#please respect artists if they tell you they want it removed

[passive-t-u-m-b-l-r-user]

PSSSSST.

Hey. You.

Reblog this with a piece of Kingdom Hearts fanart from before 2005.

Let's see the culture from where it started.

(Also, please credit the original creator. No stealing.)

I'll start...

[Created by drowdragon on Deviantart on April 4th, 2003]

[dwampyverseawards]

NOMINATIONS FOR THE AWARDS

Hello all!! As previously noted, this is going to be an awards poll/ceremony for the dwampyverse fandom!

All types of creators and interesting people will be spotlighted here, and I've decided that everyone submitted and ok with being included will get an award of some kind!

There will be three categories of awards: General(Favorite Writer or Funniest Fic), Fandom Specific(Most Milo Murphy's Law Art or Most Phineas and Ferb Trivia), and Specific Ones That Don't Fit Anywhere Else For Specific People Because This Isn't Just For Big Names In The Fandom(Will be simplified to just One-Off)(Most Interesting Self-Made Merch or Silliest Impression)

In addition, those categories will be split into two sections: People(talented or underrated people in the fandom) and Works(fanworks on their own, separate from the creator, and hopefully a lot of classics or big projects)

These are all examples, with the only currently set awards basically being the big ones: Favorite Writer, Favorite Artist, and Most Influential Work. There will be a number of smaller ones, along w the more specific ones for individuals! Please feel free to suggest any awards you would like to see/get, as the low number is simply because we don't know how many people will sign up/be submitted.

Keep in mind that while you can nominate anyone, there are inevitably people in this fandom that have my main blocked, and unless they specifically ask to be entered, they will not be nominated out of respect for their boundaries. In addition, as stated multiple times, if anyone who has themselves/their works submitted does not want to be in these polls, they can drop out at any time!

Submissions end in 30 days, on Feburary 25th, or 2/25/24! If we get a massive amount of submissions, this might end early.

I will stay unbiased on my own blog and this one, even if I myself am submitted, dw.

Tags for reach, pls tell me if u dont wanna be tagged n ill remove it @danvillecheese @adhdoofenshmirtz @ferbracket

[brawlingdiscontent]

On Louis and Armand and photography and portraiture 

I want to take a moment to reflect on Louis and Armand’s chosen art forms and how they relate to their crises of self and inform their relationship. (There’s a much longer post about art and representation as forms of meaning-making in the show, but that’s for later.)

When they meet in Paris, Louis is a photographer and Armand a theatre director. The show uses these occupations figuratively, signifying slippage between each character’s artistic medium and role and their personality/self. For Armand, being a director is a somewhat ill-fitting role. It calls on him to oversee the play, standing outside of it and shouldering sole responsibility for staging decisions without ever taking the stage himself.

The problem with this is that he’s still, at heart, an artist’s model, needing to become the scene and not make decisions about its construction. This is signalled in an early exchange of theirs in 2.2 when Louis tells Armand, “You carry yourself well” (i.e. you’re a good model), and is later confirmed by Armand himself. Despite all the trauma of his past (or more likely because of it), he’s still fixated on the artist-model relationship (and the parallels he sees between it and his worship of his maker Marius). In the museum scene in 2.4 Armand asks:

Armand: Who am I, Louis? Am I my history I have endured? Am I the job I do not want? I do not know anymore. No one has painted me in 400 years.

This line highlights Armand’s deep crisis of self, related to his trauma, and connects it back to modelling/portraiture. Armand only knows who he is and how to define himself when someone paints him—i.e. through the eyes of another. This makes Louis appealing as a photographer, a contemporary portrait-taker. (And that pic he snaps of Armand so symbolically crucial). It also sets the stage for their kink dynamic, where they respectively adopt the roles of the taker and the taken.

However, as the show reveals, Louis is not a good photographer—following the metaphor, because he’s using photography as a tool to remove himself from the frame, i.e. as a distancing strategy in reaction to what being ‘in the picture’ emotionally and personally cost him in his entanglement with Lestat. After losing himself in Lestat, he seeks to withdraw entirely, hiding behind the camera lens, as defence mechanism and distraction both (“I liked taking photographs. It took my mind off things.”) 

In 2.2 when Claudia asks Louis who he is outside of her and Lestat, he dodges the question by framing himself through photography, at one point literally using the camera lens as a shield to avoid her question. (Louis’ photography habit also relates to the notion that he’s ‘mad in love with humanity’: they are both a distraction to avoid engaging fully with his vampiric self.)

Louis doesn’t know his own answer to Armand’s question, ‘Who am I?,’ but it resonates with his own crisis of self. He finds comfort in helping Armand to define himself, but also in having his withholding nature characterized as an alluring trait, as opposed to what it is: a tactical retreat masking his broken sense of self. 

Similarly, Armand fashions himself to please Louis, defining himself through their relationship. In choosing to answer his own question ‘who am I?’ with ‘Louis’,’ he avoids thinking or reflecting on his trauma or coming to terms with himself—leading to concerning statements like, “If I'm not with him, I'm nothing,” and shedding light on why the notion that Louis finds him boring is so devastating.  

There’s a line exchange that highlights this dynamic in 2.3: 

Armand: You are drawn to portraiture. Louis: It hides the cracks in the walls.

The literal action here is Armand inspecting Louis and Claudia’s apartment and observing the many portraits lining the walls. However, this scene also functions on a deeper, metaphorical level. Armand sees Louis as a passionate portrait-taker, someone eager to capture him. However, Louis’ motivation to cover the cracks might be better understood as him fixating on others to obscure the cracks within himself. While he says “I’m out here finding myself,” he’s really hiding from himself. 

We might lastly consider the difference between photography and painting. As a medium, photography engenders less intimacy between photographer and subject than between a painter and theirs. It’s done in a literal flash, compared the hours of sustained contact needed to complete a painted portrait, perhaps signalling Louis’ relative unavailability and the incompatibility of their chosen forms. 

As the show’s framing of photography and painting helps to make clear, Armand and Louis are in a partnership that neither are putting their full self into, hampered by their respective wounds, (and in the infamous 2.5 fight scene they choose to hurt each other by prying open these wounds, rather than addressing them). And that’s the tragedy of their relationship. 

Coda: Revisiting Armand's director persona, there is one way that it suits him. Notwithstanding his aversion to leadership and his desire to form himself around his partner, directing aligns with his need for control. His favoured staging style, projecting conjured images over the bodies of live (I mean, technically, undead) actors, says a lot about him, too, signalling his penchant for manipulation of the real (or the truth) via constructed images and narratives.

(Screencaps from KissThemGoodbye's TV shows gallery)

[paigenoelchas-blog]

Moonvale

I have not finished Episode 1 so maybe I shouldn't be writing any of this, but I have some opinions about Everbyte.

1. I believe that they are going to do a fine job at weaving a story (Duskwood) that is so beloved into something new.

2. AI is here to stay, that fact sucks. It takes the ability for true artists to make a living, it removes creativity from the world and it deprives of a real emotion and depth of feeling in our art, but it is cheaper and easier to use than actors. I would have appreciated real people and the impact it would have made they had dealt with profiles in a different way, but if they are busy writing a good story and weaving Duskwood in and out of it, I can accept that some things have to be sacrificed.

3. It is hard to create a story. It is hard to program a computer game that is as full of life and creates as many feelings as Duskwood did for a lot of us. It is hard to please old fans and new ones at the same time. Certainly mistakes will be made. We have all made mistakes and will make more before we leave the Earth.

4. It is impossible to please everyone. A company that basically created this genre should be given the chance to try something new. They deserve our loyalty and at the very at the very least some human kindness and respect. They are people and no matter how much you disagree the should to be treated as such. Words hurt even if they are typed anonymously.

I may have a different opinion after I finish episode 1. I am just hoping that the team at Everbyte continues to produce this game with the passion and care that they have in the past. I personally want to play through this game and find out what they have done.

I don't like to push buttons or start fights or be involved in drama, but I feel bad for the game creators. I hope they know that some of us are still behind them and will follow all of the stories they plan to tell.

[taviokapudding]

In regards to being asked about the black company, Nijisanji, their allegations to having ties to Israeli money, and #SinkTheYacht

I'm disappointed in

seeing folks punish all Niji EN livers by collectively unsubbing when "sinking the yacht" would be more effective by reaching out to AnyColor Inc shareholders and partners about Nijisanji's admission of management & livers bullying and listing all the public facts surrounding why Selen was fired. The summary of facts are that Nijisanji has bullies in their team, has done nothing to remove said bullies, and they chose a sudden termination to hide the fact they let a liver attempt suicide from said bullies and didn't inform the public about it.

So I understand why people are unsubbing as a whole- why many creators, artists, and third parties have made it public they will no longer make, support, or sponsor Nijisanji.

But priority 1 is not mass unsubbing- that's what Nijisanji wants. They are made up of known bullies and they are now manipulating the public into being bullies. Instead of spreading the word to mass unsub- I encourage everyone stop spending money on official merch, do not collab with any AnyColor Inc management, and not buy stocks connected directly to all AnyColor Inc nor their shareholders.

But why am I discussing this?

Why should non-vtuber fans care?

What I'm about to discuss now is an ongoing allegation that makes all the know facts even worse. If you support Palestine, you especially need to know about this ongoing allegation:

On Feb 5, ITOCHU Corp announced they would end their contract with an Israeli Defense Firm that they started March 2023- around the same time Nijisanji EN would annouced the termination without informing Selen (now Doki) that she was terminated. ITOCHU is a known shareholder of AnyColor Inc and does has the power to ask for public distractions. They are a monster firm among Japanese companies.

I cannot endorse #SinkTheYacht knowing Nijisanji livers are some of the worst collectively and consistently paid company VTubers in the industry, but if folks want to boycott AnyColor Inc's ceo, owners, shareholders, and management for their associations and ties to indirectly causing an ongoing genocide- then I support you. Sony Group Corp Japan, Bilibili Inc, & FreakOut Holdings Inc are a few shareholders that you can file public complaints towards about AnyColor's behavior and be wary of when choosing vtubers, streamers, youtubers, etc to support. But again ITOCHU and AnyColor's relationship is an allegation and speculation.

In my opinion

From an outsider perspective I believe an investigation into Nijisanji as a whole should've happened last year when so many people left or appeared to have left from management based pressure.

But as someone who holds many of the remaining livers with respect (and is a Kyomie) if indeed Nijisanji EN is telling the truth about livers and management bullying + doing nothing to stop it, then yes- every person responsible for ongoing bullying of at least 3 years should be terminated and black listed from the vtubing industry.

That all being said (if my gut is right) and none/the majority of the EN livers are not bullies then I also believe all currently contracted EN livers should be allowed to press charges aganist Nijisanji EN & AnyColor Inc for

1. Public defamation on an international scale due to the termination wording

2. Cuts to their already weird pay caused by the company's annoucements on Feb 5 & 6 2024

3. All documented mismanagement and bullying they've reported since being employed that led to emotional, physical, and financial losses

4. Losses to old and new merch sales the same week of Feb 5, 2024

The wording of the termination of Selen Tatsuki should be headed as a warning to an ongoing and well publicly documented management issues with AnyColor Inc and all their branches. If you're a vtuber who has or is planning to join Nijisanji EN- please get an attorney or lawyer if you choose to audition or are currently work for AnyColor Inc who's familiar with your nation's laws and Japan's laws. And remember to everyone, it takes hard work but being indie is possible- you don't need a company.

Thank you for reading this whole post and all fans please make the decisions and adjustments accordingly in regards to not #Sink TheYacht in such a fucking stupid fashion- don't be like the bullies who are managing your favorites. And god speed to all the EN Livers at KuroColor Inc who may end up seeing this on your private accounts- please know your fans will support you no matter what decisions you make but they hate your company and management for treating you like shit behind closed doors and out in the public. And if any of you do listen to my advice and find a legal expert to help you out, don't tell your management nor coworkers/friends/family, doubly if you don't have a copy of your most recent contract renewal/contract. Alright? Snakes can pass for tall grass, you need to be prepared to get bitten by the most unsuspecting blades when navigating your rights as a contracted streamer, entertainer, and employee.

[hippiegoth97]

Let Me Make Some Shit Clear

Hey, everybody. I never thought I would have to make a post like this, but here we go. Today I was tagged in a post by the lovely @violetpixiedust (please check out their post about this as well they cover it extremely well) and found out I was mentioned in a 'call-out' post for my Gator Tillman one-shot. The OP of the call-out post didn't have the balls to tag me, and instead listed me with many others and blocked me unprovoked. Here's screenshots of that post. I'll go into my feelings on that in a second. But, take a moment to read through all that.

So, let's set the record straight so nobody misunderstands me.

I do not in any way support MAGA bullshit, or any conservative ideology of any kind. I am a bisexual, leftist, atheist woman who believes in equality, respect, and rights for all.

I do not condone the awful actions of Gator Tillman, or his shit father. My story was very clear on that as well, he's extremely flawed and I thought I made that obvious. I really tried to drive home the fact that he's a product of abuse.

I was rooting for Dorothy Lyon the whole fucking season, because she is a badass woman who has been through too much for one lifetime. I myself am a victim of child abuse which has carried on into my adulthood. I know her. I am her. But I also know, and am, Gator. The OP also completely glazes over the fact that Gator was extremely abused. We see how Roy treats his 'property'. I do not think Gator would have been able to leave the ranch either, unless he got married off. If he left, he would be hunted down too.

Also, Gator knows he did bad things, he was ready to go to jail to pay for them as long as his awful father was kept away from him. Because he FEARED HIM. He was literally a child stuck in a grown man's body, and that is how we sympathize with him. And he killed that poor old woman on accident, I'm sure he took no pleasure in that. And the man in the skirt paid him back triple.

And another thing, it's fanfiction. And for those of you who have been in the trenches as long as I have would know that all kinds of stories get told in this community of ours. Is it always ethical? no. Is it always 100% morally sound? No. Does it explore many taboo subjects through artistic expression? Hell yes. There is a ton of stuff out there that I find repulsive and would never read. I will not say what because it is not my place to censor or judge others, or tell them how to express themselves. I simply focus on the works I do like, and read those. And this is something new fandom culture has seemed to have forgotten. Over and over I see people wringing their hands at smut, or subjects they find triggering, or things society says are wrong. But you're really opening a fucking can of worms when you're calling for the reporting, banning, and censorship of those who think differently than you. That's how you get laws like KOSA that directly target POC and LGBTQ+ content because some think it's 'pervasive' to children. That's how you get laws prohibiting teaching real history and removing diverse books from libraries.

Lastly, I will NEVER, EVER censor myself to please others. I will write whatever the fuck I want. You don't have to like it. That's fine. I learned a long time ago that I'm not to everyone's taste. And I've long since stopped giving a rat's ass about it. I am an artist, and I will continue to create the art that I am passionate about until my last dying breath.

[yukipri]

Just a heads up!! A shit Ton of Facebook groups and pages are reposting your art like crazy recently and while some have taken them down due to me and other members of the group or community telling them to take it down since they probably didn’t get your permission. 💜 It is just so frustrating seeing art that doesn’t go credited even if the artist didn’t want it reposted the least you could do is give credit.. I’m happy you put your username so people know where to find you 💚

Thank you for letting me know, and thank you so much for telling them to take it down. Art theft is so painful and stressful, and even more so knowing it's being put on sites actively being scraped for GenAI.

Please know that if it's not on one of my personal medias, I didn't consent to it. I have an explicit no repost (no reupload) policy, and none of these people have my permission. I do not use Facebook.

(and ngl, I think the number of people who have never cared to respect artists' wishes to not repost art in the past is directly related to rampant AI generated images now. If they didn't care about stealing one way, of course they're not going to care about stealing in another)

Facebook groups are especially miserable because they tend to community lock, and I just don't have the spoons to expose myself to their communities to try to get my work taken down. So thank you and others for telling them to take it down. You're right. It's theft. I want it removed.

I am so tired. So tired. Thank you for helping and doing what you can.

❀ ❀ Send YukiPri an Ask! ❀ ❀

[dazzlerdrawer]

This is my new Pinned! Basically the same as before, but updated :3

I'm online a bit and go by a few names; mainly Dazzle or Geotryx Nauzelle. I am a rat and own a rat army. This is my art blog, including my original works, animations, and fan content. I also reblog a little bit, but that's mostly set aside for my @dazzlereblogs account.  Thanks for checking out my blog!

Feel free to ask me anything, and if you want, have me draw your oc or requested character! Also feel free to tag me in things or send me cool posts :3

ART PERMISSIONS:

Do not steal, trace, repost, or edit my art. Be respectful towards my art and art content. If you do not like, do not engage. (If its problematic, that's different; lmk.) Do not remove my signature, mice/rats, or claim as your own. If you do any of the above, then that is stealing. Don't steal from me. If you'd like to use my art, please ask!!! (And tell me... what you want to do with it??) Im a small artist and I like being small. Please, do not take my work and put it all over the internet. Some of my works say 'DO NOT REPOST', but no matter them saying that or not, DON'T REPOST IT. If you still decide to be an annoying douchebag, then credit me. Link to my blog. Link to the original post. Or, don't be a douchebag.

My Tags

Radical artwork - fanart, other artist’s content (insert special words)

*Name* & Radical artwork - specific persons art :) (hello mutuals)

My art - any artwork by me (including picrews and templates)

My ocs - original characters of mine

Fanart - also tagged “fan art”, content from other fandoms

Other Medias

YouTube - Geotryx Nauzelle

AO3 - Geotryx Nauzelle

Tumblr (reblogs) - Dazzle

Tumblr (main) - Dazzle

Tumblr (aai) 

Neocities - Geotryx Nauzelle

Neocities - (Razzle) Dazzle

Artfight - Geotryx Nauzelle

BLORBOS

Keaya Alberich

Izutsumi

Slideshow of my blorbos and favs (PDF/sorry gifs) (update later)

NOTE: Razzle Dazzle or Razz-Ma-Tazz is (one of) my cats :3

NOTE: sfw content! 

NOTE: My fan-content is for entertainment purposes and non-profit only. If it is unwanted by the original creator, then please notify me so I can remove works and discontinue. 

NOTE: I use my block button

NOTE: I don't like terfs. I don't like aphobes. I don't like islamphobes. I don't like queerphobes. I think therians are awesome. I pray for the freedom of Palestine. Trans people are amazing. Neurodivergent people are beautiful in every way.

NOTE: I make mistakes. Feel free to lmk

~/--\^> 🧀 <^/--\~~

[theriversdaughter]

For Artists, Going Into 2024...

My beloveds, I know times are amazingly atrocious for us all right now. The world is on fire, everything is terrible, and we're all having one helluva time trying to both make art (and that includes all of the arts...writing, music, performance, etc., not just the paint and ink based ones) and make a living, social media sites are being destroyed by uber-rich pissbabies, tech bros stealing shit, etc.

I can't offer much advice about that. It's a shitty situation all around. However. There is one thing I can tell you. Every fucking time some entitled douchebag starts being a little shit about "Why aren't y'all making things like this anymore" and posting images of Michaelango or Da Vinci's paintings or sculptures, I want you to change your response from despair and desperately trying to explain to them about how they had a (single) wealthy patron to POSTING LINKS TO YOUR PATREON OR KO-FI OR COMMISSIONS PAGES AND TELLING THEM THAT IF THEY WANT THAT SHIT HERE'S HOW THEY CAN MAKE IT SO THAT ARTISTS CAN GET BACK TO MAKING THOSE HUGE, GRAND PROJECTS BECAUSE THAT'S LITERALLY WHAT THEY ARE FOR. IF THEY WON'T CONTRIBUTE, TELL THEM TO SHUT THE FUCK UP OR PICK UP A BRUSH/PEN/CHISEL THEMSELVES.

No more coddling them. They want to complain, they have to pay the toll with real, actual money to you for the privilege of wasting everyone's time. No more wishing that it was The Good Old Days When An Artist Could Be Supported By A Single Wealthy Patron when, to be blunt, that was gatekept to hell and back and not as much fun as folks want to think it was for the rare few who got lucky enough to get a patron. For real, Patreon and Ko-fi are literally the thing you're wishing for, without the gatekeeping, because it removes the need for a single patron. They exist so that a large pool of people can chip in a couple of bucks to support an artist so that the artist can get to work. USE THE TOOLS FOR WHAT THEY'RE DESIGNED FOR, PLEASE. Relatedly, if someone starts the "you know what you should draw/paint/write..." thing, hit them with a commissions request link. They want you to make something specific, that's commission work.

Get comfortable with not tolerating that shit. We're artists. Our JOB is culture. Start shifting the culture to respecting artists by demanding that you and your time be respected. Link your crowdsourced patronage sites early and often, my friends. Go forth, beloveds, and create a world that respects us.

[zombirps]

Art Commission/Adoptable TOS

Payment only done through Ko-fi, as I really do not like paypal. If you have my discord you can message me to make payment arrangements through my other personal sources.

If you want to resell my adoptables, Please message me first. I probably will be fine with it, OR will buy it back and rework it to use or resell with more art. If you are an artist and want to buy an adoptable to sell the design with additional art, that's fine too- just tell me!

Any form of trading the adoptable after purchase is fine, I don't care as long as additional money isn't changing hands.

You gotta credit me for the design or art, whichever it is. Whoever you trade to/sell the design to has to do the same.

Fuck AI and NFTs. If I find my art as a part of either of these things I will blacklist you and report >:'c.

Do not use my art for hate speech/bigotry. 

Please do not recolor or trace anything on my designs! If you need something changed, dm me, I'd probably be fine tweaking something for free(and if its too big of a tweak, I'll charge something small to change it).

I will usually hold designs for trusted individuals, but that's usually based on a history of interaction.

I don't really watermark much, besides the big adoptable announcements- I probably should but I get overwhelmed thinking about it- I'll usually only sign the art somewhere. Don't remove this signature, or any watermarks that ecist! I'll always do it in a way that isn't super compromising, so please respect that.

I WILL DRAW-

Canon characters

Fan Characters

Different Body Types

Mascots

Horror

Gore

I WILL NOT DRAW-

Furry Art(Not that I don't want to- I just suck CRIES)

Heavy NSFW(Im also bad at this)

------------------------------------------------

If you buy art or commission me, then you are agreeing to this TOS <333 I'm pretty lax and believe that fan communities are built on trade and creation, so as long as you are treating me with respect and treating others with respect, you're doing fine. If you have ANY questions about the TOS or anything you're doing (or need guidance on crediting) then please message me @zombirps or Zombirb__ on Twitter!!!!!

[mrswhozeewhatsis]

PSA from a fandom con photographer

As some of you know, I'm a con photographer. A while back, a bunch of us joined a group chat together, and we talk about all things cons and photography in there. Recently, the subject of photo theft has come up again, but this time a new comment was made and that's why I'm here.

In the past, I've heard photographers express frustration about people reposting our photos with watermarks cropped out or otherwise removed. Sometimes, these photos are edited further and someone else's watermark slapped on top of it. This is disrespectful, at best, and really offends the original photographer. Usually, this is done in an effort to gain clout online, and not for any artistic reasons. This is not what I'm here to talk about.

I know that a lot of folks on Tumblr use con photos for fic headers and aesthetics and such, especially for RPF fics. (Because we can totally tell whether a photo is Jensen or Dean, even with the background edited out, he's just that good.) It's come to my attention that some photographers would be REALLY uncomfortable with their art being used this way. They don't read fic, they don't understand it, or they just don't want their art used in a way that misinterprets the moment captured in the photo, even if it's fiction.

We need to respect this.

How do we feel when someone reblogs our fics and uses it to prop up an argument about our characters that we disagree with? We feel kinda shitty. That's how photographers feel when their photos are used in ways they weren't consulted about.

How do we fix this?

When you search Google and find an image from a con, do a reverse lookup on that image and AT LEAST TRY to find the original photographer. If the photo has been taken in the last year or so, you can come to me and see if I know who took it, too.

Ask that photographer if they are okay with you using their image in the way you intend. I know this is a pain, but remember how you'd feel if someone used your art without asking permission!

Many times, if you ask, the answer will be yes. Sometimes, it may be no. Please respect the answer you receive.

If you honestly try and can't find the photographer, then at least put a comment captioning this on the post where you use the photo. If you make a good faith effort and express this in your caption, that at least lets us know that you tried.

If you have any questions about this, feel free to ask me!

Personal note from me: If you like any of my photos, you are welcome to use them. I know I don't make the best photos in the fandom, so this isn't much, but it's there.

Also, "credit to Google" or "I found this on Google" is not credit. Google does not create images. Google only indexes them.

Just remember that there is a person behind every image and piece of art you find on Google.

Also, if you don't contact the artist/photographer, how does that person know that you liked their work? They don't. This is the same as if someone reads your fic but doesn't hit the heart or reblog it. Personally, I LOVE getting asked about my photos the same way I love hearing feedback on my fics. Let your photographer know you love their work!

I've been asked about screen grabs and gifs. I'm referencing just those photos taken by people at cons. Screengrabs and gifs also take talent to create, so if you can find out who made them and give them credit, that's awesome. Photos taken from the star's Twitter or IG....that's a good question. Credit would go to them, but they are impossible to ask if they mind. An argument could also be made that they know what might happen to any photo they put out there. (Maybe put a link to the original as credit?)

It was only recently that I saw someone comment about their photo being used to apply a narrative to Jensen based on his facial expression in the photo, and a brief mention of fic happened right after that, and I just got the feeling that certain photographers would not be pleased to know how we use their photos, sometimes.

As far as I know, no photographer has found their photo in a fic header and complained. But based on what was said, if they did, they might not be happy. And not just because most photos used in a fic header end up being further edited to make it work with the header, beyond cropping. For instance, an asexual photographer might feel icky about their photo being used as a header for a smut fic.

TL;DR - Credit your photographers in your headers, edits, and mood boards when at all possible. Make the effort to contact them and ask for permission. Some may give you blanket permission as I have. Some may not. Either way, this is their art that you're manipulating, so please respect it.

steps off soap box Thank you for listening!

[putschki1969]

Hi Sarah ☺️👋,

I apologize from the beginning in case you did not understand my meaning, the question was written through Google Translator.

Should we really not care about what goes on behind the scenes in the entertainment industry? I remember that you wrote that We have to take it at face value and not dig into what is happening behind the scenes in order to live a healthy life without carrying this worry, but after watching the oshi no ko anime, this made me think again about the state of the entertainment industry, do we really have to be indifferent to what is happening to our favorite artists not only our kalafina girls but in general. Shouldn't we, at least discuss this matter so that their conditions do not get worse? I feel we should not separate the product from the condition of the person who made it!

Hi there! Don't worry, your message is perfectly clear and fine. I apologise for taking so long to reply, this has been sitting in my drafts forever. This is a tricky topic so it took a while to figure out the best way to map out my reply.

I am assuming that this ask is a direct response to what I wrote HERE? For those who are curious, this is what I had to say to someone who seemed incredibly upset about the current state of Wakana's "relationship" with everyone else from the YK family.

[I]t is not at all healthy to be this invested in public figures and the things they choose to share with us. I fully understand the desire to get more insight but please don’t make your happiness and peace of mind contingent on something that is so completely out of our control.

Let's start with a quick clarification, I am by no means implying that we should take everything at face value. Quite the contrary actually, I am a strong proponent of critical thinking, it's crucial to look at things from a nuanced perspective, to read between the lines and educate ourselves on all the finer details before making any sort of assumption based on surface-level observations. Many fans operate on misconceptions and tend to jump to conclusions because they heavily rely on unverified news and brief snapshots without taking all the available facts into account. This is why I often feel the need to make elaborate explanation posts. I just want to keep people grounded and stop them from coming up with unfounded theories.

I am also not trying to tell people to be completely indifferent towards what is happening behind the scenes of the entertainment industry. The Japanese entertainment industry is indeed very harsh and genuinely messed up. It's impossible to not feel affected when you hear news of celebrity su!c!des and see some of those horrible conditions our favourites are subjected to. Being conscious of these issues while engaging in fan activities is a good thing and completely normal but it's very unhealthy to let your whole life become consumed with worry over someone whose mental/physical state and situation we are incapable of fully understanding.

Because you see, even with access to a vast amount of knowledge, we as fans have to realise that we'll never get the "full picture". The extent of our involvement is incredibly limited. There are boundaries we have to respect, there are lines we aren't allowed to cross, there are things which are purposefully kept from us. The truth of the matter is that regardless of how deep we try to dig into what is going on behind the scenes, regardless of how much we discuss the situation or how many possible theories we come up with while endlessly worrying, it won't ever lead us to satisfactory results, it won't bring us any closer to knowing more about the "real" condition of the people we idolise. So why should we sacrifice our mental well-being over something that's so far removed from us? It's utterly pointless. Hence my above advice to not get too caught up in this mess.

I am not sure if you are familiar with the term but when fans get overly invested in the lives of idols, celebrities and public figures, it's a slippery slope towards developing a so-called parasocial relationship with them. This sort of relationship is based on delusions, meaning fans fool themselves into believing they have a deep connection to that person (or rather, the "idea" of said person) which may lead to a false sense of intimacy and ownership. But make no mistake, despite what fans may think, we have very little insight into the lives of these public figures and while they have a considerable amount of influence over us, we have comparatively little influence over them. In reality, most things are completely out of our control. We often have no choice but to watch things unfold from the sidelines.

My point is, take everything with a grain of salt, thoroughly acquaint yourself with the topic, stay respectful, be aware of your limits and come to terms with the fact that you are not really in a position to save or help them when it comes to personal matters. Don't compromise your own well-being by getting entangled in a mess that's beyond our control. It sounds harsh but as fans we are quite powerless in that regard. All we can really do is support and appreciate the content (or "product" as you say) our favourites create and have faith that their "real condition" at least somehow resembles the positive image they choose to present to us.

And yeah, I am self-aware enough to know that this all sounds hypocritical coming from someone like me who has always been quite vocal about being crazily obsessed with Kalafina. I'd call myself an extremely dedicated fan who is very much invested in the lives of the Kalafina members. Still, I believe I know where to draw the line and that has more or less kept me sane throughout the years.

[bi-polar-geminii]

i don’t mean what i’m saying with malice, however, can you please stop putting all your inbox asks regarding the issue of listener designs on the main tag. i understand you want people to know about this issue (if this is your intention), but all you’re doing is making the artists who draw as a hobby feel bad, and just adding negativity to the main tag. i understand how it feels to not see yourself represented, but that’s where you come in. for those wanting rep, you can either draw it yourself or if you can’t draw it and are so adamant on wanting rep, commission and support an artist! consistently complaining won’t get anything done but draw artists away from the fandom itself and make art we see for these characters we all love become sparse and less.

additionally, listeners, at the end of the day, are us. if an artist is an afab female, chances are that listener will also be an afab female. some artists may not draw pocs not because they just don’t want to, but because they aren’t well-versed in depicting their features and don’t want to do it an injustice. there’s no need to rush to the worst possible and negative explanation. i have never seen myself represented in a single piece of redacted fanart, however i know better than to just nonsensically complain about it — because complaining won’t get anything done (it’ll only do more harm if anything).

thank you for making your points known, and i hope what i’m saying comes across to you as i intended it to

Out of respect, I did remove the unnecessary posts from the tags bc they did clog up the main tag (my bad, but also if its that bothersome, you can literally scroll past it, your not obligated to read everything)

I’m not slamming anyone or shaming people, that was never the intention here. It was to make light on how some artists choose to make characters (not self inserts) white simply bc of mainstream/kinda racist ideas that characters in media can only be portrayed as white to be popular or liked bc of white beauty standards. I want people to reflect and think about that, but I never said ppl *couldn’t* make them white or afab. Im not trying to gatekeep or force people to suddenly get rid of all their white characters just bc i said there isn’t enough representation

Also *I do* have characters for fandom rep, I have lots of them. The only reason why I don’t post them is because they aren’t finished yet. But what’s wrong with having an opinion on something? You have to admit, people wouldn’t be in my inbox telling that *I* have to create the representation needed and that my opinion is hurting everyone’s feelings if I was a white creator. Just think about that

Also im sorry but the whole “some ppl dont draw poc characters cause they dont know how to!” is an argument thats just very fucking tiring to hear. It truly isn’t that hard, like im being serious. There are *a lot* of free recourses out there to learn if your super keen on learning how to draw the different ethnic facial features. But if you wanna create a black/brown person for example, this is what you do; draw the character, make their skin color a darker brown. Congratulations! You’ve made a poc character! Ladies and gentlemen its really not that difficult, if your not willing to challenge yourself on how to draw different types of people or your too scared to- its gonna stunt your growth as an artist

This was the first time I opened up about an opinion I had seeing in this fandom, so idk what you mean by ‘consistently complaining’ when this whole situation has only happened once (for me)

[swallowed-by-the-moon]

I'm just wondering what my life could've been like if I wasn't constantly broken for life. everyone was breaking me, I had nowhere to hide, no comfort space so I just had to live with being constantly pushed. "you have to do what your grandmother tells you even if it's YOUR vacation and you just want to chill instead of constantly doing what she wants", "she tried to beat you up, shouted at you and humiliated you on the street? you provoked her. you just have to do what she says and we don't care what you want", "she called you fat, told you that your ass is so big it doesn't fit into the doors, told you you looked like a junkie? she's your grandmother she doesn't want to hurt you. besides she did so much for you, you should be grateful", "no we won't take you home because we don't want to. do what you want". I started to want to kms at 12 because of her. because of how she treated me. I felt like I was just a slave, not her grandchild. I don't contact with her in any way for almost 2 or 3 years now ig and I have no regrets.

tgey never asked me what I wanted, I attended the after school activities I hated and they didn't give a single shit about how I felt because "there's no "I want or I don't want to do this" in life, there are things you HAVE TO do". my wishes were never treated with respect. my father ignored me and still does and if I tried to make him love me when I was a kid I just don't give a shit about him now, I want him to perish. my mother always switched sides. when I fucked up even a little bit she went from "you are my unique creative child, I love you so much" to "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE LIKE TAHT?? THIS HAPPENED BECAUSE OF YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE CONSTANTLY TRYING TO BE SO UNIQUE AND YOU ARE SO ATTENTION SEEKING. YOU MAKE YOURSELF LOOK UGLY". and I know when she lashed out on me she meant every word whereas when she was telling me how much she loves me she was probably lying because you can't seriously think that someone is so cool and unique while also seeing them as an ugly attention seeker

I loved to play guitar when I was younger, I had a guitar teacher (who was an asshole but I didn't see it back then) who was lije a father figure to me and once my father straight up banned me from attending GUITAR LESSONS because he didn't like how I acted. I had to spend my last money to attend a lesson and when my father found out I visited a lesson he became furious. he was shouting at me and threatening to break my guitar and ban me from attending lessons completely. HE WAS GOING TO STRIP ME OF THE ONLY THING I FOUND MEANINGFUL IN THIS LIFE and that says a lot about him. he never cared and never will. all he does is act like he can stand me, but he can't and I know it for sure for I remember everything and people don't change

I was told I was guilty when I was called to a principal's office because I was wearing corpse paint inspired make up (there were no crosses or pentagrams on my face, basically I just did a back eye makeup which looked like flames). guilty for what? "halloween is over and you know it. that's no way to show up to school" but what can I do? I am naturally like that I can't just be like everyone else because I'm an artist by nature and my body is a canvas. they told me to throw away all my band merch, start wearing normal clothes, dye my hair in a natural colour and grow my hair to "look more like a girl". it triggered me so bad, I couldn't stand a thing of being trapped in someone else's body having to look like they tell me to. sui attempt. failure. pills. scars. sadness and pity in everyone's eyes.

later my mother was telling me that she knew taht I was unique tge moment I was born which Ig she said just to please me because if she really thought I was unique she had to know I won't just be "normal". yet she tried to make me be that. she bought me a scar removal gel and I knew where it was going. she couldn't accept my scars as they were

once I asked my mother if she knew what she was doing when she gave birth to me, if she knew about the fact that I will not be just a funny lil toy, but a human she'll have to take care of? and she told me "I thought the love towards you will come to me naturally and it won't be so hard to raise you". at least she told the truth

I feel so envious when others tell me their parents never pushed them to do shit they didn't want to or spend time with relatives that are obviously abusive. sometimes I think what did I do wrong to be treated like I have no personal will to do things, like I'm just an object, a property? they've broken me and they are okay with that. they laugh at memories that bring me so much pain. and I know they will never change because they don't want to

[cybotgalactica]

I know you're a Eurovision fan but please tell me you don't support Israel. I'm not expecting a political statement, just some acknowledgement of the issue. I keep seeing you post about how excited you are about Eurovision but to my knowledge you haven't said anything about Israel. To be clear, I don't think it's immoral to enjoy a music show. It's not up to you who competes. I just think it's questionable to post about it so much without condemning Israel's inclusion, especially right now.

i have no respect for israel in the slightest, i want them out of the contest and more importantly out of palestine.

i'm sorry for not making some kind of overt statement before but i have nothing to offer other than anger and hopelessness - just because i'm not posting about something online it doesn't mean i'm not constantly watching and talking about it in real life. i had presumed that anyone who knows me and the things i care about would know exactly where i stand on any form of genocide, but i'm sorry for not making it clearer before.

i am invested in the contest because i care about the artists, especially those who have been speaking out and hopefully forcing some much-needed pressure on the EBU, but my faith in them actually doing the right thing and forcing israel's removal is so low it just lends even more to the powerlessness i feel. all i can do is support the people who care to try and make things right and hope it all comes to a head and forces their removal, and if we really do end up in may and israel is still here we'll just have to take it from there

[moonlitlillypop]

I can't imagine feeling comfortable reducing a whole human being to "TikToker" just because I refuse to see nuance to the point of inventing new and significantly more inane prejudices. These are inside thoughts. Did you think people would agree with you blindly shitting on someone just existing? For the crime of, what, being considered funny when she's views herself a comedian, partially? Oh no someone with clout, everyone quick throw peanuts! We can't LIKE each other! Anyway, you can't get me to care about someone who made a Tumblr account and was SEEN talking to people and trying to make them laugh to brighten their day. Can you imagine? Pressing a few buttons, and making content for people to look at? How disgusting of them. They should delete their blogs. Because this is logic that makes sense. /s

Remove the "don't be a jerk" from your bio or reflect on your behaviour. One of the two. Leftatlondon is just, a person. Who happened to get clout. Under the difficulty of capitalism and especially as a trans artist, I don't blame her at all for using her vine clout to make money and anyone who does is no better than the idiot customers throwing a tantrum because their waiter had self-respect. She's a fucking entertainer trying to live and work, and she's someone I could send a message to exactly like this. This vendetta Tumblr is increasingly developing against letting anyone fucking exist is so unhealthy and bizarre, you guys really fucking ate that propaganda from political invasion circa ~2015 that derailed yet another revolution wind-up and never stopped. So i mean it genuinely: please reflect, because there's a damn good reason we haven't succeeded yet and being easily fooled in to assuming a random woman making internet funnies is the enemy to the point of wasting your time shitting on her for no reason where many other people can see is definitely one of the many 2023 consequences of that and I seriously doubt Maya, the one you were pitting against her, would agree with you on at all. This is extremely anti-human and anti-the cause. I think it'd be upset you were doing that, even. I thought about pinging her to ask but opted to spare it from looking at your rancid fucking comments. Good fucking lord.

You don't have to give a shit or know anything about tiktok but giving a shit about human beings is kind of the whole point of leftism so if you can't do that you're really not as left as you think you are.

I don't know how many times activists can tell you you can't pick and choose like that and you are shooting yourself in the foot every time you attack a stranger over a base-less assumption, and everyone sees you do it and doesn't want to be around you for it. Is that what you want? You baffle me.

I'm trying to do actual work to make the world a better place but every time i look at any post it's so many fucking anti-human comments like yours, that make me want to rip my hair out make me lose faith. If we can't even afford a fucking internet stranger the basic decency of not shitting on them for no reason, we definitely can't build a better future. The stress has been making me PHYSICALLY sicker, I know I'm not alone in that fact—and you're contributing.

I seriously hope you learn from this instead of doubling down on your behaviour. I'm not sure what to expect at this point, but my hopes aren't high. I hope you surprise me. I sincerely hope you're better tomorrow. Delete this if you want, but please for the love of god think about the consequences of your actions.

I hope you have a nice day.

Despite your behaviour.

It is really not that deep. I just don't give a shit and I don't want to. Unlike you who seems to give way too many shits