Reposted from my main blog with a few tiny alterations.

Ive seen WAMmers talk about gunge like this great unspeakable thing that no non-WAMmer could ever appreciate in the slightest. In my experience, this simply isnt the case. Of course, doing it wrong will end badly for everyone involved. However, talking about gunge and gunge-related things is not difficult. It just needs to be done in the right way. Luckily, Ive got a few tips which should get you all along the right path. I cannot claim any scientific backing for these tips, these are all just things Ive done which have produced favourable results when talking about gunge.

The first tip Id suggest is to not bring gunge up out of nowhere. Dont make it the thing that starts the conversation. At best youll get some funny looks. Find a way to link gunge to your current discussion.

Im going to take one example from my life recently, which was at a cosplayer meetup. The group had split into two smaller groups, the larger of which went around the shops in the city centre. The other one was the one I was in, which basically just chilled in the park and chatted about various geeky things, as we do at these things. Animation, videogames, comic books and music. Specifically, we talked (for the most part) about Japanese music acts such as Babymetal and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, favourite songs, the possibility of seeing said acts when they visit the UK, music videos, etc. It was taking about Kyarys videos that provided the link to gunge.

Those who followed my Music Monday series on TellyGunge may recall the video for Kyarys song Fashion Monster. Those that dont will shortly be able to find it in the video archive. Long and short of it, just over four minutes into the video, Kyary gets showered with pink ooze. We then brainstormed the idea (in jest mainly, admittedly) that some of the girls could dress in replicas of the costumes from some of Kyarys videos at an upcoming convention, and that the one who did Fashion Monster could get pink gunge dropped on her at some point, sort of like in the video. The reaction the idea got was actually positive.

Another example was at work one time when my supervisor and one of the other workers were sharing unusual, useless facts to try and pass the time on a very uneventful shift. I shared the fact that the food thickening agent in McDonaldss shakes is the same stuff that was used to make gunge on some TV shows.

My final example would be at a festival I was at last year. Id been drinking and chilling out at one of the bars after the bands were finished when I was invited to join a group to go to one of the DJ sets. We talked about various festivals wed been to, and I mentioned how Id been at Download in 2012, where someone got gunged. One of the girls I was with said shed have loved to do it, and we had a bit of a nostalgia trip about old TV shows which featured gunge such as GYOB.

As you can see, turning the conversation topic towards gunge isnt difficult and can sometimes act as a great ice-breaker. In my examples, I brought up the time Kyary had been gunged in the first one, shared an unusual and useless piece of trivia that just happened to be about gunge in the second, and used an anecdote to get a conversation about gunge going in the third. This isnt even an exhaustive list of ways to do it, and I actively encourage you to work out more!

So, youve figured out a way to swing the topic of conversation towards gunge. The next obstacle is doing it, and theres not a lot I can really advise you on what to do other than be confident and comfortable. After all, if youre a bundle of nerves then youll never really do it. If you have an issue with confidence, theres plenty of advice out there to help you conquer that. Hopefully this very post will help with it, since youll have at least a bare bones idea of what to say and do.

What I will say is keep it innocent. If youre making it blatantly obvious that youre talking about your fetish, youll likely blow it straight up. Theres nothing wrong with saying something like Katy Perry looked great when she got covered in slime, but phrase it like that rather than in any sexually explicit way. Youre not on a fetish site, and the others around you dont share your kink (as far as you know at least). Even if they did, they wont like the sudden shift in tone from everyday conversation to one person sharing their deepest, darkest fantasies. Finally, for the love of whatever deity, do not even consider uttering the term WAM.

Furthermore, the idea of gunge even being a sexual thing may go without saying in the WAM community, but the perception of gunge outside of it is very different. Non-WAMmers view gunge as a comedic tool, with a slapstick/humiliation vibe so expect your conversation about gunge to be light-hearted in nature. Take any expressions of a willing to get gunged with a pinch of salt, and dont take someone saying theyd be up for getting gunged in a particular setting to mean theyd be up for it in any setting. Im sure I dont need to point out that Noels House Party is not the same thing as Gunge Tank Girls.

You also need to be prepared to let the topic of gunge go once its run its course. Conversations change topic from time to time. It happens. Trying to press the topic when everyone else has moved on wont work. Sometimes you can get lucky and have a great conversation about it, as I did at that festival that one time, but that was just one time. Im sure the fact wed been drinking probably helped anyway.

The final step is in my opinion the second most important after step two. Some people dont like gunge or just dont care about it, so you may be left disappointed. Be ready for that disappointment, and respect the other persons feelings. Dont try and find out why (sometimes theyll tell you anyway) or convince them theyre wrong, since youll only annoy them. Theres more to life than mess, so just let the subject of gunge go and find some other common ground. If theres no other common ground, move on.

I also have one last tip which, while it isnt necessary, could help talking about gunge with people other than people youd like to see covered in it, such as men (assuming youre a straight man or a lesbian) or even family members. I will admit that this seems really creepy, but its a great way of practicing tip 3. After all, youre directly confronting the dichotomy of talking about something you find sexual with people you would never talk about such things with. Youve placed yourself in a position where youve got to bring it up, but in a way thats not awkward. Of course, to even attempt that youd need to have tip 2 down.

In short, the steps are:

Link it back to the conversation.
Be confident.
Keep it innocent.
Expect a light-hearted conversation.
Dont press the topic.
Be prepared for disappointment.

If even one person finds this useful, Ill be so happy. Best of luck to all of you, readers!