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levyfiles · 4 years

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Last week the @skepticbeliever-bookclub prompted us to post a selection of our favourite shyan fics so there’d be a nice little way to highlight all the hidden gems of favourites we might already recognise and love while sharing a few we might never have found otherwise. Last December I posted a little list of some of my favourites so I figured I’d dust off that list with a few new additions of particular favourites I treasure.

Be All My Sins Remembered by spoopyy

Summary: In every lifetime, they find each other.

Review: This fic manages to take you on a long journey through what feels like a series of AUs and they all weave in and out of the wealth of their relationship with some vivid descriptions of the historical settings their journey takes them through. As someone who grew up reading Anne Rice’s epics through historical events, this fic is right up my alley. A vampire Shane passing through the wave of human society’s climb searching for a reincarnated Ryan again and again, trying to hold on to him and keep him through great tragedies and timeframes that just don’t let them be together. This was one of the first fics I read when I was only a lurker and to be quite honest, I need to give this one a nice re-read, maybe for the book club which would be loads of fun. Either way, 10/10. Would be Hurt in the heart again.

Perfect Fit by @beaniegara

Summary: There’s a legend that says anyone able to take all of statue Shane’s cock will summon the god to the mortal realm. Given the statue’s excessive size, no one has ever succeeded to prove or disprove the story. Until Ryan that is.

Review: Listen. You wanna talk actual fandom legends. This fic is one of them and it pulls out all the stops on being delicious and evocative. Also features one of my favourite incarnations of size queen bergara. Good stuff and you’re really rooting for Ryan in this lol.

a prize for rotten judgement by sarcasticfishes

Summary: “You’d drive each other crazy. You sit together at your office all day, and then you’d be commuting home together, eating dinner together, watching TV together, going to bed — well, not together, but you get it, right?”

It doesn’t sound so awful to Shane. There are worse people he could be spending all his hours with than Ryan Bergara.

Review: The moment I happened to glance at the notes of this and saw that Fie’s secondary title for this would have been Ryan and Shane move to the Suburbs, I about lost it with excitement. Primarily because the show this references is one of my favourite comedies and that is one of my all-time favourite episodes. Let me tell you though, even if the reference is lost on you, this story is so much gold rolled into a heart-gripping tale of two best friends who spend every waking moment together taking the plunge to share a home and they were roommates oh my god they were roommates. Shane is pining and you’ll pine right along with him as you’ll yell and holler for him to stop being so damn real and full of doubt. It really is worth every gasp of pain and all the more for the execution but the delivery will leave you in delight. Certainly had me yelling at the author. This fic is gonna be one of my timeless favourites; I knew it the moment I began.

Everything’s Weird and We’re Always in Danger by beethechange

Summary: Ryan perches on the edge of the bed, an indistinct shape that Shane can only just make out in the dark, so he turns the lamp back on. He wants to see Ryan’s face, wants to know that he is alright. Ryan’s cheeks are damp, his hands fisted in the hideous flowered duvet.

“It won’t go away,” Ryan says miserably. “I’ve been like this since we got here, basically, and it won’t fucking—”

“Ah,” Shane says. “Well, you know, sometimes fear…adrenaline…they can affect people. Physically.” He waves his hands indistinctly crotchward. “It’s a, a scientifically known phenomenon.” Shane feels a little better staying in the realm of scientifically known phenomena.

Review: Word of advice. You see a fic is authored by beethechange, run don’t walk because you’re absolutely always going to be treated to the best of banter, the best of prose, chemistry, organic execution and feels right up the bottom end of your heart. This fic, this changed everything I thought I knew I wanted out of a bed-sharing fic. It’s got a little bit of two treats here. You got a sex-pollen-esque situation mixed with bed-sharing and holy fucking damn that is more than you think you deserve, but read this because you do deserve the best of the best. The build up, the dialogue, the surprisingly hilarity of it, the hotness woah, and The Aftermath. When you think you know what you’re in for, you’re wrong and you’re most pleasantly surprised. Get this fic in your life and honestly? while you’re at it, you could do a clean sweep of every fic in her list of works and while my less than adequate reading time management may still be short on some of her most well-recommended pieces, I have an adamant faith that Bee doesn’t disappoint. Go get y’all juice.

Maelstrom by thewindupbird

Summary: Here’s the thing about driving halfway across the country to see someone. You can’t really deny, after that, that you’re pretty much head over heels for them.

Review: Listen. One morning on a day off, I just laid in bed and read this– all 40k+ words– while lying there clutching my pillows, hurting and loving every moment of it. The descriptions of Americana, the slow steady metronome rhythm of Ryan’s feelings as frightened and helpless as they feel when you’re relating deeply to them juxtaposed with the deep-seated struggle of understanding what it is to be with someone you love so much but your mental health is burning quiet holes in your ability to express it in a way that can be understand. Ryan’s fierce determination, breaking through the silence of their non communication is really Everything to me in this fic. i think I really left my heart in the scene in Shane’s parents kitchen. That finished me. Read this fic and understand the deep relief you get when you’ve finished a fight with someone you fiercely care about and they understand you and you understand them and it’s OK; it’s gonna be all right. Augh.

5 times Shane had to overrule Ryan’s “No Homo” + 1 time he didn’t have to by ghoulboyboos

Summary: There was only one thing that would truly drive him up the wall with Ryan, much more than any debate about ghosts ever could: Ryan’s consistent twitches of “no homo” when any sort of physical contract between them happened.

Review: I have such a soft special spot in my heart for this fic particularly because Lud manages to examine a trope I tend to avoid in such a sweet and honest way I couldn’t not love this fic. The story takes a painstaking and very real look at the “no homo” issue as it weaved through the journey that was early days Ryan and Shane. Shane’s reaction to in this and how he communicates with Ryan has such a very heartfelt and once again, real quality to it. I get in my feelings all over again about how far they’ve come and what it meant for Ryan to have Shane there. Lud really nails this piece and it’s a classic in my eyes.

A Burial on Box Hill by InkStainsOnMyHands

Summary: The Celtics believed that the yew flower symbolized both immortality and death. Meanwhile, for centuries, the buxus flower was seen as a symbol for safe passage into the afterlife.

Or,Shane and Ryan were never the same after investigating the Black Forest of Germany alone.

Review: Let me just quote my bookmark comment here. Usually I flee from tragedy like a cat spotting a cucumber but the brevity and the prose dragged me in and now I’m a functioning mess. Bless this fic. Oh my god it’s short and reads like one of those quick horror stories you’ll read to your friends just as the scary stories are transitioning from the urban legends to the ones that feel real. Big warning for main character death but still read it if you appreciate a good story told.

Body Farming by shiphitsthefan

Summary: Failed suppressants and a surprise heat: the worst of cliches, and here Ryan stands, living the trope on location with the alpha he’s hopelessly in love with. Even worse, they’re spending the night in the famous Bell Witch Cave, completely alone and with no way to contact the outside world.

Ryan knows he can survive and keep his preheat a secret, as long as Shane will stop being so protective and concerned. After all, it’s not like Shane wants to bond with him.

Right?

Review: Now judging from the reactions of many people I’ve spoken to, big heavy ABO kink is not popular here but guys, GUYS. This one. Let this one in I promise it is not what you think it is. The dynamic is organic and the worst side of the trope is subverted in all the best ways and lord help us, the smut is hot, like swelteringly smoking. It’ll stay with you.

Believer by cellard00rs

Summary: Some demons and otherworldly creatures love climbing up the power ladder. Shane is not one of these. He likes where he is (thank you very much) and has no interest in moving up. All he wants is to give his friend Ryan a nice birthday gift. So, naturally, everything goes to hell.

Review: This fic is another fandom legend. When I think demon!Shane. It’s this and one other one that always pops right into my mind. This was my first exposure to the bureaucracy meets the supernatural!Shane trope and I was sold from the get-go. The Shane in this fic is everything I imagine a demon!Shane is and his ginger care for Ryan, the concept of their bond and how even though Shane is a demon and responsible for keeping the supernatural a firm secret from Ryan and the rest of the world, his skepticism is relayed through his status as a demon. I want to talk more about it but I think so much of the enjoyment comes from the surprises as the plot unfurls.

hey boy, take a look at me by weakspots

Summary: Ryan is 27, for Christ’s sake, and he’s not exactly hideous, so there’s really no reason to spend his money on a dude — a dude — whose face he’ll never see but whose livestreams he’s been jerking off to for roughly 4 months now. He should be going out and partying and fucking random chicks. Or a guy, whatever, just to get it out of his system and confirm to himself that he really is 100% straight.

Because he is. This is morbid curiosity, if anything.

Review: I’ve been a long-time fan of this universe and it was a universe I didn’t know I needed until this author gave it to us. We or rather me, a desperate audience, just devoured this with every update. Not only is it hot, but it has the delicious intrigue of secret identity, anonymous stuff and a LOT of blush-worthy prose therein. This version of Shane makes me thrive but the titillating nature of straight-identifying!Ryan being bowled over by the turn of events that leads him to his world tilting into the gravity of a camboy just--you Have to read this one!

Heartbeat by quackers

Summary: So the guy Ryan sits next to at work is a vampire. That’s no big deal, right?

Review: I could talk your literal ear off about this fic. Vampires, man. I love the trope; you don’t know me as a person if you don’t know this at least. And this fic kept me fed all damn year. It was a readable garden. If there is one thing I can guarantee about quackers’ work, it’s that their world-building is a festival of detail. The realms and alternate universes they work with while still managing to keep Shane and Ryan’s voices so familiar and real is a talent not attributed to your everyday author. This fic propelled me into wanting to write more and more because quackers makes stories so much fun! Reading their work is, to me, not unlike the feeling I got when I was younger and finding series that speak to my need to escape this crummy existence, made me want to believe in fun spicy things like a vampire that lived through centuries, cynical but still searching, navigating a world where people are still people, adjusting to differences and prejudices, finding comfort in a guy that understands that and more. I’ve talked about this fic in more than a few different posts so I’d just be reiterating a lot of things I loved about the more historical aspects of Shane’s journey, the way Ryan is so firmly curious and inventive in ways to connect with Shane. Look, even if vampires aren’t your thing, I can promise that if you visit quackers list of work, you will find something for your supernatural-lovin’ palate that speaks to a gentler side of your own curiosity about monsters and the jocks that love them. lol.

I’ll Crawl Home by carrieonfighting

Summary: “Shane was almost unnerved by how quickly he’d settled into this body, this name, this life - his friendship with Ryan was the most time he’d spent with any human before, and yet the man fascinated him.”

Review: This is the second fic I think of when someone says the words ‘demon!Shane’ to me because ohhhh my word, this fic is a masterpiece. I really am hard-pressed to find anything better than the feeling I get when I think of demon!Shane headcanons interwoven with the irl Buzzfeed reality and the idea of the Ryan as we know him being protected and watched and loved so deeply by a demon that found him so long ago and wanted nothing but to protect him. I feel an almost vicious glee reliving that moment when Ryan and Shane are on goatman’s bridge and man, I just really love canonical fic mixed with a slight twist. The writing in this makes it work so well with lines that still haunt my heart and soul like “Ryan liked popcorn. So did the demon. Genuinely, not just out of a desire to please the human – he liked the way it crunched between his vessel’s teeth. There were some aspects of taking a corporeal form that were… nice; laughing, coffee, feeling warm. Ryan made him laugh.” FUCK! The beautiful agony of it, watching the demon fall in love with Ryan through the eyes of his vessel. Just stark with pain and unspoken, well-written angst and pain with a perfect ending, I wouldn’t change for anything. I love this for us as a fandom and will always love that author crafted this piece and shared it with us. (Also every time I hear Work Song by Hozier, I think of this fic again and sigh).

#shyan fic #shyan #shyanbookclub #otp: we took an oath

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mylifeiskara · 4 years

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Happy Holidays*, Have a Fic Rec List!

So I realized recently that even though I didn’t start interacting with people until like September, I got back into The 100 last January, even if it was mostly just scrolling through the tags to see what was going on. I’ve been absolutely floored by the writing talent in this fandom, and everyone I’ve interacted with has been so warm and welcoming, which has only encouraged me to write more. So to mark my almost a year of being a lurker and as a fun sort of holiday present to everyone for being so nice, I thought I would go through all my bookmarks and AO3 history and find some of my favorite fics I’ve read this year and share them, complete with commentary somewhat like the way I leave comments on AO3! I’ve read so many more amazing fics than just these ones (which is surprising because I’m a really slow reader), so thank you to literally everyone who writes for this fandom, because you’re all superstars! I get so excited every time someone shares something new, and my marked for later list just keeps getting longer.

This list is mostly Bellarke, but there’s also a couple Murven and one Memori. It’s also abundantly clear that I read mainly modern AUs, so I didn’t bother separating canon things from modern things, but I did separate the complete works and the WIPs. And if I don’t know someone’s Tumblr, I’m just gonna link their AO3 profile!

*I’m pretty sure only one of these fics has to do with a winter holiday, so sorry if that’s misleading!

Complete

Your words on my skin by not_a_total_basket_case Bellamy/Clarke, Rated G (Multi-Chapter) This is the first The 100 fic I ever read, so obviously it has to go first on my list. I don’t read many soulmate AUs, but I liked that soulmates communicated to each other through notes on their skin. The whole thing is just so soft, and I’ve read it a bunch of other times since my first reading. Also bonus points for Clarke and Bellamy being absolute idiots in love.

Feels Like Reckless Driving When We’re Talking by Chash Bellamy/Clarke, Rated E (Multi-Chapter) In this one there’s an age swap, so Bellamy is younger than Clarke, who’s a single mom in her 30s. Bonus points for the presence of Murphy and Emori to help get Clarke out of her head and out of the house so she can meet Bellamy, a hot younger man!

so i sing a song of love by @hiddenpolkadots Bellamy/Clarke, Rated M (One-Shot) This is my comfort fic! I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read it, but it’s one I keep going back to. I love a good friends with benefits complicated by feelings, and also in this case, pregnancy.

I’ll always wear the crown that you gave me by bellamysgriffinprincess Bellamy/Clarke, Rated G (One-Shot) Best friend’s brother is one of my favorite tropes, and I really love the evolution of Bellamy and Clarke’s relationship throughout the story.

Talking with You in the Dark by @bettsfic Bellamy/Clarke, Rated E (One-Shot) This is like “oh my god they were roommates” adjacent (since they’re neighbors), which is what I like about it. I think I’m just a sucker for stories where Bellamy and Clarke’s relationship kind of evolves in a very natural way. Also the simple ask of wanting to share a bed with someone because you’re lonely is such a mood.

the naked truth by @kombellarke Bellamy/Clarke & Murphy/Raven, Rated E (Multi-Chapter) Speaking of “oh my god they were roommates”! This fic has so much great angst! It’s probably the angstiest thing on this list! I’m not sure if I can adequately put into words my feelings about this fic, other than it’s great, and I feel like everyone’s read it already, but here it is so you can read it again!

guess it’s never really over by @captaindaddykru Bellamy/Clarke, Rated M (One-Shot) I love how even when Bellamy and Clarke are divorced, they’re clearly still so in love. It’s why the idea of them having another kid together didn’t sound absolutely absurd to either of them, and that’s the tea.

You Should Still Take Me Home by @eyessharpweaponshot Bellamy/Clarke, Rated T (One-Shot) This has many things I love, which are fics about New Year’s, friends with benefits, and a college setting. It’s the dream! And it’s really cute!

Here’s What I’ve Got (The Reasons Why Our Marriage Might Work) by @marauders-groupie Bellamy/Clarke, Rated T (Multi-Chapter) I have been trying to come up with the words to describe the way this fic made me feel literally ever since I read it, but my God, I still feel like what I say wouldn’t do it justice. Also there is a very particular word I’m searching for that I have yet to land on. It’s so beautifully written, and I love stories that begin after the couple has broken up. Also they’re actors, and I love a celebrity AU!

Potions et Patroni by chants_de_lune Bellamy/Clarke, Rated T (One-Shot) I love anything to do with Harry Potter or Hogwarts, so adding Bellarke to the mix was just right up my alley. If you haven’t noticed, I really love watching/reading the natural evolution of a relationship, which this fic does a great job of. Also if I were a student at Hogwarts, I would have thought Professor Blake and Professor Griffin were a couple the moment I stepped foot into the school.

starry eyes and galaxy minds (we’ll be dancing on the clouds at night) by @pawprinterfanfic Bellamy/Clarke, Rated M (One-Shot) If Bellamy were Spider-Man, I too would fall in love with him, solely based on his voice. When he removed his mask, him being incredibly attractive would just be an added bonus.

Eons With You by @she-who-the-river-could-not-hold Bellamy/Clarke, Rated G (One-Shot) Another great soulmate fic I stumbled upon! I feel like I’ve never gotten into soulmate AUs until this fandom, but that’s just truly the only way to describe what Bellamy and Clarke are to each other? So yeah, this one has reincarnation and the time periods that are in it are so vivid and great.

And in Other News... by @jeanie205 Bellamy/Clarke, Rated T (Multi-Chapter) News anchors! Who make the most perfect team on the planet! There’s some angst, but this is great fluff. And more bonus points for Clarke and Bellamy being idiots in love.

Rock Bottom by @detectivebellamyblake Bellamy/Clarke & Murphy/Raven, Rated E (Multi-Chapter) Wowee, I love so many things about this fic! Clarke and Murphy are my brotp, so I think that’s why I clicked on it to begin with. I hope to have a group of friends like this when I’m in my mid to late 20s, so I guess I’ve got a couple more years to get working on that. I also love that everyone ends up owning up to the shit they’ve done wrong and growing, which is something we don’t always get to see. And there are such cute moments between so many characters!

Burning Cities and Napalm Skies by @jarleene Murphy/Raven, Rated M (Multi-Chapter) Honestly, don’t remember how I found this one, but I’m so glad I stumbled upon it. I’m really only into Murven in AUs (as I’m low key Memori trash), but this fic just had me hooked. Also as someone who wondered if the show would ever question having to repopulate the human race, I was very on board with the concept. Dare I say bits of this more sense than the season 6 we were actually given?

feat. by Debate Murphy/Emori, Rated T (One-Shot) Please forgive the fact that I called myself Memori trash, yet there is only one Memori fic on this rec list. (But also, if anyone wants to rec me some Memori stuff, literally send it all my way!) I love musician AUs, so I was immediately sold on the idea of Murphy admiring Emori’s band’s music and wanting to write a song with her. It’s just so cute!

WIPs Not as many of these, because I can only follow along with so many unfinished things at a time, but these are ones I’ve been keeping up with!

If the Right One Came Along by @useyourtelescope Bellamy/Clarke, Rated M Another celebrity AU, with a side of friends with benefits! Bellamy is a famous historian, and I am here for that. Literally peak nerd, I’m so proud of him. I really enjoy Clarke and Bellamy’s dynamic as they have to figure out how to be friends again after naturally drifting apart when he moved away. And it feels like each subsequent chapter gets cuter!

All Because of You by @burninghoneyatdusk Bellamy/Clarke, Rated E It’s another best friend’s brother fic! This time with a pregnancy! I really enjoy that this story switches back and forth between the past and the present, so we get to see moments of Bellamy and Clarke when they were teenagers/baby adults, and we get to see them be amazing co-parents in the present as well.

The Hungry and The Hunted by @octaviadblake Bellamy/Clarke, Rated T As I said before, I love musician AUs, and I’m so absolutely pumped for more of this story. I’m a huge fan of Bellamy and Murphy’s dynamic. The 80s setting works really well, and I’m already preparing myself for the coming angst.

someone let the poets out by @kindclaws Bellamy/Clarke, Rated M Another actor AU! But this time, actors gone rogue! This fic is also really cool because it’s mixed media, so there’s little tweets and Tumblr posts and whatnot throughout, so I’ll give you the same recommendation the author does to not read this one on mobile.

That’s all I’ve got for now. But happy reading!

#the 100 #the 100 fanfiction #bellarke fanfiction #bellarke fic rec #the 100 fic rec #fic rec #this was fun to curate #and if anyone wants another at any point in time #hit me up and let me know

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keriskz · 6 years

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Buckle up kids. This is a long post about my wonderful @dinglehorton

I’ve been thinking long and hard about what I want to do to show my appreciation to Mel. I’m not talented. I can’t make a gifset of their favorite things or a write a story featuring Will Horton, David Platt, and Reid Oliver (oh lord how I wish I could). But I want to express just how much they’ve meant to me this past year.

Fandom is a funny thing. It’s a wonderful place to meet people who share a common interest with you but it also has a way of bringing out the worst in both yourself and in others. When I left the Glee fandom, I vowed to be forever done with fandom life. Glee utterly drained me. It’s not a coincidence that the last years of the show, when I was most active in Tumblr fandom, were also the years where my depression was at a dangerous low.

So, when Glee ended….I was done. I met some great people who I’ve been following for years, which spilled over to Instagram and Facebook. Our paths have diverged over the years but I would ride or die with those guys. I’m too invested in their lives to completely cut them out of my own. But fandom life? No more. I eventually went days without going on Tumblr. Days turned into weeks and I eventually deleted the app from my phone. I even forgot my password at one point.

But when I DID go on Tumblr, I’d see some people post things about Rob and Aaron. I knew who Aaron was --I had watched his coming out story in 2008 and I was a bit intrigued to see what he was up to. So I investigated a bit and liked what I saw. I watched the clips from Robert confessing to Aaron he slept with Rebecca and I was GONE. I needed to watch more. I dove headfirst into my watch and started to follow more Robron/Emmerdale blogs. Some people followed me back, including Mel, but I was committed to being a lurker.

I don’t remember HOW I came across Mel’s page. But I did and liked their content a lot. We didn’t talk….not until I mentioned Luke and Reid. My first message from them was crying over the what could have been with that couple.

My second:

“just wanna let you know that ily and you’re so so so so so so kind like????!!! you’re so nice idk what to do with it half the time and if i could i would wrap you up in a blanket and feed you your fav foods and beverages and watch all our fav tv shows together <33333333”

And if that doesn’t tell you all you need to know about Mel, then I don’t know what will.

They weren’t afraid to talk to me. Or let me dump a load of feels over Robert/Aaron or Luke/Reid into their ask box. They didn’t brush me off or ignore me, which is what I found a lot of the times in the Glee fandom. They were kind. Generous. Funny. And absolutely wonderful to me. My interactions with Mel made me feel that maybe the Emmerdale fandom was different. That people were more open with one another. Because of Mel, I got over myself and messaged other people. I took a few steps into being a bit more active in the fandom.

And guess what? People *actually* talked to me. Responded to my asks and messages. Started coming to my inbox. Shared their social media with me. Became invested in MY LIFE.

Because of Mel.

I’m not joking when I say that Mel is the reason I am in this fandom and the reason why I’ve stayed in it.

This fandom has its moments, don’t get me wrong. I’m fortunate that I don’t get the gross stuff in my inbox that a lot of others get (including Mel) but when I do get it or see it, I…react. And a lot of times, Mel has stood up for me and defended me from nasty people. But I still enjoy this fandom. I still love the interactions I have with others. I still love reading meta (oh god do I love meta). I love reading fics. I love discovering people’s other interests.

I cry over Mel’s talent all of the time.

One thing I appreciate about Mel is their willingness to be open about their health and struggles, which has made me be more open about my own. And when I’m having a shit day, Mel will send me a message making me feel loads better. Mel lives their life honestly and genuinely. They are what we all should strive to be like in fandom.

Simply put, Mel has had a huge impact on my life that goes beyond fandom. I’m so fortunate they live in Minnesota because when I go back and visit my fam, I’ll have the opportunity to see Mel in person and gave them the hug I’m so stoked to give.

Mel, I love you. All of us who know you are better for it. Thank you for sending me that first message about Luke and Reid. Thank you for being a friend (as the Golden Girls’ theme song starts playing...)

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

#dinglehorton #robron fandom appreciation week #long post

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terriblelifechoices · 5 years

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For the fic writers ask how about 1, 11, and 13?

From the fanfic ask game here.

1. What made you start writing fanfic?

Oh man. This is embarrassing.

Okay. The year is 1999, and after a sixteen year hiatus, George Lucas has unleashed a new Star Wars movie on the world.

I really wish that I could say that I found the Phantom Menace so terrible that I started writing fanfic because canon was broken, but the reality was, I had no freaking idea the Star Wars fandom existed as something other than “those weirdos who liked those old sci fi movies.” I did, however, have a Very Obsessively Fannish friend, who not only made me watch the original trilogy (on VHS, because I am a fandom old) but convinced me to watch the latest movie.

My Very Obsessively Fannish friend invented a Self-Insert character who was Obi-Wan’s love interest/rival. Another friend invented a Self-Insert character who was the first friend’s twin sister. I invented a character from farther back in the timeline, and stole shamelessly from a book I was reading at the time. I started writing fanfic about those characters because it amused my friend. We’d swap the notebooks back and forth in between class periods, and I’d get them back with comments in the margins. It was fandom in a very small microcosm. (And, you know, writing fanfic in class kept me from being terribly bored. So there was that.)

I didn’t really participate in fandom as anything other than a lurker until the first Fantastic Beasts movie came out. With new fandoms, I usually hit up the kinkmeme once I’m done consuming the available media on AO3. I like reading what stories other people want to see, as well as the various and sundry fills.

And then I hit the prompt for Impossible, and it chewed on my brain until I started writing it.

11. What kind of relationships are you most interested in writing?

Romantic or sexual relationship-wise, I am such a sucker for the Badass Protector (now with bonus martyr complex) and the unexpectedly powerful Cinnamon Roll.

This post sums it up better than I can. But I really do enjoy relationships where “the first step is be attracted to a powerful man, the second step is completely fucking annihilate him.”

That said, if we’re not talking about romance, I fucking LOVE Found Family and Families of Choice relationships. They are absolutely my favorites.

13. Name three favorite characters to write.

Percival Graves. (Speaking of Badass Protectors with bonus martyr complexes…) We never actually get the canon version of him, which means all canons are valid and my preferred brand of ‘honor with martyr complex’ is just as valid as anyone else’s headcanon/preferences.

Gellert Grindelwald. I like writing Grindelwald for the same reason I like writing Percival Graves. There’s a lot of room to play, even though there is (arguably) more canon regarding the character. I think I find the idea of Grindelwald more interesting than what we’ve seen in either of the movies – not just a villain, but a leader: charismatic and silver-tongued as the serpent in the Garden of Eden.

Jacob Kowalski. I love Jacob. I really do. Jacob in canon is wonderful. Jacob in fanon is equally wonderful. There’s no alpha male posturing, just cheerful acceptance. Also, as someone who enjoys baking, how can you not love a character who bakes?

#fanfic ask game #ask me anything #tora42

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thank-your-lucky-stars · 7 years

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The Roles of Fandom

Here is a little large guide to some of the roles people play within fandom.

[Note: I actually had the outline of this essay written for about a year, including most of the ‘roles’ listed in this post, but I have only now gotten around to writing this properly!]

I’ve been involved in several different fandoms since I first joined the World Wide Web back in 2002, with my first major fandom coming a few years later. As a result, this post is mainly based on my own experiences within fandom, although over the years I have had numerous conversations with numerous people who share my views about the mentality of fandom and the clear hierarchies, cliques and statuses, which have helped me broaden my mind and open my eyes to the reality of it all. It’s something I have always found fascinating, which is why I often analyse the goings on within fandoms to assess the clear roles most people often fall into.

I also feel I have the ability to see things from many different points of view, as I myself have been in several different roles in different fandoms over the years; I have been the new girl, I have been a popular blog with praise heaped upon me, I have been sucked into an unhealthy group (the Mean Girls - more later), I have entered an already established fandom and managed to climb up the ladder, I have watched a fandom fall apart due to trolls and bullies (which I also happened to be a victim of), and I have also been the lurker - the outsider looking in.

As a result of this, I came to the conclusion a long time ago that the whole concept of fandom - any fandom - is a game. Everyone is playing, it’s just they may not realise it until they....stop playing. Hindsight can really open your eyes to your own behaviour - good or bad - and others’ behaviour too, and it can also teach you a lot about yourself. It has definitely taught me a lot about myself, and in order to write this post, I have had to look back at the certain roles that I myself have played since my first key fandom back in 2006. I have absolutely made mistakes and interacted with the wrong crowds, and there is a lot of stuff in my fandom history that makes me cringe on recollection, but it’s these experiences that have taught me what I know and are part of the reason why I find it all so fascinating; the mentality of it all, and what it can say about you and all of your peers who are generally just trying to bond over this thing you all love.

This post is looking at the specific roles you will find being played in each and every single fandom. It doesn’t matter if it’s a band’s fandom, a TV show, a film, a book - whatever it is, it is my belief that you will find these people (to varying degrees) in every single fandom.

Before I start, I want to clarify a few of things. First, (and I delve into this deeper at the end of the post), I know things aren’t always as black and white or as clear cut as they may appear when I’m talking about certain roles. For the purpose of this post, I’m not really discussing the grey-areas, as that would make this post about a million words longer and it’s long enough already!!

Secondly, there are absolutely “ranks” within each role I mention. There is definitely a scale from about 1-5 in each role, although I generally talk about the most “extreme” cases.

Finally, I want to clarify what I mean when I talk about “damaging behaviour”, as this will come up several times in this post and I want it to be clear exactly what I’m talking about.

Disrespectful/Inappropriate fandom behaviour:

Stealing content - I have seen this in every fandom, where people will save/repost someone else’s work (gifs mainly, but also scans, edits, art or sometimes even text) without crediting the creator. Usually this can be resolved; newer fandom members might not understand general fandom etiquette and I have personally spoken to people who’ve done this who have been horrified to realise what they have done. Other’s, meanwhile, do not care, and will continue to steal and take credit for other people’s work. This is something that is definitely unacceptable (I have experienced this also!!).

Disrespecting other fandom members - this can come in many different forms.

Debate and having a difference of opinion is fine until Person A runs off and starts writing indirect, catty little posts about everyone who doesn’t share the same views as them, often without having an adult discussion/debate with these people first.

These posts generally only serve to make certain corners of the fandom feel bad or even shamed about feeling how they feel or thinking what they think and it is a form of disrespect that can often get overlooked by a lot of fandom members as the content is not always explicit (ie. they’re not always calling people names, and it’s generally about groups of people instead of just one person, so it doesn’t feel as “personal”). As is often the case with posts like those, it’s not what is actually said but it’s how it is said that can be damaging to fandom morale, and while everyone can snap and write something catty now and then, when it becomes a consistent thing that certain blogs keep doing, regardless of how people react, I know for a fact that this sort of behaviour has made people scared to speak their minds and has even made people leave fandoms all together. Whether the author of these catty indirect posts means to be as damaging as they often are is usually a mystery, depending on what “role” this blog fits into (more later).

However, this can often escalate into more direct, personal and explicit disrespect which can later evolve into full-on trolling/bullying. For example, in a previous fandom I was involved in, Person A and Person B were having a discussion about a band member’s solo work. When Person B compared this band member’s solo work with some later tunes by the band he was once in, Person A called Person B a “dickhead” and blocked them before proceeding to write nasty bitch posts about how Person B was “fucking stupid” and “dumb” for comparing one piece of music to another.

These are just a few examples, so please bare that in mind or refer back to that when I mention “damaging behaviour*” during this post.

Now that’s out of the way, let’s start!

The Popular Blogs

This is a pretty clear one, although there are several different kinds of popular blog. Generally, to be popular, these blogs tend to have at least a couple of the following;

They have been around a long time - often longer than most.

They create a lot of quality content (art, fic, meta, in-depth text posts/analysis about the music/show/characters etc., memes, funny little text posts - you know the drill)

They have “connections” with the thing you love (ie. have met the band members/actors several times, have friends who work for or have connections to the people involved with the thing you love, etc etc.)

They use their voice and aren’t afraid to speak their mind.

The popular blogs tend to have quite big personalities, create content that gets widely spread, and are outspoken about anything and everything related to the thing you all love.

Climbing to the top of the fandom ladder isn’t always easy and can sometimes take a very long time to achieve depending on the size of the fandom. There are several different kinds of popular blogs, although the two most dominant seem to be those that are very approachable and express their views in a reasonable/respectful way, and those that don’t.

Certain blogs who rise through the fandom ranks quite quickly will get carried away with their new-found popularity. With the confidence their status gives them, they can often become a little careless with the way they put themselves across while their ego takes hold of them; confidence can swiftly turn into arrogance and this can sometimes make them an intimidating presence within the fandom and even a little unapproachable, although some fandom members will find this interesting or edgy - it becomes their USP (Unique Selling Point) that can differentiate them from other more down-to-earth popular blogs. You can generally spot these blogs by the way they engage and respond to people, and they often don’t bat an eyelid to praise or compliments. A lot of these people can slip into the “I am Better Than You” category.

For the most part though, popular blogs are generally pretty nice. As well as creating quality content or ticking any of the other boxes in the list above, a lot of popular blogs will be friendly and likeable. People may get intimidated by their status, which can be awkward for a friendly Popular Blog, as more often than not it’s other people that put them on such a high pedestal - even if they’re aware of their rank/popularity themselves.

This moves us onto the next category...

The “I Am Better Than You” Blogs

You know who they are. You may not know you know, but deep down....you know. The reasons people may think they are above you;

They have liked the thing longer than you

They’re already a well established/popular blog, and you may be a newbie

They have seen/met the band loads of times/have more merch than you

They have stalked met the actors/people connected with the show/movie

They create a lot of content which maybe you don’t. Or they believe their content is superior to yours/others.

There are also sub-categories within this as well;

“I am better than you because I have [insert one or more of the reasons above] and I won’t really associate with you because you’re not cool enough.”

“I am better than you because [insert reason] but I’m still a friendly person and I won’t talk down to you even though I am above you in the Fandom Ranks.”

Basically, there are people who sort of put themselves on a pedestal, or are indeed put on a pedestal by other people, but they can still be nice with it. I have personally encountered this many times. There are also those that are sort of unabashed with their “status”, and won’t really hide the fact that they think they’re above you. You can usually tell by seeing who else they interact with (people with equal or higher ranks), or by the way they respond to asks.

A lot of younger or maybe newer people in the fandom can often lavish praise onto these people. And note, not all of these people who feel this way also slip into the Popular Blog category (although a lot of them do) - some of these “I am Better Than You” blogs will actually isolate themselves to a small corner of the fandom in a way that makes them appear untouchable - people will come to them, but they will not go to anyone else. Because, you know, they’re too good for that.

I have also found that with a lot of these people, they will mainly receive anon’s instead of actually having people reveal themselves to them. I have strong reason to believe that many of the “anon” messages these people receive is actually them sending messages to themselves in order to boast about their most recent meeting with band member/actor/whoever, or their most recent purchase of expensive, hard-to-find merch. In one particular case in one fandom, there was a man who created multiple social media accounts to boost his own status/fan-page (which was a page mainly to show off his collection of [insert old 60s band] memorabilia), and I believe that this sort of thing happens to varying degrees across all social media. As this post is mainly focusing on fandom on tumblr, the anon option is definitely a tool a lot of these blogs use to help boost their status, by asking certain questions or heaping praise (or indeed hate, for attention) onto themselves to make them appear more popular than they actually are (if someone is constantly receiving hate and yet refuses to block/turn off anon, that is often a big red light).

Ultimately, there are the people that will never give much back to you even if you try really, really hard and praise them left right and centre, and there are those who will actually engage with you, be perfectly nice to you, and may even be friends with you - even though, ultimately, you know they do rank above you in the Fandom Hierarchy. Depending on how you view things, this can be totally fine. It’s just up the individual if they’re okay and comfortable with this. As I said at the start, Fandom is a game. If you can view it as such, then it can be easier to accept your lower “rank”. You’ve all seen the “I can’t believe [insert blog] follows me!” / “I still can’t believe [insert blog] knows who I am/talks to me!” posts. This speaks volumes and proves that it’s two-way street, and these posts help reinforce the Rank/Status mentality amongst fandom members - even if they don’t realise it.

The “I’m just here to have a good time” Blogs

These people can often be a blessing. They can even be pretty damn popular, if not the most popular blog in fandom, because they just go about their business, being funny or charming, posting memes, making people smile, regardless of whatever drama or intense discussion is happening within fandom at the time. They’re not as clueless as they may appear; they know what’s what and who’s who, they know who’s trouble and will probably avoid the Mean Girls, but they also Don’t Get Involved™ in any major discussion/debate that is happening. (at least not publicly!)

Then there are those who maybe aren’t aware of the current drama; they’re in their own little bubble just doing their thing, living in ignorant bliss. They can often be the light within the darkness, the sun peaking through the clouds. A blessing!!!

The Fence Sitters

There are several different degrees of Fence Sitter. For the most part, the Fence Sitter is against drama and will not engage in any major debate, even if they have strong opinions on the subject. Some more confident Fence Sitters will sometimes add their two-pennies worth as long as there isn’t a major divide between views, but they generally keep quiet if things get particularly heated.

Many Fence Sitters will also turn a blind eye to damaging behaviour* within fandom and continue to support these blogs - mainly because they have a need to be friends with everyone. Some Fence Sitters might be fully aware that someone is trouble; a Mean Girl, for example, and may even tell people privately they think such-and-such is horrible, but will still heap praise onto them publicly - even if this person has been unpleasant to the Fence Sitter too!

This is a prime example of the game playing that can go on within fandom, and shows just how fake a lot of it can be. For the most part, the Fence Sitters are generally middle-of-the-road blogs who don’t say anything too outrageous themselves, appear to be sweeter-than-sweet and create decent to really good content. They want to rank higher, they’re insecure, they want that praise and validation; not just from the more likeable people within fandom, but from everyone. But being friends with everyone isn’t always possible, and as a result they can often end up finding themselves alienated from both “sides” of the fandom.

A lot of the time though, many of the Fence Sitters are just too nice for their own good - whether calculated or not - and generally have good intentions. Even if they could do with toughening up a little.

This brings me on to the next category:

The “I don’t think this is that deep” Blogs

These are probably in the best position. They don’t read into fandom politics, they ignore the hierarchy, they don’t care about status or who’s right or wrong. They don’t pay attention, because they don’t give a fuck, and god-damn I envy them. They just go about their business, not really interacting with many people, staying in their lane....they just take everything for what it is on the surface and each post as it comes. They don’t keep mental notes of who has said what or who is cool and who isn’t. They just....don’t give a shit. It’s shallow and it’s awesome. They don’t care if Person A has been a bitch (as long as it’s not like....mega bitch...for the most part anyway....) - if this person creates decent content, the “I don’t think this is that deep” blog will reblog it. They probably haven’t even realised Person A was nasty one time, because they Don’t Give a Fuck. It’s all about the content, not the people behind it, and to be fair that can be a pretty good mentality to have as long as you’re not getting in too deep with anyone in the fandom - which these people generally don’t. These people don’t tend to rank very high, but they don’t even know that because, as their title suggests, they really don’t think things are this deep. The don’t see fandom as a game. Or, if they do, it’s just a fun game with no rules and no positions. It’s just all about reblogging groovy gifs or cute pictures. Nothing else matters beneath that, because, well, it’s really not that deep. These people can be annoying but they’re also so, so enviable.

The Reasonable Blogs

These people can be wordy, they like a good discussion/debate, but whatever their view, they are absolutely always reasonable, mature and polite with the way they express themselves. Even when dealing with more difficult fandom members who maybe aren’t being as friendly during the discussion as the Reasonable Blog, Reasonable Blog will still keep a level head, they won’t stoop down to the Troublemaker’s level, and they won’t resort to name calling or cheap tactics in order to get their point across - even if they’re being antagonised/provoked, the Reasonable Blog will rarely snap. They’re not afraid to speak their mind, and they’re generally not afraid to defend their friends, but they always do it with their head held high. They can be a rare breed, but they’re a blessing.

The Troublemakers

You know who they are. The shit stirrers. The ones who say things with a teeny tiny sting to it, voicing their opinion in a way that is provocative and will get people a little fired up. At the end of the day, it’s all about the wording; it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it that’s important.

The Troublemakers can also be split into two categories; generally, a lot of them just like firey debate about the thing you all love, and sometimes their honesty/brutality can be funny or admirable as it’s not usually about attacking or having a pop at anyone in the actual fandom. But there are also those that do want to antagonise people on a personal level, to varying degrees, and the more extreme of these Troublemakers fit into the next category...

The “Mean Girls”

There are mean guys too obviously, but generally they don’t seem to be as smart, or as bitchy, and they tend to roam alone. The Mean Girls on the other hand are all about their little clique. That’s not to say some of them don’t ride solo, but generally you’ll find a little group with the same kind of vibe, just spewing shit, causing trouble, and generally not being too pleasant.

Of course there are various levels of “bitchery”. Sometimes it can be quite subtle, just the odd catty post now and then that is obviously created to make certain corners of the fandom feel insecure. Sometimes it’s a case of once you see it, it becomes obvious. In other cases, it is extreme, it is blatant, and it is gross. That’s when it develops into something far, far worse....which I will get onto in just a sec.

The Mean Girls, in the more obvious cases, know what they are, and they strive to be it. They don’t give a fuck, and they love it. They know people don’t like them, but they also know a lot of people sort of envy them; being in a clique can be fun, at the end of the day, and usually when people act like they’re super cool, some people will be fooled into thinking that’s what they actually are.

This leads me onto the...

Queen Bitch™ Role.

In every single fandom I have ever been a part of, going right back to my forum days on the Newsround website from 2002(!!)-2004, there has always, always been a Queen Bitch. I even remember the screen name of the first Queen Bitch I encountered - it was DetroitDiva on the Newsround forums. It’s literally been about 14 years and I still remember her name.

These people strive to be a bitch. They wear their hideousness like a badge of honour. It becomes their brand. They will mix it up by being nice now and then to certain people, generally people who have bowed down to them first, just to make them seem more human. But by god....they love it. They love being disliked. And they will have their followers who love it too. It can almost be funny, unless you’re one of their victims. DetroitDiva used to attack people for liking the band Busted. I was a massive Busted fan (still am tbh lmao) and it used to hurt me to my very core when she’d go on and on and on about them, talking directly to their fans and mocking us for liking this band. And you know, she was smart with it - this was a kids forum after all, we were all in our early teens, and it was a moderated forum so no offensive language could be used. But it just made her smarter with her dialogue, and that way it hurt more. And god, she fucking loved it.

I still see people like this today. Actual adults. I have seen people like this, to various degrees, in every fandom since. They may not directly come at people (although they’re not afraid to), but they will still make damn sure they’re making someone somewhere feel crap about something or someone they like, or a certain opinion they have.

The Trolls

Ugh. There will always be one or two. On tumblr, people will always get anon hate from time to time. But sometimes, and this doesn’t necessarily happen in every fandom, but it can happen....you get full on, unabashed trolls who don’t hide behind anon, who use their main blogs to terrorise and bully the fandom.

I have only experienced this on an extreme level once, in a previous fandom. I watched a small group of girls who started off as the Mean Girls, led by the Queen Bitch™, escalate into full on trolls. I’m talking about writing call-out posts, calling people really gross names, telling people to block/unfollow certain blogs in the fandom (I was one of the targets) and telling people to steal our work - all because we were a little popular, and all because when they first started showing their damaging behaviour*, we tried to (politely) talk them out of it.

They used people’s real names, they stalked our blogs for months and months on end, they continuously wrote nasty posts about us for months after we blocked them and stopped interacting with them.

This is probably kinda rare, but it’s something that can escalate if people don’t react a certain way to certain behaviour. More often than not, trying to reason with these people by politely telling them the way they word things isn’t cool or whatever, isn’t going to help. They don’t care, and they don’t want to listen. Of course, not everyone who puts themselves across in a bad way is a bad person; some people can change, can check themselves, can stop and think “oh shit, I should probably be more careful how I say things”. But unfortunately, in most cases, reasoning doesn’t work.

In that particular case, we tried calling them out. A couple of people tried writing reasonable, rational posts warning others in the fandom about certain blogs and how they had started bullying people. This only spurred the Trolls on even more, they lapped up the attention, and that’s when their behaviour got even more extreme.

If you see a troll in your fandom, or you see negative behaviour which you realise is inappropriate, you are not obliged to confront these people or call them out. More often than not, the very best thing you can do is unfollow and/or block them, and don’t interact with their posts. Maybe warn your mates about them privately, but don’t make a song and dance about it. Let these people become invisible to you. Stop and look at who else might be associating themselves with these people. Protect yourself and other’s as much as you can by not giving these Trolls the validation they crave.

‘The Trolls’ is a rank. It goes Troublemakers > Mean Girls > Queen Bitch > Troll. I have literally watched people climb this ladder (or....slip down it, depending on which way you look at it). It is the perfect example of the negative ranking system within fandom.

The Peacekeepers

These are the ones that avoid drama, but at the same time they’re not afraid to acknowledge drama without getting directly involved. They will write a separate post telling people to cool it, to love and respect each other, when they see things may be getting a little heated. They just want an easy life and they want everyone to be friends. They generally turn away from the Mean Girls, or the Troublemakers, but at the same time they try to keep an open mind and will interact with those people if the Troublemaker/Mean Girl happens to reach out to them first (the less extreme levels of Mean Girl/Troublemaker, that is). These people tend to be relatively popular as they’re generally pretty nice people, even if they can maybe be a little too sensitive now and then.

The Others

There are more, of course. Not everyone can be fit into a box, or a role, or a rank - although generally most people will have traits from certain categories. This post isn’t about defining every single person that enters fandom, it’s just looking at some of the more prolific and dominating groups you tend to see.

----

After thoughts and some clarification;

A lot of people can fall into multiple categories, or switch from role to role as they establish themselves in the fandom, gain confidence and find their footing. Gaining confidence can be both a good and a bad thing, depending on how you use it.

I’m generally talking about the most extreme or at least the most common cases in each of these Roles. As I said at the start of this post, there are definitely ranks within each category.

For example, not everyone in the Mean Girls category is a total bitch. I should know; I was one (a Mean Girl, not a total bitch!). I was in that group once, in a small clique of girls who weren’t overly pleasant. They weren’t technically mean (at least....not to too many people), they just weren’t overly nice.

As I said at the start of this post, in order to write this in the first place I’ve had to look back and reflect on my own fandom behaviour/experiences, and to prove that I’m not a hypocrite I have written a separate post talking about the roles I myself have played within various fandoms in the past. You can read it here.

So I’m fully aware that things aren’t always as black and white as they may appear on the surface, and they’re not as black and white as I may have made them appear in this post when describing the roles of fandom. I know good people do bad things, say bad things, and get mixed up with bad people. This isn’t actually about shaming anyone or making anyone feel bad.

Ultimately, this post is just an assessment. There are grey areas of absolutely everything. I personally find this stuff fascinating, to take a step back and look at yourself, at your peers, and see if you can figure things out. You’ll be surprised by what you see when you look hard enough.

At the end of the day, you can learn a lot from fandom. It’s actually a fascinating social experiment, putting a bunch of people together from different walks of life, different ages, with one common interest. As I said, it has taught me so much about myself - and trust me, not all of it is good (which again, you can read in my separate post about my own personal experiences).

I have 100% made mistakes in every fandom I have been in, pretty much. I have been too harsh and I have been too nice but ultimately I will always give people three bits of advice when entering a fandom:

Be nice and respectful to others

Trust your instincts

Be honest

I’d also say “look out for your friends”, but I actually think you should look out for yourself first. Fandom can mess with your brain. It can give you a massive sense of validation one minute and make you feel like crap the next. Fandom is a revolving door, and most people are ultimately disposable. This stuff can be easy to forget if you’re having a good time, but when you’ve been around a while and have experienced some of the more unpleasant aspects, those things become frightfully clear. It’s the nature of fandom and it’s important to not take that stuff too personally, even if it can be really hard not to.

This post is actually just a bit of fun, it’s something I have discussed with many long-running members of various fandoms, and I’m certainly not alone in my assessment of fandom politics and hierarchies. At the same time though, people can take this as seriously as they want, and if it can open anyone’s eyes to the fascinating goings on of fandom politics then I hope you find it as interesting as I do!

#mine #essay #fandom #this is so LONG congratulations if you manage to read it all!!!#discussing the roles of fandom #based on my personal experiences #i mentioned the other day i wanted to write about fandom mentality #and a few people encouraged me to do it #and considering i started writing this post like a year ago i figured i should finish it #it literally took me two days to complete lmao #the only way i could figure out how to do it was to break it down to the specific roles #i mean i could've gone on for even longer #this is a highly edited version #but i have a habit of talking way too much about one subject #i could delve so much deeper #i had to be pretty black and white for the purpose of the post but i know not everything is always that clear cut #i hope i don't get hate for it i'm not actually having a go at anyone at all #i find it fascinating #and as i keep saying i know it's ultimately all just a game #and people are just playing whatever role they fall into either deliberately or naturally

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mazanica · 5 years

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Grad cap, masks, ❤? (I CAN'T FIND THE OTHER DAMN EMOJIS)

That’s when I go into copy-paste mode :’D

↪ 🎓 ↪ When did you join the fandom, why did you?

I actually joined it pretty early on, though I was a lurker back then! I started paying attention to it about a month after it came out. I live under a rock and completely missed it, and I was browsing Cheezburger (hahahahahahaha yeah....) and someone had put up a gif of Foxy, I don’t remember what he was saying, but it intrigued me and I mentioned it to some of my friends who were like “what? seriously? Mazey come on” so I began watching Mark’s videos of it and looking at fanfictions and art and just. Loved it. Sadly I didn’t get involved in the fandom until it had mostly died down, I was rly focused on school back then, but yeah, I was here pretty much since the start!

As for the why, the designs intrigued me, I’m a feckin’ furry and love robots, and I absolutely LOVE blank slate characters that I can impose a million and one AUs on! So yeah XD

↪ 🎭 ↪ What is your purple guy's backstory? Why is he the way he is?

He’s William Afton and he’s just a really sick person tbh. No tragic backstory (at least not in Aftermath ‘Verse, other AUs differ), no reason or goal, he just enjoys the feeling of power and the thrill of the kill. He grew up with loving parents and even a brother, no abuse, no mysterious deaths, nothing. His best friend growing up was Henry, Henry was an avid artist while William was interested in programming and they began creating these characters based off of a popular mascot from a popular local restaurant- Fredbear’s Family Diner. Eventually the family, close friends of Henry’s family, passed the franchise and all rights to Henry, who gifted half of the rights to his bestie, and they made their childhood fantasies a reality by introducing Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy (programmed by William) in their own restaurant, though Fredbear and Spring Bonnie continued existing in the diner.

Some things in life happened- both Henry and William got married and had kids, but the more time that passed the more... unhappy William felt. He started feeling jealous of Henry, who for the most part is recognized as the creator of the animatronics (since he designed them) and he began plotting ways to take the company for himself, which was somewhat thwarted when they were bought out by Fazbear Entertainment (he was tight for money, the only reason he agreed). He was kept on as a mechanic (though under an assumed name) and character actor at Fredbear’s, however, and began playing with the animatronics’ AIs, and through some sleuthing in dark corners he heard rumours that death can bring life to a machine- so he tested it out by egging on some local children, eventually manipulating the events that caused the Bite of ‘83. He privately examined Fredbear after he found out the child died and saw signs that it was true, so he took the leap and lured some kids (ironically, the same 4 who he had manipulated into tormenting Goldie’s kid) into the back and first severely injured them (so as to prevent escape), waiting until the building was vacated at night to finish them off by stuffing them inside the animatronics (who were powered down). Unfortunately his crime was discovered, but luckily his identity wasn’t discovered. The restaurant was shut down and Fazbear Entertainment contacted him, requesting he help them with their next big project....

William wanted to create an actual AI, however, rather than relying on death, so when he creates the Toys (note, he had no hand in the Marionette) he strives to create them “alive.” He’s delighted that he’s succeeded but he begins getting antsy and bored, as in Aftermath ‘Verse the animatronics aren’t hunting the night guard (Jeremy is unnerved by the fact they walk around and talk, and the OG animatronics do not like him), and he begins wanting to kill some more. So he finds a child locked outside the Pizzeria and lures them away... he gets his fix in slowly, one at a time, eventually even quietly murdering his own children (he, ah, got rid of his wife long before) and began playing with “elements” related to life and death. experimenting on himself and others around him, creating another set of animatronics and opening up his own business with them in order to access more kids.

Eventually something happened that just caused him to snap and he killed the children at the second location, the Toys the only witness. After they’re shut down and the Toys scrapped, he disappears off the map for a while, focusing on his pet project......

(SORRY THAT GOT LONG I LIKE RAMBLING)

↪ ❤ ↪ Do you have a favorite fnaf ship? If so, why?

I have so many (ultimate OG/Toy Shipper Here) but I gotta say Goldie/Spring! They’re literally made for each other, and their tragic story just hits me in the feels every time I think about it!!!

#Ask #I GOT WORDY #Oh I forgot to say the assumed name is Dominic Fueller #he went back under an assumed name bc Fazbear Entertainment didn't want the 'old management' affiliated with the restaurant lol #so they wouldn't hire William Afton #but they WOULD hire Dominic Fueller #ANYWAY BASELINE HE'S A SICK FUCK

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whiskasgirl · 7 years

Text

SLBP introduction

I was tagged by the ever awesome @shioune, thank you!! ^^

All are welcome to fill this out!!! You don’t need to be tagged to do it!!!!! @ing your friends helps get it going, but regardless please tag it #helloslbp so it’s easy to find.

1. WHAT GOT YOU INTO SLBP, AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN THROWING MONEY AT VOLTAGE?

My friend introduced me to it. It was around the end of july/august when she told me she found this app, it has samurai and it’s really fun~ and also there’s this cute guy who blushes at everything & and the ninja who doesn’t give a shit about the MC. XD At first I was very skeptical because I didn’t have a good opinion on mobile app games (bad translation, poor storyline etc) and I was really proved wrong on Nobu’s route (I’m actually so glad I chose that first, it got me into the game eventually). And I’m playing it ever since! I love japanese history but the sengoku period somehow always eluded me. (I remember the time when I had to study it for my history exam... it was a lost cause, my notes&brain were a complete mess haha) So when my friend showed me an image of the lords I only recognized Nobunaga’s and Hideyoshi’s names and: *suspiciously eyes Ieyasu’s name* “wasn’t that guy a shougun???” NOW my prof would be proud of me lol ANYWAYS good humor, angst&drama and a great protagonist are the factors that sell a game for me and I found these in SLBP. The historical setting is the cherry on top.

2. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER, AND WHY? WHAT FIRST DREW YOU TO THEM?

Mitsuhide! Yasu and Nobu are close to my heart too, but I’m going to gush about Mitsuhide here anyway, because I feel he’s so overlooked in the fandom.

I fully intended to choose him on my first run (because he appealed to me most aesthetically) but I found him boring in the prologue so I went with Nobu instead. I liked his serious and intellectual side but didn’t really start getting interested in him until I read his events and particularly one of his POV epilogue, where I realized there’s a lot more to him than he shows.

The thing is Mitsuhide goes great length to appear perfect all the time. The perfect gentleman, the perfect samurai, the perfect retainer. But sometimes he lets his true personality slip through and that’s where the interesting part starts for me. As he says in one of the events, that’s a part of himself that he does not care for. He’s surprisingly cunning, impulsive, possessive and has a closet yandere side which really fascinates me. When it comes to the MC he’s very caring and protective but it’s also canon he likes it rough in bed. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

He’s also a total workaholic, there’s no stopping him when it comes to work. I laughed a lot at that event where Nobu tried to force him to take a break and sent him to a hot spring and somehow he managed to turn that into work too. XD

And then there’s his cute side. He has no idea how to relax or be fun like Hideyoshi&he mostly bores people and that bothers him a lot, so he secretly practices telling jokes. He’s the worst at it. Not to mention he babytalks to animals and he’s not even aware of it!

I also love his “I’m surrounded by idiots” looking sprite.

Now I concede that his main story is an absolute borefest (I barely got through it myself), they clearly halfassed it and/or had no idea what to do with Mitsuhide’s character at the time of writing. Easily one of the worst routes in the game and I’m angry because that’s probably the first impression players get of him and I have a ton of ideas how it could have been easily fixed.

/tl;dr: Reasons I love Mitsuhide, an essay by WG/

3. ARE YOU STILL PLAYING THE GAME ITSELF, OR ARE YOU JUST ACTIVE IN FANDOM?

I’m not too active in the fandom, but I religiously play the game. XD

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE VOLTAGE FANDOM?

Can’t speak about the Voltage fandom as a whole, but I love that the SLBP fandom is so kind, welcoming and supportive; I love seeing your posts&enthusiasm on my dash (even if I’m just a lurker/observer from the sidelines ;^;)!!

5. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU’D SEE MORE OF IN SAMURAI LOVE BALLAD PARTY?

I would like to see more events where Mitsuhide shows his true personality and possibly opens up more to the MC about himself and his past. And honestly I would be beside myself if we would repeat earlier events sometime. Also SHIGEZANE and I wouldn’t mind if Voltage announced Nobuyuki’s route. Oh, and don’t forget about Hanbei in Hideyoshi’s events (#BringBackHanbei2k17) please and thank you.

6. END WITH A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF

Hey, it’s Whiskas, hobby artist from Hungary! I studied italian&japanese linguistics and hopefully I’ll be an art student next year. I love cats, pink and everything sparkly. I mostly draw, play otome&video games and watch movies in italian in my free time. :3 My favourite otome game series ever is Hana Awase (when will the 4th game come out?? ;A;) it got me interested in japanese poetry and actually inspired me to start studying classical japanese language. I’m also in the Dragon Age fandom, because that game ruined my life.

Aaah I really don’t know who to tag anymore, I think everyone already was...

#helloslbp #LONG POST #omg #I didn't mean to ramble so much ><#samurai love ballad party #if this ain't me #queuetie pie

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levyfiles · 4 years

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helloooo!!!! since you are my fave blog about shyan content, i must ask: what are your favorite fics???

AHhh! I–OK well, Lately I’ve been finding more and more fics that fill my heart right up with every gorgeous headcanon there is, but If we’re talking all-time favourites, I have finally compiled a List from the moment I started reading shyan fic in 2018 of fics that have ruined my life; all of them here in no particular order.

Be All My Sins Remembered by spoopyy

Summary: In every lifetime, they find each other.

Perfect Fit by @beaniegara

Everything’s Weird and We’re Always in Danger by the beethechange

“It won’t go away,” Ryan says miserably. “I’ve been like this since we got here, basically, and it won’t fucking—”

Maelstrom by thewindupbird

Summary: Here’s the thing about driving halfway across the country to see someone. You can’t really deny, after that, that you’re pretty much head over heels for them.

A Burial on Box Hill by InkStainsOnMyHands

Summary: The Celtics believed that the yew flower symbolized both immortality and death. Meanwhile, for centuries, the buxus flower was seen as a symbol for safe passage into the afterlife.

Or,Shane and Ryan were never the same after investigating the Black Forest of Germany alone.

Body Farming by shiphitsthefan

Ryan knows he can survive and keep his preheat a secret, as long as Shane will stop being so protective and concerned. After all, it’s not like Shane wants to bond with him.

Right?

Believer by cellard00rs

Heartbeat by quackers

Summary: So the guy Ryan sits next to at work is a vampire. That’s no big deal, right?

I’ll Crawl Home by carrieonfighting

Review: This is the second fic I think of when someone says the words ‘demon!Shane’ to me because ohhhh my word, this fic is a masterpiece. I really am hard pressed to find anything better than the feeling I get when I think of demon!Shane headcanons interwoven with the irl Buzzfeed reality and the idea of the Ryan as we know him being protected and watched and loved so deeply by a demon that found him so long ago and wanted nothing but to protect him. I feel an almost vicious glee reliving that moment when Ryan and Shane are on goatman’s bridge and man, I just really love canonical fic mixed with a slight twist. The writing in this makes it work so well with lines that still haunt my heart and soul like “Ryan liked popcorn. So did the demon. Genuinely, not just out of a desire to please the human – he liked the way it crunched between his vessel’s teeth. There were some aspects of taking a corporeal form that were…nice; laughing, coffee, feeling warm. Ryan made him laugh.” FUCK! The beautiful agony of it, watching the demon fall in love with Ryan through the eyes of his vessel. Just stark with pain and unspoken, well-written angst and pain with a perfect ending, I wouldn’t change for anything. I love this for us as a fandom and will always love that author crafted this piece and shared it with us. (Also every time I hear Work Song by Hozier, I think of this fic again and sigh).

Like I said at the beginning, thanks to @skepticbeliever-bookclub I’ve been discovering and re-discovering some fics I hadn’t had the chance to read and or have never even heard of before and my bookmarks list is growing with each new week. So if you get through this list and need more in your life, here you go. Every fic in my bookmarks deserves the community’s attention. If I can just make one special request of you guys? If you do happen to click any of these and enjoy what you read, please take the time and tell the author what you loved about it. It really changes the game out here for fanworks and fan-creators like you wouldn’t even believe and the people who shared these works with us worked hard to make the stories what they are and put a great deal of emotional investment in sharing it. Share more than your silence in return.

Hope you find something you like here, nonnybabe..

#shyan fic #shyan #skeptic believer #recs #love tag #Anonybae

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