#I'm a big proponent of adult culpability

[junithys]

Passing Thoughts 1

This blog is pretty much an op-ed piece where I talk about random things that I have thought and/or written about in my diary — may make a PART 2 in the future if I decide to talk about miscellaneous topics again. Mostly involving anime, because as most of you know — I'm a really big nerd. Though I am less into review-writing as I used to be, partially due to the fact that I have dabbled in art and animation, so it is harder for me to be impartially critical when I know how difficult the work is.

I heard an episode of the Anime World Order podcast a long time ago, where Mr. Surat said that if you love anime enough, you'll eventually want to contribute creatively in some way or make your own. I fought against this idea for many years, I kept telling myself that I would just be satisfied with just writing a novel and that would be the extent of my narrative-making skills, that I would dedicate the rest of my time to music.

But then, I picked up the pen (stylus) again and started drawing again, and then I starting imagining my stories in visual novel format, as I once did when I first discovered them as a teenager (as a choose-your-own-adventure game). I then realized that I could not escape the impulse to want to create something with an anime art style. It was like the figurative Mephistopheles clawing cloyingly at my back.

Detective Conan

It is hard to get other people into Detective Conan, there's a common misconception in my native country — if there is a main character that looks like a kid, then the show is for children. In the case of Detective Conan, this simply isn't true; there are elements of it that seem written in to appeal to younger people, like the word game (shiratori) riddles in the films, but the series is actually very cerebral and something that I would mostly suggest to teens and adults.

The murder mysteries are so well thought-out that they are hard for me to predict at times, and they are often very elaborate… there are some episodes that will leave you thinking, how would you even think to kill someone in that way? The characters are very lovable and wholesome, like you would expect in a family film, but the narrative devices are employed in a very complex way.

Thoughts on Fanservice in Anime

I was thinking about this after listening to the recent Otaku Spirit podcast episode called "Is Anime Problematic?" where the hosts vent their worries about the growing concern of censorship in anime, and they discuss the moral dilemma of "if an anime is problematic, should it be erased?" Obviously, I don't think so — I think aspects of media that are troublesome can often reinforce a sense of right and wrong in people.

I know that there are, of course, mentally ill people out there but the complication with writing to avoid stimulating a psychopath is that if someone is sick, I think censorship will only make the person feel more oppressed and radicalize them even further? I. am sure that someone so unhinged would see secret messages in a show about a baby wallaby, the course of action for creators is often hard to take when there are so many expectations and culpability on how it will affect the public. 

I used to wonder why more fictional series didn't push the envelope to explore untapped subjects more openly, but as I've grown older — it makes more sense, although I can't say that I like it. Media-enforced morality is a difficult subject to broach, but I have never been a strong proponent of any kind of censorship, particularly in literature and comics. 

I do not think it should be up to the government or people in power to decide what us common-folk read — I know there are dangerous ideas, certainly, but if you spoon-feed the population then critical thinking will become raw and premature as a result. If the public blindly follows whatever is told through the news and publications without thinking things through, history has shown that that kind of mindless thinking can lead to many tragedies and terrors.

Note: I do believe in trigger warnings and content filters though, people should be allowed to put up boundaries with what they intake. Particularly those with traumatic pasts.

This circles back around to my view on fanservice (ecchi) in anime. There has always been arguments about whether fanservice with younger-looking characters should be allowed, and I personally do not see a problem with it as long as it is tasteful and does not become pornographic. In school shows, there's an innocence and element of comic mischief to it, it feels like reliving your youth in a sense because it encapsulates the feeling of hanging out with old friends or falling in love for the first time. There's a feeling of purity with most ecchi and moe series, though I do admit that some can be excessively dirty, too.

A lot of people from my generation originally fell in love with anime as a medium because the animation and art is not only top-notch, but the ideas are fresh and for the most part, it is unrestrained. Anime felt like an expression of freedom that sees its viewship as competent and not infantile, there was a lot of experimentation and intellectualism in the writing. I think that anime creators should try their hardest to retain that sense of artistic integrity.

Vtubing VS Blogging

Sometimes I don't write blogs as often because I talk about a lot of my opinions on stream or the blurbs about anime become verbal, and then I am too tired to repeat them via text… it feels like blogging is kind archiving my opinions or setting them in stone, and sometimes the thought of that can be daunting. Especially when I have changed a lot over the years, I guess it is still good to have a record of who I used to be — like a journal entry.

Unconditional Love

It's a given that pets, for the most part, express their unconditional love to you. Of course they do, you feed them — clean their litter — give them a warm place to sleep during the winter, but I realized recently how grateful I was for that. With our cats, while they love both of us, Kenma is closer to me and Karna is the closest to SakihataLily. I realized how grateful I was for that innocent intimacy recently, I have been waking up with Kenma curled up to me every morning! I am so happy that we decided to adopt cats!

Saber Route

So — Saber is my favorite heroine in the original Fate/stay night story, ufotable has announced that they will adapt Artoria's route. Though the date remains unannounced, I am still eagerly awaiting that version of the narrative!

Note: I was reminded of this because yesterday, ufotable uploaded all of the Réalta Nua OPs to their YouTube account and Twitter, and there were a lot of Saber fans asking for the adaptation. I can't blame them, Saber is wildly popular for a reason!

Tumblr: Then VS Now

The last time that I used Tumblr before now was in 2015. I eventually switched to Twitter because back then, Tumblr seemed pointless — there was a sub-sect of active artists, but most of the blogs that I saw were a collection of reposted fan art from Pixiv and quirky GIFs. I am okay with people posting official art, but when people repost fan art, I do not like it — the dignified part of myself thinks that it should be up to the artist themselves to share their art on whichever sites they want to. 

It feels pointless because the reason why I share pretty fan works to begin with is to directly support the artist in some way, but if I am reblogging reposted art, it does not feel like I'm directly showing support to the artist and thus, feels like a waste of time. Tumblr seems to be much better with that now, but since I am older, if I don't want to see an art-reposting blog, I just block them. 

That may sound rude, but it saves me the confusion of having to figure out whether they are the actual artist or not, and since I am working on my own projects — I do not have time for that. I like some of the newer features of Tumblr, like the option of hiding followers, it makes it feel more cozy and less competitive. Overall, I am glad that I made Tumblr a secondary blog, I have never used blogging sights like Blog Spot, other than to lurk on pages of musicians that I used to like back in the day, but if I need to… I feel more comfortable with the idea of branching out now.

As an aside — if you are an artist in any medium (illustration, prose, game dev, musician, animation, etc.) or Vtuber, please hit me up — I like to support other artists and network whenever I am able to!

[eruden-writes]

NSFW Content and Minors

Some backstory on me: I was in a toxic-friendship-turned-domestically-abusive-relationship with someone 2 years older than me. I met him online at 15/16 through a mutual friend, we started dating when I was 18. In 2010, when I was 20, he went to prison for possession of child sex abuse images, aka child porn.

I had no clue he was doing this until the FBI raided our apartment.

He got out in 2015 and sought - and is still seeking - visitation with the child I was pregnant with when he went into prison. (Meaning he’s never had unfettered access nor has raised this child of mine.)

That said, this is a sensitive topic for me that I have put a lot of thought into over the years.

The tl;dr

The onus of access to NSFW content is on adult creators. If you want to make absolutely sure minors cannot easily access your content, put it behind a paywall.

Different NSFW content has different laws in the US and different moral aspects to consider.

Adults creating NSFW content for a fandom, whose core demographic is minors, are the ones encroaching on a minor space.

There’s a difference between NSFW content depicting consenting adults in healthy relationships vs NSFW content depicting toxic relationships, pedophilia, and/or violent scenes.

My own target demographic IS NOT minors. I don’t want interaction - follows, reblogs, asks, etc - from minors, but I don’t care if they passively read my work. If I get concerned that minors are interacting with me on this blog, I will block blogs.

This post is not to dictate other creators’ boundaries, but shine a light on how nuanced and complex this topic can be. You do what you feel comfortable with.

Minors, please respect creators’ boundaries.

If you have a problem with any of this, I suggest you read below the cut before engaging with me.

First and foremost:

The onus of access to NSFW content is on adult creators.

You willingly put your content on a platform minors have easy access to. Plus, you’re the adult. Responsibility is on you.

It’s a hard pill to swallow, especially since a lot of the older generation of adults didn’t take responsibility like this in the early days of the Internet. But, we should.

If you’re worried what you’re creating is going to harm minors or get you in trouble, put it behind a paywall.

(I personally have problems with adults creating NSFW art or writing involving canonically minor-aged characters from fandoms. I don’t think adult creators should be doing it, but that’s seen as a draconian mindset. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

Not all NSFW content is created equal.

NSFW content is highly variable. Pornography, NSFW art, NSFW written content, adult roleplays, and NSFW fandom content each have different things to consider.

Providing pornography - video or photos of NSFW content of adults - to minors is illegal in the US. Furthermore, there’s a litany of problems in pornography alone, from derogatory slurs being used for categories to revenge porn to professional productions mistreating their workers to how not-realistic porn can actually be. It can screw with someone’s perception of what sex is if they interact with it too often and from a young age.

Laws against child sex abuse imagery (child porn) are generally limited to actual photographs or video of said content. I believe this includes manipulated images of minors, as well. Not 100% sure, though. It might vary from case-to-case and court-to-court.

Drawn NSFW content involving minor-aged characters (original or fandom) is a legal grey zone in the US, last I read.

I’ve heard of someone getting in trouble for having hentai that involved underage characters, but they were also in trouble for actual photos/videos of child sex abuse. However, there is so much of NSFW content involving minor-aged characters out there, I doubt artists are often legally challenged on this and, if they are, they can easily say “I aged them up.”

I’m not condoning this, I just know the excuses since I’ve argued against this before.

I, personally, do not think adults should be creating NSFW art or writing involving minor-aged characters, particularly in fandoms where the source is specifically created for minors.

(Which, BTW, if you’re creating NSFW fandom content for source material that is specifically minors - like My Hero Academia, My Little Pony, etc - you are encroaching on a minor-filled space with your NSFW content. Minors are not encroaching on your NSFW space. The fandom was specifically created with minors in mind, adults brought the NSFW in.)

If adult creators are going to create content like that, put it behind a paywall. That’s the best way to limit minor-aged access to it.

If you’re doing NSFW roleplay, just make sure your partner isn’t a minor or the characters aren’t underage. If your partner is a minor, you’d be tailoring NSFW content to them, which is gross and illegal in the US.

Written NSFW content varies so much. From abstract sex scenes to explicit, pretty much most of it is accessible to minors in a bookstore or thrift stores that sell books. When I was a minor, I even read vague sex scenes the YA section of my local library. (Which also meant a publishing company published the YA sex scene.)

Also, the point of the story matters; is it only for sexual gratification or is the sex a simple part of a larger story?

Seriously, not all NSFW content is created equal.

Context and content is super important!

It’s natural for minors - specifically teenagers - to be curious about sexual content. Especially in the US where our sexual education is painfully lacking. If teens feel like something is being hidden from them, they often seek it out.

Furthermore, what a parent constitutes as inappropriate for their own child(ren) varies from parent to parent.

I’m a sex-positive parent. If my kids ask, I explain sex or sex acts to them in a straightforward and age-appropriate way. I’d rather be the one to explain it to them than have them pop a term into Google.

Some parents are strictly against anything sex-related, including gender and orientation discussions.

Which means parental blocks can be super strict and include things that my partner and I think are fine for our kids to see. Such as LGBTQ+ content.

(Also, there are book bans happening in schools right now, specifically targeting authors of color, stories involving racism, and stories involving queerness. Often under the guise of “save the children” by conservative parents/organizations.)

That said, if my teenage kid seeks out NSFW content, I feel that’s to be expected. I have no problem with them finding or seeking out healthy depictions between two or more consenting adults.

HOWEVER, it’s when the NSFW content involves minors with adults, depicts unhealthy relationships, or violent scenes that it becomes a problem. And there is a lot of this sort of NSFW content out there.

I don’t want pedophilic, toxic relationships, or violence in sex being normalized or romanticized to my kids. That’s why it’s my job to discuss those topics and steer my kids away from that content, if they stumble into it.

This is why I, as a parent, am open about sex talk so my kids can come to me with questions or concerns. I even discuss shipping to help my kids understand. (EX: Why Aizawa from My Hero Academia being paired with any current students is pedophilic and not OK. This is a legit convo we’ve had. Though my kids thought the pairing was gross to begin with. lol)

That said, I’d like adult creators to take care of where they post their work, what it normalizes/romanticizes, and who can - wittingly or unwittingly - gain access to it.

As for my content...

I don’t really care if minors read my writing or look at my art. (Not that I have much NSFW of the latter, I think.)

Minors are not my target demographic and I don’t want them directly interacting (following, reblogging, commenting, etc) with my NSFW work or me.

If I begin suspecting minors are interacting with me or this particular blog - not just passively reading my content - I will block blogs.

Likewise, if I create something with sensitive content I don’t think minors should have easy access to, I’ll put it behind a paywall.

ALSO, each creator is free to set their own boundaries. These are mine, if others have more stringent boundaries, then please abide by them.

This post is not justification for minors to ignore stated boundaries. Just a further explanation of how complicated this situation can be.

Additionally, Minors creating NSFW content.

Again, NSFW content is super varied.

If minors are posting NSFW photographs or videos, that can be construed as producing child sex abuse imagery (or imagery for child exploitation.) I have heard of minors getting in legal trouble for this, specifically for sharing nudes with adults they were “in relationships” with. (Often pedophilic relationships where the adult had power over the minor.)

If you’re a minor, just don’t, OK? It’s for your safety, since your nudes/videos could be leaked against your consent to sites and they’ll be out there forever for pedophiles to exploit.

If minors are drawing or writing NSFW content, that is more complicated. Teenagers have always drawn or written NSFW content in decades past. (We even have jokes about this, like Tina Belcher’s “erotic friend fiction.”)

They just never had access to share it with a huge audience before the Internet.

The problem isn’t them creating it. It’s the potentiality of a minor being used by an adult, via sharing this content. We should keep teenagers safe so they can explore this aspect of life through relatively safe means via art or writing.

I personally do not think teenagers should be creating content with minor-aged characters, but most creators want to make stories that mirror their lives in some way, so... ugh. It’s really hard to tell a 16-year-old to not write about 16-year-olds.

HOWEVER, if you’re an adult and you know the creator of the NSFW content is a minor, stop interacting with them. Do not commission, do not comment. Leave them alone.

And absolutely do not do NSFW roleplay with minors, if you are an adult.