#and it creates financial inequality within fandom

[not-poignant]

1/2 I've had a discussion about commissioned fanart/fanfic with a friend lately, and we disagree. For me, it goes against everything I know ff to stand for to get compensation for it (though freely donated ko-fi by readers, that I can get by). But my friend asked, how ff is different from fanart? "Fanartist strive on ko-fi, patreon, etc, they regularly sell fanmerch... it's a discrimination against ff writers if they are not allowed to get the same support fanartists get". 

And I get where she's coming from... but I still think FF are different, and I can't articulate why. =/ I know you feel similarly, your patreon is always strictly for your original creations. I'm wondering what your thoughts are about this? *Why* is fanart different? *If* it is. (Btw, you don't need to reply, I just figured I ask because you always seem to have such insightful comments and opinions. But anyway, have a great day!!) 

*

Hi anon!

I apologise because I doubt I’m going to have a very clear answer to this. So I’m just going to highlight my wishy washy thoughts because that’s all I have.

* Firstly, I think there is a huge double standard for anyone who thinks it’s fine to accept money for fanart but not for fanfiction. Both are transformative works that take a lot of time and effort to make. Period.

There is a reason for the bias that I’ve observed. And that’s because most professional authors, creators, directors and scriptwriters have - for decades - been pro-fanart and anti-fanfiction, and some of that has trickled down into attitudes in fandom. Even today, pro-fic scriptwriters will say ‘oh I love the idea of fanfiction but legally I can’t read any’ while repeatedly reblogging or retweeting or sharing or even reposting fanart with delight. And that’s the ones who are pro-fic.

But over the decades, there have been plenty of famous authors and properties in particular, who were pro-fanart (though not pro ‘profiting off fanart’), but anti-fanfiction. Anne Rice and Robin Hobb come immediately to mind. Some of these people even commissioned fanart themselves, while taking fanfiction authors to court. The double standard there is huge. If you’re posting fanart on your page but hating on fanfiction authors as a professional, you probably need to examine your biases.

* Secondly, personally, I think it’s unethical for me to accept money for my fanfiction OR fanart. I have no double standard, they are both the same to me.

* Fanartists literally making entire livings off their fanart makes me uncomfortable. Particularly when they’re making more money than the original creator or the original property. I have less of an issue when it’s like, Marvel or Disney, but then, those huge organisations can afford lawyers and send C&Ds (Cease & Desists) and are powerful enough to shut down and destroy accounts (and sadly, artists). But in the case of smaller fandoms, unfortunately it means you can end up with scenarios where some fanartists are making much more than the creators who created the property in the first place. Imho, I don’t like that. But that’s a nuanced, complicated issue for which there are no easy rules.

There are definitely increasingly ways people can profit off fanfiction and do. I think it is immensely hypocritical for anyone who financially supports fanartists to then draw a dubious/mythical line in the sand re: saying fanfiction authors making a profit is wrong. I’m sorry anon, but it’s an attitude that’s literally ‘They can do it but you can’t lmao I have no reason sorry but I guess you don’t deserve to pay your bills for your fanworks but these people do because of their fanworks have a nice day.’

***

Sometimes I wish I really did feel better about making money off fanfiction. I think I’d be making more money if I did. But I just don’t feel okay about it, personally, in myself. I don’t expect anyone else to hold themselves to the same standard, a person’s gotta eat. I’m just lucky I can eat because of Fae Tales.

Fanfiction authors are definitely finding more and more ways to make money off their fiction, usually via Ko-Fi tips, or even just placing fanfic on Wattpad and getting money via that. Even through Patreon (though if they get reported, their account will be closed down and suspended). But the struggle is real. Meanwhile the big name fanartists get huge booths at all the conventions and are treated like celebrities making profits off of fanart, and are more likely to get professional offers re: jobs, including fanart in their portfolio. Try doing the same thing as a professional author. You’ll be treated as a joke.

Yes, the double standard is fucking annoying, and it’s also just crap. There’s probably a reason most people can’t think of a good reason why one group should get paid but not the other, for both doing literally the exact same thing in different creative forms. And that reason is ‘because there is no good reason.’

If fanartists can make a profit so boldly and wildly off of other creative properties, then fanfiction authors should be able to as well, without fear of criticism that’s directed specifically at them but not fanartists. That’s just...internalising the hate that professional creators put out into the world, and that hate came from a fear of their works being stolen by writers, but not by artists. There might be a secondary fear around it hurting fandom, but that’s something that most people don’t really talk about, and it’s not like anyone brings it up re: fanartists selling prints.

Imho, for me personally it’s complicated. I follow a set of rules for myself that I created over twenty years ago, and I don’t know if I’d have the same rules if I was only just starting out in fanfiction now.

But also I’m just grateful that my fanfiction is just always free, and I can do whatever I want without ever having to worry about the bottom line, or income. That’s very freeing for me on a literal level, and it means I can relax. I would lose that if I was making a profit off of it.

But yeah otherwise, in a world where fanartists get to make wild profits off of what they’re doing? It’s frankly just straight up unfair if fanfiction writers can’t. It’s a double standard that hurts people.

[realityhelixcreates]

Beta, Theta, and Me Chapter 7: The Invisible Cage

Chapters: 7/?

Fandom: Thor (Movies), Avengers (Movies) Marvel Cinematic Universe

Rating: PG

Warnings: Relationships: Loki x Reader (But not right now),

Characters: Loki(Marvel) Additional Tags:  A/B/O, Sorta, More Of An Exploration Of Life And Self Expression Within An A/B/O Framework, Loki Does What He Wants, But Loki Does Not Actually Do What He Wants, Antagonistic Bosses, Loki Has A Throne Now, But It’s Not What He Wanted

Summary:  Loki and his servant discuss the nature of freedom.

You found yourself hiding in your apartment for several hours that day. Loki had gotten a call-the first you could remember-and had instantly bid you leave his presence. In fact, he said he would have preferred you leave the building altogether, but it was suddenly pouring outside, so you'd opted to hide out in your room instead.

You didn't know what would cause him to act that way, but you'd tried to use the time to take a nice relaxing nap. But the sound of rushing wind had rattled the tower, and someone had entered Loki's apartment without bothering to be quiet about it.

Shortly after that, the shouting had begun.

So much for napping.

You opened your door just a crack, and peered out into the round living space down the hall.

Thor was there.

THE Thor, the God of Thunder himself, the only man you'd ever thought might make a good case for monarchy.

He was pacing back and forth in front of Loki, gesticulating broadly, both of them speaking in raised voices. You didn't understand the language at all, it was round and bouncy, with long rolled R's, and rock hard consonants. They didn't seem to be fighting; this was not a shouting match with each other. This looked like shared anger, a common indignance over some other subject.

They discussed loudly with one another, Thor standing across from Loki, around the little table where you shared meals. He was drawing something in a note book, tapping the paper for emphasis, while Loki took up the pen and drew something else. Eventually, the loudness died down, both men becoming absorbed in whatever plan or problem they were going over, and you hid back away in your rooms, satisfied that there wasn't going to be a fight.

They were more than a little frightening when they shouted. There was power in those ancient voices, and it jellied your insides. What must it have been like for people, hundreds of years ago, to hear these beings speak? It wasn't surprising that bygone societies had been built around them.

Thor left eventually, with grim laughter, but seemingly on good terms. When you slunk back out into the hallway, Loki remained at the table, writing in his notebook. He seemed tense, but not angry.

“So...” You started. Loki blew out a long breath.

“I desire some kind of sweet confection.” He said. “If you do not already know how, please learn to make some kind of cake or cookie, and then do so.”

“And then...”

“And then eat some with me.”

Dismissal then. So be it. He'd tell you, or he wouldn't, what business was it of yours?

It was time to level up. It was time to learn how to make cookies.

                                                                         ******

You knew that if this were a movie, or TV show, smoke would billow out once you opened that oven, and your cookies would all be burnt. But that's not what this was, and your cookies were actually fine. A little flat and crispy around the edges, but perfectly tasty. Loki seemed to take extra pleasure in their crunchiness, a detail you filed away for later. He was still agitated, but it was like a swift current at the bottom of a calm stream. You found yourself a bit afraid to step in.

“What do you think freedom is?” He asked abruptly. He'd been back into his extra-long-titled philosophy books again. You'd been trying to convince him to move on from Keirkegaard, but the existentialism spoke to him.

He'd had you sit with him next to his huge fireplace, and sing a few times now, and he even translated excerpts from his books for you in order to discuss them with you. He liked your somewhat cynical, layman's view on these lofty subjects, even seemed to find validity in your sometimes frustrated “I don't know, why should it matter?” answers. This time you thought about it for a while.

“I think it doesn't actually exist. It's an unobtainable idea.” You said.

“Care to expand?”

“Well, okay. So what is freedom? That's a really tough question, right? Like, for some people, its 'not being discriminated against because of skin color' or something like that. For others, it as simple as financial stability. But both of those have something in common with what I think is the average definition, which is 'not being beholden to capricious authority figures'. But is that even possible? I mean, say you're a king.

Not literally!” You exclaimed, as Loki opened his mouth. “But as a king, there's supposedly no higher power than you in all the land, right? But...you also have responsibilities. Burdens. You have to rule, and you have to do it well, or you won't be king for long. You still, in some part, owe your time and effort to the people you rule. You aren't free. You can't just do whatever you want, whenever you want. The people won't put up with it. Eventually, they'll rise up an overthrow you, maybe even kill you. It happened a lot.

But if you go with the Divine Right idea, even though you're telling the peasants that they have to do whatever you say because it's God's will, it's still admitting that you answer to a higher power. Therefore, you are not free, because you are under the authority of a deity and supposedly have to abide by their rules and doctrines. If you don't, your Divine right to rule may be revoked and again, if you have ruled poorly, you'll be overthrown and killed.

You can't even reach freedom by removing yourself from the chains of society. Take yourself off to some deserted place with no other people around, and you can do whatever you want, right? Except you still have to eat. You still need shelter. You still have to spend a lot of time dealing with those things. You are still trapped by the laws of nature. Try to defy them, and you will be killed.

Even in death...either there's no afterlife, and you just stop existing at all, and therefore can't engage in concepts such as freedom, or there is an afterlife, but it follows the rules of the god who created it, and you have to follow those rules while you're there. There's no such thing as true freedom. It can't be achieved.”

“How does that make you feel?” Loki asked softly.

You shrugged. “Not as frustrated as I should, I guess. I don't feel strongly about it. What am I supposed to do about it, rebel?”

“Isn't that what your parents did?”

“Yeah, and they're both dead!” You exclaimed. Loki fell quiet.

“I'm sorry.” You said. “It's just that everyone who finds out about them expects me to be like them, but I'm just not. I'm not their opposite, but I'm not...them.”

“What happened to them?” He inquired. “I don't actually know about them, save for what you have alluded to.”

“You have a phone, right? Look up the 'Joyful Liberation Compound'. I'll clean up these cookies.”

You washed the dishes and cleaned up all the flour and crumbs. When you joined him at the table again, he was staring at his phone, expression grim.

“Yeah.” You said.

“You are the only survivor.” He stated.

“Yeah, because I ran away when I turned seventeen. Had to smuggle myself out in the back of a supply truck. They didn't let us back outside once we came in. Only very carefully vetted individuals, high in the pecking order were allowed back into the outside world, and then only to recruit or bring back supplies that we couldn't create at the compound. 'Liberation' was right in the name, but we were very Not Free.”

“Brave little thing.” Loki said. “It must have been very difficult to make that choice.”

“We joined when I was fifteen.” You said. “I was only there for two years. Not like the other kids, who were raised there, or spent most of their lives there. They didn't know anything else. Now they never will.”

“Your government baffles me sometimes.” Loki said. “Billionaire slavers are elevated rather than criminalized, yet they're perfectly prepared to raze an entire compound to the ground? With everyone inside? Even the children?”

“They were an accelerationist cult.” You pointed out. “They thought the end of American civilization was coming, and that they were supposed to help bring it about.”

“And your government is full of dominionists and fascists.” Loki pointed back. “This seems nothing more than one civil deconstructionist cult destroying the competition while it is still small.”

“Yeah, it sucks all around.” You agreed heatedly. “That's what happens when you have one set of laws for a favored class of people, and another for everyone else. The scum rises to the top and then chokes out everyone else...Sorry.”

Loki regarded you sourly. “You speak very freely, brave thing.”

“Is it different where you come from?” You asked.

“Yes, actually. We have an unbroken line of succession that oversees a thriving and prosperous culture, kept that way by firm, yet judicious leaders.”

“You tried to take over a whole planet by force!”

“I intended to fix your crumbling infrastructure and even out your unbelievable inequality issues.” Loki insisted.

“By enslaving us all? Making us all equally subservient to you?”

“There is a difference between bravery and foolishness.” He warned. “I meant to rule as a benevolent god. You do not wish to see me vengeful!”

You snapped your mouth shut. His Alpha scent intensified when he exerted his personality, but it was the power in his voice that shivered through you.

You hated that. You hated it. The scent made you so uncomfortable, dredged up so many tainted memories. And the vocal power of an Old God squelched your spirit. You sat, still and quiet, practically radiating resentment.

After a few moments of extremely uncomfortable silence, Loki sighed.

“It would not have worked.” He admitted. “My intentions were not pure. I would certainly have tried, yes, I would have given my best effort, but there were...other...factors.”

“What other factors?” You asked. Hadn't your real boss, the one that paid you, the Tony Stark one, asked you to find out things about this exact subject?

Also, you were curious. What was the secret? What had brought the great god Loki low?

His mouth opened and then closed. No sound came out. As you watched in growing confusion, his face began to twitch, twisting into a grimace, his eyes filling with frustration. Breath hissed through bared teeth, his fists clenching over the armrests of his wheelchair. Sweat broke out on his forehead.

“Loki? Loki! Stop!” You exclaimed. “Stop, you don't have to! Stop!”

Loki let out a groan of pain, then shoved you away when you grabbed his hand. You fell right on your rear.

“Get out of here!” Loki roared. “Get out of my sight, and do not show your face again today!”

You scrambled to your feet and rushed to your apartment, slamming the door behind you. Your organs felt like water, as you slid down the back of your door, flinching at the sounds of destruction coming from outside.

What was that? What had just happened? Did it hurt him to try to speak of what happened to him? It had seemed like some painful, physical battle. You fumbled for your phone and called your real boss.

[putris-et-mulier]

I have a big announcement and I'm going to get really emotional, so heads up

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! But I think this will be for the best

Some of you guys have been following me for years and I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. You guys have been so kind, it's because of you I haven't had to buy toilet paper in over two years. I've been through a lot while running this blog and some of you have watched and supported me throughout the whole journey.

I thought I would be dead by 30, everyone did, but I just turned 32 and although my health has always been declining I'm not at risk for dropping dead this second. I also am running a household and taking care of my mother who has very severe Alzheimer's. My family has gone from simply not helping to beginning to scheme to get things like mom's Social Security number for reasons I haven't figured out yet. I've been in the hospital a lot since I started this blog, I was officially hospitalized twice and lived in a home once. I've broken my ankles, knees, wrists, nose, broken teeth out of my face, torn half my face off, I became anemic multiple times because there's times I simply didn't have any money to eat for a few days, I had to sell my car and because I can't get in one unless it's wheelchair acceptable I am as good as confined to my neighborhood unless I want to take public transit but things like today happen, I couldn't go see Logan for my birthday because the transit simply wasn't running this weekend. Because of a mistake with IHSS the first caretaker I got earlier this year stole $7,000 from me. Things keep happening so I can't even attempt to bring mom's medical bills down.

I'm just so tired.

And unhappy.

I started this blog right after I lost my ability to write or type and I don't think I could've dealt with how big of a loss that was if I did not this blog to hang out on and talk to you guys about comic books with.

I need less responsibility, if not off-line then certainly online. I want to create things again. Fully formed things I can take pride in. Because none of this is going to get easier, it's just going to become different and if I want to make it work I have to live differently to accommodate it.

This sounds dramatic, like a suicide note, but this is actually about something I'm excited about and think some of you will be too but I know a lot of you will feel a bit betrayed.

About when I stopped writing a friend and I created a publishing company. It's actually extremely easy to do, especially if you only sell digital books which we don't, but it would've be easy. I'm not legally allowed to have anything under my name so my friend put it under hers and has her taxes all complicated up because of it. My friend put in a $1000 nest egg and we use the company to try to find unpublished and marginalized writers, artists, and models. We had seen firsthand the inequality that goes on in those industries. So, we made Good Mourning. It's run by me and my two best friends that I've known since we were children. Recently we developed something we are calling The Discourse which is where we will be doing a lot of what I do here, talk about pop-culture stuff and get academic or open a discussion on social justice, but the other two are involved which means the same thing but with a bigger variety of fandoms. It's a podcast, soon to be an ezine, blog, and we are going to publish a line of discourse books which are going to be like social justice handbooks with a fandom theme.

I'm excited about this. It gives me new opportunities to try writing in different ways, it consolidates a lot of things that I do already, I'll get a chance to be a fan again instead of a web mistress, and my friends will be so closely involved that if there are some days I just can't get in my wheelchair I know everything will be taken care of.

The only problem is, if I left I would miss all of you. Even the ones who hate me. Maybe it's childish to not want to let go of things but this is the Internet and if you're going to be childish, you should do it here.

I am turning this blog into The Discourse (the blog version)

I'm still going to be posting all the new Deadpool stuff but now it's also going to be more of the same things with other fandoms as well like all of X-Men and K–Pop and other hyphenated things. I suppose it won't be that much different, just no reposts from the archive of Deadpool stuff all day, I'll just be putting my favorite old posts in the queue by hand so it's all good. 

None of the current content will be removed, all of those info op-ed posts like about Deadpool sexuality they will still be here and I will still update them but now I'll be doing them about different characters as well.

The name won't be the same, but it actually hasn't always been the same. This one's just become infamous. I hope you do decide to stay with me at least for a while, I'm going to do my best for all of you.

Good Mourning has taken over the financial responsibility of this blog and we are now The Discourse.

Are you a sellout if you sell out to yourself?

And you have to put up with a new moderator, cosmic. But if you guys have been here for a while you probably have heard her on the podcast. Quick bio: she's terrified of everything and loves Doctor Who.

Obviously I'm going to be changing things around here a little bit but it's nothing you'll see from your dashboard. Also, we plan on coming out with the first issue of our ezine next month and since is the first one it's going to be all us but we really want you guys to participate. Maybe you have a short poem about your asshole or, perhaps preferably, your favorite character's asshole? I can promise you, your poem is getting in the very next issue. I'll have more details for you soon.

And since I'm not solely responsible for anything anymore I'm going to get to do some really cool things, like giveaways here. Even for people who just follow the blog. I get to borrow the business card to get the prizes so you guys could even choose what you want. And I could go to Party City and get some of those participation trophies for the losers. Or we can behave like responsible adults, unlike the generation before us, and giveaway fandom merchandise that is not toys it says so on the box.

I'm excited, I hope you aren't disappointed. I have to think of my health. My physical health can't take all the responsibility and my psychological/spiritual health needs me to keep investing myself in fandom shenanigans.

My personal blog still is genoshaisforlovers.tumblr.com

and if you want to get to me somewhere else you can always go to christyleighstewart.com I always direct it to where or what I'm doing at the time

If you send in an anonymous ask here about this I won't be able to answer you but I will answer everyone privately about this.

It's still me here. Things are going to be different but I swear to God I am sitting in my seat the exact same way and "typing" this the same way I usually do.

If this whole Discourse thing isn't your…thing but if you love me personally I am also at my personal blog. The me talking openly, that's all moving over there. Over here I am working as your game master or… Alice in Wonderland would be a better metaphor, right? So I'm working as your Mad Hatter?

It's a cliché but I am selling out so, yeah, I am now the Mad Hatter.

And I'd like to welcome you to this tea party just give me a second and

so now that we're seated comfortably, all of this remains free as does the podcast but you don't get the rewards unless you subscribe at least $1 to The Discourse

As the Mad Hatter I can tell you, specifically the blog members, without embarrassment that this whole project is and act of love, as everything we've done always has been and always will be, because the profit goes toward me as a paycheck and as I can only make so much money within a year without losing any of my benefits and I get to decide what goes on my paychecks and she is totally mens sana in corpore sano, officers, so it's cool as long as the stuff I do is worth anything to people. I just set it at $1 to join because that dollar has a president on it with the least value and thanks to the election George Washington will be the second least valuable dollar.

– Christy