#i have my own discord where i put stuff you know that one popular post or whatever yeah

[winter-jay-official]

This is my greatest idea yet

[drosselmeyerwrites]

SessKag Fandom Chat

Before I write more, I want to first say that this is not a warm and fuzzy Tumblr post. There has been a lot going on in the SessKag fandom over the past couple years, and this post is going to be discussing what has happened and what is still happening behind the scenes there. If you are not in the mental or heart space to invest time in fandom drama, this post is not what you are looking for right now. If you want to preserve your peace or do not want to be made aware of the unsavory details of what has occurred, now would be the time to scroll.

If you are still here…

I want to start by saying that this post was not approached lightly. Myself and others have watched for a long time now (mostly) quietly as certain creators and participants in the SessKag fandom have incited discontentment and exclusivity under the pretense of “support” and “inclusion.”

At best, they have spread individual perspectives that they falsely attribute to the masses; at worst, they have been outright bullying.

I am going to attempt to be as non-confrontational as possible. What has been going on, however, makes this effort intrinsically limited. But due to the harm that has occurred, negative things will be discussed. It’s the nature of the beast. I’m not going to say the names of those involved in this negative behavior. Fandom being what it is, many have already noticed who’s doing what and have spoken of it in their own circles. So, while I am not saying names, many of you reading this will regardless know. I cannot help that.

To those who have been doing this, my first instinct was to show fandom in no uncertain terms what you have said and been orchestrating behind the scenes. There is plenty of screenshot evidence showing how you talk about creators, their works, and even your own supposed friends when you think no one is looking. But, as others in this fandom far wiser than me pointed out, too many would be unnecessarily hurt by this because they don’t know what you’re saying behind their backs while you smile to their faces and put up a false pretense of support. So, for the time being at least, those will not be shared.

It is hard to know what to share about everything that has happened, but a bit back, this post popped up on Tumblr, and the hashtags pretty much hit the nail on the head and described this situation within SessKag perfectly. So, I am going to piggyback off these hashtags to talk about the garbage this select group of people has been inciting. Hashtags are taken directly from the post previously linked.

#fandom is supposed to be a community#fandom is not a competition or popularity contest

Communities evolve, and fandom is no exception to this. What matters about fandom is that a group of people have come together to share a common interest. Sometimes, that interest leads to closer friendships that are long-lasting, and that’s  part of the magic of fandom. But in the last couple of years, for some reason some of you have taken the focus off the relationships and what brought everyone together to begin with. Instead, a higher value has been placed on “stats,” whose work is being talked about, shared, who’s winning fandom awards, etc. And when it wasn’t what you wanted to see, for some asinine reason, you took it personally and made it your mission to try and change it to what you wanted by tearing others down.

There’s nothing wrong with trying to promote works that may be falling under the radar; there is something wrong with the way you’ve gone about it.

There have been a few different distasteful tactics involved, which are discussed below. What I speak of here is stuff there is screenshot evidence for or other virtual evidence:

 “Squash” posting, where you intentionally try to push the content of others down feeds

Event mimicry

Post mimicry

Collection theft

Server poaching (There is nothing wrong with inviting people to Discord servers you create. There is, however, something wrong with staying in servers you bash behind the scenes for the sole purpose of trying to pad your own member list. This is especially true when you send “recruitment” messages that in any way disparage the efforts of the servers in which you disingenuously stay.)

Performance expectations (Behind the scenes, you have been hypercritical of people who are not as active in fandom as you deem required to be considered “valid.”)

Bashing authors behind the scenes (You can critique works you read; there is nothing wrong with that. But there is a difference between critique and bashing. And while no one can control what you choose to say and do, bashing is not okay. Making assumptions about authors’ personal lives and character based on their work is not okay.)

On the matter of mimicry, the behavior has been particularly appalling. SessKag does have some established fandom events and spaces that have been around for years. Certain people, who are sometimes also creators, are a part of keeping these things together. And they have done so consistently for years. This doesn’t mean that other people can’t make their own spaces or events—they absolutely can and should. But trying to reinvent the wheel and “takeover” what exists, is a different matter. Why do I say “takeover” in particular? Well, the server poaching mentioned above is one reason. But there has also been:

Name-calling and insults

Outright admissions that you are attempting to usurp these established efforts because yours are, quote, “better”

Expressions of violence when those running these established SessKag events and spaces say or do something you don’t like 

It should go without saying, but none of this is okay or appropriate. At all.

To the one spearheading this effort, I’m going to speak to you as a writer for a moment. There is this well-established fact in writing that it’s all been said and done, but it hasn’t necessarily been said and done by you before. So, if you have a creative idea, giving that an outlet is something you should do. But remember also that writers are warned that things can become predictable, redundant, or boring if all we do is approach it the same way. In the most extreme cases, it results in plagiarism and copyright violations. IP theft. Bringing something new to the table within a genre, subverting tropes—all this is important to making creations that share inherent characteristics with others  unique. It also serves to avoid outright copying.

Oscar Wilde said it best: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.”

There is no room for copying and takeover attempts in any space. This does nothing more than destroy communities. If there is something more to add, add it. But adding to fandom means doing just that. It does not require the attempts there have been (and there absolutely have been) to destroy existing spaces and take someone’s idea and “do it better,” especially when your reasons to do so are nothing more than personal or straight up contrived.

#and no one is ‘higher’ than another because they write or draw or have a lot of followers #abolish this idea of hierarchy#we’re all here together and we’re equals

This one is especially interesting. Somewhere along the squall line of this drama, the concept of “pillars” came out. That is, this group of people inciting disquiet decided that certain authors were SessKag “pillars” because their work was popular, and these works were recognizable to a broad audience within our fandom. Others deemed “pillars” were involved in helping run different fandom circles they volunteer their time for. But for some reason, you all decided to paint these people as diabolical. As terrible people. As awful people. Other things I won’t waste time saying here.

And you do not know them.

I’m going to speak personally for a moment because I do know a lot of the “pillars” you’ve talked about and spread rumors about this way. They’re friends of mine, and they are some of the sweetest, most caring, honest, and heartfelt people out there. They do not call themselves “pillars” nor view themselves as such. And you’ve taken a steaming digital dump on them because, for some reason, them participating in fandom in the same manner that anyone else does has made you angry.

This is a you problem. And it is a big you problem.

“Pillars” do not control fandom audiences, and fandom audiences are allowed to consume whatever stories and art they wish. Just as we’ve seen within any genre of fictional works, some stories garner more attention and are more broadly read and discussed. That is literature. That is life.

No creator has done you wrong by writing/ drawing a well-loved work.

No member of the fandom audience has done you wrong liking any popular work.

For that matter, no one has done you wrong not consuming or commenting on your works. That is not owed—to any of us. Of course, we love feedback. But it is not required for anyone to leave feedback to be a good fandom member or a part of fandom.

There was no concept of hierarchy in SessKag until you all started this nonsense. You attributed a label, intent, and attitude to people you do not know that doesn’t even exist within them. But you committed to this garbage based on nothing but your own perceptions and false assumptions. This is not okay, and singling out people like this accomplishes the opposite of what community is supposed to do.

The only time there is a “hierarchical” structure, so to speak, is perhaps in fandom events or projects. And that’s because the whole world of fandom can’t manage a single event. It would be chaos. So, there’s an event runner who orchestrates things and sets up the rules, and if one chooses to participate in that event? Yes, there is a reasonable expectation that you go along with what the event coordinator has set up.

Fandom spaces like Discord servers, blogs, events, etc. are never without a need for help. Help has been asked for repeatedly in the past in SessKag spaces. What that help requirement is will vary by situation. But it’s not like there has never been an opportunity to step up and help in these roles. There has been. So we also cannot fairly say that certain people are just trying to control things in Sesskag, as you have also done. Participating in these broad fandom spaces has always been welcomed.

#and fic and art are not ‘content’#content just means stuff#what writers and artists make is more than just stuff

I touched on this briefly earlier, but we’re going to loop around back to it. Somewhere in the past couple of years, you’ve decided that people must actively create to “matter” in fandom. This is ludicrous. Fandom is a place to come as you are when you can come. Everything in fandom is done on a voluntary basis and is a labor of love. People have lives that take priority over fandom—as they should. Expecting that people constantly churn out fanworks to be considered relevant is unreasonable, and there's no place for this mentality in fandom. 

There is also plenty of screenshot evidence showing where you criticize what creators choose to produce, complaining about their works’ genres, tropes, etc. To add to the list, you are complaining behind the scenes about specific creators never reading nor commenting on your works or other works you think they should be doing so on.

So, to that, several things need to be said:

The only requirement in fandom is not being a jerk to others.

No creator owes a fandom stories.

No creator owes a fandom fanart.

No creator owes you fanworks that meet your preferred tropes, genres, categories, etc. rather than what they want to produce.

No creator/ reader owes you comments on your fics.

No creator/ reader is required to read your or any other creator’s fanworks.

No one is doing you or anyone else wrong by not doing these things.

Everything I said up above is true. 100%. Non-negotiable. Yes, it’s nice when we get comments or find works that fit our preferences. And, yes, creators and readers can have very valid frustrations on these matters. But you still don’t call the shots on what others do for fandom or what they consume. 

Fandom is no one’s personal playground where everyone must cater to your whims. You curate your own experience, and that’s it. But that’s not how you’ve chosen to act. Of course, you aren’t physically there to breathe down fandom members’ necks and try to make them do what you want. But when they don’t do these things that you’ve arbitrarily set up as “rules,” they are suddenly doing something wrong, and you put them on blast behind the scenes. 

This is where things begin to take a devious turn. In public fandom spaces, and we’ll include closed servers in this, you give lip service to the opposite. You express for people to do as they want when they can. But in the private conversations, you’re speaking out the other side of your mouth. You’re trashing people for violating your personal expectations on these matters.

Again, that is neither appropriate nor okay.

It also contributes to ableism in the fandom. That’s another topic in and of itself, but the bottom line is that not everyone can consume or produce content the way that your expectations demand–all for different and valid reasons. Whether or not that is understood by you doesn’t matter. It also doesn’t negate that it is ableist.

Following this, there has been this new idea perpetuated that “old works” or creators are out of touch or don’t matter anymore, but that is not how art nor literature works. Never has been. And significance and impact are not limited by a timeline that a handful of people arbitrarily decide. On top of this, it’s a massive lack of respect for the fans and creators that helped to build this fandom well before you ever dipped your toes into it. Disparaging old works in the manner you have does nothing more than poison the well, so to speak, because those works are either the whole reason people have a fandom to enjoy to begin with. Or, in the case of works created only a handful of years back, they’re a part of fond, meaningful fandom memories for SessKag fans.

Works stick in people’s minds based on that work’s own merit. This is why you have people who love maybe a single book by an author, but they don’t like any of their other stuff. It’s why you might enjoy one song by an artist and then none of their other music. You can’t make something suddenly more significant to people by telling them that something is more relevant or better just because it’s newer. That’s a single criterion in a long list of reasons on why works become loved by individuals, and the consumption of any art form is subjective to begin with. Trying to police how people perceive these fandom writings and artworks is an inappropriate and misplaced effort.

You have the same opportunity any other fandom creator does to create a fanwork with a long-lasting impact on the fandom. At the end of the day, it's the luck of the draw. Creators don't know what is going to stick with readers and become a broadly-loved fanwork. It just happens when it does.

The works and fandom members make that decision for all of us.

#let’s make fandom more of a community again and lift each other up and support each other and make friends again

Many of you have been in the SessKag fandom for a long time. Some of us have participated for a little bit now, and others are very new. No matter where you sit in terms of fandom longevity or how you contribute, you are a part of this fandom. You matter. Your thoughts, feelings, and opinions—as far as they do not harm nor attempt to control others—are valid. It doesn’t matter if your most recent fanwork share was yesterday or ten years ago. It doesn’t matter if you do nothing but lurk. There is no requirement to be a part of fandom except that you’re here for the subject matter and aren’t a jerk to others.

Fair is fair. As much as everything here in this post addresses a distasteful lack of judgment, humans are going to human. We all have moments where our asses show, and we all have moments we need to learn from. What we do when we realize that is what really matters because none of us are perfect. No one should expect perfection. Everyone, even friends we love and hold dear, will screw up at one time or another, and this is one reason why relationships take work.

I don’t want to step away from this without acknowledging positives to those people this post addresses. None of this means that, if you have been hurt by anyone in fandom, that you suddenly have to make nice and be buddy-buddy with them. No. You’re allowed to set and keep boundaries. But life is nuanced, so in light of that I do think it’s important to recognize more than just the bad that’s been thrown in our faces lately.

To those of you participating in everything discussed in this post, you guys are parents, spouses, friends—just like all of us. I know you have been there to support each other when that has been needed, and you all also contribute a whole lot of joy to fandom. People love the work you all put out there. Why? Because you are a talented group of people. I have seen art and moments in fanfiction you all have created that resonate with me and make me feel things. There is so much beauty in what you all contribute and can contribute to fandom. And really, moving forward, I hope that is what stands out and shines. Because that is the part of you people look at and are inspired by. These are the kinds of things that make fandom a better place and fosters an environment of friendship and a shared love for a niche thing that not everyone out there gets. But we do. We share that.

All this other stuff? It’s unnecessary. It doesn’t support fandom. It doesn’t support the people in it. It kills the spirit of fandom that has always made it the special thing it is. But it’s also something that can be left in the past. It doesn’t have to be how you choose to move forward.

All these people you have been talking about in the dark corners of Discord and the like? They’re people just like your friends. They’re people just like you. And again, I hope you take a moment to reflect on how you really do not know them well enough to be making the character accusations you have. A lot of assertions have been made in a way that acts like you know them better than you do. That is deeply inaccurate, and unfortunately because people’s names have been dragged through the mud, we have to point that out. Because at the end of the day, there are people you’ve said these falsehoods to who, until now, have heard nothing but your opinions on people you largely do not know.

As previously stated, humans will human. We will all mess up. But it’s how we choose to move forward after we’re aware of it that truly matters.

Here’s to choosing to do what is right. And here’s to SessKag reclaiming what it once was. 

[jackdaw-kraai]

Hey, Jack? Do you have any advice for dealing with those who do nothing but demand updates for your fics? I'm pretty sure most writers have to deal with this crap, it's just… I have one reasonably popular fic that's been on hiatus for over a year, and it feels like almost every comment I receive is just another demand for an update. I'm starting to regret ever posting that damnable fic in the first place. I don't want to delete it, that would be cruel to the other readers, but I'm already stressed as hell, I already felt guilty for the long hiatus, and these constant demands just kept grinding me down to the point I can't stand to even look at this fic, much less continue writing it. So… any advice?

Oh I have different tactics for different platforms, so I'll give you some tips for all the ones I use and how they synergize. First of, on Ao3, I generally put something in the notes like "writing takes a long time and real life doesn't always cooperate, so be patient. I'm the one actually working on this, so you can deal waiting for me to pour my labor and passion and time into this. Cool? Cool. If you can't be cool, I'll block/mute/freeze you." Then, I put places in the notes where they can find me outside of Ao3 like my tumblr and discord and explain what they can find there, usually this will help redirect. Then, once in a while, I'll answer a comment if I'm feeling like it like "life is still busy, working on this is still fun but very labor intensive in order to make it, ect". If they get pushy, I block them.

On tumblr, if people get pushy about it in the asks, I block them. No question about it, I block them. Once in a while I'll publish one of them with either a compassionate, curt, or snarky explanation depending on my mood, but I don't give all of them the time of day because oh my gods, who has the time once you ask box hits the triple digits?? I also keep a pinned post on my blog with links where you can find my stuff, so people can easily locate it instead of pestering me about it.

On discord I'm most active, so there's a lot of info to find there, but also, there's a lot of friends there who can help intercept anyone asking questions like that and inform them "writing takes time, cool your heels." Having a good moderating structure also helps with this, as well as spoiler channels where you can rant about your progress to people who are willing to be spoilered, or point at to people who aren't down for spoilers but still want info like "them's the rules for the info, if you don't like it, tough tits." I also flat out have a rule amongst the server rules list (mostly stuff like "don't be a bigoted cunt," "don't air your dirty laundry in #general," "if I catch you being a creep to minors, I WILL call the cops on your ass") that says "don't harass the author" and enforce it by having the server closed to anyone who doesn't tick the little box at the top saying "I have read the rules and agree to them." You very quickly get a self-selecting audience that way that knows you won't take their shit.

Key to all of this is to assert yourself and be willing to step on toes to make people back off and give back your personal space. You can't be shy about setting your boundaries, and you don't have to be polite to people crossing them. Even the kindest celebrities often have bodyguards for this reason, and while we may not be celebrities, we can be our own bodyguards enforcing our boundaries. Try giving people a space they can go for information, but information that's given on your terms, not theirs. Pinned posts and A/Ns and the like are excellent for this. And finally, just block people. Literally just block people, even if they're fans. If people make you uncomfortable, remove them from your space, you can literally just do that. You don't owe them access to be able to harass you, and if they can't be polite about this, you can deny them access to you, period.

Fans are a lot of fun, and I love interacting with them! I met some of my best friends as fans first, and they're lovely folks! But you gotta stick to your boundaries in order to keep it fun for everyone, and make sure you state them loud and clear. And if people pretend to not have heard them, you can remind them this isn't a court of law, and even if it was, ignorance of the law is not defense of breaking it. Evict them from the premise without further notice if they won't comply.

[da12thkind]

Tumblr and The Old Internet Re-Awakens, An Opinion Essay

This is going to be a super long post about my thoughts on the current state of the internet, with a chunk of what I'm about to say having been stuff I've already said elsewhere on other sites. To save your dash, I'll be putting a READ MORE break.

The fact that Twitter and Reddit have basically been destroyed by their own hubris is both hilarious and sad. It's funny because "ha ha rich man's hubris" but also sad because this is very emblematic of the current direction many social media companies that have been at the top for too long are going.

Ever since the muskrat purchased Twitter, it was clear from the beginning that something seriously wrong had happened, with worse decisions to follow. Something I hadn't realized was just how extensive the ripple effects of this would be. Reddit is now being destroyed by their leader's desire for more and more money, as if they needed any more.

I've been having this conversation with my friends via Discord and with strangers on the Starmen dot net forums. The writing is on the walls. The internet is moving towards a future that caters to advertisers more than its users. If there's even the slightest hint of getting more money by screwing over users, the higher ups of a given site will be chomping at the bit.

Where does that leave us?

Well, with Reddit and Twitter both now in a state of complete and total self-destruction, albeit rather slowly, we have seen an influx of new and returning users. Fantastic! I love when an old place gets new life breathed into it.

That being said, I don't believe that Tumblr is the bastion of The Old Internet, far from it, and many of you would agree.

Instead, I think that the resurgence in Tumblr's popularity could be just the first step towards the return of The Old Internet. We have the power to go back to the days of making our own websites. Information on web design and web programming are available online for free, in addition to many places offering free hosting services for a basic website or blog that don't need many bells or whistles (just don't go to GoDaddy).

Tumblr, in my opinion, once you know how to use the advanced editing tools, can make for a great "Baby's First Web Blog." There are some users on here that have made GORGEOUS blogs that will absolutely blow you away.

What about peer-to-peer communications?

We've seen that Discord has been another victim to the plague that is internet gentrification. They've removed the discriminators for usernames, had a store put in, and so many other little changes that have consistently annoyed the end users.

That being said... Discord is not going to be falling apart anytime soon. It's still a fantastic way to connect with many people at once and have quick access to all your different communities.

However, you could make the case, and I certainly try to, that internet forums fulfill the same thing. It is true that forums for many topics have drifted into the void of internet history, but is that not simply the nature of the internet? Communities sprout up, thrive, have an internal way, break apart, and start anew. We've seen that with many Discord servers, albeit rather small ones.

I will still hold my ground that forums should be revitalized if we truly want to go back to the days of old.

What does the future hold?

I... don't know. Despite my vast horde of opinions, research, and second-hand accounts of what The Old Internet was like and how The Current Internet is becoming, I cannot say for absolute certainty that we will see a total collapse of these tech empires. At the very least, however, I do believe that they will become hollowed shells of their former selves.

I have yet to talk about YouTube and its history, and, to be quite frank with you all, I simply must avoid that topic for now. All I will say is that I implore my fellow content creators, specifically those that create Video On-Demand content for YouTube and TikTok, to look into creating your own websites to host your content in the event that something happens to these empires, too. If you don't have offline copies of your videos, do so when you can.

That will be it for now. Thank you for reading this essay. I love your faces. Stay safe.

[onesunofagun]

You know, I'm going to put a thought down because I'm thinking about this again because of the post earlier.

It might be a vent? I think it's more just me trying to describe a feeling so it's outside me and I can look at it.

I've seen a lotta discourse and a lot of theories and different takes out there. There's always gonna be some stuff that's frustrating because it's something Sus being widely normalised, but generally speaking, I think the varied perspective and ideas are always good thing in a fandom.

I've seen all sorts of ideas be explored-- in fics, in doujins and art, in roleplay, in lore essays-- over the years. I like to think I have a pretty good map on the fandoms I've been online and present in since the early 00s. I can usually remember context about how certain stuff came about, like what tropes or ideas got popular when and how, whether through shipping or fanon or mangas or general knowledge about the development process.

When you've been in a fandom a long time-- especially if you have made a lot of contributions to it, at any point-- sometimes you even have a part in shaping certain idea flows within it, yourself.

So I have had the chance to see and contribute to a lot of conversations that have happened over and over and over again, in a kind of generational way. I have seen certain discussions from old forums, translate to fics. I've seen them pop up on tumblr, then tumble to Reddit, then YouTube. I have watched the spread through the general sphere of things, get added to and turned over and re-examined.

For the record: I love watching that process, and I like being part of that process! Mentally tracking the grandfathered in fandom history has also become its own kinda hobby for me.

I've always found it interesting mapping where new fans come in, seeing how they orient themselves and what they pick up-- how and why and what they do with it, whether I appreciate it or not (I highlight biases that are related to harmful ideas when I see them to illuminate them).

Seeing certain concepts be repeatedly rediscovered and watching how certain waves of fans digest them is fascinating. Sometimes with surprising results, sometimes with disappointing results, but it's fascinating either way. That's kind of part of the appeal having been here so long and why I came back into (mild) activity-- I get to study and dissect the fandom behaviours as well.

But despite all of that, I've found I don't really appreciate a good number of the popular YouTubers who focus on Zelda as their channel topic.

I think I've developed a bit of a distaste for a few of them in particular, actually--the big number Zeldatuber channels. Mostly the ones that seem to be the theorycrafters that kinda followed on from a MatPat style format. All of my love to well researched videos analysing the themes and meta, and all the silly boundary breaks and speedruns, mind. But I found I got really disillusioned with the handful of channels that rose to prominence and how their content shifted with that growth.

With the potential to monetise their discussions and discords worth of people and patrons driving this kinda content, I do think a lot about things that have been discussed in the fandom in the past that get taken up and regurgitated as part of that grind. I have lost track of how many videos that have come out of a few big Zeldatubers of this vein gave me a really weird slimy feeling and I am trying to work out what it is.

I'm not super invested in watching much of Zeldatube at large, mostly because I've seen most popular subjects covered in many variations. I'm a lot more personally interested in analysis, rather than theorycraft, so take it with a grain of salt that I may have a bias too (The popular Zonai fixation really doesn't interest me at all, and Zeldatube burnt out on that hard).

A lot of the channels like this seem to present their stuff like it is brand new and never been seen before, and like it's a great achievement in sleuthing or that they've cracked a code-- but not in a fun feeling way. Not in an exciting personal discovery way, but in a way that feels like it's propping up an exclusivity around that channel, and its validity as a leading authority on Zeldadom. There's something vaguely newsfeed-like, or sensationalist about it to me, with tight knit associations to other big channels making the same type of content (and about the same types of subjects as far as I ever noticed, and widely overlapping perspectives).

I wonder if that's a cynical feeling that I have where I'm just being an old man yelling at clouds, but there's really something that rubs me wrong about the handful of top channels like this. Something about the way they generate and present, and potentially profit from, often long running fandom concepts and otherwise freely shared ideas that have had many contributions feels off.

Maybe it's also me struggling to understand the closed off nature of how a lot of people just absorb the series secondhand now, and how normal it is to have the most popular Zeldatube channels setting the tones and assumptions around lore for large swatches of the newer fans. And not because old guard gatekeeping, but because there's an obvious chasm there between new and old fans of the same media that now exists that's seemingly getting wider.

I do sometimes worry about the trend of recycled old fanon staples presented as brand new takes, because of that-- or worse, sold as the definitive take, especially when a lot of people do just accept them and then go off and start arguments because 'big Zeldatube said so' and they must know best.

Sometimes I wonder if the trend is actually adding to issues with consumption vs engagement, in terms of media literacy and fandom interaction. There's certainly some theories, because of these channels, widely taken as a kind of gospel from the 'zelda experts' like the discussion is already closed; mystery solved. I've legit seen smaller youtubers be accused of stealing or copying theories from the larger channels, when making detailed and well researched videos about canon lore. I have had multiple interactions with fans who just link to a popular video and be like 'here watch this, it'll explain it' like they can't even be bothered to have their own take, but they're also not interested in yours.

The way big Zeldatube presents itself and gets consumed at large, though, I guess I just don't recognise that as the same as seeing a new fan have a joyful discovery of something from their own interactions with the franchise and fandom. I realise that the channel runners are fans themselves, but I suppose I mean that the platform feels more like a degree of professional separation that's very closed. It's become 'Zelda is my job now' thing that's focused on interest trends and news.

Something something, decades of fandom interaction and discussion and archiving getting scraped and haphazardly slapped together again for the content grind because clout and profit??

That feels mean to say but--

"Like and subscribe and join my patreon for more content, often mined from various thoughts around the fandom to make up a new video to schedule" is how it often tastes to me and that's not a flavour I enjoy.

Again, by all means, not applicable to the whole of Zeldatube or many fans who do watch the big channels. But this kinda thing does feel like a pervasive and popular part of the theorycrafter channels. Commodification of theory, and exploitative platforms built off a community's back, leave a lot of the big Zeldatubers without my support or endearment. I feel incredibly conflicted about them.

Is that anything?

[esther-dot]

I double-checked and heard '100' as well. I'm the same as you, honestly it sounds positive to me but people are going to spin headlines. The fact he's opened up about struggling alone probably indicates he's feeling better about it - I guess speaking personally, when I was able to verbalise that I was having trouble at all with my writing, that was already the point where I was beginning to untangle it.

I'm more interested in GRRM's process from a writer's POV as opposed to waiting morosely for the endproduct, so that's the angle I like thinking about. His work is extremely ambitious, because he's got multiple working elements at once: not just multiple perspective characters, but he's trying to pull off a deconstructive commentary (I mean this in the literary criticism sense, not the sense used in fandom spaces which is 'thing bad? what do about it?') in addition to marrying the weighted moral/thematic complexity of a classic novel paired with the fantasy genre. LOTR is much more firmly in mythic territory than that imo.

I say this as someone who's not necessarily an ASOIAF superfan, but I find his work interesting just because holy fuck, George, of course it's taken you twelve years.

(about this post)

Yeah, I think looking at this from a writer’s perspective gives one a lot more sympathy for how long it’s taking him to write. I've criticized him a fair bit myself, so I don’t feel overly protective of him, but most fans seem to ignore the vast difference between typical genre fiction and what he’s doing. I’ve said before, it’s literature, with all the layers and complexity that implies. Hence it taking a decade + to bring his story together just so (in addition to all the other reasons) and ghost writers not being a workable solution for him.

I've written some original stuff and with that, and with my fics, I have a similar style with the whole, knowing certain things, even having later bits of dialogue written, but not using an outline and just, writing until I reach those moments naturally. In the interview, Cornwell said he's a true gardener, doesn't even know how his own stories will end, but Martin has created a headache for himself by having established endgames, major beats, and what he's called set pieces that he's determined to naturally find. It's a difficult way to write. I think it does allow him some great characterization, but I honestly feel sick to my stomach when I think about what he has to be going through with that method and this series.

I'm sure no one is more anxious for him to finish the book than he is. Fanfic writers feel a weight over their unfinished fics, meta writers groan over metas sitting in their drafts, but none of us had the showrunners of the most popular TV show waiting for us to wrap it up, contracts with publishers, a mouthy worldwide fandom, our legacy hanging in the balance. Martin even talked about wanting to write the best book he could, knowing he's already kept people waiting so long, which means he's putting additional pressure on himself. I personally wish he took on fewer projects (distractions! demands!), but he has the right to a payday even if it is coming from HBO after the travesty of s8. He mentioned in that interview how there were times he thought his career was over, and I'm sure he never imagined he'd be so successful or become this wealthy. He should enjoy it!

I know there was a discord for Jonsas at one point, and I hope someone does that again when TWOW is gonna come out so people have a safe place to talk. I actually might wait for some Jonsas to post about their thoughts before I read it. I like spoilers, and I've stuck around this long to support the Jonsa fandom ( +spite for all the people who harassed us), so I don't think I'd be able to dip when TWOW comes out.

[blubirdreamz]

// !!VENT POST!! // DO NOT READ OR INTERACT IF YOU ARE GOING TO SPREAD HATE //

theres been something on my mind that some people might find disturbing or unsettling, but i have to share it.

whenever i listen to music or saved audios on tiktok i walk or run around when i do so, for most of the time i have to be in constant motion to properly imagine things. but that is not the only thing

i have been doing this since i was a kid, i imagined myself in animation memes, movies or even myself as a youtuber or tiktoker (basically a celebrity) but ever since my reputation in school got ruined, i felt sick and ashamed so i found a character that i can portray my own personality, my own interests and problems onto. so after the WORST week at school of getting bullied and teased to the point where the only thing i could do is lay down on the desk and cry because i knew that if i asked a teacher for help and told them about the popular kids bullying me for my interests and style, it wouldnt end up good. my mind always told me not to because they might say something false about me or might tell the teacher about a bad thing ive done a long while ago. i would come back from school crying and i wouldnt come out of my room once not even to get food or water. the whole situation has left a REAL deep scar in my mental state and for 6 months i have felt burnt out and i couldnt take proper care of myself, i couldnt sleep and had a messed up sleep schedule, i couldnt brush my teeth or brush my hair properly. i felt scared because i knew they had my home adress, they were saying real bad stuff about me in their discord groups and servers that theyd purposely send me invites to just ot harrass me and make fun of me, they have made me insecure about my chest, my stomach (not perfectly flat), my thighs and hip dips. so after all that i found a character that would represent me (even if they werent even a little similar to me) my struggles and interests, and no, im not posting as them, i dont think that i am them, though i cant imagine myself as a cool person anymore, knowing that no one i know thinks im cool, but i think that the character is cool. I feel ashamed of myself so instead of thinking about myself, i think about them. i know this explenation is not exactly what im feeling, and i cant currently find words for it, but i will update the post if i find a way to express.

also im sorry, its not something i usually post, and im sorry if i made anyone uncomfortable or disturbed, i feel really bad about what im feeling and i am scared that people will see me as weird or mentally ill, or think of me as a psychopath or someone that deserves to be put in a mental hospital. i had to say it tho. and i feel disgusted for doing so but i hope you will understand.

ALSO, i will be giving more details soon about the whole „portraying myself as a fictional character” thing that i currently cannot really put into words since this post has been more of a dump about what happened to me at school, so i hope you are all doing okay, bye (im not gonna k!ll myself though, the whole thing happened A REAL LONG WHILE AGO)

ALSO PLEASE TELL ME IF YOU WANT ME TO SPECIFY WHAT CHARACTER I PORTRAY MYSELF ONTO OR NOT

[bellybiologist]

April 2024 Patreon Announcements! Changes Ahoy!

Okay oof, April is here. I'm tracking the days until i get some of my outstanding bills paid. Just gotta hang on for a few more months!

Some notable announcements in terms of commissions and restructuring! (This is a long one, so please bare with me!) EDIT: I forgot its April 1st, so as to some assurance so people don't think I'm pulling legs, the updates are forreal.

=====

Firstly, Patreon-specific announcements. Monthly Fills starting this month will be free to view! The Feedback form (which is still open! Feel free to leave some if you haven't) points to people being fine with, and still willing to support me if patreon content was free, so I'm going to see how this goes! Voting will still be Patron only, and higher tiers will for now focus on voter benefits. This may change in the future pending on support and feedback! Fills and Doodles will NOT be directly posted to Patreon. I will be creating google drive folders that will have all the fills from now on. They will be posted to my medias too (discord, tumblr, pixiv, previews on twitter/X, pixiv), but spicier ones will not be posted where they wouldn't be allowed.

April 2024's Poll will be up shortly! and this month's Theme is Prank/April Fool's with the top 3 winners getting single stage fills! I know that we're supposed to be getting a sequence this month, but I want to more immediately address the fact that people are often displeased with the sequence winners due to kink and character tastes (understandably!). See below! I will still be doing Sequences, but they will be longer form projects separated from monthly content and having no deadlines so I can work on them at my leisure. They will also have their own polls which will only be repeated once the previous sequence is finished. =====

Commission Repricing Has Been Decided! Due to feedback, I've decided to implement a more moderate increase to commission pricing. Essentially, Waist up and Full body figures will be getting a 25% increase (to $50 and $75 respectively). Busts will remain the same price, as it's not a popular option, and some Extras will be receiving slight price increases. The form has yet to be updated, and the new prices won't come into effect until I announce that its done. I will also be offering an additional option that is less expensive than the normal figure prices, but pricier than the YCHs, where they'd be done similarly to the weekly stream doodles (ie. Very Quick one-session-and-done style pieces).

=====

Now the usual announcements! Due to fills becoming free, no new pieces will be going to the higher tiers. I'll still release the older fills slowly, but eventually, everything will be free to view! As such...

April 2022 and 2023's fills will be released and free to view! As per usual, I'll bulk upload them onto my drive and pixiv, and spread them out over the course of the week on tumblr and discord (twitter/X site getting previews). I'll also be putting up an April New Uploads Folder in my drive so people can keep up with what goes up this month, while deleting the February Uploads folder.

A new Reward Request Post will be going up, too! Patrons are free to leave one in there even if you already have one from last month's! February's requests will have expired though! So if those haven't been drawn, you will need to re-suggest them. March's will expire when May rolls around. See this document to see whats on the list, what expired, and what has been done!

=====

As always, thanks for the support! I'm hoping these changes will be favorably received by many of you! (and please bare with me as I updated all the stuff that needs updating 😅

[hxhhasmysoul]

I remember you mentioned a while back that you rarely made any online friends who are artists. You stated that you made four, three from the HxH fandom and one in JJK. The thing that intrigues me the most is the statement of you most likely won’t be able to befriend another artist within the JJK fandom in such low stakes condition. I was wondering what you possibly meant by that, and was hoping for a possible clarification or explanation. Although I can see where you are coming from, the JJK fandom is extremely… active in comparison to the HxH fandom. Additionally, I do wonder how did you befriended this JJK artist in the first place.

I don't remember how I phrased the low stakes thing. Maybe I was confusing and rambly when I wrote about it. I'll try to write it out clearly but it will take some background.

Despite the HxH fandom being small, much smaller than JJK, it's actually pretty active. But most of all it has Shal, I tagged Shal recently in one of my answers so I won't do it again, not to bother her.

Shal isn't the only person who's active like that in the HxH fandom but she's like a staple of the HxH fandom, someone who the fandom owes a lot to, probably the most to. Shal and her kin are community organisers. For years, like fucking clockwork, Shal has successfully run several HxH annual events. Shal runs a very chill and active HxH fandom server called Greed Island Server. If you look at HxH posts you will see that many of them mention that server. There's a blog on here called HxH events that aggregates and promotes HxH events.

My theory is that, because of Shal's achievements there are also many other HxH events going on here without Shal.

This lowers the bar of entry into the HxH community here, makes it low stakes.

Most events have discords. In a general discord it's sometimes hard to jump into the convo, hard to say something. In an event discord it's easy to interact, talk about the event. Talk about the stuff you're doing for the event. Discuss ideas. The topics are clear. Also many people join these events and some of them are there for the first time, some are veterans. The newbies will ask questions about how it works, the veterans will answer. Clear topic, clear interaction purpose. Also in the servers it's rarely directly to a particular person. At least initially. That also lowers the stakes. Someone starts a topic and others join in or they don't but there's enough people so there likely be some response, not radio silence.

And once it gets going you can make friends. You may find you click with some of these people. You may go to the dms and talk about other stuff. (though no guarantees, this is not a promise that the moment you join an event you will make deep and meaningful connections. doing that will improve your chances, that's it.)

As far as I've noticed JJK has nothing of the sort. There are some popular accounts, some popular writers, artists, meta writers, popular aggressive clout chasers with their cold takes. You will have all of that in the HxH fandom, the good, the bad, the irritating.

But because there are no events to interact with people in the JJK fandom you have to do it here. You have to either be a mean fuck like me and give little shits and just comment on posts in notes, tags or reblogs. You need to send asks off anon. It requires putting yourself out there in a situation where you don't know whether the person, and it will always be one on one, wants the interaction. Any interaction at all or just on this particular topic.

JJK fandom is active like a big city centre. There's a lot of people around, some are in groups, most are there on their own. Most people are going somewhere. It's hard to come up to someone and start a conversation.

HxH fandom is active more like fair, it's smaller but people come there to do stuff together. They may not know each other but they are open to having fun together at the same time. (it's not ideal, there are shit people, I'm not romaticising)

I hope this explains what I meant.

Re getting to know the artist. It was one of the weirdest things that happened in my life, it was stressful and a bad idea and bad choices on my part that turned out surprisingly ok. I don't feel like revisiting it in detail anymore. It's also not something I'd advise anyone to do. In normal circumstances I would've got blocked because I was a dick.

[fantasmafanta]

chipspeech rambles so i dont explode

hi this is prolly gonna be a long post that makes no sense srry i just need to brainrot dump. but most important thing if ur not weird and you like chipspeech PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE dm me here so i can give you my discord or instagram where i am actually active more ahhhhhh.

ok anyway blue robots woohoo. these little bastards have been stuck in my brain for like a month now and its just gotten worse. the cool thing about chipspeech is it like doesnt entirely go with the rest of the vocal synth/vocaloid fanbase but rather than being its own seperate things its like this neat little extension of it in like multiple ways. it not only is just a really cool software that tried a lot of new cool things that we dont really see with like vocaloid and synthv and stuff but it also kinda shows the history of how we got to the point of modern vocal synth software in a cool way! even if you dont dive into it like i have you still get the basic “oh well voder was made in like 1939 and it had to be operated by hand how cool” and like through chipspeech you kinda get to see the evolution of how we got to where we are now and i think that thats really neat. 

but then if youre a nerd like me you get to have a ton of fun diving into all of the history and cool old tech stuff. liking chipspeech has made me find a new interest in old computers/tech/software/videogames do i fully understand how they work? hell no! do i love looking at them and having them explained to me by some dude on youtube? hell yeah!! and like its just so cool to go in and research the machines/softwares that inspired the chipspeech bots because even though its difficult sometimes you get to see these advances made and how each one differs from each other in how it was made, how it was operated, its function, etc. and thats SO. FREAKING. AWESOME. like dude have you seen the video of one of the tests for the votrax?? (the one that bert gotrax is based on) if you havent basically it was made so that people with disabilities so they couldnt talk could have conversations over the phone. they tested it by trying to order a pizza using only the software. it took like 3 tries before someone took them seriously and they got the pizza. and the moment they were like “yeah deliver that to the msu computer center” i got so excited cuz that just felt so badass!! like put yourself in their shoes, its 1974, you’re testing your new speech program, and it finally worked. a room full of people, a camera, a news broadcast (iirc), theyre all watching you struggle to order this pizza and then you finally do it and get to tell them to deliver it at the lab you just proved your intelligence to and fehjvddsujfs i cant explain my thinking but DUDE its just so cooooooolllllll!!!!!!! 

but like yeah i need to rant cuz in one of my lovely friend’s words i need to “GET THESE QUEERS OUT OF MY BRAIN!!” (a silly thing my irl said) also like i love the way the voices sound. like yeah sometimes i have no clue what theyre saying but thats not the point of chipspeech!! like vosim has such a nice buzzy voice and like dee no matter their range just sounds so.... great. i dont even know how to describe it it just makes my brain sooooo happy. like sam to most people would be like static weird... idk man but i loooove the staticky sounds theyre just so neat. but its so hard to find nice chipspeech covers/songs. luckily im starting to find how to discover chipspeech stuff but its still so difficult :(

and like fanart and general fan content toooooo how do i find it?? i think the answer is i dont but that makes me sad. cuz the twitters are no longer active and its never been very popular so it doesnt seem like we get much. and literally the only discord server for chipspeech is run by... not-so-great (from what ive seen/heard) people in the fanbase. even if the main accusations arent true it still seems to be a safe space for proshippers which makes me feel icky sooo. help. 

anyway im not re-reading through this so like sorry its so long and makes no sense i just need to get chipspeech thoughts out. if you like it PLEASE TALK TO ME!!!! im losing my mind ahhh

[filthybonnet]

I just wanted to say thank you for the stream last night. I've been following you since my first day here and I keep appreciating your works. I don't know, after all the meanness you had to bear, how it's possible you're still so kind to anyone. Please don't give up

Awww thank you!!! You're too kind!!! Unfortunately The Phandom on here is very cult of personality gatekeepers and years ago I pissed off the gatekeepers, who till this day swear they aren't gatekeepers. However the whole Phantom Italy experience just proved to me they are gatekeepers or try to be. None of them went to Italy, yet they were the first to post every single photo or video clip here on tumblr. Being involved in Phandom on other sites showed me where exactly they got that stuff, yet they act like they own it and control it on here.

Then later on and up till now I have the nerve to have nuanced political views and we all know you can't have those on the internet. And people in Phandom can't be seen hanging out with me while I have those because it means you agree with those things because that's how the world works. /sarcasm Though seriously I had friends on here get hate mail just because they were friends with me and they had to be like "Bonnet has been nothing but kind to me and has explained her stances to me" and yet they still harassed them.

Then the ultimate thing I did to piss some of them off was I jailbusted the London Post Changes "Love Never Dies" Boot. Several of the gatekeepers had but would never trade or sell it because the master of it marked it "not for trade" but then dissapeared from the trading scene. I spent a lot of time trying to track the master down to no avail. I then spent a lot of time going to various places and I finally tracked it down outside of these gatekeepers (I won't reveal how) but once I had it, I put it up for anyone and everyone to download. I was like it's a 10 year old boot nobody is going to get hurt. I got hate mail for it but I got way more love and thanks from people who wanted to see it.

And as my recent posts have showed I just got doxxed on another site for just advertising I was going to show this. Like IDK. And this doesn't even touch the drama that happened in my once popular Phantom Discord server. But those people involved will probably never even admit my Discord server was the place to be after the tumblr porn and nudity ban but I could bring screenshots if I wanted to.

My goal with my Italy boot is to do what I did with that Love Never Dies boot. As someone who got into boot trading, I know what happens with rare boots, traders hoard them and those are the ones people want to see and then never do. However because I have these idiots on that other site yelling copyright I'm going to hang low on it for a little while. Plus so far I'm the only person I've seen admitting to having a full boot And I know that must be really pissing off the gatekeepers. I'd be lying if I didn't admit pissing them off added joy to my making the boot.

I know this was long, but thank you for your kind words and watching with us last night! It was exciting to share it with all of you but also a little frustrating because I saw it 4 times live there were so many times I wanted to type in the chat you just had to be there.

[aiyexayen]

Fic Writing Habits

thank you to the wipbigbang reblog of pennywaltzy's questions for this fun game:

Keyboard or notebook? keyboard, basically always. putting things down on paper and being unable to easily shift the words around is maddening.

Beta or no beta? no beta. rarely beta, i should say. beta under very specific circumstances if i'm trying something very new or if i feel the need to double-check the vibes with a friend before i post a fic. otherwise i edit proofread my own stuff, often in a chaotic mishmash of editing as i write.

Plotting methods? usually i word-vomit my ideas in a discord channel or an empty document until i have a rough idea of where i'm taking the story or something that constitutes an outline. but occasionally i forego this and don't plot at all, and even more occasionally i outline scene by scene but those are very special circumstances indeed.

Smushy or smutty? ¿Por qué no los dos?

Summaries/titles? all over the place. sometimes i write a legit summary, sometimes i try to go for a hook, sometimes i just use a pull quote or the line it starts with. titles are almost always song lyrics of some kind, mostly songs i feel match the vibe of the story or even guided my writing of it in some cases, but also frequently lyrics that are just fun to say. sometimes it's just random words, though, or a really fun title will occur to me while i'm writing, etc.

Funniest fic? funniest to me is probably Wish You Were Here (ye baiyi sulking about not being texted back) which i cracked myself up by writing and still cackle when i reread, but my more popular crack fic is definitely Glitter & Gold (jing beiyuan taking wen kexing clubbing) which i do also enjoy.

Most popular fic? Break, if you go by kudos, which is one of the first fics i wrote for the untamed (very jiang cheng centric, yunmeng shuangjie reconciliation feels). if you go by the raw enthusiasm, it's Qiuth by far (my pern-untamed crossover).

Most fun to write? i have 121 works so this is almost impossible to answer. but recently i had just SO much fun with this little gu xiang ficlet i wrote for lny mini ficlet fest, and i still highkey want to make it a longer fic someday when some other projects are off my plate.

Most underrated? oh, i don't know. i don't feel like i pay much attention to what doesn't get noticed. how about this one: A Sweet Tide. a little du pusa/liu qianqiao thing i wrote last summer that i actually find quite compelling and enjoy rereading myself.

Strengths? figuring out plot and ironing out issues with it. also, proofreading.

Weaknesses? actually fucking finishing my fics. i start so many, and i plot out/idea vomit even more.

Dirty little secrets? i'm having trouble actually thinking of anything and honestly the song just keeps blasting on repeat in my head now which isn't helping

tagging @sundaeserenade @theleakypen @iamwestiec @withbroombefore @bladedweaponsandswishycoats

[deathmcth-archived]

This isn't a callout and i don't want it to be treated that way. i dont want this reblogged and i'm going to be turning off replies for this post. the intentions behind this post are to strictly make people aware of what's going on and why i'm leaving this blog for good. i do have a backup blog currently in the works, and i've already deleted the majority of the info i've made on ayalon and saved it elsewhere, just in case that gets copied too.

If any of you wanna talk about this privately with me, my discord is cloves#2852

i'm gonna be blunt and say i really don't know if i'm even gonna bother coming back. and i'm sorry it took just one person to ruin this experience for me. If you feel that this isn't something you need to take seriously or invest much care into, that's fine; this post isn't meant to ask people to be reactionary and you are free to do with this information what you will. but this is something that has impacted my time here and I wanted to speak up on it. again, this is just me explaining why i'm leaving this blog, and creating a whole new one that's going to be extremely private (if i do decide to come back).

i do want to thank the people that came to be privately about the situation and let me know what was up, and thank you for validating my feelings and telling me that i'm not crazy for seeing the similarities. i'm not gonna namedrop you guys because i dont want you dragged into anything, but i still really wanna thank you.

this is going to sound really harsh and im sorry for that, but i'm not going to be interacting with people that RP with falseamore. i thought about how i wanted to proceed with this, and at first i thought 'ok, just quietly softblock the people that interact with them and that'll be that.' but they're a very popular RPer, and i realized that if i were to go that route, i would be softblocking every single one of my mutuals. so i figured i might as well just make a whole new blog, and if i end up having only one whole RP partner there, i'm ok with that. because again, i dont want anyone to feel obligated to do anything, so i'm making the decision to leave things as they are here and start somewhere else. if you wanna know where i'm at, we can talk about it, but i'm standing my ground with this decision. seeing falseamore all over my dash after what they did has made me incredibly uncomfortable.

i want to apologize again for putting this on people's dash. i know everyone has a strict 'no drama' policy and if you dont want to interact after this, i understand. but being here has stopped being fun for me, and i feel like i can't post anything anymore without worrying about my stuff being taken. i've had a character stolen from me before on tumblr, and it's really not a good feeling. i'm also not about to turn the other cheek like i did the first time it happened. i know this is just a hobby, but please try to understand why i'm upset. especially because they didnt need to do this. i used to be mutuals with falseamore until i quietly softblocked them ( there's no drama or "tea" there, i just wasn't vibing with them anymore. that's it. no bad blood ), and soon after that they made a character that is eerily similar to ayalon. i know they made a post and casually mentioned that they had this character for 8 years, but why did they bring him back now, after i softblocked them, and why is he a near copy of ayalon? i'm not the only person who noticed, and it's because multiple people have come to me with their concerns that i had the courage to even post this in the first place.

i don't own death/life and im certainly not saying here that absolutely no one else can make characters that represent one or both aspects. i want everyone to have creative freedom and i love other characters that are centered around death as a whole. make death gods, make death incarnations; i understand that some characters are going to be similar to each other and that's ok! but what i'm getting at here is how falseamore created a character that is, and i'm quoting this from an RP mutual who came to me first about the similarities, "ayalon but in a different font" right after i had softblocked them. i really want to make it clear here that i'm not trying to seem controlling or like i'm trying to say that only i can make a character that is an incarnation of death. and i'll repeat that as many times as i need to to get my point across.

under the readmore is going to be most of the stuff i'm talking about.

i'm going to start from the beginning here, and sorry if this doesn't all make sense! i've never had to do something like this before. AGAIN THOUGH. this aint a callout, i really know it seems like one, i'm aware of that. it's just an explanation as to where im coming from.

here's proof we were mutuals and have interacted. i want to get that out of the way first. at the time their url was unfathomablebeings

in november of 2022 i reblogged a commission i got of ayalon that shows exactly what he looks like, minus a few details (namely his piercings). here's the post, and a snippet of falseamore interacting with the post. so they knew what he looked like while making their current death oc, as well what ayalon's personality is like.

below is their death character that they created (or brought back, whichever one) shortly after i softblocked them. below that is ayalon's own description on his bio page as well as some of his personality traits. some characters are just going to be similar, yes, but things are just.. too similar, you know? especially because they knew about ayalon. we've interacted. sure, this could be the case where an oc doesn't look exactly like the fc, but it still doesnt erase the fact that this faceclaim looks like ayalon's canon appearance. the fringe, long and unkempt hair, the ashe blond, the kind of piercings and their placements, and the tattoos.

i wouldn't have cared too much about appearances if it just ended at that. lots of OCs have tattoos and piercings in the same places. there's only so much room on a single body. but even their personalities are similar. Vulgar, crude, no filter. That's a big part of who ayalon is and it's gonna show in more screenshots coming up.

i get that these are all very broad traits for an oc to have. but it continues to strike me as odd that falseamore has given their Death OC the very same characteristics as ayalon. if these features were given to any other OC, there would have been absolutely no problem. so why did they decide to "bring back" this character, and give him nearly the same appearance and personality traits as ayalon? is it because i softblocked that they decided to take inspiration from ayalon to continue RPing with a similar character? either way, it's made me uncomfortable.

the whole point of this blog is to RP a fallen God who's now a tattoo artist and a piercer. i have ayalon's occupation in his bio and in my pinned post, as well as most of his interactions have been ayalon being someone's go-to guy for body modifications. so him being a tattooo artist and a piecer is nothing new, that is what this blog is based on. everyone who's interacted with him or at the very least, seen ayalon knows that's the theme here. here's a quick thing of my bio again where it plainly states that ayalon does tattoos and piercings.

this is falseamore's Death's first interaction with other people. he's offering to be their piercer. again, why is it that this character has another thing in common with ayalon? something that this blog is heavily based around- ayalon giving people body modifications. ayalon is death/life incarnate, with a vulgar personality and an knack for trying to convince people to get a piercing.

they have also created a character that is death incarnate, has a vulgar personality, and a knack for trying to convince people to get piercings. these also show how similar their death's appearance is to ayalon.

here's some screenshots i took of ayalon also doing something similar when first interacting with people. (suggestive content tw;)

everyone's free to hold their own opinions on this and how important it actually is. but to me it's hurtful. even if they didn't mean to copy what i have for ayalon, they still obviously took inspiration from what i've worked on and i'm still entitled to feel how i feel about it. it makes me feel crappy that they're being praised for a character that they.. blatantly ripped off from me. i know this is something so very, very minor, but after going through this once before, i've learned that i need to stick up for myself when i see something that i don't like.

i'm reiterating here that if i lose all of my mutuals over this, that's ok. that's fair. i'm going to archive this blog and you won't hear from me again. i'm not going to stick by people who interact with falseamore strictly for my own comfort, nor am i going to tell people to "choose a side" here. this was only just so people know what im talking about. this really does suck, i'm sorry. being here isn't fun anymore when i know this is happening. if i do come back, it's not going to be on this blog.

my discord will be open if people want it.

[rupertgayesarchive]

So I'm just getting started writing Supernatural fic. I've written a lot for other fandoms, but right off the bat, I'm noticing that the reader vibe is VERY different than what I'm used to. I'm just not getting the feedback and interaction that I've received in other fandoms. I write for me, but it's hard to not feel discouraged with such a stark difference. I'm wondering if it's a decline in Supernatural in general, getting lost in AO3 postings, or not being in the right tumblr circles or Discords.

Since I'm a huge fan of your work, and you have a decent following, I'm wondering if you have any thoughts on the Supernatural fanfic ecosystem as a whole. How and where do you promo your work? How do you connect with other fans in the community? Is it possible to make those connections as a relative newcomer to the fandom or are the cliques pretty well closed off?

Hi there! Let me say off the bat that you can feel free to come off anon and be mutuals with me, I have the same username everywhere, and always love to meet new spn fans :)

Onto your actual question - I think while spn isn't as popular now as it was in the early 2010s (when I was first in the fandom, the superwholock thing, you know) and right when it ended in late 2020, it's still a HUGE fandom, and yeah, stuff is going to get lost in the shuffle. I'm not saying my own following is a fluke, but I think I got lucky! I hopped back into spn right during the post-finale peak in fandom activity, and a lot of readers in this fandom tend to appreciate long (sometimes insanely long) fics, and here I was, writing a finale fix-it that was getting updated 2-3 times a week, so you had a lot more people on the destiel AO3 tag, probably wanting something to fix their finale related blues, and they were seeing my story over and over again, and it got really long, and... yeah. When I was writing fic in spn during the early 2010s, I was not getting NEARLY as much attention. At all. I'd like to think I improved as a writer, but I think I also just got into the fandom at the right time.

One thing that actually did help me a lot though was getting active on tiktok. I posted a funny comment someone had posted on hfym, people asked what the fic was, and then I started picking up a lot of momentum on there while talking about the fic. I think there's also something to be said about readers being able to put a name and face to the fics they love. As I started making spn-related videos, I'd follow/comment/like other spn accounts, and as my follower account grew I noticed a lot of those accounts were following me back.

I also started listening to spn podcasts, and following their tiktoks, and found out that they just did open applications to be a guest on their podcasts. I don't know if that cross promotion necessarily helped people find my work, but it really surprised me how much more interactive people were on tiktok versus my previous fandom experiences on tumblr!

And yes, I do promote my fics on here, twitter, tiktok, but again, way more enthusiasm is coming out of tiktok right now, and I personally hopped over onto twitter to have more conversations with the friends I made through tiktok (though with Elon now owning twitter, it's possible we'll see a migration back to tumblr)

That being said... I have a lot of interactions on my fics, but I wouldn't label myself as a big name fan. I've never done well in big discord groups and prefer to have a handful of people I can have one on one conversations with.

As for the fics, I think there's room for everything to do well - aus, canon compliant, whatever. It could be adding in more tags, the summary, I'm sure you know all about that though as this isn't your first rodeo. I do think there's something for having a multi-chapter fic that has updates once a week or more, though. really cannot understate how much spn readers want to just read war and peace length gay nonsense.

This is also me but I never enter into fandom challenge stuff because I find it stressful and I think everyone is releasing their fics at the same time, and stuff does get lost in the shuffle then.

Anyway a list of actual? Advice:

make sure the titles/tags/summary are fun and engaging I'm sure you know that already

try tiktok, like honestly, find some #spn hashtags to use and make some random videos with your hot takes and follow other spn people. make some videos about your fics, too, but mainly just launch into spn fandom full on, have fun with it, repurpose trending audio with lame spn jokes. (again! follower count wise compared to other spn accounts it's nothing to write home about on any platform, but i now have a solid base of people who like my stuff so that's what matters)

try building up your little spn network, comment on their videos, follow them off of tiktok and on twitter/tumblr, leave comments on their fics, over time people start interacting with you in the same way. most people i've met on there are so sweet and if you mutually follow each other literally just message them and say hi we're all nerds and we love it.

try taking a look at what people want to read (if you want to write that way, i got lucky that what i wanted to write was what people wanted to read), or find fun niches that you like to write for. demon!dean, monsterfucking, fluffy bunker nonsense, found family, whatever!!

definitely ask (nicely) for people to comment on your fic in author's notes, i've definitely been swayed by a nice message thanking the reader/asking for comments before

i'm in a few discord groups, so again, if you like you can DM me and i'll send you the links! i'm better at one on one, but some people have great luck with larger groups.

Okay good luck bestie ily <3

[kitkatt0430]

I know this is the worst timing to ask this. . . how can I be active in the arrowverse (well for the specific shows i like) fandom? Especially when half of my faves aren't present in them, anymore? Because I admire how you're still posting Cisco fic despite how he's not a main character, anymore. And I feel like too awkward whenever I remember everyone else has moved on from a specific season. My mindset's still at the season where I left them off. Thank you for reading this and sorry again!

I think a lot of people are feeling this way with The Flash coming to an end with its next season. Superman & Lois, despite originally being part of the Arrowverse and participating in the John Diggle xOver event during it's first season, has officially divorced itself from the Arrowverse to stand on it's own (which is a decision I can understand even if I find the retcon annoying). Which means when the Flash ends, the interconnected Arrowverse is officially done. No more new canon content for any of the characters and we have to hope that the characters who remain will get a send off that feels satisfying and consistent with who they've become over the years.

But the end of canon doesn't have to be the end of the fandom.

While there will certainly be people who move on from the Arrowverse, I think there'll still be a lot of people who stick around for a long while. Unless the final half season of the Flash manages to somehow be worse than the final season of Game of Thrones.

So I think first you need to shake the worry that everyone's moved on from the characters you like. It helps a lot for me knowing that Cisco is still a really popular character, something leaving the show hasn't really diminished. The tags here on tumblr for Cisco are pretty active with gifs and fandom meta. All of the Wells are still pretty popular too - there's a lot of active Wells X Reader blogs around and plenty of people still obsessed with picking apart the differences and similarities between each version of Harrison Wells' quirks. (Me included, Tom Cavanagh gives such excellent and nuanced performances.) But even characters like Hartley Rathaway still have a lot of people interested in content including him in it. And he's a character who's been in only five episodes.

The hardest part, for me, was just putting myself out there. Reblogging other people's posts with commentary, chiming into conversations... I did kind of figure out stuff like Discord isn't really for me right now. But sometimes being willing to try different ways of reaching out to fellow fans, knowing that the answer might wind up being 'not for me', is an important part of fandom experience.

And there are a lot of fandom events - both those specifically for the Arrowverse and those for any fandom - that can be fun to participate in. Those can be easy to take part in because often all you need to do is tag the blog running the event on anything you create for it. Considering there are still fandom events for games like Tales of Symphonia - a game that came out back 2004 - it's really just a matter of seeking out other interested parties.

When it comes to writing fanfic itself, it can definitely be harder to post stories for older fandoms that aren't particularly active. When I wrote a fic for Mutant-X last year, I honestly wasn't expecting to see any activity on it. I was writing that one purely for myself. To my surprise, I've gotten several kudos and there was even one person who commented a lot while I was still in the process of posting up the fic.

So while it can be daunting, I think often if you're willing to write something for an older fandom or characters who've left an active show, then odds are you'll eventually still find someone out there who is still just as interested as you are.

[goldenboygate]

i left a lot of the discord servers i was in a while ago. i'm in some small ones with like 4-5 friends that discuss f1 but we agree on most drivers we support and even the ones that we don't agree on, we know how to keep it respectful? basically use the golden rule of "if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all" and it works pretty well! i, to some extent, support both max and lewis as well, and god that could get toxic too at some points last year. it's funny because a lot of the people who now despise max used to like him. there's quite a few people who DO like him but are too scared to actually put them on their blogs so just like ... secretly like posts gjskgksl (i've noticed the same thing with lando recently lol. max 🤝 lando, besties and kings of being hated for the most irrational, unjustifiable reasons, kings of people being too afraid to admit they like them bc liking them isn't the popular thing to do)

agree. it’s one thing to to not like a driver yet just keeping it cute and another thing to alienate people in a server by being rude or talking shit about someone they like. idc if people talk shit about drivers on their own blog as long as they tag it anti so others can filter the tag, shit i’ve posted more anti posts this past week than i have in my entire time on here! so i would be a damn hypocrite if i talked about that (i will go off if the posts pop up in the tags though, the tags are for the fans). but making someone feel unwelcome in servers that aim to make everyone feel welcome and advertises itself as a safe space? take that to the respective servers. there's enough lewis, charles and max servers where people can talk shit about other drivers. i used to post a lot of lewis stuff last year (with max stuff) but apparently you can't like lewis and max so i had to choose and i chose the driver whose fans didn't make me feel like shit for liking 90% of the grid (that's a hyperbole, i didn't have to choose but this sounds more dramatic). also a lot of lewis fans seem to have it out for lando as well so that was an easy choice tbh.