#‘I was in the Voltron and undertale fandom at the same time and never had xyz happen to me’

[captain-space-kin]

What the absolute FUCK did they put in the water this show hiatus, because it is making some parts of this community have the most RANCID vibes I’ve seen in a long time.

I was talking to some friends about this and was wondering if anyone else noticed this? Am I hallucinating?? Did they put toxic gas in the S2P2 leaks??? What is happening????

[astrologista]

just thinkin bout modern media and things (click for essay)

so the real problem with everything is that media used to be generally segmented by targeted age ranges? like, there was separate media for babies than there was for children and adolescents and separate content that was targeted at adults. but that didnt mean that targeted demographics had to absolutely necessarily stay within the ranges of media that was targeted at them. it was just nice to have more segmented categories of media that could be appropriate for little children while still being decently interesting and exciting (i.e., adventures of winnie the pooh, arthur, dragon tales, cyberchase etc.) and 8-14 bracket media that had more depth and character arcs (i.e., justice league, batman the animated series, animes like fullmetal alchemist etc) and then more adult shows like the adult swim lineup that could get away with more crap past the radar.

the reasons for this were multiple, including the typical capitalist reasons of it's easier to target merchandise at groups when you split people up by age, and it makes the moral guardians happier to have something to regulate when it comes to making things "safer" for certain age groups as well. all of these reasons can have problematic implications, such as lgbtq+ censorship, cartoons for the sole purpose of selling toys, poor quality of writing and flanderization over time, etc. which we were dealing with throughout the 2000s. the ability of web content creators to make things like homestuck and welcome to night vale and undertale without the intervention of editors and marketers and regulators has been amazing, especially for brand new forms of creative content that have never before been seen, and also bringing creators closer to fans. fans also now have unprecedented abilities in steering storylines and affecting the trajectory of media. but the dark side to this is something that i think requires much more introspection and discussion. you can have fandoms like the voltron fandom that come out of this and actually threaten real creators in real life on social media, which is really bad. you can have problems associated with the increasing push for monetization of content, which brings us back to the problems of the 2000s all over again (the more businesspeople you involve with media, the sour-er things get over time). it's just too many cooks. the golden age of the freedom of web content without forced monetization was far, far too short.

i tried watching a tiktok that got posted to my twitter feed today and like. what the fuck. i have not seen that many tiktoks, but i swear to god i cannot understand the target demographics of tiktok in general. tiktok is an app that seems to show you a neverending stream of content sludge (now generated by ai!). the content ranges from gross to just plain insulting. theres this weird trend on some tiktok videos when showing off an object or item to like... do this weird little dance to show it off? kind of reminds me of when you're jingling keys in a baby's face? it's like a very weird little dance but everybody seems to do it... it's quite cringe, made me uncomfy lol

but anyway it just... seemed to me like doing cute dance moves like that, showing shiny objects or slime or whatever it is, seems to be the kind of content that aims to gain the visual attention of like, little kids or babies or something. but then you go to the next video and it's like, something veeery sexual or violent or just otherwise totally inappropriate. additionally, it's largely mindless content. there are no lessons to be learned from it, if anything it actively rots your brain cells. is this what our parents thought tv was like?? holy shit. i could never understand why television was called "the idiot box" because you could learn things on tv. there was a lot of different and good content on tv. but all content on tiktok is the same. because the popularity of content gets ranked and rewarded by an algorithm. it's sad and sickly ironic that there is less variety and quality in user-generated content now than there has ever been, and it's all because of monetization. the web should be the ultimate free platform to create and distribute whatever you want, it shouldn't be this monotonic sludge of content that is most definitely inappropriate for little children, so for fuck's sake stop targeting it at them with shiny objects, and incredibly boring and repetitive to many adults, so how about make it more interesting and diverse. i read this article the other day about how blippi, the youtube equivalent of barney, never features any actual people on his show. he plays with toys and explains how machines work and makes up shitty songs about them, but he never goes the mr rogers route of talking about feelings or meeting with kids from diverse backgrounds or dealing with topics like loss or grief or fear or anger or love in a way that children can understand. there's a fear to be genuine there, because the more these topics are discussed in children's media, the more adults DON'T want them discussed with their children. their reasoning being "they're not old enough, it will scare them, they can't handle it." don't you think it'll scare them more when they grow up emotionally stunted and unable to understand even the most basic of their own emotions?

it seems now more than ever, trying new or different ideas with media is just an invitation to be called "cringe" and have brigading youtubers after you to use you for "content" in their fun little 3 hour critical essay videos. anything sentimental that dares to ask its audience to actually feel something like genuine joy or sadness or excitement is mocked - not postmodern enough for you, i see. anything cool or new or fun just gets ignored or shut down. it's wrong. it sucks. why are we still putting up with this? why is it just okay?

[bullfroganarchy]

rating my past and current hyperfixations

(these are all media ones, bc my only non media one is fashion history)

Honorable mentions:

Less is Morgue(podcast): 10/10 not enough fan content for me to form a full on hyperfixation but its only a matter of time. its funny, well written and has good rep, plus i dont need a wiki to keep track of every single character.

Mnemosyne(podcast): 8/10 same reason as less is morgue, also it just has less eps out, but the potential is there., something about the audio doesnt mesh really well with me, and i have hard time figuring out whats going on because of it. thats just a me thing though, listen to it if you like space and questions about morality!

The Penumbra Podcast: 6/10 the concept didnt appeal to me as much as a thought it would. the kissing noises are the reason i can only listen to a episode a month. writings good though. 

Past Hyperfixations:

Warrior Cats(book): 5/10 this was my first hyperfixation, and baby i clung on to this shitty series for waay too long. it was my first intro to fanfic(thank you quotev) and fanfiction(though this was of my ocs). it got me into writing and art, so thank you Erin Hunter. . the books were ok, i wasnt neck deep into the fandom so i cant say much on that but it made me wish i could roleplay online. that is a transgression i can never forgive.  

FNAF(game):1/10 honestly not that bad all things considered. it did cause my deep dive into horror, which almost landed me into creepypasta, but i didnt. i was around when phone guy was drawn with a actual phone as a head and purple guy was dubbed vincent. do with that what you will. im still mad about my fav fnaf fic(also on quotev) that updated last in 2017 on a cliff hanger. it gets a low score because of scott cawthon. shout out to matpat for carrying this one till its death. the songs still are bangers. 

DDLC(game): 8/10, nothing much to say, this one was short and sweet. the game was good, the fan songs were good, and i really liked my time with it. 

Voltron(show): 4/10. i was fresh queer preteen when this show came out. i binged all but the final season, and thank god for that, however, this show made a worse person. i got bullied off of amino a mere twenty minutes after making a account thanks to voltron(thats when i learned self inserts stay to yourself, even if you post about it on your own account). i got queerbaited and i will die mad. good fanfics though.  

Undertale(game): 7/10. i mostly stuck to wattpad and ao3 at this point in time, never really engaging with the fan base besides from that. all i can say is thank god. the game was good and memorable. however this hyperfixation introduced me to, and desensitized me to, s3lfc3st, inc3st, really scary sex practices, and general fucked up things. thank you toby fox, no thanks to whoever made learn that tags are Really Important

Current Hyperfixation:

The Magnus Archives(podcast):8/10. my first ever fiction podcast. i genuinely like it, but i cant think about it for too long or else certain issues i have make in near unejoyable. the fan content is Fantastic, i realized i was ace because of one of the fics, and it made me want to write horror again. downsides are i had to check the wiki alot when listening, and some of the writing choices made me go ‘oh were doing that? huh. that isnt as good as what i thought was going to happen’. also i didnt cry for any of the deaths, granted i stop listening after season five. i still know the entire plot however. 

Undertale; part two electric boogaloo: 10/10. this is only for the three blogs i follow on here ( @theninjamouse @popatochisssp @skelezbian if you must know) all their fics are wonderful and sustaining me through my lingering undertale hyperfixation.  i have nothing but good words to share. 

[kingofthewilderwest]

9, 10, 12, 19, 20, 21 for the fandom asks! (i'm gonna create the question for 21. it is "which fandoms have you inadvertently become a part of through osmosis from friends?" or "which fandoms did you infect your friends with?" whoops two questions, whatever. enjoy, nerdface. my specialty is being a nosy fucker with too many questions)

Love you too, you obnoxious fucker. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Fandom Asks Memes

9. Do you like prequels?

I find absolutely nothing wrong with prequels! My philosophy is that, for any universe that can be cleverly and beautifully expanded upon with heart, doing so is a positive effect. The key to this is that it has to be done with inspiration and good intent. Crappy prequels that have nothing to say are bogus. Good prequels that provide a positive contribution? Yeah, sure, totes, go for it. I’d be interested in checking them out.

There’s lots of inherent dangers to writing prequels that mean some of them can be crappy. But I’ll enthusiastically endorse any contribution to media so long as I think it holds merit to its existence in the broader franchise.

10. Characters that deserved worse? >:]

I don’t believe in “deserves worse” for real life humans, so I think about that even less when we’re talking fiction. So long as it’s written well narratively, I’m fine with villains getting away with anything, antiheroes not being reprimanded for questionable actions, etc.

That said. Watching FMA 2003? I fucking wanted Shou Tucker fucking dead 3,000,000,000 episodes ago. WHY DID YOU GUYS KEEP HIM ALIVE!?!?!?! UAHGHGHGHGHGHghghghghghghg. Every time he was on screen, I was seethingly thinking, “I want that motherfucking thing dead, I am so sick of seeing him on screen.”

12. If you could change one ending to a book/show/game/etc, what would you change about it?

Alright! Let’s see. Can we call “The Hidden World” the “ending” of the broad How to Train Your Dragon franchise? I don’t want to change just the end of HTTYD3; I want to change HTTYD3. I would write a movie in which the villain had more apparent impact to the world around him, I would focus on Toothless having leadership problems with the dragons as a whole rather than centering a plot around him and one female, I would write Hiccup interacting with more sense of leadership over the whole tribe instead of hanging out merely with his group of young buds, and I would axe (intentional choice of words) the will-we-won’t-we subplot regarding Hiccstrid and marriage. For starters.

19. If you could be a part of any story, which story would you want to tag along in?

Take me to Narnia.

20. Name a song that reminds you heavily of a specific fandom or character.

Mars by Sleeping at Last. It describes the Ishvalan War, the fear of the Ishvalans, and the young Amestrian soldiers like Roy, Maes, Alex, and Riza who found themselves, to their horror, on the wrong end of a genocide.

“We were full of life. We could barely hold it in. We were amateurs at war, strangers to suffering. We made our families proud but scared at the same time. We promised we'd be safe--another lie from the front lines. Our backs against the wall, we're surrounded and afraid, our lives now in the hands of the soldiers taking aim. Our questions ricochet like broken satellites... how our bodies, born to heal, become so prone to die.”

21a. Which fandoms have you inadvertently become a part of through osmosis from friends?

How dare you ask me two 21′s. ;)

I’m not sure on this one. Maybe Doctor Who. In high school, a bunch of my friends invited me over for a movie night. Well, when I got there, they were cooking a bunch of foods. They decided to watch The Eleventh Hour, and when it came time for the Doctor to try eating a bunch of foods, my friends started eating fish fingers and custard, like some sort of fucking ritual. And I was like, “What the HECK is happening?!?!” My friends had been talking about how great this show was. This was my first exposure to it. Over the next few years, I did get a bit into Doctor Who, and followed it through the first half of college. XD

Also in the junior high, I had multiple friends who talked about Runescape so frequently that, even though I never even saw a SCREENSHOT of the game, I knew so much about it that I was able to follow along and contribute to their convos. Never played Runescape though. 

21b. Which fandoms did you infect your friends with?

[cackles] now that one? quite a ton!

I don’t mean to. I hate people coming up to me and saying, “You should watch X!” or “You NEED to watch Y!” I don’t like being judged for my tastes instead of letting me decide my own taste. I have so many things I already want to watch and I don’t want someone else trying to change my priorities around, even if I know they’re just trying to recommend something fun to me. I don’t have time for these things and I don’t want people assuming that I have time for those things. I’ll never get to anything someone says. I don’t like recommendations. Especially after this tumblr blog got big and I got a ton of unsolicited recommendations, it became a pet peeve. So I try hard not to force friends to watch anything. I don’t want to annoy them either with unsolicited recs. I want to be nice. <3 But I guess my natural, unending enthusiasm for things has gotten my friends curious and pulled into the same fandoms I love. XD XD XD Whoops! XD XD XD XD XD One second I’m screaming about a fandom... the next, three of my friends are screaming to me about it, too!

I have seen groups of friends follow me into...... Undertale, Voltron: Legendary Defender, Mass Effect, Deponia, Gravity Falls, and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. And I guess also bluegrass. If that can count as a “fandom.”

[olliethesnake]

30 Days of Autism Acceptance; Day 7

Talk about special interests. What does having special interests mean to you? Talk about your current special interests. Or talk about past special interests. What’s the most unusual special interest you’ve had?

AAA yay I’ve been excited about this one! (Because I’m gonna infodump a lot!!)

I’ve always loved having my special interests. I struggle with depression, and they’ve always been a great motivation to create things. Since I love talking about my special interests, I’ll probably write a little about what each means to me.

Current Special Interests

Undertale

Klance

SpongeBob

Veganism

Autism

A Goofy Movie

Past Special Interests

Tinkerbell

Warrior Cats

Toontown Online/Rewritten

1. Undertale

Oh, Undertale... As soon as I found out about Undertale, I spent hours watching play-throughs and easter egg discovery videos. On my 13th birthday (August of 2016) my sister bought the game for me. I played it immediately, and was more happy than I’d been in a while.

Since that day, I’d pursued my desires to create fan-art and stories based on Undertale. I’d even created a few AUs, connecting it with other things I loved. Creating Undertale fan-art also inspired me to start posting my art online. I hope to be a self-employed artist in the future, so I’m glad I started putting myself out there at a young age.

I still love Undertale, still draw the characters just as much, and still play it very frequently (I’ve yet to beat Sans though haha). I’ve also made so many great friends through my interest in Undertale.

I really love Papyrus, mostly because I relate to him a lot and enjoy his personality. I have a love for puzzles; I’d love to have friends, like he does, but my friendship count remains stagnant (that’s changed recently haha)! He’s goofy and kind, both things I see myself being.

I listen to the soundtrack daily on repeat, and I’ve noticed that it really helps calm me down if I’m not feeling well. Thinking about each part of the game, and when each song would play, and imagining the characters’ dialogue brings me so much joy.

I get the “Don’t you get tired of Undertale?” question a lot, and my answer’s always no. Undertale holds a very special place in my heart, and I don’t see myself losing interest in it any time soon. :)

(I started infodumping a ton about Papyrus bc I love him and hc him as autistic but like. I’m gonna take it out so the post isn’t a mile long lmao).

2. Klance

When I got invested in the Voltron fandom (around the time season 6 was released), I immediately fell in love with Klance. At first, I enjoyed it casually, and it wasn’t anything more than a ship to me. But as I got farther into the series, I found myself watching because I loved the two characters and their relationship (whether platonic or romantic).

I started to read a lot of theories, and Klance became very meaningful to me. I don’t enjoy Voltron anymore, and overall, I don’t like how they handled their relationship (which had so much potential, by the way). But I do love fan interpretations of the characters, which is where my special interest had began (also it’s worth mentioning that this led me to read over 600 thousand words worth of Klance fics, 201,026 of which were by @thespacenico [ILY DARCY <3] in less than a year so. yeah).

3. SpongeBob

I’ve loved SpongeBob since I was a kid, and I think it’s been my special interest since then. I had a lot of SpongeBob games that I’d love to death, and watched the show every day if I could. Presently, I still watch it every day. :D I fell out of it as a special interest for a while, but fell back into it a few years or so ago. However, I can’t tolerate the newer episodes. x) They’re very different from what I grew up with in a lot of ways. My favorite episodes are “Rock Bottom,” “Karate Island,” and “Whale of a Birthday.”

4. Veganism

I went vegan three years ago on February 10th of 2016, and vegetarian on August 18th of 2015. I’ve spent a lot of time researching veganism: what it’s about, how it can help your wellbeing, and dietary facts. I now have a ton of nutrition facts memorized. Also, I don’t like PETA. It upsets me that vegans continue to get bad representation (and a lot of what they’ve done is bad regardless).

5. Autism

When I found out that being autistic was a possibility for me, I researched it extensively to learn more about myself. It’s only been a year or so, but I’ve already learned so much about autism and how it affects people. I’ve become so much more aware of how it really feels to be autistic, and I’ve also accepted myself more. I love sharing what I’ve learned to other people, and hopefully spread the same awareness and acceptance I’ve gained. :)

6. A Goofy Movie

I’ve watched this movie since I was a kid, and still watch it very much (in total, I’ve probably watched it over one thousand times. not an exaggeration XD). It makes me so happy and excited, and I’d never been able to explain why. I have every song, scene, and line memorized, and will often quote them in my conversations with my family. During the movie, I’m practically saying every line along with the characters. xP

OKAY now that I’m done with that-

The most unusual special interest I’ve had? Perhaps rocks? I’ve had an obsession with collecting them since I was a kid. I have a giant pile of rocks I’ve picked up from parks or camping trips, and I still add to it when I see one I like. I also love going to rock/gem shows and getting the polished stones. Recently I’ve developed a deeper interest for stones, after finding out they had magical benefits. I can see myself falling back into rocks as a special interest. x)

Alright, I think that’s everything. This post got super long, so I’ll end it here! Have a wonderful day!

💚 Ollie

[pumpkins-s]

Aw hell yeah 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 11 12 15

sdkfjdfjk you didn’t specify a fic but I’m gonna assume you want Not As Simple answers lol.

Fic Questions:

2: What scene did you first put down?

Lmao so. I write almost 95% in linear order so that answer’s kinda boring--the prologue came first, I wrote the prologue first.

I’ll also answer for the first scene I came up with though, since that’s a little more interesting--it was Patience’s death. 

3: What’s your favorite line of narration?

hhhhhhhh this changes time to time bc there’s a lot of lines I like, but right now? Heading back to the prologue I guess because this one hits me every time:

He tries not to think of odd-colored eyes and broken bodies, trusting faces and spears through chests, rage, and resets, and guns pressed to heads. He tries not to think about unfixable machines and a void of space where the closest thing he ever had to a parental figure vanished like he never existed. He tries not to think about dust everywhere, and the not-Frisk with demon eyes and a doll-like smile.He tries.He doesn’t succeed.

4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

Same as above in regards to this changing over time, but right now it’s: 

“Like static, like memory undone. Every time I think I know, I forget.”

5: What part was hardest to write?

jhdfjjfdh honestly??? It’s hard to pick there’s been some moments that have fucking killed me. Stuff like action scenes is. not my specialty.

Though tbh one that drove me fucking insane was writing Remnant’s first scene with Sans (not including the dream so, we’re talking Song of Static here). I love them but,,,,,,characterization,,,,,,and vocabulary,,,,is a bitch.

6: What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics?

I think....at least in regards to fics I’ve written and put out into the public, this is the one big fic I’ve written for a source material I truly love. I’ve written extensively for the Voltron fandom -- even more so than Undertale -- but that was mostly because Voltron...either pissed me off, or I felt something in the canon material was lacking. It was me trying to improve on or fix canon.

Not As Simple...isn’t about that. As much as it can seem like this crazy re-write of canon, it’s not done because I find any faults with Undertale. Hell, I don’t think I can ever even half live up to the source material.Undertale moved and changed me the way very few things can, and this fic has always been my love letter to it.

8: Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?

Mmmmm...Yes and no? The original version of the fic was purely a result of my mind having a lot of fun and bullshitting around. However, the course of writing this fic has seen me through a lot of life events--including the entirety of, and breakup from, a deeply unhealthy relationship--and a lot of stuff I brought into Act 2 was a coping mechanism for that.

9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic?

I mean this is a fic that’s changed and grown as I’ve written it, so that’s difficult to answer. Act 2 in particular was like...having a rough outline you barely followed, but still ended up with the same end shape, if a little lopsided (like IKEA furniture).

There were like...deeply alternate versions of this fic, definitely, but they were always kind of cracky AUs. Stuff like “what if Sans had fused with Inte’s soul”. Shit like that, which never would have worked in canon. 

11: What do you like best about this fic?

hhhhhhhh it’s a monster but it’s also my baby so I love it on pure sentiment and how far I’ve gotten with it alone. 

Honestly though? I love the way it’s grown. The little fic idea I started with is so far from the ongoing result.

12: What do you like least about this fic?

LMAO UHHH...Definitely how poor the writing was in the early bits I did at like...16. Inte’s entire arc, especially her backstory, would have had so much more nuance if I’d written it now. I don’t think her backstory was a Terrible handling of child abuse, but shit man it was a bit...stereotyped, and blunt. I have a much better understanding of abuse, how people handle it, and how it changes you now than I did then.

15: What did you learn from writing this fic?

A lot of things, honestly. But mostly? It helped me realize there’s really nothing else I’m built to do in life than write and tell stories. It’s just in my nature. There’ll never be a greater love for me.

[thatuncoolasianpotato]

11 Questions

Rules: answer the 11 questions posed by the person who tagged you, then write 11 questions & tag 11 people to answer them.

OOF this took me a long time to finally do ahahaha

Hallooooo !! now I know this is very far from the kind of things i post on Tumblr but my friend @readmancy tagged me and I genuinely enjoy being tagged in stuff so here ya go !!

Questions for me !!

1. When are your most productive hours of the day?

Tbh I’m very inclined to say I have no productive hours of the day because I’m usually always procrastinating AHAHAHAHA but uhhh for weekdays I’d have to say 6-10 PM (or 4 AM when I occasionally have to cram something) and for weekends 11 AM-4 PM

2. What’s something about yourself that you really like and/or are really proud of?

Not gonna lie, I actually had to think about this question for a while. . .

I guess I’d have to say my emotions and my ability to convey them? Usually I really hate it when I get emotional, but I found that when I’m acting (which I find so much fun to do) being really emotional is an absolute must so that makes me kinda good at it !! Also occasionally my singing voice on really good days

3. What tips would you give to someone who has to stay up really late for school-related projects but doesn’t drink coffee?

I actually fall under this category since coffee does not work on me lmao

Here’s the stuff that I usually do (I hope some of them work out for other people out there !!)

Splash some really cold water on your face (sometimes I literally just dab ice on my face ahahaha)

(If you don’t get easily distracted) play some really loud music, TV show, or YouTube video in the background

Eat some chocolate or some other form of sugar

Take a five minute break to do some jumping jacks or do some really energetic dancing

Motivate yourself using fandoms !! (Ex. “If I finish my math hw right now, I bet Pidge would be really proud of me.” • “If Hamilton could write the other 51, I can write the last three pages of this research paper !!”)

Drink lots of water

Take 10-15 minute naps after completing a certain amount of work (BUT MAKE SURE TO GET BACK UP AGAIN)

4. What do you listen to when you study?

I listen to this playlist I made that consists of instrumental songs/piano covers (so I don’t get too distracted while studying ahaha). It contains songs from Waitress the Musical, Your Lie in April, Doki Doki Literature Club, Yuri On Ice, Angel Beats, Anohana, Undertale, Dodie Clark, and Liana Flores !!

5. What are you like when you have a serious crush on someone?

OOF I am a total mess omg

I can’t speak when I’m near them (or end up saying something really stupid in a futile attempt to impress them), I freak out over every little thing they say or do to me and spend up to weeks overthinking and over analyzing it, i daydream A LOT, I write about them A LOT A LOT, I plan to low key give them things or do something to express my attraction towards them but in a super subtle way but I usually just end up chickening out, I talk about them to all my friends (and apparently if I really like them enough I start blushing like crazy)

So uuhhhh yea,,,,

6. What’s the nicest thing someone has ever done to you?

So many people have done so many nice things to me that I really wouldn’t be able to determine the nicest thing ever.

But the one that immediately came to mind when I read this question was this one time my best friend helped me out when my house almost burned down on my birthday. I was a complete mess and I couldn’t stop crying because my house might burn down and on my special day no less. My best friend’s mom came over to me and asked if I wanted to stay over at their house first (since we were neighbors back then). At their house, they ordered pizza in honor of my birthday and we watched movies and played and joked around a lot. My best friend and her whole family made me feel so much better and they genuinely made me forget about all the stress I was feeling at that time :))

(Also if anyone’s curious, my house didn’t actually get burned down BUT it was very close to)

7. Why did you join Tumblr and is it still the same reason you’re still here?

Well,,, I joined Tumblr because I wanted to find a place where I could find people who had the same interests and fandoms as me !! I also really wanted to see some really cool fan art and read some amazing head canons and fanfics. Oh and a lot of my friends had Tumblr and I was just really curious about what all the hype was about.

It’s still the same reason, although my blog has become ahmm way more Voltron & Plance-centric that I intended it to be AHAHAHAHAHA

8. What’s your favorite soda?

Hmm I’d have to say either Coke or Royal

9. What makes you weird?

Uhhhhh,,, I used to think I was a really weird person but then I interacted with people on the internet and I realized what I thought was weird about me wasn’t actually that weird or that some people were way way way weirder (and I generally mean weird in a really nice way !!) so um idk if any of these things are really that weird:

I am allergic to dogs but I own one and I will absolutely pet yours and hang out with them even if that means that my allergies will attempt to kill me later on

No matter what is happening, I will leave a room if someone mentions “mangoes” or “Havana” starts playing

No matter the context, I will start laughing so loud if anyone says “watermelon” or says “You’re cute, but you’re not my type”

When I find something really really really funny, I start crying

I talk to myself A LOT and I’m pretty sure people question my sanity because of that

I feel really bad about calling anything “it” *cough* because of DBH *cough* also I apologize to inanimate objects profusely when I hit into them

I get really triggered by colors ((I blame Voltron for this one))

10. Where do you like staying that’s all yours?

I guess I’d have to say my room. I don’t really have any other place that’s completely mine. It’s cozy and is one of the only places where I can genuinely be alone in my house.

11. How many things do you know how to ride?

Um,, cars, trains, and jeepneys so three things (yesh, Idk how to ride a bike,,, embarrassing, I know)

Questions for you !!

1. What’s your favorite book quote ?

2. Stargazing or cloud gazing ?

3. Sunrise or sunset ?

4. What’s an object that reminds you of home ?

5. What’s your opinion on handwritten notes ?

6. Who are the people that inspire you the most ?

7. What‘s the funniest/most creative ship name you’ve ever heard ?

8. Song that you will always dance/sing along to, no matter what ?

9. Hobby that you’ve never tried, but really really want to?

10. Would you rather swim in the ocean or in a freshwater river/lake ?

11. If you could live in one fictional universe, which one would you pick ?

Tag, you’re it

((Oof i don’t know enough people to tag 11 people ahahahaha))

@starsofaurora

@neutraladvocate

@misoan

@cxmp-14

@sirkookiekat

@ anyone who sees this and wants to do this, you’re very much welcome to do this !! <3

[pidge-the-shalashit]

Voltron Fandom Rant( long)

The Voltron Fandom. A fandom that in just a little more than a year, has become a heaping cesspool of hate, one of the shittiest and most vile fandoms, leaving other past problematic fandoms like Homestuck, Steven Universe, and Undertale in the dust (at this rate). Full of people yelling and screaming the words “pedophiles!”, telling others to harm or kill themselves, just constant back and forth bickering. And all over one thing, something that isnt even an important factor of the show, barely 5%. Shipping.

Every fandom has their ship wars, but nothing like this. In all the years I’ve been in fandoms, I’ve never seen anything as terrible as this. When you meet other Voltron fans outside the internet, you honestly dont know if they are gonna like you or judge you completely, cause you might ship something they hate. So far, being in the cosplay fandom, I’ve met mostly really chill and nice fans, luckily not running into one anti.

Just the other day, we got confirmed ages of the characters, something I thought from the creators we weren’t going to ever get. And tbh, I wish we didnt.

As much as I’m happy for the Keith x Shiro fans with Keith being confirmed 18 (tho some antis are finding ways around that to still claim its illegal or some shit), what about the others? Especially the Shidge fans. The Shidge fans now, from what I’ve been confronted with, are distraught, terrified, nervous, and we barely are getting consolation or support from the Sheith (Shance and Shunk too) fans that we supported against the antis. And I think thats a shame. Our ship is as valid, as according to the creators, even if Pidge is 15. As I’ve claimed several times before, look at ErenxLevi, and how much that ship is popular with twice an age gap. And even if the age gap makes you uncomfortable, you can always ship it in timeskip, AU, or aging up terms. Thats completely fine and okay, because they are fictional and not real.

I don’t care for Sheith, but I will stick up for any Sheith fan against the antis anyday. Because thats what we do, we stick up for each other even if we don’t like the ship..

I wish they never released the ages. Imo the only good thing that came out of those leaked pages was Pidge being Italian.

Anyway, moving away from that, you antis. I...don’t know even where to start with you bastards, You ARE the ones who have made this fandom such a vile and disgusting place, you ARE the ones who make people scared and bully those who don’t agree with you, you ARE the GALRA. You THINK you are protecting minors, throwing “FICTION AFFECTS REALITY” in every argument, think you trying to make everything your “SAFE SPACE”, but you are just bullies. That’s literally all you all are, bullies. Not just other fans, but you harass the cast and crew too. And if they don’t agree with you or had enough of your bullshit (@bext-k, you are amazing, I’m so sorry about the shit you get), they are your enemy too. The actually people that bring the thing to life that you CARE ABOUT SO MUCH OVER ANYTHING ELSE.

Voltron is a cartoon. That’s literally all it is. A FUCKING CARTOON. A cartoon by Dreamworks, based on the 80s dubbed Japanese anime, that was dubbed from 80s Golion. The fact you guys are wasting so much stress and energy, on this cartoon..it baffles me. It really and truly, does. There is just, so much more in life right now we should be wasting our energy on. There are countries out there, that which if they could right now, would bomb and destroy us all in war. Then...would all this stressing out over discourse still be on your mind? Or would you rather be focusing on saving your own life and your family?

Fandoms are supposed to be enjoyable, supposed to be a haven where you can happily share and talk to others that share the same love of something you do...but not like this. This isn’t fun. You shouldn’t be scared or be sad in a fandom over other fans treating you horribly and making you feel bad over something in the fandom that brings you joy. Shaladin shippers, ARENT PEDOPHILES. Sheith, Shidge, Shance, ALL OF THEM. ALL SHIPS ARE VALID, AS CLAIMED BY DIRECTORS LAUREN MONTGOMERY AND JAOQUIM DOS SANTOS.

Let this discourse end. Its going nowhere. But what am I, just one person in this crazy fandom. Maybe things will calm down as the show progresses, maybe another thing will come along that the antis will jump onto. But I just had to get this off my chest.

I won’t be leaving the fandom, since theres so many amazing people outnumbering the shitty ones, but just know, dont be scared. Dont feel you are a bad person for what you ship. You aren’t. And if you need anyone to talk to, come to me. This blog is a Shaladin safe place.

Sorry for the long post, but if you read this to the end, thank you for your time. And any antis that want to comment on this...go ahead. Just know your hate will get you no where.

[home-sticking]

Ok before i start this rant, please note i do not want people messaging this person hate. However, this will be a salt rant so buckle up. Okay, so while i agree with stuff like "seal your body paint" and "respect ships" and "watch your actions at cons", there are things in this list that just... Make me grind my teeth a little. One of which being "the kids are underage". We all know that's the new wave of antis speaking. You know, the ones tht say "if you ship this you're a pedophile!!!". Listen, im not gonna go in depth, as I've explained this so many times (im in the voltron and yoi fandom, please sweetie i know my shit) so im gonna put it simply: canon age does not dictate ships. Canon age means nothing because it's fiction. The characters in the game aren't real. That means you can take the character (an literal idea portrayed through art or words) and age them up!!! So you can draw whatever fanart you want!!! As long as you aren't drawing porn of them and saying they're their canon age in the picture!!!! Fiction is cool because!!! Its so flexible!!!!!!!!! That's the point!!!!!!!!! Im also a little salty about the "don't repeat the 2012 cringe!!!" Listen. Cringe culture is flawed and kinda disgusting honestly. A lot of times people will use cringe compilations and other things like "cringy memes" to either bully people, or embarrass people into hating/being against something. Honestly, if a kid likes the "2012 bucketstucks" or "cringey part of the fandom" why is it your business? Its called policing others interests and that lowers you to the same level as antis. And its not hurting anyone, either. You could complain like "but its this same as that whole fujoshi thing!!!!" But the thing is, thinking buckets and all that is funny is not the same as fetishising gay men. They're literally not hurting anyone. Let them like something and you can go cringe in your room if you want. Just don't police them :/ Another thing. I keep seeing people getting pissed about the whole "undertale kids are gonna come and ruin hiveswap!!! Undertale is so cringey stop it kids!!!!1" Listen fucker. I see you. And you need to stop. Yes, they should acknowledge that undertale and hiveswap are not the same. That's a given. Yes, act 7 had a little cross over in the final battle but that doesn't mean its the same. That being said, why tf do you care if the undertale fans come to hiveswap???? Yall keep saying shit like "they're gonna ruin it!!!' But with what??? Their "cringey" 2012 humor??? Im sorry but last time i checked people could like what they want and its none of ur business who likes what. People don't give undertale enough credit and it's genuinely a fun game. I had my run with the fandom and it was a cool place to be while i was into it. Ill probably never be obsessed, but it was a good go. The only reason you're all complaining is because younger people play the game and they'll come over to hiveswap and make the fandom "cringey". Listen sweetie, the moment you decided to hate on it is the moment it became cringey. Honestly everyone wants everyone to be perfect, but when you're growing up or when you're a little different you are gonna be "cringey" at times. And those people don't deserve to feel horrible about themselves for harmlessly liking something. Can you imagine being in middleschool or something and being called cringey all the time because you think saying "buckets" as a dirty joke is cringey? I went through something similar, and it was horrible. It made me lose my personal confidence, and to this day i cant say i like something without seeking out others opinions to decide to share that i lile the thing or not. Someone liking something you think is cringey is not a crime. But policing their interests is. Thats about it. Sorry if i seemed to repeat some stuff. I do that when im salty at times and its hard for me to just write a little bit. Anyway, just be respectful to everyone. Homestuck is fun. Its my first major fandom and im so excited that the younger generation can enjoy it as well! I just dont want the fandom to become a whole fuckfest like yoi and voltron.

[moonshroooms]

Random Fandom Questions Oh My

A - Ships that you currently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone has OTPs.) Friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed.

Currently the other ships I like right now are Human Bill Cipher and Dipper (a big guilty pleasure). If there are any Billdip shippers reading this may I humbly recommend Defining Bill Cipher, cause it’s 100% fantastic with plot, characterization, and some uh, heated moments if ya get what I mean. 

I always enjoy Frisk x Sans from Undertale, though I’ve been lagging behind on fanfics. I also like Sans and Toriel (which honestly, I like Frisk and Sans better for fanfics, but I’d want Sans and Toriel to be canon), and Frisk and Asriel are super cute too.

I’ve started reading Owari no Seraph (like, I think I’m only like ch 5), and I already knew about Mika x Yuu long before I ever started reading so I’m absolutely shipping them right now A++

I also ship Gon and Killua from Hunter x Hunter, though I don’t read a lot of fanfics for them. I just kinda annoy my friend with it when we watch the show XD

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

You know, I actually don’t think I do

C - A ship you have never liked and probably never will.

Ciel and Sebastian from Black Butler. And it’s weird cause like, they are absolutely ripe for shipping and there are plenty of other ships in like, nearly the same position I like but just. He doesn’t love-love Ciel man. He don’t even friendship-love him. Sebastian wants to eat his soul like literally and that’s it he’s just food. For whatever reason I just can’t get into that pairing. Please just let Ciel be with Elizabeth she’s such a cutie and let them be happy forever on okay good okay

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t.

Ichigo and Masaya from Tokyo Mew Mew. I am 100% a Kisshu x Ichigo shipper and I know Ichigo x Masaya is like, oddly, one of the healthiest relationships you could have in an anime and Masaya would be a boy I’d fall head-over-heels for myself if he was real like honestly everything about him is basically perfect but I just. He’s so boring. He’s a really boring character to watch. And he gets more interesting near the end of the show, but it was just kinda too little too late, yanno? If they’d put more hints at the darker side of his wonderful personality then I’d probably would have shipped them, but I saw Kishigo first and that’s who I glommed onto srry

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what?

 I don’t contribute anything to society let alone a fandom XD

  F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?

 I mean, that’s under the idea I’m actually in a fandom? Do I have to do something to be in a fandom? Can I just enjoy content? Does that count? If it do then I’ve been in the Tokyo Mew Mew fandom for like, 10 years or more. It’s like 99% dead so it’s not like I’ve searched up anything recently, but believe me if it ever gets a good remake I will be there 100%

G - Have you ever had an OTP? If so, do you remember your first one? Who was in it?

 My first OTP back before I ever knew what an OTP was was Kisshu and Ichigo from Tokyo Mew Mew. And that fandom is super dead and I’ll probably never read a new good fanfic ever again but I’ll probably never let them go. I still consider them my OTP, and I’ve never found anyone that tops it XD They’re also completely toxic but just. Ah. I love them so much I just want them in a cute relationship plz

H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., TV shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)?

 Ennething. I guess anime is the easiest one to find though. I think I like Western animation better than anime, if only for comedy that hits home a little bit more, since I grew up in that culture and whatnot

I - Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why?

 Nah. I avoid the Discourse by never joining the conversation e v e r. And most of the time I don’t really follow fandom blogs specifically, just blogs that happen to post some fandom stuff, so I probably don’t see any sort of annoying people or awful environments or anything. I don’t understand how people can get so annoyed I feel like discourse is just so easy to avoid/ignore??? But maybe that’s just me

J - Name a fandom you didn’t think about until you saw it all over Tumblr. (You don’t have to care about it or follow it; it just has to be something that Tumblr made you aware of.)

 Voltron. I didn’t even know it existed until some of the funny blogs I follow started posting stuff about it. I don’t even know what Voltron’s about, other than the name sounded really familiar, like it’s an old anime being remade or something.

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

 Peridot from Steven Universe. No wait, Rinna from Forest Born. Forest Born is one of my favorite books (from the Books of Bayern series by Shannon Hale, I highly recommend them). When I was younger I related to Rinna a lot (and I’m like, nothing like her now but that’s beside the point), and I loved her development her slow development towards not hating herself so much. It’s wonderful and steady and feels real

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves. (Characters you’re neutral about are fair game, as are characters you merely dislike. Characters that you absolutely loathe with the fire of ten thousand suns are exempt, as there is no point in giving yourself an aneurysm over a character that you hate.)

 Jackie from Star vs. is a really nice girl A+ girlfriend material and if I didn’t ship Marco and Star she’d be next up for the Marco ship train. I absolutely don’t hate her and she’s a fun and nice character, but sorry you can’t be Marco’s girlfriend the bloodmoon and also me said so

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

 Isi from the Goose Girl. She already reminds me a lot of my friend, so maybe I’m a little biased, but she seems like an absolutely wonderful person to be friends with and I’d 100% love that. I’d also like Dasha from River Secrets and Enna from Enna Burning. Just. Any of the main girls from the Books of Bayern. I love them all

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

 Since I don’t have a main fandom, I’ll just choose one:

 From Steven Universe I want more funny comics, dumb memes, and Stevonnie anything. And that’s considering there’s already a shitton of all of that. There’s never enough

  O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

 He’s Hurting Me by Maria Mena. And Kisshu x Ichigo, mostly because I’ve seen an AMV with them and that song XD

  P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).

 Active Fandom for Tokyo Mew Mew AU!

 Okay fine, that doesn’t count. But oh geez I can’t think of any good ideas though. I don’t know but anything but a coffee shop AU. Give me something with adventure man. Uhh *spins wheel* Siren AU with *rolls dice* Pokémon. Make it happen, people

  Q - A fandom you’ve abandoned and why.

 Eh, considering I’m never an active part of any fandom, I can’t say I’ve abandoned anything. I’ll even go back to really old fandoms and try to find something I haven’t read before

R - Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

 Do Steven and Connie and Star and Marco count even though I ship them? Because I value their friendship just as much if not more than their shipping capabilities. If not then, Sailor Moon and the other sailor scouts from Sailor Moon (from the original anime). I just really like that they joke and roast and support each other. A lot of the episodes focus a lot on their random interactions and it’s a joy to watch.

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

 I have none honestly XD I’m not usually a person that gets into headcanons much. I ship plenty of people that aren’t together but I wouldn’t really call them headcanons, I dunno. Gon and Killua end up married. There, there’s your headcanon.

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending?

 Kisshu returns to Earth for Whatever reason (any reason that means more battles and adventures is good), Ichigo ends up falling in love with him, Pudding and Tart end up together, Lettuce and Pie are together, Masaya is just fine and not dead, and everyone’s happy the end

 That’s the best I got XD

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

 Kisshu from Tokyo Mew Mew: Other than the fact he’s from my long-standing OTP, he’s just really fun to watch. He’s probably the reason I have an immediate attachment to character that are slightly crazy and shit tons of dangerous. He’s cheeky and flirty and gawd I luv it A+

 Peridot and Lapis from Steven Universe. I couldn’t choose really. Peridot is such a trash gremlin and Lapis is amazing when it’s not complete angst she is just Ultimate Emo Child.

 Willis from Awful Hospital (I highly recommend this comic by the way. It’s weird and wonderful). So far he’s just the cutest little thing and I love watching him it’s great

  V - Which character do you relate to most?

 I used to relate to Rinna from Forest Born a whole bunch, especially when I was younger. Nowadays I relate much more to her older brother Razo from River Secrets. He’s self-concious, but always cracking jokes and always in the mood for eating. I think he’s hilarious and honestly I hope I can be as funny as him. He’s got a lot of talents he just never notices. I hope that gets to be me, too.

W - A trope which you are virtually certain to hate in any fandom.

 Characters with no personality. And I think this is mostly just in the otome and harem anime’s that this kind of thing is rampant, cause you gotta make a character that people can slip into but just. My god. I tried playing an otome once and I couldn’t even finish it it was so awful and infuriating. Watching Diabolik Lovers was so painful this girl just L E T everything happen she didn’t even try putting up a fight even when some dude GAVE HER A KNIFE TO STAB HER VAMPIRE WHATEVERS WITH. MY GOD. I hated everything I wanted to cry. And don’t even get me started on the manga Black Bird I hate it so much they just rinse repeat everything. ‘No love interest don’t do sexy things at me I don’t want it’ ‘I’m doing it as punishment for you doing/not doing Whatever’ ‘Noooo’ and then proceeds to just continue to love the assbag. Just stop oh my goooood

  X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom.

 Enemies to Lovers. Or enemies being in love in general. Or forbidden romances of any kind. Basically I want a shit ton of angst and a happy ending.

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (i.e., fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)?

 I know a little bit about Homestuck, which I tried to read once and got bored. I keep wanting to pick it back up but just… aaaah the beginning is so boring I can hardly tell what’s going on. And I hate the 1 panel thing. I’m sure it was good while it was being posted, but it just takes so long to load the next page. I need a multi-page version please.

 I also know a tad bit about Madoka Magic, which I’m not entirely sure how. I just kinda. Read stuff I came across, despite never being interested in the show myself.

  Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.)

 Dear god please let Star and Marco be together (they probably will).

 I want at the very least a cute cheek kiss from Steven and Connie, also, can Stevonnie fuse with other gems??? That’d be wild.

 Danny Phantom needed to be longer also he needed to be with Valerie I loved her why the flip flap did they give her such a crappy reason to not be with Danny AAAH

 I haven’t been able to watch the Legend of Korra because I tear up anytime I see something about the old gang being old or dead like legit if I ever see Aang being all dead and spiritual and shit I will cry

 The Amazing World of Gumball is hilarious and I want more people to watch it

 I tried watching Bob’s Burger’s for just like, a funny show without a plot and I got bored eventually. Thankfully Gumball saved the day

 I think Ni no Kuni is an adorable game and I love their little definitely-not-Pokémon monsters and I’ll probably rant about who’s on my team one day

  I ship Link and Midna 100% but like, only the TP incarnation of Link. Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild and Spirit Tracks Link can be with Zelda. Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass Link can be with Tetra (specifically Tetra).

 Speaking of Tetra, why the flip flap SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T PLAYED WIND WAKER BUT LIKE, IT’S REALLY OLD AND HAS A REMAKE SO I GUESS THAT’S MOSTLY YOUR FAULT BEWAAAAAAAAAARE. ALSO THE BEGINNING OF BREATH OF THE WILD I GUESS? THOUGH IT’S NOT REALLY A BIG IMPORTANT SPOILER. 

does she get pale when she turns into Zelda? Like, bam you’re royalty also kiss your tan goodbye. Same thing happens to the mysterious old man when he becomes the king. Do bluebloods just not get tan or something like, the flip?

[pumpkins-s]

Hi there! Just wanted to know if you're still working on SLAOS at all? I get it if you're not, y'know, life happens, but I was just wondering. It's *such* a good fic, by the way. I actually have a rule about not starting anything unfinished but I read your fic What Would You Know (About What I've Been Through) and then I reread it and reread it and finally I had to just read SLAOS. Even if you never finish it, I think it's great and I'm glad to have read it!

Aaaa thank you!! I’m glad you enjoy SLAOS (and What Would You Know)!

To answer your question: I do consider myself as still working on it, yes! For others they’d probably consider a break this long between chapters a hiatus but I don’t…really like that word.

As much as I ran from the Voltron fandom when the last few seasons happened and all the Drama became too much, I have a lot of love for SLAOS. It really changed me as a writer, and I both want to finish it and feel I have a responsibility to at least try to.

Since the time I stopped updating SLAOS, I’ve just had…an incredibly hectic 15 months. (I think it’s been that long?) I had to max out my class credits for a couple quarters and do summer classes, I was studying abroad in Italy for a bit, I picked up and later quit a shit job, I applied and then got into grad school…and I’m graduating college in June. It’s been. A Time.

But no matter how busy things are, I always come back to my fics eventually! My undertale fic is a good example: I didn’t update it for over a year, then showed up with 30 thousand words of new content in two chapters in the same month. Shows how weird my writing progress can be I suppose lol.

Right now, I’m just trying to focus on graduating and on finishing up a Story Arc within said undertale fic (I’m really not in the place right now to be working on two fics at a time), but I definitely want to come back to SLAOS. It may not happen until June/early July but I hope and believe it will happen. Who knows? It may happen sooner. Sometimes things just click into place and I suddenly have the time I need.

In short: I can’t promise you when SLAOS will update. I can’t even promise you it will be soon. But it WILL happen. I love Lance and the McClain sisters, and Mavis, and Hunk, and Ritzie and Yuu and Tommy, and all the rest too much to never give them the ending they deserve.

[kingofthewilderwest]

Alright I’m writing this post before I wimp out on this decision that I need to make. I’m going to try to explain with some thoughtful honesty about where I’m potentially going to be heading with my main blog. But because I have the habit of being... verbose... I’m putting my TL;DR at the top:

I am opening my ask box even though I still have dozens of analysis prompts saved from before I closed the ask box. It’s because I’m tired of not chatting with people in this amazing fandom. I love interacting!

I can no longer consistently analyze prompts. This means I cannot guarantee I will give a thorough analysis if I receive an analysis prompt. I will have to start giving answers like “I don’t know,” “I don’t remember,” or something based more on my gut than thorough research. If a topic really intrigues me, I might give a classic Haddock thorough response. But I can no longer guarantee long, consistent asks. I will, regardless, still respond to every ask I get!

I am so thankful for the experiences I have had with the HTTYD fandom and I would not trade my time on tumblr with you guys for anything. Seriously, you’ve all been amazing. I never would have expected to have such journeys, find such laughter, or make such friends as I have with all of you. Here’s to more fun times to come!

So now... the long version... 

I do encourage people to read it.

I have known for at least a year, if not two, that I could not keep up the pace of my blog analyses... not without sacrificing major opportunities or experiences in my life. I will be honest, me spending too much time on tumblr during my one year of the PhD program could have been one of the key reasons I couldn’t keep up. As much as I enjoy the community and as much as I am so happy to answer asks - it’s very fun and somewhat addictive - I know that I have to make decisions with my limited time.

I’m currently working three part-time jobs (~60 hours a week), am trying to find a good game plan for a stable lifelong career, and I have a lot of other adult-ing to do. When I do have free time, I want to be able to spend it hanging out with irl friends, reading books, studying theology and other topics of interest, reintegrating myself in the local church, writing novels, playing music, composing, drawing, conlanging, cosplaying, hiking, jogging, skiing, snowshoeing, watching good tv shows and movies, playing video games, spending time with family, making meaningful memories, etc.

I want to say that answering analyses on tumblr is something that is very meaningful to me. I don’t know how to say how touched I am that people are curious to hear my perspective. I never intended for kingofthewilderwest to be an analysis blog, yet here I am, wowed and grateful for over five thousand followers who have listened to me yak up a storm about an amazing franchise. I never would have imagined this would happen. I’m beyond grateful. What’s made it so worthwhile is interacting with you guys. I’m so happy to have had this experience and... I want to keep having this experience.

That said, answering asks on tumblr is perhaps not as “helpful” to me in the long run as working on a novel I hope to someday publish, or making sure I get a good night’s rest so I’m ready for another day of work. If I want to reach my life goals and have the meaningful experiences I dream of having, I have to make changes to my current day-to-day situation. I HAVE to. I want to get my life back in order, and I recognize my life has not been as “put together” since I started investing more time in tumblr. To get myself really firmly on track, I do have to loosen my hold on some of my free time activities, if not drop some things out altogether.

Answering analyses is a very time consuming process. VERY time consuming process. It can take me forty minutes or four hours to answer a single question. Not an exaggeration. This is because I often have to rewatch episodes and movies, do a bit of research online, give myself time to mull, and, all in all, invest a lot of time into answering a question. Even when I do consistently try my best to stay on track with answering asks... I cannot keep up with the volume of questions I receive. I wish I could, but I acknowledge I can’t. I still have asks in my inbox from the new year or older (Btw: the way my ask box system works: I keep the ask box open until I am >100 asks behind, then I close the box and answer all those, then open the ask box again). I am so, so sorry that I haven’t responded to all of you who have been patiently waiting for me, or you who may have even forgotten you sent in a question or comment.

I am sorry for all the people I will disappoint by not getting to your submitted asks with the thoroughness you were hoping. I will answer them, albeit not to my previous thorough standard. However, I hope you understand I feel it would be more thoughtful to provide you any response than to never return your messages.

My ask box has been closed because I still have about fifty asks left to answer before I’m caught up. But my ask box has been shut for a long time and I want to hang out with people and chat back and forth. So...

I’m going to open up my ask box again, but I hope you understand I suggest you do not inundate me with analysis requests. I want to open up my ask box so I can interact closely with everyone again... I always feel a little shut off and stale when I have my ask box closed. Now, you can send me analysis requests (when I’m not going through the really old ones in my drafts... again, sorry), but I cannot guarantee I will write an analysis in return. I’ll answer, but it might be a short “I’m not sure” or a few sentences of speculation instead of an essay. I’m happy to chat, I’m happy to discuss back and forth, whatever I want to do when I have the time for recreation, but I cannot be a one-person powerhouse publisher.

I don’t like doing this, but I’ve been needing to do this for a long time. So while I have the guts to write this and post it, I’m going to do it and make the decision final. Don’t make me back down. Don’t make me reverse this choice. Keep me accountable to my long-term life goals.

Another truth, and I am sorry to admit this to you guys, is that I’m not someone who’s used to staying in one fandom mindset for so long. I mean, I always love what I consume and always will get into it. But I’m more of the person to dance from passion to passion, from current interest to current interest, jumping in and out of the buzz of what I love. For instance, I might be on-and-off again with Star Wars, one year thinking about it and fanning about it a lot, another year not really caring. And I usually don’t get involved WITH a fandom... usually just scream about it with a few close irl friends and then move on. How to Train Your Dragon was a notable anomaly, a strange divergence from my typical patterning, and frankly it’s something I wouldn’t have stuck with for so long if not for my interaction with tumblr. If not for the HTTYD tumblr community, I likely would have been out of my HTTYD craze by mid-2015.

And while the HTTYD community has helped me sustain my ongoing interaction with the fandom, my personal passions are focused elsewhere now. I’m still always happy to talk dragons, mind! You guys can fuel me up again when I see you posting about it on tumblr. But in the last year and a half or two years, my mind hasn’t been focused on HTTYD. It’s been first Gravity Falls, then Undertale... and then, with the release of Andromeda, the Mass Effect franchise. I’ve also been going through crazes for things like Voltron: Legendary Defender. So, currently, my head is obsessing about Paladins and Alteans and Salarians and Spectres and Pathfinders and Space Exploration... not so much dragons and Vikings. It’s why my video game blog has been more active and responsive than this one. I’m very sorry if that statement disappoints you, friends. It’s a little weird for me too because I don’t know who all I can shout about my interests with (I only have a few friends who share these interests with me, and I’m sort of annoyingly “late in the fandom” if you know what I mean... don’t want to annoy the same people over and over again about something that’s 5+ years old, but who else do I talk to?). But, well, it is what it is. And it’s more fun for me to charge around with my latest obsession.

Let’s be clear: I’m not leaving you guys or running away or shutting myself off or becoming a hermit or anything. XD You guys mean too much to me to run off. I’m stuck here for good with you dragon nerds. Again, this community has been an extraordinary thing to me, and honestly, my interactions with the HTTYD fandom was the way I got out of a big depressive slump in 2014. So I’m still here! I’ll be staying here! I’m still going to commit to respond to every sincere message I receive! I’m just saying I’m going to invest less time in original posts, especially analyses. That’s all. :) 

It’ll be the best for my life. I hope you friends can all understand. We have to make decisions about the limited time in our lives.

But please! Feel free to chat and say hello and hop into my inbox again! Send little nothings or whatever’s on your mind. I’ve missed getting new asks! It’d be wonderful to hear from you again. <3

So yeah! That’s my honest report and stuff.

Take care, dragon nerds.