#because I am in both fandoms and create art for both

[jamskateable]

are people genuinely *interested* in Ramattra x V1 or am I just hitting both fandom target demographics…? (Ultrakill and Overwatch)

[pokemonblack3white3]

Girlies I have got to stop feeling guilty about creating art I enjoy

[musical-chick-13]

"Truly GOOD works don't have thriving fandoms because people aren't interested in fixing them, so what do they have to write fics/make art about."

Idk about you, but I don't write fic for properties I don't genuinely enjoy and think are, on some level, actually good.

[rubynautilus]

Reposting a rant about deviantart for posterity

I swear that the site is desperately trying to get rid of me.

Do you want to know the latest change that's ruining my experience the second it has been implemented?

Previously, if you went to a user's gallery you had the option to see all of their public art from newest onwards in the "All" section. But now? Except for some exceptions, their "All" gallery is replaced by a "Recommended for you" one. Making it impossible to see their latest publications unless the user manually uploads them in order.

Do I need to explain how utterly bothersome (and straight up harmful for the artists) it is to not be able to browse their galleries?

A "Recommended for you" feed makes sense on the site's main paige or even in the "Home" tab of a user's profile if it MUST be there. But in the open gallery?

Let's just say that I'm glad that there's alternatives to deviantart (here's a few: alternativeto.net/software/dev...). Because That place is slowly becoming one of those online stores that have replaced their feeds for spam listings. *cough*amazon*cough*

[yingdu-lover]

angry post

i have a personal problem with this kind of attitude. it's not a petty thing i am unreasonably angry about. there is a politics of translation and it affects one's understanding of art and popular culture/cultural geopolitics.

yes, tbhx has an unprecedented world wide release for a donghua/Chinese media and it's vital for its popularity, especially among transnational fandom spaces. Transcreated works are important for easier access. BUT, my gripe with the Japanese dub of a Chinese media WILL never be resolved. I am not talking about the quality, the issue lies in the very creation of the Japanese dub of a donghua itself. Let me give you an example.

Last year, we had an optional course called translation studies and one of the first things our professor asked was : who are the writers of A Doll's House and Waiting for Godot? He told those few of us who had read these texts closely to shut our mouth and let others take a guess. Most people answered : British writers. The texts are English texts. Because it's so famous among literature enthusiasts and when a piece of literature has a 'classic' tag attached to it, we tend to generalize and oversimplify it. So, a Norwegian playwright's original Norwegian play or an Irish playwright's play originally written in French- both get labelled as British literature. Get my point?

The anime industry is justifiably dominated by Japanese productions but when we forget to accommodate the nuances, the origin culture decays. It is, in many senses, a form of subtle cultural imperialism brought by ignorance.

People complain about Link Click's 'poor marketing' but I think Haolin was clever doing so. Even in the reviews by Indian anime bros™ I see them trying to pronounce 'donghua'. People RECOGNIZE that Link Click is a Chinese media, it's NOT an anime. You may laugh at those link click related youtube video titles saying stuff like : China is taking over anime, this Chinese anime is better than your favourite anime, PEAK Chinese anime, the best anime of 2021 is NOT Japanese?!, Link Click is taking over anime, China's hidden gem, China might have created the best anime of the year- CHINA IS IMPORTANT.

Whenever people talk about Chinese donghua- Link Click, Heaven Official's Blessing, Master of Diabolism etc are mentioned and people KNOW that it looks like anime but not really anime. It's... something... something else. This distinction is critical and essential.

Now, thanks to censorship (the Chinese version is not available on any official platform), many people think (not all people dig that deep while watching things, like come on) Spiritpact is a JAPANESE anime. Who the heck is Tanmouki or whatever. They are are Duanmu Xi and Yang Jinghua.

Reading up to this part if you think I am a Japanese anime hater then...*sighs*. Please read the whole thing again.

I like the Japanese dub of Link Click but there was a c*** in the comments who said "uwu it's not in japanese so I won't watch it" b**** doesn't even understand Japanese. B just wants an 'authentic Japanese anime experience.'

I feared that tbhx would face this issue.

And if you find those people who go : Ahhh, Japanese or Chinese- same thing, even their script look similar- fuck you, fuck you, you loser-fuckrr sinophobe i hope your phone battery dies your charger malfunctions your phone your laptop restarts with all data erased I hope you reek of wet socks and your taste sand all the time fuck you

[starmocha]

sorry if this is too dark but if MC did die, how do you think each of them would react/the severity of the reaction? Obviously all of them would be crushed but I think Caleb would definitely either 1) end everything 2) end himself

Oh, I've written plenty of dark stuff before in other fandoms so...

So…do you guys have your tissues ready? Guys’ reactions to losing both you and the baby. For the sake of continuity, it follows the previous ask someone wondered about an MC with a risky pregnancy. I will be writing two other alternate “endings” another time (losing you, but baby lives & both you and the baby live. I won’t be doing a miscarriage/stillbirth one since no one asked.). These ficlets will also be available on AO3 in my fic collection, and we’ll chase after shooting stars.

(I actually do have a series with the guys grieving your death, but I am way behind on it. I have Zayne and Rafayel’s stories up if anyone’s interested in reading them.)

life moved on

Zayne would struggle internally, his logical side at war with his own emotional state.

He was a doctor. He knew there would always be a risk of loss. He himself sometimes had to be the one to deliver this type of unfortunate news to families.

Only, he just never imagined he would be on the receiving end one day.

He had monitored you throughout your pregnancy, learning more, and taking precautions wherever necessary. He knew the risk, he knew there was always that chance. But he had hoped. He had prayed. He had believed.

And it was all in vain.

He had been letting work consumed him. Life still moved on. The world would not stop for him, and there were still lives that he could save. There was not a moment to waste.

Sometimes, though, the world did slow down, everything pausing, such as now as he sat down at his desk lined with a row of photographs in frames. The snapshots of the life he had lost, of the future that should have been his, seemed to stare back at him in cruel mockery.

For just this moment, alone in his office, Zayne let his grief poured out, the heavy sobs filled the former silence in the room. In an hour, he would compose himself again, returned to being Doctor Zayne, and he would resume his duty, because life moved on.

But his heart stayed buried, resting with you and the child he lost.

no rest for the wicked

Rafayel falls into a deep depression, riddled with guilt, because he believes he is being punished for what he had said previously.

There was no rest for the wicked.

Rafayel couldn’t recall the last time he had slept peacefully, or even at all. Surely, this must be a punishment, right?

He had said such horrible words, so he was being punished for them, right? He didn’t deserve the baby, and he didn’t deserve you, so he was punished with the loss of both. That was a fair punishment, right?

He laughed, the sound so hollow and mirthless, his chest tightening with pain as tears trickled down his face.

Right. He didn’t deserve this.

So why should he deserve anything?

He grabbed an empty canvas and hurled it at the wall, destroying it instantly.

He didn’t deserve any of this.

He grabbed another, and another, and another. He incinerated several art pieces at various stages of completion, feeling nothing as they turned to ashes. He vandalized most of his studio, destroying his tools and everything he had ever created. There was no meaning to any of this anymore.

Heaving heavily and with a dagger in his hand, he turned to the grand canvas that filled the space of a wall. He plunged the weapon into it, dragging it down over and over again, his mind filled with a cacophony of his own voice and yours.

My fishie…I won’t leave you…

“Don’t lie to me…” he kept attacking the canvas, his words growing more frenzied, “Don’t leave me…I’m yours…I’m yours…you promised to stay…”

He dropped the dagger and fell to his knee, his forehead resting against the canvas as he sobbed. He was so exhausted, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep again in your arms.

“I’m sorry…”

forever would be nice

Xavier would feel so much guilt, almost as if he didn’t do enough to help you.

He felt so incompetent.

He should have done more. Should have done something.

Xavier could hear you scolding him, telling him it wasn’t his fault. Deep down, he knew it was true, but he wanted a reason, wanted an explanation for why that day happened. If he at least shouldered the blame, then maybe he could make sense of why he lost not only you but the baby as well.

Lately, it seemed like it was harder to wake up. He had not changed the bedsheet or pillowcases in a while, the scent of you still lingered, helping him sleep most nights. In these sweet dreams, he lived another life, his world completed with both you and the baby.

He wished he could dream just a little longer. Forever would be nice.

just enough

Sylus reverts to who he used to be, cold and distrusting.

There wasn’t enough alcohol in the world to numb this pain, but maybe if he drank enough, he could begin to forget.

Forget the you who had fearlessly took his hand no matter how dangerous he was, the you who had wanted to bring light into his dark world, the you who accepted him for who he was, loved him just as he was.

Sylus’ hand tightened around his glass, the force enough that it shattered and shards pierced his skin. He stared emotionlessly at his cut hand, the blood dripping profusely to the floor not even registering in his mind that it was his.

As his wounds healed on their own, his eyes glazed over, and he remembered another day when there was so much more blood than this. There was just so much blood on that hospital bed, and he remembered how his voice was completely raw as he screamed at the panicked doctor and nurses, and then the chaos subsided, an eerie silence had followed, his whole world gone in an instance.

There was no noise. There was no warmth. There was no joy. There was only this sudden void in his life again, one that he had tried to fill for so long.

Not enough alcohol to numb the pain, not enough punching bags for him to take his rage out on, and not enough money to bring back what was.

If he could trade away his riches, his power, his glory, he would in a heartbeat for a chance to have you back, because with you, everything was just enough. He desired nothing else but you, the love and happiness you had brought into his life was enough.

always by your side

Caleb wouldn’t be able to bear living in a world without you, since his whole life since childhood had revolved around you.

There were hushed whispers throughout the Farspace Fleet, all quieted in an instance whenever Caleb passed by. The Colonel was always a strict man, his presence demanding respect for his authority, but recently, there had been a change, his demeanor hardening, his violet eyes dulled, a despair hidden beneath his icy façade.

One night in warm June, he left Skyhaven in the dead of night, catching a late train to Linkon. He disembarked, empty-handed, his feet automatically moving, his mind muddled with memories of a little girl who came into his life so long ago, of his promise to always be by her side, their lives always intertwined until that one awful day he was taken from her.

However, nothing could ever keep him from you. He would always find his way home to you, and no matter the storms in your lives, he would find a way to right things.

You were both going to be happy. There was nothing make-believe about the life you two were going to have.

You had worn a white dress, him in his colonel uniform, and with your hand in his, he had vowed his life to you once more, his joy boundless when you echoed back to him similar words. After marriage came the baby carriage, and you were all going to be a family of three.

He had always taken care of you, and he still took care of you even when there were concerns about the pregnancy. He had done everything right, made sure you were safe throughout, so how could things have gone wrong in the eleventh hour?

The moment you slipped from his life, his whole world stopped, the nightmares he had thought were gone returned with a vengeance, haunting him with dreams of that day over and over again. He had failed you, the hospital had failed you, everyone had failed you, because he would rather believe this than ever think he was always meant to lose you over and over again until you were ripped from his life for good.

It wasn’t fair.

He wondered what sin he carried to be punished with the loss of both you and the baby. A baby conceived from love, an innocent being, never once taken breath but only knowing death. Caleb wondered what kind of God would be so cruel, wanting to scream his anger out, wanting to demand answers to all of the questions that had been haunting him.

He stopped walking, seeing a locked gate blocking his path. He stared at it dully before he pulled out a gun, shooting the lock once with perfect precision. He continued walking, the path he was taking lined with rows of gravestones of those long departed from this world.

The one he wished to see was secluded, in its own area and hidden away, just like how he had always wished when you were alive. The world had never deserved you, and now he was even more convinced, you were always too good for this Hell on earth.

A grave among bushes of hydrangeas, his breathing suddenly became ragged. The air was heavy and he was pulled to his knees, his lungs tightening as he struggled to breathe, but for this brief instance, there was a smile on his face as he let go of his control over his Evol.

The gun he used earlier levitated ominously.

He started laughing, tears in the corners of his eyes. He could hear your voice again. You were calling for him.

Caleb! Caleb!

“I’m here,” he whispered, “I’ll always be by your side.”

Caleb always kept his promises to you. Always.

Among the dead, a deafening noise resounded, startling the wild creatures that lurked around the area.

Surrounded by the pink and blue and white of the hydrangeas, the summer seemed so endless now as the ground was dyed in crimson.

[kyri45]

Not me abusing the asks to both share my love for the bioparents AU AND rant about the panels because none of my friends are in the LMK fandom and I'm suffering here so TAKE MY LOVE AND APPRECIATION ABOUT YOUR ART I guess x)

So first of all

I am a SUCKER for that kind of leaning in frames I'm going to print that and plaster it on my wall THEY ARE EVERYTHING /hj

I almost jumped of my chair when this one popped up YOU FED US GOOD its so worth the angst train incoming. Of course the panels before and after were equally as amazing but if I start going about every single panel we're still here in three days AT THE VERY LEAST LOL

Of course this one made me laugh like please their little faces

Using that to point out how much I love ALLLLLLL the silly faces you put in your comics I'm munching on them every single time they're crushy like chips or something just. Nom nom. Yummy.

Poor Nesha (Nesha? Nezha? Neja? I have no idea on how to write his name I already forgor LMAO) needs to be payed more. He tries to save MK and ends up dealing with two lovesick teenagers demons who have no concept of time/place/occasion apparently. Poor him. He gets a pat on the head for his troubles

And of course just the "NOPE I'M KEEPING HIM" mode and honestly we should have seen it coming- Red son was planning to courtnap him and didn't sleep in the past 5 days so he's not having any bullshit YOU'RE NOT TAKING HIS NOODLE BOY AWAY-

Could bet he spent so long thinking about the cournapping in the 5 past days his brain just cannot process that yeah maybe you need to let him down you're just going to drag him in more troubles- Either that or he's just going full protective mode. Both options are good anyways sooooo :)

We stan a protective boyfriend in this house.

---

And finally I'm SOOOOO hyped about whatever is coming next like I know that technically we're supposed to suffer but please I climbed up the angst train so many times now I'm just enjoying it by that point lol. It'll just make the following fluff even more worth it

Also I cannot wait to see MK's plan about the contract I'm so curious I'm dying I love you boys but I really want the plot to progress you can go back to kissing later lol

Finally, thank you for creating this AU. It's stumbling randomly upon it on my tik tok fyp that dragged me into watching Lego Monkie Kid and really THANK YOU FOR THAT. It's such an amazing show I CANNOT BELIEVE I didn't discovered it sooner so really thank for having created this comic because else I could have missed LMK and that would be just saaaad

Fun fact: since I had never interacted with LMK the first time I read your comic, I for some reason thought Macaque was a female (and I probably would have thought the same of Wukong if he wasn't called... well, Wukong because I randomly stumbled upon the myth's Wikipedia page at some point in my life XD). The shock I felt when I heard Macaque for the first time in the show because his voice was soooooo not what I expected x) I'm still laughing at myself to this day

So yeah, from the bottom of my heart, thank you, and I can't wait to see what you're going to pull next :D Wish you allllll the best <3

(I can totally wait, of course, it's just a figure of speech. Take your time, I could wait forever for the next chapter)

ahaha thank you for such a lovely comment!! Glad the scene gived "MINE" vibes as I was planning ahah.

Youu're welcome! It's an honor to serve this fandom. *bows*

[scourgeofmyownbrain]

Only one guy on here has two eyes, and even then, they're fake eyes. It's big-tits-McGee, Mr. logic man extraordinaire, Geneva Suggestion Believer himself: Shockwave! Yep, all 12 of him, a reasonable amount of alternates to have, unlike some people... Shockwave Height Chart, everyone, fuckin wee.

Edit: I didn't like the old scaling I had so I changed it. The old chart is at the end of this post.

Quick Disclaimer, if any of the images look weird, it's because I had to stitch a few separate images together to create a full body shot of the character.

Here are links to my Bumblebee Chart, my Optimus Chart, my Megatron Chart, and my Soundwave Chart. !!NEW!! -> Ratchet & Ironhide. Please go gawk at how many Optimus designs there are, sweet fuck, there are so many. For future reference, all these charts will be filed under my "Transformers Height Charts" tag and my "aka the adventures of a..." tag.

Master Post

Explanations and Sources below the cut.

Unicron Trilogy Energon - ~14 feet 3 inches (No actual source, and Energon doesn't have any listed heights anywhere. For the uneducated, the Unicron Trilogy has given each of its 3 seasons separate names and 3 separate art styles. This is the design used in Energon (S2) though he only shows up in Energon. I was able to compare him to Optimus, and using Cybertron's listed heights, I got this number. I am in physical pain, it does not get better from here. Hilarious side note, his Japanese name is Laserwave, which contains the missing "wave" of Shockwave in this iteration's name.)

Earth Spark - ~15 feet (No actual source for ES, but using a barn door to get Bumblebee's height, then Optimus's, then Megatron's height, I was able to make a guess at Shockwave's. Shockwave comes up to about Megatron's chin; I lost the screenshot I used. It's so convoluted, I know, but it's all I have, also, tiny universe, everyone is so small)

TFA Longarm/V1 - 15 feet 2 inches (Animated has no actual numbers, but the lovely @phoenix-inanis has provided a frankly astounding resource with their own calculations for the heights of all the TFA characters. Go look at it, it's wonderful -> https://phoenix-inanis.notion.site/TFA-Height-Chart-f6ad2960ca8c4c5b859ee4958723aaa4?pvs=4)

Gen 1 - ~18 feet (TFWiki, uuuuh I've got nothing to add)

Netflix Cybertron Trilogy - ~18 feet (I have no source for this, other than assuming that because this design is identical to Gen 1, they are the same height. That's it, really)

Knight/Capel-Verse - ~18 feet (No source, and he never stands next to anyone I can measure him against, but because the TFOne director has said that this movie is both canon to the LA movies and its own separate canon, I am assuming the height I figured out for TFOne applies to this universe as well. Until proven otherwise. Capel directed the ROTB movie if you're wondering why his name is there)

One - ~18 feet (No source, I got this number by comparing him to Optimus. Now, I am aware of the TFO heights listed on the wiki, but I reject those numbers on principal. A: Those numbers are sourced from the Walmart Promotional AR Experience that came out before the movie. B: There are three decimal points, and that number does not convert into a whole number in meters (which is originally what I thought was weird about it). C: The director has said that this movie is both canon to the LA movies and its own separate canon, so I have elected to use the few given heights we have from KCV and worked from there. My Optimus post has slightly more context if you want it)

Cyberverse - 20 feet (This comes from a screenshot of this video which has the Cyberverse height chart everyone uses, though the quality of the screenshot is iffy.)

Aligned Cont. WF/FOC/TFP - 26 feet 2 inches (This number comes from Fandom and I completely believe it, even if they don't list their source, because the entirety of this universe is freakishly tall. Go look at my other charts, all the ALC designs are monstrous compared to the others)

TFA V2 - 29 feet 11 inches (Once again, phoenix-inanis did a fuck ton of work, go look at it, it's wonderful -> https://phoenix-inanis.notion.site/TFA-Height-Chart-f6ad2960ca8c4c5b859ee4958723aaa4?pvs=4)

Bayverse - ~30 feet (Ok, so I don't have a source for this one. There used to be one, BV Shockwave used to be listed as 40 feet tall bc of an article done to promote the movie, but that is no longer listed for reasons not known to me, and making some comparisons to Optimus, I have found them to be kinda close in height. It's very hard to actually validate any of this. Shockwave never stands normally next to anything I can use as a ruler at any point in the movie. He's always at a dramatic angle or partially covered by something in the shot. It's so violently frustrating. I am confident he is around this height though, I just can't figure out how much taller than Optimus he is)

And that's it. I didn't have to leave any designs out, all of them are included here (hopefully). It was so nice to work with a character where I wasn't drowning in 20+ designs across every goddamn universe.

Edit: Here are the different layers separated.

vvv Old scale vvv

[hihimissamericanbi]

FAVE HP SMUT CREATORS

Ever since I got that lovely anon asking for the best smut I've ever read, it got me thinking about some of my favorite smut creators in general.

So here is a very non-exhaustive list of fan-fucking-tastic smut writers and artists I've come across in the HP fandom that weren't mentioned (shamefully) in my last batch. Feel free to add to the list! We must keep the people fed.

xoxo go take a sip of cold water girl

WRITERS

@spookymoonie

Lord Espooky came into this fandom guns a-blazing with their kink headcanon a day for Wolfstar and it has spiraled from there. They GET IT. He has a super well-organized masterlist pinned to his tumblr ft tons of different kinks, fic lengths, scenes, etc. Go. Now.

@fiveht

The definition of IYKYK. Daddy kink isn't super my thing, but Five makes me enjoy it. If you vibe with age gap daddy Remus and pretty boy Sirius, their Adore series is a must-read. They also have a stellar A/B/O Wolfstar fic plus podfic and write some Marvel too!

@greenvlvetcouch

An absolute legend in this fandom. Wolfstar, Jeggy, Rosekiller. Gritty, chewy, embodied sex.

@emeryhall

Emery writes sex the way some people breathe. Like it's just part of the narrative. It's SO punchy. And also she is the queen of Crack Smut.

@kaaaaaaarf

Patron saint of Wolfstar hatefucks. mic drop.

@cancerravenclaw

We snagged MK over to Wolfstar from the clutches of Dramione. Her series "mk's kink exposé" could also be called "celine's kink exposé." I'll just leave that there.

@wolfpants

Everything they create is magic, but they are especially known for rare pairs and Dronarry.

WRITERS AND ARTISTS

@aspiring-artist-em

The queen of Lesbian Wolfstar. Both art and fic. Also queen of humiliation and pain kink and Walburga psychological trauma. ye be warned.

@upthehillnsfw / @upthehillart

I am afraid no one is ready for this art. Truly. Tons of different ships, positions, acts. I gasp every time. And their Pansmione fic is epic (which I have talked about before).

ARTISTS

@industrations

I highly recommend getting on Indi's Patreon so you can enjoy their NSFW drawings, mostly Wolfstar and Jegulus, occasional Rosekiller. Too many iconic moments to count.

@waxingrunes

The officially-sponsored artist of Five's Adore series. Look, their work is nothing short of indulgent. Shhhh don't worry about the physics just let it happen. And by It I mean Remus' big dick hands.

@basiatlu

By beloved. The one. The only. Bosh's drawings are so ALIVE. They leap off the screen. Her Drarry is nothing less than iconic. She also dabbles in other characters/ships like Wolfstar and Blackcest. Siriusly, you can't go wrong.

DRARRY SMUT

OKAY, Drarry people. There are so so many excellent Drarry smut writers it is impossible to name them all. Here are but a tiny handful I have pulled from my bookmarks. I'm happy to rec specific fics if asked :)

@cavendishbutterfly, @bixgirl1, @l0vegl0wsinthedark, @shiftylinguini, @kbrick, @fluxweeed, @academicdisasterfic

MORE

I'm tagging those other creators from older asks because I can't put this list out there without them on it <3

@crushofdoves @we-are-swearwolves @tenthousandyearsx @theresthesnitch @lqtraintracks Quietlemonhush @cuddlebugsirius

[gothwineaunts]

I don’t mean to assume or make anyone alarmed but I’ve heard you and flynn are skipping the focus on Annabel and Lenore bc of a group of Montresor fans (as Lenore and Annabel aren’t popular with them).

Is that true??

I’m not asking because of what’s happening in fastpass, I heard about this information around when season 2 came out.

Wow, that's honestly absurd. Sorry hon, I dunno where you heard that but it's made-up nonsense. A rumor, and not even a particularly good one. I think most anyone would be able to see through it, but I'll go through it with you anyway because I've seen some angst on the tag about this. 1. Lenore and Annabel are the main characters of the story, and that has not changed and will not change. If we intended to toss them aside in season 2, why on earth would we have set so much up in season 1? Also all of the promo art is still of them, and we spent a lot of time on it. So I think it's a safe bet to assume they're still the main characters. 2. Nevermore is, and has always been, a sapphic gothic romance. Montresor is a man. Where is the sense in changing the intent of a story, and likely losing readers in the process, just to appeal to a niche group? 3. As for this niche group of Montresor fans, where? Who are they? And what power do they supposedly have over us to force us to completely change the story to their shadowy whims? Idk if you noticed this but people kind of hate Montresor. He's easily the least liked character in the series. And making him the main character would be maybe the most unpopular decision we could possibly make, so how would that be selling out or making fanservice, if everyone... would hate it? Wouldn't that make it the opposite of fanservice? What is the logic there? 4. As far as I am concerned, Annabel and Lenore are popular with most everybody in the fandom (including people who happen to also like Montresor) on account of them being, once again, the main characters of the story. 5. Annabel got the first flashback, and then Ada, then Prospero, then Eulalie, and Will. I feel like there are enough data points there for most people to be able to see the trajectory of the arc. If you can't, I'm not going to explain it. 6. Related to the above point, do you suppose we've passed over Lenore by accident? Or we just forgot about her? Or is it more likely that we're doing a thing? 7. Y'know, it's always Montresor people make up these moralistic rumors about. I'm sick to death of people being weird about Montresor. Some of you out there really need to learn what a villain is, it's frankly wild how much confusion there seems to be around this concept. 8. This rumor smacks of "you don't actually care about the sapphics" but I regret to inform you that Flynn and I are both sapphics. And worse, we're sapphic together. Kinda shoots that idea out of the water. 9. Is this because everyone is mad they haven't kissed yet? Because this is still the same slowburn you read last season. I don't know why anyone thought there'd be a kiss like ten panels into the new season. 10. If I seem edgy, it's because it's pretty insulting to imply that we just do whatever readers tell us to do when it comes to creating the story. We really put our hearts into this series, and our plans for the plot will not change, no matter what y'all say or do. We do not crowdsource our art. And if we did, it would make an absolute mess of things. Thanks for your question, I hope I cleared things up. <3

[drchucktingle]

Hi Dr. Tingle,

I just wanted to say, as someone who has been in the Homestuck fandom for a long time, that I'm so sorry people connected to the game and the comic have been so unnecessarily unkind to you, and that they've carried on this bit so far past the point of decency. Homestuck as a piece of media is deeply saturated with a very particular brand of early 2010s online irony, and there are some folks in the fandom who just refuse to let it go.

I think there are a lot of people out there who choose to take your sincerity as mockery, because to do otherwise would force them to confront their own cynicism and irony-poisoning and commit to self reflection in a way that they're not willing to do at this point in their lives. I'm not saying they're inherently bad people, because I don't believe that and (based only on the limited snapshot of yourself that you give to the world) I don't think you would either, only that they're making unkind decisions out of a fear of difference. Your work is both delightfully fun and incredibly meaningful, for me and a lot of others, and I just wanted to say that.

I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this, so I'll just say that I hope your day is going well if/when you're reading this.

Respectfully,

Ray/cultivating-saplings

P.S. I would classify Hussie as a light scoundrel, in a 'season 1 villain who you can tell is eventually going to move into the heroes' apartment later in the show and hang out eating all of their chips' sort of way.

P.P.S. I like your lab coat :]

i do not have a lot to respond with other than I LIKE THIS MESSAGE and i think you are correct not just with this way of a specific fandom but with a HUGE PORTION OF THE INTERNET and a certain age range who trotted up in online forums and various websites.

there is a deep deep deep irony poisoning going on with some of these buckaroos and i think my trot kind of short circuits that and it is difficult for these folks to grapple with it. i think when you are used to every single thing on the internet being drenched in irony and every big reveal of an online presence being some keyboard goofball 'trotting for the lulz' it can be very difficult to see chuck and just accept that i am sincere. i have empathy for this.

i should also add that, of course, not all irony is bad. too much can be very destructive though.

all i can do is keep creating my art and being sincere about it, and i think the longer that continues to more irony poisoning will drain from some of these veins. that is one way i can prove love is real i think.

[herora-nuva]

Why Masks of Power was Cancelled:

It got too big, and would create too much demand for Bionicle

Been thinking a lot about Masks of Power's cancellation these last few days, and I am BUMMED about it. Team Kanohi put so much work into it, and it was looking to be an incredible game that could've given Bionicle the tribute it deserved!

...

And that was the problem (I think)

This game has been getting crazy amounts of hype, not only in the Bionicle community, but outside it! IGN and other major gaming journalism sites have several articles talking about it. I've seen big influencers with no interest in Bionicle checking out the trailers and getting interested. Some of them seeming to not know that it was a fan game, and thinking it might be official. Team Kanohi themselves speculated that Lego's reasoning was that the quality and popularity of the game made it hard to distinguish from an official product.

There's some speculation that it got C&D because Lego has their own Bionicle comeback in the works. And as much as I would love that to be the case, and as much as I hate to be a killjoy, I genuinely think its the opposite. I may be wrong, and I hope I am! But I think that Lego killed it because they have no plans to bring Bionicle back.

This game was on a path to become crazy popular. In addition to a great Bionicle tribute, it also just looked like a great game! If its development had this much hype, then its actual full release may very well have been stratospheric, and launched Bionicle back into mainstream popularity.

But that would also mean there's a lot of hype and demand for a product that Lego isn't selling, and has no plans to sell. And that would be a big problem, Lego would be in a tight spot having essentially a huge commercial for a product no one would be able to buy, it'd be like the Rick and Morty McDonald's Szechuan Sauce incident, but possibly worse, since its not a meme but a genuinely good game.

Bionicle isn't profitable for Lego, nor is it compatible with Lego's current toy production or story writing philosophy. They would not be able to capitalize on it, even if they bought the game to make it official. Making Bionicle again would likely lose them money, even with additional hype from the game.

It also would mean the mainstream public perception of the Bionicle IP is completely outside of Lego's control. And while I and many of us think this is a good thing, from a corporate IP standpoint, this would unacceptable. The ability to control public perception of a brand is literally the main motivation behind Intellectual Property Laws.

At worst, it could even cost Lego their trademark on Bionicle products, since trademark disappears if it is no longer associated with the trademark holder. And they've clearly become much more jealous about their IP lately, between this, the DuckBricks concept art scandal, and the numerous Roblox asset takedowns in recent months.

And this isn't to shield Lego from criticism, I am FURIOUS that they did this. But we also have to understand that the state of modern IP laws may have pressured them towards this. IP law, as it currently stands, is fucked up. It gives way too much power to corporations and strips actual creators, both fan and original, of autonomy to make their art. We need to change the law around IP.

But what do we do now? Well first, we support Unmasked Games and Project Rustbound. I'm very excited to see what they make. Next we MUST proceed more carefully with Bionicle fan projects. Things like The Mangai Project, Bionicle Iliad, and Myths and Legacy need to make sure they do things very carefully. Thankfully, none of them seem to have the kind of mainstream hype outside the fandom that would cause Lego to worry.

And finally, out of both love for the series and spite towards Lego, we need to KEEP MAKING BIONICLE STUFF, particularly Fair Use content. Grow the fandom, make Bionicle popular! Bring about our dream and Lego's nightmare, keep this thing alive. We will probably never get it back in an official capacity, but we deserve to continue loving this series even if there is nothing official coming. Stories and culture don't exist to be consumerist products. The myths of Heracles didn't persist because people were hoping for a new drop! They persist because people loved them and passed them on to others. And that is what we will do because that is the Way of the Bionicle. Take care my gathered friends.

[renthony]

On "Consuming Content"

Every now and then a post crosses my feed that follows the vein of, "you have to do things other than consume media or else you'll be a dumb person who doesn't know anything about how the real world works and does nothing but pointless fandom stuff."

I hate those posts for three major reasons, not counting the inherent ableism and classism of "you must have approved Smart People hobbies or else you're worthless" rhetoric:

You don't know what people do or talk about outside of what you see on their social media. Responding to fandom communities on a fandom-driven website as if all these people are one-note cardboard cutouts of people is asinine. In many cases this genre of post feels like repackaged 2012 tumblr "not like other girls" and hipster discourse. Yes, yes, you think you're better than everyone else on this website because your hobbies are less mainstream, more morally pure, and have greater intellectual merit, we get it.

What do you even mean by consuming content? As someone who purposely avoids using the phrase "consuming content" because I find the term too vague to be useful, please be more specific. Are you including every single form of media engagement and art enjoyment? Are you just talking about mainstream TV and film? What about novels? Plays and scripts? Nonfiction books and instruction manuals? Do you mean to imply that going to a book club is a worthless non-hobby? Are you including academic reading? Are you including going to the art museum? Going to the theatre, concerts, or other performances? Taped liveshows? Watching sports events on TV? Are you including news media? Are you including YouTube tutorials about how to do various tasks, crafts, or other hobbies? Are you including trade magazines? Are you including industry publications in various fields? What constitutes "content," and what constitutes "consuming" in this discourse? Define it. "Consuming content" is a nothing phrase that people use to mean multiple different things depending on what they, personally, judge as valid media. It's a buzzword at best, and when the same buzzword can be used to describe both "idly scrolling social media" and "reading and discussing a book," it's a meaningless phrase.

As an artist and author, if engaging with media is bad and worthless, am I supposed to conclude that making it is equally worthless? If "consuming content" is a bad, lazy, worthless, fake hobby, what makes creating art a worthwhile pursuit? If I am constantly being told as an artist that engaging with media isn't a worthwhile pursuit in its own right, and the people who want to engage with my art are just brainless fandom losers, what incentive do I have to make that art anymore? Furthermore, to everyone reading this paragraph and thinking, "that's not what content creation is," I refer you to bullet #2: If the phrase "make content" can be used to mean "low-effort posts made to advertise cheap and useless products" as well as "being a novelist" or "getting a gig as a writer on a TV show," it's a meaningless phrase.

None of that is even getting into issues such as the way influencers are preyed on by both brands and targeted harassment from trolls. Influencer culture has major issues, but boiling those issues down to "stupid vapid young people who are too lazy to make real art or get real jobs" (which is a mindset I see frequently online) is unhelpful. So many people pursue influencer deals because they're living in poverty but are skilled at various social media and advertising related tasks, and just like any worker, they're being exploited because they need to eat. Labor rights for influencers are a huge topic that entertainment industry unions have been actively discussing and working toward. (Related links for further info: [x] [x] [x] [x])

"Consuming content is not a hobby" is a worthless statement unless you define what you mean by both "consuming" and "content." Quite frankly, you also need to define "hobby," because if you're putting requirements on what is and isn't allowed to be a "real" hobby, you mostly just seem like you're moving goalposts and defining "worthwhile hobby" as "hobby I, personally, think is good." Use more specific language to articulate your actual problems with the entertainment industry, the art world, influencer culture, or whatever else you're actually upset by.

Media and fandom can involve any number of enriching, satisfying hobbies that take up a perfectly acceptable and healthy space in someone's life. If you aren't into it, go find hobbies you do like and stop policing how other people spend their precious free time in this nightmare hellscape of a world.

[flowersandmiel]

I've finally met Hunted during his main chapter The Beast (I'd only met him during The Eye of the Needle and the chapters where they're all here) AND OMG I LOVE HIM SM??

Not judging or anything (/gen), but I'd only seen him be characterized in fics with this sort of "overwhelmed and animalistic anxiety" in fics, instead of what I would describe as a "hypervigilant and quick-thinking survival-driven fear" during the Eye of the Needle. And it just kinda confused me bc like, how could he act so different in Eye of needle compared to the Beast and Den?? But that's the thing, he doesn't, the fic just weren't accurate /nm (i still loved those fics btw /gen)

it just reminds me of this post about Paranoid i reposted not long ago about how fandom tends to stick to one character trait of a character and overly exaggerate it to the point it's almost mischaracterizing said character.

and it also reminds me of another character from another fandom who's a bird-like creature too, and they both get mischaracterized in that similar sort of dehumanizing way?

I'm not sure how to explain but i'll try

Basically, It's just so obvious that the author loves the fact that the character is bird-like, that they do not realise that they're kinda 'feti$hising' them??

And like, i've got nothing about letting a half-human half-animal character lean into their animal instincts, but I find it strange how many people do not realise the way they write it is just not believable at all. You can have a character lean into their bird side without having them be dehumanized and infantilized by the narrative. They're not an animal, they're part animal.

Idk, maybe it's because I grew up being dehumanised and infantilised, but if I was part animal/part human, and that i needed to let myself lean into my instincts, I wouldn't take well being treated by my friends as if I'm only an animal???? Or called 'birdie' or shit like that??? Like, i know i don't like pet names in general, but i can't be the only one who find calling a half bird half human character 'birdie' kinda weird?? I'm sure most mean it in a very sweet way btw, but i always think that if i was a half cat half human, and i was called 'catgirl' or 'kitty', i wouldn't take it well lmao?? even as teasing???

Kinda reminds me of how dehumanized and infantilized disabled people are. Having "animalistic behaviors" does not make one less human. idk how else to say it.

I'm not sure I'm making any sense, i've seen nobody talk about this and it makes me feel kinda lonely ngl x,)

I just needed to ramble a bit about it, it's not an "issue" only related to STP btw, which is why im talking about it actually xP it's weird how many fandoms i've seen this phenomenon in. I know many people only create art for fun and simply do not care about believability, and they have every right to do so, but sometimes i think that some people just genuinely do not think about it because nobody talks about it!! I'm only sharing this in hope that I can make authors self-reflect a bit so they can write "better" :)

Just, remember please. You're writing characters with consciousness. They're not animals, they're not birds, they're not just their instincts, they're not just their wings. Even while being chased, Hunted isn't nothing more than his instincts, he's clever, a quick-thinker, observant, worried, has good reflexes, takes risks, his voice is soft, maybe he'd even be delicate if he wasn't being chased! and many others! He's more than his name, than his title, than his instincts. He's not just a prey, he's a Voice, created to help us survive and out of fear of the Princess.

(btw im not using examples i've seen in fics bc i think it'd be rude af to do that.)(i've still mostly enjoyed the fics i've read that had this problems btw <3, i just couldn't get it out of my head and i hate that i see nobody speaking about it so, here i am ig!)

[bluestrawberrybunny]

Holy shit guys… I’m at over 300 followers now… so… here! ^^

I seriously want to thank every one of my followers, but there’s only so much I can feasibly do for this. So… to everyone in this drawing. Overall you all are absolutely amazing and I definitely wouldn’t be here without all of you! You guys are so fun and I love all of your stuff so much! You’re all very inspirational ^^ Love all of you /platonic

So now on to each individual essay /hj Words are hard, and are unable to really show much much I appreciate everyone in this drawing!

@anartisticalniche - Niche, I love your art sm and your AUs are super fun. Love your gay pirates and the lockdown protocol AU ;-; Also Puff is adorable and has my heart. I swear I’m gonna draw some of your AUs for you. Might be the gay pirates or lockdown protocol 4. Or Puff. Or Camp34. Or Virtual Western Love. Or just… any of them since you’ve drawn amazing art of my boyos. I gotta give you some in return and one day I shall. Anyway… you’re super fun to talk to and I’m really proud to be your friend ^^ Seriously can’t believe I know someone like you! You’re absolutely amazing and words can’t really describe how much I platonically adore you. You are amazing and never forget that!

@merp0515 - Oh, hi Merp /ref You’re absolutely amazing and so crazy and I adore your energy! Your art is super cool and your writing is great! Been trying to catch up with the Mario Party streams to get the full crazy Merp experience, lol. I love your outfits you create so much and they are absolutely fantastic And I cannot thank you enough for the drawings of my babies they mean the world to me, like… you have no idea. Thank you so much for being my friend and I am very thankful to know you. You’re super funny and fun and a huge inspiration too. I hope to be like you when I grow up (more)

@shygirl4991 - Shay, you have created an Adonis and have graced us all with their existence and for that I cannot thank you enough /silly. But in all seriousness you are awesome and I love your writing so much! And don’t let anyone say anything bad about your art. It is awesome. Don’t let people tear you down. You’re awesome! Your fanfics inspired me to start writing stuff for the SMG4 fandom, and I find it funny how we both basically share the same writing experience of bouncing between AUs constantly when it comes to what is written next. And your streams are always awesome. I hope things get better for you in your personal life as well. Stay safe! ^^ You’re fantastic and I’m very honored to know you!

@b-r-i-n-g-x - Bringx, your AUs and art are great and I can definitely eat your art for a gourmet meal because of how pretty it is. And I will be honest with you, your stuff is absolutely fantastic and you are very appreciated! Love you sm! /platonic And also I must thank you a million times over for fake gays, gay ogres, and the Crash AU because they’re awesome. I seriously bow to thee with your art because it’s so tasty. You’re also so freaking nice and awesome and I really appreciate and honored being able to know you and be in your server. My brain keeps going in circles unable to find better words to show appreciation right now so uhhhhh… just gonna say again that I really appreciate you and love your stuff a lot because my brain can’t think of good words to show appreciation right now

@itsajanea - Hi AJ! Your art is adorable and I know we barely interact sometimes but I seriously love your art and writing. Seriously your art is adorable and I know you’re not all that active due to school, but the stuff of yours that is out there is fantastic, and I know it hasn’t been updated in while but I can tell you Strange Magic is a movie I really like and I absolutely went feral when I learned about the collab AU you and Liz have because mixing SMG34 and Strange Magic is so fun. You’re seriously awesome! ^^

@lizaluvsthis - You are a fantastic artist and have done a lot of good Marware and SMG34 art and I seriously adore your art too. It’s so pretty. And I’m glad you’re doing good. You’re able to capture canon so well and it’s super cool to see your art! And the fics that you’ve written are also super good too! You’re one of the people that got me into shipping Marware, believe it or not! You’re fantastic and I seriously love your stuff. Remember to take care of yourself and know that I really appreciate you and am proud to call you a friend! ^^

@skeletonstudios - Hello MJ. One of the top Marware consumers I’m sure, lol. You are seriously amazing and I love your art and adore the comments you’ve left for Apprenticeship and Schmigadoon. You also really make me laugh whenever you come in like a feral beast whenever Marware is even remotely mentioned. I gotta catch up on your OC’s lore too, not that I think about it. I promise I will draw some fanart for you in the future. Mark my words, MJ. Mark. My. Words. /silly

@ominus-potato - If it weren’t for you Apprenticeship would definitely not be what it is today, I am just gonna outright say it. Seriously, it would not be anywhere near what it is without your support. This thing was originally gonna be 10 chapters and forgotten before you showed a genuine interest in it, honestly. I seriously appreciate you because like… seriously, I don’t think I’d be anywhere near here without you. And of course you also drag me into shipping rarepairs like TrashCube, BadgeHunter, and Wreniles. And your fics are fantastic, even if it takes awhile between them. Still love the one-shots with Mr. Puzzles learning Italian and SMG4 being taken to another world. Those two constantly live in my head rent free. Love ya! /platonic

@briandraws - Hello my eldest child /silly. Your artwork is chef’s kiss, and you are definitely a master at writing angst. COWOW is a heartbreaking story I need to reread because the urge is strong. And also the gift fic you wrote where Apprenticeship and COWOW meet ;-; My heart. Also do it. Put my children through the horrors. Cuz I know I am /silly Also, you are definitely the leader of the three Marware CEOs. I bow to thee and your ability to write so many Marware stories. (And also a happy birthday!!🍰)

@ghostiefrog-arts - Hi Froggie, my handsomest grandson :3 You and Brian cook up so many great things and your AUs involving people’s sonas are super awesome and I love them so much! And your art is very yummy. You are awesome and keep up the good work. You also are absolutely fantastic when it comes to organizing things to lift Brian’s mood and I really respect you for that. And here, have this: 🦐 You know why /silly

@theghostinthestudio - Snazziest little creechur and my other grandchild hello!!! Love your next gen AU with SpagheTV and also Rango. Rango is awesome. Love the little OneStar ship-child. You are extremely chaotic and always make me laugh. Honestly it was your SpagheTV that gave me a the idea of implementing him into Apprenticeship. But you are definitely a snazzy little creature and I love ya /platonic

@candypearljam - You are very fun to talk to whenever you’re able to be online and I really appreciate you and how you’re the only sane one in our online family ^^ /silly

@artist-heart83 - You. Are. Awesome. Love your TrashCube and Marware stuff sm and seeing the stuff you’ve said about Apprenticeship makes me very happy. ;-; You’re awesome and your fics are awesome and your Next Gen AU is awesome and your art is awesome and I just really love ya! /platonic. Keep up the great work! Your stuff is just so great and inspiring!! ^^

@kuromipuzzles2000 - I love your Swap AU and have fanart for it on my list of WIPs because I love your swap Puzzle3!! And your art is so freaking cute too! Love your AUs so much and I’ll definitely continue to defend you if people give you shit for the ships and AUs. Seriously, your Trickster AU, Trivia AU, and Swap AU are so fun and I love seeing them! You are awesome and don’t let anyone Tell you otherwise! ^^

@theartistisme43 - Your scarred AU is awesome. Those two are absolutely awesome and I love them so much! And I absolutely love to hate your version of Mr. Puzzles! And I know you haven’t done too much with the Search lately, but the story is super interesting and I love the idea of it! SMG7 is a little menace and I love him, I’ll be honest. Your art is absolutely fantastic, and your gmod stuff is absolutely phenomenal! You are such a huge inspiration for me! You are awesome and your stuff is awesome! And I just love your scarred boys so much! The AU owns a large piece of my heart because they are just… they’re so cute. ;-; You are seriously awesome and such an inspiration!

@grinnames - Your Godbox AU is so freaking cool and I love them so much they are such chaotic goobers and your art is so creepy and I love it! Your AU is one I’d seen and loved before because it is so silly and spooky. I seriously love the story and would love to see how SMG3 and SMG4 are either saved or lost for good because it’s so intriguing for me. And Mario being a creepypasta checks out- /silly. But seriously I love your stuff a lot and your art is very very tasty. Your stuff is awesome and so are you!! ^^

@34saveme34 - Hello one of the two people that got me into shipping Marware. Nicc, I’m now positive it was both the Mario the Exploro art or the Technical Difficulties drawing with the making cream filled Italian desserts. I’m positive it was one of those two- Anyway. Your yappings are so fun to read and I’m sorry I didn’t get my theory out before episode 4 of your magical AU came out. But either way, you come up with amazing ideas and your yappings are always really interesting to read through, especially when digging deeper and overthinking SMG4. You are a big inspiration and are absolutely amazing! ^^ Hopefully I can get my MatPat game up for future installments of the Magical AU (and maybe the Sever the Ties AU too since if I remember correctly there’s 2 more installments in the future).

@theforty7thgamer - Forty you’re awesome and SUPER is SUPER fun (pun intended). I really appreciate you. You’re an amazing friend, and you got me out of my shell and back onto Discord after what had happened to me in the past. I love the SUPERs and the entire concept behind it all with a successor to Mario, and I’m very proud to know that I’m your friend and someone you trust to bounce ideas off of and play DnD with. Love you a lot! /platonic

@chezz-lil - Hello my child!! I love your artwork and I am very honored to know that my AU inspired yours and I love hearing you yap about them. It’s awesome that you got inspired my me and I love it sm. Your stories are super fun to read over and are very much appreciated. Sorry that I can be a bit weird on Discord lol. Thank you for the arts and the ramblings I love them sm! I am very honored to be your parent ^^

@rat-n-atty - Your art is fantastic, and your SMGenerations story is definitely interesting! Love seeing SMG3 and SMG4 being SMG5’s dads without being in a romantic relationship. It’s seriously so cute and is definitely something I can see happening in canon too. Is really inspirational for some of the fics I’m working on! I seriously need to draw your SMG5 because I love that little biscuit so much! And the sona lore… ooh the sona lore. Love that a lot too! I gotta make fanart of your stuff. It’s amazing. I really love and appreciate you! ^^ /platonic

@anemeraldapple - you know why you’re here /silly

[paperclipninja]

I think I'm in a minority and lordt knows I've been very wrong about stuff like this before, but I have zero concern that Good Omens will end with Aziraphale and Crowley being human. None. Not even one iota of worry about it happening.

Why?

Because Neil Gaiman is a really good storyteller. And he, as a really good storyteller, knows that would be an unsatisfying ending.

Obviously this is pure speculation on my part, but a really good storyteller doesn't go to the effort of constructing such an intricate story, in which the challenges and desires of having eternal life but not being able to share it with the one being you want to, are so carefully laid out only to have them end up mortal. Because then what? Crowley ends up back in hell anyway and maybe Aziraphale does too? Or they end up back where they started? Nah.

My guess is that it is not going to play out as a rom-com might (I mean, it's not a rom-com), or with anything particularly overt being shown between Aziraphale and Crowley, and any "it may not be the ending you want" is, in my mind, getting way out in front to manage expectations.

By the time season 3 airs we will have been consuming years of fanfic, fanart and fanon and of all people, Neil knows the way that begins to shift the expectations and hopes of a fandom. It's really easy to drift away from canon or forget the kind of show it actually is (and that's totally fine, gimme all the fics and art that take me to where I want my faves to be), but it also means that fandoms can end up "disappointed" that some of the fan thinking and creating didn't come to pass.

So mah point is, any comments from actors or creators about a season not being what we want- that doesn't mean it's going to be rubbish storytelling. It means that some of the things people are hoping for won't happen.

And until we see what actually plays out on our screen, I, for one, am going to keep immersing myself in the brilliant creativity of this fandom and just

EDIT TO ADD: also need to acknowledge that Terry Pratchett is also an incredible storyteller and these two had it all figured out nearly 20 years ago and one thing's for certain, and that is that neither author, or Neil in seeing through the vision they both had, is going to drop the ball at the last minute