This community
Tuesday, June 11th, 2013 06:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
celestepastore posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
mindcrackloveSo, in light of recent events, I feel the need to present to you all my take on this community, and fan communities in general.
This is rather lengthy, so I will be adding in a cut tag.
And I would very much appreciate if any lurking MindCrackers would read this. It's not something I think anyone here usually requests, but if nobody else reads this, I would like for it to be you guys.
I've been a member of several internet Fan Communities since I was 12. I started off a Sonic Fan, and slowly stepped into various groups like the Potter heads, the Whovians, Mass Effect fans, Supernatural fans...
Eventually I came here.
It was a link on somebody's Tumblr blog (It may have been Theropod, given it was a link to her story) and immediately I began to debate with myself about joining the community and producing fan works. It wasn't a long debate, but I still found myself nervous. The most recent fanwork I had put out hadn't gotten much traffic, though the small amount it did get was positive, but even before that it had been YEARS since I had written any fanfiction.
A whole wave of emotions hit me as I was writing the first chapter of More Than a Beast, and planning the later chapters. First of all was excitement. I love it when I find a topic that sparks my imagination and my passion to write again. It's a passion, for me, that comes and goes, because I go though periods where I feel discouraged to write or just don't feel like writing. I was also very nervous... The Mindcrackers are people. Real, living people with lives and families, dreams, aspirations, likes, dislikes...
I was writing fanfiction about REAL people. I AM writing fanfiction. About REAL PEOPLE.
Writing for Mass Effect, or Sonic, or Supernatural is easy. Those people don't exist. Guude does. Kurt does. Zisteau does. How would those REAL PEOPLE feel if I wrote stories about them together in romances or being killed?
Well, let's go to the golden rule: Treat others how you, yourself, would want to be treated.
And I would love for someone to be such a fan of me that wrote a story about me. Even a fictional version of me. I would be flattered. I would be excited. And even if they killed me, or paired me with someone I would never be with in real life, just the fact that they found me interesting enough to write about would make me want to cry with joy.
A large part of that is because I have self-esteem issues, but I digress.
Especially if the story in and of itself was a good one, and well written, I would love it. And even if it wasn't, just the effort would be enough. I would appreciate it, even if I didn't particularly enjoy it.
Now, they aren't me. And I know that. They have their own way of viewing themselves, and their own way of interacting with the fanbase. And I can understand if some of them would be uncomfortable with it.
As many other writers on this site have said: If there is something of mine that you do not approve of, all you have to do is say so and POOF! It's gone.
But I also want you to understand the way I view this community. And Fan Communities like us.
I've given it some thought and I decided I became an author (And a fanfiction author specifically) out of a desire to live vicariously though my works. Writing was a way for me to visualize doing things that I would never get to do in real life (or I never THOUGHT I would get to do in real life). I was a very lonely little girl, and when I wrote... I wasn't. My characters were my friends. They were people I could interact with in a way I couldn't with the real people around me.
When I was writing, I was creating worlds. Crating people. Creating an idealistic something that I had full control over, unlike my life. And I think that's a large part of why people write fanfiction for most things.
But, again, it's different with the Mindcrackers. They're real people, but more than that, they're CELEBRITIES. And celebrities, by and large, have a stigma of being unapproachable, because it feels like they have something that we don't, something that hundreds of thousands, if not millions or billions of people can all see and appreciate.
And because of that, we have a desire to want to relate to them. We want to be able to look at them and see that, beyond that something that they're famous for, they are normal people.
That's why we write fanfiction about the Mindcrackers I think. It's a combination of our need to make them relate-able, our desire to interact with them, and our wild imaginations.
I know in my heart that no one in this community has anything but the utmost love and respect for the Mindcrackers. Nothing we write stems from any truly malicious intent or sadistic desires. It's all fun and games.
Until someone gets hurt.
That's why everyone on this site is so spooked. We feel we may have done some damage, and we feel we may have offended someone. I know that that was no-one's intention, but we still feel the need to defend ourselves because we feel we may have put ourselves on the receiving end of someone's ire.
And if that someone happens to be one of the Mindcrackers it will hurt all the more. Because when someone you look up to and idolize tells you you've done something wrong... It really makes you rethink your choices.
I'd like to close with an observation about this community: This is one of the only fandoms I've ever been in that is completely accepting and loving. There have been no shipping wars, no hate-mongering... We are all completely accepting and very kind people who just happen to have very overactive imaginations.
I feel more comfortable speaking my mind in this fandom than I do in any other. I feel safe here. And I feel like I belong.
For me, that's something that's hard to come by.
So there you have it. That's my take on things. I've said everything I feel needs saying, but feel free to ask me questions.
I love you all, Salad members and Mindcrackers alike.
~Celeste
This is rather lengthy, so I will be adding in a cut tag.
And I would very much appreciate if any lurking MindCrackers would read this. It's not something I think anyone here usually requests, but if nobody else reads this, I would like for it to be you guys.
I've been a member of several internet Fan Communities since I was 12. I started off a Sonic Fan, and slowly stepped into various groups like the Potter heads, the Whovians, Mass Effect fans, Supernatural fans...
Eventually I came here.
It was a link on somebody's Tumblr blog (It may have been Theropod, given it was a link to her story) and immediately I began to debate with myself about joining the community and producing fan works. It wasn't a long debate, but I still found myself nervous. The most recent fanwork I had put out hadn't gotten much traffic, though the small amount it did get was positive, but even before that it had been YEARS since I had written any fanfiction.
A whole wave of emotions hit me as I was writing the first chapter of More Than a Beast, and planning the later chapters. First of all was excitement. I love it when I find a topic that sparks my imagination and my passion to write again. It's a passion, for me, that comes and goes, because I go though periods where I feel discouraged to write or just don't feel like writing. I was also very nervous... The Mindcrackers are people. Real, living people with lives and families, dreams, aspirations, likes, dislikes...
I was writing fanfiction about REAL people. I AM writing fanfiction. About REAL PEOPLE.
Writing for Mass Effect, or Sonic, or Supernatural is easy. Those people don't exist. Guude does. Kurt does. Zisteau does. How would those REAL PEOPLE feel if I wrote stories about them together in romances or being killed?
Well, let's go to the golden rule: Treat others how you, yourself, would want to be treated.
And I would love for someone to be such a fan of me that wrote a story about me. Even a fictional version of me. I would be flattered. I would be excited. And even if they killed me, or paired me with someone I would never be with in real life, just the fact that they found me interesting enough to write about would make me want to cry with joy.
A large part of that is because I have self-esteem issues, but I digress.
Especially if the story in and of itself was a good one, and well written, I would love it. And even if it wasn't, just the effort would be enough. I would appreciate it, even if I didn't particularly enjoy it.
Now, they aren't me. And I know that. They have their own way of viewing themselves, and their own way of interacting with the fanbase. And I can understand if some of them would be uncomfortable with it.
As many other writers on this site have said: If there is something of mine that you do not approve of, all you have to do is say so and POOF! It's gone.
But I also want you to understand the way I view this community. And Fan Communities like us.
I've given it some thought and I decided I became an author (And a fanfiction author specifically) out of a desire to live vicariously though my works. Writing was a way for me to visualize doing things that I would never get to do in real life (or I never THOUGHT I would get to do in real life). I was a very lonely little girl, and when I wrote... I wasn't. My characters were my friends. They were people I could interact with in a way I couldn't with the real people around me.
When I was writing, I was creating worlds. Crating people. Creating an idealistic something that I had full control over, unlike my life. And I think that's a large part of why people write fanfiction for most things.
But, again, it's different with the Mindcrackers. They're real people, but more than that, they're CELEBRITIES. And celebrities, by and large, have a stigma of being unapproachable, because it feels like they have something that we don't, something that hundreds of thousands, if not millions or billions of people can all see and appreciate.
And because of that, we have a desire to want to relate to them. We want to be able to look at them and see that, beyond that something that they're famous for, they are normal people.
That's why we write fanfiction about the Mindcrackers I think. It's a combination of our need to make them relate-able, our desire to interact with them, and our wild imaginations.
I know in my heart that no one in this community has anything but the utmost love and respect for the Mindcrackers. Nothing we write stems from any truly malicious intent or sadistic desires. It's all fun and games.
Until someone gets hurt.
That's why everyone on this site is so spooked. We feel we may have done some damage, and we feel we may have offended someone. I know that that was no-one's intention, but we still feel the need to defend ourselves because we feel we may have put ourselves on the receiving end of someone's ire.
And if that someone happens to be one of the Mindcrackers it will hurt all the more. Because when someone you look up to and idolize tells you you've done something wrong... It really makes you rethink your choices.
I'd like to close with an observation about this community: This is one of the only fandoms I've ever been in that is completely accepting and loving. There have been no shipping wars, no hate-mongering... We are all completely accepting and very kind people who just happen to have very overactive imaginations.
I feel more comfortable speaking my mind in this fandom than I do in any other. I feel safe here. And I feel like I belong.
For me, that's something that's hard to come by.
So there you have it. That's my take on things. I've said everything I feel needs saying, but feel free to ask me questions.
I love you all, Salad members and Mindcrackers alike.
~Celeste
no subject
Date: Tuesday, June 11th, 2013 10:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, June 11th, 2013 10:41 pm (UTC)It also reminds me of the explanation in a podcast about why Etho won't show his face but that's not the topic...
As almost everyone else has said if you agree with something that's been written just let us know and its gone.
I would also like to say this is my first fan community experience. I'm just glad that I searched this site because I have met many wonderful people <3
no subject
Date: Tuesday, June 11th, 2013 10:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, June 11th, 2013 11:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Wednesday, June 12th, 2013 07:48 am (UTC)Sorry isi ^_^" it's back on my list promise o.o
*quickly scribbled on massive list of unproductiveness*
no subject
Date: Tuesday, June 11th, 2013 10:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, June 11th, 2013 11:20 pm (UTC)<3
no subject
Date: Tuesday, June 11th, 2013 11:49 pm (UTC)*adds to the hugpile*
<3
no subject
Date: Wednesday, June 12th, 2013 12:00 am (UTC)I've been in many fandoms, but this is the first one I've ever put myself out to participate in. Even then, I lurked for about half a year, too nervous to say anything in worry of coming off annoying. It doesn't help that I suffer from social anxiety. But, after I finally completed a fanfiction and posted it, the fellow Salad members were very kind. It gave me motivation to try to be a bit more outgoing.
But, funnily enough, I never really considered that any MindCrackers would take it bad, seeing as our existance seemed to be either accepted or something of the sort. However, as everyone else has said, if one of then had a problem with being written about, I would take it down. Sure, I would be disappointed that my stories couldn't be shared with any others, but this is what comes with writing about real people.
no subject
Date: Wednesday, June 12th, 2013 02:50 am (UTC)*hugs* <3
no subject
Date: Wednesday, June 12th, 2013 02:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Wednesday, June 12th, 2013 07:46 am (UTC)It's nice to feel belonging :3 belonging is goods I found, this is the only place I can truely say I feel happy in tis a nice community we have, kinda funny though its like salad is some dirty little secret when I see someone in a chat in a livestream :p heh
I just wish they would even tell Guude, or MC who could post.. Or even message someone he knows is in salad about a mindcracker saying they don't wish to be shipped. Knowing some people are uncomfortable with it makes me like that.. I feel like m walking on glass anytime I try to write a romantic thing even if it is rediculously stupid lovey dovey fake joke kinda one..
Hmm...
*hugs and cookies*
no subject
Date: Wednesday, June 12th, 2013 08:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Wednesday, June 12th, 2013 09:08 am (UTC)I generally find it amusing seeig how we would be lynched by any other non shipping mindcrackers fan.. :l living life on the edge!
no subject
Date: Wednesday, June 12th, 2013 12:38 pm (UTC)