#more fanart of the things i like!!! creating things for my enjoyment!! (that can possibly turned into more merch because man i love seeing

[posebean]

2023 the year i draw more things than just pikachu....

[yuurivoice]

Im so sorry but is Al's hair naturally black or pink?? I feel like the obvious answer is black but if I remember correctly (again, could be wrong) when jackie drew his dilfy designs his roots were pink. I just dont wanna assume error 🙏

The psychic damage I am taking from these questions is immeasurable and we're going to hit a point where I'm either going to just not answer certain things or I'll end up imploding. 😂

In the beginning...I just wanted a pink haired fuckin guy. I was using anime logic. His hair was pink. There was no thought beyond that because he's a two-dimensional fictional lad. It simply was.

Then came the questions. God. The questions.

Does he dye his hair? Why are his eyebrows black? Is his natural hair color black?

Those were dark times.

BitterSweet Chapter 3 created an opportunity for Dark Mode Alphonse, and we established that yes.....his natural hair color is black.

Today I was asked the pedantic question about Al's body hair...which just about took me out, but we made it through.

Now this.

Bubba his hair looks that way because I thought it fuckin looked cool. The rules of real hair, what his natural hair color is, and any other such business can suck my cock. He is a 2D dilf designed to look as fuckable as possible...why in the name of GOD are we worrying about his natural hair color?

Mind you, we have canonically seen black haired childhood Alphonse in photos twice. Two different pictures, even! 😂

Is there some boogeyman out there heckling people for being "wrong" about things like natural hair color? Is someone wagging their finger or being a shit about accuracy in depictions in fanart or something? Because it sure as hell is not me, and it shouldn't be anyone at all because none of that shit actually matters.

Yes his natural hair color is black. He's got pink highlights I guess? It looks cool, so that's why it is what it is.

I think there is a fundamental difference in the way I personally engage with shit that I like, because I cannot comprehend or envision a world where I would ever approach the creator of a thing to ask a question like this, or would even wonder about those details because they are so miniscule a thing to ponder when you could be spending time considering, imagining, creating a million other things that are vastly more exciting and intriguing than being correct about a fictional character's natural hair color.

I'm not upset with you, or angry, none of that. I'm befuddled. Absolutely bumfizzled. Questioning my sanity, because I am so far removed from caring about this sort of thing in regards to fictional characters that the rift is unfathomable.

If questions like these are inspired by an anxiety about being correct, I implore you to be wrong more often. You'll quickly find that no one of import is actually going to care, and you'll get out of the way of your own enjoyment of the thing. I don't know if there's some sort of widely held opinion in fandoms that being this granular is necessary, but it certainly is not the vibe in this neck of the woods.

This has been a long and unexpected installment of Old Man Yells At Cloud. 😂

[echantedtoon]

Demon Bride Ch62 Fate Is Up To You

(WARNINGS: Douma, Karaku, and Enmu ARE their own warnings. Possibly some innuendos. Mentioning of death.

Hey everyone. I just wanted to thank everyone who read this far and liked my story enough to read it to it's end. I had a lot of fun writing it and it makes me happy knowing some people loved it enough to read it fully. If you liked this consider checking out my other works. Thanks to everyone for reading this, faving it, or leaving a nice comment. And thank you to Koyoharu Gotouge for creating such wonderful characters and giving me the opportunity to make this wonderful story.

This ending is left for interpretation for whatever the reader decides happens to Y/n, her suitors, and her family. Whatever you decide or who she ends up with is entirely up to you. This is also a semi epilogue for how all the demons and everyone are doing after everything.

If I update this anymore it will be to showcase fanart.)

Two months had passed since the day they arrived back. Autumn was already here and in full swing as well. Things were also finally back to normal. Douma returned to his full strength and back to running his cult. Akaza and Upper Moon Four were all back taking care of humans on the surface and helping Kaigaku to reinforce the guard on the border. The murders and prisoners were all taken cared of and Enmu eventually tracked down the case of the missing box of chocolates to a servant whom stole it for Y/n. She was given a harsh warning and made to pay for it. 

Which meant that for him there was last end to tie up completely and that meant just waiting for a certain someone to arrive right about-

SLAM!!!

"I can NOT believe you did that behind my back, Kibutsuji." The door was slammed open and he calmly stood there as an angry woman stomped in holding her child on her hip. A deep frown on her face as Susamaru and Yahaba boredly walked right behind them. "That poor girl must've been put through so much because of you!"

"Good Evening, Lady Rei...I do hope your trip...was enjoyable." He stood there calmly as she marched past. 

"Hi, Uncle Koku!," the little girl called out with a wave.

He nodded to her. "Princess...You look as lovely as ever."

Rei rounded around and pointed past him at a tired and disheveled man whom just walked in. "YOU ARE IN BIG TROUBLE, MUZAN!!  Until you apologize to that poor girl and change what you've done, you can just sleep in your lab again!! I can not believe you would mess with matters so personal after the first time we spoke about her!! Don't even think about trying to flatter me because it wont work!" Her soft brown eyes then glanced at Kokushibo. "Oh. Hello Kokushibo. I'm sorry but I'm not feeling up to talking right now."

"Daddy's in trouble again."

Despite his position Kokushibo chuckled at the child's words. "It would seem so."

"Please just have our luggage brought to our chambers. I have a lot of unpacking to do while a certain someone thinks about what he's done." With another scowl she then turned and stomped off with her child cutely waving goodbye at him over her shoulder and the two demons in tow.

He calmly watched them go before his half lidded eyes turned to the slightly disheveled and tired looking Master of all demons. "Welcome back, Lord Muzan....I take it your trip...was eventful?"

"She hasn't stopped yelling at me for the past three days," the tired red eyed demon drawled out much to his silent right hands amusement. "She found one of the reports Enmu sent me and everything spiraled from there." A hand reached up to rub his temples. "I do hope you have better news that what I've been hearing all day."

"I do." A few papers were held up to his face. "Foremost...Tamayo has been confirmed..deceased. You shall no longer..need to worry about her. All prisoners.... responsible for treason has already been executed....The Tsuzumi Mansion is fully repaired...and many of our human branches has started...circulating more money into the territories. ..The budget for many more resources...and projects will be better funded by it."

"Is that all?" He did look interested especially when he mentioned Tamayo but he seemed more concerned by his obviously angry wife.

"There's a few meetings...in your schedule for expanding the territory..to the north and a few other important matters. However....I thought it would be beneficial for you to note that...there has been a shift in the Kizuki's behavior." 

That made his master pause in his steps and stop. Before he slowly straightened up and slowly looked at him removing his hand from his temples.  "Is that so? A shift in behavior in what way?"

"Nothing I would consider...concerning... But ever since Y/n Tamayo's arrival..there has actually been a positive effect in their...behaviors." The papers were shifted in his hands as his eyes looked over have lidded. "Lower Moon Six's progress has... remained the same but he has published...many books that seem to be popular with her... encouragement... Kaigaku has become stronger protecting her..and has won against Enmu in a blood battle...for title of Lower Moon One. Kaigaku..has also become more focused...still full of himself but focused."

"I see...It seems I'll be rearranging the ranks of the lower moons to reflect his new victory soon then. Anything else to report?"

Kokushibo nodded. "Hairou hasn't changed but...has done his job effectively as...always. But the quadruplet brothers...of Upper Moon Four has learnt to...get along better."

He rose a brow. "Really? Them?"

"I realize your skepticism...but I assure you it's true... Sekido is less verbally threatening to them... Karaku has seemed to finally learn modesty... Aizetsu has become more outspoken...and Urogi has learnt patience to not...jump into things so quickly without thinking...As for their younger brother.." Half lidded eyes looked at the papers again. "He is progressing well in his...Studies...They were terrible before..but with encouragement has been steadily progressing...and seemed to learn his lessons on attitude.. adjustment..After his last two years of schooling...I believe he may be able to rejoin...His brothers in Upper Moon Four."

He hummed. "Is that all you have to report?"

"There's more...Daki and Gyutaro has.. slowly started weaning off their obsessive.. codependency habits and Gyutaro has been...eating more. His body is now at a... almost healthy weight and he has...taken better care now. Douma..has become more...responsive to emotions now."

"That fumbling idiot? Kokushibo, I thought you knew better than most not to take me for a fool."

He calmly held up a hand. "I assure you..I speak nothing but the truth... Douma has broken through whatever barrier...that blocked his mind from human emotions...and keeps asking when he'll be granted a marriage to Ms. Tamayo... Whether that is a concerning issue..I do not know as of yet. Enmu has not changed...as far as I can tell..but his medicine has become better thanks to...the adjustments he made to it after observing...it's positive effects on both Douma..and the child you wished to raise. That's worth... looking more into. Akaza has..also not changed much..but he seems more emotionally and mentally happy..That also seems to be having a positive impact on...his workload." The papers were held out for his Master to take. "The three children...also in her care are starting to...act more positively mentally and emotionally...Rui is advanced in his studying..and will be able to skip three grades next year... Muichiro has become more outspoken..and Yuichiro has been slowly becoming more positive..They will be able to skip two grades..next year and be just one..grade behind Rui...Their fighting skills are still slowly progressing however...the Rui boy's physical health has gotten...much better."

Muzan slowly took the papers from his hand. Slowly looking them over one by one before flipping to the next page and then just slowly looking back to Kokushibo."You are certain about all of this?"

"As certain as you are...strong. Her presence seems to have...had a more positive impact.. despite the rumors and gossip...others give about her attitude and antics..."

"I see." After a moment he looked from the papers at Kokushibo. "Then perhaps making her a permanent residence would be more useful to us. Upper Moon One, send word to both Kaigaku and Enmu to come to the Infinity Castle so I may rearrange their placement in the ranks. But first see to it that you send the girl an apology on my behalf. I need to go prepare for all these meetings and explain things to my wife."

Kokushibo bowed his head respectfully. "Both shall...be done."

*****************************************************************************************

Books were being read. Papers were shuffled. And the scribbling of quills against paper was heard in the air as three boys shifted through them.

"Ugh! Math is so stupid!!," Yuichiro eventually shouted scowling at the paper.

"I know. I have to have the pervert explain it all to me...And I still hardly get it."

You chuckled at the two boys before looking back to your first letter. It was from Eri. She had officially left Kyogai's servitude and was currently living with her new husband near a lakeside town. She was starting out as a doctor's apprentice to learn more about human anatomy and medicine to become a doctor herself. Good for them both. You were happy for them. You then turned to your second envelope. It looked a bit heavier than the others. You grabbed it ifelt something inside. Curious, you cut the top with a sharp nail, turned it upside down, and shook it. Two things fell out. A note and a hair pin. You stared at the hair pin just... sitting there in your lap. The SAME hair pin you lost to that cat two months ago. Slowly you picked it up and stared at it.. before picking up the note and reading it.

'Chichumaru left this for us to find by the stairway. We thought you might've wanted it back. Sorry we couldn't deliver it in person. Hopefully we will meet again one day on better terms to talk if and when you want to.'

It had been nearly two months since that day and...Well you didn't know what to think. So many thoughts ran through your head. You are still angry at them both and rightfully so. They didn't even visit you in all the years you resided in your village and left you to be raised there...But at the same time you weren't sure if you could blame them. If you were living in secrecy from the moment you ran away and had a child, you would most definitely want to keep them safe. But..you weren't sure if you would've done it the same way they would've...You don't think you could ever separate yourself from your children. At least not forever.

"Mother." You turned to Rui who looked at you. "Are you alright? You look saddened."

You blinked. "Oh...Yes. I was just reading a few letters I got from some friends. You remember Eri don't you? She got married recently."

"Speaking of marriage, when are you going to be married?" Yuichiro looked up at you from a science book on moon phases. "You spent an awfully long time with Kokushibo Sensai. Does that mean you're going to marry him?"

"Hey! Don't forget about Father and Scary Dad!," Rui choked in and pointed at him. "I already vouched for them both!"

"Well what about Kaigaku?," Muichiro asked raising a brow, "Or Mr. Kyogai? Or the others? She hasn't made any choices yet...Wait." All the boys looked at you wide eyed. "Have you?"

You stared at them all for a moment before looking off. In truth..you actually had decided your choice about this entire thing. You thought about each individual person carefully. What they were like and how they could impact the boys. How they acted around you. What it was like if you just rejected them all . Or what would happen if you've chosen all of them. One of them. Or any combination of number of them specifically. What would happen if you just left. The pros and cons to EVERY. SINGKE. SCENARIO. You could think of. You had two months to think about everything. And at the end...you believed you did make a choice. You looked back to the boys. They deserved to know first since it would impact them too. You nodded.

"I have."

They look at one another in surprise and excitement. "Well what do you have to say?"

"I've decided-"

[msviolacea]

Having more thoughts this morning tangential to the big YT drama of the week.

So, I'm in one fairly large Discord that I read more often than I do other large, busy servers, partly because it's a topic I'm perpetually interested in, partly because it's pretty strictly modded. There's one channel where a member keeps sharing fanart without credit - a specific rule violation in the server - and the mods keep politely telling them to stop. Finally, yesterday, they said with clear frustration "What, you mean I'm just not supposed to share any of this art, then?" Yes. Yes, that's exactly what it means.

Anyway, it got me thinking about one of the things that quietly irritates me on Tumblr - not just sharing art without sources, that's an immediate "fuck you no," but the accounts that repost art with a brief typed up credit underneath, or "credit in the watermark" comment, etc. Like yes, congratulations, you did the thing, you're slightly better than some, but also ... it's kind of the Tumblr art-sharing equivalent of leaving an unlabeled source link in the YT description? The problem is not that you're taking credit for making the art, the problem is that you are the one getting the attention (likes/reblogs) for someone else's art, without adding anything significant to the post.

Here's the thing: an artist (*generic term for anyone who creates something) should be the one controlling the distribution of their own work. Yes, posting something publicly on the internet means you're giving up some of the control, but I firmly believe that just because you have the possibility of being an asshole doesn't mean you have the gods-given right to be an asshole.

"But," you may say, "I'm not being an asshole, I just genuinely like this art and want more people to appreciate it!"

Okay. Then why aren't you just sharing the link to wherever the artist chose to post it? Why are you reuploading it to your own account? Did the artist specifically say that reuploading was welcomed?

"Nobody on Tumblr clicks links! I just want people to see this art on their dashboard!"

Why? Genuinely, why? Why does it need to be you that uploads it?

"I just want to curate a collection of art involving my favorite characters!"

Then save it to your computer/phone and enjoy it there. Or make a private Tumblr or Pinterest account. You can curate for your own enjoyment without sharing.

The ultimate point is that, underneath it all, you want the credit for finding it. You want to get the dopamine hit of having people like and reblog your post. And ... well, that's not something you deserve. You didn't create it. You didn't commission it, or inspire it, or contribute to its creation in any way. You're not doing this to bring attention to the artist, otherwise you'd be actually sharing the place where the artist uploaded the work so that they can get the dopamine hit.

Most of us have done it at some point or another. I know I have. It's easy to do, it's an easy bit of attention, you get excited and just want to be the first person to share a thing. And it's not the worst crime on the internet. It's just ... kind of shitty. And if we want to contribute to an internet that is kinder, better, less friendly to those who are actually maliciously trying to steal the work of others, then we should avoid the temptation of doing these smaller things purely for the attention. Model the behavior you want to see in your internet world.

[annbourbon]

The Useful Post

I keep this post to remember the useful things (or interesting) I need and I have found here on Tumblr nothing (or maybe a bit of it but not all) of it is mine so it shouldn't be on my master list but I like to keep it where I can see it. Mostly they're reblogs of useful things.

But first things first: «Curate your own media experience and get your head out of your ass»

Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four || Part Five || Part Six

Writing 101

Follow @givethispromptatry , @promptsforthestrugglingauthor and @creativepromptsforwriting they post often and their content is really good. I'll be updating this list with their best content plus, other people content... but that doesn't mean you shouldn't follow them<3

5 Frustrating Rules by Michael Bjork

About toxic behaviors and romance in writing...

Michael Bjork Writing Master List

Fiction writers you must follow

10 Worst ways to start a book

Comic Sans Trick

Writing Deaf Characters

Body Horror vs. Gore

Enemies to lovers #1

Pacing in your Story

Nicknames for Characters

Just write what you want

Holding each other accountable

Advice for writing relationships

Fairytale Research

Good traits gone bad

Trauma is not romantic

Writing animals

How to write emotions #1

Emotionally healthy people are quitters

Motivation (I believe it applies for fic writers but can also apply to writers)

Sins

Mythology or Religion & Lore?

In defense of Riven

Magical Girls are never attacked

Romance *master post*

Drunken Love Confessions

Writerblr Glossary

Nightmares & Insomnia

Saying I love you Prompts

♡ Kim Possible Movie

♡ Sentimonsters

♡ Bed Sharing Scenarios

♡ Webnovel Scam

♡ BookShop as an alternative to Amazon

♡ Characters being sick

♡ Grammar ≠ Creativity

♡ Writing Assholes: Just remember Dr House 💀

♡ Writing conflict #1

♡ Nature doesn't do TWs

Pink Panther & The Simplicity of things: Why some things are timeless and enjoyable

♡ Please get a Thesaurus 💀

♡ Joss Whedon Writing Tips

♡ Religion Lore 101: How to create it for your story

♡ Fluffy Masterpost

♡ Writing Heists

♡ Write more fanfics!!

♡ Ref Recs for Whump Writers

♡Short & Impactful

♡ Bonus: Fics & Fanarts

♡ Writing Erotica

♡ Writers are often lured 😭🤣 so true...

♡ Podcasts aren't novels

♡ Likable characters are lazy AF

♡ Awful Writing Advice by Susan K. Perry

♡ Worldbuilding (Fantasy)

♡ Engaging Readers

♡ Stage Fright

♡ Tropes and Cliches

♡ Forcing Diversity

♡ Boxing the Ears while fighting (Follow this account, it's amazing!!)

♡ Horror is not the only story

♡ WTF is a Claymore Mine!?

♡ Sentient Sandwiches

♡ Vampires are not...

♡ Nanowrimo Tips

♡ Punctuation Marks

♡ Abuse Apologism is Disgusting

♡ I promise you: It's not worthless

♡ Outfit References

♡ Deconstruction of fairytales??

♡ Novum

♡ Toxic

♡ Dominant vs Domineering (Things that can help you in the art of writing erotica)

♡ Binary Star Systems

♡ Fantasy Guide to Hosting a High Society Dinner Party by @inky-duchess (please check out her blog!! it's amazing~!)

♡ An empath creates monsters

♡ Alphabet Game (Prompt Idea)

♡ You are more than what you write

♡ Filler vs Plot

♡ What is...?

♡ ✨What is...?✨

♡ Tips for dates and sizes

♡ Dialogues for "I want to kill you"

♡ Reverse Tropes

If you want to be here, write me. I'll check on your post and see if I can make it work 😉

[theprodigypenguin]

I hope you don't mind my asking but I'm genuinely confused and trying to gather as much info as possible. Zines. Created by fans containing fanart and fics yes? How can you morally sell and profit from them? They contain IP you don't own as an individual? I'm a fandom oldie so my view on it might be be skewered by old fandom views that fics and fanart are non profit enjoyments. I'm just curious where this shift came from. I see more and more people putting fics behind commission walls and I just can't wrap my head around it.

I don't know if I'm the right person to answer this, I'm just a dude who yells about Sabo online when I'm not at work. But I'll try??

The way zines are set up, the money that's paid during pre-orders is used for the manufacturing of the physical items: the book itself that contains the writing/art and various merchandise like acrylic charms. So basically, the majority of the money earned is used to make the physical item as well as to fund shipping costs and shipping material like boxes and bubble wrap.

The zine I wrote for recently was non-profit, all extra proceeds not used for manufacturing and shipping costs will be donated to the World Wildlife Fund. I honestly love the idea that a bunch of young people like me can use their passions to help a good cause. I don't make enough at my dayjob to donate to charities all the time, although I would love to. Even a few dollars is hard to give because the cost of living is such a train wreck. But non-profit zines are a really beautiful way to help foundations by using personal passions and hobbies like fanart and fanfic.

"Why not just donate directly to charity instead of buying the physical zine?" I don't think it's evil to want something in return. I don't think it's a bad thing to get a little book in return for donating to something.

Yes there are zines that are for profit, but I don't really see that as a bad thing either to be honest. A lot of the properties that are used as inspiration for these zines are multi-million dollar franchises. I don't think it's robbing for creators to get barely a fraction of that. Even for less popular franchises that make less money. Zines are a fun way to show your love of something and get unique fan-made merchandise that never would have existed otherwise. I don't think that's wrong.

As for the fics being behind a pay wall, I have never seen that. All fanfics that are written for zines are published publicly once the physical items have been shipped out. Everyone will get to enjoy the work put into these zines, but you also get a chance to have them as a carefully composed physical book that you can have forever, which is pretty cool.

Also, the writers I've seen who have taken commission work have always posted the finished fics publicly, so their commissions aren't behind a paywall either. Commissions are simply a way for fans who don't always write, maybe don't have the time to write, to pay for something special and individually focused to their standards. Nothing wrong with that either, I think. It's all just a way to interact with fandom.

If anyone else has thoughts on this then please comment so anon has more information, I only have a few thoughts on this. And thank you for your question, anon. I hope I was able to answer it??

[twisted-wonderland-shenanigans]

❤️What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?✍️ What’s your ideal writing setup?🚀 Do you like to outline your fic first or create as you go?💛What is the most impactful lesson you’ve learned about writing?🎨 If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?too many questions?I hope not and if so I would like to remind you that you don't have to answer every question here but I also thank you for helping me out of the silent anon(I ❤ your writing)

Referring to this ask game I posted before.

Thank you for sending these questions! It was fun having to consider some things and why I do them. 😆 And it wasn't too many questions at all! UvU

And you're welcome! I'm proud of you for gaining the confidence to come out of anon ;;v;; 💗 I hope to hear more from you soon! >v< In the meantime, here are the answers to your questions~! >v��/)

❤ What is your favorite line you've written in a fic?

"Huh. Well, uh...glad you like my cooking, Gri--hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey! NO! Grim! You had yours, the rest are mine! Stoooop! Nevermore!!"

There are a lot of lines I've written that I'm quite fond of, but I'm always happy to think of this line as it is another aspect that is a mix between a sibling-like bond that develops over time while mixing the age-old pet owner struggle of defending your food from sneaky paws and teeth.

✍️ What's your ideal writing setup?

Honestly, so long as I have a notebook, clipboard, and my opencils, I can write anywhere! Typically speaking though, at home I'll be sitting at the coffee table on the floor with YouTube videos playing in the background or whenever I'm in a lecture. I don't really doodle like some people do to focus on the lessons or discussion, so writing is my way of staying awake and focused!

🚀 Do you like to outline your fic first or create as you go?

I mostly tend to create as I go, like dumping a bunch of sand in the box before rewriting it to build my "sand castle" so to speak. 99% of the time though, I know where I want the fic to go, I just gotta figure out the how part! If you were to see my notes, I tend to keep them organized via bullet points in word documents or hand-written. This helps me keep ideas I have in mind somewhere I can reference later if I wanna verify something or finally bring it in as a plot point!

💛 What is the most impactful lesson you've learned about writing?

To just...let go and write what feels fun and enjoyable. Before I started this blog, I would start fics for other fandoms and then just...putter out or run out of steam. Somewhere along the line, I lost my confidence to continue projects I started because it either took me too long to get the next chapter up, or my ideas wind up getting too big the more I try to make it elaborate and amazing for the audience. Perfectionism, I suppose. Now though...with every single one of you that has liked, reblogged, commented, or even indulged my in my AU ideas...you've all helped reminding me why I loved creating fics and how much fun it was.

Sorry, that got a little sentimental, but I am truly grateful for all the love and support you all have given me. Thank you. ;;v;;

🎨 If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

Oh gosh, even the random doodles or sketches people have submitted have made me so happy, let alone when someone writes their own fics or gets creative with incorporating their characters into my AUs! I couldn't possibly choose when it's much more fun to see what parts or characters someone loved enough to get creative with it. QvQ

[nataliescatorccio]

hi becca! i hope you're doing okay! i've been thinking about fandoms and streaming a lot these days and how much more enjoyable watching TV shows was.

do you think streaming killed fandoms and the whole culture(? not sure what to call it) of watching shows? because we used to wait weeks for 1 episode and we could theorise and write fanfic and discuss things etc vs now we get a whole season in one day and if you don't watch it immediately, oh well, get ready to be spoiled. and honestly i hate the way it is now sometimes i just don't want to spend 12 hours straight watching a new season, but i can't possibly blacklist and avoid every single spoilers. i still want to be on the Internet and talk to my friends and not live in fear of when i'm getting spoiled (okay that's a bit of an exaggeration but you know). and of course there are still fanfictions and fanart and beautiful gifs, but everything comes at you all at once. you can't even digest anything. i'm forgetting new shows faster because i watch the whole thing in one sitting and i don't even process a lot of it and i just forget later on. maybe it's just a me thing though... but to me, even if i hated waiting because something ended in a cliffhanger, 1 episode per week was so much better. it kept me excited for next week, i could read theories, discussions, read fanfic about something that was completely different from what happened in the next episode. it was so fun. and i feel like fandoms who were getting their content 1 episode per week live(d) longer? everything is getting cancelled nowadays after like 1 day of streaming and it's hard to find people you can follow who still engage and are present in the fandom...

hi anon! had a busy few days but it's friday now and the weekend and that has definitely brightened my mood- i hope it has yours too!

i completely think that streaming has a lot to answer in the way our consumption of media has changed, and i really do believe that extends to fandom culture too for all the reasons you've highlighted. i made a mini rant on this a couple of years ago and it picked up traction and got a lot of interesting additions on this topic which i really wish i could find now, but to summarise there was a lot of talk about how bingeing and binge culture has been detrimental to fandom spaces because of the rush to consume media and move on to the next big thing. we don't have the time to appreciate media anymore, and most of us feel more dissatisfied with what's produced because we rush through to an ending that that doesn't feel fulfilling simply because we haven't had time to sit with the storyline. no one wants too get to attached to anything because the reign of fandom feels so short lived, either because it's cancelled or because the strains of producing quickly consumable storylines take its toll on everyone working to create the content that they can't sustain the standard expected.

i really miss weekly releases too and some of the most enjoyable series i've watched in the past year have included the last of us and house of the dragon which were released an episode by week, and it was just so nice to be within that fandom space. even though most people knew what was going to happen within these storylines because they're adaptations which meant little speculation, it still brought people together to discuss and digest what they'd watched and also create. creating takes time and often feels exhausting when everything is thrown at you all at once and you're not the fastest person to get your ideas out there, instead weekly releases allowed creators to notice details and curate art around that. i do wonder if in the future the pendulum is going to swing back towards weekly releases because of the level of engagement, and therefore profit that surrounds engagement, that surrounds it. i'd really like it to, because i do think binge culture comes with a lot of problems, and i don't just mean in an online world because the recent strikes have highlighted how the attitude of 'i can consume this and throw it away' is having huge impacts on people's livelihoods

[sixth-light]

I posted 2,059 times in 2022

110 posts created (5%)

1,949 posts reblogged (95%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@ilikesallydonovan

@darlingofdots

@raedear

@angualupin

@starfoozle

I tagged 2,036 of my posts in 2022

Only 1% of my posts had no tags

#in the queue - 1,241 posts

#wheel of time - 210 posts

#wot book spoilers - 134 posts

#tumblr stuff - 90 posts

#the old guard - 89 posts

#ofmd - 89 posts

#wot tv show - 88 posts

#lgbtqia - 72 posts

#fandom - 69 posts

#fanart - 52 posts

Longest Tag: 134 characters

#and she only asks about food in the context of 'are you having any digestive issues' and monitoring of things like iron and b vitamins

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I am extremely not going to dignify that 'walkable cities ARE ableist actually' post which has crossed my dash with a reblog, but four things to keep in mind:

'Walkable cities' is almost always a shorthand for 'cities which deprioritise cars as a mode of transport and make it possible and enjoyable to travel by other modes instead', rather than a call for everybody to walk and only walk everywhere all of the time. We live in a golden age of micromobility options, for starters. And when most people do not need to use cars, it will be much easier for people who do.

Advocacy for walkable cities and active transport often does slide right into ableism and fatphobia and this needs to be directly challenged whenever it appears (as someone who has been a cycle commuter my whole adult life and overweight for all but five minutes of my whole adult life, if I never hear "if everybody cycled we would solve the '''obesity epidemic'''!!!" again...)

AT THE SAME TIME, while this will change in degree from place to place, the Venn diagram between 'people who advocate for walkable cities' and 'people who advocate for accessible cities' has a significant degree of overlap. There's probably at least one car-centric conservative out there who genuinely advocates for accessibility by the law of averages, but it's neither a coherent nor common position. Walkability IS a form of accessibility. It is not accessibility for everybody but no single kind of accessibility is, which is why we need cities with MULTIPLE kinds.

Therefore, as with goddamn near everything in life, if you actually want to see more accessible cities...advocate for more accessible cities, and what that means for you. Going 'but there are some people who will always need cars therefore walkable cities is ableist' does exactly nothing except turn people off the idea of change. Say what you want to see. Be specific. Imagine better futures. TL;DR - cui bono when we lock ourselves into "cars vs walkability"? you guessed it - people who benefit from the (observably harmful) car-prioritising status quo. so is this assertion always a cynical psy-op? No. Does it function as one in practice? fuck yes. be smarter.

2,024 notes - Posted November 21, 2022

#4

 As of the morning of 17 Jan, local time, regarding the Tonga eruption: even nearby governments have extremely limited information on what has happened/is happening on the ground. Recon flights have not yet launched. The internet is down. There are 36 inhabited islands in Tonga and there has been no confirmed contact with most of them. There has been no formal government-to-government communication. We know there was a volcanic eruption, a tsunami, and significant ashfall following. That’s a good 90% of what’s reliably known. 

The impetus in these circumstances is always to “do something” but the reality is that there is almost nothing anybody outside Tonga can do right now. Quite frankly, if you don’t have a direct personal connection/knowledge I would hold off even on donating to fundraisers until there’s more clarity on what is actually needed and where that help can best come from. (It remains true as with almost all disasters that money is the best and most useful thing you can give; however, given the limited info/lack of contact and how little most people on the internet know about Tonga, this is going to be prime scammer territory.)

A lot of social media content that purports to describe local conditions is likely untrustworthy - there’s only been a few verified videos and images, because of the undersea cable being out of action. RNZ, which has an excellent and very active Pacific bureau, is being very conservative with its reporting because it does not want to promote misinformation. Just...cool your jets on this one for a few more hours or possibly couple of days, everybody. We don’t know what we don’t know. 

2,343 notes - Posted January 17, 2022

#3

I am very pleased for everybody losing their minds over Our Flag Means Death (I shall be watching it on the weekend) but if it’s alright, I’ll just be over here in the interim losing my mind that Tumblr’s new boyfriends are the Say No To Racism guy and the 2Degrees Ad Guy. 2022 is really Something Else 

3,149 notes - Posted March 25, 2022

#2

The thing that has been vexing me lately about Fantasy Historical Sexism (vs the real kind) is how it flattens out actual historical politics - particularly in the high medieval period, sexism against female rulers was a tool for people who were already their political opponents for political reasons, rather than a common primary motivator for contesting inheritance. Fairly large numbers of women in medieval Western Europe inherited estates ‘suo jure’, in their own right - not even getting into things like the political power of abbesses (who could often be those same women in retirement, or their sisters or daughters or mothers). 

Historical fantasy tends to be so obsessed with having One Special Woman Who Is Fighting Sexism that it actually erases from the popular conception of history the women who were already there, and the complexity of their lives, and it’s just...very...dull. 

4,379 notes - Posted September 13, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I think one of the things that makes OFMD feel freshest is how it balances being a romantic comedy and being queer - specifically, a romantic comedy about queer men (& Jim). Queer men are not unknown in the romantic comedy genre! But what makes the show stand out is how exceptionally careful it is to ensure that the fact of their romances, and of their queerness, is never the source of the comedy. It’s never meant to be funny that someone is queer, or that someone is in love. Coming out, even in the most casual and incidental way, is never used as a punchline. 

And yet, it’s also not a utopia where stereotypes about queer people and homophobia (the things that ultimately fuel those kinds of jokes) don’t exist - they do! But every time somebody tries to make them funny, it falls completely flat. It steps outside the acceptable bounds of the genre and the characters react to it in that way. Homophobia isn’t a central obstacle, it’s a faux pas. It’s not allowed to be funny and it’s also not allowed to take up space in the narrative by being the thing the characters must overcome to get their happy ending. Which is a hell of a balancing act.

That scene with Izzy trying to mock Black Pete and Lucius is absolutely crucial to this tone. These characters know they’re in a comedy and they react to things like they’re in a comedy, but they don’t react to his mockery like it’s a joke OR like it has power to shame them. They react like Izzy is embarrassing himself by failing to read the room - like he’s a bully, but a pathetic one. You can be evil in comedies and still be funny, but Izzy is committing the cardinal sin of failing to be funny...and what that does is draw very clear boundaries around what the show is going to allow as a legitimate joke. Homophobic jokes can only be funny when the people making them have consensus from the rest of the group that they’re funny. Instead, in this show, it is clear instead that they are acts of violence and (attempted) control. Which defangs them, because the ultimate power in a romantic comedy always comes from acts of comedy. I find it extremely powerful for a queer romcom to look homophobia in the eye like this and say “nah” than either to ignore it completely, or to make it a central problem.

It’s very very smart writing and acting and it should be cited every time someone tries to whine about comedy and boundaries and not being allowed to be homophobic/transphobic any more. You can be extraordinarily funny about queer people and be received well. Queerness just can’t be the punchline. 

10,662 notes - Posted April 1, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[freezethebeez]

Not to get all sappy on New Year's Eve, but after replying to a couple Catalyst comments, I've decided to give a public thanks rather than one contained within a comment thread.

-

Catalyst has been just as of much of an experience for me as it has for you, the Catalyst Enjoyers (as I've dubbed you, and as I refer to you to my irl's)— if not more.

Syzygy was my first multi-chapter fic, as well as the longest thing I had ever written before Catalyst. It clocks in at 43k words spanning over the course of 6 chapters, and was written during my summer holiday. There wasn't much engagement with the readers during the Syzygy experience. I would respond to the comments, of course, but that's all I got. No fanart, no world analysis, no asks, nothing (absolute no shade to the Syzygy enjoyers. They are my little guys. My skrimblos. My day 1's).

Comparing it to the Catalyst experience, it feels almost sad. It feels as if I've built a small community with Catalyst— one with talented artists and talented writers— and just having this little community feels so freaking cool. It's everything I ever wanted as a fanfic author and more.

When I started writing fanfic 6 (nearing 7) years ago, interacting with my readers and seeing them create ideas and works of their own based off my writing was always my dream.

You have made that dream a reality, and I thank you all endlessly for it.

The Catalyst experience has genuinely been wild for me in the best ways possible. I was temporarily living with one of my friends when I started writing it— in fact, he even helped me choose the title 'Catalyst'— and to this day, whenever I see him, he asks me how Catalyst is going and reminds me of my humble beginnings— my first comments, my first fanart, all of it.

Catalyst has evolved substantially within its lifetime, starting at a projected finish date of sometime in early September, then late November, and now hopefully sometime within 2023. It's been so interesting to reminisce on the past evolutions and look at it where the story is now— which I can say I'm actually proud of.

Catalyst is more than just my silly little summer writing project now. It's an experience that I've been able to share with all of you, and one that would certainly not be the same without you. Seriously, I can't imagine Catalyst without the enjoyers.

It's just been fun for me, and hopefully fun for you. Seeing the reblogs on the Catalyst link chain tagged with "#catalyst saturday" never fails to make me smile. Every notification I receive telling me that I've been sent an ask makes me jump a little with excitement, and every piece of artwork (whether it be in the form of visual art or writing) sends me over the moon.

You guys are cool, and I appreciate your continuous support throughout this year. Thank you for sticking with me through all these Saturdays, and I look forward to your support in the future.

Also, to anyone who's made it this far, here, take this paragraph from chapter 19 (don't read if you don't want spoilers heehee hoo):

They don’t speak to one another— not with words, at least. There are some shared, knowing looks, sharp exhales through the nose, and fond smiles. And then there’s pinkies linking together in the miniscule gap between them, and Tubbo feels like the dumb teenager he is, fumbling through this weird world of relationships that are more than platonic but less than romantic, trying to find the acceptable middle ground that may or may not exist. He laughs to himself a bit— because this really is kind of stupid, I mean, for all the time Tubbo spends thinking about what it would be like to kiss the guy, you’d think Tubbo would have at least tried to ask. But no, he’s still struggling to hold Ranboo’s hand like they used to, and he thinks that getting back to where they once were might involve a few baby steps, too.

Again, thank you all <3

Sincerely,

freezethebeez

(no bees harmed in the process. beez, not bees. do not freeze bees please)

[darkestmoonlights]

I'm sorry, but I fundamentally disagree with the idea of the art in this fest being rated and judged. The joy of fanart is that it is open to everybody. You don't need to be traditionally 'good' to enjoy making it. You don't need to pass a foundation degree or have a brilliant set of skills.

Who are you, or anyone else to say one pictues is better, funnier, sexier or more romantic than another? My daughter is ten, and she makes drarry fanart. She ought to have as much right to enjoy this hobby as a person with has an art degree.

Thank you for your input. Before we created this fest we decided the most important thing before we developed it was to get artists involved in the process. The reason for this is because we wanted to know the best ways to do right by the artists each step of the way. We got great feedback and a lot of suggestions from fanartists in order to make it as enjoyable as possible. I understand if you disagree with the idea of rating. It is my belief that art is everywhere and it doesn’t matter how good your art skills can be, it is still completely valid because it’s art… As you can see, there is no judging criteria because it’s left to the votes of the fandom. You can vote for the art that you like the most… that does not mean it’s better in the scales of judging. It just means it touched you more deeply… or it has your favorite ship or maybe it was a scene from your favorite fanfiction. That’s the fun of it. We don’t want artists to feel intimidated by the fest. Lately, there has been a sprout of fests across all social medias- but only directed towards fic writers. I don’t know if you have noticed this but… out a lot of fanart comes out of these fics and none of it gets recognized. That’s the goal… to put this art out there… to challenge the artists into putting their all into their art. The many categories are there because it gives everyone more space… more flexibility in their creative process. We can’t forget that there are challenges and competitions of everything. Art, although abstract, is included. As I mentioned before, the integration of a judging criteria becomes more tedious in this case, which is why there is none. There is art that’s funnier than others out of popular opinions- that is something we cannot deny. Does that mean it makes it better? Absolutely not. Maybe out of the 50 people that voted 45 said B was funnier but maybe if 50 MORE people had voted the popular opinion would have shifted. We don’t want anyone to forget that and will do our best to do so. I admire your daughter with everything in me. I hope she never stops enjoying making drarry fanart. It’s my favorite ship and all their fanart makes me happy in ways I can’t describe. Not only enjoy like you said but just because she doesn’t have the same skills as someone with an art degree doesn’t mean she doesn’t get to participate in challenges and competitions with other people who love and enjoy the same fanart. Maybe in the eyes of perception there will be artwork that will better portray happiness or make more people laugh but that doesn’t mean it’s not happy or that it didn’t make people laugh. I would like to think your daughter would like to participate, maybe not now but one day, in fests like this because it’s open to everyone. Thanks to your feedback I feel more intent on making sure, not just the artists but everyone, understands all of the points I have mentioned above.

[filipinoizukuu]

I saw your post about the FA's translations, and I totally agree. Sometimes, when they do not translate accurately, is to make it sound better or cooler in English, but it just ends up taking away a lot from the context and characters. We know how one of the most affected character interpretations is Katsuki's, a main character, no less. And Izuku and Katsuki's relationship too, which is something super super wrong, considering is deeply intertwined with the main plot of the series, thus if someone misinterpreted their dynamic, this person would miss a bigass chunk of the message the story has.

Here is the panel you mentioned before btw

I remember when I read this, only 10 or 11 chapters into the manga (?), and I was like "...I'm...pretty sure this guy didn't say that" khshsjdhs

OK FIRST OF ALL LMAO HELLO MANG!! THANK YOU SO MUCH AND DW ABOUT IT I TOTALLY GET WHAT YOU MEAN !!

(this is your warning for a long post ahead!)

In any case, I still think you're very correct on this! Not to ramble a bit, but Horikoshi's particular talent in developing the plot of MHA is actually very very brilliant and there are a lot of blink-and-you'll-miss-it details that together, assemble the big picture of what MHA is.

Translations are such an integral part of being able to understand foreign media. MHA or otherwise. The simplest of details say a lot about a character and often times make or break a series because everyone knows that strong character dynamics are what carry even the shittiest of plots.

First and foremost, I want to clarify that because of the nature of fan translations and the fact that most of it is volunteer work/ written out of pure enjoyment of the manga--we shouldn't judge these fan translators too harshly (if at all) for interpreting it the way they want to. FA, as far as I can tell, is a fan-based group that works out of donations.

The first thing I wanna bring up is that when it comes to fandom and its works, there are two types: Curatorial and Transformative. Now, the transformative part is something that must be very familiar to a lot of you. Fanfiction, fanart, and most headcanons fall under Transformative Works (i.e. AO3) because they are all about transforming the canon world to fit each individual's personal preferences. Meta-analysis posts and Character Breakdowns are also classified under this.

Curatorial on the other hand are fandom interactions made with the explicit purpose of being as close to canon material as possible. This is working out the logic of quirks, for example, or memorizing as much canon content about your favorite villain as possible. These are more cold, hard undeniable facts that lend themselves to the DIRECT VISION the creator/author had while making this media. If you were to ask me my opinion on this, this would be the moment where I tell you that the Curatorial side of fandom is where fan translations should (for the most part) fall under.

What people need to know though is that oftentimes, fan translations do not.

Translating isn't and has never been a one-is-to-one process. There are hundreds of thousands of aspects in a language that make it so that it isn't perfectly translatable. Colloquialisms to sayings to dialects, to just plain-out words that don't have a proper English translation to them! Manga is made by and for a Japanese audience, so obviously in a lot of instances, there will be cultural nuances that will not be understood by anyone who hasn't immersed themselves in Japanese culture/language.

So what does this mean then for fan scanlations?

It means that a vast majority of translators teach themselves to only get the essence of the message. They take the dialogue as they understand it and translate it to something of their interpretation. When language and cultural barriers exist, translators do what they can in order to make it understandable to the general populace. This means making their own executive decisions on how they see a character speaking. In example, if they see Todoroki using very direct and impersonal Japanese--one translator might interpret it to mean that Shouto is stiff and overly formal, while another may see it as him being rude and aloof.

The problem is, translators are fans just like us.

Like with the image Mang posted above, the translator based the usage of curse words off of their understanding of Bakugou's character. The lack of foul language in the original Japanese might have made the translator think "Oh. There just aren't enough Japanese cusses for his character." And took that as an initiative to make Bakugou's lines more colorful and violent because this was working off of the image Bakugou had had at this point in canon.

But Codi! You may cry. Wasn't it proven multiple times that Bakugou prefers concise and short lines? They should've known better!

Yes. Maybe they should've known better. But tell me honestly in your first watch-through of MHA, did you perfectly understand Bakugou's character either? Did you catch the whole 'direct and no flowery language' aspect of his language when you first saw Season 2?

Most people don't. I only really understood this fact after I'd read multiple discussions of it and even double-checked the manga myself. These are the kinds of things that only become noticeable with a sharp eye and some time to scrutiny. But the fact of the matter is that when it comes to fan translations, the clout and recognition are always going to go to who can post the quickest.

Am I excusing erroneous translations? A bit, I guess. It's hard for us to go in and expect translators to catch all these errors before release when we ourselves only catch these errors like 4 months in with a hundred times more canon context than these scanlation groups did at the time of its release.

Still, there are plenty of harms that come with faulty translations.

When a translation is more divorced from the original's meaning than usual, it creates a dissonance between what is actually happening versus what the audience sees is happening. This looks like decently-written character arcs being overruled and rejected by most of the readers because of how 'jarring' and 'clumsy' it seems. By the time translators had caught on to the fact that Bakugou was more than just a ticking time bomb, we were already several steps into showing how significantly he cares for Deku.

The characters affected most by these translation errors are often those with the most subtle and well-written character arcs. A single mistake in how the source material is translated can make or break the international reception of a certain character to everyone who isn't invested enough in them to look deeper into the canon source.

It creates hiccups in plots. Things that seem out of character but really aren't. Going back to MHA in specific, the way that inaccurate translations hurt both the 'curatorial' and 'transformative' parts of the fandom is that people have begun to cite them as proof of the main cast's characterization.

Bakugou and Todoroki are undeniably some of the biggest examples of mistranslation injustices.

Katsuki, in a lot of people's minds, has yet to break out of the 'overly-aggressive rival' archetype box that people had been placing him in since Season 1. One of the most amazing aspects and biggest downfalls of Hori's writing was that at first, nearly every character fit into a very neat stereotype for Shonen Animes (Deku being the talking-no-jutsu sunshine MC, Uraraka being the overly bubbly main girl, Todoroki being the aloof and formal rival). He made the audience make assumptions about everyone's characters and then pulled the rug beneath our feet when he revealed deeper sides of them to play around within canon.

What made this part about Horikoshi's set-up so good though were the many clues we were given from the very beginning that these characters were more than what they acted like. Even from the very first chapters, for example, we learn that Katsuki (as much as he acts like a delinquent) dislikes smoking because it could get him in trouble.

That is just a single instance of MHA's use of dialogue to subtly divert our expectations of a character.

Another example is when they replaced 318's dialogue of the Second User saying that Katsuki "completes" Deku with him saying that Katsuki merely "bolsters" him. This presents a different situation, as that line was meant to reinforce the importance of those two's relationship as well as complete the character foils that MHA is partially centered around. By downplaying their developed connection, it becomes harder for the MHA manga scanlations to justify any future significance these two's words have on each other without mottling the pacing of the story.

AKA, it butchers the plot.

With every new volume, there are dozens and dozens more of these hints and bits scattered around! So many cues and subtle foreshadowing at the trajectory of everyone's character arcs--yet mistranslations or inaccurate scans make it so that we don't notice them. This is what I mean when I said that some character arcs are being done great injustices.

Until now, many people can't accept that Katsuki Bakugou cares for anyone other than himself (much less his rival and MC, Izuku Midoriya), nor can they accept that Todoroki would ever willingly work by Endeavor's side. The bottom-line then becomes that because of people missing heavy bits of characterization that become very plot-significant in the future.

When it comes to the point where people can no longer accept or fit their interpretation of the earlier manga events to what is happening in canon, the point of a translation fails completely because it has lead people to follow an entirely different story.

TL;DR - Fan scans are hard. Translating is hard. Don't get too mad at fan translations, but also maybe don't treat them as the catch-all for how characters truly operate. Thanks.

Side note: DO NOT harass FA for any of these things. FA is actually a pretty legit and okay source for scans (they've been operating since like 2014 ffs), but regardless of that they still don't deserve to get flack for their work. You can have any opinion or perspective of canon that you want, I don't care. These are just my two (more like two million tbh) cents on translations. I suggest reading takes from actual Japanese audiences tbh if you wanna know more about the source material of MHA. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[itsclydebitches]

Here's a quandary I've suddenly found myself in: where do you stand on writers deleting their own works, fanfiction or otherwise? I've had this happen to me on more than one occasion - I go to look for an old favorite and find it's since been deleted from whatever site I read it on.

On the one hand, I'm inclined to think that, "Sure. The author wrote it, it's their call. I don't own the work - I certainly didn't pay for it. It's their decision, even if it's disappointing."

But at the same time I can't help but consider the alternative - if I believe in death of the author (and I do), that an author's work fundamentally isn't solely theirs once it's been published, posted, etc., then it also seems wrong to have a work deleted. Stories aren't the sole property of their creator, after all.

But then I circle back. D'you think there are different obligations between authors and readers and the works being made in fandom space? I know if I had bought a book and the author decided they wanted it back, I would feel pretty comfortable telling them no, given I'd paid for it and whatnot. But that's a different world from fanfic and fandom space generally.

So. You're insightful Clyde, I'm curious as to what you'll have to say here (and to all y'all thinking about it, don't flame me. I haven't decided where I stand here yet - haven't heard a good nail-in-the-coffin argument for or against yet).

Val are you a mind reader now? I’ve been thinking about this exact conundrum the last few days!

(And yeah, as a general disclaimer: no flaming. Not allowed. Any asks of the sort will be deleted on sight and with great satisfaction.)

Honestly, I’m not sure there is a “nail-in-the-coffin argument” for this, just because—as you lay out—there are really good points for keeping works around and really good points for allowing authors to have control over their work, especially when fanworks have no payment/legal obligations attached. In mainstream entertainment, your stories reflect a collaborative effort (publisher, editor, cover artists, etc.) so even if it were possible to delete the physical books out of everyone’s home and library (and we're ignoring the censorship angle for the moment), that’s no longer solely the author’s call, even if they have done the lion’s share of the creative work. Though fanworks can also, obviously, be collaborative, they’re usually not collaborative in the same way (more “This fic idea came about from discord conversations, a couple tumblr posts, and that one headcanon on reddit”) and they certainly don’t have the same monetary, legal, and professional strings attached. I wrote this fic as a hobby in my free time. Don’t I have the right to delete it like I also have the right to tear apart the blankets I knit?

Well yes… but also no? I personally view fanworks as akin to gifts—the academic term for our communities is literally “gift economy”—so if we view it like that, suddenly that discomfort with getting rid of works is more pronounced. If I not only knit a blanket, but then gift it to a friend, it would indeed feel outside of my rights to randomly knock on their door one day and go, “I actually decided I hate that? Please give it back so I can tear it to shreds, thanks :)” That’s so rude! And any real friend would try to talk me out of it, explaining both why they love the blanket and, even if it’s not technically the best in terms of craftsmanship, it holds significant emotional value to them. Save it for that reason alone, at least. Fanworks carry that same meaning—“I don’t care if it’s full of typos, super cliché, and using some outdated, uncomfortable tropes. This story meant so much to me as a teenager and I’ll always love it”—but the difference in medium and relationships means it’s easier to ignore all that. I’m not going up to someone’s house and asking face-to-face to destroy something I gave them (which is awkward as hell. That alone deters us), I’m just pressing a button on my computer. I’m not asking this of a personal friend that is involved in my IRL experiences, I’m (mostly) doing this to online peers I know little, if anything, about. It’s easy to distance ourselves from both the impact of our creative work and the act of getting rid of it while online. On the flip-side though, it’s also easier to demean that work and forget that the author is a real person who put a lot of effort into this creation. If someone didn’t like my knitted blanket I gave them as a gift, they’re unlikely to tell me that. They recognize that it’s impolite and that the act of creating something for them is more important than the construction’s craftsmanship. For fanworks though, with everyone spread around the world and using made up identities, people have fewer filters, happily tearing authors to shreds in the comments, sending anon hate, and the like. The fact that we’re both prefacing this conversation with, “Please don’t flame” emphasizes that. So if I wrote a fic with some iffy tropes, “cringy” dialogue, numerous typos, whatever and enough people decided to drag me for it… I don’t know whether I’d resist the urge to just delete the fic, hopefully ending those interactions. There’s a reason why we’re constantly reminding others to express when they enjoy someone else’s work: the ratio of praise to criticism in fandom (or simply praise to seeming indifference because there was no public reaction at all), is horribly skewed.

So I personally can’t blame anyone for deleting. I’d like to hope that more people realize the importance of keeping fanworks around, that everything you put out there is loved by someone… but I’m well aware that the reality is far more complicated. It’s hard to keep that in mind. It’s hard to keep something around that you personally no longer like. Harder still to keep up a work you might be harassed over, that someone IRL discovered, that you’re disgusted with because you didn’t know better back then… there are lots of reasons why people delete and I ultimately can’t fault them for that. I think the reasons why people delete stem more from problems in fandom culture at large—trolling, legal issues, lack of positive feedback, cancel culture, etc.—than anything the author has or has not personally done, and since such work is meant to be a part of an enjoyable hobby… I can’t rightly tell anyone to shoulder those problems, problems they can’t solve themselves, just for the sake of mine or others’ enjoyment. The reason I’ve been thinking about this lately is because I was discussing Attack on Titan and how much I dislike the source material now, resulting in a very uncomfortable relationship with the fics I wrote a few years back. I’ve personally decided to keep them up and that’s largely because some have received fantastic feedback and I’m aware of how it will hurt those still in the fandom if I take them down. So if a positive experience is the cornerstone of me keeping fics up, I can only assume that negative experiences would likewise been the cornerstone of taking them down. And if getting rid of that fic helps your mental health, or solves a bullying problem, or just makes you happier… that, to me, is always more important than the fic itself.

But, of course, it’s still devastating for everyone who loses the work, which is why my compromise-y answer is to embrace options like AO3’s phenomenal orphaning policy. That’s a fantastic middle ground between saving fanworks and allowing authors to distances themselves from them. I’ve also gotten a lot more proactive about saving the works I want to have around in the future. Regardless of whether we agree with deleting works or not, the reality is we do live in a world where it happens, so best to take action on our own to save what we want to keep around. Though I respect an author’s right to delete, I also respect the reader’s right to maintain access to the work, once published, in whatever way they can. That's probably my real answer here: authors have their rights, but readers have their rights too, so if you decide to publish in the first place, be aware that these rights might, at some point, clash. I download all my favorite fics to Calibre and, when I’m earning more money (lol) I hope to print and bind many for my personal library. I’m also willing to re-share fic if others are looking for them, in order to celebrate the author’s work even if they no longer want anything to do with it. Not fanfiction in this case, but one of my fondest memories was being really into Phantom of the Opera as a kid and wanting, oh so desperately, to read Susan Kay’s Phantom. Problem was, it was out of print at the time, not available at my library, and this was before the age of popping online and finding a used copy. For all intents and purposes, based on my personal situation, this was a case of a book just disappearing from the world. So when an old fandom mom on the message boards I frequented offered to type her copy up chapter by chapter and share it with me, you can only imagine how overjoyed I was. Idk what her own situation was that something like scanning wouldn’t work, but the point is she spent months helping a fandom kid she barely knew simply because a story had resonated with her and she wanted to share it. That shit is powerful!

So if someone wants to delete—if that’s something they need right now—I believe that is, ultimately, their decision… but please try your hardest to remember that the art you put out into the world is having an impact and people will absolutely miss it when it’s gone. Often to the point of doing everything they can to put it back out into the world even if you decide to take it out. Hold onto that feeling. The love you have for your favorite fic, fanart, meta, whatever it is? Someone else has that for your work too. I guarantee it.

So take things down as needed, but for the love of everything keep copies for yourself. You may very well want to give it back to the world someday.

[obirains-archive]

Hello! I've just read your post about the TERF, and I just wanted to ask, what do you mean by withholding support socially as well? Not tagging or hashtagging anything related to the franchise? Not buying fanmade items nor crating content about it? I think I sort of get all of those. But, what about fanfiction, for example? Is writing/reading enough of a "private enjoyment"? I remember she used to be against fanfiction in the beginning (early 2000s) and that would be a good enough reason to read/write, but does that also give her trackable engagement points nowadays? I'm sorry, I know these are a lot of questions, it's just that I've been at war with myself for quite sometime and yours is, I think, the first post I've seen that acknowledges the very real emotional connection many fans have with the franchise and how difficult it is to just condemn the whole thing. I'm good with painting/creating/knitting my own merchandise, from me to me, for the rest of my life, but what about still reading about beloved characters in a beloved magical world, if it was masterfully written by someone thankfully not her...? Thank you.

Hi, Anon! I’m gonna try to be as empathetic and articulate as I can; forgive me if some of my thoughts are still tangled. 

You’re right that fanfiction is a little murkier than hashtags, fan merch, and other kinds of engagement. To my knowledge (anyone please correct me if I’m wrong), there’s much less of a corporate presence with most fanfiction websites (with the exception of Wattpad and maybe a few others). By “corporate” I don’t just mean advertisers; I mean people judging the extent to which JKR/HP is still a global phenomenon: the extent, therefore, of the demand for more content, which is basically equivalent to demand for Rowling as a public figure with a public platform. I’m sure archives like AO3 aren’t completely clean either, but I do think there’s a subtle difference.

(And let’s establish too that on Tumblr there’s virtually no difference between tagging fanfiction and tagging other content for the franchise, given that tags are fundamental to people seeing your writing. Reading fanfiction rather than writing it is still participating in and benefiting from that overall tag.)

The problem as I see it is that Rowling explicitly considers her fans both supporters of and participants in her TERF ideology - she’s the martyr giving a voice to the voiceless, sacrificing herself to the hoards of internet activists. “Fans” includes both people who monetarily support her and people who still engage in the Harry Potter fandom. To contribute to that fandom, even through content from which Rowling reaps no direct revenue, is to implicitly confirm her assessment and therefore her worldview. Even if most HP fans don’t consider themselves to be TERFs, they’re telling her that the series is more important to them than the ideology is heinous. So, surely, her worldview can’t be that bad. 

Tumblr both complicates and amplifies this issue. Unlike AO3, content creation on Tumblr is inseparable from content circulation. The reblog system spreads your content to as many people as possible, people who share your interests, by design. Unless you can go through the whole Tumblr HP fandom and individually block all Rowling sympathizers, your content (fanfiction, fanart, fan videos, etc) will almost certainly yield interaction from not just TERFs but people who don’t think Rowling’s so bad, people who might disagree with what she says but surely it’s not as harmful as people are making out, people willing to pay for movie tickets and new books, people willing to make her content trend. Even if you personally denounce her, there’s no way to ensure you’re not fueling the demand for Rowling as a writer and public figure, and contributing to her vast social influence. 

As a reader, rather than a writer - maybe you’re not actively providing content to potentially unsavory individuals, but you’re almost certainly going to be somewhere in their circles. If not within, then never too far away. 

I empathize with your struggle, Anon. Harry Potter was a huge part of my childhood; I used to read and write fanfiction for it, too. At the end of the day, I think it’s something everyone needs to check with their own consciences. If you’re publically denouncing Rowling (and also!!! publically supporting trans people and especially trans women!!!!!!), and can say in good faith that the fanfiction writers you’re interacting with are doing the same - I can’t stop you. But for me, personally, my conscience will not permit me to engage in the franchise, whether that’s through pirating the new films, buying fan-made merch through third-party sites, or reading/reblogging free fan content. In addition to some soul-searching, I’d recommend seeking perspectives of trans people from all platforms and backgrounds, and then going to other fans you trust and know are in the same boat. 

I know this was maybe longer than it needed to be; I hope it made sense. And I truly do wish you the best of luck. 

[not-xpr-art]

Art Advice #6 - Ways to combat social media fatigue as a creative person

Hi guys!

This week’s topic is something I think any artist who’s predominantly active on social media will relate to; that feeling of utter helplessness at trying to live up to social media algorithms, which can really impact your mental and physical health...  

I want to just offer some advice on how to feel less burnt out from art social media (advice I need to take myself sometimes)...

Ways to combat social media fatigue as a creative person (& how you can make social media overall a better place to be).

As I’ve already said, social media can take a big toll on your mental and physical health, particularly if you’re relying on it for your career (as a lot of artists and other creatives do). 

This blog post aims to offer some small pieces of advice to help make your life a little easier when navigating the world of art social media!

1) Algorithms are built to destroy creativity.

I think we’ve all had that phase where we try and keep up with the fast paced algorithms of social media that demand we produce new content day after day, as well as constantly interacting with other people’s posts and spending a minimum amount of time on the app. And all of this leads to feeling fed up and tired when you’re using that particular social media. 

For me, Instagram used to be such a wonderful place for sharing art. I met many amazing fellow artists, and the community that was formed their was genuinely lovely. Unfortunately, everything changed when the fire nation (Facebook) bought out the company & the whole site became so less friendly to smaller creatives. 

I’ve heard a similar story from a lot of artists, who find Instagram’s focus on excessive posting and engagement, which mainly rewards big influencers or celebrities and not smaller accounts of creative people, incredibly disheartening. The algorithms don’t allow artists to naturally explore their creativity, and it leads to more and more artists getting just completely creatively burnt out.

Of course, this all sounds really pessimistic, but it doesn’t have to be. For me, places like Tumblr and the newly created Artfolapp, which (although not perfect) offer a great alternative to the algorithm heavy apps like Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. As with all socials, there’s a huge element of luck that comes with posting art (timezones, audience, etc can all play major parts in how well your art does), but I always find places where posting doesn’t feel like a chore are a lot more enjoyable.

Alternatively, as simple as it sounds I think a great way to start approaching all social media is to not focus on numbers. Instagram actually recently gave the option of being able to hide likes on others and your own posts, which I actually think is a great idea! Once you become less focused on numbers I think you can breathe a little easier!

2) Numbers =/= Your worth as a creative person.

Following on from my last point, it can often feel like if you’re posts aren’t getting as much attention as you used to then there’s something wrong with the work your doing. 

Of course, this isn’t true at all, and most of us know this. Unfortunately if your posts are a part of your work, and the engagement they have is directly linked to how successful in your job you are (and how much money you make that week), then numbers are a lot harder to ignore. 

My biggest piece of advice for this is to visualise the numbers as what they are; people actually interacting with your work! So even if it’s only 1 person, that’s still 1 entire person who enjoyed what you posted! 

3) Luck be a b*tch, honestly ...

As previously mentioned, there is a lot of luck that comes with being successful on social media. Luck of posting in the right place at the right time, having one person with a bigger platform share your art, etc. 

So there isn’t a lot of advice I can give in this section. One thing I’d recommend is involving yourself in a particular community or fandom. Even if you don’t do fancontent, finding a community where you can meet like-minded people and support each other’s work is a really useful thing!! 

For fancontent (like fan art, edits, cosplay, covers, etc) you can just check out the tags of those fandoms! Even if it’s a small fandom, there is usually some content that already exists for it. Often by following a range of people in the various fandoms you enjoy can also lead to fun opportunities, like fan-zines or collaborations! 

For non-fancontent it can feel like it’s a lot harder to find people to relate to. One thing I’d recommend is to find independent magazines online which specialise in sharing creative works! This can offer great chances to get your work featured, as well as meeting some fellow creatives!

Basically, curating your social media experience to feature people that inspire you & support you not only makes for a more enjoyable time being on social media, but it also means there’s more potential your work will be seen!

4) Passion Pays.

Audiences often know when you’re producing something because you feel like you have to (perhaps it’s fancontent for something you gained a lot of followers from, or a particular style that you’ve done for a long time) rather than from genuine passion, and that can be to your detriment.

My advice is to do what you’re actually passionate about, even if that means that some people may not be as interested. For example, I gained a significant portion of my followers on other social medias from posting Kpop fanart. And although I still do this occasionally, I only ever really do it when it’s something I really want to draw. Even though I know I could churn out a lot of Kpop content that those people who followed me for it would really like, I also like drawing other things & going out of my comfort zone in art. 

And I know that the people who still follow and support me now understand this, and often appreciate that I draw things I’m unabashedly passionate about! It has also made me a lot happier overall with my own work, since I feel like I’m constantly pushing myself to do new and interesting things for me, and not to fulfil the interests of others! 

This can also include a complete turn around of the kinds of things you create, by the way! If you’ve been a 2D artist for ages, but suddenly develop a passion for 3D sculpture, then go for it! Those who are still interested in your work will stick around. As well as this, you’ll grow an entirely new audience with the new creative outlet you start sharing! It’s honestly a win-win situation, and don’t let the fear of people not accepting the change hold you back!

5) TAKE BREAKS!

Possibly the most important piece of advice in this post is to remember to take a break from social media! Even if it’s something you rely on for your job, and the algorithms demand you spend time on them, try to take periods of time during your day to switch off from it. 

Another thing I would also suggest is taking breaks from posting things. I did this in January because I wanted a break from forcing myself to live up to the hell of a posting schedule. I still did art, but without the pressure of having to post things I was able to take time and have a little more fun with it! 

A final thing in this part that I’d suggest is taking breaks from doing creative stuff occasionally. If you’re anything like me, you probably spend nearly every day doing or at least thinking about creative things. And that can become very tiring! Whether it’s taking a week, a few days, or entire months, remember that your creativity and skill aren’t just going to disappear if you take a break from it for a bit! 

I think creative people tell themselves that if they don’t keep posting, then people are going to stop supporting their work. But in my experience, people stick around even if you haven’t posted something in years! Because if someone enjoys your work, then they’re going to stick around regardless! 

TL/DR

Basically to sum up, social media can be hell to navigate with it’s obsessive algorithms and posting schedules. But if you allow yourself to adapt to other sites/apps that don’t rely on those things, don’t fixate on numbers, curate your experience to both be inspiring and supportive, let your passion shine through, and remember to take breaks, then social media can become a lot more enjoyable! 

I hope this post was somewhat helpful to anyone who struggles with this... I have to admit that I often don’t take my own advice in regard to social media, but I thought me posting this could help both of us out lol!

Check out my other Art Advice posts here if you’re interested!

[winterfest-gift-exchange]

Winterfest 2020 - Intro and Dates

WHAT is the Winterfest?

The basic version: it's like secret santa, kris kringle, secret friend - except with fanworks.

You fill out a form where you describe what you want to see or create - everyone in the rote verse getting therapy? A groundhog day of Galen getting his ass kicked? Endless angst and suffering? Every request gets matched to an offer to find a pot for every kettle!

WHEN is the Winterfest?

Sign Ups, aka filling out those requests and offer forms, start in one week on Friday, 16 18 October 2020 and close on 6 8 November 2020.

Within the next 2 days, you will receive your target!

From then on, you will have almost 2 months to work on your piece until the Gifting Day on 1 January 2021. I hope that this will provide enough time, even if you too find the FitzChivalry fatal flaw of procrastination overly relatable.

WHERE is the Winterfest?

Both Sign Up Forms and gifts have to be posted on AO3. This is both to avoid any possible legal issues as well as to make organising easier. But you can still post your work wherever else you'd like!

All of the gifts will also be either reblogged or linked to on this blog within a week after posting under the tag #winterfest2020, unless you veto it.

I will make another post linking to both the Sign Up forms and an FAQ that explains the process in more detail.

If you don't have an AO3 account yet, feel free to send me a public ask! I will privately reply with an invite link😉

WHAT can I gift/request?

The most important thing is to create something enjoyable for both you and your giftee.

To make sure that we can match you with someone else, please list either fanfiction or fanart - or both with min. 1000 words or finished lineart within your requests and offers.

However! You can also list any kind of other fanwork as long as it's possible to post it on AO3! Fanvids? Self made audio books? A collage of book quotes? Anything goes - and who knows? Maybe someone will ask or offer just what you're looking for!

WHAT IF I haven't read all the books yet?

Put the books you want to create or receive something for in your Sign Up form and I'll be sure to find a fitting match!

WILL there be any smut/violence/etc here?

Smut and violence are allowed, but only as long as you make sure your giftee is alright with it and tag your content appropriately.

WHO is organising all of this?

Right now, it's me by my lonesome.

I'm looking for at least 1 other mod to help me sort through the matches! So, if you're overly invested in fictional characters and their problems and most specifically in the rote characters and their feelings and you have some free time around winter, please send me an ask! I look forward to meeting my co-mod(s)💫

WHAT IF I have to drop out?

Please tell me as soon as possible so I can organize a pinch hitter!

A pinch hitter is someone who agrees to pitch in and create a(n extra) fanwork if the giver ends up unable to create a gift for any reason. It's possible to only sign up as a pinch hitter or to offer to become a pinch hitter on top of the usual sign up. Pinch hitters don't receive (extra) gifts for their trouble - apart from being very much appreciated!🪐

Are there any RULES?

I will send a link to the full rules along with the Sign Up form, but it all boils down to 2 things: don't be bigoted and don't be an asshole. As long as you do that, you'll be A-Okay👍

>> "In my dazed state, the roasting meat of Winterfest had been enticing, and the crackling had been the sound of the huge logs in the grand hearth of the Great Hall. A minstrel was tuning some sea-pipes, the deepest voiced of the traditional wind instruments." <<

All in all, here's to a: