#we work collaboratively on commissions specifically!

[mothbaubles]

He's in there somewhere...

Commission for @rainbowjulian!

[pmpmyread]

Okay. I can’t hold back anymore, I must share this FANTASTIC commission crafted by the amazing @aliasnnmknt!!

A couple of weeks ago, I reached out to Teri to see if she could help me bring an idea to life. This was the first time I’d ever commissioned an idea including an original character/MC, and watching Teri turn my scattered descriptions and references into the EXACT vision I had for this character was like witnessing magic. And we all know Teri’s depictions of Nanami are always A1 (and if you don’t know, you must check out her page, yesterday lol).

The level of detail she managed to incorporate in this is truly incredible, from the braids and the charms, to the sheet music, to the specific vinyl LPs! The mood captured here, in the facial expressions, in the posture and overall body language is immaculate and so true to what I wanted to convey.

I feel so blessed to have been able to collaborate with such a talented artist and to add such a wonderful illustration to this little idea that has been trotting in my mind for a while. I keep staring at it in awe and I am using it as fuel as I put the finishing touches to this story.

Working on this was such a delight, Teri is so kind, patient and incredibly quick! Thank you @aliasnnmknt, for taking my request and for crafting such a lovely piece! Anyone reading this, run, don’t walk to her blog — she delivers banger after banger after banger!

This concept is based on an upcoming Nanami x Reader fic of mine titled Syncopation. It’s a story that tackles themes that are so meaningful to me, such as combatting stifled creativity, finding purpose in life, and learning to accept love, and it’s all set against a backdrop of modal jazz music as a genre.

I’ll be posting it in the upcoming days, in the meantime, I’ve put a snippet below, if you’d like a sneak peek:

If you made it this far, thanks for reading and I hope that you'll enjoy the full story! Now go follow the wonderful @aliasnnmknt!

[reasonsforhope]

"The Netherlands is pulling even further ahead of its peers in the shift to a recycling-driven circular economy, new data shows.

According to the European Commission’s statistics office, 27.5% of the material resources used in the country come from recycled waste.

For context, Belgium is a distant second, with a “circularity rate” of 22.2%, while the EU average is 11.5% – a mere 0.8 percentage point increase from 2010.

“We are a frontrunner, but we have a very long way to go still, and we’re fully aware of that,” Martijn Tak, a policy advisor in the Dutch ministry of infrastructure and water management, tells The Progress Playbook. 

The Netherlands aims to halve the use of primary abiotic raw materials by 2030 and run the economy entirely on recycled materials by 2050. Amsterdam, a pioneer of the “doughnut economics” concept, is behind much of the progress.

Why it matters

The world produces some 2 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste each year, and this could rise to 3.4 billion tonnes annually by 2050, according to the World Bank.

Landfills are already a major contributor to planet-heating greenhouse gases, and discarded trash takes a heavy toll on both biodiversity and human health.

“A circular economy is not the goal itself,” Tak says. “It’s a solution for societal issues like climate change, biodiversity loss, environmental pollution, and resource-security for the country.”

A fresh approach

While the Netherlands initially focused primarily on waste management, “we realised years ago that’s not good enough for a circular economy.”

In 2017, the state signed a “raw materials agreement” with municipalities, manufacturers, trade unions and environmental organisations to collaborate more closely on circular economy projects.

It followed that up with a national implementation programme, and in early 2023, published a roadmap to 2030, which includes specific targets for product groups like furniture and textiles. An English version was produced so that policymakers in other markets could learn from the Netherlands’ experiences, Tak says.

The programme is focused on reducing the volume of materials used throughout the economy partly by enhancing efficiencies, substituting raw materials for bio-based and recycled ones, extending the lifetimes of products wherever possible, and recycling.

It also aims to factor environmental damage into product prices, require a certain percentage of second-hand materials in the manufacturing process, and promote design methods that extend the lifetimes of products by making them easier to repair.

There’s also an element of subsidisation, including funding for “circular craft centres and repair cafés”.

This idea is already in play. In Amsterdam, a repair centre run by refugees, and backed by the city and outdoor clothing brand Patagonia, is helping big brands breathe new life into old clothes.

Meanwhile, government ministries aim to aid progress by prioritising the procurement of recycled or recyclable electrical equipment and construction materials, for instance.

State support is critical to levelling the playing field, analysts say...

Long Road Ahead

The government also wants manufacturers – including clothing and beverages companies – to take full responsibility for products discarded by consumers.

“Producer responsibility for textiles is already in place, but it’s work in progress to fully implement it,” Tak says.

And the household waste collection process remains a challenge considering that small city apartments aren’t conducive to having multiple bins, and sparsely populated rural areas are tougher to service.

“Getting the collection system right is a challenge, but again, it’s work in progress.”

...Nevertheless, Tak says wealthy countries should be leading the way towards a fully circular economy as they’re historically the biggest consumers of natural resources."

-via The Progress Playbook, December 13, 2023

[queer-scots-geordie-dyke]

I've posted about this before but in the current climate, especially, a signal boost can only be a good thing.

There is an excellent organisation here in the UK that I have an ongoing donation to, Campaign Against Antisemitism.

From their website:

"HOW WE FIGHT ANTISEMITISM

Campaign Against Antisemitism consists of eight directorates which collaborate closely to expose and counter antisemitism through education and zero-tolerance enforcement of the law:

1. Investigations and Enforcement

We work closely with police forces around the country, the Crown Prosecution Service, regulatory bodies and the government to ensure that antisemitism is detected, investigated and punished with the full force of the law. We focus on criminal antisemitism and antisemitic acts committed by professionals or institutions which are subject to special regulation, such as lawyers, teachers, sportspeople and charities. We also provide training and advice to the authorities, whilst also scrutinising their performance and holding them to account when they fall short.

2. Awareness and Communication

Working closely with senior journalists and advertising professionals, we run proactive campaigns to ensure that the public is aware of anti-Jewish racism and the immense societal danger that it poses. Through our advocacy work we seek to mobilise public support for the fight against antisemitism, whilst also generating pressure on the authorities to pursue a policy of zero tolerance for antisemitism. We also provide information and comment to the media through our media centre.

3. Outreach and Education

We strive to reduce anti-Jewish prejudice by providing education and training to all in society who wish to find out more about being Jewish, antisemitism, and fighting racism. We also reach out to other minority communities and anti-racist groups so that we can work to strengthen each other.

4. Public Affairs

We have forged links with the government, local authorities, regulators, police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service, as well as with companies such as the major social networks. We meet at the highest levels to tackle the roots of antisemitism and ensure that the law is upheld effectively, consistently and firmly.

5. Mobilisation

Antisemitism is a societal problem and we believe that individuals should be at the forefront of the fight against antisemitism. We recruit, train and mobilise volunteers, empowering them to leverage their talent and expertise against antisemitism.

6. Litigation

We have recruited some of Britain’s most formidable and acclaimed legal minds. Our lawyers give their time to provide guidance on specific cases and also takes action to hold the authorities and private companies to account when they fail to act against antisemitism effectively. Our legal experts include specialists in criminal law, charity law, regulatory law, administrative law, employment law, media law and litigation.

7. Organisation and Finance

Our volunteers need central support in every area from systems administration to finance. Working with senior professionals, we ensure that our volunteers receive the support they need, and that our charity complies strictly with regulatory and financial requirements.

8. Fundraising

We are proud to operate with extremely low overheads, relying almost entirely on volunteers, however our work costs money, whether it is to pay court fees when we litigate, or to commission important research. We fundraise throughout the year to raise the sums needed to enable our work to continue."

They also have a podcast that recently aired its 100th episode, that I highly recommend. They talk about the current work they're doing, media bias, representation, and over 5 seasons have included interviews with Jewish public figures, Holocaust survivors, and more recently, survivors of Oct. 7 and family members of hostages:

https://antisemitism.org/podcast/

[engazed]

Scam alert

In recent weeks, I've received a number of PMs to my FFN with flattering messages and offers to 'collaborate' to create fan art. I had never interacted with these suppose readers before, but several things raised my suspicions:

Three different users making the same offer within a short span of time

Generic language about how much they liked my story (mentioning a chapter but not a specific scene or moment or character or anything concrete at all)

Accounts with no bookmarks for stories, let alone in the fandom I write for

Directions to follow them outside of FFN on sites like Discord and Instagram, rather than continuing the conversation on FFN where we were already connected

Poor grammar (not always a sign of a scammer, mind you; I have a lot of readers whose first language is not English, and I love hearing from them. But scammers are notoriously bad at English grammar)

I looked up the name of one of the users, which took me to this Reddit thread. Apparently, this has been going on for some months now, but it boils down to supposed artists who want to create fan art for money (rather missing the point of fanworks, imho). Those who have fallen for it get something AI generated in return.

All I'm saying is this: beware of unspecific flattery and vague offers to provide a service. Real fans of your work won't ask for a commission to create art for it. Fandom is a special place. We fic writers don't write for money. Fic artists don't art for money. This is a commercial-free space, and we're all better and happier for it.

So take care of yourselves out there! Be safe, be creative, be kind.

[jsmelodies]

2024 Fic Writer End of Year Roundup

Thank you for the tags, @popjunkie42 @littedidyouknow @crazy-ache @zencetera

Answer and then tag three or more creators to keep the game going!

(If you're in my answers consider yourself tagged if you'd like to play!!)

1. How many words did you publish on AO3 in 2024?

A nice 86k (I write slowly, y'all)

2. How many fics did you complete this year?

I finished my one multi chapter for Nessian week as well as a bunch of one shots!

3. How many in progress or ongoing fics did you start this year?

...too many. Four, I believe? And one that I may go back to👀

4. What was your favorite thing you wrote?

Definitely The Knight and His Witch! It was fun to escape canon for a bit, and it gave me some worldbuilding practice.

5. What piece was your most experimental or different from your usual style?

Oh that would have to be I'd Go Back to the Winter for @laxibbeb, for a lot of different reasons. I was playing around with a different ship (Elucien!!), and it's probably the wildest idea I've ever come up with.

6. Did any fics surprise you - either while writing or their reception?

The reception for Till the Dawn Breaks genuinely surprised me so much. Mostly because I wrote that within the span of 3-4 days, and wasn't sure if it was that good when I posted it.

And I try my best not to focus on stats, but that fic got so much engagement!

7. Do you have a fic you wrote and loved that went under the radar? (This is your sign to reblog/repost it!)

Yes, if you like Elucien, check out I'd Go Back to the Winter!

8. Who is an artist that inspired you?

So many! @laxibbeb @dustjacketdraws @climbthemountain2020 , and some of @podemechamardek's commissions!

9. Who is an author that inspired you?

@littedidyouknow - thank you for being you (and bullying me into finishing stuff)

Also I fear the 530k words you've written this year (can I steal some please)

10. Who is a new author you discovered?

I love all of you💕 @moodymelanist @c-e-d-dreamer @kale-theteaqueen @xxvalkyriesxx @wishcamper @unhealthyfanobsession @whyisaravenlike-awritingdesk @dustjacketmusings @underneath-the-sidras

Also @popjunkie42 @beesays @crazy-ache @foundress0fnothing and so many more!

(Technically some of these were late 2023 but I’m counting them)

11. Did you do any collaborations? How did it start?

Not yet!

12. What accomplishments are you proudest of?

Finishing my first multi chapter fic! And also getting involved with the fandom more.

13. What did you learn about writing or creating this year?

I've been working a lot on my descriptions and story telling, and it's been so rewarding getting specific comments about that.

And something I'm still learning - that the story I want to write might not always be the story someone else wants to read, and that's ok.

14. Any advice you’d like to share with new or aspiring writers?

To love your writing, in whatever stage it's at. It's so easy to hate our own work, especially when we first start out.

Sometimes I'll go back and read my old chapters. Is it a little choppy? Do I see now that there was room for it to improve? Yes, of course. And I'm sure I'll think the same a year from now. But our writing all starts somewhere, and my writing wouldn't be where it is now if I didn't keep going.

And that makes those earlier chapters a lot easier to love.

Also, remember this is supposed to be fun!

15. What are your creative goals for 2025?

Nothing specific really, I just want to keep working on the fics I already have going and start the new ones I've been planning for a while.

I also have some original work that's been sitting on the back burner for a while, and I'd love to return to it.

Not tagging anyone else but feel free to join!

[writeyourfandoms]

Here's what you can expect:

* Fandom Focus: I'm happy to dive into almost any fandom – just ask!

* Collaborative Process: We'll start with a conversation where we discuss your fandom, your specific needs, and what you envision for your commission. I want to understand exactly what you're looking for!

* Draft & Feedback: You'll receive one draft where you can provide feedback and request any changes or additions.

* Refinement & Final Product: I'll incorporate your feedback, and after a single revision (or two, if needed!) you'll receive your finalized, polished piece.

* Flexible Turnaround:

* Shorter commissions will typically be completed within 1-2 days.

* Longer, more involved pieces will take 3-5 days. (Word count and complexity will influence the exact timeframe).

Important Note: While I'm thrilled to explore new ideas, I reserve the right to decline any commission that I'm not comfortable with.

* Please message to see writing examples, previous pieces etc.

* Payment is PAYPAL ONLY

Why Choose Me?

I'm a passionate writer and a fellow fandom enthusiast! As a university student trying to make some extra money, I'm dedicated to providing high-quality writing and excellent customer service. I'm eager to work with you and create something truly special. I can't wait to hear from you and bring your fandom dreams to life!

Let's get the conversation started! Send me a message today to discuss your commission ideas. I'm so excited to see what we can create together!

Writing Example Below:

A low hum vibrated through the hallway as Lance walked towards Wanda's room, his intention to soothe her frayed nerves. He passed Pietro's door, a sliver of darkness visible beneath the slightly ajar frame. Normally, he wouldn't intrude, but the faint sounds of shifting within – a restless stirring – piqued his curiosity.

He paused, his gaze drawn to the crack. Leaning closer, he pressed his hand against the cool wood, peering into the shadowed room. Pietro lay in bed, shrouded in the deep indigo of closed curtains. A faint, ethereal glow, a shimmering, light-blue mist, swirled around his sleeping form, almost like a living vapor. Lance's eyes narrowed. Pietro’s body twitched, his limbs jerking in a silent struggle. "What the hell?" he muttered, pushing the door open and stepping inside.

The blue mist pulsed gently, revealing what looked like floating runes etched in light. As Lance approached the bed, his hand instinctively reached out to touch Pietro’s shoulder. At his touch, the kicking ceased. Pietro’s eyes snapped open, the door slamming shut behind them with a sharp *thwack*. Lance spun around, but before he could react, Pietro’s hand shot out, seizing him by the throat. A strangled gasp escaped Lance's lips as Pietro yanked him violently onto the bed, his fingers a vise around his neck.

“Hey! Pietro—” Lance croaked, his voice ragged. Pietro’s grip tightened, cutting off his breath. Desperate, Lance clawed at Pietro’s hands, but the younger man held firm, his eyes burning with an unnatural, glowing blue light in the darkness. Silence stretched, broken only by Lance’s desperate gasps. Then, Pietro’s voice, chillingly calm, echoed in the small room: “What’s wrong, Lance?”

With brutal efficiency, Pietro pinned Lance to the bed, his body a heavy weight. Lance felt the air leave his lungs, his vision blurring at the edges. "Can't fight back? You're supposed to be stronger than me. Drop a ceiling on me or something. Do something!" Pietro hissed, his voice a venomous whisper.

The room began to tremble, then the entire mansion shook violently. Lance's struggle weakened, his eyes rolling back as darkness threatened to claim him. Pietro leaned closer, a cruel fascination in his gaze as he watched the color drain from Lance's face. The pounding of Lance's heart under his grip was almost intoxicating. "I've never felt power like this," Pietro whispered, his voice a chilling caress.

As Lance finally went limp, a faint sigh escaped Pietro's lips, punctuated by a shaky laugh. "Shit," he muttered, looking around the room. He would need a very good excuse.

[slooshee]

SOTM SPOILERS AHEAD!!

okay so I’ve seen a few questions about SOTM and how it effects previously established lore and I kinda wanna give my two cents on and try to clarify maybe theorize a little.

“So William and Henry didn’t make the original designs anymore?”

No. They did. At least the ones we know. It’s kind of complicated. Firstly, Fazbear Entertainment and by extension Fredbear’s Family Diner was already an established business when they collaborated with Edwin. So by that logic Fredbear and most likely Springbonnie probably already existed. The prototypes we see of them in the R&D section were supposed to be for the new establishment as this was pre-bite. Both would go on to be reworked/rebranded into new characters being Freddy and Bonnie. Chica and Foxy is where it starts to get a little more muddy. Chica was obviously designed by Fiona, at least her Chica’s party world version. But I think it’s also important to remember that for all of these the Murrays were contracted to make them. Meaning I imagine they were given some kind of description of what they were looking for, hence Chica at first being referred to as the design for the hen animatronic. I imagine that at least the basic idea of there being a chicken animatronic was commissioned by them. With Foxy it’s kind of unclear, we see the puppet version of Foxy and we know Fiona made puppets. We even see she made a pirate wolf/fox of some kind for David. So I see it either being, Foxy was Fiona’s original character but he was put for lease or sale and bought by Fazbearent. OR Foxy specifically and the Foxy pirate stage show we see was made for or in collaboration with FazbearEnt. But regardless of if William and Henry made the original designs or ideas or not they had final say on the versions we know today. They ended up not using Fiona’s designs for the first Freddy Fazbear’s location, which are described as ‘creepy’ by Edwin. Seeing as these animatronics go on to match the style of animatronics we know were designed by William and Henry I think it’s safe to say they had a hand in making the final versions we know from the other games. So yes I do still think the majority of the original gang that we know can still be attributed to Afton and Emily.

“So does this mean that Afton and Henry didn’t make the springlocks?”

As I said before I don’t think so. Fredbear’s was already an established brand. We know that location specifically used Springlocks. I think it’s more likely Henry and William came up with the idea, maybe had some kind of prototype, and worked with Edwin to improve upon the idea or use the technology for new suits that were planned to be at the next location. So it was more likely that all three (or at least Henry and Edwin) worked on the Springlock technology.

“Okay so then what was William Afton after in stealing from Edwin? If he didn’t want the characters or the springlocks what did he want?”

Well, I’m glad you asked. First of all, I believe William was after employees. He was poaching employees from Edwin, we see this implied a couple times throughout. Most likely because he was working on creating Afton robotics at the time and wanted workers for himself. Especially given that Edwin’s business was on a downward spiral and wouldn’t have lasted very long. Secondly, although it’s still debatable if Fazbear entertainment even was sending groups to the factory or if it was the mimic luring employees there the whole time. We know Arnold most likely was tricked and lured there by the mimic. But I think the way Edwin speaks about trying to keep things from them and being betrayed and the fact he puts all his plans so only he can access them does imply William was after something. That something? I believe was not the characters (although FazEnt would end up taking the majority of those too. Although I think that was through a buyout as most of them were for sale or lease and Edwin needed money) but I think he wanted the technology. Think about it. There’s so much stuff we see in Edwin’s factory that seems like it could’ve been used in a lot of the sister location’s technology specifically. 1. There’s the scooper. There’s just.. straight up the scooper. Right there. Edwin made the scooper. I don’t think there’s any debating that. 2. This one might be a bit of a stretch but I can’t help but feel the Tiger sections the mimic acts strikingly similar to how we see Funtime Foxy and Funtime Freddy function. It’s very reminiscent of the way Funtime Foxy reacts to light in the Funtime auditorium section. 3. The most important reason I believe is because of the mimic’s ability to copy voices. Which we see is an ability in some of the Funtime animatronics as well. I mean Funtime Freddy literally has the ability to mimic voices. They outright call it mimicry. Funtime Foxy also has an ability to “Parental voice sync and Replay” which to me sounds like it’s talking about a form of mimicking as well.

To give the TLTR version:

-Original Gang most likely still was William and Henry’s idea at least what animals they should be but they commissioned Fiona for the designs and never ended up using her designs (except for Chica during the Chica’s Party World Era but the Murray’s owned that). Switching to their own designs last minute.

-Springlocks still most likely were invented by Henry and/or William as Fredbear’s existed before Edwin’s partnership with them. The prototypes we see of Fredbear and SpringBonnie were supposed to be for the new location but most likely never got used because of the incident in 83.

-William Afton was still stealing ideas from Edwin even if it wasn’t the animatronics. I believe he was more so after the technology which can be reflected in his later inventions like the Funtime animatronics. He also was most likely poaching employees from Edwin’s dying business to work at Afton Robotics.

I hope this could help clear up or anything about it! I know this is a bit of a yapping fest but I hope it made some sense of things!

[mock-arts]

Plans for 2025

I sort of missed the season for resolutions, but my January was a little wild! So here are my vague plans and intentions for 2025 now.

I am trying to (1) take my IRL work and (2) my health more seriously, so I am generally trying to (3) cut back on fandom obligations. Mainly wrt big bangs.

Now, I know I have said for maybe the last three years running that I’m not going to do any bangs, and then I. Uh. Ran/participated in a bunch of bangs. But this time for real! I’ll only do a bang if it’s for a specific pairing I am currently really into. I must defeat FOMO. No more entire-fandom bangs and no more well-i-know-that-media-ig bangs.

I’m going to instead try and (4) focus on doing some projects with people that I already know I like working with — I’ve got some things that have been backburnered with at least one or two people. So if I have worked with you in the past and you are in my active fandom (currently marinating in batfam stuff, but that’s subject to change) maybe we can do a little project together 👀

I am not planning on participating in FTH this year, and I’ll only be doing commissions if someone offers me truly exorbitant amounts of money out of nowhere. I am planning on splashing out on the auctions for FTH myself though, I had a really excellent experience last year with both nyoomer and pallas rose. If I can even have half such a dope experience again this year, I would be deliriously happy.

I am also running the @badsexbingo but I’ve automated the whole thing so it shouldn’t require any real activity for me. I’ll be providing some updates to my bingo sheet maker once I figure out the best way to generalize some things. It automatically generates the bingo boards and emails them to people now. I’d maybe like to (5) make some more generalized fandom automation tools? Soft maybe on that though.

So that’s my thoughts on fandom! Recap on goals:

Take work more seriously

Take health more seriously

Step back from bangs and fandom projects with deadlines

Make art in collaboration with people I already know and like working with

Maybe make more fandom widgets and tools.

Some health and work stuff beneath the cut.

Health

I spent a solid chunk of time and money in 2024 running down a diagnosis for my fatigue, and I did get one! It took several thousand dollars out of pocket and multiple specialists, but hey! I got there. I am now working on making lifestyle changes to help the medication work better. So you know, normal boring shit like diet and exercise.

Several people around me, in both my husbands and my own family, died — not young precisely, but not old either — of cancer recently. I’m talking like 40s and 50s. This has pushed me and my brother to be a little more proactive about our health and swap more info on genetic flags and our diagnoses etc.

It’s also pushed me to try and sack more cash away so I can maybe retire before I fuckin die 😬 one side of the family is not making it past 85 and one side of the family gets over 100. Really hard to plan for!

For both health and wallet reasons, going to try to eat out less so I can sack cash away, but it’s like. Fuck doc, I work hard, I can’t have one vice?

Work

Work has been nuts for several years now, and I’m anticipating it continuing to be nuts. All that crazy has been the opportunity I anticipated though, so now I have to put in an extra burst of energy to capitalize on it.

My job offers opportunities for advancement as an individual contributor, so I am not going into management, but I do have to try for an elected technical leadership title :/ some of my cohort from my lab days has gone into early-career management positions by now so I guess it’s time.

I have good name recognition at this point so I feel like I have a good shot, if not this year then next year. But it’s time to put the paperwork together and start schmoozing. It’s exciting but also I’m fucking tired!

But yep that’s it that’s the plan.

And of course, you know, hunker down and endure the next four years while helping out where I can. I am unfortunately in a very red state.

[justforbooks]

A new chapter for publishing? Book subscription services launch their own titles

The book-posting operations have had a huge market impact, but will publishing their own titles cost them their serendipitous magic?

Book subscription services are magic. A few clicks of a form and a bunch of new books , selected by talented curators, turn up at your door – often with collectible perks such as special cover designs and art. In a world saturated by choice and trends, not only is the choosing done for you, but you’ll often have a less conventional, better rounded and precious bookshelf collection to show for it.

This is presumably why there’s a strong appetite for such services: UK fantasy subscription box FairyLoot has 569,000 followers on Instagram alone, and many bookshops have started sending out their own boxes.

Now, some of these businesses have decided not just to sell books, but to publish their own: In January, FairyLoot announced a collaboration with Transworld, a division of Penguin Random House, while last week Canada-based subscription service OwlCrate launched OwlCrate Press.

Jordan Fleming, head of publishing at OwlCrate, has described publishing as a “broken industry”, telling industry magazine the Bookseller that the publishing wing had been set up to “eventually address a lot of the issues the industry is facing”.

Which issues they’re seeking to address is unclear. It’s fair to see where they could influence things – they have an understanding of their subscribers and can cater to that market well as a result. But curating is not the same as publishing; quality and influence are two different things. Could this mark a potentially monumental shift in the industry?

“Book boxes and book subscription services are hugely valuable to publishers,” says Jon Petre, an editor at Profile Books. “Books can get a significant guaranteed sale on publication day through them … A big order of instant sales can land an author straight on the bestseller list. Even if it’s just for a week, the author will be Sunday Times-bestselling for the rest of their career.” Petre says.

Hariny Vanniarajan, who is signed up to subscription service Illumincrate, feels that the books she receives in the box are “representative of marginalised voices that we don’t often find in mainstream publishing.”

“As a south Indian, I truly enjoy the great variety of authors and cultures I’m being introduced to,” she says. “These are books I normally might not have picked up because I wouldn’t have known about them.”

Sisters Elizabeth and Helen, who have co-written fantasy novels including the Sunday Times bestseller Bonded by Thorns using the pen name Elizabeth Helen, say that working with FairyLoot has been an “incredible boost” for their career. The US-based authors say they have “cultivated a huge fanbase” in the UK specifically through editions sold by FairyLoot.

It makes sense, then, that subscription services want to push their curation skills further, by commissioning, editing, and publishing titles that aren’t already in the world. They have a guaranteed customer base, a strong sense of the titles that work for them and the ability to create exclusive editions. It’s a pretty powerful sales pitch to any bidding writer.

“In a market where customers are spending more money on fewer books, a guaranteed sale can be the difference between making a loss or breaking even for a debut author.” Petre says. Given that book ownership is also in decline, there are plenty of reasons to see such businesses as a stable alternative in a choppy industry. Those who do spend on books often “crave a gorgeous physical edition to hold in their hands and display on their shelves,” Elizabeth and Helen say.

While you can argue that putting a book you’ve commissioned and published into the hands of a dedicated audience isn’t any more of a bestseller manipulation than choosing a book that already exists, there’s a point to make about the magic and purity of a subscription service being lost by such a move.

You can consider this pivot an equivalent of Netflix or Mubi launching original works instead of merely curating them. Has that been a success? Not entirely. While they present new opportunities for individuals, they also present monopolies at large. As with all things art, it’s subjective: Vanniarajan says she wouldn’t necessarily be put off if Illumincrate started putting books it had published itself in her box. “They have built a huge following and seem to understand their audience well, so I assume they’d continue this integrity when choosing authors to work with,” she says.

But if you’re after an expert’s recommendations to bolster and surprise your library, as opposed to a powerhouse choosing titles for you, consider supporting a local bookshop’s services instead.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[moobloom11]

Stranger Things Modern Social Media Au

So the other day my friend @biscuitsandwaterx13x and I were watching ST together and got talking about how we thought each character would use social media in a modern AU.

We wanted to figure out how each character would use social media and also how the internet would perceive each of them individually and altogether. As our discussion went on, we thought it would be funny if, as time goes on, the internet gradually pieces together that all of these people know each other and live in the same freaky town. Conspiracy theories would quickly arise, along with everyone freaking out whenever a specific account is confirmed to be part of the HCU (Hawkins Cinematic Universe). They end up getting their own strange fandom and a multitude of hour-long deep dive videos.

Jonathan-

We decided Jonathan’s internet username would be pretty basic but hold some sentiment to him, so we thought that he’d combine his name with a specific date of significance to him. We went for Will’s birthday, 22nd March (2203).

Tumblr- jono_shoots2203

Doesn’t use it much but will occasionally post images from his photoshoots. He mainly uses it to support El, Nancy and Will.

Instagram- jono_shoots2203

Instagram is probably the main outlet for his work. He posts his photoshoots and people will commission him for events that they want photographing.

TikTok- jono_beats22

Posts about his music and photos. General video format is his music playing in the background of a montage of photos he’s taken, the lyrics usually matching the pictures on screen.

He occasionally makes some videos featuring Mike or El. El enjoys singing so sometimes she’ll feature as backing vocals in some of his tracks. Mike also makes music (and I’m a Mike and Jonathan friendship truther) so those two collaborate somewhat frequently as well.

Soundcloud- jono_beats22

Posts his music to a soundcloud. Probably makes indie rock music. Appeals to a small demographic of people but those who are fans are religiously supportive.

Jonathan escapes most of the HCU conspiracies and craze, but due to his consistent online interaction with El and Mike, many people think for a long time that he’s El’s biological older brother and Hopper’s son.

Steve-

Possibly an unpopular opinion but we didn’t think Steve would actually use social media actively a whole lot. He used to use it a lot more when he was popular back in school but fell off it after growing as a person.

Tumblr- dinguswiththegoodhair

Posts pretty irregularly and about mostly random stuff. Robin convinced him to make one. He doesn’t understand much and is all around just a lovable idiot. Posts mostly to re blog his friends’ stuff.

Instagram- TheHairHarrington

Dead account he used to use back when he was popular in school. Physically recoils at the thought now.

Another one who is not often a focus their fandom, but he did get into an internet feud with Billy on one occasion, during which he had everyone’s full (very vocal) support.

Billy-

As we all know, he’s just the biggest asshole. Constantly talks bad about Max and other people he knows in an attempt to seem cooler online. Everybody hates him.

TikTok- Hardgrovez

Only has a TikTok as he thinks every other platform is lame. Posts alpha male gym bro misogynistic racist conservatism content. His fanbase consists of 5 sweaty dirtbag teenagers.

Dustin-

Dustin would probably find social media just SO exciting. He’d wanna learn everything and we thought he’d probably want to do some teaching and knowledge-sharing of his own.

Tumblr- DustyBunsbots

Posts short material on technological advancements/inventions or historical machinery that interest him. Definitely re-blogs some dnd posts from both Eddie’s and Will’s accounts.

YouTube- DustyBunsbots

Would most likely make 20-40 minute long videos detailing science topics he’s passionate about and his own discoveries/inventions.

Would collaborate a lot with Suzie and the two make science videos together. Has also made a few videos with Erica discussing My Little Pony (and other nerd things) in extreme detail. He also features multiple times in the Hellfire club (obviously).

Suzie-

We thought Suzie would likely be more of a passive social media user than an active one, but would have a YouTube channel on which she often makes collaborations with her boyfriend.

YouTube- SuziepoosScience

Preaches kindness love and Christianity before telling you how to hack into the government’s database. Her fans are insane. Despite her sparser content she’s probably considered one of the smartest people on the internet.

Joyce-

Uses social media the same way your mum would. She doesn’t use a lot of different platforms but we thought she’d probably post on Instagram and her username would be similar to Jonathan’s in that it’s somewhat sentimental to her. We landed on the number 6771 as it’s a combination of the years Jonathan and Will were born.

Instagram- J.Byers6771

Posts cleaning/sewing tips. Days in the life as a single mum and her personal struggles. Reposts and tags her kids’ stuff to support them.

Hopper-

We had way more fun with Hopper’s than anyone else’s purely because of the comedy that is him antagonising Mike online. Everyone on the internet would absolutely love him and every time he surfaces they go mental. However, he would not know much about using social media nor would care to do so, hence the misspelling in his name (he doesnt know how to change it).

Tumblr- dontmessarounwithjim

He has 1 singular post anonymously complaining about Mike that gained a stupid amount of traction. He wrote it when drunk out of his mind while Mileven were making out in the other room and very angrily and with many misspellings wrote about how their relationship is unhealthy and he “cant let this go onn”. The post blew up and the phrase became a huge meme online.

Literally everyone’s favourite. He only uses social media like twice a year and barely understands it; he has no idea why his account is so popular. His beef with Mike is legendary within their fandom.

Will-

Loves making content and knows his limits. He fights for awareness and change and always treats people with kindness.

Tumblr- CastleByers

Will would want to make his blog a super positive and safe space. He would mostly post dnd-themed artworks and the occasional fanart. He also uses his platform to talk about personal struggles and spread awareness when he can. Everyone would just adore him and he’d probably have a ton of mutuals.

Website- ClericComms

Little website he set up due to popular demand from his followers and a lot of encouragement from his friends (Mike and Eddie in particular, as almost all of his artwork is dnd-centric). He takes people’s commissions for fantasy artworks and loves making people happy while also having a small means to help the Byers family bring in some money.

YouTube- ByersDrawsFantasy

He posts a lot of speedpaints and calming longforms for people to put in the background. He’s the guy that shows up when you type “calming videos to play while studying” into the search bar. Might occasionally post a tutorial if it’s been highly requested.

Everyone online who knows of him loves him. He always supports all his friends’ content, especially El’s and Mike’s. The internet would have been surprised he was at all connected to the HCU had he not been vocal about his friends from the start. Gets a lot of asks about Mike (who the internet is very sure has a crush on him), they have no idea he’s actually in love with him and the whole fandom nearly has a collective aneurysm when they find out.

Mike-

Definitely the character we had the second-most amount of fun discussing (Michael Wheeler how i adore you.) We chose his usernames based off of the name of his old Spotify playlist “Mike’s Basement Beats”.

Tumblr- PaladinsBasementMemes

He is the shitposter to end all shitposters. His posts are dnd centric but so left-field that his followers often take the piss out of him for not knowing what the hell he’s talking about (or slightly worrying for his sanity). He famously does not often interact with El’s posts (incurring the wrath of youdontmessarounwithjim) but reposts practically all of Will’s posts and fawns over his art (basically painting scene level adoration each time) convincing all his followers that he has a massive crush on Will (and are they wrong?)

TikTok- MikesBasementBeats

Posts videos about his music. Has such a drastically different fanbase from Tumblr to TikTok that it takes a long time before anyone correlates the two. His videos are much cooler and alternatively styled compared to his chaotic tumblr shitposting (music wise honestly just think of Finn’s stuff.) He and Max made their accounts at the same time and declared a follower count war (Max is winning.)

A lot of people’s favourite in their weird little fandom because he will just speak to anyone. He’s the most active on social media consistently and will answer almost any question sent to him. Consistently gets the piss taken out of him by his followers because of his beef with his ex-girlfriend’s dad and for having a glaringly obvious crush on Will (something he denies in vain). He would definitely also feature on Eddie’s miscellaneous platforms as part of the Hellfire Club.

Nancy-

Like her brother, she’s one of the biggest users of social media. She actually manages to profit off of it, forming her own rather large, dedicated fanbase who love her mystery-solving talent and wit.

Instagram- Nancy_Wheeler08

Like Steve’s, this is a dead account she made back when the two were together. It consists of about 9 posts she half-heartedly made whilst attempting to fit in with the popular crowd in school. Hasn’t touched it in years.

Podcast- Solving the Unsolvable- Cases with Casey

Her podcast is her biggest love. She does interviews and extensive research on both old unsolved and ongoing cases (very AGGTM-esque) She named it “Cases with Casey” because of a joke her followers created on her YouTube.

YouTube- NanceOnTheCase

Pre-podcast. She makes longforms on unsolved cases, murder mysteries and general probably political life evens that her followers ask her to give her opinions on. Has the type of fanbase that comments “‘thank you Casey’ we all say in unison” in the comments of all her videos. Calling her Casey became a running joke from when somebody thought (and admitted on a stream) that they thought her name was Casey from the “Case” part of her username rather than Nance.

Is one of the big shocks of the HCU as no one expects her to be connected to the others. However, before its even discovered that they all do in fact know each other, she, Murray and Robin are rumoured to be siblings due to the similarities in some of their content. Once the internet discovers that Mike and Nancy are related, he gets added to this just for fun.

Eleven-

El is still learning about social media and doesn’t fully grasp it on the same level as everyone else. However, she loves posting pretty pictures and writing stories about things she loves about life.

Instagram- janehopps11

Mostly posts aesthetic collages/photos/quotes from her Pinterest as well as the occasional photo with Max, Will, and her other friends.

Tumblr- janehopps11

Quite similar to her Instagram but she also posts storytimes. She does this and will also occasionally write short stories as a means to improve her grammar and English skills.

Is literally the fandom’s child. Everybody absolutely adores her and will attack anyone who says a word against her.

Erica-

As she is in the show, Erica is everyone’s favourite My Little Pony obsessed diva. She collaborates with Dustin on occasion and has featured on Hellfire, her only other interaction with anyone else being bullying Lucas in the comments of his basketball posts (or sometimes in the background of his TikToks.)

YouTube- LadyApplejack01

Makes extremely detailed and informative (not to mention opinionated) videos on each and every character and generation of MLP. She is famed for her notoriety as queen of the MLP fandom.

She doesn’t involve herself in much other online activity aside from YouTube, only having certain accounts to comment on others’ posts. Her largest (and most famed) interaction with any other member of the HCU was when she assisted Steve in his internet feud with Billy, promptly (and rightfully) ruining any chance Billy had at an internet career.

Murray-

We thought that, while Murray would be constantly on the internet, he probably wouldn’t have a large following. Considering he has some very strong takes on certain aspects of the government, along with more than a few crazy-sounding conspiracies, most people would likely not know what to make of him.

Tumblr- yourblogisbugged

Conspiracy theories and mysteries GALORE. Everyone is convinced he doesn’t sleep as his blog is constantly updating. Some people think he’s a genius, some think he’s completely mental.

Was not discovered to be connected to the HCU for a very long time as he takes privacy and internet safety extremely seriously. Accidentally gave himself away one night while scrolling and finding a post made by someone who had found both Steve and Nancy’s old instagram accounts, remarking on how “they used to be so cute together” and sticking their nose in their business as people on the internet so often do. In an act of self-righteousness (possibly influenced by a little bit of vodka) he commented about how he was the one to get Nancy to come to her senses and realise Steve wasn’t who she loved, thus unintentionally naming himself as a fellow résidant of the surely-cursed Hawkins town.

Max-

Tumblr- MADMAX

Pretty standard blog of a sane person. Mostly generally relatable posts but will occasionally give skateboarding tips and music recs.

TikTok- MADMAX

Easily her most used platform. Posts skateboarding tutorials and cool stunt videos, days in the life and story times. Is winning her follower count race with Mike and misses no chances to rub it in his face.

Is a pretty standard user of social media. Everyone is pretty surprised to discover her connection to everyone else as she comparatively seems pretty normal. Most people love her.

Lucas-

We figured that, while Lucas would still feature on Hellfire frequently, dnd probably isn’t something he’d post about. We figured he’d focus more so on his love of basketball.

Instagram- TotallyTubular

Mostly posts cheesy things with Max and his friends. Will do “cringe” trends just to annoy them. Posts cool photos of his basketball games and his general daily life.

TikTok- TotallyTubular

Mostly posts basketball videos and montages of his games. Will post training tips a lot. We also thought that Lucas would enjoy dance (not sure why honestly it just feels like it fits) so would post the occasional dance trend if it interests him.

Eddie-

Surprisingly professional social media user. Everyone who matters thinks he’s super cool, and he has a collective of many dnd-obsessed fans who adore his campaigns.

Tumblr- HellfireClubOfficial

Probably the platform he uses least. Will post WIP campaigns and stimuli. Reposts a lot of dnd cotent, including Will’s art.

Podcast- Hellfire Club

Dedicatedly runs a successful podcast of the Hellfire Club’s dnd games. Uploads weekly. While It’s usually just the regular group, he tries to drag as many of is friends into games as he can.

YouTube- Hellfire Club Vids

Became popular from posting on YouTube. After the podcast takes off, however, he posts to his channel monthly a filmed video of one of their campaigns.

Robin-

Was one of the first to use social media and has made a fair few online friends. She takes a lot of comfort in fandom safe spaces.

Tumblr- bobinyaps

Nearly rivals Mike in terms of random shitposting. Posts about conspiracies a lot, along with fandoms she’s in, gay panics over fictional characters and the occasional fit check.

Argyle-

Instagram- trybeforudeny

Posts exclusively extremely blurry photos captioned by poorly written paragraphs trying to tell you where the best weed in California is. Blatantly advertising weed; no one knows how the account isn’t banned yet.

Chrissy-

We thought that Chrissy, perhaps more so than most of the others, would know the disadvantages of social media.

Instagram- xChrissyCheersx

Makes posts about her own mental health struggles and her ED, along with cheer videos encouraging people to pursue their passions. Does a lot of charity work.

Tumblr- xChrissyCheersx

Not overly active. Posts similar things as her insta. Re-blogs a lot of charity work. Mainly uses to keep in touch with and support her mutuals.

Isn’t super involved with anyone else online. However, she did join Hellfire for one week at Eddie’s request and really enjoyed it.

Karen-

We thought that Karen Wheeler would probably love a lot of the makeup content that circulates nowadays and would love making her own makeup videos.

YouTube- MrsWheeler_MUA

Posts grwms and makeup tutorials.She’s everyone’s internet mum and will often talk about her own life experiences and her children in her videos.

HUGE credit to @biscuitsandwaterx13x again for creating this au with me. I had such a fun time discussing the ins and outs of it with him and we had so many ideas I loved that will always stick with me now regarding these characters.

Apologies for any grammatical errors, this took an embarrassingly long time to write and i am extremely tired.

[looney-mooney-studio]

I have two questions for the Linda Cipher AU! (More might come in the future lol)

-What do some of Linda’s friends/colleagues/family members think of Linda during her time with Bill/after the initial breakup? Especially with how it seems like she gets worse and worse overtime?

-Also does Bill have any alternative forms (such as a more human form) in this AU? Or is he just his funky triangular self?

Excited to see more of this AU’s development :)

Okay, so. In my mind, she fucked the triangle. It is the triangle she dated, the triangle she had a partnership with, and the triangle she had kids with. But in the Star Wars special, Candace specifically says “Oh cool, mom remarried?”, meaning she WAS publicly married to SOMEONE. Most likely someone who at least APPEARED human enough to have seemingly 100% human kids with.

But Bill doesn’t have a physical form in the human world, and he certainly doesn’t have the ability to make his own body here. (Sorry human bill fans.) We know he can possess people (my friends and I even tossed around the idea he might have possessed one of her colleagues), but then that’s a whole other person he’d have to make a deal with to bring into this and I’d prefer to keep the story cleaner than that. This isn’t about Linda being with some random guy who Bill happens to be possessing, this is about Linda being with Bill.

We know he can possess corpses, but I don’t think Linda would agree to keeping a deceased human body in her house, even if it’s just a vessel for her husband to keep up appearances. What’s far more likely, especially in a show with hyper realistic prosthetic and robotic technology like Phineas and Ferb, is for her to make him a puppet. Or at least, have one commissioned.

With that established, let me throw you a curveball. Do yall remember this guy?

This guy is Professor Parenthesis (pronounced paren-thesis, like a college paper), a former colleague and current wannabe arch nemesis to Major Monogram. He was introduced in the OWCA Files special. When promo materials of this dude were first going around, there was a pretty decent chunk of the Phineas and Ferb fandom who theorized he might be the biological Flynn father, since he bears a not insignificant resemblance to Candace and Phineas.

Then the episode aired and we found out he was actually a bug piloting an android.

So. You know. That kind of killed the theory. And now the Book of Bill’s come out and the closest we’ll ever get to canon confirmation of a possible biological father for the Flynn kids is a one-off joke implying that Linda had intimate relations with a sentient demonic extra dimensional triangle, so the theory’s like, extra turbo dead.

What I’m about to propose is absolutely not true. Professor Parenthesis is shown to be a skilled roboticist, and most likely built this android from scratch himself. But WHAT IF this was a discarded android that Professor Parenthesis found, studied, fixed, and modified for his own purposes? That would be much easier for him to do than building it from scratch himself, considering the amount of large heavy machinery it contains.

I don’t think Linda has much experience working with robotics, but Linda very much strikes me as a collaborative scientist, not the lone pioneer that Ford tried to be. She could very easily have found fellow scientists in other fields to help her develop technology like this, and she could say she wants it for the possibility of remote space exploration, making it easier for people to experience space and do tasks such as space station repairs without spending money sending actual people into space.

She’d argue it should be as humanoid as possible, since humans are used to piloting ourselves and she’d say the transition should be as immersive and seamless as possible. She could also propose the technology could be used for other purposes, such as the development of artificial limbs. She wants a remotely pilot-able android that mimics the human experience as much as possible, including the dexterity and sensory feedback of an above-average human body to compensate for a large variety of skill levels. And she thinks this sort of technology will need several prototypes, some of which will fail.

It’s not too difficult for her to obtain a “failed prototype” as a gift for her partner.

When people meet Linda’s new partner, she introduces him as William Cipher Birchtree, long-lost heir to the Birchtree family legacy of Ciphertology, named for their god. He seems strange, but he makes her happy, and though his beliefs are peculiar, he also seems to be a good match for her wit, and it’s not like there aren’t scientists with strange beliefs out in the world. Her colleagues tease her for her involvement with the cult, but her work is sound, revolutionary even, and she works exceptionally well with her colleagues. Even if she’s getting bizarrely involved with her husband’s obscure cult.

When she breaks up with her partner - her husband - she cuts off all ties to the scientific community. She destroys her own life’s work - a portal to other dimensions, one specifically designed to make faster-than-light speed travel feasible by taking advantage of foreign laws of physics - and renounces it all, warning everyone she knows never to use the portal.

She can’t skip town though, she kept most of her technology in the basement, and she doesn’t want anyone else getting their hands on it and potentially letting her ex husband through. And beside which, her daughter’s best friend lives next door. She can’t bring herself to cut out her safety net entirely, and not many of her neighbors were even aware she was an astrophysicist in the first place. So she stays in Danville. And, eventually, she meets someone who loves her even when she’s not being revolutionary.

[adarkrainbow]

The art of Perrault (2)

Continuing from this post, there is another segment of the article which is absolutely delightful: the one about the "Fairy tale salon" of Jean Veber

Because Perrault didn't just inspire paintings and drawings - furniture too!

In the beginning of the 20th century, Jean Veber (a student of both Alexandre Cabanel and Robert Delaunay) was doing a lot of fairy-themed expositions, and when he was asked by Rosemonde Gérard (the wife of Edmond Rostand) to create her "boudoir" at their Arnaga villa (Cambo, Pays Basque), he chose "fairy tales" as his theme. He notably composed there beautiful wall paintings that attracted the attention of both Léon Bérard (under-secretary of state of the Beaux-Arts) and Gustave Geffroy, the administrator of the Gobelins Manufacture.

(Here is a Sleeping Beauty mural):

In 1912, Gustave Geffroy paid Veber to create an entire salon themed after Charles Perrault's fairy tales - tapestries and various sitting-furnitures. The plans for the salon were originally ambitious, but it was restricted due to limited money - else we would have had five tapestries and thirteen furnitures, including a bed, and many more "chairs" of various models (chaise, fauteuil, bergères). Instead, the "Contes de fées" salon gathers three tapestries, four armchairs, four regular chairs, a sofa, and a fireplace screen - now all preserved in the Mobilier national collection. (The two additional tapestries would have been Puss in Boots and Donkey Skin)

(Here's the Puss in Boots armchair)

(And the Bluebeard sofa)

After the newspapers mediatized madame Rostand's boudoir in the beginning of the 1910s, the Gobelins immediately asked Veber painted preparations of the Sleeping Beauty and Little Thumbling tapestries. In the 1914 he was commissioned the drawings for the various chairs by the Beauvais manufactury - specialized in chair tapestry. The project was interrupted by the First World war, but it began agan in 1919, year where the drawing for the Bluebeard sofa was made. The project got faster by the 1920s, thanks to the collaboration of the cabinet-maker Paul Follot. The entirety of the furniture was delivered by the end of 1922, after the Little Thumbling and Sleeping Beauties tapestries had been completed (1919-1920). The Cinderella tapestry (prepared by 1919) and the Beauty and the Beast screen won't be woven until 1923 and 1926.

(Sleeping Beauty silk-and-wool weavework)

The aesthetic of Veber's paintings evoke the paintings that cover the walls of the Arnaga villa: frize disposition and very colorful.

(Preparation work for the Cinderella tapestry)

These creations appeared half-a-century after Gustave Doré's illustrations, and in many ways oppose them. Here we have a sentimental, idealized, almost childish view of Perrault's story. Everything is light-hearted and funny, and the terror of the tales is removed - even the most frightening characters are merely grotesque. This is due to how, in this era, fairytales had been massively shared and spread as children literature, as well as to the nature of Veber's commission: indeed, the creation of a salon requires a peaceful and comforting ambiance, where someone can rest. He can't possibly put Doré images in there. After the First World War, this literary theme allows one to find back a sort of lightness - the tapestries of Beauvais being in harmony with the walnut-wood furniture, all golden and in curvy shapes.

(Beauty and the Beast fireplace screen)

Far from doing a "composition monotony", Veber makes sure each of the tapestries has been conceived in a different way, to offer a large palette of movement and dynamics. For Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella he chose specific moments of the tale. In the first, we have the prince charming rushing to the side of his beloved, in the middle of a thick vegetation filled with asleep characters. In the second, we see Cinderella fleeing the ball, her rushing carriage preventing the prince from stopping her. However, for Little Thumbling several key moments of the tale are presented side-by-side, so that in one glance the whole story is offered in a condensed version.

(Little Thumbling silk-and-wool weavework)

The "Contes de fées" salon of Veber is another example of the universality of Perrault, which can extend further beyond the world of the page, and into the decoration of walls and furnitures. The originality of this project seduced people at the time, and the Beauvais manufecture immediately demanded a new work from the artist: an "Animals in the forest" project for which he created four chairs, three armchairs and a screen. Delivered in 1925, this set can be considered a continuation of his "Fairy tales" salon.

(Armchair of the Foxes)

[orangepanic]

Hi! Do you take commissions by any chance?I missed the charity event a few weeks ago by like a few days and have been punching the air ever since

Ofc no pressure though

Love your writing!!

Hi! What a nice note to get, thanks for reaching out.

The literal answer to your question is of course no, because taking fanfic commissions violates copyright and sets fic writers and sites that host fics (like AO3) up for lawsuits. Not taking money for fanfic is pretty much the first rule of fanfic. We gotta protect the community, and we gotta save AO3's legal resources to fight better battles.

That said, there are plenty of ways to get fics out of me. The first and easiest is be my friend! Fandom is a community, and I've written so many silly little things for my fandom friends because I love them and that's how this works. Come off anon, slide into my DMs, leave long unhinged comments on my fics, join a discord to gush about your favs, etc. It works. I promise. And I'm very nice.

If that's a bit more than you bargained for, I'm also usually open to something like an exchange. Art for fic, fic for fic, etc. I'm happy to talk about this. There are also collaborative events, like Big Bangs, where writers, artists, and betas all work together on the same idea.

Finally, you could simply share your idea and see if it sparks joy. @sooz-again does this to me all the time by throwing out ridiculous rarepair ideas that I'm then compelled to do something about, and she's ended up with a few fics that way. What catches my attention isn't always predictable though.

Also there might be more charity events because Trump sucks, there's lots of need in the world, and that deserves money. But I don't know of any specific opportunities here.

[altraviolet]

scam alert- ff.net & art comms

I feel like everyone already knows about this but just in case:

I just received an email from ff.net stating that someone followed a very old ff.net account of mine that hasn't been updated in over a decade. I thought "lol, could it be, a scam message is next," and lo, a moment later I received another email containing this message from a scammer (denialhannah01):

Subject: A valuable opportunity Hello, As a concept artist, I really liked your writing journey and your narratives are truly inspiring, and I'd be thrilled to bring them to life visually through commissioned artwork like book covers, character designs, or illustrations. I'd love to chat about how my style could enhance your writing. Thanks!

Warning signs:

-lol that Subject line. "a valuable opportunity" sounds like car salesman talk. there is an implicit promise of monetary value. there are no "valuable opportunities" in fanfic

-absolutely no specificity is stated as to what they liked about my fics. not a single detail, character, or IP is mentioned, just a broad, unspecific phrase that can be spammed to thousands of people

-not-scammy fan artists will never ever ever ever DO YOU HEAR ME EVER EVER message a fanfic writer and say "commission me." the ONLY time I could even think someone would genuinely do this is if they are phenomenally full of themselves, and you absolutely should not work with them anyway. fan works can be collaborative, but no one ever reaches out to someone else and says "commission me." you either create (for free) in response to someone's work, or you sit back and enjoy.

-sometimes usernames can be a warning. in this case we have the [word] + [name] + [numbers] combo. I think this is the least specific warning sign (sometimes legit accounts do have names like this), but it's worth noting

From what I've heard, if you do engage in this offer, you will either be outright scammed (they will take your money and you will never hear from them again) or you will receive terrible, obvious AI art based on thievery and lies. someone like this has no style and will never, ever "enhance your writing."

If you receive a message like this: block, ignore, delete. Do not interact.

[thedragonagebigbang]

Bang Creator Interview: Tumblr: @exalted-dawn  |  AO3: Exalted_Dawn

The Collaboration period has begun! In these quiet months before works are due, we want to foster a sense of excitement, camaraderie, and celebration among our participants. To that end, all participants were given the option of a formal interview by our mod, Dema, or an informal “ask-game” survey. We hope you enjoy getting to know our phenomenal creators as much as we have!

Interview with Exalted Dawn

Ed and Dema talk collaboration, developing a personal style, and a bunch of stuff Dema had to redact but is leaving in to build suspense. 

Dema: I know in the beginning you were debating whether to participate as a writer or an artist, and you went with artist. What was the main driver of that decision?

Ed: It was definitely a combination of a few things. Workload and time allotment being the main influencing factors. My attention span when it comes to writing tends to be a bit all or nothing. I can have periods where I can churn out one thousand words in an hour and then go like two weeks without writing anything at all 😂 And then on top of it, with the new game coming out I was sorta trying to factor in how that would affect my ability to stick to a schedule. Drawing is a lot easier for me to sort of one and done over a weekend so I figured it might be better to start there for my first Bang.

Dema: Oh this is your first Big Bang! I don't think I knew that 😂

Ed: YUP LOL

Dema: When you do a collaboration like this, that isn't a commission but is based on another person's work, how do you navigate that process?

Ed: Well, from a starting standpoint, I really like to have a lot of communication with the person I am partnered with. I love collaboration work and really strive to capture the energy of whatever source material I'm working from. So getting the author’s opinions on their own story beats is a huge help. But aside from that, the element of choice in this sort of project definitely played a part. I got to choose a prompt that fascinated me, and then from there, I read through the material the author currently had and chose a few scenes that really struck me with a strong mental image. Something that when I read it, I immediately thought "Oh that would be neat to see in a picture!" From there, it’s back to touching base with the author and making sure that what ideas I have sorta line up with their vision. I want to make sure its respectful of the work its being based on, while still sorta playing to my own interests as an artist and a fan :3

Dema: You're a very prolific artist, how do you keep all these ideas organized? Do they behave themselves up there in your brain?

Ed: HAH! I would like to say that there's some sort of rhyme and reason to my creative process, but if I were being honest, they mostly tumble about in my brain. When I get stuck on an idea, I tend to fixate on it and continue to develop it in my head the more I think on it. With this prompt specifically, I was immediately hit with this idea of a vibe I wanted to get across in my art from the moment I read it. And then that continued to build and build, until I was left with these pretty complete ideas,  accompanied by atmosphere and layout, that I became stuck on. After that, I just laid them out on paper. (The bounty of inspiration certainly didn't help to make the decision easy XD)

Dema: Are you drawing inspiration from anywhere besides the source material for this piece?

Ed: I AM! There were several pieces my mind immediately went to when I was reading through the source material. Lord of the Rings (specifically the cinematic scenery of the Mines of Moria) and The Song Of The Sea were both big ones that I drew immediate parallels to. The huge scale and vast landscapes as well as the beautiful pattern work and 2D story book style typical of Cartoon Saloon’s work were both things I immediately latched onto for this. But more abstractly, having just read [REDACTED], I was already in the mindset of [REDACTED] when I got assigned to this prompt. Since this one is also leaning into the [REDACTED] genre, it sorta pushed me towards these concepts of strong lighting contrast— stark shadows played against bright light. Bold silhouettes.  I was even considering playing with a black and white inked style with colored accents and a heavy focus on crosshatching to get that sort of [REDACTED] look at one point.

Dema: Mmmmmmm how much of that am I gunna have to redact 😂[narrator voice: it was a lot]

Ed: You can totally just delete the second half if that helps XD

Dema: I don't want to DELETE it I'm just gunna redact it haha. IT'S FINE. Also I love that. Sin City vibes.

Ed: YEAH!

Dema: How did you develop your personal style?

Ed: Many years of frustrated grunting at my own artwork kjdhfhjsgvfd LOL no but actually, what I consider to be most typical of 'my style' (and for this question, I'm going with the main illustrative style I typically use for projects like this, since I definitely have multiple) came about pretty much by accident for the most part. I basically stumbled upon it. I had spent many MANY years developing my skills from, like, middle school up through college, first with pencil and paper and then with a very large desk mounted display tablet, and was sort of trying to get to a point where I was satisfied with the look of my own work. It was a slow process, and I hadn't really been satisfied with my progress and where I was. In an attempt to sort of switch back to the more familiar feeling of pencil and paper, I had gotten an ipad to draw on since it was of a more similar size. I had been playing around with it, and was struggling with the pressure settings on my pen for making line art specifically, so I sorta just threw my hands up in the air and said "Y'know what?! I'm gonna try lineless cause why not!" I made this small, lineless doodle of my Dungeons & Dragons character at the time, and suddenly it all just sorta clicked into place! I've been basically drawing like that ever since, but with the aforementioned handful of stylistic exceptions XD

Dema: What do you feel like you are striving for in your body of work? Or I guess, is there a theme or a feeling or a "spirit" in your work you're hoping to convey?

Ed: HMMMMMMMMMMM THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION! I wouldn't really say I'm striving for any single theme all throughout my work (part of the reason why I have multiple distinct styles is so that I can really draw out the desired vibes I'm aiming for in each individual piece). But from a general sense, I think I tend to focus a lot on capturing emotion and atmosphere, especially in the lighting and color I use. As for the spirit I often capture— I don't think it's super intentional on my part, but for my lineless artwork specifically, I definitely get that there is this sort of adventurous, almost whimsical spirit to a lot of what I draw. Rather than dark dramatic pieces, with lots of sharp lines and dynamic movement, there's this sort of softness and quietness to a lot of my work, like capturing a peaceful moment between all the big dramatic stuff. Even for the tonally and visually 'dark' pieces. Which— honestly— I think speaks a lot more to my own personality and preferences than I maybe intend 🤣

Dema: I love that a lot. Thank you for such thoughtful answers, and for taking the time to be interviewed today! I can't wait to see the final piece.