#so i invented my own rules for this gifset

[lilacmermaid25]

Ted Lasso Fanfic Challenge 2023 - February

February’s Challenge:  Mystery Characters

The Rules: There are none, EXCEPT that your piece must feature at least one character we know about, but haven’t met yet in canon. There are a lot of family members to choose from, such as Roy’s sister, Nate’s niece, and Colin’s grandmother. As of this posting, we have seen photos of Mrs. Lasso but don’t ‘know’ her yet, so I’m declaring her up for grabs for now. So are a lot of other mothers and fathers! Or if you’re feeling ambitious, take a look at one of the characters name-dropped in anecdotes from the past, people like Ronnie Fouch, Doug Stashwick, or Joanna Wellington. Where you go after that is up to you - flesh out the story we’ve already heard, or invent one all your own. What is Darren really like, and how did he and Sassy end up together? Did Keeley’s mother raise her alone, or was her father also in the picture? Write from the mystery character’s point of view! Or tell a story set in the present day. What if Nate’s niece was the girl on Phoebe’s football team? What if Roy’s sister was the doctor who treated Sharon? What would the people of AFC Richmond think of Beard’s mother? Is Tish a fraud? How did Ted really feel about Mr. Welton?

Any character, any setting, any premise - anything goes! I’m calling it February’s challenge, but there is absolutely no deadline. And no word limit either - make it a drabble or a one-shot, or the longest multi-chapter you’ve ever written. (I can’t claim to need new things to read these days, but I love multi-chapters all the same). It doesn’t even need to be fic - I’d be thrilled if any of these challenges inspired a gifset or some other form of fanart!

Want to participate but aren’t able to write something at the moment? That’s fine too! Just describe what you’d like to write about for this month’s challenge. I’m curious what ideas all of you have in your heads!

Please add your fic to the AO3 collection HERE, and tag it with Ted Lasso Fanfic Challenge anywhere else you post!

Feel free to check out any of my prompts if you’re looking for inspiration. I hope to create a Masterpost with all of them in one place soon!

Bonus Challenge: Feel like setting an additional challenge for yourself? Send  me an Ask and I’ll give you a character/setting/premise!

Good luck!

Previous Challenges:

2022

January

[icemankazansky]

Rules: Tag 5 people you want to get to know better!

@paxny @hcrogasm @valkilmerr @autopsy-mauve @bbr1 

Thank you so much for the tag @mvrckd !!! I'm sorry I am sometimes not the best at getting to these in a timely manner.

Relationship Status: positive self talk positive self talk who knows what the future holds?

Favourite Colour: pink

Favourite Food: My mom's spaghetti (specifically), gyoza.

Song Stuck in Your Head: "Talia" by King Princess. You have no idea how close I came to making that "The Night We Met" Icemav gifset with lyrics from "Talia" instead.

Last Thing You Googled: "book of kells"

Time: 20:25

Dream Trip: I want to go on safari and stay in that hotel where you have breakfast with giraffes. With my BFF and maybe my sister and my cousin, idk.

Last Book You Read: Crazy Hair by Neil Gaiman (my niece will be three next month)

Last Book You Enjoyed Reading: My memory: I have never in my life read a book, ever. Um ... Trail of Lightning?

Last Book You Hated Reading: I don't finish things I hate. I give them 10-20 pages, and then if I hate it, I'm out. The last thing I stopped reading because I wasn't feeling it was Bone Black. I didn't hate it, but we weren't vibing.

Favourite Thing to Cook/Bake: Chocolate chip Oreo chunk cookies by crepesofwrath who has apparently just disappeared from the Internet?! I'm just discovering this. Ughhhhh there were so many amazing recipes on that site.

Most Niche Dislike: Don't touch my hair.

Opinion on the Circus: My best friend is a circus performer! Modern circus is full of amazing athletes and artists. People who are able to make a living from circus (especially outside a solid gig like Cirque du Soleil) are the most hard working, inventive, creative people I've ever met. I've gone with Nina to training several times, and I swear to God it is the most grueling thing I have ever seen a human being put themselves through. And in addition to being in peak physical condition, they basically have to run their own businesses. They have to write contracts and make deals with clients. They have to do accounting and taxes. They have to know everything about the safety needs of their craft, and they have to be able to ensure those needs are met every single time they perform, because almost no venue on earth can be trusted to do it properly themselves, and it can mean life or death. They make their own costumes. They do their own makeup. They do their own choreography. They do their own photography and their own promotion. They are constantly learning new skills and styles. I think modern circus is absolutely amazing and everyone who has the opportunity to see it should. I really encourage you to visit my bestie's website for an idea of what modern circus really means.

Do You Have a Sense of Direction: No. No. Not at all. I was late to my own high school graduation, even though I had left more than an hour early because I wanted to spend time with my friends, because I got lost driving to the venue. That I had been to the day before.

( p.s if anyone wants to do this feel free to snatch this as if I’d tagged you as well  )

[ja-khajay]

2020-2021 Animation Watch(ed)list

I haven’t posted about animation in a while that I remember, and I know a lot of my followers are into it as much as me so I decided to make a list of the animated movies and series I watched on the past year or so, coupled with my short, spoilerless take on them. Enjoy!

Organized by

Things I saw for the first time

Things I rewatched

Under a cut for the sake of your dashboards! PS: I have not added any images yet. If you are interested in knowing more about the visuals of these movies, I might make an old fashion ask-prompted imageset list.

Part One: Things I saw for the first time

The Bear’s Famous Invasion of Sicily

Movie, 2019, Italian/French

9/10, a delightful little movie with amazing visuals. It feels like an animated picture book.

One of those “plot is in the title” media! I had never heard of this before but was heavily recommended it by my family members, who all loved it! It’s a sweet story, nothing groundbreaking but the unique colorful visual style alone makes it worth it.

The Castle of Cagliostro

Movie, 1979, Japanese

10/10. Reminded me of all the books i loved reading as a child

I assume its because it’s so old and the art style and themes are so different that it gets little to no love compared to other Ghibli movies, which is a shame! It’s fun with an endearing cast and as always, great animation and music

Mushishi

Series, 2006, Japanese

10/10 three episodes in I knew it was going to be my favorite series ever

One of the few things I’ve seen I’ll describe as life-changing. It’s absolutely lovely but never toots its own horn about it. Humble, calming, emotional and surprisingly mature. It’s pretty impossible to binge due to how intense the experience is. I just want to walk in the forest now...

FMA: Brotherhood

Series, 2009, Japanese

6/10 Dissapointing adaptation of a classic story

I read the manga for this when I was in middle school and remembered loving it. The animated version does an ok job of presenting the characters and worldbuilding and has some nice action scenes but overall looks really damn cheap and just. Not very good. Seeing I already knew most of the plot I did not have the element of discovery that made me marvel so much reading the original. It’s still a nice series but I really recommend reading it instead.

Code Lyoko (s1+2)

Series, 2003, french

3/10. 1.5 being for the opening song alone

This show sucks ass if I hadn’t been watching this with my bestie I would have dropped it two episodes in. The art style is ugly the stories are always the same and the first season has a (later removed thank fucking god) LITERAL “erase any consequences” button as a plot device in every episode. If you watch it for one thing let it be the nostalgia factor of early 00s Vidya Game Plot

The Legend of Hei

Movie, 2019, Chinese

7/10. Impressive visuals and a poor story

I finally watched this, peer pressured by the load of gifsets on my dashboard! It’s a sweet movie with really impressive animation, sometimes a bit too flashy for my taste (the action sequences go so ham they become not very readable...) but the story was just ok? The setting is barely explained and you are instead bombarded with vague epicspeech about powers and stuff that made me fondly remember Kingdom Hearts lol but that asides it’s a really good time! I need to watch more Chinese movies the few I know are just delightfully off the shits in how they approach action and I love that

Hunter x Hunter

Series, 1999, Japanese

9/10. Superior to the recent one!

I first got introduced to the series via the 2011 one. Comparatively, the 99 series focuses way less on action and way more on the characters, which I love because that fits my personal preferences! Despite mediocre filler episodes and some weird slight pointless plot changes, what it changes from the original manga doesn’t have much of an impact on the characters. The animation quality isn’t always consistent including a huge art style change for an arc (???) but it’s overall pretty nice. The series really shines in the last arc it adapts.

Oban Star-racers

Series, 2006, Japanese/french

9/10 a lovely surprise

This series is completly obscure despite having been created by people famous for their other series (Cowboy Bebop, Code Lyoko that i can name) and it’s a crime! It’s a kids show but without being stupid about it who tells the story of an inter-planetary race. If you liked that one scene in the star wars prequels you know what I mean. It’s got surprisingly nice animation for a TV series, and some truly great character design. The art style is a bit unique in a not for everyone sense, but I didn’t mind it much. It’s also THE most offensively 2000s series i’ve seen in terms of visuals. y2k kids assemble

The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon

Movie, 1963, japanese

8/10. Classic fairytale format with incredible visuals

Watched this for the art style because I know it inspired Samurai Jack, and it delievered! I dont’ have much to say about this one, it’s a very simply film but it’s sweet. For my pirates out there if you want to find it in good quality with english subtitles it’s VERY hard to find. If you just want to see the looks of it, it’s on Youtube with portugese subs.

We now enter the Gobelins Shorts Zone....!

My Friend Who Glows In The Dark

10/10 makes me cry each time

Pure delight...great animation writing everything. A little short about death and friendship but not in the way you imagine!

Colza

9/10

Visual treat...homely and nice :) not far from a 10 but a 9 because nothing about it is that groundbreaking

Sundown

9/10

If you’ve ever been ten minutes from failing a group project because of a single dude you will REALLY enjoy this. Loved the colors and personality

T’as vendu mes rollers?

10/10

It’s SUCH a sweet little short I loved that one so much

Dix-huit kilomètres trois

10/10

Surprisingly well written dialog. Visuals are great but the humanity of the characters carries this to another level

Un diable dans la poche

9/10

Amazing visuals and the most tense/creepy of Gobelin shorts i’ve ever seen. Chilling

La bestia

8/10

I had some issues with the pacing. Interesting story and visuals choices but I was not fond of the art style

Goodbye Robin

5/10

Confusing but predictable. Both at once??? Yes!

Le retour des vagues

6/10

Cool animation stuff but felt pretty pointless

                                                                ***

Part Two: Things I rewatched

Ruben Brandt: Collector

Movie, 2018, Hungarian

10/10. Underrated as hell

Watched this fully blind for the first time in an animated festival and rewatched it with friends. It’s a crime I never see anyone talking about it given the amount of whining I see about the lack of both adult animation and 2D movies? This film is a unique love letter to art in the form of a weird mix of charming crime story and psychological horror with amazing visuals. I recommend watching it blind and also buying it to show appreciation for how nice it is!!! WATCH THIS MOVIE...

Mononoke

Series, 2007, Japanese

10/10 Visual/storytelling masterpiece in the weird shit departement

If you can stomach intense stuff watch this. The visuals are incredibly unique and beautiful and under the jewel tones and art direction high takes it’s a really cool horror series. My only obstacle to enjoying it the first time I saw it was how dense it is - simply put, it’s so...culturally Japanese it’s not very accessible to me who doesn’t know anything about the culture? Watching it for the second time helped understanding the stories more! 

Corto Maltese in Siberia

Movie, 2002, french

9/10 but really close to ten. A great adaptation!

I’m a huge fan of the original comic so I entered this a biiiittttt suspicious it would suck but it was a really pleasant surprise! It has all the wonder and charm of the original and the animation was surprisingly good for the little budget. If you’re not familiar with the series, it’s a sort of geopolitical action/adventure movie but with it’s own really poetic vibe to it. It’s almost impossible to find online but happens to be fully on YouTube so go ham I guess?

Redline

Movie, 2009, Japanese

10/10 cinema was invented for this, actually

Every review of this movie i’ve seen gives it five stars and starts by talking about how immensly stupid it is. I’m no different. It’s a masterpiece of escalating energy with the depth of a puddle and it fucking rules. It’s free on YouTube too so there really is no excuse to not watch it. Watched it for the first time on a huge cinema screen and despite this my second rewatch on my small laptop was as/even more enjoyable. If you watch this stoned with friends you might travel to another dimension

Spirited Away

Movie, 2001, Japan

10/10 deserves the love it gets

I watched this a single time as a kid and had little memory of it! I mean it’s Ghibli you know it’s going to be good as hell but this one rly shines in how colorful and detailed it is and in it’s world! It made me remember I had a huge crush on the dragonboy as a kid. I’m gay now

Kung-fu Panda (1&2)

Movie, Usa

10/10. KFP fucking rules

Honestly my favorite franchise of the whole disney/dreamworks/pixar hydra. It’s fun as hell, doesn’t skip a single beat and has amazing animation and character designs. If something is a good time I will not care if it’s deep or not and boy I fucking love these movies

Sinbad, Legend of the Seven Seas

Movie, 2003, Usa

5/10 Some great some really bad and overall generic

I tend to hate american cinema and this includes that era of animation I have no nostalgia for. Sinbad is in a weird place because I love adventure stories and the visuals of the movie absolutely deliver but it’s very predictable and TANKED by the addition of the female character, pushed in your face as “look we have woman!!!” despite her writing being misogynistic as hell lol. The evil goddess rules tho. This movie would have been a solid 9 if instead of the girl the two dudes had kissed

[unanuvola]

alright so i read your lipstick fic with sonny and it was absolutely b e a u t i f u l! i was just wondering if you could write something similar but with that the reader ASKED him to put on the lipstick and how he might react? totally fine if you don’t want to! no pressure!

Hey Anon! Thank you so much for reading I see your true colors (and that's why I love you) and for writing this message. I'm glad you like it and I really hope that you'll like this new story too. I'm really sorry for taking so long to write it, but (finally) here it comes!

(gif: @rynewind)

When Sonny came out from his home studio, he found you spread on the sofa with your face hypnotized on your phone. He rolled his eyes and continued on to the kitchen, stretching his limbs and back. Now that he was an ADA and his poor ass was stuck to a chair most of the day, he realized that he desperately needed to do something for his body and maybe, if he was lucky, you could join him.

He drank some water, then he sat down thinking about all the possible sports you could accept to do and, speaking frankly, they could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Sonny still remembered when you two started dating and one day you said triumphantly that you paid an annual membership for a gym next home, but then you spent the entire year in his bed because 'you're ten thousand better than that boring cardio class'. The mere memory made his legs shaking. So, gym was cancelled.

Maybe some dance lessons could be the right answer, however a flashback hit Sonny hard like a slap on his face. Rafael invited the squad in a cosy Cuban restaurant for his birthday, obviously Sonny asked to him if could invite you because he desperately wanted to show his friends the wonderful girl he had started dating. The conditions were good for a perfect night and perhaps he could find the courage to bring you to his home for the first time, but then the cosy restaurant turned out to be a place where after midnight the owners moved the tables away and people could actually dance salsa with a band playing live in the background. After a few tries and your don't worries every time he stepped on your toes, he spent the rest of the night watching you dancing with Rafael. Obviously you didn't went to his place and Sonny had to settle for jerking off at the thought of a threesome with you and Barba. Sonny shook his head like to erase that disastrous night from his memory. Dance lessons were cancelled, too.

Then, like a miracle, he remembered that time where you asked him, smirking, "What do you think if I start yoga? Maybe if I become a little more flexible it'll be more fun doing you know what…". This idea was quickly abandoned just like Sonny's fantasies of your legs spread open while he was pounding you deep.

"Doll?"

"Mmh?"

"What do you think of signing up for a partner yoga class?" he asked, joining you in the living room.

You hummed vaguely, your eyes fixed on the phone and fingers fast scrolling on the screen. Sonny looked at you with a mix of resignation and amusement. No matter how long he has known you, he'll always be genuinely amazed at your hyperfixation on the most varied things.

When you two first met, you were obsessed with Rule & Method: special case unit, in which a young and inexperienced detective, between one case and another, fell in love with a sarcastic and grumpy Puerto Rican ada. At the first you were reluctant to open up with Sonny, but a night he invented you home, asking you if you wanted to catch up the new episode of Rule & Method and you didn't make him say it twice. As soon as the episode ended, you began to throw up all your excitement on him and he was so glad that you felt comfortable to share that part of you with him. Sonny still remembered the moment he confided you that he was @thisdetectivelovesthepuertoricanada on ao3, the surprise on your face, your sparkle eyes and your bright red cheeks. You were so beautiful and Sonny was getting so hard by all your praises on his fanfictions that he pulled you toward himself and started to kissed you passionately.

After that you passed from watching all the musicals starring Raúl Esparza to reading the erotic saga of Tiffany Reisz in just four days and now you're obsessed by two Italians guys, a singer and his guitarist, who kissed at the Sanremo song festival. Obviously Sonny knew all these informations because you told them as soon as you saw a gifset on that hellsite called Tumblr. From that moment you started to listen to their song at least ten thousand times a day and to complain because you couldn't read fanfictions about them because you didn't speak a single word of Italian.

Sonny sat on the sofa and put your head on his legs, starting to stroke your hair. You finally laid down your phone and your eyes met with his, a smile spread on your faces.

"I still don't get what you find attractive about these two…"

"I thought your standard in men was higher, babe. Two charming men fighting patriarchy in fancy clothes and a glam makeup, kissing in a worldwide broadcast. Yeah, what's attractive about this? Maybe you have to start following them on Instagram," you answered, with closed eyes, enjoying his fingers caressing your scalp, "Did you watch the video where the singer put a red lipstick on guitarist lips? Hot."

"I didn't know you had a thing for men wearing makeup. If I've known, I would have told you about my punk rock band in high school. Leather jacket, a lot of black pencil under my eyes and yes, even lipstick. I think my mom has some pictures somewhere, next Sunday I'll show you!"

At those words, you sat up and looked to Sonny, who didn't know what was going on, but he knew for sure that you were ready to ask him something. He could tell by the way your eyes was shining and by that cute and lovely pout on your lips. Oh, how he would like to kiss away that pout and make you feel with his hands how much he loved you.

"I have a tons of questions that I want to ask you about that period of your surprising life, but right now most important one is," you cleaned your throat, "you have no problem with wearing makeup on you beautiful face, right?" you asked, your hand on his cheeks while you were gently stroking his lips with your thumb.

Sonny's heart was about to explode. You couldn't understand how much he loved feeling your fingers on his skin, just a little touch like that could take him off to the seventh heaven. "Of course not!" he said, trying to hide his state of bliss.

As soon as he pronounced those few words, you popped right up on your feet and run to the bedroom, leaving your boyfriend clueless about what you'll want to do. The wait was short because after just a few minutes later you run back, also risking to slip on the floor. Sonny was ready to catch you and tell you for the nth time that running through the apartment with just your socks wasn't a good idea, but then he heard your laugh as you sat on his lap and things went back to normal.

"So doll, what are you up to?"

"This!" you exclaimed, waving in front of him a lipstick. With a loud pop, you remove the cap, "A rich dark burgundy lipstick perfect for your pale skin and beautiful blue eyes."

Sonny couldn't react to these compliments because you were already astride on him, trapping his legs between your thighs. First you passed the sleeve of your hoodie on his lips for drying them, then you began to apply it.

So cute, Sonny thought looking at you. A small frown among your eyebrows, eyes fixed on his mouth while gently beating your lips. He could spend hours looking at you concentrated on the things you loved just like when you go down on him and you're too focused on his pleasure that you even forget about your own satisfaction. Suddenly Sonny felt his pants tightened.

"Et voilà!"

"How am I looking?"

"Handsome, as usual."

"Thanks," and he launched himself, open mouthed, toward you.

"Easy babe! You don't want to ruin your makeup, right?" you asked. Sonny was about to answer, but you were already on your feet, in front of him, "Ah, about the yoga partner thing… Yes, I can give it a chance. In fact, it just so happens that I know some positions that I can't wait to teach you."

"The sun salutation?"

"No, I was talking about the doggy one and maybe you can also smear that lipstick on me."

Sonny was really satisfied with that answer. In no time, he scooped you and put you on his shoulder, your ass up in the air. A loud spank made you yelped in surprise.

"I think that tonight we'll have the time to do a little bit more than just that. Prepare yourself for revisiting the entire kamasutra." and with that Sonny closed the door of your bedroom.

Thanks for reading ♡

N/A:

the two Italians guy are Achille Lauro and Boss Doms and the gifs are here and here

Read Tiffany Reisz's books!

English isn't my first language, please forgive any mistakes.

[spacebrick3]

Current Projects

So I was tagged by both @whollyart and @violet-clouds-and-skies, so I thought I should probably do it.

Rules: List all the things you’re currently working on in as much or as little detail as you’d like, then tag some friends to see what they’re working on. This can be writing, art, vids, gifsets, whatever. 

Alright, I have 3 WIPs that I’m currently working on, plus a few little side projects that I haven’t talked much about bc I a) haven’t done much with them and b) aren’t too sure about them anyways. They’ll be under the cut.

Main WIPs:

Technomancy: Technomancy’s a modern fantasy about sorcerers who are trying to combine magic with technology. Lin’s a diplomat from one of the factions - the Conservative Faction, which wants nothing at all to do with this technology, who is exiled when she tries to report that another faction, which is much more open to including technology, is building up for an attack. Freezing and in exile, she finds Raedir, an engineer with a grudge against the magical establishment and trying to introduce technology that would fix some of the problems inherent in magical society. She joins with him to try and stop the attack, but the changes that magic and science together will bring are only just beginning…

Empty Space: A science-fiction story about a military engineering corps who manage to invent the wormhole in the middle of a war. The problem (at least for the government they work for) is that they don’t want to use it to fight. They desert, but even as they try to escape the war, they find that the multiverse has its own problems as well. Creatures, inhabiting the space between, don’t take kindly to being disturbed.

Contact Magic:  Contact Magic is the story of Aura, a young sailor who helps transport dyes, and Zoe, a glassmaker’s apprentice who makes contacts, both of whom work to help hide mages. You see, the type of magic you have dictates the color of both your hair and your eyes, and in this world having the wrong type of magic makes you a target. But the government of Celoras - an elite cabal of mages who can control life and death itself -  is cracking down on this trade, and so, forced onto the wrong side of the law, they find themselves drawn into a revolutionary circle plotting to take control of the cities and the nation itself. But there may be more to it than there first seems…

Side Projects:

(there’s just one i lied)

learn to draw 3D objects and people. I…really want to be able to draw my OCs or other people’s OCs, but my drawing skills currently consist of 2D inanimate objects and nothing else.

[arthurian]

Four Years Shy of a Love Everlasting

Pairing: Willow Moore Hale x Garrison Abbey Words: 2.6k Read this on AO3. Premise: Gillow ft “I can’t be brave without you”, requested by @garrisonabbey My requests are currently open!

WILLOW HALE

In the dark, I think the world seems like a much less scary place. When the light has faded into something dim, it becomes a curtain, sheltering you from your fears. Some people are afraid of the encroaching blackness, of the secrets it might hold, but I love it. I love that in the dark, truths do not frighten me. At least not here.

The after hours image of Superheroes & Scones is something close to ethereal, at least to my eyes. Outside the frosted windows, a few fans still linger, waiting to catch a glimpse of my celebrity brother and his wife, or their son. It’s commonplace, and within the hour even the most diehard of fans will fade away, urged home by the cold and the lingering hope that they can try again for a glimpse tomorrow. Inside, the lights are off save for the breakroom, giving just enough glow within the rows of comic shelves and red vinyl booths for me to see if I need to walk. The air is calm. Everything is quiet.

I love this place. I love that I can lose myself for hours between the shelves, drifting from one universe to the next while I escape my own to become something superhuman. I love that, despite my naturally clumsy nature, I could go behind the counter and make espressos and all manner of coffees and teas if I wanted. I love the way the red booths and polished tile look like they came from another time, like this place had history before we ever stepped foot inside. But more than anything else, I love the memories I made here.

Months ago, I met my brother (well, brothers, but I didn’t know that at the time) between rows of comics for the first time. Loren Hale is an intimidating sight to behold, Ryke Meadows even more so, but they welcomed me. They offered me a family and a home, and never pushed when I sought to prove that that was all I wanted. And behind the counter, where I work and laugh and spend the majority of my days, is where I met Garrison.

Maya was my first friend in Philly, but Garrison became my best friend. What a wild world it is, to be the shy girl who knocks things over and trips over her own tongue, who befriends the bad boy who’s never pictured life beyond the crushing confines of a gated neighborhood and expectations he never wanted to fulfill.

And what an even stranger world to think that that friendship moved onward and upward, and that now I sit side by side with a boy who never thought he’d be a good man, and hold his hand without fear.

What a wonderful world it is for me, simple Willow Hale, to love and be loved by Garrison Abbey.

“I still can’t believe you’re leaving,” Garrison sighs, and his thumb runs over the back of my hand in comfort. I’ve always wondered if he knows he does this, or if his desire to calm me is subconscious. “And I’m not going with you.”

The statement pulls at my stomach, but I try not to let it dampen the whimsy of this night. In three short days, I’ll be boarding a plane to London, gone for four years in college, and Garrison will be here, being mentored by Connor Cobalt. We’ve broached the subject before, but only in the shortest of bursts. Neither of us want to admit what it could mean. Four years is a long time. Feelings shift and change, and we’ll be meeting new people every day.

If I linger on it too long, I’ll be crushed by the anxiety of what ifs. The truth is, this week I am Garrison Abbey’s girl. He holds my hand and kisses my cheek and sends me gifsets he knows I’ll love when we’re sitting across from each other on my bed, just because he wants to see me smile. But a week, a month, a year from now, someone else could come along and capture his attention. There’s no certainty that Garrison will love me in four years. Logistically, I can’t guarantee that. But I’m learning not to be afraid.

Courtesy of Daisy, I have this theory. I believe that everyone is born with a purpose. Sometimes they’re grand. Some people are born to start revolutions and build impossible feats and become world leaders. And sometimes they’re small. Some people are born simply to exist for another person. Sometimes, your purpose to be a sister or a daughter, a friend or a lover. Sometimes, you’re born because maybe someone else wouldn’t meet their true potential without you.

And I believe, in turn, the ladder climbs. You raise one person to their true purpose, and they raise another, and they another, until a baby is born who will one day cure cancer or a invent a flying car or become a scientist who discovers life on other planets.

I believe that Garrison is my purpose. Or at least a part of it.

I squeeze Garrison’s hand, a small comfort I can offer. “You’ll be doing great things while I’m gone,” I tell him, because I believe it.

Garrison doesn’t see much in himself. He sees the boy he was before I met him, who frightened our friends and lived inside a well of rage so deep he saw no way to claw himself out. I try to remind him that while my brother offered him a rope, Garrison did all the hard work of pulling himself up. One day, I hope I won’t have to remind him. What I want most for Garrison is for him to believe in himself the way I believe in him. The way Lily and Lo and Connor and Daisy do. Even Ryke and Rose have taken to him over time.

“I do great things with you,” he murmurs, shifting closer but stopping before our shoulders touch. I can hear the sadness in his voice, the doubt. As I watch him, his Adam’s apple bobs with tense swallows, and I think if it wasn’t so dark, there might be a glassy film over his eyes. “You make me so much better. At everything. For everyone. What if I can’t be good fucking person without you?”

“You’re a much better man than you believe yourself to be,” I whisper.

I lean my head against his shoulder, answering his body’s subtle request for more comfort from my touch. His tense shoulders relax slightly with me pressed against him. I am a salve to his sore muscles, a cure for his aches and pains and tension. When he presses a kiss to my temple, I smile into the fabric of his t-shirt. Tender moments like this with Garrison are such precious things. I capture them like fireflies in a glass jar, admiring them for a moment before releasing them back into the world and trusting them to return to me.

“Tell me something that will make me feel better about weird English guys hitting on you when I’m not there to intimidate the shit out of them,” he sighs, trying to lighten the mood and asking for reassurance at the same time. Only with me, and very rarely with Lo, does he let himself be this vulnerable.

“If weird English guys hit on me, I’ll tell them I’m sorry, but I’m Garrison’s girl,” a blush creeps up to my cheeks. After all this time, I still flush with embarrassment with declarations like this. “And he’s waiting for me.”

Garrison goes still, and for a blinding moment my heart races, worried I’ve said the wrong thing. My relationship with Garrison is a parade of firsts. I’m learning everyday, navigating a new world. I don’t know if there are rules. Where I should bend and where I should stay firm. Do I say what I feel, or express it with my actions? I am always twisting with anxiety, pondering what I’ve said and done and praying I did it right.

Garrison’s arms twine around me, careful and slow until I nuzzle further against him in permission for this embrace, and my worries ebb away. So rarely are they wounded in truth. I think Garrison finds my confusion endearing. I think he likes being my first everything, even if I’m embarrassed by my lack of knowledge on a daily basis.  

“You know I’ll wait for you, right?”

My heart goes still. I think, deep down, I wanted to hear these words from him, but refused to let myself ask for them. I want to hear them because they bring me a temporary comfort, the kind that soothes the raucous pulse of my heart into something closer to a melody that wants to be sung, played out by the soft thrums of each beat. I want him to wait for me. I want to believe that those words will hold true for the whole four years I’ll be gone.

I’m trying hard not to be scared. I know what Daisy and Lo and Ryke and even my dad have all told me. That they hope against hope that Garrison and I are in for the long haul. That we’ll defeat the odds. But they’ve prepared me too. First loves are the hardest. Not everyone meets their soulmate when they’re still children. Not everyone falls in love once and never has to go searching again.

I’ve kept my heart open, because I want to believe the best of Garrison and me. Even in my creeping moments of doubt, where I’ve thought maybe I should stay in Philadelphia and not give up this boy who makes my heart sing and brings strength to my limbs and loves me even when I cry and crumble and shift anxiously on my feet.

The truth is that I don’t want us to be a maybe. I don’t want us to be an almost. But the even bigger truth is I don’t want to be a maybe or an almost either. College - I have to do this for me. For the future I can make for myself. I have to make this choice and hope that the us can survive it. Garrison and I - we’re four years shy of a love everlasting, and I need us to hold on until our fingers give out.

So much of me is entwined with this city, with this store we sit in, with this boy holding me like he wishes we were made of the same soul. Willow Moore is not the same girl as Willow Hale. I’ve discovered what it means to be me. I’ve learned how to open my mouth and ask for what I want and stand on my own. And I owe so much of that courage to Garrison.

My silence stretches too long.

“What are you thinking?” Garrison murmurs. There’s anxiety in his voice, and I don’t like that I’ve put it there.

My mind is racing, memories flipping through like leaves on the wind, beautiful and captivating. I am thinking of all the times Garrison held out a hand and waited for me to take it, towing a boundary but letting me cross it. I am thinking of conversations in the dark, a phone pressed to my ear while we whisper dreams too private to greet the daylight. I am thinking of the shell I lived in my whole life, slowly suffocating me, until Garrison stepped forward and offered to peel away a piece every day until I was ready to greet the world head on.

“I’m thinking - I’m thinking that I don’t know how to be brave without you,” I tell him, and I can feel his body shake with the weight of my words. “I’m thinking I want us to learn how to stand on our own. You can continue to be good without me here to remind you of what you’ve already proven to be true, and I can stand up and make my way through the world without needing you to push me forward when I’m scared.

“I believe you believe you’ll wait for me.” Garrison opens his mouth to argue, but I push forward anyways, not letting him interrupt. I can tell it upsets him in a way, but I can also tell he’s proud of me for not letting myself go unheard. “And I hope we can. Maybe we’re better together than we are apart. But we have to find out how to stand on our own first. Think of this as our origin story.”

Garrison laughs around the hitch in his throat. His voice is thick as he asks, “Are we borrowing Lily and Lo’s superpowers?”

For a moment, I pause to think about that. Lily and Lo always joke about superpowers, but I remember their real ones. That their superpowers are loving each other. Their love story is one I think I’ll tell my kids someday. How my brother loved a girl so much, he nearly buried himself beneath the weight of it, but how in the end that love was so strong that it gave them both the strength to bend worlds and raise new ones.

And I think of Rose and Connor. And Daisy and Ryke. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing three great love stories. Ones anyone would be lucky to have.

I just don’t want them for myself. I don’t want to be Lily and Lo, or Rose and Connor, or Daisy and Ryke. I want to be Willow and Garrison. Whatever that entails.

“No,” I reply. “I’m sure they’d let us, but I think we should discover our own.”

“And what do you think our superpowers are?”

“I don’t know. We’ll have to find them along the way, I guess.” My voice drifts off.

I don’t want to think about three days from now. Or the four years after. I want to live right now. I want to think about how here and now and today, I am in love with boy and he is in love with me. Our love story, I don’t want it to be about how it ends, or how it doesn’t. I want our love story to be about the journey. I want people to think, Willow and Garrison, well that was quite the adventure.

“What if -” I begin hesitantly, but find the strength the raise my voice. With his skin pressed against mine and the dark of the night cloaking us like a blanket, I am braver than I have ever been. “What if we don’t think about the future? What if we just promise to what we’ve always done? Take it day by day.”

Garrison’s silence stretches long, but I don’t worry. I like that if I close my eyes and listen very carefully, I imagine I can hear him thinking.

We were two lost souls, wandering a plane of existence without seeing the path. Now, we are found, painting our way bright red to show everyone how far we’ve come. I don’t know what’s around the next corner. I don’t want to know until I get there. The greatest thing about this discovery, about lighting the path and finding your way, is stopping to enjoy the view.

And I want to admire this one. Us. Wrapped up in one another, in the place where we met and built a friendship and then something more. I think we might be something beautiful to behold.

“Day by day,” Garrison agrees. “And Willow?”

“Yeah?”

“Today, I am embarrassingly in love with you.”

[babiewonho]

can u write an essay on kihyun now please don't just saw beat root thanks QUEEN uwu

kihyun’s personality is so funny and contradictory to me lmao like he has such a big personality and um wow i just got distracted bc i put on drew barrymore by sza and it was playing at half speed bc i just played the COME GET YALL JUICE vine at half speed but anyways

first and foremost i think kihyun is very Capable like kihyun is like. so good at being an adult like he just knows how to do everything it’s so weird it’s like he was born just Knowin. like he’s just so confident and he’s good at speaking most of the time and like he said he would go to vocal lessons while working two jobs that weren’t even close to each other like he’d have to take the train and he’s so determined even going to school like he’s been doing while promoting as an idol like he just has a really type a personality and he wants to be good at everything and he has the drive to achieve that as much as any human can it’s very respectable and imo a very attractive quality like i feel like if i asked him how to do anything he’d know for some reason

he’s very charming and he knows it and sometimes it’s greasy LMAO like when they had to do the pick up lines in that video and mx were dying in the bg but it’s very effective i think that’s really good for networking etc and he’s so friendly to other ppl he acts like he already knows them but he isn’t like…overstepping boundaries which is imo the way to become friends with someone wh said one time that to get close with ppl you just have to act close i think and that’s what kihyun does he seems very sociable and friendly and easy to talk to like he makes an effort to keep the conversation going and get on the speaker’s level/help them understand the topic 

tying in with him being rly capable he’s so good at cleaning n cooking like why is he so damn responsible lmao share some of those skills w/ me…wtf…but like wow that’s rly a whole adult i bet he even does his taxes on time but he takes his work so seriously and like he’s not even a dancer but he puts so much focus n energy into dance and it shows he’s so impressive…i…i hate it

so! i think what makes ppl misunderstand kihyun is he has this weird like…sharp outside/soft inside thing going on…coughs tsundere   but by that i mean  he’s not Genuinely mean   but he plays along well with others esp 93 line they have a very cozy n roasty dynamic going on and he’s quick to tease others in a friendly way unfortunately ppl take that as ONE personality archetype the “savage” just like shakespeare invented and that ONE personality trait supercedes ALL OTHERS n suddenly kihyun hates everyone like false…hello he’s just bein a scorpio (he’s born n like the First day of saggitarius but he himself has said he’s a scorpio n the time he was born rly indicates that so im just going with scorpio these   are the Facts) he ALSO…isn’t very comfortable with “mushy” stuff he’s fine giving compliments but when they get into genuine emotional things it’s not that he gets weirded out  it’s more like   it’s okay until He has to get mushy abt his own feelings at least from what i noticed

i was actually surprised bc kihyun is somewhat easily embarrassed and i didn’t expect him to be so nurturing on an emotional level like hugging changkyun when he cried, he sympathy cries w/ wonho lmao, comforting wonho when he cried during that one v live. i thought he’d be more of a supportive but awkward type in that situation but he actually empathizes really well. that’s why i think kihyun’s personality is so like  contrary there’s all these traits that seem to be the opposite of each other but melt together just fine in his personality

but he actually has a very nourishing presence he just seems to have like a different rule for himself and he doesn’t like to get all deep or w/e that’s so scorpio of him…it embarrasses him lol he doesn’t like emotional vulnerability if he thinks it opens him up in a negative way but here he goes again with the contradictions- he’s emotionally open with children and pets. he’s amazing with children and animals n feels a lot of love n affection towards them as well as the members but honestly i’ve practically raised my little brother from infancy to like four years old and i have very high standards for child care but kihyun takes such pride in his work as always n he luvs the Babies so he is very mm meticulous abt it. i got stressed when the kid’s heads weren’t supports while getting sleepy in their chairs n then the moment i got stressed kihyun’s hand wld fly out to support their heads and he held them and esp the sick babie :(( even when he cried kihyun didn’t get panicked as many ppl too and hand him off to one of the more experienced ladies he comforted the babie n held it n also

during mxray season 2 when they met the kids again he got all worried abt i cant remember which kid it was…jongwon! i think he was worried shownu wld hurt him by accident in the bounce house thingie lmao which i was worried abt too so he was like be gentler and my heart…she soared he rly cares abt them :(( in a very genuine way n also! at the batting cages v live there were kitties and he, wonho, and ck were worried abt them getting hurt. he’s just a very caring n loving person and he does engage in a lot of skinship like they said on the psychology analysis part of mxray but i think rather than physical affection he shows love through actions like waking the members up and finding stuff for wonho etc ordering the other members around n leading them in the right direction he definitely has a BIG leadership quality n a desire to be in control but he doesn’t let himself like usurp shownu’s position lmao he just relishes the times when he gets power

i always say it’s more like shownu, minhyuk, and kihyun are three coleaders and i think they all compliment each other extremely well and kihyun is a rly good mc esp in things like mon happy radio he and minhyuk are rly entertaining and work together really well which is rly cool

he rly rly loves the members in a very fond way they make him smile a lot and what i think is so funny is i think kihyun originally has more of a tendency in situations like that there’s something historically in comedy called a “straight man” (i know) where someone else acts like an idiot and this person basically doesnt find it amusing n acts serious or upset kasjfsf and i thought kihyun wld be like that but i think mx just has such a goofy energy and kihyun often engages in the goofiness but that seems to me like something that probably changed when he met the boys i can’t seem him being like that arnd other ppl but i think he’s very fond of their dynamic and embraces it now like he laughs in this Specific way when the members all get Ridiculous like he’s in fond disbelief like when they kept singing the UFC song!!! in no exit like he’s lovingly saying “these idiots” in his head it’s really cute tbh he’s just very often Fondly Exasperated like when mh ate the whipped cream at the end of that one vid/when ck ate food of the plates from other ppl in mxray you can just tell he has so much love for his members 

as for his relationship with 93 line that’s just pure love n friendship to the point of comfortably making fun of each other n i really hate when ppl act like it’s genuine hatred bc you can’t make jokes like that with people if you genuinely dislike them they’re just all three very comfortable with and fond of each others and build off each other very well comedically and the teams switch up as to who is making fun of who and like?? if they rly hated each other things like mon happy radio with mh and kh and the times when mh was absent and hw was the replacement would be possible. they get along fine for that and it’s like an HOUR long of just them together and they make jokes and they compliment each other like anyone with more than 2 brain cells knows they don’t actually hate each other but :) had 2 say that

CAPABILITY ASIDE kihyun has these moments of hilarious like…airheadedness   as demonstrated in aleena’s amazing gifset of kihyun being dumb. he’s so smart but he just lapses on the most ridiculous things aksjfasf it’s so funny  kihyun, staring at a seatbelt: does this go around my neck   is this the Neck Belt  Oh..  just youthful naivete which the other members bring up sometimes n his face when they got their first win :(( cld it be…kihyun is a soft babie!! it Cld !! :D

also vocal wise i’m not a Professional or anything but he’s rly one of the best vocals in kpop like breath support and not singing with strained notes and vocal agility he’s just so good he and shownu are actually different imo than a lot of kpop vocals who just sing n half of it’s like  rhythmic yelling lmao like he and shownu can both sing BALLADS well and with CONTROL they’re so incredible and kihyun has a pretty wide range imo it’s very healthy singing with lots of support 

anyways i wrote WAY more than i thought i was gonna be able to abt him there’s deadass like 1.7k words right here lmao like yall readin this? eyes emoji anyways i hope this makes some sense it’s 4 am…anyways i think kihyun’s personality is fascinating and i feel like i have quite a few personality traits in common with him but also i wanna arm wrestle him so damn bad im not even reading back through this and checking it’s too much LMAO

[grimdarkandhandsome]

SUNLIGHT: INTRO

In the future, an investigative blogger asks me:

   'Hey, excuse me. I just wanted to ask, what is Sunlight and how did you get started on this project?'

Oh, sure, i can give a quick answer to that. Sunlight is a scifi about school, space battleships, and imperfect communication between friends. The major character is Hannah, a young woman who signed up for the Navy despite the pressure to get a normal, healthy job. Most people in this setting think of the military as frivolous and obsolete, and it's actually not an exaggeration to say that Hannah has a nostalgic, adventure-seeking streak. Hannah, a recent graduate of Pilar Academy, is the leader of a Close Quarters Combat squad specializing in ship-to-ship boarding actions. She fights with a quad-hammer, strength harness, and magneto glove. 

There are really a lot of characters and details in this universe. I used to maintain a wiki on Obsidian Portal about it.

The gist is that it's a set of stories about attending a slightly drowsy military academy, groups of friends unsure exactly what they want or where they are going, and finding love in a world of pointless and harmless violence. 

I discovered Sunlight late one night on Tumblr. I was up at 0200 when their server went down, and when it came back up they were accidentally showing me tag feeds from a parallel universe. I stayed up and checked it out; this other universe has some cool differences from ours. They never got Minecraft, for example, but over there Starcraft Ghost is very successful series. 

One of them is this series of action & strategy games called Sunlight. They're kindof like slightly less professional versions of Overwatch, as far as i can tell. Anyway it's really big and the series has been around since their 2008. There was even a movie that was somewhat well-received ... according to Tumblr anyway. The only site i’ve been able to access from that universe is Tumblr, so it’s not like i can check their version of Rotten Tomatoes.

The first game in the series, Sunlight, was the debut game of VileMilan Studios (never founded in our universe). It was a FPS with a focus on equipment customization and team play. The art design budget was limited and there were really only three or so allied NPC models. After Sunlight's wild success, Sunlight 2 started referring to these NPCs as Bravo Squad, and the junior writing staff whipped up some bios (and retcons) for them. These ended up on the promotional website in the section designed to show off how narratively rich and cinematic Sunlight 2 was. One of Bravo Squad, Lysa, even became a supporting character in a tie-in novel later on. 

My imagination was captured by these minor characters. After following the tag for a while, i found myself spinning stories of their time in training, growing up together. I've actually started to write some fanfiction about the series. Some of the details, admittedly, are my own invention, since the games don't really focus on these parts of the world. I mean i haven't played any of the games but i feel like i have a pretty good handle on the story from all the gifsets. And the planets they visit are definitely canon.

Some Bravo Squad characters i like to write about:

Hannah, called Hammerhand in the marketing. A Medium. Likes warrior-poets.

Perihelion Yamaguchi, called Peri, a Medium sniper. Quiet, contemplative. After graduation she reconnects with her religious family in a big way and becomes the Young Queen Rhiannon.

Lysandra, called Lysa. She knew she wanted to join the navy ever since she read her first Horatio Hornblower book in primary school. Big ego, big ambitions, was the top-graded in her class back on her home planet.  Uses a teleport harness, field laptop, and electro drones. A Light.

Shawn. She keeps to herself, but she's part of the group and is good with an assault rifle. Knows the best ramen places. A Medium.

Bu, who fights with two axes and plenty of strength biomods. A low-armor Heavy.

Fiona, with repulsor wings and a heat-seeking spear. A Light. 

Some sub-settings:

The early cadetship on the mighty flagship HMS Titan (back before they even had any weapon certificates!)

Pilar Academy, and the windy grasslands used for ground war classes. 

Mars, work placement missions against the robot warlords.

The winter internship in the echoing tunnels of the mysterious alien moon Extremis A.

The interplanetary expeditions of the graduates' warband: Dragon Team.

The Bevelled Plains, greatest land theater in the whole sector, created by an eccentric necrotechnomancer as his last gift to the tradition of warfare. 

Basic backstory:

It's the future, & all problems have been solved. 

Poverty, agriculture, space colonization, gender, artificial intelligence, economics, death, violence, politics... Whatever it is, someone has already gotten there first. 

This is a little disconcerting for a young person who dreams big. All the demons that still exist were created for mere entertainment in safe, isolated environments. Ambition is redirected into games and amusement parks. 

War is obsolete. Militaries linger on at a fraction of their old budgets, funded mostly by donors and hobbyists. 

All intercultural conflicts have so many outlets and safeguards set up that the possibility of violence is astronomically low. 

Conflicts are settled by diplomacy or fair arbitration under pre-agreed rules. 

And the end of scarcity means that people don't really get serious about fighting anymore. 

Furthermore, brain backups, body manufacturing, brain emulation, and artificial bodies are all so developed that lethal injuries are no longer a realistic threat. 

If you die, you'll just wake up in a newly-grown body the next day.

But the literary and narrative traditions about warriors survive.

And it is this poison that has gotten into the veins of our protagonists. 

War is like sports.

It is hosted by special venues - theaters - such as colosseums and state parks. 

Violence outside of predeclared areas is ridiculed.

Armies (a fraction of their historical size) are funded by advertising, merchandise, and tips.

Marketing the combatants is an important part of the military business model. 

The actual main character of the Sunlight video games is Agent Golem, champion of the combat tournaments that war has devolved into.

Her life is legitimately dramatic and involves power struggles between sponsors, the pressure of being the best in the world, etc. However, the life of the average war enthusiast is much more mundane.

Military technology is marketed to retrofuturist hobbyists, and features a kitschy exuberance in its design and branding (Electroblasters, Meltaswords, etc.).

There also exist backwater moons that artists have seeded with self-constructing species of robots (Pandoricans), just as something to fight. These are not very dangerous given that death is a totally curable condition.

These moons are somewhere between theme parks, open-air zoos, and live-action video games

Also, gender roles have changed. Most parents and organizations obsess over children's genomes before conception, and the current fashion in this sector is bright, athletic daughters who strive for uniqueness. (Unfortunately, there is only a finite supply of uniqueness available.) Male births are down in the low single digit percentages, and most parents seem reluctant to bother with the gender.

Other influences i draw on in these fics:

Anamanaguchi

The Magicians

Ender's Game

Halo

My memories of playing Mass Effect with Michelle in high school

Also, i like to be conscientious and attach a disclaimer on my fanfiction:

Sunlight and related characters are registered trademarks of VileMilan Studios, Inc., but as it is obvious to us storytellers that characters, narratives, and mythology belong to the people, such trademarks are culturally void. Claims of corporate ownership over thought and folklore, however well-intentioned, can have no artistic legitimacy among fans. Proprietary fiction is a legal fiction. The explorations, variations, and transformations of Sunlight in these fic(s) belong to no one but exist as simple dreams set loose upon the net, flitting from the mind of one fan to another.

[cockymclaughlin]

i was tagged by the lovely @capefearless u3u 

RULES: Always post the rules. Answer the questions asked, then write 11 new ones. Tag 11 people to answer your questions, as well as the person who tagged you. (Unless you are a rule breaker, breaking that rule.)

1. How were you introduced to GMM?

saw a gifset on here, was like “hey i know those guys let’s go watch those old videos i used to watch when i was younger” and then gmm came up while i was watching said videos. and here i am, a year or so later. 

2. If you were to wear one colour for the rest of your life, besides black or white, what colour would it be?

(i feel like saying gray would be cheating, too) so i’m gonna say olive green. 

3. What is your ideal occupation?

i just want to be creating something, man. i want to be writing and doing my own thing and feeling like i’m doing something worthwhile with my life. 

4. Dunkin or Starbucks?

neither? we’ve got a donut place here that’s got the best donuts in the world, but not a dunkins. however, i’ve had dunkins and they’re crap and so even if i’m somewhere with a dunkins, i’d rather not. and starbucks is okay but i only ever get it if i’m like out with someone who wants it or something. 

5. Have you invented any interesting meals/desserts/snacks?

mm, no. i don’t cook. but i’m really really good at ordering pizza. 

6. What is your favourite soda?

root beer. fuckin love me some root beer. 

7. First favourite artist that comes to mind?

artist is such a broad term but i’m gonna go with fanartist and say @dealwrought (tagging two of your urls in one post like the incredibly consistent person i am) 

8. Favourite meme?

i?? don’t know. i’m not very hip with memes. i like the trend of using question marks inappropriately tho, does that count? 

9. Which is best: watching movies on a TV, laptop or at a theater?

for overall movie experience, a theater. comfort-wise, at home on your laptop. i have a bad attention span so i like to have earphones and captions on so i can follow easier. but i do like going to the movies. 

10.  What do you like to draw? (Even if you’re not an artist!)

i always doodle these little happy clouds with arms that are saying things like “we’re all gonna die one day!” or “the universe is an illusion!” or “everything is arbitrary!” 

11. What’s a hobby you’d like to pick up?

me? a hobby? impossible. (but in all honesty i’d like to look into the intricacies of filming and editing and all that good stuff. for reasons)

[ginnyzero]

The Power of FANDOM

Yes, FANDOM must be in all caps in that title.

Back when I started this blog as an author I came out as someone who is pro-fanfiction. In fact, I've been plenty honest about the fact that I've written fanfiction in the past, still write fanfiction and no doubt will continue to do so in the future.

Fandom is a lot more than simply fanfiction. It's fan art, it's AMVs, it's parody, it's meta. It's simply talking about a show with you co-workers/friends. Fandom isn't just about going to conventions or buying merchandise or posting gifsets on Tumblr. Though those are all good fannish things! Fandom is the power of the people putting their time and money and emotions into a piece of media and comes at all levels of commitment. And fandom can be powerful.

Exhibit A: Dragon Ball (Z, GT, F, Kai and Super and every non canon movie ever, etc.)

Dragon Ball started in Japan back in 1984 as a Shonen Jump manga about a genius scientist and a boy with a tail on quest for the mythical dragon balls. (So she could wish for an endless supply of strawberries or a perfect boyfriend. She was 16, cut her some slack.) It started making traction in the US in the mid to late 90s as Toonami started importing more Japanese anime across the pond. And here we are in 2018, Dragon Ball Super is on it's fifth season in the Universe Survival Saga. That is over 20 years of Goku vs. the next big bad shenanigans.

The only way this happened was through a huge and still in some spaces thriving fandom. Dragon Ball became the bar and the standard for a Shonen (boy focused) fighting manga and inspired another huge fan favorite, Naruto. There is an entire group called Team Four Star that have created a parody of Dragon Ball Z called Dragon Ball Abridged where they cut down the drawn out fights and crank the character's personalities up to eleven for the humor factor. (Given that Akira Toriyama is a humor writer at heart, this can be entertaining since many of his character are already parodies.) And the success of Dragon Ball Abridged is considered part of the reason that Dragon Ball GT has been replaced with Dragon Ball Super. (Or Super has gone in the middle of Z and GT or something.)

So, boys (and girls) of every age can still debate who is better, Vegeta or Goku, 19 years after Vegeta's introduction! Thanks to video parody and the fact that DBZ merchandise still sells and sells and sells.

A lot of these super fandoms have a major thing in common, fandom world building.

Exhibit B: Harry Potter

When Harry Potter first came out, my mother bought the first book because she wanted to see what the divisive fuss in Christian circles was all about. By the time I finished college, we ended up having all seven books. Harry Potter still has a huge following, the books are still on the tops of every fantasy book search. There are new movies coming out. JK Rowling created Pottermore and tweets facts about the universe still. There is still a great deal of interest in Harry Potter.

One of the reasons of this, and it happened in Dragon Ball as well, is that the author became so focused on telling their adventure story that the world building was closer to broad outlines than actual sketches. And this left a lot of wiggle room for fans to fill in the blanks with their own ideas and own rules and thoughts. Sure, a lot of it a pre-teen and teenage Harry Potter didn't actually need to know in the books. (But did we really have to spend half of the seventh book running around the forest either, no.)

In fact, in Exhibit A, Vegeta is an alien that hasn't been raised on Earth like Piccolo or Goku has and this fact is blatantly ignored throughout the entire series and Vegeta's inability to integrate with the other warriors is more often portrayed as him being an aloof jerk rather than him just not getting Earth society and not being able to set aside his pride and ask. In Harry Potter, Harry did ask a lot of questions. Whether or not he asked the correct questions is up for debate. But in Harry Potter, given that muggles came into Wizard Society on a semi-regular basis, the wizards had a slight understanding of how to deal with it.

The unanswered questions and the fun that the fans had in creating their own answers to them really prolonged the longevity of the series. (In trying to answer some of the questions, JK Rowling created more questions!)

Of course, there is also the mega-cross over fandoms.

Exhibit C: Supernatural

I'll admit. Even after 12 seasons, I haven't managed to sit down and watch one episode of Supernatural even though 2 good looking guys, a classic car and hunting monsters should be my jam. But nothing about that premise (even well done) should have given Supernatural the legs it's had. And the fandom is or at least was rather rabid in my wide eyed let's skirt about the edges of this lurking. And nothing would account of that except the rise of the super crossover fandom.

Think Supernatural plus Doctor Who plus Sherlock all in the same universe and the characters playing off each other even if the different story's rules are completely different and why would Sherlock leave Britain? But, it kept people interested in all three of those shows. It kept people going back and watching for more hints and clues and ideas to put into their stories. It kept Supernatural in the minds of FANDOM.

(And after mega crossovers came the revival of the coffee shop AU and the invention of the florist, tattoo shop AU, then the ABO stuff, and I'm not sure where we've gone from there. Fandom, you be crazy and I love you.)

But, as it is, most the intellectual property right holders of these huge mega-fandoms have a love/hate relationship with their fans. While they love the attention that fandom can bring to their works, they want fans to only react in certain ways. It's rumored the animation company behind Dragon Ball hates Dragon Ball Z Abridged, even though the current writers and animators on the ground are also rumored to love it. (So much that it might have influenced the characterizations of the characters in Super.) Granted, not all fans have interacted with the principals (actors, writers etc) appropriately. It still makes very little sense to bite the hand that buys your merchandise and keeps up your television ratings. Especially over works that 99% of the time, the fan makes no money off of. The fandoms that embrace their fans (Buffy, AtlA, I'm looking at you) deserve all the credit in the world.

Fandom has even managed several times to have movies made for cancelled television shows. Now, the quality of these movies is up for debate. (Personally, I loved the cinematography in Serenity and the way it opened the universe a bit more, a lot of the story was simply meh and would have played out better over a long television show.) Fandom interest has gotten producers interested in continuing that franchise even when the studios have decided not to do more with it.

Now, fandom definitely has it's dark and ugly sides. However, I'm still going to lean that there are more positive sides to having fan art and fan fic and parody and meta in free publicity than downsides. We, as creators, can always hope to have a fandom no matter how big or how small.

Viva La Fandom! Squeee!