#we're here you know? we're here. we exist. we'd like to read about people like us too. not every character needs to be abled

[silverandebony]

This makes me think of the multiple reviews I saw about a book that has a genderfluid protagonist. They were all some flavour of "but what *plot purpose* does it serve that the character is genderfluid???" as if... there had to be a specific reason... for the character to be genderfluid...

Personally speaking, my genderqueerness isn't there to serve a plot purpose; I just kind of exist, you know? I live here and I just happen to be genderqueer, and it was nice seeing a character who also happened to be genderqueer while they were doing everything they did. Their story was affected by their queerness, but they were queer for their own sake, not because it was demanded by the plot.

Some people happen to be queer; some people happen to be blind; sometimes the two categories overlap. It affects us and how we live our lives, but we're not that way to serve a plot point; we're that way because... fuck man we just are. shit happens. And it's nice getting to see similar experiences reflected in fiction, with characters who don't have to justify themselves before the plot for being different.

Is it bad practice to have a disabled character (or two) in our stories just for the sake of being inclusive? I wrote a blind character to fill in the role of mentor, but then I realise there'd be no difference plot-wise whether he is blind or not.

Honestly, this sounds fine to me. You don’t need to have a special reason that a character is blind. In fact, that idea might come from systemic ableism, such as the idea that disability is uncommon or that disabled people— and characters— must justify their existence.

Blindness doesn’t necessarily need to influence plot so much as character development.

Characters, like blind people in real life, are allowed to exist. You would be surprised how controversial a statement this can be in writing communities. The idea is less about having a reason for them to be blind and more that you portray how their blindness influences their life. Do they use a cane or a soft service animal? Which fits their lifestyle better and why? Do they know other blind people? What is their relationship like with their blindness? How has blindness influenced their relationships with family or friends? What about their work or hobbies? What habits have they developed due to blindness? What have they gained from their experience as a blind person?

Blind people are lucky if we get exactly one blind character in a story. Having more than one is a good thing.

[hg-aneh]

Hi,ik I've been asking questions frequently but I'mma do it again bc I'm that petty;

In the AziraCrow relationship/marriage/or whatever. Who do u think is the housewife/husband? 😀

if we're talking about traditional gender roles applied to marriage ((which i believe would NOT apply to them in canon as they're both nonbinary supernatural beings)), i have to preface this by saying that i rlly don't agree with them as a concept

[if ppl choose to engage in them and not judge others for not doing so then good for them (idgaf akfbsjf)]

i hate that they're still being imposed onto people and that they haven't been left in the past for some contexts

i also want to clarify that the following """analysis""" I'm going to make is all for the sake of poking fun at gender roles and satirizing their entire existence.

Having said that, these are my headcanons:

Aziraphale-housewife, Crowley-husband

Why? Simply because husbands are fucking useless and I like to bully Crowley cuz he stinks and he sucks c0ck and b4-

I'm just goofing around 😭

In my little bubble world, they'd be neither (or both if you wanna see it from that POV)

Let's start with this:

If we take the definition of a traditional husband, which is basically "i work and do nothing else cuz I'm a man and men have their mommies i mean wives do everything for them" and take the Work part away, which is what we'd do if we were to place the ineffables in the south downs aka their retirement shack, then you get a useless fuck

And in reality, they both do jackshit (that's the whole premise of s1) so????? does that mean they're both husbands???

For further insight let's try to affirm Aziraphale is the housewife.

Aziraphale bakes, so he's probably a decent cook too; that's "housewife" material. He also happens to be very pretty and plump and a blonde, which I've been told are pretty ladylike things to be (/sarcasm)

(There are no pretty male blondes in ba sing se good omens)

He dresses in light, dainty clothing and talks with an accent only girls and women talk with, as well as getting his nails done and using make up for his magic act, and he says "please" and "thank you", which are things only women do (I'M BEING SARCASTIC. I'M BEING VERY SARCASTIC. god i hate gender rolesAAAA)

Now this is where the comparisons end cuz let's face it, Aziraphale is a lazy fuck.

You KNOW the bookshop smells like mold and he just miracles it clean every now and then.

He'd rather sit his plump (pretty) blond ass on the couch and read the day away than actually get to doing the baking and cooking or caring for the kids (plants) if it's not a hobby activity

Now let's do the opposite and try to affirm Crowley as the housewife.

He's clean (does the cleaning), he's of service when needed, he organizes when he's stressed (read the book), he- he drives a car...

OH SHIT. MAN ACTIVITY!!!!!🤯🤯🤯 (we're still being sarcastic here, it's not over EFJSJF)

In all seriousness though, trying to fit these two into gender roles, even as a joke is kinda difficult even in headcanon-land ajbfsnf

At least that's my opinion

For every traditionally "feminine" thing you have one of them do, the other outdoes that by a mile. And vice versa with the traditionally "masculine" things, like "being useless" and "car" /sarcasm is back.

So which one would be which? I think they're both dumbasses who fight over who gets to do what in the household (neither of them wants to do anything except for cuddling) and come up with an agreement to divide each chore :)

y'know, like normal people in a functional marriage (my parents lol)

[codywanfirstkissbingo]

Codywan First Kiss Bingo 2025

Can't get enough of Cody and Obi-Wan's first kiss in any universe and situation? Well then we'd love to have you play our bingo!

How to Play

Once you've filled out the form to register, we'll email you your shiny bingo card. Every card is a shuffled assortment of prompts that will look something like this:

Below are all the rules you should know about before you join.

General Rules

We're sure you are familiar with the rules of bingo, but just to be certain everyone is on the same page, to get a bingo you must fill three prompts in a row. That row can be vertical, horizontal, or diagonal. Fill all the prompts on your card and that's a blackout!

Get as creative with your kisses as you want, but they MUST BE A FIRST KISS between Obi-Wan and Cody in some capacity. 

Prompt fills should be new works, meaning that they should not be part of an ongoing work-in-progress that has not yet been posted as a complete work. Sequels and prequels to already-finished works are welcome! 

Posting Dates

Participants have the February 1 to February 14, 2025 to post bingo fills! Sign up around the time of this announcement and you will have a long creation window before posting time rolls around.

You are strongly encouraged to post to our collection on ao3 and we love to see your posts on tumblr, too– if you’re posting on tumblr, please tag us on main (not in the codywan community, but on your main blog) using @codywanfirstkissbingo AND tagging your post with #CWFKB2025.  We don’t want to miss anyone if tumblr drops the ball in our notifications.  Using #CWFKB2025 gives us another way to find your fill .  

If you’re posting on AO3, we will reblog your fill if you make a Tumblr post with the link,  @ us and tag your post with #CWFKB2025. We’ll be checking the AO3 collection when tracking fills and making round-up posts with bingos and blackouts, so your fills will be included there– but we will not cross-post every individual fill on AO3 as its own post if the creator has not made a tumblr post we can reblog to share.

If you posted only on AO3 and don't see comments or follow up from any of the mods in your AO3 prompt within 24 hours, please drop us an ask here or send us an email.

When posting on tumblr and/or on AO3, please be sure to include a screenshot of your bingo card with the prompt fill indicated so we know which square you’ve filled! We will not count a post as a valid fill if there is no picture of your bingo card, but if your tumblr post has your bingo card and links over to AO3 for the actual fill, then you don't have to post it twice.

Specific Rules

Fic: 100 words minimum per prompt fill. To be clear, the kiss itself does not have to last 100 words, though we'd be delighted to see that.

Art: One drawing per fill (digital or traditional). Different drawings can be on the same canvas/page if you so wish. Go wild with your compositions.

Podfic: Same requirements as fic. You can collaborate with someone writing a fic specifically for the event or find an existing fic that fills your prompt.

Fanmix: One song per fill- we'd love to see what songs give you codywan first kiss vibes. Try to match lyrics to your prompt but instrumental songs are cool too.

Other: Send an ask with your inquiry! We're more than happy to discuss expanding the fanwork pool to maximize creativity.

Ratings

You can post any work with any rating, but please abide by the appropriate rating/archive warning/tags on AO3 when posting there. When posting on tumblr, please warn for potentially triggering content in the tags and the header to the post, so readers can filter as needed. 

Anything spicy or explicit should go under a read-more tag.

Please also use a read-more tag if you’re posting a fic that is longer than a drabble (100 words) so we’re not clogging people’s dashboards.

To help make this event safe for Codywan fans with any kind of photosensitivity, we do specifically request that you tag any and all flashing imagery with #flashing. If you're unsure what constitutes flashing, please see this article, or err on the side of caution for any image with: moving stripes or checkered patterns; strobe light, lightning, or explosion effects in any image or video; images of flickering light/sunlight on leaves/water; very fast cuts between images in a gif or video; rapidly moving images in an animation or gif set that stop and start or “stutter;” sparkle text or similar moving text effects; and images in an animation, gifset, or video that are in high color contrast to each other (for example, a gif set that cuts pink Barbie gifs with black & white Oppenheimer gifs to create a fast-moving contrast between the two styles.) 

To make this event accessible for Codywan fans who are low-vision, have visual processing disorders, or who otherwise find their fandom experience strongly enhanced when art, photographs, and photomanips have Alt-Text captions, we strongly recommend that you consider adding Alt-Text to your posted image on tumblr, so that Codywan fans with screen-readers can enjoy your post along with everyone else.  This post at Perkins School for the Blind gives you some tips and tricks– the description doesn’t have to go into every detail a seeing person would see, but an example might be: “A full-color digital drawing of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Commander Cody kissing under mistletoe.  Both Obi-Wan and Cody are smiling, and little cartoon hearts are floating around them.”

The CWFKB mods' decision is final on whether your post/entry requires a flashing warning; they will contact you to ask you to update your tags if you haven’t already noted in your tumblr or AO3 post that your fill contains #flashing content. If you are not willing to use the flashing tag, even after being contacted by the mods, the mods have the right to decide that under-tagged flashing fills will be disqualified from the event.

Finally– with exceptions for the #NSFW or #spicy and #flashing tags on tumblr– you have the right to choose not to warn readers in accordance with AO3’s “choose not to warn” option, but posters whose tags or ratings are deceptive or misleading versus the actual content may have their fills disqualified.

When in doubt, please contact the mods! We will also contact you about any fill where the tags or ratings raise a concern or where something just isn't clear. Please keep an eye on your email after a fill, because that will be one of the ways we will contact you.

Combining Prompts

This is a low stakes event and we just want people to have fun! If you want to combine prompts that's totally fine, but we ask that you give each fill its own scene within the larger work. This means there should be a separate kiss for each prompt, even if the 'scene' is a series of types of kisses all in a row.

Swapping Prompts

Nearly have a bingo but there's that one pesky prompt in your way you don't vibe with? Go ahead and swap it with another prompt on your card!  All the prompts are randomly selected and not handpicked for participants; we understand there's a chance some of the prompts may not inspire you, so we allow ONE and only ONE SWAP PER CARD. Use the swap, codywaners!  Use the swap!

Free Square

The free square can be whatever type of kiss you want. It can be a repeat of a kiss already on your card, or something else altogether-- just make it clear in your post that you are using the free space.

Behind the Scenes

This bingo is modded by tumblr users @dontbelasagnax @lttrsfrmlnrrgby and @notthestarwar, who brought you #CWFKB2023.  This year we are also joined by the amazing helpers @bplotd @biscuityskies @nhyhu and @bluemaskedkarma.  

Our adorable profile picture was drawn by @anaclastic-azurite!

You can actually find the public inception of this bingo event right here!

If you have any further questions after reading our rules, our askbox is open!

[femslashfortnight]

Hatchetfield Femslash Fortnight 2025 FAQs:

Below we'll be answering some frequently asked questions for upcoming Hatchetfield Femflash Fortnight event in 2025. You can find our prompt list pinned on our blog! If you have any other questions not answered below, feel free to send in a message or an ask

Q:  What are alternates?

A: Prompts you can slot in to any day instead of that day's official prompt in case you don’t like it or don’t know what to do! You can use all of them, some, or none! Hell you can even use both official prompts and alternates, go crazy!

Q: Do I have to do all fourteen days?

A: Only do as much as you want to! The rules are pretty open here, you can make as much or as little for any prompt. You can even post multiple works for one prompt, or use all the main prompts and all the alts! The sky is your limit.

Q: What can I make?

A: Whatever you want! Fan art, fan fic, edits, gifs, or anything else fandom related you can think of. As long as it's inspired by the prompt, is a femslash Hatchetfield fanwork, and sticks to our established rules, anything goes.

Q: How do I post?

A: Anything posted to tumblr will be reblogged here on the femslashfortnight blog, but you can post it anywhere. If you want us to see it for sure then be sure to tag this blog! Otherwise we’ll be browsing the #HFFF25 and #Hatchetfield Femslash Fortnight 25 tag all the time and be enjoying all your stuff!

However, we do ask you to only submit posts from a single blog—as we know some people have art/fic only blogs, as well as personal blogs. This doesn’t mean you can’t crosspost, but only tag one of your posts as a submission by @-ing our blog so we can reblog it for the event!

Q: Can I submit OCs/OC (Original Character) centric fanworks to the event?

A: We won’t be accepting submissions for OCs or OC-only ships, as this event is about pre-existing Hatchetfield content and fanon works based on that. However, if you have a canon Hatchetfield character/OC ship, that can totally be submitted! If you’re unsure about your submission, you can always send a message or an ask and we’ll give you some guidance as to whether your work qualifies!

Q: Can my submitted works include trans headcanon characters or nonbinary/genderqueer characters?

A: Absolutely! In fact, we very much encourage it!! As long as your works/ships focus on non-men, they’re fine to be submitted. This would include, for example, transfem!Paul Matthews or Ziggs. Again, if you’re unsure, send in an ask or a message!

Q: Do you allow crossover works?

A: Currently, no we don't! We want to focus this event on Hatchetfield, and we'd be unequipped to moderate large crossovers with over works we're not familiar with as a mod team or navigating f/f ships in other fandoms.

Q: I’m not sure if my work fits one of the prompts, what can I do?

A: The prompts are supposed to be inspiration rather than limiting, so as long as your fic is inspired by a prompt you should be totally fine! Though, if you’re still worried about it feel free to contact the blog directly via asks, or send a message and we’ll do our best to clear it up for you.

Q: Should I include Trigger Warnings / Content Warnings?

A: Yes! Regarding explicit content or potentially triggering content, we ask you to add any triggers for visual submissions, such as fan art, edits and gifs. 

Usual AO3 tagging rules also apply. When posting a link from AO3 (or another location) to Tumblr, add content/trigger warnings at the top of your post—and also place your mature (e.g. smut, mature themes) submissions beneath a read more along with the #HFFFAfterdark25 and/or #HatchetfieldFemslashFortnight Afterdark 25 tags.

Q: Can I post to other places (Ao3, Wattpad, TikTok, etc)?

A: Of course! Just make sure if you want us to see your submissions and reblog it, that you post it to tumblr (even as a link) also!

Q: Do you have an AO3 collection?

A: We do! This year’s event will have a subcollection under Hatchetfield Femslash Fortnight, and once it’s ready for submissions we’ll share the link on the blog!

Q: I was late, can I still post?

A: Go for it! We will be accepting submissions to the blog and AO3 Collection for a week after, as well as actively reblogging them. So anything shared with us until the 3rd of May is good to go.

Q: Can I post an already existing piece if it fits a prompt?

A: As long as it’s not been already posted before then sure, just make sure it complies with our guidelines and is correctly tagged and TW/CW are applied if necessary. 

We’re very excited as the event grows closer, and hope everyone else is too. If you have any more questions feel free to ask away!

[whos-hotter-jjba]

Hey, I don’t know if you read the tags (I understand there’s a lot and you’re busy) so I’m sending through here.

I honestly feel like Over Heaven Novel Dio should’ve been considered in the prelims. If GUCCI Jolyne was considered for prelims, I think other non-canon should be as well. I genuinely believe it stood a chance in being considered since it is a well liked outfit even though it’s not commonly seen in fan art.

But, this is my main issue. The Shadow Dio pic chosen for the polls has like so little of his outfit visible, like really just his ass and a little lower lol. After all the bad outfits are out of the matches, he’s probably going to drop from the polls because Shadow Dio, in the pic you chose, really isn’t a full outfit, so why would it compete with full outfits? In fact I think he’s the only character that doesn’t have a top piece in the images you chose for the polls. I’m not complaining here, because I’m pretty sure I’m speaking for a lot of people here when I say he’s hot topless. However this isn’t a who’s the hotter character, it’s based off of the outfit.

In summary, if possible, I think Over Heaven Novel Dio’s outfit should be considered as I think it stands a better chance in the polls. If not, a better image of the Shadow Dio outfit would help (I know it’s probably hard to find an exact pic though because they are so many dang variants of shadow Dio in the manga lmao).

If you read this, I appreciate your time.

Including pic for reference.

Hey, sorry I've been ignoring this ask forever, there's been a lot going on, but I got other people complaining too so I wanted to address this.

This is exactly why I did the preliminary polls, and Dio had two of them. People voted for Shadow Dio, so that was the image I chose. I've redone other polls, but because they used images that weren't canon (Jobin and Daiya) or because I forgot outfit options (Koichi), but this isn't the case.

About Over Heaven Dio, I had no idea this novel existed, sorry. I thought you were talking in the tags about Heaven-Attained Dio from EoH, which would be non-canon and not drawn by Araki, but you're right. I considered Jolyne, Fly High with Gucci because it was drawn by Araki, and now I looked it up and Over Heaven was drawn by Araki too. But I fucked up and we're halfway through round 3 already, so I'd have to redo his prelim poll and, if the result changes, I'd have to redo 3 more polls to make it fair to every character involved.

I honestly don't think (personally) that the results will change. People picked Shadow Dio even though there were other outfits in which he was actually wearing more clothes, so I think Shadow Dio won through a combination of being iconic and horny. We can try, though, even though it's going to be a lot of work.

Remember that if Over Heaven Dio (or another outift in his prelim) wins over Shadow Dio, we'd have to redo his polls against Squalo, Reimi and Mountain Tim!

[windywallflower]

QUICK REMINDER

We're a small queer duo making comics and we have...???

THINGS YOU CAN READ FOR FREE????

AUGUSTINE

We've been telling folks this is kind of a Mad Max meets Greek Mythology, my brother said its more like a Disney's Hercules meets Borderlands-- all of these are absolutely wrong but we'd be lying if we weren't inspired by them all even just a little bit. Its queer, this group of misfits is a found family out in some junky little desert where the cash is literal liquid (water) and the people are rough around the edges. August and her team just want to be heroes but maybe pissing off rich people comes at a bit of a nasty price.

We're working on Chapter 2 right now and will be back to regular updates in August this year!! You have a whole honkin 75-page first chapter to read already!! HURRY!!

--

PAINT THE TOWN RED

You want vampires? You want werewolves? You want them to kiss? You want them to flirt? You want that gross gooey shit that makes you all warm and fuzzy inside? Look no further, we're throwing a layer of sapphic over all of these babes and ripping the drama rug out from under them-- okay I'm losing my train of thought here.

Winny's never known much about the supernatural side of Merlot aside from the fact that werewolves exist, so what does she do when she suddenly becomes one? Well she sets up a shelter with her best bud Odile (also turned werewolf) and takes in visitors during full moons. Except one night a vampire stops at their doorstep... what are they even supposed to do with that?

We've got 3 volumes up on our shop and are now uploading them on a schedule to make the story free to read online!! We're nice like that.

--

THE SANITY CIRCUS

Hey so, you totally know what its like when you're living your life absolutely normally, totally unbothered, just having an average time living and then suddenly your best friend is actually a monster and your whole life goes to shit and you meet a shifter who turns into a seagull and I guess he's you're new best friend now and--

No? Well you can definitely learn what that feels like reading through 700-800 pages of Sanity Circus up riGHT NOW--

I know... its on hiatus... its not been updating REGULARLY--if I catch you making my partner feel guilty about it I'm breaking through your screen and kicking your ass. It's not dead, the whole ending is planned. Its gonna be killer I promise.

Now go read for a bit!!

BUT WAIT BEFORE YOU GO--

THINGS WERE GONNA BLAB ABT ON PATREON--

(and reasons why you should pledge-- you're getting like a 3-for-1 deal here we have so much to unpack, this is barely the tip of the iceberg!!)

Hey you mighta seen some of this... looks familiar...?? You should pledge and find out a little bit more, help us out making them all so we don't have to worry & stress about bills! Gosh wouldn't that be something~!

(We also have a shop, though if subscriptions aren't your jam.

AND WE ALSO HAVE A NEWSLETTER we update once a month for folks who might not be able to spend money right now, you can be in the loop of everything we're working on and what's coming up~!)

[nikitricky]

These are 50 triangles "learning" themselves to mimic this image of a hot dog.

If you clicked "Read more", then I assume you'd be interested to hear more about this. I'll try my best, sorry if it ends up a bit rambly. Here is how I did that.

Points in multiple dimensions and function optimization

This section roughly describes some stuff you need to know before all the other stuff.

Multiple dimensions - Wikipedia roughly defines dimensionality as "The minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it", meaning that for a 2-dimensional space, you need 2 numbers to specify the coordinates (x and y), but in a 3-dimensional space you need 3 numbers (x, y, and z). There are an infinite amount of dimensions (yes, even one million dimensional space exists)

Function optimization - Optimization functions try and optimize the inputs of a function to get a given output (usually the minimum, maximum, or some specific value).

How to train your triangles

Representing triangles as points - First, we need to convert our triangles to points. Here are the values that I use. (every value is normalized between 0 and 1) • 4 values for color (r, g, b, a) • 6 values for the position of each point on the triangle (x, y pair multiplied by 3 vertices) Each triangle needs 10 values, so for 10 triangles we'd need 100 values, so any image containing 10 triangles can be represented as a point in 100-dimensional space

Preparing for the optimization function - Now that we can create images using points in space, we need to tell the optimization function what to optimize. In this case - minimize the difference between 2 images (the source and the triangles). I'll be using RMSE

Training - We finally have all the things to start training. Optimization functions are a very interesting and hard field of CS (its most prominent use is in neural networks), so instead of writing my own, I'll use something from people who actually know what they're doing. I'm writing all of this code in Python, using ZOOpt. The function that ZOOpt is trying to optimize goes like so: • Generate an image from triangles using the input • Compare that image to the image we're trying to get • Return the difference

That's it! We restrict how long it takes by setting a limit on how many times can the optimizer call the function and run.

Thanks for reading. Sorry if it's a bit bad, writing isn't my forte. This was inspired by this.

You can find my (bad) code here:

https://gist.github.com/NikiTricky2/6f6e8c7c28bd5393c1c605879e2de5ff

Here is one more image for you getting so far

[pbpsbff]

happy 1 year of r&r :)

i know it's a lil cringe to like. celebrate the birthday of a series on ao3 but r&r is literally my child. my baby. i birthed this series. and you all signed up for this when u started reading my fics thank u

soooooooo thank u guys for all the support i've received over r&r i know it's hard to stay a consistent reader when my posting schedule is entirely non existent but i am so grateful for everyone who's stuck around this long and been with me for this journey (calling it a journey because a year ago i did not have any sort of overarching plot in mind and now we're 17? 18? fics deep and so many things have happened and i'm usually just as surprised as my readers) it's rlly u guys that have kept me going this long

ANYWAY. i rewrote this like 500 times cause i hate being like. overly sappy on this account because it's way funnier to act like a celebrity with a huge ego, but real talk i am so proud of everything i've done w this series & what it's become in the past year

i've been posting my writing online since i was like 10, so we're going on almost 9 years now and i don't think i've ever ever ever received as much support for something as i have for r&r and something about that is soooo special to me??? idk it's just so nice to see a completely self indulgent series become so loved by others, especially since the only other fics i had up before gmm&m were a little more on the "i'm gonna write what seems popular right now" side???

like shoutout to everyone who was here before/around when i started the series because my account was so empty like. 2 fics and one gets updated every 6 months. r&r pulled me out of the trench i fear. it also cured me of my very horrible disease that makes me delete all my fics after 9 months and then completely disappear from a fandom so everyone say thank you r&r

but yeah idk where i'm going with this i'm very grateful for r&r and all the friends i've made and people i've met through it because i was very lonely before i rejoined tumblr and r&r was like. 90% of the reason i made my account

AND SPEAKING OF FRIENDS. thank u to

@spidergrotto & @sapoteylx for being the first ppl i met on here to openly talk about and support r&r which i thought was so so cool even if you guys have become my haters in the past few months i've known you :/ thank u r&r nation u keep me humble and miserable (and i am very thankful for our friendship i think some aspects of r&r would be very different if we'd never met)

& ao3 user classactical because you've been here since like. a month or two into the series i think and i always always always look forward to your comments because i feel like if you comment, i did a good job on the fic LOL thank u for sticking around for so long, even if ao3 has been actively working against you for a whiiiiile

there's a lot more i want to say and a lot of people i want to mention but that would take a very long time and i always feel weird tagging a lot of people in posts so just know if u read r&r we are kissing rn. or high fiving idk whatever floats ur boat i guess

but yeah anyway tl:dr happy birthday r&r i'm very proud of this series & very thankful for everyone who has read any part of it ever u guys are so cool and hot and have amazing taste and i'm taking your kudos and bookmarks etc. as you swearing your allegiance to me and promising me your undying support no matter what (legally binding btw) thank u guys

[spopbigbang]

Questions and Clarifications

We're thrilled with how many people have expressed interest in this already and are gearing up for an amazing event!

Here's a quick round up of some of the questions we've gotten so far....

(that's how you should picture me answering all these questions)

Does it have to be a new fic or can you participate with an existing fic / new chapter of an old fic?

Must be a new fic written specifically for the bang.

Can it be an AU?

AUs are completely welcome. So long as the focus is on the SPOP characters, you can put them in whatever situations you wish!

Can it be a crossover?

While characters from other properties can cameo, the main focus of the story should be on the SPOP characters.

Can you post something from an existing AU of yours?

A new standalone fic in an existing AU of yours is fine! In other words, if someone could hop into your Bang fic without having read anything else of your AU and still follow it, that would work.

Can I write my own fic, but also sign up to illustrate someone else's?

Sure! Just let us know on your sign up form so we know what is going on.

What kind of draft is due on March 31st?

The objective of that check in is to show to the mods that your fic is close enough to finished that you are on track to post it on time. There may still be typos, it might still need a lot of editing, but it should be at least 75% complete.

This step is to ensure we're assigning artists to the fics that are nearly ready for the event and not giving someone a writing partner that has barely started.

What happens if I don't get my draft in on time?

While only writers who get their first draft in by the March 31st deadline are eligible for an artist partner, writers who complete their draft after that are still welcome to post their fic as part of the event and will still be listed alongside the other content. They just will not have the chance to be paired with an artist.

Are there any limitations on what fics can be about? i.e. does it have to center around certain ships or characters or prompts?

As long as the focus is on the SPOP characters, anything goes! The only thing to keep in mind is that artists get to choose with fics they illustrate. So the more appealing or interesting to draw your idea is, the more likely you are to attract an amazing artist.

Any restrictions on mature content?

Generally, it's open to whatever, but, for the comfort of everyone involved, we'd appreciate if it was nothing too... let's say controversial. If you're not sure, feel free to ask. Keep in mind, the previous answer about artists getting to choose applies here too.

Will you be sharing the Big Bang content on this Tumblr blog?

Yes! We plan to share links to all the fics as they are posted.

Can I participate without joining the Discord?

Unfortunately, no. This event is hosted by the SPOP Creative Flex and as such is run under the guidelines of that community. While Tippen is the head mod of this event, she is not on the mod team for the server itself so if you have questions or issues about the SPOP Creative Flex server specifically (including appealing a prior ban or other issue), you can contact the server mods through the email listed here.

What should I write? I can't pick!

That, I can't help you with. But I would say pick the idea that is begging to be written, particularly if it's large scale and exciting. It is called a BIG Bang after all! Think epically!

Any other questions? Our askbox is open!

[royallpetrichor]

Okay so I haven't posted in like 12 years and I know I'm like a week late, but what's everyone's thoughts on the live-action ATLA teaser? I'm genuinely very interested to know, because I certainly have thoughts, and I've definitely seen some polarised opinions. What do you like about it, and are you worried about anything?

Anyway, my long personal thoughts are below the keep reading line. I probably haven't said anything super new, or any hot takes but they're there.

First, what I loved about the teaser. It looked visually stunning! The shot composition all looked amazing (to someone who knows nothing about film), the visual tone was definitely there, and the set design was gorgeous! The entire time I was just going "oh my god, oh my god, oh my god" but in a good way. The characters especially look great. In particular, I loved Suki, Aang, and Zuko. I know some people were disappointed with how the characters looked, but I really think it's the best we could have gotten considering the wide disconnect between animation and live-action, and I think it's something people need to remember.

The acting obviously hasn't been shown very much, so it's still up in the air in that regard. I've been trying to convince myself I'm cautiously optimistic, but quite honestly I've gone straight to pure excitement, despite my worries.

We're also getting more flashbacks, as shown by the fact there's a scene of the Air Nomad genocide. More worldbuilding and backstory is definitely something I'm very happy about, so I'm excited to see where it goes. The thing that stumps me on it is whether they're going to do it well. In the film that shall not be named, Shyamalan put references to the original show everywhere, but he never took the time to understand why they worked. It was like he wanted us to say "Wow! They said the thing!!!!!" as if we'd clap at the screen without actually thinking about anything. I'm really, really hoping that's not the case here.

The tone is definitely something that people are concerned about, myself included. The teaser was very serious and dramatic. Of course, the show has those moments but it's overall very lighthearted. It's a show about friendship first and foremost, and those positive messages are highlighted throughout the series. I'm hoping this teaser is more Netflix saying "Look at these cool effects!" and less "This is the overall tone of the entire series!".

The humour also comes to play in this. ATLA has a lot of jokes. You know this, I know this, they work, I don't have to talk about it. I'm curious about the humor in the live-action series because a lot of the humour in ATLA works because the show is animated, and wouldn't work in the live-action setting. In the film that shall not be named, Shyamalan tried to take jokes from the show, but they just fell completely flat because it was the completely wrong genre and just created tonal dissonance.

The last big thing I'm worried about is the characters, particularly Katara and Zuko.

I'm worried about Katara, because film has had this tendency in the past (and I know this is probably outdated) to "tone down" a female character's more "unsavoury/unladylike" traits. This is a bad example but it's the best my brain can come up with, but Hermione in the HP films compared to the books. In the films she was smart, brave, never wrong, and never made fun of. In the books, she was smart, yes, but also naive, and really mean and judgy sometimes.

Katara is a strong female character because she's not perfect. She's hotheaded and can hold a mean grudge, but those make her who she is. Also, in the film that does not exist, other character's strong moments are inexplicably given to Katara to make her more "badass" without actually putting in the work for her.

I'm worried about Zuko for an entirely different reason. I'm scared they'll "tone back" his assholeness in the first season, and possibly even give us his backstory a lot sooner. I really don't want this, because the whole reason his redemption arc works is because he was a villain first. He did bad things, but he atoned for them. His backstory explains his actions but doesn't excuse them. If we're sympathetic to him too early, the payoff is going to feel a lot cheaper, and like he didn't actually work to make himself better because he was already there.

Okay wow that was a lot, but that sums up all of my thoughts/concerns/excitement for the show. I'm really stoked to see where they go with it, and even if it's a disaster I'll probably enjoy it anyway honestly.

[laurawriteberry]

Accident

It didn't hit me at first.

Maggie has been my best friend since we were thirteen, when we met at a bookshop as I tried to reach for The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, but failed thanks to my short height. She reached above me and pulled it down for me, handing it over with a smile on her face.

"Good choice."

I remember everything about meeting her. I remember her black dyed hair, shoved up into a high ponytail, revealing her multiple ear piercings. I remember her black clothing and thick eyeliner, and her proudly proclaiming she was an emo. She claimed it was a lifestyle, but it didn't last. I remember her being taller than me, which isn't difficult considering I'm only 5ft, and helping me reach for things on high shelves.

She shared her opinions on The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and I promised I'd share my thoughts once I was done. Needless to say, we bonded over our love of reading, and realised we had more in common than we expected. From that moment on, we were inseparable. At first, our peers were confused how we'd become friends overnight, but like with any school drama, it came and went within a week.

At sixteen, Maggie confessed she didn't think she was only into boys. She'd seemed nervous, but I reassured her I'd still be her friend no matter what. We both began experimenting and going out with people - me with boys, her with both. But we were also a package deal, so nobody could get in the way of our friendship. If anything, our flings all seemed to get along with the other, so it worked out.

Until we went to university.

Obviously, we both went to the same university, but we lived in different halls and studied different degrees and joined different societies. But we made time for each other, like friends do, and continued to be each other's rock.

I remember telling her a few weeks into our first term in our first year that I didn't think I was interested in boys either. I'd gone through the motions with them and not found that spark so many people go on about. I thought maybe they'd all made it up, that you weren't actually supposed to feel anything. It felt like a myth, an elusive thing that might've had a basis in truth, but didn't actually exist.

But Maggie assured me it did exist. I just had to find it. Even if that meant finding it elsewhere, aka not with boys. I did as she suggested and started trying to date girls, and it worked... mostly. I felt that spark, that connection, and I enjoyed getting intimate with girls in a way I never had with boys. But something felt off. I didn't understand what could be wrong, until a few months ago.

We're now both in our second year of university, and we're sharing our own place with two others. Mutual friends of ours. It's actually been really fun, throwing parties, hanging out together, arguing over chores. Or at least, it was fun until Maggie met someone.

I've never been opposed to her dating anyone before, but I'd never had reason to. Maggie made it clear we were a package deal, so nobody tried to get in between us. Or if they did, they failed miserably.

Maggie met Maddie at a club night. I didn't think anything of it at the time, assuming it was just another fling, a harmless relationship. She seemed like an interesting person, dancing with Maggie and flirting shamelessly with her. But when Maggie introduced me to her, it was like hate at first sight. I still don't know what I did to make her hate me so much, but she's out to get me.

My housemates have noticed because she acts the same way with them, turning every problem into a soap opera drama, and I'm always the main victim. Finding any excuse to turn on me and hurt me, while telling lies to Maggie about me.

I've tried to say something to Maggie, in an offhand way, hoping she chooses me over her. But Maggie has started defending her and picking fights with me, as if I'm the problem here. We are a package deal - that's what we agreed when we were young teens. But now she calls me possessive and controlling, and she wants nothing to do with me.

Our friendship is crumbling, and it's only then I realised the truth: I've accidentally fallen in love with my best friend.

Shit.

[nerves-nebula]

"the actors don't like the ship it makes them uncomfortable!" yeah that does not and never has mattered. they're actors. they act as characters. they are not the characters themselves, they do not have a say in how you think of or portray the characters they act as. this is not real person fanfiction. Alex is just a homophobic creep.

anyway after talking to my friend i've decided to just tell you guys. the series i hate is The Mandela Catalogue. it's so shit. absolute garbage. Plays into every ableist trope in the book.

If you try to analyze the way characters are coded to be scary or creepy or "inhuman" it's 99% of the time just them being disabled or neurodivergent or some other marginalized identity.

the fascist undertones of the series are incredibly evident, from the stranger-danger propaganda being given at face value with no commentary on how fucked up it is to just say it's reasonable for you to shoot someone you think is an alternate/looks weird (are white people not aware of all the poc and disabled people who get shot and attacked cuz their existence is seen as threatening?)

the public announcement shit is literally fear mongering except it's in universe proven to be correct because the universe alex has created is an inherently fascist one where innocent white Christians and their innocent white children are under attack from Real Demons (where have i heard that one before)

the THINK principles are akin to a cults guideline. how is the scary thing here that there are weird looking people out there that will Say Scary Shit to you (the idea of an Unknowable Truth as it's alluded to in tmc is bullshit and one of the dumbest Monster powers I've ever heard of) instead of the fact that society is gonna collapse because this shit will make people paranoid as hell, and start shooting their neighbors. But no, that would make it a GOOD series with something INTERESTING to say.

OH and the fact that the enemies in the series are somehow supposed to Look Just Like You (they could be anyone!!) but also look biologically impossible (so many of the alternates + The intruder just look like disabled or disfigured people put through a scary filter)

and hey, while we're here, can we think of any other examples of tropes in media in which all of these apply to The Enemy?

looks very similar to REAL humans, so much so that they could fool you into thinking they ARE one! and yet are also somehow inherently biologically different in a way you are capable of figuring out just by looking at them.

has dark beady eyes and a hooked/big/prominent nose (thinking of the intruder specifically here)

Kidnaps your children for their own nefarious means (blood libel)

Kidnaps/corrupts your children by controlling the media/technology/TV screens.

Desire world domination/is part of some big conspiracy stretching far into the past

Guilty for the death (or in this instance possibly the replacement of) Jesus Christ

depicted as literal demons

Hint! it's antisemitism! it's always fucking antisemitism!!! Coming from a man who's main source of inspiration is his Christianity & mental health issues (though he doesn't seem to mind demonizing the symptoms of mental illnesses he hasn't had personal experience with) i'm not surprised! Though I am disappointed, because he supposedly wants to be a writer, and he doesn't seem very aware of any of the tropes he's propagating. like c'mon man, i thought you liked literature.

I could make another list exactly like that one but for ableism, but if i committed that hard then we'd be here all day.

Alex has even started using words like Degenerate/Degeneration in promotional material too (which if you know anything about fascist rhetoric is a bad sign) not to mention his weird behavior around queer headcanons/shipping and his tendency to mock people who read queer subtext into his work.

The only good things that come from the mandela catalogue are from the fandom but even the fandom can't stop talking about how SUBVERSIVE and UNIQUE it is when it's literally just regurgitated reactionary talking points. The fandom also loves reinforcing Alex's weird ass "no gay shipping" mandate.

like, he clearly doesn't mind the inclusion of romances. Adam had a girlfriend. what he says he minds is "sexualization" which just so happens to include every instance of two male characters looking at each other or holding hands (because being gay is inherently sexual to him, which is homophobic btw. not a "boundary")

i could write essays about how every little single aspect of this series is, thematically speaking, dogshit garbage which appeals to the majority and barely admits the rest of us exist (which i wouldnt even care about so much if people didn't act like this series was at all unique or subversive)

I've talked for fucking hours about how every time i think it can't get any worse it somehow does. i've barely touched on the ableism here, haven't even mentioned the racism OR how all the female characters are defined by their relations to the male characters.

ALL THIS. ALL THIS!!! And all you see about it is praise praise PRAISE. but guys. it's just BAD.

side note: if this post makes you feel the need to tell me why it's actually good: don't! i really dont care if you like it, good for you i guess. as far as i'm concerned the fans of it are the best part of the whole damn series (to be clear the fandom has its own problem but even then. it's generally fine) but it is NOT good source material.

[not-sure-what-im-feeling]

alright so I was just goofing around and then I thought "man I want to make a tumblr dash simulator" so now here's what I think tumblr would be like if it existed in the ivory isle.

SPOILERS FOR THE IVORY ISLE! (even unwritten chapters!)

local-gay34 Follow

hey guys, so an update on the crush situation: we're gonna move in together! we're moving across the isle, and we're gonna get jobs as some local officers! i can't wait!

local-gay34

he snuck a criminal into our house and has been housing a fucking harpy for i don't even know how long

local-gay34

APPARENTLY THEY WERE DATING???

5 notes

#guys i really don't know what i'm gonna do #axel speaks #the crush situation #gay #HIS BOYFRIEND IS A FUCKING CRIMINAL HARPY WTFFFF

flowerboy Follow

Hey guys! Reminder that my boyfriend (@notahuman) doesn't want to talk about his curse here, but we'd be happy to have a conversation with anyone who really wants to know in this cave over here! Don't worry, we won't hurt you!

notahuman Follow

Babe, I love you, but you need to stop threatening people

flowerboy

But I'm not threatening them! I'm just offering a chance to have a little chit-chat in a definitely not foreboding cave ;D

notahuman

:(

54 notes

#boyfriend shenanigans

birdboy Follow

Oh gods apparently I'm a "criminal" in all six kingdoms but I'm fine

23 notes

#also my boyfriend's best friend might be trying to kill me but we ignore that #actually no i'm on the run now #this kinda sucks and my boyfriend i think is in jail

andre-the-guy Follow

Hey y'all! so I just got out of jail, thanks to my lovely boyfriend! I'm gonna be leaving the kingdoms, so catch y'all later!

local-gay34 Follow

Andre no! Come back please!

andre-the-guy

Uh yeah no thanks. I love you but like. You tried to kill my boyfriend.

12 notes

#sorry tumblr i typically try to keep drama off here but oh my gods #axel btw you're gonna get blocked if you interact again #drama

rene's-corner Follow

Reminder that if you bring someone back against their will, that's not necromancy that's just being a prick. Real necromancers respect the dead.

104 notes

#necromancy #necromancy etiquette #totally legal tips #this has been a psa

dead-girl-walking Follow

Y'all ever just forget you can breathe?

Edit: Guys I am Actually Dead

Edit 2: I'm not kidding. This isn't a bit. I fucking died.

Edit 3: I will get my necromancer friend @rene’s-corner to verify to if I need to.

Edit 4: I'm not a ghost. Gods, just read my pinned post

10,978 notes

#lmao i just remembered i can do that #apparently people are freaked out when people don't breathe i guess #dead #percy's talking from beyond

[earhartsease]

are you guys bodily 61 or is that an alter age? /genq

I'm curious bc of the queer stuff

good question! this human body doing front-of-house management is 61 - as far as we're aware, nobody in this system is actually 61, but ages range from around 6 up to late 50s when it comes to the humans - and as for the beyond-humans, your guess is as good as ours (current rough count is 29 individual beings, plus the accompanying inner forest)

there are a bunch of animals (we didn't include all the pets of ours and others that we invited into the forest when they died, there's a good two dozen of them! - but two animal alters for sure), two forest gods (one young, one ancient) and, well - a forest that's part of a landmass that's presumably part of a planet ecosystem in some universe, since there are stars and sun and moon in/out there

but yes, we all inhabit this 61 year old body and are trying to look after it, it's a bit fucked so we're trying to be as kind to it as toxic social conditioning will let us, and that goes for all of us really - just trying to love and listen to each other and it seems to work pretty well ☀️🌿

as for the queer stuff, given the constraints of lack of language or a safe space in which to think about it as a kid (very abusive upbringing), we think if we'd had the language back then we'd have known we were agender by the time we were 5 or 6? we certainly knew something was off in a "not really digging the boy thing, not really yearning to be a girl either though exactly, is this all necessary?" way

and certainly by the time our tweens hit we'd have known we were trans if it had been safe to know that (we didn't and don't get gender as a thing but we knew unconsciously that our body would be happier looking female) - we read a load of sci-fi with trans and queer themes all through our teens and kept revisiting the trans parts and no knowing why, for example - and at 23 we first knew we wanted a physical transition but got slapped down about it before we could look more into it - so didn't do anything about that until we were 48 in the end

but we came out as bi when we were 21, which apparently was brave in the 80s, and we finally embraced queer as a label in 2010 (after embracing genderqueer), and were able to let go of old horrors around the word and see how positive it is for so many people - and we came out as ace about a decade ago but it would have really helped if we'd known that was an option like 50 years sooner

as for all of us in here, nobody really has genders, all the humans are they/them and nonbinary, some look more male and some more female and some more *shrug* and it all sort of works?

we weren't planning to go into this much detail, but since it feels valuable for younger queer folk to know that us oldsters exist too, we figured we'd tell it out more - one thing we'd like to end with is by saying once again: none of this is set in stone - we've come out over 10 times now in the process of figuring out who we are, and we're on our tenth legal name change - and this is either it now or it isn't :D

- Irian on behalf of the emerald forest ecosystem

[deathlygristly]

I like the spousal person so much!!!!

I don't know, just thinking about how I read things on here about masculinity and gender and stuff, and it's so different from anything I have ever experienced with any testosterone type person I know that I think I must be living in an entirely different culture from most people who post on here.

I was about to say a whole other universe, but no, I know the things they talk about exist in this universe. Just very far away from my life.

Anyway, here are some really cool things about the testosterone type person I have lived with for 21 years:

Park Hyung-sik is one of his favorite Korean actors. He calls him Min-min because of a scene in Strong Woman Do Bong-soon, one of his top three favorite kdramas. We're watching his currently airing show, Doctor Slump. The female lead said she must have lived her life wrong, and the spousal person said "You can't have lived your life wrong if you managed to pull a Min-min."

He's currently reading a book set in WWII Malaysia, about the change from British colonizers to Japanese colonizers, and he said that the Japanese colonizers were more brutal. I said "Yeah, online a lot of people seem to think that only Britain and the US are like that or have ever been like that." and he said "Yeah, like you say, it's a human thing and humans are gonna human."

When his previous car finally died I texted him in the morning from work and I said "You could get one from Carvana and we could go get it from the tower!" I didn't really mean it. I just drive by the Carvana tower frequently at work and so I joked about it. When I got off work that day he texted me the date and time we'd be going to the Carvana tower to pick up his new car.

He loves the cats just like I do, and if one sits in his lap he does his best to not move until he has to. He takes lots of pictures of them and puts them in the shared album.

At the Renaissance Festival there's a couple with a Chinese woman and a white dude who sell tea, and the woman recognizes him. Last year her husband tried to give him the beginner spiel and she interrupted like no, no, this guy knows his stuff, he's good.

He cried when we watched A Very Long Engagement.

Basically he's really cool and smart and fun and cute and I like him a lot always forever!

[pancakes-bookclub]

So, apparently, I have a new author on my top 10.

Ursa Dax.

I just finished reading Married to the Alien Cowboy, first book on the Cowboy Colony Mail Order Brides series, and it's pure gold.

(screenshot from Kindle because I'm lazy)

Spoilers and MDNI as it is an 18+ book

Story: a 7/10. First book in the series, so still figuring out a lot about setting and all that.

Would building: 8/10. It's set. There's more to the world than what we're seeing here, and it's mentioned. There's lore, there's social issues, there's political intrigue... I just love it.

Characters: I'd say a 6/10, but only because they're a bit isolated from contract with other people, so we mostly see the couple together.

Spice: 4/🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️. There's one scene, rather close to the end of the story, but it is well written and has character development.

So, what happens when you send girls who are used to high tech worlds to a penal agricultural colony in Fucksville, Nowhere as a "mail order bride" program?

This book. This is what happens. They're now married to overprotective space cowboys with anger issues.

Cherry? Our main girl? She's running away from a loan shark after hitting one of his goons with a cast iron pan (best self defense tool), and what better way than to join a mail order bride program, with all expenses paid?

So, she goes to marry Silar, but! She doesn't know that it's a penal colony! She thinks it's a normal agricultural colony for a culture that doesn't think highly of agriculture, and that's why they had to look for humans in a mail order bride program.

Also, prehensile tails. Those are... Fun! I've read about lizard tails, snake tails, wolf/lion tails... But prehensile is officially my favourite kind now. And not, like "fun times" fun. They're fully functional limbs! And they're treated as a natural part of their bodies by the story. There's not much thought put into it (by the characters). They just exist.

(it's a peeve of mine when the monster part of the relationship thinks too much about the non-human things about themselves, like tails, teeth, ears, fangs, claws... Unless their partners are touching with awe, I don't want them thinking about it in any way other than we'd think about normal things in our bodies.)

So, it's an overall 8/10 for me. I was laughing through most of it. Worth the read. Will read again. Book 2 is already out and book 3 comes out on November 30th. Can't wait for it!