Fandom Terms

It has occurred to me that most people in the world do not know what an OTP is or maybe even what a fandom is. I figured that google would sort of come into play at some point or someone would use the context to learn what some of the things I say mean during my never-ending monologues. I have finally thought that this is probably overdue and I should explain some of my nerd slang.

Courtesy of Pintrest

The word 'fandom' come from mushing the words fanatic and domain into one word, it basically means a group of people that like the same actor, band, TV show, anime, book, webcomic, etc. The populations that make up fandoms are called fangirls or fanboys, depending on gender. These people are sometimes really closely knit groups in real life or online. Now, you might be wondering, what do these strange subcultures do besides share a common like for something?

These people sometimes cosplay, ship, draw fanart, write fanfictions, role-play, go to conventions, and worship their actor, band, TV show, anime, book, webcomic, etc. Cosplay is when a person dresses up like a character from their fandom and at Anime Bonzi most of what I saw was from an anime or Homestuck. You may have heard of ComicCon or something similar, but it is basically a gathering of fandoms that nerd out together and there are panels where people talk about anything from headcanons to origami to actors talking about filming.

Fanart and fanfics are fan created drawings and stories that revolve around characters in the stories or original characters created by a fan. Shipping is when you like the idea of two characters being in a relationship, and it can be platonic or romantic as well as canon or not. The acceptance of shipping varies from fandom to fandom. A Headcanon is an event or fact that someone likes. An example being that a character is secretly ticklish or what their height is.

Going back to shipping, the ship that you consider your favorite is called an OTP, and although it stands for One True Pairing, most fangirls have a dozen or more. A common word used by all fans is 'feels' as in feelings, because typing out ing is too much to do when your feels have been hurt. Finally an AMV or MEP are some fanart with music playing in the background. They stand for Animated Music Video and Multi Editing Project respectively, the main difference being that more people work on a MEP.

After getting such an amazing crash course in fandom slang, you are ready to dive face first into the world of fandoms and read this blog with a basic understanding of what I am saying some of the time. Either of those, or you are just really very scared and want nothing to do with fandoms or anything like them ever again and have probably stopped reading. Whichever one you are, you can now better understand some of the nerds you will meet.

Fandom Rules

There are a few rules that all fangirls should hold themselves to, somewhat like an honor code. Some are just plain common sense, like not spoiling a book, or a recent episode of a show. Others seem like they should be common knowledge, but are sadly not, like never insulting someones OTP, favorite character, or fandom, no matter what. Not only is it horribly rude to do, but death will likely occur. Here are a few of the most important fandom rules of any fandom.

Lots of Fandoms

1. Never judge a fandom by the fan, and never judge the fan by the fandom. Like with anything, one person is a bad representation of a group, and their fandoms are not be an accurate way to tell anything about them. Stereotypes are not something that should be a part of fandom culture.

2. Do not make other fangirls feel unaccepted. Since we are a subcultre, some fangirls do not have any friends that they can talk to about their fandom, head canons, or other fandom related things. It is of upmost importance that everyone is always kind to each other, like they say, “Birds of a feather stick together”. 

3. Good fandoms must be accepting of other fandoms, unless there is a fandom war going on between them. Fandom wars have no rules, so they get incredibly terrifying and should be avoided at all costs. Unless they have insulted your fandom, then destroy them without a trace of mercy. Like when Supernatural star Jared Padalecki insulted Justin Bieber and its fans pledged to stop watching the show. Supernaturals next episode was the most watched episode in the shows history. Haha. Although when Homestuck and Hetalia used to fight, it got scary.

4. To reiterate the point, OTPs (One True Pairings) are not to be messed with. Seriously. People are dangerous when something they love that much is threatened. Even if it is the most vile NOTP (anti-OTP) possibly imagined, someone loves it and you will probably need an exorcist to calm them down if it is insulted.

5. If an actor, youtuber, or celebrity expresses that they are uncomfortable being shipped or having their character shipped, just do not do it. It is not easy for them to say they are uncomfortable, and ignoring them and their request will lessen their opinion of the fandom and cause problems in their lives, like with youtubers KickThePj and Crabstickz. Although if they are fine with it like the vast majority of actors and such are neutral or even supportive of the ship, like Misha Collins, Dan Howell and Phil Lester, and basically every Hetalia voice actor. Respecting our idols is very important, and the last thing we would want to do is to make them quit doing the job they love because of us.

I have seen so many fans doing these things lately, and it is really not okay. It is about time that fangirls started treating each other, actors, and characters with respect.

Dan and Phil

I have recently discovered another thing to be totally obsessed about. Youtubers danisnotonfire and AmazingPhil.  They are British best friends who make videos about their lives and vlogs (video blogs). Both of them are tremendously funny and give surprisingly good advice. 

They are some of the most popular people currently making these sorts of videos, but other ones I like are Tyler Oakley and animators Domics and OnlyLeigh. All of their channels are pretty comedy orientated and binge watching all of their videos has a part in why when I sit down to do homework I never get anything done. 

Back to Dan and Phil, together they also have a gaming channel, creatively named ‘DanandPhilGames’ where they play games such as Five Nights at Freddy's and the Sims 4. On Dan's main channel he does ongoing segments called Reasons Why Dan’s a Fail!, Internet Support, and What not to do at the (beach, public transport, town, ect.). 

And Phil has invented many popular youtube tags. Some of them are the Toilet tag, a silly Q&A video, the Seven Second Challenge were he obviously has to do a challenge the person he is playing with tells him to in seven seconds or less,and the Explore my Brain tag were he talks about his thoughts. Since they live together they regularly appear in each others videos and help each other with video ideas, which is pretty nice of them.

Dan's channel trailer

Phil's Channel Trailer

Together they host a popular radio show on BBC1, and because of that UK Disney asked them to have cameo roles in their new movie Big Hero 6. I want to see that version just for the five seconds they are going to be speaking. Phil also voiced an emo goose for the app crossyroad.

Together they have been nominated for these awards in their youtube careers, Shorty Award for YouTube Star, and the Teen Choice Award for Choice Web Collaboration. Dan has over four million subscribers and they have ongoing jokes about how long it takes for him to upload a new video. Quite honestly there are pretty big pauses in between each of his videos, but it is ok with me as long as he stays a part of youtube. phil has a little over two million subscribers and has a end segment on most of his videos called “Draw Phil Naked” and I do not think that I can explain that to make it sound any less weird.

Both love Pokemon, Doctor Who and many different animes, which is why I started reading death note and watching the best ever Attack on Titan series. Well, that and the fact that three of my friends would not stop pestering me about reading/watching them, and ok, you guys were right I love them, you win for peer pressure.

Seriously, they are some of the best people on youtube, and if you want to check out my favorite episodes of theirs, here is Stuck on a Roller coaster by Phil Lester where he 'nearly died', and here is Dans video What Not to do on Public Transport where Dan accidentally got his head stuck in a subway door. Yep, I am proud to call these guys my role models.

Top 10 books of 2014

At the beginning of last year I made a resolution that I would read 50 or more books in 2014. I finally finished halfway through December. Anyways, I thought it would be a good idea to share the top ten books that I read in 2014 along with favorite characters and scenes of the books.

The Beginning of Everything—A tenis prodigy is injured in a car accident and over the course of his last year in high school gets in touch with his inner nerd. My sister recommended this book to me and after the events of the first few pages I was seriously doubting her. Trust me though, it’s actually an amazing book. Favorite scene was the debate tournament *cough* join debate *cough* and Toby was my favorite character.

Blood of Olympus—Since it is the last book, I don’t want to spoil it, so I will simply say it is about children of the greek and roman gods fighting monsters to save the world. The Percy Jackson books are some of my absolute favorite books, and I loved The Heroes of Olympus too, so it was really sad to see it come to an end but good that it ended on such a high note. My favorite character was Piper and the best scene was Leo fighting the medicine gods protecter.

Shadow and Bone—In a land torn in two by a mythical darkness full of monsters called the void, Alina and her best friend Mal are in the army passing through the void. Alina soon finds that she has magic no one else possesses that could save her country. Thanks to Aunt Barbara for buying me this book this summer. My favorite character for this series was the main character Alina and my favorite scene was the second time Alina travels through the fold.

Shadow and Bone Website

Legend—It follows June on her mission to find her brothers killer, Day, the other main character in dystopian western America. The street fight is my favorite scene and the character is Day.

Frozen—No, this is not about the movie. The world has frozen over and Natasha Kestal is desperatly searching for “the Blue” a mythical land of warmth and magic. She hires Ryan Wesson and his crew to take her to the Blue. My favorite character was Shakes and my favorite scene was when they rescue a stranded ship.

Milkweed—This was the second time I read this book,  and it still managed to make me cry and left me feeling more than a little shellshocked. I guess you don’t read World War two books unless you want to feel that way, but still. My favorite character was Misha, (coolest name) and my favorite scene was when he was being hit to get the lice off of him.

Squashed—The story is about Ellie, who is trying to grow an award winning giant pumpkin. I bought it at the library sale and it is the funniest and most original book that I bought that day.My favorite character was Roger and the best scene was the weighing contest.

Hero—The story follows Saturday Woodcutter on her adventures trying to find her brother and freeing a trapped lord on the worlds tallest mountain. It was sort of a silly book, but I have that sort of humor so I laughed too much. My favorite character was Betwix, a shapeshifter animal. My favorite scene was the first visit to the gardens.

Fangirl—The main character Cath, is starting college with her twin sister who she feels abandoned by, while also trying to finish her massively popular fanfiction and pass her advanced writing class. Ok, I’m not in college and my fanfiction is not that popular, but otherwise Cath is me. Favorite character is of course, Cath and the fanfic reading was my favorite scene.

Rainbow Rowell's Website

The selection—The main character America reminds me of my friend Mazana, who recommended it to me, and sadly moved a few weeks ago. In the futuristic society of Illeà, thirty-five  girls are randomly selected to get the chance to marry the prince. The character is America and her maids taking care of her and vice versa.

White Flags and Pasta

Hetalia is a Japanese manga that was turned into a very popular anime show. It's about the personifications of nations and their interactions through history. Most of the first two seasons are about the Axis Powers in World War Two. Instead of being sad and violent like you may expect when looking at world history, for the most part it's a very cute story. Most of the characters are based off of World War Two stereotypes of the country they represent.

By Hidekazu Himaruya And Funimation
Front to back: Italy, Germany, Japan, America,
China, England, Russia, and France

The Allies, (America, England, France, China, Canada and Russia) and the Axis (Italy, Germany, and Japan) are the main characters, but there are over 50 characters, including countries that no longer exist, like Holy Roman Empire or Prussia. There are also some micro-nation characters, like Sealand, who somehow always manages to get on England’s nerves. Then again, it’s not very difficult to get on his nerves, ask France.

My favorite characters are Russia, Canada, Finland, and as if that was not enough europeans, Prussia. Many Hetalians do not like Russia because he is a little scary, but he is seriously sweet and very cute. Do not argue with me, I am an expert. Canada is a quiet introvert who is either overlooked or mistaken for America all the time. Oh, and he has a pet polar bear (casually adds polar bear to christmas list). 

Finland is not a very big character in the series, but it is Finland, he is a nordic, he is nice, he is married to Sweden, he is just too awesome not to be included. Then last but definitely not least, ze awesome Prussia. Capable of breaking the fourth wall, Annoying his brother Germany 24/7, and keeping a diary from the dawn of time, Prussia is quite clearly just as awesome as he constantly states.

The closest thing the story has to a main character is Italy, who is relatively defenseless and ends up being caught by the Allies multiple times, only to be given back to Germany because he talks way too much.

In all honesty, I just can not find it in me to dislike any of the characters, even Turkey and Cuba. I think they all have really admirable traits and relationships with one another. This is by far my favorite anime, even though it is not as serious as Attack on Titan or Death Note, it makes me really happy to just watch it and it has some really cute messages from time to time.

I have learned more about pre American history from a TV show about the personifications of nations getting into petty fights and insulting British food at every turn than I have in an actual history classroom. I would not know what Liechtenstein is, and I would not have been able to answer most of the Jeopardy questions that I have (It is a good show ok?) without having watched Hetalia. It also makes Geography more interesting and it can be credited with helping me pass the European map test with flying colors.

Hasta la pasta!

End Game (Homestuck Spoilers)

The Homestuck gigapause has finally ended after an entire year without an update. It was published on my fellow homestuckian friend's birthday, but it was not a good present that's for sure. If you are starting Homestuck or do not want to spoilers, do not read any more. For those that do not know, Homestuck is a popular webcomic consisting of gifs, videos, interactive games, and pictures created by Andrew Hussie that is over 7,000 pages long.

Okay, here we go.

The cascade was what the first time the author, Andrew Hussie, killed many of the characters and it looks like End Game (one of the latest updates) will be "Cascade Two".  I have gotten attached to the remaining kids and trolls,  I am not ready for them to be gone. Complete denial over the entire thing. 

After Karkat was stabbed by Gamzee and thrown into the lava, Kanaya chainsawed Gamzee in half and was burnt to death by the Condolence. Aranea tried to kill Jane, but Jake jumped in the way and died a heroic death (Jane still died) and Dave tried to protect Jade... then was stabbed. Rose also died trying to avenge Kanaya but was stabbed (any one else pick up a bit of a pattern?) and died a few updates later. Just in case you were wondering, Homestuck is not supposed to be like this.

But seriously here, really Andrew Hussie? You're going to make your fans wait for an ENTIRE YEAR to the day just to bring Homestuck back with some sadstuck and ironic bad anime? That is not what anyone wanted or expected. Besides crying and hoping this resolves itself in the near future, I do not know that to do. 

My friend Alice theorized that John will make a deal with his denizen to trade his life for the lives of his friends. Since that sounds incredibly like something he would do, I am worried that it is actually going to happen and John will die. I refuse to deal with him dying...again. He has already died in the main timeline three times, and a fourth would not be any less awful and somewhat worse because I would have to wait for Hussie to update to see what would happen. The updates will get farther apart after Hussie gets through what he wrote during the gigapause so that will not be fun.

therefore, I can not bring myself to read the new updates, even though I want to know so badly and four of my good friends are also Homestuck fans and are getting really annoyed with my antics. It is getting bad, and one of them will probably spoil what has been happening so far, but I refuse to see anything else as hurtful as this.

 I just hope that eventually all the characters will live happily together and defeat Lord English. I would even be alright if all the characters were in the Dream Bubbles, Homestucks version of the afterlife. So yeah, this has been a good way to distract myself and forget that every character is dead and all of my ships have sunk. Alright, I am going to procrastinate on Homestucks Merch shop, What Pumpkin until I have enough courage to read more.

Trickster Roxy LaLonde from Andrew Hussie
(Link cannot be found on school computers)