#this is the only way I can consume horror media XD

[doctordiscord123]

Losing it over the Silt Verses rn

[mdhwrites]

Me vs. Themes

So a lot of people, myself included, would agree that themes are important to a story. It’s good to have a point to what you’re doing after all. Without it, it can be easy for a story to become contradictory and aimless and while that works for some stories, it can easily start to destabilize others.

So why is it that all my talk of themes is in hindsight? This isn’t even with just the media I consume but my own written works. VERY few of my works have a theme going into them. They are built from a concept I like, mixed with characters who work with that concept and then... See where it goes. And yet, much of the time, when push comes to shove I can point to oddly well done themes in my own works, even if such things didn’t motivate the initial choices.

The reason for this is simple: A theme allows for a deep story... But I’m okay if a story isn’t deep, ESPECIALLY my own. My first and foremost priority, personally, is entertainment. If I don’t enjoy it, and especially if my readers don’t enjoy it, then what’s the point?

This isn’t to say it needs to all be happy. You can enjoy different emotions like angst, tragedy, tension, etc. like that and different genres lean more on different ways to enjoy them. Due to my own anxiety, I prefer to avoid horror media because the ‘thrill’ of anxiety and tension is one of the biggest draws of it but I get plenty of that from my own brain, thank you very much. No, the point isn’t to ask that everything just be sunshine and roses with only flash and pizazz.

But here’s the thing: I will always enjoy a well told, simple story that has a likable cast and a satisfying resolution over a story that is poorly told, makes me hate or lose interest in the characters and abandons its own concepts that can claim to have deep themes behind it. I am ALWAYS a firm believer that if you want the common person to get your message, you have to make it approachable. Have them want to be there and they will listen much better than if you went in hard from go.

And frankly, I also stand by that a good concept matched with good characters who properly interact with that concept will almost ALWAYS end up pulling themes out of it. Every concept is going to have a core idea driving it and staying true to that core and properly exploring it will eek out whatever theme was hiding there, waiting to be seen.

And for myself, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re commonly extensions of either my own pain or my own desires. Themes of second chances, ending cycles of violence, the power of kindness and the embracing of others are all pretty common to many of my works, even back in my erotica works. That’s not even a joke. What was meant to be a simple, smutty TIMESTOP story of all things has the twist of domestic abuse at the empowered person’s home and using his brain, rather than his anger, to arrest the abuser rather than simply kill him gets the boy out of the Faustian bargain he didn’t really realize he was in at the beginning. For a story about an eighteen year old kid being given timestop powers.

There’s a reason I talk about my mind ‘swerving’ when it comes to how messed up my ‘sillier’ stories end up. XD

But yeah, there’s not really a grand final point to this blog. Just got a comment that made me realize that ending cycles of violence has been a VERY common theme for me and so I felt like sharing some. I hope you liked it and have a good day.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead, If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

[tomurasprincess]

Even though my favorite smut of all times is Masked Deception, that's not the one that immediately comes to mind or sticks in it when I think of you. I think of "Press Start" and "Wraith's Touch". (I had to go through your masterlist to find the names in order to mention them. And be prepared for my long comments)

"Press Start" was either the first or second fic by you that I read. The beginning and ending will forever stay in my head and amaze me. It's been in there ever since I read it. There are sometimes where my mind wanders and I either think about good writing on tumblr and or all the smut I've read and I think about that beginning and ending each time. The "Player Select. Two players. Searching for Player Two..." and the ominous and impending yandere feeling that gave. I can't even fully describe how it felt, but I love it. And at the end "Player one: 16 credits. Player two: 0 credits. Continue? 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Game over" I think it was 16. That number sticks out in my memory. But I obsessed over that ending and I still do. Probably because I love video games and it's just so perfect.

"Wraith's Touch" I think I was scrolling on your masterlist or something and went "Hmm, Ghost Shigaraki. That sounds cool!" And I LOVED the plot in it and everything in it! The small details, the way it progresses, how she thinks it's just a dream so it's okay to enjoy it but waking up with a bruise from a hand with one finger missing. The chill that ran up my spine when it was revealed he was only pretending that the spell worked. And the impending doom when the reader is trying to get out, but he kills them before they can get out so they're forever trapped inside the house. All of it is beautiful and I love it so much! I remember being slightly worried since you said the ending was dark, but then I got to it and said "Oh, it's not that bad." So either it actually isn't that bad or I've just been consuming too much dark stuff. 😂

Also, I remember when I first started reading your fics and I was on pc, I remember the background was blobs of purple floating down and sometimes I would just stare at it and wondering when the loop started and thinking how the aesthetic it gave didn't match the yandere smut going on in the fic. XD

Anyway, sorry for this long thing that will clog up people's dashes. I probably should have just said all of that in a reblog of the fics. But I hope you are doing well and know I appreciate your works and that I think you are a great author. -Sapphire anon

I am honestly not sure if I can even articulate how much a comment like this means to me, seriously. Press Start and Wraith’s Touch are two of my favorite Shiggy fics (Wraith’s Touch edges out Press Start I think, but not by much) and to have such a long and detailed review like this is honestly a fanfic writer’s dream.

I was so damned proud of that start and ending to Press Start, and I’m over the moon that that it had such an effect on you! That was one I came up with while driving, and the idea just smacked me in the face. I actually pulled my car over just to write out my thoughts, I was so afraid of losing them 😂

Wraith’s Touch came from a deep deep love of horror media and haunted house stories. Even when I was too young to watch horror movies, I loved horror stuff. Horror video games (Silent Hill 2 is godlike and so is Outlast), horror movies, horror books, I devoured all of it. So I knew I wanted to do something with a horror twist. Weird thing about that fic: I had the ending planned out and written almost before I even had a beginning! The image of Shigaraki holding a dying reader as he reveals that he killed her...it just stuck in my mind and would not let go. I was a bit worried about the reaction to the ending simply because I know a lot of people don’t like it when reader dies, but it had a really good reception 💞

And omg I can’t believe you even remembered my theme. You’re right that it doesn’t EXACTLY fit my writing vibe, but damnit I am a girly girl that loves purple and I shall have it. 😂 You don’t ever have to worry about length comments though, you have no idea how much this comment means to me. Thank you so much sapphire anon, you have my whole heart for this comment 💞💞💞

[dragons-bones]

Writing Process Meme!

Rules: Bold/color the things that you relate to and then tag some people to play.

Tagged by: @autumnslance and @frostmantle! Thank you both!

I write: daily | most days | a few times a week | a few times a month | random

I’m not great at keep to a consistent writing schedule, and sometimes it’s just difficult to get words out even with inspiration, so my schedule is best described as “sporadic.” I’d ideally like to work on this.

I write most often: when I first get up | later in the morning | afternoon | evening | the wee hours of the night | whenever

This is absolutely the result of my shitty, shitty commute, which meant I had only a handful of hours properly to myself in the evening, so evenings are when I did most of everything. (Taking part in FFXIV Write really compounded it. XD) For whatever reason, I now find it incredibly difficult to focus on writing in the morning or early afternoon; this is probably also related to my old night owl tendencies.

In one sitting I tend to write: a few sentences at a time | a few hundred words | a few thousand words | a complete chapter/section no matter how long | An outline | whatever comes

When in the moon is in the right phase and the gods are pleased, I can sometimes push out a couple thousand words; “The Bluebird of Ishgard” from FFXIV Write 2020 comes to mind. Most of the time, however, it’s a words, a few sentences, perhaps a paragraph or two. Sometimes it’s not even that, and I just edit what I’ve previously written.

I tend to write scenes: in chronological order with no skipping | mostly in order but with some filler/skipping | whatever scene I feel like | who knows what’s gonna come out????

Once upon a time, I used to only write in the story’s chronological order with no skipping. I don’t bother sticking with that anymore, elsewise nothing would get written now. Instead, I’ll write whatever comes to mind; sometimes that’s something in the story’s beginning, sometimes it’s somewhere in the middle, sometimes it’s the end. I can’t complain overmuch, as writing out of order seems to make it easier to connect the Part A’s and Part B’s I typically have a firmer idea on.

The things that comes easiest to me are: dialogue | description of senses | description of action | description of characters | exposition | other

I really, deeply enjoy character interactions, and dialogue is one of the best ways for me to do that, so I really enjoy letting my characters just talk. I also love to worldbuild, but I have to be careful with the exposition; sometimes I can stop myself, sometimes I can’t. In cases of the later, I’ll edit back (but save a copy of the original word vomit elsewhere for easy reference). I also really like describing how characters are moving or emoting; I actually really enjoy trying to describe hand gestures! (My mom’s off-the-boat Italian and live the joke that if you tied our hands we wouldn’t be able to talk properly.)

I do want to get better about describing senses or setting the scene or characters; with fanfiction, I can get sloppy because there’s the assumption that the audience is already familiar with most of the locations and the characters, and it bleeds over to both original things in my fanfic plus my original writing. Things to work on.

I tend to write: on a phone | on a laptop | in a notebook | on whatever paper I can find | with speech to text | in the blood of my enemies | it doesn’t really matter to me | on paper first and then typed up | old school typewriter | on a computer

My laptop’s my only computer, soooo yeah. I type much faster than I write, so it’s easier to just type out my thoughts; it’s also much easier to refine a sentence or phrase with typing, so I can very quickly and neatly edit. I absolutely fucking despise writing on my phone; the most I will use it is to quickly record in either the notepad or my diary server a one off bit of dialogue or narration if I’m not close to my laptop.

There’s something really fun and elegant in handwriting in notebooks, but ultimately they now feel super limited to me because I can’t go back and edit or embellish as I like.

When I take a break from writing, it usually: lasts a few days | a few weeks | a few months | it’s kind of random

This pretty much ties into question one. It’d hard to say when I’ll write, so I don’t plan breaks.

My favorite thing to do when I’m on a writing break is: recharge with other creative hobbies | read/ consume other media | do something physical | catch up with old friends | work on my WIP in other ways like with playlists or art | other | play video games | get lost in work

I like to knit, and listen to horror podcasts, read books, and occasionally watch movies, and also I actually like to play the video game upon which all of my fic is based. XD And also play other games: Hades is my favorite go-to mindless slaughter game, but I’m also very fond of messing around with Stellaris and Frostpunk.

In general, I think my writing habits are: pretty much what I need them to be | okay, but I’m working on making them better | non-existent | not great :/ | i’m excited to develop them further | totally random | perfect for me

I could stand to work on my writing habits, honestly, even if it’s just make the effort to write a couple of words a day. I would like to be more prolific, but therein lies the issues of having a traditional nine to five job; making time is a lot more difficult than it initially appears, especially with all that needs to be done in the day. Still, I think I’ve gotten better at it over the years; last year I did a couple more projects than usual outside FFXIV Write, and the same for this year, so let’s see if I can continue the momentum!

I’m not sure who’s been tagged yet/answered this... @gunbun, @punchelf, @to-the-voiceless, @efrmellifer, @scrollsfromarebornrealm, @msviolacea, and YOU. (Yes, you.)

[skylights422]

@ace-and-aro-wlw-positivity created a Q&A for aspec authors/writers, and as an aspec author, I am excited to participate and answer as many of their questions as I can. Under a cut since it became really outrageously long.

1. What was your inspiration for your character(s)? Are they modeled on yourself, a person that you know, or a character that’s already been established?

Typically I’d say my characters are a mix of general inspiration from other stories/characters and then bits and pieces taken from myself. I try not to make any of them like a clone of myself or another character, try to mix it up, possibly with mixed success but that is the goal.

2. How much, if any, has your character(s) changed since they were first created? What caused this change?

Oh wow, okay I have characters I still use from grade school and middle school, and those characters have changed/grown a lot. Most notoriously (to me) though are my two fellas Euphranor and Kadri. I created them while daydreaming in middle school while watching those science videos in class about how I could make a more parody-like version of said videos, Kadri being the energetic and comically sadistic teacher and Euphranor being the constantly irritated and foul-tempered student. The core of their designs and personalities haven’t totally changed (Euph is still a hot-head and Kadri still likes to troll him), but they’ve become far more nuanced as characters as their story become more involved and serious. They’ve also become softer characters, with Euph having a Heart of Gold and Kadri being a bit morally grey but generally compassionate and friendly. I think the cause of this change and others comes from a mix of things, for one I simply got older and what I wanted out my characters changed a bit. But also I think it’s because I spent so much time with those characters in my head that I couldn’t help but develop them more fully, which in turn made me want to give them a good story. Also, everyone is definitely more queer now then how they started, largely because I became more aware and comfortable with my own queer identity and spent more time in queer spaces (though with Euph I actually just realized he had to be gay because I every het relationship I envisioned for him fell totally flat and yet imagining him as having crushes on guys just seemed to work better/make more sense, and that was an earlier decision).

4. Do you intend on publishing your story one day? Why, or why not?

I definitely do! I have many, many stories I want to publish, as books or comics or tv shows or films. I’ve always wanted to publish some of writing since it’s one of my main passions and have always taken inspiration from the stories I consumed. I just love writing and would want to be able to do it as my main career, the key will just be figuring out how to focus on one project long enough to finish it. xD

5. Surprise fact! Give a random fact about your character(s), whether it’s their favorite color, food, or even song!

Euphranor loves to sing! He hums to calm himself down and even full on sings to vent his feelings sometimes. Kadri loves literature and video games, and blackberry pie is his favorite food.

6. Admit it, you have a folder on your computer of the various types of picrews you’ve created for your character(s). Would you mind posting a few (or five)?

*VIBRATES* MY TIME HAS COME. I absolutely have way too many picrews of my fellas so I won’t post them all, just two each for the core four of my main novel project. First, Euphranor:

(yes he is a Hufflepuff)

Kadri:

(also since I dragged the Hogwarts houses into this Kadri is Ravenclaw)

Ena:

(I put her in Gryffindor)

And finally, Fiera:

(Right now I have her in Slytherin. She could also be in Ravenclaw though)

7. Time to get serious for a bit. There’s been heavy debate on having non-human characters identify as ace, aro, non-binary, etc., but never actual humans. As someone who’s aspec, how would you explain to someone who’s allo why this can be and is seen as hurtful?

I mean, as a sci-fi fan I definitely love if the non-human characters are queer coded, but it’s definitely important to include human representation as well, and I think there are a few simple reasons for that. One is that queer people are, in fact, humans, and therefore our stories deserve to be told as they are in reality as well as how they could be in fiction. The other is only writing us as inhuman implies you consider our identities as fictitious or too strange for a human to have, and queer people already have to deal with other forms of erasure and invalidation in real life. (Also, not everyone is a fan of sci-fi/fantasy, and they should still be able to read stories where they can see themselves)

8. It’s a sad reality that many stories in mainstream media don’t have characters that are aspec, not to mention without resorting to harmful stereotypes. Besides there being nothing wrong with IDing as aspec, why did you choose to have your character ID as such? What would you tell other authors who’re interested in writing characters that are aspec, but are afraid of offending the community?

I have a huge list of aspec characters, which definitely started happening more once I was aware of my own asexuality (and later, aromanticism), since I realized that I could make my own aro and ace characters and then just went wild with it lol. It’s also easier for me to write since I can actually draw from personal experience somewhat for it. Beyond representation having aro and ace characters also allows you to explore more facets of human emotions/the human experience, so that’s always fun.

As for how I would advise allies looking to write a-spec characters, my main advice would be to remember that we are an incredibly diverse group of people, and so while no one a-spec character will resonate with every a-spec reader, an a-spec character written in good faith will definitely speak to some of us. Write them as an character first, and when it comes to things like how their attraction does or doesn’t work and what they want out of relationships, figure out what works best for them. Really, if you’re concerned your character would be offensive in some way you can always make a post asking about it, many of us are happy to offer constructive advice and appreciate that someone is wanting to put in the effort to write about our experiences. Reading or listening to anecdotes from an array of a-spec people is also a good way of getting ideas of how to portray us, and there are various resources for that (the tags, AUREA collects anecdotes from arospec individuals, and probably more than I can think of offhand)

9. If you’re comfortable with sharing, what is your characters’ identity? Do they use any microlabels? Does theirs reflect your own?

Unsurprisingly I have many characters who are aroace (Fiera is one of them), and Ena is bisexual and gray-aromantic. Kadri was originally supposed to just be bi/pan but has become increasingly aspec, will they end up gray-aro as well as grey-ace? Will they end up as a pan oriented aroace? I don’t know yet, but they sure are a pan a-spec. My most recent project has exclusively aro-spec protagonists, Valentine is aroace, Cedar is demiromantic, Raelene is cupioromantic, and then Clematis and Hadyn are presently just Aro and might stay that way. My aroace characters are often styled after my own aroace experiences, while other a-spec characters aren’t as much.

11. Why do you think that not just representation is important, but GOOD representation? Can you offer any examples?

Well, I think there are a few ways to make ‘good rep’. There is the ‘this character helps bring awareness/educate about the community’ and then there’s ‘this character just resonates with certain a-spec people a lot’, and the main reason I think it’s important is because rep should be for the people they’re representing. So if rep hurts the community or totally fails to be relatable to anyone who’s actually a-spec, then it missed the whole point and is doing just as much to leave the community feeling left in the dust as no rep. Of course things do get complicated when the community is divided on whether the rep is good or not, which I imagine will be a common occurrence, and many examples of rep probably fall into the grey area between Good and Bad, but generally people should aim to tell stories that will help more than hinder the people you are telling your story about. (Although I also think that the long term end goal is to get to the point where there is enough representation that it doesn’t matter if some of it is ‘bad’ or not, since I feel like that is the true state of normalization, but that is sadly not yet the case)

12. What’s the genre of your most recent story? Do you always write in this genre? If so, what other works do you have? If not, why did you pick it?

My most recent story (with Valentine) is fantasy, inspired by shoujo style anime series like Cardcaptor Sakura, while Euph’s story is more dystopian urban fantasy? His exact genre has shifted around a lot and will probably continue to do so. In general, most of my works are fantasy in some way or another. A few are more sci-fi or horror based, but definitely the majority are fantasy whether that be magical girl type stories, urban fantasy, superheroes, or dark fantasy.

14. What’s a brief biography of your character? Is their history, personality, and/or looks similar to your own?

I’m going to go with Fiera here. The short version of her backstory is that she and her older brother were born to neglectful parents, and while their grandmother was attentive emotionally she also lived far away. Her brother discovered magic, long thought forgotten, but killed himself shortly after, leaving Fiera alone and confused. She then made a point to dedicate herself to studying the theory and history of magic in the hope that she may someday understand why her brother would take his own life so suddenly like that. She has a down to earth personality and is very observant, and has a great deal of ambition and focus for tasks. She naturally has a more lighthearted and curious personality, but has become more somber since the death of her brother. While she always struggled with sustaining personal relationships, it’s only recently she started using her power of observation to be more manipulative and always keep a cool, pleasant demeanor. She has a love for fashion and sewing, as well as an interest in chemistry.

She isn’t really based on me at all backstory or appearance wise, and only slightly takes after me personality wise. Our main similarity is that we both can be quietly observant and don’t tend to get outwardly angry very often, and that we are both aroace. But I am nowhere near as focused as her, am terrible at lies/manipulation, and have different interests. I’m also way more prone to energetic rants and blunt statements than she is.

15. What are the themes of your story? Is it a lighthearted adventure, or are we talking deep, ocean-sized levels of angst? Why, or why not, did you choose them?

The tone of Euph’s story is kind of all over the place due to how often I’ve tweaked it, but there are certainly oceans of angst for all the protagonists. There’s just also decided remnants of the wacky humor from when the story was predominantly a comedy, and a lot more scenes of the characters just relaxing or goofing off than might be typical in a high tension drama adventure. My story with Valentine is generally much more lighthearted, though there will be some deeper moments for character development (and also because I want it to have a slightly gothic vibe, just Because)

16. How long have you been writing? Has your style changed from when you first began to now? What are some tips you’d give to those who’re interested in writing a story of their own, be it professionally or as a hobby?

I’ve been writing in some capacity just about as long as I can remember, and so my style has definitely taken various shifts depending on how old I was and what I was taking as my main inspiration at the time. Sometimes I went for more sarcastic and whimsical narration regardless of the events happening of the story, sometimes I went for a more quick modern-ish style, sometimes I would focus more or less on descriptions or dialogue. I don’t really know where I’m at right now though.

What I would advise to anyone wanting to sit down and write is to be patient and kind with yourself. Nine times out of ten what sounds epic in your head will come out at first as clunky and all over the place. But that is pretty much the whole purpose of first drafts; the clunky first draft crawls so the second draft may walk so the third draft may walk a little faster so the final draft may run. The other thing I would advise is to absolutely experiment, and see what works best for you. There is every kind of writing advice out there imaginable, much of it contradictory, so really you just have to mess around with styles and perspective and dialogue and see what happens, which stuff you liked and which stuff you didn’t.

17. What’s your process for writing? Do you plan your story out first, write whatever you want then edit later, or both? How might this help others?

My writing process is pretty much a mishmash of writing whatever comes to me, then planning, then writing, then using a bunch of character building exercises to have fun but make no progress in the plot, then neglect the project for months, then write some more or maybe plan. I don’t know how much this would help others, though I have found when I set goals with deadlines and some external pressure (nanowrimo, reward system implanted by friends, etc) I am far more productive, so perhaps that is something others could try if they struggle with staying on track?

18. Your book’s become quite popular, easily reaching the New York Times Bookseller list, and now, you’ve been picked to lead a writing workshop. It goes swimmingly, and afterward, someone comes and tells you that your book not only inspired them to write a story of their own, but also helped them discover and accept their identity. What’s your reaction?

Mostly I would just be flabbergasted, but also extremely pleased and honored to have been able to provide any kind of help or assistance to my readers.And I would feel very happy for the person, since that sort of inspiration is great to come by.

19. Are there any published stories out there that feature aspec characters that you also read? Do you have any suggestions?

Unfortunately not that I can think of! I am peripherally aware of some ace characters, but they aren’t in stories I personally consume. I hope to find more though!

20. Just for fun, write down a paragraph of your most recent writing. It can be an action-packed scene, some witty dialogue, or a colorful description that you really enjoyed. (Be sure to properly tag any possible triggers!)

Well, my most recent finished work would be the clunky first draft of my novel. So, here’s a silly conversation that entertained me to write:

Once they had bought the food, they went back to the park to eat. 

“You know, Fiera, I have come to a realization.” Kadri said.

“Oh? What’s that?” Fiera asked.

“Store snacks are not as filling as restaurant food, nor as refined, but they are decidedly addictive.” he said, munching on Twizzlers.

“Yep. That’s what makes them store snacks. Plus, I couldn’t get any really nice stuff. I’m not made of money.” Fiera explained.

“Which brings me to my next question, how exactly are you financing our meals? You don’t seem to work a job of any kind.” Kadri said. Fiera was almost surprised that he knew about jobs, but decided not to ask about it. 

“You’re right, I don’t. But my parents leave me about sixty bucks a week so that they can do what they want without me starving to death in their absence. After yesterday and just now, I’m down to like eight bucks, and the next payment comes in three days, so after this stash goes it's dollar store snacks only.” Fiera explained.

“I see. Fascinating. And these drinks you bought us, why are they vitamin drinks?” Kadri said,looking over a vitamin water curiously.

“Because we definitely aren’t going to get any vitamins from chips and candy.”  Fiera said simply.

“There is logic to that, I suppose.” he said. There was silence for a few moments.

“Um… Kadri?” Fiera said after a while.

“Yes, Fiera?” Kadri said.

“You know you can’t eat a whole bag of Twizzlers in one go, right?”  Fiera said.

“I don’t see why not. If it is not going to give me the nutrients I need, it may as well provide me with the maximum level of pleasure it is capable of.” Kadri said.

“Yeah, but you’ll get sick. And we have limited supplies.” Fiera countered. Kadri looked at the bag of Twizzlers in alarm.

“These are poisonous in large doses!?” he exclaimed.

“What? No, not poisonous, they just make you sick because they’re candy. All candy does that if you keep eating it.” Fiera said.

“Commoners lead dangerous lives, it would seem. I shall never forget this betrayal.” He said to the bag of Twizzlers, putting it down and taking the vitamin water instead. 

[purge-that-urge-rhackathon]

Heya purge! I saw in one of your tags that you’d been consuming fic for around 20 years! That’s like my whole life. Mind telling us how things have changed? I’m sure places like ao3 have changed things a lot. I’m just really curious in fandom and fanfic culture! :3 x

Ao3 is a fucking godsend let me tell you. I won’t make a lot of the same points and stuff that fannish history folks have already documented (how it literally changed, and all the fic we’ve lost that isn’t backed up on floppy disk somewhere… I’d say we’ve lost an equivalent to the digital burning of alexandria honestly) but i can tell you my experience :3

I’ll stick it under a cut cuz i kind of rambled… but i had fun doing so ahahha xD sorry you unleashed the tiger from the cage xD

We all make jokes about ‘being there’ when stuff in fandom history happened, but i’ve been around since all the major purges (LOL my name is so fitting in retrospect ahahha). ff.net’s various purges (and the whole anne rice suing fanfic writers and shit… i never DID agree to their new terms of service haha), geocities sites going down, obviously the more recent shit too, but like I’ve been around even for the creations of certain, older fanfic sites too (one of the oldest slash forums for lord of the rings fics for example… I was there, Gandalf LOLOL!!… and now that i check the date on that i feel old as balls thanks anon xDDD and wow my one fic is still up there PFFFFT) but like, I come from an era where you took your floppy disk and copy/pasted shit from online (once it even loaded) for later reading, and also so you could find it again, because also before ff.net it was hard to find stuff. I’m pre-google ya’ll xD You dont UNDERSTAND the horrors of trying to find anything pre-google. Ya’ll have it so fucking good D:

There was never an abundance of content like there is today, and so you can bet your shit we were grateful as fuck for what was out there, let alone for someone with a decent command of writing and storytelling. Everyone commented on everything (once that was something even implemented… it was email lists before that, and comments sent in that way… i still have my e-mailed comments from fic readers haha), and it was (and still is, in my honest opinion because people entitled as FUCK now) one of the GREATEST faux paus you could do to be reading a fic (esp. multi-chaptered) and not comment. The indignity of not giving back a little (and it still is a little, which is why i get so damn fired up on this subject) for aaaaaaaall the words and story and everything you just read was a serious sin against fanfic writers. I still think its seriously fucked up not to comment (and again, i’ve mentioned that if you dont got the spoons, thats obviously different) but like, the entitlement that runs rampant today did not even exist back then. Yeah, you still had the assholes whose comment would literally consist only of “where’s the rest?” with ZERO actual thanks or input while expecting/thinking they deserve more (and THEN you could remove chapters or stories, cuz god giveth and damn does she taketh away xD), but it wasn’t nearly as prolific as it is today.

The commenting culture today and the backlash against writers wanting comments on their work in return for providing said free content makes me mad enough to wanna curb stomp some people. I’m a bartender, I don’t put up with shit HAHA xD But the entitlement especially now and people who act like writers are being uppity for wanting a small return on their craft are disgusting. Same type of entitlement as art thieves (we all know the type). We didn’t put up with that shit back then. People acting like little bitches wanting free stuff for literally nothing? We’d pull the whole fic. And the community would handle it and it usually turned into a teaching moment about how damn important it is to comment and just how much freaking control writers DO have over their media. We’d pull it from public view unless amends were made (whether that be a private note from someone entitled finally paying their fucking due with proper humility, or reaching a comment count when you had hundreds of people reading but not commenting). Damn i miss taking away fic xD We played hardball back then xD

That was the fucking worst and people were rightfully denied access to fic if hits didn’t coincide with comments. You could publish a chapter and then decide to remove it from view (either for editing, or hostage taking for comments…. which i miss dearly AHAHAH it forced people to learn to be proper commenters and interact with those whose media they were consuming). It’s a big part of what I miss because just like a proper community, people kept each other in check and made sure everyone played nice. You enjoyed a fic? You sure as hell let that writer know. Now though…. the entitlement drives me up the fucking absolute walls and makes me wanna put stuff behind a paywall sometimes…. everyone is lucky im lazy as shit tho AHAHAH and im usually fine after venting xD

But yeah, fanfic culture in general has shifted in a major way to constantly consume and NEVER give back, either in comments, or creating new content yourself to also add to the community (for example as i’m sure we’re all aware, like ALL the people who bitch about certain ships or ‘why ship this when you can ship THIS?’…. Like, instead of bitching that ‘WAH WAH this author doesnt WRITE the ship I LIKE why can’t they write THAT??’ people came up with the radical idea of CREATING the content they wanted to see :| And if weren’t that good of a writer/artist to do so? Well then you SUPPORTED the writers/artists you enjoyed by leaving comments on their shit OR getting a commission… Goddamn i remember when even ‘commissioning’ people was a wild concept… Ya’ll dont know ahahah xD

I do believe that this is a huge source of where Anti-shipper behavior has stemmed from; entitlement gone berserk. And public schools and shit are still largely full of my parents’ generation who were not computer-literate either in function or courtesy, so even as internet social skills are not being taught correctly (or safety; they scared the SHIT out of us back in the day and now everyone has all their shit and pictures online haha) so there’s also a huge disconnect socially which i think has impacted online fandom spaces and what is considered acceptable or not. People also turn into fucking swine when they think they’re anonymous online (and boy do they change their tune fucking quickly when you out them) and i think the whole anonymity thing is also a factor of this whole entitlement issue in fandom spaces; making demands without giving ANYTHING back. Like I’ve mentioned in the past, I don’t put up with that shit, and it’s not a coincidence I was going to work for the CIA after I just left Japan about 3yrs back (thank fuck I didn’t cuz FUUUUCK this administration) cuz people are dumb as shit and basic tracking skills to call someone out on their bullshit has been my bread and butter since i was like 12 haha. You act dishonest and entitled, and it’s gonna come back to you in some shape or form. You’re going to reap what you sow. That was the motto back then and I still believe in it today.

Hell, it has shocked the FUCK out of me the few times i’ve had people tell me ‘omg me and my friend were talking about your latest update!’ and i’m just like O_O????? because also back in the day, ‘fanfiction’ was kind of a taboo word. You never said you were into fanfic in mixed company. You more or less NEVER discussed it publicly (I’m not even talking dirty stuff, just normal, sfw fanfiction) because it primarily existed only online (for me; i’m post-fan magazines but pre-internet fanfic sites LOLOL). Hell, I got my college english professor into fanfiction. She didn’t even know what it was, let alone that something like that existed, and I had to explain it to her my first year of college kind of with a red face xD She was a writing-professor too so like, let that date the culture a bit. Like, if that was literally her major field of expertise and she didn’t know about it, that should tell you how not-mainstream fanfic was.

I’m kind of out of touch with that myself. Do kids (ya’ll are kids to me okay? xD) mention fanfiction as a reading/entertainment medium in normal conversation? Like, you could mention, without getting weird looks, ‘oh i enjoy reading fanfiction’ or (and i’m like internally gasping at the idea here) being able to say ‘yeah i enjoy writing fanfiction’? Is that a thing? I sure as hell don’t tell my peers that I write fanfic, let alone that i’m approaching 1million words for borderlands stuff alone AHAHAH It’s STILL taboo and seen as a lesser writing medium to folks my age. If you weren’t in a ‘geek’ circle (and i mean, i had friends who played D&D at lunch, and one friend who we mentioned fanfic together with) then culturally, as an art form, it wasn’t acceptable to discuss. Like, i’m STILL in that mindset that fanfic is not something to be discussed off the internet with people and it makes me very very uncomfortable to do so unless i know 100% I can speak discretely with someone. That’s what the offline culture was. I know its way different in some respects, like me and my youngest sister are 10yrs apart and her experiences with fandom are wildly different, but the idea of people actually talking about someone’s fic together with friends absolutely blows my fucking mind.

So, it’s changed in good ways too xD I just fucking HATE people who think they’re entitled to never comment or give back to the community sooooo i tend to get stuck on that issue, ESPECIALLY, again, as a writer approaching 1million words. *salute* doing my duty to the fandom community LOLOL or polluting the fandom community if you’re an anti AHAHAH antis can suck my entire ass and i’ll go on to put another million words of what they HATE into the world and they cant stop me ;3 spite is a fabulous motivator xD

The tools back then were a lot more crude, abilities and functionality was limited (but also better in some ways; moving fic to the ‘backroom’ so to speak), and even finding stuff was hard and relied on the hushed whispers of friends, but damn the community was better. So much better. So much more positive and accountability made people decent. So like, I do LOVE a lot of what we have now, but we have lost SO much. Both in terms of content and sense of community. I wish people would put more positivity into the content they’re consuming and lift up others. It’s why i try my damnedest to leave commenting tags on EVERY SINGLE THING i ever reblog here, because i *know* firsthand how much it means. To scream your art into the silence and only get the equivalent of stares back is maddening.

So yeah. Stuff has changed. Capitalism and censorship are running especially rampant hand-in-hand right now, and lord forbid we come full circle where there are no more places for us. I mean, if we have to go back to email lists, hell I’m already ready and an old veteran to that system anyhow. I’d miss all the content we all have access to…. but then there’s also that 90% commenting rate you get with that kind of system so HEEEEEY let it all fall down! bahahah xD

[tawneybel]

I forgot that I had finished that Ravenna-disguised-as-William reader insert. After I post this, I’m going to proofread it again before uploading it to AO3 and Wattpad. Then I’ll put in the queue so it’ll get posted on Monday. Sorry about that. This weekend I’m planning on watching The Huntsman: Winter’s War. 

Life... Mostly good. I told myself I’d avoid the caffeine trap but in the mornings I’ve been drinking black tea. But the only coffee I drink is decaf. There’s not so much ice on the roads so I can go out with my friends now. 

Uh, I’ve had to read Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene and even though it’s basically pro-Elizabethan propaganda, it’s really interesting. As much fun as literary analysis is, don’t study Renaissance literature unless you’re an English major. Just reading the first four chapters took about four hours. Early Modern English, yo.

Other media I’ve been consuming below. 

“After watching Overlord, I realize I might really love seeing men all bloodied and bruised and on the brink of de*th.” -anon from the old blog 

This movie was pretty great from the get go. The integration surprised me but I’m glad Boyce was the main character. He’s precious. That cinematography of Boyce falling in the parachute. The way it resembled a jellyfish when he was coming up for air out of the water. I had to rewind that. Sending that one Nazi back on his bike was explosively brilliant.  

I used to think that I didn’t like war movies, aside from Inglourious Basterds. I’m sensing a theme. Ooh, and there’s also a bit of body horror transformation with Chase.

Kim Possible was like my favorite childhood Disney Channel show. Live-action Drakken and Shego’s appearance gave me higher hopes than I should have had for a DCOM. Dementor’s design is kind of bland compared to his cartoon counterpart. I’d need to go back and watch the show but it seems like Kim relied on Wade too much. I was sad Rufus didn’t appear at first. Nana Possible was a nice touch. The one thing that really pissed me off was the whole soccer team thing. That was bullshit. XD

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I felt like Athena had the potential to be cool. It’s not the like the secret robot thing hasn’t been done before in a KP movie.

After watching The Purge: Election, I think it’s safe to say The Purge is one of my fave horror franchises. The message is loud and clear. Now I just gotta watch the prequel. Aaand do that Harmon James request. I still don’t trust people whose first and last names are both surnames. 

Those Russians were whatever the Americophile version of a weeaboo is. Laney is a badass. 

The 100: Holy sh!t, I love “The Red Queen”. Such a brutal episode. I watched it in the dark so it was really badass. Octavia! Hell hath no fury like a bl00dy woman. 

IMO, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was better than the first. Uhhh... Mantis is my favorite character. I ship Nebula and Kraglin. 

Good Faeries, Bad Faeries by Brian Froud: I’ve had a weakness for fairy boys for a looong time. (Started in preschool with Cicely Mary Barker’s artwork.) Sadly, attractive n*des in Mr. Froud’s book tend to be ladies. Thanks for portraying my body type, though lol. Really flat b*tt in comparision to thick-ish thighs.

The Bad Section had more interesting designs. The Bully Bogey’s not bad looking. There’s also a love talker but the pic didn’t appeal too much to me.  

Like I said, I’ve only read the first four chapters of Spenser’s The Faerie Queene so far. If it wasn’t for the background information I’ve read on the poet and Elizabeth I, I would be lost. Also, SparkNotes and Shmoop. Plus I was listening to an audio recording while reading it. You don’t want to know the amount of notes I took for this poem. But it’s fun.  

There’s cool monsters and transformations. Error is a lamia-esque brood mom. A sprite turns into Una and tries to seduce her boyfriend, the Knight of Redcross. An enchanter disguises himself as an old man and then the knight. A witch disguises herself as a pretty lady in order to get boyfriends. She also transforms a couple into trees. And look:

“Much like, as when the beaten marinere,/That long hath wandred in the Ocean wide,/Ofte soust in swelling Tethys saltish teare;/ And long time having tand his tawney hide/With blustring breath of Heaven, that none can bide,/And scorching flames of fierce Orions hound ;/Soone as the port from far he has espide,/His chearfull whistle merily doth sound,/And Nereus crownes with cups;/his mates him pledg around.”

My name appears in the third canto. :D 

[sylveon-official]

your problematic discourse is actually an attempt at censorship

i’ve been thinking about this for the past few days with all of the drama coming from the sensationalization of Killing Stalking.

obviously we’ve got a few sides of this new fandom developing - the seasoned horror/psych crowd, the yuri on ice “omg i can’t believe how sinful i am lol xD” crowd, and of course, no fandom these days would be complete without the overly-PC, militant, “the way you consume this media is problematic” crowd.

the latter is a crowd becoming more and more prominent on tumblr in recent years. of course, there was the great Ereri debate of the SNK fandom, which has recently bled into the YOI fandom and the issue of "how to ship Yuri Pliesetsky without promoting pedophilia” -

and finally, it has all culminated with this very crowd getting involved in a genre that it arguably has NO place in (not that it really has a place in the others, imo, but i’ll get to that later): the horror/psych genre. this genre is not new, as much as this crowd behaves like it is. i wouldn’t call myself a horror buff, but i’m someone who’s been a casual fan for years - i love horror movies, i’ve read my fair share of horror manga, and i’ve never encountered any backlash for it until now. 

the horror/psych genre is problematic BY PRINCIPLE. the entire point of the genre is for incredibly flawed characters to wind up in incredibly destructive situations that are often a result of another sick, twisted individual who is not in the least supposed to represent any kind of political correctness. i’m not going to get into the psychology of WHY we as humans enjoy watching this kind of content, but i can tell you one thing with certainty -

it’s fiction. and we, the fans, are consuming this media with the knowledge that this content is exactly that.

have you ever watched a horror movie? i’m assuming the answer is yes. and how often do you walk away from that kind of movie thinking, “wow, that really inspired me to brutally terrorize and murder a group of unsuspecting teens on a camping trip in the woods!!!”? probably never.

what’s so strange about tumblr is that as soon as you bring any sort of media into a “fandom” (which requires what - shipping? in the anime community, typically a BL nature?), that’s where people start to toss around the word “problematic”. by their standards, you can consume any type of media you want, but as soon as you bring in their precious children, their sons, their lovingly-nicknamed “trash babies” or “daddies”, etc. into it - that’s when that word “problematic” starts to be tossed around. and i have a feeling it has more to do with the possessiveness over these characters than much else.

when you step in trying to police fictional situations with these characters, you’re quite literally saying to other media consumers - hey. i don’t trust the way you consume your media. i don’t agree with it, so it makes you (a bad person, a pedophile, a rape apologist) - your choice of accusation.

but the fact is, as consumers of media, we should be trusted to consume fictional media in whatever way we want, while maintaining that at it’s core, it’s exactly that - fiction. and isn’t necessarily appropriate in the real world. when you try to place an invisible line between what is considered acceptable and unacceptable in fictional media (or your precious ships), you are literally trying to censor someone’s involvement in a piece of fiction that doesn’t actually impact real people.

you can try to claim that it “glorifies” certain bad things(tm), sure - but by the same logic, i can claim that GTA glorifies violence against prostitutes and drunk driving (even though there are tons of studies that dispute correlation between videogame violence and violence in the real world, go ahead, google scholar that shit).

you can try to claim that rape fantasy role play (at home or in porn) is glorifying sexual assault, but when it involves 2 consenting adults, who are you to to interfere with the people participating in or consuming that media when it’s being presented in a purely fictional context? no one is forcing you to consume this type of media if you’re personally uncomfortable with it .

we need to trust each other to consume fictional media with the understanding that it isn’t real. therefore, even if some people choose to participate in fictional scenarios with characters (canon or fanon) that may be considered problematic in the real world, we do so with the understanding that it only has a place within a fictional world. when you start to police how others participate in fiction, you’re being so radically PC that you’re just looping back around into authoritarian territory (think banning books).

we reserve the right to choose the fiction we consume and how we involve ourselves in it and we must all do so with the understanding that the vast majority of people maintain the ability to separate the real world from a fictional one. and in the same vein, you as a media consumer, get to decide for yourself what you’re comfortable with consuming, rather than pointing fingers when you see a fictional scenario that you don’t agree with.