#tagging for more people to see to hopefully generate interest and find a host

[starfacedstudio]

Image ID: A logo featuring a round, grinning, crow-like character with leaves for its tail holding a green pencil. Curved text at the top reads "Crowberry Comic Connection." The crow is surrounded by a purple and blue rope, tied with berries and leaves, and there are two branches of berries to either side. Beneath this, the Discord logo appears next to text reading "Community Discord Server!" End ID.

We did a bit of teasing about this before, but @doedreamiing and I are excited to announce our opening for Crowberry Comic Connection - a community Discord server!

Created as a casual meeting place for artists and their communities alike, we hope to inspire a positive and productive environment to chat and chill with fellow artists, post your work, get helpful feedback, and have fun with participating in our challenges and server-wide events. Though our primary focus is on comics, we welcome artists (both visual and literary!) of all sorts to our server! You must be 18+ to join.

As was shared last week, we're opening our server with a small prompt list event in spirit of October! Check the post here, or check it out in the server itself :) Joining is NOT required to participate.

OUR SERVER OFFERS:

Places to chat, share memes (and pets, food, or that cool rock you found on your walk), share commission info, and (for comic folks) a place to link your latest comic updates!

Critique Forum: ask for constructive criticism or advice, or give advice or constructive criticism to others!

Challenges: a forum dedicated to user-created challenges (limited palette, timed, prompts, culinary??) that others may participate in!

User-Submitted Art Resource Forum (categorized with tags!)

Colored names, selectable roles, and custom emotes

Low number of channels to hopefully not overwhelm. Channel lists can be customized and things can be hidden as you see fit!

Voice channel + no-mic channel for folks who don't have mics or don't wish to speak!

More Events! (We hope to possibly host things like critique sessions, art jams, zines, or similar in the future)

More to come!

Image ID: Banner of 8 multicolored crowberry creatures on a rope. End ID.

WHY WAS THIS CREATED?

Community among artists is something very important to both of us, as people who grew up with places such as deviantART (rip) and it is something we (and many, many others) have been struggling to find as social media continues to point its focus away from artists (as well as the over-emphasis on professional portfolio socials). As our name suggests, we wish to help foster those connections between fellow creators and their communities once again!

Though perhaps not an ideal solution as Discord certainly has its own problems, we wanted to try and create a safe, accessible space for people to come together in this way. We both sincerely miss the sense of community that once was among artists.

Information on how to join can be found under the cut.

HOW TO JOIN:

Our server is a community server that uses the Onboarding feature, meaning you will be brought to a bit of a different screen than normal Discord servers may have. You must read and accept our rules as you join.

You will also be asked questions such as your interests or occupations, your pronouns, and your preferences on receiving DMs, pings, or having tone tags used for you (and the color of your name)!

Additionally, there will be a few tasks to complete:

Introduce yourself!

Say hi in general :)

Familiarize yourself with our rules and guidelines!

Check our filter guide for info on what is allowed with a filter.

OUR RULES:

You must be 18+ to join.

We do not allow pornography or extreme gore, but certain mature subjects are allowed with a filter.

Be respectful and kind towards one another. Harassment, bigotry, and bullying are not tolerated.

We do not allow proshippers, TERFs, zoophiles, or pedophiles.

We do not allow venting, spamming, AI images or NFTs (use, creation of, advertisement, etc.)

Asking for money directly though Paypal, Venmo, Cashapp, etc. is not allowed for privacy reasons. Links to fundraisers are fine.

Flashing images (gifs, emotes, stickers, etc.) must be censored, or avoided altogether.

Leetspeak and censoring words with numbers/symbols should be avoided in the server. Use Discord's censoring instead.

Check our full rules channel, and any pinned messages for specific rule information.

JOIN LINK: https://discord.gg/HGJh2cFwSh

We hope you decide to check us out. Stay connected, friends!

#froxposting #crowberry comic connection #described #discord #discord server #comics #webcomics #cannot understate how excited i am for this YIPPEEEE we've been planning something like this for quite a while #again while we're focused on comics - any artist (visual. literary. auditory??) is welcome to join!!! we love interdisciplinary overlap her #clawing at the floor. chewing on the curtains. looking forward to hopefully seeing people there!!! #tumblr ate this post At Least Twice while i was drafting it but. we stay sillyyyy

[watcher0033]

Hi! I'm doing a school design project and I've decided to have a go at designing a Archive of Our Own app! I was wondering if you might be up for answering some questions to help me with my design (I need to show research in my project!)

If you are, answers to these would be SUPER helpful!

How long have you been engaging fanfiction sites such as Archive of our own, Fanfiction.net and Wattpad? 

What are some of your favourite works or fandoms on those sites? 

Are you a writer as well as a reader?

What drew you to these platforms and why do you stay? 

How long have you been engaging with the site Archive of Our Own specifically? 

What does your engagement with the platform look like? 

How often do you engage with the platform?

What are your favourite aspects of the platform? 

Do you think that you engage with all of the elements available on the platform?

Are there any elements of the platform that frustrate you? 

Of the fanfiction sites you frequent, where would you rank the site as a whole and why?

What do other platforms have that Archive of Our Own does not, which you enjoy interacting with? 

Are there any features unique to Archive of Our Own that you enjoy?

If Archive of Our Own were to develop a mobile app, what features would you like to see? 

Would you like the app to be similar in aesthetic and function to the already established website?

Are there any features you would like to see added to the platform in the app?

If you're not interested no worries! Thanks so much

Hello, there!!! That project seems interesting and I hope it does well, GL!! And ofc I won’t mind answering a few questions really.

Well, I’m in my twenties so my first engagement with anything fanfiction in general bfor sticking to ao3 was fanfiction.net back in 2013-2014 I think. So about 10 years. Give or take.

4. and 12. One of the best fanfic classics from fandoms that aren’t as popular as the ones hosted in ao3 these days are still in ffnet like fics of western sci fi shows, western movies in the 2000s, animes from the late 90s-early2000s, you get my drift. So if your hyperfixation is about a movie/show pre-2010s and you’re itching for some fics. Go to ffnet. If one is especially part of a big fandoms that exist today, AO3 ofc is our best home. If you had a Worm phase (or just webnovels in general), or an intense intellectualism phase like I did go to spacebattles.com or sufficient velocity haha

Yes.

I stay at ao3 for the good fics and great comfort/convenience. I visit others when looking for something specific.

I was very pro-ffnet back in the day, it was my 1st comfort site. But the moment I got a taste of those filters I quickly converted back in uhhh 2016.

I read fics (ao3 engagement), filtered to most bookmarked. Exclude tags that I’d rather not engage with. Find a good work. Browse through the authors other works, and their bookmarks too for next recommendation fic to read.

Everyday. Every few hours if I’m not busy irl or other social media sites like this one.

The tags and the filters should be universally used and imitated.

I’d like to think so but there might be more features I haven’t extensively explored yet.

Can’t think of any at the moment.

1st place AO3, 2nd: FFnet, 3rd-4th Spacebattles and Sufficient Velocity. 5th Wattpad ig?? Tho I don’t go there unless to read something from my local language.

Mostly just some fandoms have less works in ao3 than some other sites. But more of a people-fandom dilemma than platform one. I guess, I want a forum feature for ao3? Some sites i read works are sometimes interactive like were a poster would post a prompt or the first chapter. And someone would reply to add their own interpretation/what-happens-nxt scenarios and it becomes part of the story. I miss engagements like that.

The 👏🏼 filters 👏🏼 and 👏🏼 tags

And 16. Forum features!!

Hopefully, yes. With added features, but depends ig

#fandom #ao3 #ao3 asks #ask

[duuhrayliegh]

Fuck Misogyny

request: Bucky uses his newly gained knowledge of feminism to squash misogynistic interview questions. @ptrs-prkrs

warnings: language, creepy men, feminist!bucky

a/n: hey babes!! i hope this lived up to what you wanted! i couldn’t find the exact video you were referencing but i know what you’re talking about, so i drew inspiration from a few others.

p.s.: my requests and tag lists are open!!

xoxo ray

full m.list

The set up was simple. A long row of fold out tables covered in black fabric, microphones in front of each seat. Black papers were taped to the backs of the microphones with each team member's name. Bucky had told Evie that he wasn’t going to be able to work out with her today because of this so it better be worth it. The PR manager for the team, Amanda, had set everything up. Hired the mediator, notified the press, everything. Ever since they announced that they were going to be hosting an Avenger’s Q&A Panel, the internet quite literally broke.

Of course Bucky had been doing lives on TikTok with the group of five for the past couple of weeks now, so he was becoming quite comfortable in this format. He’s become increasingly active on his social media accounts, gaining more and more followers everyday. Granted, there were still haters, as Freddie called them, but Bucky ignored them for the most part.

Bucky was actually excited for this press meeting. He was finally gaining traction in the media and he knew how to correctly answer their questions. As Amanda had explained, there was going to be several questions from the mediator, tons from the press that they had invited, and then some fan questions as well. They apparently were going to be live streaming the conference on YouTube allowing them to read the comments and questions as it went on.

“Okay, everyone. You have two minutes until we start.” The team was in an empty board room in the Hilton hotel. Tony didn’t want everyone on the compound’s grass because he just had it fixed. Bucky scanned his fellow teammates. It was impossible for everyone to dress for the same event. Steve was wearing a shirt that was almost bursting at the seams with a pair of jeans and sneakers.

Tony was wearing a lovely Tom Ford, three piece, two-button, of course. Natasha and Wanda were wearing ripped jeans and casual tops. Vision was wearing a sweater vest and slacks, Bruce was clad in slacks as well a jacket covering his shoulders. Sam was wearing a button-up shirt and pressed jeans and he couldn’t find Clint anywhere, probably hiding in the rafters again.

Bucky had his iconic leather jacket donning his shoulders, a pair of slightly ripped jeans. His outfit was picked out by Cassie and Penny. “You need to look like you care but like you don’t at the same time.” Is what they said, the phrase made Bucky shake his head. His hair had finally started growing back and he wasn’t quite sure how he felt about it.

He had gotten help from Evie before he left Cassie’s apartment. She had pulled back the top half, braiding back two sections into the bun at the back of his head. There were pieces dangling in front of his eyes, “to accentuate the facial features, trust me they’ll love it.” Was Evie’s explanation as they pushed him out of the apartment, so he wouldn’t be late.

“Alright guys! They’re calling your names!” The team filed out of the board room and into a large ballroom. Bottles of water were placed beside each placemat. Tony went out first, followed by Steve, then Bruce, Natasha, Clint, Wanda, Vision, Sam and ending with Bucky. They all settled into their seats, Bucky peeled his jacket off himself, placing it on the back of his chair. His black short sleeved shirt highlighted the gold inlays of his vibranium arm.

“Oh, I see we’re showing some muscle today huh, Buck?” Sam teased as Bucky took his seat next to him. Bucky groaned in realization, covering his microphone so it didn’t pick up what he planned to say.

“Good God, is this what it’s going to be like the entire panel? You just bugging the shit outta me?” They shared a laugh making the rest of the members look at the pair. The audience clapped as they were introduced and continued clapping as they assembled before them.

“Thank you. We would like to welcome everyone to the first, of hopefully many, Avenger’s Q&A Panel.” The female mediator, Stacey, read the assigned lines off the sheet on her podium. “We are going to start with questions we curated for the team and then open it up to the members of the press. After that we will turn to our live stream and answer some viewer questions.” The press rustled in their seats, pulling out pens and journals as well as their phones to record. “Okay, starting off with a question directed at the Avengers in general. How are you feeling about coming before the media in this type of format?” Glances were exchanged between the members, not sure on who was going to start.

“I feel that this is a great way for the general public to learn a little bit more about each individual team member.” Vision was the first to respond and Steve added on.

“Yeah, I definitely think that there’s a common misconception that we don’t want to engage with the media or the general public. We do, unfortunately due to the amount of research and training that we are doing behind the scenes, it just goes to the back of our minds.”

“Right. So Tony and Bruce, we all know that you two are geniuses. What are your feelings on expanding the teachings of STEM courses to not only high school, but as far back as elementary school or even kindergarten?” The pair thought about the question before answering.

“Well, I definitely think that offering STEM-based classes at a younger age would be beneficial, especially if we were to allow the kids to continue to switch what they want to focus on.” Bruce started. “It’s incredibly anxiety-inducing for teenagers to have to decide what they’re going to do with their life right before they are thrust into an unforgiving world.”

“Yeah, I’ll never understand why we do that to our future leaders, it’s honestly baffling. Why do American schools wait until high school to require our children to learn foriegn languages, they aren’t going to retain that information. The same applies for such comprehensive courses like STEM-based ones. If you wait until their brains are already developed so far, then they’ve already decided what they think is interesting and if they don’t find those courses interesting then they aren’t going to pay attention.” Tony finished Bruce's thought before nodding to each other smugly, obviously proud of themselves for answering the question so well.

“Interesting that you see it that way. This last one goes out to everyone and then we’ll open it up to the reporters. How do you deal with the stress and anxiety that comes with being an Avenger? Do you feel a certain amount of pressure to always do the right thing?” Stacey shuffled her papers, tapping them twice on the podium.

“We all have our own routines and ways that we decompress after missions so that really just depends on the person. Like I think that Bruce listens to opera music, and Wanda mediatates, Tony tinkers. It depends on the person.” Natasha answered concisely, making Bucky nod his head. He could recall all of those things to be true.

“Oh definitely, and it doesn’t hurt that we have a former VA Trauma Counselor on board to help us work through the harder stuff.” Steve added a gesture of his head to Sam.

“Speaking of that Sam, just a quick question before we open it up. How difficult was it for you to transition from regular Air Force missions to Avenger level missions?” Sam made a face at Stacey before answering.

“Um, I mean, it’s not that different. You’re always fighting one of the Big Three-- aliens, androids, or wizards, no matter what department you’re working with. The only transition I had to deal with was the Tony Stark-erized suits. Now that I think of it, Tony, can we make it tighter?” Sam quipped making the room laugh with ease.

“Alright, well now we’re going to open it up to the reporters. Starting with this gentleman in the front and then if we could also give a microphone to someone on that side of the room. Okay, thank you.” The first reporter stood up, holding the microphone in one hand and his phone in the other.

“Hello. John from Huffington Post. The Avengers inspire almost everyone around the world, so we would like to know who inspires you? Who do you look up to in terms of your idols?” He sat back down as the team contemplated their answers.

“Gandhi.” Bruce said, Tony snapped his fingers and pointed at him then added. “Pepper, she’s so amazing.” Steve looked down to Bucky, who shrugged.

“I would probably have to say that my sister, Sarah, inspires me. She raised her two sons, Cas and AJ, by herself after the Blip and was able to keep the family business going.” Sam’s answer made Bucky smile. Sam had brought him to their house in Delacroix, he remembered waking up to Cas and AJ playing in the kitchen, happy giggles filtering through reminding him of his time in Wakanda. By the time that Bucky had refocused on the conversation they had moved on without his answer. Several different questions went by, all directed to the team at large, until Chad.

“Hi, I’m Chad for the Daily Mail. My question is for Wanda and Natasha.” The pair of women perked up, excited to have a specific question. “Do you find that your equipment hinders you in doing your job as well as your male counterparts?” Stunned expressions settled over the womens faces, then annoyance. Bucky’s brows shot up to his hairline, appalled that someone had the balls to ask that. Wanda and Natasha handled the question with grace and much more restraint than Bucky would have.

“Well for me, I am able to move things with my mind so I can throw things randomly at people even if I’m not in the room. I’ve been very fortunate to work with Natasha who has Widow training, so my hand to hand combat is improving immensely. And being able to work with Princess Shuri in Wakanda to learn how to fully control my powers. It’s an ever evolving process that I’m always excited to take on.” Bucky nodded and turned his attention to Natasha.

“My favorite thing is training with either Steve or Bucky because they push me to do my best. We all have our specialties here and it’s nice to learn new skills or improve old ones with people who support you.” Natasha sat back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest, throwing daggers with her eyes at Chad in the audience, waiting for him to say something else. Chad stood again, yelling so he could be heard over the crowd’s commotion.

“That’s great, ladies, but forgive me, you didn’t answer the question I asked.” Bucky pushed forward in his seat, leaning into his microphone.

“I’m sorry, I think I misunderstood what you asked them then. I would like for you to clarify what you mean by equipment.” Chad balked, not expecting a male’s voice to respond.

“You know what’s implied by equipment, sir.” Bucky’s jaw clenched at the man.

“Did you just ask two of the most capable women that I’ve ever known, if their equipment, which I’m assuming you’re referring their breasts, made it to where they couldn’t do their job as good as the rest of their male counterparts. Just to be clear, that’s what you’re asking?” Chad stuttered as he answered yes.

“Right, well first off that’s disgusting. Just a bit of background for you, Wanda is the strongest Avenger here, plain and simple. As for Natasha, she’s the smartest woman I’ve ever met and she can take down every single male here.” Bucky took a breath before continuing. “So, what I think you really want to know is how they encourage their teammates to keep up with them.” He dropped his head to look at the two women down the line.

“Don’t worry Chad, I’ll ask them the right question, since you can’t quite seem to understand how to respect women.” The team was holding back snickers at Chad’s reaction. “Wanda, Natasha. Chad wants to know how the hell you push your male teammates to be just as good as you are. What are your strategies to keep us on our toes while training?” Claps sounded from the women press members and Bucky awaited the pair's response. The next press member stood and asked a question.

“Hi, I’m Chloe from Vanity Fair. This question goes to everyone on the panel.” Bucky settled in for another question that didn’t matter. “How do you continue to be aware of things happening in our society today? Do you keep up-to-date through new channels, or social media?” The answers were rather generic from the team, all of them rather uncomfortable from the tension that Bucky and Chad had created. Stacey interrupted after Chloe’s question.

“Okay, we’re going to open it up to viewer questions from our live stream.” An iPad was placed on the podium in front of Stacey and her eyebrows rose. “Okay, there’s quite a variety here. Here’s one for Steve and Bucky.” Bucky perked up, nervous to answer because his adrenaline had worn off.

“One viewer asks, ‘Steve and Bucky, being from the 40’s, women were treated like second thoughts and were talked about like objects. Now, you’re in the 21st century, not much has changed. What have you been doing to support feminist causes?’”

“I just want to say that everyone should be answering this. It’s true that during the 40’s women were not treated the right way, and they still aren’t today. An 18 year old can’t walk down the street at nine o’clock at night without being catcalled. I am a proud feminist, as everyone should be. I think that as a team we are doing pretty well in that department. As far as what I’m doing to support feminist causes, I’m doing as much as I can. I actually recently enrolled in online classes to expand my knowledge on many subjects, seeing as how I am from the 40’s and all.” The crowd laughed along with Bucky.

“Almost all of my classes have to do with either psychology or gender studies, it’s a fascinatingly haunting subject. One book that I’m reading right now was suggested to me by my friend Cassie, it’s called Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot. The author doesn’t let up and I’m only halfway through it. Look, I’m still educating myself, but I’m a strong believer in doing what is right for everyone, so I’m trying. Thankfully I have a few people keeping me in check as far as my actions.” Bucky thought his response was well thought out for being an on the fly question. He was new to the concept of feminism but that didn’t change the fact that it made total sense.

“I’m with Bucky on this. The 40’s were a rough time. I remember the first time I met Peggy Carter, I was astonished that a woman could be in such a powerful position. One of the first things she did after I met her was punch out someone who made a sexual comment to her. I’ve been supporting feminist causes ever since working with Peggy.” Steve added, a sad smile spreading on his face reminiscing Peggy.

“This one says, ‘As a total fan of all of you, I love seeing what you post on your social media accounts. When are the rest of the Avengers going to follow Bucky’s lead and download TikTok?’” Bucky’s head flew back into a full body laugh. Tony shifted forward in his seat, pointing his finger at the laughing man down the table.

“I would just like to say he didn’t get that approved before doing it. However, it did go over really well, so we’ll consider it.” Wanda’s mouth rolled inwards, stifling her laughter.

“We’ll consider it, you’re such an old man. Most of us have TikTok already, we just don’t make content on it like Barnes over here.” Sam said, tossing his head in Bucky’s direction.

“I’ve got like three videos on there!” Bucky and Sam began bantering back and forth.

“Yeah and one of them is dancing to a Cardi B song! Who even showed you that? I thought you only like 40’s music?” Bucky made a face at the man.

“Uh, just because I didn’t like your suggestions for music doesn’t mean I don’t have taste. My Spotify playlist is filling out quite nicely, Wilson.” Bucky and Sam didn’t quit fighting from then on, just little jabs at each other under the table.

“Here’s a good one,” Stacey had a smile on her face, “Are you allies of the LGBTQ+ community?” Bucky responded quickly with no hesitation.

“Yes, many of my friends are members of the Alphabet Mafia. Why wouldn’t we be?” Wanda nodded at his question, laughing at his use of the phrase Alphabet Mafia.

“Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I’m dating a fucking android, I’d be pretty hypocrictal if I wasn’t an ally. Nat, Clint what about you?” Clint bobbed his head in response.

“Oh yeah. We all are, even the Star Spangled Man with a Plan.” Steve’s shoulders shook with laughter at Clint’s nickname for him. The team broke out into laughter, joining Steve. Stacey cleared her throat, commanding the attention of the room again.

“Alright, everybody! That’s it for today.” She glanced down at her papers. “We would like to thank everyone for coming out today and joining the Avengers Q&A Panel. At this time we are unaware, if we will be conducting another one of these, but the odds look good based on the response.” The team filed out of the ballroom and into the empty boardroom. Bucky was the last to get into the room and he was approached by Natasha and Wanda immediately. Wanda wrapped her arms around him in a bear hug.

“That was so sick, Bucky!” She stepped back and Natasha offered him a side hug as well. “Where’d you learn all that? And since when are you taking online classes?”

“That guy was being an asshole, he needed to be put in his place. I hope you guys didn’t feel like I overstepped or anything.” Bucky hung his arm over Wanda’s shoulder, leaning his weight on her. “And I started about two months ago. They’re going really well, I’m learning a lot and enjoying it surprisingly. It’s a good thing to do in my free time since I’m not always on missions.”

“I’m proud of you James, that was impressive.” Natasha complimented him, she wasn’t usually a woman of many words so that was a lot. Bucky smiled at her, nodding his head. His phone began buzzing in his back pocket, so he excused himself from their conversation. His screen displayed one of Evie’s senior pictures, signalling that she was calling him. He pushed the green button and brought the phone to his ear to answer her call.

“Hello?” She ignored his greeting with a squeal.

“Check your Twitter! Bucky, you’re trending! Here I’m putting you on speaker, we’re all here Buck!” Shuffling noises were heard through the speaker as Evie began reading the tweets to Bucky. Laughs from Cassie, Freddie and Penny could be heard behind Evie’s voice.

“Oh my gosh Eve! Just let the man get back to what he was doing!” Freddie yelled at an excited Evie, who retaliated with a scoff.

“Okay, okay! Just remember we have a movie night tomorrow! It’s Penny’s turn to pick so we don’t know what to expect.” Evie mumbled the last part into her phone speaker. Bucky heard the impact of a pillow hit Evie, causing her to grunt in pain. “Okay! We’ll talk to you later, Buck! See you soon!” She hung up the phone before he could get a word in edgewise. Bucky shook his head as he shoved his phone back into his pocket. Amanda approached Bucky asking to speak with him privately.

“So we’re getting a flood of interview requests from networks and papers. We would like to start running with this. We’ll have to go over everything with our PR guy, Ryan, but it should work out. As long as you’re comfortable with all of this.” Bucky smiled and nodded, following after Amanda as she continued explaining what would happen going forward.

He was nervous, of course, but he could tell these nerves were coming from a place of excitement instead of fear, which was a new sensation for the man. It wasn’t unwelcome, it was the same as when he first started hanging out with Cassie, Penny, Freddie and Evie. It was the same when he went on his first mission with the team. Bucky was ready to tackle this next adventure, whatever it would entail.

#xoxo ray #twenty first century liabilities #request #avengers imagine #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes #marvel fanfiction #marvel imagine #avengers fanfiction #steve rogers #natasha romanoff #tony stark #bruce banner #clint barton #sam wilson #bucky fanfic #bucky fanfiction #james buchanan barnes #james buchanan barnes fanfic #james buchanan barnes fanfiction #seb stan #sebastian stan #sebastian stan fanfiction #sebastian stan imagine

[ootori-sibs]

Winter lodge host club 6

It made no sense whatsoever to go to the town for a second time, but it was a nice day so she supposed it was alright. This time they didn't have to guide the guests around this time, so Haruhi was planning on spending some time with the twins. She'd spoken to them at breakfast and they agreed that they'd run off and grab some snacks before sitting at the nearby park. They'd made their break for it the moment Tamaki had finished his talk about safety- something he had also done the first time they'd been to town, mostly just general safety things but also reminding them of the locals who'd offered to give advice should someone get lost or scared. Haruhi thought that was sweet but the second he finished talking, her and the twins were off running to the nearest store that sold snacks.

Kyoya had decided to once again stay behind, though Tamaki had berated him for being so antisocial. Haruhi couldn't blame either of them, she just worried about his safety a little, at least Antoinette had been left with him, she ought to be able to protect him should the worst happen. So Haruhi was happy not to worry about him in the slightest, just spending time with the twins without a care in the world.

It did get boring just sitting at the park after a while, so they got up and decided to wander around the town for a bit again. The twins wouldn't shut up about people's outfits, bullying them to all hell, but Haruhi had to admit she found it amusing to hear them mock people with no restraint. Any other host would make a sly under the breath comment, or simply not speak at all, but the twins were a law unto themselves.

They bumped into Takashi and Honey again, so walked with them through the candy store, Haruhi's hand brushed Takashi's as they watched Honey go positively feral over all the candies and sweets. She really sympathised with him, it must be hard to keep up with such a high energy guy 24/7, it was hard enough to keep pace with the hosts as is. She would hold hands with him properly if there wasn't a chance the girls could see. They had come up for little chats a few times and Haruhi was happy to entertain the girls for a few minutes.

They stepped out of the store, Honey bouncing around with a huge bag of candy, babbling about everything and nothing. Haruhi noticed that Tamaki was in the next store over, looking over different kinds of coffee. It was a run-of-the-mill grocery store, which struck her as odd because they already had enough food, though she supposed that maybe he just ran out of interesting stores to enter. She points this out to the other hosts, curious, "what's he doing? We already have coffee at the lodge…"

The twins shrug, speaking in unison, "probably getting a gift for Kyoya, he loves coffee that one." They didn't seem bothered by Kyoya's apparent caffeine addiction in the slightest and Haruhi was more than a little worried about it- she remembered when Fiyumi had mentioned that his father had banned him from too much coffee and had to wonder if giving him coffee was inadvertently hurting him.

So they walked into the store, heading over to where Tamaki stood. He appeared to be murmuring to himself, something about Kyoya eating more, and needing to be treated for it- Haruhi found it funny how he treated everyone as if they were a dog, especially on the rewarding good behaviour front. It was incredibly amusing to see Tamaki debate with himself like this and she was about to interject but before they could say anything, he spun around to face them, holding two little bags. "Do you guys think Kyoya would prefer chocolate covered coffee beans or espresso chewys?? I can't decide!"

Haruhi sighed, guess they were doing this now. She looked at the bags, pondering the question for a moment, the twins suggested both, but that literally does not answer Tamaki's question. She thought that maybe he should get the coffee beans, they're more crunchy after all, but they are a higher concentration of caffeine… however, that might also be a plus. "The coffee beans I'd say," she told him, confident that she was correct. Tamaki thoughtfully nodded, putting the chewy bag down- where it was instantly picked up by someone else. They all collectively glanced at this strange, freezing in unison as they did so.

Tamaki was completely frozen, he knew that Haruhi had seen him but he hadn't expected to see the man himself, he heard the twins exclaim something vulgar in surprise, but Tamaki felt unable to speak. Hirano glanced at them, smiling slightly, though it was clearly forced, "oh hello, sorry I didn't notice you, I was completely in a world of my own." He chuckled to himself awkwardly, clearly just as unhappy to see them as they were to see him.

He swallowed his fear, unable to keep himself from thinking about Kyoya in danger, "Mr Hirano…" he gritted his teeth, faking politeness though he knew his seething rage would be clear to his friends, "how are you doing?"

The man, dressed in all black, smiled back, nodding in recognition of Tamaki's question, "well I'm just here because I needed a distraction from the mourning…" he trailed off after the word mourning, which explained the black. But that confused Tamaki slightly, who could he be mourning but Shin? Yet Haruhi said she'd seen Shin the other night…

"Mourning? So did Monsieur Tonnerre shoot your brother after all?"

"What?" Hirano seemed surprised by this, "no, we never found his body… only his clothes…" he took a breath, clearly choking back a son, which Tamaki found odd, "soaked in blood…" no doubt Kyoya's blood, Shin being the horrible beast he was. The clothes thing stood out to Tamaki for some reason, although he wasn't sure why…

Haruhi was frozen, he glanced back to see her standing there, clearly having a bit of an epiphany. A few seconds later and she bolted out of the store, dropping her bags. Tamaki picked the backs up as Mori ran after her, both worried about their little commoner friend. The twins were just looking at Hirano with disdain, clearly not believing a word he said, Honey looked sceptical too. Tamaki supposed he shouldn't be too trusting of the guy whose brother tried to kill Kyoya. He just quietly said his goodbyes to Hirano and ushered the other hosts out of the store.

"What the hell is up with that guy?"

Tamaki sighed, shaking his head, "that doesn't matter, we should just avoid them for now, why don't we go find some of the girls?" He suggested something that might keep the twins entertained, Honey could tag along with him if he wanted. He was worried about Haruhi but didn't want to bother her if she and Mori were about to have a moment, he wasn't going to be that guy.

Finding some of the girls, he quickly got his mind off the issue by entertaining them; asking them questions about what they bought, complementing them, sprouting some nonsense about how beautiful winter is- and it is beautiful, it's positively gorgeous. Now Tamaki's favourite season will always be spring, but his second has to be winter, there's just something about the snow, and cuddling up with a loved one… Kyoya gets so very cold so it's the perfect excuse for some much needed snuggle time. Winter brings out the best in people, even without Christmas to aid in it, there's so much fun, and warmth coming from each and every soul under the cool winter sun. There's nothing Tamaki likes more than watching the snow land on someone's skin, it's just so soft and beautiful, a gentle kiss from nature herself.

So he tells the girls this- omitting the comment about Kyoya of course, and they go crazy for it, sharing their own romantic ideas about winter. He loves hearing how others romanticise things he enjoys, it's such a wonderful thing to hear, everyone has a different kind of poetry in their souls and it feels so enriching to hear how others view the world. Like snowflakes, everyone is completely unique, but since everyone is so beautiful and unique, they all sort of blend into one, a pure blanket of soft snow, but to pause and look closely at an individual, to examine the true self, really makes the entire larger picture so much more worth it- god, he loved metaphors!

Umehito also enjoyed metaphors, he had a poetry book he was reading to the girls. It was gothic poetry, but he made sure to only read the passages that he felt they would enjoy, he didn't want to freak them out at all. He hadn't gotten a chance to speak to Ootori about sending the girls home yet, but he was currently alone with only a couple of guests so Umehito was planning to the moment he finished these poems. He wondered what Ootori would say, hopefully yes.

He wondered if it would be rude to send the girls home early though, he supposed Ootori didn't really give two shots about manners though, considering he'd fed them to the beast. Last time the guests were inconvenienced, Ootori had sent them flowers, so maybe he would simply do that if he did send them home. That sounded like something that the girls would go for.

The poems he read were the most innocent and romantic ones he could find, some featured some children befriending innocent monsters, some featured a woman in love with a ghost- it was really a mashup of pg horror content. Umehito was never one for any sort of flat tales or storybook endings, but the words and metaphors flowed like silk and water, he could tell them a poem that's a metaphor for death and their only response would be to think it's just a vapid rhyme about butterflies.

The girls at Ouran were vapid though, at least most of them were, he knew a few personally that were a little more three dimensional then others; Fujioka for one. She was quite a fun girl, pretending to be a guy was quite an interesting thing for her to have done, and Umehito would love to learn the motive behind that, but he hadn't really talked to her properly before, so he had no clue how that'd even go.

One of the girls had already fallen asleep, her head resting on the lap of the second, who was braiding her hair as she listened to Umehito tell the poems. Nekozawa didn't mind her falling asleep, he didn't take it to mean his poetry reading was boring as most would, he understood that poems were soothing in a way that most other things weren't- why else do people listen to music so much? Both of the girls had brown hair, but the sleeping girl had longer hair than her friend, so Umehito couldn't blame the girl for wanting to braid her friend's hair absentmindedly. They both heard the door upstairs slam open, the girl looked at him in concern, "that didn't sound nice, what do you think happened?"

He shrugged, not wanting to panic her but genuinely not knowing what the noise was other than the door going. "Someone was probably just excited to get back into the warmth, not to worry my dear."

"Don't call me that," her face was now one of disgust, clearly not enjoying Umehito's attempt to charm her like Souh-san would, "it's creepy."

Nekozawa nodded, point taken, he wasn't meaning to scare her, he was doing his best actually. It just so happened that he was a scary guy in general, Reiko wouldn't think he was being creepy, Reiko was his best friend… "my apologies, I won't do it again." Maybe he'd text his fellow club members, let them know he's doing alright. He wondered if they'd be worried about him, he couldn't remember if they'd let him know where he was going… probably not, knowing him.

#kyoya ootori #tamaki souh #ouran high school host club #tamakyo #haruhi fujioka #hikaru and kaoru #hikaru hitachiin #kaoru hitachiin #mitsukuni haninozuka #takashi morinozuka

[tiredassmage]

Character Page 𓆰 Brooke

A character page for what is, at its core, something of another au for my main, Astor, buttt... it’s basically bc one day I had a random bought of inspiration and followed through on “what if I came up with a deer-like race for XIV” and... then I spent like two hours making lore for them and listening to whitetail deer noises on YouTube. So! He’s different enough to warrant his own lil page! ^.^ I will try to cover enough of this theoretical lore that things make sense, but hopefully without going... ridiculously overboard and keeping you here for hours over a race of my own brainworms. xD

BASICS ---

Name: Brooke, technically like the water feature “brook,” but, somewhere along the line, someone thought it was spelled with an ‘e’ like the more common rendition of the name, and he did not have enough of an understanding of the written Eorzean Common Tongue to know the difference.

Age: It’s a little hazy, but approximately 28 summers by Shadowbringers

Nameday: 17th sun of the 3rd Umbral Moon

Race: Dryad

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Bisexual

Martial Status: Single(?)

OC Tags: ch: brooke

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE ---

Hair: Long, falling down about his mid-shoulders when worn loosely and dark brown. Typically worn with at least one braid, and often pulled back in some sort of fashion. Occasionally braids feathers or flowers into it.

Eyes: A pale crystal blue, almost gray. Often wide, curious, and warm.

Height: 5 fulms, 10 ilms, not accounting for a full grown set of antlers.

Build: Lithe, lean, and long in the legs - all traits rather common among his race. As a fully mature adult, Brooke generally grows in a full antler set featuring an average of 4 points that typically form a generally crescent moon-like shape. The typical adult male Dryad will grow anywhere from 4-6 points, while a female will grow 2-4.

Distinguishing Marks: Much of Brooke is rather... distinguishing, given the rarity of his people to the rest of Eorzea. They are generally a reclusive people, living deep within the woods and mountains from the land, migrating occasionally with the season and food supply, but rarely actually leaving. Given such, it wasn’t until prior to the Calamity that Brooke ventured beyond the bounds of his wooded home deep in the Shroud at the behest of his herd that he came into contact with the outside world. Given the antlers and the fluffy ears and tail, most... didn’t exactly greet him with kindness. He was odd and unlike anyone else most had seen. The Calamity has pushed their survivors from their homes and more into the light, but they’re still a relatively unknown factor. Many regarded him initially with the same judgements and mistrust afforded the beast tribes.

Outside of the physical denotations of his race, the only other marks one might occasionally find that could be helpful are the paints he still tries to find some time to don in honor of his kin and ancestors. Life as an adventurer has taken him further and further from his roots, but no further from his respect for their traditions.

PERSONAL ---

Profession: Brooke initially left his herd, sent by their leader, to act as an emissary to the nation of Gridania in the days leading up to the Calamity. While the details of the time after Cartenau are yet fuzzy to him, he had not intended to abandon his post in the Calamity’s wake. In the world that remains, however, he is unable to ascertain whether any of his herd survived. By lucky chance, he has fallen in with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, lending his strength and mixed arcane knowledge to their fight for peace.

Main Job: Brooke and his people are something of an enigma by standard definitions of magical practice. They are gifted in a wide variety of arts, and their semi-nomadic nature has brought them into contact with various remnants of ages past. In Brooke’s case, the closest standard classification may be Red Magic, as he possesses an affinity with a wide variety of skills typically associated with both White and Black Magic, though, unlike the duelists of the Red, Brooke still prefers to focus his energies through a staff or scepter than a blade.

Hobbies: Gathering is more a standard survival skill of his people than a hobby, so he would hesitate to classify his botanical knowledge and pursuits as such. Instead, he would much prefer to count his reading as his favorite one - particularly into history and prevalent folklore and tales. In his role as emissary, he sought understanding between his people and those sharing the Twelveswood with them, even if they had been doing so unwittingly. Thus, it was only natural he needed to seek an understanding of their customs as well as shed some light on his own. He finds the telling of history and belief systems fascinating, marveling at the many differences and nuances to be found within them.

Languages: Though Brooke possesses the Echo, he still struggles with languages, at times. He has steadily grasped a more firm understanding of the Eorzean Common Tongue, but it would not be wrong to say his Echo granted him a better understanding of the language and intentions of creatures, beasts, and elements than any language of man.

Residence: At times, it is still difficult to feel settled among civilization, but his efforts and work with the Scions have afforded him the security of a small residence within the protection of Gridania. At least the more seasoned adventurers aren’t so prone to gawping at his unusual appearance.

Birthplace: His herd lived somewhere deep within the Twelveswood. After the destruction reigned down by Bahamut though, he has found more malms of it unfamiliar to him than ever, and he cannot even be certain they survived - much less that their home may have.

Religion: Dryads believe in something one might call spirts, more than any gods. They revere natural elements such as wind, water, and earth and pay a deep respect to the balance of these things. Taking more than one needs and reckless destruction are considered sacrilegious to them. They host celebrations for each season, each having a representative and associated elemental spirits of focus - the closest one might find to a pantheon of gods in their beliefs. This is something he has held fast to even in the face of their many adventures.

TRAITS ---

Extroverted / In Between / Introverted

Disorganized / In Between / Organized

Close Minded / In Between / Open Minded

Calm / In Between / Anxious

Disagreeable / In Between / Agreeable

Cautious / In Between / Reckless

Patient / In Between / Impatient

Outspoken / In Between / Reserved

Leader / In Between / Follower

Empathetic / In Between / Apathetic

Optimistic / In Between / Pessimistic

Traditional / In Between / Modern

Hard-working / In Between / Lazy

Loyal / In Between / Disloyal

Faithful / In Between / Unfaithful

PERSONALITY ---

Curious, warm, and soft-spoken, Brooke has a quiet love for life that some might find a little naïve. He’s a deeply passionate individual that does not often find a reason to hide the way he feels. He believes strongly in such things as the beauty of a star-dappled sky or a color-changing sunset. He feels strongly about preserving the ways of his people, finding a nostalgic familiarity in them as he uncovers the world beyond the wood. It has been daunting, at times.

But curiosity has kept spurring him forward. Seeing marvels like airships and linkpearls up close are strange, sometimes terrifying, but incredible experiences.

He endeavors to remain honest to himself and true to his beliefs. He does not believe in turning others away over superficial differences. If one is in need, that should be enough. Where they are from or what creed they follow should not restrict them from aid. It might make him something of an idealist, but if it is foolish to believe in and want such things, then he would gladly be a fool. He tries his best to remain willing to learn, and finds joy in understanding and sharing. He’d gladly listen to someone tell stories for hours, if it would make them happy.

ABOUT --

Born and raised with his herd in the secluded depths of the Twelveswood, Brooke thought and new little of the world beyond the wooded reaches of their herd until he was well along to becoming a young adult. In the brewing chaos of looming calamity, their leader bid him go forth to their neighbors of the wood in Gridania in an attempt to reach an understanding and mutual aid. Such levels of destruction would doom them all, regardless, and she bid them not remain idle and wait for the coming darkness.

The troubling times would provide their own draws and setbacks to opening a dialogue with the Gridanians and their Seedseers, but, ultimately, Brooke would succeed in at least opening these discussions, revealing the Dryads’ presence within Eorzea with certainty and agreeing to aid in the developing struggles against the Garlean Empire.

What, exactly, followed is, as many others have described, something of a blur. The only certainty of the matter was that it left the young Dryad stranded alone in a wholly new and twisted realm that was all just... a bit funny. Familiar in ways... Entirely not in others.

He may just have ran afoul of a little cult. Y’know. Nothing major. Definitely not a voidsent interested in aether. Definitely not his. Or... perhaps he did. And perhaps he’s quite lucky he met an adventurer not keen on letting cultists lurk about in underground tombs or let unsuspecting strangers get turned into voidsent treats. Quite lucky, that! But... all’s well that ends well, right..?

With a little to be desired for a solid sense of direction and purpose, Brooke found himself once again woven into a greater tapestry of fate than he could have ever predicted. There were, thankfully, a few... passingly familiar faces along the way, it seemed, but still little in the way of ascertaining the fate of those he had left behind, grown up with.

But there was still their hope - hope for a better future, for a way forward, the dawn of another day they could enjoy and share with their loved ones. That had always been worth fighting for, so fight for it, he would.

#ffxiv ocs #dot talk #character page #character sheet #character profile #bc i'll never remember exactly how i tagged it #and i'll try all 3 of those inevitably #ch: brooke

[sign-from-god-complex]

(fake fic title) Four Seven Hate

Four Seven Hate

Summary: There were very few people on Logan’s shit list. He was pretty forgiving, as long as people went the proper lengths to apologise for any missteps, and he was much more likely to declare someone not worth his time than he was to take an active role in disliking them.

One person who was on that list, however, was Remy Wake.

Pairing: Losleep

A/N: Whoops! Looks like it’s not a fake fic title anymore. I’m so, so glad I’ve finally managed to write another fic cause I’ve been trying for like a week and all it’s gotten me was a lot more WIPs and a lot more frustration. But I did it! So here you go!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan was not sure why he showed up to this party. He barely knew anybody, he wasn’t interested in drinking and, despite his tendency to get work done weeks before the deadline, he did have actual studying to be doing.

He also wasn’t sure why, when pulled by the hand to join a small circle on the floor by Roman—the only person at the party he actually knew and the driving force that had landed him here in the first place—he didn’t immediately get up and leave. Circles at a party were never a good thing, not if you didn’t want to get roped into some party game you most certainly weren’t interested in, like truth or dare or never have I ever or-

Seven minutes in heaven. Apparently.

And, of course, it was just Logan’s luck that he was selected to go first.

After Roman had lifted him clean off the ground and shoved him into the closet—much to his loud protests—he had nothing to do but wait for his partner in this party hell to arrive. He had already tried the knob the moment the door had been closed behind him but it seemed as if this group must have located the host and obtained a key because it wouldn’t budge.

The wait seemed to take much longer than he had expected it to—if Logan was prone to paranoia, he would say that the selection of his partner hadn’t been quite so random but he wasn’t, so he didn’t—but soon enough the door of the closet opened again and a body was being shoved in beside him.

There was very little light in the closet but, thankfully, Logan’s eyes had already had time to adjust to the darkness and he got the chance to see his partner before they had a chance to see him. And he wasn’t pleased with what he saw.

Remy Wake.

The biggest slacker and most irreverent asshole Logan had ever had the displeasure of knowing.

Based on the scowl on Remy’s face upon recognising his cellmate, Logan would assume Remy had a similar dislike of his person, but as opposed to Logan, he thinks it’s unlikely that Remy’s opinions of him have any basis in fact. (He ignores the niggling thought in the back of his mind that, given their incredibly limited encounters, he’s not entirely sure that his opinions actually have much of a basis in fact either.)

Logan had already been certain that nothing was going to happen in this closet tonight but setting his sights on Remy had only made him doubly as certain.

“What a surprise,” he muttered, his face set firmly in disapproval—not that Remy could probably see it all that well with those sunglasses on in the dark closet, “There’s a party and Remy Wake is present. Surely, it’s unprecedented.”

Remy looked away for a moment, heaving out a sigh. “How the fuck would you know how many parties I’ve attended? It’s not like you ever come. And it seems even when you do you look like a fucking tax accountant.”

Something similar had actually been said by Roman when Logan had left the dorms earlier this evening but Logan hadn’t let it get to him then and he certainly wouldn’t let it get to him now. He simply smoothed out the material of his coat—strange to keep it on even in the house, yes, but he was always particularly susceptible to the cold—and resigned himself to seven minutes of tense, frustrated silence.

Against all odds, they did manage to survive the seven minutes—the time spent glowering at each other, rolling their eyes and making snide comments.

At one point, Remy actually removed his sunglasses. He was muttering something about trying to find a way out of here, blinking around the room with eyes much bluer than Logan had expected by any means. Logan couldn’t even figure out why Remy would even wear sunglasses with eyes that blue. When Remy caught Logan staring, though, he quickly shoved his glasses back on, seemingly trying to look like it hadn’t bothered him by throwing out some comment about Logan’s loss at his debate meeting last week. Logan wasn’t even sure how Remy knew he’d lost debate last week.

It didn’t matter though because they were back to arguing and by the time the closet door was opened, Logan could not be gladder to finally be rid of Remy Wake.

Of course, it didn’t stop there.

No, suddenly, Logan was encountering Remy all over campus. He was lounging about at Logan’s favourite coffee place, he was the new member of Logan’s study group, he was hanging off Roman’s arm, giggling in a way that was just so incredibly irritating.

Logan had tried to ask Roman why Remy had suddenly seemed to become his new best friend (in a way that he thought totally didn’t make him sound jealous or needy, thank you very much) but, in response, Roman just gave him that smile. That stupid smile that usually indicated that Roman thought he was incredibly socially inept—which, true, but why say it—and Logan had stormed off to fume.

Stupid Remy. Stupid Remy with his stupid smirk and his stupid flirting and his stupid laugh and his stupid hair and his stupid eyes behind his stupid sunglasses and the stupid way he hated him even though Logan wasn’t sure why.

Logan wasn’t really sure why he hated Remy either.

Sure, maybe he wasn’t the most invested in his studies but then, neither was Roman with certain classes, and that didn’t stop them from being—sometimes reluctant—best friends. There was just something about Remy that made him feel and, worse, made him feel things he didn’t understand. And Logan hated not understanding.

When he came out of his room, looking vaguely like he’d just gone through something of an emotional hurricane, Roman just gave him a pat on the back and one of the Crofter’s cookies he’d stashed away. Clearly, Logan’s revelation was only a revelation to him. And, hopefully, to Remy.

He tried to catch Remy at the end of the next study meeting, looming over his shoulder as he packed his bag.

“Uh, sorry, hon, but I got nothing to say to you, ‘kay?” Remy snarked, throwing his satchel over his shoulder and raising his eyebrows at Logan, “So why don’t you just get out of my way.”

Logan stood his ground despite Remy’s comment, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. Remy looked as if he was just about to push past Logan when he finally spoke up

“I’m sorry.”

At that, Remy looked… genuinely caught off guard and for just a moment his persona seemed to drop, leaving him confused and… something else Logan couldn’t quite identify.

He took a breath, his brow furrowed.

“I wasn’t… exactly sure why it was that I found you so frustrating. I had convinced myself that it was your lack of study habits and generally—” Logan waved his hand around for a moment—“flippant attitude towards school in general. Though, of course, that excuse fell apart as soon as you joined the study group and I realised that Roman is just as bad, if not worse, in engaging in his classes.”

Remy gave no reply, simply watching him as he took another moment to think.

He cleared his throat. “That is all to say, that I apologise for my behaviour towards you over the time we’ve known each other and I would appreciate the chance to metaphorically… start over, as it were?”

There was another moment of silence as Remy regarded him, lips twisted slightly but in a way that Logan hoped was more considering than it was cruel.

“Yeah, alright,” Remy finally conceded, a slight grin pulling at his features, “Starting over it is.”

Logan stuck out his hand for Remy to shake and at Remy’s equal-parts confused and amused expression, he elaborated.

“I… uh, I never got the chance to properly introduce myself, I don’t think. I’m Logan McKenzie, I like debates, books, astronomy and anybody who’ll give me the opportunity to ramble for hours about things they probably don’t care about.”

A grin spread across Remy’s face as he took Logan’s hand in his. “Remy Wake. I like coffee, cute boys, puzzles and anybody who’ll let me wake them up at three in the morning for a trip to get slushies.”

“Wanna go for coffee?”

Remy grinned, big and bright and real. “Yeah. Sounds good, nerd.”

—————

“So… uh, did you ever figure out why you did seem to hate me so much?” Remy asked, bumping his shoulder against Logan’s as they made their way out of the library.

Logan startled slightly. “Oh! Yes. I find you extremely physically attractive.”

Remy didn’t think he could be blamed for walking directly into the doorframe at that but with the sound of Logan’s laughter echoing in his ears, so pretty and joyful, he wasn’t really hurrying to explain himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tag list: @mutechild @super-magical-wizard @shadowsfromthesun @teadays @sandersships @camcam774 @autism-goblin @deadlyhuggles6 @romanthestarstruckqueer @whispers-stuff-in-your-ear @rainboots-are-for-snobs @sanders-and-sides @spirits-in-my-thoughts @hold-my-hat @goodandbadisallmadeupnonsense @stop-it-anxiety @figurative-falsehood @jadedfantasies231 @idosanderssidespromptssometimes @poisonedapples @sanders-screams @another-sandersidesblog @do-not-just-see-observe @mychemicalpanicattheemo @primaryyblogg @localtransgrape @fandomsofrandom @gattonero17 @airiervessel @ollyollyoxinfree 

and, of course, for the losleep, @sleepless-in-starbucks and @emo-disaster

#sanders sides #losleep #sleeplogical #logan sanders #remy sanders #roman sanders #he's a silent master of 'logan you dumbass gay get your shit together and admit you like remy or so help me' #and that's so valid #lo can write #emo-disaster-main #ask lo #also I do know that four seven eight is probably supposed to be relating to the breathing technique #(after I looked it up because I couldn't figure out why it sounded so familiar) #but also my mind went straight to this so oh well hahah

[nemossubmarine]

Warhammer 40k: Wrath & Glory RP #27

Coco inspects the strange burned-out thing in a glass-case she got from the Countess’ place. It looks awfully similar to stuff from her brother’s murder scene. Closer inspection and taking it out reveals it to be a burnt-out arm and a shoulder blade of unknown origin (could be human, but just as likely eldar or even tau). Inside the shoulder blade there is writing in eldar runes, that reminds her of the vein in the Countess’ hideout in Treshan. Unfortunately Coco can’t read eldar, so she packs the arm back into the box, because it is rather gross.

Izarak has been watching over the psykers in his care. The woman who does not have spikes is the first to wake up. She’s a bit surprised to see Izarak and clearly quite guarded as she asks where she is and who Izarak is. Izarak says that they’ve escaped Comorragh, the city of the dark eldar, and that he is a priest. The woman then asks where she is exactly, and Izarak says they stole an alien ship. The woman goes to sit by the unconscious man and asking if he’s going to be okay. Izarak says he should. It turns out that the woman (named Amantha) and the man (named Galion) are friends. They do not know the third psyker. Amantha says they work for the Administratum, and well, they are not from around these parts. She requests they be dropped off at the nearest Imperial planet, so they can contact their people. Izarak goes to get some food and water for Amantha. Eventually Galion wakes up as well. He is a blind older man. Him and Amantha seem to prefer communicating in High Gothic. Izarak shows them their room. They seem content staying there.

Coco finds Ferrus in the mesh hall, copying down his maps that have been left worse for wear by the encounter with the Countess. He has changed into clothing provided by their xenos hosts, including a headscarf that covers up his third eye. Coco asks how he is doing to which he replies that he hasn’t been exactly okay for several years, but doing better. Coco wants to know what the Countess exactly did to him, and Ferrus tells that she wanted him to look for something from the Warp. Other than that, he spent most of the time hanging from the wall, no torture, no gladiator battling (which is good, Ferrus hasn’t had fencing lessons in like 15 years). Coco wonders why the Countess put the contraption on Ferrus’ head, and Ferrus surmises it had to do with her knowing exactly how dangerous he could be, if he was left to look where-ever he pleased. (They have a brief tangent about whether the holes in the sides of Ferrus’ face will fill. Neither of them knows, they hope Izarak might.) Coco admits that she found Ferrus’ gaze more than a bit terrifying and then asks what it’s like. Ferrus asks if she has travelled in warp, and she says she has, being a Rogue Trader’s daughter. Apparently he sees pretty much what everyone sees within Warp, except just more (since there’s no Geller field), and with the added bonus of the Astronomican. What people see when they look into his third eye is just about the same. Except they’re not able to withstand gazing into the Warp. It’s apparently not a pleasant way to go, not that no one has ever lived to tell the tale. That’s why the Navigators usually have their third eyes hidden with hats or head-dresses, and why Ferrus is sporting the headscarf. He says that he sometimes eschews out of his because he is a bit of an asshole. Coco disagrees with that, he’s saved their lives a couple of times at least, to which Ferrus says that they’ve known each other for maybe a week or two, so she really shouldn’t be so sure she knows. Coco says she’s sure. Coco asks Ferrus if he is still interested in looking for Ada, and Ferrus says he isn’t quite sure if Ada is even alive (and if she is alive, whether that’s any better, if she is in the Countess’ clutches), but Roberto should probably be informed. Coco also asks Ferrus if he knows any eldar, but Ferrus says no, only a little bit of kroot (and even then it’s apparently basics). Coco wonders where Ferrus learned it, and Ferrus tells he had a kroot friend. Coco says that kroots she knows don’t really speak their own language around humans, and Ferrus said that his friend didn’t either, only in private. Apparently he thought it fun to listen to Ferrus attempt to pronounce the kroot language.

Alice goes to check in on Michael. As she approaches the door to his room, she can hear music coming from inside and mournful singing. When the song ends, Alice knocks on the door. Michael answers and invites her inside. Inside, there’s some kind of a Tau harp. Michael has found out that he apparently knows how to play an instrument, and when he began to play a song came to him. Alice says it’s good to have artistic aspirations. When Michael asks what Alice’s artistic choice is, she says she has a very particular taste in literature. Michael admits to Alice that he is feeling apprehensive about returning to Baal, as he has no way to prove to them that he indeed is a Blood Angel, especially if none of his comrades yet live. Alice says that then he can choose a new chapter for himself. Michael tells Alice that she is a kind woman.

Larry goes to visit La’awali and Tirak in their room. Their conversation is a bit halted but possible with La’awali’s translation technology. Larry wants to talk with the xenos about the humans on board, most notably that some of them are not happy about being on the same ship with the xenos. They seem undrestanding of the situation, saying they can hang around their room and make sure they won’t be running into any humans on their way. Larry asks if they’ve any knowledge of humans and La’awali says there are humans within the Tau empire, but she personally hasn’t met any. In general they don’t seem to be very aware of the vastness of the human empire. Larry asks about this greater good that La’awali keeps mentioning. She bemoans the fact that she isn’t as good at explaining these things as the leader of her expedition. She explains that basically the Tau feel that if people would work together, life would be better for everyone. It turns out La’awali is a soldier and Larry asks how that vibes with this “working together, diplomacy” thing. La’awali explains that she protects (used to) an ambassador and sometimes there are people you can’t talk to, Tyranids for example. Larry knows Tyranids all too well, and tends to agree (though technically you could talk to Genestealer Cultists). 

Larry offers to take La’awali and Tirak back to their home, once he manages to find a ship that is a bit faster. (apparently Tirak has heard from Ferrus about how far away they are and about how damn slow their ship is). The pair appreaciates the offer and says the Tau empire would be grateful for that. Larry mentions that they’re in a bit of hurry (well, he personally is), and though the stealth tech is nifty, a faster ship would be nice. La’awali mentions that the ship can’t run the stealth tech forever, without having its solar-powered batteries re-filled. Tirak can route some of the power from unnecessary stuff (like the karaoke machine, or indeed the plane simulator).

After this chat Larry invites the rest of the party to talk about what they’re doing next in his room. Izarak lets everyone know that two of the psykers are up. They appear friendly, but seem to like to hang out on their own in their room. They haven’t seen the aliens yet. Speaking of the xenos, their ship is nice, says Alice. Though a bit small, Coco adds. It’s a bit slow, says Larry, referring to the spores inside him that he should be getting out. Larry says he has spoken with the two aliens. He admits to being a bit worried about them, being surrounded by humans. He says that they need to decide their stance on them.  Izarak (or Coco?) says hopefully they could part soon, but Larry mentions they’re quite far away from home. He does mention hoping to help them back home. Coco asks if Larry is truly planning on taking them into Imperial space, but it’s not like they have much choice, most all space is Imperial space.

Larry points out that everyone seems super chill with harboring some xenos and straight out asks people’s opinions (Alice he knows is chill). Izarak says he is okay with them but for obvious reasons can’t say it out loud (Larry comments that Izarak is a rad priest). Coco says that she has worked with aliens before, but of course she’s not on her ship anymore, so she understands the danger. Izarak promises to keep silent about this. Larry says he’s worried about Michael too, true, he doesn’t remember anything now, but when he does, well, Astartes are not famous for being xenos-friendly. Coco asks if they want to help Michael get back his memories. An idea of having him not remember is brought up, Alice says maybe he could become a sheep farmer on Treshan. Or a body guard to them, Larry says. Izarak says he can take Michael back, take the full responsibility and let the others escape. 

Izarak mentions the psykers wanting to be dropped off at the nearest Imperial planet. Larry suggests offering to take them closer to where they were going, so they’ll stay on board a bit longer. Larry says he’ll talk with them and try to find out what they think about xenos, before they run into them.They also agree that Izarak should probably talk with the Imperial family to maybe make them not immediately sell them out as soon as they get out. It is suggested that Michael tag along as the Imperial family seems to like him quite a bit.

They discuss what they’ll do next. Obviously getting to Mpandex and getting the spores out of Larry is a priority. They can’t really arrive to the planet officially, but they figure they can use the stealth-tech of the Tau ship to get on the ground, and afterwards just claim they’ve been there a while. After that they can move on. Larry says he wishes to get to Obsidia to let his mom know he’s alive as soon as possible, and maybe drop off the xenos while he’s at it. Izarak says his priority still is saving Ada. Considering they’ve still friends there as well, Treshan seems like a good next stop. They surmise they could maybe contact the station around Treshan to see if they could find out what happened to them. They’d need an Astropath for that of course. But at least now they’ve few next places to go figured out.

When this chat is over, Izarak approaches Ferrus who is still copying his maps. He wants to apologize for dragging Ferrus into this thing, as he was the one who hired him to help Ada. Ferrus points out that this arrangement was only made because Ferrus slept with Roberto. Nevertheless, Izarak apologizes as Ferrus was dragged along rather hastily. Ferrus asks if he could ask Izarak a priestly question, and when Izarak says yes he asks if there is meaning in suffering, if there is some force in the world, the Emperor probably, who makes people who have done bad things suffer. Izarak ponders this for a bit and says there’s a difference between suffering and punishment, and Ferrus asks what the difference is. Izarak says is that punishment is supposed to teach something to the person being punished. If nothing is learned, then it’s just suffering. Ferrus thanks him for his answers, and then that conversation is done with.

#nemo roleplays #long post #wag rp s2 #wag rp writeup #i was about to go to bed #and then remembered i havent posted this #i was supposed to reread it since im p sure i didn't get everything down #but ah well #will add tomorrow if ive the time #campaign tag: mom always said you'd end up a circus performer

[xiaq]

Q&A:

Hello! Sorry for the belated question-answering. My concussion symptoms got a lot worse for a hot second, but I’m feeling better now and ready to tackle my inbox. So I have over 30 academic-related questions and they mostly fall into these groups:

Can I read your dissertation/are you going to publish it?

Yes! And hopefully. The plan is to publish it as a book once it is complete, but even if that doesn’t happen I’ll share it (maybe even on AO3) with anyone who wants to read it.

What is your dissertation about?

That is a dangerous question. The shortest possible answer: my dissertation is essentially an ethnographic study of the interconnected online platforms that facilitate transformative digital fan culture and the people that use them. I consider fic literature and fic archives repositories for both this textual literature but also the metatextual and paratextual elements of fan culture. My focus is on the AO3 as a groundbreaking archive that has changed how transformative fandom operates, is treated legally, and is viewed publicly.

How are you getting a PhD in fandom? Is that a thing? Did you take classes for it?

Fandom studies is a thing! When you get an English PhD you specialize in certain things, and fandom studies is one of my specialties. Alas, I did not take classes in it, though I did do a significant amount of directed reading on my own/in preparation for exams. PhD coursework prepares you for the broad range of English classes you may be called upon to teach as a professor. So I took multiple courses in my primary fields (see below) but only took classes for my first two subfields. I also took Victorian lit, British lit, American lit, etc.

What did you take your quals in?

Primary Fields: (these are things that make colleges want to hire you)

Book history/archival (focus movement from print-digital)

Feminist/queer theory

20/21st century lit

Subfields: (these are the things that you think are neat if not included in the things that will make colleges want to hire you)

disability studies

minority literature

comics studies

fandom studies

Where do you go to school?

SMU. In Dallas. We have great libraries and lots of white people who wear Vinyard Vines apparel.

You’re the xiaq that wrote LRPD/AHTU/Strut! Are you going to talk about your own fic in your dissertation? Yes. And yes! I’ll speak as a 3rd party academic observer in chapter 1-3 and 5, but chapter 4 will be a case study/interlude where I speak in depth about my experience writing and posting LRPD (https://archiveofourown.org/works/11304786?view_full_work=true). I’m doing this for 2 reasons: 1. The project asserts that there is nothing shameful about participating in fandom and fan works/archives ought to be shown respect and appreciation. I want both fandom folks and academic folks to know that I’m “all in” as it were. 2. When I sat down with my chair to plan my case study chapter, we decided I needed a “top-ranked” work within any moderate to large fandom with over 50,000 hits and over 5,000 comments, and I needed to ask the author detailed questions about their writing, editing, posting, sharing, and comment-answering/interactive habits. LRPD fits that criteria and I don’t have to ask anyone else invasive questions.

Who all have you interviewed?

Cesperanza/Astolat and a couple other AO3 founding folks. Several people currently volunteering for the OTW, one of the volunteer coordinators, communications staff, and a LOT of fan writers (over 50 at this point)—including BNFs like Kryptaria, Earlgreytea68, Emmagrant01 and (much) more. And then a bunch of academic folks too—Karen Hellekson, Abigail De Kosnik, Francesca Coppa, Rukmini Pande, Suzanne Scott (who is on my committee as an outside reader!) and more. Every single person I’ve spoken to was very kind and generous with their time and I love everyone in this bar.

And these were three specific questions that didn’t fall into those categories:

You look so young—is that just good genetics or did you skip a few grades?

Thank you! Well. I skipped getting my masters. Sort of. Most PhD programs require an undergraduate and a masters degree before you can apply. SMU is one of the few that does not and has an extended program that essentially gives folks straight from undergrad extra intensive coursework and a masters upon completion of 2 yrs in the program. It’s difficult to get accepted without a masters, so consider me an outlier and not the standard. I’m also on course to (hopefully) graduate a year early—which means I’ll have my doctorate before I turn 30! You too can be an overachiever with the help of OCD, anxiety, and sleep deprivation (not an endorsement, tho).

what does otw mean in your ao3 post about academics being assholes

Organization for Transformative Works! The OTW formed before the AO3 did. You can read more about it here: https://fanlore.org/wiki/Organization_for_Transformative_Works

Concerning your post on AO3 and the pettiness of academics - you mentioned the real, serious negative issues concerning AO3. Might you expand more on that? What do you find to be the negative aspects of AO3?

Ah yes. So there is one “big” thing that occasionally came up as a negative in my interviews and research. Fandom has a long and storied history of racism. It’s not isolated to the AO3, but several of the POC I spoke to said they dislike the fact that there’s no way to mark a work as racist, or warn others about it (usually, if an individual points out that, say, an author has treated Finn as a Big Black Dick and not, you know, a human being, the author isn’t particularly interested in noting that their own work is problematic. See also: slave AUs. Where Finn is a slave.Yikes.). While the majority of POC I spoke to didn’t advocate for some sort of censure of these works in the terms of use (some did), what most wanted was a way of being able to warn others, or receive a warning, that a work is racist. Implementing something like that is, obviously, complex (if not impossible) however. Personally? I doubt it will happen. Related, and perhaps more important, when POC tend to speak critically about the erasure or infantilization or animalization of non-white characters, white authors often 1. police tone rather than engage with the criticism, 2. focus more on defending themselves rather than actually examining their, maybe accidental, biases/stereotypes or 3. cry bullying or kinkshaming instead of actually listening to what POC are saying. Again, not an issue isolated to the AO3, but an issue nonetheless that we, as a community, need to recognize (for more on this history, check out, for example, https://fanlore.org/wiki/RaceFail_%2709). There’s also the whole “should illegal sexual things--like underage or pedophilia-- be allowed,” which I don’t have the energy to dissect right now, but the overwhelming majority of folks I spoke to were of the “if you don’t like it, don’t read works with that tag. If it’s not tagged correctly, close the tab” school of thought. The AO3 has always purported itself as a hosting, not a policing, organization, so I doubt that will ever change. 

#q&a #answered asks #fandom studies #AO3 #x wants the (ph)d

[incorrect-marauders]

THE OWLS ARE IN! IT’S TIME FOR THE SURVEY RESULTS!

So, as many of our followers are probably aware, we recently did a survey to get a feel of what people thought of our blog. We got a total of 57 results and we are grateful to each and every one of you for taking the time to let us know your thoughts. Now, we’re here to share the general consensus of what people thought and how we will accommodate these opinions.

We’ll definitely have some changes to the blog, so read on to see what those changes are!

Before we begin, we have a few things to briefly mention.

The results are pretty scattered. We didn’t want to restrict anyone, so most were free response or included “Other”. In hindsight, there were a few questions that could have easily been multiple choice without really restricting anyone. (Side eyes the first question.) Therefore, most of these will just summarize the results we got. Occasionally drop the graph for the multiple choice questions.

Because of the large amount of responses we got, not every answer will be listed here. We highlighted the things that were either most commonly mentioned or had us thinking the most.

If anyone would like to see the full results for some reason (par the names, to keep anonymity), feel free to email us at [email protected] and we’ll send it over!

And yes, we are making changes to accommodate these results! That’s what this survey was all about!

We’ll be opening applications for new mods within the next couple days as well.

We’ll have a tiny hiatus as all of this is going on.

Now, we begin...

How long have you been following incorrect-marauders?

The most popular answer seemed to be around 2 months or 10 months. A lot of people filling out this survey seemed to either be relatively new or here since the beginning. Kudos to you incorrect-marauders veterans, and welcome newer followers!

How did you find incorrect-marauders?

Somewhat as we expected. Keep reblogging us, lovely people!

What do you love MOST about incorrect-marauders?

"It's funny.” (x50)

No really, we got 50 variations of “It’s funny,” “It’s hilarious,” “The humour,” “The funny text posts.”

Thanks, we appreciate it!

“How weirdly in character the quotes always are.”

(Similar variations include, “How actually accurate your post are,” “That not every post is as funny, imho, but that they do keep true to the characters,” “How much they fit the characters.”)

“They offer new content to the Marauders 'franchise' as it were because some stuff within the fandom is constantly being reused.”

“How correct it actually is if Joanne made it canon.”

“McGonagall with the marauders and that the sources are listed.”

“Accurate representation, variety of ships and relationships, isnt toxic.”

“Very funny and can be great art/writing prompts.”

“The taste.”

“EVERYTHING.”

These are all very nice, thank you all. Glad we hit where we were aiming.

What do you love LEAST about incorrect-marauders?

The most common response was, “Nothing,” or a variation thereof, but that’s no fun for this question, so here are some of the legitimate criticisms we received!

“Quote sources, I think, occasionally aren't there.”

Our original quotes often don’t have sources. But if there’s one where a mod forgot to credit a source, please just message us and one of the admins will fix that!

“There isn't a particularly nice aesthetic to the blog, e.g. a matching layout and profile picture or quote.”

Yeah, we’re working to fix that. I like pretty blogs too.

“Could be updated a little more.”

(”Not much posting in my opinion,” “Long time between posts.”)

Strangely enough, we got this a few times but our later poll about how often to post were contradicting this. So, unfortunately, we will not be adjusting this.

“I mean I would say that Peter is on it, but can’t really get rid of him...”

(Got a few of these, like, ”Peter being seen as a good person.”)

Sorry!

“Some are a bit too small.”

“I don’t like the long quotes.”

Well, then.

“Seeing my #notp but that isnt rly a minus?? Its called diversity so im not gonna hate or anything.”

Thank you for appreciating the diversity. We get occasional hate over it, but we also get hate over not posting some of the other ships. I suppose that’s what happens when you have lots of different followers of different opinions.

“If I send you a text post you credit the source in # but i'd like you to include a link to my tumblr in the post itself so people would actually find my tumblr. I doent send you text posts anymore, cause it doesn't really profit me and it feels like you get credit for my work.”

We’re sorry you feel that way. We always put it in the tags, just in front of the source. We are more of a mod-based blog rather than a submission-based blog. Anyone is welcome to submit, but about 98% of our posts are created by our mods.

“Sometimes I feel like the wrong characters were chosen or not well thought out.”

We can assure you our mods put a lot of thought into what characters to use, but you are welcome to message us with your own suggestion! (But please note that we are a Marauders blog; we got a few comments about how we don’t post enough Hinny or Romione, but that’s not what our blog is about.)

What makes incorrect-marauders stand out?

Once again, we got a lot about how funny we are, so we’ll skip over those and highlight the more unique answers!

"They don't use things from other people without credit.”

“The love and attention put in to everything.”

“Don't think there are any other blogs about marauders in this style.”

(We got this a few times. ”Like the type of blog and incorrect-marauders was the first one Harry potter themed I found,” also, “Its really funny and pretty much the only blog that just does this kind of post and i LOVE it.” But alternatively... “There are a lot of textpost blogs like it, but it is one of the only ones that I have found that consistently keeps characters in character in the posts and appeals to my sense of humor.”)

“I feel the quotes are in character and from multiple sources which Is cool.“

“How open it is.”

“The continuous content.”

“The posts arent so often that my dash is spammed like other blogs of the same nature.”

“Not sure but I like you.”

Not much to comment on these except we’re happy to see people think this about us!

How satisfied are you with the blog and the posts, in all?

So, you’re telling me, we opened a public, anonymous survey and not a single hater filled it out? Am I impressed or disappointed?

Please explain your response to the previous question.

“I just love the whole blog.”

“It's not my favourite blog ever ever which is why it's not a 10 but i still love it.”

“You guys are just so awesome! But it'd also be cool to have a little, meet the creator(s).”

“Its good but I don't have or want notifications on.”

“It’s the #qualitycontent i signed up for.”

"Always room for improvement, and also there's no 9 3/4 option.”

Awesome! We definitely agree that we can always improve, which is what this survey is for!

How often should we post?

We got a lot of variety here. Some say once a day (which is how often we currently post) was ideal. Others put stuff like...

“I wouldnt mind my entire blog just being filled with your posts.”

While Once A Day is the most voted for, the rest of the options put together, which we’ll name Two or More Times a Day, do win overall. Since we have one new post followed by a reblog, we’ll compromise by posting two times a day, but with one new post a day (the second being a reblog).

In UTC, what times do you prefer us posting?

As expected, not many people cared. But two people felt very strongly and voted for 12am, 1am, and 6pm UTC. So, we’ll consider that.

What characters, relationships, universes, etc. would you like to see more represented in our posts?

We got a lot of responses here, primarily being more Wolfstar, Jily, and BFFs James and Sirius. We also got a lot saying we should post about Hinny, Romione, next gen, FBAWTFT, etc. in which I remind you that this is a Marauders blog.

We also got the hilarious response that said we should maybe post about the “merauders”. Well, we can certainly promise you that.

We also got a lot of people saying more McGonagall. That’s something we can definitely do.

Would you like to see more original quotes from us?

For the longest time, the option 50/50 was at exactly 50%. Kind of disappointed that is no longer, but the 25% option is at 25%, so that’s something. Anyway, we’ll aim for 50/50.

What else would you like to see us post?

This was one of the results that will make the biggest change to the blog. People seem to really love these ideas. So expect...

Marauder Mondays! Every Monday we’ll have Marauder Monday, where we’ll answer asks, reblog posts, and have a party! Probably when we’ll post the “extra” posts, like our GIFs, graphics, aesthetics, videos, etc.

How would you feel if we did sponsored posts?

Combined, it seems like ~75% of those who took the survey are good with sponsored posts.

These results honestly surprised us. We’ve gotten a lot of offers of sponsorships in the past but have always denied them because we didn’t know how our followers would feel. We probably won’t do this in the near future, but it’s an option.

What kind of projects would you like to see us host?

We got so many people suggesting merch. Shirts, stickers, pins, other merch... So we’ll keep that in mind! We’d love some Marauders shirts ourselves.

“Projects that other blogs can get involved with to help other accounts grow.”

Noted!

“An art challenge maybe? like, 30 day challenge where you have to draw them as characters from movies/tv shows? like, friends, clueless, avengers, dc characters etc.“

Definitely interesting. Art challenges would be a lot of fun. Hopefully there’s an interest for this!

Which of our other accounts do you follow/would like to follow?

We’ll look into bringing on people to regularly post on other sites.

What device do you use to browse our blog most often (whether through Tumblr or our site)?

Why are we bothering with a redesign again? Oh, right. Personal vain.

How often do you visit the blogsite?

Those numbers are higher than expected...

What kind of things would you like to find on our blogsite?

“Character aesthetics.”

“Fanfiction links.”

“Marauders fan art would be cool.“

We’ll be working on this! Thank you for the suggestions!

More meet the creator(s) (if not comfortable with should, maybe just telling a funny story)

We got a lot of people saying they’d like to know more about us. We are anonymous, but this particular comment had us thinking. We’ll be implementing something in the near future. We will still remain anonymous, but we will have “blog identifies”, I suppose you could say. More info to come!

Other than show, character, and ship lists, what would you like to see in our navigation?

We didn’t get many new suggestions for this, except for fanart, aesthetics, etc. which we will add as more people join the blog!

Do you have any additional suggestions for us?

"Maybe find a blog that could do fan art, but only if you’re comfortable with it. Also, you’re blog is already so amazing, and any redesign would just make it more awesome!!! Don’t let anyone get you down espically if some one puts something negative on the survey because it is so so great already.”

We got no negative feedback (just constructive criticism), but thank you for your concern!

“um. keep doing this. i like it. it helps fill the gaping void in my soul“

Mood.

“Thanks for making the survey, caring about our feedback, and being awesome overall :)”

Of course! This is not just our blog, this is the Marauders fandom blog. Your feedback means everything to us and we hope you will like the changes we’ll make in response to it.

And that covers all of it! Cookies to anyone who read all of that! Keep an eye out for those new mod applications if you’re interested in joining our team!

We’ll be taking a tiny little hiatus as we’re figuring some stuff out.

#admin #survey #survey results #updates

[endearinglysarcastic]

Taylor Swift’s Current Form of Hell

Some thoughts considering Taylor’s current situation. Feedback is welcome (especially if it can be added to the analysis!), but please don’t @ me to argue that she’s a bully or a bitch. I will eat you. 

Firstly, let’s talk about age. Taylor is 29. Scott and Kim are 38, Kanye is 42. Famous was released in 2016, when Taylor was 26 and Kanye 39. So, not only was it released without her permission, not only was she filmed without her permission, not only did it defame her, not only was it implying sexual promiscuity in return for fame, not only was it entirely beyond the bounds of anything she would’ve agreed to regardless of Kim’s ‘proof’, she was 26. Let that sink in. There is more than a decade between her and Kanye - think about someone a decade older that you (a cousin, uncle or friend) and imagine how you would react (me, I’d go all Tangled on them, and hit them in the face with a saucepan; and that’s my calm reaction). Then remember how you were at 19 - considering that, in 2009, when Kanye said ‘imma let you finish BUT’ she was 19.  Fast forward a little to 2016, and Kanye has 2 children, a wife and an established music career. He should be the elder, the one that understands the industry, the one that works with RESPECT. Taylor is only just older than his second youngest sister-in-law - and you best believe that if something like this happened to Kendall, Kanye would be coming after them. But this ‘feud’ was deemed appropriate, Famous was deemed ‘funny’. Scooter and Justin Bieber and various radio hosts etc have decided that all this is ‘not a big deal’. But there we were, Taylor was 26 and being TAGGED by people a decade older than her in this revenge porn horridness. Is it because we now think it’s okay to be horrible to white girls? Is that it? Is it because she’s American? She certainly isn’t a Trump fan, so we can rule that out. Maybe it’s because Kanye was threatened - maybe it’s because he was made to apologise by Queen B and he’s been looking to reassert his masculinity ever since. Maybe it’s his own past, insecurities, problems. But that in no means makes it okay; nor does it condone the behaviour of his wife and associates like Scooter. Hence, we have defamation, revenge porn and cyber bullying, all of which started when Taylor Swift, pop princess supreme, was 19, 26 and now 29.

One of the people who brought this 2016 pain about, now owns the rights to her music. Sounds a bit iffy (it still has her name on it! you cry), but let’s think about this legally. This means that if Taylor wants to work with, rerelease, remix or reconsider any of HER prior works, she has to a) work with Scooter, b) have the changes approved by Scooter and c) give a portion of the profits to Scooter. And yes, kiddies, that means concerts too. Performing her music, at her concerts, for her fans, is giving her abuser a profit. Imagine having to do that with a high school bully, or say, prior boss that you never really liked, with a report or a paper. Objectively these things are worth nothing, but you did the majority of the work; despite this, it’s technically part of their group or company, so it’s theirs too. It’s like sharing custody of your child with an abusive and absent ex. Except, that child is worth a literal fortune and took 14 years to create; and you’re well aware that your ex will completely abuse their side of the contract for their own amusement.  Furthermore, while she’s sharing those rights, we have to remember that Taylor has no legal recourse - he owns the masters by CONTRACT, that she no doubt signed at one point or another. Now while I have things to say about the lawyers that advised her to sign that contract, please remember that she was just 14 when she entered the industry and that a human female brain does not fully develop until at least 23 (men are develop by 27 but this is about Taylor so I’ll refrain from making that joke today). Business savvy she might be now, but that comes with experience and practice and a good team. People who are good at their job, understand your vision and you trust entirely are hard to find; especially when your vocation is as all encompassing as Taylor’s must be. Perhaps there was a mistake there, perhaps she shouldn’t have signed the contract; but hindsight is 20/20, and perhaps blaming Taylor isn’t the most progressive thing to do.  What is both interesting and considerably more gross, is that Taylor was offered a chance to, quote, ‘earn back’ her masters - not only is this bribery, it’s an attempt to further abuse and power over one of the biggest earners in today’s music industry. With such a power over her, there is no way that Big Machine will ever willingly let her go - perhaps they’d enter into a never-ending negotiation; for every album she produces (which would belong to Big Machine), she earns back a prior album that belonged to Big Machine. Sounds fabulous and abusive, doesn’t it? If you are so naive as to think that she was not a guiding factor on the purchase of Big Machine, please reconsider your brain. No one wants to buy the cow if you can get the milk for free - which essentially is what Scooter did, plus now he gets to kick the cow and the calf if and when he wants to. Lovely, right? However, please consider that in signing any new contact under this offer, one can see definite similarities with Kesha’s situation, though the abuse hopefully be only mental and emotional. Taylor has made an incredibly hard and painful choice; she could leave her legacy behind in favour of happier life, or continue with her legacy and ‘earn it back’ and be generally miserable. This desire to make Taylor ‘submit’ is misogynistic, horrible and really really gross. Hence we can conclude that not only has she been abused, bullied and used, we may now note that she has no way of ‘winning’ this argument - in that she may never get her masters back without paying a very serious life consequence.

Taylor has posted a 2 paragraph statement on Tumblr. (Fun reminder - I’m not even halfway done and I’ve written a longer defence that she did.) She is being called attention seeking (‘turning the the public has worked for her before’ - what my local FM radio told me), bullying, gaslighting etc etc. which are all things we’ve heard about before in relation to her. Certainly, Taylor, like other people in the media spotlight, has done things that people don’t approve of or deem problematic (because she, like all others, is just a person) but this by no means should overshadow her present situation. You don’t need to be a Taylor fan to consider this issue problematic; the facts alone are indicative enough. There is no element of like, love, favouritism or adoration that even needs to be considered here. Taylor is being judged, abused and publicly bullied as she dared to speak her mind and feelings about her own works. If Scooter had his way, we would  revert to simply calling her hysterical, and strip her of all capacity to reason - god forbid a woman in the music industry be of sane mind and conviction. Despite this, we have to note that these events, this treatment, these discussions have led to one of the most prominent and successful women of the 21st century retreating from public, and posting her defence, in her own words, on TUMBLR, which is widely considered a niche site when compared to say Twitter or Instagram. Hence, we must ask ourselves, why would Taylor choose Tumblr? She has been so widely supported on Instagram and Twitter in the past. Maybe this is where she feels supported and like she is least chance to be attacked; what does that tell you about her headspace? Maybe it’s where she sees the least tagging, comments of ownership, masters related from people who are meant to be her colleagues - cyber bullying is, effectively, so harmful because it can truly follow you anywhere. Imagine the outrage if this had been done to Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes. But it wouldn’t happen to them - not because producers and owners are incapable, but because they do not deem in necessary for them to need to show who the ‘alpha’ is. But having Taylor as the more powerful, pervasive person seems to offend many men to the core. Hence, maybe Taylor posted it is simply for herself, knowing it would be unedited and seen by people who might sympathise without yarns of criticism that related to the anatomy between her legs. Certainly, I know I would want to have my say for my own peace of mind as well as for my mental health - and I’m just a law student with 7 followers. How does someone so wildly popular feel so unsafe in the social media sphere? This. This bs is why. 

So why are we just hearing about all this now? Well that’s just it; Taylor. She has brought this to the public attention. She is not so naive as to think that there would be no backlash - she’s been the victim of that too many times. Taylor, despite knowing all of this, despite standing alone, despite the lack of media, social media, peer and male support, has said something. She has expressed her thoughts and feelings, knowing she would be labelled unstable and narcissistic - because that is the fastest way to depreciate and devalue anything legitimate or threatening that comes from a woman or girl. Taylor has, in a sense, reported her abuse; except she reported it to the public. She has been bullied, cyber bullied, defamed, indicted, disliked and gaslighted. In her position, many would be anxious, depressed, scared, paranoid, running crying to their parents (cough me cough). Instead, she has made a rational, intelligent and self-caring decision that led to a well written statement, conveying her feelings in a timely and eloquent manner. She is effectively telling us that Times Up, and it’s coming for the music industry. As always, she has handled this in the most dignified and elegant of ways, while Scooter and his supporters seem to be borderline aroused at the pain they’re inflicting. How anyone can get their kicks out of another persons pain will always be beyond me, though that seems to be the way women are accustomed to men acting. Taylor is, as she has often been, at the forefront of changing social issues and bearing the brunt of the backlash in the public eye. I hope that there are other young women and young artists that are watching and listening - she might very well break the glass ceiling - again. 

Taylor has gone through an immense amount of pain throughout her music career - she’s been labelled an attention, money and boyfriend seeking crybaby for over a decade. The behaviour of men in the music industry is neither appropriate or acceptable. I do not accept it - we, the public, cannot accept it. 

Although I know it is of little help, I will no longer be listening to or streaming Taylor’s old work in an effort to support her. I will also not be streaming or purchasing any other Big Machine productions until her work is returned to her. I will also be signing this petition in her favour. Please consider doing the same - Katy Perry already did. 

I hope Taylor is okay, I hope she is caring for herself, I hope there is some legal action she can take. I hope Lover is wildly successful and her heart is full. Remember that this is not about receipts or feuds or drama. This is about the cruel and unfair treatment of a woman in the music industry and the escalation of that when it became public information. This is about changing the conversation and changing the working conditions. This is for more than just Taylor; this is part changing a toxic culture, where cyberbulling and revenge porn and spiteful purchases for ‘funzies’ (and the torment of others) is appropriate, provided it is against a woman. Whatever you might say or think of her, this is an example of injustices that occur to women everywhere and everyday. We have proven only one thing with these injustices, and that is that you can kick Taylor Swift down are hard as you can - she has discovered feminism and she’s going to get back up. She might not be perfect, she might not be your favourite, but she isn’t a push over. Taylor Swift is taking up space and taking no shit, and I am here for it. 

Petition: https://www.change.org/p/taylor-swift-make-taylor-swift-re-release-her-6-albums 

You can find Taylor’s statement here: https://taylorswift.tumblr.com/post/185958366550/for-years-i-asked-pleaded-for-a-chance-to-own-my

You can also check her Tumblr out here, though this is less related to this analysis and more if you want a good giggle: @taylorswift

#Taylor Swift #lover #law #scooter braun #kaynewest #kim kardashian #masters #feminism #timesup #famous #rant #analysis

[babbushka]

3 Ways (To Say I Love You) - Ch. 1

Hello everyone, this is the re-upload of my hanukkah flip zimmerman x jewish reader hanukkah fic! Please enjoy! I lost my tag list in the purge, so if you’d like to be tagged in the future chapters of this work, or in any future works, please comment or send me a message letting me know!!

Also can be found now on AO3! 

Word Count: 3000

Warnings: None!

The CSPD was busy this time of day, everyone coming back from the lunch rush and catching up on work they had put off. The phones were ringing, type writers were clacking, and conversations were overlapping outside the glass doors. Flip was seated at his usual spot at his desk, when Chief Bridges made his rounds and stopped in front of the detective’s office. He almost walked past it, but when giving a brief glance he saw Flip, who was just blowing the ink of the last form he had filled out to dry.

“Hey Zimmerman!” He called from the doorway, getting the attention of one of his finest detectives. “The missus is here.” Bridges nodded in the direction of the general police station.

“Where is she?” Flip eagerly stood up, grateful to see you, and wanting to know which part of the station you had gone to.

“Talking with the new secretary up front.” Bridges replied, taking a sip of his coffee and carrying on his way down the hall.

Ron and Jimmy both looked up and gave Flip an easy smile when he started to put all his papers away in their folders so he wouldn’t get confused when he came back.

“That woman has great timing, you need a break.” Jimmy said, taking a sip of his own coffee.

“I do not.” Flip scoffed, looking down at his wrist. Damn, he forgot that his last watch broke on the case he and Jimmy had just wrapped on. “What time is it?” He asked, looking for the clock on the wall but not finding it fast enough.

“Three twenty-two.” Ron replied, checking his own watch.

“Fuck it, I do need a break.” Flip said with a chuckle, making his friends laugh.

“Zimmerman, if you’re finished up with everything, you can head out early today.” Sergeant Trapp smiled kindly, as he too appeared in the door to the office. He must have been following Bridges, wherever the chief had gone. “I know it’s the first night of the holiday.”

“No that’s alright Sarge – ” Flip started to say, he didn’t want anyone giving him special treatment or anything like that, he could still work and –

“Flip, go home and be with your wife.” Trapp said.

It was clear that the detectives worked too hard to not have some time to relax, especially on the holidays, Trapp thought.

“Thank you sir.” Flip said with a nod, gratefully.

“I expect you here early tomorrow!” Trapp said with a chuckle as he turned around the corner.

Flip gathered his belongings and cleared off his desk for the day, looking up at his friends who were busy typing away.  

“You guys are still coming over right?” He asked.

It had been Flip’s idea to throw a party, just with some close friends, to celebrate the holiday. You of course jumped at the opportunity to cook and host, ready to impress all of your friends. Flip would never admit it, but he was nervous – this was his first proper Hanukkah since he was a little kid, and he didn’t even remember those years that well. He knew you celebrated every year, but this would be the first time he helped you cook or lit the candles, or even exchanged gifts. He wanted it to be perfect, and he could think of no better way than by having you and his friends with him.

“Of course! We’ll be there at six-pm sharp.” Ron said, breaking Flip out of his little daydream.

“Patrice is coming too?” Flip asked hopefully.

You and Patrice bonded quickly after the events of the Big Case, and he and Ron liked to call it. You two got together at least once a week to hang out, and you attended meetings and rallies held by Patrice’s activist group, even cooking up food for fundraisers and dinners. The four of you had gone on double dates more times than Flip could probably count, and it made Flip happy to see you so happy.

“She’s been looking forward to this for weeks.” Ron grinned, making Flip all the happier.

“Good, (Y/N) loves her, she’ll be excited to hear that, and I’m looking forward to seeing her again.” He replied sincerely, before saying goodbye to the office and heading out to find you.

Flip couldn’t help but admire the way that you looked, standing there in the lobby of the station. You had dressed to match the holiday, a blue blouse and a white pencil skirt that hugged your curves in all the right places. You were holding your coat against your chest, and your purse was slung over your shoulder, and Flip thought you looked like something straight out of a magazine.

“…and so then he says to me, ‘you know if you’re so smart why don’t you put up the lights this year?’ So I do and guess what?” He hears Ms. Josephine, the new secretary rambling on.

“What?” You asked, interested but also saying it to make her happy.

“I had them up in fifteen minutes. Fifteen!” She replied with a loud laugh, “Men can be so bullheaded sometimes.” She shook her head.

Flip cleared his throat playfully, drawing the attention of both women.

“Yes they certainly can be.” You grinned, your eyes meeting your husband’s, “Here comes mine now.”

You reached a hand out, and Flip took his cue to come rescue you from any more conversation. He held your hand in his own and brought it to his lips to kiss the tips of your fingers, making you blush.

“Oh so you’re the lovely Mrs. Zimmerman that I keep hearing so much about?” The secretary asked you, making you nod and smile.

“Hello Ms. Josephine.” Flip greeted her, before looking into your eyes, “Yes this is my wife, (Y/N).”

“She is just charming, detective.” Ms. Josephine beamed.

“Thank you, it was a pleasure to meet you.” You responded, still very pink in the cheeks from your husbands sweetness, “But I’m afraid I have to steal my husband for just a few moments.”

Ms. Josephine just nodded with a twinkle in her eye, and you shrugged your coat on before following Flip to your car that was parked just outside.

Braving the snow, the two of you laughed as you made a careful run for it, bundling up together against the chilly leather as Flip turned the car to get it started and warmed up.

“Hi honey.” Flip said, cupping your cheeks in his gloved hands and giving you a deep kiss that had all the chill melting from your skin.

“I missed you,” You said against his hot lips, your own growing into a smile, “You look so handsome today.”

“You say that every day.” Flip chuckled, kissing you sweetly once again, the noise of your lips together making a funny noise that had you giggling.

“I mean it every day.” You replied honestly.

You two kissed for a minute or two longer, just until the engine was warm enough to drive on, and then the two of you were off, leaving the parking lot and driving down the side streets that lead to the main road.

“You can have me for the whole rest of the day if you’d like.” Flip said, remembering how you told Ms. Josephine you would only be stealing him for a minute.

“You can’t just skip out on work, detective.” You teased playfully, but Flip just shook his head with a small smile.

“I’m not, Trapp gave me the evening off, so I’m all yours.” He reached over and took your hand in his own, weaving his fingers in with yours.

“No kidding?” You asked with wide, excited eyes, “Will you come do the shopping with me?”

“Only if you let me push the cart.” Flip smirked at you, looking at you briefly before putting his eyes back on the road.

“It’s a deal.” You settled back further into the now warm cushions of his Nova and chatted about nothing with him for the remainder of the drive.

“It looks like a fucking nightmare in there.” Flip slightly paled when he pulled up to the parking lot of the grocery store you always shop at.

The store was part of a strip of stores, and there were cars everywhere, with people filling nearly every space that a vehicle didn’t occupy. They all had carts filled with bagged goods from the grocery, or had arm-fulls of retail shopping bags hung on their arms as they wove in and out of the fray to get to their own cars.

Flip turned to you, but you were surprisingly calm about it.

“Yeah, that’s pretty normal for this plaza.” You nodded, taking off your seatbelt as Flip pulled into a spot and parked the car. Flip gawked, looking at the swarm of people, and then back at you.

“Honey, you go in there all by yourself when it’s like that?” He asked, wondering how you didn’t get eaten alive.

“You’re damn right I do.” You laughed, stepping out of the car and immediately taking his hand when he joined you. “I am a force to be reckoned with.”

And what a force you were! Flip had to run to catch up with you as you darted through the aisles. He regretted asking to push the cart; you had a system that he couldn’t really understand, but he assisted in any way possible. You really loved that he was tall enough to reach the things on the really high shelves, like all the special baking powders and sugars you needed for the desserts.

Once you had what you needed from an aisle, you practically bolted, saying excuse me, and pardon me, to the people who decided to move at a glacial pace around you.

“Oh my god, babe you can’t just – (Y/N) – !” Flip exasperatedly called as you made sharp turns without any warning around aisles and near various counters. He just couldn’t maneuver the cart in nearly as fluid a manner as you probably could.

“Flip honey keep up!” You laughed, laugh faltering at the dirty look an elderly man on the other side of the potato display gave you, as you picked out a sack that would become latkes later on in the evening.

He was staring at your necklace, the very same one that Flip had given you. It was worn proudly around your neck, and you knew that the old man was about to say something, when Flip finally caught up with you. His general build must have been enough to ward the man off, and you were grateful for it, even if Flip had had no idea. You simply smiled up at your husband and placed the potatoes in the cart, looking over everything you had.

After only a few more items (and many accidental times where Flip hit the back of your ankles with the cart – which he maintains was not his fault, you just kept stopping short!), the two of you made your way to the checkout, and were soon in the car.

“I’m glad that’s over, I don’t know how you do it.” Flip sighed. He felt like he was sweating, how could he be sweating when there was snow on the ground outside?

“It’s not as hard as it looks, you just need to know where everything is.” You said with a happy laugh. You forgot that Flip only ever went to pick up one or two things in the early morning before all the shoppers were out for the day, and resolved to give him some sweet kisses as a thank you for his patience.

“Where to next lil’ lady?” Flip said with a smile, and your heart felt so full that he was so willing to brave the world of holiday shopping with you. Thankfully, you only had one other place on your list, and it was much quieter in comparison to the bustling plaza.

“We need to go to the Rothstein’s deli, it’s on the corner of Washington and eighth street, do you know the one I mean?” You looked at him adoringly.

“Is that where we get the bagels?” He asked with a frown.

“No, that’s the bakery on forty-fourth avenue.” You smiled, watching as something clicked in his brain.

“Oh wait! I think I stopped in to the deli to have a sandwich once, I know where it is.” Flip confidently said, once again taking your hand and driving away from the plaza onto the main road.

“We better hurry, I want to get back home before the milk starts to warm.” You said, turning the radio on.

There was only Christmas music playing, of course. You happily sang along to the songs and practically swooned once Flip started singing along with you. He had such a lovely voice, but he never really sang. On occasion he could be heard humming in the shower, but always stopped out of embarrassment when you poked your head in to brush your teeth or join him under the spray.

You gave his hand a happy squeeze and laughed once he started doing all sorts of voices to be silly, and the two of you were still giggling when you pulled up to the deli.

It was a small place, family owned and operated for nearly thirty years. It still had all the old machinery, in pristine condition, and you had never gotten better quality meat from anywhere else. The glass window was slightly frosted over, but you could see the blue and white lights that had been hung outside shining brightly. A menorah sat in the window, and the shamash and the first candle cast big glowing orbs against the frosted glass.

Entering the deli and stomping the snow out of your boots, you and Flip approached the counter.

“Good afternoon (Y/N)!” Mrs. Rothstein, the elderly manager of the deli greeted you with a smile, coming around the counter to give you a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She looked behind you to see Flip, who was standing happily under the heater. “Oh, and I see you brought DetectiveZimmerman along with you, it’s so good to see you again.” Mrs. Rothstein pulled Flip into a hug and a kiss as well.

“Good afternoon Mrs. Rothstein, how are you today?” Flip asked with genuine interest.

“Oy I’m exhausted and my feet are killing me not to mention my back nach a mool, but the business has been booming today – isn’t that right Howard?” She threw her hands up, before turning to her husband of forty years, Mr. Rothstein.

“You bet honey. Hello (Y/N), hello Detective, always a pleasure to see you.” He stepped up to the counter from the back, and you leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek. He wiped his hands down on the white cloth apron tied around his waist, and shook Flip’s hand with a firm, friendly grip.

“You too Mr. Rothstein, I’m glad to hear the deli is doing well!” You grinned, looking at the various cuts on display under the glass of the counter.

“You’re here every week, please, call me Howard.” He said, making you smile. “What’ll it be for you today?” He asked.

“You know I have to have some of your brisket, I hope I’m not too late.” You bit your lip nervously, there weren’t any in the counter. “Flip is helping me cook tonight for the first time.” You looked to your husband and looped your arm through his, beaming up at him.

“Look at you, kvelling.” Mrs. Rothstein – Yetta, you corrected yourself, now on a first name basis with them – tutted sweetly, before going back around the counter. “We set one aside especially for you, didn’t we Howard?”

Just as she asked, her husband pulled out the biggest slab of meat Flip had ever seen.  

“Thank you, you didn’t have to do that – ” You said, eyes growing wide at the size of it. “Oh my goodness, it’s huge! Thank you, how much do we owe you?”

“It’s on the house.” Howard said definitively.

“No please, I have to you something.” Flip tried to argue, surely this was their most expensive cut, or close to it, it wouldn’t be right to not give anything.

“All we ask is if you have a few extra slices of your famous babka, you send them our way.” Yetta winked, making you sigh in defeat.

“You’re too kind, really.” You were touched by their generosity and were already making plans in your head to repay them in some way.

“Chag sameach!” Howard happily said, after wrapping up the brisket in brown paper and tying it with twine.

You and Flip returned the sentiment, and made your way to the car for the final time.

“That was really nice of them.” Flip said, still stunned at the parcel in your lap.

“It was, I’m going to bake them a whole loaf.” You decided, you’d also send them some rugelach and some of your great-grandmother’s sugar cookie recipe, just as an added thanks.

“Anywhere else?” Flip asked, but you could tell he was getting tired.

“No, we can head home.” You smiled, “I decorated.”

The look on your face made him nervous, in the best way possible. You loved to decorate, and he was sure that this was no different of an occasion – maybe even more of a reason for you to go all out.

“Should I call Better Homes and Gardens?” Flip chuckled, jokingly. You swatted his arm playfully and laughed with him.

“You just might want to.” You said, knowing how crazy you had gone with the garland this year…

#reader insert #flip zimmerman x reader #flip x reader #blackkklansman #flip zimmerman #jewish!reader #hanukkah #my writing #kylo ren x reader #ben solo x reader #clyde logan x reader #3 ways to say i love you #3WTSILY

[ocean-in-my-rebel-soul]

Building Audience Engagement

I was thinking of other ways to build engagement and hopefully an audience for my fellow fic writers and artists. I’ll share some things that are working for me under the cut because it’s a long post. 

And a plus: I’m not even talking about updating your fics regularly! (But please do that, if you still are into those projects!)

Caveat: This is just stuff that works for me. It may not work as well for you, but it doesn’t hurt to try.

tl;dr: promote your own work, consider sharing and promoting others’ content, be consistent in how and when you publish/post, have fun. Use tags judiciously, have an easy way we can search for your content, and again, promote your work! This is just as applicable to original content as fanworks!

1) Promote your own work

This, I think, is one of the more awkward things about being a creator: self promotion. We have to celebrate and advocate for ourselves and our work! Once you post a drabble or an art piece, schedule a reblog for a day or two away, then again in another few days or a week. Maybe you decide you’ll reblog certain things on certain days: maybe you’ll promote your AO3 page on the weekend and call it Fanfic Friday, or you’ll find your older art pieces from four million years ago and reblog them one day a week. Whatever it is, prop up your own work! If you don’t care, no one else will, either. You spent so much time and energy creating whatever that was, make sure it gets its turn in the spotlight!

2) Weekly writing events. 

I participate in the DA Drunk Writing Circle hosted by @dadrunkwriting. You don’t have to drink to participate, and it’s really simple to get involved. Every Friday, we get together and send each other prompts, and we post our little drabbles. I personally aim for 3-5 a night. I don’t always make it, but I like to have a goal. When we post our drabbles, the DA DWC blog (tagged above) reblogs the posts to their audience, too. It’s really nice. 

3) Tag your posts like a mo-fo. 

I got a tip from @jawsandbones about an XKIT extension, Quick Tags. I make some bundles, or a pre-set list of tags, and I can tag my posts with the click of a button. Go check out some of her prompt fills and other writing, and you’ll see what I mean - Lisa has a MILLION TAGS on everything, but it’s organized. It’s not random. You’ll see probably every iteration of a single ship possibility, and that’s amazing. Make sure you tag your stuff, so that anyone who follows the tag or searches for specific content can find it. 

Related: I tag certain things within the first five tags, as the first five tags is used by Tumblr in searches. I try to use the following for the first five: NSFW (if applicable), ship name, alternate ship names or character names, specific game (if applicable), and fanfic, all within the first five. I also then include my writing tag for easy organization, and any series/timeline name as applicable. If I have an OC in there, I tag them. My general rule: tag often, tag as much as possible, and tag any NFSW and triggers so people can make the choice to see or not see your content.

4) MAKE AN ART/WRITING TAG

Make a tag specifically for your fanwork, whether it’s visual art, writing, Tibetan throat singing inspired by a character, whatever, and then PUT THAT LINK ON YOUR BLOG. Very important. Make it easy for people to navigate your blog and your tags. Help us find your content! 

5) Follow other fandom blogs

As other people have said, fandom doesn’t exist in a vacuum. If you’re building an audience, whether it’s for your own original work or fanworks, one of the easiest ways to do this is to follow other similar blogs. I have made some great friends and met wonderful content creators by checking out the folks my friends follow, or who interacts with the posts I share or create. It’s great! I love reading everyone’s fics and seeing lots of different art styles. Broaden your horizons and make friends at the same time! 

6) Interact (when appropriate, if you want)!

Reblog art! Comment on fics! Send in asks! All great ways to be involved with other creators. Did someone reblog an ask prompt from you? Go send them one! Did you see a friend share a prompt list? Send them one! Did a buddy of yours publish a drabble or a link to a bigger piece? Consider reblogging it! How about some art? Definitely reblog! It’s simple, and broadens everybody’s spheres of influence. Let’s help each other be seen! If you consume someone’s media and enjoyed it, consider commenting and sharing it when/if you can. 

7) If you have the time, energy, and motivation, join a writer’s group. 

I’m part of a couple different Discord servers specifically for writers; for example, Writers of Thedas, which I administrate for, is one of the ones I’m most active in at the moment. There’s a bunch of people online at any given moment to chat with, whether about headcanons, the craft of writing, or whatever catches your fancy in the moment. I have loved being a part of that server, and if you’re interested, send me a message to get involved. 

8) Do your friends have some cool OCs? Ask if you can write about them. 

Trade characters with a friend! Sharpen up your skills and practice accurate characterization and voice for OCs you didn’t develop. It’s hard, and a really great skill! A few friends of mine have a big cuddle puddle of OCs in various timelines that they co-write various plots for, and it’s so fun. (Also, if your friends already do this, share their stuff!)

9) Talk about your OCs and your stories

You might find a meme or a writing game floating around. Participate, even if you’re not tagged! Talk about your muses whenever the urge strikes! Tell us about your characters, about your art, about your writing. Like I said up top, if you don’t care about your work, no one else will, either. Plus, I find that simply talking about my OCs (what’s their favorite breakfast food? What would their story look like as a Historical AU mashed up with a runaway circus?) makes me inspired enough to continue working on my writing! 

10) Be consistent

Maybe you only produce one piece of fanwork a month. That’s okay! Make sure you treat it and yourself just as important as if you had created 100 pieces of work. Reblog them consistently. Set up a posting schedule. Pre-load drafts and set them to automatically publish on a certain day or time, then try to stick to your schedule as much as you can! This is a great tactic, no matter how much content you produce. 

==

These things have worked well for me. You may not enjoy these ideas, or you might not find them particularly helpful for what resources you’ve got available to personally dedicate to fandom, but I’m sure you can find similar ideas or ways to engage in meaningful ways.

Most importantly: Have fun!

#reference #fanwork #fanfic #fanart #audience engagement #tips #advice #writing #art

[phantom-of-the-keurig]

Hey I’m doing the survey because Emily is making me and I’m going to answer everything in pink because I can

Basic info

Name (or what we should call you): Keurig~

Age: 21

Pronouns: She / Her

Location: Cornfield hell

Discord: Nah

Rabb.it: Nah again

FFN: Here

Ao3: And here

Deviantart: Nope

Instagram: Highly Classified

Shop(s): None, but you can PayPal me to shut up. Buy my silence for only $69/ month.

Other: I’m known to randomly disappear for days or weeks for a time. Don’t worry I’m alive just in college and suffering.

Phan History

1. General phan since: uhhh like early 2015???

2. Part of Tumblr phandom since: uhh....like October-ish of 2015 i think? But I didn’t really interact with anyone until January 2016 I think.

3. Other sideblogs you’d like us to know about: None.

4. Your blog focus/aesthetic, if you have one: Obviously phantom but I’m pretty much an anything I’m currently interested in or find funny blog.

5. Types of fan content you produce, if any: I’m a writer I swear None, unless shit quality meme posts count.

6. Types of content you reblog (Phantom or otherwise): Anything I like really.

7. Do you post or reblog NSFW content?: It’s rare I ever come across phantom based NSFW content, but I will reblog it if I see it. Sometimes I post NSFW medical pictures from work and hopefully I’ll remember to tag it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

8. Other general interests: Animals, naps, video games, Veterinary stuff, marvel, Netflix, YouTube, writing, crying.

Phan favorites

1. Favorite adaptation(s): The restaged tour, Robert Englund’s 1989 movie, uhhhh that’s it I think?

2. Favorite character(s): Erik, Christine, Meg, The Persian, Ayesha, all of the phantoms pals from Love Never Dies, and Gustave.

3. Ship(s) you ship, if any: I’m pretty much exclusively ❤️Erik/Christine❤️, once in a blue moon maybe Erik/Meg if there’s nothing else.

4. Favorite actor(s): Earl Carpenter, Ramin Karimloo, Derrick Davis, Hugh Panaro, Bronson Norris Murphy, Jeremy Stolle.

5. Other Phantom-related obsessions: I love love love talking about AUs / Fanfiction ideas. I could blabber for literal days.

Fandom involvement

1. Favorite phan blogs: oh buddy do I have a lot- @drawnby27emilys @muirin007 @rienerose @wheel-of-fish @spooky-mormon-hell-dream @christine-is-a-saint @your-obedient-phantom @mllebree @ladycavalier oh my god this is really stressful I know I’m forgetting people and I’m so sorry

2. Content you’d love to see more of: Look cowards, I need y’all to start producing more E/C and more Love Never Dies centric content. Please and thank you. Have a great day.

3. Phandom discord server(s) that you frequent: None

4. Do you/would you attend phan-hosted streams? If so, what would you like to see streamed?: In theory that sounds really funny and enjoyable but I’m way too socially awkward and nervous to do something like that, and I’m unfortunately not as involved with the fandom as I once was.

5. Do you read fanfiction? If so, what kind(s)? Just picture me pounding my fists on the table and chanting “E/C”

6. Anything else you’d like to add? I miss being as chill and involved with the fandom as I once was, but I’ll always have nice memories of this place. Also, E/C. That is all.

#phansurvey2018 #i did it #poto #about me

[longlivefeedback]

Start with a bang, end with a whimper: the problem with fandom studies

Imagine you start talking about a new fic idea, and it’s a hit! People are excited, they’re weighing in, they’re even signal boosting. This is going to be awesome, you think, and you start writing. A thousand words, five thousand words, ten thousand words - the first chapter is a big one, but it has to be perfect. After all, so many people are interested, and you’re using a lot of ideas they gave you, so you want it to be as good as possible. 

Finally, you’re ready to publish. One last round of editing, then you hit post. Look!, you want to yell. I did the thing you wanted me to do! 

And... tumbleweeds. 

There are a handful of kudos. Those are nice, but what do they really mean? Was it great? Was it adequate? Are they going to stay on for the next chapter? A few comments follow. Some are polite “thank you for writing this” notes - those make you smile. About half of them point out perceived plot holes or typos and nothing else. 

Where are the people who thought it was cool, who sent you ideas, who talked about wanting to see what you’d come up with? Are they there, lurking; or did they just not see the notification; or did they decide it wasn’t interesting enough to bother with? 

Was it worth all those hours you spent writing it? 

As authors, a lot of us have been there. As readers, we can sympathize with authors who have poured time and effort into something, only to receive very little response. 

And thus comes the problem with fandom studies. 

During the data collection phase, everyone is very interested - on the whole, actually getting the information to analyze isn’t difficult, because users are great about signal boosting, answering surveys, and giving their own predictions about the eventual results. 

Then it gets to the cursory overview. Demographics, “this many people said this,” a lot of basic factoids that are cool but not very important or relevant. A lot of time might have gone into taking the raw data and converting it to an easily digestible form, but it’s not what we’re here for. It’s just the foundation. 

This gets some attention. Quite a few people will reblog it and ask questions, and some will mention wanting to see the actual answers to the questions that the study wants to answer. It’s nowhere near the level of engagement reached in the data collection phase, but that’s to be expected - not everyone who was willing to take a few minutes and answer survey questions or signal boost is really interested in the results, but they were being supportive and helping out! 

We finally, finally get to the analysis, the hardcore number crunching, the hours of fighting with excel and desperately reviewing statistics textbooks and sending panicked messages to your old math teachers because wait am I actually doing this right or- 

By this point, most of the engagement has dropped off. There are a fair number of likes and a handful of reblogs, but almost all of the written feedback centers around pointing out perceived errors or problems and nothing else. 

This is, admittedly, to be expected. Truly math- and stats-intensive analyses are much less accessible, less fun to read, and generally harder to understand even if you’re comfortable with the methods being used. However, it also leaves the study authors feeling like they’ve put a lot of work into something that people simply aren’t interested in, despite the fact that it was the stated goal of the project since the very beginning. 

As such, I’d like to make a few suggestions as to how to support fandom studies. 

1. It’s okay to say “thanks!” and leave. 

You don’t have to write an essay or go over every bit of math. If you’re interested, let the author know that you appreciate their work, even if you don’t say anything more than “this is cool” or “oh nice!”

2. The rules of concrit still (mostly) apply. 

When it comes to data, there’s no opting out of concrit. These are facts. If there’s a mistake, it should be pointed out and addressed. However, if this comes in the form of “this should have been considered instead” and nothing else, it’s like getting a comment that only says “your protagonist was OOC.” This is especially frustrating when the author has no good way to respond to the criticism. 

3. If you leave criticism or a correction, make sure the author can talk to you about it. 

First of all, the author may not have enough details to make use of your crit. If you simply say “I’m not sure this was the right statistical test,” but they’re not able to reach out to you for further details, the author will proceed to tear their hair out. Therefore, this isn’t the time for anon asks, which must be answered publicly, or replies, which may not be able to tag you and group blog moderators must respond from their main blog. Furthermore, criticism is best offered in private - frankly, it’s highly embarrassing to have a mistake pointed out in front of everyone, and it’s much more polite and respectful to give them a chance to make any corrections without having to do so in front of an audience.  And finally, the criticism or correction offered may not, in fact, be correct. Everyone occasionally misreads, misunderstands, or gets mixed up. If this is brought up privately, it’s easy to clear up. If it’s public, and the author has no way to respond, and there’s no “thanks for your work,” they will be screaming into the void.

4. Studies are made to be shared. 

The questions a study is trying to address are generally applicable in some wider sense, and the work that goes into this is meant to spread answers as far as possible to people can find them. Therefore, if sharing and signal boosting ends at the data collection stage, the study has failed. 

Reblogging is tricky, especially if it’s not to a fandom blog, but sharing it is still important. Send it to your friends, tag people who might be interested in the replies, link to it if you see related posts that could use some data support (or contradiction), and cite it if you talk about the issue. If you’re a stats-minded person, write a more accessible version of it or use it in some of your own discussions. Post (cited and sourced, tagging the author) excerpts. Use it in your fandom metas. 

Creators thrive on feedback, and this includes those who conduct fandom studies. Please remember that behind every nifty little chart is a person (or several people) who have put a whole lot of effort into their work, and not number crunching machines who happily churn away and assimilate every bit of impersonal criticism. 

Data analysis can be as rewarding as writing a great fic, but when it comes to practicalities, there’s no such thing as information for the sake of information.

Support fandom studies. It’s easy to get discouraged when audience interest goes from overwhelming to tepid to tumbleweeds, especially when the majority of written feedback is neutral or negative. Answering fandom questions isn’t going to help cure cancer - that’s my day job - but it will, hopefully, make fandom better. 

Besides, they’re doing math so you don’t have to, which is always a good thing. 

So to end this post, we want to give a shout out and thanks to @toastystats for their extensive work and analysis of ao3 tags; @ao3commentoftheday for hosting discussions about commenting culture and looking at the meaning of kudos; @dawnfelagund who has written for us and helps keep the tolkien fandom going, including studies like her look at gender in the tolkienfic community; @cfiesler for looking at fan platform use over time.

We are surely missing more, so readers, can you help us out? Link to a cool fandom study you’d like to share and/or tag someone who writes them! 

#fandom studies #feedback on feedback #longlivefeedback

[campweehawken]

Hello Campers! This is the official signup post for Weehawken 2018!

This is the 5th year that weehawken has been running! Thank you all so much for making this a successful and fun fandomwide AU and RP event!

This year, we’ve got moderators Coral and Yoyo returning to help out!

As I’ve mentioned the day before, there are a few major changes coming to weehawken this year that will hopefully serve to improve the event as a whole:

DISCORD SERVER: This year, the Discord server will now be hosting the campfire groupchats which used to take place on Tinychat. Tinychat was unfortunately not working for a lot of people who tried to access it the year before so it will no longer be used.

This server was set up last year to help participants get in touch with each other, discuss the events of weehawken in a group chat and share art and fics.

Discord is available to computer and mobile users and it’s free to sign up if you don’t already have an account. Requesting a link to the discord will be part of the weehawken signup process which I will be detailing below.

Links will be given out for the entirety of the event and won’t close until Camp Weehawken’s conclusion.

Important note: You do not need to join the Discord server to take part in Weehawken. The main posts and character interactions take place on tumblr between RP/ask blogs. However it is highly recommended that you do so if you don’t want to miss out on a single thing.

CONTINUING: If you would like you can request the exact same cabin and roles that you had the year before and continue where you left off with the same characters and the same plot threads. Some people have expressed an interest in doing this but the option to start from scratch with new or existing characters is still available.

Please contact the blog as soon as possible to re-secure your spot in the cabin!

If you have any questions about these new features, send an ask to this blog. Without further ado, here is everything you need to know about signing up.

HOW TO SIGN UP:

Message this blog and give us these three details:

Desired Role: options are camper, counselor or staff. If you would rather have some other role like camp mascot, send a request! Campers are under the age of 18. They tend to range from 12 - 17 years of age but you can have somewhat younger characters. Only characters 18 years old and up can be staff or counselors. Because this is an AU you can make your character any age you’d like!

Blog Name: Once you have a RP blog you will be using for camp set up, tell us the blog name. Tumblr might not let the message through if you type a URL. Just give us the name of the blog, like so: ex. “campweehawken”

Preferred Cabin: (doesn’t apply to staff) Campers and counselors reside in cabins that fit one counselor and a maximum of 8 campers.  If you have any preference for what cabin you want to be sorted into, let us know in your registration. If you supply no preference you will be sorted into a random cabin.

Discord (Optional): If you would like a link to the discord, please ask for it in your signup ask.

Take a look at the 2018 Cabin List to see where you and other campers have been sorted as well at who the staff are! Links to all participant blogs will be available there. The list is constantly updating as more submissions come in.      

If your blog has more than one character, you will be filling up more than one vacancy spot unless your characters happen to be family: cousins, twins, siblings. Then, the characters can share a bed in the cabin and fill up just one vacancy spot.

INFORMATION LINKS:

Since it’s hard for me to cover all of the topics in one little post, I’m going to give you all some resources to help you figure this event out.

-FAQ: Answers to general questions we receive. Also a well of basic information about this event.

-Camp Weehawken Staff Brochure: Information about camp activities and various roles to be played at Camp.

-Camp Tags: The tags that are used on this blog and participant’s blogs for the event.

If you can’t find an answer to your question in any of these places, just drop us an ask and we’ll respond as soon as we can.

All in all, Camp Weehawken is an open ended event! You can be as creative as you’d like. But keep in mind that this is a public event! Please be respectful.

If you have any issues with other participants, how things are being run or any other problems, the moderators are here to help. You can send messages to this blog to request help with any topic.

Applications are officially open!!

-Mod Py

#camp weehawken #lerkimpails #weehawkenmods

[paidrestperiod]

The Degradation We Wear on our Sleeves

I stress about my clothes, greatly. Not so much what they say, or people’s perception of them, I dress pretty conservatively for the most part.  I stress about their quality, not only the strength of their fibers but the strength of their morals. I have a huge and real moral dilemma when it comes to buying new clothes, and often this means wearing through the few thrift store finds, watching them age from acceptable to tattered rags. In this essay I wrote for my environmental literature class, I explore the clothing industry through the lens of the concept of “Slow Violence” (See Rob Nixon) (http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0021909613495648?journalCode=jasa) and will hopefully give some context  as to why I feel the way I do about clothing. 

Bare with me for a moment.

Take a look at the shirt you’re wearing. Inspect it. Look at the stitchings and feel the material between your fingers. What does it feel like? Solid? Bargain? Now ask yourself, where did that shirt come from? No, not the Macey’s or other store where you bought it, but where did it originate? Where did it take shape? In what country did the maker do as you just did and feel the fabric between their fingers as they stitched the lines that hold your garment? A simple turn of the tag may reveal to you probably one of a host of familiarly distant names. But the story that isn’t told through the tag, one even more ingrained in the fabric, is that of the environmental and working conditions that person who created your fancy threads is subjected to as a result of careless consumerism; a mindset that perpetuated in the garment you now wear. This mindset, made acceptable by years of rich consumers demanding more for less, has resulted in these countries that produce our clothing bearing the burden of our demand for cheaper costs. Forced labor, environmental destabilizing, as well as other atrocities are side effects of this floor driving mindset, but one of the worst atrocities of them all is that for the most part, these clearly unethical business practices that we stimulate, go unnoticed or unreported by the mainstream conscious. The fact remains that outside of a handful of interested activists and documentary filmmakers, the issues surrounding our clothing consumption aren’t immediate to our lives and don’t generate enough sensationalist news to create any real long lasting efforts to change our consumer habits, ones  that cause the degradation of the environments and lives of garment workers.  This distancing of ourselves from the destruction we perpetuate every time we buy bargain clothing, whether intentional or not, puts the effects of our mindless consumer habits in line with Rob Nixon’s theories presented in his book Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor.  The long lasting environmental degradation being done by continually lowering the floor on our clothing prices as seen through practices such as “fast fashion”, the way that so quickly massively destructive instances like the Rana Plaza building collapse disappear from the public consciousness, the unflinching resolve in our mindless consumer habits, these are all examples of how we cognitively disconnect ourselves from the atrocities that make our clothing, and turn any of the issues that result from the practices into issues of “slow violence”.

What is perhaps the most measurable indicator of the “violence” in the “slow violence” of our consumer habits, is the environmental degradation of these industrial countries being funded by our shopping sprees and insatiable need for weekly wardrobe changes. The countries supplying the world with many of it’s clothes, China, India, and Bangladesh, have earned their spots as clothing producing capitals as a result of their extremely low environmental and working standards, allowing them to conduct business with low interference from regulators. This is not news, it’s a well acknowledged fact by most of the public consciousness. But with that information in mind, most consumers still don’t give a second thought as to how their actions could be perpetuating these poor working and environmental standards.  People often wax on about the environmental issues facing their local states, in California brown lawns have become a sign of environmental consciousness, while shorter showers and intentionally dirty cars are becoming a popular “statement”. But yet, fewer consider the fact that some 2,700 gallons of water is used in producing an average cotton shirt, as estimated by studies collected from the World Wildlife Fund, and even fewer will take into account that more than 20 percent of the world's clothing is produced in areas deemed “water scarce” by the environmental collaboration Growing Blue. Even more striking is the International Food Policy Research Institute study which Growing Blue cites, stating that due to continued overuse of freshwater, that some “4.8 billion people – more than half the world’s population – and approximately half of global grain production” as well as “45% of total GDP ($63 trillion)”  will be at risk of collapsing due to instability caused by water stress by 2050. This means that not only will wasteful practices as a result of our clothing addiction affect our own economy in the future, but by forcing the burden of production on these water scarce countries, we are contributing to an impending catastrophic collapse of these countries economies, all for the luxury of a wardrobe change.

Elizabeth Cline delves into the mindset that perpetuates careless consumerism in her book Overdressed : The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, in which she focuses on the subject of “Fast Fashion”. Fast Fashion she describes as an industry move where retailers put out exorbitants fashionable clothing “constantly throughout the year” as opposed to the traditional seasonal fashions, at a bottom line price “much lower than its competitors” that succeeds only by “selling an unprecedented amount of clothing” and can “only give us low prices if consumers continue to buy new clothes as soon as they’re on the floor.”  She points to stores like H&M and Zara as some of the biggest culprits, contributing to our 20 billion a year garment addiction in America alone.  These stores that supply us with our clothing fix, not surprisingly, base nearly all of their operations in developing countries like ones mentioned above, who provide clothing at the lower and lower prices that are perpetuated by our fast fashion consumer habits, at the expense of worker and environmental regulations.

This creates a horrible cycle, where a garment manufacturer produces an exorbitant amount of clothing at rock bottom pricing, to be bought up a these fast fashion retailer, only for them to turn around demand a lower price on the already low garments in order for them to undercut their competition, forcing the manufacturer to cut costs again, to produce an even cheaper product, on the back of their “employees” and the the neighboring environment. All the while, we are the ones perpetuating this business practice, funding it, demanding it, without acknowledging the downward spiral which we are sliding. This sort of cognitive dissonance allows for us as a population to turn blind eyes to terrible tragedies such as the Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013, where a Bangladeshi garment manufacturing building, due to negligence by the owners, collapsed and took with it some 1,100 people, more than a third of those killed in the 9/11 attacks. And as if it were any surprise, of the retailers who were being supplied by this particular building? H&M and Zara were some of the biggest buyers. And yet, only some three years removed from this incident, one doubts whether any of the people lined up outside these stores on a daily basis are aware of this, as the story of this tragedy faded from our public attention in a matter of weeks.

This distancing oneself from the clear connection of their clothing and the destruction that it causes, or “willful ignorance” was studied by a group of researchers in a study published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology that asked if “less ethical consumers denigrate more ethical consumers” as a means of justifying their own consumer habits. What they found was that “consumers who willfully ignore ethical product attributes denigrate other, more ethical consumers who seek out and use this information” because of a perceived “self-threat inherent in negative social comparison with others who acted ethically”. This perceived “self-threat” felt by the “denigrators” was also shown to have further consequences in “undermining the denigrator's commitment to ethical values, as evidenced by reduced anger toward firms who violate the ethical principle”, meaning they reacted with ambivalence toward companies who acted unethically in their business model.  This unconscious reaction contributes directly to the problem at hand with the unacknowledged ethical travesties being committed in the garment industry. This shows that not only has our clothing consumption and culture come to accept unethical practices as the norm, but also stigmatizes people who choose to shop in an ethical fashion, further hindering efforts to bring to light the problems we create and perpetuate by our mindless spending.  

As a consumer culture, it’s imperative that we engage in open discourse about our consumer habits, and the wide ranging effects of our actions in perpetuating environmentally unstable and atrocious living conditions for the people who are forced to work in the factories that make our weekly deals. We need to recognize that we are teetering on the brink is an impending crash, and we are the ones fueling it. We need to see the wastefulness in our mindless consumer culture, and shift our perception of clothing back to where it was 50 years ago, in a time where we bought less and cared more. It is time for us to stand up hold ourselves accountable for our the slow violence we are subjecting these countries to.

*The Hidden Costs of Water” World Wildlife Fund,  http://www.wwf.org.uk/what_we_do/rivers_and_lakes/the_hidden_cost_of_water.cfm 

*Water in 2050” Growing Blue, http://growingblue.com/water-in-2050/ . 

*Elizabeth, Cline, Overdressed the Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, New York : Penguin Group, 2013, 85-88.

Julfikar Ali Manik,Nida Najar, “Bangladesh Police Charge 41 With Murder Over Rana Plaza Collapse”, “New York Times”  June 1, 2015.  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/world/asia/bangladesh-rana-plaza-murder-charges.html

Daniel M. Zane, Julie R. Irwin, Rebecca Walker Reckzek, “Do less ethical consumers denigrate more ethical consumers? The effect of willful ignorance on judgments of others”, Journal of Consumer Psychology, 21, October, 2015. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057740815001011