#<- official tos tag!!!

[chaotickit]

Whoever you are

You have a thousand reasons not to trust

Whoever I am

For whatever it's worth

I also have no clue as to

Who I actually am

[lenle-g]

unhinged observation - we all know their colours don't match the traditional ones, but I've never noticed before that on the portraits they put Jeff in red and Virgil in green, but then they swap them over when we actually see them. In fact, //pause while Len goes to look// when they're in TB3, they're all wearing red - like all the space-rated suits, specifically are red. //Goes to check again// and Gordon and Virg are in green with TB2 in the opening rescue to match Jeff as well.

Does that mean, in 2004 verse, they wear whichever colour matches the 'bird they're currently flying because other than them needing 5 suits each... that's pretty cool can't lie good for them

ignoring the fact they look the same, I can be like ??? well yellow must be wetsuits, red is space rated?? Green is ?? tougher maybe, blue is for however many G's TB1 hits a body with when they're going crazy speeds, orange is a spacesuit for living in space etc etc

[samthetrekkie]

this episode is great for being quite relevant today when it comes to ai technology, no doubt. but as usual I liked some other things about it more...

first of all, it was pretty unexpected to me that daystrom is a black man. of course I've heard of him before, and the institute, and the prize, but I didn't actually know who he was. it's great actually that the star trek universe is so big and rich with history that a name feels so familiar while not knowing where it actually came from. anyway, I didn't think 60s tos would make the greatest scientist of the time to be black. so kudos to that!

and of course I have to point out the little spock love confession scene to kirk. I think, in general, they were super close in this episode. really a little more than usual and it felt a little less platonic. that was probably not intended, but you never know with star trek. I'm definitely sold when it comes to spock/kirk now, though.

[kyra45]

Mural commission scams/Commission scams

(Mural commission scams/Commission scams)

If you are an artist who regularly posts art to tumblr, you may have received DMs/replies from accounts who are either asking to use your art in a mural because a client wants it or a message asking you if you take commissions (even if you have a post that would answer that question) before requesting you to draw their pet/family member.

These are actually known as scam messages/asks and were originally mainly spotted on deviantART/Twitter (X), Instagram, etc. You get these if you use certain tags as these mainly blank blogs are usually watching them for new artists to target and con money (or time) out of. These are never real people wanting art from you and are always scammers who have no interest in paying you for your hard work.

One of the most common things is that they will never look at your commission sheet or read your TOS, and will avoid answering any specific questions you may have since they’re not here to talk. Their talking is just trying to flatter you (claiming they love your art) and to make you think you’ll be getting a lot of money for little work. Unfortunately, these blogs do not want to pay you and they will not give you the funds no matter how much it is.

These kind of scammers will ask for your email and then send you a fake PayPal email claiming they sent you money but there was a problem and you need to ‘upgrade’ your account to receive the funds. This email is not officially sent by PayPal and is made to scare you into thinking something has went wrong. Do not worry. It is not a real PayPal email. It is a fake one.

Keep in mind these scam blogs will not use the payment methods you already offer. Their task is getting your email then trying to get your personal information.

If someone’s offering to pay you $300+ for a simple drawing of a generic dog took off Google images, be wary of the account and ask them questions first. If you feel like something is off, cut contact and report them immediately before blocking them.

If you drew the art anyway, just edit the drawing to have a block of text saying the commissioner was a scammer and then advertise your commissions!

Always have a clear Terms of Service around payment options and do not let high payments trick you into drawing for scammers.

I am post this with the art tag as it relates to art and the current situation of artists over here now getting the same scam messages that deviantART users get. Please share this post to your art friends.

[vasquez-rocks]

Ok so, in TOS Pon Farr is a big sexy secret and by VOY everybody and their EMH knows about it, so...

[lindwurmkai]

hey, have you heard that pillowfort has ✨ drafts ✨ now? (as in, the ability to save your posts as drafts.) they're still working on the queue feature (update: it's done!), but drafts are a big step forward!

in case you missed it so far, pillowfort is like a cross between tumblr and dreamwidth/livejournal, with a simplified dashboard reminiscent of old school tumblr and some classic livejournal features such as communities, threaded comments, and the ability to make individual posts followers-only or mutuals-only.

what are communities? basically, central hubs for posts about any subject you want that, unlike hashtags, can be moderated. they may have rules, such as "[subject matter] must be tagged" for example. you can post directly to a community or reblog existing posts to it!

since the site is currently experiencing some financial trouble, i thought i'd help out by spreading the word once again.

edit: the fundraiser was a success! crisis averted! i knew we could do it :D

why you should give pillowfort a chance:

no ads

no venture capitalist funding

no spying on the users

completely free to use except for optional premium features

nsfw is allowed except for sexual depictions of minors. if you're unsure what exactly that means, their tos may help

communities and the privacy controls mentioned above are excellent features

great community, low drama compared to other websites (so far)

the site's features themselves encourage genuine connection and good-faith conversation over endless "discourse"

every blog can automatically be filtered by original posts only or reblogs only

reasons not to join:

if you enjoy algorithmic social media. there is no algorithm at all

if you want to post or look at machine-generated art. they're still finalising the wording and personally i hope some exception will be made for models trained on ethically sourced images, but basically an anti-AI rule is in the works (update: finished!)

if you cannot live without reblog additions (reblogging with comment). all discussions on a pillowfort post take place in the comments section, and only your own followers see your tags. this has its pros and cons for sure! a similar feature to scratch that itch may be implemented in the future, but it will never be exactly like on tumblr.

if you need everything to be an app. the website works fine in a mobile browser and a progressive web app will hopefully be released soon (basically it's like an app in your browser and on mobile these can be added to the homescreen like real apps i think? they have push notifications!), but there's not going to be a native app available through official app stores due to the restrictions of those stores.

other factors to consider:

yes, the userbase is still small. depending on your interests, activity may be very slow. but we can change that! and on the plus side, reblogging your post to a community is a good way to easily get more eyes on it; way more effective than simply adding tags imo

the site culture is a bit different than on tumblr. many people read everything that's been posted since the last time they were online and don't follow more users/communities than they can keep up with. it's still somewhat lacking in shitposts and heavy on "essays" but don't be afraid to post whatever 😅

there are no blog themes like we have them on tumblr as yet, but you can customise your blog's colours and use html/insert links and images in your blog description

likes literally do nothing except to let OP know you enjoyed their post. you can't look at a list of all your likes. beware!

the staff is small and development is slow. some highly anticipated planned features other than the aforementioned queue include: - multi-account management - dashboard filters/reading lists - post bookmarking (since likes don't work that way) but we don't know how soon any of those will be implemented.

there is a user-developed browser extension (well, a userscript) called tassel available that adds additional features much like tumblr's beloved xkit :)

✨ okay, so how do i sign up? ✨

if you're interested but confused by the sign-up process or still under the impression that you need to pay to sign up (false), i'll put some clarifications and invite codes under the read more below. plus a note on donating, premium features, the paypal issue etc.

in a nutshell:

it's free

signing up without an invite code is possible, but you may have to wait a short while - supposedly less than an hour atm. just submit your email to the waitlist

if you don't feel like waiting, you can either use an invite code from an existing user or pay $5 to sign up instantly

every user gets plenty of invite codes and we're all willing to hand them out at the drop of a hat. they're really not hard to come by

some invites to get you started (just click the link):

invite 1 ▪ invite 2 ▪ invite 3 ▪ invite 4 ▪ invite 5

invite 6 ▪ invite 7 ▪ invite 8 ▪ invite 9 ▪ invite 10

invite 11 ▪ invite 12 ▪ invite 13 ▪ invite 14 ▪ invite 15

invite 16 ▪ invite 17 ▪ invite 18 ▪ invite 19 ▪ invite 20

i'll try to periodically check if any have been used and cross those out.

...paypal issue?

ok so paypal doesn't like working with sites that allow nsfw. as a result, you need a credit card in order to donate to pillowfort, buy one of those insta-registration keys, or subscribe to premium features*. i personally happen to have a credit card and would be willing to help out anyone who trusts me enough to send the money to me via paypal, but i realise chances are only my friends will do this.

some users are currently organising various activities for the purpose of letting people who only have paypal contribute to the site's survival. it's not super relevant for new users and won't get you access to premium features, but i thought i'd mention it anyway in case someone loves the concept of the site so much they want to support it immediately. a fundraising community has been created to collect posts of that nature!

*premium features are strictly limited to two categories of things:

fun little extras that no one truly needs

higher image upload limits, because obviously big images take up bandwidth and are therefore a reason for increased costs

you will never need to pay for vital accessibility features or anything of the sort. :)

[yearningagain]

it's enough (to make a girl blush): chapter three

HI SORRY FOR THE WAIT!! i had some unexpected personal setbacks but the third chapter is finally here!! finally some eddie pov smirk

i will also say that college has officially started back up for me, so chapters might come slower for the next few months, sorry! im an educated man what can i say

and now, on to the main attraction!

also on ao3!

total wc: 4.2k | wc: 1.6k | rating: e (18+) | pairing: steddie | cw: past drug use | tags: a/b/o, alpha eddie munson, omega steve harrington, modern au, baker steve, famous eddie, getting together, gay eddie, bi steve, soulmates/true mates/scent mates, side buckingham

part one | part two

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

Eddie was tired.

That’s a complete understatement. Eddie was exhausted. 

This wasn’t uncommon for him, he’d pulled his fair share of all-nighters growing up purely because he was hyperfocused on something and lost track of time. Even on nights he could manage to put himself to bed, insomnia and nightmares plagued him. His father screaming, his mother dying, Uncle Wayne finally saying he’d had enough of Eddie’s antics. He had run on pure adrenaline. (And maybe some of the leftovers Rick had given him.)

But that was high school. Now, Eddie had managed to give himself a semi-normal sleep schedule by giving his absolute all to Corroded Coffin, just to high-tail it back to wherever they were sleeping to crash for four to six hours, or until his brain got the better of him. And his dedication to the band, along with the motivation from the other members, had paid off immensely. They were actually quite popular now, selling out small venues in bigger cities and the off chance of getting recognised on an extremely busy street. The boys had toured the U.S. twice now, and were currently a quarter of the way done with their third. Their label had even begun talking about a world tour for their next album.

Eddie loved playing shows. He loved how he could feel the music deep in his bones, how the words he’d scribbled on a random notebook page were now being sung by thousands of voices, how he got to be himself through and through because that’s what got him there. He had also been sleeping fantastically, which was a plus.

Until two weeks ago.

Until the mystery man entered his dreams and knocked Eddie’s whole world out from underneath him.

—

The night had ended uneventfully, the first of two sold out shows in LA went on without a hitch. Eddie was thanking his past self for convincing the guys to get a hotel since they were staying in the city for multiple shows. No matter how much money they happened to rake in, oftentimes just staying on the bus was preferred. The alpha was crashing hard after coming off stage, barely managing to say bye to Jeff, Gareth, and Frank before stumbling to the waiting cab and eventually haphazardly shoving his key card into the lock of his hotel room. He toed his shoes off, pulled his shirt over his head, and fell face first into the bed. 

Eddie didn’t remember falling asleep. One second, he’s debating on if it’s worth it to shimmy off his skinny jeans, the next, he’s got an angelic omega in his lap frantically grinding against his thigh. 

He didn’t know where he was or who he was with, but none of that seemed to matter, if his alpha’s feeling of Omega, Mate, Safe was anything to go by. In fact, quite literally nothing mattered to him right now, except for the movements of the mystery man, the distinct wetness soaking through his pant leg, and how his fly was digging into his dick. 

“God, fuck- alpha, please…”

As soon as the title left the omega’s lips, the alpha was completely entranced. Eddie huffed, his hands quickly made their way to the man’s hips, gripping and guiding him to chase his impending orgasm. The alpha didn’t fare much better, already embarrassingly close to popping a knot in his jeans. 

“Ah- ‘M close, alpha…” was all the warning Eddie got before their efforts doubled down, both moving impossibly faster. He swayed forward trying to get a whiff of the omega, and he was rewarded greatly with the heady scent of spiced caramel apples, with an undercurrent of warm vanilla. In response, Eddie pumped out his own pheromones, hoping to get the other over the edge.

Suddenly, everything was wrong. He felt ice cold, plunged into consciousness unwillingly. As he opened his eyes, he was very disappointed to see no one in the hotel bed with him. That wasn’t unusual, waking up alone. Eddie hated hookups and one night stands and anything that left him feeling somehow more lonely than before, and he hadn’t met anyone he was willing to subtract time with the band to be substantial with. 

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock at the door, Jeff making sure he’s awake in time for their morning meeting. He simply groaned, rolled off the bed, and pushed all of these weird feelings as far down as he could.

—

Now, after two weeks of enduring hot dreams (that feel so so real), irritability, and the other members of Corroded Coffin, and even staff, having to tell him constantly to put on more blockers because he reeks, it makes sense that he’s exhausted. That’s not even including his growing urge to nest, his steadily increasing libido, and his inner alpha being infuriatingly restless. He thought he was putting on a brave face, hiding most of his internal issues from his bandmates, from the world. 

Too bad that his bandmates were also the people he trusted most, his best friends in the entire world, part of his pack. 

The boys had an off day- no shows, no interviews, nothing explicitly planned. They had arrived in Wisconsin late the previous night, going straight from the stage to the bus to pack up and start the drive from Missouri. Eddie had planned to take the day off to relax, maybe nap if his mind would allow it. But Jeff, Gareth, and Frank apparently had other ideas.

A knock on his bunk startled Eddie from his wandering mind, having spaced out thinking about the mystery omega yet again. He groaned, but pulled the privacy curtain back to give the stink eye to whoever disturbed him. Gareth waved sheepishly. “Hey, dude. Sorry to bother, but we got pizza.”

Immediately, Eddie forgave the beta, swiftly hauling his ass out of the bunk and into the main space of the bus where three pizzas had been laid out. Plain cheese for Gareth because he was vegetarian, pepperoni for Jeff and Frank because they were normal, and mushrooms and meatballs for Eddie because he was a freak like that. Once he grabbed two slices, Eddie sat down on the couch, finally realizing that the others were watching him intently.

“What? Do I have sauce on my face?” he asked lightly, but the set of their jaws made his blood run cold. Jeff shook his head, heaving a sigh before meeting his eyes.

“We need to talk.” Jeff began.

“Oh my god, are you breaking up with me?” Eddie comedically gasped. If there was one thing about him, it was that if he couldn’t run from the confrontation, he’d make some shitty joke about it.  

Despite his piss-poor attempt at deflection, Frank spoke up. “You’ve been different, dude. Holeing up in your bunk, snapping at us. You even growled at me. That’s not cool.”

The alpha at least had the sense to look apologetic about it. It was one thing to verbally snap at people, but it was another entirely to growl at someone. Especially someone who didn’t deserve it, like Frank. All he had done was point out a groupie that was desperate for Eddie, something the boys normally joked about knowing his distaste for engaging with them. But something about even suggesting anyone other than Mystery Omega felt completely and utterly wrong.

“Plus, you reek, bro. You know that. How do you keep forgetting your blockers? We just want to make sure you haven’t gotten yourself into something bad. I know this is different from high school, but the stress is still there. We want to know that you’re okay, Eddie,” Jeff said solemnly. 

Slowly but surely, the gears started turning for Eddie. “You- you guys think I’m on drugs?” He laughed, albeit a bit hysterically. He stood and started pacing. “I fucking wish I was on drugs! I feel like I’m losing it! My stupid alpha won’t stop being in-fucking-sane, all broody and moody and fucking annoying as hell. Keeps telling me to prepare and fucking nest and, fucking, oh, gotta make it perfect, gotta make it nice. For fucking what!”

His hands shot to his hair, tugging and pulling on the locks. “Not to mention that my dick is basically rubbed raw because I fucking always pop a knot, which I swear has gotten bigger. And I can’t stop it because those fucking dreams won’t stop! He’s always there, every single night, making my life absolute hell because he’s not actually here and he’s not actually real and I’m so fucking lonely that I made a guy up to get off!” Eddie was borderline feral now, pupils pinpoint and breaths coming in heavy gasps. He slowly sank to his knees, closed his eyes and took some deep breaths. “And I have been wearing blockers. I’ve stacked blockers.” He pulled his hair back, revealing at least three patches over his primary scent glands. “It’s not helping. Nothing is helping.”

Gareth stood from his spot on the opposite couch the alpha had been perched on, the information coming together quickly for him. “Is it the same guy?” he asks, taking a few steps to approach Eddie, who raised his head. “What?”

“Is it always the same guy, Eddie? I need you to be honest here.” The beta moved closer, kneeling in front and gently taking Eddie’s hands from his hair.

“Y-yeah. Same guy. Don’t have a face, but he smells divine, Gare. What’s going on?” Eddie asked quietly.

“I think you need to listen to your alpha. I think you need to prepare.”

[worflesbian]

Klingons & Racialisation - the Long Post

This post is an overview of the racial coding of the Klingons from their first appearance to the present day, illustrated by quotes from Trek writers, actors and crew members taken from the Memory Alpha article Depicting Klingons, with my own interjected summaries and explanations. It is by no means comprehensive (I likely missed some stuff), and does not offer critical analysis of the quotes provided, but nonetheless is intended to demonstrate irreproachably the open fact that Klingons have always been intentionally written and designed as non-white -- something that fandom consistently fails to take into account when perpetuating racist stereotypes and reiterating racist canon content. I recommend reading the whole article for a more in-depth understanding of the subject, as well as seeking out the existing writing of fans of colour. This post is primarily for reference purposes so I've tried to limit my own analysis and opinions, but I do post those in my Klingon tag as well as more general headcanons and worldbuilding and I'm happy to answer any (good faith) questions this post may raise.

As always, if I have overstepped in any way as a white fan in making this post, I am grateful to be informed and will make any required changes.

Content warning for outdated and offensive language under the cut.

The Original Series

"There is some suggestion that the Klingons represent a Cold Warrior's view of China in the 1960s – swarthy, brutally repressive." (Star Trek Magazine issue 153, p. 66) "And I think he was basing a lot of it on the kind of attitude of the Japanese in World War II...." ("Errand of Mercy" Starfleet Access, TOS Season 1 Blu-ray) The script of "Errand of Mercy" introduces the Klingon look by saying, "We see the Klingons are Orientals," "Spray my hair black, give me a kind of swamp creature green olivey mud reptilian make-up, and we'll borrow some stuff from Fu Manchu, and put a long moustache and eyebrows on me." ("The Sword of Colicos", Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Official Poster Magazine, No. 8) "I think the makeup was called 'Mexican #1 or #2.' That was the name of the original makeup foundation – they actually had kind of racist names at the time, like 'Negro #1' and 'Mexican #2' – which was the basis for the original Star Trek makeups." (Star Trek Magazine issue 172, p. 59) "In the original series, all they wore was a dark face and their black hair," Michael Westmore observed. ("Michael Westmore's Aliens: Season Two", DS9 Season 2 DVD special features) The Klingons' appearance changed within the original Star Trek series; although dark makeup and heavy eyebrows were the norm, the Klingons of "The Trouble with Tribbles" were much lighter-skinned and more Human-like in appearance.... He noticed that they are not only less like Mongol warriors by having less of a swarthy appearance but also by being slightly not as fierce... ("The Trouble with Tribbles" Starfleet Access, TOS Season 2 Blu-ray) "...they were meant to represent the Communist foes of the United States specifically during the Vietnam War, which was being controversially fought at that time. (Star Trek: The Original Series 365, p. 222) "...let us never set up a situation whereby those adversaries of ours [Klingons] give any indication of ever being anything but highly aggressive and self-seeking opponents." (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Three)

Here it is explicitly stated that the Klingons were based on various Asian cultures, with the USSR also being mentioned heavily in the article. This influence and the use of "yellowface" is covered more comprehensively in this youtube video Klingons & The History Of Racial Coding. However, the video has some notable gaps which I hope to cover in this post.

Post-TOS (movies)

The Star Trek III portrayal of Klingons took inspiration from Japanese history. "Harve [Bennett] had the notion that the Klingons were like Samurai warriors," explained linguist Marc Okrand. (Star Trek: Communicator issue 114, p. 27) Robert Fletcher agreed with Bennett, later saying of the Klingons, "I always liked to think of them as authoritarian, almost feudal, like Japan had been." (The Making of the Trek Films, UK 3rd ed., p. 52) Regarding the make-up, Michael Westmore observed, "Until now, Klingons were brown. Some had a bony ridge running down the middle of their foreheads, long black wigs and facial hair." (Star Trek: The Next Generation Makeup FX Journal, p. 28) "I thought it was an ideal way for us to have our closure too, because the Klingons for us have always been the Communist Block, the Evil Empire. It just made sense to do that story." (The Making of the Trek Films, UK 3rd ed., p. 100) "Gene was really bothered by the Klingons in VI [....] [They] were, in his words, 'too civilized, too decent, too much of the good guys in the story.' [....] [The Klingon detente] was not the way Gene would have handled it. He would have reversed it, he would have had the Klingons being the ones who couldn't handle the peace, with the Federation saying, 'Come on, let's try and work this out.'" (Star Trek Movie Memories, hardback ed., p. 289) "The story never explored the Klingon culture the way I'd hoped it would [....] I was hoping for greater insight into the Klingons." (I Am Spock) Nimoy hoped, in specific, that the movie would provide some important insight into why the Klingons had "always been so angry, such nasty, vicious murderers." Nimoy wanted the insightful knowledge to be an intellectually transformational force, changing the thinking of Kirk and the audience. (Star Trek Movie Memories, hardback ed., pp. 287-288) In an interview in the DS9 Season 7 DVD, Robert O'Reilly observed that a long-running joke among actors who have played Klingons is that they do not want to appear in the Star Trek films as, he believes, the only purpose of a Klingon in one of the films was to be killed off.

Although these last three quotes may not seem relevant, I believe they highlight an important facet of the racialisation of the Klingons. It reads as though Gene Roddenberry was against depicting the Klingons in a more sympathetic light than the Federation, and considering that the Klingons are intended to be non-white, refusing to give depth or motive to their anger in favour of keeping them "nasty, vicious murderers" comes across as fairly racist, especially when these kind of reductive and harmful stereotypes could've been challenged as Nimoy suggests. The treatment of Klingons as disposable villains is also concerning in this context.

The Next Generation

African-American actors were often cast as Klingons in TNG and subsequent Star Trek productions. This practice wasn't racially motivated but was instead carried out because it lessened makeup time, as the performers already had a brown complexion without having to have their skin painted that color. (Stardate Revisited: The Origin of Star Trek: TNG, Part 2: Launch, TNG Season 1 Blu-ray) Tony Todd, who portrayed the recurring Klingon character Kurn, stated, "I don't look at the Klingons necessarily as African-Americans, but it's about tapping into something–they're certainly an alienated people, so maybe that's why African-American actors can identify with those characters. But that doesn't mean it's exclusive to them." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 116, p. 54) Michael Westmore actually changed the Klingon facial design in numerous ways, though. He stated, "I added a Shakespearean style of facial hair and a forehead bone structure based on dinosaur vertebrae and I was able to modify motion picture Klingons for television." (Star Trek: Aliens & Artifacts, p. 59) In "A Matter Of Honor", the Klingons were intended to be used to shed some light on a common social problem prevalent at the time of the episode's making. This was, namely, what it was like to be the only person of either white or black skin coloration while surrounded by people of the other color. The Klingons were selected to illustrate this theme as a spin on the usual arrangement of a predominantly Human crew serving aboard the Enterprise-D alongside Worf. (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 176) Two historical societies, the Samurai and Vikings, served as other inspirations, Moore perceiving about Klingon culture, "There was the calm, elegant reserve associated with the Samurai but there was the 'party-down' like the Vikings." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 114, p. 58) "I stopped thinking of the Klingons as the Cold War adversary," he explained. "I didn't think it fit [....] The place where the Russians were when I was doing the Klingon shows just wasn't as relevant any more." (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 19, pp. 64-65) "The Klingons are not evil, tyrannical pirates bent only on pillage and plunder. They have a strict, almost unyielding code of ethics and honor and take their responsibilities as rulers seriously." Following a description of the Klingon homeworld, the memo continued by saying, "Klingon society could most closely be compared to that of Sparta or feudal Japan." ("Sins of the Father" audio commentary, TNG Season 3 Blu-ray) Having recently seen the film Malcolm X, he imagined the Klingons in the "Birthright" duology as metaphors for black people. (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 274; Star Trek: Communicator issue 105, p. 16) "There's a certain way you have to carry yourself. You have to really be able to project the violence and the anger [....] All you have to do is think of the Spartans. They say, 'They'd rather have you come home dead on your shield than come home a coward.' [18]

This is where I feel the video essay previously mentioned falls short -- in the next gen era, Klingons are now explicitly black-coded. While some Asian cultural influences are still cited, they learn more towards the historical and are intermixed with other historical European influences (Spartans, Vikings, Shakespeare) rather than being fueled by contemporary prejudices towards the political enemies of the US as they were in the TOS era.

Deep Space Nine

Fields also generally based the Klingon group on American Western prototypes from the film The Magnificent Seven or, to a lesser extent, Japanese prototypes from The Magnificent Seven's movie source material, Seven Samurai. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (pp. 131-132)) "So, the hair [...] was permed. So, it had more of a curl instead of the straight type look, and by perming it, they were able to kind of give them larger, bigger hair, so it was more like a mane." ("Michael Westmore's Aliens: Season Two", DS9 Season 2 DVD special features) "I don't know how you could equate Klingons with what's going on in the world today," he admitted. "I think the intention was to make them like samurai. That hairdo they gave them is very much a samurai hairdo. A lot of the fight sequences, the moves with the bat'telh, are very much taken out of the Asian martial arts [....] It's very romantic you know, these three old guys, the Klingon over-the-hill gang." (The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine issue 15, pp. 17-18) "It was different for them to get into this makeup, because [...] [the makeup was more elaborate and] the beards were bigger, and they were greyer, and they had curls to them, and the moustaches, they had the Fu Manchu look to them. So, they weren't used to sitting that long to be a Klingon." ("Michael Westmore's Aliens: Season Two", DS9 Season 2 DVD special features) For recreating some old-style Klingons in "Trials and Tribble-ations", the Klingon-playing actors had to be made up with the same swarthy, shiny brown makeup as used in the original series. (The Magic of Tribbles: The Making of Trials and Tribble-ations) ...he had them unite in song, thinking this was "just the kind of thing that Klingons do" because they are, in his opinion, similar to Vikings. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 449)) "I always saw the Klingons as a combination of Japanese Samurai who haven't had their morning coffee (or tea!) and African Zulu warriors." [25]

In DS9 the only inspirations cited seem to be historical, once again leaning towards feudal Japan and the Vikings. Interestingly although the Klingons here are predominantly dark-skinned, I don't think that J.G. Hertzler, who is white, had his skin significantly darkened to play Martok (at least, not compared to the obvious brown makeup worn by other white actors playing Klingons). Having a white actor play a Klingon without dark makeup could've set a precedent decreasing the use of such practices later on, but no one seems to have picked up on it.

Enterprise

The Klingons of ENT: "Sleeping Dogs" were based on the crew of the Russian submarine Kursk. "For me," said Dekker, "the point was to acknowledge the Klingons as 'people' – to find them in a clear position of distress [....] The idea to 'humanize' their plight was mine, and it wasn't anything I thought about as far as canon. It just seemed right." (Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection, issue 41, pp. 10-12) In the final draft script of "Affliction", the altered Klingons were initially referred to as "fierce-looking aliens" and were further described thus; "The aliens have a swarthy complexion, and dark facial hair... they could easily be mistaken for Humans. We'll eventually learn these are Klinqons... but their cranial ridges have disappeared."

At this point in time it seems the Klingons had essentially done a 180 from one-dimensional villains to sympathetic fan favourites, while still retaining the skin-darkening aspect of their makeup and "barbaric" characterisation. Although this is not mentioned in the article's section on the Abrams films, the images provided do demonstrate a level of skin darkening for the Klingons' brief appearance in Into Darkness.

The final section of the article is incomplete, meaning I don't have a lot of information for Discovery's redesign of the Klingons. The sources I can find cite ancient civilisations such as the Byzantines as well as Islamic architecture as inspiration for the set design, with a baroque influence on the costumes. I have heard rumours that the crew of Discovery have cited North African cultures as their inspiration for the Klingons but I can't currently find a source for this. Despite the lack of direct quotes, it's visibly clear that the Klingon makeup is still darkening the skin of white actors, although this time also to non-human blue and purple colours, as well as altering certain features in a racialised way. To elaborate: Mary Chieffo, who plays L'Rell on Discovery, is white and has a very thin nose and small lips, but in costume these are broadened in a way that seems imitative of African ethnic features.

As of the making of this post (early August 2023) I haven't seen any of Strange New Worlds, but from some cursory research its latest episode (Subspace Rhapsody) seems to have put a white actor (Bruce Horak) in brown makeup to play a Klingon. I am deeply disappointed that on a television set in 2023 people can still be darkening an actors skin like this without questioning the racial implications of what they're doing.

Thank you for reading to the end of this post. Please feel free to link to it if you found it useful enough to cite in another context. I would like to reiterate that I am white and while this is an issue I care deeply about it is not one I have an emic understanding of, and if anything I've said here is inappropriate I would be very grateful to be made aware.

[annakenziesworld]

TSAMS/TSBS AU infodump questionnaire!

Decided to make just a silly bunch of questions for people to answer to let out information about their AU's! Also because I love hearing about AU's. So because of that I wanna note how to answer these. Along with light rules about this post. Questions may be added to this later on!

Please if you use this exact list reblog this post with your answers! I wanna hear about your AU's

Either copy the list and put your responses under the questions OR just number your answers so its easy to tell what answer its to!

Basically all AU's that follow tumblr TOS are aloud, no reblogging anyone's au's with hate, this means all.

List aloud to be taken and used for other fandoms just please credit who made the original list.

If you don't know how to answer just say you don't know, or that its not relevant for the AU, not all questions are required!

If your AU could have triggering content put a warning of the content it'll hold and tag properly

Remember you can give as much detail as you want, or as little as you want

Now that's out of the way all questions can be found below! There is a total of 27 questions on the list

1 - What's the name of your AU if there is one? If no official name what would you call it?

2 - What is the most prominent differing factor between your AU and the original source Material?

3 - What is your favorite character in the source material and who's your favorite character within your AU?

4 - Are any of the characters in a relationship (QPR, Romantic, Emotional, ect.)? If so what are the most defined ones you've built so far, and within the universe how did their bond come along?

5 - What 'fanfic tropes/fanfic tags' does your AU use?

6 - Do any characters within your AU have any disabilities (mental or physical)?

7 - Do any characters have familial bond amongst eachother? If so how strong are their bonds, and how did they come about?

8 - What are the ages of the characters in your au? Or are the ageless/immortal?

9 - what's the general world like? Is it futuristic, modern, apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, does it take place mainly in a coffee shop or something of the sort?

10 - are you working on any fanworks (fanfic, askblogs, rp blogs, animation, comics, ect.) about this au? If so link them!

11 - What is the worst thing(s) that happened to a character(s)? Did they have a tough life, a loss, or anything of the sort? If so what? How did it affect them?

12 - what's the best thing(s) that happened to a character(s)? How did it affect them?

13 - Did you take any unique design choices for any of the characters? If so describe or show them off!

14 - What character(s) in the AU have been worked on and built up the most and what are they like?

15 - What is your least favorite character in the source material, and what's your least favorite character in your au?

16 - Is there any major personality changes you made to the characters?

17 - What is the most 'out of character' thing in your AU?

18 - How long have you been working on this AU?

19 - Is there any OC's or self-inserts? If so what are they like and how do they affect the story?

20 - What inspired this AU?

21 - Has your AU steered off of your original plan for it at all? If so do you like how its changed? If it stayed the same what's the base idea for it exactly?

22 - Do you have any variations of this specific AU? If you do how do they differ amongst eachother?

23 - Does this AU bring you comfort/was it made for comfort?

24 - Is this your only TSBS AU or do you have any other ones? If other ones is this one your favorite?

25 - What parts of the AU are you proudest of?

26 - Do you keep this AU mostly private to yourself? If so why?

27 - would you consider this AU to be dark, light, fluffy, or what would it fall under and why? No wrong answers!

[wasongo]

I think I got a lot of new followers recently because twitter keeps going to shit. However, as you probably know I can't and don't post nsfw art here.

You can find my NSFW socials on my pinned post. I think a lot of people are hesitant to join platforms which aren't fully available to the public yet but if you'd like to keep up with my nsfw art I'd like to:

Urge you to visit my website and subscribe to my RSS feed for gallery updates!

Suggest you follow me on either Pillowfort or Cohost (18+).

In the last year I have started using PF and Cohost more than Mastodon, as they've implemented new features and their posting system is more in line with what I enjoy: robust tagging and filtering, ability to post MANY images, and readmores for long posts.

If you've been hesitant to join either of those platforms since you don't know what to expect here's a small-ish review of both purely from my experience as someone who: a) enjoys profile customization b) likes to have an organized art gallery that is filterable by tags.

This review is aimed at artists looking for NSFW spaces to post! UI screenshots might have suggestive terms and images. Proceed with caution.

Edit: Good grief tunglr, if you open this on the web dash the images aren't shown in the neat galleries I put them in to make the post shorter. Head on over to the permalink if you'd like a better looking post!

Let me just say that if you're looking for a review on more technical aspects of these platforms, like security and moderation policies. I'm not your guy. You'll have to look elsewhere for that. I'm focusing on QoL UI and community aspects.

Though both these platforms allow nsfw, please make sure to read their ToS/Community Guidelines for rules on what is and isn't allowed. Though as far as I'm aware they have pretty similar rules.

Pillowfort

Overview::

Pillowfort has more years under its belt being available to users than Cohost does, as such I THINK the artist/fandom userbase atm is larger, which means you might see more activity there. UI as of right now is very comfortable and the site runs pretty smoothly. Loading times are very decent. Posting is easy, though the image uploader is a little wonky (they are working on fixing this). You are able to create and manage communities based on interests or themes, which people can follow or join and all post in the same space. You can personalize your profile by adding images, links, and formatted text to your sidebar, as well as customize your own profile colors. Tag searches in my experience yield results of both art and aesthetic irl porn and gifs. If that's something you miss from ye olden tumblr days it might be worth a look.

Pros:

Posts have privacy options (everyone, logged in, followers, mutuals, only me)

Has a DM system

Posts have Commentable, Rebloggable, NSFW toggle

Can post MANY images on a single post

Readmore feature for long posts

Robust tagging system

Robust filtering system: hide or click-through warning (by installing Tassel userscript only)

Customizable profile colors, Light/Dark mode for whole website

Communities you can follow/join for shared interests

You can filter posts on profile by tag

You can filter posts on profile by "original poster" or "reblog"

Cons:

wonky image uploader, cannot upload multiple images at once

Cannot search for multiple tags at once

Search for terms with periods in them is currently broken (ex. "D.Gray-man" will not yield any search results)

Communities have few moderation features atm

Without Tassel installed the filtering system is pretty garbage atm (you can either show or hide nsfw or filtered tags completely, with no click-through warnings)

No multiple account/side blog feature yet

Some inline image formatting options are broken atm

Default endless scrolling

No progressive web app for mobile atm

For a more in depth explanation of PF's UI and features you can check out this official post.

Here are some images of the UI.

---

Cohost

Overview::

Cohost feels like it has a small artist/fandom userbase at the moment. However, to make up for that it has a pretty slick UI, it works great as a progressive web app on mobile, and it recently implemented an ASK system similar to tumblr's! Everything loads pretty quickly, and you can switch between your "latest posts" feed and your "bookmarked tags" feed. You can access your likes as a bookmark system, but as a whole "notes" and engagement numbers except for comments are not visible anywhere (this is wonderful for my personal mental health). It has a simple post editor and though the image uploader only allows 4 images that will load with lightbox, there's a workaround to upload MANY inline images if you want. The catch is you'll need to use a bit of markdown or html to do that. (more on that below) Though you can't personalize your profile colors, you can add personality to your page by making very cool pinned posts and adding images to your sidebar.

Pros:

Animated avatars! (listen i like having my animated komui icon)

You can make multiple "pages" (blogs) which function independently for comments/asks. switching between pages is effortless

Ask system, with anon toggle (you cannot reply privately atm tho)

2 Factor Authentication

Progressive web app for mobile works like a charm

You can preview your post before you post it

Posts have a NSFW toggle and you can save drafts

Can post MANY images in a single post (bit of a workaround as you'll need to upload your images to a draft first and then add them to a new post with some markdown or html code)

Readmore feature for long posts

Robust tagging AND filtering system (show, click-through, hide completely), plus CW system to give your posts additional click through warnings you deem necessary

You can do incredibly cool things with HTML and inline CSS on your posts

You can filter posts on profile by tag, and you can have pinned tags

Toggles for hiding reblogs, replies, and asks on profiles

Paginated browsing instead of endless scrolling (things load faster)

No engagement numbers visible ANYWHERE

Cons:

Image uploader does not let you upload multiple images at once. Limit to 4 images (can upload more as inline images with code)

Advanced post formatting (ex. bold, italics, bullet list, inline images etc.) has to be done through markdown or html + css which is not the friendliest for those who don't know any code (there's a button for a markdown cheatsheet when you post tho!)

No dark mode, or customizing profile colors atm (however there are workarounds to changing site colors with Stylus extension)

Cannot search for multiple tags at once

Cool things you can do with CSS on your posts might look very bad on mobile

Since you can do some crazy things with CSS on posts, you might come across eye straining visuals and movement on some posts. There are settings to tone this down, and people are pretty good about tagging things, so with some good filtering you should be able to avoid this however.

A little quieter on the artist/fandom front (but we can change that)

Here are some images of the UI.

If you made it to the end of this review thanks for giving it a look! If there's something vital you might want to know that I missed in regards to UI and posting features let me know and I will try to answer. But again, this is not a technical/security issues/bugs review so don't ask me about that.

Lastly, I've been seeing a handful of NSFW artists I follow on twitter hopping on bluesky. I REALLY suggest you do a little research on the owners and platform to see if you think joining is worthwhile, since I have a feeling many artists might not want their alternative to be a site owned by crypto advocates (and also a billionaire). Some basic research will get you there. Just take heed and use your best judgement. On that note Cohost is strictly against crypto (I'm guessing PF might be too but I don't have a link that I can point you to confirming this atm).

I believe community driven and supported platforms are the way to go. If you end up thinking either of these two places are worth your time, do consider getting your friends and favorite artists on board or supporting them! You'll get added perks on both platforms if you become a supporter. PF recently added the ability to have MULTIPLE AVATARS (PFPs I think they're called nowadays) which I think is super cool (i really miss that from LJ days).

Again, thanks for reading and I hope to see some of you there!

[mcytrecursive]

Rules and FAQ

Schedule (All dates are 11:59pm EST):

Discord Opens: Jan 26

Sign-ups Open: Jan 26

Nominations Open: Jan 26

Nominations Close: Feb 21

Sign-ups Close: Feb 24

Assignments Out By: March 2

Final Date for Fics to be In: March 30

Work Reveals (works are anon): April 6

Writer Reveals (anon lifts): April 13

What is this event?

This is a fandom gift exchange for recursive fic— fic of fic— within the MCYT fandom. We are also allowing recursive art and web weaves and podfic— art, web weaves, and podfic inspired by fic, art, podfic, and other web weaves!

Gift Minimums:

Fic: 1k words

Art: 1 drawing, completed to a standard you would normally post as “finished”

Web Weave: a compilation or collage with a minimum of 10 elements, appropriately sourced. 

Podfic: Audio or multi-voice audio of a minimum of 1k words or the complete work, whichever is shorter, edited to whatever level you normally post as finished.

Rules for Participating: 

Must join our Discord for communication, and follow all discord rules.

Must do your best to produce a gift that meets the minimum requirements within the time of the event.

Must DM a mod ASAP if you don’t think you’ll get your gift out on time or at all, or you want to withdraw

Must request a gift (offer prompts) from at least three source materials and offer to create around at least four source materials.

Any under-18 persons found requesting or offering NSFW content will be banned from this and all future iterations of the exchange.

Because of Tumblr, Ao3 and Discord TOS, you must be 13 or older to participate.

Rules for Creating: 

Your gift doesn’t have to contain only the characters requested by your giftee, but it does have to centre on at least one requested character. 

Any shipping must be kept to PG-13 levels or below unless your recipient specifically requested NSFW. Any non-requested NSFW is grounds for a ban from this and all future iterations of the exchange. 

Respect your giftee's DNW (Do Not Want) list. Any gift found to be in violation of a reasonable DNW is grounds for a ban from future iterations of the exchange.

Dark or Violent themes must be tagged appropriately.

Major Archive Warnings must be opted into. Any non-requested major archive warnings are grounds from a ban from this and all future iterations of the exchange.

Prepare a gift in good faith, attempting to make something your recipient will like. Mods reserve the right to ban people for being an asshole.

No AI-created content.

Links:

Ao3: [here] A03 exchange signup instructions: [here] Apply for an Ao3 account (currently a 10-day waiting list): [here] Discord: [Here] Nomination Form: [here] Database of Nominated works: [non-explicit] [explicit] Blanket Permission Statement Database: [link]

If you are not already there, you can add yourself to the Blanket Permission Statement Database here! Just scroll to the bottom and enter the link to your permission statement.

FAQ:

How does a fandom gift exchange work?

People fill out a signup where they offer prompts for gifts they would like to receive, then also offer types of gifts they are willing to make, and then they're matched on Ao3 so everyone gets an assignment to make a gift for another person. All these gifts go into a big collection, and they're revealed when everyone participating has a gift.

How will this event work?

This is a Derivative Works recursive exchange. People nominate fics or art that either have a blanket permission statement (fun database here), or a comment from the author saying that works inspired by their work is okay. Then each work is entered into the official tag set as its own thing you can request. People sign up as they would for a normal exchange, with up to ten of these fic fandoms as being something you are either offering to write for or requesting for your own gift. Once matched, you then write a side story, prequel, sequel, AU, or something else within the universe of that fic. 

For example, I had the idea that I really want to see a side story about Etho and Iskall in This Is About A Stuffed Bird, by Bee_4. I will sign up and request that fic as one of my fandoms (and others, you need a minimum of three fandoms), and meanwhile I’m offering to write people’s requests for This Is About A Stuffed Bird by Bee_4, the trinkets and the treasures we brought back from the crusades by Odaigahara, The Extradition by Onelituli, or The Dollhouse by MawoftheMagnetar.

I will be matched during matching week, we'll have our creation period like is usual for an exchange, and when I post my gift I will be using both the "gift to" function (to my recipient) and the "inspired by" function (to whoever's fic I'm writing something inspired by). Once posted, there will be an anonymous period of the exchange where I get a mystery gift and my gifter gets a gift that is on anon as well, and then all will be revealed a week later.

The author I want to make fic for isn't on the database, what do I do?

In that case, you would check to see if the author has a listed permission statement that isn't in the database (this is normally under the "bio" section of an author's profile on Ao3). If they do not have one, check if they have a listed way to contact them, or comment (politely) on the fic that you're interested in, asking permission to enter the work in an exchange making works inspired by mcyt art (see template below).

To be accepted as a source material for this exchange, you would need either a blanket permission statement that is unlimited—"feel free to make any fic you want"—or limited in a way that is simple for the mod team to check on. "No NSFW fic" is simple to check, "No bad dad Phil" is not. You may ask this only in a polite way, and do not show up asking them in four different venues. We do not want this to turn into harassment of authors.

If there are multiple authors for a work, you need a permission statement from each one.

Orphaned works, or deleted-with-permission-to-repost works will be considered to have given permission for recursive work, as the author has given up the fic. Anonymous fics still require author permission, as the author retains creative control of the work.

What do I say to ask permission?

This is just an example, but feel free to say something along the lines of: "Hey, I really like your [fic/art]! I’m going to be participating in an exchange where people make fic and art inspired by MCYT works, and I was wondering if you are okay with people making fic/art/web weaves/other fanworks based on your [fic/art]?"

How many fandoms/fics do I need to sign up?

To increase matching possibilities, we will be using Yuletide rules for sign up. You must request a minimum of three unique source materials, and you must offer a minimum of four unique source materials. "Source Materials" here refers to fics, art, or web weaves. Your source materials do not need to come from different originating servers.

You must make sure that you request at least two source materials that are not created by you, and offer at least three source materials that are not created by you.

What happens if I don't match to anyone?

If there is no one who you can create for, you will be offered the opportunity to add more source materials to your sign-up. If you do not wish to add any more fics or art to your signup, you will not be able to participate in the exchange, and your signup will be deleted. It's a good idea to keep an eye on the sign-ups during the sign-up period, to make sure that you're matchable to someone's requests!

If there is no one who can create for you, you will go up as an Initial Pinch Hit, and somone will volunteer to make a fic or art for you.

What if no one knows about the source material (art/fic) that I want to nominate?

There will be a promo channel in the discord! You can make your pitch for why your source material is the best and everyone should love it there.

I can’t finish my gift in time, now what?

No worries, life happens. The important thing is that you notify the mods as soon as possible, so that a Pinch Hitter can be assigned. A Pinch Hitter is an artist or writer who steps in to save the day and make a new gift on an accelerated timeline. 

I want to be a pinch hitter!

First of all, thank you. I hope you're ready to speed-read some fic, and then create like the wind. There will be a role in the discord that you can assign, and then you'll be pinged with a pinch hit request when they go out!

What if no one signs up to make a gift for me when I go up as a Pinch Hit?

The exchange will not open until everyone has a gift. If Pinch Hits are not picked up until the deadline, the work reveals will be delayed until someone is able to pick up the PInch Hit. This will continue for as long as necessary until everyone has a gift.

Is shipping allowed?

Yes. Because there is no broad fandom-wide consensus about how Creator boundaries are to be enforced in specific cases (whether it's okay to write beeduo as /r or /p is an obvious one, or whether it’s permitted to ship Joel Smallishbeans) or between specific fandoms (Lifesteal approach to shipping and boundaries is different from HBG is different from DSMP), the mods will not be policing any specific understanding of boundaries across the event. The event will operate on Don't Like Don't Read, in that everyone will have the chance to opt in for themselves as to if they want certain relationships to be written as platonic or romantic, and NSFW will have to be specifically opted into. Delivering un-asked for shipping or NSFW is grounds for a ban from the event.  Is NSFW allowed? 

Yes. NSFW works are allowed, but must be specifically opted into. No one under 18 is permitted to opt into NSFW and attempts to do so will be grounds for a ban from this event and anywhere else the mod team touches. For the comfort of the greatest number of participants, anything with the tags Underage or Incest will not be permitted to be part of the event. 

Is RPF allowed?

This is intended to be a character-focused exchange, but a lot of older works in this fandom are still tagged as Video Blogging RPF, Minecraft, or are wrangled into VB RPF. Because of this, and because with some duos or groups the line between RPF and RP is fuzzy anyways, the mod team will not be legislating what counts as MCYT for the purposes of this exchange. We will be taking your word for it. 

Is Dark/Violent content allowed?

Yes. For many of us, the source material that originally drew us to the fandom includes major character death, torture, murder-for-hire, death games, public executions and more. The fanfiction that arose from the source material follows in that trend. We will allow dark content to be part of the event, but it must be tagged for. 

We also ask that participants use best judgement in delivering commonly triggering topics un-asked for. If a triggering topic is a canonical element in a work, we will assume that to be a tacit opt-in. We reserve the right to ban people at mod's discretion for delivering unrequested triggering content, under the "do not be an asshole" rule.

What sort of triggering topics should be avoided?

We do not want to put down a list because any list would naturally be non-exhaustives, so we are primarily asking people to use their best judgement. If a trope involves extreme physical violence, violation of consent, dehumanization, extreme terror or fear, body horror, or death, then it should probably not be included unless specifically asked for or checked with your recipient via the mods.

Note that if a triggering topic is a canonical element in a work— for example suicide, child death, or addiction— we will assume that to be a tacit opt-in unless the person specifies differently.

Are major archive warnings (noncon/underage/graphic depictions of violence/MCD) allowed?

Aside from the content rules governing NSFW (no underage or incest, for the comfort of the greatest number of participants), major archive warnings are allowed. Depictions of real life horrors such as genocide and slavery are not-uncommon motifs in MCYT fics, and the mod team is not interested in legislating which types of horrors, griefs or abuses are inherently worse than others and are therefore off-limits. Because holding writing to a quality standard or saying only survivors can write atrocities is unworkable from a moderation standpoint, the three mentioned major archive warnings (MCD, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Noncon), are permitted to be included.

However, Major Archive Warnings must be explicitly opted into on Ao3, and delivering un-asked for major archive warnings is grounds for a ban from this event. The mod team reserves the right to warn other mod teams on both the MCYT and Multi-fandom side about your bad behaviour.

Is AI content permitted?

No. Specifically, what is colloquially referred to as “AI” content— large language models such as Chat GPT or Midjourney that have been trained on Common Crawl’s unsourced art and writing— is not permitted. Machine-assisted writing or art helpers such as spell check or grammarly are fine. 

What is a DNW?

All participants will have the opportunity to fill out a DNW, which stands for Do Not Want. This is anything that has the potential to ruin a gift for you, and is where you opt out of content that would trigger, squick, or just displease you. DNWs must be phrased politely, (so no "No foster aus because they suck and you suck if you like them"), and they must be reasonable, (so no attempting to box someone into a specific gift, i.e. "DNW anything that isn't a space au where Tommy is a dinosaur-hybrid and Tubbo is a ghost bee and they rampage through the living ship named Las Nevadas"), and they must be specific and clear, (so no “no triggering content"), but they can be as petty (disliking specific art styles) or as broad-reaching (no modern aus, no specific ships, no crossovers with specific servers or fics) as you like. Deliberately breaking someone's DNW is grounds for a ban from the exchange. 

How do I sign up/nominate?

We made specific posts for this, as it's a bit complicated! You can check them out here.

How many source materials can I nominate?

You can nominate a maximum of 10 source materials!

My recipient requested 10 things, but I've only read four of them. How many gifts do I have to make?

You only have to make ONE gift, no matter how many things you matched on. Match on ten source materials— you make one gift. Match on one source material— you make one gift.

Can I do the exchange anonymously?

While your offers remain private, and you can always give a gift on anon, your requests will be public, and you will receive a gift publically. We would recommend that you not request anything that you do not want publically associated with your account, or use a sock account if you're concerned. Moreover, you must publicly join the discord, so this is not the exchange to participate in if you want to be 100% anonymous.

Can I make more than one gift?

If you wish to sign up twice, you will need two Ao3 accounts, and you will need to change your discord name to indicate that both accounts are yours, so we know we have you in the discord. You'll also need to inform the mods that you are using a sock account, so we can make sure that we do not match you to yourself.

If you do not want to go through all of that hassle, you are still welcome to make as many gifts as you want, and give them as treats! Treats are extra gifts— on top of your normal assignment— that you manually address to the recipient and manually add to the collection, and they'll be revealed along with all the normal gifts when we do the grand reveal. Treats are very welcome!

[queeriboh]

going through it, you know, what's new, etc etc I tried to just throw this together quickly but !!! opening commissions officially, finally.

all prices USD and averaged, final may be a few dollars higher OR lower depending on complexity etc. for now, I'm only going to take 2-3 to start with, and will reopen as soon as they're finished.

DM this blog or @millenniumdueled for inquiries !!!!!

donations/ tips accepted and appreciated!!! info + reference detail links + TOS below cut

reference links: 1 2 4 5

willing to try and draw nsfw or light gore, but not experienced there. will not draw pedophilia, incest, heavy gore, etc etc + don't have enough experience to confidently draw furries, mechs, etc. I reserve the right to decline anything

art tag

payment: half due upon sketch, remainder upon final product. any method works for me, but I do prefer venmo.

deposit is refundable in the event I cannot finish your art for some reason, however deposit is NOT refundable if canceled from your end for any reason.

venmo || ko-fi || paypal (deadname warning)

any donation over $4 will get you a little pencil doodle like this, just dm me to let me know whomst or what

[stomach-bugg09]

what about neteyam bringing home someone (romantic) and fali and y/n just teasing the shit out of them in front of the family😭😭

summary: [y/n] knows neteyam’s big secret.

a/n: okay i’m actually crying this is so short but so sweet. like not only does it embody fali and [y/n]’s dynamic , but it’s a strong example of how much [y/n] loves her baby siblings. she would do anything for them , despite how much she teases them. i hope you all enjoy reading as much as i enjoyed writing !! reblogs + feedback are always appreciated !!

tags: @rafeslovergirl @wxnderingthoughts @liyahsocorro @bonnibuckets @hjkshshjkhklhkl @itssiaaax @grierpilots @fleurbeass @23victoria @nyotamalfoy

warnings: literally nothing, sm fluff, the cutest thing i have possibly ever written, healthy sibling relationships

words: 895 ( sorry y’all , it’s much shorter than i meant , but i didn’t wanna ruin it by adding too much !! )

baby brother’s got a girl

not once in her life could [y/n] have imagined any of her baby brothers bagging a girl.

sure, they had their father’s genes, but they also had their father’s stupidity, a trait that was communicated through their inability to woo any girl their age. trust me when i say that [y/n] has witnessed a multitude of failed attempts, especially back when they still lived in high camp.

as long as she knew her brothers, which was for about fourteen to sixteen years—roughly—she also knew they were a hot commodity based on their mere titles as the sons of the toruk makto. that always crashed and burned as soon as they talked due to the unfortunate fact that boys were just too awkward to flirt back.

that’s why [y/n] was absolutely floored when she found out lo'ak's attempts with tsireya were actually successful.

hey, she supposed. anything can happen in awa’atlu, right? i mean, i found love, which was thought impossible just a year ago.

but, there was a difference between impossible and just out of this goddamn world. it was just a few days ago that [y/n] realized, not only did lo’ak have a girl of his own, but neteyam did.

neteyam, of course, had no idea that [y/n] knew. he was trying to keep it a secret. only until they were, well, official past the mutual flirting stage. he also thought that he was being sly… he was not!

it was one night when, after neytiri and jake left to go meet up with some of the clan’s adults for some social thing ( the metkayina loved to party ), neteyam quietly tip-toed past where [y/n] laid stretched out on the ground, admiring the ceiling in complete and utter boredom.

“where are you going, bro?” [y/n] sat up with a grin.

he froze immediately, eyes closing in frustration. “uh, just… out.” neteyam slowly turned towards her with an innocent smile.

“out?” she questioned, eyes widening in amusement. when he only nodded, she pushed herself up off the ground, standing on her two feet. “so, this has nothing to do with ipey?”

“shit,” he cursed, head dropping in defeat.

“ahah!” [y/n] declared, pointing at him. at the sound of the rest of their siblings shifting in their sleep, she immediately quieted down. “ahah,” she repeated in a whisper.

“[y/n],” he bagged quietly, walking towards her and grabbing her shoulders. “please do not tell anyone. please!” neteyam pulled her in, nose to nose, and [y/n] had to keep herself from breaking into laughter. “i do not need mom and dad up my ass about this right now.”

[y/n] bit her bottom lip in amusement. “aw, poor baby boy and his private life.” neteyam only gave her an unamused look. “okay, okay!” [y/n] stepped backwards, hands raised in mock defense. “your secret’s safe with me.”

“thank you,” neteyam breathed out, relief flooding his voice.

“but!” he looked back up, eyes flaring in concern. “only if you don’t mind fali and me just… taking a casual stroll on the beach, maybe keeping an eye out for disobedient teenagers.”

“are you kidding?”

[y/n] only smiled. “not in the slightest!” at that, fali stepped out from the doorway where he’d been standing for the past few minutes to listen to the discussion.

“don’t worry, bud, we’re just gonna be out there to keep our favorite sully boy from doing anything gross.” fali grinned deviously.

at the same time that neteyam protested, “you are disgusting,” lo’ak’s voice called from where he slept. “hey!”

neteyam’s jaw-dropped at that. “now lo’ak knows?”

[y/n] only laughed. “oh, please, he already knew.”

“yeah!” he yelled from the back of the marui. “i’m the one who told [y/n] and fali in the first place.”

“he also told the rest of us,” kiri mumbled with a tired huff. tuk hummed in agreement.

neteyam dropped his head in defeat. “i hate all of you. like, every single one of you. so, so much.”

“aw, you don’t mean that, little brother!” [y/n] cried teasingly as he spun around and stomped out the door. “you love us!”

“stay safe, make good choices!” fali echoed, the couple laughing as he only shook his head, shoulders tense and full of annoyance.

they only watched from the dock as he made his way across the beach, disappearing once he turned the corner. [y/n] smiled from where she leaned against fali, his arm wrapped around her in comfort.

“you think he’s gonna be okay?” fali wondered quietly.

[y/n] only chuckled. “i hope so. i cannot handle a heart-broken neteyam. that would be, like, the worst thing in the entire world.”

“is it because you love your brother so much?” fali teased.

“uh, no,” she replied dryly. “it’s because i don’t want to deal with tears and snot.”

fali dropped her head back, letting out a loud stream of laughter at that. the vibrations of his chest sent a smile across [y/n]’s face, her body melting into his embrace even more.

“oh, please,” he whispered once he calmed down. “you would drop anything to make sure he’s okay.”

“i hate when you’re right.”

with that, he pressed a kiss on top of her head. “and yet, here we are.”

she nodded slowly, closing her eyes and leaning her head against him. “here we are.”

[imsoquarky]

Six 18 Fanarts Challenge!

The original post asking for suggestions has officially been taken down (on my side) because it's finished! I did 18 characters in total, only missing about 1 or 2 suggestions.

I will be tagging fandoms, but anybody who hasn't seen me before, please be aware that I am not super into a majority of these fandoms, if im into them at all TwT

Y'all can do a fun guessing game, trying to guess which fandoms I've actually been in (past or present) based on how much I diverge from canon. (If you actually do wanna play this game, I'll put the answers below my end card)

This was a lot of work but it was fun! I haven't drawn this many characters on a single canvas like.. ever? I think my biggest was like.. 9?

Please excuse any design mistakes TwT Tbh drawing Charles, Sadie and Ellie kinda reminded me of why in my TOS I said I won't draw real people.

Anyways that's enough from me, cropped versions and "game" answers below the cut!

♠️ - ♣️ - ♥️ - ♦️

Game answers: Lego Monkie Kid (Currently in this fandom, but you already knew that), Sonic (Still very new, just started watching Sonic Boom, but I'm having fun already), Little Nightmares (Actually tried playing the first game, got too scared and haven't touched it since), & Angels of Death (Was in this one LONG before I ever got on Tumblr, so y'all haven't seen any of my art of it.) Oh.. and Blues Clues. But that's when I was like.. when I was 7 and younger. I have seen Salad Fingers & TLOU (Game), but never got into the fandoms at all. I've also seen TADC but my brain killed my interest in that pretty quick :')

BLOG MASTERPOST

[dearspockart]

I was tagged by @herenya-writes to make a poll of my top five characters of all time and tag others to do the same.

Ooh this is fun!

Which of my top 5 is your fav? ( i messed up the poll Q, pfft)

Tagging @sd2006 @thepacifisticherbivore (no pressure) and anyone else who wants to do this. Please tag me back!

[trigun-manga-overhaul]

TRIGUN ULTIMATE OVERHAUL JUNE UPDATE

OVERHAUL UPDATE 06/02/23 - New website and pins by Ventus Pins.

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!

WE ALSO WANT TO WELCOME THE 3000+ FOLLOWERS! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

Hey everyone and welcome back to another update post!

We're finally beginning to pick up work again after a bit of a hiatus period. We're taking it slow, as to not push ourselves back into work too early. Our scanner has still been busy at work for this entire period, since there is obviously a lot to scan and magazines to collect.

Information on the new site and the Imgur issue below for those who haven't read previous posts!

Also read about the pins using Overhaul 2.0 cleaned official art below by Ventus Pins.

~~

Our scanner and fellow member of the team, Arth, has set up a new hosting site for our Overhaul project, as we ran into issues with our previous hosting site. Imgur updated their TOS and this included the removal of all posts that were tagged as mature. Unfortunately, it was not possible for us to see which of our posts were marked as such, and when chapters began disappearing, we had no option to appeal the mature mark.

Instead, Arth has paid for a domain for Overhaul, and we've begun updating all links for reading the chapters online. This new site is a lot more phone friendly to read on, and in general a lot more straight to the point. There are no ads or anything else beside the pages, so it's sparse but it does its job. It might be a temporary hosting site, but for now it's a better alternative to Imgur.

If you come across any broken Imgur links when you try to read a chapter online, don't worry, it will get updated soon!

Let us know how you feel about the new hosting site when you have a chance to see it, and we always welcome feedback if there's something you feel like is missing or if you find a mistake.

~~

Trigun pins will be available tomorrow!

We've shared a piece of our Overhaul 2.0 cleaned official art with Ventus Pins and it has been made into a pins that will become available tomorrow from their website or their Instagram

Free pins were generously given to the entire Overhaul team, and after receiving my own, I will say I am quite pleased. It is a large, solid pin. quality is high, the pin is hefty and doesn't bend easy. The white parts are indented, giving the surface lines texture, otherwise it is completely smooth. There are four pins in the back with their own locking mechanism.

All thanks goes to Ventus Pins for the amazing pins and for the opportunity to take part in their creation, as well as their gift to the Overhaul team!

~~

Anyway, that was all for this update!

SEE YOU GUYS NEXT MONTH!