#I’ve been reading and watching (more watching) a lot of creative works/media

[crybaby-bkg]

asking nerd Bakugou to give you a ‘pearl necklace’ and he starts grumbling about you tryna drain him dry but instead of pulling out his cock, he pulls out his phone to actually search for a pearl necklace </3

and to both his surprise and embarrassment, his phone is quickly tossed away in favor of you showing him what you’re actually asking for. he’s not mad though—not when you end up looking so pretty covered in white, grinning, and asking for another necklace <3

[fellshish]

I have a question, and my name is Sal.

I grew up watching Coraline as a kid. It was my jam. I loved that movie, and I will forever say Henry Selick deserved more attention for making it.

I like the Dresden Dolls and Evelyn Evelyn (Amanda Palmer projects) I still have the songs stuck in my head. You know where this is going.

I know you said that fans of works should still enjoy the work even if the creator sucks. And I can do that with Kubrick and Aaron Fechter, but that’s because Kubrick is dead, and most of Aaron Fechter’s IP got ripped away from him and is gladly in the hands of the public (despite how much he likes to sue).

Gaiman (and Palmer) are still alive and/or profiting off their stuff. Not to mention, I want to bring attention to the situation and help bring justice to the victims. Yet everytime I post about it or reblog what someone else put into words what I think, I feel like I’m virtue signalling.

How do I handle it and is it bad that I keep thinking of the art that influenced me by them instead of what they did (in a way to soften the blow to how horribly they abused these women)?

(You can respond to this publicly, as I am sure people are thinking the same thing somewhere. I am sorry for dumping all this on you.)

hi sal!

sorry, this got long. your ask was so genuine and i was afraid of getting it wrong. 

i want to start this off by saying i am not the boss of anyone’s fandom experience. everyone gets to decide for themselves how they proceed after learning about the numerous women who have come forward against neil gaiman.

the things you mention are things i’ve struggled with too — last year when i first learned about it, when i listened to the podcasts and recently again reading even more detailed (and horrifying) news reporting.

these are also struggles shared by many fans in many fandoms of creators who were accused and/or controversial and/or convicted. for example many (trans) people i know have grown up loving harry potter, and have had to deal with their favourite writer waging a vendetta against trans lives. some still participate in the hp fandom without supporting her. they can’t help their hyperfixation and still find a lot of good and a lot of friends in the fandom. 

because yes, i do believe that someone can stay in such a fandom as ethically as possible. as in: i try the best that i can to make sure no further financial gains go to the creator. that means i avoid watching official streams, buying official merch, going to official cons, going to plays based on his work etc. i also amplify the women’s voices by spreading the article. 

the thing to keep in mind is: there is a difference and a distance between a creator and a fandom of what they created. a huge wall even. fandom is about community, friendships, creativity, … i am on a playground playing with the characters with my friends. sharing art and fics and gifs etc. and what those characters and stories mean to me are positive things. 

the core is this: if you have to live your life only consuming art by morally pure people (and who determines that?!) then you will have very little left to enjoy. 

and of course i understand the urge to want to help the victims, and the guilt/worry about virtue signaling. i’m going to break those down separately.

i think the idea of ‘helping bring justice to the victims’ is good but it also puts an unreasonable amount of responsibility on your young shoulders. here’s what’s already happened: the women’s voices have been heard, there is now more widespread media covering, he has lost his reputation, hasn’t been on his platforms since last summer, he’s losing (film) projects of his work, … what else consequences are yet to come, legally or otherwise, we’ll have to see. the responsibility for that lies not with you as one single fan but with lawyers etc. and you might find it important to keep vigilant that the story doesn’t get buried (again). in that case reblogging isn’t virtue signalling but useful.

but it’s also unreasonable to expect someone to continually do that for days and days. that’s a quick ticket to depression. ultimately tumblr is, to many, a fandom space. some people use it only for pleasant fandom activities. and what if they do? you can’t know a person’s whole life: maybe they are survivors who are too triggered to participate, maybe they’ve donated to causes that help survivors, maybe they have shared the story on other platforms etc

you asked “is it bad that I keep thinking of the art that influenced me by them instead of what they did”, and i found that the most heartbreaking part of your ask. it isn’t helpful to you or to anyone to keep torturing yourself with guilt. you’re aware of the allegations, and that’s good. but don’t burn yourself out trying to live up to the impossible standard of a morally pure activist that doesn’t exist. please stop being your own thought police. 

i think the fact you struggle so deeply, shows what a beautiful person you are.

now you’re going to be reading a lot of opinions. some very different from mine. am i right in continuing in fandom? i don’t know. this is my first time living life too. but i AM right that you’re a good person.

that said: protect your heart. block freely and curate a fandom space that makes you happy. avoid engaging in endless internet discourse that is bad for your mental health. step away for a while if that is what you need.

these are some intense days but i promise it gets better. the kid who loved coraline can still love coraline, but is just more informed now. 

the main rule of fandom is: does it spark joy? if yes, embrace it, because that’s a wonderful and rare thing to have.

[erinwantstowrite]

I know you’ve probably answered this dozens of times (sorry) but how do you come up with ideas? I’ve been trying to get back into writing but I’m stumped

usually i go look at other media and ink about how i would put other characters into their situations. you can find a lot of AUs based on this, but there's also tropes from your favorite media that you might want to try writing.

for an AU: often times i see people draw conclusions about which characters would fit into an AU based on the character type (ex: a sunshine character acting like a sunshine character from another show), but i like to think about the situation the character is in. Say I want a Gravity Falls au for the Batfam. I could just shove the characters into the character types and it would be fun. Dipper and Tim are a lot alike with their smarts, I suppose. Or Ford and Bruce have a lot of similarities between each other.

or i could go a step beyond... Tim and Pacifica have similar backgrounds even if they don't have the same personality. Stan and Bruce are nothing like each other, but I can imagine Bruce waiting however long it takes to try and find someone he loves. I could combine these aspects into a fun au: Bruce Wayne lives in a mysterious manor in the woods. He's kind and the townspeople love him. He was raised by Alfred, a family friend, after his parents were killed in the woods. Bruce knows that his parents were killed because of the strange happenings in the town, and he follows his late father's journals while studying everything Gotham has to offer. Only, two of them are missing. Years later, his first adopted son Dick Grayson lives in the town and helps people who are afflicted by Gotham directly, and Bruce is searching for a young Jason Todd, his adopted son, who got lost in a portal. The local rich kid Timothy Drake found the one of the journals that Bruce hadn't found, and starts looking for monsters in the woods. Eventually, he and Bruce start working together.

Thus, I've expanded upon the AU with one simple shift in thinking!

for the tropes: let's use The Sea Beast as an example (wonder wonderful beautiful movie) (spoilers up ahead)

My favorite part was the growing parental relationship between the grumpy sailor Jacob and the young free spirit Maisie. Scenes where they grow closer and form an understanding of each other are fun, but I really liked the scene where Maisie brings up becoming family, and when she realizes that Jacob is turning her down, she grows upset and wishes for them to forget the entire conversation. That scene HURTS because Maisie lost her parents and thought she would find a family in the other Hunters. But she ended up learning that she could never be a Hunter since she doesn't have the heart for it. This is her last chance to find someone who might understand (at least, she believes it is) and Jacob basically implies it wouldn't work. But eventually Jacob figures out that he does want to be a parent for Maisie, and it's really sweet. I ended up wanting a scene like that in one of my fics, and now I've gotten it written into an outline. It won't be exact, but it helped me pull inspiration.

Basically: consume your media critically, think outside of boxes, and nurture your creativity. The more you understand what you're reading/watching, the easier it is to find ideas for your own story :) don't be afraid to push limits and see where it takes you

[skimmingmilk]

howdy skim! how do you get Sonic and Tails characterization so spot on? Typically watching cutscenes i can read between the lines or think deeper on some bits of the games but you just flesh them out beautifully and I was just wondering what your interpretation of Sonic and Tails is!

Hi there! :D

Ahh, thank you! I’m so happy you like their characterization! Watching cutscenes does really help get the voices down, but you’re right in that it doesn’t give us a ton of emotional range to work with. I think—in the case for how I approach Sonic and Tails specifically in the Picket Fence series—it helps that their foundation is a mix of game personality and AoStH personality. 

AoStH, while a very silly series, offers a lot in terms of range for Sonic and Tails’s emotions and reactions to stress. We get to see Sonic angry and upset and scared in ways beyond what the games tend to show and Tails is very much a little kid just doing his best, with a bit of a stubborn and defiant side to him. Taking these traits and emotions and more or less infusing them into the game portrayals (specifically Adventure and Adventure 2) are kind of how I establish their baseline.

The rest has just been practice! I’ve written so much of these guys now, their behaviors and the way they think have become almost hardwired into my brain xD I didn’t start out super confident about my portrayal of them—Sonic in particular used to give me a lot of stress because of how much stock people can put in how he’s characterized. I thought for sure people weren’t going to like how I wrote him at all—and I’m positive there are people who don’t and that’s fine! But I wasn’t writing for them. I’m not writing for Sega or any official media, I’m writing for me and the people who want to read the same stories I do. 

**Edit: This isn't to disparage anyone who is more particular about how Sonic's portrayed. It's solely because there's already so much stress involved in the writing process, I don't need the added stress of writing for an audience that wouldn't like my style anyway hanging over my head! Especially when it's free fanfiction I'm doing in my spare time for fun. There are plenty of other really talented writers out there who have their own spin or take on the characters that people can find enjoyment in <3 I don't have to please everyone and that takes off a lot of pressure!**

So that pushed me to find my footing as I put Sonic in situations I wanted to see. The more I wrote him and practiced his voice, the more natural it became. I got comfortable with him and the confidence just built up over time to the point where I can trust him to guide the narrative and get himself where he needs to be, rather than me just shoving him into place.

In a way it’s a lot like learning to draw them, right? First, you stick pretty closely to on model references to make sure they look like who they’re supposed to. You learn their shapes and defining features, then once you're comfortable, you start to branch out, push the limits, and infuse more of your own style to them. It’s the same with writing. You follow the guidelines canon materials have given you at first, but once you understand how the shapes of their personality traits fit together, you can bring your own style and flair to the writing to expand their potential and match the creativity of your ideas that go beyond what the games, comics, movies, etc. have covered. 

More about how I personally approach them beneath the cut, because this got long, I'm sorry xD

I think my interpretation of Sonic and Tails relies on a couple of things. First, their relationship to each other. They are best friends. Sonic has a lot of friends and cares about a lot of people, but Tails is specifically his best friend. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s so important to me to establish that it’s a symbiotic relationship that goes both ways. It’s easy to see why Tails likes and admires Sonic, why he’d want to be his friend and that he looks up to him, it’s all part of his character arc in early games. So making sure Sonic views him in the same light is key—not just as a little brother figure he has to look out for, because that kind of responsibility doesn’t really align with Sonic’s free spirit*, but for Tails to be someone he genuinely admires and wants to be around. Sonic keeps pace with Tails because he wants to, because he’s choosing to of his own volition.

*Just want to add, that’s also what makes their dynamic so compelling to me. Sonic’s cool, rebellious, free spirit doesn’t typically lend itself to the idea that “my best friend is a sweet, eight-year-old genius mechanic who has a bit of a complex about me.” On a surface level, that doesn’t seem like it would align with a stereotypical “cool” character, at least not to me as an American kid in the 90s and early 00s. So playing with that and making sense of it is so fun and critical to my portrayal of him.

The second thing is mainly making sure my writing feels genuine. Like, I need to believe in the way I’m writing the characters because if I don’t, then I can’t possibly expect readers to. Sometimes it requires planting a few seeds along the way in order to earn the payoff of an emotional reaction, so that I can get to a place where I can write something like Sonic the Werehog hiding his face with one hand as he howls from the sheer relief of being free from the burden of taking a life that he was fully prepared to take on and believe him when he does. Or when Tails is trying to troubleshoot his own jealousy and insecurities on his own rather than talk it out, I need to believe that he believes what he’s doing makes perfect sense to him.

Honestly, my characterization of them is probably pretty skewed and biased to my personal tastes at this point. I don’t think this is a definitive way to write Sonic or Tails, but based on my experiences with how I’ve engaged with their characters throughout my life, I just write them exactly the way I want to and try not to worry about whether or not it aligns with others’ views of the characters. Taking away that pressure and outside influence gives me room to play and explore different possibilities. There are also certain characterization choices in canon media that I don’t necessarily agree with, but I try to work in aspects of that in a way that doesn’t totally contradict that piece of media while also aligning with my view of them, if that makes sense?

Basically I don’t disregard everything, but rather try and work it into my foundation that was built primarily on AoStH and the Genesis/Dreamcast-era Sonic games, so that people can still see a bit of Jason or Roger or Colleen's performances or nods to the OVA if that's their preferred piece of Sonic media. **Edit: I have the most familiarity with the English side of Sonic, but of course would want to be open to people who's favorite Sonic is Jun'ichi, too, I just haven't had as much exposure to him as Sonic, so can't say for certain if anything I've written feels in line with that**

I hope this answered your question? It was very compelling to think about and I hope it provided some insight into how I approach their characterization!

[connorsnothereeither]

was it hard/weird to go from being a fan to a cast member? And what was your favorite part of each?

I mean,,, in an odd way not really? There was a slight weirdness to it in the beginning, maybe, but outside of a few issues, it was honestly a very easy transition for the most part, and I think it’s because I was friends with the some of the cast before I was a fan? I sort of occupied this weird middle space already while I was in the fandom, almost.

I didn’t really start watching Fable solely from the place of stumbling onto it as a fan. I came into it wanting to watch and support my friends. Most of the cast and I were already in the same circle of friends and creators, or at least closely adjacent ones, when the server launched. Jamie and I had been great friends for a few years at that point, and had connections and friendships with a lot of the cast through my girlfriend and other mutuals before even joining the fandom. So a lot of the time, as much as I was active in the fandom side of things, I was also talking with the cast and my friends about the creator side of things (not to mention being a mod in the discord and in twitch chats), and had more of the cast I kind of knew reach out to me and become better friends because I was in the fandom. So I was sort of already a known presence and mutual when I was invited into the cast server as the VA for Deltavera, and after spending so long in that creative space (at least a few months) as a guest voice actor, not much really changed when I was invited as a player character, other than getting my own character. I was sort of already there in a way, I just… got to also be a cast member for season 3.

In terms of my favourite part of each?

From a fan perspective; I love the support the Fable fandom has for each other. There’s such an excitement and supportive atmosphere to the things everyone creates and the way everyone participates in lore together from the fandom side of things. Whether it’s people spending ours in vc’s puzzling out codes and languages together, or the way so many people came together to theorize, to even just how complimentary the fans are of each other’s work, there is such an aspect of community which is ironically not present in a lot of big fan communities I find.

And from the cast perspective it’s much the same. I love getting to see how people react to things I’ve made. I love people translating Telchin passages, or theorizing about little Ulysses lore drops, or make headcanons for him which I always adore reading. As someone who has wanted to be a writer since I was 5 years old, there is an excitement and happiness I genuinely can’t describe about seeing people react and engage with media I’ve made or had a hand in making, and I genuinely get emotional about it a lot of the time. I love being part of something which has a community in the way it does.

[cinder-starlight]

Concepts for BMFM fic

2/2

Part 1 can be found here

This post will feature more sketches and concepts than last post, but not a lot of stuff is solidified

As per the notes on the first post:

- I’m not done with the series, this is just what I have so far—my fic will be heavily inspired by the ‘94 series with some creative liberties

-no spoilers for the actual fic, this is mostly a continuation of my interpretation of other characters from the series as well as my ocs and other takes I may have.

-

Special thanks to @voiddraws2much for helping me with this fic and concepts as always uwu

We're gonna get a little wonky with this one so hopefully you don't mind my yapping TwT

I wanna start a little differently this time and start with the actual planets, I’ve read the a little of the recent BMFM comics (fully read the first one but couldn’t properly get my hands on 2 and 3, still trying to see if I can). I want mars to mostly stay unchanged aside from minor visual or fashion choices like I did with carbine and how I changed her green uniform to match the planet’s rust-colored surface. As well as changing her style to something more dystopian or desert-punk related.

Although I still have a lot left to learn about mars itself in the show, one idea that came up was the relation to war—I did a smidge of digging and found it wasn’t uncommon to relate Mars to war or destruction, so I figured aside from the Plutarkian war that there would’ve been more going on with the planet and its inhabitants. (which I will get to in a bit)

I was initially going to make and share Plutark based concept art I came up with but discovered quickly my brain does not have enough power to make whatever ungodly creation Plutark is so in short it’s a mix of diesel punk and bioshock vibes.

moving on to the oc based planet—Venus, not gonna lie I listened to a lot of lady Gaga when trying to decipher what to do with this planet. But a bit of research and we came to the idea that Venus was pretty isolated for the fact of like—a poisonous atmosphere (yeah Venus is inhabitable irl but this show is pure shenanigans so I can commit to a bit of tomfoolery for Venus). And because of this it led to quick tech advancements, giving the place a cyberpunk vibe where residents live in Colonies run by captains. To access the colonies you’d have to find a bunker-type building and take the elevator below the surface to access the cities.

In terms of how the colonies work on Venus it's complicated but going off the fact that the people were inspired by media like: Bloody Bunny, Cyberpunk Edgerunners and Watership Down it doesn’t paint a pretty picture—similar to Mars I went off the idea that because Venus is associated as a planet of love, but with a twist. I didn’t want Venus to be the opposite of mars where it was all happy and lovey-dovey, but instead went off the idea that it was the embodiment of types of love or lack thereof, things like romantic, platonic, familial love or neglect, obsession and possessiveness. Each topic of sorts aligning and coming together with one or more Venus-based characters.

Note: I also recently learned that in the “94 series Venus was destroyed—me and void were BAFFLED to say the least but that’s not stopping us >:]

Cats

Not on my soul will I watch the '06 version but in the few minutes I did come across clips or bits of the show as well as the brief wiki, I discovered the Cataronians--I found they lived on mars--which in all honesty I read and said "we're doing this now" because this is too good of a chance to NOT use the cat and mouse shenanigans. its a tale as old as time and I'd be dubious for not using it.

I mainly went with sketching out my interpretations of Hannibal T. Hairball and Cataclysm, and soon went on to sketch Catalina, with this being one of her first interpretations.

I was trying to follow closely to her original design since I do like trying to stay true to the source material but--yeah compared to the source material I felt I had to get creative

I did see a later clip/ screenshot where she was accompanied by two other cats and remembered that one post about 3 photogenic cats saying "these cats look like they're in a girl gang" and based it off that instead--still trying to stay true to the idea I had earlier where post-plutarkian war the fashion was a variety of muted colors like yellow red and orange (similar to what I did to Carbine)

with Catalina being in the middle--her girlies are yet to be named (if they stay that is)

A thought I conjured was that the Catatonians be referred to instead as "Canyon Cats" it felt more suitable since they're also from mars and it would in a way compliment the name "Cave Mice"

If you remember my earlier thoughts on how Mars in real life has been known/believed to be a planet of war--this is where I wanted to tie the Cats into. I mainly had in mind that before and during the Plutarkian invasion the cats and mice didn't get along, resulting in civil wars between the two, I also plan on tying Carbine and or Vinnie's parents into this idea somehow. I use the Cat's for this mainly because I had no clue what to do with the Sand Raiders and wanted to add a little flavor to Mars drama prior to the Plutarkian invasion.

the idea is still being worked on but I would like to see chaos between the Canyon Cats and the Cave Mice--I do like to think that Catalina and Carbine have beef or history--but not for the same reasons as in the '06 series.

Bunny/Hares

BNUY TIME, pretty excited for these ones since I did spend a bit more trying to give a general basis for them, still need tweaking but so far I'm proud of where they're going.

the main crew of Axle's which can be found here but to expand on other Venus characters I want to share the minor characters I made as well as some sketches in regards to them.

Although minor characters, Blaser is a favorite of mine all while I was actually inspired by the concept of "bunnicula" (vampire rabbit) hence why Taurus looks like she knows Draculas family on a first name basis. Main difference between the two is that Blaser for starters--Isn't a rabbit, he's a Hare Rabbit's and Hares are NOT the same, they are Lagomorphs like how both rats and mice are Murids but again--aren't the same thing.

Blaser was heavily inspired by Kiwi from cyberpunk edgerunners, mainly in terms of things close to personality as well as his face, which similar to Kiwi, comes off since he lost his jaw and ear.

as for Taurus, yes her legs are prosthetic, though they're pretty clunky and hard to see in the pic I do plan on giving them an upgrade similar to the new arm Modo wanted but more detailed to sell that cyberpunk vibe.

That’s all I got for now, I can’t wait to doodle more of everybody and maybe even some shenanigans between the mice and the bnuy :>

[taelophone]

hi!!

i js realized and UGH I FEEL SO STUPID BUT i realized how much of an impact fanficiton can actually dent to the whole "some people are forgetting luigi's inspo and purpose and the whole crux of this situation" im not sure if it is disrespectful that's why i wanted to run it by to u guys but we can totally bring things to perspective on luigi's current conditions. how scared he is, how ignorant MEDIA is in general, we can totally do it and honestly we already are!! most of the fanfictions ive read are raising awareness about the struggles of going through traumatic surgeries, making people feel seen about injuries they had that are similar to luigi's!! i just want to clarify that im not saying that EVERYTHING we choose to write to be apart of this community must be sort of tasked to carry the weight of the world at all times and have this altruistic can-do attitude about it. what im saying is that we all require something real even if it is in our fantasies - real as in something that is close to us as humans and ive realized that there is always and forever will be a certain standing that we take against oppressors that quote and quote "work in the shadows - making them systems of cowardice" most importantly ive noticed that us as a community loves fanfiction that humanizes luigi - we live vicariously through the name of "y/n" and that is just us feeling human and through this fandom we create a community an institution with a base for smart thinkers and creative writers i think luigi has inspired a lot of people and it is important to note that people especially creators - those who know they belong or has hosted a blog or whatever type of creative craft of their that hones their skills are easily touched by topics that wake them up and inspire them - those are topics that are hard to forget

so i just wanted to share this message! and im sending this as Phoenix (pseudonym) to my favorite luigi writers, you guys dont have to respond politically or feel pressured to completely agree with what im saying i mean im still learning and im def a minor exposed to media so of course i am subject to multiple errors! i just felt the need to say it and im too shy to post it on my actual tumblr..

clarification: i really dont mean this as an attack or as a self-righteous claim :(( i sent this to you because i adore you and ur writing, how u see the world, how u contribute to this fandom, and how u make us feel dare i say... one with the one we are reading about!! im sorry if i said anything bad or insensitive or just offending in any way!! dont be pressured to reply to this i just realized that it's important for me to share my voice even if i think it doesnt matter because it might matter to others who would like to read it

by the way!! i got these ideas a lot from a book called the message by ta nehisi coates!! if you love writing you'd love this book for sure :))

i really dont mean to offend and i apologize for the long message my love!! i hope you have a great day please drink water and stay safe!!

OHHHH MY GOD I LOVE YOU!!

IVE BEEN SAYING THIS THE WHOLE TIME!! Writing Luigi, or writing FOR Luigi, is a political move in itself. How you choose to portray or regurgitate his character automatically clarifies how he is seen by the media! For some people who only watch the news or don’t do research on him as a person, we’re gonna have more surface level and extremely harmful takes. By now I’ve seen such AWFUL things being said about a man who was already confirmed to be

1, A huge man who advocated for COMPLETE equality, 2. An extremely pleasant and kind soul to be around, and someone who literally GAVE UP THEIR LIFE OF UPPER CLASS FREEDOM AND COMFORT BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO TRY AND BETTER SOMETHING THEY SAW AS AN AMERICAN FLAW.

I’ve seen rumors fly around that he’s a narcissist, trump supporter, misogynist, abuser, etc etc and it’s so fucking apparent who actually did research and is able to form a strong opinion without the influence of others or the media, and people who are able to take a moment and literally just fact check themselves LMFAOO😭

So yes, writing Luigi raises awareness to his cause and situations, but also the calls of others, the healthcare system, the judicial system, and many many more. Albeit it’s a very unconventional way of raising awareness, but I am literally punk, I am all about unconventional LMAOOO

Keep reading, please! You are such a bright brilliant mind and you are able to draw such loaded conclusions and make statements that the comfortable won’t! We love you!! Rock on man!

[dcafanzine]

Hi everyone! We’re super excited to start introducing our contributors! Let’s let them introduce themselves!

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Hewwo, I’m Ren or @ren-054 on tumblr, and I’m a page artist for the Backstage Pass bonus zine. This is my first zine ever and I’m admittedly a bit nervous working among much more experienced people but I’m happy to be a part of it. I became a FNAF fan because I’ve watched Markiplier for years and I got hooked on the DCA because I read a really well written fic of them by chance and really liked their vibe. Even though I’ve moved on to other hyperfixations, I still care about them a lot! Being in this fandom was the first step to me coming out of my shell and doing more with my art and I’m forever thankful for that.

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Heyo! I’m Piixel (@piixelpaint). I’m one of the merch artists for Glitches and Glitterglue! I was part of a previous DCA zine, where I got to be a spot artist and am super excited to now get to make some merch of the funky skrunklies for this one! Originally, I got invested in Security Breach for the familial dynamic between Freddy and Gregory, but then Sun and Moon stole us into the Daycare and it’s been very hard to leave since. The dramatics of Sun and creature nature of Moon just piqued my interest in a certain special way. And what’s more is just the sheer imaginative creativity and kindness of everyone I’ve met here that has made it such a joy to exist and create in this space ^^

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Hi I’m Nova (@sulfadimethoxine), and I am a page artist for the backstage zine. This is the first zine I have worked on and I hope to be in many more! I have always been a huge fnaf fan since the first game and an even bigger fan of media with anything robotic. Originally got into the DCA when I first saw them in game for their voice and mannerisms. Then stayed for the awesome stuff other fans of the dca made!

[disparition]

Whether you approach arts and media as a creator, a fan, a professional, or a hobbyist, you are probably very well aware of the rapid growth of AI in many areas of creative life and the conversation surrounding it. Whether we are talking about fiction or text of any kind, visual arts like painting and drawing, music composition and performance, sound design and audio editing - in all of these fields AI is something we now have to deal with, and there are many unanswered questions. How do we protect our livelihoods and practices as artists? What control can we have over our own work and its incorporation into machine learning tools and datasets? How do we as lovers of art and music determine if what we are reading, watching, or listening to is made by humans? Or how do we denote the particular degree of involvement of humans in a work of art?

It’s a complicated issue because it can be hard to say exactly where to draw the line. For example, well before the current conversation about AI, composers like Brian Eno were incorporating generative and algorithmic elements into their work. Does this mean such work is not “essentially human made”? Does it matter if the non-human components of a piece are created by randomness, or by natural elements gathered in e.g. a field recording, vs. being created by a computer program?

Those kinds of questions are more about the philosophical side of the issue. There are more pressing questions to do with how AI affects our ability to actually survive as artists. And, as the technology grows more powerful and the distinction between AI-generated or AI-enhanced material and human made material or basic documentation of reality itself, what methods do we use to signify that a given piece of media is or is not AI made, and what are the exact qualifications of that? Should the label “AI art” apply to work that is entirely generated by a computer, or should that label also be applied to any art that uses AI tools in any context - e.g. the new tools in Photoshop that make it easier to remove a specific object from an image and fill it in with background. What about the world of video games, where AI has been used for decades for things like pathfinding but is new and controversial when it comes to using it for story/dialog elements or certain visual assets?

We are, I think, still very much in the early days of all this, so it’s hard to come up with firm answers as the field changes so rapidly, but this is an essential conversation to be held now. I’ve been talking to a friend who put together a survey for an organization called Verified Human, who are looking specifically into the issue of how do we determine - going forward - whether a piece of art or media is “essentially human made”, and the question of how that should be communicated.

The idea of this survey is to gather as many points of view as possible for this conversation. I know a lot of the people that follow me here are artists and lovers of art, of all different kinds, and to me it is absolutely essential that creators of all kinds be involved in this conversation from early on. Please take a few minutes and fill out the survey via the link below, and if you are interested in helping out, please spread the word. And if you have any questions or would like to discuss, please feel free to contact me directly. Thank you.

https://forms.gle/BrSbGyq9wAyzwTa88

[gummy22]

If you don’t mind I’m just gonna spill my guts about Fionna and Cake and how much it means to me, you’ve been warned lol.

To say I’ve been wanting this show for years would be an understatement. I remember watching adventure time as a kid and seeing these guys on trailers for the brand new episode. I remember watching it when it aired on tv. I remember so desperately wanting to see more.

And then the episode with marshal came out. I thought it was the coolest thing ever and loved these interpretations of the characters. Also in general adventure time has inspired me creatively, and I know many artists share the same sentiment. I remember going to a book fair in middle school and immediately begging my mom for a comic with them. (I still have that comic and read it from time to time.) A couple years go by and it’s still my favorite part of adventure time, every time I rewatched a few episodes I found myself going back to these episodes specifically.

I thought it would always just be a wish I would never see get fulfilled. They were just gender-bends of the original characters, they already made adventure time what would be the point of just slapping a new coat of paint on it? Despite accepting my reality it is always something I hope for.

You could not imagine my excitement when I saw the promo for it on Twitter. A series of Fionna and Cake. A series of them. Characters I had loved since I was a kid.

The series had been out for at least a week before me and my partner had time to watch it, and it was as if all the problems I had been dealing with as a young adult were being displayed on screen. I knew I was already attached to these characters, but the beautiful story they had made out of everything got me even more attached. I cried so much, it was like seeing old childhood friends all grown up. It was an answer to problems I thought were hopeless. Without getting too personal my life would have been a whole lot worse if it wasn’t for this series.

I know it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, and with media nobody truly gets the same message or idea. But if I could cram together all the beautiful answers and lessons this show gave me in, it’s that life isn’t perfect and it’s what you make of it. And I know that seems simply or corny, but many people seem to forget that life is not just about your successes or good moments, and if you constantly try to think otherwise you will just be more miserable.

You have every right to be miserable…but you also have every right to get better and try your best at a good life. It’s going to take work, but you will find people there for you, you just have to put your trust into it too. We are all in this together and we are constantly fighting, so why not make this battle a bit easier?

You’re doing great, whoever and where ever you are, just please…don’t give up, there’s a whole life you deserve to live.

[seeinginthedark]

This is what I believe in my heart and in my soul . My heart and soul have synced in and the communication line between is clear . Same goes for my subconscious, after rigorous shadow self work. As for my mind , I’ve synced in my left and right brain hemispheres. I did this in 2022. So they are balanced and healthy . I am of sane mind . I won’t be gaslighted anymore by anyone , any man , any institution and not even gaslighted by myself .

Here we go, strap in .

If you’ve been reading my blogs , you will know that I’m on a mission. I have a psychosis but, as I keep reiterating, a psychosis means different things depending what culture your from. In Indigenous cultures(who are more closer to the Earth and nature) a psychosis is a ‘spiritual situation’ . In the western medicine world , it’s a mental illness. People get scared during a psychosis and don’t know how to handle it. I handle it. I don’t get scared or paranoid. I don’t have hallucinations or hear voices . I know the difference between a delusion and a sign , a message from the ancestors .

The videos I made in 2022, contain information that I didn’t understand at the time , suddenly now have become relevant. They were warning me of what to watch out for .

We are in a spiritual situation. A war. An attack on our souls . An ongoing oppression. Being drained of our humanity.

To be turned into something un-natural and mechanic. And we won’t allow this happen.

The ancestors that made it to the afterlife (instead of a reincarnation soul trap ) are building alliances with spirits of this Earth, of nature and of the inner Earth. I’m dead serious about this .

A lot of us today are souls of our ancestors who chose to leave the astral afterlife realm to come here in this modern world . They are Mother Earths army. We are at the front line now . The children of today have been absolutely bombarded with screens, technology and toxic social media . In an effort to neutralise us , make us forget who we are and forget what’s important in life . This wave of children , are born already spiritually activated and awake . They have immense spiritual potency and magic-like abilities. They are our salvation now .

A lot of people however , are getting confused thinking they a star seeds or thinking they were meant to be a different gender . These are trends and narratives that have been articulately planted on purpose for the reason to distract and confuse and cause social division . And self identity issues .

Please, if you have one of these special children , who are from magic bloodlines , please take care of them . Nurture them and their abilities. Do not crush their imagination- as it is one of their magical traits . Please limit the amount of screen time they are having. I know it’s hard and we are all busy trying to get by and have to work and have so many things on our plate but please don’t pacify them with iPads and tablets and phones . It inhibits their development. It inhibits their social skills . It socially programs them.

Get them outside in nature as much as possible . Listen to them. Let them have a voice . Let them express themselves creatively. Treasure them . Love them unconditionally. They are here to change the world. I don’t want to see any of these children grow up and be plugged into a permanent virtual reality . With microchips in their brains . With non -organic robotic add ons . Stuck in the simulation. Their souls recycled back into this system when they die . Their souls need to be free, as all of our souls should be .

We can beat this A.I take -over . Together . United . Strong . Keep your vibes high . Self care. Heal from your trauma. Be the powerful spiritual warrior you were born to be . For Earth. For our souls . This is it.

[oddygaul]

brand anti-synergy, 1 Year Anniversary

Wow, I’ve been doing this for a whole year now. Why not take a moment to be retrospective about it?

Keeping this journal has certainly accomplished its primary goal, which was to better remember the media I’ve engaged with and how I felt about it. If I didn’t have this blog and asked myself what I was watching / reading exactly a year ago, my answer would probably be “No idea!”; now, I can just scroll back through the archive and remember exactly what was going on and how it made me feel. Given the ever-increasing speed with which life seems to pass me by as I age, it’s nice to have little strategies like this that anchor moments in time, that help me remember how much time has really passed and all the things I’ve done.

Of course, it doesn’t work out in a conversational sense – I can’t exactly call a timeout and re-read my journal to refresh my memory mid-conversation – but even so, the increased time I now spend reflecting on the art I engage with solidifies my thoughts on a work better in my long-term memory, I think.

Although, suppose I should be doing this for more personal matters, too, and not just art? Hm.

I’ve definitely been more and less successful in keeping up with writing, depending on the month, although I think it’s safe to say my frequency has been trending upward for a while now. Plus, those peaks and valleys, in their own way, help chart the course of my life at those times. Like, yeah, I didn’t write a lot in the months after my dad died; no shit. I absorbed myself in tracking an album instead.

I’ve written some things I’m proud of, surprisingly. When I set out, the idea was that this was purely a journal, with no particular consideration toward readability. From the start, I knew I didn’t want these to be typical reviews, because reviews spend time introducing the subject to the viewer to give context, and I don’t have much interest in spending that time. These are for me, and for any little freaks that are so waist-deep in whatever the topic is that they’re diving through tags deep enough to find it. So, by design, the blog is inherently unapproachable.

Despite that, I still have a few posts that I think are solid, standalone pieces of writing, and a few more that I consider genuinely good analyses of particular works, even if they are likely impenetrable to someone unfamiliar with the work… and I think that’s enough for me. Some of them are certainly banal and worthless, but you know what? That’s fine. Sometimes I finish something and I don’t have anything profound to say, don’t have any interesting takes, don’t have any deep thoughts or self-reflection knocked loose from my brain while I was watching or reading… but I still want to remember if I liked it or not. And I think the willingness to record those insipid reactions anyway is healthy. Who knows – maybe it’s a baby step towards fixing my unhealthy relationship with perfectionism and creativity in general.

The longer it’s been, the more time I spend (read: too much time) taking screenshots and choosing images to put in the posts. On one hand, I genuinely do think this helps with memory – a picture’s worth a thousand words, after all, and seeing a scene or moment that meant something to me instantly recalls the work to mind in a way reading a summary does not. But also? I like pretty pictures, and I’d rather the blog be filled with them than not.

My biggest concern, a year in, is that I’m subconsciously compelled to actually read less, watch less, play less, because I have this shadow hanging over me in the form of unfinished blog posts piling up in a backlog. A similar kind of stress affects a lot of my creative output, generally, so I’m trying to be wary of letting that mindset affect things that are supposed to be for, y’know, unwinding, de-stressing, or experiencing joy. I don’t… think it is, though, too much? I’ve never really been one to binge things anyway, and even when I do, I absolutely do not retain any of it even a month later, so if anything I’m okay with correcting that behavior in lieu of more intentional consumption.

Time will tell.

Anyway, not that many people follow this intentionally, but thanks to anyone that reads my ramblings. The first time I got a classic tumblr reblog, with responses as full run-on sentences in the tags, I felt like I’d really made it in this world.

[thatkodochagirl]

▶️🎉1 Year on YouTube ▶️ 🎉

Today marks my 1 year anniversary of being a YouTuber. When I started creating Kodocha videos, I never expected to make so many new friends and gain so many subscribers who feel just as passionately as I do about the series.

Thank you ALL.

Not only did I become a YouTuber last year, but I also became a wife and an official resident of a new state in the US. 2022 was a big, and difficult year for me. With all the changes and adjustments going on around me, it was comforting knowing that I had the Kodocha community to go back to each day. 

So what inspired me to create a Kodocha channel? There are many reasons, so let’s talk about them! First of all, Kodocha is my favorite animanga series, and sadly there isn’t many Kodocha content creators online. However, the ones that do exist do such AMAZING work for this fandom. I want to give a shout-out to my friend Li over on Twitter (https://twitter.com/kodomonomochaa) for her incredible work gathering Kodocha media and resources for fans to enjoy. She has been a big part of my channel’s growth and is just a sweet person all around. Make sure to give her a follow on all her platforms!

I also want to give a shout-out to @thekodochaarchive, another great resource for fans to see rare content. There is a lot of interesting rare Kodocha media over on that blog/channel, I highly recommend checking it out! Watching the old Kodocha commercials is like being able to go back and time and experience Kodocha at the time when it was first being aired. I would have loved to have been a kid who grew up with that show!

Last but certainly not least, I want to give a HUGE shout-out to my girl @dailykodocha aka M, who runs the BEST Kodocha blog around and writes INCREDIBLE fanfiction. Please go and check out her fic about Akito during the middle school years; it’s SO good and she gets the characters so well. It feels like it could be an official Kodocha novel. Here’s the link to that! (https://archiveofourown.org/works/41971272?view_full_work=true) She also co-hosts our unofficial Kodocha podcast, “19 O’Clock News” with me. We have so much fun with it, and I look forward to sharing many many many more episodes with everyone!

So wanting to contribute more to a series I deeply love, I decided to create my YouTube channel, as I noticed there weren’t really any video essays about Kodocha anywhere. This felt wrong given how much there is to talk about with the series, and how deep the characters are. 

Many of the videos that you’ve watched from me for most of 2022 were formulated from ideas I’ve had in my head since I first saw the series back in 2016. That’s why I was uploading almost weekly, as the writing flowed so naturally as I’d had a lot of time to think about the characters and plot. 

I’m very proud of all the content I have put out thus far - but I will keep improving! I’ve been re-reading the series and am about to finish volume 10, and noticed some things that I should have talked about in previous videos. It’s crazy just how detailed Obana was when she wrote Kodocha! Just when I think I understand a character, I notice a new detail during a read-through and it completely shifts my perspective on them. I used to feel very indifferent about Fuka until pretty recently! Now she is becoming one of my favorite characters.

Another reason I started my channel was for my mental health. Being creative is what keeps me sane. Unfortunately, making music (my main creative hobby) just didn’t have the same spark for me anymore. It used to be my go-to activity for my mental health - but I think I had done it for so long that I got burned out. Also, I felt very limited in what I could do with music, but with my channel, I feel like I can exercise and hone my writing skills and also talk about something I love in a unique way. This summer, I created a second channel which I hope to upload more content on that focuses on obscure media, which I will use as another outlet to discuss things unrelated to Kodocha. I watch YouTube more than anything and would love to create similar content to YouTubers that I enjoy, where they talk about interesting things from childhood or just niche internet mysteries.

Kodocha is the only thing in my life that has ever consistently brought me joy. Ever since I found the series, it’s turned my life around in more ways than one. When I first watched the anime in 2016, it made what could have been a miserable year for me into something hopeful. Sana’s enthusiasm and positivity really awakened my own, and it’s stuck with me ever since. Maybe taking life so seriously isn’t the answer. Sometimes you just gotta shut up and smile, and not worry about things you can’t fix, and just go with the flow. I never knew by 2023 Kodocha would have brought me so many new friends and just a better understanding of myself and life in general. I hope everyone watching my videos can learn not only about the characters of Kodocha, but about themselves as well. My latest video, part 2 of “Exploring Sana & Akito’s Relationship”, actually helped me in my own marriage. Yesterday, my husband told me that he’s the happiest he’s ever been. It made me feel so good because the research and time I put into that video helped me better understand my husband’s love languages, which ultimately strengthened our marriage. 

Kodocha really is my light in this dark world and I hope I am able to spread the joy that it’s instilled in me.

Thank you for reading, and sticking around until now. There is a lot more Kodocha content coming in the future, as always. See ya! 💖

[kkami-writes]

HI OP HI KAIA I just finished bingeing literally everything that is out rn in the waiting for us series and. I have to start by saying im so sorry for spamming ur notifs

I HOPE U CAN FORGIVE ME I AM SO SORRY BUT IT'S 1AM RN AND I JUST DISCOVERED THIS SERIES AND I LOVE IT TO DEATH

the premise alone had me so so hooked but I absolutely ADORE the social media format?? like the combination of texts/tweets/writing is actually so genius to me like it is such a creative and engaging way to tell the story and I absolutely fucking love u for it <3

MIO MY HEART ACHES FOR MIO I WANT HER BROTHER (AND PARENTS??) TO DIE A SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATH SO SHE CAN JUST BE HAPPY FOREVER W HER 8 SOULMATES ALREADY :(

the amount of angst in this series I love sm. when seung was texting hyunjin about mio?? broke me. I am so not okay I almost cried real tears at that chapter like how dare u do that to my fragile little heart (/pos !!!) I also noticed u being super considerate with your sh tw for that one chapter, a lot of authors don't rly do that so thank u for that tldr at the end I love u and u deserve a kiss on the forehead

aside from the angst I absolutely adore the crack humor and fluff in this series LMAO <333 I just can't describe it but waiting for us!skz is just. so skz. like it is so them I have no idea how u managed to put their exact entire beings into these texts and tweets but u did and it's incredible and I'm so immersed in the series I love u sm

ANYWAYS I'm so sorry for the entire essay... if u didn't read this and u end up blocking me for spamming ur notifs sm I understand BUT I HOPE U KNOW I LOVE THIS SERIES SOOO MUCH <33 idk how the taglist works bc I think it said 50/50 but? please tag me in future updates if you're still open to adding people!! I can't tell u again how much I adore this series and how invested in it I ammmm thank u for your incredible writing op!!! <333

- heather <3

haha omg. I don’t mind the spam!!! i’m goad you’re loving it. the social media format has definitely been my favorite since I discovered it!! I’ve always enjoyed writing dialogue more than anything so texts are a great way to do that.

I accidentally made seungmin a little too angsty but!! he’s just a lil tsundere who’s kinda afraid of his feelings because he feels them so strongly and so intensely. there’s definitely a little more to his backstory that you guys can look forward to 🤭

of course!! tws are super important to me as someone who is easily triggered by things. I had wrote mio/yn as someone who struggles a lot because as someone who deals with depression and chronic anxiety, writing about it and having someone be comforted by it is really cathartic. I know it’s not for everyone and that’s ok!! I have much more less angst fic ideas too.

AAAAA thank you so much!! as a baby stay I’m really glad people enjoy my characterization of skz! I’ve been binge watching a lot of content and I was worried about writing them in the beginning because I am a baby stay but i’m very happy 🩷

don’t worry!!! I absolutely LOVE your long message and kind words!

right now the taglist is full but i’ll put you on the waitlist! thank you so much for enjoying waiting for us! this fic is my baby tbh.

[mcnuggyy]

Do you have tips for coming back to art after taking a break? I feel like I've been gone so long and I can't find anything inspiring but like. If I don't do something creatively fulfilling I will explode like a grape

Honest to god I am going through the exact same thing 🥺😭 I’ve tried different things and sometimes some work and sometimes they don’t but some things I’ve done that work for me have been: treating it like a job, you’re just clocking in, get it done and that’s it. draw traditionally and in a very chill way, crayons, marker on napkin, coloring book, maybe don’t draw at all! Do a collage or paper crafts(or my go to is sticker books :-]) Or treat it like school, sit down and find some figure drawing poses (there’s lots of sites available, including landscapes and animals) and just do some studies.

Basically I just try and trick my brain so it goes into autopilot mode? So I’m not thinking too hard about it. Cause the thing for me that always trips me up is that I end up building it up too much in my head and I get overwhelmed and freak myself out.

As for inspiration, I’ve just been trying to consume more media here and there but not just watching tv shows ykno? Reading, and getting back into collaborative storytelling like dnd and stuff! Hanging out more with my family and friends! Basically things that DON’T have to do with art ykno? And then for ‘what’ to draw cause that’s another huge roadblock for me, is I usually keep a list of ideas from when I do feel inspired, it’s years old but it’s nice to have something to look through to get the gears turning! Or I have my go to drawing subjects! my ocs, my friends ocs, figure drawings, and an inspo blog I keep with various images that I personally find interesting to try and draw :-]

But yeah!! I feel like lately I’ve been putting too much pressure on myself to make things so I’ve just been trying to do other things I enjoy cause the burnout has been brutal for me </3 but I think because I did take the time to do nothing art related I feel better about transitioning back into art this past week ;w;’

[lovesosweeet]

MAY THE BEST MAN WIN

competing for the best toast at their best friends' wedding, calum and tanner go from being pretend rivals to… something like friends. maybe a little more? may the best man win.

read on ao3

part one

“Tanner, right?”

The blonde woman dressed in a magenta sweater, baggy jeans, and green sneakers turns to find the owner of the voice that just spoke to her, ripping her gaze from the photograph on the wall. 

“Yep, that’s me,” she says with a bright smile.

The man holds his hand out to her to shake. “I’m Ryan. Big fan, and also a friend of Lou’s.”

Tanner smiles even bigger, but instead of shaking his hand, she pulls him into a hug. “Ryan! Oh my goodness, it’s so good to finally meet you!”

It’s the opening night of their mutual friend Lou’s newest photography collection at a gallery in London. Both Tanner and Ryan are photographers, which is how they know Lou, but they’ve never met, with Ryan constantly on tour with 5SOS and Tanner always chasing down new projects in new cities. Tanner has followed Ryan for so long and somehow had never been able to meet him, despite being a huge fan of his work.

“I can’t believe we’re finally in the same city at the same time,” Ryan says.

“I mean, I couldn’t miss Lou’s new stuff! Everything he does is so inspiring.” Tanner motions at the space they’re in, filled with fellow creatives and Lou’s photographs blown up to being a few feet tall a piece. 

Ryan laughs, watching as the blonde woman in front of him stares at the art surrounding them with stars in her eyes. “He always cites you as his biggest inspiration, Tanner.”

She shrugs, her eyes fixating on a photograph of an antique watch that Lou has manipulated a lot in Photoshop, warping the edges and adding in colors. She loves it and makes a mental note that she wants to talk to Lou about it later. “Life and art and inspiration and ideas… we all share it. It’s not yours or mine or his. It’s ours.”

Tanner refocuses her gaze onto Ryan to find him shaking his head at her. “Y’know, I always wondered if your ‘spiritual, perpetually philosophical and uplifting’ thing was just for Instagram.”

Tanner rolls her eyes. “I’m not like that. What you see is what you get.” 

Ryan smiles. “Good. The best people are like that.”

She nods, her smile matching his. “Totally.”

“Tanner! Ryan! You made it!” Lou appears from the crowd with his arms open for his two friends.

“You know I don’t turn down a chance to come to London,” Tanner chimes while she hugs the photographer. 

“The show is sick, man,” Ryan tells his friend, hugging him after Tanner lets go.

“Surprised both of you could make it, honestly,” Lou chuckles.

“Literally! I’ve been hoping to meet Tanner for so long now.”

Tanner blushes and shrugs. “I am just a girl with a camera and a dream.” 

Ryan and Lou laugh loudly at her comment and share some kind of knowing glance. 

“The guys are gonna lose their minds when they find out I used my days off to come to London and meet the Tanner Thorne.” 

Tanner raises her eyebrows. “The guys?”

She knows who 5SOS is, and she assumes that’s who he’s referring to. Who doesn’t know who they are? How do they know who she is? Sure, photographers and some models know who she is, but people don’t just know who photographers are, even if they’re the ‘famous’ ones. 

Ryan laughs quietly. “You know, the loud, tall, gangly men in 5 Seconds of Summer.” 

She rolls her eyes. “I know who they are, Ryan. Why would they lose their minds that you met me?”

She’s really that clueless? Ryan thinks.

“Tanner, you and Valerie are one of the most iconic best friend duos on the planet. Everyone knows who you are,” Lou explains. He’s used to Tanner being like this. She’s humble and unaware of the effect she has on people. It’s endearing. 

Valerie Summers is Tanner’s lifelong best friend. She’s also one of the biggest supermodels in the world. Tanner and Valerie were discovered simultaneously, with Tanner behind the lens of each photograph of Valerie that caught the media’s attention. When Valerie got her first modeling contract, a photographer that worked with the agency asked Tanner to be their apprentice. At the age of 17, the best friends move to New York to begin their careers in fashion. 

Their careers took off, with Valerie eventually moving to LA to pursue work there and Tanner beginning the start of her nomadic lifestyle that she still leads. They don’t see each other much, but at every fashion week or awards show, you can find them attached at the hip the entire night. Tanner knows Valerie is a star, but thinks of herself as just a girl in a press pit, taking pictures and hiding in the wings.

“You didn’t hear it from me, but Ashton is obsessed with Valerie. Watches every single interview she does, buys any magazine with her face on it, says it’s the biggest goal of his life to have her breathe on him.”

Tanner snorts with laughter. Ashton Irwin, the drummer, has been Valerie’s celebrity crush for years. Val has never had the guts to approach him, even though they follow each other on Instagram. It’s too funny of a coincidence. Valerie bought Ashton’s solo album on vinyl and has it framed in her bathroom. Their obsession is mutual, and nobody knows it. Until now.

“You’re shitting me,” Tanner giggles, but when she looks at Ryan, she can see he’s being completely serious. 

“Obsessed.” 

“Val’s into Ash, Ryan,” Lou says, laughing just as much as Tanner is.

Ryan’s jaw falls open. “What? No, no way!” 

Tanner shakes her head, still laughing. “Obsessed. Superbloom is her most played album of all time.” 

With wide eyes, Ryan shakes his head too, starting to laugh with his two friends. 

Deciding it’s fate that brought them together, Tanner knows what she has to do. She needs to get her best friend on a date with Ashton Irwin, and the way to make it happen is right in front of her.

“Here, let’s get them together, Ryan. Give me your phone. You should totally give Ashton her number.”