#I reached out to the contact info on their site to ask about getting new blades and also what their history is

[scatteredcloud]

I heard industrial sewing machines and came running.

I hope you don’t mind me butting but recently I’ve been obsessed with finding and restoring vintage machines and they used to make them SO CUTE

The baby lock 605 has been my white whale recently, I found a lady on fb marketplace selling one in my budget range but she ghosted me :[ It was the first serger to retail in the US* It also came in teal and AHHHH what I wouldn’t give for her to be mine!

The overlock I ended up getting for my own usage is this guy. I’ve been documenting the process of getting her up and running. It was originally meant to be mounted in a table, like most industrial machines, but it didn’t come with a table and I don’t have any to spare. I’ve been rigging the motor to sit behind the machine so it can be (somewhat) transportable

But the make and model is basically identical to a few other overlocks I’ve seen sold internationally. I found this video which shows a cherry red (!!) version of the same machine

*I’m not going to bog down this post with the baby lock/JUKI merger mystery when it came to the US because I’m still working out the time line myself but the EA-605 was at least one of the first domestic** overlocks sold in the US hitting the market in 1974

**American sewing machine manufacturer Merrow actually invented the first ‘crochet machine’ in 1868 but as far as I can tell they didn’t really see domestic use, as Merrow continued to specialize in hyper specific industrial sewing machines

re ugly/cute industrial sewing machines, one of the ones they had at my college was shiny candy red and with a sort of round retro-vibes casing, i never got to use it but she haunts me ill never find another machine that cute 😔

ooh that sounds delightful! I've never seen a red sewing machine of any kind!

While most of the industrial machines I've used have been the same icky pebbled greige, there was a very old keyhole buttonholer at my previous job that was a nice light green. I think it might have been this kind. I have some photos of it somewhere but I don't know which hard drive they're on so I shan't look for them today.

It was a really nice machine. It does One Thing and that's buttonholes, and it had a little dial on the side showing how many it had made in its lifetime, and the number was in the millions.

While the main sewing machine and the blind hemmer at my current job are also the same ugly colour, the serger is at least a nice green on the bottom.

Still beige on the top though, alas.

[aces-and-angels]

ART CAMPAIGN BOOST SUBMISSIONS:

edit: i hit the image limit for this post, so any new additions will be included here

the tag is starting to get kinda crowded (great problem, dw). i just thought compiling them all here would make things easier for everyone to find! all of the art displayed below is free to use for the purposes of promoting vetted gfm's here on tumblr. no credit is needed unless specified (marked = ***). if you have any questions regarding how to craft a post using any of the art provided -> please do not hesitate to reach out to me! note: please press follow post as i will most likely need to update this masterlist from time to time.

some info is below the cut on how to best utilize this material. please read it in its entirety before using any artwork. thank you 🖤

learn how to make art for this project here:

---

this project has gained a lot of momentum and has shown very promising results. the level of engagement once art is attached to a vetted gfm increases significantly. you will see what i mean as i have linked example posts of how to best use these pieces to help families in need.

i currently have a list of over 20+ families that i am spotlighting in my own personal progress tracker (the list has gotten so long that i now need to make a second version to accommodate all the families trying to get in contact with me).

this art campaign boost is truly meant to be utilized by anyone. i would sincerely appreciate it if y'all could take some time and pick maybe 1-2 people from this list and use the art below to create your own signal boost posts on the families' behalf. as someone who is periodically tracking their progress- i know that donation rates have slowed for a number of them. i am one person and can only do so much on my own. the essence of this initiative is to get more people to mobilize as a collective. it will take everyone to get on board in order for these families to be able to reach their goals. that means spotlighting their accounts/campaigns periodically.

you need to keep up the momentum.

the individuals you are helping currently live in areas with minimal internet connection, meaning it is very difficult to spotlight themselves on their own. especially since this site is continuously suppressing/deleting their accounts. they need you to interact with their content. tumblr isn't like other social media sites. it's known for being very 'anti-algorithm' and it's common culture for many of us to not really care about our levels of engagement (i.e. follower count/amount of notes per post). it's very hard for your own content to "break" your inner circle of followers and gain traction if the topic of the post is not "popular" or "trending" these families are not operating on this site the same way you are. you may be using this platform as a means to "just vibe" but they are using it as a desperate attempt to raise essential funding to save their lives. the importance that their posts be elevated cannot be overstated. anyone who has ever created any sort of og content here knows how quickly a post can die out if no one interacts with it. this cannot happen with them.

tips for making your own signal boost post* (*for vetted campaigns):

-> make it easy to read + eye-catching: the problem i am seeing when you search many of these families' accounts is that their "tag" (username of their account) is full of the same types of posts (i.e. a generic response to their initial message to another person on tumblr) <- aka it is very easy for people to tune out which is the opposite of what we want to happen. creating your OWN posts in response to their asks allows the art to appear FIRST when people look up someone's account via tumblr's search bar, which will attract more attention to their accounts. it also forces people who are making these posts to actually sit down and read the stories they are sharing with the rest of their mutuals/lurkers alike -> include verification sources: the main reason people are searching for these accounts is b/c they are trying to see if it is okay to reblog/share their campaign with their own following. if you address this plainly and early on in your post that includes artwork -> people are more likely to interact -> tag the account you are promoting: please include the families' account as one of your #'s so it will appear when you search for their names on tumblr. also try @'ing their account in your post so it'll be easier for these families to find your work. some of them are incredibly new to the platform and may not be aware of all its features. something that you may find intuitive may not be as easily understood for these individuals. your role is to make them as easy as possible to find for others so they can gain more support. --- don't have time to type out a whole post for a family on their behalf? -> interact with one of theirs! attach something nice/helpful to their posts so it is more readily available for others to share. the same rules apply from above. as i said before, some of these accounts are brand spanking new and are not formatted in the same ways as others that may be more well-versed on how tumblr operates in terms of promoting their campaigns. (for example: even if the account has been vetted/verified by multiple trusted individuals- the owners of that account may not know to include that info in their posts about their campaign every single time they post. you can make their lives easier by including that info for them by reblogging one of their og posts and adding the necessary info on their behalf)

you can also find a more comprehensive list of vetted campaigns by el-shab-hussein/nabulsi here <- their list is now over 200+ with several campaigns that are "in the red" (very low in funding). please do not hesitate to try to spotlight anyone from this list as well!

el-shab-hussein also has a masterpost pinned here with additional campaigns (including those for other countries like sudan)

alright i've explained enough- time for the art!

artist: @rhq274 | @rhq2744 *** free to use, credit required meet raghad (read and share full post here) Hello, I am Raghad Qanou, a medical student from Gaza City. My people and I have been subjected to genocide for more than 230 days. My family and I have lived through various types of torture and inhumane conditions. This link is my only chance for me and my family to escape death and try to start over. This is not easy. But we are trying, and we would be happy to have you help save our lives and our future. instructions to utilize artwork: those who wish to share raghad's art MUST do ALL of the following: -> follow raghad on tumblr @rhq274 | @rhq2744 -> like + reblog one or more of her posts seen on her account that promotes her fundraiser (you may also include additional art shown below to help further boost her campaign; see example) once those actions detailed above are completed, you may use raghad's art to promote her campaign. *if you are utilizing this art for another campaign that is not raghad's -> you must also mention + link her fundraiser as well /// for those able: please consider donating to raghad's campaign here (vetted; no 221 on el-shab-hussein/nabulsi's sheet)

artist: me lol free to use, no credit required example

artist: @lampyri free to use, no credit required example

artist: @aria-ashryver free to use, no credit required example

artist: @monmonp0k free to use, credit not required- but if given, is appreciated example

artist: @juudaimes-true-form free to use, no credit required example

artist: @gaiuskamilah free to use, no credit required example

artist: @marnota free to use on all social media platforms (i.e. tumblr, insta, twitter, etc), no credit required example

artist: @marquainequeen free to use, no credit required example

artist: @palms-upturned free to use, no credit required example

artisit: @inkyswampbones free to use, no credit required example

[blorbopolis]

hello! im sorry if you get asked this a lot, but I was curious how you got into doing art ttrpg? and what should an interested artist have in their portfolio? thank you 💖

hi! so i wrote out a big "how to" before re-reading your message and considering you maybe just... asked how it happened for *me*, not necessarily how someone else should do it LOL. so, how it happened for me: i've been actively courting freelance art work since ~2009, and fantasy ttrpg is a natural extension of my interests - my portfolio was already full of world of warcraft fanart by the time ttrpgs & D&D really started having their modern moment. TTRPG is a good low-to-mid level place to find leads, as well, because the barrier for entry is super low for creators, which means a lot MORE projects to go around. (If you want to make a board game, your artist has to know a LOT about packaging, printing, manufacturing, graphic design, etc. if you wrote a D&D module and just want to publish it on itch.io? your artist only needs to know how to send you a decent sized .jpg.) as far as portfolio goes, when i started getting consistent replies to my cold emails, my portfolio had mostly covers and half-pages (ie, narrative illustrations), portraits, and animals. If you want to be more well-rounded you could also include pieces focusing on environments, items, and creatures. Don't include anything unless it's GOOD though. (i am so serious about this - bad work in your portfolio makes the good stuff look like a fluke.) now. if you wanted a "how to" answer, here is 600 words lol. I'm gonna start with the base assumption that your work is already hirable so we can focus on just like, specialization + client acquisition tips. getting a folio up to snuff is a whole other can of beans short version goes like this:

this whole thing only works if you have the ability to honestly self-assess. new work & skills: you should have fresh stuff that's a snapshot of what you can do *right now.* this doesn't mean old work can't stay in your folio if it's still good, but a small, current folio that really hits is WAY better than a bloated old one with irrelevant studies or student work. new artistic peers: as you continue to evolve as a professional, you should have an idea of which other working artists your work is most similar to, in terms of skill/tone/specialties/other relevant skills (3D/graphic design/etc) in order to see how you stack up to your """competition""" for lack of a better word. Additionally those artistic peers have hangout zones (discords or FB groups, etc) where you can talk shop & pass around job leads. research peers' clients: research who those peers are contracting with. See if your work would be a fit for them; if so, find their contact info and put it on your list. Those clients are probably also promoting other similar projects or publishers on their feeds; twitter has a handy "you might also want to follow" list that has other similar accounts you can explore. You can also work backwards from the product to the creator (see any cool battle maps, CCGs, board games, etc? find out who made it and whether they're the ones doing the art hiring.) Additionally, those discords & fb groups I mentioned will have leads (of varying quality) shared around that you should be assessing as they come in. reach out to new batch of clients: cold email. be realistic about who's worth contacting, but don't self-disqualify. that part is a balance. art directors are people with problems to solve, and you need to be able to A. anticipate the problems they need solving, and B. confidently (and honestly) let them know exactly what you can do for them. Attach A FEW, SMALL, RELEVANT jpgs that they can easily download and keep for reference. do not send massive high res attachments, their inboxes are full enough as it is. If you're responding to a specific call, attach relevant pieces or curate a page on your portfolio site specifically for work that would fit the project. If reaching out to clients doesn't result in a lead - *or*, if it takes them 3 months to get back to you, you should spend that time doing your own stuff and bolstering your skills. eventually your portfolio will be good enough that it kicks down doors for you.

you'll notice i never included "be active on social media! post your new work! feed instagram's ad revenue by giving it more content!" in this strategy because it doesn't matter. i'm not professionally active on any social media. we were getting hired before twitter existed and we'll still get hired after it dies. just do make sure you have an online portfolio (your own website >> artstation >>> other free folio builders >>>>>>>>>>>> an instagram feed.) the more times you do this cycle the easier it gets; both because you'll just get good at every step of the process, and because more people will know you and have known you for *longer* so you seem like a safer bet. I'll be honest: it's a ton of rejection lmao. I would get a rejection in my inbox at least once a week - even more than that i'd just get radio silence. But eventually you'll get a yes, and if you're lucky that yes will result in high quality new work you're proud of and can put into your folio (taking you back to step 1 lol.)

the freelance life is (INSHALLAH!!!) behind me since i now have a full time job doing marketing/supporting art for video games. But my portfolio never would've gotten there if i didn't have the experience of going through the freelance meat grinder first. it really taught me how to be an actualized *creative* (who can stand up for her own expertise, think like a project manager, and take creative ownership of / responsibility for my assignments) and not just a hired hand. my team likes that. i think

[severitus-big-bang]

Rules and FAQ

(last updated 04/Feb/2024: Added icebreaker questions, updated Round 3 end date. Please confer most recent questions segment for participant questions.)

Pitching has ended! Claiming will happen:

Round 1: Feb 3rd, 11:59 UTC – Feb 4th, 11:59 UTC Round 2: Feb 7th, 11:59 UTC – Feb 8th, 11:59 UTC Round 3: Feb 10th, 11:59 UTC – Feb 11th, 11:59 UTC

Please read the following rules and FAQ completely and carefully if you plan to participate in this fest, and then, if you haven't already:

check out the How-to-Claim doc in which the link to the Claiming Form can be found - which will be open once the claming timeframe starts!

Come say hi on our discord server!

Eager to get to know your teammates? Here's a set of icebreaker questions!

Table of contents:

Most important Rules/Infos

Most recently asked questions

What is Severitus?

How does this Big Bang and Reverse Big Bang work in general?

How can I participate?

What types of works am I allowed to create?

I have no way to access to the pitching / claiming form in the given time frame, but I still want to pitch / claim! How do I do that?

Do I have to pitch to claim?

Can I create works based off of already existing fanworks?

When will this happen? Important Dates:

What happens if I can’t make a deadline/have to opt out?

How will the teams be formed?

I would like to be paired with [XYZ, a specific person]. How do I let you know?

I'm not quite comfortable working with others. Can I still participate?

What happens if I don’t get along with my team members?

Why are there mandatory check-ins?

What happens if I miss a mandatory check-in?

This is totally different from what I know from other Big Bangs. Why?

What is pinch-hitting?

How do I post my work?

I have never posted a work to AO3 - how do I do it?

I do not want to open an AO3 account / do not want the contents of this fest to be associated with my AO3 account. Is there still a way for me to participate?

Can I post my work to other sites besides AO3?

Can I add my work to other fests or collections?

I really want to participate, but I don't have any ideas currently! Is there a prompt list?

I have a question that is not on this list! How and where can I find you?

Most important Rules/Infos

This is a Severitus-centred fest. As such, we will only allow works that feature Severus Snape and Harry Potter in any platonic/non-romantic/non-sexual setting. No Snarry works will be allowed. 

Most important dates: Pitching starts: Jan 1st 2024 Pitching closes: Jan 28th Claiming opens: Feb 3rd Works due: May 17th Posting begins: June 1st 

If you can’t make the deadline, please reach out to the mods as early as possible so we can make arrangements and give you an extension. 

Pitching and claiming will be hosted via google forms. The links to those will be posted accordingly. There will be mandatory check-ins once you have claimed. Please stay in contact with the mods (see FAQ). Fics must NOT be Snarry. Ages to participate: 13+, creation of works rated M or E: 18+ 

Minimum requirements for your works: 

Fic: 2500 words

Poetry: 500 words OR 6 poems

Traditional or digital art: 600x600 px (scans in reasonable quality), and a basic description for accessibility

Spoken audio work: 15 minutes, and a written summary (transcript nice-to-have; podficcers may be allowed to pod an excerpt of their template if the final product is at least 15 minutes long)

Original music: 3 minutes, and a basic description (for instance lyrics, chords, sheet music) for accessibility

Song parody: 2 songs, (link to) reference work, and new lyrics

Playlist: 7 elements

Moodboard: 7 elements

Original dance: 3 minutes, and a basic description for accessibility

Fanbinding: one complete typeset: check out this post for details

Other forms: please contact the mod(s)

There are no maximums.

We do NOT accept AI generated content. 

The works must be original to the fest and created by you. They can be part of an existing universe, but must be understandable as stand-alone. 

Posting Please post your works to the AO3 collection and add the mod account (Severitus_Big_Bang_Mods) as co-creator. We will not change your work in any form, we just want to make sure it is appropriately tagged and rated and we can change the publication-date according to the posting-schedule. After reveals, we will delete the mod account from your works.

We want this to be a respectful and safe space. So the following general (fandom) rules apply:

Be respectful, no bullying, no harassment, …

No character or ship shaming/bashing, SALS - ship and let ship

Works created in this event must NOT feature characters under 18 in sexually explicit scenarios

Like most other fandoms, Harry Potter as a canon/fanon/fandom grapples with various issues, including but not limited to transphobia/transmisia, racism and other forms of discrimination. When creating fanworks, it can be helpful to keep various resources in mind, as well as doing additional research. Writing with Color’s Stereotypes & Tropes Navigation is one way to begin examining racism in fanworks creation - please especially refer to the colour stereotype post in regards to the term "Black / Dark Magic" which is deeply rooted in racism. Magical Trans is a community for transgender individuals in the Harry Potter fandom. If you have resources you’ve found helpful and would like to share, please let us know. (We trust this caution isn’t necessary, but if you don’t agree with the linked resources, please do not contact them with negative comments.) (Thank you to @bluedreaming for drawing our attention to this issue, and for allowing us to use their stipulations.)

Most Recent Questions:

Can I invite fellow creators? (Yes!)

Are side ships allowed? (Yes, all apart from Snarry are!)

Detail questions about pitching

You can find the answers HERE: https://severitus-big-bang.tumblr.com/post/738225193133244416/answering-some-more-questions-about-the

I have a question that is not on this list! How and where can I find you?

Mail: severitusbigbang@gmail.com

Discord: in the Severitus Big Bang Discord server or in the Big Bang channel of the Potions&Snitches Server

Tumblr @severitus-big-bang

AO3: Severitus Big Bang 2024 AO3 collection  

Your Mods:

Serena: she/her, @serenaew (discord, tumblr, AO3)

Trueliarose: she/her, @trueliarose (discord, tumblr, AO3)

Eso; any/they/them; esotericsevitus (discord), @esotericsnape (tumblr), esoteric_creature (ao3)

Binte: she/her, @bintemuhammad (discord, tumblr, AO3)

You can find the rest of the FAQ under the cut. 

What is Severitus?

For the sake of this fest, Severitus is every form of fanwork where Severus Snape and Harry Potter have a non-sexual / non-romanticrelationship. 

Severus’ and Harry’s gender don’t have to be male. We welcome any female/non-binary/trans or other queer characters, and characters of any race, and of any other identity, in our works.

Please note that it is our foremost goal to create a chill fest and good experience for everybody participating. That means we need to create a safe space for Severitus shippers and as such, we cannot allow any works that even wander the line to being read as sexual or romantic in the sense of “Snarry”. 

Severitus includes the following:

Snape as Harry’s father/father figure (biological, adopted, stepfather, uncle, godparent)

Snape being Harry’s mentor (Professor, Master in apprenticeship setting, friendly neighbour, you name it)

Severus and Harry being siblings

Severus and Harry being platonic friends

Reverse Severitus: Harry being Severus’ parent/uncle, mentor…

For more information you can also look through our prompt ideas which you can find on our tumblr.

How does this Big Bang and Reverse Big Bang work in general?

The Severitus Big Bang is a fanworks fest centred around Severitus and Reverse Severitus works. 

Creators pitch their ideas of any form to other creators to work on them together and create two or more intertwined fanworks of different kinds/media. 

The spirit of this fest is to connect creators and encourage each other's creativity to collaborate and celebrate Severitus together. If you don’t feel comfortable collaborating with others, it is technically possible to sign up as a “solo team” and create multiple projects for the same idea on your own; however we hope (and we give our best) to create a safe atmosphere without pressure or negativity for our teams to flourish. 

Creators can sign up (pitch, claim, or both) to create works, which, ideally, should be ready by the submission date. (See: [What happens if I have to opt out]). After submission, we plan to reveal the works in a staggered reveal (ideally, we will get new Severitus content every day in June).  All the works will be part of the Severitus Big Bang 2024 AO3 collection. 

For more information please read the following FAQs.

How can I participate?

This bang is more formalised than just posting within the given time frame.

To participate, creators should sign up and can either pitch, claim, or both to create works. 

You are allowed to pitch and/or claim as many works as you feel you can manage in the creation time span.

1. Pitching Pitching means you offer up an idea of yours for other creators to claim later on so that you can create fanworks in collaboration. This is the perfect opportunity to get ideas/prompts that have been on your mind for a long time, but you didn’t have enough time or creativity to work on, out there so that others can share in your joy. 

Please note that a pitch is more than just a one-line prompt; the requirements will be finalised and posted closer to Jan 1st. 

If you ask yourself why all the effort: it is the mods' attempt to formalise the process of presenting your idea for collaborating with other creators so that you needn't know your collaborators' identities to have a high likelihood to create something you both / all like. The process consists of a Google Form. 

All is explained in a great more detail here.

2. Claiming Later on, creators can claim any of the given pitches that request collaborators. 

There will be three rounds of claiming. To ensure that we have the best possible overlap with our creators' needs and wishes, we (the mod team) will work out the best fitting teams, and as many matches as possible, after each round of the claiming period. After matching, any open or partly-open pitches will be opened for claiming again. We hope that all pitches will be claimed after the third round; the unclaimed ones will be open for pinch hitting and will receive at least a little something from the mods. 

For more details about Ho-To-Claim, please refer to this document.

You will then be notified about your claim and how to proceed. 

You then have a period to create. Let your creativity strike, discuss your ideas and works with your co-creator(s) and simply do what you do best. Ideally you have your work ready by the submission date. (See: [Important Dates]) After submission, we plan to reveal the works in a staggered reveal (ideally we will get new Severitus content in June).

What types of works am I allowed to create?

You can create any type of fanwork associated with the pitch you claimed. 

Here is a list of possible types of media:

Written works such as fanfiction, poetry

Traditional or digital art, crafts

Comics, manga

Spoken audio work such as podfic, podcast, audio play

Music (both original music and song parodies)

Fanvid

Playlist

Moodboard

Original dance

Fanbinding

Recipes

…

For further inspiration and clarification especially for the term "art" please refer to this extensive list: https://unconventionalfanworkex.dreamwidth.org/14316.html. 

If you are unsure if the work you want to create will fit the parameters of this fest, please feel free to contact a mod; in these cases, we also advise you to check in with your fellow team member(s)

I have no way to access to the pitching / claiming form in the given time frame, but I still want to pitch / claim! How do I do that?

If you know you won’t be able to pitch / claim during the according period, please contact us and we will send you the pitching or claiming form in advance so you can participate.

For reasons of fairness, please let us know when you will need the form by so that we can pre-release the forms to all participants at the same time.

Pitching or claiming early will not influence your likelihood of being paired with your first choice(s).

Do I have to pitch to claim?

No. You can pitch and not claim or claim and not pitch or do both, it is up to you. However, we hope to receive a lot of pitches and claims to make this fest work, so it is super, duper awesome if you can do both.

Can I create works based off of already existing fanworks?

For your own pre-existing universes, yes, as long as the Big Bang work(s) are newly published and understandable as stand-alone! If at all possible, we would like to ask for your pitch to stay anonymous until claiming ends. 

You can use an already existing fanwork as your pitch if you have permission to create secondary/derivative fanworks by the original author/creator. Please note that we (the mods) can not grant you this permission and can also not monitor if every pitch meets this stipulation. 

If you as a creator want to give permission for others to use your works as such, maybe add a fanworks permission statement / transformative works policy to your profile. You can find a statement builder here or check the mods' profiles for inspiration.

When will this happen? Important Dates:

Pitching starts: Jan 1st 2024

Pitching closes: Jan 28th 

Claiming opens: Feb 3rd (Round 1)

Claiming closes: Feb 17th (Round 3), or earlier if all pitches are claimed to the max

Icebreakers (Check-in 1): Feb 18th

Check-in 2: Mar 3rd

Check-in 3: Mar 31st

Check-in 4: April 28th 

Works due: May 17th

Posting begins: June 1st

What happens if I can’t make a deadline/have to opt out?

Of course, we hope that every one of you will be able to make the submission date, but as we all know: Real life happens. 

If you realise you won’t be able to make the deadline, please contact us early so we know and can plan accordingly. It is completely okay if you have to ask for an extension or drop your claim. We want this to be as accessible and chill as we can make it. 

Just please inform us because we (the mods) have to plan the posting schedule.

How will the teams be formed?

You can either sign up as a pre-formed team with your fandom BFFs (with or without the option of pitching for more team members/claiming as team for a pitch), or the mods will assign you your team member(s) based on who responds to your pitch/which pitches you claim. 

We encourage you to be open to other creators and share the spirit of this fest.

I would like to be paired with [XYZ, a specific person]. How do I let you know?

If you want to be paired with XYZ, the best way to make sure is to sign up (pitch or claim) as a preformed team with yourself and them.

If you pitch your work on your own, we cannot say in advance who you will be paired with until the claims come in at the beginning of February and we can not guarantee that we will assign XYZ as your (only) claimer, because we will have to take all the claims into account.

We will also not reveal the pitchers and claimers to each other until the teams have been decided, and will not reveal the final teams until publication of their works. (So only the teammates themselves know who works together with them until the reveals.)

I'm not quite comfortable working with others. Can I still participate?

If you don’t feel comfortable collaborating with others, it is technically possible to sign up as a “solo team” and create multiple projects for the same idea on your own; however we hope (and we give our best) to create a safe atmosphere without pressure or negativity for our teams to flourish.

What happens if I don’t get along with my team members?

In your claiming form we ask you to give us your Do Not Wants. We try to match the team members to the best of our ability, taking those Do Not Wants into account, and hope that you will get along fine. 

If, despite all this, you notice that you can under no circumstances continue to work together with your teammate(s), please contact the mods. We do not want to force you to work together with someone you can absolutely not stand and we will then find a solution if this might happen.

However, we want to encourage you to be open-minded and give others the benefit of the doubt. We hope to create a fun experience for everybody.

Why are there mandatory check-ins?

We plan to do four mandatory check-ins with you (our participants) to ensure that everything is alright and you are still participating in this fest.

This has several reasons, foremost to make planning for us easier and to ensure that we can help out if that is needed. 

Please note that we don’t want you to feel pressured or patronised. It is completely okay if you just answer “I’m still here.” and tick the box in the relevant google form for those mandatory check-ins. You don’t need to report your work progress to the mods; however, we do recommend using these dates to check in and report to your team (yes, we know, some of us are procrastinators). 

We hope to simply offer guidance and act as a reminder, as life can get busy sometimes.

What happens if I miss a mandatory check-in?

You will have one week to respond to each mandatory check-in. If you missed it, the mod team will reach out to you. Just shoot us a quick response and you are fine. 

If one more week passes without response, we will have to assume that you dropped out. 

If you already know in advance that those just happen to be the two weeks where you are away without internet access, that's fine. Just let us and your collaborator(s) know in advance and we'll mark you as checked in.

This is totally different from what I know from other Big Bangs. Why?

Things evolve and for this, Serena wanted to make the concept of Big Bang more versatile and therefore adjusted it to what she (we!) thought would fit this fest best. 

The goal was to allow as many different types of media as possible, as well as allow the claiming of as many different works/ideas as one wants. Therefore we allow any type or art, artists can claim artists and so on. 

For this fest, the working together and connecting aspect is the focus (and we are of course rewarded with tons of wonderful works). We like to think that connection spikes creativity and helps us to create our own fandom safe space in which we can thrive. 

We also want to make this as chill as possible to take away pressure - which is why we set the minimum word count for fics as low as 2,500 words.

What is pinch-hitting?

Pinch-hitters are people who volunteer to take on an extra pitch later on if somebody has to opt out and drop their claim.

Can I claim after the deadline if I finish with my first project earlier and want to take on a second pitch?

If there are projects looking for pinch-hitters, yes, absolutely. Please feel free to contact a mod if you finish early and want to take on a second pitch.

How do I post my work?

Please add your works to the Severitus Big Bang 2024 AO3 collection (spelled Severitus_Big_Bang_2024) and add the mod account (Severitus_Big_Bang_Mods) as co-creator. 

We will approve your work for the collection and use the mod account to change the publication date accordingly to our posting schedule. 

Please note that you have to actually post the work to the collection, keeping it as a draft does not suffice. It will not be visible to the general public until one of the mods reveals this work, so don’t fear to do something wrong, and don't hesitate to make changes even after posting to the collection.

I have never posted a work to AO3 - How do I do it?

AO3 has a tutorial on how to post a work, see below. If you have further questions or need further help feel free to contact the mod team.

https://archiveofourown.org/faq/tutorial-posting-a-work-on-ao3?language_id=en 

https://archiveofourown.org/faq?language_id=en 

Posting images: AO3 does not host images, you can only embed them using a link. You have to host them on another site. Here's the how-to: https://archiveofourown.org/faq/posting-and-editing?language_id=en#embedimage  

Posting audio: AO3 does not host audio, but you can embed them in a stream or a download variant. For a list of audio hosting end embed options, check out GodOfLaundryBaskets' Breakdown of Podfic Hosting Options: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27240112

I do not want to open an AO3 account / do not want the contents of this fest to be associated with my AO3 account. Is there still a way for me to participate?

We want to give everybody a chance to participate, so please contact us if you won’t be able to post on AO3.

We can post your work from the official Mod Account and then link to the site you posted it to, as well as create an external bookmark for it. 

Please note that even if we post it in your stead (posting it from the mod account) the work will be uploaded on AO3.

Can I post my work to other sites besides AO3?

Yes, you can (and are encouraged to) cross-post whatever you want to whichever site you like. We just ask you to wait with crossposting until after your reveals in the official Severitus Bang AO3 collection!

Can I add my work to other fests or collections?

Yes, you can. After reveals, you are free to do with your work as you please, for example add the works to any collection you like.

Additionally, while waiting for reveals, you are allowed to co-submit to fests and events that have no unrevealed period (e.g. @hp-flowers, free submissions phase of HP Poetry, @voiceteam, May ficlet challenge, many bingos, etc.). Please note that your work will not be accessible in those collections until after reveals.

I really want to participate, but I don't have any ideas currently! Is there a prompt list?

There is not the usual prompt list, but we have made this list of typical Severitus themes/prompts and starting points. We hope this helps to start off your creativity.

[iwritetopassthetime]

Bradley and Blossom house hunting headcanon

Part of my home to you universe // Masterlist

Wordcount: 1.4K

Summary: you and Bradley start looking for a house

Warnings: some angst, but mostly fluff

(this is Bradley talking about his dream house with Blossom)

Bradley and Blossom's house hunt begins not long after she starts her new job. between her settling into her position at the landscaping firm and Bradley spending almost every day of the work week on base, they manage to devote a few hours every weekend to sitting down and doing searches online for their new home;

Blossom definitely buys an organiser to keep on top of the planning, while Bradley is more of a 100 tabs open with different real estate sites kind of guy (his laptop sounds like it’s having an asthma attack and is always just another tab away from fully melting);

so Blossom takes over keeping record of everything (contacts of estate agents, pros and cons of each house, pricing, and the rest);

surprisingly, despite his bad info keeping habits, Bradley is very good with the budgeting side of things. having saved a lot of money over the years by keeping a pretty standard way of living and residing in navy-provided housing, means that their house hunting budget is substantial;

Blossom starts feeling bad about not being able to chip in for the house. her salary is stable enough and is allowing her to save money, but from the looks of things Bradley would be the one actually paying for whatever place they decide to buy. when she shares that Bradley one saturday, he assures her that it’s not a competition of who pays more, they’re a couple and everything his is hers and vice versa. they reach an agreement that she can be in charge of refurbishing costs which settles the matter;

they meet an estate agent (Blossom calls him “our Phil Dunphy” mainly because of his incredible likeness to the Modern Family character in terms of looks and personality);

they seem to get offers pretty quickly and are super excited that they might find the perfect house sooner rather than later. but that excitement is soon diminished when the first twenty places are either too pricey and too small, or would need too much fixing that it would make them cost more than their initial price;

“Phil” asks them to stay positive and keep a mind open — the inflation and housing crisis makes things tricky — but he’s sure that he can find them something; 

Penny, being the literal, fucking angel that she is, keeps reiterating that however long it takes, they’re more than welcome to make the guest room their own for the time being;

Amelia seems the happiest that they haven’t moved out yet;

she has Bradley AND Blossom to watch TV and reality shows with (their favourite pastime is making fun of contestants on Too Hot To Handle) and do literally anything fun with.

i mean, she is rooting for them to find a house that she can “occasionally” visit, but she’s enjoying the extra time with her besties;

Maverick is the one who is very sceptical of “Phil” and decides to start his own research to help out. he acts like a total dad with that I-can-do-it-better-than-the-professionals attitude;

Blossom finds it endearing;

Bradley has to pull his reins a little 'Mav, you’re a navy pilot, not an estate agent' but to the og Brossom supporter (ship name is still wip), there is no such thing as 'i’ve never studied how to do that, i’m fucking doing it for y favourite couple ever!';

“Phil” takes Bradley and Blossom on a house viewing in mid-october and the place is simply wonderful;

it's a single level, dark blue shingled bungalow with white trimmings. its asking price is a little steep, but “Phil” is sure he can convince the sellers to "bring it down a smidge" since the kitchen needs full remodelling. and there’s a massive backyard for Blossom to create her own garden space;

a few days before Halloween, however, they get a slapped across the face with a message from “Phil” saying he was sorry, but another buyer — some app developer from San Fransisco — came and took the house at the selling price;

Bradley really tried to hold himself together, seeing Blossom's crestfallen expression when she had to cross out “blue house” in your list. there wasn’t even a single one left that didn’t have that angry red line running across its title;

the two are not really in the mood for another house viewing after that. “Phil” understands their dismay, but reminds them that they shouldn’t give up;

Bradley and Blossom decide to give it a rest and enjoy halloween with friends and family, since stressing over the house hunt is not gonna help them in the end;

they leave “Phil” to keep searching while the two take some time off of that whole project;

Blossom puts her organiser away and doesn’t give it too much thought throughout the week after Halloween;

Penny and Mav organise another barbecue;

this time the party is a little bigger, with more people. and a surprise guest there is Sarah, Ice’s wife;

she comes in with a homemade cake and Bradley is immediately on her, hugging her and kissing her cheeks;

he has very warm memories of spending time at her and Ice’s as a child seeing as uncle Ice was a very prominent figure in his formative years;

Sarah is delighted to meet Blossom

‘She’s absolutely amazing, I’m very happy for you, Bradley,’ she tells him when Blossom's off to get some drinks;

‘She is.’ Bradley is like a kid getting a gold star for spelling, whenever someone compliments her because “yeah, my girl is absolutely fantastic!!! do you know she’s a horticulture expert?? yeah she’s fucking incredible" this man is just smitten and loves his girlfriend to bits; 

Bradley and Sarah are chatting, Blossom join them soon after and Bradley pulls her to his side. Sarah mentions that Ice kept everything from Carole's old place in a storage container for him because GODS KNOW Maverick wouldn’t have been able to handle that;

'i’ll give you the location and the key so when the two of you want to move into your own place, you can have everything’;

Bradley mentions that the they are indeed looking for a house, but are unsuccessful so far and Sarah’s like ‘oh, I’ve got a place. yeah, Tom and I’s first house — we used to rent it out quite a lot and David’s (their younger son) been in charge of it since Tom passed away’;

the two of them are immediately like ‘oooooh, tell us more’;

Sarah has pictures of the and tells then everything about it (Bradley barely remembers it, but apparently he’s been there as a child): it���s a two-storey, mediterranean style house. three bedrooms, fully furnished kitchen but some appliances are in need of a change. two and a half bathrooms. with a big backyard and a shed. a literal dream;

‘i can check with David, but i don’t think it’s being used at the moment. you two can move in straight away, free of charge, but i know that David expects it to earn something on the market. but I’d just be happy for it to go to someone in the family.’;

Bradley goes all mushy at that (our boy is has a lot of emotions) and it’s down to Blossom to keep a level head and ask Sarah for her number so the two can discuss it further; 

Sarah gives her some more info about the house, letting her know that the soil is quite rocky there so it might be tricky to grow anything. but that’s a welcome challenge for our girl Blossom;

at the end of the night, the two of them are just ecstatic about the possibility of finally finding their dream house. Blossom remains realistic and tell him that they still need to see the place in person before making a decision, plus there’s “Phil”s feelings to consider;

what happens really is the next day, Sarah invites them over to the house and you two are settling on a price with David (an incredibly lowered one considering how expensive houses like that are these days), but they are not ones to look an extremely generous gift horse in the mouth;

Blossom calls “Phil” to thank him for the help, of course. they've found their house;

Bradley and Blossom are moving in around mid-november, opening a new chapter in their life as a couple

home to you tags: @gretagerwigsmuse @jupitercomet @youlightmeupfinn @craftymoonchaos @the-winter-marvel33 @agent-jbarnes @blahehblah @katieshook02 @amysteryspot @daisyhollyxox @marantha @piceous21 @mak-32 @twoosinrooster @adoringsebstan @everyoneslovechild @shityoudidntaskfor @alluringshawn @marsontoast @lemur46 @taytaylala12 @benhardysdrumstick @strangeangelflapsuitcase @shanimallina87 @beachesandboats @ishipit1420 @machsachds @wishfulhope (crossed over names are people I wasn't able to tag, sorry)

[daffodi1]

So... we're about midway through December. I suppose I should stop delaying in posting this.

TL:DR, on January 1st, 2024, I will be archiving my account and logging out for the last time. If you want to stay in touch with me for any reason, please reach out to me and I will gladly provide my discord or any other contact info.

Read my explanation below.

The more I think about my life, the more I realize the damage that social media has been doing to me as a person. It has contributed a lot to my anger issues and my moodiness. I don't think anybody realizes how much being exposed to other people's opinions and bad news on a daily basis can wear you down. Plus, all of this time I've spent on tumblr and facebook and all of these other social media sites has taken time out of my life where I could have been focusing on making art, engaging in my other hobbies or trying to better myself by furthering my education. I could have been improving myself, and instead I'm just scrolling and doing nothing. Taking time away from my loved ones and my well being and getting angry over nothing.

So; at the end of the year, I'm going to be archiving this account, moving it to a throwaway email and losing the password so I can never log in again. If you want to stay in touch, please feel free to ask for my discord. I'm not gonna just leave it out in the open, for two reasons. 1) I don't want trolls to bombard my DMs and 2) I kinda want to find out who my real friends are. If you don't want to stay in touch, I still don't think any less of you as a person and I genuinely wish you well. If we already keep in touch outside of this website, congrats! You don't have to do anything more. And if you try and keep in touch but find out that we're not compatible as friends or that talking to me is boring and you would rather ghost, that's fine too. I don't have any expectations and don't want to make anyone feel like they have to be my friend.

But I want to stop focusing so much of my life on things I hate and start focusing on things I love. And in order to grow, I think it's time to bid this site adieu, at least for a few years or so. Maybe I'll return when I'm better equipped to handle social media without letting it run my life entirely. Maybe I'll find out I'm better off without it in my life at all. I'll never know if I don't try living without it.

With all of that being said; thank you guys for following me. Thank you to my mutuals for putting up with my shit for so long-- for reading all of my batshit insane opinions and watching me grow and change. Thank you to those of you I met and befriended through this site. Thank you to all of the artists whose works have inspired me. Even if I'm leaving and we never talk again, I will never forget you.

[marleneoftheopera]

How could I best go about keeping my audios organized and everything? :0 Is it customary to credit who originally posted the audio or what? There are all these free audio gifts that are lovely and I'm downloading them, but if I would like to use them to trade what's the best practice? I have no idea what's customary!

As far as organizing, I would say to keep a list first and foremost. Even if it's not for trading, it helps for yourself. That doesn't have to be a site, many use something like Google Docs (which is great because it saves automatically). List the show, cast, date, etc. (if you have that info). A list will also make it easy to share with other traders what you have.

Besides a list, I would say to label your bootlegs in your computer/wherever you are storing them. Not every piece of info has to be there, but give it a name that you'll be able to find when you are trading and need to find it. For example, if I take one of the 35th anniversary on Broadway audios I would label it something like "POTO Broadway 35th anniversary January 26 2023 + master". Definitely add in the master info in the title if you have recordings from the same date but taken by different people.

And finally, I would get some USB drives if you plan to trade. Especially for videos, which can take up a lot of space. I bought a 1TB flash drive on Amazon for about $25. Which might seem like a bit much, but it stores a ton of my collection.

When it comes to credit, there are a few different things:

When it comes to older audios/videos, you probably won't be able to find a person to credit (unless a master has already been listed for it all this time). For example, let's say there's a master with audio from 1990. The chances they are still active with contact info are fairly slim. So unless they gave info to someone, who then put it on their site, and then other traders continued giving that credit... there probably is no way to know who to give credit to. And that's perfectly fine!

There is also the possibility that the master doesn't want credit for various reasons. Which is why boots may not have master info included. So if you get a new boot from the master themselves, I would ask to make sure they want to be officially listed.

So I would say if you have a boot with no master info, have a look on some trading sites to see if they have it listed. If not and you know who you got it from, message them if they want credit. And if all else fails, just list it. Chances are if the master wants credit they will reach out to you!

[leadgen-lu]

The Power of Leadfeeder for B2B Lead Generation in Luxembourg

For those of us in the B2B space, lead generation is the lifeblood of our business success. But generating high-quality leads doesn't have to feel like pulling teeth. With the right tools, lead gen can actually be an energizing, enlightening process that takes your business relationships to the next level.

As a marketing expert here in Luxembourg, I've tested my fair share of lead generation tools and tactics over the years. While many promise the moon, only one has consistently delivered results that make my job easier and grow our contact lists: Leadfeeder.

My Journey From Lead Gen Skeptic to Believer

I'll admit, when I first heard fellow marketers raving about Leadfeeder a few years back, I was skeptical. As a self-proclaimed "old dog" in the digital marketing world, I've fallen for hype around new tools before only to end up frustrated and disappointed.

But after seeing some hard numbers from colleagues and competitors, I decided to give Leadfeeder a try. And let me tell you...this tool is the real deal.

Within just two weeks, Leadfeeder helped me identify over 50 new potential leads visiting our site. And the best part? Over 85% were from companies we had no existing relationship with already. Talk about unlocking hidden opportunities!

Here's How Leadfeeder Helped This Marketer Go From Drowning to Thriving

Pre-Leadfeeder, I felt like I was drowning in questions about our website traffic. Who were these people visiting our site? Were they even potential customers? And even if they were, how would I get their contact info to start a conversation?

As a busy marketing director, I didn't have time to endlessly dig through our analytics and make guesses. I needed real time insights and visibility into who was coming to our site so I could take targeted action.

That's exactly what Leadfeeder delivered. Their technology integrates seamlessly with Google Analytics to automatically turn anonymous website visitors into actionable business leads.

Now, anytime someone from a target company visits my site, I get an automatic alert with their name, contact details, and company info. Talk about a game changer!

No more flying blind and hoping website visitors somehow convert. With Leadfeeder, I have the intel I need to directly reach out to high-value contacts and strike while the iron is hot.

The Power of Proactive Leadgen: How to Build Real Relationships

Instead of waiting around for potential leads to come to me, Leadfeeder empowers me to take control of the leadgen process.

Thanks to real-time alerts and lead notifications, I can proactively reach out to new contacts and start nurturing relationships from the very first website visit.

Sometimes, it's as simple as sending a personalized email introduing myself and my company and asking how I can help address any needs or questions that brought them to my site.

Other times, if I notice multiple employees from the same company visiting my content, I'll pick up the phone to introduce myself and dive deeper into how we may be able to partner.

In every case, Leadfeeder gives me the critical context I need to turn strangers into qualified leads by starting respectful, value-driven conversations.

Why Leadfeeder is a Cut Above Other Visitor Identification Tools

In the world of B2B marketing, few things are more frustrating than realizing your site traffic and leads are coming from the wrong places. Unqualified visitors and contacts just waste your precious time and energy.

That's why I get so fired up about Leadfeeder. Unlike some other visitor identification services I've tested, Leadfeeder's technology and targeting is surgical when it comes to identifying contacts I actually want to connect with. No more pointless conversations that go nowhere.

Some key advantages that set Leadfeeder apart for me:

Laser focused on my target companies: I can specify the companies I want leads from, and won't get notified every time an irrelevant business visits my site.

Conversational data approach: Leadfeeder builds rich contact profiles based on full website activity, not just single landing pages. This allows highly targeted, contextual outreach.

Proactive notifications: I get alerts in real-time when priority contacts are on my site so I can take instant action. No more waiting for batched reports.

Seamless integration: LD works directly with my existing analytics platforms like Google Analytics with no extra work for me. Easy to set up, use, and monitor results.

Take Your B2B Lead Generation to the Next Level

As B2B marketers in this digital age, we already have so much on our plates. The last thing we need is another cumbersome tool that requires hours of extra work just to yield mediocre results.

That's why I'm so impressed with how Leadfeeder simplifies and supercharges lead generation. Thanks to actionable, real-time alerts and insights into our website visitors, we can skip the guesswork and focus our energy where it matters most.

If you're feeling frustrated or stuck in a B2B lead gen rut, I highly recommend giving Leadfeeder a try. It's easy to set up, integrates seamlessly, and will start delivering results almost immediately.

Within a month, you could uncover 3X more qualified leads without any extra work. And who couldn't use that right now?

No more wasting time on one-and-done website visitors or unresponsive contacts from irrelevant companies. Leadfeeder empowers you to build authentic, value-driven relationships with potential customers that drive real ROI.

What are you waiting for? Visit our website today to supercharge your B2B leadgen!

[tuulikannel]

I figured I should write a little here about the ongoing situation with @lazytoday's account, both to share this info to our common mutuals and to tell my mutuals & followers why I'm most likely not going to be around much for the time being.

You might know she created her current account after Tumblr terminated the previous one without any explanation or response to questions. And now her new account is simply put being treated like a bot. Posts don't show up under tags, I didn't get a notification when she tagged me, nor did she get one when I tagged her. And I just noticed that I can't see her likes anymore, even though I know she has liked plenty of my stuff. Even the comments she has posted are now hidden:

(and yes, that refers to what I know to be her replies.)

She has contacted support, once again, and once again there's been no response. I decided to do it too and wrote them a pretty long message explaining all that has happened, and guess what? They replied! Yay. It was a very sympathetic and nice reply, for sure, but in the end pretty useless. They told me this: "Since she has already contacted support multiple times without a response, I recommend reaching out to our team again by submitting a detailed ticket via our support form: Tumblr Support Form."

And that link... takes you to the abuse site where you can report violations of guidelines. I don't know if I'm stupid or what, but I can't find a place there where to write any "detailed tickets" (if someone can, please tell me too!) I sent a reply asking about this, but just guess if there's been any reply to that...

Also... the form I first used is "for technical issues and general weirdness." Why isn't it enough I've sent them a message there? It does sound like the correct place for this. Why do I have to do it again in some mythical place I can't find? I just don't get this.

But the thing is... I love this hellhole of a site, but atm, I also hate it, and I can't really enjoy being here right now. This matter bugs me too much. So I won't be around much for a while, I think. I will check messages and stuff occasionally, but I might be slow to reply. (lol, imitating tumblr here, huh?)

@staff, I'm pretty sure it's useless to tag you here, but seriously, can anyone there help with this matter?

[recreationaldivorce]

Hello. I'm the op who posed that 'idf was the nakba terrorist?' question to tamarrud. I know you mean well and you are probably very frustrated with the situation as a whole, but I would appreciate it very much if people already in the know don't shame my little provocative action for the sake of spreading the truth to those who don't in fact know yet. As you may be aware, we are still working with the issue of the media branding the resistance as terrorists and consequently giving IOF the full grace of pardon. I intended to attempt a little snowball show so that it may reach more people and hopefully end the war/genocide earlier. Honestly, I didn't much expect tamarrud to answer, much less answer so thoroughly. If you still have the desire to spit in my face for not doing enough, be my guest. I suppose some therapeutic outbursts is called for considering the death toll hasn't stopped, but that still doesn't mean I wouldn't judge you, as you judge me.

No you don't need to reply to this. But you can do whatever. This isn't even an ask, this is half because I'm communicating primarily through asks because for some reason my messaging in tumblr is now simply nonexistent and I can't comment on posts either.

I'm sorry. I got upset and I know logically it's not appropriate. I know people are still being killed. I just wish people would blare this information in ads and big screens in the west so the zionists can finally be shut down and the IOF could be persecuted after 75+ years of freedom from the law and the murders. will. end.

If I could hack the news where I got this info from to big ads in big cities, I would DO IT. Can anyone else do it? It's on Middle East Eye, I got it from there...

a. i wasn't personally attacking you, i was just expressing surprise that people didn't know. also a lot of people who didn't know reblogged that post, my surprise was directed just as much at them as it was at the anon.

b. honestly i think it's fine to be annoyed at people still not knowing basic facts about the nakba and the origin of israel, when the palestine liberation movement, headed by palestinians, has been trying desperately to get the world to understand their plight for over 75 years now. the information is readily available, just because it's not being spoonfed to you by the mainstream media doesn't mean there aren't tons of books and articles and resources out there, available for free online and possibly at your local libraries and bookstores too. it's not a huge ask for people who claim to be in solidarity with a colonised people to learn the basic facts about the history of their colonisation.

This isn't even an ask, this is half because I'm communicating primarily through asks because for some reason my messaging in tumblr is now simply nonexistent and I can't comment on posts either.

that sounds like you've been shadowbanned, it happened to me a while ago too. basically it's a measure that's supposed to only be applied to bots but for some reason it gets applied to human users too (functional webbed site). luckily one of the few areas where staff actually do do their job is lifting shadowbans, i got mine lifted by contacting @/humans. you may need to get a non-shadowbanned friend to tag them for you as your account won't appear in people's notifications while shadowbanned. or you can message them on a sideblog, sideblogs will still work if your main blog is shadowbanned.

[therealaves-blog1]

I want the void to hear my takes on Star Trek: Coda

okay finale book. Oblivion’s Gate by David Mack. Lets see how they close this out.

So we open on ‘the second splinter’ which is Picard and Co dying on the Devidians planet moments before they can activate their plan. We then hop back to the Defiant which is hiding out in the badlands. Sisko tells Kira they gave her the Orb for a reason and the prophets might not be dead as fuck yet. They get a message from the mirror universe and a wormhole opens for them. They head through and decloak, to meet Captain Luc Picard of Jauntship Enterprise.

Okay, Mirrorverse catchup. Basically everything happened as it did in the shows (I think the Disco part too). But, Alt Spock set up Memory Omega which was a secret organization dedicated to bringing the federation to life in the mirrorverse. They hid in like hollowed out planets and stuff and have a bunch of advanced tech like wormhole drives and slipstream as default. When it became clear the revolt started on Terok Nor was taking wing, they came to support them and helped establish a galactic commonwealth, with the Romulans taking the place of the Klingons as former enemies now friends. So theres a big ol psuedo federation thats very advanced on this side.

So Bashir knows some people over there (presumably for a thing he did prior) They really should’ve chopped and changed the dot points per book for relevant stuff. They come aboard and meet Luc Picard and his first officer, Alexander’s mom. They have some brief awkward counterpart moments and then Alt Savik (special guest star Kirstie Allie) is like ‘holy shit its spock’ but in vulcan. They’re all like ‘time apocalypse’ and the commonwealth people are like ‘please more info now.’ They deliver and Wesley is like ‘our realities are linked which is why stuff happens in weird mirror ways’ and no one asks for a follow up.

They get permission to go to a Memory Omega site that has like a wild reality viewer thing. Meanwhile Riker is going crazier and Vale, Troi, Doc Lizard, and secretly counselor lil guy attempt to prove that he can be dismissed on medical grounds and realise his brain is cooking with two rikers in it. Confirming everything Troi got from Picard. They very nicely sit down with him and give him the data and he briefly takes the pad and secretly deletes the info before having Vale and Lizard arrested and threatening Deana.

Over there, they hand out the bands they’ve made to keep time multiple personality disorder which is sent throughout the whole fleet. Wesley plugs into the chair and Data does the data analysis, trying to find the original fault that the Devidians are using to do the whole Time War thing. They find it and its very depressing. So here’s how it works.

Way back during the movie First Contact, when the Enterprise was the only remaining ship above Borg Earth and jumped into the timehole to undo what the borg done did. The Borg on Earth realized what they were seeing and kept the portal on their end open. They did a bad science on it in an attempt to prevent the Enterprise from returning to the present and undoing its undoing of their new Borgy history. This busted up reality. So we got the prime timeline (the tv canon feat. new shows) which diverged from Borg Earth (which somehow became stable on its own) and the First Splinter Timeline (which is the novelverse eu). The First Splinter is inherently unstable and so are all of its descendant timelines which is what allowed the time crimes. They relay this and reveal the only option left to them: prevent their own existence by stopping the initial splinter to stop the time ghosts from eating all the stable timelines once they get through the first splinter.

Kira reactivates the orb of time and sisko and wes do a mindmeld to reach into it for prophet advice, they sanction the course they’re taking. Everyone is different shades of bummed about this but they agree to go ahead for the needs of the many, they relay this to the mirror lads who agree to help as their universe is starting to break down as well. In main verse the president of the federation asks why riker is acting so crazy before the weird universe breakdown they’ve been witnessing expands and destroys the entire sol system. Riker takes control of the fleet and orders them to find the Defiant for reasons that arent making a whole lot of sense to anyone but him. over there, Kira goes to the wormhole with the orb to act as a beacon, Sisko, Picard and the Defiant go to the past of borg earth to undo the thing there, and wes and Luc Picard go to the normal verse to find the devidians base by scanning black holes and use the stuff they have there to wipe their history out.

This is kind of a bummer for many reasons (im sure we’ll get a fun time bullshit ‘we saved things! yay!’) but no one gets enough time to process all the shit happening or see this from a personal perspective to give us an understandable look at something on this scale. Like, the goal is to retroactively erase all the things that happened in this canon, which can be done if we get a strong character dialed in look at it, but we arent. Its shifting too much and a bunch of faves have already died. So the sense of everything is out of wack. Like part of what works about Hickman’s FF and Avengers runs is the focus on a few characters we know in the face of insane cosmic chaos. It helps ground it, but this still feels like the Picard show, but not sufficiently deep enough to justify the focus and the jumps to other characters are too shallow. idk, Kira is the only one who feels like she’s understands the weight of all this and she’s not in this much.

[camerondotcom]

How to get a utility pole added or moved. The dirty details.

About every other project I'm involved in requires either a new utility pole or the replacement or relocation of an existing one.

Let me say this up front: Getting a utility pole placed or moved can take six months or longer.

What are you trying to accomplish?

I've had situations where a pole was smack dab in the middle of a proposed driveway. Other times a new pole was needed to reach a new home (typically 150' is the maximum distance they will allow line to run without a pole) and I've even had a pole needing replacement because it wasn't tall enough.

Alternatives

Since the process of getting a utility pole placed or moved takes so long, it really pays to try and develop a workaround. In one of those middle-of-the-driveway situations, I was able to relocate the driveway on the plans by 12' and place an easement on the neighboring property (luckily I owned both properties). Other times I've reoriented the house footprint on the lot to change the location of the driveway. Sometimes a workaround is feasible but often you have to move forward with the pole work.

First, find out who owns the pole. You may be surprised that it isn't the company who's service you're trying to get. The phone company may own the pole and the electric company hangs their lines on them. Sometimes its the other way around. Either way, the best way to do this is to look on the pole itself. There will normally be a metal plate nailed to the pole with the pole number and the company's name. If you don't see one on your pole, look up and follow the wires to nearby poles. One of those should have their info.

Contact the owner of the pole. Dialing the 800# customer service line is the best starting point. When you get through to a live person tell them what you're trying to do and ask for the engineering or construction department. They should transfer you to that department or give you their direct number.

When you speak with the engineering or construction department, start a job ticket and tell them all the specifics about what you're trying to get done. WRITE DOWN YOUR TICKET/REFERENCE #! You will use this in all future communication with the utility regarding this work. The ticket will then get assigned to an actual person within a week or so and that person typically will reach out to you initially. Try and get a direct call back phone number for the department at this time. Having the direct phone number will save you so much time over the next few months!

Reach back out on your request within a week. Your only objective with this call is to speak with the person your case has been assigned to. Call back directly into the construction/engineering department. Once you've got your contact on the phone, be nice to them! They will be in charge of coordinating the whole process and they are your main contact for the next six months or more. If you can, get a site visit scheduled while on this call. If not, ask when you can call back and schedule it.

Schedule the site visit as soon as possible. This means calling your contact back until you get a site visit scheduled. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Open up your schedule for the site visit. Tell them you'll meet them any time, any day. Until the site visit is completed your case is at a standstill.

Attend the site visit. The site visit will be conducted by a different person from your contact. They will be a field tech from the engineering department. This person will also be assigned to your case from beginning to end. Try and get their contact info! Ask when they expect to have the drawings completed.

Follow up, follow up, follow up. Once the site visit is complete, they will go back to their office and design the work. They use the site visit information along with their own internal maps and diagrams to work up a solution to your situation. This process can take several weeks or more to get done.

Follow up on the drawings. You did get the field worker's phone number or email, right? Reach out to them directly and ask for a copy of the drawings when they're done. Sometimes they'll give it to you sometimes they won't. It doesn't matter. You've prompted them to move your job along. If the drawings aren't done, ask for a ballpark on when you can expect them - and FOLLOW UP when they say it'll be ready.

Follow up on the completed drawings. If they will send you a copy of their drawings now's your chance to review what they intend to do. Look at the drawings and make sure it's right. Sometimes they make mistakes and this is your chance to fix it. If the installation is wrong you may have to go back to the end of the line and wait another six months! This has happened to me before.

Permits. They will be taking care of permitting around this time too. Be sure the permitting process is underway once the drawings are completed. You may have to fill out and sign an easement agreement. Get it back to them right away.

Follow up with your contact to be sure the work order gets sent to their construction team. You can call the field worker for this or your main contact. Once the order is sent to construction, it's only a matter of time before it gets done. There isn't anything you can do to get the work expedited once it goes to construction. They schedule and complete their work on a first come, first serve basis.

You're almost there! Once with the construction team, it'll take 1-3 months to get the pole work done.

Be there at the site for the installation. You are more familiar with your project than anyone else. You can answer questions and make decisions so they can keep working. Have water on hand for the workers, make sure the area is clear and have everyone stay out of their way.

That's it! Enjoy your new utility pole!

Cameron Bagherpour Builder, Developer, Investor Zeus Construction Canton, MA 02021 339-204-1004

[happyk44]

I'm not schizoid or autistic confirmed, but I do have a lot of traits of both, so advice below the cut, results may vary, etc, etc:

Join groups, online or in person, dedicated to an interest(s). Smaller, quieter groups are easier. There are a lot of discord servers out there. Maybe make a post asking if there's any groups dedicated to X, Y, or Z and see what links pop up. Also you don't have to constantly engage with new ideas. Sharing external media related to the group's focus is often good enough, and can jumpstart conversations. Just remember to actually engage in the conversation. Don't be afraid to dive into already existing convos either if it sparks thoughts

If you have a good back and forth conversation with someone online, reach out to them separately to discuss further ideas or hit them up with a "hey, wouldn't this be funny?" or whatever. I tend to forget to do this in servers, but! Other people have done it to me 😂

For in-person, you can attend classes, events, volunteer organizations, or workshops related to something you're interested in. Cooking classes if you like to cook. Conventions if you like nerdy stuff. Open D&D groups if there's any in your area. Try to engage with the person you might be seated nearby or paired up with. Ask for contact info, even if that's just their social media handle. You don't always have to ask (I certainly don't, lol), but just going to events like this can help with socializing skills as well

If you find that you like a lot of someone's specific content here or on another site, reach out to them to discuss a post or your thoughts on the shared interest. Share media that you both like. I've done this to others, they've done it to me. Usually goes okay, it's how I've met most of friends online throughout my life 👍

Don't forget to take breathers, and don't get frustrated when you need to. Sometimes you have to step away, and that's okay, that's the nature of SZPD. Don't be frustrated if things don't click with some people. Everyone's different

If you see something that makes you think of someone, send it to them. This is like 75% of how I engage with friends, regardless of how I've met them

Set reminders to check in with people. I do this because, as I said, I tend to engage through memes and external media and can forget that life exists outside of the shared interest(s) and jokes. You don't have to do this for everyone, but it's always helps to ask people what's going on in their life, even if you're not particularly interested

The interest part can be difficult. Lack of emotional connection and a tendency for alexithymia can make it difficult to care, but like. Look. If you want people in your life, you're gonna have to push through it. The upside is that typically once you begin to foster the relationship somewhat regularly, the care kicks in and it gets easier 👍

Share tidbits about your day or life. They don't have to be overtly personal, but you do have to share things about yourself. Blocking yourself off doesn't really foster any connection. It can be as easy as "I tried a new flavour latte, wasn't bad!" or "saw this goofy looking cat" and a picture. If you've started a new project, maybe send them pictures or update them on how it's going. Ask about their stuff - if you have trouble remembering what people have going on, there is no shame in keeping a list of important things you want to recall later

Not every friendship needs to dip past surface level and that's totally fine, but you do gotta at least try to foster one or two deeper connections, and that's where the above advice helps

The "no desire, and don't want to" sounds like anhedonia, and avolition. You can look up ways to counteract them, but sometimes you just have to force yourself to do it. The fact that you're asking for advice means you do have a little bit of desire, and a little bit of want, so very much hone in on that when it feels impossible, but don't be pissed with yourself when you struggle. Like I said, it's the nature of the disorder and that's not your fault. Just do your best!

The "don't know how" is just lack of social skills, so be upfront about that when speaking with a group or one on one. Something like "I have trouble socializing, I'm trying to work on it, please let me know if I fuck up somewhere" can be good if you don't want to disclose the SZPD/autism issue. A lot of online groups I've been in are mostly pretty much neurodivergent people, so ideally they'll understand. At the very least, you can see how people engage with each other in the group and take in those skills from there (mimicry or whatnot)

Respect other people's boundaries and maintain your own. SZPD is often associated with Permeable Boundaries due to a myriad of reasons, and when you're not as socially adept, it can be easy for other people to push past those limits. It's important to recognize when that happens and establish those limits when you do. People who frequently do not respect your boundaries are not people you need to keep in your life

For me, I can often struggle to notice when something is emotionally draining or mentally overwhelming due to the black hole that is alexithymia, so when I finally hit that peak where I recognize it, I do let my friends know "hey, my emotional/mental capacity has been reached, please hold back on anything too heavy unless extremely necessary". Other times, it can be as simple as "oh I'm not a fan of X content, please don't share it with me". My friends do the same thing, and that's really helpful in maintaining a healthy relationship!

Be upfront and clear if something makes you want to retreat or ghost. Ask others to be upfront and clear if you do something wrong. Letting stuff build up is not healthy, and no one can't fix things if they don't know what's wrong. Honesty is key is my policy and so far it's worked out pretty well!

And as an extra note, SZPD clashes very easily with people who have and display a lot of emotions. That's not a bad thing, it can just cause you to lose steam faster, especially if, like me, you can't tell when steam is being lost until it's all gone and you feel like death more than normal 😔

But, and this ties into the maintaining boundaries part, if you notice someone is constantly venting, ranting, or dumping all their feelings on you, do not be afraid to ask them to stop! They might not realize they're doing it. Also you may feel unaffected as it happens, but you will eventually hit the wall, and it will suck. Besides even people without SZPD don't like it when someone is consistently driving them down with negativity. They just tend to recognize it faster 😂

And, the most important piece advice, be nice, be kind, and be yourself 😊

Hope that helps! Good luck 🤞

Looking for advice

I've got szpd. I don't want it to ruin my life anymore but there's pretty much nothing out there that talks about actually helping us deal with our daily issues so I'm reaching out to you.

One of big things that is a problem for me is relationships. In order to make my life better I need to improve but there are three issues in my way: 1. I have no desire to, 2. I don't know how to and 3. I don't want to. I also have autism so that's also not making things easy. If it was just one or two of these I could possibly manage but not with all three. I would like to know if any of you have any helpful suggestions.

[rp-commandersignas]

"Hi, Commander..." she's exhausted. "It's me again. Sorry for being gone for so long. A lot's been going on." A pause. "Anyway, we got a lot of new members and a lot of them are Reploids. They're spreading the word that there are humans out there that do love and care for them." A smile. "A lot of my pals are running the site and planning the events." She hesitates. "Oh yeah; a few of my friends asked me to ask you if there could be some hunters at our planned events? Our website has the info. Sorry for being a bother. It's for...you know." She sighs. "But, I'm taking a break from everything for a while. I'm a bit overwhelmed. But, if you have questions, don't hesitate to ask me." Another tired smile.

-Female human sympathizer ☮️

Signas was pleased to hear that her movement was still going strong. He had occasionally wondered how she was doing in the time since her last message, but he hadn’t worried. He just figured she would get back to him on her own time.

You couldn’t tell by his expression, but when he heard how tired she sounded, he felt kind of concerned. Being the leader of the movement, it was likely she had been solving its problems on her own. He understood how that sort of responsibility could take a lot out of an ordinary person; especially one who had never done this sort of thing before. Still, if that last bit was true, it seemed she had taken to her role well.

Signas also noticed that she made no mention of the hackers from her last message. Considering that the website was still standing, it was clear that they had been successfully deterred. He did find himself feeling a bit curious about what other opposition she might have encountered though, if any...

Having heard her request, he considered it carefully.

Conveniently, he already had access to the necessary information. When the first donations she had raised started coming in, he noticed that they were all under the same name. Not only did it make them easier to keep track of in the financial records, it was also a clue that led him directly to the website.

It turned out that the city they were based in was a few states away from HQ.

Their local Hunter Base wasn’t under his direct authority, so he would have to check with their Chief first.

Signas knew that she likely had some B to C-rank hunters in mind, but he might be able to surprise her with an A-Rank hunter, depending on who was available. On the other hand, it was probably better to start small for the first event...

Then, a tiny thought in the back of his mind caught his attention: "(...What if I went?)"

It was immediately shot down.

Signas had several reasons why he couldn’t make a personal appearance, but... he didn’t completely dismiss the idea either. “(...Maybe sometime in the future, but not now. I’ll have to see how things turn out.)“ He decided.

Having processed all these thoughts in the blink of an eye, he gave his reply.

"I’d say you’ve definitely earned that break. It sounds like you’ve been working hard.” Signas said.  “It’s good that you’ve gotten a decent amount of reploids on board as well. They'll provide a broader range of perspectives, which should help your message reach more people.”

“As for your request, I’ll see what I can do. I’ll contact you about it later so we can discuss things in more detail.“

[moonlit-mizukage]

Chapter nineteen: I’d go crazy without you 

Summary: Popular punk band, Skull crusher, had to find a new drummer due to the sudden disappearance of the last one. As band manager and lead singer, Semi Eita’s girlfriend, Y/l/n Y/n brings Kyotani, a rising internet drummer they found online into the picture. Everything was great at first, then Kuroo, the lead guitarist, started getting creepy messages and presents. Y/n is determined to find out who is trying to sabotage the band when things only take a turn for the absolute worst. Who could be the mysterious stalker really be? Is it their new band mate? Or could it be a close friend of one of the members?

TW: Blood, swearing, death, murder, mentions of body horror from last chapter, kidnaping

An: I forgot yesterday was Friday but I am going to now try and post an update for both stories everyday! I posted info on one / two of my next smaus. Its a bnha Hawks samu you can find here!  

Third person Pov 

The door was left slightly open with the dried blood splattered across it. A hand reached up and pushed the door open more. 

“Hello?” Y/n said as she pulled out her phone, she quickly dialed the emergency line as she walked into the house. “I- there’s a- I don't-.” She dropped her phone as she let out a blood curdling scream. Infront of her sat Asahi and Yachi’s body. She ran to yachi, grabbing her friend's dead body. She could feel herself getting sick at the site. She felt herself become ill as she vomited onto Yachi’s dead back. The aroma of blood over took all her senses as she felt herself become weak and passed out holding onto what little hand Yachi had left. 

Sometime later…

Y/n jumped awake in the hospital bed and looked around. 

“Y/n, holy shit, I’m so glad you are okay!” Semi shouted as he threw his arms around her holding her tightly. 

“What happened?” She asked him. 

“You fainted at Asahi and Yachi’s house. An ambulance brought you here.” A knock on the door was heard behind him. He got up to open it. He turned to you after he spoke with them for a second. “Y/n, are you feeling up for questions right now? There is an Officer who would like to talk to you out here” She nodded her head in approval.

“Hello, I am the detective on this case. I want to ask you a few questions about today.” Y/n nodded her head in approval. “Why were you at the scene of the crime?” 

“I was there looking to talk to Yachi. We had a disagreement and I didn’t want to leave things how they were after the Yukie situation.” She looked down at her hands. “She was killed too…”

“I see, can you prove your whereabouts before the crime took place? Do you have an alibi we can talk to?” 

“Yes, I was with my Fiance, Semi Eita.” Semi waved to the women as Y/n motioned to him.

“She was with me, Officer. I can confirm, and we were at home.” He said. 

“Okay” She turned back to Y/n. “Your DNA was found all over the crime scene. Can you explain why?” 

“I ran to Yachi when I saw her. I just- I couldn’t believe it was real.” She whispered. She began to tear up as she looked back up at the officer. 

“Okay that’s all we needed.” 

“Is she in trouble?” Semi asked. 

“Her story matches what we assumed, so as of right now no. Things could still change. If you have any close friends or contacts between this case and the last case we will further investigate the situation and will possibly be back to ask questions. We did find DNA of two more people on the scene, neither of which we can contact. As of now you are in the clear.”  The officer said as she left the room. 

“I wonder who else she found there... But right now what matters is that you are okay. You saw some pretty messed up things the police said. I was so worried when I got the call that it was you who was dead. I thought Yachi killed you first.” 

“What was that last part you just said?” She asked, gazing at him confused. 

“I thought Yachi killed you?” 

“Oh I thought you said something different.” He just smiled at her as he climbed into the hospital bed beside her. 

“I love you Y/n. I’d go crazy without you, I hope you know that.” He kissed her forehead. 

“I love you too Eita.” She giggled as she cuddled into his chest. 

Meanwhile…..

Dachi had Kiyoko's body tied up in front of him as he waited for her to wake up. She suddenly jumped awake and tried to scream. Her mouth was still taped closed as she tried to move. 

“Oh good evening Kiyoko. I was wondering when you would finally wake up. I was getting bored of waiting.” She began to wiggle against the restraints and move more violently than before. “I can take the tape off if you promise you won't scream.” She nodded her head as he stood up. He grabbed the tape and roughly pulled the tape off her face as she let out a scream. “Did I not just say no screaming?” 

“I’m sorry. It hurt.” She whispered. 

“I’m sure you have questions why you are here right?” 

“Why am I here? What are you- what are you going to do to me?” She asked, trying to hold back tears. 

“Well you are the second person who interrupted my plans, so I am going to kill you, slowly and painfully, just as I did to Yachi.” He said with a deep laugh. 

“Daichi please, why are you doing this?” 

“For love of course. What other reason would I have?” 

“You're sick!” 

“Why? Cause I know what I want? I am in love, Kiyoko. I would do anything for this person and they don’t even give me the time of day anymore. So I came up with the perfect plan, only my overall goal has changed you see.” 

“What- what does that mean?” 

“You see it started as love for Kuroo, but maybe it was the look in this other person's eyes that made me feel this way, or maybe it was how wonderful they looked covered in blood. It’s a delightful sight. You're lucky it will be one of the last things you see.” 

“So you and the killer are in love?” 

“Well right now it’s one sided… but it won’t be for long. I plan on surprising them with a special gift.” He said as he walked up to her and caressed her check with his hand. She flinched at the feeling of his four fingers and the rough end of his missing finger spot.  

“What kind of gift?” She asked feeling herself become sick. She looked as if she was about to throw up at that moment. He smiled down at her cryptically,  

“Your heart of course.”

Previous | Masterlist | Next 

Taglist: @satan-ruler-of-hells @elianetsantana @elephantloser @putmeinyourdeathnote @levithansbabygirl @megumitodoroki @idontknow-whatto-callthis @jellyfishsart @freakydeaky226 @atria-avior @doodletingz​ @kac-chowsballs @twistedvalkyrie @ranu-chan @why-couldnt-it-be @thisnoodlewritesao3 @lady-tokugawa-of-mikawa @trashy-simp @inumakis-salmonroll @nyxeaa​ @random-fandom-girl-24 @faewraithsworld

[marvelfans4blm]

Marvel Fans 4 BLM - Rules and FAQ!

What is Marvel Fans 4 BLM?

Marvel Fans 4 BLM is a charity auction where fans offer works in exchange for donations. Our focus is to raise money for various Black Lives Matter organizations as well as focus on creating content for Black Marvel characters. 

Who is allowed to participate?

All fans from any and all Marvel fandoms are welcome! We ask that if you are under 18, you do not offer or request explicit rated content.

How does it work?

Creators sign up to offer their works. Bidders then pledge donation amounts in auction-style. The winning bidder donates their pledged amount to a charity; once that donation is confirmed, the creator starts, uh, creating!

What is the schedule?

Monday 15 June - Sunday 28 June: Creator Sign Ups

Monday 29 June - Sunday 5 July: Browsing Week

Monday 6 July - Sunday 12 July: Auction Week

Sunday 19 July: Proof of Donations Due

Sunday 15 November: Check-In

Sunday 31 January 2021: Fanworks Due

More FAQ, Rules, and Resources under the cut! 

What items are acceptable for creators to offer?

All creations should be centered around one or more canon Black characters in any Marvel fandom (movies, comics, TV - any Marvel adaptations!). Other characters are welcome to join the fun, as long as they are not the main focus. Shipping and Gen content alike are welcome! Creations accepted are:

- Fanfic

- Digital art (original art, moodboards, manips, edits, etc.)

- Physical art (artworks, crafts, merch, etc.)

- Podfic

- Fan vids

- Translations

- Fan labor (beta work, sensitivity reading, culture-picking, fact checking, SPAG editing, etc.)

If you’d like to offer something not listed, feel free to ask.

I wanna be a creator! Tell me more!

More details will be shared at each stage, but here’s an outline to get you started! 

Creator sign-ups run from Monday 15 June to Sunday 28 June. You’ll sign up via a Google form and there you can specify what type of fanwork(s) you are offering with some relevant details like characters, pairings, and content you are willing to create in addition to other notes for bidders to see!

As well as fundraising for important causes, this event is intended to create new content for our favorite Black Marvel characters. With that in mind, we will not accept any previously published or created works. The exception to this is physical goods and crafts. 

After the auction closes, we will put you in touch with the highest bidder and from there you two work together to create something great! Once you have your bidder’s prompt, you’ll have until 31 January 2021 to complete your work for them. We’ll have a check-in on 15 November but it’s up to you to follow through by the 2021 deadline. Unfortunately, failure to complete by the deadline will mean you will be unable to participate in future events - until you meet your obligation to your bidder.

You can offer up to three works for auction, but please be honest and respect your limits. We want both creators and bidders to end with a complete work and enjoy the process! For physical goods, it is up to you and your bidder to decide how to handle shipping - keep this in mind when setting your starting bidding price. 

After posting, you can tag us in and any works that follow our rules will be included in our AO3 collection and featured on our Tumblr! 

I wanna be a bidder! Tell me more!

From 29 June through 5 July, you will be able to view all items up for bid, as well as check out each creator’s other works to get a feel for what they can do. You may also reach out to contact individual creators if you have questions. We recommend that if you have a specific idea in mind, or a rarepair, or something the creator has never done before, that you reach out and confirm they will be able to fulfil your request before you bid on them.

From 6 July through 12 July, bidding will be open. All bids will be placed in US dollars, with a $5 minimum starting bid and a $2 minimum incremental bid. Bidding will not be anonymous. Group bids are welcome. 

You may bid on as many items as you like, but please keep in mind that you cannot retract a bid, so make sure you can commit to donating the amount(s) that you bid. You may donate to any of our approved organizations listed below, or ask the mods for approval to donate to another cause that is working towards BLM goals.

For physical fanworks, whether or not your final bid includes shipping will be up to the creator. Once we receive confirmation of the donation, we’re no longer responsible for communication between creators and bidders. Be aware that for physical fanworks, creators will need your address to send you the item. If you aren’t comfortable giving out personal information, we suggest you bid on other auctions instead.

Once the auction is over, we will confirm the final amount for your winning bid(s); do not donate until you receive this confirmation. As soon as we have proof of your donation (pdf receipt that shows date, organization, and amount, all other info can be redacted) we will put you in touch with your creator. At this point, it is up to the two of you to work out how you’d like to proceed to ensure that the bid is fulfilled by 31 January 2021.

If you don’t hear from your creator after we connect you, please reach out to them yourself! If it has been a couple of months and you haven’t heard from them at all despite your efforts to get in touch, let us know and we’ll try to contact your creator on your behalf or help you assess the situation. Unfortunately, there’s always an inherent risk that a creator may fall through for various reasons. If this happens, we hope that knowing that you donated money to support an amazing cause will lessen the disappointment of not receiving a promised fanwork.

Remember that this event is designed to create content for Black Marvel characters, so please be sure to keep your requested works aligned with our Content & Conduct guidelines.

What charities will be supported?

We want participants to feel connected to where their efforts are going. There are multiple organizations linked in our Resources section below, along with master list sites that are updated regularly as new donation opportunities arise.

Creators will be allowed to specify up to three sites that they’d like their winning bidder to support with their donation. Any of the sites or organizations linked in our Resources section are acceptable. Creators can also decline to list a preference, and their winning bidder will be permitted to donate to any of the sites or organizations linked in our Resources section.

We are also open to suggestions! Other donation opportunities requested by the creator and vetted by the mods will be welcome.

Can I sign up to provide more than one offering? Can I sign up as a creator and a bidder? Can I bid on more than one offering? 

The answer to all of these is an enthusiastic yes! Creators can make up to three offerings. Just be sure not to spread yourself too thin; we want everyone to have a successful participation. Do not agree to participate, either as a creator or a bidder, unless you are absolutely committed to following through.

Content & Conduct

This event is designed to spotlight Black characters in a positive way. This doesn’t mean we require fluff, smiles, and happy endings, but it does mean that for this event, we require that you think critically about what you are presenting and how that representation fits within the larger context of the way fandom treats characters of color.

All creations must be centered around one or more canon Black characters, meaning they must be the main focus of the story, artwork, etc. They should not be sidelined in favor of other characters, and if there is any shipping (which is not required, Gen creations are more than welcome) they should be in the main pairing.

This event is designed specifically to support BLM and therefore we expect all participants and creations to align with the values of the movement. To that end, we ask that you do not create or request fanworks that celebrate law enforcement or the military. This is not the appropriate event for a cop AU or similar. For characters canonically affiliated with law enforcement or the military, be critical of how those institutions are portrayed, as well as how BIPOC are treated by and within those institutions.

Some additional points to keep in mind:

- Some Marvel characters have canonical physical, mental, and emotional disabilities - including invisible ones like chronic pain and mental illness. These should be treated respectfully, with due diligence given to portraying their lived experience.

- No perpetrating anti-Black stereotypes or tropes.

- No sympathetically portrayed Hydra or other Nazi analogues.

- No explicit or romantically portrayed non-con.

- No sexual/romantic relationships between adult and minor characters.

- No sexual/romantic relationships between family members.

- All content shared publicly should be tagged appropriately and thoroughly. 

Any offerings or creations that do not adhere to these guidelines will not be promoted on any of our social media platforms, and may affect your ability to participate in future events.

Resources

Creating: 

Writing With Color blogs, recs, & resources

Sam Wilson Birthday Bang resource page

Guide for non-Black authors writing Black characters

Common Microaggressions

Stereotyped vs Nuanced Characters and Audience Perception

Donations: 

Black Lives Matters carrd

Say Their Names carrd

BLM card master list

Homeless Black Trans women fund

Who are the mods?

@a-majesti, @awesomesnafu, @gavilansblog, @samstevebuckyhq, and @thundercakes22​ are your friendly mods. We bonded together over our love for Sam Wilson, and are amongst the mods & organizers for a variety of Sam Wilson-centric spaces, including the Sam Wilson Birthday Bang, SamSteve Small Gifts, SamSteveLove on Twitter, and the Sam Wilson Appreciation discord.

I have another question!

No problem, we’d love to hear from you! Email us (marvelfans4blm at gmail) or send us an ask here on Tumblr.

**Mod note: Thank you so much to @fandomtrumpshate and @marveltrumpshate for generously sharing their resources!