#and remember to encourage people

[juliamccartney]

gentle reminder that it's not too late to get into the habit of wearing masks again 😷

[stemmmm]

Alt cover for Theseus' Guide chapter 4!

Go read it, it's a fun time for the whole family (the Pines family, that is)!

[tea-cat-arts]

Shen Yuan getting transported into pidw isn't "the system punishing him for being a lazy internet hater," but instead representative of "step 1 of the creative process: getting so mad at something you decide to go write your own fucking book" in this essay I will

[rwby-confess]

Confession #276

[uncanny-tranny]

I love trans people whose transness means that their sexuality is complex. I love trans people who adopt contradictory labels. I love transmasculine people who still have ties to old lesbian spaces and transfeminine people who still have ties to gay spaces (even if they themselves aren't lesbian or gay). I love trans people whose dysphoria has put them at a place where they don't want to engage with any type of sexuality. I love trans people who are confused, unsure, or questioning. I love trans people who toe the lines of queerness. I love trans people who are unapologetically embracing their sexualities. I love trans people who are working through internalized shame about their sexualities.

[everythingwasnormalhere]

trans day of remembrance please for fuck's sake remember disabled trans people this time, dont leave it to us to be the only ones who mourn them

so many posts about today and ive seen nobody mention them. nobody at all.

im fucking tired.

[fisheito]

emotional support wolf meets too-shy-to-live sneetah

[ooctlt]

I really like this blog most of the time, but sometimes you take reasonable earnest asks that are trying to be thoughtful, and are such a dick about it.

Like if it's the characters being dicks, fine. But you could say something in the tags or post to indicate you're not just viciously mocking someone for trying to engage.

I still haven't submitted an ask since seeing your response that led to comments along the lines of "anon should go die in a hole" for asking, pretty reasonably, why harrow would want to stay with people she didn't seem to like or want to be around or interact with.

(i know, because she does like them and does want them around but doesn't know how to show it) but it's an ASK blog. How do we hear that from her unless someone ASKS

i understand it might be surprising and a bit hurtful to see an ask answered with the characters being mean/flippant, and for that i do apologize that it wasnt made clear that it would be a common thing in this blog. id like to issue the disclaimer: there is always the possibility that the characters here will not take your question well. they might answer rudely, and instigating behavior is not only encouraged but expected on both ends. this does not reflect my personal opinions as the artist; there are over 250 asks even after i constantly compile duplicates, and i will answer the asks that i personally like.

i will assume you are referencing the two most recent posts where gideon acts rudely and i repost an old panel: for the former i thought anon was really sweet for being so heartfelt and encouraging, but gideon isnt the kind of person who needs to be told shes brave for doing that by a stranger. it was a simple act of survival. and harrow is still very much in the passive deprogramming phase. the latter response was meant to kickstart (spoilers) what i will call the "dicks last resort" arc, where i clean out the inbox and share more simple, low effort, but potentially rude responses*. this is because i have roughly drawn almost daily for 87 days straight, and would like to recuperate without being burnt out because i love this blog and i love art.

this leads me to my next point: some of these answers will be curt and short and rude, because they are easy to draw. if i only prioritized the "good" asks or to make certain ask responses kinder, or longer, it wouldnt be a daily blog. it would be a monthly blog where 5 asks get answered among 100s. i didnt anticipate people asking about harrows piercings, and i considered shutting it down by just having harrow say she likes them etc. but i did want to give more insight into harrows character even if she wouldnt say so herself, and that took roughly 3 full unemployed nights. if i treated every ask in good faith the same way i wouldnt have time for anything else, because they take more effort and have to be seriously considered for the future. i can retcon their favorite ice cream or play off griddlehark fighting - it takes more to keep track of a narrative about people talking Around their issues

* by rude responses i mean "this will affect the 679ers negatively, much like making your sim 🧑‍🤝‍🧑➖➖ someone" there are a few asks planned to hurt in the same way one drafts a bad end in a visual novel, and this type of interaction is encouraged. of course if you dont want them to get worse dont send asks telling gideon she should flirt with MILFs (you cant send this ask now i already said it), but i encourage the banter.

TL;DR this is the "characters think you are weird for personal questions" blog. i am sorry i didnt warn of the ask-response banter, because i also enjoy drawing these characters being dicks. i do like when aggravation and conflict leads to character development. "how do we get earnest answers unless someone asks" sometimes you will never explicitly get that from them, and thats what the dead ends are for: to let you know to try something else and read between the lines

[snekdood]

There are genuinely people online that instead of actually bringing people to the left, at this point, would prefer that anyone who was previously not on the left but who tries to be *stays* outside of the left, because i guess its just easier to comprehend when the world is put into little shitty boxes you labeled for them instead of actually thinking for once and having the nuance to understand them. Like thats wild to me that theres people who would prefer you not be on the left or not try to be. Yall GENUINELY do not care about advocating for your side politically in any capacity. Its LITERALLY just a clique you've found yourself in. And theres nothing progressive about that or being exclusive, wtf do you think this shit is, a night club? Grow the fuck up, honestly.

[quiet-admirer]

Friendly reminder: just because someone participates in a kink space doesn't mean they want kink directed at them personally. Just because you've talked with someone before, whether about kink or not, doesn't mean they want kink directed at them personally or that they want to get kinky with you. Even with someone who you've had kinky interactions with in the past, it's always a good idea to ask first if they're in the mood for a kinky chat or want to receive belly pics or hear about your boner.

Because maybe they do! And then you're interacting with someone who's on the same wavelength as you and you're more likely to get the actual interaction you're looking for! And if they're not into it then you can skip over the awkward conversation or being left on read and you can keep it moving and keep reaching out to find people who actually are into it and interested :)

[misscammiedawn]

Nothing touches me more than when someone trusts you enough to share their Big Pitch. That bit of art they have been dreaming up lazily over the course of years that they one day want to give the love and attention they feel it deserves.

I hope any of you reading out there know how special it is to be invited in on someone's passionate project and entrusted to listen to this unformed piece of a person's soul and accept it and encourage it and be privileged to imagine it before reality starts trimming the scope of it.

Over decades people have shared webcomic ideas, fan-fiction, film scripts, roleplay campaigns and characters filled with intricate twists and reveals.

So many beautiful and wonderful ideas and I carry them all in silence. Thinking of them and sometimes thinking "oh [friend] is going to be pissed when they see this" when a piece of pop culture "steals their idea."

It's such a beautiful part of humanity that fills me with life.

I know how vulnerable it can be to trust people with those things. But my god it's such a good thing.

Years and years later, long after the friendship died, I still think of those passionate pitches. I hope one day I get to see one realized.

[duckydrawsart]

people who act like messy, sketch and doodle are negative descriptors for art shuuush they are my most beloved and beautiful friends

[batbirdies]

I just read a fic with a note that said "I'm running out of creative insults to berate those who bookmark fics and don't comment, so I'll just go with a good ol' fashioned 'fuck you'." And I just have to wonder how this person doesn't realize that this is a great way to make fic writers sound entitled and convince people not to comment at all. *facepalm* I saw that note and immediately regretted leaving kudos.

Yeah the thing about this is that it doesn’t work.

A lot of people will just not care about the insults - they will ignore you. They don’t care, as established, shouting at them will not change this.

The readers with anxiety and low spoons who find commenting exhausting or stressful will feel guilty and they might comment once or twice. They might continue to comment even, but it will be under duress and will diminish their enjoyment of the story and in many cases that diminished enjoyment and stress related to reading your work will mean they eventually stop reading it all together.

It is established psychology that shame and guilt are good for stopping a behavior.

Positive reinforcement and encouragement are good for inciting a desirable behavior.

Being mean to people who don’t comment doesn’t work. You are more likely to end up with less readers AND commenters than you are to somehow convince people that commenting is right and just and like, your due as a writer.

Like I get people’s frustration but… I just disagree with the demanding attitude.

You can tell people the price of reading your fic is comments! You can! Every author is allowed to make whatever rules they want regarding the consumption of their own fic - it’s certainly not guaranteed to get people to listen, but they are allowed to do it.

But I personally think it’s stupid and counterproductive.

It’s like, we often relate fanfic to free food. Someone made cupcakes and left them in the break-room at work! That’s so nice! Some people will likely send a thank you message/email but probably many others wouldn’t, and would simply eat a free cupcake and enjoy themselves.

Imagine telling those people “I cannot believe you ate one of my cupcakes and didn’t tell me thank you for making them, fuck you.”

Like… it’s just a bit extreme don’t you think??

[caspersscareschool]

he literally sews his kids stupid little outfits from scratch does anyone even fucking care

[call-me-copycat]

I just need to be told "You Can Do It" right now.