#probably on Etsy though not official merch

[mgjiyu]

If Charles wins in Monza next weekend, I’ll buy some merch

[yellowjacketsfashion]

Hi! Could you try to find the T-shirt Van is wearing?

In this Pic:

Sure thing! So the original shirt was made for the show as its logo is for the Wiskayok High School Yellowjackets soccer team. I’ve seen a lot of places sell replicas of the shirt though (which would be close matches).

The photo on the left is the “Yellowjackets WHS Soccer Team Unisex Ringer T-Shirt” by CafeNecro on Etsy. Out of the other shirts it’s probably the most “accurate” as it is a ringer shirt (which is what the coloring on the collar and sleeves is called).

The photo on the right is the “WHS Yellowjackets Logo Essential T-Shirt” by jessicaay on Redbubble. It has an accurate logo but it is a little small on the shirt and it isn’t a ringer tee.

The photo on the left is the “WHS Yellowjackets Essential T-Shirt” by Jessica Cushen on Redbubble. It’s similar to the other Redbubble shirt but the logo is bigger and it doesn’t have the accurate Yellowjacket bee/wasp.

If you’re looking for official merch, the shirt on the right is their version of the same shirt. It’s sold by Hot Topic and is called the “Yellowjackets WHS Athletic Logo T-Shirt.”

And if none of these are really your forte I usually see replicas of these pop up a lot on etsy or other similar sites by different sellers (usually on ringer shirts so they might be more accurate). If I see some other good listings I’ll add them here but hopefully I found something you’d like!

(some other photos of the shirts for reference).

Links:

[eponadolls]

I recently bought an Imomo doll Miko! If everything goes according to plan, I plan on making her into a mini Frieren! I think her serene or somber sculpt, with a rounder face, will lend well for Frieren. I really like the Volks Dollfie for Frieren, but I think a rounder face would have made her a little bit more on-model, annnnd... well, Miko was about $100 shipped, which is quite a bit cheaper than the Volks Frieren price tag, ahaha. :'D

I've read that vinyl Imomo doll bodies can be kind of floppy, so I am prepared to stabilize her with teflon tape, wire, and even hot glue if needed. If I like her well enough, I am planning on ordering an Apsu. More anime-elf doll talk below the cut, ahaha.

I think Apsu would lend well to be a mini Dungeon Meshi (Delicious in Dungeon)'s Marcille!

I think if Volks was to do a Dungeon Meshi collab I probably wouldn't be able to resist getting an official Marcille doll, but at least they would be in different scales and probably have different hairstyles anyways!

Assuming I really like the Imomo dolls to justify getting a third 1/4 scale girl, I think I might get a Mie to shell Elf (or Sui) from Ojisan Isekai/Uncle from Another World.

I think Mie looks a lot like Miko - I think the biggest difference might be in her ears? - but I think Sui's design looks distinct enough from Frieren that it won't be a problem.

I love Uncle from Another World but I find it highly unlikely that there will be much in regards to new merch for the show (especially since season 1 has caught up to the manga already...) and getting a Sui dollfie would probably be highly unprobeable (lol), but I look forward to getting a little Sui. :)

Until I started thinking about which doll would suit which character, though, I hadn't noticed all three girls have green eyes. I think I've found reasonable eyes for all three on etsy already, so now I'm just on the hunt for a wig and stockings for Frieren. All of them will be getting removable elf ears but I am not sure if the 1/3 DD scale ears by GoldDin (recommended for their head size) would be too big for my tastes.

I think it looks really good on @catfishy2u's custom MDD Frieren, though! So I am probably over thinking it, ahaha, since I tend to veer towards smaller elf ears for my bjds... so I think that's messing with my perception a little bit. I did buy some elf ears secondhand for dollfie by B. A. F. Studio (unsure where they sell their products but I think they're Japanese) potentially for Marcille or a future dollfie.

I'll be testing the fit on Miko when both parts get here. Supposedly Miko will be here tomorrow, but I think Tuesday/Wednesday is more likely, but we will see! Although, seeing all three girls together, I think maybe the BAF ears would be better for Sui - Marcille's ears seem to be bigger like Frieren's in comparison. We shall see!

[layaart]

hey Laya, sorry to bother you, I know we're kinda new mutuals, but I love all of your book art and had a quick logistics question if you have a minute. I've been looking at selling prints of my book art, but I've heard mixed info on the etiquette/ legality of selling art inspired by books. Can I ask what your system is? Do you usually get permission from the author? thanks for your time either way! stay excellent out there 💛

Hi! yeah no worries! I'll put this under a cut since I have a few random thoughts haha

All fanart has the kind of grey area of technically not being legal to sell but also it's extremely normalised (esp at conventions), and unless you're selling something from a big property that's making significant profit, the most you're going to get is a request to take it down. I've never had that other than like old korrasami art removed from redbubble by the system haha. Most creative professionals (authors in this case) understand that, I think.

For indie/selfpub authors - I probably wouldn't do so without permission, for obvious reasons, though I think many would be happy to let you.

For traditionally published authors - you can ask but won't necessarily get a reply, or it might be something like this (they're not allowed to officially give permission but they love it). Most of the books I'm selling multiple things of I've got permission from the author (or I did one thing, and they shared it + share other people's merch so I assume that's fine). I know some authors do have rules against selling it (Holly Black has a merch store & licensing system for artists or something), but even then I'm pretty sure you can find people selling stuff on etsy for their books.

There's some things I haven't got explicit permission to sell, but like - tbqh most things I'm selling at very low quantities. When I stock prints of a new thing for the first time I usually get 5. (I realise you might be looking at print-on-demand where you don't have to worry about that - but still, assume you won't be selling hundreds for most things haha.)

I have a vague personal rule of if I'm making something specifically to sell as merch to profit off of (sticker designs, bookmarks) It's usually only books by white authors (as I am white), whereas I do art of books by authors of colour purely to promote and show how much I love it, and decide to sell prints after the fact if there's demand - I also donate a bit of my earnings to Black or Indigenous or trans (etc) charities when I sell a bunch from an author with that identity, sort of thing.

The thing is, every now and then I get a glimpse into the other side of the internet where people have entire bookish businesses selling copious amounts of merch of sjm books or whichever extremely popular vaguely problematic book is popular without guilt and I'm like.... if that's the only bookish art and merch around........I think it's good to even out what's available yknow. I mean I do make more art of more popular things to lure people in to my more niche interests haha, but still.

tldr: in my experience most people are cool with it, you're probably fine, just use common sense and you can always adjust as time goes on if you want!

[paladinofthelantern]

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Important Note: Around Christmas of ‘22 my laptop malfunctioned and, due to various circumstances, I lost access to queenofbadgers and bythelightofcamelot. Thus, they are now considered archives and are replaced by thebadgerburrow and camelotisshining. My main blog is, of course, this one. So, if I follow or interact with you, and I have done so previously on any of these blogs, please don't think I'm trying to be annoying!💖

(another important note:I vehemently oppose the views of the author of the above work towards trans individuals and also refrain from buying official merch; any items I purchase that are related to the series come from sites like eBay and Etsy)

🦊🍁🦊🍁🦊

Please make sure to read my DNI before interacting or following! Thank you so much!💖😊

🦊🍁🦊🍁🦊

Hello and welcome to Kaer Lóchrann (yes, the name is indeed a Witcher reference)! I hope you enjoy your stay! This is just my own little corner of the internet to put whatever suits my whim at the time. This can be anything from silly videos of cute animals to gifs from my favourite movies or shows. If you find enjoyment in what I reblog or post I am ecstatic that I can make your day brighter. I kindly ask you, though, to keep the following in mind as you explore the halls of this great castle.

(note:blogs I suspect are spam will be blocked)

🐿️ I take a neutral stance when it comes to shipping discourse (as a note all characters in my ships are either around the same age or adults). There is of course, content I would rather not engage with, but I very strongly believe in using the block button, along with the tag and post filters, to avoid it, and I see no logic at all in arguing someone I don’t even know over the internet when I could be spending my time on something I enjoy. I have no desire to engage in a debate about what I ship, and I kindly ask that people respect that.

🐿️ I am strongly averse to conflict in any form and do not wish to engage in a fight with anyone. I would rather have someone block me and move on with their life than exchange insults with me. All I want is to enjoy the things I love in peace and I wish the same for others. Everyone deserves to be happy, no matter who they are.

🐿️ If you ever need something tagged please shoot me a PM and I'll do my best moving forward. I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable! And if you decide that you need to block me for whatever reason I bid you a fond farewell and pray you find something that fills your life with joy.

🐿️ My ask box is always open if you ever want to pop in and say hello! I love talking to people!

(note I:please do not send me asks or PMs asking me to donate to something or tag me in a donation post; I will assume the blogs these came from are spam and block them)

(note II:if you follow or interact with me and your blog uses a default icon or doesn’t have very many posts on it, I will probably end up blocking it; please change your icon and reblog stuff so that I know you are human!)

-Paladin

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[petrolstationflowers]

Get to Know Me- Sims Style

@treason-and-plot tagged me, thank you so much!!

What’s your favorite Sims death?

I honestly hate the deaths because everyone cries and it makes me really sad ):

Alpha CC or MaxisMatch?

So I had to google what this was because I am Old tm so... bearing in mind I don't play TS4, I think I have to say MaxisMatch? I'm not using a super powerful PC and I don't like my sims looking hyper realistic. That being said, I do use a LOT of cc hair because the textures and colour blending tends to be much better.

Do you cheat your sims weight?

Nope! I take them as they come but may slim them down again with the gym when I can.

Do you move objects?

Yeah... I get frustrated when I can't put decorative objects in slots where there's very obviously space for them so I abuse it horribly.

Favourite Mod?

I mean I have a TON but tbh NRaas Story Progression was a total gamechanger back in the day and fixed the shitty EA Story Progression that still doesn't work.

First Expansion/Game Pack/Stuff Pack?

The Sims! I recently found the discs again, they came in a pack with my family's first computer (:

Do you pronounce live mode like aLIVE or LIVing

What oh god oh fuck the CRISIS I had thinking about this. LIVe mode.

Who’s your favourite sim that you’ve made?

It's probably this bitch:

Have you made a simself?

Nope! I actually have always felt really weird about them so I've never done it.

Which is your favorite EA hair color?

The bright flaming red, I'm a sucker for redheads.

Favorite EA hair?

Pretty much anything that came with Island Paradise, those are the few I haven't swapped for default replacements.

Favorite life stage?

Teen! I feel like it's when their personalities really start coming out.

Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay?

Gameplay; I do like building but I'm not amazing at it.

Are you a CC creator?

Yes! I'm very slow but I try.

Do you have any Simblr friends or a Sim Squad?

Not at the moment but I'd love to make some!

Do you have any sims merch?

Not official; I have a plumbbob necklace and earrings from Etsy. Other than that, just hard copies of the games and the poster from the anniversary edition of Ambitions.

Do you have a YouTube for sims?

Nope.

How has your “Sims style” changed throughout your years of playing?

I don't think it really has tbh. I'm always trying to improve though.

What’s your origin id?

Oh god what even is that... looks like it's CeriseLaflamme.

Who’s your favorite CC creator?

Ooooh.... TheSweetSimmer for their excellent toddler and QOL mods! MaryJaneSims also does the best default hair replacements, too.

How long have you had simblr?

Uh, Stan's stuff only this year, but I've been posting on WordPress etc since 2012.

How do you edit your pictures?

The default image editor I have on my PC.

What expansion/ gamepack is your favorite?

All of them, tbh, they all have a special place in my heart. Maybe Seasons?

Tagging @hazely-sims, @hurricanesims, @sircesimblr. @starsweeperskies, and @faeriefrolic!

[dp-marvel94]

You would probably love Danny Phantom toys and merchandise for Christmas!

If Nickelodeon made more that is.

You are totally right. 💖💖💖 I would love DP merch for Christmas. I'm kinda hoping I'll get some from relatives. :/

Sadly there isn't a lot of official merch and I actually don't really like much of what is available. I do have the Funko pop and one t shirt though. But thank goodness for Etsy and Redbubble. There's a lot of good options there.

[liaswritesrobots]

Hey, so i cant really understand what’s happening right now? Can you please explain it?

Tumblr is trying to let users monetize their posts, which, isn't always a bad thing, but the problem is that Tumblr has a lot of fan content which can get users sued by Disney/Marvel/Nintendo and so on. The Ann Rice case is one of the biggest showcases of an author suing fans for using their characters in fan works.

Artists and writers that would like to monetize their original work is fine, though here on Tumblr where most ppl don't have a lot of money they probably won't get much attention since the lowest price is $3.99 compared to Patreon's $1 charge that you can give monthly.

But anyone who makes fanfiction or fanart should NOT put their fan works exclusively behind paywalls because it can get you in a lot of legal trouble since you don't actually own those characters. Disney/Marvel is already cracking down on people on redbubble/Etsy/store envy for trying to sell their own Loki art.

There's also the problem of people just... not putting out anything worth actually paying for. There's a lot of shitpost and meme bloggers on here who would probably try to make money from this for stuff that really isn't worth paying for.

Plus this site really isn't secure enough to trust with your bank or credit card information. There's several hacks and bots running rampant on the site that staff does nothing about so I doubt they'd be any help if someone's info was stolen.

Tumblr is ultimately trying to do this to turn a profit for itself since it takes a certain percentage from the creators using post+, which is understandable, sites take a lot of money to run usually, especially big ones, but there's better ways to do that than bringing in a feature that everyone is railing against. They could set up a store of their own where they sell official Tumblr merch, or even do a donation drive like AO3 and Pillowfort, but unfortunately staff doesn't actually listen to it's userbase.

[jojostory]

How to Fight COVID-19: Geek Edition

Hi friends! Given the pandemic going on, I thought I’d interrupt my irregularly-scheduled artist alley tip posts to point out some resources and tips on how to help fight COVID-19 in the U.S. First, choose your fighter: Are you a gamer, an artist/cosplayer/craftsperson, a merch enthusaist, or some combo of the above? Once you’ve chosen, keep reading to find out what you can do! Let’s gooooo!

Gamers

Donate computing power! Do you have a sick gaming rig? Put it to work for science when you’re not using it! Folding@home is a project for crowdsourcing simulations of proteins to help find cures and treatments for various diseases like Alzheimer’s, Ebola, and now, COVID-19! You just download a program that runs in the background on your PC, and you can pause it whenever need need that computing power back. (Don’t forget to turn it back on though!)

Pay what you want for the Humble Conquer COVID-19 Bundle! Get a WHOLE bunch of really great games for whatever price you name and support charities like Doctors Without Borders and Direct Relief! Ended April 7, 2020. Thanks to those who bought the bundle!

Artists/Cosplayers/Craftspeople

Donate personal protective equipment (PPE) to hospitals! Do you have leftover gloves, safety goggles, or N95 respirator masks you use in your art that you’re probably not going to be using since conventions are cancelling left and right anyway? Check out GetUsPPE and let them know you have supplies. You’ll be contacted by a volunteer to arrange a time for them to come by to pick up the stuff (and you can just leave it outside your door at the appointed time, so no contact needed!)

PPE also includes hand sanitizers/wipes (that I know a lot of us artists carry to conventions to prevent con crud after handling money all day!)

Sew and donate facemasks! Yes, cloth facemasks are not going to protect you from coronavirus, but they can help as a last resort to mitigate spread of the virus. There seem to be less official donation drives for this sort of thing, but consider giving a couple to folks that are in non-medical but essential jobs like grocery store cashiers or delivery folks (and make sure to instruct them to wash them often). Some hospitals will also take cloth masks for use in cases when N95 respirators aren’t absolutely needed so that they can conserve their mask supply (see below Vanderbilt link for source).

Here’s one tutorial for cloth facemasks from Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

More tips and info on cloth facemasks from Good Housekeeping.

Sew facemask headbands! Get some stretchy fabric and buttons to make it easy to wear masks for hours on end! See this Twitter post for inspiration. Consider giving them to people you give masks to!

Keep making art if you can! It’s easy for us to tell ourselves that art isn’t important in times when many are just struggling to survive. But remember that art can help people feel less alone in bad times, and can remind people of good times.

Merch Enthusaists

Donate money! Got extra cash you were saving for artist alley/exhibit hall shopping sprees, but no conventions to go to? Donate to a good cause! Here’s some ideas:

World Health Organization COVID-19 Response Fund

GetMePPE: support the volunteers who are collecting PPE donations for hospitals

Feeding America and Meals on Wheels: support getting food to people who need it, especially in times when many grocery stores are wiped out.

Local homeless shelters: to prevent spread, everyone needs to be able to social distance -- and that includes homeless folks too! Help keep shelters as uncrowded, safe, and healthy as possible.

Support small businesses! Many of your favorite artists have online stores (look for Etsys or Bandcamps), so you can still support them there! However, because many artist’s suppliers (think charm printers and such!) are still closed, artists are having a hard time keeping things in stock. Consider asking for custom commissions!

Buy gift cards if you want to support a business but don’t need anything right away.

If you’re getting takeout/delivery, remember to tip extra well!

All Geeks

Stay inside as much as possible! It’s a good time to get through your video game or anime backlog. Tell everyone how good your shows are so they’ll stay inside too.

Put your internet-savviness to good use! 

Make sure your friends and relatives are getting accurate information about COVID-19 prevention.

Set your friends and family up with apps so they can watch shows/play games with each other online.

Consider giving blood. Unfortunately, the need for blood to help people in critical condition in hospitals doesn’t stop because the pandemic is here. If you’re healthy and can make it to a donation center near you, please consider giving!

A tip I really liked from one of my favorite podcasters: call your dumbest friend and tell them about all the tips above!

Any other tips (or categories of geek!) I should add? Please feel free to contact me to let me know, and please spread far and wide if you found it helpful!

Last updated: 2020/03/31

[padalickingood]

-NEED HELP MOVING OUT-

Hi everyone! This one’s gonna be a long one but I hope I can implore you all to take a quick minute of your time to read this and hopefully share it with others TvT. I’ve really been taking my time procrastinating from writing this because I never liked talking much about my own personal situation and dumping that on people, but I’ve unfortunately reached a point where I'm a bit desperate for any kind of help If I am going to try and make this happen.  

Recently I’ve started a serious goal of saving up enough money in order to move out by early next summer. I have attempted to make plans to move from my family home many times in the past couple of years and unfortunately have never managed to get anywhere near to achieving that goal due to my financial situation. Things have gotten increasingly stressful and emotionally exhausting in my current situation and I’ve officially hit that point where I’m willing to ask for assistance online.  

As a freelance artist, even with my Etsy, Patreon, ko-fi, and commission work combined I barely manage to make enough for basic living essentials which doesn’t include any sort of insurance or homeowner/apt owner expenses. Currently I do my very best to pay for as much as I can on my own and even so I still require support from my parents by them allowing me to live with them and them providing internet etc. What I pay for out of pocket is limited to things I need personally such as food, clothes, basic living supplies, art/store supplies etc. I’ve also recently limited myself from buying anything that is not completely necessary for essential living like eating out, movies, buying gifts over a certain price limit for friends, as well as canceling any travel plans from here on out. 

At this point I feel like It’s important for me to explain why I am a freelance artist as opposed to having any other type of job that could potentially be easier and pay better. This may be a bit of a tl;dr but I feel like it should at least be mentioned because the impact it’s had. Several years ago (I wanna say 2013 ish?) I dropped out of my community college because of essentially having a breakdown. The entire experience had left such a negative impact on me that my mood had very noticeably 180’d from high school to 2nd year of college. It was probably the closest I've come to being any level of depressed, which is not a word I throw around lightly as it’s something I don’t think I've felt anywhere near the level of those who struggle with it. Overall those years were so incredibly demoralizing and difficult for me that I made the tough decision of leaving school, something I had never even considered doing in my past (I never even skipped class in high school up until last day of senior year lol). Deciding to leave when I did though was probably the right decision because to this day, I still feel the lasting negative effects those years had on me. After I left school, I picked up a retail job and worked there for about a year and half. It wasn’t something I was really eager to do but was necessary as I wasn’t going to school anymore. With no degree though a minimum wage job was my only real option. Unfortunately, my experiences working weren’t all that positive either (as something I'm sure many of you also experience). I struggled to maintain motivation and continued to feel incredibly negative. It got so bad that it effected my relationships with family and friends as it kept me in a very antisocial mood. I ended up quitting that job shortly after and decided to try and go full freelance. Ever Since then I've worked on building up my store, commissions and anything else I could to try and make money from my art. To this day I still struggle with building up my online presence to the point where I can make a living off of it, but one thing that drastically changed for the better was my mood. My mental health has always been an absolute priority for me and I make a conscious effort to never force myself into anything that I know will have a negative impact on my health, which is why I dropped out of college and quit that job. I knew that if I stayed there it would have absolutely gotten so bad that It would have left much deeper scars than it has. And Although working in Freelance is no easy task and comes with its own degrees of stress, I find it far more rewarding and worth managing that stress. 

But as a result of those years I’ve been afraid of going back to either school or a minimum wage job. I know if I return to a job like that it will pull me back into a mental space that I'm just not willing to sacrifice myself to, and as far as College goes, I simply can’t afford it. However, with deciding to become a freelance artist I've dedicated my time to trying to build myself back up with my art and create a presence online where I can simultaneously do what I know makes me happy while also earning a living off of it. My progress has been slow and over the years I've felt like I've hit a standstill which brings me to my overall goal of wanting to move out. As I mentioned before I had been making attempts to move since around the time I worked in retail. Things haven’t panned out since then as I am still struggling to try and build up my store/Patreon/overall customer basis online. Unfortunately, also within these past few years tensions have been at a pretty constant high in my household because of it. There’s an added weight of still being so reliant on my parents after all these years and it being used against me, that the stress I’ve accumulated from it has kept me from being as productive as I would like. Recently with some current events I’ve just about hit a breaking point and am willing to do anything I can in order to save up so I can officially move out. I’m incredibly tired emotionally from still being here and I’ve started to take serious steps to making this move happen. Luckily I’ve been able to find a friend I can move out with so I won’t be paying rent on my own and I’ve calculated how much I could potentially make a month if I stick to a packed workload schedule. It’s not ideal but I’ve committed to this freelance work and I’m willing to work as hard as I can to reach my goal, and if all goes well then by this time next year i’ll be able to move out.

In writing this I hope that I can ask for support in helping me raise enough so I can try and move out of an unhealthy situation into hopefully something better.  

And to be clear I'm not doing a kickstarter or gofund me. That’s just simply not something this warrants. I know have options and I know that all I need to do is to work much much harder than someone with a 9to5 in order to earn what I need. The only reason I decided to write this out is to share WHY your support is so incredibly important to me and why sharing my work to anyone you can is very essential to my livelihood. Right now, I am very far away from earning nearly enough on a monthly basis in order to move out within a year, but I'm hoping that can change for the better. I simply ask for those who support my work to continue to do so and for those who haven’t and are absolutely financially able to consider supporting my work and share it with anyone you know. Whether it’s commissions, store merch, Patreon rewards, ko-fi etc. Every tiny bit helps me so much!  

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Here are the ways you can support me!

✪ Patreon: With the cheapest tier being 2$ a month you guys can get early access to all of my artwork a month in advance as well as other bonus content at the 2$ and above tier that is exclusive to patrons only. I have details about my rewards and goals on my Patreon that you don’t have to pay to view! Simply visit my homepage and browse through the rewards and bio to see if it interests you! 

✪ Ko-fi: I recently added a moving goal fund there which will show its progress with each kofi donation! The goal is ambitions and I don’t really expect to reach it but I wanted to just aim high and try and earn as much as I can. Also, I do sketch commissions there occasionally and may do other types of small commissions. So, if you’d like to support me while also getting something for yourself keep an eye out for my announcements on my twitter! 

✪ Commissions/adoptables: I’m going to officially be opening up my commissions soon but before that I wanted to try my hand at selling some adoptables! I’ll have more information about them after I finish up my current batch of commissions but I'm going to try and stick to those for now with some small YCH commissions sprinkled in between. After those though I’ll be opening up regular commissions again ^^ 

✪ Etsy:  I’m actually not sure If I'm going to keep my store up for much longer since I get charged a fee on each listing but before it closes you could help support me by buying merch from my store! 

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And lastly, I want to thank everyone who took the time to read through this and for those who follow me/support me in any way that you can. Even your reblogs/retweets on my work mean so much to me and help me so much I could never fully express how much I’m thankful to have such an amazing and lovely following of people <3 Thank you for your time

[dentalrecordsmusic]

RIOT RIOT RIOT Fest: A Retrospective (Sept. 13-15th)

Words and photos by Ari Jindracek.

Anyone who has spoken to me since the Riot Fest lineup was announced could tell you, probably with a grimace, how excited I was for Riot Fest. The ones I talked to more would probably mention the acts I was looking forward to in the next breath. A music festival for the music I love, in the city I love? To say I was looking forward to this would be a gross understatement. However, I was not prepared, at all, for what Riot Fest would actually be like. 

The first thing you need to know about Riot Fest if you've never gone is that it's not just about the shows. There are carnival rides. There are people on stilts. There is more free Pedialyte than you can drink. There's a sculpture of John Stamos made of butter for reasons I can't begin to fathom. The official name on the stage dressings was Riot Fest and Carnival, and that's pretty apt: I was basically going to a carnival for three straight days. Did I ride the rides, you ask? No, because it was 5 bucks for one go on the Tilt-a-Whirl. The ambiance, though, was really fun to be a part of. That probably contributed to Riot Fest being the only fest where I've ever made connections with people. I got two phone numbers (three if you count fellow editor Cae Rosch as someone I met at Riot Fest, even though we'd talked online beforehand) and a business card for someone's Etsy store, and I chatted less at length with probably a dozen people. There was a real sense of kinship in the crowd. People would actually save your barricade spot, and, during Microwave on Saturday, a clump of people actually helped me fight my way forward in the crowd. Maybe it was just my crowds or my blind luck, but I felt supported at Riot Fest, both by my fellows in the front rows and by the staff who gave me extra cherry Pedialyte because I said it was my favorite. 

People don't go to Riot Fest just because of Butter Stamos, though (at least, I don't think so). I, like everyone else, was there for the music. At the barricade before shows (and oh, was I at the barricade), people would sometimes ask each other, "Who's your band?" Mine was Senses Fail, who, in an expression of love or maybe good publicity, were playing two sets as a way of compensating for the Chicago date they were forced to cancel during the polar vortex earlier this year. The other acts I wanted to see above others included Frank Iero and the Future Violents, Against Me!, Rise Against, and Glassjaw. I planned around these six sets; about half of the bands I cover here were bands I saw because their set was on while I was camping a stage. This is not the only approach to Riot Fest, and it probably isn't even the best, but it's the one I took. Due to the sheer volume of bands I saw, I will focus only on the ones I found most notable since if I wrote at length about all of them, this review would be a 20-page essay. All sets were excellent in their own way, even if they weren't my favorites; at no point did I wish I was seeing another set, though. Every band I saw, though hugely different, was stellar. They wouldn't be on the bill otherwise.

On day one, I missed the first band at the Radicals stage by minutes; I don't often miss openers, so I felt awful, but the dispersal of the crowd after the set left me a wide-open spot leaning against the barricade. Here I met my first Riot Fest buddy (shout out to Salem) and saw Anti-Flag, whose music I had not heard at all before. They immediately cemented themselves in my good books, not only because their music was terrific, but also because they talked at length about the current political hell America finds itself in with a conviction that their crowd was going to change it. I almost started crying during their speech about gun violence, and again when they talked about how distraction politics are screwing over disadvantaged communities. I also collected from them my first ever setlist, by bartering for it with my first ever band guitar pick. (The setlist has a chunk ripped out of it, which is why the person next to me was willing to trade it. Their loss.)

Senses Fail was the next band up, but I'll talk about both of their sets at the same time. After spending my time at Radicals stage, I bounced around the festival a bit: I grabbed some merch and a giant funnel cake, then tried to watch Dashboard Confessional but couldn't get a spot that wasn't behind the light and sound tent, where people were having drunk conversations. The next set I saw, my last of day one, was Glassjaw. I was lucky that they were playing Worship and Tribute because that's the only one of their albums I've listened to enough to know any lyrics. As this was an album play set timed almost exactly to the length of the album, there wasn't a lot of time for the band to interact with the crowd. Glassjaw played a steadier set rather than a harder set, as is their style. To my memory, there wasn't a lot of crowd surfing or moshing (although this might not necessarily be true; I was in the outskirts of the crowd). Trappings aside, the album was amazing live. The crowd clearly knew the words to the songs -- one perk of knowing the exact setlist ahead of time -- and the mix of long, sustained notes with the rich instrumentals was stunning. 

The second day of Riot Fest, I got to Douglas Park comfortably early (aka, before the gates were opened) and headed for Rebel Stage as soon as I could. This was 11AM. I would be camping there until about 7PM, minus a short bathroom and water break. The first band on Rebel Stage was Monarchy Over Monday, which was a notable act to me for two reasons. First of all, they were all high school students and the youngest band at this year's Riot Fest. Second, the head of my department at work knows their parents. (The head of my department was there. Let me tell you, it's a bit weird to see your boss's boss's boss in overalls and a band shirt while she tells you how to properly break in your new Docs). I'll admit I wasn't expecting Monarchy Over Monday to shred, but they wouldn't be playing Riot Fest if they weren't good, and they were very good. The only thing I thought they were really lacking was stage presence, but that was only to be expected since they didn't have the longest history of big shows to pull from. They're good and I'm sure they'll learn. 

The Rebel stage stayed pretty low-key until just before The Damned Things came on. Like, I would bet, a lot of the other members of the crowd, I'd heard of The Damned Things as the side project of Fall Out Boy members Joe Trohman and Andy Hurley. Beyond this, I went in aware of all of one of their songs, and I'd pulled that from the official Riot Fest playlist. (Honestly, I was only prepared for 3, maybe 4 of the sets I saw at Riot Fest. I didn't know anything about anyone. It's hard to research bands when your default is listening to the same album on Spotify until you wear it out). I can easily say that I enjoyed watching The Damned Things more than I've ever enjoyed a Fall Out Boy show, and that's without the emotional investment and the lyrics in my head. The band played hard and the crowd went hard. The frontman chatted and joked with the audience (I can remember that he played matchmaker for a friendship between two dads who had never met) and the music, including that one song I knew, was fun to hear, to clap along with, and to sing when possible. 

The colossal crowd stuck around for Microwave next (I barely remember their set, so focused was I on not falling over as I tried to claw my way back to the spot I'd asked someone to save while I got water and then over as I fought my way back to the barricade) and then Senses Fail. Now, I've been listening to Senses Fail with the fervor of obsession, on the day of writing this, since August, with breaks of a few days at the most. I'm not the best at learning lyrics, but I could sing at least the chorus of every single song they pulled out over two sets. Three of their members keep liking my tweets. You could say I'm biased in Senses Fail's favor as I write this. But, with two high energy, high caliber sets, how could I not be? On day one, they played all of Let It Enfold You, one of their most popular albums, and on day two, the remastered version of their first release, From the Depths of Dreams; the popular single "Can't Be Saved" was also featured on both days. 

The stage show featured Buddy Nielsen doing dances that clearly marked him as a dad, but, like, a cool dad, and twirling and throwing his microphone with such confidence that I never once worried he'd drop it. I will not pretend to be unbiased in my analysis of Senses Fail’s set. I have been listening to their music in days-long bursts since July. I had tickets to see their canceled show over the winter. Senses Fail’s sets were the ones I was most looking forward to, and I was not disappointed. True, like Glassjaw, they did not have much time to interact with fans. Beyond introducing the band and a few songs, there was hardly any audience interaction (I managed to interact with the band, though, since I was at barricade; during one of the songs on From the Depths of Dreams, I gave frontman Buddy Nielsen a little wave and he waved back at me in abject confusion). I can hardly remember looking anywhere other than back to see if I needed to hold anyone or up at the dervish that was Buddy Nielsen for the two sets. 

Everyone on stage looked like they were having the time of their lives; I would routinely catch them smiling bright, though they’d usually get back into their music before I could get a picture. It wasn’t just a good set musically, it was fun to watch and fun to be a part of. I happened to make friends before Senses Fail on both days, too (shout out to Salem and Jace), so I was enjoying the show with people I knew. In my crowning moment of Riot Fest glory, I got a hand on Senses Fail’s day two setlist; I ended up sharing it with my new concert pal, because I’m a nice person, but I don’t think I have ever cherished a piece of paper more. If Senses Fail had played on Sunday, too, or any other day after Riot Fest, I would drop anything to go see them (as of writing, they’re still on tour, so go see them and record a video for me if they play “Blackout”).

The final act I saw on day two was Rise Against, the only band on the lineup I’ve covered before. This marked the third time I had seen Rise Against in a single year, and it was, for obvious reasons, drastically different than the other two sets of theirs I had seen. What I remember most isn’t the songs they played -- singles, mostly, as one does at Riot Fest -- but the way they talked about their hometown of Chicago. Frontman Tim said that he grew up near Douglas Park, the site of the festival, and later talked about writing “Swing Life Away” (my favorite Rise Against song) in a neighborhood near the one I currently live in. As a resident of Chicago, I always love hearing people talk about it and hearing the joy with which the frontman of the band talked about his home, which had come out to support him in a big way, was more powerful to me than hearing “Savior” again. The music was great, obviously. The music was just not what I was thinking about; I was thinking about my place in time, at my first music festival in the city I consider my home.

On the third day, I arrived early again, got water, and made a beeline for the only stage I had not yet spent any time at, the Rise stage, to camp out for Frank Iero and the Future Violents. I got there maybe fifteen minutes after the first people were admitted for the day and couldn’t get a spot at the barricade. Two bands (Ultra Q, which I had heard of in former incarnation Mt. Eddy, and highly-sensual ska band Save Ferris) played beforehand, but the crowd didn’t thin as people, myself included, craned their necks, searching for the Future Violents’ uniforms. The crowd was different than the acts I had been front-and-center for on the previous two days: they were louder before the band actually came on, cheering for the band members as they came on stage to check their levels, and more subdued for the first half of the set, refraining from mosh pits and crowd surfing entirely, despite the cutthroat wave of people trying to get as far forward as possible, crushing me and the others in the second row. The crowd turned around when the band played “Medicine Square Garden,” my favorite song of the Frank Iero solo era, and the crowd surfing became nearly constant. It was almost dangerous; I saw someone get kicked in the face, and I wrenched my shoulder trying to hoist a crowd surfer into security’s arms. The band had middling audience interaction, somewhere between Rise Against and Glassjaw, but the crowd would’ve gone wild with or without it, so in love were they with the band.

Despite knowing very few songs by Against Me!, I was amped to see them. I caught their set at Wicker Park Fest last year and live close enough to Laura Jane Grace that, in theory, I could pass her on the street. After the Future Violents set and, you know, the other two days of Riot Fest, I thought it might be prudent for me to chill in the back of the crowd and not fight my way into the pit, especially since I was not prepared to sing along. Despite the fact that this was also a packed set -- the band was playing not one but two big-ticket albums, Reinventing Axl Rose and Transgender Dysphoria Blues, and this was after they had played two albums the night before -- the band took their time between songs for Laura to reiterate that Riot Fest was her favorite festival two or three times, and their set was even over early. A well-oiled machine of punk rock, they drove through the albums with finesse, excellent musicianship, and help from the screaming crowd. The only weird thing about the set was that, halfway through, a chunk of people peeled away to go see the B-52s, which wasn't about Against Me! but about how Riot Fest schedules their acts. I've known for some time that I need to know way more about Against Me!, but after having the time of my life singing along to "True Trans Soul Rebel," which is one of the handful of their songs I remember, I know that next time an opportunity comes around for me to catch one of their sets, I'm going to be ready. 

This was where my Riot Fest adventure ended for the weekend. I had intended to check out Taking Back Sunday, but when faced with the choice between sticking around and getting home at midnight only to wake up for work at five the next morning, I made the choice that got my blistered feet out of my brand new Docs faster. I regret that on and off, but I had experienced so many things in three days that I am still overwhelmed by it. In trying to remember even my favorite sets from Riot Fest, I just get a blur of things in my mind: reaching over the barricade for a setlist, holding up crowd surfers, feeling like I was about to cry and laughing like a freak with adrenaline; meeting eyes with performers, shaking hands with new friends, waiting for unfortunate amounts of time to fill my crumpled water bottle so I could turn it into cherry Pedialyte. There's a reason why people from all over come to Riot Fest, and it's that, within that blur of memories, I know I had the best time of my life. I'm already looking forward to next year's lineup.

Ari Jindracek needs to know where Buddy Nielsen got that shirt with the flowers on it, like, two weeks ago. You can find Ari on Twitter.

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[ra9zine]

Meet LMC, one of our sweet artists!

What are the links to your social media so people can find you! Twitter Tumblr

What first inspired you to draw? My earliest memories of drawing are copying official Sailor Moon art then creating my own Sailor Scouts after watching Sailor Moon on TV, lol.

What programs do you use to to draw? Clip Studio Paint and Photoshop

What kind of tablet do you use? Surface Pro 4 and Wacom Intuos 4

What is your favorite thing to draw? Maids, robots, aND ROBOTS DRESSED AS MAIDS.

How long have you been drawing for? Many years. I am old.

Are there any particular artists that have inspired you over the years? There are many, but the ones that come to mind super fast: Q Hayashida, Est Em, Natsume Ono, Tarako Kotobuki, Tsuta Suzuki, Asumiko Nakamura.

Okay, this turned into a list of the BL artists (& Q Hayashida) whose work I enjoy for aesthetics and content. Please don't look at me.

Did you go to school for art or are you self taught? Would you recommend a formal education? I'm attending art school! I would only recommend if you require the tight deadlines and educational structure to kick your butt into gear to improve, have the money or okay with drowning in debt, and have a masochistic streak because honestly, y e a h...

It's not all bad though. The pros are being around your peers, industry professionals (I hope) helping you build strong foundation skills, networking potential, and more. Please do research as it's a personal and situational decision.

On that note, I do feel it's prepared me for so much, particularly in regards to feedback. You don't know just how loudly you can scream internally until you're sitting in a life drawing session when your instructor, very suddenly, while browsing much further into your art blog's archive than anticipated, exclaims, "IS THIS YAOI??" In the middle of class.

Do you do Commissions? Are they open? do you have a link to your commission page? I do take commissions! Unfortunately have a back log at the moment, but please feel free to email me for more information (ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧: eruemcee[at]gmail.com

I also have a ko-fi for quick sketches if you want something more casual: 

Do you have a website? (Patreon? Etsy? Webtoons? Youtube? Artstation? BigCartel? Tictail? etc?) I recently opened up an Etsy actually!

Do you sell merch or prints anywhere? (give us the link if you do!) The above Etsy link, and I've been attending local conventions too. ヾ(･ω･｡)ｼ Here's a list! 

Do you have recommendations for networking? Have fun and be sincere!! The aim isn't to just get things out of people, but to make potential friends. Not everyone will be compatible BFF wise, but at the very least you're probably cool acquaintances?

Most of my "networking" is probably from just being into the same movie/game/series/etc as someone else and yelling about it back and forth on the internet. Find the people who want to yell and keyboard mash about things (in a positive way!) with you.

Is there anything we missed that you might want to share with your followers? To be honest, it's been a long time since I've been even remotely active in a fandom. DBH fandom is so much fun, but also super daunting due to all the amazing artists and writers producing more content than I can possibly keep up with. Feeling blessed in this 20gayteen. Thank you everyone for sharing your beautiful works!! And thank you to the wonderful mods organizing this charity zine!

Do you have any final inspirational words or tips for your followers? Drink plenty of water and try to get enough sleep. I thought this advice was overhyped, but it's literally an instruction manual to function and feel remotely human in the morning.

Also, come to Twitter Jericho. Be free.

Thank you for reading!

[uncloseted]

Hi! Im graphic designer who is about to interview for a company who make anime inspired shirts. It's a dream job but the more I research into the company the more I realize it very likely that they don't actually have the licenses and rights for the animes they are using! They will literally slap Narutos face on a shirt and say its anime *inspired*. I don't know what to do! I don't want to put myself in a legal situation because I'm designing anime tees without the proper licenses

In all likelihood, if they're a big company, they probably do have some sort of licensing deal with the anime studios. Without knowing why you think they don't, it's hard to give any sort of perspective or advice on this issue. Many companies, big and small, do pay licensing fees, even if they don't publicly state that they do. It may be worth straight up asking your contact at the company what the situation is (and recording their answer) so you can clarify whether this is actually a problem or not and what their official party line is. That way, if you do end up working for them and they don't have the licenses, you have proof that they told you they did. And if you don't end up working for them, at least you made a fully informed decision.

Assuming they don't have the licenses, whether or not you find this practice ethical or want to participate in it is a personal choice, but I'll talk about some of the legal implications here (as I understand them. Note that I'm not a lawyer).

If the company has been around for a while and has been producing these shirts for a while, it's unlikely that they're going to get sued any time soon. They may be too small for the anime studios to care about- that's why (for example) you can get anime merch on Etsy even though it's definitely copyright infringement. It's just not worth the hassle or expense for the studio to take down every instance of infringement.

If a studio did want to make a fuss about the licenses, it's likely that the company would first be sent a cease and desist letter telling them to stop using the IP. If they got a cease and desist but didn't stop using the IP, the company itself would probably be sued. Individuals can be sued in copyright infringement cases, but it's less common, and even if that were to happen, it would be more likely that the founder of the company would be sued than you as an individual graphic designer. In a legal case, you could claim that you, as the graphic designer, assumed that the rights were sorted out and had no idea that the images were being used illegally. Why would you know about the licensing deals your company has with the anime studios? You're not a lawyer. You were just brought on to create graphics. My understanding is that it's difficult to prove intentionality when it comes to employees of a company that's engaging in copyright infringement, and so it's unlikely you would be sued. In the event that the company or founder lost the lawsuit, they would have to pay monetary damages to the studio that owns the IP and potentially give them the profits from the merchandise that used their IP. You might lose your job or the company may shut down, but your personal assets wouldn't be seized if they lost that type of case.

[nyerus]

A Beginner’s Guide to Anime Merchandise

Hey guys! So a few of my friends have asked me where I get all my YoI merch and I figured I’d make a post so anyone who’s kinda new to buying anime merch in general knows where to start.

This isn’t too comprehensive and meant to be a just quick-start guide of sorts, but if anyone has things they’d like to add to this, please feel free.

 The Basics

There are some great websites dedicated to procuring anime goods from Japan for folks outside of the country and work like any other online shop basically. Some are better than others in various aspects and I’ll cover the most well-known/used ones.

AmiAmi: This one is first because it has a wide range of goods available from basically every anime, and also because it often has steep discounts on most items. They’re pretty fast to add new things as well—usually within a day of it being announced. It’s easy to use and has the option of monthly shipments, in which every purchase you’ve made for a specific month is consolidated into one big package. This saves big on shipping, if you’re willing to be patient. This also means that you will receive an invoice for that month’s full order rather than paying per-item/order individually—which can be either good or bad depending on the $$$$, haha! Apart from flexibility in shipping methods, it has an easy-to-understand points system (100yen=1point). The main downside to AmiAmi is that sometimes it doesn’t have certain items, and there seems to be no real rhyme or rhythm to that. Thankfully it’s only a few items.

CDJapan: I mainly use this as an alternative to AmiAmi, especially in regards to wanting those aforementioned certain items. However, it’s quite similar to AmiAmi in terms of providing decent discounts (though often not as steep as AmiAmi) and also has a similar point system.

*NOTE: neither AmiAmi nor CDJapan ship certain goods out of Japan such as the Yuri!!! on Ice dvds/blu-rays and soundtracks. (You can blame Avex for that.)

Mandarake: This site is a geared more towards secondhand goods and doujinshi but you can also find some amazing deals on new items if you’re willing to be very patient and thoroughly look. Their search system (and UI in general) isn’t great and leaves much to be desired, but usually gets the job done when you know what you’re looking for. (It may help if you search in Japanese.) They have multiple shopfronts you can buy from so you may wish to check that all your items are coming from the same one to save on shipping. Mandarake’s packaging is excellent, however, and others should take notes!!! One minor warning would also be that they no longer seem to accept Debit Cards, even through paypal, so you may wish to arrange another method of payment.

AitaiKuji: This site is great for getting limited edition items that you usually can’t find in other stores, such as the Yuri!!! on Museum goods or collaboration goods. It has a nice UI and it’s easy to find the items you’re searching for. However, AitaiKuji’s customer service is notorious for being slow to respond and also their shipping rates tend to be somewhat exorbitant, especially for the lackluster quality of packing. Their markups aren’t too bad on most items, but the shipping rates are what’ll get ya. However, AitaiKuji is one of the only places to get individuals items that normally come in a set OR to get opened blind packs. I usually only use them as a last resort, when I can’t get certain goods elsewhere and I don’t feel like hunting in auctions.

YesAsia: While this site doesn’t have a wide range of items available, it DOES offer free international shipping on certain orders! Additionally, it does sell the dvd/blu-rays and soundtracks outside of Japan. (The site overall is quite good for buying music/movies/etc from Asia.) However it has heavy markups on certain items, so you may want to price-check with other sites.

Yamnillion: I’ve never used this tictail-based service before and it’s not a full-fledged company I don’t think, but if you’re really desperate for a certain individual item from a set and don’t mind paying a premium for it + shipping, this is an option. However they have a very limited range of items and they seem to run out of stock quite fast, so you’ll have to be quick!

 Using Proxies

Besides the English sites provided above, there is another option for people hunting for either very specific things/limited edition goods/out-of-print items OR hunting for the best deals: Japanese sites. Yahoo Japan Auctions, Otamart, and other such sites (including Amazon Japan and Rakuten!) can be a great place to snag merch you really want and can’t find elsewhere. However, to use these sites you run into the basic problem of a language barrier. Additionally, most of these places do not ship outside of Japan anyway. So there’s where a proxy service comes in. There are two different types of proxy services that exist (many current services function as both, though!):

ones that act as a mail-forwarding service

ones that actually buy the items for you

The first type of proxies still have the problem of you having to navigate a site in a foreign language and manage to buy the desired item and input the proxy’s address, etc. This is probably really overwhelming to people like me who have little understanding of Japanese! Hence why it would be more prudent to use the second type of proxy and let them act as your middleman. Using a proxy seems daunting at first, but it’s really not too bad once you jump into it.

*NOTE: Some proxies don’t deal with R-18+ goods so if you are looking for certain items, do your research!

Because I don’t have too much experience with proxies, I can’t really give any reviews on them (though I’m sure you can use a little google-fu for that), but here are the ones I know people have used before successfully:

ZenMarket: This is the only proxy site I’ve used thus far, and so far so good. Speedy customer service, easy-to-use interface, and also seems to have fairly low fees.

Buyee: Fees are a little higher, but has a more polished look and is a little faster than ZenMarket from what I hear.

WhiteRabbitExpress: Probably the most popular one I’ve heard of so far, however the fees are higher.

BuySmartJapan: This has a partnership with Toranoana, a famous Japanese doujinshi store where basically everyone and their mothers get their sweet, sweet doujin from. (Though you can use any proxy for that, really.) But it’s also great for buying general goods as well.

FromJapan: This has a partnership with Otamart, which is like a flea market for otakus. Again, you can use it for more than just this purpose.

Jpn-Depot: This proxy is simple to use and has low fees, but seems to work better as mail forwarding service. Their buying service seems to be sort of lacking from what friends have said.

*NOTE: When using these sites, if they offer an in-built search function, it’s better to search in Japanese rather than English. Additionally, keep in mind that some sellers (i.e. from Yahoo Japan Auctions and Otamart) may not wish to deal with proxies, for whatever reason.

 Special Mentions

MyFigureCollection is a great way to keep track of all the official merch you’ve bought. You can also search user listings for an item you’re looking for and with some luck, someone might have it for sale! Also they have a list of partnered sites that essentially serves as a list of alternate shops, though I would encourage price-checking from most of these places (like Play-Asia and GoodsRepublic to name a few), lest you heavily overpay.

I would avoid searching on eBay not only because things on there tend to be super overpriced, but mostly because you will run into many bootlegs/counterfeit items. And sometimes it can be hard to tell whether or not what you’re buying is a fake. A good bet is to buy from sellers not based in China. I’ve bought a few things from Japan and USA-based sellers which were genuine, but I almost bought a few fakes from China before I realized.

Buyfags.moe (a product of 4chan’s /jp/ board) is actually an amazing guide on buying anime goods. Their full guide covers everything from explaining various shipping methods to helping you recognize bootlegs. They have an extensive list of shops/proxies/etc to check out. If you have the time, I highly suggest taking a look!!! 

Fan Merch

Most of my YOI stuff is actually fan merch. Doujins, zines, prints, keychains, etc. However the problem with fan merch is that it is usually very limited and ephemeral. An artist will put up PO’s for an item and once that order is closed, it’s closed for good. You can get lucky and snag it during a second run or something, but many things are one-and-done. The main exception here are Japanese doujinshi—most of which get put on Mandarake and Toranoana (the latter of which will require a proxy to use) for a long sale period or until they run out of stock.

I haven’t been really reblogging much fan merch on here apart from the occasional zine I’ve been personally interested in. For those looking specifically for YOI doujins and zines, my friend @moonphantoma runs an incredibly organized and up-to-date blog here. (Be warned: dangerous to your wallet!)

The best way to know about other fan merch is to follow artists on tumblr/twitter. You can also peruse sites like tictail*, storenvy, etsy, and even kickstarter and see if you find something you’re interested in!

*As for tictail, make sure to use an artist’s storefront instead of going to their store via tictail’s “marketplace” because they will charge the artist a nasty fee for it. :( You can find guides on how to spot/avoid this, but I’ll make it easy by saying you should always buy from a URL that looks like “storename.tictail.com” and not “tictail.com/storename.” You’ll have to manually change the URL yourself, because tictail is tricky….

Good merch hunting, and sorry to anyone’s wallets that I might have hurt!

[paladinofthelantern]

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Important Note: Around Christmas of ‘22 my laptop malfunctioned and, due to various circumstances, I lost access to queenofbadgers and bythelightofcamelot. Thus, they are now considered archives and are replaced by thebadgerburrow and camelotisshining. My main blog is, of course, this one. So, if I follow or interact with you, and I have done so previously on any of these blogs, please don't think I'm trying to be annoying!💖

(another important note:I vehemently oppose the views of the author of the above work towards trans individuals and also refrain from buying official merch; any items I purchase that are related to the series come from sites like eBay and Etsy)

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Please make sure to read my DNI before interacting or following! Thank you so much!💖😊 

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Hello and welcome to Kaer Lóchrann (yes, the name is indeed a Witcher reference)! I hope you enjoy your stay! This is just my own little corner of the internet to put whatever suits my whim at the time. This can be anything from silly videos of cute animals to gifs from my favourite movies or shows. If you find enjoyment in what I reblog or post I am ecstatic that I can make your day brighter. I kindly ask you, though, to keep the following in mind as you explore the halls of this great castle.

(note:blogs I suspect are spam will be blocked)

🐿️ I take a neutral stance when it comes to shipping discourse (as a note all characters in my ships are either around the same age or adults). There is of course, content I would rather not engage with, but I very strongly believe in using the block button, along with the tag and post filters, to avoid it, and I see no logic at all in arguing someone I don’t even know over the internet when I could be spending my time on something I enjoy. I have no desire to engage in a debate about what I ship, and I kindly ask that people respect that.

🐿️ I am strongly averse to conflict in any form and do not wish to engage in a fight with anyone. I would rather have someone block me and move on with their life than exchange insults with me. All I want is to enjoy the things I love in peace and I wish the same for others. Everyone deserves to be happy, no matter who they are.

🐿️ If you ever need something tagged please shoot me a PM and I'll do my best moving forward. I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable! And if you decide that you need to block me for whatever reason I bid you a fond farewell and pray you find something that fills your life with joy.

🐿️ My ask box is always open if you ever want to pop in and say hello! I love talking to people!

(note I:please do not send me asks or PMs asking me to donate to something; I will assume these are spam and block the blog they came from)

(note II:if you follow or interact with me and your blog uses a default icon or doesn’t have very many posts on it, I will probably end up blocking it; please change your icon and reblog stuff so that I know you are human!)

-Paladin

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[hamiltoncopyright-blog]

I came across an etsy shop called SweetSassyGifts. After reading your posts, I've realized Lin probably won't go after them and the quotes and references are short enough to probably be fair use. But it felt morally wrong. They're taking quotes and references very clearly from the show and adding no more creativity than the choice of font. Hamilton could easily sell this merchandise themselves. Is there a case here? Attribution doesn't seem enough to blatantly profit off someone else's work.

It’s all pretty morally ambiguous. Yeah, things like that make me feel a little icky—some more than others. For instance, I’m currently wearing a Hamilton shirt my sister gave me from Etsy. Obviously I’m wearing it because of the show, but all it says is “Hamilton” and has a quill and ink bottle. On the scale of morality, it doesn’t make me feel too bad. The ones with quotes or the star trademark or other iconic imagery feel worse to me. With the use of the trademark, creators open themselves up to a wayyy higher possibility of legal conflict, so there would definitely be a case there. Hamilton creators *have* gone after this kind of thing before. 

Quotes, though, aren’t likely to be too much of a problem. To creators, I’d suggest focusing on items that aren’t available from the official merch shop (for instance, avoiding snapbacks and t-shirts) to not cause any sales competition.  

It does blatantly profit, but technically it’s fair use. And it’s found in merch for every fandom. A very good lawyer and a client with a lot of money would probably be able to win this kind of case. BUT they would also cause a rift in their fandom, which is a bad idea. 

Thanks for the question! Let me know if I can clarify anything else.