(Image: one of my unfinished, rough sketches of my cousin pairing. It’s not done so pls ignore the disproportion going on…)
Okay peoples,
I’ve written up the rules for the forum, and I made the categories. Now all I need are members! Please read the rules before joining and please spread the word!!
We can improve it with time, including the rules, but below I will outline some of the things I hope this forum can do for those of us interested in making this community:
Focus of the Forum
To bring together aspiring writers to discuss our characters and writing, specifically those pairings that would be considered “taboo” in various parts of our world: Sibling and Cousin pairings, straight or gay, GSA or non-GSA, romantic and/or sexual, Canon or very near canon. This forum is not for purely platonic relationships–as lovely as those are.
___How we can make use of the Forum___
There are various ways we can make use of this forum. Here are just some possibilities:
We could do bi-weekly writing exercises to practice writing scenes and dialogue, to get a good sense of how our characters would act and talk.
• We could discuss the nature of “double love” and how the familial and the romantic intertwine in a consang relationship.
• We can discuss stigma, its origins and how the characters deal with it in their societies.
• We can talk about our own fears or anxieties about writing/publishing fiction containing “controversial” material, how we could remain strong and dedicated despite the judgment we may face as writers of such relationships.
• We can do research together (e.g. share links to documentaries, scholarly articles, author/actor interviews, commentary, or other material on this subject) so that our writing could be better informed by facts and existing dialogues.
• We can help each other develop points in our fictional character & relationship arcs in a way that suits our individual visions.
• We can provide each other with feedback on our writing styles so that we can improve the quality.
• We can discuss fandom and ships… in connection with what we hope do with our original fiction. E.g. What are our fav ships/dynamics? What we can learn from the writers of the past? What can/should we do differently?
(this person is also supportive). All these people have written about or are interested in handling this subject sensitively and honestly in writing, though area of interest may vary (e.g. I focus on cousins)
I don’t write as much cause I’m a bit busy but I’d always be willing to chat with anyone and recommend resources or information. Check out the above people cause they are great!!! ❤
Also, I haven’t checked out this person yet but their blog looks good and positive: @siblingromance
I’m so glad that college professors are talking about things like this in class and bringing some sense to the great darkness and ignorance that exists on this subject. I certainly don’t claim to know everything but there are so many incorrect assumptions out there.
You flatter me, Anon!
This is the best thing I heard today. Seriously, this made me smile so much. 🙂
I think all the ways that decriminalization of consensual incest would actually help incestuous abuse survivors isn’t something most of the opponents have considered. And abuse is never easy to talk about, but all the stigma surrounding incest makes it even more difficult to have these kinds of conversations, for everyone on all sides.
Thank you for sharing with us, Anon, and for adding your thoughts to this discussion.
Oh, Anon, I can’t thank you enough! You are so kind to say these things. I’m so flattered!!!
I am a poor example of an activist but I do hope my attitude will be infectious.
You know, when I first started this blog even I had something in my sidebar about “It’s just fiction so it’s OK”, and I only had that there because I was worried about haters, but I reached a point where I was confident enough to remove that and just freely say that I absolutely support decriminalization of consensual incest. The laws might have been well-meaning when they were created but they are not right. And I’m really not afraid to say that now because I know that none of the arguments against decriminalization hold water. And I hope that can happen for everyone else too.
It’s whatever we want it to be for ourselves. It is a religion, a philosophy, way of life, teachings, guidelines, literature, science, psychology, etc. Some people accept Buddhism as their religion or as their spiritual guide. Others take bits and pieces of a few teachings and apply those practices to incorporate them into their own religion and beliefs.
Hi Anon! I’m guessing that this is about Star Wars, so I’m here to extend the warmest welcome!! I also want to say that it’s okay to be embarassed, but you don’t have to be! You are certainly not alone as you’ll find here in tumblr and outside of social media. The movies have brought a lot of people together and have provided sense of community and an escape.
Don’t let anyone make you feel bad for being a new fan either. I hate the idea that follows fandoms about “real” fans vs “fake” fans and the idea that people who’ve devoted their lives to their faves and have been a fan for xx-years are somehow superior to the newbies. Your excitement is just as valid!
Hey, I kinda wanted to add something to this. I know a bit of what Anon here is experiencing because I also got into Star Wars properly later than many people. It’s because when I first saw the films as a kid (like in 2001 or 2002), they were not presented to me in a coherent order so I was very confused… I think other newer fans will feel this too (cause of the order in which the films were made, the chronology of the story is a little confusing at first till you figure out which ones to watch first). The story only made sense to me when I watched again in my 20s (after a friend recommended watching Episodes 4, 5, 6 first, followed by 1, 2, and 3, in that order.)
Personally, I get irritated at the kind of people that pretend to like something cause everyone else does, even though they don’t even see the magic in it…. those are the only people I’d call fake fans, but they are also fake people in general.
If you love the story for what it is and not because of it’s popularity, then you are a true fan. It doesn’t matter when you got into the fandom.
Besides, the original Star Wars films (Episodes 4, 5, and 6) were made a long time ago, so people that didn’t grow up in that time have a perfectly legitimate excuse for getting into it later. They simply may not have known about it. I grew up with LOTR and Harry Potter so I was a fan of those from the start, but I know in my heart that if I grew up with the original Star Wars, I would’ve loved it just as much back then as I do now. ^_^
