#and people were being so nice

[isacksteban]

hes so cute im gonna be sick

[mythicalcoolkid]

You don't wish your disability was worse or more visible, you wish your disability was taken seriously. Please stop confusing the two, I guarantee you would not get the support you need JUST by being more severe or more visible. Please listen to visibly disabled people when we tell you it isn't better on our side

[inkskinned]

you know, you know. no gods, no masters, no kings on pedestals. everyone is fallible. death of the author. you know! you are balanced about your intake of media - you allow the wiggle room, the grace, the gratitude, the skepticism. nobody above criticism.

but still. a weird gut-punch feeling, something akin to betrayal. you read the article. surprise! an author you love is actually: a serial fucking predator.

well, shit. what now. no, you knew he was a person (all people are), but now you're wondering - what have i overlooked by accident? what messages have i internalized that are strange and cruel? and also, like, what the fuck?

his actions lay a thick glaze on top of everything. like each place is now ruined, opaque in a new way. but okay, fine, you've done this before. you knew better, right? you've been betrayed by many a cherished childhood author.

still, this stickiness. fuck. can you pick up that book again. will you read it to your children. you've recommended it to others - will you ever do that again? and of course, of course, no parasocial relationships. you were theoretically above this kind of sentiment. but the artist informs the art, right.

so it's not something as clear-cut as feeling he owed you, specifically (a stranger) better behavior - just that you kind of, in a distant and odd way... sort of trusted him to do better. it's not like a real trust or something speakable, just the faint hope that the product (good books) was a thin representation of the soul. now it feels like the product (good? books?) was a mask. in some small or insignificant way, your previous support of this person lent them power. your money and your time and your laughter.

and the thing is - you have this terrible, echoing sensation. how many times will this happen? over and over. you find out that the singer you love is actually a predator. you learn over drinks that your favorite high school english teacher is in jail for what he did to her. you listen to the news idly and suddenly discover that a woman you used to idolize has been abusing her kids for an actual eon.

what can you touch without the static melting off. you can't even really complain about it too much (you were supposed to know better, and besides, you don't want the same re-split "it's not your fault, love what you love" basic advice), but now it's here. somehow, it feels like - you let him into your life.

it's not that things need to be pure or an artist has to be like, endlessly perfect, mindful. demure. it's more just this terrible truth that has been replayed through your veins so often it feels criminally vain. power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. did you want any one person to be worth that power?

it's just that he wrote books where he seemed to understand that. he seemed to know about hierarchies and unfair systems and bigotry and privilege. you thought they were books about what it means to struggle. you thought they were about having power and still using it for good rather than for control. he spooned you a narrative of being a good guy, a kind soul. you fucking bought what that fucking monster sold.

maybe that's why they were fantasies, after all.

[royalarchivist]

Slimecicle: Whoever said "yaoi is dead" dude, I think you need to put on your freakin'– your bi-focal lenses. Anything's possible.

💗💜💙

[sicktrix]

Something about how Jod described the good in the world as “pinpricks of light in the dark.” Something about how keeping the Barrier up only let the pirates in but finally taking it down let the X-Wings chase they away— let the real good guys come in and save them. Something about how taking the Barrier down let the citizens of At-Attin see stars for the first time, see all the pinpricks of light in the dark, and see just how many there really are. Something about how even in the worst places, even in the worst moments, there will always be more good than you realize, and if you hide away you’ll never be able to see it.

[hootyhoowoo]

A little 15 min doodle but first post of the year has to be Bingqiu!

[jomeimei421]

Felt a bit nostalgic watching RT shut down…Here are the og faves again for old times sake 💙

[fraternum-momentum]

Isn't Aimee horny with Sindney too, so is he just a fling to her?

HOO BOY OK aimee is def horny for syd ! but she's kind of starting to develop some feelings for him and it's messing with the whole 'leading people on and leaving them dry' thing she has going on. and she's coming to terms with it (it is not going well)

when they met, her initial plan was just to mess with him for a bit bc she found him cute. but once she learned more about him, she kind of grew jealous of how he remained relatively unaffected by the town. why does she have to fight for her life almost everyday while he's all kumbaya and shit? it's unfair, and it really pissed her off. so at that moment, she decided that she will be the one who corrupts him.

(this was also the moment where she gets her demon tf!)

in a sense, she's taking out her anger and resentment for the town and what it has done to her on sydney by taking his virginity and defiling him. it's a sort of crab mentality in a way ?? like if she's going down, she's taking him with her bc she's petty and bitter about it.

usually, at this point aimee would move on to the next person but she does end up liking sydney a lot, so they remained fuckbuddies. plus, she eventually realized that it wasn't fair of her to be mad at him when he really hasn't done anything to her personally, so she felt guilty about that and stuck around.

although there was this particular moment where she realized her feelings for him might run deeper than she had thought

aimee isn't used to kindness from other people, since she's objectified on the daily and is generally treated like garbage by most people so this was a wtf moment for her. it lowk left her in shock for a bit. and currently she's in denial of everything LMFAO

[bubblybloob]

The moment I realized Scarlet Hollow had romance options after thinking the flirting stuff was just for shits and giggles and I had flirted with everyone at least once without realizing it could lead to something more until Stella invited me into her house on day four, that was the funniest shit ever and I’m a colossal dumbass.

[tinyfantasminha]

I don't want to keep clogging my blog with vent posts but uh... I guess this is a more general concern/observation

But it's getting real hard to stay motivated in fandom spaces when there's little compensation, and annoying occurrences are more frequent than good ones.

Mainly there's been less engagement/people showing interest in creators and their art (such as sending asks, making comments and reblogging with tags) and MORE parasocial interactions. This goes for both artists and writers.

Over this year I've noticed a vast disinterest within my public in general. Asks about ocs, my art, or just nice simple comments of ''I love your art'' has been getting more and more scarce. My follower number is bigger than 2-3 years ago sure and I get more likes on my posts but they are feeling more like just numbers and statistics than actual people who supposedly like my stuff.

And while people being parasocial with creators has always been a thing, I feel like it's gotten way worse... in general? People sending personal pictures out of the blue in hopes of being validated, unwanted psychological advice or assumptions about the creator without any established connection first ( <- these happened to me in the same week.) ventdump, just insensitive/lacking of common sense comments in general, unreasonable demands (mostly with writers)... I wondered at first if it was just me, but a handful of mutuals/acquaintances who are artists and writers seems to be going through it as well.

It's annoying. It's tough. It's getting exhausting. Creators pour so much of themselves into their work—countless hours, effort, and passion, all to share something meaningful or entertaining with others (and for FREE) The LEAST anyone can do is show respect, even if opinions differ. When a writer posts a fanfic, don't just say ''omg post next chapter!'', when an artist posts a drawing of their favorite character, don't just say ''omg draw (character) next!'' as if they're faceless content machines that are expected to churn out more '''content''' for you without acknowledgment, encouragement, or appreciation.

''I want to support creators but I don't know what to say and I feel intimidated by their talent so I just lurk silently :((('' I swear to you, no creator (at least not the majority) is making up an intimidating persona to discourage you from interacting with them. They WANT your comments. A single ''I love your art/writing/videos'' or even something as silly as ''I want to eat your art'' is enough to keep a creator sighing dreamily for WEEKS. It doesn't have to be deep! It's heartfelt and that's what it matters!! (Just remember to keep it relevant and thoughtful... It takes just a bit of common sense NOT to comment things like ''this looks like (another character)'' or ''this but with (another unrelated ship/character/show)''. No one wants to hear comparisons or unrelated ideas when they’ve poured their soul into something.)

In fact, the ''I like your art but I think you're intimidating'' feels more hurtful than flattering. It makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong, acting wrong. 💀

If you love that fanfic that changed your brain psyche forever and want to gush about it, go tell the writer. If you loved so much a piece of art that you saved it a million times in your phone and can't stop thinking about it, go tell the artist. Push away the ''they probably won't care about my comment/it won't make a difference'' thoughts. DO IT NOW. You won't know when they might go inactive forever or deactivate. You can't know if that is the last piece they will ever post. Make sure you show appreciation to creators NOW, while they are still here. While they're still not being replaced by AI.

[deoidesign]

I'm so mad that post was misinformation because there is actually an EXTREMELY important conversation to have about the production schedules artists are forced into. There's no need for exaggeration, the conditions are bad.

I work for webtoon. My publication schedule is weekly. While publishing I'm required 10-15 pages a week. Fully colored.

This means I'm finishing a 150 page fully colored graphic novel every 10-15 weeks.

When my comic is not updating, I am not getting paid. Any time writing, editing, or off is out of my own pocket. I don't get healthcare. They do not provide any assistants. They expect me to promote myself; they chose to deprioritize me before I even launched and gave me an end date half a year in. I never had a chance.

And this is the industry standard! Every company has artists forced into crunch hours, overtime, and burnout. Artists are literally dying early due to it. So many of my friends can't afford to go to the doctor.

It's unsustainable and untenable, and it's also the expectation our audiences have.

If we want to have this conversation, there's plenty of conversation to be had with the realities of the situation. It's bad as is.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Chu Wanning, kit-tea man. (Part 2)

(for @onionlings)

[springsketches]

He doesn’t understand. We aren’t convinced of anything. And we aren’t stuck together. We’re one. Decided to make some fanart of my interpretation of the wild together. Idk if you could tell, but the wild is my favorite princess, ha ha.

[griancraft]

I would trust like none of you with my story if I was a cc. People like you are the reason people like me don’t talk about being hurt.

[essektheylyss]

It really is so fun that Essek started mentioning "my partner" like every three lines because he probably doesn't actually get the chance to talk about it that often.

I think there can often be an impulse when you really care about someone to want to shout from the rooftops all the great things you feel and notice about them, and Essek isn't really in a position to do that. The people who he can talk freely to already know him and Caleb, and the people who don't know them likely aren't safe to tell real personal details to. It's one thing to fabricate a parental relationship knowing that there isn't someone to trace that to, but it's an entirely different thing to tell someone honestly about the people you love when any small detail might put them in danger if it fell into the wrong hands.

The Hells are safe to say that kind of thing to—perhaps mostly on a meta level, in that the DM is aware that they are the protagonists—and they also characteristically tend to offer a listening ear to anyone they meet, and I think it's delightful that Essek actually recognized and responded to that.

[loganswdc]

david coulthard they could never make me like you . i swear to god this man finds every opportunity to hate on logan , even coming up with absolute bull claims just to humiliate him on live tv . like how this past weekend he showed a white car , claimed it to be logan's , and said he's still "making contact without even being on track" and then laughing about it . and guess what ? that car wasn't even logan's !! it was his teammate's , alex albon's car !!!!!!!

this guy genuinely seems to hold so much hatred in his heart for logan considering how often he says shit about him and it absolutely infuriates me . and the fact he went so far as to humiliate him on live tv by saying something like that with the car is so messed up in my eyes ? i swear he pulls what he says about logan out of his ass and it's getting on my nerves .

i know and understand that its commentators' job to , well , commentate -- but they often say things about some drivers that exerts such hatred towards them . and in my opinion , that is not a sign of good commentating: it shows lack of morals , insecurity , and indicates a person who is unable to come up with comments about an athlete that criticize them fairly yet kindly . david coulthard has not done any of the sort to logan . he has consistently showed him hate , saying he doesn't belong in f1 , humiliating him on live tv with clips like this , amongst other things .

as a commentator and former formula 1 driver with a lot of influence , he should use his experience and prominence in motorsport to provide logan with constructive criticism . he should give him advice about what he thinks logan could do to improve even if he's in a bad car rather than consistently spread hate and talk crap about him . david coulthard is meant to be a role model figure in motorsports . instead , he acts like a bully towards a driver who is clearly struggling and needs to be shown a helping , guiding hand to learn about what he can do to improve his odds .

it's frustrating how often people in positions of power and who are highly respected in motorsports because of their career use their popularity and position of power to spread hate . i understand , this is a sport ! there will always be individuals who are assholes towards athletes , whether they are former athletes themselves or people sitting behind a screen who have nothing better to do and are upset about the trajectory of their own lives . the difference here , however , is that people who sit behind the screen often do not hold much power , while someone like david coulthard has hundreds of thousands , if not millions , of people listening to what he says and agreeing with him .

the car parking debacle may not seem like a huge problem , but when it is used as ammunition by haters to be rude to logan because a respected individual in motorsports spat on him too , then it is a problem . hate in general is a problem . it may have seemed like a simple joke , something to laugh at and giggle about . when you take into consideration how logan has been treated since he joined f1 , though , it's not a funny thing . it's just sad .

and the thing is that even though we now know it wasn't logan's car , people will still use it to hate on him . they'll ignore that fact . they'll pretend like it's still his car that was parked that way and they'll continue to joke and laugh and taunt logan . because that's just how haters are . it's a "harmless joke" in the moment , but in the long run it can be insanely damaging in numerous ways . that goes not just for jokes about logan , but about all the drivers , about all motorsports athletes , and about all people .

here's a video confirming it was NOT logan's car that was parked in a way that it was hitting the pole !

via kym illman on youtube