#the-fault-in-our--fandom

[demigods-posts]

i really think the fandom kind of glosses over the trauma annabeth endured in ttc. like, the poor girl fell off the side of a cliff, was manipulated into holding the literal weight of the sky on her shoulders for hours, and (if i remember correctly) was tied up at one point. but this is all we can be certain happened because that's all of what percy saw. but what about what we didn't see? the poor girl probably spent the first few days immobilized and in so much physical pain once artemis took the sky from her. she was probably starved, or at the very least, not getting the amount of food and water she needed consistently. she probably spent most of her nights in an endless cycle of torment knowing that her friends were coming for her, but not knowing how long it would take them to find her. she probably quietly cried herself to sleep knowing the reason she was even in this mess was because of luke. i could go on and on, but you get my point.

[maingh0st]

i know i'm not the first to say this, but the acolyte's cancellation has confirmed how tired i am of disney's decision-making when it comes to their content. i know nostalgia is the easiest way to a big payout, but we can only take so many spinoffs before the universe starts to feel too small. but then fresh content—content that's building on the canon by looking to old star wars lore while asking new questions—fizzles out.

it's the sequel trilogy all over again. we're promised something new, something that actually expands the canon rather than just recycling it, even bringing in concepts from legends, and then the rug is ripped out from underneath us & we're punished for ever caring about any of it. silly babygirl! palpatine was always the big bad (don't worry about the fact that this is thematically nonsense and not foreshadowed in any way), and rey isn't a nobody ("your parents sold you because they loved you"), and this isn't a story about how the force transcends human categories and dynasties (represented by a grey jedi force dyad between a legacy skywalker and a nobody orphan from a backwater planet, fulfilling not only balance between light and dark but also transcending the old to become something new). silly idiot!!! rey's a palpatine by birth and a skywalker by self-adoption and god forbid she create her own identity outside of these names our fans recognize. watch as she stands alone on a sand planet that has no personal significance to her, ending her arc almost exactly as she began. but look!! two suns! neat

i don't even know if fanservice is the right word. at a certain point, it just starts to feel like they're quaking in their boots at the thought of doing anything new. i had my gripes with some of the choices in the acolyte, but at least it was unique. it explored a new era and asked questions that star wars has only ever flirted with. like: what happens to the children who are uprooted from their homes at such a young age, yet can't find their place in the jedi order? how does one survive in a supposedly honorable system that nevertheless relies on the repression of some of humanity's most fundamental emotions? is it possible that an organization dictating exactly how one ought to interact with the very life force of the universe... could perhaps be faulty and shortsighted? what happens when the ways of that order clash with other cultures and worldviews? (spoilers: space colonialism). and that's not even to mention the ideas they play with re: the force itself (vergences! plagueis! force witches!)

i know not everyone loved the show, but a lot of people really did care about it. a lot of people, like me, were excited to see these new questions being raised. but forget it—the disney gods have decreed that it didn't hit some magical threshold of streaming hours or reach a "broad enough" audience in the two months it's been out. but don't worry guys. turn your brains off and tune in for the next spinoff 2 chewy 2 bacca

[spirk-trek]

SPOCK IS A HAND FREAK!! HE'S A FREAK ABOUT HIS HANDS!!!!

[avatarquake]

Proud member of the 'my non-canon ships make better sense than the canon ones' club.

[lunarriviera]

dear dmbj fandom, don't say i never gave you anything. this joke will be funny to approximately ten people but ngl, everytime i see it i laugh my whole entire face off. making it was the best possible use of my birthday this year, so i invite you to obtain a sticker or t-shirt off red/bub/ble (or, for a lower-quality but cheaper shirt, tee/pub/lic).

also, i gave you the tiniest markup allowed, because i love you. as the obnoxious drinks machine says in hitchhiker's guide, share and enjoy! (ETA please be aware that the tall mug distorts the graphic, and they won't let me change/fix it. but the regular-degular mug is fine!)

[chasingthestarss]

Me *to my sane friend: that sounds like something Regulus would do

My friend: Who?

[biblically-accurate-dca]

KILL!!!!!!!!!

[willothewispwisteriadawn]

The Secret History Heights in Order (tallest to shortest)

I don’t know why but I need to have a height line up for characters, so I am very attuned to markers as I read and this is what I found: 

1. Henry (Over 6′3)

2. Bunny (6′3)

3. Richard

4. Francis

5. Charles

6. Camilla

Reasons: The beginning of the book, when describing the Greek kids, Richard states that Henry is tallest with Bunny second and shorter “not by much.” It says, as Bunny falls, that he’s 6′3. So Henry is likely 6′4ish. Much later, there’s a scene that states Francis gives his old clothes to Richard and Charles (p 426 in Vintage edition copy). It says Francis is “taller than Charles, and thinner than both of us.” This implies Richard is taller than Francis (Unless they’re precisely the same. But he’s not shorter.). So Charles is the shortest guy. Obviously, I assume Camilla is the shortest because she’s a woman and is not mentioned being particularly tall and none of the guys is mentioned being particularly short. 

[dykepaldi]

no one is telling you to skip nine anymore. not a single person in the world.

[storekn1fe]

the ao3 stats are really such a perfect encapsulation of issues with fandom in general like 1) people refusing to let go of shit books made by a terf bc they were important to them as a kid, 2) an abysmal lack of f/f ships, and 3) an even more abysmal lack of non-east asian characters of color, especially black characters.

[blackbeardsslutstrands]

Me waiting for any news on s2:

[ladyalicentshightower]

I think people overestimate how feminist team black is. If someone brings up how Baela should be the heir to Driftmark, it's always "she would've been Queen if not for the Greens!", ignoring that 1, she would be Queen consort, not a Queen in her own right, and 2 she has a legitimate claim in her own right to Driftmark. Team Black's goal is to crown Rhaenyra, but Rhaenyra becoming Queen isn't a win for feminism because it does nothing to dismantle the rest of the patriarchal system that exists in Westeros. From what we've gotten so far, it reads that Rhaenyra wants to be the exception and not the rule. Rhaenyra has made a lot of bad political decisions, which means she can't acknowledge Baela's claim because it would weaken her own claim (blatantly admitting her eldest sons are illegitimate would not end well for her to say the least). So she betrothes Jace and Luke to Baela and Rhaena to kind of atone for that, like as a consolation prize Baela will be Queen and Rhaena will be lady of Driftmark, neither of them would hold either title in their own right. It's good matches because the kids like each other and will treat each other well, but it's not a feminist win or a feministic liberation. It's usurpation, usurpation that takes place because Rhaenyra has to do damage control after having illegitimate children and after a serious of bad political decisions (both hers and her fathers, Viserys is the arbiter of this entire mess). To me, Rhaenyra is very reminiscent of Mary Queen of Scots, I can see a lot of elements drawn from Mary's history in Rhaenyra's story and character, down to their sons eventually taking the crown they failed to claim/keep.

[aristaresident]

So much of my experience with internet fandom culture has been defining by feeling like I arrived late to the party. It's like showing up and the table's still set, there's food and drinks (the art, fics, and general posts people leave behind) but no one is actually there to talk to and enjoy it with.

I remember being about 12 and finding abandoned forums where people had talked about the stuff I was interested in, and thinking damn, if I'd just been here earlier I could have been part of this, instead of watching the sand blow over it. And then that repeated itself again and again for the next 15 years. People who were the backbone of a small fandom leave, or switch hyperfixations, and all that's left is posts with broken links.

Of course I'm not saying that's wrong or bad, it's just lonely. And I still firmly believe in posting about niche stuff you like even if you're seemingly the only one who cares at the time, because someone else trawling through old posts may find it and enjoy it. But I'd also rather have that person as a friend to share it with in the present.

[hey-must-be-a-devilbetween-us]

bold of fandom culture at large to think i won't stay obsessed with something because it 'ends' and its not 'popular' anymore.

like? you realize the first 'fandom' i ever entered was lord of the rings and the last book was published before my mom or dad were even born...

like i don't understand the story ends and i'm just supposed to what?? put it away forever?? like i'm not gonna take the dolls back out and play with them over and over again be so for real right now.

[widevibratobitch]

in terror, four lieutenants; in t3m, four musketeers. Conclusion?

conclusion - same as always: destiny.

but wait oh christ okay. they even kinda fit...

you've got the og trio of

Wet Pathetic Loser

Deeply Religious Guy

Fancy Lad

which ig would make dundy... d'artagnan?? no. no oh god ok. listen. d'artagnan is jopson im afraid:

1. has a deeply homoerotic father/son relationship with a suicidal alcoholic

2. is actually kinda obsessed with him tbh

3. doesn't really start out as One Of Them, has to wait quite some time to get promoted

4. big part of the fandom actually ships him with little aka our athos

it makes sense you gotta believe me it does it does

[hershelwidget]

I think it would be very hilarious if there were fan-songs for Octonauts the same way that there's fan-songs for FNaF. How long until someone writes a ditty about Tweak making the Gups...

Some EXCELLENT examples from the server already though! Here's the PROMPTS if anyone here wants to get creative :) I might post demo versions of the songs sometime next year, or maybe sometime This Month if we get enough done on at least one of em :)))

We've been mostly aiming these towards the RP itself but you're welcome to try and generalize these to the actual show! Like "Past" for example could be about the era of Octonauts when they used the FIRST Octopod. I dunno- Prompts are your oyster! I just think it would be neat <3