#there’s criticisms and then like getting so obsessed with fanon and your own idea that you refuse to see

[kirin-no-yume]

Sometimes the Star Wars fandom puts the Jedi on such a high pedestal that they forget that they are still human, make mistakes, and can deal with negative emotions in unsuccessful way. They think that the Jedi are beacons and it’s black and white and they always make the right choices. They try to be good and that’s noble, but they can’t get everything right. They are not completely detached from everything and themselves. They are still people who can make mistakes. They can still have some ego even if they try not to. They can be reluctant to admit they were wrong because it compromises things. It isn’t “shitting” on the Jedi and sometimes I think people see a vendetta against the Jedi when they’re just trying to make them more in depth.

[mintedwitcher]

I think you got the wrong idea on where I’m coming from on my reblog on your post.

To be clear: I fucking LOVE Tommy. I love Buck and Tommy. I love this story, I’m obsessed with them.

I don’t think Buck has any romantic feelings for Eddie either.

But I also don’t think Buck had the tools to make that evaluation until Tommy kissed him.

Yes, he wanted Tommy’s attention, but he literally only figured that part out about ten seconds before Tommy kissed him (“yeah, I guess so”). I don’t think he even realized WHY he wanted Tommy’s attention so much- only that he did.

The Kiss (tm) is the line in the sand/lightbulb moment for him. He has spent so much time trying to live up to everyone’s picture of what he SHOULD be that he has not evaluated how HE feels about his sexuality.

It’s easy for him to identify romantic/sexual attraction to women because it’s what’s expected of him. But go back to his conversation with Maddie- “sure, I’ll check out a hot guy’s ass, but that’s normal” (unsaid: for a straight guy)

Buck absolutely does not understand his own sexuality before Tommy kisses him because he never thought he needed to. It’s not part of the “perfect son, perfect brother, perfect friend, perfect firefighter” visions he’s trying to become.

I’m not saying he IS in love with Eddie. I’m saying it’s not something he would have even entertained before. Now that he has had that part of his self blown wide open, he has the tools to evaluate platonic vs romantic, and his feelings for Eddie are platonic.

Thank you for coming back to clarify. In your reblog, the way you worded it sounded like you thought Buck wasn't smart enough to know who he was interested in, and I'll admit I reacted harshly to that. I love Buck and I hate the way it's become a common fanon theme to make him appear stupid or slow, especially in regards to this plotline.

Personally, I don't think an evaluation of how Buck feels for Eddie was ever even on the table.

He knows how he feels about Eddie already; that's his best friend, his brother, his family. He loves Eddie, sure, just like he loves Hen and Chimney and Bobby. He knows that and he's settled with that. I dont think there would be reason for him to evaluate the type of love he feels for Eddie because he's already done it.

@unfuckablebogtroll mentioned in a reblog to that same post that if Tommy hadn't come around that night, if he'd come over a few days later, Buck likely would've figured out his bisexuality alone, and I agree. I think that Buck was already on his way there during that conversation, actually even before the line about getting Tommy's attention, now that I'm thinking about it more critically. He was flirting heavily already by the time they got to the "mouth static" line. And Buck is a curious guy by nature, he loves to research and learn new things. I don't think this would be any different.

I dont think this would've been something he would've brushed off either. It would nag at him too much. He wanted to be around Tommy, he wanted to get to know Tommy, he wanted to be invited to hang out with Tommy, that's the pattern all throughout that episode. I genuinely do believe that Buck would've eventually figured it out by himself, it just would've taken a lot longer.

Tommy just... sped up the process by taking the risk and kissing him.

[foursaints]

Wait Saints when and HOW did you start developing this thing with Rosekiller? Like how did all of these ideas start to appear in your mind because they're so hyper specific it's wonderful but I'm just curious as to what triggered them if that makes sense? Sorry if this is too nosy

hm idk how to answer this in a satisfying way? i got obsessed with them around november but barty has always been very #real to me. i just didn’t have a picture for evan and then he spontaneously materialized in my brain one day fully formed and now all i want to do is smash them together. but that’s just how blorboism works yk... i think it only gets bad when you start compulsively running their hypothetical conversations through your head at all times <- critical stage 5 blorbo disease

coming up with your own vision is fun tho!! like i think it’s helpful to completely ignore fanon and make what you want to see. decide what vibes you’re getting on your own. their essences etc.

[jayteacups]

I'm surprised that you didn't try to treat Nüwa and fic you wrote as canon. I usually think that most aot oc and reader fic writers try to write and treat as canon. Especially if they include canon divergence. If you say because your fic is different from canon, as I said, there are authors who add canon divergence in their fic and try to fit it to canon. I guess you fuck fandom and canon and write for your own entertainment. Sometimes I wish I could fuck all that like you and focus on my fanon fun.

For example, I'm someone who added my oc to Sc both to have some action character and to get some screen time. And as you say, Survey Corps is one of the main themes that gets the most screen time. But the Survey Corps is really a ruthless corps led by a hypocritical leader where they sacrifice themselves in a meaningless way over and over again, many of them sacrificing themselves to their death in vain, and it's a corps full of contradictions and treacheries that bother me. And of course Survey Corps is a theme that I'm uncomfortable with, so I must have reflected that in my oc, who is not happy to be there. I'm not sure if I should explain the background of my oc, but to explain a little bit, she's there more for Levi. They've been together for a long time, since they were kids.

So I can say that the chemistry I tried to make up as canon and also the chemistry I wrote to bring them closer. Their relationship reminds me a little of eremika and I can't help but wonder if they looks like a copycat or if I wrote a stupid lazy background. If it were canon I think the fandom would make similar criticism and hate speeches haha. But now I'm in the middle of designing my own levixOc because I'm trying to get away from him and the fandom lol. Because I can say that the constant canon discourses and Levi discourses in this fandom have pushed me to be more selective prescriptive and skeptical than fun.

"Levi would sacrifice you for the mission. Because he is a member of Sc" "Levi is very obsessed with Erwin very loyal he wouldn't treat you the way he treats him" At the same time, I constantly see that he would like superior strong smart people, "he would never tolerate weakness" including the ideal partner Hc's that Levi is selective, where there are similar articles like this, many discourses like this have made me frankly not enjoy this Levi and fanfic content. Sometimes when I read fic, I can't help but think "I wonder if this is how Levi would act canonically". I apologize for going so far out of context. I must have gotten a little carried away here reflecting on my negativity about the fandom.

Thank you for this ask! Let me just explain what I meant when I said that my fic is an alternate universe to AOT and not entirely canon to the original story. The setting of my fic does still take place in the AOT canon setting, i.e., three walls, titans surrounding the walls and roaming the island, an Underground, the history between Marley and Paradis/Eldia, etc. Basically the setting is the same, but there will be some canon compliance that I'll be sticking to, but yes, there will be some canon-divergence indeed, because the way I've written Nüwa and her very existence isn't exactly canon-compliant lmao. So I decided not to stress too much about trying to blend her seamlessly into canon AOT, but more like a parallel universe to AOT, if that makes sense! That's the type of story I decided to write, but of course I still respect canon-compliance and I respect the canon material itself (I'm not saying 'fuck it' completely lol). The canon divergence is more me playing with ideas that weren't really touched upon in canon and expanding on the changes that come with adding original characters to a story that already exists. I'm writing this more for self-indulgence and fun, and honestly that's why I write fic in the first place!

It's really interesting to see that your OC is a Survey Corps soldier but is actually jaded and unhappy about being there, that's certainly not something that many stories touch upon! You're right that there is a darker element to the Survey Corps' purpose and to the way Erwin operates (I like him a lot as a character though, don't get me wrong, I find him really interesting). Your project sounds really exciting. And I wouldn't say that the Eremika parallels are 'lazy' or a copycat - there are many different ways to spin that dynamic, and again, it's your story so you have the freedom to do whatever you wish with Levi and your OC!

I know the discourse - especially the discourse on this platform over the last six months - is incredibly exhausting and can be demotivating. I'm sorry that it's had such a negative impact on you :(( I think it's important to remember that at the end of the day, fandom is supposed to be a fun hobby, it's supposed to bring you joy. You absolutely don't have to subscribe to the headcanons that you don't like or agree with - because those headcanons are just one possible interpretation of canon, but they aren't necessarily the right interpretation. It's more than fine to think, 'actually, I don't think he would act like this', and click back out of that fic.

In canon, Levi is never explicitly in a romantic relationship with anyone, and therefore nobody can say definitively how he would act with a partner who's in the Survey Corps. It's up to you what you want to do with your story, and you shouldn't have to worry about appeasing to the people with different headcanons than you. If you don't agree with someone's opinion, you're valid for disagreeing with it (just remember to stay respectful haha I know fandom discourse can really rile people up), and you can write your fic with what you have in mind rather than what other fans have in mind.

[demonscantgothere]

Hi! I read your post about Galadriel and I have a question about her on the show (Rings of Power on Amazon). I’m unable to watch it, so I have no idea what’s going on. All I see are posts on Tumblr here and there.

My questions are: (1) Is Galadriel married to Celeborn on the show already? and (2) Is she cheating on him with Sauron? Or is that fannon talk?

Thanks and sorry if these questions are annoying. Again, I haven’t seen the show at all, but I don’t mind spoilers.

To answer your questions, anon, (1) In episode 7, Galadriel tells us she hasn't seen her husband, Celeborn, since she sent him off as a soldier to war during the War with Morgoth. That was the first time Galadriel mentioned Celeborn since the show started, so it makes sense why he hasn't been mentioned yet or talked about. Considering that it's been hundreds of years since then, she believes he is dead. She was rather upset about it still, so I get why until that moment we haven't heard anything about it.

I don't believe Celeborn is dead. I think he will probably come into play in later seasons.

(2) No, Galadriel is not cheating on Celeborn with Sauron. That's just fanon talk. We fangirls like to live a little in between our critical assessments of source material. Galadriel bonded with Halbrand/Sauron as both a friend and ally before she knew his true identity. She told him to "be free it" in regards to his past crimes, and that he could "redeem his bloodline." I would say they developed a very close relationship as friends. Despite Sauron, you know, lying about who he was, he actually rescued/saved her life and she did the same with him.

With that out of the way, the show puts forth the idea that Sauron wants Galadriel by his side. It's implied in a more-than-friendship way since he literally says, "I would make you a Queen." But you know good ol' Sauron, if you're familiar with Tolkien canon. He is obsessed with the idea of control and wants control over all living beings, so his interest in her, while it could be read as romantic/sexual or whatever, is likely just "I want to own you" in the end. Sauron had a sly tongue and liked to butter people up to win them over to his side in Tolkien canon, using brute force only when he had no other choice. He is a very Luciferian character, but the original The Lord of the Rings trilogy doesn't flesh him out fully because the majority of his character arc was already in its denouement at that time.

I hope that answers your questions, anon! Have a wonderful day!

[maschotch]

like and when people get mad at the valid criticisms of her. it's like, I'm sorry the character you created is not the one in the show?? she doesn't have enough/anything that makes her likable enough to outweigh the things in canon that make her unlikable! like no thanks!

"she's just the vessel for the writers shitty idea of what a strong woman looks like" soo true though. every attempt falls flat, or upholds stereotypes and her inability to look outside her own experiences

the fucksibdjdjfkdkg "my friends call me jj. you're not my friend you can call me jennifer"

its so fucking elementary afsgdghdjfh 9 year olds say worse to each other. it's not the slay moment everyone thinks it is

one instance in particular i can't stand is in s3ep14, they're at that carnival for rossi's case, and derek says "I can't believe people waste good money on these fixed games" and girlboss jj says "men" "its not people it's men" "only a man would waste $50 trying to win that $3 stuffed animal"

and just. parents. parents bring their kids to carnivals all the time. to have fun and win shitty prizes. oh but I forgot she wasn't a mom yet, so that wasn't her entire personality. I don't know. for me it just never hits as the girlboss moment every one thinks it is. but go off I guess afsghdhfkh

I've fallen out of it with cm a little lately, but unfortunately it will always have some hold on my soul lmao, and I got caught up in reading through your takes, and truly, this show fucking sucks, but analyzing it can be sO fun and you drop nothing but bangers. it reminded me in a way why I like this god awful show in the first place afgsgrhfjfjgshf

like if anyone gave me a single solid reason to like her character at all i might give her a chance. but i’ve been watching cm for a decade, and kept a finger on the pulse of the fandom for half that. so far ive heard absolutely no legitimate thing to like about her

even fanon jj falls flat for me? she’s so one dimensional and they never address any of her flaws. people either make her the target of emily’s infatuation (which is so fucked up on so many levels?? as if we need any more of the aggressive/obsessive lesbian stereotype) or they keep her as the mom of the group and leave it at that. absolutely NO nuance!! im convinced its bc they know we’re right… actually giving her a personality would mean acknowledging how insufferable she us

imo the best thing you can do with her character is actually talk about her internal conflicts. she’s got massive imposter syndrome and she takes it out on everyone!! thats interesting at least!! lets talk about that!! but nooo bc that would mean admitting everyones favorite blonde haired blue eyes beauty makes mistakes

god ur so right in that aaaaaall her girlboss moments are just so pathetic. i love to tear those moments to pieces because its just so fucking easy. clearly shitty attempts at the writers thinking theyre saying something clever or profound. it scares me how frequently the fandom falls for it. like. develop some critical thinking skills pls i am begging

im also well out of my cm phase, but its still so deeply engrained that even when i havent watched an ep in months, my opinions are as strong as ever especially since theyre always so correct. but yeah there’s something so special about cm? i think its all the half-suggested hints at something deeper that gives us a chance to try and build on it. but its also so casually entertaining that its also nice to just have on in the background. criminal minds is as good as you make it, ig

[urdinosaurs]

I think the problem is why make him so completely toxic. I get a little controlling here and there he’s obviously lost someone important to him and wouldn’t want that to happen again but romanticizing straight up emotional and verbal abuse is crazy, especially for a young impressionable audience .

No, no, I get that, and I guess what my issue is that this kind of thing happens to every character. For every fandom, every character there is fanfiction for, there will be toxic/ obsessive/yandere works. It's just what happens, and every time, people take it personally and have some kind of beef over it.

The other side of the argument, which I get, is that while this happens to every character, there is an outstanding amount of works portraying Miles like this. Not just AUs, but it has come to the point where there's a considerable amount of fanfiction using the prompt of Toxic!Miles. (Which I think it's easy to portray him like this because all we see of Miles is him in a dark setting with a threatening and cold demeanor.)

But this emotionally abusive stage writers (not shaming or calling out anyone) have seemed to come to when exploring Toxic!Miles is harmful (especially since he's black but let's not get into that), and romatizing behavior that has affected people lives, well-being, mental state and caused enormous amounts of trauma is horrible.

(There's also a line between romanticizing traumatic things and simply writing about them, which many people tend to get confused about. If you romanticize something, like abuse, there are no consequences for the abuser. The writer is doing it to make the abuser look more attractive and a desirable thing to happen!!! Keep that in mind, please, not you specifically, but people, when throwing out that word.)

And based on that minute and twenty seconds, we all made inferences about his character. Everyone sees people differently, which is why there's such a dogfight about what Mile's actually like because we all made our own impressions and assumptions about him.

But the thing is, we don't know anything about him. Nothing. Everyone who has broken down the scenes and tried to make more sense of him is going off inferences, which can be very wrong depending on how we interpret them since we all view people differently.

So yes, I get why portraying him like some dark, possessive person is harmful, but I also understand why saying he's like this, or like that, or criticizing and shaming someone's work based on YOUR interpretation of the character is making people upset. As a writer, I get being possessive of your work, but when it comes down to it, we all need to be nicer to each other when giving our opinions and more open to new ideas besides our own.

(KEEP IN MIND THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO AGING-UP CHARACTERS. ANYONE WHO AGES UP MINORS FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF WRITING SMUT IS DISGUSTING)

In conclusion, making a character completely toxic, which I'm going off the assumption it's an au or canon divergence, happens more often than you think, but when we start to make that a main focal point of our fanon interpretation of him, that's when we need to reevaluate ourselves and think about our actions. That does not mean we say hateful things to authors; I repeat, we do not leave nasty comments or mean remarks. You guys look silly going back and forth with your opinions that you're so sure are right.

It's corny as hell, but not being so closed-minded and open to other ideas and the fact that you might not totally be in the right and they might not totally be in the wrong goes a long way. 

Anyways, thanks for coming to my 600 word ted talk. :)

[iamanartichoke]

So, remember that post I made like six months ago with gifs from the films of Loki having "nerves of steel," compared to a gif from the scene (in the trailer, at that point) where he jumps like ten feet when he finds himself in front of the dude with the stack of papers? Remember how I said "hmm seems like an ooc reaction" due to how sharply the latter reaction contrasted with the former ones? (I'd link but I don't feel like searching for it.)

Yeah. That post was MOSTLY A JOKE. It literally was just something I thought about and foolishly decided to share bc I thought it was funny. It was not that deep and I can't believe I even have to explain that.

(cut for length)

I'm bringing this up bc I was reading the notes on one of the survey posts going around; one user basically reblogged just to shit on it (I guess it was easier to hop on the post and aggressively tear them down instead of just ... not taking the survey?) and then talked about how much antis hate everything, and how one of our "hot takes" was that Loki was "ooc because he flinched" & "these are the types of people we're dealing with - toxic antis with shit opinions., can you believe"

And I just. I'm so, like, baffled. I know for a fact that more than this one person thought I was being 100% serious with my "hot take" and it's just like, jfc, I literally don't know how to process that apparently my opinions on Loki, his characterization, and his show in general can be summarized with "he's ooc cause he flinched that one time; source: a bunch of gifs" like???? And then to say I'm a Loki anti; like, yes, I'm such a fucking anti-Loki person over here with my Loki obsessed fan blog. Amazing. For all their talk of "antis" not understanding nuance and subtlety, they sure do take everything at face value and make sweeping generalizations, don't they.

I debated even posting this, bc nothing says "uh it was a joke!" like a multi-paragraph rebuttal - thou dost protest too much, methinks, and everything - but it honestly isn't even about the stupid post. It's just that this is an example of how fucking toxic this entire fandom has gotten and I am 500% done. You literally can't win. You criticize the show, you're an anti. You criticize it a lot, and you're probably mentally ill, too. You praise the show, and you find yourself pulled into a "but wasn't it just so brilliant though?" circle-jerk by way of reblogs. You try to have discussions about several aspects of the show, both what you liked and what you didn't, and you get told you're not being impartial enough bc your opinion is rooted in fanon. And regardless of who you're talking to or interacting with on the regular, you're in an echo chamber.

So finally you try to not state too much of an opinion either way and just mind your own business. Try to just enjoy yourself by staying out of the wank and avoiding having your posts spread around and taken out of context. And what happens? The wank finds you anyway. A six month old post comes back to haunt you. You can be reading a post you've not interacted with in any way, and still come away from it having been slapped in the face with some back-handed callout from someone you literally didn't even know existed before this. And just.

What the actual fuck, you guys. Come on.

It's nearly impossible to enjoy yourself anymore. I haven't felt comfortable posting my thoughts/opinions for quite awhile now, and apparently I can't even post humor, either. I furthermore don't feel comfortable knowing there are people in this fandom who are taking people's posts and using them to make Statements about that person's mental health. Or - I saw this very recently - just taking screenshots and mocking their opinions. (I don't care if it's the worst take in the world - what in the fuck makes you think you have the right to screenshot it and trash it? Mind your own business! Jesus! Who raised you?)

Just. I'm tired of it. I don't like not knowing who, actually, is reading my posts or why they're viewing my blog. It's upsetting to me and I've been upset for a long time and this was just the icing on the cake. And yknow what, I'm half afraid to even post this bc, again, I have no idea who's reading or who's going to vaguepost about me as a result. It is absolutely ridiculous.

[princeescaluswords]

*puts on the funny looking hat of Fandom Logic* Lydia's banshee powers laid dormant so long and for why? Have you stopped to think how in that time, she suspiciously had Stiles obsessing over her? Knowing her measurements? That dastardly druid boy must have been siphoning her Banshee spark for years to try resurrecting his mom. And he never told her what she was! When he is a genius with a 200 IQ and an expert in all things Supernatural.

I look forward to your questions, because they always tend to make me smile.  This particular question demonstrates the same level of imaginative skill and, forgive me, projective paranoia that it took for various BNF to interpret Season 5B’s plot to mean that Scott conspired with Deucalion to trick Theo into murdering Josh and Tracy.  

You see, they can’t point to a single scene where Scott tells Deucalion to kill anyone.  They can’t point to a single scene where Deucalion kills anyone.  They can’t point to a single scene where Deucalion tells Theo to kill anyone.  They ignore the scenes where Deucalion mocks Theo for killing Josh and Tracy.  If you use the logic that Deucalion taught Theo how to take power, which is why Theo kidnapped him, and that makes Deucalion responsible, you still can’t connect that to anything Scott did or said.

You know what the difference is between your far-fetched theory of Stiles suppressing Lydia’s power and their paranoid fantasy that Scott ordered Deucalion to murder just Tracy and Josh, and not Corey or Hayden (with whom Deucalion was alone) or maybe even Theo?  Aside from canon characterization, canon plot, and common sense?  You don’t seriously mean it, and they do.

Oh, and the racism.  

On this post, all the usual suspects came and told me that not only are they not motivated by racism in their hatred of Scott, but they can’t be because Scott isn’t Latino.  Their argument?  Well, no one ever came out and declared that he was word-for-word on the show (though somehow the fact that Derek, Peter, Jennifer, Deucalion, Chris, Noah, Melissa, Stiles and Deaton all said that Scott is a good person and a True Alpha does not make that statement true).   

That’s all you need to see the racism.   Latinos must declare themselves as such, or they’re not.  The idea that to be a minority you must be written a specific way to be identified as a minority is in itself racist.  All you have to do is look and you’ll see the footprints of racism in this fandom, which they can deny and deny and deny, but the double standards are easily found and they show up in their meta and they show up in their fanfiction and their gifsets and their snide-ass comments they put in the #scott mccall tag on Tumblr.  There’s no other explanation for their interpretations but Scott’s not white.

I would love to hear the explanation of why it’s okay for them to write that Scott is responsible for Tracy and Josh’s death, while also writing that Peter cares for his family so much, especially when if you use their own arguments, Peter is responsible for Derek’s temporary death in Smoke & Mirrors (4x12).  Peter was in conspiracy with Kate just as much as Scott was in conspiracy with Deucalion and Chris, so it stands to reason if Theo, who was being manipulated by Deucalion, killed Josh so that makes Scott responsible, then if the Berserker, who was being manipulated by Kate, temporarily killed Derek, so that makes Peter responsible.  

You will most likely never hear this idea anywhere else.  You will most likely never read about Peter’s sheer disdain for his family.  Because while fandom likes to trumpet that it’s about exploring all possible combinations and deep reading, you won’t get this level of critical and accusative analysis about hot white men. 

To them, that’s not racism.  After all, Peter’s a villain!  And Derek and Chris are as well in the first two seasons.  The answer, of course, is to look seriously at the way they treat some hot white male non-villains.  

Let’s look at how these supposedly better white male characters treat women.  Stiles is prepared to make out with Lydia when she’s drugged up to the gills, shouts at her until she dances with him, spends an entire weekend waiting for her in a hospital, buys her a ridiculous amount of gifts for her birthday, among other expressions of romantic attraction.  Isaac, on the other hand, wants to kill Lydia because she turned him down for a date, assaults Allison on Derek’s orders, and becomes sexually attracted and romantically involved with Allison who hunted down his packmates and stabbed him a lot.  But I’ve never seen a single of one of these anti-Scott BNF call Stiles or Isaac ‘sexually obsessed!’  That’s only Scott  who embodies for them the Latin Lover stereotype and who is excoriated in fan fiction and on Tumblr for the singular and unheralded crime of paying attention to his girlfriend.

I don’t know what the difference is, but apparently, it’s not racism.

Or how many of the hundreds (if not thousands) of stories have you read where Stiles shuns, punishes, strips Scott of his wolf with his super-duper magical powers, or literally kills Scott because he demonstrated his disloyalty and unworthiness by not submitting to Derek and/or Peter?  Yet, there may be one or two stories in the nearly 120,000 Teen Wolf fanfictions on AO3 where Stiles reacts at all to Isaac abandoning Derek (and disliking Peter) and joining Scott’s pack.  If  fanfictions are transformative, and it’s only natural that they create stories where Stiles acts as the avenging angel for the poor widdle Hales, there would have to be stories where he avenges them against Isaac.  Wouldn’t there?

I’d bet there are less than five, but apparently, it’s not racism.  

And then there’s the terrible, terrible Neck Grab o’ Doom which is brought up again and again in fiction and commentary, which Fanon Stiles cannot stomach (even though canon Stiles argued for leaving Derek in the hands of his rapist).  To them he must end his friendship with Scott over this dastardly crime, motivated as it was by pure animus (which is what they’re calling the threat of Scott watching Allison’s throat get ripped out).  Scott was working with Gerard under duress, but to Stiles, that’s irrelevant.  They can’t be around each other anymore.  How many stories are there about this, do you think?  Now compare that to the number of stories where Stiles drives Liam from the pack for his beating Scott to the point of death while working with Theo.

I’ve never seen one.  Stiles is far more interested in who Liam is dating, but apparently, it’s not racism.

I can go on and on and on and on, and point out that these aren’t 40-60 splits.  The preponderance of stories where Scott is held reprehensible for actions that white characters take and ignored without comment are incredibly lopsided, overwhelmingly in favor of turning the Latino hero into a monster while Stiles, Liam, and Isaac are “baby” who must be excused for their mistakes.  

But Scott was written so badly!  These BNF cry.  Then where are the fix-its?  If the story was so unsatisfying, and fanfiction exists to give us what canon didn’t, where are the fix-its where the story is written to give us Scott as a hero they can get behind.   

Oh, they exist, but just with stories that approach white character’s misdeeds, they are in the extreme minority.  The vast majority of fix-its aren’t about correcting the mistakes the production made in the presentation of the main character, they are about saving the Hale family or making sure that Derek stays alpha or telling how Stiles dropped his life-long loyalty to his best friend and switched to either of the Hot White Hales, either the middle-aged serial killer or the young adult would-be serial killer, overwhelmingly.   And above all, Scott is put in his place - dead or unimportant or subservient or any combination of the three.

They don’t dislike Scott because he’s Latino, they’ll repeatedly tell you, even though he shares traits with every single white non-villain character on the show, even though the show is focused on his growth and the traits that he doesn’t share with them.  Not at all.  They dislike him because ... they dislike him!   And instead of fixing what they don’t like about him, they’re going to demonstrate how much they don’t like him by repeating again and again just how ... bad he was.  Remember, the transformative nature of fandom is to give us what the show didn’t.

And apparently, this is not motivated by racism. 

[niallloverontheloose]

https://princeescaluswords.tumblr.com/post/647720374839214080/puts-on-the-funny-looking-hat-of-fandom-logic#notes

@russianspacegeckosexparty: Lydia’s banshee powers laid dormant so long and for why? Have you stopped to think how in that time, she suspiciously had Stiles obsessing over her? Knowing her measurements? That dastardly druid boy must have been siphoning her Banshee spark for years to try resurrecting his mom. And he never told her what she was! When he is a genius with a 200 IQ and an expert in all things Supernatural.

@princeescaluswords:

I look forward to your questions, because they always tend to make me smile. This particular question demonstrates the same level of imaginative skill and, forgive me, projective paranoia that it took for various BNF to interpret Season 5B’s plot to mean that Scott conspired with Deucalion to trick Theo into murdering Josh and Tracy.

You see, they can’t point to a single scene where Scott tells Deucalion to kill anyone. They can’t point to a single scene where Deucalion kills anyone. They can’t point to a single scene where Deucalion tells Theo to kill anyone. They ignore the scenes where Deucalion mocks Theo for killing Josh and Tracy. If you use the logic that Deucalion taught Theo how to take power, which is why Theo kidnapped him, and that makes Deucalion responsible, you still can’t connect that to anything Scott did or said.

You know what the difference is between your far-fetched theory of Stiles suppressing Lydia’s power and their paranoid fantasy that Scott ordered Deucalion to murder just Tracy and Josh, and not Corey or Hayden (with whom Deucalion was alone) or maybe even Theo? Aside from canon characterization, canon plot, and common sense? You don’t seriously mean it, and they do.

Oh, and the racism.

On this post, all the usual suspects came and told me that not only are they not motivated by racism in their hatred of Scott, but they can’t be because Scott isn’t Latino. Their argument? Well, no one ever came out and declared that he was word-for-word on the show (though somehow the fact that Derek, Peter, Jennifer, Deucalion, Chris, Noah, Melissa, Stiles and Deaton all said that Scott is a good person and a True Alpha does not make that statement true).

That’s all you need to see the racism. Latinos must declare themselves as such, or they’re not. The idea that to be a minority you must be written a specific way to be identified as a minority is in itself racist. All you have to do is look and you’ll see the footprints of racism in this fandom, which they can deny and deny and deny, but the double standards are easily found and they show up in their meta and they show up in their fanfiction and their gifsets and their snide-ass comments they put in the #scott mccall tag on Tumblr. There’s no other explanation for their interpretations but Scott’s not white.

I would love to hear the explanation of why it’s okay for them to write that Scott is responsible for Tracy and Josh’s death, while also writing that Peter cares for his family so much, especially when if you use their own arguments, Peter is responsible for Derek’s temporary death in Smoke & Mirrors (4x12). Peter was in conspiracy with Kate just as much as Scott was in conspiracy with Deucalion and Chris, so it stands to reason if Theo, who was being manipulated by Deucalion, killed Josh so that makes Scott responsible, then if the Berserker, who was being manipulated by Kate, temporarily killed Derek, so that makes Peter responsible.

You will most likely never hear this idea anywhere else. You will most likely never read about Peter’s sheer disdain for his family. Because while fandom likes to trumpet that it’s about exploring all possible combinations and deep reading, you won’t get this level of critical and accusative analysis about hot white men.

To them, that’s not racism. After all, Peter’s a villain! And Derek and Chris are as well in the first two seasons. The answer, of course, is to look seriously at the way they treat some hot white male non-villains.

Let’s look at how these supposedly better white male characters treat women. Stiles is prepared to make out with Lydia when she’s drugged up to the gills, shouts at her until she dances with him, spends an entire weekend waiting for her in a hospital, buys her a ridiculous amount of gifts for her birthday, among other expressions of romantic attraction. Isaac, on the other hand, wants to kill Lydia because she turned him down for a date, assaults Allison on Derek’s orders, and becomes sexually attracted and romantically involved with Allison who hunted down his packmates and stabbed him a lot. But I’ve never seen a single of one of these anti-Scott BNF call Stiles or Isaac ‘sexually obsessed!’ That’s only Scott who embodies for them the Latin Lover stereotype and who is excoriated in fan fiction and on Tumblr for the singular and unheralded crime of paying attention to his girlfriend.

I don’t know what the difference is, but apparently, it’s not racism.

Or how many of the hundreds (if not thousands) of stories have you read where Stiles shuns, punishes, strips Scott of his wolf with his super-duper magical powers, or literally kills Scott because he demonstrated his disloyalty and unworthiness by not submitting to Derek and/or Peter? Yet, there may be one or two stories in the nearly 120,000 Teen Wolf fanfictions on AO3 where Stiles reacts at all to Isaac abandoning Derek (and disliking Peter) and joining Scott’s pack. If fanfictions are transformative, and it’s only natural that they create stories where Stiles acts as the avenging angel for the poor widdle Hales, there would have to be stories where he avenges them against Isaac. Wouldn’t there?

I’d bet there are less than five, but apparently, it’s not racism.

And then there’s the terrible, terrible Neck Grab o’ Doom which is brought up again and again in fiction and commentary, which Fanon Stiles cannot stomach (even though canon Stiles argued for leaving Derek in the hands of his rapist). To them he must end his friendship with Scott over this dastardly crime, motivated as it was by pure animus (which is what they’re calling the threat of Scott watching Allison’s throat get ripped out). Scott was working with Gerard under duress, but to Stiles, that’s irrelevant. They can’t be around each other anymore. How many stories are there about this, do you think? Now compare that to the number of stories where Stiles drives Liam from the pack for his beating Scott to the point of death while working with Theo.

I’ve never seen one. Stiles is far more interested in who Liam is dating, but apparently, it’s not racism.

I can go on and on and on and on, and point out that these aren’t 40-60 splits. The preponderance of stories where Scott is held reprehensible for actions that white characters take and ignored without comment are incredibly lopsided, overwhelmingly in favor of turning the Latino hero into a monster while Stiles, Liam, and Isaac are “baby” who must be excused for their mistakes.

But Scott was written so badly! These BNF cry. Then where are the fix-its? If the story was so unsatisfying, and fanfiction exists to give us what canon didn’t, where are the fix-its where the story is written to give us Scott as a hero they can get behind.

Oh, they exist, but just with stories that approach white character’s misdeeds, they are in the extreme minority. The vast majority of fix-its aren’t about correcting the mistakes the production made in the presentation of the main character, they are about saving the Hale family or making sure that Derek stays alpha or telling how Stiles dropped his life-long loyalty to his best friend and switched to either of the Hot White Hales, either the middle-aged serial killer or the young adult would-be serial killer, overwhelmingly. And above all, Scott is put in his place - dead or unimportant or subservient or any combination of the three.

They don’t dislike Scott because he’s Latino, they’ll repeatedly tell you, even though he shares traits with every single white non-villain character on the show, even though the show is focused on his growth and the traits that he doesn’t share with them. Not at all. They dislike him because … they dislike him! And instead of fixing what they don’t like about him, they’re going to demonstrate how much they don’t like him by repeating again and again just how bad he was. Remember, the transformative nature of fandom is to give us what the show didn’t.

And apparently, this is not motivated by racism

~*~*~

“Stiles is prepared to make out with Lydia when she’s drugged up to the gills, shouts at her until she dances with him”

Isn’t it curious that the rabid Scott/Posey Stans who accuse Teen Wolf fans of painting Scott as a rapist are the very same ones who systematically ignore canon and try to paint Stiles – a canonical neuroatypical character – as a rapist? It doesn’t matter than Stiles respects women (unlike Scott) and never shouted at Lydia until she danced with him, or that Stiles went to visit Lydia because he was worried about her and to investigate on the Alpha with Natalie’s permission, or that Scott is the one who wanted to leave Derek in his rapist’s clutches in canon. Antis will make shit up in order to paint the character they are obsessed with as a rapist to make Scott look “better”.

But let’s take a look at how Scott McCall, this supposedly better male character, treats women in the series, shall we?

• spies on Allison while she’s undressing

• tells his mom that she doesn’t care about her love life and that he’s going to get Allison back

• creeps into Allison’s bedroom without her or her parents’ consent to watch her sleep

• forces Allison to go out with Matt (her stalker) to get Allison’s mom off his back

• yells at Allison in the middle of a crowded club and makes her cry just because she prioritized innocent people’s life above Scott’s jealous fits and temper tantrums

• stares at Allison’s ass at gym class

• calls Allison psychotic for setting boundaries

• creeps on Allison in the showers (guess he was prepared to make out with her, too)

• pushes his tongue down Allison’s throat to convince her to to break up with him because “I know we are gonna be together

• physically assaults Isaac just because he dared to like and interact with his ex girlfriend

• pushes Allison against her bedroom’s door to prove how ‘strong’ and ‘right’ he is

• gets boners whenever he’s in close proximity with Allison

• lies to Kira to control her and then cheats on her with Malia

And these are only a few canon examples at the top of my head – feel free to add to the list if you want

Scott treating girls (and Stiles) like an exclusive property of his and being sexually obsessed with Allison (his password and username is Allison) is NOT a Latino thing: it’s a Scott McCal thing.

As for Scott conspiring with Deucalion behind everyone’s back to kill Josh and Tracy, that’s not a fanon theory. That’s Canon. Deucalion could have easily stopped Theo from killing Josh and Tracy if he wanted; but he didn’t. And we know Scott couldn’t care less about chimera victims, that’s why he patted Deucalion on the back for pushing Theo to kill his own pack.

[bigskydreaming]

Whenever Batman refers to criminals as street scum or anything similar, I shall emerge from the shadows so I can go "Have you thought about the seriously classist and/or racial implications of that word? Especially coming from a blue blood like yourself?"

Mooooooooooooooood.

And the thing is, as critical as I am of Bruce, I don’t actually find that to be in character, and even the times in canon when he’s expressed something like that, I simply make the sign of the cross to ward off the Frank Miller fanboy who probably wrote that.

Like, erm, no. When writers pull that I’m like nah that’s a you thing. Its like how I am when people write Jason calling Dick ‘Dickhead’ and making fun of the original Robin costume (like he didn’t also wear it himself). I’m just like, nope, that’s just you using Jason as your mouthpiece for your particular sense of humor or whatever, cuz I don’t buy that literally homeless and lived on the street Jason Todd mocks other people for the non-physical reminders they keep of past loved ones because they didn’t actually get to hold on to any physical ones. 

He knows what that’s like, and it makes him a total unsympathetic hypocrite to pretend otherwise just to take cheap shots at Dick, especially when he’d likely be shooting someone at least in the kneecap for ever daring to make fun of him for some tradition he keeps to in honor of Catherine.

And not at all incidentally, I always wanna point out that nowhere in the comic books does Jason ever refer to Dick by names like Dickhead or Dickwad. In fact, he usually just calls Dick “Grayson” the same as Damian does. Again, not an obsession with canon that makes me point this out, lol, but rather just to emphasize the fact that this widespread-as-hell trend was 100% fully and completely made up entirely by fandom. It doesn’t exist anywhere else BUT fandom, its not in any of the adaptations. People treat this as commonplace and without a second thought given to it in-story, but they didn’t get it from anywhere else, it was fans who created this trend.

And that’s why Im critical of fanon, because its not like I don’t bitch endlessly about canon, lmfao, so I’m always bewildered when people are like “why do you care so much about fanon, look at what canon’s doing” - its like, umm, I can do both, I can even pat my head and rub my stomach at the same time. What, like its hard?

But when there are tropes that there’s legitimate criticism of - like the fact that Dick has huge self-esteem issues, and your story is missing a huge piece of the picture when you have all his closest friends and family ONLY ever addressing him by ‘name’ in the form of constant sexualized insults that make a mockery of his right to be sentimental and hold onto things that remind him of his parents....and you like, don’t treat this in-story (not out of story, I don’t care what jokes people make about his name then, he’s fictional, he’s not hurt, its just IN STORY that its a big deal), but like, when you have this huge constant trope that casual mockery, disdain and dismissiveness is embraced by EVERYONE in his life, and you don’t at any point connect any dots between this and....his many self-esteem issues, its like.....ummm....so we’re just....supposed to not view this as a problem and just ignore the very obvious ways the former plays into the latter here? Is that how that logic goes? 

LOL no, I’m not going to ignore when Cause A is directly relevant to Effect B, in your own damn stories, just because fans invented the trope instead of canon, sorry not sorry. That’s so weird to me that people take it for granted that we should? Its like the frequent textbook abuse apologism. Its like....so when you’re writing a story about abuse....and you’re still falling back on literal real world excuses used by abusers to obscure their own wrongdoing....we’re just not supposed to mention ‘hey you’re writing about abuse but that thing you patted Jason on the back for doing was also literally abuse so wth dude” because it was a fanon derived view of the situation and not a canon-based one?

....no, that’s not how logic works, that’s not a thing people get to hide behind. Criticism is not the same as critique. If I’m saying I have a problem with the view of abuse your story validated or perpetuated here, it has nothing to do with me feeling entitled and offering up unwanted suggestions or improvements to the story-telling of a fan who just came out to have a good time and doesn’t want constructive criticism. 

Its just....me saying I have a problem with the view of abuse your story validated or perpetuated here, literally the exact same as I would object to you expressing the exact same phrasing or idea out loud if we were just two people having a real-world-specific conversation about abuse out loud, without any connection to fiction whatsoever.

Ideas don’t just magically become disconnected from the choices we make based on internalizing various ideas, like, just because we entered the realm of fandom where nothing people say or do has ANY connection whatsoever to....actual internalized views on extremely complicated topics. Its not a one to one correlation, its not like everything we express in fandom mirrors exactly what we do or act like outside of fandom, but there’s the flip side of that where it IS like the things we do or say or act on in fandom do still have to come from SOMEWHERE and that somewhere is still something internalized inside of us to some degree, it didn’t just magically appear on the page. 

There’s not a clear and easily defined connection or correlation always, but there’s not like this impassable chasm between Fandom Us and Real World Us like so many people pretend at. We don’t magically become totally different people with completely different viewpoints and perspectives the second we take off our fandom hat for the day and go back to interacting with people in the real world.

I swear, sometimes fans sound like kids chanting “i’m not touching you, can’t get mad” while waving their hands around in someone else’s face. “I said it in fandom so it doesn’t count as a real opinion, you can’t get mad.”

.....uh....no?

[resurgemus-hprp]

So this is seriously not something we as admins have ever wanted to do, and we tried to avoid putting attention on one person’s unsubstantiated claims for as long as we could, but we see now that they are on an irrational crusade and will attempt to bring down anyone they can to support the idea that somehow, a canon character that only belongs to Joanne Kathleen Rowling, is actually exclusive to her. We tried to keep her name out of it, we tried to keep our name out of it. But this person has not extended this courtesy to us and so we feel it’s impossible for us to no longer say something when it’s being implied that plagiarism is something we tolerate in our roleplay.

For anyone who is blissfully unaware — and Lord, do we admins wish that we were too — our player Nina (@villainrps), who is our Lily Luna Potter, has been accused of plagiarizing her character from someone named Sarah (@marvolo, @lilys).

I would like to make one thing very clear. We admins did not know Nina or Sarah prior to this week. We are a new rp and we decided to create Resurgemus after taking a break from a different rpc because we wanted to play our favourite canon next-gens. We have no stake in taking a side in this battle. Protecting Nina does nothing for us. We were not Nina’s friends before she joined our RP and frankly, we only really became friends after the absurdity of this entire situation brought us together. We would not be bending over backwards to protect someone we barely knew if we did not honestly, fully believe that she had done nothing wrong.

When Sarah initially approached us with these accusations, we took them very seriously. I (Admin S) discovered one of my OCs had been plagiarized this week as well, and Admin L has had this happen to her before too, so we know the severity of plagiarism and how awful it can feel to see your hard work stolen.

We initially assumed that Sarah was approaching us about an OC, because no one but the creator of a canon character can claim ownership over them, but we kept open-minds because Sarah said she had damning evidence that would prove Nina’s Lily was a carbon copy.

She shared these proofs with us, we both examined them carefully, and even had other people — outside of the rp community mind you, and people who don’t know Sarah or Nina — take a look as well.

We all came to the same conclusion: that while their portrayals of Lily were somewhat similar (as many next gen characterizations tend to be), there was nothing close enough to suggest paraphrasing, let alone straight up plagiarizing.

I (Admin S) am a journalist. Plagiarism is an extremely important part of my job, and I have a very critical eye when it comes to it. But the only commonalities were a generic fanon portrayal of Lily — yes of course, she always knew she was going to be Gryffindor, everyone writes Lily as the most Gryffindor to ever Gryffindor —  and similarly flowery writing styles. Many rpers have that writing style. Personally, I do not, because again — as a journalist — flowery writing has been cut out of me in exchange for concise, snappy phrasing. I feel like I shouldn’t have to explain that people can have similar writing styles unintentionally. You develop your writing style based on the writing you read, and it’s not hard to imagine that many people in the hprpc read the same types of fiction.

In our eyes, this situation is as equally irrational as claiming that a Ben Barnes fc for Sirius Black that likes to cause trouble and flirt and has a headcanon about him going to muggle clubs and/or smoking or something belongs ton one person and anyone else who writes the same type of thing is copying. They’re common portrayals. More than one person is bound to have the same idea because everyone is picking from the same source material. 

Another point I would like to address is this idea that as admins we handled this “irresponsibly”. Sarah never told us she wanted to remain anonymous until after we told her we disagreed with her interpretation of the situation. After the fact, she got upset and claimed that we should have told her. I don’t know how she expected us to address this without giving Nina a fair chance to defend herself — that’s not how life works. If you make massive, severe accusations like this, the accused gets to know what’s going on. We weren’t just going to kick her out willy nilly. We also gave her the screenshots she demanded to further show that we had nothing to hide.

Sarah claimed she wanted to be anonymous to protect herself from harassment when she was the one that on her own admission said she would follow Nina from blog to blog to keep an eye on her Lily. She was the harasser in this situation. I hope I don’t need to tell you that that is creepy. If she’d suspected this for so long, she could’ve said something much sooner. Watching someone for years is stalking, no matter how you slice it.

Furthermore, the way she is handling the situation is immature and irresponsible. She blocks anyone who tries to reason with her, and frankly has made both admins feel gaslit and has done the incredibly manipulative move of threatening to harm herself because of how this is making her feel. We’ve read her “evidence” over and over trying to figure out if we’re missing something with how convinced she is that something has been stolen from her, and we’ve noticed nothing. It’s getting to the point where we’re starting to doubt ourselves because of Sarah’s obsession with victimizing herself, and so this is going to be the only thing we say on this topic. We wanted to post this to defend ourselves, and to defend Nina, and while I’m sure Sarah will find a way to warp this to make us seem like the bad guys, we want to make it clear: the only person in the wrong here is her.

We tried to help her sort through this by letting her know that Nina was happy to discuss the issue with her — since Nina knows she’s done nothing wrong — but in that conversation she also gaslit Nina, accused her of lying over and over, and then had the audacity to imply that Nina stole her Lily characterization for a different, canon character in an entirely different fandom.

The self-absorption is staggering. The implication that her Lily is memorable enough to be used as the basis for a Shadowhunters character (Emma Carstairs) instead of Nina just making her own character and then using her own character as basis for her Lily  is laughable at best. It’s always nice for people to connect with fictional characters, but when it gets to the point that you’re tossing out baseless accusations, that’s the point where it gets unhealthy.

We don’t like being threatened, and we stand by our players 100 percent. 

However, Sarah, as I said, has been posting some concerning content so I want to reiterate that no one should be harassing her, and I encourage her to reach out to people she trusts for support if this situation has made her mental health deteriorate. RP is supposed to make you feel better, not worse.

This is the last we’ll be saying about the matter. To all our players, we’re sorry about this and we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled activity now. Heads up, a plot drop is coming soon!

[p-and-p-admin]

Interview given to The Severus Snape and Hermione Granger Shipping Fan Group.  (sharing here Admin approved)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/199718373383293/

Hello Subversa and welcome to Behind the Quill, thank-you for letting us get to know you a little better.

Many of our members will be familiar with your stories which include This Time, Improbable Felicity and of course, The Love You Take.

Okay, let’s jump right in.

What's the story behind your pen name?

My tagline on LiveJournal was Subversive Subversions, and that kind of says it all about me. I like to stir the pot

Which Harry Potter character do you identify with the most?

I identify most with Hermione, the book-loving swot. Oddly enough, on the various Sorting tests I’ve taken, I always Sort into Ravenclaw. (Until I took the Pottermore test, where I Sorted into Slytherin; I blame years of living in Snape’s head).

Do you have a favourite genre to read? 

I grew up reading voraciously. My first genre of choice was romance. As an adult, I began reading thriller/suspense books, and I really didn’t come back to reading romance until I began writing fanfic.

Do you have a favourite "classic" novel?

It would be a toss-up between Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Jane Eyre. I see shades of SSHG in them all.

At what age did you start writing?

I took my first run at writing when I was eight years old. My parents, however, discouraged the idea of me being a writer, and even though I started a number of stories over the years, I never finished one until I began writing fanfic in my forties.

How did you get into writing fanfiction?

It was in April 2005, while I was impatiently waiting for HBP to be published. I was noodling around the Internet and I stumbled over Mugglenet. As I was gobbling up all the content, I found a link to their fanfiction.

I perused the genres, and under romance, I found the pairings. When I saw SSHG, I was horrified. So of course, I had to read something.

I read The Long Wait by ancientgirl, and I couldn’t stop. I was completely enchanted, and I thought to myself, “I could do this.” So I started writing Master of Enchantment.

I have to say that Potterverse, and specifically the SSHG fandom, became my obsession and occupied all my thoughts for several years. I pretty much read nothing but fanfic and did continual re-reads of the HP series during that time--this from a woman who previously read 3 novels a week.

What's the best theme you've ever come across in a fic? Is it a theme represented in your own works?

JKR may not know it, but her greatest creation is Severus Snape, the antagonistic protagonist.

I have always been driven by Snape’s plight. It is the theme I am most drawn to in stories I read. Over and over again through my years of active fanfic writing, I tried to give him redemption and the happiness he deserves.

What fandoms are you involved in other than Harry Potter?

I watched the birth and rise of the Sherlock BBC fandom on LiveJournal, and I saw a number of friends go over to that particular dark side. I read some of the fic, but was never tempted to write it.

As a favour to a friend, I wrote a Twilight fanfic story for a gift exchange on LiveJournal (it was awful).

So, Potterverse is really my only fandom.

If you could make one change to canon, what would it be? Do you have a favourite piece of fanon?

I basically hated book 7. The whole Deathly Hallows thing felt like something JKR introduced out of thin air. I hated the interminable camping trip. I hated the epilogue (except for “and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew”) and the idea that you must marry the person you crushed on in high school.

Mostly, of course, I hated the death of Snape.

So my change would be to have Snape survive, be vindicated in the eyes of the world, and live to earn the happiness he had never known before.

My favourite fanon thing is the myriad ways we have of making Snape survive Nagini’s attack.

Do you listen to music when you write or do you prefer quiet?

I always listen to music. Every piece I have ever written has its own soundtrack. I have piles of CDs from the time before I had an iPod, with the name of the current story I was writing scrawled on it in Sharpie. The longer pieces had soundtracks that evolved over the course of the story. There are songs that still pierce me with the memories of what I felt when I wrote. Music is an integral part of my process.

What are your favourite fanfictions of all time?

Wow. This is a hard question. I’m sure that any list I create will be missing an important story. Nevertheless, here are some, in no particular order:

Care of Magical Creatures

She Was Beautiful to Him

Guard... Check... Mate

Second Life

Big Name Death Eater

Marry a Choice

The Absinthe of Reason

I'll Never Take Advantage

Irresistible

The Bookshop

The Price of Madness

King of Swords

Denial

No Loyalty in the Moonlight

You Can't Have One Without The Other

The Language of Flowers

Are you a plotter or a pantser? How does that affect your writing process?

I am a total pantser. It means I can write myself into a corner and have to write myself out again.

What is your writing genre of choice?

Forever and always, romance. Often with a side of erotica.

Which of your stories are you most proud of? Why?

Transcendent Quality of Remembrance, because there were two timelines running and it was an intricate plot device. It is also one of the most heart-wrenching stories I’ve ever written.

Did it unfold as you imagined it or did you find the unexpected cropped up as you wrote? What did you learn from writing it?

I have to admit, the unexpected always crops up as I write. I’m one of those people who believe without apology in my Muse.

As for what I learned, I found that writing the entire story before trying to post it meant the story would hang together better without me having to write myself out of a corner. I probably went back and changed the first chapter seven or eight times due to developments in the plot.

How personal is the story to you, and do you think that made it harder or easier to write?

Everything I write is intensely personal to me. I am immersed in my story, and I feel every emotion. It is the only way I have ever written. I don’t think I could write something I didn’t feel. So it’s neither easier nor harder. It is what it is.

What books or authors have influenced you? How do you think that shows in your writing?

Georgette Heyer, who wrote a large number of Regency romances, was and is a huge influence on my writing. I think I absorbed her turns of phrase and plot devices and romantic hero figures through my skin. It absolutely shows in my writing.

Do people in your everyday life know you write fanfiction?

Not my coworkers or family outside of my husband and children. My best friend knows I write fanfic.

How true for you is the notion of "writing for yourself"?

For me, it’s the only way I can do it. I have to be consumed by the basic idea and let it live in me as I write. I write the stories I want to read about the subjects that fascinate and inspire me.

How important is it for you to interact with your audience? How do you engage with them? Just at the point of publishing? Through social media?

During my active fanfic writing years, I was immersed with my audience. At that time, SSHG Fandom pretty much lived in LiveJournal, and I was active there every day. I was not very good at answering reviews, but I tended to put author’s notes before and/or after chapters as a way of engaging with my readers.

What is the best advice you've received about writing?

To write the story I want to read. To fall in love with my protagonist.

What do you do when you hit writer's block?

Walk away from the computer and pick up a pen and pad of paper.

Has anything in real life trickled down into your writing?

Many, many things about my romance with my husband were fodder for the romances I’ve written.

Do you have any stories in the works? Can you give us a teaser?

I am striving to complete my first novel of original fiction. It’s the beginning of a trilogy. All have been written (first draft), and the first has been to a professional editor. I’m striving to complete a draft with her suggestions.

It’s about a swotty girl and her teacher. (shock)

They live in a magical world with conflict. (further shock)

There is lots of sex with a BDSM twist.

The protagonist is (in my heart) Severus Snape in disguise. He has his own brand of physical unattractiveness and a mesmerizing presence.

Any words of encouragement to other writers?

Write what’s in your heart. Use a good beta reader. Take constructive criticism in the spirit it is offered. Ignore trolls.

Thanks so much for giving us your time.

[serenagaywaterford]

1) Hey, it's me again. The idiot rambling anon. I wasn't gonna spam you again, but then I read your responses. At this point, I'm convinced you're my alter ego, lol. My thoughts are all over the place, but I'll try to organize them. So, about Nick. I've purposely avoided talking about him so far, but why the hell not? Let me make one thing clear: I'm NOT of of those thirsty fangirls. But even if I was? I wouldn't get offended or butthurt, because another person likes different fictional

2) characters (of all things) than me. I mean, big fucking deal. Each to their own, no need for apologies. ;) (My tone is a little aggressive, I know, but I’m sick and tired of some people on social media –in and out of fandoms– acting holier-than-thou and sending hate messages and even actual death threats (!) to creators or people that express unpopular opinions*. It’s reached a point where many people feel the need to put disclaimers in their posts so as not to be attacked.)

3) Back to Nick. I liked him just fine back in early S1, when he was all mysterious and his background story was unknown to us. When we did learn about it and the fandom started acting like he’s that pure, handsome angel uwu? Nah. Obviously, he’s no Fred/Serena/Lydia,but he’s not a “cinnamon roll” either. (Imo, the only decent dude on that show is Luke.) I mean, if Nick was SO altruistic, he wouldn’t have joined this job. Or even after everything went down, he could have tried to help other

4) handmaids without expecting anything in return. But no, he only helps June and that’s because he’s in love with her. I’m not blaming him for trying to survive under such circumstances, but I won’t idolize him either. Now, in s2? I’m kinda neutral about him. I don’t hate him, but I can’t say that I’m a fan either. Not gonna lie, he bores me at times, because he’s just… there. No sparks, no fireworks. Not sure if it’s the writing that doesn’t do the actor any favors, but his acting hasn’t

5) really drawn me in yet. A counterexample to this? Aunt Lydia. Her personality is despicable 98% of the time and yet. Dowd’s captivating performance makes me want to know so much more about her character.) On the other hand, I’m glad that June has someone (besides Rita) to back her up in that hellhole. She needs comfort and allies. But the whole ‘tRu Love 5eva" fanon thing? No, thanks. Not only it doesn’t fit the tone of the series, but I also believe that sharing an intense, forbidden love/

6) during such a shitstorm is not the same thing as keeping it alive after all is said and done (post-Gilead). Maybe they’ll stay together (as long as Nick doesn’t die), maybe they’ll fall apart. I can’t really see June romantically reconnecting with Luke either. After everything she’s been through… She’s a completely different person now. Unfortunately, the same things goes for Emily and her wife. Even though I’d love to see her interact with both her wife and her child in S3.

———

My inbox is so beautiful right now! Never, ever call yourself an idiot, my friend. (If you are, then so am I!) Brain twins, you see.

(Also sorry about this being out of order lol.)

I was trying not to talk about him too cos generally I just … I prefer not to think about him much. The fangirls, just, *sigh*. I try to avoid as much as possible in this fandom, esp on tumblr. Just hang out in my quiet little, not-Serena-hating corner. I always feel a need to put disclaimers these days cos as much as I don’t really care about random hate, I’d prefer not to have to deal with dogpiles or to look at it lmao. Like people can go around just hating on any character here–especially if they’re women–but say one critical (not even hateful) thing about their male fav and things just go off. 

I’m more than aware the majority of people don’t like Serena and think she’s the worst thing ever. And fair play! (I get it… cos I’m not delusional. She’s awful.) Each to their own. I don’t go around bitching at people who say shitty things or stuff I don’t agree with, or blocking anybody who doesn’t like her. (There are a few posts I do engage with cos normally they seem like they want to go deeper in The Discourse but most Serena/Lydia/Eden/Janine/June-hate I just ignore.)

ITA. S1 was, like, okay. That’s Nick. What’s he up to? What’s his deal? (I don’t really care but I’m not opposed to him either. Just like I didn’t care about Luke’s backstory/escape.) He’s trying to be good to June and she needs that.When we did learn his backstory I was not pleased cos he seemed like a twerp but whatevs. Grey characters are grey. It wasn’t until S2 that I started to get irked by him (and the hypocrisy of his fans but that’s a whole other issue). 

I can’t agree ANY more with your assessment of Nick. Like that’s EXACTLY what I’ve been saying! Firstly, he was RIGHT THERE when the Handmaid/Ceremony thing was first suggested and was like “Oh, yeah, great idea!” to Fred. I get that perhaps he was pressured to go along to keep his job but that’s a stretch imo, and if you can give him that sort of leeway, why can’t characters like Eden, Serena, Lydia and June get the same benefit of the doubt for certain things? Why is Nick’s pressure to keep his job more important and forgivable than anybody else’s pressures? It’s like that entire scene doesn’t exist to fangirls and Nick is so precious and in love and wonderful. Then there’s the rape of June. Like I know it’s pretty controversial to look at it that way, but that first time, with Serena overseeing it like a fucking creepy pimp (YUUUUUUCCCKKKKK I HATE IT THANKS) was rape. June barely knew the guy and I’m pretty sure if she wanted to have sex with him it wouldn’t be like that! And sure, after that, it was totally consensual but that first time was not. And I’ve heard the justification and excuses of “Well, Nick didn’t have a choice either!” which I call bullshit on, cos Nick is not some powerless delivery boy. 

He’s a fucking Guardian who is tight with the top Commanders. He’s a man, if nothing else. Serena can act all high and mighty but she’s still a woman in a highly misogynistic society. I’m not convinced Fred would take his wife’s word over Nick’s tbh, especially if it was like “Dude, your crazy wife asked me to fuck the Handmaid you’re obsessed with”. If he really didn’t want to do it that badly, he could have taken that chance to report Serena. Even if Fred wanted to keep it hush hush away from other Commanders, he would have gone after Serena. Men are far more likely to turn on women than each other, esp in THT. But that’s just my take. Maybe I am missing something about Nick’s status. To me, it was like double rape. Neither of them wanted to do it, like that anyway. But Nick also did fuck all to stop it when IMO he did have some power to do something. He is not a helpless victim in that society, imo. Again, probably not a well-received opinion. 

Don’t even get me started on his “Poor me!” routine in S2 when June tells him to have sex with Eden. I’m glad she called him on that bullshit. (But again, over the fangirls heads. Enough about them!)

Basically, everything Nick has done wrong isn’t his choice; he’s just a victim. In a story about women, Nick’s victimhood at the hands of these nasty women and men is the real issue. Blah. Whatever.

I just find Nick lacks total self-awareness about being part of the shitty ass system. He kind of just floats around thinking nothing is his fault and he’s blameless for it all, and he certainly can’t seem to see it from anyone’s perspective except his own. He’s upset about Fred & June’s Jezebel trips, not for her own safety or well-being but mainly he’s jealous. Of course he’s concerned about her safety but I believe it takes a backseat to his jealousy. He just seems to never take any responsibility for anything.

And BINGO about the previous Handmaid. Nothing we’ve been shown has given any hint he cares about any other woman’s plight in Gilead other than June, and only cares about her cos he had a crush/fucked her/is in wuv wiv her. Basically, she’s HIS so suddenly he cares about her. Look how fast he dumped that Martha as soon as he got brooding about June. He’s done fuckall for anybody except himself and that alone makes me dislike him. He’s no better than Fred in that way for me. But where Fred can occasionally be an interesting villain, cos Fiennes is nasty good, I find the actor who plays Nick just… not engaging. And he’s not SUPPOSED to be a villain! He’s meant to be a good guy! It’s crazy. He’s not compelling, he’s not interesting. He’s bland. He’s not even good looking, lol. I was watching with a friend once and mention I thought Fred was way better looking than Nick and she just stared at me and said, “You shouldn’t say that. But me too.” So, count me in the camp that just does not get the appeal of the character OR the actor.

I don’t hate Nick generally. I am just totally indifferent to his existence. If he left the show tomorrow, I’d shrug and probably be a little glad I don’t have to see that bland moping anymore. If he stays, oh well. Shrug. And I just don’t want his and June’s star-crossed romance shoved down my throat. It’s so… I dunno. I’m not opposed to June finding solace and hope but making it some beautiful forbidden romance, I’m not buying it. Like you said, it’s all well and good in Gilead–but it doesn’t strike me as something that can be sustainable outside it. To borrow from you last time: It’s the Handmaid’s Tale, not The Guardian + the Handmaid’s Tale.

Okay, enough about that pipsqueak. I don’t even like talking about him, tbh. He’s not worth it when there’s so much else going on.

ITA about Luke/June too. I feel like the level of disconnection and trauma that they’ve sustained, especially June, they can try to reconnect but it’s pretty difficult and I think especially with June having a sexual/romantic relationship with Nick pulls that really tight. It’s just two different planets they live on now. I don’t doubt that she still loves Luke, but actually reforming the relationship they previously had seems like an impossible task considering everything both of them have been through. It’s sad, but … sadly true for many people. Relationships can fall apart for far less.

And on the same page about Emily/Sylvia too. She is just soooooo fucking broken, and hopeless, that if they have them just rekindle with no issues, it’ll be bad writing. (I dunno if you see spoilers but there’s one about them.) She needs therapy so much more than a cutesy feelgood storyline.

Back to Lydia: Exactly! There’s a character we know very little about and who is a horrible person, yet the performance by Dowd makes almost everyone go, “TELL ME MORE!” With Nick, it’s the opposite for me. I’m just like, “Please, less of this.”

[audreycritter]

do you have any tips for getting over the feeling of "everyone else in the community is a better or more popular writer than me and the themes and characterization that i'm exploring have already been handled so much better by other writers"

maybe!okay, here’s the thing. you’re always going to end up finding people who are better writers than you. the few people i’ve ever met that didn’t feel that way are usually (a) not very nice people and (b) not actually very good writers. there are times when i’m reading and i’m blown away by how good something is. depending on my mood, this either surfaces as just pure enjoyment or outright jealousy. i know! it’s ugly! it’s not pretty! i’m ready to punt my laptop out the window from sheer “i can’t believe they wrote that and i didn’t” spite.and when you’re in fandom, you’re surrounded. it’s free to publish, so people who wouldn’t finish original stuff or shop themselves to editors or only like writing shorts– they’re all there. and they’re generating a ton of content in bigger fandoms. you can’t throw a rock without hitting the same idea or premise five times before it lands on the floor.so, accept these things, first of all, as facts: 1. you are going to be surrounded by other genuinely good artists.2. most ideas aren’t new.they’re not criticisms of you as an artist. they’re just not. now, what to do about it.1. Find friends who love the same things you do and then write for them.This might sound like cliche advice, but write for yourself and your friends. Honestly. Other people might love what you write, they might hate it, they might be indifferent. But write what you want to write and read, without focusing on hit count or comment numbers. Those things are great if they happen, but write what you want first. Write for friends who will yell excitedly and accuse you of personally killing them. You need that support.2. Embrace fanon or deconstruct it. Pick one. Pick both at the same time!Listen, there are only so many plot structures. There are only so many tropes, and emotional pay-offs. If we all said that the one writer who did a flu hurt/comfort story was the only one who was allowed, and we had to all write original ideas after that, flu whump would have died in the 1970s with Star Trek fanfiction people mailed each other. But no. I will read any decently-written flu whump with my favorites because….I love that trope, I fricking love it. I will read a dozen stories about Bruce Wayne showing up for his kids in one day. So focus on writing well, include details that interest you, and don’t worry about what other people are writing. Maybe you’ll manage to say it in a way that sticks with one particular person and that’s awesome.3. Read.This is the advice I am bad at following. I get sucked into fandom. I do! I’m an obsessive person. But if you’re feeling like you’ve seen the same thing a hundred times, everything feels worn out and you’ll never write anything that causes a splash in the churning waters, then stop refreshing tumblr, stop reading about the same favorite characters, and read. Go find a comic from fifteen years ago you’ve never tried, go pick up a novel or some poetry or an essay. The best way to keep perspective that isn’t self-consuming and too repetitive is to introduce new thoughts and angles, then come back to your own writing with that lens. 4. Believe what you say matters, then believe it doesn’t matter.Okay. You want to write. SO WRITE. Just do it! It doesn’t have to be perfect, you have something to say or talk about or explore: GO DO IT. You matter as a person and an artist and you aren’t actually just writing the same thing everyone else has done unless you’re plagiarizing. If it feels that way, then maybe find a different idea to write. But something is holding you back. If it’s fear of looking like a copycat, ignore it. If it’s disinterest because you just started a story hoping for hit counts, then move on. And now? Believe it doesn’t matter if you say the same thing someone else has written, a hundred someone elses have written. So what? This is your story. It doesn’t matter what other people think as long as you’re writing something that has meaning and importance to you. Yeah, it helps to get good feedback, but that’s what friends are for. 5. Encourage others.Don’t let your bitterness or struggle make you compare yourself so much that you end up completely self-focused. When you find beauty, appreciate it. Praise it. Some of the best relationships I’ve found with other writers started with me loving their work and telling them so. Even if they seem more popular than you, I can almost promise most fanfic authors do not think of themselves that way. They’re still people who share the same struggles and fears about their craft, usually have somehow stumbled into the attention their work receives, and don’t know how to generate it or replicate it. And when you’re in the habit of building others up and encouraging them, you often foster an environment where they are willing to return the favor.I hope this helps!

[marriagebase]

Ten Movies You’ll Watch During Film School and Why

With the growth of camera technology and fast digital production, there are more films in production than ever before. Multitudes of films are being thrown at blockbuster producers as well as independent. Some even go through third party means. Considered revolutionary for their time and beyond by film connoisseurs and professors alike, here are ten films that changed the game.

1. Cleo from 5 to 7 dir. Agnes Varda (1962)

Cleo is a beautiful, scandalous, young singer thrown into a scramble as she tries to accept her possible diagnosis of cancer. Director Agnes Varda is an ardent filmmaker now hailed as an early feminist and realist documentarian. Through documentary realism or Cinéma vérité, her camera work includes:

Objective and subjective angle comparison (switching perspectives)

Playful movement goes along with musical montages separating itself from the documentary plot.

The women’s perspective of walking down a street with all eyes on you

With all that we’re given, Varda defines the male gaze in film never seen before. She pilots cutting-edge ideas deemed controversial especially during her time. Filmmakers, professors, and lovers of film all consider Varda an acclaimed filmmaker.

2. Breathless dir. Jean-Luc Godard (1960)

Godard’s typical film usually consists of philosophy and film as a whole. Breathless is no exception save for its investigation of what makes a character. Being the landmark of the French New Wave movement, Breathless helped steer one of the most important movements in movie history. New Wave changed the way films highlight character and movement in a more natural, rogue way.

In Breathless, you are sure to find:

Strange, oblique camera angles

Heightened subjectivity

Exploration of the Character and its role in cinema

It is one of those films you will impress somebody at a bar with. Based off its sheer popularity alone, academic and cinema circles adore Godard. Godard is a movie historian’s favorite subject as well, almost like the Jack Kerouac of the beatniks—which is saying a lot.

3. Vertigo dir. Alfred Hitchcock (1958)

Hitchcock is a well-known director described as the king of suspense, directing over fifty films like Psycho, The Birds, and Rear Window. Film theorists and makers alike love Vertigo due to its complex story brimming with suspense and tension. Along with a moody, mysterious score by Bernard Hermann, the tension spins up and down in a psychological rollercoaster. Fitting for its name, we follow our main protagonist throughout the dizzy nature of the film.

In Vertigo, you’ll notice patterns like:

The camera following obsession and desire

Marriage of music and film

The world of displacement and repression

Exploration of the anti-hero, the anti-authority figure who gets away with everything

As time goes on, Hitchcock’s films receive more and more acclaim. Vertigo alters the way the noir detective goes about solving mysteries when he is caught in his very own.

4. Fight Club dir. David Fincher (1999)

One of the more well-known films in this list, Fight Club is a cult film. Fight Club derives its genius from a book written by Chuck Palahniuk is known to be challenging, unpredictable, and impulsive.

In Fight Club, the camera explores:

Split perspective

Consumerism, class warfare, and anarchy

Pacing and Editing

A classic film on deception practiced in a fluid, non-linear narrative that questions whether what we’re seeing is true. Filmmakers and lovers love this film for the same reason the casual movie goer loves it. Fight Club challenges us with destruction along with the enlightening ideas saving the characters.

5. Her dir. Spike Jonze (2013)

The second most recent on this list, Her explores the nearby future of technology and desire. The film has conflicting ideas on what is real and considered fake or simulated. Spike Jonze further considers the question: what does it mean to be human? The camera explores:

The blurring between simulation and reality

Crossing the lines of desire

The frustration of the surrogate

Intimacy with the lost

The camera is a product of rising technology itself. Her speaks to its electronically-hooked audience on love and displacement. Filmmakers love Her for its originality and its impeccable timing for our age. Film critics believe Her changes the dynamics of sci-fi from a space western to something right here happening amongst us all at once.

6. Chinatown dir. Roman Polanski (1974)

Being the after-effect of film noir and tough man detective movies, Chinatown changes the gender dynamics of the masculine certainty. Known for its originality against films that connect themselves close to the old noir classics, Chinatown manages to follow its own genre.

The camera in Chinatown explores:

The dark and seedy within power binaries

Mysterious atmosphere and sense of time

The messy, clumsy Leonardo DiCaprio as the earnest detective

Overall, critics consider Her a well-deserved classic. Polanski, in all his problematic air, sets up the foundation for a great film. Hailed by film lovers for its unmatched performance and humorous delivery, it is the unusual story of the detective who is wrong.

7. Metropolis dir. Fritz Lang (1927)

This film is for people who love special effects. Known for its explosions, flooding, transformations, cyborgs, this film has it all. Film critics love it for its sheer vagueness, what is it really about? Is it about revolution? Acceptance to be human? Even in the 20’s these questions were being echoed.

What film lovers adore from Metropolis is:

Its advanced skill of special effects and set design

Great consideration of German expressionist aesthetics

A Romantic Revolutionary imagination of mankind’s history

For those into the history and originations of early sci-fi film, Metropolis takes the cake. Causing mass hysteria, the unchained female robot inflames an already revolutionary state.

8. Grizzly Man dir. Werner Herzog (2005)

A favorite in documentary courses, Herzog is a master of documentary and has over seventy different credits under his name for directing, writing, and producing. Grizzly Man explores the elusive nature of truth even in documentary.

The camera shows us:

Footage between the deceased Timothy Treadwell contrasted with interviews and monologues with friends and family (as well as Herzog himself)

Cuts and post-production has the audience choose their own truth

A peek into the amateur, free documentary style

Grizzly Man throws the regular documentary on its head. The film follows one central question: Who is Timothy Treadwell? The rest of the film challenges the audience to figure it out.

9. Solaris dir. Steven Soderbergh (1972)

The 1972 film, not the 2002 film with George Clooney! Solaris is often accused of being slow. It does quite the obvious, challenging the audience with suspense and anxiety. With a sense of something that just isn’t right, Solaris takes you on a momentary voyage that makes you long for Earth.

What the camera catches:

A voyage for the senses

Film as poetry

Disconnection of reality as seen through film (cuts, flashbacks, changing perspective/truth)

Solaris is seen as an experience. It is inviting and questioning, but not manipulative in a devious way. What you get out of Solaris depends on what you bring with you.

10. Get Out dir. Jordan Peele (2017)

Finally, Jordan Peele’s latest full-length feature. Get Out examines the critical atmosphere of today’s political world. Peele calls his film a “Social Thriller” for all the right reasons. Also seen as a horror film, Get Out is praised by professors and critics alike for its roots in Franz Fanon’s “Black Skin, White Masks” which quotes, “violence is man re-creating himself.” A beautifully emotional film, Peele later tweeted that his film should be considered as a documentary.

From the camerawork, we see:

The significance of the sunken place through film

Mixing genres between horror techniques with comedic relief

Post-Obama film representation

No matter your political views, sitting down and watching this film challenges you to think. In somebody else’s social and political space, film works in inventive ways in accounting the history of our beliefs and history. The movies hold a particular importance right now in storytelling and truth. As filmgoers, remembering what makes movies so groundbreaking is their direct critique of everything surrounding us and our ability to recognize the advances that got us here.

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