#love the art‚ but got a profound hate-love with the fandom

[moonys-chaos]

Not to be negative on main but there is a fandom that I actively think about leaving bc a notable amount of you bitches piss me tf off

[evertomorrowart]

Best of YouTube 2023

Yes, I did spend the first week and change of January on this. I wish I could have had it done for New Years, but too many people came out with incredible work in December, so waiting turned out for the best.

What these creators do are a huge influence on my life, I would honestly have difficulty doing what I do without them. That isn't to say that my favorites of the year are *only* on this image--It was almost impossible to narrow down my favorites. Many creators I wanted to include couldn't fit on a single page, and too many of them made more than one video I wished I could draw too!

But, to all of you, thank you for what you do. You're an inspiration.

For those who don't know, further is an explanation.

At the bottom center is an artistic masterpiece by Defunctland: "Journey to EPCOT Center: A Symphonic History." Over the last several years, Defunctland has risen from delightfully-entertaining commentary on decommissioned theme park attractions to occasionally dropping profound statements on the creation of art itself. "Journey to EPCOT Center: A Symphonic History" is worth treating like the cinematic experience it is: No second screen, you sit your ass down in front of a TV, set down the phone, and then you *watch it.* Any Disney, theme park, or independent film fan needs to pay attention to this one.

Bottom left is Caelan Conrad with their piece "Drop the T - The Deadly Consequences of Gay Respectability Politics." While I do think they've done more visually or artistically-daring pieces before, "Drop the T" is one of the most important videos released on YouTube in today's current climate of hate. We as queer folk (and our allies) need to understand how integral every identity of the queer experience has been since the start of the Civil Rights movement (and before!). While we are not identical, we *are* inseparable, and we deserve having our real history easily accessible.

TERFs and other conservative mouthpieces need not reply. Your opinions are trash. 😘

I cannot stop watching and rewatching this video by @patricia-taxxon, "On the Ethics of Boinking Animal People." It's not just a defense of furry fandom and its eccentricities, it's a thoughtful and passionate analysis of what the artform achieves that purely human representation can't. Patricia goes outside of her usual essay format to directly speak to the viewer about the elements that define furry media (the most succinct definition I've ever heard) and just how *human* an act loving animal cartoons really is.

As an artist who can draw furry characters, but never really got into erotic furry art, this video is a treasure. Why did I choose to have her drawn as a Ghibli character, hanging out with one of the tanukis from "Pom Poko?" Guess you'll have to watch, bruh.

Philosophy Tube continuously puts out videos that I would put on this list--I'm not even sure that "A Man Plagiarised my Work: Women, Money, and the Nation" is the best work she released in 2023. However, this video got many conversations going between myself and my partner, and the twist on the tail end of the video shocked us both to such a degree that I had no choice.

At the very tail end of the year, Big Joel released "Fear of Death." On his Little Joel channel, he described it as the singularly best video he's ever done, and I'm inclined to agree. However, for this illustration, I ended up repeatedly going back to a mini-series he did earlier in the year: "Three Stories at the End of the World." All three videos are deeply moving and haunting, and I was brought to tears by "We Must Destroy What the Bomb Cannot." While it may be relatively-common knowledge that the original Gojira (Godzilla) film is horror grappling with the devastation America's rush to atomic dominance inflicted on Japan, Big Joel still manages to bring new words to the discussion. Please watch all three of the videos, but if, for some reason, you must have only one, let it be "We Must Destroy What the Bomb Cannot."

Y'all. Let me confess something. I hate football. I hate watching it, I associate seeing it from the stadiums with some of my worst childhood experiences, I despise collegiate and professional football (as institutions that destroy bodies and offer up children at the feet of its alter as a pillar of American culture)--

I. L o a t h e. Football.

But.

F.D. Signifier could get me to watch an entire hour-plus essay on why I should at least give a passing care. AND HE DID IT. I might think "F*ck the Police," the two-parter on Black conservatism, or his essay on Black men's connection to anime might be "better" videos, but this writer did the impossible and held my limited attention span towards football long enough to make a sincere case for NFL players--and reminds us that millionaires can *in fact* be workers. That alone is testament to his skill.

Sit down and watch "The REAL Reason NFL Running Backs Aren't Getting Paid." Any good anti-capitalist owes it to themselves.

CJ the X continuously puts out stunning, emotional videos, and can do it with the most seemingly-inconsequential starting points. A 30 second song? An incestuous commercial? Five minutes of Tangled? Sure, why not. Go destroy yourself emotionally by watching them. I'm serious. Do it.

Their video Stranger Things and the Meaning of Life manages to to remind us all why the way we react to media does, in fact, matter. Yes, even nostalgia-driven, mass-media schlock. Yes, how we interact with media matters, what it says about us matters, and we all deserve to seek out the whys.

Folding Ideas has spent the last few years articulating exactly why so much of our modern world feels broken, and because of that his voice continuously lives rent-free in my brain. While the tricks that scam artists and grifters use to try to swindle us are never new, the advancement of technology changes the aesthetics of their performances. Portions of Folding Ideas' explanations might seem dry when going into detail of how stocks work in This is Financial Advice, but every bit of it is necessary to peel back the layers of techno-babble and jargon and make sense of the results of "Meme Stocks."

Jessie Gender puts out nothing but bangers, her absolute unit of a video about Star Wars might be my new favorite thing ever, but none of her work hit so profoundly in 2023 than the two-parter "The Myth of 'Male Socialization'" and "The Trauma of Masculinity." There's so much about modern life that isolates and traumatizes us, and so much of it is just shrugged off as "normal." We owe it to ourselves to see the world in more vivid a color palette than we're initially given.

Panels drawn after Kate Beaton and "Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands."

"This is Not a Video Essay" is one of the most intense and beautiful pieces of art I've ever put into my eyeballs. Why do we create? What drives us to connect?

I don't even know what else to say about the Leftist Cooks' work, it repeatedly transcends the medium and platform. Watch every single one of their videos, but especially this one.

The likelihood you are terminally online and yet haven't heard of Hbomberguy's yearly forrays into destroying the careers of awful people is pretty slim. Just because it has millions of views doesn't mean that Hbomberguy's "Plagiarism and You(Tube)" isn't worth the hype. Too long? Shut up, it has chapters and YouTube holds your place, anyway. You think a deep dive into a handful of creators is only meaningless drama? Well, you're wrong, you wrong-opinion-haver. Plagiarism is an *everyone* problem because of the actual harm it creates--the history it erases, the labor it devalues, the art it marginalizes--which you would know if you watched "Plagiarism and You(Tube)".

Watch. The damn. Video.

In fact, watch all of them!

Thanks for reading this if you did.

[biblically-accurate-dca]

assorted dca wips i probably won't ever touch again (sorted from newest to oldest!)

very rambly explainations for each image under the cut ^_^

1.) aug 28th, 2024 -- i started this around the time where i'd just gotten into something else and basically just detached myself from the dca... and therefore all my art with them got way more experimental and personal to me and my tastes bc i'd just stopped caring about them LOL

i do wish i'd finished this one though because i love how the body looks! i don't remember ever starting this with much of a plan though and i very visibly got bored once i drew all the fun parts (i hate drawing their legs)

2.) oct 1st, 2024 -- this could technically be considered vent artwork? i wanted to make something purposefully grotesque and unnerving because i was just really angry at the fandom all the time... and it doesnt help that whenever i get into something new i go through a weird breakup phase with my old interest (which might not make sense to some people lol) which causes some weird feelings.

a less angsty thing i can mention is that i was also very purposefully trying to be more relaxed about the way i paint things here! i usually strictly adhere to a set palette i make for myself, so this drawing was me pushing myself out of that comfort zone and forcing myself to freestyle the colors a bit... the result didnt really end up how i wanted it to be though (^^;; )

3.) oct 9th, 2024 -- iirc this was me elaborating on a physical sketch i made where i was playing around with their face... i actually still really, really like this style and this drawing might've been the best way i've ever done it. fluid and expressive but still grotesque enough for it to stay true to their original design! this is the thing i reference whenever i draw them this way (and if you look at my most recent post you might notice some similarities?)

4.) may 11th, 2024 -- MANN i wish i'd finished this one!!! it was a redraw of this drawing based off of "chimera" by deco*27!! i've always associated that song with the dca but i didn't give it justice the first time i drew it due to the time constraints so i wanted to do it better!!! but then i got stuck on the hands 😭

if i was ever going to pick one of these back up again there's a good chance it'd be this one

5.) jul 18th, 2024 -- nothing truly profound to say here as this was actually just a test... never got around to adding a body to it, mainly because i just like drawing their face more than i like drawing the rest of them. you can probably look at all of these and realize that for yourself though LMAO

[ankhegs-in-my-salad]

I'm not even sure why I'm writing this, but I felt like I needed to get it off my chest.

My wonderful friend @tavyliasin made a lovely addition to this post about how important giving your friends positive feedback can be to people, specifically former gifted kids, and I wanted to chime in with my own addition but it got super long and wasn't even the original point of the post lmao so here I am.

Anyway, we got some awesome insight about how leaving your lovely feedback is especially beneficial to former gifted kids in the previous post. Under the cut - me rambling about why positive feedback means so much to me, the Chronically Mediocre Kid.

Growing up, I was always painfully mid. I worked my absolute ass off to get my passing grades, and I got them for the most part. I wasn't good enough to be told I was doing well and I wasn't bad enough to actually get any help. Got into uni by the skin of my teeth and my degree the same way. I was stuck in middle-of-the-road land and pretty much always have been, with the exception of one notable outlier in my late 20's.

Now, as the name would suggest, us Mediocre Kids are very easy to forget about. We're just kinda there, and there's a lot of us. The NPCs or the studio extras, filling out space in the background of the class.

So how does this tie into writing or art or fandom in general?

For myself, and probably a lot of other people like me, writing in fandom has been the first real time to get that positive validation beyond "congrats you passed! You achieved the bare minimum!" I didn't get it at school (the place where, upon telling my chemistry teacher that I wanted to study chemistry at uni, was told verbatim "but you have to be smart to study chemistry") and it certainly wasn't at uni (where I had to resit a year and where the defence of my dissertation started with the words "the first thing we hated about it was[...]").

God, looking back I wish I had started posting fan fic so much earlier. Yes, comments are few and far between but when you get them? Oh my god.

Now I want to preface this by saying - Yes, I know that "you shouldn't write for validation" and I absolutely don't. I've been writing since I could hold a pen and only started posting stuff for actual humans to read in October. Does my background sound like that of someone who expected to get validation from strangers online? You can bet your arse that isn't why I'm here. It was just an absolutely massive unexpected bonus.

Fan fiction sent me from "congrats on the bare minimum" to someone telling me my silly AO3 story was their favourite thing they'd ever read on that whole website.

Do you have any idea what that does to someone who has spent their whole life being "good enough"? "Fine"? "Passed"? I was never good or bad enough to receive attention. My performance always "unnoteworthy". And that was fine, I always told myself. Because, as mentioned above, I've always been doing stuff for me and me alone. I learned early there wasn't any point in doing it for anyone else. Do you know how it felt to have a complete stranger reach out to me through the Internet and tell me that something that I had done, something that I had created, had a profound effect upon them?

Folks, I fucking cried.

For someone like me, every single comment, kudos, tag, all of it, is incredibly special. Even a comment as simple as an emoji or "loved this". It puts a little piece into a void in me that I didn't even know was there. It makes me feel as though maybe, if I can make one person happy with my writing, bring someone that kind of joy, there is more to me than just "passing grade".

And let me tell you, I'm still not used to it. It's one of the most wonderful feelings. And if you feel it too, don't ever let anyone make you feel bad for "seeking validation" or whatever. We know that's not why we're here, but my goodness if it doesn't make a difference when we get it.

So, to anyone who has ever given kudos, made a comment, left a tag on a post, any of it - thank you. It means more than I think a lot of people could ever know.

[mogwaei]

I can’t believe that that in 2014 I bought this silly little fantasy game and fell in love with the most beautiful bald egg-headed man to this day…he made me care so deeply and then had the fkn audacity to break my soul. I still think about him years later 😭💔

People can never make me hate DA:I everrrr, I will forever be grateful for that game and all the great characters I got to know❤️❤️

Sorry for yapping, much love from this anon🫶🏼

It's truly amazing that this character has left such a lasting and profound impact on so many of us. He was my gateway into fandom and fic and art and even though he's just pixels, he's done a lot for me, and clearly for you as well, anon 💚 It makes me happy beyond words to see people still love him today, and even though the hate is too much at times, it's his divisive nature that really fascinates me. He's meta in a lot of ways that's kind of scary too lmao, truly a walker between worlds.

Anyway, anon, I see you and appreciate you SO MUCH for your little love letter to our sad wizard ✨💚✨

[drown me in things you love about solas]

[sneezemonster15]

Calling bullshit on the opinion that Kishimoto doesn't know how to write romance.

The reason why this entire shipping business on Naruto has been going on for over a decade and still going strong, making fans go absolutely mindless, about a story which is not even about romance, about things that are so effective and impactful that the fans feel completely consumed with it, to the extent where they have almost completely defined their life and philosophies on its basis, is because Kishimoto can write a good fucking romance. And that's what he did. That's the reason why ships are fighting with each other, because it's not just about Naruto the manga or Naruto the series, it's about how they imagine their own romance, it's a deep, profound feeling. That's why they have strong motivations and convictions that drive their insight into the story. That's why there is so much polarity in Naruto fandom. They are ready to jump to protect their ship at a moment's notice because that's how much it means to them.

Are you telling me that it just happened on its own? Just happy coincidences and random factors?

No.

A lot, a lot of thought goes behind closed doors of the studios. I know this because I work in the business. The reason why I was so astounded with Naruto's story because it was actually a brave story. A brave concept. In a shonen. Because I am ready to bet a million dollars I don't have on the fact that Kishimoto knew what he was doing. Anyone who enjoys poetry, or literature, or drama can, if not approve, appreciate Naruto and Sasuke's story. Because it's that deep. Because it's that impactful. Because it's that dark. Because it's that tragic. Because it's that tender. Because it's that painful.

Because it's so...

(Applause.)

Romantic.

These are all the ingredients of a well written romance. This is the reason why I don't care about other ships because I know that SNS is not random or a projection. It's mindfully and carefully and even tenderly written and developed.

Kishimoto's projection? Oh sure. It stands to reason that someone from his real life affected and inspired his favourite character through and through. He did say that he based some characters on certain people from his own life. And he did base Naruto on his own self, if partly. And the reason why I am able to surmise that he could have had a real crush on someone like Sasuke in real life, is because how clearly and insightfully written and contrasted the two characters are. So nuanced. They are like poetry, that's why I am so dazzled with them. Their story is so beautifully shaped by their characters and growth that it creates a clear impression of who they really are in the story. Soulmates. That's the whole crux of the story. They are written out to be this literally 'once in several lifetimes' pairing that finally broke the bonds of hate with bonds of love and changed the entire world and as a result, grew themselves. This is reflected in themselves what with Sasuke being propelled with hate and Naruto with love and coming together finally in a world that they made happen, for each other. And all of their parts and counterparts with which they think and move and function are so well in sync with each other that they lock together perfectly, like two pieces in a two piece puzzle box.

To say that this intricately and intelligently and tenderly written story is just like, an accident, my lord no!

No. The content that is finally syndicated on screens all over the world, especially with the type of response Naruto has enjoyed, and believe me when I say this, everything goes through many levels of scrutiny during production; to the extent of why would this camera angle work better than all the other angles, here's a flowchart and analysis of all of them and let's spend three days on deciding it while the producers are going crazy frustrated with fanatic creatives. This is a very common thing to happen in most serious studios.

Naruto stood out at the time it came out and reached a much larger audience for several reasons. But one of them was that it got the right exposure and was shown to critics outside of Japan, who could appreciate and admire it's cinematic beauty and this reached a different subset of audience. This extra effort is not consistent but it shines at so many places, because it's just good storytelling technically and aesthetically. And the reason why Naruto and Sasuke stand smack dab in the middle of that storytelling, is because Kishimoto told their story with so much feeling, it literally shows. The nuance is just crazy. Note that I am saying nuance and not subtext, even though it's there in heaps. But I want to make a distinction clearly. Like I can write pages and pages over it. Anyway, their story stands out because the nuances are so well defined and mindfully drawn by Kishi, that one can't help but wonder if Kishi actually experienced them. And they are just small things but still get a lot of exposure in the manga and anime. And because they are so small but clearly noticeable, it makes us stop in our tracks and think. And the thing is Kishimoto could have easily done without them and it would have made everything still seem undisturbed but he chose Not to. That kind of decision is a direct result of deep understanding, feeling and thinking in terms of forming a certain visual approach and meaning. The visual language Kishi has used to show their chemistry, their bond, their need for each other, is so tangible, like you could cut it with a knife, that it makes one feel something is right below the surface, simmering and about to explode, but you can't put your finger on what it exactly is. Until you start to think. And it takes some time.

You think that kind of writing is random? Are you out of your mind?

No, Kishi is a maniac. He pulled something that was not easy at all. He is a genius. He is also sadistic because he knows he didn't give us a resolution. Resolution is cathartic to viewers and the reason that nobody got any with Naruto and still not getting any from Boruto is making everyone go crazy. Fifteen years is a long time man. And I can bet my other non existent one million dollars on it. He owns a lot of rights over Naruto franchise, I don't think he can be cowed down to such an extent even by the studio. Kishi fought studios for a few significant scenes of Naruto and Sasuke, he is not unfeeling about them.

Maybe I am being a mere deductionist but more often than not, deduction is right. It's a valid form of acquiring knowledge. Sherlock is right more times than he is not.

Anyway, my point is, Kishi can write romance. Kishi can write very good romance. He could have chosen to remove some tropes and make Naruto and Sasuke either just brotherly or friendly. But he chose not to. A lot of people think that they are platonic. And I think I know why. But I don't. They are not platonic. They seem like they feel physically aware of each other, acutely so. they just don't know what it is. Maybe Sasuke does, Naruto doesn't. Kishi used also such common tropes to show this element, but just because it is in shonen and between two boys, y'all won't believe it. Don't you feel that palpable feeling, the simmering tension and emotion when they fight at the valley of the end both times? And it makes you think maybe it's just you, and what you are thinking can't be true because this is shonen and it would mean they are gay, let me tell you, no it's not you. It is Kishi. And it takes skill to write. Something like this is almost always used as a trope of unaddressed sexual tension in media. Pick any romantic drama of this genre, where 'hate turned to love' or 'two unlikely people who fall in love' and you would find it in almost every single one of them.

Why do you think Kishi designed it that way? You think with all the detail (action moves are literally inspired by real life martial arts, lighting, sound, editing, dialogues that sound like out of a Bronte novel), that was him just playing innocent?

No. No. No. And No!

He wrote SNS throughout Naruto and Shippuden and is still doing something of an extension of it that has made Boruto a weird and uncomfortable to watch family drama.

[smokeybrand]

Amazing

I am a massive, massive, Spider-Man shill. One hundred percent Pete apologist. Spider-Man means so much to me and has for a very long time. He’s my absolute favorite superhero character and one of the most profitable in the world. If Pete isn’t the top earning, then he’s second only to Batman, which is interesting because they have a great deal in common. Both are flagship titles for their respective franchises, both characters are orphans, both characters have the quintessential rogues in their respective universes, and both of them universally appeal to more people than any other hero on their respective rosters. That’s insane to me considering how different as people they are from each other. DC’s nu52 was an absolute dumpster fired but Batman made it through unscathed. Some of his best stories were written in the dark ages of the post-Flashpoint universe. Court of Owls, Endgame, Death in the Family; All absolutely excellent narratives, each enriching the overall Bat-legend to varying degrees. Spider-Man did not have that luxury. Not for a long time.

My version of Spider-Man starts n the Eighties. I was born midway through that decade so, for me, it was McFarlane and David Michelinie. Interestingly enough, this is the team who would introduce Venom, who would go onto become my fifth favorite Marvel character, all-time. When i got older and really into comics on my own, it was the bad times Nineties and, while the overall writing was sus, the art was exquisite. I remember, very specifically, the way Mark Bagley drew Pete. I loved his style, second only to Todd, himself. Almost as interestingly as the Venom thing, the team of Bagley and  Michelinie introduced us to Carnage so, you know, the late Eighties/ Early Nineties were Symbiote heavy. The rest of the Nineties was just not kind to comics in general. However, i really liked Larry Mahlstedt’s art and the finale of the Clone Saga was f*cking top tier Spider-writing. We coasted for a while, not too many memorable arcs for me, and then we get to the whole sabotage that was f*cking One More Day.

One More Day ruined my Spider-man by effectively erasing the Mary Jane relationship. Whether you like Gwen or Felicia or bachelor Pete, Mary Jane is the one love interest that made Pete better. MJ is a strong, independent, female character cats are always harping about nowadays, and was so from the start. She did her own thing and grew into the role of love interest. She became a real partner to Pete and, while they had issues in their relationship, those conflicts played out in a very real way. This grounded Pete, not aged him. Loving someone and being loved to that profound level, has only ever been pulled off as successfully one other time, in my opinion, with f*cking Superman. This ridiculous change to one of the greatest comic relationships was orchestrated by Marvel’s then Editor-in-Chiefs, Joe Queseda, because his Spider-Man was a free balling College student of the Seventies. That version of Pete hadn’t existed for, like, damn near three decades by D-day and sh*t sucked for the next goddamn decade because of it. Some of it was decent, i rather liked the Big Time arc, the Spider-Island event, and Superior Spider-Man, but it never felt “right” to me. Pete was never the Pete i knew. I wasn’t alone in that sentiment because the entirety of the Spider-fandom felt the same, even the old heads.

People hated the fact that OMD erased the Spider-marriage. No one wanted to see Pete breaking up with MJ, especially not in the way that it was written. That sh*t was dumb. A deal with the devil? Word? Because Aunt May died? Again? What is she, like, ninety-six at this point Come on. Such pedestrian writing. The most f*cked up part about it is that Marvel execs knew people hated this change and just toyed with our emotions about it. There would be hints throughout this desolate time, MJ literally tells Peter she loves him in during the climax to Spider-Island, and then it was never addressed again. I mean, it might have been? I’s hard for me to recollect because i hate this period of Pete so much, not a lot stands out. I feel like when she was hired on at Stark industries, MJ basically friend-zoned Pete? I could be wrong though. People complained about OMD so much and for so long, the Marvel higher-ups finally tossed us a bone with the Renew Your Vows and that sh*t did gangbusters. Who’d of thought a book about a happily married Pete and MJ, out hero-ing together with their not-Mayday-Parker daughter, Annie, would be insanely popular? Oh, wait, literally the entire f*cking fanbase did! Eventually, we would find our way out of this darkness. MJ and Pete would find their way into a will they-won’t they thing, while the many Spider-Verse shenanigans would ensue, Miles would get a shot in the main 616, and Gwen would become the Ghost Spider. All this awesome would lead up to Nick Spencer’s run on the books and, let me tell you, it was breath of fresh air.

Spencer didn’t work his magic immediately. He was put on a Spider-adjacent book, The Superior Foes of Spider-Man, first. That book, on it’s own, is some of the bets Spider-content since the early Aughts and leads into his run on the mainline Amazing series. Spencer’s run started with his first arc, Back to Basics and it reset a lot of what came before. Pete was a poor and hated once again but Mary Jane was back in his life and sh*t felt correct for the first time in in a f*cking decade. Back to Basics was a great way to retcon a lot of dumb sh*t from the last ten or so years, while returning a very missed status quo in an interesting way. I really enjoyed this first arc and the one that followed, was also decent. Friends and Foes was a fun little romp seeing Pete shacking up with Boomerang, a main factor in why Superior Foes was so fun, eventually opening up to some pretty heavy revelations. The Hunted arc was a surprise ad felt very nostalgic as it was a spiritual successor to the Eighties classic, Kraven’s Last Hunt. I haven’t read Behind the Scenes but i hear it’s alright and i didn’t care for the Absolute Carnage tie-in at all. Red Goblin rehas? Really? Whatever, bro. Also, i really disliked that final arc with Kindred. What the f*ck? Such a wasted concept, even moreso than the f*cking Inheritors.. At least they were redeemed by the Spider-Verse stuff.

Ultimately, i think Nick Spencer’s run as a Spider-writer was more hit than miss. I , personally, will love the dude forever because of how he was able to fix a lot of the damage the last decade did to Pete and his overall universe. We saw a return of the only romance that matters, a supporting Spider-family that can give the Bat-family a run for it’s money, the resurgence of Norman Osborne as the Green Goblin, retconned the f*ck out of the horrible Gwen Stacy character assassination, called the familial validity of Theresa Parker into question, and even saw Black Cat getting back to being the best version of Felicia she can be, all while weaving some classic tales along the way. Spencer did right by these characters, by this legacy, and by the fans. A lot of great stuff dropped on Spencer’s watch. Not only did her write this pretty amazing Amazing content, but he had a hand in the Spider-Geddon event and we even got a solid MJ solo book; All because Spencer decided to give the fans what they had been asking about fr over a goddamn decade! Now that his run is over, i am already in morning. This feels like how Hickman was robbed of his -titles but i get it. I just hope we get more great Spider-content going forward but, seeing as how Ben Reily is Spider-Man again, i dunno. Feels like executive Marvel learned all the wrong lessons from Spencer’s reverence for what came before. The Nineties are back in comics and i have have very conflicting feelings about that.

[another-sonic-blog]

The Fanfictioner

Prologue

Synopsis: Amy Rose secretly writes fanfiction out of the not so famous 'Sonic Boom' show in which she and her friends are the main actors. Everything was fine, filming the show and then writing. However, everything changed when the famous actor, Shadow the Hedgehog, showed up to participate in the show. Just like Amy, Shadow hides a secret. He loves to read fanfiction but will never admit that out loud. Shadow one day stumbles upon Amy's fanfiction and without knowing, they develop a friendly bond over comments, likes and messages of support. On work, Shadow and Amy have a normal co-worker relationship that will never develop more than that.   They fight in real life but are best-friends online. Will they ever find out each other's identities? And if they do, will things change between them?

.

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When the romantic movie ended, Amy just couldn't stop thinking about the great acting in 'The Forest of Dreams.' Her friends and she had decided to get together for a well deserve movie night after battling Eggman for the whole week. With the hopes that he wouldn't burst into Hedgehog Village as he usually does. "It's a shame that we ended up seeing that indie movie ..." Sonic said as he opened the door to exit the movie theater. "I wanted to see Chao in Space!" "Yeah, too bad they ran out of tickets. Critics say that it is one of the best movies in the last decade." Tails looked around his group of friends, making sure that no one was missing. Nonetheless, he noticed that his pink friend was awfully quiet, looking at the ground. "Everything alright Amy?" As if his words didn't reach her ears, Amy kept looking down at the ground, silent. This time, Sonic noticed Amy's unusual mannerism and decided to investigate. "Amy?" Sonic's voice was all that she needed to get back to reality. The rosette hedgehog snapped her head and met emerald eyes. "Yes?" "You are very quiet ... That's not like you." Sonic said. Team Sonic had already begun their journey to go back home. It was late at night but the village's light poles gave them enough illumination to know their path. Walking through the village, they encountered a few Mobians still out, doing their thing and helping the atmosphere to be more vivid. "Sorry, I was just thinking about the movie ... The acting was amazing, wasn't it?" The pink one had a soft smile placed on her face, showing her excitement. "The actors were so young too, they look around our age ... 17 and they are so talented already." "I have to admit that batgirl was very beautiful." Knuckles let out an enamored sigh. "Yes and her acting was admirable," Amy said. "But the one that got my interest was that black hedgehog ... He indeed will become a great actor soon." Without the pink hedgehog knowing, Sonic rolled his eyes in annoyance. There was only one hedgehog she could fangirl about and that was him. "He was alright, I could do better," Sonic said. "I mean he was in an indie movie that's no big deal. I am sure we could all do it ... Right Sticks?" Sonic looked over at his badger friend who was way too quiet. Such an unusual thing of her. "Don't look at me, I fell asleep during the whole movie," Sticks said. "But if we ever become actors, I would love to be in Chao in Space." The team had come to a sudden stop, they had reached the end of the village. This is where they would part ways to their own perspective homes. "Good luck with that, I read that the casting process to get actors for Chao in Space is extremely difficult," Tails said as he faced his friends. "Two years ago, the directors conducted castings all over the world .. Out of thousands of participants only three main actors made it." "Ha, see Ames! There's no way that black hedgehog with average acting skills would be in a movie like Chao in Space." The blue hedgehog looked at the pink one and for the first time in a long time, he saw that Amy was utterly offended. For someone that she doesn't even know nonetheless. "I see great potential in him!" Amy said, her voice raises a little. "I bet he will become a great actor! I dare to say he will be in Chao In Space 2!"

. . . When the pink one got home, she immediately showered, got into her pajamas, and laid on her comfortable bed with her laptop on her lap. She began to browse more things on the 'The Forest of Dreams.' She found interesting things. For example, the name of the beautiful bat protagonist was Rouge the Bat. And then the black hedgehog's name appeared ... Shadow the Hedgehog. He was the co-protagonist and in all honesty, it was been a while since Amy felt such admiration for someone. Could you blame her? Shadow was an excellent actor. His profound words as he confessed his undying love to the protagonist were just ... So pure. It wasn't only the dialogue but the way he delivered the message. More than anything, Amy felt her heart skip a beat at each word he said. As if his confession was meant for her.

His words were strong and too real ... way too real. As if Shadow the Hedgehog was actually in love with Rouge the Bat.

And so this began.

Amy of course knew of the many wonders of the internet. One of them were fandoms and within fandoms were content creators.

The pink one wasn't unaware that many content creators wrote fanfiction. After all, Team Sonic had its own base of fans. They were the heroes of the village and Mobius nonetheless, always defending it against Eggman and other villains. So, it was natural that stories about them would be written. She read many of them especially the SonAmy ones, her guilty pleasure.

Although she had never written a fanfiction, Amy felt different about this one. In 'The Forest of Dreams' the ending was a cliffhanger. Amy desired more than anything than to provide a good conclusive ending. She had written before but only for school projects like essays and creative writing but never like this ... Never for a fandom.

Was it strange? That she wanted to see more of the exceptional romantic development between Rouge and Shadow?

Amy didn't care, it was just for fun. What was the harm in that?

And so ... Amy began to write.

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"Shadow, what are you doing?"

On the other side of the island, a tiny wooden house in the middle of the forest emitted enough light to be seen in the night.

"Reading a story."

The black hedgehog responded, not leaving his eyesight away from his phone.

"Since when do you read?"

"Someone has to do it in this house."

The black hedgehog who was comfortably sitting on his sofa was greeted suddenly by the warmness of a beautiful blue-eyed bat.

"Our movie was released a few weeks ago ... Do you think we did well?" Rouge asked as she tried to get a peek of Shadow's phone but she was slow and Shadow was fast to close the internet tab.

"We won't know until next week when our producer calls us ... Hopefully, we get enough money to repair Omega." Shadow said as he looked over to the dining table where robot parts laid scatter across the wooden table. Shadow frowned as he saw Omega's head, immobile and without life. He was still inside there but Omega won't be the way he was until reparations were made.

"We really messed up on the last mission ... Didn't we?"

Rouge's voice was soft and she showed such concern that it made the black hedgehog's heart shrink a bit. Shadow let out a heavy sigh, he hated to see the white bat like that and although he would often disagree, there was no option but to affirm her assumption this time.

"We did ... That's why we are never going to steal again ... Never." Shadow said as he felt Rouge leaning her head on his shoulder and he didn't mind the act at all.

"... I wanted to steal a Chaos Emerald."

The black hedgehog let out a small smirk as he placed his arm around Rouge's shoulders. "I promise that one day I'll give you a Chaos Emerald and I'll give Omega one of those lie detectors he wants."

"Hopefully, this acting thing comes out alright ... I mean all of those years acting to survive and steal must pay off in this movie we made."

   Small memories crossed the white bat's mind. She remembers all of those times as a child that she and Shadow acted on street plays to get a few coins to eat something. More recent memories of them acting like business people, politicians, and regular folks also popped in her mind. All of that just so their stealing missions could go smoothly and unnoticed.

How Rouge, Shadow, and Omega met was a very interesting story, one that will be told at another time.

"Let's hope for the best."

   A few minutes passed in which Shadow and Rouge shared it in complete silence. The dark hedgehog looked over his shoulder in which he found Rouge completely asleep. With his phone still on his hand, he opened once again the previous internet tab he had before.

It was just a matter of time before his curiosity overtook him. As far as the internet said, 'The Forest of Dreams' was an excellent film even if it was an independent movie. Even art and small stories were already created in honor of the film.

Eventually, he found himself on a page called fanxfiction.com. An internet page where writers could write whatever they wanted online and others could interact with these authors by liking, sharing, and commenting on their work.

Shadow scrolled through the webpage and a story caught his interest. The synopsis was captivating , the tale was about an alternative ending to the movie's original ending.

The Forest of Dreams: A Love Story.

By A Rose Without Thorns

And so ... Shadow began to read.

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A/N: I want to thank @redsunlight​ for the amazing artwork! Please go check out her artwork! 

The first chapter is coming out in a couple of minutes I just need to upload it in here. I recommend following me on Wattpad since Tumblr can be complicated at times and won’t let me upload. 

Also there’s a new chapter coming out for ‘By Accident’ really soon!

Next: https://another-sonic-blog.tumblr.com/post/621393925974999040/the-fanfictioner-ch1 

Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/PeachesAndReams 

[artgurusauce]

So, how was Pokemon Shield?

Before I start, this is going to cover the main game, not post-game. Sorry, no talk about Dickhead Swordward and Shieldbert. Also, if it wasn’t obvious already, massive spoilers ahead. 

IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED, DO NOT READ THIS POST

I’m not going to ramble for hours about this, because to be honest, my thoughts about this are much briefer than they are for gen 7/Alola. Not to say there’s not much going on in this game, just that if you were expecting a super professional and profound review of the game from me, you may or may not be disappointed.

I will do my best to be articulate, though.

I’ll start with the rivals, the most obvious choice the begin with being: Hop.

Hop is definitely not like Hau like so many people were desperate to make me believe pre-release. In fact, while their arcs are similar, there’s a biiig difference. That difference, to me, is their changes in character. Hau had a big ass crash, yes, but his character change was pretty damn gradual. With Hop, after Bede puts him down, well, you can pretty much tell he’s not the same guy right off the bat the next time you talk to him. I absolutely adore Hope and I’m glad he got as much screen time and focus as he did. His arc was fantastically written and beautifully handled all the way to the end. All I can say is, another cinnamon roll for the collection.

Then there’s...Marnie.

Now, I don’t hate her, far from it. I adore her very much as well. The problem is that it seems she doesn’t get much time to flesh out like Hop did. A problem that goes both ways between her and Bede. Of course when I got to the seventh gym and met big brother Piers I actually did like the dynamic they were going for. Buuut I really wish they had given Marnie just a little more time to herself before that. I just didn’t feel like they did enough with her and...that’s a damn shame considering how popular she was upon her first reveal. Of course, again, this isn’t to say I don’t think she’s still just the cutest little punk goth button ever.

Sigh...and now it’s time for me to talk about Bede.

Look, from what I could tell, half the fandom was nuts for him, the other half was sick to death of a generic douchebag rival that adds no flavor to the table. But I’m a little torn on this one. Like I said, him and Marnie share an awful side effect of Hop’s arc being the most prominent...they don’t get enough time or everything that happens in their arcs feels...rushed, by comparison, at least in my opinion. So the thing is, when Bede gets disowned by Chairman Rose, of course my first reaction is “You had it coming, you were being a shit.” But then Opal...takes him in? And...acts as though Oleana manipulated him? I guess I could perhaps see what they were going for here, and, I’ll admit it, I kind of adored their dynamic, albeit a short interaction between them. And I did find it rather cute at the League when he was all flustered about being trained by Opal, having to continue training because everyone was cheering for him. But the thing is...his arc is kind of...broken? Like, I want to feel bad for him, and I want to feel invested in Opal taking him in and showing him the ropes of the Fairy Gym but...it just doesn’t work like it should. Which is odd considering Bede gets considerably more time to flesh his arc than Marnie, at least, that’s how it seemed to me. I do think the general story and Hop’s own arc really just forced the writing’s hand in sweeping Bede’s arc by as fast as possible. He could’ve been an interesting diversion of expectation, but...oh well.

Speaking of gyms, how do I feel about the gym leaders?

Well, Milo is a fucking cinnamon roll, and I do think I’ve settled on shipping him with Nessa because...I mean...c’mon now. Short bean boy, toll ocean gal? Perfect for each other ♥

I don’t really...feel anything towards Kabu. His design is bland, his personality didn’t stick out to me at all, but I guess they can’t all be iconic gems when you think about it.

Then...there’s my baby boy Allister. And lawd, my dudes, if Hop ain’t my new son well then Allister sure as fuck is. I did HC that he was mute like Red before the game came out and, well, his personality and dialogue are pretty good despite not being what I was hoping. I mean, c’mon, how can you not love that adorable little face? Or that he’s so socially introverted he keeps a collection of masks to make absolute sure his face is hidden? I am going to be quoting “Crumbs, that’s aces” forever now.

Opal was an interesting woman, I definitely think there could’ve been more to her relationship with Bede but I already discussed that. My dad thought she was kinda scary and creepy but she reminds me of that old lady from Spirited Away so I ain’t bothered all that much lol. She was nice enough, I do like her humbleness and that she’s willing to admit it’s definitely time for her to call it quits. And yes, I have seen that official art of her when she was younger. She is a fucking QUEEN  ♥ ♥ ♥

Then comes Melony...hoooo boy my lesbian ass is fallin’ so hard it physically hurts me in ways you will never imagine in your life. Wicke wishes she was this thicc. In all seriousness though, I am pretty curious about that son of hers. I heard you can meet him in Sword but I’ll have to wait and see that for myself. Aside from being the newest love of my life, she’s absolutely adorable and wholesome. I know her card reveres her as strict, but, she just looks like a cinnamon roll.

Piers...oh Piers, where do I even begin? His design is fucking on point, for one thing. And his relationship with his sister Marnie is just so cute and so much fun to watch. As unfortunately left field as it was for me, I did like his arc about not being a good Gym Leader and wanting his sister to take over for him. It was sweet and kinda sad but I just love him so much. For the first Dark Type Gym Leader, not bad guys, not bad at all. Also omg Piers slay me with your metal, king plsssss

Finally, there’s Raihan and...omg he’s so great. This mother fucker not only takes selfies in the middle of a match, not only bombards you with weather effects therefore making him a fun and challenging opponent, but this dude is also beefin’ with our head champ? SIGN ME UP, FAM. For real though, like, I loved battling with Raihan the most out of anybody that I fought. I definitely haven’t felt this much fun battling a Gym Leader in years. And I will forever be torn as to whether or not I want to ship him with Leon >3>

Speaking of the chadster, I ain’t talked about ‘im yet. Or Sonia, for that matter. Honestly, they’re both pretty great. 

But Leon is the fuckin’ MVP this gen, I’ll tell you what. He’s such a bro he tells Rose his “Day of Destiny” bullshit can fuck off til our match is over. Of course, I do like his ditzy and dorky sides too. Like his snapback collection or how easily he gets lost seriously Leon it’s just a straight fucking line to your house how do you fuck that up. But he ain’t just a bro to the main character, naw, he a bro to his actual bro, Hop. And I fuckin’ love it. Their interactions are so investing and entertaining and wonderful to watch. It’s almost kind of magical, in a way. I think he is without a doubt my number one favorite Champion of all time now. 

But as for Sonia, well, I dunno...maybe I’m nitpicky or remembering things wrong but she seemed to drop her disdain for researching the legend of the “Darkest Day” like a hat at some point. Granted, I still think her character arc while it wasn’t even needed was very well done. I loved listening to her dork out about the legends, her research, all of it. It was spectacular. And ever since I first found out she was childhood friends with Leon before the game even came out, ladies and gents, these two have dun been my OTP. The only one still challenging that notion is Raihan at this point, lol.

And now...we get to Oleana and Chairman Rose.

Oleana is just...kind of a nothing character for me, personally. Even after knowing about her Garbardor and all that, sorry fam, she ain’t doin’ it for me. She was a red herring so overblown and obvious it has since been laughable that anybody thought she was gonna be this gen’s Lusamine. She is just...some really crazy lady who happens to be passionate about her job. Ok.

Rose, however, is an absolute bastard. And I love it. However, I do have a problem with this, as it sort of connects to my earlier point with Bede. His relationship with Bede is...I don’t even know if I could call it a father-son relationship. I mean, yeah, he basically adopted him, but he disowns him at the drop of a hat. Granted, what Bede did was wrong, but...really? I guess that’s just how much of a dick he is, but, there’s no closure to that. Even after finding out what a horrible, deplorable man Rose is, Bede never talks to him after he’s disowned. Maybe this was meant to be a “Well it’s better he moves on to the next chapter of his life as soon as possible” sort of thing. But his sudden taking under Opal’s wing did not accomplish that feeling with me. So it feels sort of...hollow, to me. There’s no conclusion, follow-up, it’s almost as if Bede didn’t even know who Rose was anymore after Opal scooped him up. And yeah, Bede says “Everything has gone wrong since I met you” but...here’s the problem; That’s as much as he goes into being affected by Rose. It’s not too important, I guess, but it’s something that bothered me, personally. Rose’s motivations seem...ok, I guess. It’s about what I was expecting. Seriously though, his battle theme has no business being that good.

Those are all my thoughts on the characters, at least any that were all that worth talking about. Without further ado: Allow me to introduce y’all to my babies...

As I mentioned on Monday, my team consists of an Appletun, Centiskorch, Greedent, Hatterene, Inteleon, and an Eiscue. And I only just now realize like 5 out of 6 of them have names that start with a “C” lmao.

First up, we have my very first darling: Chastity

There’s a few things one should know about this slick little bitch:

Big shock, she was a huuuge cry baby as a Sobble. Like, mortified of pretty much everybody. Total mama’s girl. But as a Drizzile she was just a total grump goth binch. The only one of my Pokemon in my camp she would give the time of day is her dear friend Chariot, who at the time was a Hattrem. They pretty much grew up together and they’re besties now.

But now that Chastity is fully grown, well...she’s a little...flirtatious. Oh, no, not with the boys on her team. No no no. Every camp we step onto she’s just flirtin’ like a mad woman. She even managed to seduce my dad’s Cinderace who was already a huge playboy

Still, I can’t stay mad at this cute little brat. She’s still a total mama’s girl at heart and I love her to death. Btw, her Snipe Shot is ridiculously strong, though that’s probably because she’s still holding a Mystic Water haha

Up next is our resident lady in waiting: Chariot

I found Chariot in the Motostoke Outskirts and she has always been a picky snob even as a Hattena. She only ate small portions unless it was Whipped Cream Curry. Though nowadays I’m sure she only eats in such small portions to maintain her figure...

As I said before, she and Chastity have pretty much always been best friends. I definitely love to imagine her always hassling Chastity for her less than lady-like behavior though, haha. Chariot was weirdly sleepy as a Hattrem, though. Like...she dozed off a lot. She must’ve been getting plenty of beauty sleep for her evolution lol. 

I used to have a Toxtricity on my team named Ripper before I found an Eiscue for the League, and she seemed quite enamored with him. At least for the long period he was with us, she talked to him 50% of the time when I stopped for a little break. It was incredibly adorable, though I fear what might happen if I leave them alone at a daycare for too long...  <(⚆_⚆;)>

As a grown Hatterene, she’s rather dainty and conversative. I’m actually surprised, lately she’s starting to talk to some of her other fellow team mates lately. I suppose she’s not as stuck-up as she pretends to be, haha.

Up next we have our looonnnggg boy: Mushu

I picked up Mushu at Kabu’s gym. He was pretty shy as a tiny Sizzlipede and often avoided talking to most of his team mates. He was pretty spooked by a lot of them, actually, particularly Ripper for reasons I never quite understood. I guess when Ripper was still a baby, Mushu didn’t understand why he cried so much and was terrified of the loud noises he made lol.

However, he grew into a long boi rather quickly and he’s pulled us through some pretty tough spots in the gym challenges so I like to spoil him with lots of play time. He’s got a Jolly nature and honestly, it shows a lot more now that he’s all grown up. He loves to play and races with his team mates pretty much all the time. Rip Caramel, your utter annihilation will not be forgotten. He’s a very sweet and almost gentle boy and I honestly feel bad for all the battering he’s had to take before because I was a little too eager to take on opponents way out of my league.

A couple of fun facts about him before we move on:

His favorite curry in the curry dex is Smoked Tail Curry, which he always eats in gigantic portions. He freaking loves camping on Route 6 or in Stow-On-Side, I guess he really loves the heat.

Up next is my precious dumpling baby: Caramel

I first caught Caramel on Route 5, and I love love looove my baby apple pie. He’s such a chill and adorkable little dragon and I’m not one to pick favorites but...oh, who am I kidding? He’s totally my favorite.

As an Applin he was just too cute. He was a little slow and none of his team mates seemed to understand him so they tended to leave him by himself. So I ended up having to give him lots of attention so he wasn’t too lonely. And gosh was he just the cutest little baby apple. Of course, he wasn’t an Applin for very long, so there’s not much to speak of regarding his early stages.

However, once he evolved, he became a fucking tank. Caramel can take hits like a freaking champ and since I gave him Draco Meteor he’s practically an unstoppable beast. Of course, by heart, he’s a Lax boyo and enjoys the littlest things in life: Like the nice breezes in the Wild Area, or his Apple Curry, even if it’s snowing something fierce outside he’s all about it. And I just- argh he’s so fuckin’ cute!  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Up next we’ve got the chunky cheeked baby: Peter Griffin Conker

Conker is a Gentle boy who’s been with me since the very beginning at Route 1, and it fits since objectively he’s probably the weakest Pokemon I’ve got on my team. But that’s ok, because he’s definitely scored us a couple of hard gym challenges just like Mushu has. He was definitely useful for buying some time when I needed it, that’s for sure.

He was pretty chattery as a Skwovet, even if some of his team mates weren’t all that talkative looking at you, Chastity. This probably comes as no surprise, but he’s always had a bottomless stomach. Seriously, he’s eaten large portions even as a baby Skwovet and it baffles me. Guess he’s just a really hungy boy, lol.

As a fully grown, chunky Greedent, he’s pretty slow. Like, really slow. Even when he runs it’s like a snail tracking through peanut butter and molasses. And it’s too cute to watch. I really wish I could give him belly rubs tbh, he looks like the type that’d enjoy those, haha. These days he’s best friends with my Eiscue, Cubert. They usually race each other after they have lunch.

And finally, one of my greatest MVP’s: Cubert

Cubert joined us very late in the game on Route 10. And while unfortunately he ended up taking Ripper’s place, I knew he’d be a good addition to the team. I’ve given him Hail and Aurora Veil, which is super useful for battle prep. It’s pretty lucky I was able to find this little guy waddlin’ around up there on my way to Wyndon.

As I said before, he was pretty anti-social with everybody at first. Though I’m sure that’s because he was so new by the time we got to the League. Thankfully, Conker got him out of his shell and they’re best friends. He still seems a little shy around the others, and even myself, but I’m just glad he’s got somebody to talk to. Not much to say about him unfortunately, since he’s so reserved and tends to keep to himself, but I’m sure that’ll change eventually with time.

Now that’s everyone that’s on my current team, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my boy Ripper at all, so, allow me to introduce an old friend who’s been livin’ in retirement for the past few days:

I first picked up Ripper at a Nursery while I was omw over to Hulburry, I believe. So Ripper was with us for a damn long time until I picked up Cubert. Initially I had hoped he’d be a High Key Toxtricity, but I’ll take what I get. Besides, he was more than helpful with quite a lot of battles, especially Opal’s gym.

He was pretty loud as a Toxel, which should come as no surprise. Always throwing tantrums and never really seemed to eat anything bigger than a small portion of whatever curry I cooked, so he was picky just like Chariot was. All around a bastard baby, really. He didn’t really start getting onto the battle field until he evolved, in all honesty.

But once he did, hoo boy, he was killin’ the competition like a pro. I feel pretty bad I didn’t take him into the League with me, but I felt like Cubert would’ve been more useful so I swapped ‘im out. I’ve been pulling him back out of the PC box for some more training lately to help him catch up to make up for it, though. And he seems pretty happy about it, so bygones are bygones I suppose.

And it seems he’s still very much taken with Chariot. Sigh, young love, so adorable. Anyways, respects to the OG madhouse that got me through some toughies, you did good out there buddy. ;w;

Alright, well, that’s just about all I have to discuss, for now. I hope this wasn’t too droning of a post or anything. But before you head out, I’ve got a little surprise. Since this was such an interesting experience, I’m opening a new Tumblr based on my journey that will follow my Trainer OC Luna and her adventures through Galar. If you’re curious to check it out, click here. I don’t really have an upload schedule, so just keep your eye out for any posts in the future. Hope you guys enjoy it!

[shkspr]

i was thinking about the similarities between tenrose (+ninerose) and a/c and i had a thought - rtd would’ve done a really great job with a/c. i feel like he would actually portray what neil retroactively claims he was trying to portray aka non-conventional romance.

i dont think these two asks were from the same person but every time i tried to answer them, there was a lot of overlap in my responses, so i’m putting em together

it’s interesting bc i feel like there’s no real consensus as to whether or not it’s baiting? like ive seen a lot of twitter folks for example say that it’s really clear they’re in love and they don’t need to kiss or anything to affirm that. idk i feel really conflicted bc im seront valid arguments on both sides of the debates. it’s definitely not like other baity ships i’ve come across before, that i can say.

this got reeeeeaaaally long so tl;dr: i don’t hate neil, i love the book and the show beyond human comprehension, but i do think it’s baiting and i am a bit upset about it. authorial intent should not stop anybody from interpreting or responding to it in whatever way they prefer, but it is important in the discussion of baiting and representation. i’m not waving a pitchfork, i’m just a gay person critically enjoying a piece of media. 

okay so… for me, what’s on the screen is not the issue, you know. a/c is very like tenrose, in a lot of ways. ten & rose never properly kissed, they never properly said “i love you,” there was never anything explicit in the show that said they were in what we would consider a romantic relationship, except for quips that could be written off as jokes (like “that was our first date”). 

and it does help that it’s a het ship, so there’s less…conscious denial of it, i think. but also. rtd and julie and david and billie and everybody involved has said time and time again that they were in love. bc that’s what was written. and it was obvious. it was clear, on the screen, that they were in love, even if they never explicitly said it. and it was never a question, it was just the truth. 

and with the exception of a few qualms (like the fact that they like… never touch), i think a/c is the same. it is obvious, from what was written and how it was acted, that they are in love. the issue, for me, is firstly, that neil fully knows how important this relationship is to a great number of his fans, and chose to ramp up those aspects of the relationship in the show to a ridiculous level, knowing that people would see it like that, took it right up to the precipice without allowing one toe over the line, and still says it isn’t a romance.

and secondly, that he’s patting himself on the back for writing it, for appealing to the audience like that, for the support of the relationship, not realizing that people support that relationship in spite of him. the other day he retweeted a tweet calling it a “slow burn love story” and it’s just like… you can’t write a fantastic romance, claim it isn’t a romance, and then congratulate yourself for writing a fantastic romance. it’s not fair.

it’s kind of like. some months ago, i saw a post made by someone saying that they saw themself in a&c because they were asexual, and they appreciated that a&c have a clearly profound connection without it being overtly sexual. and that is valid, absolutely, that fan: valid. but then i saw neil had either liked or reblogged it, i don’t remember, and that made me uneasy, because… he didn’t write a loving asexual relationship. he wrote a relationship that he knew would be interpreted by many as a romance, and included several jokes at their expense, and then chose to no-homo it basically by saying they don’t have sex. that’s not… that’s not representation of any kind.

neil’s favorite line is that what’s on the page/screen is canon, and he supports fans having headcanons and whatnot, but canon is canon. and that’s. true, obviously. but it’s not a coincidence that the show is so much more out there with the romantic aspects, and it’s not a coincidence that it still just barely manages to not be “canon.” and while i’m at it, i’d be remiss not to mention that it’s not a coincidence that it’s only the gay relationship that gets this treatment.

like, i’ve spoken about this before just as an issue that i have with the book in general, but it gets even more upsetting when considered alongside aziraphale and crowley’s relationship. newt and anathema have no chemistry whatsoever. the narration from his pov mentions several times that she’s hot, and that’s it. she shows no signs of liking him, at all, and he shows no signs of liking her beyond a superficial physical attraction, and he has zero qualities that would make it worth her even considering him as a romantic option. but we’re supposed to accept that relationship, because it’s canon.

shadwell and tracy also have literally no chemistry. he’s useless and mean and racist and treats her like garbage, and one of her only defining character traits is that she… likes that about him? like literally their entire relationship is him being awful to her, and her doing things for him because he’s a grown man who can’t feed himself, for some reason. and we’re supposed to accept that as a relationship, too, because it’s canon.

crowley and aziraphale have a 6000-year-long relationship full of trust and understanding, overcoming obstacles, bonding over their love of humanity, choosing each other over their loyalties to their respective sides, saving each other, helping each other, knowing each other’s interests and quirks, showing each other, over and over again, that they love each other. that’s the story that was written. so you’ll have to forgive me for being a bit put out when the writer tries to simultaneously insist that he didn’t write it like that and that he did write it like that, somehow. 

listen. i’m not saying i’d prefer it if the relationship was toned down. i’m not saying i’d prefer it if neil was going full rowling and claiming that they’re both canonically straight, or some shit. i’m not saying the relationship is worthless if they’re not making out. i’m just saying… i guess the bottom line of what i’m saying is: purposely dialing up the gay subtext in order to appeal to fans of the relationship without making it canon is literally the definition of queerbaiting. even if you repeatedly state that it won’t be canon, it’s still baiting. you’re using the relationship to reel in viewers who will be grateful for those table scraps because we’re in no position to complain, right?

and it is different from other baity ships, in my opinion, because it is a genuinely very well-written love story. like the only example of baiting i really have expertise on is probably bbc sherlock, and that is different. it’s different because neil knows how to write a love story, and he knew he was doing it, whereas moffat does not know how to write a love story, and he wasn’t trying to. he was just trying to write a weird friendship with a wacky homophobic remark thrown in once an episode, to appeal to fans who would gnaw at that bone because we were starving. 

neil, on the other hand, has dangled a picture of a feast in front of our eyes and it’s like… it’s good art, it’s just not good food. it’s good writing, it’s just not good representation. and i, a gay fan, feel alienated and invalidated by the fact that he knew that was exactly what he was doing. it’s just a bit of a cop-out, is all, and i’m a little disappointed in how he’s handling it in his interactions with the fandom, but that’s not new. 

[veiljumpernyssa]

could you just... like... answer all of those questions at once? I can't pick one but I wanna know all the things

Oh God okay

[[MORE]]

1. When did you start playing?

Oh a long time ago...over a  year ago I’d say? The main 3 were only up to uhhhh the Hermit book I think. I remember I stopped playing after that gross fetishy Asra CG came out.

2. What got you into the game?

The beautiful art and the tarot theme. This was before I knew what I know fdjhksd

3. Who was your first route?

Julian!

4. Who is your favourite route?

Honestly Muriel is shaping up to be my favourite so far. Before that, I loved Asra’s route.

5. Who is your least favourite?

So far, Portia’s. Don’t get me wrong - it’s nothing to do with Portia herself. It just feels a little stagnant and flat.

(I bet you expected me to say Lucio, didn’t you? Well, you’re wrong).

6. Who do you play in Heart Hunter?

Chibi Chandra!

7. Who is your favourite to chase in Heart Hunter?

Portia or Muriel!

8. Who of the not playable LIs do you wish you could romance?

The baker. Selasi route when?

9. Opinion on Asra?

Asra is often mischaracterised imo and held to an unfair standard that a lot of the other characters aren’t. I’ve seen many of these arguments and I’m tired.

Asra is not jealous, possessive, creepy, manipulative or shady. Not once does he act possessive towards the MC in any of the routes including his own (a possible exception could be made for the Reversed Ending, but what do you expect? That’s after the MC literally enables that behaviour).

Being sad or cautioning the MC against Julian is not being jealous or possessive. The way he talks about Julian it’s pretty obvious he felt more for the man than he realises, even if he doesn’t understand that himself.

Asra keeps secrets from the MC because canonically trying to remember too much too fast harms the MC. This has been established. In his route, he literally tells you that he hates keeping secrets from you. He takes you into his own personal gateway - an expression of trust and a willingness to open up to you. Does he do these things in the other routes? No, but that’s because you’re not spending that time with him.

I also see people angsting about how sad Asra is going to be when you tell him about Lucio in his route. Lucio harmed his parents and has been cruel to Asra so like idk what you expect. The MC doesn’t know this of course, but you do!

I think we also forget that Asra took a considerable amount of time and effort to rehabilitate the MC, care for them and reteach them basic tasks as well as magic.

Is Asra a perfect person? Of course not. He’s probably overly cautious, he can be a little distant and he reacts badly when in a crisis (see the deal he made with the Devil). He’s not always brave and not always strong, but why should we expect him to be? He’s a human being and he’s bound to have faults, but he has a generous nature and is remarkably well-adjusted considering the trauma of his childhood (don’t tell me that suddenly losing your parents is not traumatic).

10. Opinion on Julian?

I once said that Julian is likely hypersexual and I still maintain that. (For those of you who don’t know, being hypersexual is like..a tendency to engage in compulsive or self-harming sexual behaviour, sometimes as a result of trauma). I think Julian craves affection and associates sexual interest or sexual contact with his worth as a person. I don’t think he does it deliberately or to be manipulative, but because he has a definite self-esteem problem. I honestly see him as bipolar like me.

I think the way the fandom treats him as this dumbass uwu subby boy is kind of annoying. A lot of people I feel erase his bisexuality either by just ignoring it or by making homophobic jokes where the punchline is ‘ha ha he likes dick like you do!!!!’ like no shit, he’s BISEXUAL. But he’s also hard-working, brave, clever, pleasant and good-natured, and once he starts to really come into his own, he’s cheerful and optimistic. He has so many more good qualities than just ‘submissive and kinky’.

11. Opinion on Lucio?

This may surprise y’all but I actually don’t hate Lucio that much. I love to hate him as a villain.

I think he, like all of us, is a product of his environment. He grew up in a clan with a strong martial culture; his clan were warlike and frequently made war on his neighbours. We’re all influenced by our upbringing and I don’t think he’s an exception. I draw the line at saying he ‘just didn’t know right from wrong’ though. He’s not a baby.

But the differences between Lucio and the other LIs like Portia, Asra, Muriel etc is that Lucio’s life and his fate and the hardships he’s faced are almost entirely due to his own choices. It was he who decided on the eve of his eighteenth birthday to kill his parents. He sought out Vlagnagog with the intention of making a deal. He chose to continue to make deals. He knew he carried the plague and he chose to carry it across the continent including into Vesuvia, causing the deaths of thousands. He murdered and blackmailed his way across the continent. He wouldn’t have even needed to bargain for a new body if he hadn’t caught the plague that he brought into Vesuvia himself after making a deal etc.

Do I think he is a sort of cackling, villainous cliche or unrepentantly evil? No. I think he’s a person who has made deliberate choices that he is facing the consequences for and IMO it’s important that he face those consequences. I do think his main issue is entitlement and a profound lack of self-esteem (I don’t think he really believes any of the stuff he actually says about himself or other people; even Lucio’s not delusional).

I mean that’s about as generous and objective a take on Lucio as I can give you. I’ve made my feelings clear on him, but I don’t want to give the impression that I don’t actually understand him as a character, hopefully the above will prove I do haha.

12. Opinion on Muriel?

Out of all the LIs I think I relate most strongly to Muriel because of a few reasons: trauma, touch-starved, lonely and wants to connect but afraid of getting hurt (physically or emotionally).

Now that I’ve gotten personal, I really hate the way Muriel is treated by the fandom. He’s either called bland or boring, or he’s treated like he’s an animal, called feral and animalistic. He’s none of those things.

Muriel has a big complex about being alone. He was literally given away by his parents and left in Vesuvia on his own, to fend for himself on the streets. Being abandoned by his parents and not knowing why, not remembering is traumatic enough, but because of his size he’s often characterised as aggressive and strong when he’s always been gentle. Later in his life, Muriel was forced to fight and kill people against his will. I don’t think a lot of people get just how traumatic that is; not only being forced into doing Lucio’s bidding, but being forced to violently take someone’s life. I don’t blame him for leaving to live at his hut and resist connecting to anyone. It’s common for traumatized people to withdraw and isolate themselves, because the thought of getting hurt again is more frightening than being alone. But everyone needs human contact, and I think Muriel struggles a lot between wanting connection and contact (physical or emotional), between not wanting to get hurt again, to not feeling like he’s worth the effort. That struggle is something very close to my heart and that’s why I’m attached to him.

13. Opinion on Nadia?

Nadia has the biggest youngest sister complex and it’s almost amusing because I, too, have the same complex (even though I’m actually the older sibling!). Nadia, like me, feels like she’s always been compared unfavourably to her older sisters, and has felt like she has to work harder to prove she’s their equal.

It’s probably because she’s a Cancer like me. We have dual natures sometimes; the caretaker and the ringleader, who feel like we have to take it all on ourselves to get the job properly done, but who have moments where our self-doubt takes over.

I do find some aspects of Nadia’s route to be sort of odd, where it’s mentioned that the people of Vesuvia find her to be a tyrant. There’s literally no evidence to suggest that, so the only reasoning I can find next is she’s a woc. But race doesn’t matter in Vesuvia apparently so...what else could be the reason? Not to mention she’s been asleep for the past three years, so the people haven’t even seen the Countess in that time.

I feel like we didn’t really get to understand a lot about Nadia even from her route-why did she fall asleep? What on Earth did she see in Lucio? Why did she let him do all those bad things in Vesuvia before he died? (My initial thought was Cancers can be sloth-like and passive, so that could be why).

14. Opinion on Portia?

Of all the LIs I feel like it’s Portia I know the least about despite having probably the most appearances. Sure, she’s quirky and fun and cheerful, and that’s cute, but...what does she want? What does she fear? How does she feel about her brother being on trial?

I’m hoping we get to expand more of her personality in her route. I know her patron Arcana is the Star, so her route will likely be about learning to have faith in other people, but who knows.

15. What is your favourite Arcana card?

Justice. The Empress is a close runner-up.

16. Have you bought any of the official merch?

No, I refuse to give a single cent to Nix Hydra. (I really want those Tarot cards though hhh)

17. What is your favourite CG?

The one where Asra is sitting in the gondola. Squishy cheeks :3c

18. How many Arcana themed blogs do you have?

Three! This one, then I run an Ask Muriel blog at @ask-muriel-inanna and an Ask Asra blog at @ask-asra-and-faust

19. Do you draw any Arcana art? What is your favourite image you have drawn?

The cover I just did for my Arcana comic! I cant link but it's in #arcana comic and #my art

20. Self insert or apprentice insert?

Both are valid, but I have an apprentice OC.

21. Do you have an apprentice?

Yes I do! Their name is Daya

22. If there is one thing that could be made with the Arcana theme on it, what would it be and why?

Idk what this means I big dumb

23. What is your favourite ship?

Outside of the LI x MC ships I really do like Asriel and Portia/Nadia (but only if Portia isn’t her servant anymore).

24. What is your least favourite ship?

Muriel x Lucio, Asra x Lucio or Julian x Lucio. None of them would even consider ever touching Lucio with a ten foot pole and y’all know this.

25. On your first play through, what direction was your ending for the LIs?

Upright babey!!!!!

[shiraglassman]

Book rec: bi MC stars in new f/f YA "How to Make a Wish"

Review originally appeared in The Lesbrary. How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake is the queer girl version of the classic trope of two lonely teens bonding over understanding each other’s parallel, if not similar, sadness. Having lost a lot of family within a relatively short span of years, there’s a part of me that became a Harry/Luna ‘shipper from the moment we saw them sharing loss in the kind of profound way neither does with the other kids, and that’s what I got from Grace and Eva in this book. Not that they’re mourning the same loss — Grace wishes for a sober, stable mother who cares about her as more than an extension of herself, and Eva’s reeling from her mother’s sudden death due to surgery complications.

But still, it’s the story of two young women, a pianist and a ballerina, whose shared emptiness creates a pull that draws them magnetically toward each other. They are healthy influences in each other’s lives, and it’s so good and affirming to see teen girls loving each other framed as “a healthy part.” In fact, Grace has had a super fucked up childhood and adolescence thanks to her mother, but her bisexuality is one of the few parts of her life that’s healthy and normal and hasn’t been ruined by the kind of parenting that drags the kid around from boyfriend’s house to boyfriend’s house until the new boyfriend catches you stealing again.

I will never get tired of this.

I’ll say it again: I’ll never get tired of this. I will never tire of framing a girl’s noticing of other girls “that way” as one of the ways to be a normal teen, as one of the ways to be a child, as one of the ways to be functioning as opposed to code language for someone being dysfunctional. Especially a bi character, because so many people have used that as a shortcut for how out of control we’ve let ourselves get.

Eva’s a lesbian and she’s awarded that innocence, too. We both need it, lesbians and bi girls alike.

Grace’s description of what it was like for her, as a bi girl who her ex-boyfriend “used to turn [her] into a puddle”, to crush on the friendly, alluring, straight lifeguard Natalie lined up exactly with what my straight-girl crushes were like at that age and–dammit–continue to be like. (Ladies, you are lovely.) It’s nice to be allowed to feel kinship with that moment, and be validated that yes, plenty of other girls who are still attracted to men can feel what we feel when that girl is with us, and that it’s okay to open up that path to all it has to offer. I also found an echo of my own past in Grace’s mom’s response in the past to when she came out. To respond to a declaration that someone likes girls with Well, sure, who doesn’t? is very, very familiar.

The main plot of the book isn’t just the romance, though, but Grace dealing with her mom, who’s the kind of person who steals from your piggybank to buy swag to throw you a birthday party with all her own favorite colors–on the wrong day. Given that I have the kind of mom who fled Irma two days before everyone else because she’s so careful and on-the-ball, this made for a fascinating read into a terrifying version of teen years when a minor is forced to parent her own parent. Blake does a wonderful job of showing the walls closing in, of the mindset that traps you into thinking that you can’t leave, you have to stay, because how else will she be safe? She needs you.

Except, no. That isn’t actually helping anyone. I was rooting for Grace the whole time and rest assured, the book delivers.

You can watch Grace teetering over the edge and pulling back over and over again in a kind of deftly unreliable narrator voice that reminds you that you’re listening to a teenage survivor who’s almost half brainwashed. She catches herself, for example, about to make assumptions about Eva based on her own mother and then hates that her mother is turning her into something “unfeeling and cold.”

I read it in one sitting with my cat lying on my chest–the prose and the chatty way the narrator talks to the reader carries you along in a swift current of plot and description. The characters and scenery are all pretty vivid and easy to picture. Also, I love this  book’s depiction of male-female platonic friendship, between Grace and her buddy Luca, with Luca’s adorable mom being the Adopted Mom foil for Grace’s own mother.

Emetophobia trigger on page 91 from walk-ons at a teenage party. Also, at one point the annoying teenage boy character (the ex-boyfriend from the puddle line) calls Eva “exotic” but it’s called out a few pages later and Eva is given a lot of space to discuss how it made her feel and why she doesn’t like it.

Shira Glassman is either a bisexual Jew or twelve tiny bisexual Jews in a trench coat; either way, she lives in north central Florida and plays violin when she’s not yelling “what are you EATING?!” at the cat. Her latest release is Knit One Girl Two, a fluffy romance between two Jewish girls bonding over fandom, making art, and dealing with the changes in their lives.

[syntheticaesthetic]

50 More interesting questions

Rules: fill this out and tag at least one person you’d like to know more about! Or just fill it out! Or don’t! Answer only some of them! Make up your own questions! “What kind of requirement is that”, you ask? A reasonable one! Who am I to tell you what to do? Anything goes!

I was tagged by @praxid!

1. What kind of food can’t you stand?: I’m sort of picky about texture. Not big on things that are sort of gelatinous - so no jello for me. I’m also not big tropical fruit person so I don’t like pineapple or most melons.

2. If you could choose one minor inconvenience to never have to deal with again, what would you pick?: Brushing my hair. It mats up while in a braided bun as I sleep. It takes hours to brush out. 

3. Have you got any useless talents?: I don’t have any talents really.

4. If you could be really really good at one thing, what would it be?: Film/photography/writing.

5. Name a few people you think are extremely good-looking: Melissa McBride, Sonequa Martin-Green, Andrew-Lee Potts, Kit Harrington, Karen Gillan, David Tennant, Scarlett Johansson, Jamie N Commons, Danai Gurirra, Donald Glover, Milla Jovovich, Tatiana Maslany, I should top. I find lots of people pretty. 

6. What was your favorite way to pass the time as a kid?: Reading, interneting, hitting my brother with sticks and getting hit back.

7. What is something you’re proud of?: I decided I wasn’t going to let another student film festival go uncaptioned at my college. I was the only one who captioned every film and I don’t think anyone has captioned the film festivals since, but I know that there were a few students that were able to attend the festival I did because they felt welcome for once. Fuck the kids who bitched about the captioning, it wasn’t for you.

8. What’s one character flaw in people that you just can’t tolerate?: Lying. For fuck’s sake just tell the truth. Also, don’t be cruel or intolerant of people’s differences or differences of opinion. Fuck you, there’s room for everyone and everyone’s thoughts. 

9. Do you consider yourself to be more of a leader or a follower?:  I’m a leader when I feel I must be - if absolutely no one else will step up, but I much prefer being a follower.

10. What kind of student are/were you?: I worked harder than anyone else to achieve mediocre status. 

11. Butterfly effect question! Has there ever been a seemingly minor decision you’ve made (at the time) that ended up having a profound influence on your life?: I told someone I liked a wristband/sweatband they were wearing and we became fast friends. I picked a school based on school colors. I followed my roommate to an ASL club meeting because she wanted me to get out of the dorm. I got a tumblr hahah. Honestly though the people I’ve met on tumblr have saved me so thank you.

12. Name your most irrational fear/aversion: Eyes - I don’t like eye drops, people touching their eyes, eye things happening in movies. I don’t like spiders. I’m still a little afraid of the dark. 

13. Are there any fictional characters you find especially relatable?: Tim Wright,  Jay Merrick, Clint Barton, Abby Maitland, Connor Temple, VERONICA MARS, Jessica Jones, 

14. If you drink, what kind of drunk are you? Alternatively, what sort of person are you at parties?: I get the munchies. And giggly. And sleepy. And I desire Left 4 Dead. Its my drunk video game. 

15. Do you fall in love easily? Or does it usually take a long time for you to trust someone?: I fall in love with concepts. I fall in love with characters. I fall in love with every dog I meet. But I’ve never had the opportunity to fall in love with a person. I love my friends, but I think that’s a different question? 

16. Would you rather have one close friend or 100 casual friends?: One close friend.

17. Do you consider yourself to be more of a slob or a neat-freak?: I’m a neat-freak who has given up. Dog hair will never be eradicated. I don’t have the energy to clean the way I want. My mind is too chaotic and I need clutter around me or I feel uncomfortable. Weirdly enough I was watching a documentary on Carrie Fisher and her mother, and I saw Carrie’s house and went “that’s me!” It seemed that her house was that way because of her bipolar status. I’m not bipolar but I do have major crippling anxiety and I think I clutter and throw art and things all over the walls as some sort of comforting mechanism. I’m unable to decorate like Adults do - I can’t do minimalism. It stresses me out. 

18. Describe a place (imaginary or real) that you would find incredibly cozy: Pacific northwest. Woods near a big lake or the ocean. Older farmhouse with brick and reclaimed wood. I have a room decorated in my usual chaos. There’s a bay window big enough for me and Ruby to both be on it at the same time. Its raining and the fall leaves are piled on the ground. I have candles and incense burning. Good music. Maybe a friend sitting on the computer next to me. There’s coffee and marionberry pie. Its october and everything is foggy and spooky and gentle and calm. Its probably sunday.

19. Do you have kids? If not, do you want them someday?: I don’t have any human kids. I like them, I think they’re funny. I’d want some if I was confident in my ability to care for them and raise them right and take care of them in all the ways they deserve.

20. What was your favorite book as a child? Harry Potter. To find something that not everyone else my age would say....Everything’s Eventual?

21. Name one thing you just don’t get what all the hype is about: Undertale. Its fine but I can’t get into it in the way everyone else does. 

22. Name one thing that you think is tragically underrated: Films on YouTube by indie filmmakers.

23. If you had to be glued to a person for a month, real or fictional (who you have never met), who would you choose?: Andrew-Lee Potts during the early days of Keychain Productions. Blood On Benefits made me want to make films, and I think spending a month with him working on all those short films would have made me actually live my dream rather than giving up on it. 

24. What’s something you’d like the chance to do someday?: I want to make films. I want to write an original story. Maybe make a video game? I want to make something. Do some crafting. Meet someone and actually date them. I’d like to have a kiss at some point, to see what that’s like. Have friends that live nearby that I can see frequently. 

25. Do you typically speak your mind when you have a controversial opinion? Or do generally prefer to not rock the boat?: No! Opinions are dangerous and people don’t like having friends that have different opinions than them, and I’d never have friends because I either don’t share the same opinions or I don’t feel strongly about my opinions. I’m very open to having people change my opinions. I’m not married to them. Please change my mind, I like thinking about things in a new way. But I am not going to share my opinions because it just causes so many fights among people - I just don’t feel safe doing it. 

26. What’s the dumbest fad you’ve been caught up in?: I’m sure it was fashion related but honestly I don’t care to think too hard about it. 

27. What’s something you thought was cool as a kid/adolescent, but now cringe at yourself for?: Only doing eyeliner on my bottom lids?

28. What’s a trait you consider to be very admirable?: True empathy. The ability to have practical skills that help people. 

29. Is there a particular kind of item people always tend to give you as gifts? (For instance, people always get you things with ducks on them because you like ducks, etc.): Hmmm....nerdy things? I mostly get gifts from Tumblr friends because we share fandoms so while the fandoms vary its usually homemade things based on our favorite things. And bless you all for it too - As my mom could tell you I beam for weeks upon receiving your guys gifts! I wish I could repay the kindness!

30. Do you speak multiple languages? Which ones?: I can do some really basic ASL. I used to do some basic spanish but that was many many years ago and I don’t think it would come back easily.

31. Would you rather live in the big city or the countryside?: Woods, middle of. I need my million dogs and my lots of land and fresh air. 

32. Has there ever been something you were certain you’d hate, but ended up loving?: the MCU lol

33. Do you mind being the center of attention, or do you prefer the spotlight to be on someone else?: Being the center of attention gives me anxiety.

34. Favorite holiday?: SPOOKY SCARY

35. Are you a more go-with-the-flow type of person, or do you need to have things planned meticulously?: My anxiety demands I have plans. Now, those plans are allowed to change, but I need to start with plans. 

36. Is there something you loved so much you wish you could forget it and experience it all over again? (A tv show, book, series–anything.): No.

37. What hobbies do you have?: Internet. Fanfiction writing (hahahahahaha). Photography. When my hand heals I wanna do leatherworking.

38. If you could have a superpower, but it was only mildly useful, what ability would you want to have?: I just want to know what my dog is thinking. So a superpower that lets me know what dogs are thinking/saying?

39. Something people are always surprised to learn about you: Could someone answer this for me? Because I don’t think anyone’s ever given me feedback on this one. 

40. Something that took you way too long to figure out: That I needed to do something about my anxiety. It gave me so many health problems and kept me from living my life. 

41. Worst injury you’ve had?: I’ve slammed my head against giant rocks. Hurt my knee in volleyball.

42. Any morbid fascinations?: Weirdly enough, not really! Post-nuclear apocalypses maybe? http://althistory.wikia.com/wiki/1983:_Doomsday was something I spent weeks immersed in to the detriment of my mental health.

43. Describe your sense of humor: Sarcastic, bitter, shitty puns? 

44. If you had to be born in another era/place, which would you choose?: 80s? Goth scene, I could have seen Depeche Mode and The Cure in their prime. 

45. Something you are irredeemably bad at: life

46. Something that sucked but you’re glad you went through: Being a shitty friend. Now I know how to not be that shitty?

47. Would you rather have a really godawful ugly tattoo in a place that is only slightly inconvenient to conceal with clothing (upper arm, thigh, etc.), or the coolest, most beautiful tattoo ever in the middle of your face? (Neither tattoo can be removed or concealed with makeup, and the ugly tattoo will deeply offend anyone who sees it.): Gimme that face tattoo.

48. Are you more of an optimist or a pessimist?: I like to think pessimistically so that if its true I’m not surprised but if it turns out better I can be pleasantly surprised!

49. What would be the most flattering compliment someone could give you?: That they genuinely loved me and that I made a difference in their life. 

50. Something you feel people often misunderstand about you: I don’t know........ How bone achingly lonely I am? Maybe someone can help me out on this one too. I don’t know if anyone really “understands” me - I don’t communicate my mindset well. 

I’m tagging: @gallifreystands @the44thpilot @autumnxtoxashes @ms-fagerstrom @marionarnold

[larryfanfiction]

Ao3?  

stylinsoncity

Tumblr?  

alienproof

Name?  

Chelsie

Age?  

24

How long have you been a fan of One Direction?

Since late 2013.

Who is your favorite fic author?

i have a lot! usedtothebeach, eleadore, 100percentsassy, gloria_andrews, navigator, quitter, fondleeds, eravain, objectlesson (i’ll stop now, but there are more…)

What is your favorite fic?

My Heart Is Breathing For This Moment In Time aka the time traveller fic!! So well written. So elaborate in a way that draws you into the universe and keeps you there until you feel apart of it.

When did you start writing?

I’ve been writing creatively since elementary school. For this fandom, I think it was the start of 2014!

What was your favorite fic to write and why?

Finding Lou! I took a trip to LA that coincided with writing that fic and I fell IN LOVE with the city and I’m dying to get back. So it was just a lot of fun to write Harry and Louis in a place I enjoyed so much and to write about them being exuberant and free, and dancing on beaches and falling in love too quickly. It’s just a feel-good, summer fic. I used Nina’s (stormella-and-art) as inspiration and that made it even better. i’d do it all over again.

How and where do you find inspiration?

Oh man…I feel like I find inspiration everywhere. My brain is always pinging on things that would make a good story or a good element in a story. It could be a line in a song or a poem. Pictures of Harry and/or Louis like Harry’s Another man Shoot or Louis in that red plaid shirt looking like a trucker. Sometimes I see someone on the train and build stories about them. Dreams. Conversations with people. Conversations I overhear. Inspiration is in air. I’m breathing it in all the time.

Are any of your stories influenced by personal experience?

Yeah definitely! My struggles with depression and anxiety definitely pop up often. Maybe not explicitly but that hopelessness some of the characters feel at times is a thing I know personally. And then a lot of the stories or scenes based in NY are crafted from personal experiences or feelings. I tend to write asshole characters based on assholes I’ve encountered, which i think is fair.

How do you get over writer’s block?

Reading usually helps. If I read a good book, I’ll be like ‘yeah, i can do that too!’ and get back to it. If I made a playlist for a story, it ALWAYS helps to go listen to that music. In the same vein, listening to new music helps too. But also, I think writer’s block can sometimes be your brain’s way of saying ‘i need a fucking break’. And I think it’s okay to just stop writing for a bit and not get over it or force yourself out of it. After a day or two, if i still can’t write, then i start feeling shitty. But sometimes i take a day to just chill out.

On average, how long does it take to write a fic?

I think, at least two months.

How often do you sit down to write? What does your ideal work setting look like?

Everyday, usually. I’ll take time to write whenever I can. I think my ideal setting is like in my room with a cup of coffee or tea, a candle burning, and some white noise.

Pick 3 things that are absolutely necessary to make a good story!

Conflict/tension, romance (particularly with lots of pining), and humor wherever you can find it.

What do you like most about the writing process?

When it’s over lmao. Seriously, the moment when I know a thing is complete is the best and brightest. The very start is fun too, when you’ve got all these ideas and excitement.

A good character in literature is usually one that goes through a lot of changes and grows dynamically from beginning to end. What is/are your favorite character arcs, and could you give us an example of one from one of your stories?

I like coming-of-age stories, and ones where the character discovers something about their sexuality or sensuality. I like stories where the person is a bit of a fuck-up and they grow in a way that allows them to acknowledge and right their wrongs. I think the best example would be Harry in The Wonderlands. He’s a Mess at the beginning, and throughout much of the middle, but I’m getting him to a place where he can finally take ownership of his life without being told how. He’s in his thirties but he’s still growing up. I love when characters are forced to grow up.

What is your favorite genre/tag to write?

People ask me this all the time and I just don’t think I have one. I want to write them all. I think I tend to write a lot of ‘strangers to lovers’ but that’s not intentional. Enemies to lovers is something i’d love to write more of.

What kind of scene do you find hardest to write? Easiest?  

Hardest to write are scenes that answer questions and solve mysteries within the story. I put so much pressure on myself to do it in a profound way. Easiest to write are the probably intro scenes. Like the moment the characters meet is so much fun to write that it’s made easy.

Do you write chronologically?

I try but no. I have the ending for all of my WIPs written already. It’s the in-between stuff that I always struggle with and then i get impatient to write the fun parts, so i just skip things and write what i want. Very little self-control here.

Are you currently working on something? Can we have a little preview?

Nothing new for a while. I’m finishing up WIPs and a series or two. But here’s a preview of the Impossible Now epilogue/coda thing:

“What do you do exactly?” Harry asks.

Louis looks at him. “It’s going to sound boring if I try to explain.”

“Not to me.”

Louis’ eyes linger on him for a moment. He looks down at his plate, starts twirling linguine around his fork, and says, “I’m the assistant director of horticulture, which means I’m in charge of a team of researchers who study plant biology and cultivation.”

Harry looks at his mouth again. He has the loveliest mouth.

“I study medicinal plants, fruits, vegetables, flowers, herbs. I study plants that grow all over the world. I make it my business to know what they need to survive, especially if we’re planning to bring a new species here to London. I grow things. I plant things. You’re giving me that look again.”

“I’m a little attracted to you,” Harry says. Or vomits, really. One minute the words are in his head, the next minute they’re not.

Louis’ fork comes to a still. “Well, now we’re getting somewhere,” he says. “Is it the plant talk that gets you going?”

Anything you would like to say to your readers?

Just thank you for always being patient with me! I know I take forever to update things. You all are the kindest, sweetest, most supportive bunch, and I’m very, very grateful to you. I hate that words can’t completely encompass how much.

Thank you so much, Chelsie! We really appreciate it! 

[affatmntfan]

Category Announcement - GENERAL BALLOT

GENERAL BALLOT: For stories that are suitable for all ages. No T-cest, disturbing themes, or graphic portrayals of violence, gore, sex, etc. Works can be rated G through T, though some T rated stories will be treated as mature depending on the content and warnings.

MOST IN-CHARACTER LEONARDO – The most spot-on depiction of our leader in blue.

MOST IN-CHARACTER RAPHAEL – The most spot-on depiction of the team’s hothead.

MOST IN-CHARACTER DONATELLO – The most spot-on depiction of our Turtle-genius.

MOST IN-CHARACTER MICHELANGELO – The most spot-on depiction of the little jokester of the Turtles.

MOST INTRIGUING VILLAIN – Some villains we hate so much that we love them. Please specify the villain in your nomination.

MOST INTERESTING CANON ALLY – The most spot-on depiction of one of the Turtles’ allies within TMNT-canon. Please specify which ally in your nomination.

BEST ORIGINAL CHARACTER – Is there an original character out there that is written so well you simply love them? Well, here’s the place to nominate their story. Please specify the OC in your nomination.

MOST EXCITING ACTION/ADVENTURE – For stories with the extra bit of action/ excitement/ thrills.

FUNNIEST COMEDY – For stories that make you laugh.                    

LOVELIEST ROMANCE – Stories that are dedicated to love. All pairings are welcome, as long as it’s not explicit. (We have a Mature ballot for these.)

CUTEST CHIBI – Stories that are about the Turtles as kids can be nominated here.

MOST INTERESTING CROSSOVER – Stories nominated in this category must include one other fandom at least.

MOST INTRIGUING AU – For stories that deviate from canon.

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FOREIGN LANGUAGES: There’s a bunch of fanfictions in other languages than English out there, so we decided to give them a platform. We are accepting nominations in German, French, and Spanish.

MOST INTERESTING FANFICTION IN GERMAN – For those stories in German you love.

MOST INTERESTING FANFICTION IN FRENCH – For those stories in French you love.

MOST INTERESTING FANFICTION IN SPANISH – For those stories in Spanish you love.

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ART AND MEDIA: A place to nominate different kinds of fan talents. Must be SFW.

MOST BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF ART INSPIRED BY A FANFICTION – For fanarts that have been inspired by fanfictions. Please specify which fanfiction was the source for the fanart in your nomination.

MOST BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF ART THAT INSPIRED A FANFICTION – For fanarts that got fanfiction writers to write something. Please specify the fanfiction in your nomination.

MOST PROFOUND META-POST – All fanfiction authors need some meta-information every now and then. Here’s the place to nominate them. Please include a link to the meta-post in your nomination.

MOST POWERFUL MUSIC VIDEO – For all those beautiful fan-made music videos out there.

GREATEST FAN COMIC - For amazing visual storytelling. Must be 4 or more panels.

[placetobenation]

Welcome to the Wednesday Walk Around the Web, where we weave & wind through weblinks weekly. Hopefully you will find the links on offer amusing, interesting, or, occasionally, profound. Views expressed in the Wednesday Walk do not necessarily reflect those of anyone but the writer.

It’s completely fair to have a certain level of cynicism when it comes to awareness-raising campaigns, but it seems to have brought significant attention and funding at least once: five years after the ALS ice bucket challenge, ALS research and treatment are genuinely in a much better place than they were before.

There was a minor Twitter explosion last week when writer Amy Pennza posted photographic proof of her mother-in-law-to-be wearing a wedding dress to Pennza’s wedding. Most squealed with terror and sympathy; others simply popped some corn and got ready for the drama. Added context, however, shows that this story is weird but ultimately wholesome; our first inclination is to hate this woman, but she actually seems like a great MIL and grandmother.

This Week in the Avengers: 16-Bit Scenes’ take on the Endgame was…inevitable.

This Week in Beer Can Gimmicks: I am mystified as to why someone would want to use a can of Miller Lite as a video game controller. Is this straight culture?

The Christians have so many reasons to try to get some good PR these days, and Waria is a very good start.

This Week in Good News: 50 years after being driven from Ph.D programs at the University of Chicago by professorial harrassment and institutional apathy, two women finally got to finish their degrees.

We could learn something from the Pakistani government livestream with the cat filter. C-SPAN, take note.

What did kids’ alphabet books do with the letter X before X-rays were discovered and xylophones became popular? This was certainly a fertile era for old King Xerxes.

Everything has a fandom, and everything has collectors. Take this lesson from the aftermarket collectors of vintage Kool-Aid packets.

This Week in Art Archives: A Space of Their Own, launching this fall, plans to host hundreds of restored works of women’s art that have gone overlooked and unremarked upon.

As Pride month draws to a close (and Wrath month draws near), it’s a good time to evaluate the rainbow capitalism craze, which companies do more than just slap a rainbow on their products, and how we can use them to communicate identity regardless of their origins. Like, obviously brands are going to favor bland missives like “love is love” and “love wins” over anything more confrontational, but that just means it’s up to everyone else fostering and taking space in queer frameworks to make space for some harder edges.

Plus, as we know, the best Pride clothing is this turban.

Split photography offers gorgeous underwater/overwater combination shots.

This Week in Wednesday Walk Top Tips: If you’re going to steal a surveillance camera, do yourself a favor and make sure it’s shut off.

PTBN’s JT Rozzero brings word of a peer of his whose dogs I hope are 1) all right, eventually and b) no longer his dogs.

This Week in Plugs: I released a podcast yesterday! My brother and I ran down the list of Democratic presidential candidates, all 548 of them, and some related topics.