#i love this fandom and want us to be a happy thriving community

[alwaysbethewest]

Hot take: it’s okay to fantasize about celebrities, actually

[grifonecoronato]

Mae-ho Aniseya: Film Noir Protagonist

(Spoilers for The Acolyte)

As I've said in another post, Mae and Osha are binary opposites in their personalities and motivations.

Mae has a kind of "first child syndrome": a desire to exhibit perfection in the eyes of her mothers, so that they can shower her with praise. She loves being in her community of witches, learning and using the Thread, and indulging in the daily activities of life on Brendok.

She thrives when she is surrounded by her people, but Osha doesn't want the same things, which is something that confuses Mae deeply.

In this scene from Episode 3: Destiny, the two sisters as children talk about what they want:

MAE: "It isn't fair. I share everything with you, and you hide things from me or run off alone." OSHA: "I want to have my own things." MAE: "Why?" OSHA: "Because I don't want to do everything together all the time." MAE: "But why?" OSHA: "Because we're not the same." [...] OSHA: "Don't you wonder what else could be out there? Besides Brendok?" MAE: "No. Everything I need is here."

For Osha, her arc in The Acolyte has all the trappings of a dark romance. But from Mae's perspective, she's the heroine of her own Film Noir.

Film Noir Themes in The Acolyte

Beyond its aesthetics, Film Noir has three (3) major thematic characteristics with regard to its protagonists:

Its protagonist has an idyllic past where they were happy and life was good;

Their idyllic past is ripped away from them, often violently, in a single moment that they relive again and again in the present;

The inciting incident is an opportunity to reclaim their idyllic past, or if that's impossible, to get justice for what was lost... because to do nothing is to be haunted by it forever.

For example, we can look at the seasonal arc of Veronica Mars (2004): she's a happy high schooler and best friends with Lily Kane, then Lily is murdered and Veronica is ostracised from her former friends, and now she is seeking opportunities to solve her friend's murder, while being haunted by the memories of her.

Or consider the video game Max Payne (1998): he's a cop with a happy wife and daughter, then his wife and daughter are murdered by drug addicts high on Compound V, now he joins the DEA in an effort to find and destroy the source of Compound V, and finally stop feeling haunted by the memories of his family.

Mae's story is very similar: she was a happy kid living with a family and community that gave her everything she wanted, then the Jedi came and massacred everyone she loved, and now she's joined up with a powerful ally who will teach her to get bloody justice.

Mae's Fatal Flaw

Mae's biggest problem is that she's impulsive and frequently enters situations without a clear plan. However, this bullheadedness shows that she trusts herself to get out of any situation she finds herself in.

(Qimir once said to Osha "you should learn to trust yourself", but I doubt this is a lesson he had to teach Mae.)

Detractors often say that Mae's motivations don't make sense, or that she's "flip flopping" all the time. But this criticism -- like most criticisms from the fandom menace -- is unfair. Mae's motivations are very clear, and her shifting tactics are done as a response to new information that comes her way.

In Episodes 1 and 2, her goal is two-fold:

Hunt down the four guilty Jedi

Keep The Stranger satisfied in her progress as his apprentice

But in Episode 4 and 5, after she learns that her sister lives, her goal changes to "reunite with Osha." But when Osha refuses to listen to her, Mae's slightly modifies her goal, to "find a way to de-program Osha from her Jedi brainwashing, by exposing Sol."

Viewers that understand what drives Mae see that not flaky; she's adaptive.

The Fatal Lesson of Film Noir

The thing about Film Noir protagonists is that most of the time (not always, but most of the time), their quest for reclaiming their idyllic past is a fool's errand: they either sacrifice a big part of themselves in the attempt, or they learn to heal form the past, let go, and move on.

Mae opts for the former. When she finally succeeds in revealing that Sol has been lying for sixteen years, Osha murders him. Afterward, Osha bargains for Mae's life, which the Stranger accepts but only if he be permitted to erase her memories.

So Mae recaptures her idyllic past by being able to reconnect with her sister... only to lose her sense of self in the process. The quest consumed her.

But was it worth it?

[leafdrake-haven]

Welcome to Fandom Friday!

A day for the MtG community to come together and talk about our OCs, fanplanes, and favorite aspects of MtG in general! Ok so you know the drill, I’ll give a prompt and you can respond to it by answering directly, doing a doodle, making a custom card, a little flash fic, or whatever feels right and most fun for you! (Heck, do multiples if you want, this is just for fun!)

Hello everyone! I have a fun prompt today that has various levels of participation to choose from! >:3c

So basically, I love mtg Jumpstart. It’s such a fun idea and I love that it’s a place to print unusual strategies without having to dedicate a whole set to it. My husband and I love buying some from time to time and do blind plays. It’s exciting when neither of us know what we’re doing xD

So my prompt(s) for you my dear friends, is what theme would you just love to see in a Jumpstart pack? Heck even if they’d one it before, maybe you just want more! Or explored in a different color.

Idea two, put together your own Jumpstart pack deck list 👀 From what I’ve seen of deck make-ups it seems that generally, in a 20-card Jumpstart pack you get about 7 basic lands, 1 “thriving” land, 5-7 commons, 4-5 uncommons, and 1-2 rares/mythics.

Idea three, same as above but invent some custom cards for your theme! We’ve seen some cool new cards in Jumpstart and I’m excited to see what we’ll continue to get!

Happy weekend everyone! ^_^

[draconicsparkle]

So I just wanted to take a moment to say something to the people of this fandom.

I want to express my immense gratitude and happiness about being a part of this community. The people who love Rain Code have over and over again proven to be incredibly kind and amazing people. Since this fandom started, there have been so many talented individuals on all media types sharing their works with the rest of us and I’m in awe constantly. Not only that, but the openness and acceptance of the fans has been wonderful, more than any other fandom I’ve been in thus far. I have gotten to meet and speak with so many people, making new friends in the same fandom constantly. I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of this community.

Thank you, each and every one of you, for making this place feel like a cozy home full of friends. I hope that it continues to thrive with creativity and warmth.

[lurkingshan]

Okay now that Halloween is over and my head is clearer, I wanted to add some thoughts to the great posts @waitmyturtles and @bengiyo shared debriefing Only Friends and unpacking this desire by some in fandom to declare that it has no message and therefore we can't be upset with the creators for what they chose to put out into the world via this show. Let me just say upfront: I find that claim preposterous and completely contra the basic tenets of media literacy and analysis.

Turtles already gave a great overview of the foundational truth here: media is communication, and all communication contains messages, both explicit and implicit. For the first 11 weeks, I believed that Only Friends was attempting to take a neutral POV on its characters' morality, asking us instead to think for ourselves about the moral complexities and implicit messages of the situations the characters were in, and wondered if the lack of a very explicit perspective from the show was making folks uncomfortable. But then, in the final hour, the show shifted its tone to provide an extremely explicit POV on the characters and its themes (with the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the head), with a heavy focus on punishing Boston, and that POV was so rooted in heteronormativity, sex shaming, and frankly, anti-queer sentiment, that it took many of us aback. As Ben put it so succinctly in his post: NOT A SLAY.

I want to unpack this more because it’s important to understand that there are ways to write the events of the final episode as essentially the same without embedding that explicit moralistic POV. If the intent was to maintain a neutral presentation of events that does not cast judgment on Boston, you would not do any of the following:

Have several characters explicitly judge Boston for being a non-monogamous slut in dialogue with no counterpoint voices

Make Boston spend the episode apologizing to every character while receiving no apologies in return for the wrongs done to him

Insert a random episode of Boston acting on impulse in a way that is not actually consistent with any of his previous behavior to make a sudden point that he can't change

Have Nick, who has been explicitly singled out as the one person who understands and loves Boston, change his mind and dump him in a frankly condescending way while Boston begs him for another chance

End Boston's final scene of the show with him devastated, alone, and defeated while the rest of the characters are happy and thriving

There is absolutely nothing neutral about those choices, fam. And they were in fact choices that the creators of this show are responsible for. They could have had the basic events of the finale stay the same, but changed the dialogue and framing of these interactions, and it would have completely changed the message being sent. For instance:

Instead of having Sand say Nick deserves better than Boston because Boston kissed someone else, he could have focused his comments on helping Nick understand whether he wants monogamy and why

Instead of having Boston grovel to everyone, they could have had all the friends just decide to forgive and forget all their mutual trespasses, or had the rest offer Boston sincere apologies in response to his own

Instead of Boston randomly deciding to make out with Boeing and lie about it, they could have had him invite Boeing to meet Nick for a threesome and have Nick react to that

Instead of having Nick dump Boston, they could have had them mutually decide they want different things and decide to part ways

Instead of Boston crying and dejected on the concrete, we could have seen him say goodbye to Nick on positive terms and walk away with his head held high to the life waiting for him in NYC where he can be his authentic self

Do you see how that works? All of the events of the story are the same, but the message it delivers is completely different. This version of the story would tell us that even though Boston's current friends don't really get him, and even though Nick is not ultimately comfortable with an open relationship, there is nothing inherently wrong with the way Boston wants to live. But they didn't give us this version; they gave us the stigmatizing and shaming one I described above. And that is absolutely something we should hold the creators responsible for, even if it makes us feel some kind of way about our drama heroes.

I have been giving this show the benefit of the doubt for weeks because I had a lot of faith in Jojo and Ninew not to put art out into the world with such a terrible message, a faith that was rooted in their previous work, including Gay OK Bangkok, 3 Will Be Free, and The Warp Effect, all of which featured queer ensembles and strong sex positive messaging. But no creator is infallible and mistakes were made. We will never know how much of the final messages in Only Friends were intentional versus a result of sloppy and rushed storytelling, or how much was the creators’ original vision versus studio interference, but ultimately it doesn't matter. We have to deal with the show we got, and we should be putting a critical eye on the people who delivered it to us. I know I will not be going into any future Jojo/Ninew shows with the same kind of faith, and I will not be pretending this one wasn’t a huge letdown from these creators.

[middleagedenragedmama]

AITA Harry Potter Fandom Edition

Or an etiquette guide I wish I'd have had when I started reading fanfiction two years ago. Please feel free to add to it, as I'm sure it's missing a few things.

I track the fanfiction I read on goodreads (or other book tracking app). AITA? Sorry, YTA. Fanfiction should not be tracked in the same place as books. It's not professionally published, and you should not treat it as such. Authors do not want this, most fans do not want this. Fanfiction already exists in a sticky legal area, do not put it at risk by treating it as if it were a book.

I rate the fanfiction I read on goodreads or another public site. AITA? Sorry, YTA. Fanfiction is a GIFT. Imagine you go to a picnic where everyone brings a dish. You love potato salad, so you put some on your plate. However, you take a bite, and this is the worst potato salad you've ever had in your life. What do you do? You move on right? You ignore the potato salad and eat the macaroni salad. When folks are discussing the picnic, you say you had a lovely time. You don't bitch about the potato salad, you just say to yourself "hmmm, that wasn't for me, but look, there's a whole buffet of things I do like." This is fanfiction. You try a fic, and you don't like it? Oh well. You move on. No one forced you to read it. You don't review it, you don't rate it. This was a gift to a community, and you are not the intended audience. Move on.

I bought ATYD on etsy or another website. AITA? Yes, YTA. Fanfiction cannot be sold. You can bind it yourself if the author gives permission for this. You can give it to a friend (100% free, no money/trade, a true gift). You can print it out, three hole punch it, and put it in a binder. You cannot sell it, buy it, or bind it if an author asks that it not be bound.

I asked the author if I could bind a fic for personal use, they said no, but I did it anyway. AITA. Yes, YTA. What you do when no one is watching tells a lot about who you are as a person. If an author asks that their fic not be bound, respect their wishes. They wrote the fic as a gift to the community. Don't shit on their gift by not honoring their wishes.

I steal typesets from creators and then sell my binds on Etsy, AITA? Yes, YTA. First, you put fandom at risk by doing this. It's illegal to sell fanfiction. Second, you piss off binders that share their typesets for free, and they pull their typesets which then limits access for people that ethically bind. Just don't.

I steal art from creators because they post it, and I don't give credit. AITA. Yes again, YTA. Most artists are more than happy to give permission for their art to be used in personal binds, but give them the benefit of granting permission for the gift they've given us. If they are ok with their art being used, give them credit in the typeset.

I use AI for writing prompts, help with my outline, character art creation, and help with dialogue. AITA? Yes, YTA. AI does not belong in creative spaces. All AI use involves theft and tremendous ecological burdens. There is absolutely no place for AI in this space.

I put up a patreon to release my fic (or release it early) to paid members only, AITA? YTA. Charging for fanfiction is illegal and puts all of fandom at risk. If you want to do this, write non-fandom works.

I don't read WIPS, AITA? Hmmm, this is a tough one, I guess your NTA, but if no one read WIPs, we would quickly lose all our writers. Writers thrive on engagement. Sure they are writing for themselves, but hearing from readers, knowing that people are excited to read what they've written and want to read what is coming, motivates them. Reading WIPs nutures the fandom and encourages the interaction between writers and readers that leads to amazing fics.

I don't leave comments, AITA? Yes, YTA. If someone took the time to write a fic, and you took the time to read it, you owe them a comment of at least "Thanks for this!". Writers LOVE comments. They are writing for themselves, but they are motivated by your comments. They wrote a whole fic that you devoured, you've told all your friends about, you made a tiktok video about, and you've personally bound. Tell the author how much the fic meant to you!

If an author doesn't update, I send them a message and try to pressure them to update, AITA? Yep, again, YTA. Comment on their WIP how much you love the fic, tell them all the things that made your toes curl when you read it and made your breathing speed up. Tell them what you are hoping happens or dreading what comes next. Tell them you appreciate their gift! Do not bully them. It's never ok.

I fucking hate femme Sirius, and I make a point to bitch about it every time I see him. AITA? In extra bold letters, YTA. Not every fic/art is for you. Scroll on. You want masculine Sirius? He exists, go interact with his writers and artists. Quit engaging with the content you don't like. It might be a little known fact, but the reason you keep seeing it is BECAUSE you keep engaging with it. Quit. It's that easy. Engage with the content you want to see.

I ship shame the fuck out of jegulus because I'm #TeamJilyForever, AITA. Yes, YTA. See above bullet point regarding femme Sirius. Again, quit engaging with content you don't want to see or don't like. It's not for you. I don't particularly like a lot of stuff, but that just means it's not for me. There's no ship shaming in fandom.

I post 2 sentence plot bunnies, personal head canons, or trope ideas and then accuse others of plagiarism when I find a fic with something similar in the wild, AITA. Yes, YTA. First, you did not invent the only one bed trope or the sick fic. Anyone can and should write about any trope they want. You also aren't the only person that posted a plot bunny of "Marauders Coffee Shop AU, and Remus is a chronically ill barista that serves Sirius his morning brew". Unless someone is directly lifting words from your published fic or extremely detailed plot points, let folks write their own spin. If you really have something you don't want to see others write about, don't put it out there for folks to see. (This one might be debatable, but this is my take and mine alone. I definitely do not mean it's ok to plagiarize. Just don't be an asshole on either side of this one, ok?)

Whenever I see a post/video with a personal head canon or plot bunny, I ask the creator for recs, AITA. Yes, YTA. Most of these creators have a whole playlist of recommendation videos or entire spreadsheets of recs. They are just putting out a fun idea, quit flooding the comments with "any recs bestie?"

I see creators/writers/artists as my personal service providers, so I feel entitled to ask for recs whenever I want, AITA. YTA, read the room. These are people with real feelings. There should be a give and take relationship with these people, not a continual take and take on your part. If the video is about recs, fine, ask although honestly, learning to search on your own would be best. We really need to quit burdening these creators with the labor we should be doing. But also, start seeing these creators as people with feelings, not just a service provider at your beck and call. Some of these folks are fighting for their lives daily, being slammed in comments, and are hanging on to this fandom by a thread. If a post is about something completely unrelated to "recommendations," it's probably not the time to ask. Instead really listen to what they are saying and engage with that in an appropriate manner. Show them appreciation, and if you don't enjoy their content, move on.

I don't search for fics on my own, I just ask creators, AITA? Yes. YTA. Ao3 has a robust search engine that is easy to use. Watch a TikTok to learn how to use the search feature. ffn is a lot less search friendly, but if you search reddit or tumblr, you can find what you are looking for. This is a really important skill to have, and I promise if you learn it, it'll only benefit you. I am likely twice your age and have figured this out, I promise you can do it!

I kink shame, AITA. Yes, YTA. Just don't read or engage with the fics you don't like. No one needs to know, it's just between you and your Ao3 history.

I leave public bookmarks where I rate fics and leave reviews, AITA? Yes, YTA. Again, fanfiction is a gift. No one wants your review, least of all the author. This is not a book you paid for. Mark your bookmark private and then you can leave all the info you want.

I like to make posts/videos about the fics/characterizations/art styles I don't like, AITA? Yes, YTA. Make all the videos/posts you want about the fics/characterizations/art styles you LOVE. Tell the world, we want to know! But quit slamming creators that offer their best to us just because it's not for you. You are not the intended audience, so keep it moving

I make videos/posts about fics/art that I didn't create and never encourage folks to go leave comments for the author/artist, AITA? Unfortunately, yeah, YTA. You might not intend to be, but this one is easy to change. You want your videos/posts to succeed, of course you want engagement on what you post. But it's really easy to encourage those that like what you are posting to comment on the original. A lot of authors specifically see engagement about their fic on TikTok but have very few comments on the actual fic. It really shouldn't be this way.

I only read the BIG fics, AITA? You know what, you do you, boo. I guess your NTA, but you aren't supporting fanfiction in a constructive way. Maybe you only have 2 long fics in your for the year and so yeah, you want to read the hot ones, I get that. But if no one reads the undiscovered, the hot ones will never become hot. We have a handful of great authors that get recommended 90% of the time. That recognition is well deserved, I love them too. But we have so many great authors that aren't getting recommended, and those hidden gems are undiscovered. If you have the time, use the search and try to find the next fic that makes you stay up til 3 am to finish. They are out there, and they aren't just the ones you see all the time (although read those too, because they are awesome!).

I went to Universal, did a studio tour, and keep buying official merch. AITA? YTA. There are many videos about this, but you cannot keep putting money in jkr's pocket and expect this fandom to thrive. You cannot "reclaim" something that still financially benefits jkr. Trans rights are human rights, and this fandom, specifically the Marauder's fandom, is supposed to be an inclusive place where ALL are welcomed. When you do these things, you create an unsafe environment for all. The last few months we've seen many writers and creators leave the fandom because of this behavior specifically. Do better. (If you are going to do these things, please take fuck jkr out of your bio because you don't mean it).

There are so many more unspoken etiquette rules that I've missed. This is not meant to be all inclusive, just a random list of the top issues I see and how you can become NTA in this fandom. Some of it isn't intuitive, I admit to being guilty of some of these early on. However, when you know better, you do better.

[peculiarbeauty-a]

not to be gay on main but i am going to be gay on main. it's positivity post time !!! i just wanted to shout out a couple amazing people who have become ultra close to me ( or were ultra close in the past and we reconnected hehe ) this is just a few names, i don't have time unfortunately to write a message for everyone on the dash but please please know that you are special to me if you are a follower. this is never in a particular order.

@seachant - NINI i love you. you are such a breath of fresh air. genuinely a twinkling star that just happened to fall in my vicinity. lucky me tbh. thank you for giving me the chance to be friends with you and write on multiple different blogs with you. writing with your ariel here was such a DREAM of mine. i remember seeing your blog around and just adoring it. we did write previously when i wrote in the fandom but we never became close pals like we are now. seeing your posts makes my day. i'm really happy we are friends.

@dragetunge - MY DEAREST KRIS. we've been through a couple rocky roads together now but we stick together. it's really nice to talk to you. you are the reason i got into httyd. so thank you for that. i wouldn't have took the time if it wasnt for you and I REALLY NEEDED TO. you are essentially the dragon enthusiast of tumblr. i mean that like. literally. when i think of dragon enthusiasts i think of you. fgckjkfg I LOVE YOU SO MUCH KRIS. i cant wait to actually show you my island on dreamlight when it is a fully decked out like yours.

@solehr - sef, i miss you. i cant wait for you to come back and see that i wrote this for you kffdjdf i cannot forget you on this list. you and nini were the first disney blogs to welcome me. thank you for being my friend and allowing me to send you that ghibli movie dkffdj it's been such a pleasure knowing you. i hope for many more memories together. :)

@swevene - DEAREST KELSEY .. my belovedddd. i love our convos even when we are busy for an extended period of time. you check on me every so often and its really an honor to consider you a friend. thank you for being there, i really appreciate it. i hope we have many more memories !!! your beast is so important to my belle, i have to tell you. <3

@oudachi - aka my favorite ark .. in all locations of your blogs .. i could tag literally all of them rn but im not going to dkfjdf we joke about how we always come back together over the years. it doesn't really ??? matter how long we don't talk bc fate brings us back. our first meeting was back in 2015 and i remember you were the realest person i had ever met on this site. that has not changed. i think that more folks should understand how brilliant you are .. not only as a writer , but as a friend. you never leave people out. i've been left out before and it's a very terrible feeling. thank you for allowing me into your circle again after a bit of time of not talking. we picked up like it was such a short time of us not chatting like we were bffs again. i can't begin to tell you how grateful i am. seeing you thrive as well OH MAN .. i love that.

@chainmemories - toma, at this point it has to be obvious but when i came back .. you were the first to show me great excitement. making a blog after an extended leave on the site is a scary thing. it is like walking into the lion's den tbh dkfjfk plus there were a ton of big changes to tumblr so i didn't know where to start. it was scary. you wrote cuphead at this time. i've grown to really love cuphead and many other things because of you. playing mario party at least weekly is such a GENUINE pleasure. you make me feel like i have a place in the community. i can't begin to tell you how grateful i am that you are here and backing me up. i also hope that you know you are this shining star of every community you go into. there is not a community you haven't touched that you haven't left your mark on. of course my precious toma is the sunshine protag lover .. but he is also the sunshine protag in my opinion. i don't take criticism. I LOVE YOU.

@ghostbustingreen - spooky, I LOVE YOU. being in the posse with toma and you has been so so wonderful. i am grateful i get to talk to you on the daily about our interests. seeing you write our fav green plumber is wonderful YES YES. every muse you capture is brilliant though. i love writing with you on multiple of your blogs. simbaaaaaaaa. P.S. i am sorry for our latest party shindig where i continued to take the star away from you. i hope you can forgive me. i really hope our group goes strong for a long time because you guys always make me feel so much better.

@dnangelic - HI FAVVVV. thanks for putting up with me changing blogs on you so many times and still deciding to follow me and look forward to my muses. we are SO BACK on haru tbh. i love writing with you. you have such a grasp on your muse and i don't even know him that well. i wish i knew MORE tbh. the things that we have written though are truly precious and i look forward to future threads. i look forward to your responses truly. thanks for being my friend and also always hyping me up.

@matryochka - i cannot forget my favorite hype queen. dottie, you and i met in dc. you decided to follow me on my other blogs and genuinely messaged me when i was inactive there saying pretty much where tf are u dfkdjkfd WHICH I LOVE THAT. i wish more people would show interest in mutuals they care about that way. im trying to recruit you into our disney princess line up . it'll happen i know it. please know i love you so much. our little conversations are everything to me.

@jokethur - jess .. my beloved. also a hype queen and someone i met in dc. i love you. we don't talk too much rn but you are forever important to me. our conversations got me through some really dark points in my life and i can't begin to say how grateful i am for that. i hope that we have many more memories of chatting. always know i am here and ready to chat. we could stop talking for months and pick up just like that. that's how strong our friendship is <333 i love you. AND GIVE DIX A KISS FOR ME.

@pearlcure - DIORRRR my beloved. being your friend is a true genuine pleasure. IT IS PREDESTINED WE MET. we write the best girls out there. good for us. i love our convos and i love how real you are about everything. your graphics, writing, everything ABOUT YOU is amazing. im grateful we are friends and i hope for many more years together !!

@story-magic - AKA ALL OF YOUR BLOGS HERE AS WELL .. but my darling sleepy. i call you sleepy. i know that you have a name but you will forever by my favorite sleepy sloth. you keep things fair for us in the game. if i ever get down on my luck in party, you try to even the odds for me. i am so so grateful to be your friend. i know i don't tell you enough over discord and the like and you leave me a bunch of cute messages to make my day, but BEING YOUR FRIEND IS A TRUE PLEASURE i've gotta tell ya. i'm really happy we are so close !!! <3 i hope for many more memories.

@0brighta - big shoutout to you, ettie. <3 i know we arent super close but you putting me in your little shoutout post made me really feel so grateful. your blog is this shining, brilliant star. i mean that. like, DANG. shine bright like a diamond. i see that people love you and there is a reason for this believe me - you are so pure. so good natured. i wish more people were like you with their mutuals. letting people know that they matter is something a lot of people do not do tbh. you do that. thank you. <3

@naru-uzumaki - NOODLES .. we are back in action after such a long time of not talking. you and i were close back in 2016 i think?? somewhere close to there. when i saw your blog pop back up in my recommended, I LITERALLY RAN TO FOLLOW because i missed you so much. you are still this positive radiant little sun on the dash .. much like your muse. i am bias absolutely but. your writing and your heart for our favorite ramen lover is such a pleasure to witness. never ever change please. <3

[jaynovz]

Hi piratefam, so you've probably heard it's officially ten years of Black Sails today, huh?

For me, personally, it's been three, but what an indescribably wondrous three. 💜💜

I sat down tonight with a rum fully intending to be a little sappy. I wanted to write something that expressed just how much the show has fundamentally altered the course of my life, revived my relationship with writing and with fandom engagement, and how many amazing ppl it has introduced me to. Most of the ppl I consider my closest friends in the world I have met through this show in one way or another, truly an inestimable treasure.

But, mostly, I'm just finding myself at a loss to sum it up. It cannot be quantified in that way, in one small set of banal sentiments, even if I mean them.

I've left many, many thoughts on the page here, in my stories, in various community discord servers and group chats full of friends I found through this show and this fandom.

So, to put it quite simply: This is my home. It feels like it will be my home forever. Black Sails has this looping and timeless quality, and like the sea, she always come back around, she won't let you escape. ➰➰

Happy 10th birthday to My Show, the best show ever made (not the perfect one, but the best one), and cheers to all of us who love it and have built such a fantastic and thriving community around that passion.

I'll see you all in the loop. Here's to ten more years! 🏴‍☠️🥃

[animasola86]

Happy Anniversary, Hogwarts Legacy!

My HL journey started on May 5th, but I'm just happy this fandom is still around and thriving, and I am so glad to be a part of it! It took me 10 days to finish the game in my first run (before I dove in time and time again with new MCs and spent even more days and weeks and months in the game), and this is how my precious Nebbia looked in her original (shoddy PS4) form:

She's come quite a ways from that. Also, I wish I would have played on PC to begin with, but oh well, this way I had two HL experiences, and I am more than happy about it!

It certainly helped in keeping up my creativity and productivity over a freakishly long time. I've written 352,529 words in seven months, 270,038 on my AO3 alone, (which for me is quite a lot), I've learned to write things I have never written before (I went from innocent fanfiction writer to something I cannot talk with my family about), and all of it because of some pixels on my screen. It's pretty incredible.

And on top of that, I've met lovely people to share in my weird thoughts and delusions and overall excitement about this game and its characters. I've never been active on social media, I've always been a silent lurker, watching and consuming, but I learned that creating and sharing my work and engaging with other like-minded people is quite something, something I like to do and want to do more.

And I thank you, dear followers and anyone who stumbles upon this, for interacting with me in whatever way you choose. I see you, and I am happy you spend your time with my stuff.

I am also grateful to be a part of such a creative community. I've also never read this much in my life as I did the last nine months, ever since I stepped into this fandom. And it's not just the fanfics and oneshots and headcanons, it's the art works, the AI adventure (which bot am I gonna talk to today, hm?) we all embarked on (and bless whoever started using ElevenLabs to keep that voice kink flourishing!), the thousands of shared screenshots, all these different MCs, and all those other ways people contributed to this fandom - it was/is a joy to see you guys' different kinds of creative outlets!

So thank you, HL fandom, for your continuous contributions, keeping our mutual obsessions alive! But also for just being here, consuming and supporting and providing inspiration and motivation! Thank you!

Onto more years!

[5ivebyfive]

God. What I love. What I FUCKING LOVE about Power Rangers 2017 is that...they’re just five lost teenagers, searching for something more. For belonging. Searching for acceptance. And they just...they’ll fucking die for each other. Literally. They say it and mean it. And they’ll die to save the world. Not because of whatever inner anguish they all possess, but because it’s right. And they fucking love it. They love each other. This is, what, 11 days they’ve been together. But they come together and are this amazing family who just happen to kick major ass with SO MUCH heart and determination. The world has been so hard for them, but they want to save it all the same. Despite the world’s flaws, they want to save it. It’s theirs. And they want to save each other. They deeply believe in one another. They come to believe in their own humanity. In themselves. These kids who, at the start of the movie, don’t believe in themselves. And you get to the end of the movie, after the final fight scene, and they’re just so happy. Are their problems all resolved? No. But...they have something. Together. I hate that the tagline “Together We Are More” wasn’t actually in the movie, because it’s sooo fitting. They are more together. They’re their best selves together. And yeah, Stand By Me always makes me tear up, but so does the end scene when we see them thriving. Maybe they aren’t forgiven for their past mistakes (minus Trini who made none), but they just...they’re better. Because of each other, and because of who they are, and it’s just so fucking beautiful. I love this movie.

And I’m forever heartbroken that we don’t get more. The end is so bittersweet for that. I just love that I’m not alone in this, that there’s a community here that all gets it, and shares in it, even if we drift into other fandoms. It’s like...deep down we’re all still here, we’re all still fans of this amazing movie. It’s like we pass each other in the hallways of tumblr, secretly smiling to each other, because we know. We know. And we don’t need anyone to tell us differently.

I just...fucking love this movie.

[nikonladyz4]

General Hospital Storyline of Pop Singer Outed today.

I am a General Hospital junkie since I was a teenager. Over the years they have tackled queer relationships and homophobia. Currently there is a new storyline of a rising pop star, Blaze, who is gay and in her first serious relationship with a woman. This singer has remained in the closet because of her homophobic mother, Natalia, who is her business manager.

Ava recorded a conversation with Natalia slamming her daughter and saying very hurtful things about gay people. The episode today is dealing with the press publishing this recording for the world to hear and the impact to the two women and their respective careers. The comments on the episode’s social media are harsh. Many against homosexuality, but just as many about hiding and lying to the fans by presenting a public facing straight image. Her partner who is opening a new LGBTQ center (for queer people to have a place to go and resources to help those coming out) is being asked by the board to step down from her own center of which her father funded. The reason being she is publicly out but is in a secret relationship with the pop star hiding who she is.

Soap operas have plenty of drama, but they are telling the story with care and authenticity. Last year they had a storyline where this same pop singer was being s*xually harassed and threatened by her previous manager.

So I bring all this up because of course it made me think of Jimin and Jungkook and the Album that Jimin is releasing. There are many people in the fandom who see SGMB and Muse as a love song for Army. Those of us who recognize and hear Jimin as he tells us who he is, still cannot openly come out. As bad as the current backlash is for the two characters right now; two women in a country with laws to protect gay relationships, with a large openly queer population, family & friends that love and support them as a couple, they will survive and eventually thrive as a couple on the show.

The homophobic social media statements will subside, the homophobic fans will leave only to be replaced by fans who support the artist and their music, not who they sleep with.

Jimin and Jungkook do not have that status as of today, if they were officially outed. They could literally go to jail as two gay men if they were to be intimate on base. There would be huge backlash to their careers, the group and their family and friends. They have no laws to protect their rights as gay men.

But the beauty of these two men, the group and their families is Jimin and Jungkook still maintain their longterm relationship in spite of these challenges. The group and each member have shown public support of the lgbtq community for years. JM and JK have shown us as much as they can that they are in a relationship. JM has shown us who he is a queer man through photographs, body art, and song. He is taking a bold, bold step with his music on this album. So many Army see SGMB as a kids song or a love song to Army. Whereas, if people open their minds and really read they lyrics and watch the video’s symbolism, you can watch and hear Jimin telling us he is happy, he is in love, he does not want to hide his feelings anymore (to Army about loving a band member who is same gender). This man is bold, proud and as open as he can be now.

I just had these thoughts and wanted to share them. Then we received a beautiful surprise that we are getting the Jikook Travel show on 8/8/24. This notification has been dropped in the middle of Jimin’s promo of an album where:

he is HAPPY with the song “SGMB” that was released on i’ntl pride day - 6/28

where he is reborn in the song “Rebirth”

he is singing about “Be Mine”

he is singing about slow dance (usually for lovers)

he is singing about “Who” which is labeled with lgbtq colors

an album cover that is a replica of the pride flag colors

ends the album with his fan song to Army - “Closer Than This”, whom he tells he loves Army and he loves his bandmate(s)

he will have a wonderful time through travel vacations with his dearest and closer friend and partner. No other band members!

All I can say with love and joy in my heart is that I am so proud of Jimin. He is so fearless in a very toxic situation. I can’t leave out Jungkook. Many of us Army/fans believe Jimin is in a relationship with JK. Although JK has not chosen to reveal as much “about himself” as Jimin, he is not hiding their relationship and he openly supports Jimin and “who they are to each other”. If JK and JM are truly in a romantic relationship, he would surely have to approve of Jimin releasing such an intimate album that could potentially have repercussions on him as well. It is obvious he has done so.

Peace and love to these two beautiful souls and peace and love to the fans who truly support them. 💜💜

[lovesickeros]

Hello! Since this blog doesn't see much activity nowadays, I wanted to say two things: 1. How are you? You were one of the people who inspired me to dive into SAGAU in 2022 and captivated me endlessly with your writing style. Your writing immersed me in what felt like a fantasy world in the best way—rife with possibilities, danger, love, and so much more. It propelled me to new heights and made me wonder what it would be like to be more than the reader, to wield a pen and use it as the brushstroke to paint all kinds of worlds, creatures, and characters.

On that note, I'll follow with the second thing: 2. You are one of my biggest inspirations as a writer. Because of you and others, I've spent the last two years writing and creating like never before in a way I didn't think I was capable of. I have an AO3 and a Tumblr blog, mainly dedicated to posting my musings in a "stream-of-consciousness" format for narrative purposes. Because of you, I've grown—as a person, friend, and writer. Because of you, I made countless memories I'll cherish for years: sharing and building stories with my friends' group chat, roleplaying, making AUs, etc. Because of you, I did everything I thought I couldn't: I fostered my creativity and cultivated it to plant what is now a thriving garden regularly visited by my friends. It has helped us bond immensely and provided me solace in my darkest hours.

Because of you, I wrote my first book on Wattpad. I hopped onto a wild, emotional, and unforgettable rollercoaster that saw my interest in watching movies and reading literature be re-ignited for the sake of inspiration, have a taste of fandom culture via Steven Universe, Genshin Impact, Murder Drones, and several other games and shows that have undoubtedly and irreversibly changed my life. Because of you, I made OCs, I discovered YouTube movie recaps, and now I can write a pretty good summary myself!

That is to say that I'm wholly grateful to you, Eros, and everyone else who led me down the path of the writer, supported me throughout with their comments, memes, stars, and kudos, and generally showed enthusiastic interest in my work. I wouldn't be here if not for you all. I hope your ship of life continues sailing smoothly, as has mine, after years of turbulent weather and unpredictable storms that threatened to throw us overboard if I hadn't held on to others (and myself) for support.

May the new year bring you joy and prosperity, and hey, what do you know? Maybe I'll write something for SAGAU someday. The only reason I haven't taken the plunge yet is because of how inactive (for lack of a better word) the community there has become, and I don't know what I would write. Ideas, anyone?

Anyway, I've talked for long enough. Keep up the good work, Eros, and remember that in someone's (my) heart, you are still held dearly as an inspiration. Even if the golden age has long faded, we will always have our memories to keep us company: "Don't cry because it ended. Smile because it happened."

it is unfortunate that the collective sagau fandom has kind of died out, honestly. its what got me really into writing as well (which i feel like i have to mention @/nicebonescomrade for being the writer to get me to make my first sagau blog. one of the other og's and also a phenomenal writer). im glad it had such a large impact on you though!! that makes me really happy bc ive always been self conscious about my writing and writing style ngl, though i never grew out of it bc it worked for me. i can't imagine stories like books as a movie in my head like some people (literally head empty) so i lean more on actually putting more feeling and description into my work to compensate. it gets a bit wordy but it helps me write bc i do not plan anything i just start writing based on vibes.

sagau downfall was definitely inevitable (and a part of why im super inactive) but im happy with how it turned out anyway bc of how big the fandom is and how many people turned to creative hobbies bc of it. its nice to know i at least had some kind of impact myself KJHKDH i wouldnt consider myself one of the "big" sagau accounts by any means so its a bit of a surprise ngl um. looks around.

i genuinely just spend most of my time these days printing out random fics when i get the urge (once in a blue moon, 99% of which are in my draft vault), playing whatever game caught my fancy this week and playing genshin because it's still a black hole i will never escape from! honestly maybe one day ill come back to this account for real instead of sporadic posting but uhhh. probably not unless a new big au pops up again.

[dozing-composing]

Hey there! I was wondering if you had any sfw/nsfw headcanons for 21 and a transmasc reader? (And thanks for running this blog! This fandom is smaller than what I’m used to so it’s awesome that I can count on new content from ya!)

You're So Welcome! Yes, The Venture Bros Fandom Is A Small, But Thriving Community, But We Thrive Together, Y'know? Thank You So Much For Checking Out My Little Blog!! 😭 I Apologize In Advance If These Don't Seem Up To Par, Gender Is Something I Struggle Writing With. Hopefully, These Are Fine. I Tried To Be As Relatable As Possible. Then Again, If Something's Not Right, Let Me Know! I'll Be More Than Happy To Change Things!

Warnings (Just In Case): Mentions Of Dysphoria, Gender Talk

ꜰᴀɴᴛᴀꜱᴛɪᴄ ᴛʀᴀɴꜱᴍᴀꜱᴄ…

๋࣭ ⭑ ꜱꜰᴡ

✦ He might not understand fully, but dammit, he's going to learn. You'll need to explain everything in detail so he can be the best boyfriend he wants to be. He can get a little confused at times, but he's got the spirit! ✦ Binder breaks! He expects you to take breaks between each wear. He knows that it can be difficult, but he doesn't want you to hurt yourself for wearing it for so long. He'll even do some stretches with you during breaks. And if you don't have a binder and/or would like one, he will research one for you and buy one! ✦ He's a great listener. Whatever problem you may have, he's there to help you talk it out. ✦ Dysphoria sucks. Sometimes, you get so uncomfortable in your own body because it doesn't match the way you perceive your gender. Which, in turn, makes you so anxious about how other people would perceive you. But Gary will always be there to remind you of how perfect you are because no matter what, you are experiencing you. And that in itself is a glorious thing. ✦ He loves you with every breath of his being. He wouldn't know what to do with himself if you were hurting. He's just so...augh! He loves every part of you so dearly and he hopes that you can see yourself the way he sees you: absolute perfection.

☆ 18+ Activities, DNI If You Are Uncomfortable With Suggestive/Sexual Themes And Content ↓ NSFW Below ↓

๋࣭ ⭑ ɴꜱꜰᴡ

✦ Before ANYTHING goes down, you need to express your boundaries and what all you're comfortable with. Don't worry, he's patient and he's respectful. ✦ He would prefer if you would walk him through what you want to do. Do you just want to suck him off? Should he put his finger(s) here? You tell him, he'll do it. Or, he'll let you do it. Whatever plan you want to go through, he'll be down for it. He puts your needs before his. ✦ Again, if you are feeling dysphoric about something, he will stop what he's doing and immediately comfort you. He'll praise you on how well you did and how much of a big step you took. ✦ If there are certain words you prefer to use to describe your body, he'll use them. Boy pussy, boy cunt, junk. Whatever! He does what he can so you can have a good experience during it all. If you use toys and you want the same for those, no problem! It's all about what you want/need. He's just there to help you have a good time (; ✦ If you are repulsed by the idea of sex, that is totally fine with him! Just know that he's not only with you for pleasure. He wants you to be the best you can be.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi Raven! Lemme start out saying that I love your posts, they are really thought out and informative, especially with matters going on in the community. You don’t have to answer this if you're busy,but I have a question. I wanna start a Twist blog, well kinda. I wanna start posting some of my works, and kinda make a blog on my Twist OC, but I don't know where to start. If you have any tips or tricks, that would be helpful l, but if you don't have a direct answer to this, that's fine too anything will help. And another question is, how do you get over to fear of people not liking your works or even OC? I've seen quite a bit of hate in this Fandom, and idk if my sensitive heart can take it. 😅 It's kinda the reason why I've never posted at all. Thanks again.

Hello there ^^ I’m happy that you enjoy my blog and that you find my posts informative!

For general advice on starting and maintaining a writing blog, please see this post. I’m going to use the rest of this response to speak at length about the second question posed by the asker: “how do you get over the fear of people not liking your works or even OC?”

First, let’s get something out of the way: humans are inherently social creatures; therefore, it is in our nature to desire positive attention/approval and to be afraid of rejection and ostracism. There is no shame in wanting validation. It’s a built-in survival mechanism leftover from the past—because when humans band together, they are more likely to thrive. However, I also think that in the modern world, it’s easy to get carried away and care too much about what others will think of you. This is so true in the age of social media, where likes, shares, and even follows and views are quantifiable and thus can be used as a point of comparison to others on the same platform. It’s also easier than ever to connect with others, which can be both a boon (meeting people you otherwise could have never met) and a detriment (internet hate).

Now, as simple as it would be for me to say, “create for yourself rather than seek the approval of others”, that advice doesn’t actually do much for anyone. It's easy to talk the talk, but it's much harder to walk the walk. It’s all about mindset, because in actuality, a very small number of people out of the overall fandom will care about your works enough to actively hate on an individual. The mind seemingly magnifies the number because humans are hardwired to pay more attention to the negative experiences over the positive ones (which, again, is another survival instinct; you pay attention to the bad things to avoid them or to resolve the issues). There goes the saying, “we’re our own worst critics”, and it’s very true here. It’s not just negativity from others you must deal with, but self/doubt snd your own mind perpetuating the belief that the negativity is much worse than it actually is. Of course, there are actual serious cases of hate (harassment, stalking, threats, doxxing, racism, etc), but here I am only referring to general cases of other people “not liking what you make” or saying mean things (such as “you’re a bad writer”).

So how does one improve their mindset? Truth be told, it doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, learning to not care what others think of you is a difficult and lengthy process. It will take time and effort to reach a comfortable state of acceptance (and yes, I’m talking years long here)—but it is possible to grow out of that fixation.

Here are some truths you have to accept if you want to overcome your worries:

In putting your work “out there” in a public space, you will naturally invite feedback, both good and bad. An integral part of creating is, of course, wanting to share one’s creations with others. However, it’s unrealistic to think that you won’t ever get negative feedback or critique. It isn’t always constructive or helpful to you, but you must brace for them to come your way all the same. If you think about it, getting nothing but praise isn’t good either because then it traps you in a cycle of thinking you’re perfect and there’s nothing you need to improve on. It becomes an echo chamber and it can lead to stagnation because you’re already satisfied with your current state instead of thinking about how you can grow. Mixed feedback is important for personal growth.

There may not necessarily be a problem with your content, it could be a matter of differences in circumstances or tastes. You must remember that lack of engagement is not always equivalent to hate. Indifference or not even coming into contact with a post is NOT the same as actively going to post a negative comment or ask. That being said, lack of engagement could be the result of a website’s algorithm working against your favor. Alternatively, it could be that you aren’t hitting a target audience. Like, if you write angst, it may not appeal to a certain subsection of fans. These are factors largely outside of your control, and trying to gain that control would be a fruitless effort.

There’s nothing wrong with blocking, especially if things escalate. I know that on sites like Twitter and Tiktok, blocking people is seen as “taboo” or some kind of hateful social statement when… it’s not. Blocking is a means of curating your space so you can have fun online without worrying about others raining on your parade. If people are giving you a hard time, nothing is stopping you from blocking them (which can be done even with anonymous asks). Don’t give people that send “hate” attention by responding and showing just how upset their comments made you, it only encourages them to continue once they’ve seen how much it affects you.

One instance of “hate” is not representative of the entire fandom’s feelings. This circles back to what I said before; the negative and toxic people in this fandom is actually minuscule when compared to the total number of fans in this space. Instead of letting the few rotten apples define the entire bushel, think about all the positive experiences you’ve had!

You can’t please everyone. As much as you try to, it won’t happen. But you know what is much more feasible of a goal? Pleasing yourself. You know what you like best, and if you’re able to make what makes you happy then you have a 100% chance of satisfying at least one person.

If you feel frustrated, it’s fine!! It’s normal to feel this way when you think a work you shared isn’t getting the kind of exposure you want it to (whether it’s little exposure or negative exposure). We want to feel like our energy and time was put into something worthwhile. Just don’t take it too hard because these things are bound to happen. Not everything you make will be a hit, and your audience may not always be receptive to what you put out.

If you create mainly or solely for the approval of others, you won’t be happy with yourself. Ask yourself why you want to create in the first place. Most likely it’s because you’re passionate about TWST and/or you just wanted to have fun. But when this shifts to a focus on pleasing others, is it really fun anymore? If you’re always chasing trends (which are very transient) or thinking about how you should change your work to have greater mass appeal, is it really “you”, or are you just being what you think people want you to be? It just results in never being satisfied, because you’re aiming for the impossibility of making everyone happy. When you weigh your worth based on others’ perception of you or on engagement, you run the risk of burnout and losing joy in creating.

You’ll have to embrace cringe. When I say “cringe”, I mean it in the sense that you should be comfortable being your authentic self even if you fear people won’t like it. Again, you cannot please everyone—but surely there will be people who will accept you and like you for who you are. Some will vibe with you, some won’t, and that’s a fact.

You won’t be perfect at keeping out negativity from others, and that’s okay. What matters is how you address those instances when they arise. It’s not productive to let negative thoughts stew or hold you back from creating what you want. Instead of letting the thoughts fester, try to redirect your energy to something else.

Additionally, here are some suggestions on what you can do to alleviate your doubts. These methods work for me, but I’m not going to claim they work for everyone; I figured I’d just throw the ideas out there in case they’d be helpful to others.

Isolate yourself from social media for a period of time until you're in a better headspace.

An alternative to social media isolation is looking at other people's creations (but ignoring the numbers, as that can be a basis for comparison)! It may inspire you to make something of your own. For example, sometimes I've been scrolling and I'd see someone's OC in their own outfit for an event like Fairy Gala, and that made me excited to do the same for my own characters.

Another alternative to social media isolation is looking at the positives! Think about the number of people who have supported you or left nice comments and how they outweigh the Negative Nancies. (This is an example of using the numbers to your advantage!) I know of some friends who use a special tag on their blogs to denote "feel good" asks so they can reference these to cheer up when they're feeling discouraged or down.

Rather than comparing yourself to others, compare yourself to... yourself! Treat it like a New Year's resolution: you're looking back at where you started and think considering how you've changed since then.

Do something else you love to get your attention away from your creative endeavors. This could be another hobby or spending time with friends or family.

Speaking of friends and family, talk to them! Let them know how you're feeling and why you're feeling this way. They can offer you support and advice. I find that this is especially helpful when you are able to speak with other content creators, who may be able to empathize with your experiences.

Practice mindfulness and gratitude. Instead of thinking about what you don't have, think about what you do have and be appreciative of it. This helps shift the center away from things out of your control (ie other people) and to something that is within your control (ie yourself).

Minimize taking things personally. This can be especially hard in cases of OCs because creators tend to put a lot of themselves into their OCs (particularly if they are self inserts or Yuusonas)—so when others say they don't like an OC, it can feel like an indirect way of saying "I don't like you, the creator". But rarely is this the intended meaning of a comment. When people say they don't like something, it doesn't always mean they also dislike the creator. Remember that at the end of the day, we're all internet strangers that don't know each other on a deeply personal level (so why should you hinge your self-worth on such a thing?). You can be close with your works and OCs, but don't necessarily think of the works/OCs as a 1:1 extension of yourself. When you think of it like that, it helps to detach yourself from negativity that a work may receive.

Think about what you’re good at and focus on that niche. In this way, you will be able to make what you want while also attracting an audience that also appreciates this niche over time.

Make something for yourself, no posting necessary! Sometimes it can help you air out your feelings if you make a piece (art, writing, etc.) for no one but yourself to see. It’s surprisingly very therapeutic.

With all of that being said, I’d like to close off this post by saying that conquering the fear of others negatively judging your works is something that all creators have to go through. We're at various stages in this process, and we will continue to have our moments of weakness. This is a completely normal thing (though it is perhaps not commonly discussed out in the open) and it should be normalized. Even I go through periods of self-doubt and find myself holding off on posting certain pieces (especially anything that is OC-related) because I overthink how they may be perceived. I know that most of my audience is here for the canon TWST characters, so I worry that posting OC content is self-indulgent, maybe even selfish if I'm feeling particularly mean toward myself on a given day. It's negative self-talk like this that can be detrimental to creators and their enjoyment of their craft; that's why it's important to identify these moments and try to figure out ways to overcome them, even if it's just taking little baby steps. Some progress is better than no progress!

Anyway, I hope that you found this post useful ^^ If you think it may be also be of use to a creator you know, please consider sharing it with them.

[variousqueerthings]

happy aromantic awareness week!

I've been slowly exploring and poking at my aromanticism throughout the last year or so. while I've been happy to id as such for about 10 years (however long it was after I learnt the term) I definitely felt a certain reticence about thinking too much about it, and mostly deep-dived into other facets of my self -- aromanticism makes even other queer and lgbt+ people uncomfortable, and since I was living my life as I wanted to anyway, I was able to be open about it without insisting on understanding (call that a mix of internalised aro-phobia, fear, and probably just not being ready)

I think as I get older the aro part of me feels like it's coming to the fore as the constructs of society affect me more and more. it's not easy being a part of the world without conforming to normative ideas about relationships and family

this has made me both more radical in my aro-based politics, while also asking more questions on a personal level: what do I want out of my time around other people? what matters to me about connection?

it's been leading me to exploring the term "loveless" -- a pretty heady word I think, a lot of people have a kneejerk reaction about it, but it feels good to me. this could be something in flux (similar to how i inhabited what I call a void space in terms of gender before feeling comfortable exploring masculinity-as-drag, and with asexuality before I started poking at kink), but honestly I've never understood the term or its apparent accompanying feelings. I enjoy the company of other people, I like sharing things with them, and I have connections that for one reason or another have shared more than others due to the ways we've met and our history together, but I'm also not deeply emotionally affected by people on the whole, nor do I feel like I'm "missing" a certain kind of connection that I need to pursue to feel whole

I mostly spend time with others through the lens of specific community spaces, in which we have the same goal (be that political, artistic, fandom-based, sharing rent, etcetc.) and that's really what I want -- shared goals, having a fun time, building spaces, communally caring for one another

so that's where my aro-based poking has lead me so far. it's still a tad reticent, because... well I do worry. I worry that people in my life will take this to mean I'm uncaring about what we've done together or the plans we've made, or that I'm in need of some kind of fixing, and I'm worried as I have been since I was a kid that in the next 10, 20, 30+ years I could really be struggling to survive, because I'm not able to create the kind of social safety nets that are "acceptable" in the eyes of government structures

I do have a safety net currently, and it's a good one I think, with people I really like, and who care about me, but its legal ins and outs, as well as my internal being that will always have this particular lens through which I experience the world, make it less stable than if I'd been in a romantic relationship or even if I experienced "love" in some other way (and tbh ending up in this scenario was pure happenstance and I'd never have been looking for it otherwise)

so to think about the future: what forms of connections do we value, materially? what kind of people do we allow to thrive and under what structures? how do we build (queer) community spaces in which we provide care for one another that aren't predicated on finding the exact special person/s that potentially leave others behind? how can this kind of ethos on a massive, societal scale, potentially make us more able to care for people with no social safety nets, especially homeless, disabled, elderly, and underage people, who get stuck in systems that can't -- and often won't -- adequately support them?

and what sort of connections do you like forming that aren't strictly romantic or fall under "the special person" categories? personally I just joined the local theatre group and am going to their social events and it's been a massive boost to my self-confidence

[sleepingdeath-light]

yandere hcs ; black lemonade cookie

requested by ; anonymous (16/07/23), anonymous (21/07/23)

fandom(s) ; cookie run

fandom masterlist(s) ; hub | specific

character(s) ; black lemonade cookie

outline ; “yandere black lemonade, ik ur not writing for her until she comes out but i love her so”

&

“yandere black lemonade?”

warning(s) ; obsessive behaviour, yandere!black lemonade, stalking (online and in person), guilt tripping, worshipping

for black lemonade cookie you are more than just her partner: you’re the centre of her world, her muse, her obsession, her blessing, her bias — you’re everything and more, an angel born down on this earth just to make her life worth living and she treats you accordingly

she dedicates every song, every album, every performance and interview and post to you — always talking about her ‘awesome partner back home’ and making her fans and onlookers awe at how loving of a spouse she must be, how ‘goals’ and ‘otp’ your relationship is and how much they want a partner who is as ‘devoted’ and ‘so totally into them’ as she is to you

there are entire fan communities dedicated to the two of you: fanfic, fan art, fan edits and accounts dedicated to posting updates on you both (where you were last seen, any posts/mentions that have been made to you by black lemonade cookie, etc.) — it’s so expansive and large that it’s honestly hard to keep track of

but she manages somehow, always keeping on top of the latest trends and seeming to always have a tab open on her phone displaying some fan content of you (usually something less than sfw) because she’s just as obsessed as those fans — she’s just a bit better at hiding it

she keeps tabs on you wherever you go, and she’s been doing it since before she got the confidence to actually approach you — with her constantly refreshing your social media when she’s away on tour or, if she’s in the area, always miraculously showing up wherever you are and joining in on whatever you were doing (errands, shopping, leisure, etc.)

she’s quick to get jealous but she never takes it out on you — always going to extremes to embarrass and intimidate the hell out of whoever was getting too close for her liking (especially if it’s at one of her gigs when she’ll stop what she’s doing to point out the offending party and mock them in front of her crowd of fans, who, of course, will all join in)

she does feel like she doesn’t deserve you — well, really it’s the idea that you’re so good that nobody deserves you rather than just her — and that makes her that much more terrified of losing you, which in turn makes her default to using a lot of manipulation and guilt tripping to keep you locked down in your relationship (it also contributes to her stalking you)

like she’s forever messaging you to ask you if you love her and refuses to leave your home until you’ve kissed her — she thrives off of your affection and attention, really, and she’ll use whatever tactics she can in order to get what she wants from you

if you spend time with anyone else then she’ll start off by constantly texting and calling you because she misses you, then she’ll move on to stalking you through the cameras, and then she’ll feign some sort of injury or mishap during practise which would force you to come home and take care of her — she really doesn’t like sharing your attention with people

definitely tries her best to separate you from your loved ones to make you more reliant on her at first, but if that fails then she’ll integrate herself so perfectly with your family that you’ll feel too entangled and guilty to ever leave her — either way her goal of making you attached to her is achieved so she’s happy

she’d never take a life, she’s not that type of girl, but she’s not afraid to ruin a life — especially if she has shining glitter and rockstar cookie on her side (a little white lie never hurt, and they’d never doubt their new friend after all), which makes the process a whole lot smoother

but that’s only a last resort if someone keeps on taking your attention away from her and can’t get the hint that you’re taken — you’re hers — and they need to be properly dealt with as a result

with all that being said, for as obvious as they seem when written out black lemonade is excellent at keeping all of these things on the down low and playing them off as much more innocent than they are (it’s down to her chilled out demeanour, mostly) so you’re unlikely to notice anything different about her as a yandere compared to how she acts in a normal relationship — well, not until it’s far too late to leave anyway