#it gets funnier with the more people that know about fandom stuff that are involved bc u can argue about shit

[verytendou]

Coming around on rpf bc my friend asked our friend group “if your life was a tv show what would your top ships be” and that honestly had to be one of the best conversations ive had in a while

[fannyyann]

hi! I’m not really sure why so many people ship mattdrai, and I was just wondering what it is about them that you like personally? I’m not usually someone who can see ships unless they have a lot of “canon” content, and I’ve seen them only interact like twice. can you help me see it?

hiiiii anon! i like mattdrai so much because as individuals matthew and leon are veeeery similar. they're two sides of the same "yappy alternate captain who likes to start shit and is obsessed with his quieter captain" coin and from the interactions they have had on the ice it's very clear that they have FUN riling each other up and that kind of dynamic has always been my favorite across all my fandoms.

also, i definitely get where you're coming from with canon content but from a writing and creating stand point it's sooooo fun to not really have anything but their personalities and canon events to work with!

but before i link you to the mattdrai primer, and some of my favorite canon moments, i'm going to say something super insane and say if canon ships are more your speed you should definitely just get into all matthew and his teammates because there's sooooo much good stuff going on in the panthers locker room lmao

anyway, here's a pretty comprehensive primer for their ~lore up to November 2023 and a list of things not mentioned in it but i'm constantly thinking about:

that time leon very gently grabbed matthew by the waist to pull him away from mike smith

(much funnier and compelling behavior because darnell nurse comes in after this and just pulls matthew back by the neck)

2. the way leon is pretty well known for zooming into scrums when connor's involved, but has been known to just stand by and watch while connor and matthew get into it.

like here in round 2:

and then again earlier this season:

(this is THE most compelling thing about matthew and leon's actual canon, like WHY DOES HE DO THAT?? what's different about matthew???)

3. that time in december 2022 one of the oilers' charity partners chirped matthew in the comments of one of leon's friends & family puma sponcons and instead of deleting the comment, he just deleted the whole post (which, if you scroll through his feed, you know he doesn't delete his sponcon posts lmao)

4. and then of course, my favorite hidden gem, the fact that matthew got some of his game worn jerseys from the 2023 asg signed by all the guys there, and then all the guys from the atlantic team (8:05), so somewhere in matthew's possession he has a jersey he asked leon to sign :')

[voxofthevoid]

I keep thinking about your reblog about the anti drama in the Black Butler fandom because it's so funny. Antis being Black Butler fans is hilarious but for me nothing is funnier than antis that are Hannibal fans/hannigram shippers. Makes me laugh every time I think of the tweets talking about how hannigram isn't actually a proship. Even funnier when you remember that antis' main argument is how liking something in fiction is equal to supporting it in reality

I KNOW. I came to know of antis in the Hannibal fandom several weeks back, and now I know they're into Black Butler too, and just...how? How do you (generic you) hold the stance that your fictional tastes reflect your real-life personality, that fictional depiction of atrocious behaviours is an endorsement of those behaviours, and then turn around and watch, let alone like, stuff like Hannibal and Black Butler?

At that point, your head is so far up your ass that it's come up and out through the oesophagus.

To go on a more personal tangent, this reminds me of a comment I got on one of my darkfics—the kidnapping fic, actually—praising me for depicting sexual abuse, exploitation, and general unhealthy dynamics in a manner that didn't romanticize any of it. The sentiment was nice in the sense that the reader clearly enjoyed it, but they were also...wrong. That story is meant to titillate. The noncon is presented in a manner that evokes both horror and eroticism. Hell, the horror itself is meant to be erotic. Now, how readers interpret all of that is up to them, but I'm pretty vocal about writing fucked-up shit, horror-tinged sex included, with the intent to titillate. I romanticize cannibalism on a daily basis, but I assume everyone knows better than to go eat their loved ones. That entire comment came across like the reader enjoyed the fuckery but can't reconcile themselves with enjoying it for its own sake; by painting the story and the author as those treating the heavy subject matter "right" instead of "glorifying" or "romanticizing" it, they can accept their own love for the story.

Listen, this is sad to me. People should not be twisting themselves into goddamn knots because they like to see someone get badtouched or tortured in a story. It's a fucking story. Sure, self-examination is generally good, and grasping the dissonance between your actual morals and fictional tastes can help you engage comfortably with all sorts of media, but acting like fanfiction or video games are going to turn you into cannibals or rapists or child molesters is some rancid bullshit.

Sorry, hon, I know you didn't ask for an entire rant, but all the hypocrisy and self-delusion involved in behaviour like this makes me want to tear my hair out sometimes.

[youngster-monster]

personally i phrase my working titles like joke articles, which is good because a. i get to simplify the plot of the fic for peabrain future me who undoubtedly will read the 3000 words of absolute nonsense and not understand a single letter of it and b. i get to add it to the pile of silly working titles. case in point, " pro gamer KABEDONS unsuspecting minimum wage worker, KILLING HIM INSTANTLY " which i will not be explaining because it is frankly way funnier that way

my little plate in front of my enclosure just reads "The Loathesome Poor Organizer" and when you look inside its just me on my hands and knees before a giant digital billboard of the drafts category in my discord server

im literally this close to giving in mark my worms

there are a few rarepairs i like that have as few as 1 (i dont want to talk about the 0 fic tags... my pairs will be so damn rare that theyre still raw) fic in the whole fandom and im (INTERNALLY, i dont interact with things i dont like) beefing with like 12 different authors because of how firmly i believe that He Would Not Say That

me liking your fics is good because youre like that entire tag. when i realized how many were yours i was like HELL YEAH!!!!!! IM EATING GOOD!!!!!!!!!

ahem, now for tag time! you get to have One of my funny working titles for the time being :) most of them are highly contextual so theyre less funny unless you get 300 dms about the precise context and frankly im subjecting you to plenty rants as is so that one i shared is, incredibly, the one that needs the LEAST explaining

I WANNA TELL YOU ABOUT HIM SO BAD oh my god everytime i get the chance to talk about him i about go nuts. i hate him so much but hes kind of iconic. he wasnt always a god and he became one because it was funny for the rp. he canonically has a one way trip to the abyss in his house and i still dont know how to explain that in lore. i want to share more about him and i Will, hopefully, but that involves removing my masquerade mask and i am still a Little too scared. SOON. YOU WILL KNOW HIM SOON

its so awesome having friends who are abnormal about things in the exact same way as you.. like youre gripping eachothers shoulders and going YOU GET IT!!!! YOU GET IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

beastly noises on hold until internet gets better!!!! The Animal Is Hibernating

Silly title gives nothing of the plot away, all the vibes, more at 6

I am throwing fresh fruits into your enclosure. and a pumpkin for enrichment.

I also don't interact with things i don't like because i wasn't raised in a barn but. being a hater is good for you actually. @ some authors in some tiny fandoms i'll read you but like i'll be a judgmental bitch about it

my toxic trait is that i am very proud of being so much of that tag and everyday i think about getting so much worse about it. sorry to the haters you are so valid but unfortunately a few people said they liked my stuff so now i want to feed them Forever with (unearths years-old wip ideas) peacock kael'thas au i guess???

oc has that one way trip to the abyss at home that minecraft lava pit for convenience that Pet Oblivion

[bbeeohazardd]

i forgor to actually give feelings summary, SO

currently on ep 40, i absolutely love the dynamic of the trio now, they have a very sibling vibe to me esp Jay and Chip and Jay and Gil, also on that, there was a part where Jay was trying to get Gil's attention to talk about something, and she called him "Gilly" and i WEEPED it was very sweet and silly

Slime and Condi's characters almost always seem to have some kinda sibling/familial dynamic at least from what i've seen and i love it a lot, Slime and Condi generally have a really fun to watch rapport in general on streams and videos and stuff, so hell yeah love a good Slime and Condi player characters dynamic

ALSO Chip, Chip Chibo, he is so much funnier and easier to appreciate as a character now, i didn't doubt that Bizly had some interesting character stuff up his sleeves and i am SO glad i stuck things out, i love Chip caring about Ollie sm, THAT IS HIS SON BOYYYYY AUGHHHH, also his dynamic with Lizzie is very interesting for me to watch, strained sibling relationship gang, i hope to see him and Lizzie get more time together to develop their closeness and work things out hopefully, but yeah overall he's still a bastard but i like him he's neat

ALSO ALSO, i still don't get why people ship Gil 'n Chip, idk maybe i'm biased towards it since iirc Bizly isn't a fan of it but i genuinely do not see the appeal, the closest i can even see it is that they kinda act like they're divorced sometimes during some exchanges but otherwise the whole group mostly reads as a sibling/familial dynamic to me

and whenever i see other people also bring up the confusion with why the ship is popular they always bring up the kiss and Grizzly having them roll for how genuine it was but like,,,1 i think Grizzly meant "genuine" as a performance thing and i'm pretty sure he had them roll for performance(could be wrong idfr) and 2 i'm pretty sure Slime had Gil have a "oh, cultural differences" moment when he found his grandpa's book, like that could've been a bit to be fair, but a lot of Gil's character stuff is involving him having to learn a lot of surface cultural stuff on the fly so like ehhh

also idk, it feels like fans just wanted to ship two male characters so they took the only male pcs without accounting for anything, like i'm not big into shipping for this campaign but hell, Gil has more chemistry with Caspian or Marshall John than he'd ever have with Chip

but who knows, i haven't had much interacting with the fandom since like 2020 so i'm probably misinterpreting, that's all mainly my personal feelings, i just do not see the appeal of shipping Chip and Gil

day one of trying to get into Riptide, dear god there is 117 episodes i am afraid /silly

[belltrigger]

I need more supportive Elesa content with Blankshipping in my mind so pls pls if you have any headcanons at all? Same note: The twins and Elesa definetly got interviewed during some special event at the station one time and the topic came to celebrity rumors and wether or not she and one of the twins where an item. She gets ready to answer the question before one of the boys chimes in with a " Oh no, it's nothing like that. Elesa and us have been friends for a very long time at this point, we knew each other since we where children, it would be like dating your sister at this point." And poor, lovely, "I am gonna take your secret to the grave boys don't worry!" Goes trough a full range of emotions not limited to "!!?!?!? YOU GUYS ARE LITERALLY DATING" , but has to keep a straight face for the camera. You can decide if the twins know she knows or not, I can't decide what's funnier.

In truth, I have seen minimal stuff about Elesa outside of fandom, but from what I have seen, she is 100% a ridiculously devoted friend. She is ride-or-die for people she cares for, and is probably just as intense for people she only barely knows. She will fight for what she believes in, and who she believes in, even if they can't or won't stand up for themselves.

So, for her to be anything other than supportive of Ingo and Emmet being romantically involved with each other just feels incredibly off-character for her. They are consenting adults. They harm no one with their love for each other. She is their friend. That's pretty much all that she needs, right?

She also saw it coming from a mile away. On the day Ingo came to tell her, Emmet's hand in his, she had only moments to decide if she should act shocked or fess up to the fact that she figured it out long ago. She had spent time and effort trying to show them subtly that she knew; Emmet had always given her a knowing but sympathetic look. 'He'll get it soon. Sorry.'

Emmet had teamed up with her for a few schemes even before Ingo confessed to his twin. Emmet pointedly refused to tell anyone about their relationship unless Ingo gave the go-ahead, except with Elesa, who all but telegraphed that she already knew. Emmet is blunt, so he went up to her one day after her attempts and just said 'Help me kiss Ingo.'

For your scenario, Elesa was trying so hard; she's a famous model who's done interviews before. She knew exactly what to say! But when Ingo said dating her would be difficult because she was like a sister? Emmet was on the other side of Ingo, and she locked eyes with him. They would both tease Ingo mercilessly about such a phrasing.

She has a set of their plushies, and stitched them together so the plushies are holding hands. She thinks it should have come that way in the first place.

Although they are perfectly capable of planning their own getaways, she is the one who encourages them to do so. She doesn't quite understand what makes an exciting vacation for them, but she does know what they look like when they haven't been able to spend as much time together due to work.

Encouraging them to do pda like a normal couple when she's out and about with them is usually met with hesitation. But, she's a master at poses as much as they are! Ingo wants to kiss Emmet? Emmet wants to wrap an arm around Ingo's waist and tug him closer for a hug? Elesa is ready with an amazing pose to distract anyone who would look their way with anything other than positivity.

She teaches them perfect selfie angles and then makes encourages them take romantic couple selfies. There have got to be photo booths in Nimbasa City; Ingo and Emmet have been stuffed into more than one more frequently than they could ever have expected. Elesa does, however, pop in to be a nuisance in some of their pics because what are friends for?

[burnttongueontea]

So I listened to the Michael Sheen episode of David Tennant’s podcast, and I was really struck by the story about how Michael first became friends with Neil Gaiman, after Neil heard him defending sci-fi/fantasy during Twilight promotion... and obviously I knew the anecdote already, because it gets passed around fandom, but it just hit slightly differently this time.

What stuck out to me was when Michael complained about the way the journalists seemed to be expecting him to be a bit snobby about the Twilight franchise, even though he was there to promote it - like, they were trying to get him to joke about how it was beneath him really.

And I realised, you know all those GIFs that everyone passes around, of Pobert Rattinson just being #done with Twilight and acting sarcastic about his character at every opportunity?

Those were the same journalists! The same interviews!

And I think... it’s such an interesting example of two different responses to the same situation, in a way that really resonates with me.

It’s so exposing to say what you respect and admire - so much more exposing than it is to say what you dislike. Sometimes it feels better to be a snob. It can be such an easy win to pick holes in things, to point out weaknesses, to prove how much smarter and funnier you are than those people who have created ‘bad’ work. And people will like you for doing it! They’ll feel like you’re part of the same club as them - the club of smarter, funnier people! It will make a great soundbite, and people will share GIFs of you, and remember your funny, witty lines!

But you do have the choice to resist that impulse. You can turn down the invitation to put other people down, even though it might mean somebody will judge you for being involved with ‘bad’ work. You can stick your neck out and declare that something makes you passionate, makes you feel enthusiastic. And if somebody else who hears you is passionate about the same thing, that might just lead to a new connection; and that connection might one day lead into the work that really feels worthwhile to you.

Idk. This is rambly. It’s just that, IRL, I’ve taken refuge in 'pointing out flaws’ so many times, and I’m trying really hard to make the choice to be seen liking stuff. And this felt like a great reminder of why I care about that choice.

[latent-thoughts]

Today is Fanfic Writers' Appreciation Day, and so, I wanna spread some love.

@mastreworld One of the very first Loki fics I had read were yours. It was full of my kinda kinks and smut, but more importantly, it was full of rich story telling. It didn't just open a new creative world for me, it also opened the gates for one of the closest friendships I've ever had. You and your fics have a special place in my heart. I love our discussions (Loki knows some of them have led to the writing of more Loki fics). It's a magical thing, and I hope you keep writing more delicious Loki fics.

@caffiend-queen Boy, you write such details in your fics, my mind is blown away. Especially the stuff about clothes, shoes, classy booze, anything really...you have got such in-depth knowledge of this stuff! I don't even think about such details when I write, which is a personal failing of mine, lol. It's so damn impressive that you mix these details in, and it really brings the story to life. Great smut aside, you write some of the most nail biting climaxes (ha!) too, which is not an easy thing to do.

@nildespirandum You are a words' witch. You weave words like pearls in an intricate jewelry piece. I'm awed by your worldbuilding, and even slightly envious, if I may say so. You write grey characters so well, I feel truly conflicted when they do something super bad, lol. I hope your Loki and Nora series never reaches an end. It even gave me inspiration for writing a series in future.

@realityhelixwrites You write one of the cutest, fluffiest Loki's, and still keep him authentic and in character. Not a small feat. Your story, Lasabrjotr, has a really fleshed out reader character. I luff her. Though she be but little she is fierce! Keep on writing, you write one of the best slow burn Loki fics.

@illegalcerebral I truly appreciate your Loki fics, especially the series with the GOTG gang. It's something I badly wanted to see, and your fic filled that void in my soul. Your writing has an almost fairytale-sqe feel to it. I enjoy it thoroughly! MY BODY IS READY FOR THE NEXT PART OF THE LONELIEST PEOPLE IN THE GALAXY.

@maiden-of-asgard Don't think that I can say more than what's already been said. Your writing is to die for. The details in your fics, especially the worldbuilding and language and culture creation... CHEF'S KISS! And to top that, you blend Loki's mischief and stoicism so well. I hope to see more of your creative ventures, be it fic or original publishing.

@ohhhmyloki Your writing has a unique tone and style. Very few stories make me FEEL so much, and yours surely do. I feel as though I'm in the character's skin. I swear reading Fever was a religious experience, in more ways than one. It brought you in my life, and with you came the understanding about certain spiritual experiences I had been receiving. It has been a great experience, and I'm glad to have you as one of my closest frens.

@emeraldrosequartz GUUURL... whatever I write here, its the tip of the iceberg that's our relationship 😂🥰. A year ago, at this time, @dangertoozmanykids101 (I think) recced your fic (In One Moment) here on Tumblr. I hopped on the wagon and started reading. And then commenting on it. It was dark, it was delicious, it even scary. I found you on Tumblr... And idk what happened then... a spell was cast, perhaps? But that marked the beginning of a writing frenzy unlike any I've ever experienced before. We wrote together like crazies, and we got to know each other through it. It was so intense, it was like a fever. I hope we can keep on creating more stories (we sure are). I'm blessed to have you in my life, babe. ❤️

@talklokitome I got to know you through Loki's Library, and I thank the universe that I stuck with the server, because I cherish our deep friendship. Through it I got to read your fics, which was like uncovering a gem. Watching you write with @emeraldrosequartz was especially fun. Hope you do it again soon.

@lokilover9 Yours was also one of the first fics I read in the fandom, especially on Tumblr. If there's a potential for humor in any situation, and if Loki is involved, you know how to make it even funnier. I've had a blast writing with you, and also, experiencing the growth of our friendship. I hope that you can get back to writing again. It's the perfect outlet for your naughty and dirty creative thoughts. 😂

@amaru163 I know that I've been lacking in reading your stories (or reading much at all, lately 😭), but those snippets you've shared have been a delight to read. Please keep sharing more.

@shiningloki Boy, you've been a revelation. I hope I can dedicate more time to reading your deliciously smutty fics. They have all the kinks I wish for. One night imma set my obligations aside to simply gorge on Get On Your Knees... 😏

@grufflepuff-writes-stuff Your dedication to writing is something else. I'm amazed at the fact that you've written almost 150 Loki's Lullabies. You go girl! Your writing feels like a warm blanket on a cold and stormy night, with a fire crackling nearby. It's a hot chocolate that feels like warm silk on the throat. The fact that you can, through your writing, give us readers comfort during this tough time is something truly amazing. Keep it up. 💜

@pedeka & @icybluepenguin I love the way you weave your storyline within different MCU storylines to create a completely new thing. I love that you included mythological elements to it as well, especially Huginn and Muninn. I cannot wait to catch up on it. It's one of the best RP evolved stories I've read.

@wolfpawn You write such inspiring and strong female characters, it's a gift to the Loki fandom. You write rich, long stories filled with real world issues and problems, something that is hard to do when writing fantasy. Idk how you do it, but you're a like a supremely skilled craftsmen with it. Not to mention, your amazing work with @imagine-loki . You work hard on that blog, and I'd say you are one of the great pillars of this fandom.

@dangertoozmanykids101 @toozmanykids Guurl, your are a turbo charged fic reccer and reader. Your comments on my fics have probably added years of good life to my lifetime. I swear I want to get them all framed. Besides being an awesome contributer to the fandom, you're a great creative mind yourself. The things you've written, especially in our 'Loki on Sakaar' challenge, are absolutely out of this world. I could never, lol. I hope to see more of your writing come to life, babe. And I hope our friendship keeps growing too. You're an awesome person.

@foruneyti Your story is one of the loveliest I've ever read in the fandom. I rec it to anyone and everyone who asks me for fic recs. I hope you write more such engaging tales.

@sserpente The sheer volume of your fics is amazing. You write with great heart and dedication to the craft. You take on prompts and requests (something I've had issues with) and weave lovely fics around them. Your productivity is enviable. I hope you keep on writing and succeed as an author.

@imnotrevealingmyname My little writing fren. I've come to know you and your fics very recently, but it's been a very pleasant discovery. What more, getting to know yet another Indian in the fandom was delightful! You write one of the naughtiest, smuttiest fics I've read, and I love your thought process. 😂😏

@nekoamamori I love the sheer joy your fics bring into the fandom. I especially love your Peter and Loki friendship fic (Of Numbers And Strange Friendships). It's something that I dearly wanted to see on screen, but it didn't happen. Your fic fixes that beautifully.

@nuggsmum You are a lovely storyteller, one of the funniest people I've met on Tumblr, and not yo mention, super strong and resilient. I hope that you can find the time to write again, after you've dealt with the things that need your attention now. You're a bright star in a dark sky. ❤️

[duhragonball]

Disinterpretation

I finally finished the Sarah Z video about “pro vs. anti”.   It’s pretty long, and I ended up watching it in chunks over several days, but I think it’s worth watching, especially if you’re sort of partially connected to online fandom, but not enough to be aware of all the lingo. 

As I expected, the whole thing was vague and confusing because the people involved in the conflict made it vague and confusing.   In theory, the full terms would be “pro-shipping” and “anti-shipping”, but it seems like it’s more about particular kinds of ships that could be considered controversial.  But that’s a slippery slope, and apparently the whole conflict mutated into both sides deciding that every hypothetical relationship between fictional characters is either equally valid or equally dangerous.  

Long story short, it’s just purity culture, which was what everyone on Tumblr was calling it around 2012.  But now, if you’re a sane person who genuinely asks: “Who gives a fuck about Voltron?”, these people will jump your ass and accuse you of being on the side of their enemies.  “Children have died over the importance of Lotor/Hagger!   Your callous indifference proves that you yourself must have murdered children!” 

I think what Sarah Z really hit upon in this video was that media consumption has become so ingrained in our culture that people feel like it has to go hand-in-hand with our morality.   That is, it’s not enough for me to watch Star Trek, I have to justify Star Trek as evidence that I’m a good person.  Maybe this is where the expression “guilty pleasure” comes from.   Conversely, it’s not enough for me to not watch Dr. Who, I have to somehow convince everyone that Dr. Who was invented by the devil.

I’m pretty sure the Reylo ship has a lot to do with this, since it’s kind of understood to be a dark, problematic concept, and fans either embrace its flaws or recoil in horror because of them.   Star Wars itself is a dumb story about space wizards, so people try to give the debate more weight by linking it to freedom of self expression and/or enabling real world harm.   Suddenly it’s not enough to just think two actors would look cute making out instead of fighting.   Now it’s this battlefield for the soul of civilization or something.

I grew up in the 80′s, when “concerned parents” and grifters would accuse the Smurfs and metal bands of promoting satanism and witchcraft.   I used to hear stories of teens going out into the woods in the middle of the night to do occult stuff, and all I could ever think about was: “Why would anyone bother wandering out in the woods in the middle of the night?”  Which is why “concerned parents” turned their attention to things that were closer to home, like Saturday morning cartoons.   It had nothing to do with the content; it was just about finding a safe, accessible target for their hysteria.   Some people want to go on a crusade without leaving the house, so they pick a fight with Papa Smurf instead of confronting the real evils in the world.  Even as a kid, I knew this was a con, because I’d watched the show for myself and knew it was too saccharine to be threat to anyone.

The pro/anti folks have tried to disguise this with a lot of terminology.   I wondered why they seemed to reluctant to use the full terms “pro-shipper” and “anti-shipper”, and it’s probably a couple of things.   First, the word “shipper” is basically an admission that this is pointless bullshit that doesn’t matter, and they’d like to avoid that connotation.   Second, they seem to have decided that this goes beyond shipping itself, into practically anything else they want it to involve.  It’s all part of the con, which is to make you believe that it’s “us vs. them”, and you can be part of “us” by curating specific attitudes about Steven Universe.

Seriously, “about Steven Universe” is such an incredible punchline.  You can make anything funnier by adding those three words to the end of a sentence.   “Do not interact if you blog about Steven Universe.”   “Hey, what’s up, YouTube, this is SSJ3RyokoLover69, and this is going to be kind of a serious video about Steven Universe.”   “Mrs. Johnson, the results of your biopsy are in, and I have some bad news about Steven Universe.”   It’s a fucking kids show.   “Oh no, all the characters look like the characters in all the other kids shows!”   Yeah, that’s because it’s a kids show.   Marvin looks like Garfield, this isn’t new.

The common denominator here seems to be that both sides try to wrap themselves in the flag of vulnerable groups: impressionable minors, trauma survivors, harassment victims, etc.   The “pros” want to protect those people so that they can feel free to explore weird subject matter on their own terms, and the “antis” want to protect the same people from being exposed to weird subject matter that they might not want to see.   It’s all about establishing a moral high ground.   Back in the day, it was called “sanctimony”. 

But people get roped into this, because at their core, people want approval, and this stupid conflict offers them a sense of community.  As long as you support the cause, whatever it may be, you’ll have this online friend network that appears to support anything you do.   But if you deviate from their norm, you’ll be cast out.    Does this sound familiar?

To use a more familiar example, I still sometimes find people clamoring about Gochi vs. Vegebul.   I’ve never understood this, because both ships were canon, and I never saw much direct evidence of a war between them, but people would still talk about how crazy the Vegebul shippers were, and how crazy the Gochi shippers were, and it was like some huge thing going on just over the hills.   It’s the same idea, since the idea that you could like both or neither never seems to occur to anyone involved.   I never gave a shit, because I used to see the same dumb agendas in the Harry Potter fandom.

Okay, so let me take you back.  It’s 2005 through 2011, and I’m hateblogging all seven Harry Potter novels, because fuck you, that’s why.  The funny thing I encountered was that occasionally fans seemed to want to pretend like my bashing of certain characters was proving them right somehow.    They were like “See?  He hates Ron Weasley too!  That proves that Seamus Finnegan is the coolest guy ever.”   The Slytherin stans would do this all the time, because I would constantly take the piss out of the Gryffindor characters for being self-important dopes.   I think they just liked hearing it from an outside perspective.   But I had to keep reminding them all that I hated all of them.   Every character from Harry Potter sucks ass. Voldemort was my favorite, but only because he was the one guy who wanted to kill all of the others.   But he sucks too because he failed. 

And the shippers were the same way.   I’d say something shitty about Ron, because Ron sucks, and some smartass Joss Whedon fan would be like “Yes!  Boost the signal!  That is why Harry/Hermione is the best ship!”  And I’d be like “No, Harry and Hermione suck at least as bad as Ron does.  They’re all terrible and I hate them.”   I really do think there was some sort of Stockholm Syndrome going on with Harry Potter books, where everyone secretly knows they suck, but the fans sort of latch on to one or two characters and go like “Well, he’s not as shitty as the rest.”   Like finding spaghetti in the trash and picking out the meatball with the least amount of lint on it.   Then you’d go and start a flamewar with some other starving person over whether your meatball is shittier than theirs.  This is what people mean when they say to read another book. 

Anyway, the big thing I picked up from Sarah Z’s video is “disinterpretation”, a term coined by MSNBC columnis Zeeshan Aleem.   The Twitter thread is worth a read, but the short version is that he once remarked that a Julia Louis-Dreyfus routine wasn’t very good, and someone got mad at him for insinuating that women are incapable of being funny.    They just took his dissatisfaction with one performance by one comedian as being a universal condemnation of women comedians in general.  And this sort of thing is all over the internet.   Everyone sees what they want to see and then they take it as permission to overreact.  

I ran into this myself a while back, because someone saw who I interacted with on Twitter and decided that they’re all bad guys and if I have any interaction with them, then that makes me a bad guy too.   At the time I tried to play it cool, but the more I think about it, the more it ticks me off.   And over the course of that conversation, it was said that I don’t talk about myself much, and that’s kind of funny, because all I ever do on social media is write long-ass blog posts like this one.  I don’t expect anyone to memorize them, or even read them all the way through, but when I write all this stuff and someone goes out of their way to say they don’t know anything about me, the message is that they just didn’t pay attention to what I was saying, and they didn’t bother to try.

So I’m a little jaded from that, because I got called out for a bunch of stuff I didn’t even do or say, and apparently that’s just a thing that happens.   People will reject you for completely arbitrary reasons, not because of anything you actually said or did, and you’re left thinking you made some terrible mistake.   Except, no, I’ve seen it happen to other people, people a lore more conscientious than I am, and if they can’t satisfy the bullshit purity standards, then I never stood a chance.   If the game is rigged so I can’t win, then I’m not going to play.  

And it’s that same condition that probably draws people into these online holy wars, because if you declare yourself for the pro or anti side, at least then you’ll have a posse backing you up.   Only they don’t support you, they support your willingness to support them.    Once your commitment to their agenda wavers, even in the slightest, they will turn against you.   

Sarah Z suggests that both sides of the war drop the pro and anti terms, since they lost all meaning long ago.   But that just invites a new set of useless terms to perpetuate the same cycle.   Her more useful advice is for fandom people to broaden their horizons.   She got a lot of flak for tweeting “Go outside” once, but the ironic thing is that it’s sound advice.   I had lunch with my mom yesterday and it was just nice getting away from things for a while.   People need to do that more often, and unfortunately it feels like it’s harder to do than ever before.

But “go outside” isn’t just a literal thing.   It can mean going beyond your usual haunts, reading the same books, watching the same shows, rehashing the same conversations.   I think the reason this stuff always revolves around “shipping” is because there seems to be this deep-seated compulsion to pair fictional characters off like this, and for a lot of folks it’s the only way they can consume a story, so they do.   And they do it lot, and there’s a lot of them, and they do it the same way every time, and lo and behold the same old conflicts start up.   So maybe “go outside” should mean “go outside of that cycle once in a while.”   Just a thought. 

[spikeymarshmallows]

so. real talk re: writing because IDK if I’ve cried about it here or just on all my discords, but i am gonna complain about it here to, mmk.

TLDR: I am sad about writing. I hope rambling about it will help.

I’m so scared that I’ll lose my ability to write TUA fic T.T I was so so productive and guys: I’ve written >300k of TUA fic since mid-December.

But in the past month or so... I’ve really lost it.

Yeah, yeah, I know there’s a lot of shit going on.

But somehow I managed to write a thesis, amidst COVID, and a breakup... I managed through some of the worst depression I’ve experienced in about 10yrs. Like, guys, I was NOT GOOD. I didn’t realise how NOT GOOD I was until I was talking to a pal and realised I hadn’t washed my hair in 10 days and hadn’t showered in 5.

And now... Now I’m just... I’m just so tired...

And the S2 negativity claws at me. I GET IT. I understand why people are upset. Now I’ve had some time away from it.... Yeah, I’m pretty : ( about it too... I have a whole rant about that (not S2--about the fandom) but that’s not for public eyes. Just... I absorb the negativity and it’s not nice. But I also understand and empathise why people are so angry about it.

And then like... People I adore and respect... The fandom has made Klaus be such a way that a lot of people dislike Klaus now... And TBQH: I don’t blame them!! I hate the woobifying we see... People are allowed to do as they please!! But... It’s not to my personal tastes.

And really, I should just write what the fuck I want... I like writing Klaus as he is, and he doesn’t represent the fandoms id, and I like that. But for some reason it gets me down how many people dislike this character I really like....

And honestly, I probs just need to quietly unfollow the people who I absorb the most hurt and negativity off. Or I gotta get better at... IDK, emotionally shielding??

And I worry I’ve burnt out... This happens every time I do a 90k+ fic... : (

And the thing is: I have a really good writing streak going and I don’t wanna break it. And I worry... if I take a break... I’ll have writers block for another year, like I did all of 2019... T.T

So. Anyway. I’m gonna talk about some of the things I really wanna write... and maybe even include some snips... Maybe it’ll make me feel okay? IDK.

[And god, I miss writing my Museum ‘verse but I am pretty blocked there T.T]

But I’ve got a Five Times Diego and Klaus Celebrate Christmas Alone, and One Time They didn’t fic...

And I’ve got this fic... Where Klaus starts learning shibari to help with sobriety and practices on his siblings, and then Diego... well, Diego sinks into subspace so fucking fast.. And we get Diego struggling with submitting/bottoming and... >:) And smut. Much smut. And rope. I really like shibari.

And I have a few fics in the works for the Banned Together Bingo, but the one I’m most excited about involves Diego adopting a dog :O

And I was gonna write “Extra Ordinary” but... That would be sad and horrible. So I’ve decided that I wanna write Klaus’ version.

Here is a snippet:

It's always hard to tell what a person's earliest memory is. All of those years kind of blur together, and all the drugs I took probably didn't help with the memory. And then you've got those 'memories' which may not be memories at all, because they were told to you and you think you can remember them, but maybe you just created a false memory in your mind, and maybe you don't really remember it at all.

But all of that borne in mind: my earliest memory includes one, Diego "Number Two" Hargreeves, throwing his bowl of what I've been told was spaghetti-o's, right at Dad's stupid face.

If you know about Diego's powers, you can imagine why this was absolutely fucking hilarious then and is even funnier now.

If you've been off in the wild, being raised by wolves and have never encountered any form of pop culture, and thus don't know: Number Two has the ability to change the trajectory of objects in motion. No matter what he throws, it always hits its target.

And its target? Dad's face.

It was a masterpiece. Easily one of the best days of my life.

I don't know if this is actually my earliest memory. But I like to think it is.

And I just want... ridiculous stories of these kids... and they’ll be in Klaus Style, and then there’ll be a chapter where Klaus is like:

And then he locked me in a crypt for ten hours.

That’s it. That’s the chapter. So all this chaos... and then this seriousness, that’ll hopefully be so abrupt that it gives emotional whiplash.

And I wanna write a Hogwarts AU, Enemies to Lovers. I’ve got a few ideas... Like... Maybe each “year” is told from the perspective of each of the seven... Allison and Luther getting together early, but Klaus and Diego taking years to get there.... Five, resentfully, a Hufflepuff, and absolutely enamoured with Vanya. Ben, long-suffering. All of them playing Quidditch... HNNNGGGG. I have a lot of ideas here.... But no Plot TM.

And a What’s Your Number AU. That’s it. That’s the plot. Maybe... with Justin and David... Or Ben and Diego.... >.> IDK man.

And I want Demon!Klaus and Angel!Diego... No plot there. Just want it... Maybe I should watch Good Omens and see if that’d make a fun AU....

And then we have [look, I’m just going through my Scrivener rn...] a High School musical AU. Not the movie... But like... The kids are in a school, and it’s putting on a musical... Angry but shy loner Diego, who can seriously dance, and disaster Klaus, and Allison who wants to be the star of everything, and Luther just has such a crush on her and MUST be in the musical to play her love interest, otherwise he’ll never find the courage to talk to her....

And then! Another High School AU. Instead of Ben dying... he nearly dies. And Child Protection are finally like “hmmm, this is child abuse...” and takes the kids away. Allison, in a panic, Rumours that they stay together... And then... chaos. Throwing the seven into public school, when they’ve never interacted with others... God. The sheer ridiculousness... And I really love the ending I’ve got planned for it T.T

I’ve also got a few S2-inspired ideas... Klaus lands in the 60's but hits his head and doesn't remember anything. He doesn't remember that he can see ghosts and so ends up absolutely terrified, and put into an asylum. Diego lands a year later, and is also put into the asylum. He sees what might be Klaus, but no. No, it can't be… Or can it? T.T And then they gotta escape and... T.T

And then I wanna project all my feelings onto Klaus struggling with being touch-averse and yet also someone that desperately wants to touch the ones he loves, but... it makes his skin crawl. [SO MUCH PROJECTION.]

And then I have a fic idea that I can’t talk about because it’s a gift for someone...

And then... Justin and David fic..... >.>

And last night... I had an incredible idea for a sci-fi, dystopian AU... It’d be a lot more Serious than the other stuff I’ve written. And I REALLY want my writing powers back because I HAVE THINGS I WANNA WRITE... T.T And those are just the fic ideas that have words in Scrivener...

But this sci-fi thing would be.... it would be an Epic. But maybe I could do it in <30k... IDK.

Anyway. I was feeling good again, and then checked Tumblr and....

I’m going to try to crawl to bed and take a valium, because the mood is so low that it might as well be in the ground.

[keysmashchronicles]

my history in phandom and fandom

I’ve always been an avid reader. If I’d have been born twenty years later than I was and grew up in a time when every kid has tablet or a phone, that need for stories might have been filled by TV or other formats instead, but in my childhood years it was all about books, and visiting the library as often as possible. I often daydreamed about the characters in books the books I read, mostly egocentric thoughts of what it would be like if I were to somehow find myself in the stories I was reading. What would it be like to have them as my friends, to be part of those adventures? Of course, in typical Mary-Sue fashion, it wasn’t the real me that I imagined in those daydreams, but some idealised version that was cleverer and funnier and prettier and of course, someone all the other characters either envied or adored.

As I got older, and we moved beyond the stage of just having one TV in the house, my obsessive nature shifted to include TV shows as well as books. The first show that really caught my imagination was Dawson’s Creek. I loved it, the over-articulate teens with all their angsty problems heightened by their hormones going haywire, going through mental health issues and struggles with sexuality and of course, the classic love triangle. I couldn’t wait to tune in every week and catch up on what was happening in Capeside.

I’m not sure how it happened, but one day I was online on our cranky old computer and stumbled across some Dawson’s Creek fanfiction. I was amazed, and fascinated, and also terrified that someone in my family was going to walk in and catch me reading it. But I read every story on that website, and then started looking for more. I couldn’t believe there were other people out there like me, people who didn’t just watch a TV programme and then forget it about it until the following week.  There were others who thought about the characters in a TV show so much, it was almost like they became real. People who wanted to analyse every aspect of the relationships the characters had on screen, and also take these characters off into plots and stories and worlds that were nothing like what actually happened in the show, imagine them in endless different scenarios and see them experience every kind of emotion and think about how they’d react. People who wanted to write or read over and over again about the same characters because they found more and more to discover about them every time they did.I had found my happy place!

Over the years, the obsession with fanfic remained, but the focus of it shifted.I’d go through a cycle – discover a new fandom, immerse myself in it for maybe a year or two, then slowly lose interest. There would be a period where I wouldn’t read fic for a while, maybe 6 months or a year, and then all of a sudden, a new show would capture my attention and I’d be off and running again.

After my interest in Dawson’s Creek had run it’s course, the show that took its place for me was Buffy. As I recall, I had only watched a few episodes here and there and then a writer I was already reading started to post Buffy fics. I read a couple and realised that there must be much more to this show than I’d thought if it was inspiring such good writing. I think that obsession must have lasted a good 3-4 years, one of the longest I’ve had.  There was just so much good stuff for writers to work with - a whole cast of interesting well-developed characters, the good vs evil narrative, the endless possibilities of spells and demons and alternate universes and origin stories and the threat that the world might end at any moment….the list goes on. And also, there was the smut  - I’d read a fair amount in my previous fandom, but Buffy fics took it to a whole other level (this by the way being a major cause of the confusion I had when trying to work out my own sexuality - how can I be asexual? Have you seen my AO3 history???)

After that came the West Wing, followed by House, followed by the other behemoth of my fandom life, Sherlock. With all of these, although I read a hell of a lot of fic, that was always as far as my involvement in fandom went. I didn’t feel the need to join any fandom communities, in fact I don’t really think I would have known much about where or how to get involved if I’d wanted to. In the early days, the fic I read was on fan-hosted sites, with the aid of webrings to help you discover other authors. Then for a long time it was fanfiction.net, livejournal and finally AO3 where I read most of my fic today.

So how did I get into phanfic? In the aftermath of Sherlock series 4, it felt like my engagement with fic in that fandom came to a bit of a stop – there wasn’t really anywhere much to take the story in terms of canon, and a lot of people felt that the whole Eurus plotline had been kind of a jumping the shark moment. For myself, I’d got to that stage where it felt like there was nothing new under the sun. I was feeling the fatigue that always eventually came when I’d overread a fandom, and no matter how hard I’d try to find something to interest me, nothing seemed to capture my imagination any more.

I left the fic alone for quite a while, turning mostly back to traditionally published media – I dipped a toe back into Sherlock fic on occasion, read a bit of MCU here and there but nothing significant.

Then one evening in June 2019, I was scrolling through Twitter when I decided to check what was trending and saw a name I didn’t recognise – Daniel Howell. I had no idea who he was, but lots of other people were clearly very excited by something he’d done, so I thought I’d have a look and find out why. Usually when this happens, it turns the person is either on a reality TV show or plays sports of some kind,  but on this occasion I saw the words ‘YouTuber’ and ‘coming out video’ and it piqued my interest. The only experience I really had of watching YouTubers was through my step niece, when she’d had an obsession with Miranda Sings and we’d watched a lot of her videos together, including collabs, so I knew a few names but not much beyond that.

I clicked on Dan’s video, fully expecting that like with most random clicks, I’d watch for a minute or two before getting bored and looking for something else to occupy my attention, but that didn’t happen. The video was incredible and I was absolutely transfixed for the whole 45 minutes. I thought it was brilliant - the deeply personal story that was being told, the humour, the well-thought out and confidently delivered arguments – I don’t think I’d ever seen anything like it. As someone who had come to identify as asexual and panromantic but not until they were in their late 30s, and who was (is?) still in a place of trying to understand what that meant in my life, it was also hugely resonant to me on a personal level, helping me to realise the unacknowledged but damaging internalised acephobia and homophobia that I was still carrying with me.

I went to Dan’s channel and watched some of his videos, then was curious about that guy named Phil that he’d mentioned, so I watched some of his videos too. I came across the first PINOF and was completely charmed by it, by their rapport and silly humour and how they clearly felt so comfortable just to muck about and be themselves.

For a while I was happy just going through all the content on their channels. It didn’t really occur to me to look for fic until it was referenced in one of their videos. Up until then, RPF had really not been my thing – I’d seen some fics written about the actors who played characters in my various fandoms and I’d avoided them because it had made me feel uncomfortable about what they’d think if they saw them. I’d also scrolled past a lot of 1D and BTS fic when browsing on AO3 tags and to be honest, had had a pretty snobby opinion about it.

But having heard Dan’s story, and then seen dnp’s obvious connection in their videos, I was curious to see what the fans’ take had been on their relationship, and also to see what was being written about them now that Dan had come out. I looked to see if there was anything about them on AO3 and bam! There it was, my next fic obsession had grabbed hold of me and there wasn’t anything much I could do about it!

Since then, I’ve not only read a ton of fics, but even had a go at writing a few. It’s painful because they never come anywhere near the standard of the fics and writers I really admire. I have the desire to want to write well, but also a complete lack of the patience and dedication it takes to develop the necessary skill. But for the first time I didn’t let that stop me from publishing a few fics as I realised I was really writing for myself, to have an outlet for thoughts and ideas that had been going around in my head, and if anyone happened to read it, that was just a bonus.

Then through reading the Seven Basic Plots, I realised that what I’m more interested in at the moment than learning to write fics myself is to come to a greater understanding of how they work, and what exactly has been fuelling my fic obsession for over 20 years (wow....that was weird to think about! Such a long time!)

So that’s my history in fandom, and in phandom, and explains why reading a book about the nature of stories and their purpose made me immediately think that I wanted to examine those ideas in relation to something I know and love – phanfiction.

the seven basic plots // 1st plot - overcoming the monster

[0poole]

Northernlion

There’s a serious oversaturation of people trying to live off of playing games on Youtube/Twitch. Really, it’d take a lot to get me to watch anyone new, just because the people I already follow already check off all necessary boxes I’d want in a channel, pretty much. Not to mention that no one (and I do mean “no one”) could top Northernlion. He’s easily my favorite of all #gamer Youtubers/Twitch streamers, and it definitely wouldn’t be wrong to say he’s my all-time favorite of those (although it’s hard to be sure because the previous favorites either stopped uploading stuff or started uploading a lot less/different content).

And, since Youtube is trash for fiscal purposes, I finally went and bought a subscription to him on Twitch. Really, the only thing holding me back was the scary commitment of a monthly payment, as I’m sure many feel. It’s made worse by how I don’t have a steady income yet.

Anyways, there’s something subtly unique about Northernlion (AKA NL) and his friends. It’s kind of hard for me to say exactly what makes him likable. Other content creators try to be unique by being really good at a game, having a more unique set of humor, or even doing skits outside of the gameplay (of course not to say any of that’s bad), but I think what makes NL different is that his “gameplay” content is practically a podcast as well. 

Literally any moment of his videos, he can divulge into either an anecdote or some random thought he had about whatever and why it’s odd. That’s the selling point of his 1000+ episode Binding of Isaac series, which he’s played enough of for some of the more complicated actions and choices to become second nature, letting his mind wander. Then, on his live shows, he has a handful of his friends to bounce off of. 

His live shows are easily his best content, thanks to every one of his cohosts bringing their own flair to whichever show they’re on, ranging from the insane Josh to the innocent Hafu. People always act like some shows are ruined by one or two specific cohosts being on, but honestly I can’t see any of them actually ruining the show. Obviously no one is perfect, but saying something like that just makes you a supreme asshole. See: Nick.

It’s funny, because they have a habit of revealing a lot about their day-to-day life, meaning people should see them as actual people and not just a mindless funny-machine. 

One of the big things about NL specifically, though, that is a serious breath of fresh air in the modern Youtube landscape, is that he doesn’t edit his videos at all. Literally no editing is done in his videos, and when there is a single jump cut or something, people make a spectacle about it. That means if he ever has to take his cat off of his keyboard, let it out of his office, talk to his wife, whatever... it’s all recorded, and seamlessly put into each video. Sometimes his wife will even sort of join in on the commentary for some videos. It’s so casual, not just in the commentary but in the whole entire presentation. His titles are even casual, where they’re basically just the usual “The Binding of Isaac: AFTERBIRTH+ - Northernlion Plays - Episode 1,000,000″ with a completely random keyword for each episode. Absolutely no clickbait, or even remotely interesting content presented, apart from the idea that NL is playing the game. 

Obviously it wouldn’t be as fun if the community around him and his show wasn’t both big and involved. It’s crazy, I go to the streams of other people outside of the NLSS crew and the chat is just in disarray. No one’s really talking about what’s going on, or even especially reacting to it. Even the smaller streamers basically just have people asking occasional questions, with a bit of reaction. Not to mention that other streamers feel the need to shout out each and every one of their supporters the instant they support them, making their streams feel so choppy. I get why they do that, it’s just seriously annoying. Some of the NLSS crew do that too, but during the shows they go as far as to mute themselves to do it. That kind of respect for the show makes me (and probably a lot of other people) respect it a lot more.

Back to the community, though... It’s insanely active. Every meme that comes about on each show is marked by the sheer amount of posts and comments people make about it. Even in a live chat, everyone can seem so unified in how they’re responding to the humor. It kinda helps my monkey brain enjoy the probably really low brow parts of their show, just because it knows so many other people find it funny too. Sometimes, while I have their show in the background, I’ll occasionally tab back in just to see chat react to a funny thing they’ve said or done. 

If I had to pick a specific running joke that’s the best, it has to be calling NL an “egg” just because he’s bald. I feel like he deals with that joke in the best possible way: obviously not getting super annoyed about it, but not going so far as to make it his entire brand as well. He’ll definitely acknowledge it when it comes up, and he might get playfully annoyed about it, because a hint of anger does make things funnier. Of course, he doesn’t go around calling himself an “egg” a lot either, so the humor in the joke sort of stagnates with the fandom and isn’t driven into the ground by his overuse. Really, that’s how a lot of their memes go. They mine it for a bit, then resent it, then mine it resentfully. They’ll even sometimes keep the meme alive by calling back to it every once in a while. It’s like the perfect method for humor, at least in their scenario.

As for a favorite? It’s actually seriously hard to say, considering almost every single one has driven me to actually laugh out loud (which, for someone as quiet as I am, shows a lot). Dan, for sure, has to be the source of most of that laughter, since he’s such a strange person. He’s the perfect hypeman, and doesn’t shy away from an odd bit, making him a total gem to have on anything. Every time he Cracks Open a Cold One for their tuesday shows, he just gets me super excited, even if I’m not into the game they’re playing for that. It’s crazy. I especially love it when people compare his laugh to a hyena���s. It’s a perfect analogy.

Anyways, thanks for coming to my TED Talk, etc. etc. and go watch his/their stuff.

[dictacontrion]

Hey for the ask thing F, I, and U ! Thank u I love your blog and your work !

Thanks, nonnie!! These have been a blast!! 

F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Okay so I actually love writing dialogue, it is kind of my fave, and I don’t have one single favorite, but this one, from Make Me a Headline (I Want to Be That Bold) came to mind: 

“I want you.”

“For—bed?” Harry asks, eyes flitting nervously upwards at the ceiling and, presumably, the bed above them.

“Yes,” Draco answers, “but not only.”

Harry takes another step towards him. “What else?”

“Dancing,” Draco says. “Champagne.”

“Yeah?” Harry prompts.

“Dinner,” Draco adds. “Letters.”

“Answered letters?”

“Answered letters. And…dates.”

“Public dates?”

“Yes. And…” Draco takes a turn at stepping forward, “breakfast.”

“Breakfast?”

“Breakfast,” Draco repeats. “After…”

“Bed?”

“Yes.”

“For breakfast, you’d have to stay.”

“Yes.”

“And you want?”

“Breakfast.”

“Oh,” Harry breathes. “Breakfast.”

I like it because I think usually I’m drawn to snappy banter, and clever characters who are able to explain themselves, and when there’s lots of witty subtext, and this is sort of the opposite of that. It’s a very emotionally naked moment for them, and it felt like piling on the words wasn’t going to work. What matters here, for them, is how well they understand each other without words, that they know each other so well they don’t need further explanation to get what’s at stakes. Well, and that they’re able to create this space that works emotionally for both of them, such that Harry can be reassured while Draco doesn’t have to put himself so explicitly on the line that he recoils into defensiveness. But how to get them to communicate that when saying it would defeat the purpose? This felt like the really right solution - the economy of language, the repetition, the construction of the story so that the readers and the characters have to recall a lot of complicated history in order for this to have meaning, and (hopefully) that the simplicity of the actual words pushes the reader to be present alongside the characters in being attentive to the complexity of the meaning behind them. And I thiiiiink it does that successfully? Though readers would know better than I would! 

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?

My writing guilty pleasure is 100% the banter mentioned above, which wouldn’t be a guilty pleasure at all, vs something very fun, except that I tend to do it when I’m stuck or stonewalling, so will occasionally feel a bit guilty when I notice that’s what I’m doing.

My reading guilty pleasure (though as a phrase, I prefer smug indulgence to guilty pleasure!) is probably 1D/BBC RPF AUs, which, there are just some really fun ones, and it’s in this fic space that I don’t write or rec or mod or really blog about very much, so it’s work-free pure indulgence. 

U: Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

I take this question to ask what I like about three of my favorite fic writers’ writing but, if you’ll bear with me, anon, I am going to intentionally misinterpret this for a moment (and will do it over properly if you like!) and tell you about three of my favorite fic writers and why they are some of my favorite people (with the caveat that I could easily do this for a dozen more!) and #sorrynotsorry, hopefully these lovely individuals will be up for tolerating some tenderness.

1. I have had the extraordinary luck to be within driving distance of @firethesound​ for most of my fic-writing life, and while I’m sure many of you, like me, admire her writing enormously, I am here to tell you that it is the tip of the iceberg. I have lost track of the number of times I have been having a crap week, only to show up at fire’s house and find the kettle on and cookies waiting, or the number of times she’s listened while I talk through whatever’s bothering me, or the number of days that have been improved by her company. She can be very stealth about how funny she is, and how incisive her commentary is, and how thoughtful her views are, and how observant she is, and how creative and resourceful and resilient and patient, and how she cares for the people around her, and how curious and interested she is, and how good at figuring things out, and how determined, and how generally much of a stone cold badass she is when the situation calls for it, but it’s all very, very present and I am perpetually blown away, and so, so grateful to the universe that our paths crossed. It’s made my life more balanced and fuller and funner and funnier and inspired, and that’s very much par for the course when spending time with fire. 

2. @gracerene09​ is a brilliant writer who just knocks my socks off a little bit more every time I read her latest work, and also has been my adventure buddy across two continents, three countries, and two (soon to be three or possibly maybe four!) states, and holy fuck she is amazing. She is so thoughtful and so unbelievably on the ball and possessed of good common sense and feet firmly on the ground, and she is the rare human who manages to be all of that and imaginative and silly and hilarious and adventurous and game for flights of fancy. Like, we can have a spreadsheet and a plan A and a plan B and then get drunk and have a selfie competition and end up wandering some random places absolutely cackling our butts off. And having seen her in all of those contexts and done loads of fandom and RL stuff with her, I can absolutely say that she’s one of the few people in the world whose judgment I trust implicitly. Even when we disagree, I trust her process and her ability and willingness to talk it through and figure it out. I also have the hugest admiration for the way she approaches the world with an eye towards growth; if she notices something she wants to change, she changes it, and she does it in ways that are deeply reflective and considered and dauntless and principled, and it’s truly incredible and an honor to see how that’s played out, is playing out, over the years. 

3. When it comes to fandom, and to life, @writcraft has become one of my absolute favorite people to talk to. Writ’s approach to writing and thinking is so masterful and meticulous and smart, I am constantly in awe. I have endless appreciation for the way they’ve written queerness into fic, which takes it so seriously and pays homage to its history, and would happily listen to them talk about queerness and culture for hours, both as it has to do with fandom and as it matters in the world beyond. And alongside this phenomenal, blinding awareness and knowledge, they’re also so much fun. I often come away from my conversations with writ reminded that all things - fandom, politics, the daily business of life - are meant to have elements of joy and connection in them, that the object isn’t only to learn and work for change, but to remember what it is that’s worth working for, and to stop and enjoy it, and to change things, even when that involves taking risks, in order to build a more enjoyable, connected, intrinsically motivated life. Whether it’s a serious conversation about political commitments and practice, or a serious conversation about fandom, or getting drunk and sweaty and dancing till ready to drop, having writ around is guaranteed to make it richer and sweeter and better. 

Fic asks!

[minervamagicka]

CC Creator Question Tag

I was on a CC bender and saw the talented @murfeelee doing this, and of course, I think it’s bloody fantastic, so here are my answers. It was actually pretty fun to do, all things considered.

Under a read-me so I don’t bomb some dashboards with long paragraphs.

1. What was the hardest project you’ve worked on so far?

Honestly, the Wrench CC I released a while back. This was mainly because no pre-ripped models from Watch_Dogs 2 exist, which meant I had to export models from my own copy of the game. Now, normally, this isn’t an awful fate or particularly hard for me to have to do, but for the love of God, Ubisoft makes it HARD to sift through their game files. That was probably the hardest part of making that set, mainly because I couldn’t find the poor guy’s textures and spent way too long having to blindly search through W_D2′s files.

  2. How long have you been creating cc?

Eh, I don’t know, 2016? 2015? I did private recolours and such earlier but I really got into the heavy stuff when The Witcher 3 came out and I wanted to start converting clothing, which is how my earlier abominations came about when I started heavily experimenting with meshes and rigging. I’ve done stuff in Garry’s Mod previously -- Damn it, Valve, I want to learn how to rig for Source but it’s TOO HARD -- involving .obj files and the like so I had some prior knowledge of modelling programs, but little knowledge of how to apply it to the Sims 3. A lot of my education was trial and error.

3. What’s your most favourite thing you’ve created?

GARRUS.

Call me the staples button because that was easy to determine. I don’t even know why I decided to start working on that project, I think it was a mix of fascination and hard-on for Mass Effect at the time, and also to see if it was possible with how I understood the Sims 3′s functions. And, well, it was! It was also so different than other CC I had seen coming out, and involved a beloved character... Perfect storm for me to be proud.

4. What’s your most hated thing you’ve created?

As cliche as it sounds, I really don’t like the job I did on Triss’ outfit from the Witcher 3, which was my first piece of CC on this Tumblr. I am 100% going to go back and re-do that (And more) just to make up for how trash I think I handled that outfit, to bring it up to my current standard of quality. In fact, I might start on that now.

5. What inspires you to create?

Honestly? Lack of what I wanted. Unless I’ve received a request for something, 100% of the time, when I release something, it’s because I wanted it in my game. Also that I want my fandom OCs to be dressed properly in clothes from their universes, damn it.

6. What gets you unmotivated to do anything or to delete your project?

When I hit a roadblock I can’t overcome no matter what I try. I generally have ‘systems’ I can run myself through when making CC, especially conversions -- ‘Oh, that doesn’t work? Cool, I’ll just try this..’. -- But when that fails too that’s when I’m like ‘Welp, time for a work-around to the work-around!’ and by that, I usually mean finding an alternative means of getting the effect I want.

7. What’s one thing you wish you knew how to do/do better?

Making actual sims. Most of the time I’m pretty insecure/worried about how my Sims stack up to others, and tend to overcompensate for that by decking them out in custom CC that makes them speshul.

8. How long does it usually take you to make something?

That sort of depends. If I want it, and I want it now? I can have an outfit in-game in 3 or so hours, and that’s working nonstop on it. That doesn’t necessarily guarantee it being perfect the first time around, but I’ve streamlined my outfit conversion process down to the point it takes me no time at all.

9. Is there a certain schedule you stick to when publishing?

Seeing as this blog was literally dead for half a year because I didn’t want to put anything out... No, not really. Whenever it’s done.

10. Your favorite programs to work with?

I would be lost without Blender. Seriously. Without Blender I’d be screwed. Milkshape and Photoshop take a close second as I use all three at once in my creation process.

11. Who do you look up to (creator wise)?

@kurasoberina was always an inspiration, but I think a lot of people can say that :^)

12. How many projects do you have at the moment?

Good joke, kid. Uhhhh. Currently, I would classify my crusade to convert Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate objects and clothing to be my project, and there are various subprojects under that -- Assassin attire, Victorian-era attire/props & then the attire and props from the hidden WW1 segment of the game. Right now, focused more on the Assassin attire and the WW1 objects because that’s where my OC is, lmao.

13. Screenshot your wips folder (if you have one)

Take me out to dinner, first.

Yes, the New Folder thing is real. Yes, I actually use that as an organizational system. Yes, it works for me. It’s best not to ask how or why. The name of my WIP folder is funnier, tbh.

14. Do you plan on creating for a long time or is there a certain period you know you’ll stop?

I don’t see myself stopping until it becomes completely unviable to do, I.E. TS3 becomes too outdated or something. Maybe my public releases will slow down -- Hell, they already have, but I still want nice clothes in my game.

15. What helps you keep focus during your creating process?

I have Spotify character playlists that I listen to when I’m doing conversions for a particular character -- I.E. I listened to Ayessa’s playlist whilst doing her outfit. Or I throw on Netflix. Actually, weird as it sounds, when I really want to focus I put an episode of Ghost Adventures on, because watching 3 surfer dudes yell at the Devil is surprisingly helpful.

Not sure how many CC creators follow me, but I’d love to see any of you guys give this a try too. Could be fun.

[ongnable]

Okay I think I need your help! I started following Wanna One few weeks ago and I don't know what to watch to know them better! (I discovered them after being forced by my friend to watch Master Key 😂) so yeah I went around YouTube but if you can direct me to "worthy" content I'll be glad! ((especially with Ong cause it was kinda love at first sight 💕)) thanks and love your blog ✨✨✨

Ong being loved is honestly such a mood

I’ll put everything in order so it’s easy to go through, and list mainly the OT11 stuff + links to eng sub! ^^

M/Vs

Energetic

Burn It Up

Beautiful (Movie ver.)this is not the full version which is almost 15 minutes long (and i’m still salty about the unequal screen-time); to fully understand the story - watch the ’prologue’ too!

Beautiful (Perf. ver.)

I Promise You (I.P.U.)a personal favourite; it’s honestly such a blessing for soft stans!

Boomerang

Shows (2017-8)

Broduce –is definitely more than ‘worthy’ since we not only got to meet W1 in their pre-debut states, but also a bunch of talented boys/men. I think that the main reason our ‘core’ fandom is so strongly bound is mainly because of PD101 and how well you get to know them since it’s filmed over such a long period. you can only fall deeper in love, and appreciate their hard work more and more each time you (re-)watch broduce~

Mnet Present –this was kind of an ‘intro to W1′ type of thing from Mnet before unveiling Energetic, but it’s kinda precious how you can tell that the boys were still a little awkward with some of the others they didn’t perform with during broduce and how being in W1 still hasn’t really hit them since it was filmed before they started promotions. not a must-watch but it’s lovely to look back on.

Wanna One Go S1 –season 1 only has 2 episodes, but it quenched the thirst for content before they’re debut! XD if you’ve seen the legendary ongniel date gifs, this is where it’s from!! the boys were paired with their ‘main ships’ from back in Broduce. This is also where we were first introduced to the legend that is Sungwoon’s grandpa!

Return of Superman! 194-195 –not OT11, but i love boys that play well with kids, so it can’t be helped XD be prepared to melt into a puddle of goo watching the kids play with mom-Jisung, the uncles, and big bro-Jihoonie~

Weekly Idol 315-316 –gave birth a myriad of inside jokes (including the X-thigh dance which brought out all the Nu’est W x W1 broduce feels). Daehwi also cemented his status as a girl group dance machine whilst the boys were just their normal meme-worthy selves

Happy Together (510-512) (521-522) (531-?)–this wasn’t OT11, but there are sooo many moments from HT (Minhyun’s text-hwang status and Ongniel making headlines for their ‘couple drama’? yaaaas)

Wanna City –Mnet knows that variety shows are very much where W1 belong, so of course between Wanna One Go S1 and S2 we get a lil something special XD Hyung vs. Maknae line interactions are always hilarious, and Ong’s losing streak from Master Key basically begun here X’D If there’s one cut to watch from this it’s ‘Annyeong Cleopatra’! 

Wanna One Go S2 –the one true mecca of W1-variety. the ‘must-watch’! if theres one thing on the list to watch it’s W1 Go S2!! Most of the gifs/moment videos you’ll see floating around will be from this~

Amigo TV –just the boys being their normal memey-selves with a lot of food involved!! (Dan was busy with It’s Dangerous Outside of the Blankets while this was filmed - which is also a must-watch for soft-Dan)

Outrageous Roommates –only ongnielhwan, but since you like Ong I’m rec-ing this!!!! Justice League team interactions are my fav and when you put the ultimate comedic trio of W1 together with other hilarious people (aka. Yook joongwan from Rose Motel); it’s just a great ‘feel good’ show to watch after a long day!

Other OT11 shows:I Can See Your Voice (OT11) // SNL (personally not a fan of SNL, i just get loads of second-hand embarrassment from their skits >

A few other recent shows with Ong:K-RUSH // Radio Star // Hello Counselor

Comeback-shows (+ debut)

1x1=1 (To Be One) Premier Showcon –a legendary debut showcase~ they debuted in Gocheok Sky Dome which is a first! they made history just by debuting

1-1=0 (Nothing Without You) Comeback Show –basically we watch the boys eat at the beginning, do a hidden camera and then we appreciate all the hard work they put into filming Beautiful even though so many of them got so little screen-time T^T

0+1=1 (I Promise You) Comeback Show –another bts of m/v filming as all comeback shows require~ W1 also prepared an event for fans (even tho Ong was Mc-ing and unable to attend the same time as others); which was super super sweet. Also- Wanna One karaoke + more Sungwoon’s adorable grandpa! XD

Other Performances

A Summer Story x Nayanahonestly speaking I’m not the biggest fan of this mix, but it’s OT11 and they looked really cute and the summery outfits suited them well since it was reminiscent of their 1x1 album Pink ver. outfits ~

Jaehwan’s Immortal Song Perfs (20170930) (20171118) –I have a weak spot for rocker!Jaehwan so I personally like the November perf more, but Mnet likes promoting ballad!Jaehwan >

“Comes And Goes” - Terius (aka. Hwang Minhyun) –woop, the mask fooled no one, naver blew up as soon as this ep (and the ep before) aired cuz everyone knew if was Minhyun X’D it’s even funnier because Daniel was on the panel!

La Dolce Vita –is a recent cover they did on Sugarman 2, and to me it is definitely worth watching if for nothing but them saying ‘señorita’

[blastthatsadfm]

Izaya

How I feel about this character: He might. be. my most favorite character of all times, which, if anything, says more about my terrible choices in life, than about him, per se.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Heiwajima Shizuo and nothing and no one else if I’m going to be completely honest.My non-romantic OTP for this character: His dynamic with his little sisters. But hold that thought! His (fucked up) best friendship with Shinra, his potential friendship with both, Celty and Namie. His potential as a tutor/mentor of Kida and Saki and Mikado ((ALL I WANT is an AU in which Izaya is their senpai or mentor and he’s like. A DECENT, if not only slightly twisted, mentor; It could be an au of anything, it doesnt have to be necessarily a normal high school au.))

But tbh, I think if Simon and Izaya sit down to have some tea and a talk, they would get along. No Judgements involved between the ex-Assassin and the Informant Broker.

The Van Gang is not in here because tbh the van gang already does gets along with Izaya, or, better saying, the Van Gang doesnt seem to hold any animosity towards Izaya solely for who he is, so you could say they do get along, actually. Its especially evident with how lightly Kadota refers to Izaya.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Now here we go! 

I have a hard time… being convinced of Izaya’s writing through fics and stuff and I was trying to pin down why that was, so:

People get so fired up about writing an IC Izaya but the thing about Izaya is that his actions and mood change on a whimper and his logic and morality only make sense to himself. (Which is not to say that they dont make sense at all, but Izaya does seems to have certain principles on his blue-orange morality that make sense to him, so he doesnt act completely nonsensical, despite looking like he does.)

So you can really do whatever you want when you’re writing him, seriously, instead of trying so hard to put him on a box based on his “canon” personality cuz his canon personality changes with the wind. 

Middle School Izaya is not High School Izaya and they also have little to do with Adult!Izaya or Sunset!Izaya (when it comes to actions and when it comes to dialogue). If people get those dualities of actions and ambiguity on his writing they would do a far better job writing him, and a funnier one, too. I usually get the impression people dont have fun writing Izaya which is just such a shame.  

Of course some aspects always remains the same, like his quirkness, his cleverness and his cheekiness. And his tendency to mess with people, but this could be very light hearted you know… especially on an AU…  like, just answering a blatant lie to a question as a way to joke around. It doesnt have to always be serious people, Izaya, actually, hardly is. We’re talking about someone who watches cartoon and has pop songs on his cellphone ringtone, like, why cant you kids just light up a little when writing him?

Basically I would rather read a fic in which the author appreciates and has fun with Izaya’s character and personality and explores his potential at the most diverse situations, than… read what people try to call an “realistic” take which is just a groomy, predictable and boring version of Izaya because you just didnt have fun witing him at all. 

People limit his character and rely on only two or three of  his traits rather than exploring his potential.

(( This is an  excerpt from the “list of favorite characters” I’ve been writing, in which  I made a way more consistent analysis of Izaya. This is like, barely half ot it, just my problem with the fandom. My huge problem is with Narita, actually.))One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

When will he and Shizuo ?? Solve things?? Cuz that hasnt happened, ya know. But tbh  I just strongly dislike and almost outright reject the path Narita chose to write Izaya in, after Vol. 6-9 or so, and it has been downhil from there.