Subject: Oops, HTML fail...
Author:
Posted on: 2012-12-24 02:39:00 UTC
Can you use videogames? Maybe show some play-through clips with no commentary (such things do exist, mercifully...)? Or do you want to stick to television mediums?
So, I go to a secondary school that has a tremendous amount of freedom for what students can do with their education, including peer taughts, where students can teach a class on any subject, with a teacher serving as a guide and support. The curriculum is created by the student, homework assigned by the student, and graded by the student. With peer-taught, there are two options for when to teach: a class period during the regular school year, or during intensives. Incentives are up to ten day, all day long classes that do not follow traditional class subjects, such as international travel for history/social studies credit (I got to go to Greece last intensive!), fractals and vectoring as art or math credit, and others.
I want to do a peer-taught intensive on Analyzing Fandoms, where students would look at different fandoms of various media, and look at not only what they are fans of, but what the fans create. We would look at fan art, projects, fanfic (that’s partially where you come in), and other aspects of fans, in hopes of gleaning more about society and psychology.
Here’s where you come in: I want to look at multiple fandoms, and the materials they are fans of, and I need material, including fandoms and fan works. As much as I would love to have fans of literary works, due to time difficulties, I don't think I can. Unfortunately, this means no LoTR, Hunger Games, or Twilight *shudder*. This means I am likely sticking to movies or TV shows to show to the students. I can show those in one day and have the students look at what people are fans of, why they are fans of it, and what the fans have made, all in reasonable time so I can move on to the next fandom. I am going to have:
Star Trek, the largest and most famous fandom,
Star Wars, the second largest/most famous fandom, as well as the rival of Star Trek, so I can look at fandom rivalry too
My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic, because I’m biased. Well, that and I know the workings of the Brony fandom really well, and can go on and on about how fascinating they are sociologically.
I would have Doctor Who as well, but I feel bad about having three science fiction fandoms, and one cartoon, so I probably wont have it. This also rules out Firefly (probably, if you give a good enough argument for why I should I might include it) and other science fiction fandoms.
I think I can have five fandoms, with two days per fandom, mostly as buffers, and if we have time extra, to do a final project on a particular fandom either not covered in the class, or more in-depth on one we did cover. Whatever we do, it needs to be informative and FUN. Having learning while having fun is the entire point of incentives.
I need you to give me material on the fandoms, as well as two other fandoms to teach. A large fan site, something like Equestria Daily; where everything in the fandom is a few clicks away, would be the best, but links to fan celebrities is fine too. Most importantly for you though, I need fanfic, good fanfic, that shows how good it can be. Popularity is not too important, but length is; seeing as I want high school students to read it, I cannot have a monstrous fic that rivals War and Peace for length. A short to medium sized fic, that is reasonable to read in about five hours at most would be best, and if it is an extraordinarily popular one as well, all the better.
Do this, and I will probably show the students the PPC, showing members of all fandoms coming together with one singular goal: to kill bad fan fiction, and promote good writing. I will probably ask for more help later on, once I get closer to actually creating the curriculum, but I want to start compiling information now.
Thank you guys for any help you can give, I am truly appreciative of it.
The Dresden Files (Urban Fantasy. Professional Wizard in modern-day Chicago. Very funny and well-written), Fate/Stay Night (Anime. Historical/Mythical heroes fight for the Holy Grail. VERY large fanbase, lots of 'fics. I've sporked a few myself), Halo: Combat Evolved (Military Sci-fi. Humanity vs. Aliens).
I have a LOT of free time, so if you want/need any help at all, feel free to ping me.
Warhammer 40,000 (Tabletop war game, several video games, multiple book series. Huge fandom, to the point where one of 4chan's boards is devoted largely to 40k. Lots of fanfiction, if you know where to look.)
Thanks for the recomendations, and I will defanately take warhammer 40K under consideration, though it would be interesting to see the student's faces when they see me walk in with a huge box full of painted figurenes, set peices and books. "Class, this is the next fandom we are going to look at. Look through the books, pick your race, and we will begin."
(Sounds more like D&D to me.)
What D&D games have you played?
(A good number, that's all you need to know.)
Thanks for the recomendations, but do you have any spesific fan material, such as fanfic, you would recomend for presenting to high school students without getting in trouble? Or, do you know any fan sites/blogs that could help point me in the right direction?
1d4chan.org is a great place to find 40k fanfics.
The ones I would recommend are Love and Krieg (and the Love and Krieg spinoffs. L&K is extremely sweet, and made of cute and d'awww. In the Grim Darkness of the 41st Millennium, there are two pwople who have found happiness)
http://1d4chan.org/wiki/LoveandKrieg
http://1d4chan.org/wiki/LoveandKriegSpinoffs
The Tales of the Emperasque (The Emperor takes over the body of a D&D Tarrasque, goes on a hilarious, galaxy-spanning, shit-wrecking quest to find the Lost Primarchs and tear Chaos a new one. Cameos by Ursakar Creed, Commissar Yarrick, and Ciaphas Cain. Made of hilarity and awesome. Also, there's some fanart).
http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Emprahsque
Love Can Bloom (Also made of sweet. Imperial Assassin sent to kill an Eldar Farseer, can't bring himself to do it. Heresy, d'aww, and blowing up Slaaneshi daemons follow. Also, the two eventually have a child, Lofn, and all three of them feature fairly heavily in Tales of the Emperasque, so I would recommend reading this first).
<a href="http://1d4chan.org/wiki/LoveCanBloom">http://1d4chan.org/wiki/LoveCan_Bloom
There are a couple other things there, but be careful. The three I've mentioned are SFW, but some of the others are not. Really, REALLY not.
That class sounds like a fantastic idea!
Sadly, I can't help you with the fandom stuff, because I don't know any of these that well, heck, I haven't even watched Star Wars :/
And as for the fandoms you need, I think you should include something different, like video games (Mario Bros is quite a large fandom)
and comics.
That class will be EPIC.
Also, I think you should probably bring in the Sherlock Holmes fandom - not just for the modern adaptations, but also the original - there'll be plenty of movie/TV show fodder, and the Holmesians are one of the oldest fandoms with some of the most illustrious members (come on, what other fandom has freaking Franklin Delano Roosevelt in it?).
When Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura) wanted to leave Star Trek, Martin Luther King told her that Star Trek was one of the few shows he allowed his kids to watch because it portrayed a black woman (Uhura) in a position of power. Needless to say, she stayed on.
And let's not forget Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space, whose childhood idol was Lt. Uhura. Or Whoopi Goldberg, who, also inspired by Uhura, went on to get a role on Next Generation.
So yeah. Star Trek for the win!
Also, I believe most of modern fandom came from Trek - I mean, Holmes may be one of the oldest fandoms, but it wasn't a modern fandom and most fanfiction in those days were called 'pastiches' and were published.
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Trek for putting a name to the Mary Sue after all ;D
Has anyone sporked the first Mary Sue fic? If not, sombody needs to. And that person cannot nor should be me.
Lt. Mary Sue was clearly a parody. :'D However, if you want us to tackle the Sues that existed before there was the label of Mary Sue to brand them with... well, we'd have to find ourselves an old fanzine, for starters.
Let's try to keep in mind that we don't actually 'need' to do any of this - the fandom does not, in this or probably any other reality, actually change the multiverse on a drastic level. We could stop writing missions and MSTs altogether, and Middle-earth would spin on.
Even if the PPC stopped PPCing all together, other people would continue making fun of Sues in other areas, in other ways.
I mean it's fun and kinda morbid to imagine the fanfics affecting the multiverse, but when you get really meta about it - they are just words, and they don't break canon.
They just change other people's perceptions of the fandom.
I think that's what the PPC does - makes sure people don't think badly of fandoms and fanfiction in general.
I suppose. I sorta meant more that it doesn't matter if nobody ever makes fun of Suefics - because, as you said, the words don't actually break the canon. The canon is also just a set of words, really.
I don't know that the PPC is really even making sure people don't think badly of fandoms. Honestly, I don't think we're really here for any serious purpose whatsoever - the number of people who come into contact with fanfiction, contrasted against the number of people who come into contact with us... well, let's just say it's probably fair depressing, if we're honestly trying to make an impact on overall perception of fandom.
Personally, I've always seen the missions, the MSTs, the sporking, and everything else as a way to make each other, and ourselves, laugh at things that might otherwise make us furious or horrified. I think, for me at least, the PPC's always been more about hanging out with like-minded friends than making any real change to the fandom.
(That's why it makes me twitch when the overall response to badfic is "KILL THE EVIL BEAST RAAARGH HULK SMASH PUNY SUE," or the response to missions is "Good job, that REALLY needed to be killed!" Because... it didn't. It could've gone on existing forever with none of us being the wiser. And that's okay! I don't actually want the responsibility of fandomhood on my shoulders.)
...and I'll stop dragging the thread down with lectures now.
if it wasn't for the PPC, I'd still be out there writing badfic. I'd recently received a review that said:
I absolutely LOVED this. And can I just admit something real quick? I knew fanfiction existed (I am honestly kind of new to this whole scene, so, forgive me xD) but I did not know it would so.. well written? So. Kudos all around, on everything. I am glad this was the first fanfic I read!
To me, the PPC simultaneously helps me laugh and let loose at badfic and improve my own writing. In my own experience, it's helped me contribute to the better half of fandom, therefore my position on the matter. ;D
I plan to work in the Star Trek division of the DMS.
However, I kind of want to leave those unsporked. A memorial to Suefics.
If I can find them, of course.
All right, here is my actual response to your post. I've been busy, with sporadic Internet access, so I wanted to wait until I had some time to sit down and really come up with my ideas. It's probably overkill, but I'm splitting this into two parts--the canon and the fandom.
Star Trek Canon 101
There are five television series and eleven (twelve in May) movies that are part of Star Trek, as well as games and novels. The series are, in order of air date: Star Trek (called The Original Series, abbreviated TOS), Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9), Star Trek: Voyager (usually just Voyager, but sometimes VOY), and Star Trek: Enterprise (usually just Enterprise, but sometimes ENT). The first six movies deal with TOS, the seventh is a canon crossover of TOS and TNG, the next three are TNG and the eleventh is the reboot movie that came out in 2009.
The Trekverse is a hypothetical future, where Earth is united and part of the United Federation of Planets, an organization dedicated to peace between all its members. Its military/exploratory organization is called Starfleet, and most major characters are officers in Starfleet. The series focus on Starfleet ships and in DS9's case, space station. The Trekverse is populated with a wide range of aliens, the most famous of which are the stoic and highly logical Vulcans. There are horrific and mind-boggling sci-fi dangers, but overall, Star Trek is a positive view of the future. Just look at the words of the opening of TNG:
Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise, its continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.
A brief overview of each series:
TOS: The famous one with Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock, its premise was simply a ship exploring space. It created modern fandom, despite running for only three seasons with an incredibly limited budget.
TNG: Like TOS, it focused on the adventures of an Enterprise, only a hundred years later, so the ship is actually the Enterprise-D. The second most famous, it introduced recurring Star Trek concepts such as the Borg and Q. Its captain, Jean-Luc Picard, has contributed his facepalm to Internet memes, and created the split among Trekkies of Kirk vs. Picard. It ran for seven seasons.
DS9: Set aboard a space station instead of a starship, it had a long, overarching storyline and more focus on emotional relationships than any other series. Consequently, fans are split, with some loving it and some hating it. The only Star Trek series with a black captain. It ran for seven seasons.
Voyager: Focuses on the adventures of the starship Voyager when it is thrown 70,000 light-years from Federation space and has to make the supposedly 70-year journey home (though, like TNG and DS9, it ran for seven seasons). It was the only series with a female captain, Kathryn Janeway. Also famous for Seven of Nine, a character that somehow managed to be drop-dead gorgeous and an interesting, well-rounded character. Voyager also, curiously enough, has the most fanfiction on fanfiction.net of all the Star Trek series.
Enterprise: Set chronologically before TOS, it details the voyages of the first ship called Enterprise, which is exploring the galaxy with literally no idea what's out there. It only ran for four seasons, and, like DS9, the fandom is split on its quality.
Fandom coming tomorrow!
I thought it would be a good idea amoungst you guys. Good to know some people would take it, even if they are not in my school. Fun fact, when I brought up my idea with some of my frends, three of them asked, "What's a fandom?" So disapointed.
Anyway, Sherlock... well, it seems on the rise with it's modern incarnations, but Bob (my english teacher, we go by first names in our school) would kill me if I did not have them look at the books, which might be possable, but... Well, you understand my hesitation. Still, I have seen good things from that fandom. I'll absolutely give it some thought, and we shall see.
I suggest looking at ACD, Granada, RDJ, BBC, and CBS - ACD's the originals, of course, and Granada's the closest you'll get to ACD in a television series. RDJ is more action-movie oriented, BBC is more cerebral, and CBS is like if Sherlock Holmes was a police procedural.
Also, if you have time, check out the Great Mouse Detective, either in book form by Eve Titus or the Disney film. The Disney adaptation is loads of fun.
I loved the great mouse detective as a kid. Unfoutunately, not exactly apropriate for what I am wanting to present in the class. Still, oh the nostalgia! Never knew it was in book form though, I'm going to have to find that.
Thanks for the Holmes suggestions, though I must ask about the fandom. Where can I get information on them? Fanfic, fan art, music, fannon and otherwise, because that is half of the point of the exersise.
Thanks for the help!
And the Baker Street Babes, too.
For BBC-specific information there is The Final Problem, which specialises in hosting theories about the last episode of the second series (and other fun things).
For BBC's most popular ship, John/Sherlock, there is F*ck Yeah Johnlock Fanfic, which has been known to turn lesser-known fanfiction writers in the fandom into BNFs. Also tends to reblog and review a lot of works by BBC Sherlock fandom's BNFs like madlori, abundantlyqueer, reapersun, etc.
However, there are some where it's a case of your kink is not my kink, and there is one Sherlock/LotR fanfic they reviewed where they claimed the author knew their Tolkien stuff when said author was using Grelvish (it was, for me, a good fi...il the elves started speaking Grelvish, and I will admit that was what got me to write my own Rings/Sherlock crossover because I could not read any more of that).
They generally give lower grades to the ones that fall under the YKINMK category though.
I am screaning all fan work before even considering the consideration of presenting it to students.
As for board censorship, at least it's not that bad. At least the bord has not gained sentience and starts [REMAINDER OF MESSAGE REDACTED]
The Board is just feeling a bit trollish today. ^.^
Google that third link using the full-on curseword. You'll find it.
Talk about a meeting of minds. I go to HB Woodlawn! Alternative education rocks. You guys have a more comprehensive Wikipedia page than us though. Ours barely covers the school. Time to rectify that...
Honestly, several stellerites go to other schools for sports or a particular class, and I hear nothing but how bad the other schools are. Cry for our common school attendees. Cry for them.
...I remember my old school's Wikipedia page being used to cyber-bully people, bash other schools, and make sex jokes.
*Sighs*
Why?
Why can't we have nice things anymore?
Why can't we be friends? Why can't weeee be frieeends?
I know what you mean though. Still, my school is full of the nicest, most accepting people I know, so we don't have that stupidity. If it does show up, the students are the ones who punish the most severely, and not with violence, but shame. We don't tolerate that kind of behavior.
As far as the fandoms you've already got go, I can only offer one other website for MLP:FiM, and that's FiMFiction.net It's a fanwork site, and I think you can upload pictures as well as fanfics, but I've only seen the writing side, so...
Now, for fandoms (you say you need two more?), since you've listed series, I would offer Naruto, Dragonball, ThunderCats
Also, WHY DO I NOT ATTEND THIS SCHOOL GRAHR.
The greatest success (and curse if you are the wrong type of person) of the school is the idea of "Responsible Freedom," that students are not mindless sniveling morons that need to be hand-held to do anything. Want to skip class? Sure, go ahead, BUT, be ready for the consequences of those actions later. That is the strongest part of our mentality, on the whole: Do as you feel you need to do, but be ready to accept the downfalls thereof. If you want to be jealous more later, the school's name is Steller Secondary. Google it, read the by-laws, and see why Steller is best school.
As for MLP:FiM, I know all the important fan-sites, even some non fan sites. Other than Fanfic, I know what I am doing with that particular fandom, so don't worry about that. I need material from the other fandoms, because I don't know them too well. Is there a large fan site for Star Wars that focuses on fan works, or do you lot know fan works I can reference for the other fandoms.
Oh. Anime. Well, I suppose they SHOULD be represented, sheesh, now I feel bad. Still, I'm not the biggest fan of anime, but they are a HUGE fandom in their own right. OK, I think it's going to be an anime series of some kind, probably Naruto, but feel free to suggest others. Oh, though the co-teacher LOVES ThunderCats, new and old, so perhaps that should be it... Go ahead and suggest other series, I got to think.
Bleach, InuYasha, Blood+, Vampire Knight, Hetalia, Fruits Basket, and Alichino.
Except I think Alichino may only be in manga format...
(Before anyone asks, I dabble in the above fandoms - Naruto spellchecks to Nefertiti, apparently and Dragonball Z are the big ones as far as anime/manga goes...)
Lemme add a few: Code Geass, Princess Mononoke, Claymore, Gunm...
Ooh, and Fate/ Stay Night, if you've ever wondered what would bappen if Medea of Colchis, Gilgamesh, Cu Chulainn, and a genderbent King Arthur got in a fight. I recommend it highly. I don't usually watch anime, but Fate is a huge exception. I expect Lielac'll probably agree, if/when she sees this.
Owwie....ooh, pretty stars...who are you again?
I gave Riese amnesia! Here, maybe these OuchMouses will help! -throws OuchMouses at Riese-
Also, do you have a DeviantART account?
I have an account, yes. Do I have any Deviations yet? Not so much. If you're looking for stuff I've written, I can link you a Google Doc of an old, old Metroid Fusion fic I'm currently re-writing. I'm actually kind of proud of it.
Ooh, link please? :D
I made it so you can view and comment. If you see something you think needs fixing, or is dumb, or is awesome, please please PLEASE comment. Seriously. I NEED HELP WRITING THIS. I have worked on it for too long, my eyes are nowhere near fresh.
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-BcIadIBNQtaG5KbVQxbno4LWM
and egad is it bad. I wrote a fair amount of it with dictation software, leaving typos multifarious. Let me repeat - this is not representative of my current writing. I'll have an updated version soon...ish.
Like, you talk into a microphone and the words type themselves?
So far, the punctuation is the only thing I see that needs any polishing. I'm not familiar with the canon, but this looks really interesting.
Also, what's your DA?
Me talk, kompooter type. Useful as hell - knocked out a 1,000-word essay in 17 minutes flat.
Yankeeflyboy
Too bad I'm about as coherent as a dead fish when I verbalize...
Yankeeflyboy? Im'ma try not to giggle, but that's a silly screen name! :D
-dumps a vat of Sue blood on Riese-
Now there's glitter everywhere. Gah, this is going to take forever to clean up...
Well, you did tell me to Sue you...
I like puns.
MUAHAHAHAHA.
Judge: Err, yes, Mr. Edgeworth?
Edgeworth: That was...objectionable!
Give me a when and a what, love. I'm ready to go.
Miles Edgeworth, please attempt to contain your foolish outbursts!I love Franziska so much~
Probably after I finish killing 'deputy's heart'; it looks like it's finally stopped updating... At least for now. Once I finish that, Im'ma do a few holiday specials for Halloween, Christmas, and possibly Thanksgiving. We could cowrite those, maybe?
Can you use videogames? Maybe show some play-through clips with no commentary (such things do exist, mercifully...)? Or do you want to stick to television mediums?
...and Let's Play's COULD work (knowing you, you're suggesting warcraft. Not that I mind, I like warcraft, I'm just... Oh, I'm not saying things right...) I just did not think of them. The only problem with Let's Play's is that most of them have the player talking through most of what they are doing, which while fine on it's own, but is not the best for teaching about a video game to those who know nothing about it. If you happen to know a seres that is just a guy playing the game silently, that would actually open up video games, but otherwise... I have to think...
Am I that obvious? ^////^
Anyway, I have found play through videos for raids - lots of player-to-player interaction in those, because everyone needs to be choreographed, so to speak. If those don't work, I'll see if I can find quiet videos for you. :)
I've read your missions and intermediary... things before I ever introduced myself. How is Firebrand doing stuck in a small dorm while his owner is off killing Mary Sues? On a side note, read Fallout Equestria yet?
Now that strange jarring of memory is over with, to the point! Oh, that would be wonderfull if you could find those. If I could show a video game, that would round up the five nicely, and warcraft has such an... interesting fandom at times. So diverse, conficting player stiles and personalities mashed together in a strange, nerdy mass. Yes, I would love to take a stab at warcraft if I can. Or any other video game (minus call of duty or modern warfare, cant stand them) would be nice.
...at this rate I'm going to need a full class period to teach this! Ah well, keep suggesting, the diversity helps!
(Not that I'm necessarily to blame, I've been dreaming of Black Friday sales lately...)
Firebrand is getting bored with a capital B. I know how I want to address that, but it makes me sad, so I've decided to write a few more missions before I do it. For the sake of my feels, you know.
No, still haven't read Fallout Equestria yet - that slipped my mind, too.
Warcraft nerds are amazing... which, as I consider myself a WoW nerd, sounds egotistical. Who cares? I kill psychotic Blues! (Yes, I'm still stuck in Northrend...)
I did manage to find a few silent play through videos for you. Hopefully some of them work.
-- Ragnaros Dungeon
-- "To Be Horde" -- Stonetalon Mountains quest for Horde players
-- Joining the Alliance - Mists of Pandaria beta testing
I also found a few cinematics, in case you want to show more than just gameplay (although these are all in-game cinematics, unlocked by the completion of certain quests):
-- Mists of Pandaria beta - Battle of Serpent's Heart
-- Wrath of the Lich King - The Wrathgate
-- Cataclysm - Deepholm Entry Cinematic
And one fan video, because I found this yesterday and wish to plug it:
Jace Hall, "I Play WoW"
If you need more or anything, I be happy to look. :D
Um, kitty. Black Friday has been over for a while...
No, dont tell me he's going to LEAVE! That would be beyond sad, but if pulled off right, could be a truly pivotal moment in your series. Then again, how boring can it be when you got a miniture being of Chaos? Still, if Firebrand leaves, I imagine Veralin will develop a taste for rosted Sunflower seads, if you catch my drift. Jumper may well join her.
(You know Jumper is just a stand in right? I'm not actualy going to be named Jumper right? Right?)
Of corse. Still, my point is, the SO needs to watch himself.
Well, take your time, when you read it is when you read it. Just remember: it is an AU fic, and hold jugement untill about five or six chapters. I dont want you to dismiss it too soon, though I can see where you would not be a fan. It is defiantly not for everyone.
Pfft, Northrend. Totaly did everything in that oversized glacier. Totaly.
(What are you talking about, you dont even HAVE WoW, forget slaying Arthas.)
Shush you!
(Never.)
Thanks for all the videos though, they are defanantely a help. If I do deside to use Warcraft, WoW or the RTS games, I'll be sure to let you know. As it is, I have plenty of other fandoms to look at.
(So many interesting fandoms, so little time.)
Preaching to the choir man.
Thanks for the help. If you got any other fan material you want to pimp, just send it over. I have plenty, but more is always apriciated.
I know, but I've been doing so much Christmas shopping this year that it feels like Black Friday never ended! (Plus, I was born and raised in a city of 25,000 people and now live in a city of well over 50,000. Light traffic down here is rush-hour traffic on a school day up in Ukiah!)
Well... That's where I think things are headed - though, you're right, with Flutteryshy around things are never too boring! But that's why I'm waiting until Caroline and Veralyn have completed a few more missions; my hope is that I'll either stumble upon a better idea than, "later, pal," or I'll give myself an idea while writing something totally unrelated. At the moment, though, Firebrand may be looking at a parting of ways - and that makes me sad.
Although, no matter what I decide, I feel quite certain that Firebrand won't be ordered away by any of the Flowers That Be. If he does have to leave, I think it will be because Veralyn finally realizes he's better off in an environment where he isn't stuck hours or even days at a time waiting around in an RC while she gallivants about through the different continua and fights Sues and other canonemies with a human instead of him.
Which will make me cry.
Er, you do realize Northrend has some rather un-icy parts, too, yes? I mean, the Sholazar Basin is basically a tropical jungle...
(Ah, I see I'm not the only one who argues with my OCs! Yay~!)
Yesh, I notice a couple of fandoms up there. Oh well - if you use it and need anything, just ask! (I also know of a bunch of fanfictions and some fanart - I'm not obsessed at all.)