#i think there's a lot of shame tied to how fandom works

[mr-gallows]

James Headcanons

Relationship dynamics, sexual frustration, love language, and how to seduce James.

A brief note because this is the internet: None of what I'm about to say is an excuse for James's actions, please do not read it that way. It's simply a study of his character and inner motivations. Relationship Dynamics:

James's love primary love languages are Acts of Service and Quality Time (tm).

James primarily shows his love through action. This is reflected by the town giving him an opportunity to protect Maria unlike with Mary. He has a protective personality (despite what he's done). He tries to comfort Maria when she cries, and remarks that he was glad he was able to save her when she gets attacked by the mannequin.

Quality time: James remarks on how he and Mary spent hours just looking at FUCKING WATER all day. That's the FIRST memory he thinks of. Nothing exciting was going on, they weren't at a concert, weren't at the amusement park, or doing any activity.

Quietly being in her presence was blissful enough that it was the first thing he remembered. That's a seriously deep level of connection, comfort, and love.

James used to do little more gift-giving in the early years of his relationship with Mary. James isn't a huge gift person, but he would occasionally get Mary something thoughtful and enjoyed seeing her reaction to getting something she liked. He tried doing that stuff with Mary again while she was ill just so that she might experience some happiness. It did not work. In essence, if he likes you a lot, he will want to spend time with you, and he'll perform tasks that make your life easier. Gifts will be sparse. Sexual Frustration:

James's desire for sex tends to get oversimplified in fandom, as if he only sees his wife as a sex dispenser. While objectification is definitely something in play (we all do it to some extent), I think people are forgetting that sex is also an act of emotional intimacy between couples. There is absolutely an emotional component to sex for James. His sexual frustration is more than just a physical need, it's a longing to be one with his wife in the most intimate, personal way.

So for instance in this scene pictured with Maria, yes, he wants physical release, but he also wants to be touched. It's not just about getting off (he has his hand for that), James wants to receive intimate, personal affection.

I think this is a problem a lot of men face, not just James, where sex has become the only way for them to be emotionally vulnerable. James's ability to be close and intimate with someone is closely tied with sex (as is the case for a lot of men). He has difficulty with verbally opening up to people.

Attraction:

I think James has a type (or two). While he is definitely attracted to women like Maria, he is also definitely ashamed of it. She has a Black Moon Lilith bracelet around her wrist, which symbolizes the taboo parts of our personalities that we hide out of fear of judgment and shame. James is ashamed of desiring a woman like Maria; someone who isn't his wife, and someone who is openly sexual and flirtatious. He knows his desires are inappropriate, and he berates himself for it.

James generally tends to prefer women who are more shy and delicately feminine, like Mary. Maria is an exception.

I think James at least has a strong preference for women, given how the monsters are mostly female/feminine. But if your gay little heart wants to entertain the idea of him being bi-curious/bisexual, this is how I think it would go down: James would be watching a younger guy washing a car out in the sun. His eyes would be fixed on how the man pushed the rag back and forth on the hood of the car. James doesn't fully recognize what he is doing, or his feelings, and dismisses it. In his desperation for touch and intimacy, other genders came to his attention.

He would find androgyny attractive in the right circumstances, but it's easy for him to feel ashamed over it and suppress it (welcome to the homophobic 90's!!) Seduction (How To):

Even though he's clearly to attracted women like Maria, he doesn't seem to appreciate the overtly sexual advances she makes. He seems to respond better when she appeals to his empathy and connects in a way that's more meaningful. Also it's understandable that he'd be frustrated by someone blatantly coming for his dick while he's trying to find someone he loves. He sees through all of Maria's blatant attempts to make him interested. Except...for when she shows distress or connects with him in a more meaningful way. Then, she ruins it by pushing alcohol on him. James can see what she's doing there, and he's not a fan. ( screenies from this post )

LOOK AT THAT. James went from a sweet smile, to disappointment. I think that's the only time he ever smiled at her, too. :(

If your're a girlie (guylie, or theylie) who wants to attempt seducing James, it's best to appeal to his empathy, usually through appearing distressed or needing some kind of help. Then swoop in with some kindness and heartfelt, authentic compliments, make him feel like he's worth knowing. Kindness and understanding is what he's looking for. That gets him to open up.

[spicybylerpolls]

It's a shame how guarded the fandom is regarding sex. First and foremost because sex, and specifically shame around sex, is heavily, heavily tied to Mike and Will's story.

If Lucas can have a 69 sign above his head while he's sleeping, why is it so hard to believe Mike and Will are having sexual dreams about each other? Especially if you ship them and acknowledge the 69 sign was obviously signaling a sexual dream?

If Lucas can have a reference to dirty magazines under his bed, why is it so hard to believe Mike and Will also have dirty magazines hidden around their bedroom?

If Dustin can have a reference to masturbation, why is it so hard to believe Mike and Will are also interested in masturbation as well?

They specifically put these references in the other, ORIGINAL, party members, who are the same age as Mike and Will, while also including references for them too (that people just can't accept), signaling all these boys are starting to think about sex. The difference is, Lucas and Dustin don't have any shame surrounding who they're attracted to.

I don't know about you (however I imagine this is a common experience for many queer people) but before I accepted that I was attracted to the same sex, I'd constantly find myself watching the women in porn and consciously trying to focus on the man. I'd tell myself things like "oh - you're just interested in how your body will look when you're older" or "oh - it's normal when you watch porn" etc - basically anything to reaffirm that I wasn't gay. And this is all between ages 13-16.

This is exactly how I see Mike, specifically. Starting to notice his attraction to men but consciously repressing it, telling himself he's normal and it doesn't mean anything. And I think people forget (or maybe just feel uncomfortable talking about) this part - that the sexual attraction, the shame in the sexual attraction, is a huge, huge part of realizing you're queer and coming-of-age as a queer person.

And that's why Mike doesn't want to hug Will at the airport (or a big part of it). It feels awkward, even if he doesn't know why. It feels awkward because he feels ashamed for liking Will. I mean the first shot we get of Mike setting eyes on Will in Season 4 is of him looking at Will's chest and then quickly averting his eyes. This tells us everything we need to know - Mike is attracted to Will, feels ashamed about it and doesn't want anyone to know (or likely doesn't even fully understand it himself, but at the very least, knows it's not "right").

Point being, his shame surrounding specifically his sexual attraction to men is one of his biggest issues and failing to talk about it is a HUGE DISSERVICE to his character!

It also does a huge disservice to Will's character, too. The repercussions of this shame, a lot of the time, is Will's situation - not having your first kiss, all of your friends growing up before you, hating yourself because you have a crush on your best friend. All because he's romantically AND sexually attracted to men. This is what Will's thinking. If he wasn't such a freak, if he didn't want to kiss boys, if he wasn't starting to feel sexually attracted to men, then everything would be so much easier. He wouldn't feel like such a mistake.

This is why I think they'll absolutely have a sex scene in S5 and also why I think it will be explicit. I previously thought it'd likely be implied and that that'd be enough but I don't see it the same anymore. Now, I don't think this means it has to be racy, obviously, but just that the audience would see some of it. Quite frankly, doing an implied sex scene, while I wouldn't be dissatisfied, is a disservice to the story.

See, with Jancy, the implied sex scene works. The tension between these two characters has been building for a season and a half and we know they want to have sex. We don't have to see it, we just need to know that they do.

But with Mike and Will? That's not the case at all.

First of all, the tension has been building for 5 seasons, which is the entire series. An implied sex scene would ultimately be a tame ending to this storyline.

Second, Mike and Will specifically feel shame about this act, Jonathan and Nancy don't. We don't need to see their reaction but we need to see Mike and Will's reactions because it completes their characters. Because they have felt shame about this specific thing, not showing them feeling comfortable doing this, with each other, would be incomplete.

Third, think about Steve and Nancy's sex scene - we're shown it specifically because Nancy feels uncomfortable.

Ultimately, there's no need to show Jonathan and Nancy having sex because there's nothing left unresolved. That's what the Duffers actually get right - only showing a sex scene when it's important for the narrative and for the characters. Even Hopper and Joyce point to this, despite them being the oldest characters and the most suitable to have an explicit sex scene, opposed to Steve and Nancy. That's because there's nothing else to tell us about Joyce and Hopper through this sex scene - we know they love each other. I don't see why the Duffers would break this pattern now.

And well, even if you don't want the scene, I don't see how you could argue that the moment Mike and Will decide to have sex isn't extremely important for their characters and would tell us A LOT about how they both feel, especially Mike seeing as we don't get his perspective.

You could argue the kiss would suffice but... does it? A kiss isn't really... sexual. And Romantic, sure. But this wouldn't address the shame they specifically feel about sex. Mike starting to cry while having sex with Will tells us so much more about his character than him crying while kissing Will.

Kissing is also a thing children do. Ending a 5 season, 9 year long coming-of-age project, with two characters who have fought inter-dimensional monsters that quite literally represent their shame, simply kissing? Something we've already seen one of these characters do, multiple, multiple times?

Okay, I guess.

Anyway, I know a lot of these points have already been made, and that this was really long, but I just wanted to say them again because it upsets me so much, especially during rewatch when I see all the themes right in front of me. And I know it upsets other people, other young adults, too. Seeing this experience represented so accurately - one that you might even still feel shame about, one that you went through not too long ago - and not even being able to discuss it openly in the fandom, is sad. Being called a freak or a pedophile for simply suggesting that sex is important here and the Duffers are telling us so. Sex... the thing that literally created us all. And that almost everyone starts thinking about between the ages of 13-14.

Sigh. At least we have this blog. Thank you for that. 🫶🏼

[bird-inacage]

Net x James: An important reminder that BL partnerships consist of two individuals and they are not just a single entity.

So the Netjames news has been a notable bombshell in the fandom of late, and I've been quietly observing this as it unfolded earlier this week, particularly the varying reactions and discourse around it.

In his statement, James explained that his current career goals are moving in a different direction, which has resulted in him pulling out of 'Love Upon a Time', and by extension his acting partnership with Net. He wants to explore his other avenues as an artist, whereas Net is presumably focused on acting for now.

With BL partnerships, we often see the two co-stars tied at the hip. Its part of the gig and it comes with the territory. They don't just work together on their project, but they do a huge amount of activity (both public and private) outside of that. They travel, perform, they do fan meets, press events, and spend a huge amount of time together as a twosome. So we get accustomed to seeing them as a united entity, which means news like this tends to hit harder because it feels akin to a divorce. This is one of the pitfalls of the Thai BL industry. When you create a narrative around two people who exclusively come as a package, it makes it incredibly difficult for both the actors themselves and fans to accept or make peace with any possible deviation from that. I think it's natural for any actor or artist to desire collaboration with different people: to develop their craft, to further their experience, to broaden their versatility. If sticking to only one working partner 'for life' doesn't work for them, I completely empathise with that.

In their recent Instagram lives, Net and James were clearly sad and their feelings still very raw. This led to a lot of speculation regarding any ill-feeling or fall out between the two. But such accusations can be harmful. Even in an amicable or mutual break-up where ending a relationship is in both parties' best interests - the two people involved are still grieving. Being brutally honest and transparent with someone close to you, that things can no longer continue as they are, isn't easy. If fans feel upset, just imagine how difficult this is on them both. When you've been nurtured as a partnership from the get go, your co-star whose always been at your side provides a sense of safety and familiarity. And the prospect of now moving forward without them is a scary new unknown. On top of that, they probably feel an immense amount of pressure and guilt in digesting the potential fallout and response from their fans. There will be trepidation in how well their careers will fare in the immediate aftermath.

Despite this, there are also positives to be taken from this decision. Arguably, Net and James were still in the early stages of their partnership. Bed Friend really put them on the map as a couple. So for James to come forward with this realisation now, before they got too established as a pairing was a responsible thing to do. I'm sure the last thing anyone wants is for their favourite artists to feel stuck or obliged to continue working together, which would undoubtedly lead to feelings of resentment eventually.

So respectfully, these instances are not to be taken personally or to be deemed as a betrayal of your support. After all, what we know of these artists is only a very small piece of their identities as people. It's okay to be devastated, but be respectful of their wishes. You can choose to continue supporting them as individuals, or choose to no longer support them at all - either way, you are perfectly valid and entitled to your choice, just extend the same courtesy back and be mindful of casting unfair judgement on their choice.

For me, it is admittedly a shame because I did see great potential in them both as a pair, and they had fantastic chemistry which could have been nurtured with more time and experience. Regardless, I truly believe they both have immense love for one another, and I wish them both the very best. They've just come to terms with the fact they no longer share the same vision for what they want in their careers. And that's okay.

(I will always be grateful that they gave us THIS iconic moment).

[bewareofchris]

I've been on the writer's tag again.

Listen guys.

Nobody owes your fanfic anything. I know that you want validation and adoration and those are both completely normal things to want. But this obsessive demand for comments over kudos and reblogs over likes is A Problem.

I won't bore you with tales of yore where we literally punted our fiction into the world with no idea of how it was being perceived by others because the only way to know if anyone even glanced at it was by the incredibly inaccurate page counter on our shitty geocities page.

(But that was a thing and it's semi-relevant to my point.)

A lot of you are growing up in a era of social media and viral marketing. You are babies of the influencer age, raised on the myth that if you can just get enough attention you'll get famous for something. I don't mean 10 million followers on insta famous but famous in your specific sphere.

That will not happen for you.

Not because people aren't reblogging your shit or writing out loving comments but because it's a myth. The idea that if you shame, beg and cajole enough people into interacting with your creation you'll access some serotonin high and ascend to a greater state of being is also a myth.

Here's the truth:

Most writers do not know how the majority of their audience feels about their fics. Those very few novels that you see on booktok, X (former twitter) or wherever else you get your writing news represent an infinitesimal portion of stories written and books published.

Most writers do have writing buddies or trusted members of an inner circle that they share their writing with.

For most fandoms, fanfics are so plentiful it's like going into a mall sized grocery store that sells only apples and then demanding the customer review every apple they touch.

For those few fanfics that you see that have an outrageous number of comments there are three possible explanations: 1. that person is what we used to call a "Big Name Ficcer" and they have amassed a following through consistent production of whatever that fandom is into, 2. that is a fic so long you have to sign a waiver to start reading it and despite the fact it was started seven years ago its still getting updated, or 3. that person is writing a viral fic in a fandom that is presently on fire.

Your self worth and self esteem cannot be tied to writing and posting fanfiction. It might be a fun outlet or you might be looking for your viral moment, but either way the moment you start weighing your worth as an author or creator based on what a bunch of strangers on the internet think of you is the moment you give up on yourself.

Social media has brainwashed you into thinking that you must be recognized and rewarded for the things that you put onto the internet. Or maybe it hasn't brainwashed you, maybe you just want to get a comment because you worked super hard on something and you feel like if you can't even get one decent response then its all been wasted. (I.e. you've been brainwashed into the feeling that you need the validation of strangers for happiness purposes.)

So what are you going to do about this?

Get off the internet. I don't mean permanently. I don't even mean literally. I mean take yourself out of the spaces that reinforce the idea that you need validation from strangers to be happy. Stop going on the social media sites for a few days (or a few weeks). If you've got a friend in fandom that you share fics, headcanons, ideas or anything with start chatting with them about something you want to write. Invest in them, in what they're doing and their opinions and how they react to your creations.

Put your shit on the internet like you literally don't give a fuck about anyone's opinion. Explain nothing about your writing choices. Put warnings, no more than 5 tags and drop that shit into the world like a newborn giraffe. Then ignore it.

Teach yourself to seek validation from your accomplishments: write a slightly longer fic, write a fic in a different genre, write a fic in a different rating, write a fic in a different fandom.

Find an actual friend that you actually interact with whose opinion you know matters because you agree on the important stuff.

Stop begging strangers for compliments like a cartoon hobo shaking a cup for coins. You're better than that.

[accio-victuuri]

BXGs + IQIYI night ( and other fandom issues ) 🍵

11/25 is upon us and i’m personally excited to see WYB at a public event but my expectations are in check. He is obviously there because of his work with Chang Feng Po Lang and he has some obligation to promote it this way. He has no drama that aired with them this year and he has virtually no ties with them like he would Youku or Tencent even if the latter was in the past.

So i’m not expecting him to be fighting it out with other celebrities present for the spotlight. He doesn’t need it, the attention will naturally fall on him anyway. He also doesn’t have to try so hard to be relevant because he is already WYB. As much as I would love for him to perform, I don’t think it’s gonna happen but I hope i’m wrong.

Anyway, since the event will have lots of celebrities, the fandom activities are on. As expected. Online, it will be making sure your bias will be on top comments about IQIYI night related posts. Or when the individual photos come out, most likely 11/24, WYB should have the highest likes or shares.

Sohu’s weibo account shared what offline activities fandoms are doing and the first one is WYB. ✌🏼

( caption: Fans of male artists on iQiyi’s Scream Night support offline. There are large-screen displays on various transportation and landmark buildings in Macau, exclusive customized banners, etc. the fans are so attentive. )

What I love about the post is the project they shared there is by BXGs. ☕️

It’s a ad screen to be played in two ports close to Macau. IQIYI night is gonna take place on the same venue where YH concert took place this year. So that’s a memorable place for BXGs too. This is not something new. If you’ve been into fandoms like this before, then it makes sense. It’s actually standard and pretty simple, nothing extravagant. There are even companies that will do voting polls and the winning fandom will have their faves on LED Ads.

Video below is how it actually looks like in Gong Bei port. So many foot traffic omg!!!! They even used an edit by Stardustkii who is everyone’s fave. && The video is focused on his Movie Era 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

If you look at the main post of Sohu, all the top comments are BXGS. Passion Fruit supports WYB! 💪🏼

The drama ( sort of ) comes from one of the “fanclubs” of WYB sharing and commenting on that Sohu post.

Wang Yibo Cool Leopard Club and all fans responded to the Cyberspace Administration of China's "Qinglang" series of special action calls to guide the positive development of the fandom and have always put an end to any irrational support behavior.

Reject any consumption and gathering behaviors in the name of artists; reject any irrational support and other illegal fandom behaviors; put an end to any extravagant and wasteful support habits!

Let’s all work together to do more things that are of positive significance to society and jointly maintain a harmonious online environment.

My first reaction to this, aside from heavy eye rolling for sure 🙄🙄🙄, is utter confusion. This is because as soon as WYB was announced, even before that, another WYB fan group was telling fans what time WYB will be announced so everyone comment. They were also doing test posts and preparation to make sure WYB has good KPI numbers online and offline for the event. Even WYB’s FC Guangdong Group was calling on people to meet in Macau.

So everyone was like ?????

and how some so/os were supporting that repost. I mean come on. this has nothing to do with qinglang. they are rejecting that post cause it’s a BXG project and once again, it’s a shame for so/os. it’s giving them flashbacks to what happened in YH concert in Macau where they utterly failed to show up for WYB. Tho I have to give it to them, pulling Qinglang and acting all high and mighty compared to other fandoms is an infuriatingly genius route to go. I’m in a different fandom, I don’t know what happens in the inner circle of WYB’s so/o fandom in CHN but this incident gives me the clue that they are once again uncoordinated. He has a couple of “fan clubs” and groups per city and that has always been the reason for lack of unity. I mean, hate the 🍤🍤🍤 all you want, but those bitches are coordinated as fuck. They listen to one account only. There are no scattered fan clubs. It is cult-ish in some ways but it works when it comes to making sure everyone is doing the same thing and working on the same goal.

WYB so/o fans in CHN should get their act together. I know they work so hard ( that green banner for GRA was so sweet ) and I see it, but the lack of planning and coordination in times like this is hard to watch.

Now I don’t know what SOHU’s motive is only that they wanted to cover fandom projects for IQIYI Scream night. Maybe whoever it is just saw Yibo and Green and thought that’s it? They didn’t know BJYXSZD? Who knows. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’m seeing BXGs who are going to Macau and are organizing together. I would think it’s harder to get tickets for this cause you are competing with other fandoms too. I just hope they have fun! I’m so excited for fansite photos too!

I was actually not supposed to share this cause it contains fandom “issue” which is sensitive. but the purpose of my tumblr have always been to write my thoughts… As much as cpfs are supposed to hate so/os and vice versa, I have never wished or hoped for their respective so/o fandoms to fail and be humiliated. Because they represent the boys and we support the same person.

Let’s just see what happens on 11/25 ✌🏼

[olderthannetfic]

First as a disclaimer: I'm pretty sure I'm not an anti (I'm anti death threats and am fine with incest, age-gap, abusive ships etc)

However I'm probably still a social/political enemy for various reasons but you sometime post asks from people you disagree with I think and I think you might know this answer.

Anyway onto my question I'm the kind of shipper who likes canon compliant ships and looking for hints and stuff but these days it feels like everyone boasts about how much their ships deviate and poop on canon etc. Do other shippers with my mentality still exist and I just don't notice them (Outside of anti spaces) or are we actually a dying breed?

--

Eh. I think "political enemy" has a pretty fluid definition if one is really into playing politics. If you aren't out campaigning on a white supremacy platform, we probably have some goals in common.

I usually block people for being extremely annoying on a day I'm feeling hormonal or for attacking people particularly viciously in my comments, not for nominally being in some other camp.

--

I think the more canon-adjacent fandom flavors are actually really common.

They're a little lost in the tumult of "My headcanon is actually canon!!!" stuff on tumblr that we like to laugh at on my own blog.

They're also less common in oldschool m/m-shipping spaces because those are often inherently non-canon ships. In the past, it was because homophobic censorship wouldn't let anything be made. These days, it's because the flavor of m/m a lot of people like is more easily found by adding romance to a buddy canon than by trying to add buddy-ness to a romance canon in many cases, and this can be true even if canon is original m/m aimed at fandom types.

Here's the thing: oldschool m/m shippers tend to be particularly prone to building community spaces and recording our history precisely because it's so easily erased and so often attacked. This type of shipper also tends to have more of a cohesive identity. That makes it far easier to name ourselves and set up little fiefdoms on modern social media.

I'm one of these people. Shittons of the people doing amateur fandom history work are. Much of the OTW old guard are. And lots of us know each other at least a bit, so if you're running into one of us, you're probably running into more of us.

--

However, that doesn't actually mean this type of shipping is the most common or that there have never been spaces devoted to something else.

That old Beauty and the Beast tv series with Linda Hamilton had epic canon shippers. So did Moonlight (the vampire tv series). So did and does Twilight.

A lot of these shippers had this as their first and possibly their only fandom and carried on being obsessed long after canon was over.

Lizzie/Darcy shippers put anything I have ever been a fan of to shame. No matter what the AO3 numbers show, this ship far, far exceeds the popularity of Destiel or any of the other m/m heavyweights.

--

I think the problem you're running into is that in the modern era of binging things on Netflix and regular joes being huge media geeks, analyzing canon in a nerdy way and obsessing over your canon ships is just how a big chunk of the population engages with media.

Fan theories that are closely tied to what was actually on the screen/page are the bread and butter of water cooler conversations and have been since The Sopranos and its ilk.

Yes, I know some fuck will immediately show up and go "Ahem, ahem, I am a GEEK and SPECIAL and the people around me never have intellectual conversations about media literally ever!!!!" just like every single time we have this conversation. But times have moved on, and being overinvested in canon theorizing just is a normie activity now, and that's great! Except when you want a special term and space to find your people.

The only time canon shippers really stand out from that is if they're extremely fic-focused, and then they often start straying farther from canon, especially if they stick around the same fandom for a long time. Either they start becoming more fans of some fic writer or they start wanting to diversify what they themselves are writing.

The really good close-to-canon fandom activities are at their best when lots of fans find the same currently-running canon at the same time and before canon itself passes its prime.

Even I started out on alt.tv.x-files, analyzing the shit out of season 2 and not caring much about non-canon things. (Though, admittedly, I was more NoRomo than MSR.)

--

That said, antis are not actually that canon-focused in most cases. They will do the "My headcanon is reality" thing as much as anyone. They just tend to spend a lot of time hating on explicit m/m and a lot of explicit m/m is of non-canon ships.

Honestly... anon... you might want to figure out what the latest CSI-ish franchise is and find the obviously-future-canon het ship from that. Those tend to get the 10 seasons of build up and fan theories that don't stray too far from canon.

This stuff is not only not a dying breed, but it's so common that one of the editors of NCIS delivered a deeply cringeworthy lecture at my film school about what "shippers" are and how the Tiva shippers affected the production.

People into those ships don't need tumblr: Major entertainment magazines are publishing their fan theories for them.

[gods-third-eye]

Killer Klowns from Outer Space and Clown Husbandry:

Qualifications: I am an avid clown lover and perhaps a bit of a clown myself. I sleep in a small circus tent and eat fresh cotton candy regularly. I am also working on my third home-made clown suit.

Anyways, with the intro done, let's get onto the meat of this.

I was recently gifted KKFOS t-shirt and I figured if I want to wear it I should at least watch the movie, right? I was apprehensive because I am a fan of sweeter clowns and putting respect on the clown name. I was worried what this movie was going to entail, but after watching it I have lots of opinions and thoughts!

Firstly, I should say that I think the movie was done very well. I am a fan of the plot and props. I enjoyed all of the references to horror movies. I enjoyed learning about how the Klowns operate and what their machinery looks like. However, I am conflicted on the killing.

I have a few proposals for the clown husbandry community to consider before writing this movie off as inappropriate:

These "Klowns" are not the clowns that we are all familiar with and deserve their own understanding as a separate creature entirely. Now, this may be the most obvious choice, but it is still worth bringing up. This theory is supported because in the movie, Mike Tabacco (the policeman) says, "They're not clowns. They're some kind of animal from another world that just look like clowns... maybe they're the ancient astronauts that came to our planet centuries ago, and our idea of clowns just comes from them." Now, I don't know if I believe that they are where our idea of clowns comes from, but I certainly could see them being a completely different species from our clowns. The Wikipedia for the movie also describes them as "a clan of evil extraterrestrials who resemble clowns". They are from space, afterall. Now, these both come directly from the source material, but I still have more thoughts on the matter.

What if they ARE clowns, but they got sick with some illness that has caused them to be blood thirsty? Now, this one might see a bit far-fetched, but we are talking about Killer Klowns from Outer Space, right? Well, this movie seems to understand lots of points about the culture of clowns: the importance of noses, love for cotton candy and popcorn, bright colors, silly noises, entertaining folks with goofy gags. So why are these Klowns killing? Let's look at some of the clowns themselves.

They have puffy and deformed skin that looks like that from an allergic reaction, they have yellowing teeth and eyes, enflamed lips, and their eyelids are droopy. These look like sick clowns!! Perhaps you might argue that they are simply scare clowns, but to that I say shame on you! Scare clowns get the same treatment as pitbulls, they are not inherently harmful, they only get that way from maltreatment. However, I don't think these Klowns are scareclowns. Scare clowns have traits like "salivation, staggering, growls and hisses and bluff aggression" as well as a diet that may consist of balloon animals and a more solitary lifestyle than other clowns (according to the fandom wiki and many husbandry tumblr accounts). But the Klowns shown in the movie (I have not interacted with the game yet) are quite normal other than the killing, they take care of balloon animal dogs,

and they are almost always seen in packs. The Klowns are often shown displaying friendly and inviting behavior before, during, and after the killings, so why are they doing them? I think that they are sick. This would also explain why the culture and lifestyle (other than the murdering) is so similar to clowns we know and love.

3. Now, this point could be seen as tied to the last point, but I think it deserves its own bullet-point. This whole movie could be a clown-loving informational piece on the dangers of sick clowns! If these truly are classic clowns that happened to get an illness that caused them to be murderous, perhaps this is an informative video on what to do and what not to do, as well as a warning to care for clowns properly. This movie is clearly made by someone who knows the intricacies of clown culture, as stated previously. But if the cultural depictions aren't enough to prove that, then just think about how many sweet classic clowns are used as logos throughout the town. Jojo's ice cream truck

and Big Top Burger

to name a few examples. This town loves clowns. And again, Tabacco says that they can't be clowns. He cannot imagine them as the same clowns we know and love because he knows healthy clowns don't murder. So, this is a clown-lover's way of saying "Killer Klowns are not clowns. Clowns don't kill".

4. Now, this one might be the silliest take of them all, but what is more silly than a clown? What if this is just a clown's comedic take on a horror movie? We have seen numerous horror movies about people, but we know they are far from representative of all humans. Why can't this just be a clown's horror movie? Of course we watch it and laugh, thinking it is just a B-movie horror film, but think about a clown watching this. A clown would be scared and horrified, both for the Klowns and the people in it. We see this movie as silly and cheesy, but clowns might get a real fright out of it! Maybe that's why clown lovers get so riled up over it. Besides, it seems like a goof because it has ripped off some of the most famous cliches in horror: the Psycho shower scene,

the girl not believing the killer,

and the car filled with cotton candy, reminiscent of the Blob. Actually, the whole movie is reminiscent of the Blob. Why? Maybe a clown found out about scary movies and wanted to make one suited to scare a clown!

Well, that's it. Those are my explainations for the movie Killer Klowns from Outer Space. Believe what you want, but these are some of my ideas. Like them? Or maybe you have another take. Please share your ideas! Thank you for reading through this ramble.

Clown bear for your patience!!

[generalluxun]

I think the reason why Chloe is so controversial in the fandom is that both sides can be toxic. Some Chloe stans are toxic and jerks, but some of the toxic Chloe haters are no better. They act like toxic Chloe stans by shaming, harassing and bullying people who do like her. They also cannot respect opinions as well. These are just my thoughts.

There are several reasons I think.

Clearly there are people who project themselves onto Marinette and then project their own personal bully experiences onto Chloé. Without actual therapy or time+healing on their own, these people will never accept any reasoned argument about Chloé as a character, because to them she isn't a character, she is their personal bully. The transference supplants the actual narrative.

There are definitely toxic behaviors among some of the people who claim to like Chloé too. I do think there's value in breaking down the who and why though.

There are the pot stirrers: These people actually don't care about Chloé per-se they just see a hot take and jump on it, hoping to cause as much trouble as they can. These folks aren't really 'Chloé stans' heck, they probably aren't even ML fans. They're instigators. It's important to recognize one when you see them and simply pitch their noise into the bin 'Chloé did nothing wrong!' is such a silly and clearly wrong take that it can only be from one of these folks.

There are those who are frustrated: I lay the blame for this segment squarely at Thomas Astruc's feet. He makes bold, dismissive, and authoritative statements, escalating all the way to open gaslighting when confronted, or even just lightly questioned in regards to Chloé's character.

'Chloé is not abused' -SIR, please consult someone with even the rudiments of child development education and review what has actually been put on screen. I know whether I am going to believe you, or my lying eyes. Thank you.

His antics and the narrative in general ignoring what has already been put on screen frustrates a LOT of people, and deeply so. Child abuse isn't a light topic, people have *feelings* about it. TA is unreachable and unengagable though, and so a chunk of people turn their frustrations elsewhere. They lash out at other characters, and by proxy their stans, and you get this whole negative feedback loop in the fandom while I presume TA just sits back with a drink in hand, throwing darts at pictures of blond girls, and laughing.

There are those who can't express themselves well: Remember this is a kids show so a large chunk of the fandom is well, unsurprisingly, kids! Kids without the raw learning to necessarily articulate their arguments with nuance. This is how you get a dozen tweets to Ta asking 'When is Chloé going to get some development?' to which he can derisively reply 'She has, you just don't like it!' and durr hurr hurr isn't he so clever.

If the fan had instead put forth clear concise examples of the abuse on screen, how it ties into actual child development practices, how they want this *child* to be shown growing and overcoming these huge hurdles because you know, they're decent human beings, and their confusion as to why a show about superheroes/Magical girls hasn't done that.... well, it would be harder to dismiss.

Take that exchange, and now instead shift it to folks among the fandom themselves. Short, sweeping statements that don't really express what they are feeling effectively. This happens between Adrien/Mari stans when they fight too. Not every 13yr old should be expected to know college level Psyche, but it can lead to miscommunication and then acrimony when they engage without it.

I want to point out this also works for things not involving Chloé at all.

Marinette stans trying to explain why they feel Marinette is so put upon while others argue that she gets everything and *Adrien* is the put upon one, all getting into protracted battles while shouting half-formed ideas and confused impressions from an inconsistent and poorly framed narrative at each other.

Is Marinette a Mary Sue who is handed things in a silver platter? *YES*

Is she ALSO an emotional damage magnet, abused by the narrative relentlessly and blamed for things not her fault? *YES*

These two ideas can both exist at the same time, but a lot of people have a hard time juggling that, so we get arguments and toxicity because this is the internet and too much is never enough of anything.

[undying-lilies]

was tagged to do this fic writer interview game thingy by @kanerallels, thanks bestie!!

How many works do you have on AO3? 27!

What's your total AO3 word count? 290,899

Your top five stories by kudos/likes:

The Clone Adoption Magnet Theory (the first installment in my Adoption Magnet AU, where the Bad Batch just adopt every child they come across - including but not limited to Omega, Kanan, and Cal)

SwapTales (a DuckTales 2017 fic where Webby wakes up in an alternate dimension where everyone has been swapped and everything is set back because of it)

Torn Apart (and Mended) (a sort-of fix-it AU based off of 2021 Lilies' theories about how The Bad Batch S1 would end)

The Evidence of the Clone Adoption Theory (the second installment of Adoption Magnet!)

Sleepless Omega (a cute fic about an insomniac Omega waking Crosshair up in the middle of the night; was written in between S1 and S2 but now am proud to say that it TOTALLY fits S3)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? yes!! I very much appreciate everyone who comments and I like to discuss my fics with other people :]

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending? probably are you worth getting lost over love? If you've read that one then this one is ... self-explanatory

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending? Ooh this is gonna be hard because most of my stories have happy endings lol. I think the happiest ending so far is The Boy, The Witch, and The Wanderer because it ended in the Bad Batch gaining another adopted child!

Do you write crossovers? No but if given the opportunity I 100% would

Have you ever received hate on a fic? Nope

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Absolutely not

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge, no

Have you ever had a fic translated? Not yet

Have you ever co-written a fic before? I have! I've also co-written a few original stories with my best friend before and those have all been a BLAST

What's your all time favorite ship? I don't know about favorite ship singular but my all-time favorite ships PLURAL are Kanera, Merrical, and Sniper Swan

What's a WIP you want to finish but don't think you ever will? SwapTales :( it had a fabulous concept and I still love it!! but I haven't written for that fandom in a very long time, and unless I get another random Drake & Gosalyn hyperfixation like I did last year I don't see myself finishing it

What are your writing strengths? dialogue for sure! I've also gotten pretty good at writing lots of characters in the same room

What are your writing weaknesses? action scenes, especially battles or fights. my ultimate writing kryptonite

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in fics? I personally haven't done it, but I admire people who do

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to? Hmm. I don't think I've written anything for RebelCaptain yet, which is a shame because they're fabulous

What's your favorite fic you've written? gosh that's so hard. I think it's tied between Adoption Magnet in general and the unposted survivor ficTM

I tag anyone who wants to play!

[sonofthesaiyans]

To my girl, to one of the Scouts' finest warriors, Happy Birthday Lynne. 🎂

(NOTE: Her birthday has always been listed as February 17th, people. NOT December 17th as is still believed by some on Twitter and elsewhere. So can somebody be kind enough to tell these folks not to make this mistake in the future? It's right on the Wiki. Thank you.)

To most folks in the fandom, Lynne is probably just another face in the background, another random gal who got swept up in the action and was gone just as fast as she appeared in the relentless insanity that is Attack on Titan. But to me, she's one of the most underrated gals and to me, she's become somebody very close to my heart.

I have long been intrigued by Lynne from the moment she first appeared way back in Season 2. She may not have been with us for long, but she left a lasting impression on me.

A member of Squad Miche, under the command of Miche Zacharius and serving alongside our old gal Nanaba, Lynne definitely earned her place on the squad of humanity's second-strongest warrior, showing herself to be courageous and determined in combat, even when faced with overwhelming odds. She remains professional all throughout, and is a capable commander in her own right, doing her damnedest to give her comrades in the Scout Regiment a fighting chance to survive as Zeke and his army of Titans were closing in. She's an invaluable member of her team, with whom she successfully fought off the enemy for quite some time before Zeke dealt his next hand.

It's really no mystery how she found her place on Squad Miche. One good look at Lynne and you can tell, she's something special that too often has slid under the radar. In my opinion, she's truly one of the most beautiful ladies in the show, and she has a look about her that just screams of an absolute badass, a dependable warrior who you can always count on in the thick of battle, and the one you always want to have by your side.

Plus, it's been shown that she is very kind and caring. Always looking out for her fellow Scouts, particularly those younger and less experienced than herself when the situation appears hopeless. And when danger is near, she will not abandon you. Truly, Lynne is a gal with her heart in the right place.

It truly is a shame I think that Lynne did not get more time to show what she was really made of. As someone who appreciates the characters in the background, I have a particularly soft spot for Lynne, and as such I have tried to give her the attention and love she richly deserves. For me, she's virtually tied with Sasha as my favorite AOT character. And for me, I think that's really saying something.

I don't know what draws me to Lynne, but I wish she had gotten another chance, especially as she counts as one of the most elite Scouts in the Regiment. For the last year and a half I have worked to give her a character and a backstory that gives her a much fuller and more active role in AOT. And I hope to share this in the near future with anybody who might be curious enough to look.

In my mind, Lynne is the hero of another story not yet told. As quite possibly her most devoted fan, I only hope I can help to draw more attention to her, as AOT's diverse cast goes way beyond the trio of Eren, Armin and Mikasa, or even the other members of the 104th.

Plus, she introduced me to the many voices and characters of Felecia Angelle, a truly phenomenal actress who I also hope more people will take note of. You've all heard her in My Hero Academia and elsewhere, and what she gave us with Lynne was brief, but dearly appreciated. For me, Lynne s just as near and dear as Sasha, Petra, or Hange, and for that she deserves another lease on life.

Until then it only seems fitting to acknowledge the birthday of my favorite AOT side character. Happy Birthday Lynne, lots of love for you and I hope she will continue to find infinitely more throughout the fandom. ❤️ ⚔️ ❤️

Oh and just to spice things up, I think I'll share this as well:

Credit goes to KrazyKamikaze44 on DeviantArt for this old but awesome piece.

Hers is not the only birthday today as I'm sure some are well aware, so keep an eye open for another as the day goes on. 😉

[thedastrash]

OC Tag Game!

Ooo thanks for tagging me @kittynomsdeplume & @cleverblackcat!! This took a while to get to but it was very fun!

Favorite OC: Evil question to start. I can't possibly choose unless I set some limits for myself so I'm going to cheat and say my most popular OC. I have the most art of her by no fault of my own. Velaneth Surana is my canon HoF and Warden Commander. Vela is a very open person: never lies, has no body shame, and loves to learn about other people and where they’ve come from. She walks into every hostile situation with her best foot forward trying to make friends and allies.

Newest OC: I’m slowly congealing my ideas about Orlagh Trevelyan because I’ve been imagining what the different cultures of the Freemarches look like - especially on the coast where trade is frequent. She’s from Ostwick of course and trained as a Templar as a youth but spent summers at a monastery with her aunt in Wycome which I imagine a bit like Morocco. I’ve been staring at my Pinterest boards imagining her lonely days growing up and what it means for her to leave her walls behind and be thrust into this new organization with all these people and their differing ideals. I'm particularly interested in exploring her being a templar but having some latent magic that has been tied up in her templar abilities so long she didn't realize it was ever there.

Oldest OC: In DA my oldest OC is Topaz Brosca from my original run of origins. The one where my save got deleted right before the Landsmeet lol rip. I've recently revisited her and I'm falling in love with her again. She's a hot trans girl and stabby rogue and she falls in love with the surface world immediately. My oldest OC ever though... might be a self insert hobbit character I made for myself as a child before I knew what fandom or fanfiction was lol! I think her name was Charlie? my memory is BAD but I know that's a name I loved as a kid.

Meanest OC: Szadrine Aeducan is my final origin from DAO to get an OC and I'm slowly growing deeply obsessed. She’s involved in (literal) cutthroat Orzammar politics and ends up skipping the warden bit after the whole betrayal and exile thing. She simply deserts at Ostagar. I think she should end up kicking ass in Orlais because she would be so good at the Game.

Softest OC: Bearnard Cousland is a soft, sweet, bookish baby-gay who would rather bury himself in his research in a library than seek glory or fight battles or do politics. Bearn is the second son so he’s gotten away with avoiding some of that but of course he has to attend his lessons and participate in the tourneys. His scholarly work lends him some political savvy since he’s intimately familiar with Ferelden’s history, but he’s most interested in lost texts and translating ancient works. He never had good gay role models growing up and thinks of himself as homely and forgettable, so he never felt like that was an option for him, but Maker does he ever pine lol!

Most Aloof/Standoffish OC: Gotta be Irene Amell. She's a real bitch with resting murder face. Incredibly unapproachable, intimidating Domme energy. Tends to default dislike people and keep to herself, prefering to slink around and eavesdrop than talk to people for info. She’s very protective and loving toward her close friends and lovers, but it’s hard to get close in the first place.

Dumbest OC: Myrna Hawke is a smart woman, she's an accomplished mage, enjoys reading, quick witted, but she has zero self-awareness and has a very hard time even understanding how she feels, much less how other people feel about her. She’s absolutely clueless and fully blindsided by anyone’s interest & gets tongue tied and stupid when she’s horny. She’s also very impulsive and acts before she thinks things through which leads to getting into a lot of dumb shit.

Smartest OC: There are excellent contenders here: Bearn with his book smarts and Topaz with her street smarts, but I want to say Ithadhea Mahariel because even though they are incredibly dense when it comes to interpersonal relations, their wealth of traditional knowledge from their clan is incredible. They are not really a people person, usually quiet and solitary, but they took to hunting like they were born for it and eagerly learned everything in the realm of woodcraft and survival. They know all their clan's stories by heart and and know resources by seasons in a way that is part of their internal clock. I think this kind of generational knowledge probably outstrips the scope of any of my other OC's knowledge.

OC I’d Be Friends With: Edric Cadash is so laid back and friendly I think he’d be one of the easiest to make friends with. I want to have tea and gossip with him and have that turn into late night drinking and telling stories by the fire. Vela would be an instant friend as well; she wants to befriend everyone and she'd have an easy time with me!

no pressure tagging some of my DA OC enjoying friends: @sinquisition, @highwayphantoms, @lets-get-brave, @sandalinbohemia, @dismalzelenka and anyone else who wants to share! Feel free to @ me so I can see your post! <3

[immakuronaakuma]

Watching this video made me think of magical girls (a genre made by women and aimed at women) and how much it’s changed to target boys.

Magical Girl Deconstructions have existed for a long time, a lot of people who write these stories tend to try to change the genre in some way either because it would be interesting to the story (Phantom Thief Jeanne had the “your magical familiar/friend is actually evil” twist before Madoka) or because it would be a fun change (Cardcaptors has the protagonist Sakura wear different outfits because the creator said that a lot of MG shows have the characters wear one outfit all the time and she felt sad by it and decided to give Sakura different clothes every time).

But… there’s one problem. As an example, Princess Tutu is a show with magical elements, but it’s more focused on deconstructing fairytales. The story is beautiful with tragedy tied to it, it delves into the roles of different characters in a story and how they’re unhappy being trapped in roles where they’re doomed to suffer, and watching it makes you yearn for the heroes to come out happy and safe in the end after all their trials and tribulations…. But apparently, people didn’t want to interact with the show because it’s titled “Princess Tutu”.

(Example reviews from PT’s review list on Google, Reddit, and MyAnimeList)

Some of the reviews I see have a reoccurring theme of not taking the show too seriously because “it’s too girly” or “too pink”, things that make a man insecure because the patriarchy has connected these things to girls and girls and the things they like are rarely treated with respect, and men who want to be seen as men and be taken seriously by their peers would no doubt feel scared about liking something decidedly “not masculine”.

Compare that Madoka Magica, an equally girly sounding show… but here’s the bigger piece of the problem: Princess Tutu is about something, it has something to say… Madoka Magica is about nothing, it just goes “hey what if magical girls killed each other OOOOOOO!”. Can you guess which show is more popular and remembered by the general public?

I won’t shame people for liking Madoka, but I will say it’s interesting to see people get different reads and pro-feminism themes from a story that is about as feminist as “J.K. Rowling and the Black Mold in Hogwarts’ Bathroom” and has as much to say about anything as a fish with no vocal chords.

This, and the teenage years of animation where people wanted to have serious stories but at the same time they wanted to keep watching Toonami without the normies laughing at them (leading to shows like Steven Universe and Star Vs., two shows that want to talk about war and genocide but at the same time they want to keep having anime fights and dramatic song numbers and they want the story to end with everyone hugging), have made an unfortunate trend for the deconstruction genre overall. The 2010s were full of Madoka-likes trying to cash in on the success of making a Magical Girl show that appeals to men. A lot of popular stuff in the MG genre was either things that were already an established franchise or some new magical girl show that is just “it’s like magical girls but darker and maybe some underage boob is in it!”

The appeal of MG Deconstructions in their later years became less of trying to be about things or having something to say on an issue, even if messy (such as the messy writing of Revolutionary Girl Utena) and more of those unfunny guys in the high school locker room trying to outdo each other and unfortunately… it worked.

Say what you want about how shit the Madoka-likes are, but despite there being lots of magical girl shows out there that I never even heard of before (there’s a fandom wiki dedicated to magical girl shows throughout the years), everyone’s gonna bring up that poor attempt someone made to ride on the coattails of someone who played the shock-jock roulette and won over something like Onegai My Melody, and that’s a magical girl show produced by one of the most popular and well-known companies on the planet!

This whole post is me rambling my thoughts about Magical Girls and misogyny and how these two together have created the modern day MG deconstruction genre that we now know of, but to get to the root of my rambling:

There’s a lot of good magical girl shows that you don’t know about and that we’ll never know about. Even some of the most well-known shows are stuck in their original language, the closest we’ll get to being able to watch them is through subs, some might even still be stuck as mangas. A lot of fans are left having to be the ones translating this content, content usually aimed at girls, to english and archiving as much as we can before it falls into obscurity.

Everything Madoka does isn’t unique. Even the ending of sacrificing yourself to save others was done a lot better in the Sugar Sugar Rune manga, where Chocola and Pier risk their lives to stop Glace from destroying the magical world, and THEY GET TO SURVIVE AND REUNITE WITH THEIR FRIENDS IN THE END.

But Sugar Sugar Rune is a girly romance show. Madoka Magica is an edgy big-kid show that isn’t anything like that “girly chick-flick junk”, therefore it’s better. Edgy MG Deconstructions are pure junk written by people who don’t know what magical girls are to begin with and just wanting to ride the popular coattails of another work… but you’re going to hear about them just once, and it’s more than a lot of obscure magical girl shows get.

[abysskeeper]

WHABAM!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Spread the self-love ❤️

Yay, thank you! Ok, I'm back from a weekend trip now and can pick 5 I think. I'll mix it up for fandom and go in order of publication.

A Thousand Ways to (Never) Say "I Love You" - Baldur's Gate 3, Gale/Tav (Named F!Tav), act 2, emotional hurt/comfort, fluff with a sad ending Gale hasn't been the same since Elminster delivered the charge from Mystra. Nox has finally figured out how to offer a distraction, at least for a few hours. It does not go quite according to plan. Please read this. I understand it's a 13.5k one-shot but I poured a lot of heart and time into it. It's spawned a 6 part series dealing with act 2 and I'm simultaneously working on parts 2 and 4 because I'm so incredibly normal about wizards.

Just You, Just Me - Baldur's Gate 3, Wyll/Tav (Named F!Tav), act 3, childhood friends to lovers, fluff Late one evening on the road to Baldur's Gate, Wyll is pulled away from camp by the sweet sounds of a violin. The woman he finds playing is familiar; unfortunately, he had hoped to never see her again. Result of my first Tav. Unlike the 30-something wizards above, Fi and Wyll really are just two kids trying their best, and I should write more for them.

Exit, Stage Right - The Great Ace Attorney, Herlock Sholmes/Mikotoba Yujin, Herlock Sholmes & Iris Watson, canon compliant, fluff and hurt/comfort A proper homecoming, a precious hour and a half before they needed to step on stage for the final act, and more than enough of a fool's notion of sentimentality. Herlock Sholmes was set to enjoy what little time he had with his partner before the grand finale of their ten year dance. It was a shame, then, that he had to ruin it. 3 months and nearly 20k words for a hyperspecific headcanon that maybe one other person has and appreciates. Also one of my most favorite things I've ever written.

Rebirth (oh cursed cycle that you are) - RWBY, Oscar Pine & Ozpin, volume 8 canon divergence, character study There's a fullness in his mind that's ready to burst at the seams. There's a clawing in his heart searching for the presence now missing. When Oscar said he didn't want the merge to happen, he didn't realize how close he really was to having everything he never wanted. Tied for first as my favorite thing I've ever written for RWBY*, and easily one of the top five things I've ever written at all. Weird and speculative are what Oscar deserves for his situation.

Under Guise - SWTOR, Jedi Consular/Cipher Nine, OCxOC, fluff, Tumblr prompt fill A night at an Alderaanian ball is not exactly how Trick wants to be spending her time. Pestered by a man she has a distaste for even less so. Until suddenly, it was exactly what she wanted. Beloveds having fun. For as much as I dislike looking back and editing some stuff, this has really withstood the test of time, and I had an absolute blast writing it.

*(Bonus shout out to Chapter 4: Interlude: Children of Fate of my fic A Funny Little Thing Called Trust. I can't recommend the whole fic because I do someday want to go back and edit it up to my current standards, but the chapter itself is the other thing tied for first as the best thing I've ever written for RWBY)

[batmanschmatman]

Hello, hope you’re doing well!! 1, 3, 12, 17, 24 and 38 for the ask game please 😊

doing pretty good! have two job interviews tomorrow so nervous about that but also excited. hope you're doing well too and thanks for the ask!!

one: what are 3 things you’d say shaped you into who you are? going to skip past the obvious like my parents and say american girl dolls (got me into history, made me major in it in college and got me to get my MA in public history, so all my career stuff has been tied back to them hahaha), joining my livejournal/dreamwidth roleplaying communities which kept me writing a lot and getting involved in fandom stuff (this is how I met @heystovepipeboys!) and generally growing up as and staying a big nerd about a lot of stuff, which shapes pretty much everything about me all the time lol.

three: 3 films you could watch for the rest of your life and not get bored of? hmmmmm tough call bc I don't think my usual answers for favorite movies necessarily fit this (jaws is usually what I say is my fave, but I don't ever really put it right back on after watching it), so the ones I tend to be like okay let's put it right back on as soon as the credits roll are princess mononoke, what we do in the shadows, and captain america: the winter soldier. honorable mentions to star trek '09 and x-men: first class which I watched about a hundred thousand times in college whenever I wanted to put something on while writing.

twelve: what’s some good advice you want to share? don't settle for a partner who doesn't or barely tolerates your hobbies and interests. there are so many people in my doll collector groups who talk about spouses/partners who actively hate their collections or shame them for having them, and honestly life is too short for that. I was told for years as a kid/teen/young adult that I'd never find someone who liked disney/comic books/collecting toys/star trek/pokémon/history as much as I did, so I'd have to get used to the idea of getting rid of all my stuff when I got married, but my wife is super supportive of my interests and actively participates in 90% of them. she even collected dolls before she met me! your partner doesn't have to be involved with everything you do, but they should respect your interests and you should respect theirs!

seventeen: name 3 things that make you happy cats, delicious baked goods, wearing comfortable pajamas while wrapped in a million blankets

twenty four: what’s one thing you’re proud of yourself for? finishing the first draft of my novel! it's a historical fiction piece about a marine coming back from a japanese pow camp at the end of WWII and dealing with all the different questions of "what now?" now that the war's over. I'd been working on it since 2018 and it's crazy seeing it printed out and finished even if it still needs a lot of editing hahaha.

thirty eight: fave song at the moment? meet me in the woods by lord huron

[jurijurijurious]

Tagged by @period-dramallama - thank you!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?:

Seven. Not enough.

(Guys there's no number 2 in this thing, where did it go??)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

At present, ReBoot and sometimes I drop back into Elizabeth (1998). I was much more of a fanfic slut in my youth, multiple fandoms on the go. (I've done Power Rangers, Doctor Who, Star Wars, Disney's Hercules...)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Dodge and Burn (ReBoot)

Road to Ruin (ReBoot)

Mea Culpa (Elizabeth 1998)

Inconcessus fructus (Elizabeth 1998)

Dodge and Burn: Chapter 11.5 - Optional Add-on (ReBoot)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes. It's something I've always done. I think it stems from the early days of Fanfic.net and Live Journal where many people were more generous with their time and left lots of comments and engaged in discourse, whereas now I get very little feedback. I enjoy thanking people or answering questions, it makes the work put into a fic feel worthwhile that it's created some kind of engagement. I think society now is more geared to comsuming but not reflecting which is a shame.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I'm hoping "Dodge and Burn" will fill that gap. I'm not sure Mea Culpa or Incon' were angsty? They had angst but I think the ending tied up ok.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

What's a happy ending? I don't think I've written a happy ending for years. Maybe back in my Doctor Who days.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not any more. I wrote a Star Wars fic a good 20 years ago which to be fair was terrible and featured lots of unnecessarily cruel tropes but it got a lot of love at the time, until quite some years after, someone randomly began reviewing every chapter and bombing it. I don't know why they kept wasting their time on something they really didn't like, I guess people enjoy dumping on others. I just turned off the notifications, it was wirtten too long ago for me to care. I've grown since then. I don't get hate any more really, my fics are super niche rarepairs in minority fandoms, I don't get many readers. You're either into it or you've never heard of it.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes. It's pretty tame overall, I try to focus on emotion rather than action. I seem to enjoy writing some sub/dom elements - not proper BDSM but there's certainly power play in my smut. It's a battlefield more than a bedroom.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I've touched on crossovers but they're such hard work and really only appeal to me rather than a wider audience as I fix on really weird-ass combinations. I've never finished a crossover fic. I started a Lion King/Discworld one many years ago. Recently I had fun with Elizabeth (1998)/Attack on Titan. I wrote some snippets and am determined it could work if I put my mind to it but yeah, way too niche.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I doubt it. I have this low key - not fear, perhaps curiosity - that things I wrote years ago might have been repackaged and recirculated and I'd have no idea because I've lost touch with so any fandoms.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? 

No. I'm too much of a control freak to want to share a fic.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

I can't choose one. I love, love, love Elizabeth/Walsingham (Walsibeth) from the Elizabeth movie as it just means so much to me, and it's been with me a long time. And I feel like it's almost exclusively mine, I've read very few other fics of that pairing before I started writing it in the mid 2000s.

Megabyte and Dot from ReBoot are my current obsession and again that pairing is something I've liked for a long time. They're so much fun to write, at constant battle with each other. I think I'm better at writing them now that I'm older as I can tap into life experience and not just ride on my youthful hormones.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I rarely finish anything tbh. I will say Dodge and Burn, i desperately want to finish it but my legacy does not bode well for it.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Sexual tension I think? Maybe.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I have been overly descriptive in the past and spoon fed the reader with the character's thoughts and motivations. I'm trying to peel back from that and show rather than tell. There will definitely be other weaknesses. I feel like I focus too much on dialogue but I love writing dialogue. I hate writing battles or heavy action scenes, I need to focus on building my skills in that area.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I'm not a linguist so I wouldn't dare.

19. First fandom you wrote for? 

If we're talking pre-internet childhood, maybe Power Rangers?

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

I do love Dodge and Burn which I'm currently working on, it's a lot of fun, but I remain proud of Inconcessus fructus that I wrote in the mid-2000s, I actually think it's one of my best pieces of writing and I fear I peaked back then.

Tagging @buginateacup @thisbluespirit @thatfilthyanimal if you fancy.

[dracomort]

Hello! I’m the MBTI anon :)

Thanks so much for your answer! You have amazing insight into Tom/Voldemort. That, in addition to your fantastic post analyzing Tom’s mannerisms as a child—which, to me, point to him developing Te before Ni—has me swaying towards ENTJ. (That said, I’m with you: As an INTP, I can’t write an ENTJ to save my life—they’re always doing things! I can’t keep up—so whenever I dabble in writing, I always write an INTJ).

I fully and completely agree: Draco is an ESFJ! A high-Te or high-Ti Draco, even if well-written, is just…missing something beautiful and essential, and leaves me wanting. Let him be his ESFJ self in all its glory! Totally a matter of personal taste, obviously, but I’ve never understood why Thinker!Draco is so common and beloved by fandom.

Thoughts on their Enneagrams (I’m tentatively going for 3w4 for Tom and 3w2 for Draco), or literally any other MBTI or Enneagram thoughts? (I too could talk about both all day!)

Yeah, I will never understand Ti/Te Draco. I think it stems from the common assumption that Thinkers are dickheads and Fe types are compassionate and empathetic 100% of the time. ESFJs at their worst are classic mean girls. And Draco has always given me a mean girl vibe.

I also think that Draco is a Three, though I believe he's a 3w4, rather than a 3w2. His drama, theatrics and self-absorption are much more of a w4 trait than a w2. It's rare to see Draco depicted as a Three in fic though. Sixes are most common, followed by 2w3.

Tom, from what I've seen, has two main characterisations in fic: 3w4 and 8w7/8w9. I do think it is somewhat open to interpretation in canon too, depending on how you perceive his motivations. There's a lot that can be said about both, but I'll try to keep this succinct.

Type 3

Basic Fear: Of being worthless Basic Desire: To feel valuable and worthwhile

Threes are, at their core, a mirror of whatever traits their society defines as 'successful'. Many Threes are charming, ambitious, and very hard workers (workaholics, even). On the more negative end of things, you might find them to be narcissistic or delusional, not to mention bitterly jealous of the success of others. But at the heart of every Three is the fear that without success and achievement, they are worthless. That who they are is defined by what makes them successful. Threes are burdened by a deep feeling of shame, though they may be oblivious to that emotion.

Three is perhaps the most cynical, self-aware and pragmatic version of Tom. Someone who is devoid of morality and understands how wizarding society works and how to manipulate it to his benefit. This Tom doesn't truly believe in anything except putting himself on the top of the world. Deep down he is ashamed of his blood status and poverty and, more than anything, desires to not be defined by it. His self worth is very much attached to his status and power. Status above all else.

Coming up with a name like "Lord Voldemort" as a teenager is peak 3w4. His obsession with his family history and the Heir of Slytherin thing is also very Three.

Type 8

Basic Fear: Of being harmed or controlled by others Basic Desire: To protect themselves (to be in control of their own life and destiny)

The Eight is a very different type to the Three, though they may have superficial similarities. Eights can be charismatic, bold, decisive and intense. On the negative side, they can become domineering, arrogant, controlling and ruthless.

Anger is as much a core emotion for the Eight as shame is for the Three. Anger drives, motivates and energises the Eight. Often the Eight's negative emotions (fear, embarrassment, disappointment, etc.) will be expressed as anger, rather than what they truly are. Eights have an inherent desire for independence, a distrust and fear of those who have power over them, and a belief that being vulnerable in front of others and letting them close is putting oneself in danger. They fear being hurt, controlled or constrained and will seek power to prevent this.

Tom as an Eight is a true megalomaniac who believes in his fundamental superiority over others. Built on a belief that other people are, at their core, untrustworthy and unreliable, this Tom sees the world as a hostile power hierarchy that he must rise to the top of. Several valid reasons an Eight Tom Riddle might want Muggles dead are (1) vengeance against his father/other muggles from his childhood, (2) seeing them as a genuine threat, (3) that Muggles have underserved power/world dominance that Tom believes himself entitled to because of his power and ability to take it from them. And despite all of his power, there is one thing he can't control - his mortality. Through the lens of the Eight's need for control, you can see why he has such a deep-seated preoccupation with death.

I'm not quite sure what an Eight Voldemort would actually think of his own blood status tbh. I don't think he'd spare it much thought past his obvious resentment of his father.

I think this conversation with my housemate from last year is a good summary:

I have read and enjoyed both interpretations in fic. But personally, I view Tom as an Eight.