233.

[peaked]

snowflake_challenge #7: In your own space, tell us about 3 fandom resources, spaces, or communities you use or enjoy. (One or two is fine, especially if you're in a smaller fandom!)

Let's see if I can keep this one short…

I've been enjoying listening to podcasts on Spotify lately. The ones that I've enjoyed include:

• DIRECTIONALLY CHALLENGED WITH CANDICE KING AND KAYLA EWELL. If you know me, you know I absolutely love The Vampire Diaries, so it should be predictable that I'd listen to these two. I prefer their episodes that are about lifestyle and mental health. They're great interviewers and have a great dynamic.

• DRAMA QUEENS WITH SOPHIA BUSH, BETHANY JOY LENZ, AND HILARIE BURTON. This has been such a wild ride listening to these three women recount their experiences on a toxic work set, how they stood up for themselves at such a young age, and breaking down storylines. I appreciate how they break down some very concerning storylines and character decisions. Some fans don't appreciate it because it tears into their favourite show from time to time, but I think it's important to look at old media we once consumed and that did impact people shaping their identities and question it. They, of course, bring up many positive things and praise the series as well.

• INSIDE OF YOU WITH MICHAEL ROSENBAUM is fun to listen to. I listen to it solely for Smallville deets and he does interview some of my favourite actors, like Sophia Bush and Charisma Carpenter.

• THE SHIT NO ONE TELLS YOU ABOUT WRITING WITH BIANCA MARAIS, CARLY WATTERS AND CECE LYRA has been so interesting to listen to. I know writing is completely subjective, so not every piece of advice works, but I enjoy listening to Bianca's accent (she's South African and so easy to listen to) and really enjoy how prepared she is in asking her questions. I've gained some useful information that I use now when writing.

• SO YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER WITH VALERIE KHOO AND ALLISON TAIT is an Australian podcast that I enjoy listening to. They have great Q&As and do readings of new releases. I like listening to it especially because it's Australian!

And then some blogs for those who don't like podcasts or may have their podcast calendar already full…

These are not all the writing resources I follow, but they're the ones I can find easily on my Tumblr posts rn:

• ao3commentoftheday is a great resource for community advice on writing, although I can sometimes take it or leave it. I do appreciate that community members do give each other advice and validation, and that the blog does reblog this. It's a great starting point imo.

• bettsfic posts really great writing resources and advice. I find that she has really great advice on how to write profic and fanfic and have found a lot of her tactics invaluable.

Last, but not least, mental health accounts that I've really valued finding include:

• positiveseed is a new blog and a great resource for mental health reminders. When I feel a little blue, I like seeing them on my feed reminding me that I'm awesome.

• selfcare_journey is another great blog that focuses on giving people tips on how to validate themselves and mental health resources. This was a great find.

Other great accounts include…

myselflovesupply • doodledwellness • myeasytherapy • anxietyhealer

I follow a lot of great positive mental health accounts on Instagram, but those are just the ones I've recently saved posts from. I find that their posts are great reminders and conversation starters, and find that they validate my experiences and even some of my tactics in trying to overcome my own mental health woes. By no means are these accounts fix-its, but they provide great explanations and thought starters for people to do their own research and may help them begin a conversation with their mental health providers.

I know that they're not fan communities per se, but I always find that fandom is a great space to find mental health resources and tactics because a lot of people are so kind and generous in sharing resources and posts that helped them get through a tough time and also their own personal stories. I've had a lot of people over my 10+ years in fandom share their stories with me in the hopes of helping me work through my own mental health struggles, and I can only hope that I can pay it forward and this helps someone else.

Comments

[peaked]

(I thought I had replied to this, but clearly I wrote it in my brain and did not press send!)

I think a lot of fans forget that Hilarie, Sophia and Bethany are proud of what they've created, too. I don't think they would be doing this podcast and rewatching the show if all they felt was disgust and shame over this project. Sophia took control of Brooke and turned her from a vapid caricature into a multifaceted woman, for one! She's so proud of the character and what she means to others. I'm sure Bethany and Hilarie feel the same way about Haley and Peyton. I think fans just forget that they're allowed to hate episodes and be triggered, too.

I did do some reading on Hilarie's experience with He Who Shall Not Be Named and I am honestly surprised that she has any kind words to say about OTH. It's very clear to me that Peyton Sawyer means a lot to her beyond Voldemort.

[wearing_tearing]

Exactly!

It did break my heart during one of the DQ episodes when Hilarie talked about how much Peyton suffered, all the time, and the kind of toll that took on her own body/mental health and how she came to associate her years on the show with trauma because of that. And yet it's so clear that she loves the show and what it brought her.