seen from Finland
seen from Türkiye
seen from Jordan
seen from China
seen from China
seen from Japan
seen from Finland
seen from Russia
seen from Singapore
seen from India
seen from China
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from India
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Russia
seen from Finland
seen from United States
seen from T1
seen from Australia
thinking of @tiffotcf as i drink this dirty leaf water ☕️💜☕️💜☕️
Sounds like you are or are nearly caught up on TAZ. Think you are ready for the finale on Thursday? (If any of us can truly be ready)
Heck yeah I’m all caught up and heck no I’m not ready - on the one hand I’m so stoked to find out how this story is going to end because I honestly can’t predict any of what’s going to happen and I’m so desperate to know, but on the other hand, once it’s out, that’s it. That’s the end of the story and there won’t be any more and I’m not emotionally ready to come to terms with that yet
My Own Fandom
By @tiffotcf
It has taken me a long while to figure out who I am. And without fandom I may never have gotten where I am now.
I grew up in a single-parent, demanding household. I spent so much of my youth helping to be the other parent that I didn’t have much time to think about me. However, I still knew from a very young age that I preferred “boys’ clothes and looks” over girls’ and that all the characters I wanted to be from my favorite books, movies, and TV were male or gender non-conforming (GNC). But my mother explained that just meant I was a tomboy, that the closeness I felt with my female friends was just strong friendship, and that I would be interested in romance when I met the right boy.
Now I’m 31, I’m a panromantic nonbinary asexual, and I am finally starting to learn what it means to be happy and fight for what I want. And getting back into fandom and writing fanfiction is a big part of what got me there.
When I started writing again, thinking about characters and focusing on the minutiae of their lives, I remembered how complex and detailed they can really be. And it helped me think more about myself--who I wanted to be and what kind of work I wanted to create and share with the world. Additionally, it made me realize how many choices had been made not by me, but for me.
Fandom--particularly fanfiction--asks its viewership to consider all angles of a character, not just what canon has the time or capability to include. Art, stories, headcanons; these are all examples of laypeople taking characters and saying “they are more than what you, the creators, say they are.” And for members of the LGBTQIA+ community, that drive to explain the more complex nature of these characters acts as a proxy for ourselves. We do not neatly fit into the categories determined by others, like outdated perceptions of gender or sexuality.
I recently wrote my first GNC fic. I took a couple that appears to be traditionally heteronormative (though one of the pair is canonically asexual) and, based on my understanding of the characters’ perspectives and interests, I was able to expand upon that in a way that still fit with their established traits. Since I wrote this fic for a smaller fandom, the idea of the main male character being GNC or genderqueer had not been explored before. And, especially because of its personal connection to my own struggles, it was one that I was nervous to present. It was not my longest work, but it was by far the most difficult I had ever attempted. It left me sleepless and made me forget to eat for days on end. But in the end I was proud of it. And I was proud of myself for writing out that little bit of myself and my interests, placing them into something that is out there for others to interact with.
Reception has had a few pitfalls; there were some who understood less about the struggles of being bi and GNC and instead found humor in some of the heavier moments. This was hard for me to see. As that was, of course, not my intention and something that I was very conscious of trying to avoid while I was writing.
Fortunately, the rest of the feedback thus far has been overwhelmingly positive, and not just responses such as “I liked this,” or “this was fun to read,” but in terms of thoughtful comments from members of the community who felt this presentation of the characters really spoke to them. One reader told me that they were “proud to be a part of the fandom that this was a part of”. Another mentioned how they were reminded of a time when they had been presented with a similar situation, and had not reacted in a way that they would now be proud of.
These comments were particularly important to me because in my mind this is what creative works are meant to do: touch people and make them think, about the world and their interactions with it. I believe that, in some instances, fanworks can do this just as much as--if not even more than--original ones. In fanworks you, the creator, are not just being judged on your ability to make emotionally relatable works, but in your ability to transform something that is already beloved to your audience. Fan creators push consumers to see and accept something different about that which is already familiar. And that is a skill set that is necessary in a positive and inclusive world.
Fandom is all about expression, both in terms of creation and self. Fandom is about finding something you are passionate about embracing and reveling in it. And perhaps most importantly, it is about connection--the connections between the characters that fanworks so often focus on, the connection between fan creator and the work they are toiling away on, the connections the communities build for themselves. So it is a great place for someone to reach out and begin to stretch their expressive muscles.
That isn’t to say there isn’t conflict in fandom; we are only human, after all. Since fandom is ultimately an expression of interests, it is therefore rife with different opinions. So sometimes fandoms can suffer from toxicity, just as the real world does. In my 18-plus years in fandom I have seen its ups and downs, but I have always seen it strive to be something more than what is standard or offered by the mainstream. It has been my experience that participating in fandom provides a community of people who are there for one another in both creative works and self-expression.
Being a part of fandom has taught me how to be a fan, not only of the works I love but of myself and the choices that I am making. With the understanding I have gained from my time in fandom I can move forward without forgetting the moments and experiences that got me here. Like a character's struggle in a fanwork, my life has its angst and its fluff. Sometimes it’s full of tropes and sometimes it feels like I am all alone in these new experiences. But it has also given me an outlet to repurpose these feelings, to put my own stories out there, to be a part of a community. And it is incredible.
This essay was submitted to the @aroomoftheirown project, a blog and zine that seeks document the myriad of ways in which LGBT content creators and fandom participants use fanworks as a celebration of their identities and to force popular mainstream media to reflect their lived experiences by collecting essays, comics, and interviews documenting how LGBT members of fandom use their various talents to carve out a space for themselves in mainstream fiction and to explore their identities in a relatively safe space.
The blog that will accept submissions on a consistent basis and the eventual goal is to compile a selection of the pieces into a zine or a series of zines, the proceeds of which will go to the Trevor Project and Trans Lifeline
To learn more or submit to the project, click here.
List five things that make you happy then anonymously (or not) ask the first five people in your notifications to do the same
Some random and not-so-random happy things:
Sunny weather between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius: Feeling this very much after what I experienced last week.
A good meal: I’m a bit of a foodie, so you can always make me happy with some good food.
My partner: 2.5 years along. Still happy!
Gardening: good and bad things happen, but it’s a calming hobby in general.
Chocolate: Do I need to explain this?
Something feels off about the romance novel Mai's friend wants her to read. But not as off as the fact that Naru seems to know something about it as well? What is it about this book? And who is the mysterious author?
By tiffo the chicken flea/ @tiffotcf
Completed. 5251 words
Don’t miss this delicious fiction, I can assure you you won’t be bored, not for a second!
If you want romance, a good dose of humour and sarcasm as well as a fun Easter egg hunt, this is for you!
This story proposes a refreshing take on overused fanfic tropes: you can read it as a simple fluffy thing, or marvel at the ingenious parallels between the fandoms, the hilarious meta references, or the double meaning of every silly situation.
Moreover, the author manages to keep Mai and Naru perfectly in-character in this over-the-top romance, which is a real feat.
Review by GHHQ Lead Reviewer @frenchcirce
Movie Meeeeeeme
The goal? List 10 gifs from 10 movies without naming them. I’m assuming this is my top ten movies...? That’s what I’m doing anyway ANYHOO LET’S DO THIS
(ps @skyler10fic put out a blanket tag and Imma hop on it thanks doll :D)
in no particular order:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
imma tag @tiffotcf and anyone else who wants to do the thing! :D
A to Z meme
rules: answer the questions in a new post and tag 10 blogs you would like to get to know better
Tagged by the lovely and talented @goingtothetardis . Thanks doll! 😘
a - age: I’ll be 31 in a month, whoo!
b - birthplace: Nowheresville in the Bible Belt, USA
c - current time: 11:44pm
d - drink you last had: Water; I am the very pinnacle of excitement
e - easiest person to talk to: My spouses 💙💖💜
f - favourite song: The genie’s song in Aladdin (hush don’t judge me)
g - grossest memory: Nope! I have successfully repressed all of those like any other normal human worm bebbie. Alternatively, one time my very young cousin pooped and smeared it all over the bathroom, so...?
h - horror yes or horror no: Depending on the subgenre, absofuckinglutely (gimme that sweet sweet ghost story and/or sociopolitical metaphor and/or gothic romance pleeeeez)
i - in love?: I am I am 💙
j - jealous of people?: Mmm I’m jealous of certain qualities that other folks seem to have, like the ability to Adult Well or produce creative stuff on a regular basis or not worry about the weirdest dumbest shit :/
l - love at first sight or should i walk by again?: How about we both walk away how does that sound lol
m - middle name: Elbert
n - number of siblings: 1 sestra
o - one wish: To win the lottery. Is it an original, clever, or particularly insightful wish? Nope! Am I okay with that? I 1000% am! :D (but for realsies if I won big lottery money then after taking care of all the responsible adult stuff I’d absolutely love to start a fashion company devoted to making flattering designs for all female and femme-leaning nb bodytypes (incl trans women, natch), and I would spend half my days writing fic and baking and drawing and trawling the interwebs for good causes to donate money/time to, le sigh, that’s the dreeeeeam)
p - person you called last: Hmm, lemme check! It waaaaaaas ::drumroll:: my mom! Awww
q - question you are always asked: Any one of a series of very very very nice questions about my various artsy-fartsy crafty ventures (usually about baking or decorating or drawing) because people are nice, and then I get suuuuper awkward and overwhelmed and I shrivel and die a little because how does social, how human, where hide :’D
r - reason to smile: Tomorrow I get yummy Easter food with the folks! And an Easter egg hunt! And Imma bake a caaaaaake
s - song you sang last: Why Should I Worry (or whatever that song from Oliver and Company is called lololol)
t - time you woke up: 1:00pm, because guess what has two thumbs and is suffering an amazingly uncomfortable and tiring and achey period surprise it this biiiiiitch pity me >:(
u - underwear colour: Grey and white stripey
v - vacation destination: Florida, to visit the mom and the famfam. But I’d love to visit the UK someday!
w - worst habit: ::sings:: Procrastinaaaationnn
x - x-rays: Mmmm do routine check-up xrays at the dentist count...?
y - your favourite food: My mom’s savory canneloni dish (think giant macaroni shells stuffed with ham, chicken, garlic, onions, and spinach, smothered with alfredo and baked till lightly browned, ugggggh so goooood)
z - zodiac sign: Taurus! and bunny rabbit! 🐇
And for my next trick imma tag @tiffotcf @travelingrose @lvslie @jemsauce @wordsintimeandspace Do the thing! If you’d like to do the thing. :3
@tiffotcf I think you’ll get a kick out of this year’s first redraw XD
last redid this drawing almost two years ago exactly and holy crapdoodles is there a difference or what, especially in comparing all 3 versions
just goes to show, kids--keep up with something for a decade (or two or three) and eventually you’ll see some friggin’ improvement! :D
until next time... ;)
