Fanfiction: Feeding Your Brain

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

As many of you may or may not know, I write fanfiction. I used to write fanfiction heavily as a teenager for venting, character exploration, and to hone my writing skills. This past year I returned to writing fanfiction after a long hiatus and I still question why I left writing fics. Tonight, I’m going to share with you the reasons why you should write fanfiction.

5. Boosts Your Writing Skills

The more you write, the better you will be. I never believed this back then, but I find that the statement holds true. What’s even better about writing fanfiction is that you receive comments and critiques on your works. When you publish your fanfiction on sites like fanfiction.net, archiveofourown.org, or wattpad.com, you are sharing your work with the entire world. That is a ton of people to stumble upon your work, read it, and offer you some helpful feedback.

Furthermore, researching characters, their flaws, their disorders (if they have any), and their unique traits will help you in character development. What you experience through writing fanfiction you can use later on when writing your more serious works such as character creation, character development, plot development, and so many other useful and necessary writing features.

It’s all right if you’re possibly terrible writer at first, but when writing fanfiction and receiving critiques, you will be better in due time.

4. Writing Exercises

I actually use fanfictions as a writing exercise for my more serious works that I would like to publish someday. By writing fanfiction, it allows the gears to start turning, ideas to start forming, and something wonderful to begin. What’s even better is that there’s no limit to fanfiction for writing exercises – you can create a fifty word drabble or a sixty thousand word chapter fic. You can also choose various categories that your piece fits. By crafting fanfiction, you expose yourselves to various genres, characters, and plots which you can utilize for more writing exercises.


3.Venting

They say writing is the best medium because you’re physically typing out what you’re feeling. The emotion rushes from your brain and to your finger tips and from them emerge words that fit exactly what’s on your mind. You can be as raw and as rough as you like when you’re writing fanfiction as a means of venting. Plus when your internal storm has passed you can look at what you have created and edit it so that it’s better or leave it as is and bear your soul to the world.

2.Exploration

A while back I read an article on how women used fanfiction to explore their sexualities. Like men who view porn, women used fanfiction to explore themselves. They believed porn to be unrealistic and fanfiction to have more realism. Like porn, fanfiction became taboo – something forbidden, but enticing. Its taboo, but understanding nature encouraged women to write fanfiction, to further explore their sexualities, to comprehend what the body can and cannot do when it came to sex, and to understand how things worked. Fanfiction for them was something easier to hide as opposed to pictures of lewd acts on a screen, thus allowing fanfiction to be read anywhere. Fanfiction became a safe haven and allowed readers and writers to utilize research of biological sexual functions and incorporate them into fics to further understand their characters and themselves as well.

From crafting sexual fanfictions, writers and even readers can live out their private sexual fantasies. It’s a way for them to experience (or imagine) things that they cannot do in reality for whatever reason. They also write fanfiction to further explore other sexual orientations like homosexuality, bisexuality, asexuality, and so many others just to appease their appetite and curiosity. Fanfiction became an educational escape to further understand themselves and enjoy literary porn. 

1. Building an Audience

So you want to be a writer. That’s fantastic – now where’s your audience? Drawing an audience to your work is not the easiest thing in the world – unless it deals with something that’s already incredibly popular. Enter fanfiction – where by crafting stories regarding popular characters you can build an audience. By building your audience with work regarding characters they adore, readers will grow accustomed to your writing style, and may enjoy it. When you publish more serious pieces (like an original short story), the readers will recognize you because of what you have written on fanfiction and will already be familiar with your writing style and want to read more of your work. Yes, it may not be about the 10^th Doctor having intercourse with Captain Jack Harkness, but it will be something new and original for them to enjoy as fans of your work.


Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to share, subscribe, comment, and/or critique.

So tell me, do you write fanfiction and why?

Take My Revolution: Kill la Kill

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Having been away from most modern day animes and thinking I finally escaped; I was dragged back in by one of my friends. I used to love anime as a teen and grew up with the classics: “Dragonball Z,” “Dragonball,” “Sailor Moon,” “Pokemon,” “Wolf’s Rain,” “.hack//SIGN,” “Revolutionary Girl Utena,” “Lupin the Third,” and so many others. But I found that the more I transitioned into modern day animes like “Black Butler” and “Soul Eater,” the more I realized I just couldn’t do it anymore because it was hard to keep up. Life was what mostly blocked me from pursuing more programs, but it was also the fact that these new shows lacked something for me. What that something was, I still have no idea to this day, but it just felt wrong and incomplete.

And so my friend decided to drag me back into anime by recommending “Kill la Kill.” I had heard about this anime before on many web sites and from my other friends. I think his recommendation was the final nail in the coffin for me to give this show a shot and so I sat down not too long ago and began my binge. I literally finished my binge watching of this anime a half hour ago.

What followed was a series of references, insane (and logical) plot twists, lovable characters, and an addictively fun art style. I was not expecting any of this and immediately found myself caught up in the story of a young lady (Ryuko Matoi) wanting to learn about her father’s death and secrets. With nothing but a scissor blade and a talking uniform (Kamui Senketsu) by her side, she transfers to Honnouji Academy where the story begins.

After watching the series it was at then this anime made me realize two things.

1.  Not all modern anime lack that certain something for me. When I was watching “Kill la Kill,” it reminded me of how I used to feel when watching anime; completely excited, curious, and hanging on the edge of my seat.
   
   
2. “Kill la Kill” is a modern day “Revolutionary Girl Utena.”

The second note made me realize this because of the show’s premise and details. There’s the main protagonist (Ryuko Matoi) who wants to achieve knowledge to understand a fragment of her past. She is a tomboy, very unfeminine, and rough; much like Utena Tenjou, the protagonist from “Revolutionary Girl Utena”.  Ryuko has something (Kamui) that only a select group of people have and this is what entices them to fight; they also issue each other challenges (sometimes by paper, but mostly verbally). In “Revolutionary Girl Utena,” those with the rose crest ring are the only ones that can fight each other and often challenge each other with words or paper.

The challengers in “Revolutionary Girl Utena” consist of five student council members (Kyouichi Saionji, Juri Arisugawa, Miki Kaoru, Touga Kiryuu, and Nanami Kiryuu). Touga is the president and leads them, while receiving orders from the director of Ohtori Academy. The challengers in “Kill la Kill” are also five students (including Satsuki) who entitle themselves the Elite Four, but act as the overall student council; they consist of Hoka Inumuta, Satsuki Kiryuin, Sanageyama,Nonon Jakuzure, and Ira Gamagori. Satsuki is the president and leads them, while also receiving orders from the director. Each take on Ryuko in a single battle that brings her closer to fighting her rival, Satsuki. They each battle her on a platform similar to the platform from the movie, ”The Adolescence of Utena” which ties in with the “Revolutionary Girl Utena” program. Both platforms are a flat surface connected with a bridge that drops down onto the area.

The protagonist’s best friend (Mako Mankanshoku) even acts a lot like Wakaba from “Revolutionary Girl Utena,” being completely supportive, hyperactive, and even being taken over by the antagonist’s intentions. Wakaba was taken over by the black rose issued by Mikage and fought Utena. In “Kill la Kill,” the antagonist (Satsuki) allowed Mako to be overtaken by club status and a greedy lifestyle so that she had to fight Ryuko.

Ragyo Kiryuin, the very villain of this series also shares some tendencies with Akio (the ultimate antagonist from “Revolutionary Girl Utena”). They are both presented as tall, God like figures, looking down upon those who are beneath them in luxurious towers. Both Ragyo and Akio are very incestuous when it comes to their family; Akio and Anthy (his sister) have an abusive, yet sexual relationship. Ragyo and Satsuki (her daughter) also have the same type of relationship.

There’s also a matter of Ryuko’s weapon, the scissor blade. In “Revolutionary Girl Utena,” the main protagonist (Utena) has the sword of Dios. Though later on, we encounter its counterpart in the hands of a villain – much like in “Kill la Kill”, the other half of the scissor blade is in the hands of an enemy, Nui Harime. Even the ending itself is similar to “Revolutionary Girl Utena,” in which the protagonist is impaled with thousands of sharpened items (in “Revolutionary Girl Utena” swords, in “Kill la Kill” Ragyo’s wings) and falls to Earth after the battle.

I heavily enjoyed “Kill la Kill” and I love “Revolutionary Girl Utena” to death. To find such similarities between the two filled me with delight. Not only did the series rekindle my love for “Revolutionary Girl Utena,” but it also made me realize that I just can’t leave my love for anime.

Thank you for taking the time to read tonight’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to comment, share, and critique.

So tell me, what’s your favorite anime and why? 

Sweet Treats Are Made of This

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Browsing the Internet for simple recipes has never been more fun. What’s even better is discovering recipes that could be altered to fit special occasions and holidays. Thanks to the magic of the Internet, here is a recipe that can be used for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Halloween, or any time of the year. The beauty of this recipe in particular is that it allows you to create many different flavored treats all the while using the same exact measurements.

Cream Cheese Candy (20 min prep)

• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese softened

• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar

• ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract (this could easily be substituted with other extracts like almond extract, strawberry extract, pumpkin spice extract, blueberry extract, the list goes on)

1. Beat the cream cheese and extract in a small bowl, then toss in half the confectioners’ sugar until it’s smooth.
   
   
2. Proceed to knead in the remaining confectioners’ sugar until it’s fully incorporated.
   
   
3. Shape the dough into 1/2 balls (or hearts or stars or any shape you can think of; yes even the Adipose) and place them on baking sheets. You can roll them around or sprinkle them with colored sugar; it’s not required, but it’s optional. Besides, it’ll give these little treats a bit of flare.
   
   
4. Flatten them with a fork.
   
   
5. Allow them to stand for an hour so they can harden.
   
   
6. Eat.
   
   
7. When you’re done, store them in an airtight container in the fridge.
   

Thanks for reading today’s entry and if you enjoyed it, feel free to comment and reblog. As always, feedback is welcomed.

So tell me, what shapes would you make with this simple recipe?

Fifty Shades of No

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Fans everywhere are anticipating the “Fifty Shades of Grey” movie premiering next month. For those of you that aren’t aware, “Fifty Shades of Grey” by E.L. James, is an erotic story where Anastasia Steele signs a sex contract with Christian Grey, allowing him to perform various devious sexual acts.

I’ll admit I tried to read the book to see what the hype was and with every chapter it sent me into a deep, dark pit of hatred; the writing was terrible, a piece of bread was more thrilling than Ana, Christian was an abusive jerk, and the sex scenes were written like a teenager who just learned about sex. What really made me detest this book was the tampon scene in which Anastasia is experiencing her period and Christian wants to have intercourse with her. He then proceeds to rip the tampon from her vagina and toss it into the toilet. Anastasia did nothing about this invasive action other than think some shocking exclamation.  It was bad enough that Christian was not only abusing the sex contract and Anastasia before, but now he had had violated her privacy to the utmost degree. Furthermore, he performed this action without her consent and only to satisfy his primal lust.

Firstly, Anastasia’s menstrual cycle should have been an exception in the contract. Yes, some women are aroused during their periods, but that doesn’t automatically give consent. Consent is needed regardless of the situation. Second, this action is the epitome of Christian’s feelings towards Anastasia; he doesn’t see her as a woman, but an object. She is a toy to fulfill his needs and to abuse because of his past with a rapist who showed him the ways of BDSM by using him. Instead of seeking professional help for his relentless actions and undeniable trauma, he follows in the path of the rapist and uses abuse in sex as therapy.  Third, the toilet is going to clog and that will be a mess to clean up. Fourth, there is blood everywhere. Allow that image to soak in your mind and it doesn’t help that afterwards they take a bath together.

Thankfully, the tampon scene is not included in the movie. However, fans will still be treated to Christian’s dominating and controlling personality as well as Anastasia’s extremely passive attitude.

There are tons of books and topics to base a movie on. Why they would make a movie about this book and its incorrect portrayals of BDSM, abusive sex partners who have no respect and women who willingly go along with everything, is beyond me. I understand that it’s a book about sex and sex sells; it was the one major ideal reinforced in my media courses. I also understand that we all have our dark sexual fantasies, which is fine; it’s our imagination, it tends to wander. Honestly, any form of media about sex is fine, but to produce a movie that shows more harm to our society than good makes no sense. I can imagine after viewing this movie, some people will take away the notion that women will always want it and that men are supposed to be abusive. These aren’t lessons that our society should be taught because they are damaging lies.

Thanks for taking the time to read today’s entry. If you liked it, feel free to comment and reblog and as always, I welcome any feedback or critiques you have.

So tell me, what are your views on “Fifty Shades of Grey”?