So, I had a bee in my bonnet earlier this week (it's still buzzing away, just a little bit quieter now). I'm one of several people lamenting the lack of love for vampires in what should be a vampire-centric fandom so I decided to collect some evidence of a trend that I was perceiving to see whether I was seeing it all wrong.

Apparently not.

For those of you who have any kind of research background, here is my (sketchy) methodology: I made a poll and posted it on 3 fandom communities. The polls have been up for about a week now. You can see below the number of votes cast and how this breaks down for each result. The sample sizes actually aren't bad so could be taken to be a good representation of the fandom as a whole (although guessing how many people are in the (fic-reading) fandom is a difficult one). The questions were made up on the spot after some wine so probably could be phrased better and maybe more options were needed. There's a reason I'm not a scientist, okay?

Poor vampires. There are more people who will only read All Human than only read AU/mostly read AU combined. If you add up the mainly AH/only AH you have over 50% of the fandom. Ouch.

I did get told that if I asked more wolfpack-centric communities that the results might be less skewed in the human direction, but I don't even know the names of any of those communities.

This result is actually a little more positive. I've heard a lot of people talking about how they will only read completed stories because of the high rate of fics being abandoned/pulled, but 3% is a tiny number. Okay, 27% will only break that rule for rare exceptions but I'm willing to bet those exceptions actually aren't that rare.

This result is a mixed bag. On the surface, it looks like a lot of people are still leaning towards M, and one would presume this is because of the likelihood of smut in an M rating. However, the commentary I've read is that people prefer M because they expect a certain level of maturity and themes in the writing, not just mature content. This is apparently peculiar to the Twilight fandom, but we still have a majority who will read any rating. Perhaps over time we will see the number of people reading other ratings growing.

I think I'm going to redo this poll in a few months time to see if the result has changed. My prediction would be that, unless there is an acceleration in the number of pulled fics, the results for poll no 2 will be very similar, more people will be flexible with ratings; and the trend towards All Human fics will have grown even further.

Hey, I never said I was an optimist.

If you read this, come inside and discuss with me!!! :-)

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6380184/1/End_Island

I have MORE VIP authors for y'all.

omg--you'd think it's like Christmas around here or something.

Please come on in and welcome and say hi to the following:

Starshinedown author of My Love Shall Ever Live Young  

Anais Mark author of Metaphysics 

Angelgoddess1981 author of Making Memories of Us

Sun King author of Brave

Mothlights author of BRONZE

We're so glad to have you here!!!

Okay this campfire is not really about Peanut M & M's, but kind of.  I want to know about little insignificant things that have been powerful and meaningful things to you at a time when you needed some comfort.  Let me give you an example of something that happened to me today. 

My husband and I are close friends with a couple who have four kids.  The couple is a bit older than us and their kids are a bit younger than us.  So it's kind of like they are older siblings to us and their kids are like younger siblings to us.  Saturday night, their 19 year old daughter died in her sleep of an epileptic seizure.  She was a wonderful girl and was very loved by many people.  She just got married about 6 months ago and it is all incredibly heartbreaking. 

Anyway, many people have been coming together to try and help the family in any way we can.  This morning I went to the store to pick up a few things they needed.  My husband told me to throw in some Peanut M & M's.  We both used to work in grief counseling and there is something healing about chocolate for people who are grieving.  So he randomly suggested Peanut M & M's.  I went to the parents' house and gave the father the shopping bag, he took it without looking inside, gave me a hug, and thanked me.  I went back out to my car and he came running out, eyes red, with the bag, holding the peanut m & m's. 

He said "How did you know about the Peanut M & M's?" I just looked at him and shook my head and said "I didn't." He then told me as he started to cry that EVERY year on his birthday his daughter gave him Peanut M & M's.  He thanked me and said that it was a birthday present for him.

I have had a few experiences like this in my life and I do not believe they happen by coincedence.  In these times nothing can take the pain away; nothing can fix it.  But sometimes it is the little things that bring moments of reprieve, or little bits of comfort and I am wanting to hear your stories about small things that have made a big impact on you.  The seemingly insignificant things that have spoken to you in a powerful way maybe when you needed comfort. 

Campfire approved by GAW

So, a few weeks ago I was introduced to the blog that dissects the writing of Stephenie Meyer. Now from time to time, I enjoy reading the blog because it points out funny little mistakes. In the beginning I was drawn to it because it is different, it's funny, it's unique.

However, recently I've run across a few things that made me feel they're a bit mean and well, ironic in there critique.

Especially because the person behind the blog vehemently rebukes anyone who challenges her...the thing is, she displays this condescending attitude towards the series and alright, yes Twilight's not fantastic but to be so above it all? Unneccessary? Or just trying to play off the popularity?

...Which made me think, when does mocking/poking fun at/critiquing Twilight and Twihards go too far? Why should we feel ashamed/hide our love for the novel [ok, I sound a bit loopy here...but just bare with me]. Discuss.

[ps. My exact problem is posted in comments]

You guys know how to play this, right?

You post funny videos, pictures, gifs, etc with the intent of making other people laugh. If they laugh, they lose.

i dare you not to laugh at this.

p.s. this is NOT the second game.

This is my first campfire, so I thought I'd ask about something I love.

Angst... I love it, and to put a twist on the quote from Edward Cullen's mouth - “It's like my life now." Well, it has been for quite some time, so that quote really doesn't work...

Anyway, what are your favourite angsty fics right now?

I read a lot, so if you could rec me some of the less obvious stories out there, that would be wonderful.

Also, Bella and Edward pairings only please as I'm a non-canon wuss.

For your time:

So, I'm a canon relationship kind of gal--I like Bella with Edward, Jasper with Alice, Rosalie with Emmett, and Esme with Carlisle.  That's just how I roll.  This doesn't mean I haven't dabbled with any other couplings (in fact Scotch, Gin, and the New Girl, here in the Forest, made me almost reverse my preferences in favor of La Bella and Jasper), I just tend to think that the canon couples make the most sense.

That said, I have a little brain twister for everyone out there involving the vampire biting metaphor, Jasper almost making good on the threat, and the Cullens' reactions it it.

Full scenario in comments....

This is what google brings up for "sexy vamp" after you disregard all the slutty looking women in bad Halloween costumes.

Please come and join us Rangers in welcoming our newest ADF VIP authors! (Part I) Part 2 is coming tomorrow night!

Introducing............

*Denverpopcorn-author of "Drift" and other stories

*Caligula42-author of "Irritable Grizzly Adams"

*Tkegl-author of "Just One of the Boys"

*helenahjay-author of "That Pain to Miss"

Believe It or Not- author of "The Path We Chose"

*Derdriu oFaolain-author of "Clockwork"

*saltire884-author of  " Pistols and Petticoats"

IdPattThat-author of "Secrets, Lies and Family Ties"

*ShortHappyLife-author of  "A Room With A View"

*OhMyWord-author of "Rosyln House"

*Suitablyironicmoniker-author of  Incunabula Or: The Golden Legend

Let's give them the best ADF welcome we can! This has been the best holiday season ever and we are so grateful and excited to have them here with us!

I  just  gotta talk to people about it. Did anyone see that coming? Did ya guise? I didn't at alll!!!! OHEMGEE I'm going crazy over this updte. Yer guise some one get in here to talk to me about it pretty please. Alot of stuff happened and I didn't expect any of it. Did anyone reading it did?

STOLEN SOULS UPDATE!!!!

If yer not reading it what are you waiting for its the best story out there right nao. Go read it guise that way you can come talk to me about it! Where's Naya get her butt in here too, shes got some explaining to do!!!!!!!

NEED A BANNER?

HOSTED BY

The Twilight Awards is giving away banners!

During the next few weeks, Twific writers can send us their information, and our Graphics Team will be creating banners to help showcase their fanfiction stories. We have no idea how many people will sign up, of course, so we can't promise that we'll be able to make banners for everyone, but we'll make as many as we can. And rather than base our choice of recipients on the number of reviews, perceived popularity of an author, or even the pairing in the story, we're just going to be randomly drawing names and "filling orders." We'll be posting those banners right on our site as well, along with links to the stories they illustrate, and who knows? Maybe a nice visual is all it will take to pick up a couple of more loyal readers!

Click HERE to check out all the banners that have been made so far, and click HERE to Sign Up!

All banners, along with summaries and links can be found on the main page of The Twilight Awards site. 

*this post was approved by the amazing GAW

I got the Ranger O-kay to post this a while back so I hope it's all right, I also promised to post a pic of Rob scarfing some food to keep it ADF friendly ;)

Sooo, I feel like a proud mama today! We (my best friend, who i like to call life partner, cuz really if I liked girls and or had a penis I might put a ring on it and make it official.) launched our NYC food review blog today!

Check it out here

It's raunchy, and bitchy, and funny, and I love it so much it makes my heart hurt a bit!

We hope to revamp it a couple times in the future once we get super used to Wordpress, and FYI we will be updating it every Monday with new reviews, and every Wednesday with a few snarky sentences we've dubbed "Mid-week Musings"

So look at it, tell me what you think, and thanks for letting me ramble on a non FFAF! For your time:

Find ADF's wintery forest background

Last year it was Ranger Emibella's backyard covered in snow, can you top that?

It doesn't have to be a personal photo (meaning, you don't have to actually take the picture yourself!)but don't waste our time or yours by posting an image that we can find on the first few pages of Google images. We want something DIFFERENT and you can only post ONE image per person (makes it a bit tougher) and if someone posts an image you wanted to-well that's too bad-you have to find another one.

And the prize?

Yea-I told ya we were going to rock your world! Now start rocking ours!

here is a map of the timezones so you can calculate the open hours of competition wherever you are in the world.

submissions go in this post.

If you have questions or comments about this contest, please post them in the announcement post below. We will keep both stickied!

Do not comment for the sake of commenting. This post is for final submissions only!

NOW GET BUSY!

CONTEST CLOSES AT 2PM(EST) TOMORROW.

Last Year's Background:

THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED, THANK YOU.

WELCOME TO

HI! Because this is ADF and we do things "differently" ;) around here, Christmas doesn't end on the 25th! That's right folks-Christmas will continue through the end of the year!

During this time, we will unveil 12 different contests. They will run for 24 hours so that everyone from around the world can participate! The first one is coming within the next hour so get ready.

And did I mention that we are giving away prizes? Not keychains, guys, but eye-popping, OMG GIMME GIMME prizes!

* RANGERS CANNOT PARTICIPATE AS THEY WILL BE JUDGING EACH CONTEST!

Do you write fan fiction?

Give us a little peek!

Post excerpts from your upcoming chapters here!

~ Don't forget to include a link to your story! ~

This was an awesome start to my Monday morning.

Robert Pattinson Once Dreamed of Being a Rapper

The British actor, who is best known for portraying vampire Edward Cullen in ‘The Twilight Saga,’ was “obsessed” with Eminem as a teenager and made recordings of himself performing his own composition.

He said, “You want a secret? OK, how about this – I’ve got a whole collection of tapes of me rapping from when I was 13! I wanted to be a rapper so there are hundreds and hundreds of tapes. They’re very amusing!

“I was obsessed with Eminem when I was younger. When he first came out I was about 12 and fanatical about his ‘Slim Shady’ CD. I think he’s a genius.”

The 24-year-old star even had his own “crew” but admits his lyrics were less-than-authentic.

He explained to Top of the Pops magazine, “Most of my rhymes were stolen off other people anyway. They were all like, ‘I was raised on these streets..’, which was a complete farce because I was actually raised in quite a nice area of London called Barnes. Not very ghetto at all!

“I was obsessed with it all, though. I even had my own little crew – we called ourselves Big Tub and the Tappy Cats.”

Robert has previously recorded tracks for the ‘Twilight’ soundtracks but insists he has no plans to move into music full time.

He said, “I’m a bit of an attention seeker – I love being on stage. But the thought of performing music on stage terrifies me. I’m not scared of acting though.”

However, if the chance came to perform with rapper Eminem, Robert would jump at the chance.

He said, “I’d love to rap with Eminem! That would be really amazing.”

Source

I'm pretty this article is BS but it's so awesome I couldn't not share it.  So what do you think his rapper name would/should be?
 

RPatz?  Pattinswizzle?  R-D-O-Double-G?

The last chapter of Mens Rea. Who has read it? Come let's comfort each other. Don't forget to bring the kleenex.

ADF's 12 days of Christmas Extravaganza starts tomorrow

and we just got finished voting on the winter VIP authors (which will be announced tomorrow, too!)

WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED FOR?

eep! I forgot to post the news til now! Sorry! Next week, someone ping me or something lol

• A Matter of Trust by quietruby
• A Summer in Forks by AshletD
• Duty and Desire by Aspenleaf
• Explosive Encounters by shadowcat2009
• For the Love of Alice by Isannah
• From the McCarty Files: The Poisoned Cup by javamomma0921
• Harvest Moon by content1
• Love and Other Lies by BookWorm4Life17
• Need You Now by bellasunderstudy1
• Over, Under & Through by StupidSuckedinReader
• Privileged by Nostalgicmiss
• Russian Roulette by LuckyStar815
• Surviving Bella by Savage7289
• There Will be Blood by johnnyboy7
• Twilight Reflected in Brown Eyes by mcgt
• Vanity and Patience by achelle131
• You, Me and The Baby Make Three by sarah8989
• Zenith by Majesta Moniet

Did you recently mark your fic Complete? Let us know about it by filling out this form.

Voting for Naughty Nice Holiday Contest Ends

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Voting for Trading Yesterday's Anonymous O/S Contest Ends

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The rest of the week inside the comments

We'll post this campfire every week, as long as ya'll like it. You can check www.twificnews.com for new stuff that's added. Thanks ♥

Got a contest or an event to add to the calendar? Click Here to fill out the appropriate form or email twicharmed@twificnews.com please.