#toby alone used to be my favorite book in the whole wide world

[spod3]

// i will say you were young and straight* and your skin fair, and you stood in the door and the sun was a shadow of leaves on your shoulders, and a leaf on your hair. //

*PISSING MYSELF

[slusheeduck]

Geeking IN: How Online Fans Are the Future of Media and Media Marketing

           Once dismissed as socially inept nerds, fans are taking the lead as this generation’s most successful creators. While there has always been the odd story of fans who end up taking the helm of favorite TV shows or adapting their favorite work into a movie, many new faces in the entertainment industry are using their knowledge from years of participating in online communities to market to the global internet audience, as well as keeping their own fandoms somewhat in line.

           Recent years have seen a boom in the acceptance of “fandom,” that is, a community of fans. Comic conventions have gone from a punchline to mega-events that require a lottery just to get in, there are countless articles on sites like Buzzfeed about “How wrecked were you during the Game of Thrones finale?” and “Seven ways to tell you’re a Cumberbitch.” Even something once as obscure as “fanfiction” has practically become a household term.

So how did we get to this point? Where in the scope of the past decade has it become acceptable to “geek out”? The main answer to this is, naturally, the internet. When the world wide web was still the great unknown to the general public, many fans saw it as a way to gather, creating their own websites or posting their fanwork on sites like Livejournal and DeviantArt. As the internet became more and more accessible, so too did joining in the fun of fandom. That leads us to today: now, many fans who have more or less grown up in these online spaces and seen the shifts in fan communities and interaction, are coming of age and producing their own content with a keen sense of how these communities work.

Perhaps the most public example of this comes in the form of best-seller book Fifty Shades of Grey. Regardless of what your opinion on the raunchy romance is, London-based author E.L. James has been completely upfront with the fact that it began as a Twilight fanfiction. While it is already rare for a fanfiction writer to “make it big,” much less into a novel that has sold over 100 million copies worldwide[1] and spawned a movie series and sex toy line, it’s even rarer for them to actually admit that it began as a fanfic. And yet James has no qualms mentioning it.

“Well, it all started way back in the day when I saw ‘Twilight,’ the film, and I loved those books — I could not put [them] down, absolutely avidly read the books,” E.L. James said in an interview on “Katie,” Katie Couric’s talk show. “This switch was flipped. I had to write — started writing, wrote a novel, then I discovered fan fiction…[I] wrote about Edward and Bella and then decided to write about Christian and Anastasia. I took the fan [fiction], and a friend of mine re-wrote it and I thought — if he could do it, so could I, and now I am here.”[2]

James even goes so far as to put this backstory up on her personal website. Regardless of individual opinions of the book, her success and openness about her past in writing has opened up a new wave of potential writers (and agents) who can see their fanfiction transforming into original works.

In addition to Fifty Shades and other books such as Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, the once heavily maligned group of fanfiction writers are shaping up to be the popular, original novelists of the next ten years rather than merely running fan magazines or writing something for a company-approved spin-off novel.

However, while the internet is just beginning to be seen as a source for new talent, it’s more importantly become a place to take seriously when it comes to marketing. Many fans who grew up in the age of internet fandoms have a keen sense of the international aspect of the web; it’s now nothing special to discuss the latest Star Wars movie with someone in Bangladesh from your home in Seattle with a dissenter from Norway. As a result of this global recognition, they are able to market their work for the internet community at large rather than simply the demographic of a set area.

With entertainment and media becoming more and more global rather than regional, this is an invaluable skill to have. It’s not enough to appeal to a target audience, but to instead be ready to market it, however indirectly, to the world. One of the most notable, recent examples of this comes from the show “Gravity Falls,” created by Alex Hirsch. While intended for an American audience of 8-12 year olds, “Gravity Falls” has reached worldwide audiences—its series finale, aired earlier this month, clocked in 2.9 million views in the US alone, and the series as a whole has become number one in total views on record for a children’s show[3]. While the show itself was enjoyable to fans, what gave it the extra punch into worldwide success comes from its use of “easter eggs” (special nods to previous episodes as well as other shows) and secret codes hidden in the show.

“I’ve always been a fan of shows that gave little hints to regular watchers, and I wanted to do the same thing with Gravity Falls,” Hirsch said. “But I never expected [the fans] to go so far with it! So I made things harder, and within an hour, they would find the answers to what I’d hidden.”

This mutual understanding of the fans wanting to find things and the creator wanting fans to work hard made it possible for fans to connect even more with Gravity Falls, as well as helped to create a tighter community. With these interactive elements, online communities began to form around the show, and soon enough people from all over the world were discussing and, more importantly, watching the show.

As if this wasn’t enough, Hirsch took his involvement with fan communities a step farther. He has done two Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions on the message board site, Reddit: one as himself and another surprise visit as the main antagonist of Gravity Falls, Bill Cipher. Both of these AMAs gave more dedicated viewers a deeper look into the world of Gravity Falls as well as behind the scenes information straight from the source. Additionally, Hirsh regularly held contests related to “Gravity Falls” on Twitter, offering prizes of personalized messages from the characters (of whom he voices four of the mains) and often displaying all entries on his page, ushering in a sense of community with the creator of the show himself.

As lines begin to blur between social media and entertainment media, online fans are becoming a more crucial demographic than ever to reach out to. And as their numbers increase, more and more communities can spot the difference between pandering and “hype”. As we can see, fame can pop up merely because of involvement with a fandom or because of deliberate marketing based on understanding the current “fandom” market. An example of this comes from game developing newcomer Toby Fox, whose game UNDERTALE became an overnight success. Before UNDERTALE, he was very active in a few different online fandoms. In an interview with The Existential Gamer, he discusses the importance of the Nintendo game Earthbound in his past, because he “was part of an Earthbound fan community and it was a cornerstone of my life.”[4]  In addition to being in the Earthbound community, Fox was well-known in the fandom for the webcomic “Homestuck,” going so far as to have his music included in the series. With the knowledge of fandom mentality and what people look for in independent media, he was able to successfully fund a Kickstarter and produce the game, which itself is full of online and fandom in-jokes, endearing it to those “in the know”. And, given the fact that it’s sold over 1.2 million copies[5] and won “Best PC game” from both IGN and Destructoid—two prominent gaming magazines/sites—as well as numerous other awards during the 2015 gaming award season, the amount of those “in the know” is much more than most would assume.

With the acceptance of fandoms and sheer amount of people participating in these types of fan communities, it’s more important than ever for businesses and entertainment networks to begin studying the trends of these demographics and seeing fans as potential employees as well. The latter particularly seems to be the direction entertainment-focused businesses should consider; not only are fans notoriously creative and attentive to detail, but they know precisely what online audiences will be looking for in way of content as well as advertising. And, as was shown by “Gravity Falls”, a show with a savvy team can create a feeling of community with the fans of their product, letting them know that yes, they’re also fans! They understand the frustration of waiting through hiatuses and know what kind of in-jokes to make for those who look for deeper meaning in their media.

I would say that now, we’re living in the time of the super-fan, and that should be something that is embraced in media circles, from a marketing and hiring standpoint. The more media legitimizes their super-fans, particularly the large number of those online, the more they can begin a symbiotic relationship to gain both views and profits.

 [1] http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/feb/27/fifty-shades-of-grey-book-100m-sales

[2] http://www.examiner.com/article/e-l-james-discusses-twilight-influence-fifty-shades-of-grey

[3] http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/gravity-falls-series-finale-disney-xd-ratings-records-1201711939/

[4] http://existentialgamer.com/interview-toby-fox-undertale

[5] http://steamspy.com/app/391540

[skillwiththequill]

answer all 150. do it. i fuckin dare ya

....

.......

This took me over an hour. I hope you’re happy.

1. Who was the last person you held hands with? Probably my niece, Eliza. She is turning 2 soon and is HECKIN ADORABLE.

2. Are you outgoing or shy? Depends on the situation. If I am comfortable then I am outgoing, if I am stressed or uncertain I am shy.

3. Who are you looking forward to seeing? Solomon, the boy I like

4. Are you easy to get along with? Maybe? I dunno. I can be pleasant, but sometimes I don’t give a crap whether people like me or not and I’m just unabashedly myself.

5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you? I think both the people I like would take care of me. One would do it better than the other, but they are both really nice people. I feel like the one who would take care of me better would probably insist on a serious conversation afterwards though, because we are LDS and drinking isn’t really a thing we are allowed to do. Yeah...

6. What kind of people are you attracted to? People who care about things a lot. People who are snarky. People who listen to me. People who like to make me smile.

7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now? And ruin my almost 22 year streak? Not a chance, bruh.

8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind? Definitely not a boy named Solomon. Actually I have been thinking about my brother a lot lately, he is going through some stuff right now. That isn’t a fun crush-type response though. Sorry.

9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable? Not nearly as much as it used to. It depends on the people I’m with obviously, but I feel less weird about it than I used to.

10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with? Marissa.

11. What does the most recent text that you sent say?” Kk. Let us know when you get home, okay?”

12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now? The World is Wide Enough, Emma Dear (by a friend, you won’t know it), Breathe... I dunno. I don’t listen to a lot of music.

13. Do you like it when people play with your hair? Lots. Right now it is all split endy though, which makes me feel super self conscious because split endy hair insta-tangled.

14. Do you believe in luck and miracles? Yes?

15. What good thing happened this summer? I got to spend a month with my niece and the polar bear at the zoo liked her a lot.

16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? ....never been kissed. Sorry to disappoint

17. Do you think there is life on other planets? Given the vastness of the universe, probably. Intelligent life? Given the vastness of the universe......probably?

18. Do you still talk to your first crush? Not really. I should Facebook message him actually, I heard he just started at my school

19. Do you like bubble baths? Yeah. Gotta have a book or an audiobook though. I can’t handle being alone with my thoughts that long.

20. Do you like your neighbors? I have a downstairs neighbor I like a lot and there is a girl in my building that I absolutely ADORE. In general though, I don’t know my neighbors.

21. What are you bad habits? When I feel insecure my knee-jerk reactions are usually pretty manipulatory. I don’t like that about myself.

22. Where would you like to travel? Top 3 are New Zealand, Germany, and London.

23. Do you have trust issues? yeah

24. Favorite part of your daily routine? My favorite parts of the day are when I’m cooking. I don’t really have a fave routine though.

25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with? The part that I’m uncomfortable with that affects my daily life is my upper arms. They don’t look good and I can’t wear a few shirts because they either show too much of them or the sleeve gets super stretched and gross looking. Overall least favorite part is probably my tummy though.

26. What do you do when you wake up? Go back to sleep or read stuff on my phone.

27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker? Not really. I like my skin tone. I am a little paler than I usually like right now because I don’t go outside anymore, but it isn’t something I would wish to instantly happen.

28. Who are you most comfortable around? Marissa. Maybe Bethany.

29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up? Never had a relationship, can’t exactly have an ex.

30. Do you ever want to get married? Yeah.

31. Is your hair long enough for a pony tail? Yup.

32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with? I don’t think I would feel comfortable with a threesome or no strings attatched sex, so I am gonna pass on this one.

33. Spell your name with your chin. azlkytszsxza wedastghgewrfsdtyoln

34. Do you play sports? What sports? Naw.

35. Would you rather live without TV or music? I reject the premise of this question. TV is a very specific mode of entertainment and music is super broad. Does “music” mean listening to an audio file or does it mean I can’t sing or play the piano or go to a concert? As it is, the two options are not in the same category and I refuse to play along with this insanity.

36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them? yyuuuuuuup.

37. What do you say during awkward silences? CAW

38. Describe your dream girl/guy? Cares a lot about people and things. Snarky. Likes to make me smile and entertains my bad jokes. Holds me. Sorry y’all, I can’t give a physical description really.

39. What are your favorite stores to shop in? bookstores. grocery stores.

40. What do you want to do after high school? um. Go to college. Already there, bruh. If we translate this to college, I’d say work in DC and then become Toby Ziegler.

41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance? I think they should be offered a second chance, but that second chance may not look the way they expect. They deserve an opportunity, but they have to earn trust.

42. If your being extremely quiet what does it mean? I’m in my head and I probably shouldn’t be there. It means you should give me a way to get out of whatever situation I am in and take me to a private place and ask if I am okay.

43. Do you smile at strangers? Sometimes. Usually it is the White People smile/grimace/nod thing.

44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean? Where in outer space? If I get to go to another planet, I pick that. If I am just gonna chill in emptiness that is cool and all, but I would probably prefer DEEP bottom of the ocean. More to see.

45. What makes you get out of bed in the morning? work. Class. books. friends.

46. What are you paranoid about? nobody likes me and they all just tolerate me because they pity me and I don’t have any actual friends.

47. Have you ever been high? I’ve been in a plane, does that count? One time at the dentist I got pretty loopy from nitrous.

48. Have you ever been drunk? no

49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about? yes

50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore? maroon

51. Ever wished you were someone else? frequently

52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself? do I have to pick one thing? If I can’t get a whole new me, I wish I could cut down a lot on the self doubt.

53. Favourite makeup brand? I don’t wear makeup really.

54. Favourite store? half-price books. Or Winco.

55. Favourite blog? I’m going to change this question to favorite twitter and answer LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA’S

56. Favourite colour? Yellow

57. Favourite food? depends on what I am craving. Rught now probably asparagus.

58. Last thing you ate? lefotver lasagna and a side salad

59. First thing you ate this morning? ...a bit of leftover lasagna while I was toasting oats for a quick granola to put on my yogurt.

60. Ever won a competition? For what? yeah a lot. Singing, speaking, debate, and Academic Decathlon in general. Plus random crap like indexing competitions and a lord of the rings trivia competition.

61. Been suspended/expelled? For what? heh. heh. I started a doctor who club in my high school without permission and put up a couple posters at which point I got in-school suspension for graffiti.

62. Been arrested? For what? no, Got pulled over one time because the inspection on my dad’s car was overdue and I was driving it to work.

63. Ever been in love? ...not reciprocated romantic love. 

64. Tell us the story of your first kiss? I’ll let you know

65. Are you hungry right now? naw, had some leftover lasagna.

66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends? some of them more than some of them. I have about 5 favorite people in the world and 2 of them are tumblr friends.

67. Facebook or Twitter? ugh. I don’t actually use twitter, I go to a few specific feeds and read those. So probably facebook, even though I hate facebook.

68. Twitter or Tumblr? Tujmblr

69. Are you watching tv right now? no, I am answering questions. When I finish I will probably continue watching Speechless.

70. Names of your bestfriends? okay so does this have to be reciprocated best friend-ships? Because a lot of people are more important to me than I am to them and I don’t know if they count.

71. Craving something? What? I want some water right now.

72. What colour are your towels? light green. Close to that teal-y shade that everyone and their mom loves right now.

72. How many pillows do you sleep with?1. Sometimes 2.

73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? Yeah, a teddy bear named Jamison.

74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have? 2. Back home I have a stuffed kitten named Silver. My older brothers used to torture her to make me cry.

75. Favourite animal? if dead pets count, my cat Pantouf. If not, a lynx

76. What colour is your underwear? beige

77. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate

78. Favourite ice cream flavour? depends on the selection. I like me some burnt almond fudge though.

79. What colour shirt are you wearing? Black, with a dark grey sweater over it.

80. What colour pants? medium dark jeans

81. Favourite tv show? the show I am watching right now is Orange is the New Black. My favorite TV show is The West Wing still.

82. Favourite movie? I dunno. I like the prestige. Right now I want to watch Finding Dory.

83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2? haven’t seen the second

84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street? haven’t seen 21 Jump Street

85. Favourite character from Mean Girls? idk, it has been a while. The gay guy.

86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo? The Starfish

87. First person you talked to today? I woke up for 20 seconds to say bye to my roommate, but I went back to sleep. So probably my coworker who called to ask how to fix a printer.

88. Last person you talked to today? Angie, my downstairs neighbor.

89. Name a person you hate? Trump

90. Name a person you love? Marissa

91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now? yes

92. In a fight with someone? never been in a physical fight that was not for training in Tae Kwon Do

93. How many sweatpants do you have? 1 pair of sweatpants and 1 pair of yoga pants.

94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have? 3 hoodies, 3 sweaters. Only 1 sweater that I wear over other things though.

95. Last movie you watched? I Am Not a Serial Killer. Y’all should watch it, it is on Netflix.

96. Favourite actress? Kate McKinnon

97. Favourite actor? I guess probably still David Tennant, though I haven’t watched anything with him in it for months.

98. Do you tan a lot? I mean, I tan easily. I don’t ever go somewhere with the purpose of tanning though. It just happens when I am at the beach or I am walking or whatever.

99. Have any pets? none at school, 2 cats and a dog at home.

100. How are you feeling? thirsty

101. Do you type fast? eh. Not really. Faster than I used to, but most people under the age of 40 can probably blow me out of the water.

102. Do you regret anything from your past? yeah

103. Can you spell well? yeah

104. Do you miss anyone from your past? a lot

105. Ever been to a bonfire party? I grew up by the beach. All the time.

106. Ever broken someone’s heart? I doubt it.

107. Have you ever been on a horse? yes. One time it didn’t end well, the second time it was fine.

108. What should you be doing? I should probably go to the bathroom. Idk, it is Friday before a 3 day weekend. I don’t have a lot pressing on me rn.

109. Is something irritating you right now? fearmongering about GMOs

110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt? yup

111. Do you have trust issues? wasn’t this already a question? IT TOTALLY WAS. #3.

112. Who was the last person you cried in front of? Probably my roommate Makenna. Last semester was rough.

113. What was your childhood nickname? My mother came up with a lot of inane nicknames for me. I’ll share “Wyssie”

114. Have you ever been out of your province/state? yup, lots. I am outside it now.

115. Do you play the Wii? When I am home.

116. Are you listening to music right now? I can half hear the music my roommate is playing in her room.

117. Do you like chicken noodle soup? It aight.

118. Do you like Chinese food? Depends on where it is from and whether there is congealed pig blood in it.

119. Favourite book? The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

120. Are you afraid of the dark? Not really.

121. Are you mean?  I don’t try to be. I probably come off that way dometimes though. Or rather, I come off as insensitive/self-centered sometimes. I wish I could stop that.

122. Is cheating ever okay? no.

123. Can you keep white shoes clean? I’ve never legitimately tried and I don’t see myself trying.

124. Do you believe in love at first sight? no

125. Do you believe in true love? yeah

126. Are you currently bored? no

127. What makes you happy? people. Being not me.

128. Would you change your name? my name is fine.

129. What your zodiac sign? Aquarius

130. Do you like subway? I worked there for 2 years and I still like it. Except for the cold cut combo. Don’t get the cold cut combo, it is disgusting.

131. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? Think about it a lot and potentially go out on a date with them. Idk. I don’t currently have a male best friend.

132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? okay this one is a repeat too. What is with this noise.

133. Favourite lyrics right now? teach me how to say goodbye

134. Can you count to one million? why? I mean I theorhetically can, I doubt I would have the patience though.

135. Dumbest lie you ever told? I bet I told some idiotic ones when I was little. Don’t remember them.

136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed? yes. Usually closed, but I don’t care if they are open.

137. How tall are you? 5′7″

138. Curly or Straight hair? wavy

139. Brunette or Blonde? Brunette

140. Summer or Winter? Late Fall

141. Night or Day? night

142. Favourite month? December

143. Are you a vegetarian? no

144. Dark, milk or white chocolate? dark

145. Tea or Coffee? tea made from things that are not tea leaves.

146. Was today a good day? it was aight.

147. Mars or Snickers? never had a mars bar

148. What’s your favourite quote? The stigma will last as long as our silence.

149. Do you believe in ghosts? I think I believe in spirits, but I don’t believe they come visit us

150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page? There’s nothing rich folks love more/than going downtown and slummin’ it with the poor (hamilton: the revolution)