barring a period of downtime earlier this year things were going smoothly.

Yesterday, the owner of the site, Val Staples, announced the site would be closed on November 14th, 2023. Six days later. We are currently attempting to contact him, to see if he’s interested in selling, and if he means closed as in “no new posts” or closed as in deleted entirely. Regardless of its eventual fate, the archiving of these forums is essential to preserving the history of the franchise, the fandom, and the brand.

TO SHE-RA (and MotU) FANS SPECIFICALLY: I have personally used these forums to answer questions that could be answered nowhere else. Had I not had access to them, I would never have been able to prove that Purrsia was fake, or found so much unpublished concept art, or discovered that Scott “Toyguru” Neitlich personally wrote Catra’s MOTUC bio (even if he’s put off answering my questions about it for over a year now). Forum members have conducted interviews with the likes of Jon Seisa, Cathy Larson, Janice Varney-Hamlin—essential figures in the very foundations of POP, and those interviews revealed and recorded priceless information for future generations (me! you! us!) to find. Did you know Cathy Larson named Adora? That she originally pushed for “Dorian”, after her own daughter? We cannot let this treasure trove disappear into the ether(ia).

TO THE UNAFFILIATED: Please help. Pretty please. If you’ve ever liked my art or my writing or my haphazard blogging, ever, at all, consider archiving just one board. Just one page. Literally anything helps. I am spiraling into madness & this is my library of Alexandria. The mythical one that was totally unique and persevered nowhere else and was destroyed in a single cataclysmic event. Pretty pretty please help.

HOW TO HELP:

Archive.org has several ways to upload shit but most of them are longer term than “a few days” so we’re focusing on two (which can be run simultaneously): Save Page Now, and browser extensions. From their help page:

1. Save Page Now

Put a URL into the form, press the button, and we save the page. You will instantly have a permanent URL for your page. Please note, this method only saves a single page, not the whole site.

We want to keep outlinks and screenshots wherever possible. The Archive does not keep your IP address, so your submission is anonymous.

2. Browser extensions and add-ons

Install the Wayback Machine Chrome extension in your browser. Go to a page you want to archive, click the icon in your toolbar, and select Save Page Now. We will save the page and give you a permanent URL.

One plus to installing the extension is that as you surf around, when you run into a missing page they will alert you if we have a saved copy.

More extensions, apps, and add-ons:

Firefox add-on

Safari Extension

iOS app

Android app

I strongly encourage you to use these tools even if you aren’t helping with this project/after it ends. Documenting and preserving information is essential in this day and age & The Internet Archive is at the heart of it. Please support them however you can.

I’m serious about paying you, though I may need more communication with folks I don’t know so we can coordinate/verify shit gets done. I think this is a worthwhile pursuit in itself but I recognize your time is valuable & like, people gotta eat. DM me if you’re interested and we’ll talk. I may need to adjust pay depending how many people bite but I’ll do what I can

[victoriadallonfan]

Parahumans Fandom based on the best and worst comments/messages I've received or seen:

Fanfiction.net - (Best) - Someone told me they had no idea that Worm had a sequel and they quickly binged the entire thing after reading my fanfic. Told me they loved how optimistic the story was and thought my fic did a good job of emulating that.

(Worst) - Being sent a message about how they wanted to rape the main character (Victoria) and tried to bully me write a different story for them.

Reddit - (Best) - Numerous posts about how the setting and story of Parahumans has given people positive vibes, made them felt seen, helped them process traumatic events in their lives, or exposed them to different cultures/ideas. Even while acknowledging the very real faults of the stories, and how things could or should be improved, there are a lot of great analysis's out there on the subreddit.

(Worst) - Pick your poison: "Nazi's aren't evil", "Mind rape isn't real rape", "Even if it was rape, it was deserved", "Why doesn't Taylor join the Empire?", "Sophia deserved what happened to her", "You don't agree with Taylor's decisions? You're just like Uvalde Police!" Death threats in general.

Tumblr - (Best) Actually too many to mention. I am disappointed that I am a relatively recent member, because there are a lot of people who post funny, insightful, and even valuable point of views. Even when I disagree with them on 99% of things, mostly Ward related obviously, there's always at least a handful of posts from even those users that I can look at and go, "Wow, that take really made me re-evaluate things".

(Worst) Awful lot of people telling me to kill myself and worse from Anons, more than any other site. Like, damn tumblr, way to take the prize from Reddit. Still, same sort of behavior as on Reddit, just styled differently by users to pretend it's better.

Spacebattles - (Best) Had someone tell me that they love how my Victoria fanfic was great and inspired them to read Ward, where they felt really seen as a survivor of sexual abuse, and that they are processing what they've going through in a new lens. Helps that I'm like, one of 4 active Ward fic writers, so the fandom is far smaller haha

(Worst) Had a white supremacist recruiter try to convince me and others that their Empire 88 Self-Insert was just a joke, while also trying to recruit people. Got them banned lmao

Sufficient Velocity - Don't use that site for anything other than Pale updates

AO3 - Nothing but positivity from them, if they decide to leave a comment at all

[dearweirdme]

I love the point you made on hereronormativity earlier on the plushie and how people feel about two men sharing it.

That's funny because it reminds me of this thought I've been having recently :I actually understand the notion of not shipping real people together because it will make them uncomfortable or whatever and at first I failed to get along with this statement because I think taekook is real and the fact that I couldn't enjoy anything related to them without some mfs reminding me that they are friends...

But anyway. I think people in the fandom do not think like that. At least not recently. It started off as something about moral and the members respect and it went down the road as a thing of heteronormativity borderline homophobic.

Because why were people writing EVERYWHERE (even some shippers) that jungkook has a girlfriend(also the weird stereotype) because he has a hello kitty plushie????? Like it really blows my mind up how it was sooo normal for everyone to assume this one bit and nobody saw anything weird in this. It's like having a car key and my family members assumung right away that I have a boyfriend because boys love cars. See how stupid it sounds???? It's sooo crazy to me.

But I sat there and observe because I didn't think my word could have had much effect against 200k likes on tiktok.

And now we are in the present, Taehyung and Jungkook happens to have the same damn plushie and its considered a bro thing.. I don't want to exaggerate about anything but the moment the fandom open their eyes and understand that those fads going around shoving the hetero thing down our throat and then acting blind when it happens to be about two men or homosexuality in general, they'll also understand that homophobic people thrive in this fandom and they think they have a place there because who's gonna complain about Anna who thinks Jungkook has a girlfriend because of his tattoos and it doesn't make sense if its not the case?

Hi anon!

Oh.. heteronormative thinking is ingrained in so many people still. Let me go on a bit of a rant here 😁.

It starts as soon as someone is pregnant.. and it intensifies when a child is born. I live in a so called progressive and openminded country.. and yet to my ex it was extra special that our kid was a boy. Thoughts of playing football (soccer) and other ‘boy activities’ went through his mind. People gave us blue clothes and car toys. When my kid got older it became clear that he has what would be considered a ‘soft’ side. He’d choose rainbow colored mermaid plushies and unicorns to play with alongside his car toys.. and people found that odd. Kids don’t actually see a difference.. they just like stuff and colors and it’s the reaction of adults that makes them feel a certain way about it. My kid is a bit older now and I have constant conversations with him about that it’s okay to let his hair grow out if he likes it, that boys can love boys and that girls can love girls (i always say stuff like ‘when you’re older and have a boyfriend or girlfriend’). I was a member of an inclusive bookclub for kids for a while, and people got uncomfortable about the topics.. which was basically that love is love and that people are diverse. I am a big believer that if people start being inclusive in the language they use.. it will make a difference.

A lot of people aren’t even aware that it’s something they’re doing. I still catch myself at times.. but I make it a learning experience.

Fandom absolutely treats heteronormative ways of thinking different than queerness. The many times we see people defending members from queer allegations is insane and it shows that queerness is seen as something less valuable/weird/abnormal 😡.

I have always seen Jk as a soft guy (which has nothing to do with his sexuality). Straight men can be soft, queer men can be tough. Tattoos say nothing about what someone is like.. I have tattoos and I’m all sorts of things none of which would have anything to do with my tattoos. My tattoos are an expression of what’s going on in my mind while for someone else it could be that they just like the look of it.

I think Jk is queer because he is attracted to men (Tae) it’s as simple as that really.

[incognit0slut]

Hi, Lou. First of all, I'd like to say that I love your stories and edits, you are a very valuable member of this fandom and I'm so, so sorry for all those negative comments about your kinktober. It's just that, like you said, nothing similar to this happened during last year's Kinktober and you're right. It was very enjoyable. (Tina was so right when she predicted this fr she must be a prescient witch lol) But I feel like someone or some people, idk if it started with one person randomly spreading this "canon-compliant-character-writing-obligation- and bullying any writer who does otherwise" or if it was a group of people, but I'm so disappoint to see it. Like, think about it, writers take their time out of their very busy lives and create something for you, for free, and then having to face negativity for it? Everyone is responsible for the content they consume and I'm pretty sure everyone is also capable of shaping their dash according to it. Do you add necessary content warnings? Yes. Do they not like it? They should very calmly scroll away or block. Like if you were a farmer, this blog would be your garden, and it is no one's business what you plant in it. Corroborating an idea without thinking about the meaning behind it is getting more and more common and it's not alright. In the word "understand", there is a "stand" in the end, meaning "stop and process, digest" what has been said to you, or what you read, and some people simply don't do it. (There is also a similar example in German but my German is terrible so I'll avoid illustrating.) People sadly don't think about the potential outcomes of their words. There are, unfortunately, writers who cannot handle the negativity and deactivate. I hope you will not be one of them because, like I said, you are important and needed here. Take care 💗

“Like if you were a farmer, this blog would be your garden, and it is no one's business what you plant in it.” That is the sweetest thing I’m now going think of my works as flowers now🌹🌸🌷🌼💐

You have a beautiful mind sweet girl and you took the time to write all of that to cheer me up? ME? How lucky am I? Thank you so so much I really appreciate it and you’re of course 100% right with everything you mentioned. And honestly people like you outweighs all the hateful energy so don’t worry, I’m doing absolutely wonderful!!

[variousqueerthings]

For the Ask Thing, simply because we talked about it today, Cobra Kai please!

also @pigtailedgirl

oh how the mighty have fallen.......

my favorite female character ok in cobra kai (vs miyagi-verse generally) my favourite female character is tory nichols. absolute shocker (generally it's kumiko). she's literally given a whole arc that is soooooooo deserving of better trappings, but i will take it! she shines in this whole affair, she's brash, she's angry, she's definitely a lesbian! i thank cobra kai for giving me tory nichols. honestly, i thank cobra kai for giving me many women i can gnaw on, even though it's all just scraps. it's fine, we'll take it from here!

my favorite male character i think it was as-of s5 i kinda went "alright shockingly i am more interested in the teenagers than the adults officially in this show" and then i got halfway through this sentence and remembered john kreese. unhinged mf'er, the worst man in the world, would be a fantastic exploration of every worst american nationalist hyper-masculine impulse with a fascinating queer undertone, and... that's what he is actually, don't even come at me (i say like i'm not in the unhinged old men fandom) but of the kids, miguel. miguel needs to be saved from this narrative. miguel has nothing good to learn from these people. miguel is daniel larusso's successor in that he's put in these fucking Situations because of other peoples fucking business, and he did have some beautiful growth in terms of almost almost being lured into all of it, but then he got himself out. literally do not think johnny has taught him a single valuable life lesson. not a one. miguel. i see you (if it were all of miyagi-verse, then miyagi!)

my favorite book/season/etc s1-3. you understand. (hon mention to every silver scene in s4 though, silver you keep me coming back and idk whether to hate you or love you for that)

my favorite episode (if its a tv show) lol, s4ep1. tsilver intro episode. also, finale s2, the last time i could accept these bonkers fights happening in the story

my favorite cast member my beautiful marty kooooooooooveeeeeeee (obvs) and mary mouser, every little punky Look of hers is Iconique

my favorite ship as a usually bringing an aroace vibe to the party that fandom doesn't appreciate, this is my big exception. everyone is gay and alloromantic and allosexual is2g (i kid, there are some absolutely Amazing aro and/or ace reads and fics out there!) gonna give this one to sam/tory and every girl they pulled into their Nonsense. also aisha/the girl in this one fic @mimsyaf wrote in which aisha is Out (as in Out of the karate drama and also Out as a lesbian and Out of the narrative having lesbian sex. this too could be you if you got Out). sam. i know you're butch. i know it. sam, pspspspspsss sam listen! hon mention to kreese/silver. most awful men in the world ❤

a character I’d die defending miguel! sam! daniel! listen, in this fandom, we're all defending someone aren't we, and i respect all of said defences. kenny and shawn payne deserve more screentime, esp in which they're not treated abominably, miguel deserves to have more focused narrative and not have his thematic identity as Literally The Next Karate Kid From Day One distorted, robby.... oh robby..... goodness gracious robby...... you know. if you're in this fandom, you know!!! and of course, the larussos, the eternally Wrong Gender Performers according to straight men across the world. i see you (i also See You 👀 in a gay way) and johnny... i know what the point was with you. i will fistfight the writers for that one. i know this isn't you johnny 😭😭😭

a character I just can’t sympathize with stingray. sry. the actor seemed lovely. and i did kinda like that he ended up slightly (slightly) more serious, but. it should have been a Warning when he was more than in a couple of episodes i also don't hate yasmin and moon, but i think everything interesting about them is fanon

a character I grew to love youknow, i really like the characters of this show? genuinely the thing that keeps me coming back is wanting better narrative for them, because they're actually Interesting (except for above) there's so much in all of the mains that deserves 10000 fics (esp fix-its) not because they're bad, but because things keep getting presented that are Interesting and then dropped immediately. so yeah. i was into them all pretty much from the start

my anti otp lol is there a straight pairing that works in this????? other than amanda/daniel (but you know how bisexual that is)

[evelhak]

The ship bingo is very interesting... I would love to see KagaKuro done by the KagaKuro expert pretty please 🩵

The KagaKuro expert... My ego is very well fed.

It wasn't literally love at first sight... It was "koi no yokan" the feeling upon meeting someone that you will inevitably fall in love with them. If they had been able to listen to themselves carefully enough in the beginning, they would have known it, but they weren't, and in some paradoxical way that's what made their love possible, because they would have been too scared to know each other if the idea had been in their heads.

Bestest most OTP of my life second to nothing under or beyond the stars. No other pairing has punched me to the gut with the way they complement, not complete each other, to this extent, the way their story embodies the "I want to be with you even when I don't need to be with you" in other words, I've read so many love stories that never develop beyond co-dependency and their story explores what's beyond that and how much more a relationship can be when you need each other less. Or how much more love consists of looking together in the same direction than staring at each other. (Not that they don't do the latter as well, especially literally.) I have not exhausted my thoughts on them in over a decade, they are the deepest well to me.

The fandom hasn't ruined it as a whole, the fandom is mostly amazing and inspires me like nothing else I love you fandom. But because I get times I'm so desperate for new KagaKuro content I have sometimes read things I knew were not for me in any capacity and it took a lot of effort to erase the atrocities I saw from my mind. 🎶 "I know things now, many valuable things, that I hadn't known before... Isn't it nice to know a lot... And a little bit not".

Can we just call it canon... I literally sometimes forget that it's not canon and am surprised at the realisation that maybe the author doesn't see them together. A crazy thought. For real, I'm aware my reality is not other people's reality but I like mine very much. And you can too! I dare you! (That was said so gently and not at all demandingly.)

Yeah forget about three page essay it's a 900 000 word fic and my favourite joke with my translator friend right now is what will happen first... I hit million words or they finally have sex.

I... do want to smash them together like barbies. It took a long time to get to that mindset, but now that they're almost out of high school in my head, I'm going to challenge myself to writing sex eventually. It just seems like a natural progression.

Romeo and Juliet not really (and I have no clue what the rest of that even means) but there are definitely family members opposing their relationship, and some balconies, in various forms so I was just trying to get a bingo. (In vain.)

I want what they have in the sense that I never would have believed I would want my story centered around their relationship to become so huge for me that I would want it to be my magnum opus, my footprint in the world. But. Here we are. I don't so much want what they have as I want them to just keep doing whatever they do in my head because it gives me life.

Facebook status is complicated because it wasn't easy for them to tell their friends and family about their relationship. There were a lot of obstacles in the way before they ended up in a comfortable place.

I'm high just writing this.

[enneamage]

Leading off that anon and your response (I'll be honest I wasn't aware you have pro-Dream anons lurking, that ask definitely tasted of bad faith but I digress), the most likely answer is, as much as people treat NDAs as these rare and scary things, is that it was their contracts ending. Likely built frustration or new sense of freedom with what they can say that's spurring on this sort of new wave of harshness and crit toward the dteam coming from multiple former members.

Nearly all large scale servers where content is produced have legal contracts in place, more than likely NDAs. For the DSMP, where there were multiple monetary events, i.e. MrBeast's challenge, which sits funnily at the average NDA length of being roughly 2.5 years ago, plus it's general scale and popularity, there are simply no feesable circumstances where there were no legal contracts in place for at minimum a portion of its players. The idea that there wasn't is a little naive but it's fair with the representation of NDAs in media.

I could also go into Aimsey mentioning directly there was legal reasonings preventing him from speaking out on Dream's allegations (Dream's arguable legal actions against Amanda do not inherently prevent a member of his server showing support to the potential victim unless, again, there's NDAs in place) - but that's a whole box of frogs.

So yeah, the DSMP contract or NDA would likely have involved some aspect protecting the image of Dream and or his company as the legal owner of the server, so some sort of discouragement against what would be deemed slander - maybe at a push required engagement but there's nothing definitive on that bar from his plans for DSMP 2. Tommy's skit is damaging to Dream's image and explicitly negative that's no question, and he would't have been able to do it under the legal contract that must've existed, so the idea that the catalyst for it all is this contract ending seems increasingly likely.

(It's 1 AM as I write this I hope it makes some sense)

I've been sitting on this one for a little bit, since I know that NDA theory is a thing that floats around and I don't know enough about the law to comment, but I generally think of what's been happening as more organic than that. I genuinely believe that the wave of negativity towards Dream is a result of people reaching the end of their rope and snapping/giving up rather than a legal thing. (Inversely I think it took people this long to fully make up their minds and be public about it, which NDA theory seems to be trying to preserve-- the Idea that everyone stepped back immediately and just couldn't say it.)

I think a lot of people feel frustrated and disappointed with the direction that Dream went (If the fandom feels it I imagine their coworkers aren't pleased about it either) let alone the allegations. Now that it's been about a year, it's safe to say that Dream never recovered from that moment in a lot of ways, especially socially. People have distanced, opinions have gone down and Dream's name isn't clickbait-able in the positive way it once was, which I do think people were holding out for as a valuable social connection. I think a lot of ex-DSMP creators may feel stood up and screwed over with what happened to the server, and Dream is the face of the problem. Between this, the problems he already had and his slowed content production it got easier to think of him as a net negative that people felt better off without, especially since the social cost for associating with him is so high.

Back at the start, there were legal issues with the idea of a defamation case. Defamation cases get stronger when public opinion turns visibly against someone because of an accusation, so Aimsey was probably talking about dynamics like that.

[the-marron]

one line any fic! rules: pick ten of your fics, scroll to somewhere midpoint, pick a line chunk and share it, and then tag ten people.

I wqas tagged by @forerussake - thank you!!! 🥰🥰🥰 ehhh, picking ten favourite children is haaaard. I went overboard this year and the total of my fics right now is... 113, so I decided to limit myself to the current fandom, hope that’s okay? 😅

1. When I Make an Oath to the Flames, (Guardian, Weilan, Angst)      

Where Ye Zun thought himself to be an outsider in this strange relationship, Shen Ye would be an integral part of it and it makes all the difference. He wonders how does a fully happy Shen Wei look? With no evil brother trying to destroy the world and with his love by his side, what kind of person will Shen Wei be? How will he grow, how will he change? Will his smile get even warmer, will he smile more?

2. Jia Jia and The Guardian Lantern (Guardian, Weilan, Post-Canon Happy ending)

“I think I know what happened.” He whispers conspirationally and Xie Jin stops himself from groaning. The kid is rather observant, true, but his imagination hinders him from achieving greatness, that and his partiality to drama.

“With the Guardian?” Jia Jia prompts, not looking up from her cup of instant noodles.

“Yes! I think he lit up Dixing because he was in love with a Dixingren!”

“Sources?” Jia Jia and Xie Jin say simultaneously and grin at each other over their respective cups.

3. When I walk past the mountain peak, it doesn’t speak  (Guardian, Weilan, Post-canon Happy Ending)

In the pool, Zhao Yunlan’s life flickers out and the Lantern is lit, glowing faintly.

Nothing’s changed.

Shen Wei has failed again.

Kunlun doesn’t even look at him.

“Let me try again.”

4.  Come my love be one with the sea  ( Guardian, Weilan & ChuGuo, POTC!au)

“I’m Guo Changcheng, a crewmember at The Lord Guardian!” he says and doesn’t quite manage to keep the pride out of his voice. Which is strange, because his last memory of his crewmates is Captain Zhao throwing him into the sea.

When he glances at Hei Pao Shi, he shudders. There is a strange intensity in the man’s gaze, as if the mere name of the ship had some effect on him. Considering the fact that Chu Shuzhi knew the name of their captain, maybe Hei Pao Shi and Captain Zhao are sworn enemies? Oh no, will Changcheng be tortured after all?

5.  It's falsehood's flame, it's a crying shame  (Weilan Derivs, Luolin, Mafia!au)

He gets the name a few weeks later, when Chen Moqun summons him to the office and orders Lin Nansheng to pick up a file from Sullivan’s Apartments in the French Concession.

“If he is not there, just wait for him. Or ask the landlady about Luo Fei. We agreed on the pick up today but he is rather unreliable when it comes to time,” Chen Moqun says and at first, Lin Nansheng does not connect the new name to the figure of the handsome man from the party.

6. The man you seek is long gone (Weilan Derivs, Luolin,  Post-canon fix-it)

Lup Fei remains tense, not looking at Nansheng at all.

“I am not a miracle worker. I solve cases, find lost people. I am not a bodyguard for hire,” he finally replies and turns towards Lin Nansheng. For the first time since he’s met the detective, he sees distrust on his face.

It hurts rather unexpectedly.

7. I Count the Hours Without You (Guardian, Weilan, Post-canon)

“Welcome! What are you looking for?” the man behind the counter asks, and Shen Wei wonders. Though initially he thought he needs nothing from the shop, something made him come inside.  Shen Wei’s subconscious came here looking for something. He just has no idea what. None of the products displayed catch his interest quite like the man in front of him. 

8. The Story's Unwinding , written with @dobranocka (Guardian, Weilan, The Mummy!au)

The notable exception to the ‘keep Shen Wei away from the competition’ rule was Li Qian, but judging how much time she was spending at their camp and how valuable the info she provided on Zhu Jiu’s team was, she could hardly be counted as the member of Zhu Jiu’s team anymore. From what Shen Wei had told him, she used to be his undergrad, or something, and her opinion of Zhu Jiu was rather low so Zhao Yunlan was ready to adopt her, if that was Shen Wei’s wish.

Zhao Yunlan was ready to do many things just for Shen Wei, it seemed.

9. The Thousand Flowers Manor (Weilan Derivs, Pei Wende/Hua wuxie & Qi Heng/Xun Xu, Pride and Prejudice and zombies!au)

“I think Master Xun can make this decision on his own, wouldn’t you agree, Master Pei? If my cousin’s company pleases him…” he trailed off, but right as he said it he realised that this was precisely what the demon-hunter expected to hear.

“I have no doubt that he finds some pleasure in this mansion, I am simply wondering if it’s wise for him to indulge in it for so long.” It was hard not to miss this arrogant man’s meaning and Hua Wuxie could feel his blood boiling at the insinuation.

10. Irremovable Spell (Guardian, Weilan, Howl’s Moving Castle!au)

“What is the purpose of the fungus floating in the cup of tea but the bed, then?” That made Kunlun pause. He was sure Shen Wei couldn’t see his bed that clearly, but at the same time, he couldn’t, with all certainty, claim that there was no cup of tea with a new lifeform cheerfully existing there, because… well, there might be. It’s been known to happen in the past.

”His name is Junjun and he’s an important magical experiment?” Kunlun tried, but the doubtful, full of reproach gaze Shen Wei sent his way, convinced him that the battle was lost.

This was hard to pick, but i enjoyed walking through these fics, writing them was a good experience ❤ especially the ones written with Ascel (there are two more, not here) - writing in a team is so much fun!

Tagging: @dobranocka, @sasamelons, @miss-ingno, @verochkasnightmarecorner, @mjsakurea, @justacoyote, @dual-domination, @stupid-lemon-eater

[bluedalahorse]

a personal post about my aromanticism and loving fanfic

So I’m aromantic and asexual and I’m having a moment of introspection. (I’m also procrastinating, to be fair.) I’m going to share my thoughts just to get them down. Maybe this will resonate with you or maybe it won’t. I’m also not sure what the solution is or if I should be looking for one. Who knows?

There’s something you see in aromantic (and aroace) discourse on fanfic and ‘shipping culture, where you have one aro argument that’s like “I’m aro and have no interest in reading about romantic relationships whatsoever; I wish fandom wrote more gen and was less ‘shipping focused.” And then there’s the polar opposite argument, which is “I’m aro and I adore ‘shipping characters and reading about romantic relationships; it’s nice to read about other characters having those feelings even if I would never want or feel that kind of thing in my life.”

I want to address a sort of middle ground. I think I trend toward the “aro who ‘ships my faves and likes a well-executed romance in a story” category, but I’m gonna qualify that. If I’m reading something with a romantic pairing—whether the pairing appears in the story as a part of it or takes absolute center stage—I want the characters outside the pairing to feel three-dimensional and real and have their own unique relationships to the characters in the pairing. Nothing irks me more than say, a BFF or sibling or family member character, who has a complex and lore-filled relationship to one of the romantic leads in canon, getting reduced to a cheerleader puppet who only talks about the main romantic pairing and how great they are. Honor siblings and other family members with side plots. Let BFFs have absolutely shitty days once in a while, so that OTP Person A calls up OTP Person B and says, “Sorry I have to cancel our date tonight, BFF had a shitty day and I gotta be there for them.” And then we get to spend some fanfic time with OTP Person A and their friend in a way that enriches and adds to the overall story.

Going into an example in more depth below, using a canon I haven’t talked about yet…

Note: I am gonna talk positively about Heartstopper for a moment, but it is merely as an example. A lot of what I say about Heartstopper can be applied to other canons and fandoms, so please try to understand it as an illustration of something broader rather than its own particular thing.

Balancing relationship types is one thing the show Heartstopper does really well, in my mind. Nick and Charlie’s romance is of course the heart of the plot, but each of them has other significant relationships in their life. Nick’s mom supports Nick in his dating life, but you get a sense of the depth and history of their mother-son relationship, and they aren’t always fawning about Nick and Charlie’s relationship together. Sometimes they’re watching pirate movies! Meanwhile Charlie and Tao have some serious platonic BFF heartache when Charlie and Nick become romantically involved—but they also work through it and continue to be really important friends to each other. The narrative suggests that maybe Tao could be a little less overtly cranky with Nick, but it never shames him or portrays him as inappropriate or immature for worrying about Charlie getting into a significant romantic relationship. Tao has valid reasons for feeling the way he does—he doesn’t want Charlie to get hurt after what happened with Ben, and Tao doesn’t want to be left behind himself.

Tao’s story would have been so valuable for me to see as an aromantic teenager (who didn’t have the word aromantic to describe myself) who was always worried that my friends were going to leave me and I was going to end up alone. I would have known that it was normal and not a sign of immaturity to feel sad and fearful when my friends started dating and had these new relationships they were fluttery about. I would have had scripts for talking through my feelings with my friends and reaffirming our friendship with one another. As it was, I turned a lot of negative feelings inward on myself, and I tried often to push people away before they could push me away. I think if I’d had more characters in my life like Tao and Charlie, it would have done me good. (And no, Tao isn’t aromantic, but that’s important in its own way. Alloromantics also deserve complex friendships in their lives that provide support for them but also require an investment in time and attention! Allos are allowed to care about their friendships too!)

—also like. Tao has stuff going on his life that doesn’t relate to Nick/Charlie. He loves movies! To the point of having obnoxious opinions. He hates the MCU and also sports. (Same.) He’s developing a crush on Elle. He’s at the age where his mom is a little embarrassing and tells him to leave the door of his room open. He comes up with verbal comebacks when he’s being bullied because he doesn’t like bullies but he also doesn’t like physical fighting. He’s got ridiculous hair and a hat. We could probably get more even depth to his character but like, when he’s in a scene he feels real to me. Not like a cardboard cutout.

Now, I enjoy Heartstopper’s canon a lot. I’ve never read a fic for it. I have written some fic for Heartstopper (that I really need to finish.) Part of the reason I haven’t gone deeper into the Heartstopper section on AO3 is I really value that canon dynamic where friendships and romances feel balanced and the secondary characters feel like they have a three-dimensional existence outside of the Nick/Charlie main pairing, and I want that balance in a fic, too. I’m a little worried that if I do go looking, there’s going to be a lot where romance overwhelms a story that I already feel has this good balance of romance and not-romance.

But I’m not sure how to search or filter for the balance I want. Moving away from Heartstopper specifically (because like I said, I haven’t gone into the Heartstopper section on AO3) sometimes I’ll be looking for fics in a fandom, and I’ll try try to look up character study for a secondary character, or something from a secondary character’s POV. Secondary characters are often my favorite characters in a canon. But that’s no guarantee that the fic isn’t going to be 150% centered on a romance. It’s common to see fics where it’s a main pairing/more popular pairing through that secondary character’s eyes, or the secondary character will be involved in a romance of their own and the fic will be overwhelmed by that romance.

Every time I try to bring this up to another human, I get story recommendations like…

Here, do you want this story with no romance in it whatsoever, like we’re not even acknowledging that anyone could have romantic feelings, to the point where things feel kinda borderline queerphobic? (Most of the canons I like have multiple queer characters and queer romances, but also lots of friendships between queer people.)

Here, do you want this story where the romance is very sweet at all times and there is zero conflict and zero sex? (Conflict and sex are not the problem, my friend. They are not the thing I’m trying to get rid of.)

Here, do you want this story that purports to be centered on a friendship or family relationship for one of the members of the OTP, but it’s just a family member or friend fawning over how much they love the OTP and think they’re sooooo sweet and romantic?

None of which is what I’m actually looking for. Like, how do you filter for fanfic that isn’t really strict genfic but also doesn’t feel 150% centered on a main pairing gazing into one another’s eyes all the time? Maybe there’s an obvious way to search for it and I’m just missing it. This is why I wish AO3 had a way of distinguishing between “this pairing (romantic or not) is one of the central focuses of the fic” and “this pairing shows up in the fic and feels like an organic part of the universe but the writing isn’t overwhelmed by it.”

Fandom tends to foreground sex and romance in fanfic and fanart and meta, which is one of the things I find joyful and at times a little bit subversive about fandom. Like, I genuinely love us! I have had so many OTPs! I have done some very enthusiastic and strange things in my life because of ‘ships! And, at the same time, it can get overwhelming when some of my favorite secondary characters are depicted as purely ancillary to a romance between romantic leads in a story, or if the protagonist of a fic has nothing in their life that isn't somehow partner-involved. Like… we can have romantic stories where this isn’t the case. Right? I’m not making this up?

In conclusion, I don't want romantic love to conquer all. Instead I want to stop thinking of romantic love in terms of conquest, and start thinking of it in terms of coexistence with other loves.

Some notes that I couldn’t work into the structure of this post, but am just adding at the bottom in bullet points:

One of my favorite tropes in media doesn’t really have a name, but it’s when the best friend character and the love interest character find out they have a ton in common, and end up using that knowledge to team up and (lovingly) mess with the protagonist. More of that please!

I wonder to what extent this shapes my interest in problematic/fraught pairings in a canon (coughsargustcough) because those stories by their nature necessitate the weighing of different types of love against one another and ask the protagonist to carefully consider their values re: relationships. The thing is that in a problematic/fraught relationship the results of this weighing are almost always gonna be tragic. But I think more functional, less fraught pairings—the kind you root for to stay together instead of enjoying as something that leads to a glorious trainwreck breakup—could also benefit from this weighing of relationships and values. Because those negotiations between relationships don’t always have to be tragic. Most humans who have romantic partners can also have friends and family and colleagues they value. Those processes of balancing out the people in your life are part of being human and existing among other humans.

I wonder what extent this has been shaped by a shift over the years in genres I enjoy. I used to be much more into tracking like, Big Genre Stuff (think Doctor Who) but now I’ve gotten more interested in stories focused on interpersonal dynamics and characters coming to understand their own identities in relation to all the people around them. I used to be able to look for like, “casefic” for a procedural show and get a balance of kissing and crime solving I enjoy. Also in Les Mis fandom I somehow found the people who wrote the right balance of romance, friendship, and extremely nerdy historical puns + footnotes, so that was awesome. But like… in canons already focused on interpersonal relationships, how do you ask for more interpersonal relationships? Or calibrate the right balance of interpersonal relationship types using the AO3 search and tagging system?

This feels really complicated when I weigh my aromantic queer identity against others’ more allromantic queer identities, because I know that seeing all the romancey things (first dates! kisses! anniversary gifts!) represented for their pairings can be really empowering and helpful and full of joy. I know that “care more about platonic friendship!” can be weaponized as a microaggression when homophobic people use it against queer people ‘shipping queer ‘ships, so I don’t wanna come across that way. At the same time I’ve also struggled with amatonormativity in queer spaces, even when I’ve found that queer people on the whole tend to value friendship a lot more than straight people. So like, rest assured, I would like to see the cute romantic anniversary gifts happen too! I really would. IT’S CUTE. I just wanna see that balanced out against like, best friend characters who feel like real people and have their own stuff going on, even when they support a fic’s lovey-dovey protagonist. Does any of this make sense or am I just rambling at this point?

Oh, Blue. Write the fanfic you want to see in the world! Doing that already. Doing my best, anyway. Still wish I knew how to find more of the fics I was looking for.

[strangerthingfanfic]

Chapter 1&2

Fandom - Stranger Things

Rating - Teen and Up

Couples - Steve x Eddie

Nancy x Jonathan

Summary - it's been three weeks since the destruction of Star Court Mall and Steve Harrington is trying to get back to normal. But his life becomes nothing but normal when Eddie Munson walks into it

--------------------------

Chapter 1: 3 weeks

July 25, 1985

Speech by The Mayor of Hawkins

“Three weeks have passed since that Fourth of July.

The Fourth is to celebrate our independence but after this year it will mean so much more to the people of Hawkins.

It will be a day to remember the people who stood up to unimaginable evil and sacrificed themselves for others.

We will remember Sheriff Jim Hopper as a valuable member of our police force, a caring individual, and most of all a wonderful father to his daughter Jane.

He died while trying to save the lives of others when the explosion at the mall happened.

We will remember the young lives of Billy Hargrove and Heather Holloway who were taken too early by an unimaginable tragedy that befell them at Star Court Mall.

As Mayor of Hawkins I promise I will find the culprits who set the explosives in the basement of the mall and the will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

I also pledge that the mall will be rebuilt bigger and better.

Today we move forward. The shops reopen. Schools will open again in a month. Let's make the rest of summer as memorable as we can for the children returning to school.

Thank you all for coming”

Family Video after the speech

Steve sighed. Standing outside of the video store he couldn't help but want to scream “ the speech was all a bunch of horseshit to save the mayor's ass”.

But he didn't. He just thought about what really happened that night.

Robin and him here captured and drugged by Russian spies and Erica and Dustin we're almost captured themselves.

Not only were Russian spies trying to open a gate to the upside down in the basement of the mall but Billy died a fucking hero. He gave his life to make sure Max and the rest of them survive. Hopper gave his life shutting down the damn gate.

But they also lost living people.

The death of Hopper was the last straw in Joyce’s haystack. First there was Bob who she saw die right in front of her and then there was the last person in the world she could lose, Hopper.

She had packed up Jane, Will and Jonathan and moved to Lenora Hills, California.

It didn't end there though. Nancy also moved with the Byers to California. She was offered a job at one of the leading papers there and she couldn't refuse so Joyce told her she could live with them.

He finally was ready to open the store but his hand was shaking. Half out of sadness and the other half anger.

Sadness at losing friends in such a way. Sadness for Dustin and friends who had to say goodbye to Will. Sadness for Max who was dealing with guilt and anger of her own. He let her know she could talk to him anytime.

Then there was the anger.

Anger at the town for ignoring Billy and not even attending the small service his parents had. Only him and the gang showed up but they showed up for support towards Max.

Anger at Neil Hargrove for taking off and leaving his wife and daughter to fend for themselves. Thankfully a kind benefactor bought their house and turned the deed over to Max.

They will never know that Billy had given Steve the money to buy the house if he died and Neil pulled some stupid shit like he did.

Billy was rough around the edges and his fists hurt like hell but Steve would fight anyone who tried to tell him he didn't love Max.

He finally got the door unlocked and he went inside, locking the doors behind him so he could get ready for the days.

The store wasn't set to open for another half hour so he got the registers ready, the displays set right, and did some basic cleaning.

Robin would be in an hour after opening so he would have some quiet time to set himself right.

When the clock hit 10 am he opened the doors and went to his spot behind the counter.

Between it being summer and the fact everyone probably was back home sleeping after that riveting pile of lies, he doubted anyone would be in until the afternoon.

Taking in a deep breath and reminding himself it was time to let it go he started messing around with the displays on the counter.

That's when he heard the ding.

The sound announced that a customer had just entered the store.

He looked up and he almost fell backward.

There at the front the door was Eddie Munson. Steve couldn't help but be mesmerized by the guy's smile and his very beautiful hair. The curled-filled strands fell beneath his shoulders making him even more tantalizing to look at.

Shaking himself out of his daze, Steve said “welcome to Family Video where everyone is family. Anything I can help you find”?

Giving his award-winning smile Eddie cleared his throat and said “I found what I'm looking for”.

Chapter 2: Eddie

Steve blushed brighter than a tomato making Eddie laugh. His laugh was so childlike and beautiful.

“So big boy, are you free after work tonight? I thought you could come by place and watch a movie of your choosing” Eddie said as he came closer to the counter.

‘He already has a nickname for me,’ Steve thought to himself. He wanted to say yes so badly. He should say yes.

“That sounds fun,” Steve said, putting a hand on top of Eddie’s. He could feel the rings on each of his fingers. His hands were calloused from helping his uncle fix cars.

Eddie didn't move his hand which made Steve even happier and then out of nowhere Eddie leaned over the counter and gave Steve a kiss on his cheek.

“That's to keep you going big boy,” Eddie said with a bright smile and as he walked out Robin walked in and smiled wickedly.

When she got her stuff put away in the back and her name tag on Robin headed back out to the front.

“So straight Steve isn't so straight after all” Robin teased as she got situated.

Steve looked at her confused and asked “whoever said I was?”

“The whole school dingus. Whenever rumors popped up about you and Tommy, Billy and Jonathan the natural answer was ‘straight as a ruler Steve’.

Though I never truly believed that especially watching you around Jonathan but I wasn't going to make assumptions since you were so hooked on Nancy.

But don't worry dingus, your secret is safe with me” Robin said in one breath.

Steve places his head on the table and groans. “I don't know Robin, I've never felt the way I do about Eddie around others, even Nancy.

He is like walking in the sunlight. His smile makes me smile.

His eyes never stop beaming with a childlike wonder that I wish I could have.

He is like a rock. I never knew I needed Rob.

He also likes kids which means he isn't going to mind my dream of having a bunch of kids and going on a family trip, or at least I don't think he will” Steve said into the counter.

Robin rubbed his back and said, “you've got it bad and my guess is that this is the first time you've actually spoken to him”.

Steve nodded and slapped his forehead and said “I don't even know if he feels the same. I mean he kissed my cheek but that doesn't mean anything. He could kiss everyone's cheek.

Maybe he just knew I was down and was offering to be a friend and here I am planning out our entire future together even though I don't even know if he likes me like that.

What's wrong with me”?

“That is a loaded question dingus and would take hours and maybe days to answer but that guy was hot on you.

He never lost eye contact with you even as he was walking out.

Just relax, finish work, and then get the guy of your dreams. I will take on your babysitting duties at the Sinclair home tonight” Robin said with a grin.

“Damn I forgot about that. I should just call Eddie and say I can't make it” Steve said and reached for the phone.

Robin slapped his hand and said, “I have Erica, you take care of Eddie”.

Steve opened his mouth to protest but Robin put her hand over it. It was the end of that conversation.

The rest of the day Robin wouldn't let him near the phone.

She didn't want any chance of him calling and canceling. The only call he was allowed to make was to Sue Sinclair letting her know Robin would be watching Erica since something came up.

Thankfully Sue knew Robin and Erica liked it better anyway when Robin watched her because she was more relaxed with the rules, so it wasn't a big deal.

And then there was Dustin. He decided to pop in and say hi and of course, Robin told him everything about Eddie and him inviting Steve over.

“Oh my God Steve, Eddie is like a God to D&D players. His campaigns are epic and he is the highest-rated dungeon master I know” Dustin said super excited.

“You know Eddie Munson Dustin?” Steve asked his jealousy of how amazing Dustin thought Eddie was showing.

“Yeah. Met him when he came to the middle school to do a campaign there. I can't wait to be part of The Hellfire Club. Also, you dating him would mean I have a pass in” Dustin said still excited.

Steve moaned and when Dustin dashed out to tell the others, went back to cleaning racks and things while Robin laughed at his jealousy.

As 6 pm approached, Steve's stomach began to churn with nervousness.

“I can't do this Robin,” Steve said as they headed to his car. He was going to drop her off at the Sinclairs and then head to Eddies.

“You will be fine. Just be yourself and things will happen as they are supposed to, " Robin said, rubbing his shoulders.

Steve tried to believe her but it was hard since he was about to go and try to make something work with his polar opposite.

When they got to the Sinclairs house Robin told Steve to be brave and headed inside.

He was glad she would be spending the night since she didn't drive.

Looking over he saw the two movies Robin had picked out for them to watch. One was an animated cartoon called Ewoks and the battle for Endor and the other was Tommy.

Steve liked the cuddly Ewoks but he wasn't sure that Eddie would feel the same so they would probably end up watching Tommy since it's his kind of music.

As soon as she was in he started the car and headed to the scariest place he had ever been, Eddie Munson’s house for a movie date.

[destroyscythe-heck]

No. The top level of the organization who were fandom friends back in the livejournal days and they are absolutely terrified of anybody who wants to change anything about the culture to be different from the livejournal days. They’re still trying to run a nonprofit like it is a livejournal page and the only difference they think there is between those two things is having to have to file a few more documents with the government. Nothing has changed about most of the higher ups attitudes towards how to behave in positions of leadership since their days as BNFs. They have cultivated an environment with such levels of fangirl squee flavored toxic positivity, then placed themselves as the champions of all transformative fandom, and finally ended up buying in to their own hype so much that they will attack and try to silence and even bully anybody who goes against the grain and points out that “Hey there are actual problems here and we might need to talk to somebody who is not involved in this one specific clique of nerds that has known each other for over 20 years” to the degree that they will end up ostracizing the person who raised the concern out of the organization. Then the board will continue to speak ill of them to their remaining followers to keep them in line in case anybody else decides to commit the unforgivable crime of “hashing the vibe” again.

Do not volunteer to be on their moderating team.

Do not do that.

Until there has been a radical restructuring of the board and legal team of the OTW, including implementation of a code of conduct for board member behavior and the behavior of the other team leaders of the OTW, and possibly even a complete removal of board members who have contributed to the toxic environment at the organization, do not volunteer your time until there has been a change in the fundamental power structure. The current leaders will not see your attempts at giving them your labor as something different and valuable. You will just be seen as more disposable volunteers for the meat grinder of their internal culture. They will chew you up and spit you back out and continue to do so for the rest of the existence of the organization. You are signing up to be cannon fodder for them.

Honestly I’m surprised that after basically the past decade of just going through the cycles of like living through politics that people who still have such a naive view of how to hold people in power accountable even exist. STAND UP TO THEM! HAVE A SPINE! You have some worth as a human being and hold them accountable, and don’t just walk into their abusive system thinking that you can just try to change it from the inside. Sure it’s not like we are trying to have like a legit revolution and the people on the board are just a bunch of Joe-schmoes to the rest of the world and some of them have law degrees, but they have been proven to be incredibly toxic and incompetent people who also have absolutely no idea how to run a nonprofit so large in a professional manner. Considering the actions that some of the notable board members and members of the legal team have done in their pasts in their involvement in fandom I am shocked that anybody would still trust these people to be able to run any community beyond a petty cult of personality.

Decades of high school mean girl behavior coming from people well into their careers.

I don’t know what was going on in the old community but you did say that the scale was much smaller. So treat this as a different larger scale problem instead of using how you fixed that previous place as a one size fits all solution. They seem to be terrified of having anybody outside of fandom look at how they are making the sausage, even if the outsiders come wanting to provide help with a problem they are having, and heaven forbid that outsider wants to make any suggestions to how they can change for the better. I appreciate the spirit of wanting reform and change, I like your moxie. However with the current leadership any attempt at change will be met with more of the same old same old hostility form them. We need to be honest about the abuses. We need them to know that they can’t keep getting away with how they have behaved since they founded the organization. We need to do heavy restructuring of the power structure and change the culture of the organization to be one where you can speak up on problems without being bullied out of the organization. We need leadership who can be held accountable to their own volunteers.

All of the talk of what to do as a potential volunteer can be saved for after the power structure has changed. This is how you hold abusive organizations accountable.

also, hot take, but speaking as someone who has volunteered to work on big projects tackling difficult issues out of community love in the past, I am just. is the otw probably a really toxic place to volunteer and work right now? Sure is, probably! Is public pressure that doesn't come with an influx of new people volunteering to do the messy work of figuring out what a better policy is, how to create anti harassment safeguards, and otherwise fixing the problem actually useful? Fuck no it is definitely not!

like I will be 1000% honest, I have in fact been asked personally to volunteer to help a community transition on a much smaller scale to fix problems of this magnitude to encourage a much smaller scale organization to work and perform a community service. and I took that job with a strong sense of "ye gods this is going to suck and I'm going to piss people off by doing things wildly imperfectly, but if I don't help provide my work it might not get done because this is fucking hard and no one is paying."

and I did it and I stopped as quickly as humanly possible. now that shit is someone else's volunteer problem and I'm delighted, because let us be real I'm a disabled middle aged lady with a day job and I don't have full time professional effort to dedicate to stuff I do in my spare time for free. that's one of the fun things about disability actually, it constricts the total store of focused labor hours available to me to put in, especially on landmine topics like extending the scope of my archiving projects to create a farsighted anti harassment policy that can't be weaponized.

so like. the work needs doing. anything anyone does is going to be imperfect and problematic and bad, because it is being done on an almost purely volunteer basis by people who are for whatever reason willing to donate high level professional skills and labor for free and don't need to do stuff for actual money and support instead. like sure the budget is enormous for servers but none of that goes to labor.

Outrage is going to do jack shit unless people volunteer to roll up their sleeves and start doing the work to donate a better policy, or better management. This shit is fucking difficult, exhausting, and impossible to do without pissing people off. I am damn sure not getting involved right now, and that's why I have not been commenting. Public pressure is not going to do jack shit if it didn't come with support.

If this is an issue that is important to you, you have to back up your outrage with resources. Since the AO3 does not exchange money for labor, that means showing up to offer to help build something different. as I said, I am a middle aged disabled lady who finds fandom and archive repositories to be important and helpful and I don't have any labor left to donate, so I have been reserving comment on complaint. If this is a thing that matters to you, congratulations! Public pressure is only useful insofar as it can be used to make the org let you help. It's up to you to actually help.

[mightyoctopus]

This fandom has produced some amazing chronic pain Sokka content, which I love, but one thing I noticed is that chronic pain most often shows up in angst fics. Fics where Sokka is angsty specifically because of his injury and the resulting chronic pain, where he is reluctant to use a mobility aid, where he struggles with self worth, where he feels like he is no longer a proper warrior and cannot fulfill his role.

Thoughts like these are not unusual in real life, but it makes me wonder - why would Sokka, specifically, have these thoughts?

Thoughts like these are common in people who were born non-disabled and acquire a disability later in life, *and* who do not have contact with or exposure to disabled people.

Sokka grew up during a 100 year war in a close knit community. There is no way he doesn’t know disabled veterans. (In fact, he canonically knows a disabled veteran in Bato.) On top of that, 20% of the real world population is disabled. If we assume these numbers translate 1:1 to the atla world, that means that at least 20% of Sokka’s tribe is disabled. Maybe the numbers are even higher, due to the war and harsh living conditions.

During a lot of western history, disabled people were abandoned or hidden away, and that is the background a lot of writers come from, but that is not the type of culture Sokka lives in.

I’m sure that in the Water Tribe, all members are treated equally and given the support they need.

I’m sure Sokka has daily contact with disabled and non-disabled people and doesn’t even think about it. (This isn’t even speculation, after Toph and then later Zuko join the gaang.)

I’m sure he thinks of the disabled members of his tribe as just as valuable as himself.

The thing is, if you (as a non-disabled person) view disabled people as just as valuable as yourself, and then you become disabled, you’re still as valuable as before.

There will be new limitations in your life, and there will be practical concerns, but it won’t be a question of self worth, because disabled people are worth as much as everyone else.

That might sound overly simplistic, but take it from a multiply disabled person: It’s possible to just not be ableist. It’s possible to accept yourself the way you are, because there is nothing wrong with you or your disability.

Now, I don’t think it’s bad to write angsty fics in general, especially if it’s a way to cope with your own disabilities by projecting them onto Sokka. But I do think it’s a good idea, especially for non-disabled authors, to take a step back and ask yourself: Why am I including this element in my story? Why do I think Sokka would have internalized ableism? Why do I think the Water Tribe would foster these thoughts?

These are not rhetorical questions.

Like I said, these plot lines are not inherently bad. They can be great for authors and readers alike who struggle with their own internalized ableism, but they can also be harmful. They can perpetuate stereotypes about disabled and/or indigenous people.

So ask yourself, did you include heavy angst and internalized ableism because you feel you have to? Did you even question it, or did you see it as a given? Do you think disability is all about suffering, and Sokka can only be disabled if he suffers on-screen?

Because if yes, I beg to disagree.

We see disabled people living and thriving in atla. Their stories don’t revolve around suffering, and Sokka’s story doesn’t have to revolve around it either.

[rainbowsky]

saw the new 🔴🟢 translation just now and i wanted to ask, where do those rumors come from? do we know anything about the op? the way the rumors are structured makes it sound like it would have to be someone on dd's staff or someone that often works in close proximity to him. out of the ones i've read it seems like the rumors are usually from dd's side, not so much gg except when they're both present. would that be accurate?

how true do you believe the rumors to be?

This is in reference to a previous post.

Fake, fan fiction, CPN.

LRLG is very popular among turtles and is a bit of a fandom icon. They are called 🔴🟢 (or Little Red, Little Green) because they use a 🔴 to depict GG and a 🟢 to depict DD in the rumors they post.

Although there are other people in the rumor house who post using these colored dots, we know LRLG rumors are from that specific person because the rumor house numbers every LRLG rumor to distinguish rumors coming from the LRLG account from those coming from other accounts.

Fans take LRLG rumors seriously because they seem realistic in ways that would be difficult to fake, and because they often reveal things that prove to be true later on. You can read more about that here.

Nothing is known about who LRLG is (the fake rumor house is anonymous). The primary fan theory is that LRLG must be a member of DD's staff (if the rumors aren't total fiction written by a fan), because the rumors tend to follow DD and his activities and interactions with GG in person and over the phone.

What do I think about LRLG? Well, first and foremost I have to say that I'm a big fan of LRLG rumors. More so than any other content we've gotten since we last saw GG and DD in joint interviews and fan meets, LRLG gives me a sense of actually witnessing GG and DD's interactions. It has the ring of truth for me. As far as I'm concerned, they MUST be real.

If they aren't real, then LRLG has utterly legendary writing ability, and I wish that I could read some narrative GGDD fan fiction from them. This person absolutely nails their personalities and behavior toward each other to a degree that seems superhuman to me. Not just their personalities and interactions, but also capturing the chaos and fragmented snippets of partially witnessed conversation. If it's fake then I am blown away by how well the rumors are crafted.

If LRLG is a fake then it would difficult to hold it against them, because their characterization of GG and DD is so exquisite and the rumors are so enjoyable that it's been worth the clownery.

But I do personally believe in LRLG. It's hard to picture someone holding up to all of these factors at once:

Skilled enough to write this particular bit of obscure, specific content so convincingly

Well-versed enough in the various languages and dialects GG and DD use

With such an encyclopedic knowledge of their schedules, clothing, personalities, interests, behavior, etc.

An uncanny sense of timing to drop rumors when they do

Keen sensitivity to what is best for GG and DD and the fans, so that the rumors fill a valuable role in keeping things fresh without compromising GG and DD in any way

Dedicated and invested enough to keep the ruse up that well for that long without breaking character

I mean, it's possible, sure - but it doesn't seem as likely to me as the idea that the rumors are periodic reports from someone on their staff. I find it easier to believe they are what they seem to be than that someone has gone to these elaborate lengths to craft them, with no apparent goal and without any obvious fuck-ups.

I feel the need to make myself abundantly clear: These rumors are unverified and might be fakes invented by some random person out there. We cannot be sure of their veracity.

Why would someone on their staff do that? Why would GG and DD allow them to? I go into more detail on that in this post.

I talk a bit about the possibility of GG being somehow connected to LRLG here.

For that reason I think we should just enjoy them, and not get too twisted up about whether they're real or not. My opinion is just an opinion, nothing more.

[originalwinnercheesecake]

Warrior Names for Kits and Apprentices who never got to receive them

Okay so I read Warriors as a young teen. I outgrew them in the beginning of the fourth apprentice when I started noticing how redundant many of the plot points, and how neutered actual situations and and consequences were in POT, and TFA opened with the first big disaster being as stupid as one time beavers.

Since then I pop back to it every now and again to see how this old horse is managing to still run (great Starclan), or to read fix-it AU a talented members of the fandom wrote. One concept I find very interesting is “What if this cat lived to get a warrior name?”. So here are my ideas on what some of them could have been.

Swiftpaw becomes Swiftroar: I am actually okay with Swiftpaw dying where he did. The dogs had to be shown as a threat capable of killing. Also saving Brightheart, plus getting his clan to stop ignoring the threat at sunning rocks in time to be aware of Tigerstar’s plans at least gave meaning to his death. But he had been an apprentice for so long, and its mentioned he was long past completing his training. So I like to headcannon that had his warrior ceremony in Starclan. Swiftroar for a brave, outspoken cat, who finally got his clan to take a dangerous threat seriously.

Snowkit becomes Snowtwitch: Semi working on an Au where he lives and becomes a warrior, because I don’t like how his character was primarily used to dump on deaf individuals (nearly all comments cats made about him were how he doesn’t act right and won’t be useful to the clan), and then he was killed off to put his mother in the elder’s den, so she can take care of Brightheart in the next book... Really Erin’s? You couldn’t have used sight, smell, touch, and signals he already understood, to make him at least a background warrior? Speckletail couldn’t have retired on the same day Snowkit became an apprentice? Well I am giving him the name Snowtwitch partially for the signals that he could communicate with, that would have been very valuable for his clanmates to learn (silent messages during patrols) and because despite what the Erin’s put about him being oblivious to the clanmates he couldn’t hear, what’s far more likely is he would have watched everything about their movements and body language to tell him what his ears couldn’t.

Gorsepaw becomes Gorseheart: Gorsepaw Remember him? He was like the only kit to survive living in Windclan’s temporary shelter in “Fire and Ice”, after being driven out. Fireheart helped his mother carry him back to their territory, and the pair were friends at Gathering’s once Gorsepaw became an apprentice. Tigerstar killed him in the sixth book to try and scare Windclan into joining Tigerclan; possibly choosing Gorsepaw specifically because he mattered to Firestar. Since he and Firestar mattered a lot to each other I will give him Firestar’s old suffix, as a subtle tribute to him.

Shrewpaw becomes Shrewnose: Every time I see someone try and do an AU for if he lived they always name him Shrewtail, How did that become the most common pick for him? Like nothing wrong with it, a bit basic yes, but how did it become favorite over every other possible name? Especially since in cannon Dustpelt and Ferncloud named him “Shrew” because he had a narrow muzzle that reminded them of the nose of a shrew. Just like they named his brother “Spider” because he had long thin legs like a spider. Given Spiderleg’s warrior name I feel pretty certain Shrewpaw would have been Shrewnose. It also could factor in to him being good at sniffing out fat prey... but sadly not monsters.

Okay so I have more to say about these four because they’re kinda the big four who’s deaths felt important. I remember them dying actually having big impacts on the story and characters, besides “Okay lets be sad for a couple pages then never speak of it again”. I have warrior names for other cats beneath this, but because they had less character I won’t go into as much detail as to why this name suits them.

Lynxkit and Mistlekit: Kits belonging to Goldenflower and Speckletail early in TPB. Died and were named off book with Mistlekit at least being mentioned to have had green-cough, Lynxkit not even getting that luxury. Lynxtuft lynx’s are basically fluffy wild cats, and with goldenflower as a mom I imagine they were fluffy. Mistleleaf like the leaves of mistletoe (she is not named after the twoleg weapon)

Tulipkit and Elderkit: Brindleface’s two dead kits, whom she took Cloudtail in to help cope with the loss of. Tulipstem and Elderblossom (there apparently is a small white, cluster flower with black berries called an Elderflower).

Cricketkit and Featherkit. Two kits supposedly born to Dappletail and Runngingwind pre-series, Featherkit is deaf. Cricketchirp and Featherface

Mosskit: Mossheart after her father Oakheart. If Stonefur can share his bio-mother’s suffix then Mosskit can be named after Oakheart

Blossomkit and Adderkit: Mosskits two friends in Starclan if you don’t remember. Supposedly Blossomkit had wanted to be a medicine cat. Blossomroot is a pretty good name for one. Adderkit was named for the snake that killed him, and while I don’t want to continue that trope, since snakes don’t have feet/fur/claws Adderstrike is all I can come up with.

All the other Shadowclan apprentices and kits who died because Brokenstar forced them to fight to young. If Badgerfang could be a warrior in Starclan then they all should have. So Mosspaw-Mossear, Brownpaw-Brownfoot, Swampkit-Swampfeather, Marigoldkit-Marigoldnose, Mintkit-Mintfrost.

Mistkit and Nightkit: Tigerstar’s two littermates. Sister’s to this guy have to have names that are at least vaguely sinister, they just do. I am going with Mistcloud and Nightshade.

Hollykit and Larchkit: Hollysun and Larchspring. Their littermate is Birchfall and those names go with his.

Talonpaw: Shadowclan apprentice, killed by evil kittypets in Twilight. He was Rowanclaw’s apprentice, and Rowanclaw cared a lot about him and was shown to be devastated by his loss. So I will name him Talonclaw after Rowan.

Molepaw/molekit: (the Erin’s changed how old he was when he got sick and died). His sisters all got fairly original names, as this was around when Firestar was starting to get his most creative, finding 9+ different names for all 9+ apprentices. Continuing that lets use a more rare suffix for him...Molefang

Sweetpaw: She was from “Bluestar’s Prophecy” and died from food poisoning. Sweetpetal

Perchkit, Promrosepaw, and Pikepaw: Mistyfoot’s deceased kits. Let me think of some good “Riverclan sounding” names for them. Perchstone, Primrosepelt, and Pikesplash.

Splashkit, Morningkit,Swankit: Graypool’s bio kits. Splashpool (after mama), Morningsky (Moningflower is already taken and it sounds nice),  Swanbeak (why not make a warrior name out of the toughest part of the Swan)

Willowkit and Minnowkit: Silverstream’s two littermates, daughter’s of Crookedstar, and princesses of Riverclan. Because they are Princesses of the water clan lets make water body suffix’s a theme for for all three of them Willowbrook and Minnowcreek

Patchkit, Petalkit, and Larchkit: Mapleshade and Appledusk’s kits. If these kits had become warriors then I hope all 3 would have been nothing like their parents. So I will give 2 of them opposite names to their parents. Patchlight and Petaldawn. Larchkit can be Larchtail... its a suffix I haven’t used it yet.

Seedpaw: Sorreltail and Brakenfur’s daughter who died in Bramblestar’s storm. Seedshine. This little apprentice dove under floodwater to save her littermate’s life. She had more courage shinning inside her than at least a few seasoned warriors from these books.

Eaglekit, Hillkit, Downkit: Those are Crowfeather’s older brother, and his two littermates. Eaglespirit, Hillclaw, Downstorm.

Hopekit and Wishkit: Yellowfang’s daughters. Hopeblaze and Wishflower.

Tadpole: Mothwing and Hawkfrost’s oldest littermate. Him dying was part of why Sasha decided that maybe her kits would be safer in the clans. But what if she had decided that earlier, and he was still around? Since I have seen 2-3 clanborn cats have double word first names I don’t want to change his name to “Frog”. While Tadpolefur is really basic, it works for him since he was almost solid black and looks kinda like Tadpoles are swimming all over his fur, and is the best I can think of.

Dandelionkit and Juniperkit: Bramblestar and Squirrelflight’s other two kits who never made it to apprenticehood (and who both should have been much more significant in “Squirrelflight’s Hope”) . Dandelionflower because I am convinced she was named after Goldenflower, and Juniperstorm after Sandstorm...Also screw the publishers who wouldn’t let Sparkpelt be named Sparkfire in her grandfather’s memory. Its a great name and I am giving it to her here.

Flickerkit: Sparkpelt/fire and Larksong’s angel kit. Flickerwing like Angelwing

Rowankit: They just died in the newest book, but I am putting them up here because I want to keep all the PO3 Windclan cats together. Tiger(heart)star and Dovewing do not have an kits with common names and I am not about to change that by giving their baby daughter...son...kit one. I went through rarer suffixes. Since has already been a Rowanberry, and “branch” honestly sounds better with Birchkit’s prefix, I decided to name them Rowanbloom.

Galekit: just learned about Heathertail’s still born sister on Heather’s tumblr page. “Gale” in this spelling means a very strong wind She is a leaders daughter from Windclan, the Clan that is all about speed and being strong runners. So for her I pick the warrior name Galerunner.

...So if you have read Crowfeather’s trial you know that Nightcloud and Crowfeather had three kits. But you also know that Trigger warning here (Nightcloud went into labor with them to early and Breezepelt was the only kit who was able to survive outside the womb.) We never learn the other two kits names. I gave them headcannon names that are kinda tragic (they are tragic cats) Coldkit and Mewkit. Using those maybe Coldnight and Mewsong.

... Also can I please rename Breezepelt. He is one of the most important cats in Windclan and yet the Erin’s gave him the most boring, basic, background character name they could. I am naming him Breezestorm because he was a weak kit who grew into a powerful warrior, and also his temper can be kinda like the weather.

Ravenpaw if he had ever gotten a warriorname: Ravenflight because of his flight from Thunderclan to his happy life at the barn.

Millie if she had taken a warrior name: Milliequest. In the books she objects to taking a warrior name because she loves her kittypet name. Okay I will respect that. Instead of taking it away, I will pull a Leafstar and turn “Millie” into a warrior name by adding a suffix to it. I choose the suffix “quest” because of the quest she and Graystripe went on to find the clans.

Boulder if he had taken a warrior name: Boulder was the bloodclan elder who escaped form Scourge and sought refuge in Shadowclan. Bloudershine because he is one of the few Bloodclan cats who was able to see the light once away from its abuse.

Sasha if she had taken a warrior name: Travelingheart. I came up with his as a possible name for Millie before deciding on Milliequest. I think it works better for Sasha. Sasha did travel around a lot and it also calls into question if she really would stay with the clans, or keep moving around.

Tree if he took a warrior name or for him would it be called a clan name: So I am not gonna lie, I completely forgot this guy existed. I haven’t read a warrior book with him in it, and I am probably not going to. A google search of him to figure out what he is like. I will go with Treewhisper because of Tree’s communication powers and role in his can.

Daisy: If I give Tree a clan name event though he is a mediator and not a warrior, then I need to give Daisy, who is a perma queen, one too. After going through a lot of potential ones: Daisysprout A sprout is a small, new plant that if you give time, patients, and nurturment to will grow into something bigger and more beautiful. This perfectly symbolizes both Daisy's role in the nursery (sprout can be an affectionate name for a young child), and how her role in rhe clan grew as each new generation of cats grew into warriors, atleast partially under her care.

Purdy if He had taken a warrior name: Storyteller. Fits him perfectly

[eunoiaastralwings]

Unexpected Love - Chapter 1

chapter one chapter two chapter three chapter four chapter five chapter six chapter seven chapter eight chapter nine chapter ten chapter eleven

featuring erestor x  fem oc

fandom tolkien- the silmarillion lord of the rings

a/n lady taniara is @daughterofimladris​ my mellon. First ever multi chapter fic, I hope you like it. Literally a crack story on how erestor and I feel in love lmao

She smiled graciously at the Lord of Imladris and bowed before him and his children.

“My Lord Elrond, it a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, lady Tara. Greenwood has given Rivendell a talented researcher such as yourself.”

“You are too kind with your words, hir nin.”

The elleth was nothing more than a mere bookkeeper.

But in her years she has learnt history of her kin and theorized many ideas in hopes to have a better understanding of the Arda.

“Welcome, lady Tara. I'm Lady Taniara, eldest daughter of Lord Elrond of Imladris. I hope your stay and your findings will valuable to both yourself and too all the free people of Arda.”

“Thank you, my lady. I do kindly hope for the same.”

If the elleth remembered correctly, she did remember the many advisors and council members returning to Greenwood mentioned of Lady Taniara and herself being close in age.

Not to mention beautiful, to which the elleth could see and had no doubt to.

When the initial greetings came to a close, the elleth was guided to her chambers by the lord’s minstrel, Lindir- she had learned his name.

“Thank you, minstrel.”

“Is there anything else you require from me, my lady” he asked.

He was a very polite ellon- she noted.

“Yes, if you could please tell me the directions towards the library?”

The ellon was too kind for this own good, willing to show the way towards the library, even when she had insisted he didn’t need to.

She thanked him gratefully after reaching the large doors belonging to the library.

“Very well, I shall take my leave now. Master Erestor, should be within the library should you need anything. Forgive me, my lady, I have just remembered, Lady Taniara mentioned should you need anyone, you are more than welcome to join her for her afternoon tea.”

The elleth blinked in bit of surprise, pulling her dark brown, almost black hair behind her elven ear-thinking.

“Oh thank you, dear mins-”

“You may call me Lindir, my lady.”

“Only if you call me by my name too, Lindir.”

When agreed Lindir took his leave and the elleth walked deeper into the library.

Her lithe fingers ran over the bindings of the books on shelf at her eye level.

She smiled at the cursive writings of old in gold, silver and some brown.

Walking into aisle after aisle, she noted the many genres of books, being fascinated at the variety.

The library was like a maze and the elleth didn’t realize she was getting lost in the many aisles.

Not until a voice startled her.

“May I help you?”

She visibly jumped a feet in the air with a small squeal, not expecting the sharp voice from behind her.

“Do you not know, it is not nice to scare a lady in such manner!”

She began saying it sharply but after turning around, her tone of delivery was dying down.

“I have never seen a lady be startled enough to jump a feet in the air” he retorted back.

“Umm...”

Words died at the end of her tongue.

In all her life, she has seen a fair share of ellons, but none captured her eyes so quickly as the ellon in front of her.

Sharp prominent features and even deadlier tone of voice.

It wasn’t frightening or alarming. It was oddly charming, especially knowing the fact he was resident of Rivendell who would cause her no harm.

He ellon was positively handsome, she had to admit.

She had to pat away the blush coating her cheeks and turn away from him for a second.

“Are you Master Erestor? Lindir said I’ll found him there...”

“I am Erestor, yes.”

He scowl on his face seemed permanent and she found it oddly charming.

“You scowl too much.”

She said it without thinking.

Gasping, she quickly apologized.

“So I have heard.”

He muttered with disinterest.

She cleared her throat and prayed to Eru he could not see the blush on her face.

“I’m the researcher, Lord Elrond received from Greenwood. I just wanted to see the library. I’ll be leaving now, good day Master Erestor.”

Quickly ending her words, she began to leave.

But sharply stopping, realizing she was probably going the wrong away. She turned to leave the opposite direction.

“The exit is this way.”

The ellon was slightly irritated by the elleth now, so he stood to the side and gestured behind him.

“Oh, thank you!”

The shade of red and her hurriedness to leave did amuse him though.

The ellon watched her leave, careful not to walk into shelves or get lost again.

“Interesting character” he murmured.

The ellon returned to his study and as expected a note from Elrond was on his desk.

He did remember a researcher from Greenwood would be arriving to start work tomorrow, but he was not aware she would arrive a day earlier than needed.

He sighed and unfolded the note from his Lord, knowing Elrond was probably annoyed at the fact Erestor wasn’t present during the time the researcher arrived.

“Lady Tara from Greenwood...”

He knew his lord had good intentions in bringing a fellow researcher for his aid- But Erestor didn’t think she would be so young- or an elleth for that matter.

When the elleth returned to her designated chambers, she had immediately ran cold water over her face.

Her cheeks were burning from a mere encounter with that ellon- Erestor.

How was she supposed to keep a straight face when working along side him? Especially when he was easily capable of making her into a flustering mess.

The elleth was always able to keep a strictly sincere -and assertive when needed- face whenever needed.

But one look from Erestor, she felt like a mere elfling.

It was true he most definitely has more centuries of knowledge than her, but it still didn’t make sense.

Perhaps this is what having liking for someone felt like. She remembered her friend having a strong liking towards a marchwarden of Lothlorien- Haldir.

Maybe this was the same?

The knocking on the door brought the elleth out of her thoughts.

Quickly drying her face and looking as presentable as she could, she went to answer the door.

To her surprise Lady Taniara stood there when she opened the door.

“My Lady, what brings you here?”

“Well, it is the afternoon, lady Tara. I was hoping you could join me for some tea, if you are not too busy.”

“I would love to, m’lady.”

The two elleths walked towards the gardens.

The sun had come down from its peak and it surprised Tara.

“The day is going fast” she said.

“Is it? I thought you might be dying from boredom.”

“I did a little exploring in the library. Sometimes I don’t realize how much time I spend in there.”

She replied Lady Taniara honestly. She spend endless days and night in the library of Greenwood with nothing else in mind.

Her friends had given up trying to bring her out and eventually at one point- she doesn’t remember exactly when- they stopped asking her altogether.

“Oh you have! You must have seen Erestor then, have you?”

“She has, m’lady.”

Before Tara could answer, the same voice from earlier came.

A little surprised, she followed the gaze of the Lady.

Erestor walked towards then, a scroll or two in hand.

“I see you’re no longer jumping a feet in the air” he said.

The blush from earlier turned too and she forced herself to clear her throat.

“Yes, we have. He was in library.”

“He’s always in the library” Lady Taniara said.

Tara almost laughed at the tone she delivered those words in.

The Lady wasn’t surprised to hear Erestor was in the library at noon, especially when he wasn’t there at the breakfast table.

“I was doing important research for your father and shouldn’t you be in bed?”

He spoke to the young elleth as if she was still the little elfling he saw running around the gardens.

“First of all, my councilor Erestor, I’m no longer an elfling- it is the afternoon, I have many things to do- such as having tea with this kind lady, and second- I hope now that my father has brought someone all the way from Greenwood, you would allow yourself some breaks, at least to eat” Lady Taniara said.

She was very much concerned for the well being of the ellon, that much Tara could tell.

“First we will see if she’s valuable as they say.”

Erestor said, then eyed the elleth next to his Lady.

“Are you doubting my skills, Master Erestor?”

Tara asked with her eyes narrowed at the ellon.

“Perhaps and it is your responsibility to prove me wrong, lady Tara.”

The elleth’s heart skipped a beat.

What did he mean by that?

my taglist @middleearthsweetheart​

erestor’s taglist @itsdameron​