#she got more press she's more active on social media she engages the fandom more but at the end of the day in MY opinion?

[dollypopup]

look, y'all can all gleeful cancel me for this #unpopular opinion if you want, but even IF Nicola wasn't nominated for the comedy section and it was her and Luke head to head in best drama?

I'd still vote for him

because I genuinely and truly think his acting is INCREDIBLE. and I think he's one of the better actors on Bridgerton full stop. I love the nuance he brings to Colin as a character, I love how he so fully embodies him as a character and that Colin has similarities to him, but is fully different at the same time. Colin does not talk like Luke, walk like Luke, even fidget like Luke. He has his own character beats and yes, sometimes parts of Luke bleed into him, such as with the head tilt, but the voice is different, softer, the movements of Colin as a character are distinct to me, he delivers humor well ('you'd already be dead?') and his decisions for Colin as a character are ICONIC (I'm never forgetting that dress adjustment with specific fingers was all him). Colin had a harder go of it than a lot of leads because his story isn't as loud- he doesn't get a lot of big, dramatic moments to have big dramatic acting, and honestly the show didn't give him a lot of screentime in the first place. But when he does have poignant emotional moments? They feel REAL. He isn't given as much time with the audience as other characters are and he doesn't go for the broad strokes with his acting, so sometimes I think he can get lost in some of the louder acting, but that doesn't negate the fact that he's GOOD. He's a good ass actor. He plays Colin like Colin is an actual person.

And for me? For me, that hits home. Even with truncated time on his own season (yeah, I'm still bitter), he delivers every single time. Anger, betrayal, longing, heartache, silly awkward humor, heat- and he does all of those emotions BELIEVABLY. I watched Luke Newton depict Colin falling in love so beautifully and so realistically, I HAVE NO CHOICE but to give him his flowers. Just because he's not as heavy in the hustle as other actors are (please remember this is a neurodivergent actor with anxiety and dyslexia, mental health is important and it's good he took a break ) doesn't mean he's not a fantastic actor. And if you've ever seen his depiction in The Shape of Things? The man is excellent.

I think Bridgerton has a lot of 'big moves' actors. And that's fine. Many people prefer that. But I prefer the nuanced moments and the softer beats of it all, and I think if the camera had allowed us as an audience a longer glimpse into moments with Colin, we'd all be even more floored. I can watch gifs of his scenes over and over and over again and find something new every time.

So y'all can sit there and accuse others of a 'pity vote' but idgaf. Luke Newton is one of the best actors on that show. And I stand by that. Eat me.

[hunterevie]

Once in a while somebody will ask if there is a way to remove kudos on Ao3 on the subreddit and that normally leads to people putting their opinion across about whether we should be able to remove kudos from stories. Whether this is because they’ve accidentally pressed the button; they’ve found the author has some troubling views or they got to the end of the story and decided they didn’t like it.

Of course I am very anti this idea because Ao3 is not social media. It’s an archive for people to put their stories out for all to enjoy regardless of the content. A kudos is just a way of somebody saying ‘I’ve perceived this, and at that moment I liked it.’

But it’s deeper than that. It’s about how this function can be used to run authors out of a fandom. Either because they’ve upset a BNF and that person wants to get revenge, or because they’ve written something problematic a lot of the fandom don’t agree with. Essentially, it’s about brigading.

Whenever I put this view across. I’m told I’m being too sensitive. Or I’m overreacting. And all I can think is, well isn’t it nice you’ve never been attacked on social media and didn’t almost stop doing something you loved due to the actions of others?

From my perspective, I can easily see how a remove kudos function can be used to completely destroy the reputation of authors. And that is just because of my experience on Twitter.

Because my profile wasn’t just outed to 6000 people because I happened to say something a highly aggressive BNF believed was aimed at her. No, it went further than that. She actively told people to block and unfollow me. How do I know this? Because I still have friends in that fandom who told me.

People I respected and thought were decent didn’t allow me to put my story across and decided to do exactly that, block and unfollow me. Because her ‘receipts’ included something anonymously sent to her, and something I wrote on my account that was vaguely similar. I mean anybody who can’t work out I wouldn’t say something on my account and then attack a person anonymously isn’t worth my time anyway.

But I digress.

Imagine you had the ability to remove kudos from a story on Ao3, and that person knew I was a fanfic writer and knows my profile on Ao3? (Which they do because I used the same username). That co-ordinated attack could leak over onto Ao3. They could ask anybody that’s ever read my work to remove their kudos so that my stats go down and it looks like my stories are more unpopular than they really are.

Sometimes people filter by most kudos. They may decide that a story with 15k hits and 50 kudos because of a co-ordinated attack isn’t worth their time. Because ultimately that person doesn’t know why the author has so low kudos. It could be because the quality of their work is bad? Which means they may skip over it.

And yes, whilst we are told as authors to ‘write for ourselves’ we don’t upload to Ao3 for fun. We do it because we do like the engagement with others and we do want to share our stories. So imagine how demoralising it would be to see stats go down just because somebody decided they didn’t like you?

Basically if this ever happened to me I’d never write again and I would just remove all my stories. Which would be a loss to me, and those who do like my stories. Because they’d be left with no answers on my current WIPs.

And I can see many authors taking the same course of action if a ‘remove kudos’ button was ever added. Because it’s an easy way to trash the reputation of an author, and it’s naive of people to think it wouldn’t be used as a tool for attacking others.

Anyway, enough of that. Thanks for coming to my TED talk about Ao3 kudos and here’s Jensen and Misha as a reward for sitting through it.

[i-need-air]

King & Queen. – Bakugou Katsuki x F!Reader.

Summary: Fluff, Baku being extra while confessing, social media shenanigans.

Word count: 1784.

It's 4 AM, I'm a mess but I needed to get this off my chest. I'm testing the waters with my writings, it's been forever since I wrote anything and I wanted to throw myself a little bit into the fandom I've been obsessed with for the past months. I do hope you enjoy it. ♥

Bakugou Katsuki took pride in having such a large following online. Ever since the first year UA Sports Festival, both his Twitter and Instagram accounts got thousands and thousands of followers, mostly crushing over him and others just hating on him, and in both ways he loved the attention.

The Aesthetics™ he had were always on point and his Twitter was just filled with one sentence tweets, re-tweets of famous heroes, a somewhat dry, dark and/or sarcastic meme from time to time, only and only if it fit (again) his aesthetics. Sometimes he'd engage with the Bakusquad, specially Kaminari and Mina, both very active users, and [Y/N], answering to her tweets with a one word roast and little more.

After the second year UA Sports Festival though? His social media reached the 100k mark, skyrocketing into a small celebrity as he won the first place for two years in a row. But what made him reach such a large number was the way he won. Their battle for the first place was insane, such a difference compared to what he had to deal with Todoroki in the past. [Y/N] put an amazing fight, there's no doubt to that, but the woman overused her quirk and he knew her weakness, mostly since he sometimes (rarely, almost never, pft) observed her train with Icy-Hot or Deku. It was a spectacle to watch and it has even been televised for a whole week afterwards, critics applauding how promising UA's students were. And that's how it all started.

The shipping.

Images and even fucking edited music videos of their fight were everywhere. It was so obvious both of them enjoyed the fight, the little grins they shared as they attacked each other, the small comments both threw and the camera and mics everywhere picked, the look Bakugou Katsuki gave [Y/N] when she kicked his ass. Such an adoration, followed by his insane grin, ready for a challenge. The look [Y/N] gave him, as he took the first place medal with pride from Endeavor, thriving at the applauses from the public. Stars were put to shame compared to the sparks in her eyes. Oh, and the moment their orbs made contact exactly after that? The chemistry.

Bakuy/n was one of their names online, apart from variations of their hero names mixed together. The fandom was slowly picking up a name, mostly going with the first mentioned. And Katsuki? He was fucking aware of everything. Her social media was on radio silence, but this event made him think. Actually think, not half-ass an idea and just throw himself head on into it. And the conversation he overheard was just making him plot now.

Mina and [Y/N] were actually discussing this exact topic. The pink girl was thriving for it. Her Twitter account was now filled with subliminal messages about love and it made her poor friend anxious. Basically because this issue hasn't been addressed at all with Bakugou and she planned to keep it that way. Yet Mina, sweet, adorable, loving Mina was just pressing on it really badly, but thankfully she never did when both sides of Bakuy/n were in the same room/conversation.

"Isn't it like so romantic?" Mina's eyes shined, hands clapped, her gaze looking somewhere in the distance, daydreaming.

"No, it's not, it's weird..." her [h/c] haired friend answered, falling more into the couch of their living quarters, trying to hide from the world.

"It would be if it wasn't obvious you pin for each other!"

"Oh, god, please stop saying that."

"You're not denying it though!"

"MINA!"

Laughter coming from the pinkette filled the room as the blond man decided not to interrupt and leave, small grin on his face as [Y/N]'s groans just told him what he needed to hear. She definitely did not deny the attraction and whatever chemistry they had.

Which leads to the current situation.

The girl was sitting in the cafeteria, waiting for Ochaco and Mina to come around, phone in hand as she scrolled mindlessly through Twitter, watching as her most recent tweet, the first one in ages, was getting attention. She giggled at Denki's stupidity, as he just posted a selfie of himself drenched in Diet Coke clearly in the UA bathrooms. Checking his replies she saw the boy she's been [kinda, lowkey, just a lil bit] trying to avoid for the past days.

[@BakugouKatsuki:]

"Dumbass."

[@MissPinky:]

"So THAT'S WHY U NEEDED MINTS!?!!!!!?? 🤣

She giggled again, entertained by her friends when her interactions just exploded. App actually crashed as she blinked while munching on some french fries dumbly.

As she tried to open her app again, both her friends landed by the table, joking about Kaminari and his never ending stupidity. Notifications popped again and again, legit confusing the girl to no end, making her ignore her two friends as they asked her what was going on, mainly because of her expression.

"The hell...?" she muttered, throwing the phone down while Twitter took its sweet, sweet time to load and open and just as she opened her mouth to answer Mina, she made eye contact with some very intense red eyes.

Clasping her mouth shut and ignoring Ochaco as she took [Y/N]'s phone to see what's going on, the girl could only focus on Bakugou, sitting a few tables away, facing her direction. She almost shivered in place under the intensity he was giving away, although his position was laid back, phone in one hand, chin in the other. And, again, gaze on her. He barely even blinked, his neutral expression giving nothing away and she knew she was blushing. Why was she a blushing mess under his gaze? Well, answer was obvious for everyone, even the whole internet now, but oh, she wished Bakugou Katsuki wasn't that sharp. Who are we kidding though?

Ochaco started to shake her out of her daze, interrupting the intense eye contact battle as she shoved her phone in her face.

"Oh. My. God." She muttered, stuttering her following words "Please, look at this, I can't believe it... Mina, check Twitter."

"If Kaminari threw Diet Coke and Mints in one of the bathroom toilets to 'experiment', I'm done with him." Mina responded but froze in place, just as [Y/N] looked away from the explosive boy. "Wait... WAIT!" her eyes almost popped out of her skull. "WHAAAAAAA–?!"

On the screen of her phone was the profile of the guy she's been crushing for... A year now? The guy that at first ignored her, then screamed at her, then beat her ass in training, then got his ass beaten by her, that scoffed at her shitty jokes, that actually chuckled at her shitty jokes, that studied with her, that smiled at her... The guy that complimented her when her quick improved. The guy that took her opinion seriously even when acting like he didn't care. The guy that stole her heart when he showed little glimpses of his complex persona only to her. The guy that fucking retweeted:

[@onlybakuy/nhere:]

"King & Queen."

And a picture attached, them shaking hands after their battle, ready to go get prepared for the podium. Bloodied, sweaty, yet both smiling at each other.

"I can't believe this–[Y/N]–" The brunette started rambling and fangirling besides her, but... With a careful glance, she peeked under her eyelashes to look at the boy again, her heart almost stopping when noticing he was still observing, small grin on his face hidden behind his hand, perfectly angled for her to see. "There's another one!"

Everything started to make sense, as she quickly checked her notifications to see the Internet™ just going crazy over that retweet. People started mass-following her, fans and stans just living for it, tagging her username with a screenshot of the retweet and now it hyped up again with... pictures of his profile? Did he change his description? He... changed his description. While there was absolutely nothing in there, now there was one single word. King.

Her eyebrows just rose so high her forehead hurt, the 3 braincells that were still somehow functioning were catching up to what the hell was going on and now she was positive, 100%, without a doubt that she was blushing like a mad-woman, a smile forming on her lips as she hit the retweet button on the same tweet he did and instantly opening her profile to edit.

Both her friends were freaking out by her side, accusing her of being way too calm in this situation, to explain but [Y/N] knew she couldn't utter any word, or even look up at them or at him. If she did, she'd break the spell, the moment, and as she deleted her description and only wrote a single word in her profile, her smile only widened. Hearing Mina screech after seeing her retweet, the girl giggled like an idiot.

Bakugou Katsuki was loud, brash, maybe a little bit emotionally constipated, rough around the edges, incredibly smart, observing, caring, awful with words but straight to the point with actions. And he was, without a doubt, fucking extra when doing things.

As she pressed the button Save on her profile, she caught him looking at his phone, being patted on the back by Kirishima, that somehow appeared in the frame yet was so distant in her field of vision as only he mattered at the moment. Waiting his reaction patiently and waiting for the internet to start freaking out again, her chest was hurting from the drumming of her heart. Hell, she knew she looked like a disaster with a flushed face, phone gripped so hard in her hand that it could break, a group of girls forming around her, noisy yet so distant. The world going in slow motion, seeing his crimson eyes widen for a fraction of a second, hiding more of his face in the palm of his hand as he still tried to look so casual, Kirishima's "Yeaaaaaaaah!" filled her ears as he tapped his finger on the screen, destination already clear. And when he saw what he needed...

He got up, leaving his tray of food behind, shit-eating grin basically parting the sea of people forming around them both as he marched towards where she was seated, and for the third time they made eye contact. His cheeks flushed, such a boyish expression coveting his normally angry features, mischievous and happy, relieved, just... Perfect.

Everything went in slow motion for her, his march, decisive and bold, as he always was, took to an end as he got to her, just giving her a hand and a raised brow, inviting her to leave with him anywhere but there.

And she took it without hesitation.

[christinaroseandrews]

Marketing Matters - Strategy - Fanfiction

Strategy - Fanfiction

So this is a bit of a taboo subject in the publishing world, but I’m going to be upfront with you all. 

We write fanfiction. 

There, I said it. 

Writing fanfic is also a viable marketing strategy for authors who are choosing to go the self-publishing route and not always for the reasons that immediately spring to mind.  In addition, the skills, fanbase, and tricks learned while writing fanfic can also apply to traditional publishing.  However, I’m going to give you one caveat right up front: many big name publishers don’t like authors who write fic. Or at least they say they don’t. It’s becoming more common, but most publishers and agents want authors to be focusing on original fic not fanfic. Several smaller presses don’t care as much, so long as your author persona and your fic persona are very separate and you don’t rub it in their faces.  But the big name publishers may require you to pull your fanworks. So that’s something to keep in mind.

So now it’s time to break it down.

About Us and What we’ve done:

We’re probably best known as fanfic writers in the Hunger Games fandom, where we have a few well regarded fics.  We’ve also dipped our toes into other fandoms including the MCU, Harry Potter, DBZ, and more drive-by one-shots in various fandoms than you can shake a stick at.

We also both were/are a part of the Sims 2 writing community and had a few well known stories there as well.  ^__^ We may or may not have met in this fandom. LOL

Both of us have been part of these fandoms for years and were active members in them. Lark started in fanfic back in 1994/5 as a beta reader (which she then parlayed that experience into becoming an editor that summer). While Rose discovered fic in college in 2002. In these fandom communities, we met people that we now call friends in real life as well as mentors, betas, advisers, and cheerleaders. We learned skills that apply both to fic and to original writing.  And, most importantly, we learned how to listen to our audience.

Let me stress that again: we learned to listen to our audience. 

When we transitioned, we hit up the people we met in these fandoms to help us with various aspects of publishing life (either paying or trading favors for work done) and we’ve also given status updates about our original writing, along with links to our author tumblr in the authors’ notes of our fics. Nothing that will violate the terms of Ao3′s Terms of use - but links to our professional website/social media.

While we write fanfic less, we still dip our fingers in now and again.

Cost:

Time. 

Straight up time.

The cost of writing fic is time, energy, and creativity.  Time spent writing fic is time NOT spent writing original works that can be published.  Time that is not spent editing or plotting or doing other sweat equity types of marketing. Which is why some authors refuse to write fic once they turn professional and it is completely understandable. Fanfic authors don’t get paid for their work and for some, getting paid is a big deal. Especially when most of your income comes from writing.

It’s a cost we willingly pay sometimes, but if a fanfic author you know also writes original works for publications. It does mean that updates may be slower and there is often less motivation to keep publishing stories -- especially if the stories don’t get much in the way of response/feedback.

It’s about return on investment.

Return on Investment:

I’m going to do this a little differently since sometimes the return isn’t monetary.  This is also likely to sound really clinical and analytical; that’s because I’m trying to be objective and I may be going too far the other way. We write fanfic because we love it, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t give back to us too.

Monetary (Language of Flowers only):

Units sold:  20

Mailing list subscribers: 6

Social media followers:  Twitter - 15, Tumblr - 60, Facebook - 8

Not Monetary but Cost Saving

Editors - 9

Cover Designers - 3

Mailing List Trades - 3

Skills Learned:

Editing (Line, Content, Story Doctoring -- Yes, all of these)

Proofreading (not the same as editing)

Creating Characters

Keeping Characters in Character

Plotting

Engaging an audience

Finishing what you start

How to handle ConCrit

How to handle Trolls

How to write to an audience

How to prevent plot holes

As you can see, the biggest return on investment of the time is in the skills section. Fanfiction is not to be taken lightly.

And as for me, Lark, I literally parlayed my experience working in fandom to actual paying jobs as an editor. I honed my skills as an editor on fanfic which I then turned around and used to get a job editing professionally. I did that multiple times for a bunch of different publishers/clients. I got my start in fanfic.

As an editor, one of the biggest problems I see with developing authors is a “sameness” in voice. AKA all of the characters sound the same.  If you want to see this in traditionally published book action, then look at Laurel K. Hamilton... Her Merry Gentry and Anita Blake heroines sound almost exactly the same. (Which not coincidentally, sounds like how she speaks in real life.)

With fanfiction, you can’t do that. You’ll get called out for being OOC. So you have to learn to adapt your voice. (Or only write characters that sound like you but that gets boring after a while.)

So in my actual job as an editor, one I get paid to do, I legitimately tell my clients to pick a character from a show they like and use them as a template for a character they’re having trouble giving a good character voice to. And unsurprisingly, it works. It’s a good trick and it subconsciously teaches your brain how to create different characters/voices.

They other HUGE takeaway from the skills is in regards to concrit and being able to take it. If you want to publish for a living and not just half-ass it, you have to develop a thick-ish skin. And fanfiction can help with that. I straight up learned to deal with harsh reviews from writing fanfiction. But more importantly, I learned how to listen to what the person was telling me and then become a better author because of it.

In fanfiction, unlike in the publishing world, the reviews are meant for the authors... not potential readers. If someone really hates your work, or worse, is apathetic to it. They just won’t comment. They’ll hit the backspace and you’ll never hear anything. Most comments, especially critical ones, are from people who legitimately like the story that you’re telling but have a problem with part of it. The comment may be harsh, it may even be mean. But it tells you something and it gives you an idea where you may be turning off readers. People aren’t always good at phrasing criticism constructively. We’re not really trained how to do that. But when someone tells you why something isn’t working for them or why they didn’t like something, listen. You don’t have to agree -- we certainly haven’t -- but listening and thinking critically about the feedback will help.

This can be seen in our first novel, The Language of Flowers, which started out its life as a fanfic. The story pissed several readers off. And we realized as we were writing it that we needed to explain something and we weren’t doing a good job of doing so. So the scene that every single one of our readers loved was born of that concrit. Our story is better and reached the top 100 in its categories on Amazon because of the feedback we got as fanfic authors.

Seriously, writing fanfic has gotten us to where we are today.

Takeaways:

My biggest take away is that writing fanfic is a great skills builder and audience builder.

Pros:

Skills. Oh so many skills. But the biggest is that you will be writing and no writing is ever wasted. It’s practice. Like an artist has to sketch or a musician practice. You’re honing and toning your writing muscles. And fanfic is absolutely valid for doing that.

Cons:

Time. Straight up Time.

Rating:

It’s been so long since I’ve done one of these that I don’t remember. But honestly, the rating varies. You get out of fanfic what you put in and what you’re willing to take from it.

(Note: This has been sitting in our drafts for about 4 years. I finally finished it up because I was bored and waiting to go to a doctor and didn’t feel like doing nothing.)

If you like our marketing posts, please consider supporting us here!

[childeapologist]

tagged by @naruzumake and @fyodcrs thank youu!!!

why did you choose your url? because I like stars and galaxy aesthetic and Steven Starphase was my Kekkai Sensen crush

any side-blogs? The only active sideblog of mine currently is my Dr. Stone blog @senkus-lab-partner  I have an art blog that’s dead bc I procrastinate forever on starting fanarts and make edits instead @sstarphase--art  I also have a gaming blog that I still intend to set up and start reblogging/posting original content to @sketchydainsleif

how long have you been on tumblr? I made my blog in 2010 I been here since the era of like socially awkward penguin memes and philosoraptor. I was an emo/bandom blog that spammed Green Day posts. I went through a SuperWhoLock phase. I’ve seen too much. 

do you have a queue tag? i’m one of those annoying people with the long ass queue tags.  My current one is: queue: off doing science experiments with Senku \(★ω★)/ Before that I had a Great Pretender one: queue: living an honest life with edamame  Before that I had: queue: having tea with Levi (but I changed this one bc It was similar to another users with a lot of the same mutuals and I didn’t want it to be confusing) 

why did you start your blog in the first place? I was in high school and I’ve always been a bit of an internet gremlin and my friend told me she discovered this great new social media and that i had to make an account and try it because it’s really great. I am still thankful for that. Tumblr is great for the fandom subcultures I love to immerse myself in (i’ve gotten better at avoiding the bad parts of fandom as Ive gotten older though)

why did you choose your icon/pfp? AS SOON AS I SAW DAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME I WAS IN LOVE. DAIN IS EVERYTHING WHEN WILL HE BECOME PLAYABLE AAHHHH

why did you choose your header? Senku is the best and the art in the second OP goes so hard. 

what’s your post with the most notes? an old ass gif i made of kaneki cracking his finger. think its like 11-12k notes?

how many people do you follow? 1,131, lot of inactive blogs there though. the inactive checker from xkit hasn’t been working for me shfd;ghsgs

have you ever made a shitpost? I’m still proud of my Evangelion shitpost that got over 1k notes 

how often do you use tumblr? I get on every day nowadays. And when I’m active i am usually very active. But I’ve taken several long hiatuses in all the years I’ve been on here, otherwise I feel my blog would have grown so much more by now. 

did you have a fight/argument with a blog once? I used to engage in discourse way more often so shgdghlslhs yeah

how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this post’? it’s fine I guess especially on pressing issues. but idk sometimes it makes me feel stubborn like now I dont want to reblog it just because of that LOL i am mature

do you like tag games? yess but I get bad executive dysfunction and then I feel bad when I don’t do a bunch in a row then it feels like it’s been long enough for it to be weird and i’m like ;ogj;ghslfgsdhdfghd

do you like ask games? yes!! 

which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous? I follow a many people that have been amazing creators since I could barely color a gif and I feel so honored to have become mutuals with some of them recently and s;hgghslighesfdg

do you have a crush on a mutual? Unfortunately I only have crushes on 2D characters

i will tag: @rorronoa @tokoyammi @prince-rivailles @ackernen @eremikas

[becasbelt]

Chapters: 1/12 Fandom: Pitch Perfect (Movies) Rating: T Relationships: Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell Characters: Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale, Dr. Mitchell (Pitch Perfect), Beca Mitchell's Mother, Aubrey Posen, Jesse Swanson Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, skateboarder!beca, Romance, Angst

Summary:

Beca’s rough past has taught her to despise music, but when a bubbly ginger recruits her to join the Barden Bellas, she will be forced to come face to face with some harsh memories that she’s spent years trying to forget. And maybe – just maybe – she will learn to love music (and possibly something else) once again.

A retelling of Pitch Perfect in which Beca hates music, Chloe loves a cappella, and somewhere along the way they fall in love.

* * *

Beca opens her eyes as she feels the cab come to a stop. She lifts her head from its slumped position and looks out the window of the vehicle, squinting in distaste at what she sees.

It wasn’t Beca’s plan to go to college. She wasn’t one of those teenagers that fantasized about living in a dorm, earning their degree, and meeting some cute boy to have babies with. That just wasn’t Beca.

Her father, however, had different plans for her. As soon as Dr. Mitchell learned that his only child had no plans of pursuing higher education, he’d thrown a fit. Well, it was a very grown-up, professional fit, Beca would give him that, but a fit nonetheless.

At least, that’s what Beca told herself to make herself feel better about this whole situation.

So as Beca looked out the cab window at all the bright-eyed freshman running around Barden University’s campus, it was safe to say that she was less than thrilled to be there.

The cab driver unbuckles his seatbelt and starts to get out of the car, so Beca hurries to do the same. She makes her way to the trunk of the car, which the driver pops with a press of a button on his keys. A nearby housing attendant immediately rushes over to help unload her stuff. He reaches for the skateboard resting on top of all Beca’s luggage, but Beca holds out a hand to stop him.

“I got it,” she says, then pulls the board out of the trunk.

The dude just shrugs before beginning to unload the rest of her stuff.

Beca holds her board loosely by the truck and takes a moment to look around the campus before a perky blonde girl comes rushing over to her.

“Hi there! Welcome to Barden University,” she greets chirpily. “What dorm?”

Beca fights to urge to snicker at the excitement in her voice. “Uh, Baker Hall, I think,” she answers.

“Okay,” blondie says, turning around to point in the opposite direction. “So what you’re gonna do is you’re gonna go down this way, then you’re gonna take a right…”

The girl continues on with her directions and Beca quickly loses interest, glancing off to the side. A car pulls up beside her with the back windows rolled down. The guy singing along to the radio in the back seat notices Beca looking and props himself up to see her better. “Don’t you cry no more, no!” He points at Beca and starts air guitaring along with the music.

Beca watches him, unimpressed. He raises his eyebrows and grins at her, clearly impressed with his own skills. Beca humors him with an amused look before his car drives away.

Blondie is still talking, and Beca focuses on her again when she holds out a map towards Beca. “Your campus map,” she’s saying, “and your official BU rape whistle. Don’t blow it unless it’s actually happening,” Blondie advises seriously.

Beca ignores the map but takes the whistle from her hands and places it between her teeth without breaking eye contact. The girl lets out a small “hm” as Beca side-eyes her and walks away.

* * *

After Beca’s met her psychotic roommate, she decides to procrastinate the unpacking process and flops down on her unmade bed to scroll aimlessly through social media.

A few of her friends from high school had made posts about her leaving, most of them teasing her in some way. The majority of her friends were still all together in Seattle, opting not to go to college, so she was really one of the only ones that had had to say goodbye to everyone. Beca was envious of them.

Soft music starts playing from the other side of the room, some generic pop ballad that she’s vaguely heard playing on the radio before. She ignores it for the time being, focusing instead on commenting on her friend Derek’s photo of her on Instagram.

A few more minutes pass by with the songs changing every so often before Beca feels a headache coming on. She turns her head to glare at her roommate.

“If you’re going to play music, can you at least use headphones?” she asks irritably.

The other girl turns towards her and the two of them engage in a brief glaring war before Kimmy Jin reaches behind her and presses the space bar on her laptop. The room fills with silence once more.

Beca flashes a sarcastic smile in fake gratitude and turns her attention back on her phone. She’s watching a silent video of one of her friends doing a kickflip off a rail when there’s a knock on the door.

“Campus police, hide your wine coolers,” a muffled voice says from the other side. Beca glances up from her phone as the door opens and her dad’s head pokes in. He laughs and Beca rolls her eyes. “Just your old man, making a funny,” he says, stepping fully into the room.

Beca looks back down at her phone. “Chris Rock, everybody,” she mutters sarcastically.

Her dad ignores her, focusing instead on Kimmy Jin. “Hey, uh, you must be Beca’s roommate,” he starts awkwardly. “I’m Dr. Mitchell, Beca’s dad. I teach comparative literature here.”

Beca watches the exchange from her bed with slight amusement. When all he gets is an icy stare in return, her dad turns back to Beca. The humor immediately drops from her face.

“So, when did you get here? How did you get here?” he questions.

Beca stands up from the bed and busies herself with taking random things out of her bags, placing them on the desk. “Took a cab. Didn’t want to inconvenience you and Sheila,” she replies breezily. “How is the Step-Monster?” Beca adds as an afterthought.

Her dad scoffs. “She’s fine, actually. She’s actually in Vegas at a conference for-”

“Oh, I don’t actually care,” Beca interrupts, turning towards him. “I just wanted to say Step-Monster.”

He sighs. “So have you been down to the quad yet?” he asks, trying desperately to salvage this interaction. “In the summer the students like to lay around in the grass and-”

“I don’t want to lay around in the grass, Dad,” Beca cuts him off again. “I want go back to Seattle and start looking for a job, not take classes and waste my time here.”

Her dad rolls her eyes. “Oh, so you mean you want to goof around with those druggie skateboarders you spend all your time with and work at a McDonald’s for the rest of your life?” Beca scoffs and turns away to pull things out of her bag again. “Face it, Beca. You don’t know what you want to do with your life.”

“I know what I don’t want to do,” Beca mumbles under breath.

“We’ve been over this before. College is the best way to find some direction in your life, Beca,” her dad lectures. “So before you go try to ruin your life, you’re going to get a college education. For free, I might add.”

Before Beca can come up with a sarcastic reply, Kimmy Jin turns in her chair. “I’m going to the activities fair,” she deadpans and stands up to leave.

Beca seizes the chance to escape. “Me too,” she quickly says, following Kimmy Jin to the door. “I’m going to the activities fair with my super good friend Kimmy Jin.”

She thinks that her dad might protest, but by the time he starts she’s already half way down the hallway.

* * *

Beca knows Kimmy Jin was just at her side. They walked down to the quad together, albeit in silence, but they were definitely together. The only problem now is that Beca can’t find the damn girl.

She takes some time searching the crowd for her frightening roommate, and spots her over by the Asian Student Union booth. Kimmy Jin is smiling, and seems to have completely forgotten about Beca.

Huffing out a breath, Beca rolls her eyes and begins to wander aimlessly among the booths. She lazily looks to read signs and posters advertising various on-campus groups, but doesn’t take time to consider anything. Nothing here was of interest to her, and she was planning on getting away from Barden University as soon as possible, so there was no point in actually paying attention to anything going on around her.

She was away from her dad, and that was the important thing.

Still, there were a few eye-catching booths here and there. Beca spotted a DJ stand, and upon further observation discovered it was actually for Deaf Jews. There were a bunch of people running around in circles, though Beca didn’t know if that was an organization or just people doing it for fun. All around, Beca was pretty unimpressed.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, Beca finally sees something worthwhile. There was a simple booth near the end of the line with the words “Barden Skate Shop” at display. Beca saw a bored looking blonde dude sitting behind the table handing out fliers and immediately begins to make her way over.

Before she can get very far, a white piece of paper appears under her nose and a voice cuts through the noise around her.

“Hi! Any interest in joining our a cappella group?”

Beca stops short and looks down at the paper before hesitantly taking it and turning to face the girl who stopped her. The girl has wavy ginger hair and the bluest eyes Beca has ever seen. There’s a tall blonde standing next to her who seems like she’s trying to force a smile onto her face.

Turning her eyes back towards the paper in her hands, Beca takes a moment to actually see what’s on it. It’s very amateur-looking, with cut out pictures of girls singing glued over blue shapes and hand drawn music notes decorating the page. The name Barden Bellas is written elegantly at the top.

“Oh, right,” Beca says, holding back a laugh as she looks back at the two girls. “This is like, a thing now.”

“Oh, totes,” the ginger says seriously, nodding her head. “We sing covers of songs but we do it without any instruments,” she goes on to explain. “It’s all from our mouths.”

Beca can’t help the small “yikes” that slips out of her own mouth at the words. She sees the blonde girl’s smile become a little more strained.

Seemingly undeterred, the redhead continues on. “There are four groups on campus. The Bellas,” she says, gesturing between herself and her companion. “That’s us; we’re the tits.”

She goes on to name all the other groups and Beca zones out, chancing a glance over at the Skate Shop booth. The one guy sitting at it doesn’t seem like he’s going anywhere anytime soon, but Beca still wished that she could get out of this conversation to go check it out.

Two hums from in front of her bring her attention back on the a cappella girls. “So, are you interested?” ginger asks.

Beca fights the instinct to roll her eyes and tries for a smile instead. She’ll let them down fast and easy so that she can get the hell out of there.

“Sorry, it’s just… it’s pretty lame.”

Or she’ll go with that. That’s cool, too.

Ginger’s bright smile slides off her face and she looks downward. The blonde, who’s been silent so far, looks like she’s been struck. “Aca-scuse me?” she says indignantly, anger flashing in her eyes. “Synchronized lady dancing to a Mariah Carey chart-topper is not lame.”

Beca stares at the girl in confusion, wondering how she didn’t think the words coming out of her mouth were, in fact, lame.

“We sing all over the world and compete in national competitions,” the redhead tries again. Beca’s eyes flicker to hers.

“On purpose?” Beca asks before she can stop herself.

“We played the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, you bitch,” the blonde says sweetly, an over polite smile on her face and murder in her eyes.

Beca raises her eyebrows and fights off a grin, suddenly very impressed with the tall blonde. Her eyes switch back over to ginger as she speaks again.

“What Aubrey means to say,” the ginger cuts in, glancing at her friend, “is that we are a close-knit, talented group of ladies who’s dream is to return to the national finals at Lincoln Center this year.” Beca glances to the side exasperatedly, suddenly very tired of this interaction. When she looks back, sincere blue eyes are locked onto her own. “Help us turn our dreams into a reality?” the girl asks, hesitance in her voice and a small smile playing at the edge of her lips.

Beca looks at her for a moment before deciding to show them some mercy and not reply with any more biting comments. “Sorry, I don’t even sing, and I’m not really that big into music in general, but it was really nice to meet you guys.”

She begins to walk away and spares one last glance at the ginger’s crestfallen expression before heading in the direction of the skating booth, determined to not let the interaction get in the way of what she wants to do.

It was just a cappella. It was just music.

And Beca had promised herself that she would never let herself get sucked into music again.

[thecyclopsnugget]

Fanatic Fandom Fan Fantasy

First, let’s watch this video that is completely unrelated to what I am going to write in the rest of this blog post, just because it is funny and brilliant, and Elle Fanning is fantastically fantasized by me. Fan.

In recent years, fandoms have become an increasingly widespread social and cultural phenomenon infusing many facets of the current society and its consumer culture (Gray et al. 2007). Especially with the rise of social media, fandom has found its roots to grow into a bigger kingdom worldwide. Simply by just hash-tagging your favourites or creating a fan group on Facebook, you could gather all like-minded people around the world.

According to Henry Jenkins (1992), there are five levels of fandom activity involvements: 

A particular mode of reception

A particular set of critical and interpretive practices

Base for consumer activism

Possesses particular form of cultural production - fan fiction & fan art

Functions as alternative community

Hence, many professional careers have been shaped under the influence of fandoms, such as commemorative writers, bloggers, and video gamers (Jenkins 2006). 

Aside from getting more professional in becoming a fan, the participatory culture in fandom also allows fans to become more mainstream where media industry are becoming more fan-friendly, such as by inviting fans to participate in a concert or even appearance in music videos.

As exemplified in the Daylight MV by Maroon 5. The band launched the “Daylight project” and invited their fans to send them a video of themselves, of what they like and what they hate etc. Months later, the band uploaded an official music video for the song “Daylight” on YouTube featuring their fans telling their story and even singing along to the song.

“As different as we all are, there are common themes that bring us together, inspire and show everyone what is important today. With this video, we'll present the world today and beyond, creating more than just a music video.” – Adam Levine 

(Wait, sounds like a deja vu?  Yea, we have discussed about this last week. What’s wrong with recycled topic eh? I love recycling!)

Anyway, the participatory culture can sometimes be exploited as free labour. For example, media industries are using fan art to earn money without giving enough credits to the creators themselves. However, in this case, I wouldn’t refer it as an exploitation for free labour as it seems like a consensual agreement between both parties, where the fans want to get featured and the band needs content for their MV, both are getting what they needed at the same time. It is a win-win situation. However, on the flip side, what they (fans) did not realise is that this is also acted as a marketing strategy that uses fans/WOM to promote the product. But I don’t think the fans would mind that as long as they appear in the same video with Adam Levine. I mean I would do it too. 

Fan derived from the word “fanatic”, which refers to a person that is overly enthusiast  in something to a degree that some people find it unreasonable. The “unreasonable” side can be seen through the incident of Harry Styles threw up on a Los Angeles freeway roadside. After the incident, a fan has set up a banner that wrote “Harry Styles Threw-Up Here ❤ 10-12-14” at the spot where the star threw up, and a fan even gathered the vomit substance and sell it on eBay. I mean that’s the level of “unreasonable” we are talking about.

However, even the most loyal fan should not be taken for granted. Fan activism is a form of civil engagement and political participation that emerges from the passions of fandom and fan culture; also, it is a fan-driven effort to engage and address civic, social, and political issues. Fans are not always stand by the side of their favourite, they can be shifted from love to hatred if they feel like their efforts are being exploited. As exemplified in the Taylor Swift’s cases where her fans are upset over her action of suing Etsy vendors for selling fan-made merchandise with her image and lyrics on it, and also the controversial ticket sales scheme that happened last year where fans are forced to buy her official merchandise in order to buy her concert ticket. Even though, according to the star, it is to ensure that the tickets are being bought by genuine fans and not bots/touts that will resell the tickets at a higher price. But seriously? She is not stopping the bots/touts from fleecing her fans, instead, she is fleecing her own fans. C’mon Taylor, there has got to be a better way to do this without getting your already poor fans to spend more.

Yet, despite the controversy, some of her fans are still standing up for her action as doing the right thing for the right cause. That’s the steel Swifties we’re talking about. 

(OMG, I have Harry Styles and Taylor Swift in one post. Someone is going to kill me lol)

“We are all fans”; in fact, we can be fans of anything. Food fans, sport fans, Taylor Swift fans, cat fans, fan fans (get it? Aha), and even a fan of a particular colour. Have you ever heard of the pink lady of Hollywood and the jolly green lady of Brooklyn?

Here I would like you to meet Ella London – a lady who is a fan of yellow, and she called herself “Miss Sunshine”.

“My mission everyday no matter what I’m doing, is to bring sunshine.” – Ella London

I was deeply moved by how she turned yellow (lol) to make other people happy, to bring sunshine to other people’s lives. Yellow makes her happy, makes her positive, so she adores it and fully embraced it into her life.

Even though fans are usually being perceived as weird/obsessive and immature (which it is in the Harry case), but as long as you are happy with your life, I don’t see any problem between us. 😎 

Jenkins, H (1992) Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture , New York: New York University Press.  

Jenkins, H (2006) Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers, New York: New York University Press.

Gray, J, Cornell, S, Lee, HC (2007) Fandom: Identities and Communities in a Mediated World, New York: New York University Press.

[callunavulgari]

TOP 25 FICS OF 2017

1. A Somaal Universe by @kaikamahine | Steven Universe | 7.5k

Connie flips over the next card. “'Most likely to -’” She reads out loud, and then dissolves into laughter and has to start over, propping the card up on her bump. “'Most likely to freak out when you go into labor and break the speed limit getting to the hospital?’” 

“Pearl,” Amethyst and Jasper say in unison.

Heather Says: It was really difficult to choose between this and Favor For Your Four-Chambered Heart as favorite Elizabeth fic for the year, but in the end this one won out because it was one of the first fics this year that made me well and truly happy.

2. The home front by aesc | Stargate Atlantis | 10k

“This had better be the Sheppard residence,” Rodney says, brilliant, agitated life and volume against a monotonous day and Dave’s subdued welcome, “because I’ve been driving around for hours and if I ever find the woman who did the voice on my GPS system I’m going to personally amputate her vocal cords.”

Heather Says: I read this in the pool, precariously balanced on the top step with my body angled weirdly so that I wasn’t holding my phone over the water. I started it before I got in the pool, of course, but I couldn’t put it on hold long enough to swim, so I finished it in the water.

3. Junk Cheap by DevilDoll | Stargate Atlantis | 13.5k

If you were thinking you’d love to read an AU where Rodney is a college professor and John owns a junk shop, this is the story for you.

Heather Says: This might be my favorite SGA fic that I found this year, which is funny since going into the fandom I would have told you that I’d prefer to read fics set in canon. I mean, c’mon. Atlantis? Why would I want to read anything set anywhere else? But this fic perfectly captured John’s lazy personality and Rodney’s crotchety... everything. It’s fabulous.

4. Unidentified by fiercelydreamed | Stargate Atlantis | 30k

Fourteen years, eight months, and seven days after John and Rodney meet, the clock starts all over again.

Heather Says: I’m not typically one for the amnesia trope. I’ve found some good fic for it, but most of the time either the angst or the second-hand embarrassment gets me too hard and I end up exiting out of the fic. This fic was intricate and engaging and introduces a Rodney just off-center from the Rodney that we know.

5. Black Helicopters at Dawn by whizzy | Stargate Atlantis | 240k

Screw the bet. Rodney was going to prove the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence. Oh, and incidentally, he might just catch the United States Air Force with their pants around their ankles.

Heather Says: This fic is long. And beautiful, and sad, and kind of a lot. Also if you’re like me you’ll have to find the third part of it on some weird, sort of sketchy website that hopefully didn’t give you viruses. Or if you’re really desperate you can ask me to send you a copy since I think I still have it somewhere.

6. Like a Lightning Strike by miss_aphelion | Hannibal | 71k

In a world where omegas are instant celebrities and treated like royalty, Will just wants to be left alone. So he keeps what he is a secret, managing to avoid the spotlight and the restrictions that come with it for nearly twenty years.

Then a case goes wrong, and his secrets start to unravel before the entire world—and even more worrying, it happens in front of Hannibal, the alpha that was already fascinated with him before he knew what he was.

Heather Says: Okay, so remember how I said I wasn’t crazy about the amnesia trope? I am really not crazy about the A/B/O trope. Done well enough it’s intriguing, but I read a really awful one way back in the day that basically scarred me for life. That said, this fic came along and hooked me hard. It hasn’t been updated since April, which is disappointing, but it’s well worth the read, even unfinished.

7. Lord, Save Me from Your Followers by anamatics | Supergirl | 27k

Kara, perhaps out of a want for thoroughness in her story, perhaps out of a Millennial-born urge to creep on a the social media of a woman she finds intriguing, discovers that Lena Luthor has a pretty active following on Instagram one afternoon not long after their first meeting. She debates it, just for a moment, before following Lena.

Heather Says: Don’t watch Supergirl? That’s fine! Technically I’ve only seen a couple episodes myself! Read this anyway! This fic has that perfect realness to it that I’ve only found in a very select group of fics and it has cute girls kissing to boot.

8. hood & glove by @fahye | Yuri On Ice | 12k 

“I don’t mess with the fae,” Otabek says.

"I'm not asking you to mess with them," JJ flat-out lies. 

Heather Says: I’ve tried to say things about this three times now. There are fairies. Otabek is a hero. The king of the fairies fell in love with a human and the weather is fucked up. And there is some truly spectacular art within.

  9. With Fire in Their Eyes by @asukaskerian | Yuri On Ice | 8k

He lands butterfly-light in a swirl of hair and glittering gauze, and the ceiling crashes to the rink all around him.

His ears are ringing with heartbeats, his efforts, the cries of the crowd. The rink wobbles under him -- must have landed a bit wrong but he can work through it. Only there are things strewn all over the ice; people usually know to wait until the end to throw roses and tokens and --

Not applause. Screams. The light is wrong because a fourth of the ceiling projectors are missing. The sky is dark. No stars. Something gleams behind the broken sky. And moves. Something he can't -- won't -- something.

Something that's looking at him.

Heather Says: It’s a Pacific Rim/Yuri On Ice crossover. What more could you want?

10. What We Pretend We Can’t See by @gyzym | Harry Potter | 131 k

Seven years out from the war, Harry learns the hard truth of old history: it’s never quite as far behind you as you thought.

Heather Says: I’ve been a fan of gyzym’s stuff since way back in 2009? 2010? Whatever year it was, it was on livejournal back when Inception was a thing. So when I got the notification that she wrote something new? And that the new thing she’d written was 130k of Draco/Harry? I was over the moon. 

11. No Less Unthinkable by @rageprufrock | Yuri On Ice | 79k

In which Katsuki Yuuri fights a losing battle with chronic anxiety, the quadruple Salchow, and his own judgment four drinks in — but wins the war.

Heather Says: I’ve been affectionately dubbing this fic the slutty Yuuri picture show, because damn. The porn itself is exquisitely written, yes, but more than that is the way Yuuri himself is written. That realness that I was talking about above is very prominent here too. 

12. Slithering by @astolat | Harry Potter | 27k

Draco found the nest down in the Manor’s cellars, while he was clearing them out.

Heather Says: I have a weakness for fics with snakes, okay.

13. Hermione Granger’s Hogwarts Crammer for Delinquents on the Run by @waspabi | Harry Potter | 93k

'You’re a wizard, Harry’ is easier to hear from a half-giant when you’re eleven, rather than from some kids on a tube platform when you’re seventeen and late for work.

Heather Says: In addition to just being really fucking great all around, the soundtrack to this fic lead me to some of the best music that I’ve listened to this year.

14. the king of oak by @picqueries | Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them | 38k 

The first thing Percival Graves does after being released back into the world is buy a new wand. He's at Greymalkin's for ten minutes and the only wand that works for him is raw aspen, whiter than bone and so rough that Graves gives himself a splinter conjuring a storm of birds. The wand—dragon heartstring, a most unusual wand for an American wizard, according to a flustered Greymalkin—feels wild, and Graves empties half his wallet on the counter and keeps his hand on his new wand all the way home.

The second thing he does is quit his job, because honestly.

("Grindelwald did his research before he put on your face," Seraphina says reasonably. "And it's not like you're open with your personal life. He has us all fooled."

"He wore scorpion stickpins!" Graves shoots back, somewhat less reasonably.

Seraphina looks at Graves, his pressed creases, his immaculate shirt, the red ruby cufflinks he's wearing to hide the starved brittleness of his wrists. "I'm sorry," she says. It is not enough to make him stay.)

The third thing he does is get jumped by Credence Barebone in an alley.

Heather Says: Okay, okay, okay. But. Wizards are descended from fairies. Should I say it again for those in the back? Wizards are descended from fairies. Honestly, even if this fic had been horribly written I’d be hooked just on that concept alone. Fortunately it’s written beautifully, and is a complete work of art.

15. apocrypha by aerynlallaboso | Dishonored | 97k

The Eighth year of the reign of Empress Emily Kaldwin, First of her Name, the second year without a whisper from the Outsider, is the year the Void chooses to mark the end of an era.

Heather Says: This wasn’t the first Dishonored fic that I read, but it was the first one I’d read that was longer than 5k, and I was just so goddamned pleased with everything about it.

16. A Year In Toussaint by @astolat | The Witcher | 30k

Geralt had no damn idea what to do with a vineyard when Anna Henrietta gave him Corvo Bianco, but he figured it couldn’t be that bad.

Heather Says: Between the Stargate Atlantis and Harry Potter, I read a lot of astolat’s fic this year. I’d noticed that she’d been writing fic for the Witcher, but didn’t much care because I never really played the games. But I was bored one day, so I read one of her Witcher fics. Then another. And another. And then I went out and bought the games. This one is my favorite.

17. wild peaches by @notbecauseofvictories | The Labyrinth | 3.5k

The morning after Sarah Williams defeats the Goblin King, she gets up and makes toast.

Heather Says: The feel of this fic is basically what I want out of everything that I read for the rest of my life. Just the right amount of magic, but eerie and timeless. I have read this fic at least five times since it was published and will probably go on to read it another five times next year.

18. where the weeds take root by @beenghosting | Supernatural | 30k 

“Are you happy? Y’know. Just—being here,” Dean says, gesturing to the yard with his beer bottle. “Being with—I mean, you used to fight in celestial wars and—and save the world. Now you’re growing vegetables and talking about chickens.”

Heather Says: I really adore slice of life fic, especially when it’s an after-the-war-is-over sort of thing rather than just some fluffy AU that the characters have been stuffed into. I haven’t touched anything Supernatural related in years, not because I didn’t love the characters, but because the show was on this slowly creeping spiral downwards, and I just couldn’t. This though, feels like a very organic end for my two favorites, so thank you for giving me closure.

19. Heart and Home by lc2l | Les Mis | 97k

In an alternate Paris, werewolves occupy the majority of the ruling classes, making and adjusting policy to suit their interests. The punishments for a human attacking a werewolf can be brutal, unless they have the protection of a wolf pack.

How this translates to ‘claim Grantaire as your mate to get him out of prison’ is something Enjolras is still trying to get his head around, but he’s never been one to give up on a cause even when it’s sleeping on his sofa.

Heather Says: I, like many other people, watched the movie adaptation of Les Mis several years ago. My ex-girlfriend liked the play, but I’d never seen it. Loved the movie. Loved the play, once I got around to seeing it. But until this was recommended to me by a dear friend, I never once thought of it in the context of fandom. And werewolves! 

20. World Ain’t Ready by idiopathicsmile | Les Mis | 185k

Enjolras presses his lips together. He already looks pained, and Grantaire hasn’t even opened his mouth yet. That’s got to be a record, even for them.

“I need a favor,” he says at last. 

"With what?" says Grantaire. "Ooh, are you forming a cult? Can I join? I'd be awesome at cults, I just know it." He ticks off his qualifications on his fingers. "I love chanting, I look great in robes—" 

Heather Says: The thing about high school AUs that no one ever tells you is that as you grow up, one of two things happens. Either the high school AU in question triggers a massive influx of nostalgia that basically cripples you emotionally or it has you cringing away from the screen, groping blindly until you can ex out of the tab. I’m happy to say that this one is more of the former.

21. despite what you’ve been told by @caseyvalhalla | Yuri On Ice | 14k

When Victor falls, he goes down hard.

Heather Says: All I wanted out of the Yuri On Ice fandom was a good, long in-depth look at the inside of Victor’s brain. This is the fic where I got it.

22. these things take time by sonhoedesrazao | Les Mis | 63k

He’s always wary of making assumptions; even more so when Grantaire is concerned. He knows he’s not the easiest person to deal with. People either like him or can’t stand him, and it’s easy to respond to those reactions, but Grantaire—Grantaire is hostile and mocking, Grantaire scorns his beliefs, and Grantaire stays.

Heather Says: This fic soothed my soul during a particular rough patch this year. There are dates and misunderstandings and some pretty intense UST and it’s just wonderful all around.

23. Watercast by @fishwrites | Voltron | 113k

Shiro has been a Galra prisoner for over a year; with his flight feathers clipped and unable to fly. Desperate to escape, he jumps overboard while being transported to the capitol on a Galran ship. Lance is a merman who saves him from drowning. Keith thinks Shiro is about to become mermaid dinner. Hunk just wants Lance to stop going to the surface all the time, dammit!

Heather Says: When the most recent chapter of this came out, I ended up going back and rereading it, because I was on the beach, and it seemed like a really good time to read about mermen and flying bird people and I am just. So excited for this fic all over again.

24. Fifteen Men in September by ballantine | Black Sails | 34k

Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! Drink and the devil had done for the rest Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!

A Black Sails origin story for the song.

Heather Says: I stopped watching Black Sails after the end of season one, because there was a lot of things that we were watching at the time, and it was the one to get cut. I don’t even remember how this fic got recced to me, but I’m thrilled that it did because it’s made me go back and keep watching.

25. Patience on a Monument by betts | Game of Thrones | 21k

Having a Jaime in your life means living in a soap opera, except you can’t DVR it to watch later, and the main character sometimes ends up in your guest bedroom for an undisclosed period of time because he has a woefully codependent relationship with his sister.

Heather Says: It’s. So. Good.

[modestmondays]

one of the most important money-makers for kid-centered media is merchandise, right? so i do wonder about this. because as far as i can tell, su is genuinely very popular and is consistently one of the most talked about shows on online platforms like tumblr, but the thing is, i don’t know if that’s true for the product-selling side of it. for some perspective - i live in norway. there are some cartoons you *cannot* avoid in nerd stores, like adventure time. at first i thought maybe su was "too

new” to have that status, but now that’s happened to rickand morty, which is newer in terms of being “big” online. so i wondered aboutdemographics - maybe rick & morty is more popular among the “typical” nerdy+ gamer demographic (teen boys) - but i visited america and saw that actually,there IS a lot of su merch being prominently sold, so i wonder two things: isthere any way to know whether the su merch is doing *well*, and is there anyway to know whether it’s doing well *internationally*?

as popular as su is in the US, i’m not sure whether that’strue elsewhere (and i’ve heard that that actually matters to CN US, and is partof why they still have certain shows that aren’t huge ‘talkers’ nationally, butsell merch and do well elsewhere). i certainly love SU, but from what i can tell,it’s not… actually a household name among nerds here, and it’s hard to findany merch… so i do wonder if being big in america and online is enough,though i agree there aren’t warning signs yet

I was actually in Denmark recently for a cousin’s BarMitzvah, and I can anecdotally confirm that Rick and Morty is waaaay morepopular in your part of the world than I expected, although kids there had heard of StevenUniverse too. The Szechuan Sauce nonsense shows that R&M already has a strongUS fanbase as well. I think the US R&M fanbase is a bit older, it’s not reallya “for kids” show here. But either way, it’s certainly a closer fit for the nerdy/gamerdemographic than SU is, on both sides of the Atlantic. I’d expect to findR&M stuff at comic book stores, Gamestop, that kind of place. And whilethose places may have SU comics/toys, I think you find more SU merch at Barnes &Noble, Hot Topic, and other non-geek stores.

I’m definitely seeing a lot of SU merch here, and it feels likethe quantity and scope are both increasing (strongly suggesting that salesnumbers are good), which is a big part of why I’m not worried about thefinancial future of the show. But it’s interesting that you’re not seeing thatinternationally.

edit: this got really long, so I’ll put the rest under a cut.

I tried to do some research. The CN website was totallyunhelpful because it has zero business info, just stuff for the target audience,which is kids (although I did see that the volleyball game is finally up!), and moving up thecorporate chain to Turner didn’t help, since CN is too small a part of theirbusiness to get much press.

But some more searching took me to http://www.licensemag.com/license-globalwhich was more helpful. Here’s some CN articles/press releases that I foundinteresting. I’ll pull out some key highlights.

http://www.licensemag.com/license-global/cartoon-network-has-something-everyone(June 2016)

A big push for CNE moving forward will also be for theseries “Steven Universe.” Created by Rebecca Sugar, “StevenUniverse” follows the misadventures of Steven, the ultimate “littlebrother” to a team of magical guardians of humanity–the Crystal Gems–asthey band together to save the universe.

The series premiered on Cartoon Network in November 2013,but now is beginning to be supported by more robust offerings at retail.

“We’ve seen a huge pick up for ‘Steven Universe,’”says Yoder. “It’s one of those brands that has always rated reallywell–there is such a rich mythology within the storytelling–but it just took alittle longer for fans to really get to know the characters.”

According to CNE, theseries is a top performer on the network, coming in as the top grossing seriesper episode, and will now be expanded with a consumer product program.(emphasis mine)

Twenty-five-plus licensees have been tapped to expand thebrand to accessories (Accutime, Buckle-Down, Hot Properties and HighIntenCity), apparel (Bioworld, Underboss and Mighty Fine), gaming (USAopoly),home décor (Surreal Entertainment and the Northwest Company), novelty toys(A&A Global Industries, Funko, Just Toys International, Phat Mojo, ToyFactor and Zag Toys), costumes (Rubie’s Costume Co.) and more.

CNE will also leverage show creator Sugar for a publishingprogram with Penguin, and Boom! Studios will launch comic books and graphicnovels.

The products will sit at mid-tier retailers and hit shelvesin time for back-to-school, with stores such as Kohl’s, J.C. Penney and Searssigned on for inventory. Yoder says the program will expand to mass retailersand reach further into the kids’ demographic next year.

http://www.licensemag.com/license-global/cartoon-network-energizing-evergreens(February 2017)

“The network has done a great job not just saying that wecreate multi-platform content, but actually doing it,” adds Yoder, who has beena member of the CNE team since 2006 and reports to Cartoon Network presidentChristina Miller. “We are giving our fans true multi-platform experiences, sowhile we are creating linear content, we are also offering additional contentspecific for CN apps as well as evaluating how we expand with SVODopportunities and how we support kids creating their own content.”

As Cartoon Network is responding to the changing dynamics oflinear television and kids’ viewing habits, the network is still deliveringstrong ratings and viewership, which bodes well for its brand licensing group.

CNE is a well-recognized global licensor, ranked No. 30 inthe world, according to the Top 150 Global Licensors Report published annuallyby License Global, reporting $2 billion in retail sales of licensed merchandiseworldwide.

While the challenges facing the rapidly changing traditionalkids’ TV sector have been well-documented, Cartoon Network has several keypoints of differentiation, including a well-established audience, the abilityto promote its shows, development of content across different platforms andstrong evergreen properties.

http://www.licensemag.com/license-global/portfolio-programs(July 15, 2017)

“The idea of putting together long-term portfolio dealscame about rather organically,” says Christina Miller, vice president ofconsumer products, Cartoon Network Enterprises, which has inked multi-propertydeals with Mattel, Hallmark, and to a lesser degree, FunKo Toys.

According to Miller, “There were two primary reasons wechose to explore this strategy. First, Mattel and Hallmark are leading licenseesin their respective fields, and we have solid relationships with each.Secondly, our shows receive a good deal of cross-viewership, so kids who watch'Fosters’ are likely to stay and watch 'Billy & Mandy,’ and so forth. Wedecided, rather than spend time looking for individual licensees for eachproperty, it would be more efficient to have a single company developingproduct for all properties that target ages 6 to 11.”

Not to mention, she adds, “it fosters a strong creativerelationship between our creators and artists and their design teams.”

Hallmark’s vice president of licensing acquisitions, KarenMitchell-Layton, agrees, adding, “The multi-year, multi-propertyarrangement will allow us to spend time and creative energy in not onlycreating products for today, but also to take an innovative approach as thecharacters and storylines evolve.” Under its agreement with CartoonNetwork, Hallmark now holds the exclusive licensing rights in the U.S. andCanada for a range of everyday and seasonal social expression products,including greeting cards and party-supply items. “Social expressions is anincredibly extensive category,” says Miller, “so we’d like to spendmore time on the creative and less on making multiple deals, which ultimately willlead to better, more sophisticated products. Similarly, the Mattel deal coversmultiple toy and games categories including vehicles, action figures, playsets,roleplay, board games, puzzles, and youth electronic items.” While Mattelnow has a first-look option on all newly created original series andprogramming, Miller is quick to point out that existing relationships such asBandai’s master toy deal for “Ben 10” will remain untouched.

http://www.licensemag.com/license-global/cartoon-network-bolsters-experiential-initiatives(October 2017)

It takes more than great content to create a devoted fanbase, and Cartoon Network is putting fandom front and center to keep fansdeeply engaged with its properties.

“At a corporate level, Turner has put fandom veryfirmly in the center of our global strategy. We don’t talk about audiencesanymore, we talk about fans and fandom,” says Johanne Broadfield, vicepresident, Cartoon Network Enterprises EMEA, a part of Turner Entertainment.“For the past 18 months, we’ve been all about a 360-degree brandexperience.”

Putting fans at the heart of the business ups a property’sgame by fueling growth and fan commitment. In creating a foundation based onstrong core content, Cartoon Network is building its brands out to engage fanson a deeper level with a wide and varied set of temporary and permanentexperiences.

“We’re creating authentic, personal experiencesspecifically designed for fans of each brand to interact with the properties innew and unique ways,” says Broadfield.

Far from a one-size-fits-allapproach, Broadfield says the company is designing experiences tailored to eachbrand and its retail partners so that activations are meaningful and connectwith fans in a personal way.

Some analysis:

First, I don’t know how much to read into the lack of SUmentions in the later articles. It may not be one of the top sellers, but thatdoesn’t mean it’s doing poorly. “Top grossing series per episode” sounds prettygood, although they did see it as slower to grow on the merchandise side. Theymay be going for a similar slow burn internationally? I know the dubs arepretty far behind in some countries, and especially for younger kids, they’regoing to need the show in their native language. This would also hit stuff likecomics and books pretty hard. The Answer is a wonderful kid’s book, but it’sonly available in English.

Second, it looks like a lot of the licensing agreements areboth broad and exclusive, so if some of those retailers are US-only, so is themerch. Are Hot Topic or Funko international things? If not, then some of thetoys and clothing won’t be available—which exacerbates the previous problem,since toys and clothes could otherwise be sold to kids who aren’t nativeEnglish speakers with no trouble.

It seems like app and mobile tie-ins are a big part of theirholistic approach, and SU seems to be fine on that front. There’s hugeengagement from the fans across multiple platforms, although I’m not sure how much of that is from kids.

The last part, about unique fan experiences, made me thinkof Estelle’s “Stronger Than You” performance at SDCC. They went all out withthat one, giving out “Made of Love” t-shirts, reserving and decorating the stage, and gettinga huge crowd of fans together. They gave away more of those promotionalt-shirts during the panel at NYCC, too. I think they realize that the SU marketis there, and they’re doing a good job of engaging with us, even though we mostlyaren’t “boys age 6-11”.

Demographics may be a challenge, since CN was, up until recently,all about the boy’s programming (old Turner press releases emphasize thatsuccess). They’re branching out into other target demographics with shows like the PPG reboot or R&M, but it may beharder to nail down the SU fanbase into an easy target demographic. But they’re finding various ways to “engage” us(read: sell us stuff we want), and I hope that’ll continue.

I guess that didn’t really answer your questions, but hopefully it’s interesting anyway! It might be possible to get more specific sales data by reading SEC filings or calling them, but I don’t want to do that.

[fandomperception]

Section I

The primary focus of my research is on whether or not social media has had any direct impact on the way that fandoms are viewed and, if so, has this increased the levels of sexism that we see within these fandoms.

Throughout time, there has always been a gendered separation between interests. When it comes to media related interests only (i.e. music, books, movies, sports, etc.) men are expected to be engulfed, even if that includes violence. Arnold confirms these accusations by arguing that men are encouraged to be passionate, but women who are equally so about their interests are typically mocked to the point that many have went to self-censorship to avoid any ridiculement. Fandoms are often critiqued as irrelevant, because teenage girls cannot recognize “good” media. This snobbishness stems from the patriarchal power structure, which negates female interests.

According to Kerr, “the days of screaming girl fans are nothing new.” In 1963, the term Beatlemania was introduced to describe the mobs of teenage girls who idolized the English pop-rock band The Beatles. During the days of The Beatles, these girls would attend concerts, where they would cry and scream at the sight of their idols, buy merchandise and vinyl records, attempt to stalk the band, and write love letters. In the present day, the term Directioners is used to explain the same type of fans for the English-Irish band One Direction.

In the 1960’s, this sort of behavior from teenage girls was unheard of and frowned upon. Before the Beatles, there had never been a frenzy quite like this, and most did not know how to feel about it. In the words of Goldhill, “a New Statesman article at the time wrote that fans of the band embodied female hysteria, and that the girls who were devoted to their band were "the least fortunate of their generation, the dull, the idle, the failures"” (research was done in 1996 that confirmed that these girls were typically not anymore neurotic or hysterical than most).

Fans of One Direction, while they act out in many similar ways, have been deemed as a “new breed of fan” (Bennett) but this is arguable as to say that the only reason Directioners receive so much negative attention from outsiders is because their behaviors are readily visible and accessible through social media platforms that did not exist in the days of The Beatles and Beatlemania. Sanghani argues that both fandoms display the same behaviors as long as you consider how technology has changed by saying, “Once they were buying the vinyl records, and now they’re downloading them on iTunes and streaming them via Spotify; previously they wrote fan letters, now they ‘Facebook’ their crushes. The methods have changed, but the madness is still there.” Bennett describes this phenomenon as social media “mainstreaming” fandoms and their behaviors.

A side note that I feel is relevant enough to discuss is that the media is often to blame for stereotypes that surround women who engage in boyband fandoms. If you ask fans themselves, they often say that they enjoy the music and the band members as people that they can relate to or learn more about themselves from, but the media seems to think that fangirls only exist to see these men as one dimensional sexual objects, regardless of what their music sounds like. “It’s not just about an obviously sexual attraction; it’s about somebody who represents your life and what you want for the future. Who’s the kind of boy I want to be with, and what’s the kind of girl I’ll be? It’s the fantasy thing.” (Sanghani)

Recently, One Direction member Harry Styles released his first music as a solo artist and the reaction, from the media and the general public, has caused a lot of stirring within the fandom. His song, Sign of the Times, is a six-minute-long epic rock ballad that has drawn attention from many new fans. A good portion of these new fans are middle aged men who are comparing Styles and his song to the likes of David Bowie and Mick Jagger, while also undermining the relevance of Styles’ past and who got him to where he is today – the dedicated One Direction fans. Among social media, these men are showing a trend, stating that “I don’t like One Direction but…” before they continue to praise Styles’ newest work. The following are comments on one of his YouTube videos.

While fans are happy for Styles’ growing fan base, many feel as if they are being undermined. Stating “I don’t like One Direction but-“ seems to show that liking One Direction is something that can’t be taken seriously, so you must clear that assumption before continuing. Many fans, who have been around since the formation of the band in 2010, feel like it is unfair to them and Styles’ himself that he hasn’t been taken seriously as a musician until now, due to the negative connotations that surround boybands.

Rolling Stone magazine released a piece under their new column known as “fansplaining” where fan culture is described to outsiders. This piece, “How Harry Styles Defies His Own Fan Mythology” discusses the mystery that surrounds his personal life and how fans analyze what they are given to come up with conspiracies. However, the article faced huge backlash from the dedicated fans because it paints them in a way that shows them being delusional or intrusive, when neither one is always true (there are fans that display these behaviors, but it is the minority and many fans do not wish to face the negativity that comes from the inappropriate behavior of a few).  

In response, one fan wrote an article for the Huffington Post called “Why the Rolling Stone’s Fansplaining of Harry Styles Misses the Point” where she argues against everything that the Rolling Stone author said in a mature and educated way. The fan argues that most media professionals, who are not involved in fandom, don’t have an educated viewpoint to make accusations, especially if these accusations are harmful and are what encourages the negative stereotypes. One of the biggest topics within the original article is the accusation that fans only want to hear about Styles’ dating history and sex life – which many people would say isn’t true—so the fan wrote the following quote within the Huffington Post article to summarize how most fans feel about this negative stereotype:

“They [the media] stigmatize his [Harry Styles’] fans as being teenage girls who fantasize about a relationship with him, and therefore are obsessed with his sex life – when this is frankly an insulting and gross overgeneralization. It is off-putting that fans are shamed for behavior they do not demonstrate, all the while the press engages in exactly that same behavior.”

This quote states that the media creates these negative images of fans, and then uses this negative accusation to excuse their own ugly behavior. What this all boils down to is the belief that young women are not capable of taking anything seriously and that musicians are only able to be successful if they are liked by middle aged men because it is their opinions that are typically accepted, regardless of the topic at hand. Also, regardless of how fans act, there will always be negativity from outsiders, who, quite frankly, don’t know what they’re talking about.

Considering that much of my data pertains to fandoms of boybands, I decided to get a different perspective to see if sexism is predominant in other types of fandoms. Since boybands are primarily female, I decided to look at a fandom that is predominantly male to compare – video games.

The article, Women and Video Games: Pigeonholing the Past, focuses on the overwhelming misogyny and sexism that is evident within the gamer community. It is argued that, not only are women called out and typically excluded from the gamer community in general, even when they are “included” it is done so in a way that plays off deeply rooted patriarchal standards that deem women as frivolous homemakers. It is also hard for women to relate to video games because many of the female characters are over-sexualized and inaccurate to women and instead only appeal to men.

Like what Arnold said about women who are interested in boybands, Perry states that it is not uncommon for women to hide their interests in video games because they understand the negative connotations that come with that. Currently, the typical “gamer” is seen as a “pimply-faced teenaged boy or 30-something male living in their parents' basement” and neither of these are images that most women would want to be categorized with.

When it comes to women that are actively involved with gaming, it is hard for them to find games that interest them, or aren’t overly misogynistic and harmful. The few games that are made with women in mind are related to cooking, shopping, homemaking, etc. which is based on the stereotypes that surround women that make them seem materialistic, shallow, and serving no other purpose than taking care of a home. For women who aren’t interested in these schemes, they are left with games that are made with men in mind, and as a result, the games aren’t relatable, and at worst, are offensive.

When it comes to the gamer community and social media, the few female fans get a lot of attention from their male counterparts, and not in a good way. Men often take it upon themselves to interrogate women and make them prove if they’re “real fans” or not. There is also a phenomenon within the gamer community known as the “Greater Dickwad Theory” that states that men, who can go anonymous online, feel as if they can go unnoticed and use this to take advantage and harass other players in a way that they would not do if they weren’t anonymous. Women are generally the targeted audience for these “dickwads” who feel it is their place to downgrade and harass women to prove that they’re the “better gamer”.

Works Cited

Arnold, Katharine. "The Fangirl Gaze: The Influence of Gendered Media Audience on Emerging Sexuality." Social and Cultural Analysis 5. April (2015): 100-16. Print.

Bennett, Lucy, and Paul Booth. Seeing Fans. Representations of Fandom In Media And Popular Culture. 1st ed. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016. Print.

Goldhill, Olivia. "The Most Committed Fans in the World: One Directioners versus Beatlemania." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 18 Nov. 2014. Web. 11 Mar. 2017.

Kerr, Isabelle. "One Direction: How Twitter Has Upped the Stakes on What It Means to Be a Female 'groupie'." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 20 Aug. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2017.

Perry, Allison, "Women and Video Games: Pigeonholing the Past" (2012). Scripps Senior Theses. Paper 135. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/135

Postema, Saskia. "Why The Rolling Stone's Fansplaining Of Harry Styles Misses The Point". The Huffington Post. N.p., 2017. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.

Sanghani, Radhika. "From 'Beliebers' to 'Directioners', Why Hysterical Teen Girl Fans Aren't as Mad as You Think." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 27 Jan. 2014. Web. 11 Mar. 2017.

Spanos, Brittany. "Fansplaining: How Harry Styles Defies His Own Mythology". Rolling Stone. N.p., 2017. Web. 29 Apr. 2017.