#tumblr html code after read more is some bullshit
Audio
Today is the 1 year AO3 anniversary of Slow Show by @mia-ugly. I am beyond grateful that this experience (and it is an experience) has existed in my life for a year and felt it needed commemorating. 🎂
I’m not a creator but I made this playlist for me, so I could take the fic with me, have it with my eyes closed, while driving -- you get it. Today seems like an appropriate day to share it.
It’s a. It’s a lot. Excessive you might even say. Tumblr will only give you the first 100 songs in this, so, Spotify will fulfill you (or overwhelm you). If you hit my username on the playlist, there are separate playlists for each chapter.
This is also on Apple Music, if that’s your jam, just hit me up and I’ll send you the link.
🎉 Happy Slow Show Day!! 🎉
13 pages of track-lists and excerpts below the cut. Godspeed! 💙
Key:
Songs from Mia’s soundtrack
Songs from the Fic
.
--Title--
Slow Show – The National
_
--Prequel--
Loverman – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Devils – Say Hi
_
--Chapter 1--
Here I Go Again – Whitesnake
_
bad guy – Billie Eilish
-trash a set and shag your husband
_
Something About You (ODESZA Remix) – Hayden James
-what it would take for Avery Fell to let his guard down
_
A Little Wicked – Valerie Broussard
-The handkerchief in his hand is now stained purple
_
You Light Me Up In the Dark – The Hounds Below
-His hair catches the light like a halo, making him look more of an angel than ever.
_
Lazarus – David Bowie
-This could be a problem
_
--Chapter 2--
Unsteady – X Ambassadors
-much easier than talking about the way his heartbeat is still racing
_
Heart of a Dog – The Kills
-Call me darling again.
_
The Twilight Hour - Still Corners
-Looked across the set and thought, Ah fuck me. I’m in love with him.
_
God’s Mistake – Tears for Fears
-Avery: He’s closed his eyes again, mouth going flat and still.
_
Lounge Act – Nirvana
-Tell her all the terrible things I want to do to her husband
_
Transatlanticism – Death Cab for Cutie
-There’s a strange urgency tonight, though, and Crowley can guess why.
_
Do I Wanna Know? – Arctic Monkeys
-What could it hurt?
_
Clueless – The Marias
-“Better - yeah. ‘S late.”
_
Motel – Meg Myers
-The hotel room is another disaster
_
--Chapter 3--
Alone in a Room – Asking Alexandria
-“I’m having a moment here!”
_
Since You’ve Been Around – Rosie Thomas
-makes Crowley feel like he can breathe again
_
Home Again – The Disco Biscuits
-It’s starting to feel like home again
_
Every Other Freckle – alt-J
-Perfect. Ridiculous and impossible and perfect.
_
Something For the Longing – The Orchids
_
As Far As I Can See – Phantogram
-it’s been a really, really long time
_
Sinister Kid – The Black Keys
-“Mothering buggering shit-”
_
All These Things That I’ve Done – The Killers
-Crowley fists one of his hands against his forehead, shuts his eyes tightly.
_
--Chapter 4--
I Like Me Better – Lauv
-I liked the outline of your face under the stagelights
_
I Do This for You (ft. Marlene) – Giorgio Moroder
-“Let me see what I can do. About your precious Hamlet.”
_
The Longing – Imelda May
-Avery POV: “Look at him like - like - you can’t let him see the way you look at him.”
_
Just a Man – Los Lobos
-Avery POV: like he’s being led into battle and not onto a set to do the job he loves
_
World In My Eyes – Depeche Mode
-wants to make that bastard purr
_
Tired (ft. Gavin James) – Alan Walker
-Let me be a magpie for you
_
Blow My Mind – The Benjamin Gate
-Avery: “I know you now.”
_
Breathe You in My Dreams – Trixie Whitley
-Crowley’s seen that expression on Avery’s face in his dreams
_
Love Me Like That (ft. Carly Rae Jepsen) – The Knocks
-What have I done to - oh. Oh. Right.
_
Like Real People Do - Hozier
-“Sure, angel, what- whatever.”
_
Clearly – Grace VanderWaal
-Crowley waits for the rest of the night.
_
Gwendel – PeelsDeen
-Az sits in the back seat, away from Crowley. Alone.
_
Now I’m In It – HAIM
-Avery POV: It’s a look like an open grave, a look like desire tempered with grief…
_
Flesh for Fantasy – Billy Idol
-Crowley isn’t lonely for the rest of the night
_
--Chapter 5 (Avery POV)--
Smalltown Boy – Rosborough
-1978, Hartlepool
_
Bright Horses – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
-1986, Newcastle Upon Tyne
_
The Runner – Foals
-1991, Bristol
_
Shock To Your System – Tegan and Sara
-Tracy: “Why d’you let them?”
_
Cracking Codes – Andrew Bird
-“Forever, of course. I’ll never -”
_
Colour me In – Damien Rice
-Their fingers - just touch. Slightly.
_
I’m Not in Love – 10cc
-Less to regret by not ever speaking of it.
_
--Chapter 6--
Electric Current – Lower Dens
-“I’ll let you know when you find it.”
_
Guess I Miss(ed) You – The Daylights
-Keep talking, keep him here a little while longer.
_
Reflecting Light – Sam Phillips
-“don’t meet his eyes like that, it looks like it’s a lead-in to a kiss”
_
King of Pain – The Police
-a good reminder of the kind of life he’s got to live
_
I Wanna Get Better – The Bleachers
-and Avery’s gaze is so gentle it hurts a bit
_
Feather – X Ambassadors
-Avery: “Someone has to”
_
Darker Side - Jonny Lang
-Avery: “Oh - good Lord.”
_
Firestone (Acoustic) – Conrad Sewell
-“Will you show me?”
_
Velvet Gloves and Spit - Timber Timbre
-“Anthony - ”
_
Wrong – Depeche Mode
-Avery: “I have to go.”
_
F**k it I love you – Lana Del Rey
-“Not your fault, angel”
_
--Chapter 7--
Somebody to Love – Queen
_
Heavenly – Cigarettes After Sex
-“I fucking still.”
_
Will Do - TV on the Radio
-“You too. I’ll see you there.”
_
Monster – Colours
-No wonder Avery ran off like a thief after a heist
_
Swallow My Pride – Ramones
-“I feel fucking ill about it.”
_
I Was Wrong - The Oh Hellos
-Avery: “I’m the one who has to apologize, not you.”
_
The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret – Queens of the Stone Age
-Avery: “Please don’t tell anyone”
_
Wait for Me – Kings of Leon
-Avery: “Right now, I’m just - a bit in pieces.”
_
Don’t Stay – X Ambassadors
-“You can - stay or leave or - whatever you like.”
_
The Moth - Aimee Mann
-Avery’s eyes meet his, and then it’s like a car accident
_
Red Door – Julien Baker
-“I can - I can wait longer.”
_
Can’t Pretend - Tom Odell
-“I wasn’t apologizing for that. This morning. I won’t.”
_
Come Down to Me – Saving Jane
-Avery: “You were wonderful”
_
Secret Smile – Semisonic
-And if sometimes he catches Az watching him between takes
_
I Want More - KALEO
-Az laces both of their hands together, stares at them.
_
I’m Gonna Do My Thing – Royal Deluxe
-“So don’t tell me what will hurt me. I know what hurts.”
_
--Chapter 8--
Perfect Day – Lou Reed
_
Remember to Breathe – Sturgil Simpson
-“You can’t sit in the car all night you absolute nightmare”
_
Wild Love (Acoustic) – James Bay
-The two of them stare at each other and then both look away awkwardly.
_
Seasons – Future Islands
-finally, fucking finally, he’s exactly where he wants to be
_
Closer – Tegan and Sara
-Avery: “if you like”
_
I Want All of You – The Verve Pipe
-“If you think I can survive this without looking at you -”
_
Use Me – Miguel
-whatever he sees in Crowley’s face makes him come to some sort of decision
_
So Much Love – Depeche Mode
-Love, he said love
_
Don’t Be Scared, I Love You – Bill Ryder-Jones
-I know you, Crowley wants to say, but doesn’t.
_
Become My Dream – Silya & The Sailors
-“Even if - anything, angel.”
_
I Belong In Your Arms – Chairlift
-For nearly two weeks it goes like this.
_
Faster - Matt Nathanson
-“You’re going to fucking kill me, angel -”
_
Come Together (feat. Sivu) – LAUREL
-In case you think they don’t wake up together
_
The High – Kelela
-Az has pulled a stool over to the edge of the tub
_
Just in Time – Valerie June
-Then Az’s hand is on his shoulder, turning him around.
_
I Can’t Take It – Tegan and Sara
-Avery: “Don’t rush, just - like this.”
_
Like This – Jake Scott
-Avery murmurs and it takes Crowley back to their first kiss
_
Terrible Love – The National
-Flinches away from him.
_
Help You Out - Emarosa
-And he nods.
_
--Chapter 9--
I Remember You – Ramones
-The first person Crowley loved was a liar.
_
Brighter Skies - Race Banyon
-As if they were cut with a jigsaw, as if they were meant to fit.
_
Not Tonight – Tegan and Sara
-When they reach the edge of the city, his hand slides out of Crowley’s.
_
As Sure as I Am – Crowded House
-So Crowley kisses him.
_
A Promise – Miriam Makeba
-And for awhile, he believed her.
_
Mistaken for Strangers – The National
-They’re only two small words, but they still make Crowley’s teeth ache.
_
Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye – Leonard Cohen
-“Good-“ Swallow, speak, leave.
_
The Fear – Pulp
-Crowley should have been smarter this time. He really should have been.
_
Take Me – Leela James
-“I’d like you to close your blinds.”
_
Whenever You Want It – Clare Maguire
-“What do we do now?”
_
At My Weakest – James Arthur
-“It will be.”
_
Komm zurück - Fotos
-For years and years and years, nothing did.
_
Come on Get Higher – Matt Nathanson
-their feet sliding in the tub
_
Lay Down – Sarah Proctor
-I want to wake up with you.
_
Sort Of - Ingrid Michaelson
-Why is my heart breaking?
_
Fairytale of New York – The Pogues
-Just pump that shit straight into his veins.
_
What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? – Ella Fitzgerald
-Avery: “What do you think?”
_
We’re Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together – The Velvet Underground
-“You want to grab dinner somewhere?”
_
Hiding – IAN SWEET
-Crowley stops walking. Looks at Az in the darkness.
_
Romance Dawn – Radkey
-A slice of light cuts through the darkness.
_
Crown of Love – Arcade Fire
-Crowley feels like the world has never been darker, and his heart will never stop beating
_
Devil’s Backbone – The Civil Wars
-He thought he was ready for this conversation, but at the sight of Az’s face, his throat has gotten too tight to speak.
_
Sinners – Lauren Aquilina
-“If this all goes down in flames, if it all falls apart - we can go off together.”
_
Please Forgive Me (Song of the Crow) – William Fitzsimmons
-Avery: “It’s over. I’m - I’m so sorry.”
_
Start a War – The National
-He twitches and trips and yet somehow manages to walk away without falling over.
_
Broken – Daley
-And this soft heartache was somehow the sharpest of them all.
_
--Chapter 10 (Avery POV)--
Daily Battles - Thom Yorke & Flea
-He tries to remember these things - but the background is still a chorus of beeping machines. There’s nowhere he can be but here.
_
Everybody Wants You - Red Hearse
-Go out and surround himself with people much more interesting and available than Avery. Better people, certainly.
_
A Thin Line – Blackchords
-But still - roads not taken, and other fun middle-aged spirals.
_
My Own Soul’s Warning - The Killers
-When was the last time someone asked Avery that? When was the last time he asked himself?
_
Who Am I - NEEDTOBREATHE
-I miss you. There. It didn’t hurt as much as he thought it would.
_
Wait for Me - Jack Curley
-What he wants to say is ‘don’t find someone else. Not yet. You and your black leather and your cut-glass profile: you’re gorgeous and God knows other people want you.’
_
Coming & Going – Amaal
-“Two ships passing in the night,” he says quietly. Then he takes a swallow of wine, lets it roll down his throat. “If you were here -”
_
Iron - Woodkid
-Crowley leaves him there, pressed against the wet brick wall. Crowley leaves him there. Crowley steps between Avery and a camera, and then leaves him.
_
The Greatest Bastard - Damien Rice
-He can’t be the person that kicks Crowley into the ashes again. He can’t hurt him like this, and Avery’s going to hurt him - he already has.
_
No Right to Love You – Rhys Lewis
-He deserves someone like - like Daniel. Deserves to be loved in the daylight.
_
If It’s Hurting You - Robbie Williams
-Time is a tricky business when you’re dying slowly; it skips like a flat stone on a quiet lake.
_
Happy For You – Gayle
-But surely - surely he’s allowed just this much. Just one message, just so Crowley knows that - that he’s happy for him. That Avery is so happy.
_
I See You (ICU) - Phoebe Bridgers
-When Avery sees Crowley on the red carpet, it feels like the sudden remembrance of a lovely dream.
_
Once In My Life - The Decemberists
-Crowley: “I know there’ve been some - hard times. That’s - that is what it is. But for me - it’s been a privilege. A dream. So.” He nods and nods and nods again. “Thank you.”
_
Coming Down - Dum Dum Girls
-Tracy: “But I wasn’t. I was hurting you. This whole time, Az.” She shakes her head, wiping frantically at tears that won’t stop falling. “He loves you.”
_
I Don’t Know Anything – Little Voice Cast
-He’s afraid of finding out that all this time - he was doing the wrong thing anyway. He’s afraid that Anthony Crowley will never talk to him again.
_
Sweet Sour - Band of Skulls
-"And you're fired"
_
Heart Attack - Devarrow
-The sun is still rising when Avery gets out of the car, closes the door behind him. Though some of the roads have changed, his feet still know the way down to the docks of his youth. He was never a sailor, but the shoreline is familiar as a childhood sweetheart, as a long lost love.
_
Landslide - Robyn Sherwell
-He’s alone, and he’s nearly fifty years old. He could get on a ship, he could throw himself into the sea. There’s no one holding him back anymore.
_
All I Can - Sharon van Etten
-And he knows. He knows.
_
--Chapter 11--
Salvation - The Strumbellas
- there’s a moment where he swears he sees a young idiot in black standing in the crowd. Red hair gelled up into spikes, black t-shirt full of holes and safety pins. A young man who has no idea how much he’s about to lose.
_
Soldier - Fleurie
-And he’s still fucking here.
_
Easier – Mansionair
-Then he gets the fuck above ground and he calls Beez (oh great, they’re his emotional-support-asshole now. That’s healthy).
_
Deep End – Holly Humberstone
-“I brought you cheese,” Beez says, and Crowley starts crying.
_
Falling Short – Lapsley
-For the next few days, he lets his stupid body do what it needs to do to keep himself upright.
_
Chariot (Stripped Version) - Gavin DeGraw
-Shit, this was a bad bad idea.
_
Quiet Light - The National
-There’s a text from Az later that night, and his name on Crowley’s phone makes him feel like jumping off a cliff.
_
All That We Had is Lost - Postiljonen
-He’s not allowed to be in love with that man anymore. Wasn’t ever, really.
_
Heal - Tom Odell
-It makes a rather hysterical laugh well out of his throat. Anthony fucking Crowley. You are still alive.
_
Let Me Go - HAIM
-Crowley tries to ignore the soft, injured expression on the other man’s face as he turns away.
_
A Beginning Song - The Decemberists
-“What’s more frightening than having a choice?”
_
The Spark - William Prince
-And he likes to think he would have just burned the world to ashes with the power of his love, would have said fuck everyone, I choose you – but who knows.
_
Sharp Scratch - The Slow Show
-So stupid, I know, and I’m - sorry, I still love you and I’m tryin’ to stop and I will I just - needed to tell you that. I’ll be fine. You’ll be fine. Just miss you.
_
Beautiful & Brutal – Plested
-Crowley moves without thinking. Falls like a stagelight, glass everywhere. He walks forward and is kissing Az before the door has even been pulled shut.
_
Bad Chemistry - Fake Shark
-“I’ve been - thinking about this -” Az says between darts of his tongue against Crowley’s overheated skin.
_
All We Do – Oh Wonder
-“But I - I love you. And I can’t - hide. It hurts too much.”
_
Broken Strings - James Morrison (ft Nelly Furtado)
-“I wouldn’t survive it. That way it was. I wouldn’t.”
_
Stole the Show – Parson James
-But even on their distant shores, Crowley and Az don’t stop looking at each other. It feels like an ending. Maybe it is one. Not a happy ending, but not a bad one either.
_
Level Up - Vienna Teng
-excerpt from Anthony Crowley: Out of the shadows, under the spotlight
_
The Wire (Alternate Version) – Patrick Droney
-Avery: “I’m rather in - in love with you.”
_
Sweet Thing - Van Morrison
-“You can stay at my place. If you like.”
_
Falling in Love - Cigarettes After Sex
-“I love you. I’ve missed you, and I love you, and I want you -”
_
Stay - Cat Power
-He watches the slow flicker of awareness in Avery’s blue eyes. The curve of his mouth into a shade of smile that Crowley’s never seen before.
_
Freedom - George Michael
-“To the world.”
_
--Chapter 12--
Banks - NEEDTOBREATHE
-What he wasn’t used to was bringing someone else down with him, and jail would be a bloody blessing compared to seeing Az grey-faced and staring out windows, or that one time Crowley’s pretty sure the man was crying in the bathroom, trying to swallow down the sound so that Crowley didn’t notice (he clenches his hands into fists just thinking about it).
_
Black Mambo - Glass Animals
-“It’ll have to be.” Crowley drops to his knees. “There’s a lot of ground to cover.”
_
Florets - Grace VanderWaal
-Crowley can let his fingers curl against Az’s palm, can watch him open as a flame, not caring who notices.
_
Sight of the Sun - fun.
-That this longing won’t destroy him, and won’t destroy Az either. It’s not a shovel for burying Crowley alive - it’s a spade for planting things.
_
Pale Blue Eyes - The Velvet Underground
-Az drops his hand onto Crowley’s knee (“What is this song? I rather like it.”).
_
Only Everything (Acoustic) – Quinn Lewis
-“It’s nice to have someone make it for you, right? Sometimes,” Crowley says softly, too much love in his throat and in his hands. It’s hard to breathe around it, especially when Avery is looking at him.
_
The Book of Love - The Magnetic Fields
-“You bought a cottage for us.” Crowley is an animal being taught to speak through scraps of meat and electric shocks. “This cottage.”
_
Say You’ll Be Mine – Christopher Cross
-Avery: “But if you wanted -” Fuck, there are tears in Avery’s eyes. “If you want. I’d like to call you my husband. I’d like to say ‘let me ask my husband,’ or ‘I brought my husband with me’ or ‘my husband won a BAFTA’.”
_
Anthem - Leonard Cohen
-Their broken edges match. And somehow, the light still shines through.
_
Precious Love – James Morrison
-When the light catches them both, they shine. And so do you. So do we.
_
Good Man (acoustic) - Josh Ritter
_
_
If you made it this far...wow, hi hello. So, this is ours and my musical exposure is limited, if you’ve got a better song for an excerpt, feel free to shoot it over, more than happy for this to be a living changeable thing. 🤡
#slow show#slow show playlist#tumblr html code after read more is some bullshit#it's fic for your ears
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I’ve been doing a lot of reading recently; between the @bannedtogetherbingo2020 kerfluffle and the BLM protests
(one thing that I’ve been doing recently that seems to annoy the living SHIT out of my fellow White People is correcting “riots” to “protests.”
“Were you near the riots --”
“I did not attend the protests, but I did donate to the medical fund for the man who was injured by removal of the statue on High Street.”
This seems to drive people absolutely batshit, and I will continue to do it. These are not riots and if they have similar characteristics with riots it’s because cops are treating everyone not even like criminals, but like hostile enemy forces.)
Mostly what I’ve been reading about is the difficulty that POC fans have in getting their voices heard in fandom. That the history of fandom is primarily the history of White Fandom.
(this is long, so there’s more under the cut - I also tell stories A LOT so brace for personal experience asides)
I’ve been thinking about comments I’ve seen by black and brown fans about trying to get away from racist stories on A03. And trying to figure out if there’s a way to give people what they want -- a way to tag posts/topics/writers/ships on a permanent block list. I know I’ve spoken with several fans who have extensive filter scripts when they go looking for a new read and that shit is EXHAUSTING and doesn’t work necessarily on mobile devices.
I, for instance, have QUITE A LOT of stuff blacklisted on tumblr because I find P*nnyW*se the Creepy Teeth Demon to be horrific and I do not want him on my screen. And the movie’s name is IT for fuck’s sake. I can’t blacklist the word “It” and still expect to see any content at all. So, thinking about how much trouble I had keeping PWCTD off my screen gives me some sympathy to how hard it’s got to be to filter out something that people aren’t even tagging!
I mean, honestly, most of the time that people tag a fic TW: racist, they already KNOW the character is acting in a racist manner and they’re condemning it. When people don’t realize the character is racist, or a word, or a trope is racist (mystical black character, for instance) they don’t tag it as racist because they either don’t know, are unconscious of their own bias, of they don’t care that it’s racist.
In the same manner, Person A who’s writing fic they know is dub-con will tag it, and Person B who thinks stalking someone and climbing in their window at night is romantic will NOT tag the same scenes as dub-con.
Which doesn’t make it any less jarring when I suddenly run into a fic that I would absolutely count as noncon/dubcon that’s not tagged for it. The intentions of the author don’t matter TO ME at that moment, what matters to me is that I’m trying to breathe while the romantic interest on my eReader is saying “aw, that’s so sweet.”
So, there’s multiple questions that come up for me -- I’m not a computer person, so while the A03 code is available for use, I wouldn’t know what to do with it if I tried.
Is there a way to tag something from the outside? An overlay or side program (like an Xkit for A03) that would allow people to permanently blacklist certain tags or authors, tropes, etc? I know there are some hosting sites (unfortunately with ads) that basically funnel stuff from A03 to a reader. There was a big kerfluffle about it at the beginning of the year because OMG, someone is making money off my fanfic! protip, no, they weren’t. they were making money off someone else’s desire for a custom skin. The material itself was never leaving A03, it wasn’t stored anywhere else. A03 does not currently have a phone app and they don’t plan to have a phone app.
So, would it be possible for someone to write a phone-app that did a custom filter for the material. Blacklists are certainly possible, right?
Because here’s the thing; a lot of people who are racist don’t know that they are. Or they don’t care that they are. I have personally had a couple of hard conversations about racism (I’m not even going to call it “unconscious racism” because I am a grown-ass adult capable of reading, so if I act in a racist manner, I’m going to fucking own it. And apologize for it. And try to do better.) in my own work -- whitewashing a character at one point, using a quote from a black woman as a title for a story about Wanda. I’m still not entirely convinced that a Jewish/Romani woman is “white” in any sort of traditional sense. That said, I’m not a POC and I’m going to listen to the person who’s upset because of my usage and not my own feeling of “I don’t really think Wanda counts as white.” This may be partially because WANDA is whitewashed as shit in the MCU and a lot of people in the fandom do not read comics.
That further said, I made the changes as requested and apologized for it in the work/notes. And felt very uncomfortable when some of my white friends said “I’m sorry you had to deal with that.” I’m not sorry I had to deal with it. I wish I hadn’t DONE it, but I am glad that people felt comfortable enough with me to call my on my bullshit and I was able to make corrections and amends.
Still-- All of this boils down to: People are not going to, in good faith, tag their own fic as “don’t read this, I am racist.”
Everything that gets done on A03 -- which is an Archive -- is voluntary by the author. A03′s policies are pretty much “tag to warn” or “tag that you’re NOT tagging to warn.” The only action A03 takes for inappropriate tagging is to ask the author to update the Warning to match, or choose not to warn. If there’s no compliance, A03 will assign the fic “choose not to warn.” But that’s the extend of their policies.
We all know this history; no censorship. Censorship is a slope that leads to fanwork disappearing. Because here’s another fact: it doesn’t matter what the intention is of censoring a story; that censorship is going to be applied badly.
So, if A03 was going to ban racist fic, how long do you think it would take before the reporting system was flooded? Even legit reports of racism are going to take a while to read through, judge, contact the author, wait for possibly updates or retractions, and then removal.
A03′s staff are volunteers, and I understand there aren’t very many of them. There are six MILLION works on A03. No one could hope to read them all with a careful enough eye to catch all instances of harmful texts.
And we all know what’s going to happen: it’s easier to delete all stories that get complaints, rather than read them.
So, Fan A gets Fan C’s fic taken down for racial stereotyping and Fan C tells all of her friends, who go on a crusade to report every single one of Fan Q’s fics in retaliation (not because Fan Q did anything “wrong” but because they happened to post a blog about racial stereotyping in fandom) And we’re right back to strikethru.
Yet, censorship is one of those things that makes me very, very nervous. Do I think a white boy who writes a self-insert rape fantasy novella about violating and murdering Zoe Quinn should be allowed a platform? No, I don’t. (And neither did Amazon, who took it down fairly quickly once it was brought to their attention. But that’s only one case, where there are probably thousands of books that are personal attacks and are left merrily alone.)
There are a lot of books on the banned book list. If people thought they could get away with it, those books would be unpublished, unpersoned, black bagged.
We all know that the rules get applied badly, by the people with the biggest mouths and the loudest complaints. So banning content on A03 does not seem to be the solution.
(Personal story time again, just skip this if you want.)
I came into fandom backward; I was a traditionally published erotica / romance writer first and moved into fandom after the collapse of several small publishing houses for various scandals that I won’t bore you with but you can look here if you want more information.
Several years ago, I was in an anthology that i was Very Proud of, and I really like the editor I worked with, wanted to work with her again. She sent me a premise for submission that left me cold. Which is to say, she wanted to publish cuckolding stories.
[x] <-- warning, that link is REALLY harsh and filled with some real WTF moments, from someone who’s pointing out the racism inherent in the system.
Especially when you consider the Mandingo aspects of the fantasy, it’s easy to see why just the existence of it is repulsive.
I declined the invitation to participate because I was deeply uncomfortable with the subject matter.
I’m not saying that to get praise for my behavior.
Because when the subject came up again about two or three years ago in some fandom discourse, I sided with my friends who were defending “no censorship, no matter what.”
(End of personal aside.)
Despite my personal feelings about the issue (ew, this is icky and racist and horrible and I would never write it) I still believe that I don’t have the right to say what someone else can write, read, or enjoy.
I’m trying to find the path between “this sort of reading material is harmful and I don’t think it should have a platform,” “this should be heavily tagged to avoid upsetting people,” and “there are people who feel that way about gay, non-christian stories as well.” And what’s more, I’m trying to find it in a way that doesn’t stifle authors’ voices.
Even with my idea of an overlay, that’s putting the burden on the people most affected-- someone would have to rate stories as “racist” or “not racist” (and even then, it’s seldom that clear cut. Microaggressions abound.) and the people best capable of doing that would be readers of color. Which hardly seems productive. Or fair.
“Don’t like; don’t read” is often the calling card of fandom writers. I’ve said it myself. That’s what the fucking back button is for. But when I say it, I mean “I don’t want to hear your wank about Tony Stark in my inbox” not “I don’t want to be called out for racism when I wrote a story.”
https://ggmadeit.com/blog/why-i-cant-just-knit-the-story-of-a-black-knitter-during-civil-unrest/ -- I’m including this link because this piece really made me think. I can’t ever put down being a woman. I can’t read or watch horribly misogynistic work without being upset, and I have trouble sitting in the room with my male friends who insist on watching it and want to say “it’s only a movie.”
Being black is part of someone’s life. It can’t be erased just because it’s not convenient. Just because it interrupts your good time. It shouldn’t be put aside because “it’s just a story.”
As fans, we have to do better.
We all know what it’s like to be pushed out, to be made second best, to be asked when we’re going to get a real hobby, when are you going to grow up, why did you spend money on that merch? So we need to reach further.
I don’t have answers. And even if I did, I’m not the one who needs to give them. What I need to do is listen to the people who have answers and HELP THEM get what they need.
We need to do better. We need to BE better.
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Advice for getting started & making friends 💕
Since Tumblr ruined the original answer post to the ask: Hi!!! Thank you. I’ll go a little more in-depth with the answer and I hope you don’t mind.
1. Always know that no matter how good or bad you think your writing is: There are Wattpad books that were made into movies, so there will always be someone that will like what you write.
2. Tagging. Is. Important. Even though Tumblr is incredibly bad with its tagging system it’s always good to use tags so people following them can see your work. Try not to tag stuff wrong though. Did that a few times without noticing it and people were not happy about it. Understandably so.
3. Also always have warnings on your works and if there is something trigger warning worthy put it in the tags of the post with “xyz tw” and/or “tw xyz”. Also put age warnings in case you write 18+ content.
4. Utilize the option to block tags in case you wanna follow someone but you don’t wanna see certain fandoms/celebs. That also works for trigger warning tags.
5. Don’t feel bad about low reblog numbers. I have this amount of followers now and most of my works get 3-8 reblogs.
6. Don’t be afraid to tag some friendly bigger blogs in your first works. They might love what you do a lot. I, personally, am always up to be tagged in stuff.
7. Join writing challenges. Usually 50% of the bigger blogs have some kind of writing challenge going on. Those are great to get exposure and find other works to interact with. My current one is HERE.
8. When it comes to making friends it really depends. I think interacting frequently is a good start, but I found actual Tumblr DM’s to be the most helpful. Write your favorite writers that you liked a particular piece of their work or if you know you both have another shared interest, you can send them a Tumblr post about that. Example: I send baking enthusiasts cool looking food posts. But sometimes even DM’s don’t lead anywhere. Some people on here just don’t really want to make friends.
9. Interact with people’s personal posts. You’ll learn a bit about them from those. For example: I know that @buckyland has a cute cat and prefers greenery in pots and not vases (lmao).
10. Self-promo: I made a Discord server for MCU writers and it’s still going steady. Link for that is in my bio. We’re always excited for new people on there.
11. Asks are a great way to support writers beyond reblogging. Ask games are a great way to interact. Sending Requests is also appreciated by most people having open requests.
12. Decide if you want your own asks to include anons or not. But be prepared that if you enable anon asks, that you might get some dumbass spewing bullshit in there every few weeks (at least if you interact a lot w others). Vividly remember my first hate for interacting with my favorite writer.
13. Depending on how much you write you can plan your fics ahead. I, for example, publish most of my chapter based works once a week and only start publishing once they are at least 75% written. Others have ongoing works but I feel like the consensus on it is mostly “wait until you have a good idea of the ending or a rough outline.” @captain-kelli for example, writes her 'Call Sign: Renaissance’ series as an ongoing work but knows where it’s going and plots it out accordingly.
14. Know where to get inspiration. I personally have just trained myself to create everyday. Fiction, non-fiction, art, graphics, etc. It’s a good habit to have, but if you don’t have it you might wanna start an inspiration list or a side blog where you spam all your inspirations. Pinterest also is a good place for that.
15. Research how to link something in the mobile bio to put your masterlist there. There is this wonderful error Tumblr has, where you can’t change your profile on mobile or those links will vanish, so be aware of that. Just save that HTML code in a document lol.
16. Speaking of documents. I suggest writing your works in Google Documents, since it has a document history to refer to in the awful case of someone stealing your work. Preventative measure.
17. If you want a specific theme for your blog on desktop, you can DM me, I have tons of resources saved on another blog of mine.
18. For a nice mobile theme, you can visit @whimsicalrogers, search for headers and icons on Tumblr or request them from talented people per ask or DM. *cough* I make some too. *cough*
19. Oh, I also almost forgot this, but ALWAYS put a “Read More” break after more than 500 words in your posts. On desktop it mostly works in the normal editor, but there are also HTML codes in case it doesn’t work or you are on mobile. Basically, learn a few HTML basics for Tumblr in general, they always come in handy when this hellsite decides not to work.
Bottomline: Don’t be afraid to interact with your nickname being there front and center. Let yourself get seen. If your fandom blog is a side blog you can link them to each other in the bio like I did.
PS: The main reason why I got so many followers very quickly was for writing 31 smut pieces early on and tagging them well. Please know that follower count doesn’t mean much on here as long as the algorithm is trashy. Stick with interacting with people you wanna befriend and don’t let yourself get down too much over little reblogging.
But, of course, always try to find and reblog new people. That keeps the community alive and also spreads your name a bit, as well as the names of others.
If you need more advice or have any questions feel free to DM me or another blogger you trust.
To all my fellow bloggers: Feel free to leave more tips under this post. I’m sure I forgot at least one thing lol-
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