#this is like how I get random fannish stuff

[illwynd]

Get to know you better tag game

tagged by @rynfinity. ty!!! :DDD

Last song I listened to: Frank Zappa's "Dirty Love." Some trivia was going around among my co-workers the other day and one of the questions was identifying the musician who said a particular quote, and one of the older guys thought I was too young to know it. Lol sir I may be a millennial but I am a millennial whose friends ask them to identify random oldies songs on the radio because It Is Known that I'm into a bunch of obscure shit, and you think I won't know who Frank fuckin Zappa is?? The funny thing is I had never actually heard the particular quote before, it just had his vibes so it was a good guess. But it was making me realize there's a good bit of Zappa I'd never really listened to. So!

Currently watching: In terms of fannish stuff, I'm sort of halfway through a Tour of Duty rewatch? Also waiting for moar Sandman and moar Iwtv, and living in blissful ignorance of whatever tf marvel is doing these days. More generally, the other day I found out that a few years back there was a show based on popular creepypastas, and I am a sucker for creepypastas. So I'm sort of watching that. (Also very curious how the IP issues were dealt with in a genre that so commonly has anonymous and communal authorship lol.)

Currently obsessed with: At Wondercon last weekend I impulse-bought a clear green acrylic contact juggling ball, because wouldn't that look cool for a Loki cosplayer to do? I do not yet rly know how to contact juggle, and it will be a loooong time before I can even think of doing a Jareth cosplay on the strength of those skills, but the damn thing is super fun to play with regardless. I'll just be over here, pondering my orb.

Tagging: @hechizero-emplumado, @actuallyvady, @pyrebomb, @philosopherking1887, @your-dark-thor, @neph-le-geek, aaaand oh anyone else who feels like doing the meme can say I tagged you :)

[melrosing]

As your not a big fan of fantasy books in general. What drew you into loving asoiaf? What got you hooked?

now that I'm invested in asoiaf I do genuinely like the fantasy elements of the story, but the stuff that really pulled me in was the human drama and political intrigue etc. I love the character work, almost all of the POVs feel fully realised and subvert typical tropes in really interesting ways (imo). I like the inter-generational drama (the reasons I like succession are v similar to the reasons I like the Lannisters), like if I want to understand Jaime and Cersei and Tyrion I can look to Tywin, and if I want to understand Tywin I can look to Tytos, and if I was to understand Tytos I can look to Gerold, like it's a russian doll of intergenerational trauma what more could a girl want.

and on that note I really like the scope! GRRM obviously feels this need to account for all details minor and major, so that even with everything that's already on the page there's room to extrapolate so much more. i mean here I am writing who knows how many words about a fake 20-episode long robert's rebellion tv series lol like this all happened before the series even starts and yet I hardly need to make anything up bc there is so much to draw on just based on all the random little details we've got here and there from characters reflecting on the same events from different angles, and trying to piece together portraits of the people who died based on the recollections of those on the page who remember them..... it is so fun)

and yeah usually I prefer to read about that kind of thing on a smaller scale but the drama that plays out in AGOT is so engaging that upon initiation I didn't find it so much of a chore to keep track of all the various houses and lands etc in order to understand the full implications of each thing that happened - it felt like it was worth the effort. generally it's the 'keeping track' of it all that I find grating about fantasy bc I really want to just get on with the story rather than keep on top of a hundred magic systems and sub-species of pixie.

and obvs asoiaf is low fantasy rather than high fantasy, i.e. there aren't intricate systems to the magic and or complicated genus for each of the creatures, so that made it feel a lot more accessible for me as someone who just isn't very interested in those kinds of details. Dany's magic is made up as she goes along, it's never explained, and that's the same for pretty much all the fantastical elements - it's very show don't tell. and even though when you count it all up there are quite a lot of fantastical features and subplots, taken together with the rest of the story it's more like.... seasonings I wouldn't usually choose but ended up liking just fine in this overall dish lol

and finally asoiaf just really appealed to me from a fannish perspective! I really hate when you're trying to dig deeper with a work and you quickly start to realise that the writer(s) just weren't thinking that hard. it feels like striking concrete with a spade, like it's a one-sided conversation rather than something both the writer and the reader are participating in. I think some fans are perfectly fine with that and good for them - who cares if the author built the work to sustain your analysis if you're just having fun doing it - but for me it's a complete killjoy, I end up v frustrated and like the work isn't worth my time

so here's GRRM who is so fixated on the finer details that he's churned out a history book like 700 pages long and a bunch of short stories and also another history book just to add a bit more texture to the main story. and I don't have to worry about network input or co-writers or actors' intentions or whatever other external conflict or influence cos for better or worse it's all his story. and that just suits me better lol, it's one guy and his shitty computer, and me reading the shit he wrote with it. pure and simple living in the moment no phones in sight

also jaime and brienne are everything to me xo

[codelyokooutofcontext]

Today marks the one year anniversary of this blog's first post!

One year ago today, I acted on a whim and made a new blog to post moments from this show that, without context, look absolutely insane. I thought it was funny, my friends thought it was funny, but I didn't really have any big plans. I thought "I'll keep this around for a little bit and then probably drop it". Like I usually do with most projects of this nature.

If you'd told me I'd still be here a year later, I wouldn't have believed you. I especially wouldn't have believed you if you told me how many followers this account would amass in that time period. Honestly even being here now and seeing all of it, it's still a little hard to believe.

Thank you all for supporting this ridiculous little blog. It means a lot.

And after all this time, perhaps it's time for a proper introduction.

Hi, I'm YoshiStack! I've been utterly obsessed with this show since I was 4 years old and I've been involved in the fandom in some capacity since I was 13. Given that I'm about to turn 24 here in a little over a month, you could say I've been here for awhile!

Aside from this blog and the other few video edits I've done, my main contribution to fannish materials is fanfiction! I mostly write gen work about the friendship between the characters, as that's always been one of my favorite parts about the show and characters. You can find my CL work (and other oddities too if you're feeling adventurous) on Ao3 also under the name YoshiStack.

I'm also on YouTube! Right now I'm wrapping up a playthrough of the original Super Mario RPG before the remake releases and in the middle of a playthrough of a childhood game of mine, Thrillville: Off The Rails. I'm still a novice when it comes to recording stuff, but I'm having a lot of fun doing it and it'd mean the world to me if you checked it out.

(And as an aside: if you have audio or video editing you need done, hit me up either on here or the email I have listed on youtube! We'll see if we can work something out!)

Zero obligation to check out either of those ventures, but it'd mean a lot to me if you did!

Now here's some answers to some basic questions for CL and this blog that you may or may not have wondered about:

Favorite Character: Definitely Aelita! I love her arc! Her development from this character the others feel very protective over to ultimate sass master is so fun to watch

Favorite Episode: Oh that's so hard. But If I had to pick just a few...[REDACTED UNTIL POLLS CONCLUDE]

Spoilsport. Favorite season then?: Oh this one is easy! Season 2 for sure! It does a great job introducing all the new elements you need to know about in the beginning of it (Franz Hopper, William, Sector 5, etc) and has well done pay off at the end. And the stuff in the middle is just downright fun! A well executed season all around

Favorite Sector: Prooooobably forest? Something about all the trees is fun to me. Honestly I like most of the sector though. Minus desert. Too much desert in S1

Favorite Monster: I used to be all about the Bloks, but after running this blog for a year now I've gained an appreciation for the comedy that the Tarantulas often pull off. From well timed devirtualizations to killing one of its buddies with their own lasers, they're unintentionally really funny!

Favorite XANA Attack: I unironically love the food monster. Also the rat army. It's absolutely horrifying but pulled off so well

Favorite relationship: Ulrich and Aelita all the way man. Platonically I mean, their friendship is so underrated in the show itself but the few times they get to interact they're just gold (I am Jerlita trash too if you want to know more in that kind of relationship sense)

How do you pick out of context moments?: Honestly most of the time I just pick a random few episodes and skim through until I find something. Sometimes I'll have a particular moment in mind, but sometimes the funniest clips come from me just mindlessly looking through some episodes

Will you ever do Evolution out of context?: I considered using a clip from it for April Fools Day but I got lazy and never got around to it lol. Aside from that idea though, I don't know Evolution well enough to pulls clips from it, and I'm just not super interested in doing so at the moment. If anyone else reading this though has a burning desire though then you absolutely have my blessing (not that you need it obviously)

What do you think about the idea of the show possibly getting a continuation?: So I’ve always been pretty set in my thought that the show doesn’t really need a continuation. While more backstory on Project Carthage would be cool, it never really mattered to the Lyoko Warriors in the end, and the idea of bringing XANA back after they fought so hard to bring it down always felt cheap to me. They had their fight, they won, let them move on in peace.

That being said, the idea of the brains largely responsible for the original show having a genuine interest in continuing does have me at least a little intrigued. It’s way too soon to say whether or not anything will come from that interest of course—TV is a complicated thing and interest from creators alone isn’t enough to make it happen. But if nothing else, it’s nice to know that even all these years later, there’s still interest in the show and these characters from them.

How long will this blog be around?: Honestly I have no idea! I never thought I'd make it this far! I have no plans on stopping any time soon at least—there's tons of episodes I haven't even touched for out of context moments, so I'm not running out of material any time soon!

For now I’m just going to letting things run their course naturally and enjoy the ride.

That’s all I can think of to put here, but my askbox is always open for more questions!

Thank you all once again for your support for this year. I hope you'll join me going into our next one and beyond.

Here's to another year out of context!

[rosysugarr]

random post bc this was on my mind based on a chat I'm having with a friend: I just wanna remind everybody that hyperfixation and being into something in a fannish way are not the same thing.

Hyperfixation means that you obsess over something so wholly that you struggle to actively think about anything ELSE, lose sleep or miss meals because of it, etc etc, like. Hyperfixating on something is not Healthy. I mean, it's often attached to various serious mental illnesses, but somehow I still feel like this needs stating. Hyperfixation is fixating on something at LEAST to the point that your brain has genuine trouble thinking about things outside of the hyperfixation/you struggle to have conversations that aren't About The Thing.

You can be a huge fan of something and think about it a whole lot without being hyperfixated on it!

LIKE for me for example, when I'm hyperfixating, talking about something besides the hyperfixation genuinely feels like I'm dragging my brain kicking and screaming, like... my brain is a cat that I'm trying to bathe. It actively fuckin fights against me trying to focus on or have a conversation about anything else. I get uncomfortable and anxious about it sometimes, or just mildly stressed bc of how difficult thinking about other things is. I have to actively, consciously steer myself away from it to talk about other things, like. It's the Default Thing my brain goes to.

SO YEAH just a note I guess since there seems to be some lack of clarity on this lately. being a big huge fan of something and being hyperfixated are not the same! If you can easily switch subjects, if you can focus on other things, if you aren't thinking about it nonstop just... idly while doing other stuff or losing sleep/missing meals to engage with the thing, then you probably aren't actually hyperfixated (which is a good thing, because hyperfixation is an unhealthy way to engage with things, but some of us really can't help it, it's just how our brains are wired!)

[tryslora]

Support your favorite creative(s) this season!

So, it’s the holiday season (for values of holiday which can be anything you care to celebrate during the winter months) and you would like to support your favorite creative(s). What are some good ways to do that?

Tell the world about them

If someone is a favorite of yours, there’s a good chance that you know someone else who will enjoy their work. Signal boost the creative’s posts. Create your own post with links to their work. Showcase some of your favorite pieces of theirs with a snippet and a link to the original. Talk about why you love the work (trust me, your favorite creative will love to hear this just as much as your friends will appreciate finding out about something new).

Important side note which I know you know but it bears repeating: please reblog and link to your favorite creative’s posts; do not repost their material. Reposting might sound like a great way to show off what the creative does, but it doesn’t help anyone find them. Please be considerate.

Post reviews of their work

Instructions for this depends on what type of creative you are following. If they are a writer, leave a review on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, B&N, whatever platform you choose. Positive reviews are how writers get discovered.

If your creative is an artist and has a platform where they offer commissions, leave a review there if appropriate. Give them five stars. Help your creative climb the ranks from unknown to well-reviewed!

Follow them on social media

If your creative has a list of social media accounts, follow them! This gives you a better chance to help signal boost their cool stuff (as well as hearing about it when they post!). It also gives you a chance to interact, and to see what they’re like when they aren’t creating. If you like their creations, you might have other things in common. 

Does your creative have a newsletter? Subscribe! You can even forward copies to your friends if there’s something really cool you want to share. A Patreon? Check to see if they have free material posted. Many Patreons allow people to follow at a free level, and while there might be paywall-locked material, there might be unlocked material as well.

Social media is wide and varied these days, with everything from Bluesky and Mastodon, to old-school Facebook pages, to even older-school platforms like Dreamwidth. Don’t forget the little known Pillowfort, or the highly fannish Tumblr. Even better, be aware that your creative may present different faces in different spaces. They are just as human as the rest of us!

Talk to them

I’m serious! Being a creative is like shouting into the abyss… if the abyss happens to shout back, that’s emotional food that can sustain a creative for days. Most creatives have several places where they can be found, either for private communication (check to see if they accept messages/DMs/emails first, please) or for public conversation (social media can be wonderful!). 

Create a transformative work

This won’t work for all creatives. BUT. If your creative is a writer, I would place a bet that they would LOVE fanart of their work. Or maybe that’s just me.

Buy their stuff

Yes, this one requires money, and I am well aware that most of us don’t have the budget for monetary support. And that’s fine! As shown above, there are so many other ways to support your creative and help them grow. But if you do have the budget, picking up copies of their work means you can get great gifts for your friends (and help spread the word!). And if you’re up for it, monthly support via Patreon, or random tips are always nice and appreciated things.

Ask them what will help

In the end, every creative has their own list of things that will help them most, and almost every single one would be happy to tell anyone what would help Right Now.

I’m putting this next bit behind a cut/read-more/clicky-link — whatever is appropriate to the platform you’re reading this on. Because this is the personal bit where I add links to the places you can find me. 

And if you are a creative and you are reblogging this on a platform which allows reblogs, please add your own list of helpful information. If it’s a place with comments, please comment! I want to help by giving other creatives a way to get information out.

Where can you find me…?

TrisLawrence.com is my professional website, with blog posts, upcoming appearances, and links to where to find my Stuff.

I post blog entries on Tumblr, Pillowfort, and Dreamwidth (which mirrors on Livejournal and Insanejournal).

I babble randomly on Bluesky and Mastodon. While I exist on Twi-X, I no longer post there.

I have a professional Facebook page. I have an Instagram. I have a TikTok that I am trying to learn how to use.

I am also active in several Discord communities, if you happen to find me there.

Want to support me? -- Patreon | Ko-Fi | Reblog & Comment

Want to hear more from me? — Join my mailing list

[thisweekinfandomhistory]

Hello, I’ve been really enjoying your podcast and thinking about various incidents that might make for good episode topics and how they could be approached, and since you seem rather receptive to random suggestions, I figured I’d send some in.

The Black Sails vs OFMD tumblr poll, a recent incident where a tumblr poll pitting two pirated against each other caused mountains of drama, a massive unhinged rant from the op of the poll, and a sort of fandom rivalry. Could be useful as a jumping off point to talk about the way comedy and dramas are perceived in fandom spaces and the ethical issues that spring up around media that whitewashes (in the moral sense, but the other definition could play into the discussion too), completely fictionalizes, and glamorizes real historical figures.

More Star Trek stuff than I can recall in one sitting, but Die Seven Die! was a pretty crazy happening, where a bunch of shippers decided to write fanfic of a certain character dying because she got in the way of their ship (she got randomly paired up with a character she didn’t interact with much, and the rumor is it’s because the actor who played him made a joke about it while negotiating his paycheck). The 1982 Con of Wrath, just a classic convention fuck up. And really, just any given thing happening with Spock’s love life at any given time. I know people got extremely nasty regarding the Kelvin Timeline’s Spock/Uhura stuff and more recently with Spock/Chapel.

I think the release date of the first Big Finish audiodrama could make for a good starting point for an episode about the dr who wilderness years, which could focus on the role fan activity can have in rebooting or reviving a dead series. Or, on a crazier note to reach the same point, the release of the music video for Doctor in Distress, which is something I really can’t describe beyond “a compellingly awful charity song made to get Doctor Who back on the air”, and Hans Zimmer was involved in making it.

I’m sure you’ve gotten suggestions for Thanfiction and the Hamilton AIDS incident a thousand times, but how about the time Voltron fans tried to reinvent the concept of original fiction through the lens of fanfiction. As I understand it they were so upset by the ending of the show that they decided to collectively file the serial numbers off of their fandom. Sort of replacing the actual show with a invented goncharov-thing and writing fanfic for the fake fandom they made. Not sure what ultimate point could be derived from that, but it’s sure fascinating from a sociological point of view.

Thank you for writing in!! Sorry it's taken a little while to reply; we didn't want to spoil too many of our own upcoming episodes in our answer, but it's rude to leave you hanging, so here we go... :)

The Black Sails versus OFMD poll is a great suggestion! And I love your take on how comedy and drama are totally perceived differently in fannish spaces and have such, like, essentially different modes of fandom. It would also definitely have to touch on how OFMD in particular whitewashes real-world slaveowners -- although if we do a Hamilton episode, we'd probably talk about that a lot there, too.

Thank you for sending in some new Star Trek stuff! I (V) hadn't heard of any of those particular events, so I'm excited to dig in and take a look. :)

And I love that suggestion for a Doctor Who event! It's been surprisingly hard to find a good record of fannish history, rather than show history, for DW, which is insane considering what a huge fandom it's had for so many decades.

Thanfiction and the HIVliving Scandal are already on the 2023 schedule, have no fear!

But this Voltron thing sounds nutty. ::pencils it in::

[kneelbeforeclefairy]

I am sitting here thinking about going BACK into a fandom. Most fandoms wax and wane but they're always kind of there. You always like them to some extent, it just changes how much Fannish behavior you do. Some you really move on from. Some stick with you and become a LIFESTYLE even if they're not always in the forefront. (I call these Base Fandoms. Mine is Les Mis. )

But I think there is a Fandom Danger Zone I call Back Into Hell. It's when you liked the thing, maybe were in the fandom for a while, but you eventually moved on and didn't think about it for like. Years.it probably wasn't even your BIGGEST THING at the time. Just something you were into for a while.

And one day. Something snaps in your head and you go. Huh. The Thing. I miss The Thing. I should like....revisit it. Especially if there's been new content since you left The Thing.

Cause every time that has happened with me it has been a HIT BY A BUS level of brain rot and derailing my life.

Vampire Chronicles. Read the books up to Vampire Armand in high school. Was DEFINITELY weird about Claudia. Eventually moved on after a while. Almost fifteen years later get a random craving for Tale of the Body Theif. Reread entire series, plus the new ones, drag friends into hell, cosplay Lestat, create the Blog, have vampire themed birthday party and am now working on my dress for my SECOND Anne Rice Ball.

Hunger Games . Haven't thought about it since college other than occasionally saying "I volunteer as tribute" or something, like every other millennial. Hear about songbirds and snakes, just sorta check it out. Now have reread entire books, watched movies, dragged friends into hell @bestnoncannonship has had her brain rewritten by haymitch and is projecting all her Rural Trauma (we call it Twelve Bullshit) onto him, and now planning Effie's Ruffle Dress of Doom.

Sherlock Motherfucking Holmes. Read most of the series during college when BBC Sherlock was big. Enjoyed it. @bestnoncannonship was WAY into Sherlock. It was a base fandom from when she was a kid. Need something low-key to listen to at work when things are slow, why not listen to audiobooks of Sherlock Holmes? Wind up starting to watch as many adaptations as we can, cosplaying Holmes and Watson, have Sherlock Holmes themed murder mystery birthday party for Ann, give WHOLE ASS PANEL at flame con about why Sherlock is gay and acd knew DAMN WELL what he was doing, and now I know WAY more about Victorian gay men than I ever needed to know.

American Girl dolls. I had Molly as a kid, but wasn't really into her. I did have a Bitty Baby I adored, and a HUGE collection of clothes. Read a lot of the books, definitely credited it partially with making me a history person. But eventually grew out of it. somehow starting seeing American girl stuff on Tumblr. Check in. Now I have a brand new Rebecca and a GROWING collection of clothes. Ann has a Samantha and her clothes. We do doll photo shoots. Drag friends into hell (noticing a pattern here?) Now my mom has a Julie, another friend has a new Molly and a new Caroline, her partner is literally CUSTOMIZING dolls and it up to date on all the new releases. other friend dug up his Addy, and found out he had a rare girl of today ,two more dug up their Kirstens, and at some point we're having an American Girl party.

At this rate the next SLAM is gonna be like Doctor Who or something, though i really doubt this Second RTD Era can stand up to the first one. Also I think when it comes down to it I'm more of a Classic Who bitch. But there always MORE classic Who to watch.

Anyway. Beware the Return. The first time in a fandom is a visit. The second time that shit moves into your brain full time and you can check out any time you want but it will never leave.

[viklikesfic]

some rambling observations about being an autistic fan

So I've been thinking a lot about ✨The History of the Internet✨ lately, and in particular the history of how fans find community, and I thought I'd share these observations into the void. I'd be curious to know others' experiences!

Specifically, I'm thinking about how my autistic way of communicating and socializing maps (or doesn't) to fannish norms and how that's changed over the years.

Some facts about my specific neurotype (because every neurodivergent brain is different!):

I strongly dislike small talk, but I LOVE going on at length with someone about a special interest.

Shared SQUEEE is super affirming to me.

I tend to think in systems and lists, so I love to do things like think through the details of worldbuilding.

I'm on the ace spectrum, and I both experience a lot of my sexuality through my muses and interacting on their behalf and don't really have a personal feeling of desire towards actors (and sometimes squee based in sexual attraction makes me uncomfortable because it feels like I'm misrepresenting my own identity if folks don't get the whole muse thing).

I have highly variable spoons and social anxiety.

I tend to hoard information, and if I like a creator I want to see EVERYTHING they put out, and it makes me anxious to think about missing things.

Okay, cool, so given all that, here's how I've experienced socializing in fandom, and what I'm realizing in retrospect about how different "waves" of this map to my communication and social needs. Note that the "waves" are just how I personally interacted with fandom, of course your mileage may vary!

Wave One (2004ish-2008ish): LiveJournal, mostly. In this era, I was primarily interacting through LJ, and finding fic on random sites around the Internet. I didn't have a ton of sense of connection to other fans, except those I met in real life.

Wave Two (2008ish-2013ish): Dreamwidth, Ao3, and RP. And then DW and Ao3 were born, and choirs of angels rejoiced. This was my personal golden era. First, DW, where I started forming more personal connections through a journal site and its communities. This was the point at which I felt like I actually knew people through being "mutuals," and I generally tried to read everything on my feed, interacting regularly. I went to ConTxT a few times and met fans in person, as well as a few local hangouts hosted by fans. I also started RPing in this era, and for a few years spent regular time in an AIM chatroom pretty much daily with RP partners. I started dating two people long distance from this group, and most of my friends were here. Ao3 also came out in this era and made reading fic SO much easier. My brain fucking loves a database and structured tagging! I also did a bunch of prompt challenges, big bangs, and the like, which I think really helped structure my participation in fandom. Through co-writing I was getting a lot of my sexual needs met (though I didn't really understand that at the time, since it wasn't "real") and the nature of the RP chatroom meant that I could focus on a fictional world and building relationships there, which was far more interesting to me than hearing about the minutae of people's lives.

Wave Three (2014ish-now): Since that golden era, I've mostly been engaging with fandom just through writing and reading, with the exception of one fantastic RP partner I met two years ago through the comments on my fic, who's become one of my best friends. I tried Discord for a little while, but got super overwhelmed. Creating a Tumblr, I'm noticing how spoiled I've been by Ao3! I'm so used to engaging with fic in a way that I can easily see when there's new stuff, and it's really freaking me out that I can't do that here, unless I'm able to dedicate the time to reading everything the author posts about their life in addition to their stories. I think we hypothetically did that back in the DW days, but maybe the difference is that folks are used to social media here, so rather than posting a couple of essays a week like a blog, it's standard to do a bunch of short posts per day? Perhaps in some ways, Discord is more autism-friendly, because it's possible to say "I only want to communicate about THESE topics" and then get to know who the people are who are talking about those things. It's weirdly isolating, I think, to show up to a platform like "HERE ARE MY SPECIAL INTERESTS I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THEM" and then to see others doing that but not be clear on how to engage. To be fair, that may be aging more than autism 😂

I'm not sure if this is, uh, actually reaching any conclusions, but hey, having space to process the thoughts and feelings is nice nonetheless!

[profoundnightwinner]

lady-lamb21

man this is overkill—no one is taking your humanity away, and people are absolutely allowed to criticize you for something you want if you publicly express it. just as you are allowed to criticize someone if they said “hey i really want there to be no laws restricting paparazzi, i just wanna see every single angle of every single moment of someone’s life” (and hey i sure hope you would criticize that…right?)—im not even gonna justify the princess di remark with a response bc…wtf

lady-lamb21

i apologize for my misuse of the word advocating, but the rest of my argument still stands

I hope you don’t mind me replying like this, it is not to @ you, but rather because I think it is an interesting discussion and if anyone else is following it I would like for them to see it as well.

People are absolutely taking other people’s humanity away. It is a huge problem and it has been for a long time.

At first it was just drips. Those weirdoes that you blocked. But they wouldn't stop. They bored into every fannish space on the Internet.

You liked pirates? “Do you realize that pirates were problematic because they looted and stuff?”

—Eh, well, yes, actually . . .

*SCREECH*

There became long, whiny treatises about everything. Everything that people liked were problematic. Anything that was normal and human was problematic.

And they just. Would. Not. Shut. Up. About. It.

The Rocky Horror Show? (And I never even liked that movie . . . )—Problematic.

Liking villains?—Problematic.

Anything fun at all? Problematic.

And eventually, most of the sane ones just left. They found their safe spaces on the Internet, closing out the crazy ones. Discord and the likes.

And the whiny people followed people out into the real world, invading people's spaces there, scheeching about things that nobody in their right mind gives a hoot about.

And now?

The simple emotion of just wanting to say goodbye to a loved one? Problematic.

All of the above is just ordinary human behaviour. All problematizing the above does is leave the floor to the inhuman ones.

Be honest. Did you need some random chick on the Internet to tell you not to harass Liam’s family (the very thought of doing that at least makes me sick). Or behave like a gremlin? Would you have been there, at his funeral, screaming at the sight of the other boys like it was 1999 2013, if it had not been for that post? I don’t think you would have.

And that opens up the question of why whoever that was felt the need to post. And the reason was probably to show Moral Superiority™.

And that sort of whiny performative stuff, it's got to stop. It is so tiring.

And people are sick and tired of it. They have chosen the nuclear option to just get the screeching to stop.

And it doesn't mean anything. I would see treatise upon treatise (all of them dull as dirt) written about mental health, but when it came to an actual person who had mental health problems, our Liam, none of those same people had any grace at all.

Those people have turned the Internet and life grey.

There’s this funny post going around about how the Internet ruins anything fun, and I laughed too, and reblogged it, but the truth is that the Internet didn’t used to be that way.

It used to be so much fun!

It’s being taken over by people who just want to preach without caring, and control others.

Now everything that isn’t as bland as a Coffee Shop AU is problematic. Real people with their messy, real feelings are problematic.

People, and especially girls and women, aren’t allowed to have natural feelings or think about what’s in their own interest at all.

Look, I don’t think everyone who reblogged that post or similar sentiments was the ebil or whatever—I’ve parroted things mindlessly, too. A lot about stalkers and whatever. And then I read all of these nice posts now from people who wished they had said something to Liam— and . . . I keep thinking, was those people filtered away from him by those posts? Did those posts keep some kind, good people he should have found away from him?

And Liam’s father seemed to really appreciate the memorial. And the fans keeping vigil over him. One post I reblogged said that Liam’s father returned to the memorial before leaving :(

It’s not that I think people should run off to be stalkers, or whatever. But maybe we should all just . . . keep our traps shut about things we don’t know anything about? Maybe we don’t need to have an opinion about absolutely everything? Maybe we should focus on having fun and being decent human beings ourselves?

(Still, like, pleasantly gossiping amongst ourselves—if anything, the good gossip has always been hard to come by in this fandom. If somebody gives a bad vibe or whatever. But much less with the preaching! Humility needs to make a comeback!)

If I could give advice to the kids of today, I would say—go out, meet people, drink, smoke a cigarette and have sex. Don’t do drugs.

Since this is Tumblr, I will instead say read that kinky novel, eat a licorice cigarette, and drink something through a plastic straw. (Just throw in the trash later, like all of us always did! Unless raised in a barn!)

Allow yourselves to feel. It is not bad to want things, just don’t be a creep about it. And try to avoid serial killers.

i know you’re likely to find this offensive considering the tone you’ve used to respond to similar criticisms, but i genuinely mean no disrespect when i say: liam payne wasn’t a celebrity first, he was a person. i understand why princess diana had the funeral and public mourning that she did, though i think an argument could be made for the fact that she never wanted to be a part of the royal family and therefore, it could be assumed that she likely wouldn’t have loved being mourned the way royal family members are—but she’s a different person and that’s a different situation.

i think it’s been really lovely to see all the memorials popping up for liam and group events that have been held for fans to express their grief with each other. i think it’s also been really nice to see how many heartfelt posts and statements have been made about him, from fans, colleagues, and family members alike. but liam’s funeral is for his loved ones. it is not for anyone who thinks they’re entitled to his family’s grief because they loved his music. privacy is such a gift, and for someone who was torn apart in the public eye so aggressively, i think it’s important that he’s given that gift at his own funeral at least. i think what you’re advocating for is pretty disturbing, and the way you’ve responded to people who’ve said similarly has seemed pretty inappropriate. i’m sure you’ll respond the same way to this, calling me a bitch and critiquing my reading comprehension, but i read every word love, and you’re just in the wrong here. think about if it was you, and maybe the criticism wouldn’t be so befuddling. leaving anon off so you’re welcome to block or speak further if you’d wish.

all the best <3

I am not advocating anything, that's the thing.

I resent being told what I can and cannot want. And there has been so much of that, both in this fandom and on the Internet at large.

You think a private funeral would be best. And I can see your point.

But that is not what I *want*.

Do you understand the difference?

(Not critizing your reading comprehension. *g*)

Do you realize that critizing people for wanting something that is perfectly natural, wanting to say goodbye to a loved one, is wrong? It is simply human nature.

Princess Diana was also a person first, before she was a celebrity. *Every* celebrity is a person first, before they are a celebrity.

(Oh, and Diana would have loved that funeral, mark my words. *g*)

I am not saying anyone is entitled to anything. I am saying the exact opposite. *You* (*nobody*) are entitled to tell anyone what they are allowed to want.

The fandom police/the thought police wants to tell us all how to think, how to feel, that it is wrong to have wants and interests.

It is *okay* to have wants. It is *okay* to have your interest in a matter diverge from someone else's, even if it is someone you respect.

You have to ask yourself—the people who posted that, if they had received an invitation, would they have gone?

I am not advocating anything. I was peacefully minding my own business on the matter when that video started circulating and suddenly there were even more posts going around.

And I am just so incredibly tired of that kind of performative whining. It does no good and does in fact do a great deal of harm (look at the recent election) and it gaslights people into thinking that having a simple wish or want is somehow wrong.

Beloved public figures sometimes get a big public send-off.

There is no harm in quietly, peacefully, respectfully wanting something like that.

We need to stop letting people take our humanity away.

It is only the inhuman ones that want us to stop wanting.

[olderthannetfic]

I've been low key obsessed with your blog. You've managed to cultivate a lot of interesting conversations and topics, so I wind up always coming back to scroll anything I may have missed. So, out of curiosity, what motivated you to create this blog, and what kinds of conversations and responses do you enjoy the most?

--

Heh. It's just my personal blog. I couldn't get my usual username, so the name is a random joke about some 1990s fandom wank I was reading about at the time. I don't really do side blogs or themed blogs usually. I just have a personal account wherever fandom has moved most recently.

What motivated me to join tumblr specifically was a promise I made to myself back in like 2003 to not be an embarrassing grandma next time we were all switching platforms and to try to be an early(ish) adopter of the next big thing instead of kvetching about it and needing to be dragged by my ear.

By now, I'm much more used to Tumblr, and Dreamwidth feels awkward and unfamiliar, which is pretty funny. I wouldn't have predicted that back in 2011.

--

I enjoy meta. I like it when people have long text comments about how they see a fandom or a trend in fandom. I love it when people post about bits of fandom history I don't know about. I like hearing about fandom outside of English. I like people posting personal impressions and anecdotes as much as harder facts, but I don't like appeals to emotion. I like people celebrating their rare fandoms and underappreciated fannish interests but not guilt trips.

If you really love the thing, go make the thing happen! Don't bitch about nobody else doing it for you! In fact, that's the root of a lot of what I like in fandom: the DIY, can-do attitude of community and infrastructure builders that we see in niche subcultures. I think it's been diluted a bit as fic fandom has become more accessible and mainstream, but it's still around.

Basically, I like an oldschool Livejournal and mailing list vibe. I'm in fandom for conversation and discussion and longform text.

I want that oldschool style but without the depressive wangsting about being left behind or the full dose of 'offa my lawn' that sometimes goes along with it in the genuinely oldschool spaces. I want to see younger people picking up bits of that LJ vibe because they enjoy it and it's a cultural style that can be applied to any community, not because they think they were born decades too late.

It's never too late to go consume old media or research an interest or pick up a hobby! It's never too late to create new communities, using what we like of the old and discarding the shitty bits. Somebody made a Miami Vice discord not so long ago. I was shocked but pleased.

I like it when fans who build things tell me about their cool projects, whether it's a little discord or something as ambitious as bobaboard. I like it when people ask me for help with their research or tell me the results of research they've already done. I love those "how do I find fandom history thing X?" questions that let us dive down a rabbit hole of figuring out what platform the thing would have been on and if there are any wayback links.

I guess I prefer happy things overall. We all need more happiness in our lives. But I'm not someone for whom pure squee of the "So dreamy!" *swoon* variety works very well: I express my love by analyzing and making things, and I like other fans who do the same.

I keep meaning to go back through the BTS a/b/o fic I've read and pick out all the weird gender roles and fun worldbuilding ones and write some meta about how this style of fandom led me to liking a/b/o where before I hated it. That's the kind of happy + navel gaze-y fandom thing I most enjoy. When I find someone else writing this kind of thing, even for fandoms I don't care about, I love it.

I dunno... I think it's pretty obvious what I enjoy from what I spend my time on: longform text, intellectualism, history, telling sanctimonious bullies to stuff it.

[professor-tammi]

yet another Big Azure Gleam Text Post, up to ch. 12 (this is mostly me talking about supports because I unlocked a bunch)

Main story stuff:

- in Part II of AG, the Kingdom is actually invading the Empire, which has been completely taken over by Slithers. Duke Aegir rules with an iron fist, and the Empire’s military apparently frequently loots and pillages the villages in their own country. what’s interesting is that the game goes pretty all-in on “hey, the Kingdom is the invading force now”, and practically guilt trips you about the whole thing via random boss dialogue:

“You force your way into my city and kill innocent people, and you’re shameless enough to claim you’re on the side of justice?”

“How ironic. My territory has always strived for peace, yet it’s the first claimed by the flames of war.“

certainly, one of the more clear ways in which CF was an effective anti-villain route laid in the simple fact that it has you declare war on sovereign countries to force reforms and unification upon them... so AG pulling something similar is an amusing way for the writers to turn the tables here. (the situations aren’t the same, of course, but it is nevertheless A Parallels Thing.)

either way, Dimitri is understandably unsure of whether or not he’s doing the right thing, and the rest of the Lions voice their support of his decision, both because they know the Empire would invade the Kingdom sooner than later if left alone regardless, but also because, well, Slithers. (Felix’s line supporting Dimitri here has him tell Dimitri, “don’t look back”... is that the line. I’ll have to cross-check with the JP dialogue at some point)

- the ch. 11 battle has you go up against Monica and her father, Baron von Ochs. you end up killing him, and Monica vows to avenge him before retreating to presumably show up again later. ... where have I seen this before (it’s a Ran thing. Ran also loses his father and swears revenge. I swear Monica is just girl!Ran)

- after the battle, Rodrigue comments that “only our king will be fettered by the vile moniker of invader”, and Felix chimes in with an angry “don’t put this all on him” (to which Rodrigue tells Felix that it’s his job to support Dimitri through it and Felix goes “hmph, obviously”)

- there’s a little Rodrigue/Shez heart-to-heart scene as part of the story here. Rodrigue comments that Dimitri and Lambert are birds of a feather, but that he and Felix couldn’t be more different... but admits that Felix actually does share some traits with him, but mostly ones he’d “hoped to avoid”. and then he says this:

Rodrigue: “He can’t live without some great purpose in life urging him forward. There is no peace in such an existence -- I know because I’m the same way. As Lambert’s right hand, I devoted every waking moment to serving him. Supporting him. And when he was lost, so too was my reason for being. I had no choice but to search for something else to propel me forth.”

and he’s right! Felix is utterly lost when recruited to non-Lions routes in Three Houses, because those routes all lead to Dimitri’s death... :(

- on a lighter note, this chapter has this cute little Rodrigue + Felix moment in camp:

Rodrigue: I will be overseeing our main base’s defense, per our discussion with His Majesty. Which means I won’t be able to accompany all of you. Do try to not slow His Majesty down, Felix.

Felix: Please. Me, slow him down? I’ll be the one dragging him to the enemy’s door.

Supports + other:

- I only now realized but in the Dimitri/Dedue A support Dimitri makes some off-hand comment about how if he hadn’t been born a prince maybe he’d be a mercenary traveling the world with Dedue and... those are some Sike ending vibes!! :D

- Yuri is basically a honorary Lion in Hopes, and I love that! I liked Yuri in Houses, but none of his supports in og Houses particularly spoke to me, so I couldn’t really get into his character in a, I guess fannish? sense because I mostly get attached to relationships. in Hopes, he has both supports and a paralogue with Ashe (+ Catherine), and also supports Dimitri, Sylvain, and Seteth, who are all AG-exclusive. I think his dynamic with Ashe and Dimitri is especially fun; he’s probably risen to a top 5 favorite character for me now :D (I await the ashe/yuri and possibly also sylvain/yuri content... I’m sure we’re getting some sooner or later....)

- by the way Yuri’s real name is Regulus, in case anyone was wondering :)

- also, Ingrid’s father’s name is revealed to be Gunnar, and I feel the need to point this out bc evidently House Galatea have very distinctly Scandinavian-sounding names, as opposed to the rest of Faerghus being mostly French.

- poor Dorothea has spent the entirety of AG worrying herself sick about Edelgard -- in og Houses I found that she made for a very good honorary Lion between her supports with Ingrid, Sylvain, and Felix, but in Hopes she’s just miserable to be there... to the point that she goes, “perhaps I should’ve died with them.” Dorothea no!! :(

- Rodrigue/Dimitri A convo stuff that caught my eye: Dimitri tells Rodrigue “if you were to die because of me, it would destroy me”... well. that. is a thing that happens. Rodrigue rambles about Lambert a bunch, as you’d expect, and Dimitri says he envies how close their bond was, to which Rodrigue goes “ok don’t tell Felix that he’d be offended” :’D

- the Dimitri/Sylvain support is very interesting as it’s pretty much entirely about politics. they discuss whether people without Crests should be allowed to be nobles, and both characters agree they should; but Sylvain also brings up that the Kingdom needs Crests due to the constant threat of invasion from Sreng, and then goes on to say that Faerghus has basically two options:

1. “Bolster our military and promote prosperity while delicately letting the bloodline dance play out”

2. “Admit bloodlines won’t last forever and create a social system that doesn’t rely on inheritance”

What surprises me is that Sylvain goes on to say that option one is the better option for the Kingdom. that’s... an actually surprisingly conservative take? and amusing, with how often Edelgard fans like to claim Sylvain would agree with her policies. I’m so curious about this that I’ll probably go back and check if it was any different in Japanese

(a bit disappointingly, Dimitri’s response is kind of non-committal; he says it’s easier said than done but doesn’t really clearly indicate whether or not he agrees. anyhow. 2 sounds better, come on, you two)

- Mercedes’ trait of being the most openly flirtatious Lion who isn’t Sylvain is still a thing -- in her A support with Dimitri, Dimitri is visiting her home village undercover and feels awkward about having to introduce himself as someone he’s not, so Mercedes offers to just introduce him as someone “very important” to her and Dimitri’s is like. wait no don’t do that

- annnd Mercedes/Sylvain is perhaps the most blatantly romantic m/f support yet; Mercedes is being married off to a House Gautier noble she has no particular interest in, so Sylvain offers to marry her himself so she doesn’t have to marry the guy. (it’s rather cute!)

- Sylvain/Dedue has Sylvain say Dimitri and Felix are like brothers to him. ... him calling Felix a little brother was also in Houses, to be fair, but I wonder if this is why I never could get behind Sylvix -- they have individual moments that read as romantic, undoubtedly, but the actual dynamic as a whole reads as sibling-like? (idk I just want to figure out why I like or dislike things. that is important to me)

- anyhow, speaking of Sylvain/Felix having romantic moments, that is still a thing in their Hopes!A support, which once again features a blushing Felix :’)

- Felix/Raphael A, of all places, has some extra Dimilix content because of course it does: Felix shut up about Dimitri challenge

Felix: House Blaiddyd and House Fraldarius used to go on hunting trips together. On one trip, a certain prince bagged so many animals it proved impossible to fit them all on the sled. Meanwhile, I went off on my own, encountered a boar, and barely escaped with my life.

[chainofclovers]

Hello! You felt like the only person on the entire internet that I could send this ask to, so I hope it’s okay. I am a huge Hacks person and very much an Ava x Deborah shipper, and also a big fan of Ted Lasso without any strong shipping feelings there. While I’m not into them (and lean Ted x Rebecca but very low key), the intensely negative reaction to Sam x Rebecca just makes me think, “This is why showrunners would never consider canon Ava x Deborah in a million years,” (like take Sam/Rebecca but add audience homophobia into the mix!) and it makes me sad. Tbh, I don’t think there’s any real chance of canon Ava x Deborah, and I get why it would be near impossible to pull off, but it’s just kind of the principle of the thing: are the two ships that different? If anyone can tell me why they are, you can. If they’re not different, how are you able to ship Ava x Deborah (I’m assuming based on seeing your comments on fics). This is keeping me up at night and you’re always so incredibly insightful about fandom stuff generally, and your TL posts in particular have been very measured. Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Thank you for this ask, and sorry for the delay! Not sure you saw this post I made recently about the distinction and overlaps between viewing canon and engaging in fannish activities like shipping, but I wrote it in part because of what you sent. Anyway, I would recommend you read that post first because it will at the very least explain why I don’t tend to think of romantic relationships on TV as the result (positive or negative) of investing in ships.

(Also, I am very flattered that you felt I was the only person on the internet to send this to. I find it hilarious that this is the niche space I occupy online.)

It’s probably incredibly obnoxious to start in on my real answer by quoting some Ted Lasso wisdom, but that’s exactly what I’m going to do: All people are different people.

First, not all fans are the same. It’s true that there have been a lot of negative reactions to Rebecca and Sam’s relationship on Ted Lasso, but there are also plenty of people who are enjoying the storyline. (There are also a lot of people who claim TL has no conflict, others who claim TL has turned into a dark shell of its former show-self, etc. It’s a popular show so there are a bunch of people who’ve turned into authoritative critics overnight.) There are people who ship Sam/Rebecca because they’d like their relationship to be end game, there are people who ship them because they’re hot and having fun together even though it likely won’t be a long-term thing, there are people (like me) who don’t ship them but are still enjoying the storyline and characterizations because of the specific moment these characters are in right now, there are people who wish the writers had gone a different direction but are still along for the ride, and there are people who straight-up quit watching the show because of this and might never come back no matter how well the plot is handled in the end/in the larger context of the show. There’s no accounting for why each fan has the reaction they have, but the reactions are far from homogeneous.

Second, not all creators are the same. But! Having spent an unusual amount of time actually learning about the writers on both of these shows (this is the niche space I occupy on the internet), I do think there’s an important similarity between these two very different shows: in the case of both Hacks and Ted Lasso, the writers and creators don’t seem particularly concerned with placating fans, but they also don’t seem interested in jerking fans around with random twists for the hell of it. (We’ve all heard stories of showrunners who have decided to take a plot in a different direction simply because fans caught on to the original plan...as if it’s a bad thing that fans were invested enough to understand what was happening in the storytelling. That is not what is happening with these shows.) Of course people who work on shows want their shows to be successful and to land well with audiences, but both shows are so beautifully written, and the writing shows such a commitment to knowing these characters inside and out. Do these writers want an engaged audience? Yes. Are these writers at the mercy of fandoms? No.

That’s not to say I feel like I can predict what will happen with Rebecca and Sam or with Rebecca and Ted or with Ava and Deborah or with anyone. But the idea that people who write for Hacks would look at the (mixed, lively, and still in-progress) fan reception to the second season of Ted Lasso and choose to do something different with their characters seems very unlikely. In fact, I’m not even that interested in speculating as to whether the ship Ava/Deborah becomes canon (it might, it might not) because Ava and Deborah’s relationship is already a love story and Ava’s bisexuality (and the queerness of many, many cast members and characters) have already shown that the world of Hacks is a world in which queer people are represented.

Third, no matter what dynamics characters have in common, these particular characters don’t resemble each other very much. It’s true that Sam and Rebecca and Ava and Deborah are all in a situation with a significant age gap and an employer/employee power dynamic to contend with. For me, the similarities really end there. Ava and Deborah isn’t just “Sam and Rebecca + homophobia” even if some fans might feel that way. There are so many factors at play. Race. Gender. Money. What the characters are looking for. What motivates them. What ethical concerns they have or don’t have, and how those concerns dictate their actions.

Sam and Rebecca connect anonymously, which means the foundation of their relationship is really different from the foundation Ava and Deborah build together joke by joke, compromise by compromise, unexpected moment of connection by unexpected moment of connection. Sam and Rebecca are both in periods of significant personal change, and their connection and chemistry feel more like a place for some (sexy) refuge than a permanent partnership. No matter what might or might not happen with Ava and Deborah romantically, their relationship evolves over the course of s1 to the point that they truly respect each other’s sense of humor and consider it a shared language--basically the highest compliment these emotionally-stunted writer-comedians could pay each other. It’s true that every person we meet throughout our lives has the potential to permanently alter us, but a major part of the plot in Hacks is Deborah’s slightly subtle admission that she has a shared language with Ava unlike anything she’s experienced since she was with her former husband. That kind of realization really does change a person permanently, and no matter how you feel about Sam and Rebecca, who are two deep, thoughtful characters, I haven’t seen anything nearly that deep or thoughtful about their connection to each other.

Finally, I don’t bring the same mindset to everything I watch. The connection between Ava and Deborah resonates with me as a viewer because it’s a queer connection between two writers. I’m a queer writer, and even if my life is nothing like Ava’s or Deborah’s, Hacks’ focus on queerness and the creative process reaches me in ways that are specifically tied to what the main characters have together. Ted Lasso reaches me in very personal ways too, but that doesn’t mean I have to question my thoughts on Sam and Rebecca by directly comparing those thoughts to my thoughts about Ava and Deborah. The things I want to create as a fan, the things I feel about the way a show is written, my ethical viewpoint on different relationships, the distinction between linear canon stuff and non-linear fan stuff, my own identities and experiences...all of those are at play in what I bring as I watch distinct things.

This response got a lot longer than I anticipated, but I hope it helps in some way. If you want to come off anon I’m always happy to chat about this stuff! (Or feel free to send me another anonymous ask if you have additional questions about this...I'm not scary, though, and happy to chat non-anonymously.) Thank you again for the ask!

[lila-rae]

Something I don’t think the pr antis are getting - random old men posting things on their Facebook is NOT staged pr. The point of PR is to garner publicity. And none of these sightings have gained traction outside of our small fannish circles. If fans didn’t check FB mentions, we wouldn’t have seen it at all. There haven’t been any articles about these recent sightings, no pap pics, just grainy grainy stuff. How are antis not getting that this just isn’t how PR works?

Because they have concocted this completely made up concept of “low key pr” that has never existed. Like I would bet all of my money and assets on the fact that no one is contacting these old people and making them post these stories or videos on Facebook (you know how hard it is to find things on Facebook, it took a month for anyone to find the Oakland airport photos). All the pictures and videos were untagged. How any of that makes them jump to the “it’s PR” conclusion, I will never know.

[atlantis-scribe]

Okay I really do love Atlantis, but the amount that some people woobify Rodney actually drives me crazy. And I actually love Rodney as a character but like my boy's an asshole sometimes!! like he's not a perpetual victim, let him be wrong about stuff and grow and improve as a person!! (also the recurring theme of having random women in his life be abusive for... no textual reason?? is a little sus) like I'm getting to the point where I can hardly (1/2)

(2/2) enjoy hurt/comfort with Rodney bc I'm so wary of this... which just makes me sad 😭 Really sorry for ranting in your inbox you are my fave Atlantis blog and I like your take on Rondey

hello there!

please don’t apologize for ranting. my inbox is always open to rants. they’re encouraged, even! (long as I get to rant back lol)

and my oh my is this one of the topics that also get me going, particularly because 1) Rodney is also my favorite character, 2) I, too, see this woobification tendency, and 3) it’s complicated af & touches on several running themes not just in Stargate but in almost all fandoms.

• the Rodney Woobification is ancient practice. the SGA (specifically McShep) fan community has been around for a while now, and the Stargate fandom as a whole is even the birthplace of many established tropes that people still use to this day (Daniel Whump, anyone?). I understand the appeal. hell, I love angst and hurt & comfort for reasons almost exactly the same as other people who woobify characters love to do their thing. I don’t always comment on it (I don’t wanna be That Dick raining on other people’s parades) because it’s a slippery slope that so often leads to outright gatekeeping. there’s really just a fine line between being critical of fic characterization — being ‘true’ to the source material — and having fun with fannish works (specifically, using art as an outlet to do the most bizarre things polite society would ostracize you for)

• that being said, I am also not a big fan of woobie!Rodney. there’s a reason why I had such a visceral reaction to the Post-Trinity Phenomenon & the Lemon Chicken trope.

you have to understand, I came into the fandom a little over two years ago. about a decade too late, really. all the stories have been written, the takes taken, and the discourse over & done with. it’s pretty lonely, but the fun is in trying to sift thru what the OG fans left behind. so to stumble upon such a treasure trove of fics with the same running theme and have such a fierce ‘Nope!’ reaction was pretty memorable. I love Trinity because the Rodney in that episode was allowed to be his most obnoxious, his most arrogant, his most unlikable, but still remain layered & nuanced & complex, and that’s pretty damn good writing there. I saw the ‘asshole’ label when I bought it, after all. I certainly don’t want it erased or buried under a rug. I want it explored.

• canon writing is a-whole-nother problem altogether. it’s hard to justify exactly what makes Rodney (& Sheppard & Weir & everyone else) genuine or true to form, because —  let’s be honest — SGA is not a prime example of stellar TV writing and/or storytelling. it’s addictive as all hell, but it’s severely flawed, and that includes how it handled consistency in characterization. this brings us back to the dangers of gatekeeping and yelling at other people for how they write (however beloved) ‘public domain’ fictional characters.

• what I want to advocate now in terms of woobie!Rodney is for other fans to maybe examine why they like Rodney. is it because we are all just weak for white, asshole geniuses who are shippable with other white (often same gender, often male) assholes? if that’s the case, and you want to continue making your content, go ahead. it’s frankly a pretty boring reason, but we’re all boring nerds here. some more than others. just, you know, tag properly & don’t be rude to other fans who may have different reasons.

me? I love Rodney because yes, he’s a white asshole genius (that archetype is like crack for real) but portrayed so wonderfully by a very talented actor that it left me with a nuanced character whose gaps I can fill with attributes I want to analyze as a lifelong fan of the human condition who occasionally writes fics for popular media. woobifying him would be a disservice to how I see him & the things I love about him, which would then render me unable to enjoy the Rodney I ‘stan’. that would defeat the entire purpose of why I engage with the fandom, because at the end of the day, I’m here to have fun.

• so no matter how much I (and you as well, I suspect, my dear anon) would want to police this practice, it just isn’t our place. the best (and the right) thing for us to do is curate our fandom experience and create the content we actually want to consume. who knows, we may just convince / inspire enough people so there’d be more of the same kind of things we enjoy out there :)

- kit

[chalkrevelations]

Word of Honor Ep 6, and let’s talk a little about what’s canon, and what’s not, and about the particular slip-slidiness of the line between them on this show.

But first, due diligence: If you are NEW or JUST VISITING, this is a re-watch, so you’re going to find SPOILERS not just for this ep, but for the entire show. Scroll away and come back later if you haven’t seen all 36.5 eps and want to watch unspoiled. Also, heads-up, this got super long, because I had to talk about that stuff up there and then still talk about the ep. Hashtag long post (remorseful).

So, “canon,” as applied to fannish source material (in Western fandom, at least) traditionally has been considered the official stuff – the episode, the book, the comic, the movie – based on the religious definition of  “canon,” the collection of texts accepted as genuine and official within a religion. The word “fanon” – widely accepted fannish ideas – plays on this, as does the fandom concept of “word of God,” or things the Creators have said about the text but outside of it. Is it in the show as it aired or the book as it was printed? Canon. Is it not in the show as it aired or the book as it was printed? Not canon. (Apocrypha? Maybe. Anyway.) Generally, I think we’d say that things like material in the first draft of a script that doesn’t make it through revisions and onto the screen isn’t canon, even if you can get your hands on a copy of the first draft. The final product that airs is what’s canon. BUT this gets super slippery in something like WoH, in a way that’s exemplified in this episode. This ep is one of the places where people who can lip-read Chinese have spotted some significant dialogue changes between what the actors say on-screen and what lines have been dubbed in. (Everybody’s dubbed in cdramas, it’s just the thing that happens. You have your on-screen actors, and you have your voice actors. The ONLY person in The Untamed who did his own voice dubbing, for instance, was Ji Li, who played Nie Huaisang. All the other characters had voice actors dubbed in. In fact, the voice actor for Jiang Cheng in The Untamed is the voice actor for Wen Kexing in WoH.) One of the descriptions of WoH that I’ve heard is that this show was filmed as a bl and dubbed as a bromance. The thing is, nobody tried very hard to hide the shift. There are plenty of places that you can clearly see the actor’s mouths don’t match the dubbing, and they’re not artfully shot or edited to hide this. They’re fully on-screen, mouthing words that don’t match, right out in the open, almost like they want to you to pick up on it. Almost like it’s canon, because it’s right there on-screen, aired in the episode. In my first-watch reactions to Eps 36 and 37, I talked a lot about how the dubbing puts a layer of de-queered no-homo over what the on-screen actors are saying in these places, but if you can see what they’re actually saying and understand it, does that make it canon? What does it mean, both textually and meta-textually, if you can’t believe what you’re hearing – what you’re being told – because it contradicts what you’re seeing? How does that affect what we’re told about Our Protagonists and its “truth,” particularly in the final scenes? How much is the show deliberately working against censorship in this way? How much is it teaching us to look deeper than what we’re hearing on the surface?

Several people have talked about what’s actually being said by the on-screen actors in places where this happens, and I’m going to direct you to AvenueX on Youtube if you want a complete overview, because she’s reliable and has a good compilation that’s easy to find. She has a couple of videos called “Lip Reading for Sugar,” and the March 9, 2021, installment includes the Ep 6 incidences, the most significant of which are: At 3:05 in the ep, when WKX throws himself on Zhou Zishu’s back during the zombie Drug Men attack, calls him “mom,” asks ZZS to carry him, and tells “mom” that “your shoulder blades are the most beautiful.” Only no, Gong Jun didn’t say this, if you watch his mouth compared to the sound of the words. Instead of “niang” (mom), he says “Zhou Zishu.” Twice. “Zhou Zishu, carry me.” “Zhou Zishu, your shoulder blades are the most beautiful.” This is not only important because it emphasizes he’s gay for Zhou Zishu’s shoulder blades, but also because he’s fucking baked on Drunk Like A Dream incense when it happens, and later, ZZS will reveal that Drunk Like a Dream makes you see what you most desire, and he’ll confront WKX about how he “kept calling” someone’s name while he was under the influence of it. This makes no sense with the dubbing we get, because with “mom” dubbed over ZZS’s name here, WKX only calls Zhou Zishu’s real name once while he’s under the influence, at the end of ep 5. That is not kept calling. ANYWAY, once WKX clears his head and flies them away from the Drug Men, back to the a lakeside, there’s another disjunct at 5:05, when the dubbing has WKX tell ZZS not to play hero, that he doesn’t lose face if WKX helps him, and ZZS responds with something about your grandmother’s bear, which AvenueX tells me is a real Chinese idiom, although not for what. What Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan appear to actually have said, though, is that WKX tells ZZS that this was just like a hero saving a beauty, with the implication that ZZS is the beauty, the damsel in distress, and ZZS respons that no, it’s like the beauty saving the hero, without a lick of concern that he’s the beauty, the damsel, in this scenario, just that he did all the work killing Drug Men and now this asshole is going to act like he’s the one who did the saving. At 31:24, dubbing has WKX telling ZZS that he’ll give ZZS whatever he wants if ZZS can get him some of the Drunk Like a Dream, but AvenueX tells me that he actually offers his body in exchange, in a way that implies marriage. And at 32:22, when ZZS asks WKX what he saw under the influence of the Drunk Like a Dream, the dubbing gives us some random story about baby WKX throwing a rat on his mother’s bed, while Gong Jun’s mouth seems to be saying something something about being in the bridal chamber with his beloved … so circling back to our first instance at 3:05, WKX using Zhou ZIshu’s name is now super-interesting, eh?

Another slip-slidey point of canon here is that there are two versions of this episode. The original version didn’t have the rabbit-washing scene. That was an extra that was inserted later into a Special Version ep when Youku reached 2 million subscribers. But the Special Version is now available on Youku’s channel (it’s the one I watched for this re-watch), AND it’s the regular version that’s on Netflix. So at 25:28, we now get this adorable little scene where ZZS and WKX are cleaning two rabbits in the lake before cooking them, and WKX splashes ZZS who pretends to be irritated before splashing WKX back and running away up the riverbank, chased by WKX. It’s flirty and playful and ALSO a foreshadowing of the flashback we’re going to see in a later ep, when they play together for an afternoon as children. Wasn’t canon before. Now it is.

Anyway, even with the (bad) dubbing that we get, this is a fantastic WenZhou ep. We open with them still being menaced by the zombies Drug Men, with a lot of swordwork by ZZS before he starts flagging because of his Nails Issue, whereupon WKX instantly sobers up, goes Evil Ghost Valley Master on Imposter Hanged Ghost who’s controlling the Drug Men, kills him with his Fan of Death, then scoops up ZZS and flies him off to a lake, where he attempts to tenderly check ZZS’s pulse and take care of his wounds before ZZS slaps away his hand like an offended maiden. WKX has to give him the qi smackdown in order to hold him still to :coff: pull down his robes and suck out the poison from the Drug Men scratches on the back of his shoulder. :hands: I remember the first time around, watching this with my mouth hanging open, demanding to know the heterosexual explanation for this. (Also, if you’re rummaging on Youtube, the Five Straight Guys Watching Word of Honor for this ep is not to be missed. They’re a little questionable in their reaction to the poison sucking, but before that, they’re a bunch of squeamish babies over using the dagger to further slice open the wounds to get to the poison, and it’s HILARIOUS. They can’t even look at the screen once the dagger comes out, hiding behind their hands. I love them, more and more as the eps go on, but they are WEAK compared to even the newbiest hurt/comfort fangirl.) There’s some more back and forth between WKX and ZZS about revealing their true selves to each other, no you, no YOU. WKX makes it clear that he knows there’s something really wrong with ZZS, and then they fight, set to romantic music, and ZZS ends up falling in the lake. I do the victory arms (  \o/  ) to myself where I’m sitting on the couch and startle one of the cats, because FINALLY we’re going to get rid of that execrable fake facial hair. ZZS fucks with WKX by staying underwater long enough that WKX panics and also dives in, we get some really cheap and awful underwater effects, and ZZS reveals his face! They end up back on the edge of the lake, drying their perfectly dry outer robes, while they sit around the fire together in their perfectly dry inner robes, but I am not going to complain because y’all. I CANNOT with how smug and pleased ZZS is for just a moment about WKX mooning over how pretty he is. Then he remembers to be an ill-tempered gremlin and pokes at WKX with a flaming stick, but I had to rewind four times just to catch that little moment of satisfaction about being admired again – it’s subtle and gorgeous and Zhang Zhehan is going to kill me with his face one of these days. ZZS demands dinner on this date, and fake-coughs pitifully to get WKX to go hunt something down, while he stays and does his delightful little thinky face as he pokes at the Soul Winding Box they got from Imposter Hanged Ghost. Then we get a shot of WKX looking at ZZS before he heads off to catch some rabbits that confirms he now knows he’s really Zhou Zishu, rather than Zhou Xu.

So, we’ll get back to the Ghost and the Box in a minute, but I do want to mention that this whole ep is layered through with mini-references and thematic stuff. Imposter Hanged Ghost rings his little bell to control his Drug Men, and remember that, we’ll see that again. WKX asks if ZZS came from the Healer’s Valley when ZZS offers him an antidote to the Drug Man poison; we learn later that WKX, himself, is the one who came from the Healer’s Valley. When ZZS gets the Soul Winding Box open and finds a piece of the Glazed Armor inside (Danyang’s, taken off of Ao Laizi by Ghost Valley before he was hung at the gate of Sanbai Manor), he gives it to WKX, tells him to throw it away if he doesn’t want it. WKX says he couldn’t possibly, and that he’ll wear it because it’s his first gift from A-Xu. Compare this to the way Xie’er will wear Awful Yifu’s Glazed Armor around his neck. We also see some of the thematic and referential stuff come up in conversations that form a repeated pattern in this ep of ZZS stressing what a bad and dangerous person he is: He scoffs at the idea he’s from Healer’s Valley, and asks if he looks like someone who practices medicine; WKX responds that he looked like a professional killer (true) who was cruel in the abandoned temple (presumably while escaping Mirror Lake) and frightening to a kind-hearted man like WKX who can’t even kill a chicken (particularly amusing given the prep for New Year’s dinner in a later ep, when WKX is the only one who CAN). At the lakeside and again after ZZS hightails it away from Sanbai Manor when they spot Han Ying there (HAN YING, my beloved), WKX asks if ZZS is a fugitive, what he’s hiding from, and says that he’ll protect him – by reason, because would he kill anyone unreasonably (omg, where to even begin? How many guys have you choked out at this point)? When they’re arguing about ZZS revealing his “true” face, ZZS warns that most people who’ve seen his real appearance are dead (probably true). WKX says he’s not afraid of death (not his own, at least, we’ll see that the thing he’s afraid of is ZZS’s death). ZZS warns WKX that he’s not only sharp-tongued, he’s ruthless (true). He tells WKX that he’s murdered many people (true) and set them on fire (not unlikely, frankly) and committed many crimes (true, in a way, although they were state-sanctioned, making them legal, if morally reprehensible). This is the ZZS who put the Nails in himself, who talks to himself about what a truly awful shixiong he is, who tells Prince Jin that he’s only good as a weapon. I like how we see this at the same time that we’re starting to see the side of him that’ll preen when someone thinks he’s pretty - this is a process, and it’s subtle, not as high-drama as WKX’s, but it’s there, nonetheless.

We also formally meet Xie Wang in this ep, artfully posed and playing his pipa among the bodies – old and new – of Zhao Coffin Home. He and Changing Ghost have a bit of a slapfight over whose fault it is that Imposter Hanged Ghost, who was actually Long-Tongued Ghost, got killed and got his (Danyang’s) Glazed Armor took by WKX, when Changing Ghost stole it from Ao Laizi, put it in the Soul Winding Box and gave it to Long-Tongued Ghost specifically to deliver it to Xie Wang. Xie Wang is super cool through all of this, and I think we get a sense of how deadly he is by the way Changing Ghost backs down. So, here’s what’s falling together: Some iteration of Ghost Valley is working with Xie Wang and the Scorpion Sect, giving the Scorpions access to the Soul Winding Threads, which we saw used at the Mirror Lake massacre and in the woods outside of Sanbai Manor to kill Yu Tianjie in the last ep. Via Xie Wang, Ghost Vally has access to use of the Drug Men, which we’ve seen at the Zhao Coffin Home (so far), although we haven’t yet been told (I think) how Xie Wang got access to the potions to create Drug Men (we also know ZZS read about Drug Men in a book somewhere, and got enough info to engineer an antidote to them). Xie Wang and the Scorpions have access to Drunk Like a Dream incense, which had to come from Prince Jin’s court, having been engineered by ZZS based on a much stronger formulation. Han Ying, from Tian Chuang in Prince Jin’s court, has been seen at Sanbai Manor, Zhao Jing’s place.

Meanwhile Chengling is doing poorly, with no appetite and getting bellowed at some more by Shen Shen, who would be the worst if only I didn’t know everything I know, which makes me cringe when Zhao Jing refers to Chengling as “my son, now.” NO. RUN, Goldbean. For some more thematic and referential stuff in this ep, WKX calls Chengling a “lonely chick with no one to rely on” and tsks over the fact that he’s “surrounded by hounds smarter than foxes” now that he’s under the care of the Five Lakes Alliance. This is clearly to manipulate ZZS into thinking Chengling is better off with ZZS, but it also sounds like an awfully apt description of Zhen Yan in Ghost Valley. I’m just sayin’.

[perkynurples]

Some questions about the "likes and reblogs," would you say it's wrong to have a creator blog, where you just post your own art/stories, rather than lots of reblogs and random thoughts? Should an owner of such a blog feel obligated to create another blog for reblogging stuff, if they don't want to "dilute" their creator blog? If someone isn't going to reblog, would you rather they didn't "like" either? How do you feel about note comments?

‘Wrong’ is not the word I’d use at all. ‘Cumbersome’, maybe. I’ve been a creator on Tumblr a good long while, and there was a time when I believed a side blog for all my creations would make sense, but in the end... It might have worked four, six, eight years ago, when blogs dedicated to certain fannish creations, like ask blogs and stuff, were all the rage, but not so much anymore.

Right now, Tumblr is a chill environment mostly because a lot, and I mean A LOT of the creative talent disappeared off to Twitter a while ago. People like to joke about it and said all the weird ones went there, which is TRUE, but also there’s just so many artists there that wouldn’t even think of posting here anymore, which makes me incredibly sad, but that’s how it is. Tumblr used to be THE site for fandom artists, but not anymore, which is wild, since it’s just much more functional than Twitter when it comes to something as simple as, oh I don’t know, tagging your work and finding it later.

All of this is to say, anything goes. These days, I feel like who’s been here for a while understands that nobody else has the energy to run multiple blogs. Sure, I still see people having main blogs and side fandom blogs and whatnot, but ultimately??? If you’re creating for, say, a fandom you’re actively interested in??? You’re still going to have a much easier time garnering attention if it’s all on the same blog, reblogs AND your own creations alike. Speaking from experience here. I can understand not wanting to “dilute” the experience, but the time of fandom connoisseurs is long gone, I feel like.

And when it comes to likes... God, of course I prefer people interact with the content AT ALL, but I am reiterating here, likes count for jack shit on Tumblr. They really really do. They are at best a two-second burst of serotonin for the creator, but they don’t help their work spread, and ultimately, they don’t even convey that much, really. Twitter is a whole nother animal, because likes actually help the post be more visible over there, but Tumblr doesn’t work that way, at all. 

By note comments I imagine you mean replies to posts? Those are fantastic, as is gushing in the tags, bc I don’t know about any of my fellow creators, but these are on par with comments on the fic itself in my head. I LIVE for reading people’s replies and tags, and some of my favorite comments are still these long-ass tag threads that I have copy-pasted somewhere.

All of this is a really roundabout way to say, please reblog. We’re all just curating our own little experiences here, and I promise it’s not going to fuck up your blog’s aesthetic if you reblog a piece of art, a gifset, a chapter update, anything that someone created that really resonates with you. What is going to happen, is other people getting a glimpse of something they might not have seen otherwise, and thinking huh, and maybe reblogging it themselves and spreading the word. That’s what Tumblr’s always been about, in my opinion.