#but not being a fanartist I couldn't tell you why

[ncruuk]

Reposting here a reply I've just typed up on AO3 to a comment I got about sending my fic to TPTB of that particular fandom's source content....in case there's people who don't know this (both in fearmongered early internet fandom history and it's current big reason not to do)

The way fanfic is connected to original content and the whole 'legal' space that AO3 and others before them helped to establish for us rather depended originally on fanfiction being never sent to showrunners/anyone connected with producing the 'official' content - because the minute they get even a hint of an idea of something existing in a fanfic, that basically makes it a toxic concept for the show itself for fear of being sued by the fanfic writer over use of 'their' element of the idea. Which has always baffled me as a fanfic writer since it seems such a big corporation mindset to react that way rather than the 'wow, people love what we made they're thinking laterally and some of these ideas are awesome and really worth thinking about' which is most fan reactions in conversation with each other.

I maybe an 'old school' fandom person who's slightly out of date on this point now, except it still applies even more strictly because it counts as 'unsolicited material' that apparently is a massive no in studio/streamer contracts with producers (thank you Neil Gaiman for explaining this so patiently on Tumblr a while back - link to one of his posts on the topic, (without tagging him here on tumblr because he's nice and doesn't need the spam referencing!)

But it is what it is, and if you want to guarantee something you read in fanfic never makes it on screen, do send it to TPTB with a flashy email subject saying 'this fanfic is so cool because X is Y' as the subject and 'bam!' not only will the email not be read or replied to, but that cool thing perhaps won't happen.

But thank you to you (and others) who suggest it periodically, I'm perfectly happy hanging out in fandom daydreaming and writing it down (albeit rather slowly at times due to real life regrettably having to take priority most of the time!)

[msnihilist]

Hey, hey!👋🏾

Number 12, 14, and 16 for the choose violence ask game?😈

For the choosing violence ask game.

12. The unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them.

The thing is, I don't ever really find myself getting attached to side characters. I'm one of those fans who's favorite character is ALWAYS the MC. I don't know why, that's just the rules. My favorite Ben 10 character is Ben, my favorite TAWOG character is Gumball, my favorite FOP character is Timmy, etc etc.

That being said, I guess I'll say that the Ben 10 fandom should appreciate Eunice and Elena more. People really like Looma and Attea, but not these two other ladies! I think they also have a bunch of potential for fanartists and writers to play with.

14. That one thing you see in fics all the time.

The "Zuko is an Awkward Turtle Duck" tag. It pretty much immediately tells me that the author is about to write him wildly out of character. Yes, in canon Zuko is kind of awkward. But SO MANY PEOPLE seem to conflate that with him being an uwu soft cinnamon roll when that couldn't be further from the truth.

Zuko is an asshole. Did people forget that even in the finale, his solution to not having his concerns taken seriously was to literally attack Aang? He's a jerk! He's a fuck-up! He doesn't think his actions through! The fandom woobified him so bad that it's honestly not even worth going into the ATLA tag on AO3, because every fic centers on Zuko and they're all wrong.

16. You can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

Ben as asexual. Well, no, I know why people like it — because they're self-projecting. But Ben is very clearly NOT asexual.

He is immediately and physically attracted to Eunice, calling her beautiful when the pod opens to reveal that she's naked. Kevin even comments that, "Dude, you're drooling." Ben smiled when Jennifer Nocturne (a young, attractive celebrity) kissed him. Julie kisses him at the end of UA, and Ben says, "That was totally worth giving up all of that power!"

In Omniverse, Ben shied away from Ester's hug because he's already seeing someone. And then he says later to Rook, jokingly, "You think I have a chance with her?" He's happy after he kisses Kai.

Ben likes physical affection, just not unwanted affection. He doesn't like Looma or Attea enough to enjoy their aggressive forms of affection. He doesn't like Ester or Julie trying to put pressure on their relationship. If anything, Ben gives off the energy of having commitment issues and wanting a more physically casual relationship.

Ben likes to take his relationships at his own speed. That doesn't mean he's asexual.

[ctenophora]

The art community is literally dying

Recently I have seen way too many fanartists get hate for the way they draw/head canon characters from shows and its actually ironic when its mlp, because its supposed to be a show about friendship and kindness yet the people who "claim" to be defending them are always down right disrespectful and rude as hell.

having fun and making headcanons have lost its meaning in why people do it to the point people are so mad that a character that is portrayed with headcanons seems like its the worst thing a person can do to a character. it always has to be what they look like originally. the fact y'all have the audacity to be so racist, transphobic, homophobic and fatphobic over a headcanon, you guys need to log out and shut up.

it is honestly so annoying to me that no one can make art without some asshole tracing over their art work, or calling it a caricature. or making fun of it.

in a few years we'll all be twiddling our thumbs asking ourselves why fan art isn't around anymore? it's because of the hatred people are experiencing today on social media. YOU ARE GOING TO CAUSE THAT.

you guys forget why headcanons exist. why headcanons are just for fun. YOU do not HAVE to agree with someones headcanons YOU also do not HAVE THE RIGHTS to make fun of that persons headcanons, or say its wrong unless it is truly HATEFUL in anyway.

If YOU are so mad that you think your favorite wouldn't look like that DO IT YOURSELF. Everyone and their mamas have pen and paper, draw how you think your favorite would look and mind your own business. these talented artists sit here and spend days working on something that they relate to and hope other people do too just for people to criticize them unasked. why is that still happening today? if No one asked for help don't give help its so simple. keep words to yourself a child could follow this easier than grown ass adults can.

Theres always something wrong when people hate on someones art. we cant project anymore, we cant be inexperienced anymore, we cant show representation anymore. its always gotta be "They wouldn't look like that!" "why do they look like a man" "they look ugly"

or even worse telling people to die, and causing them to go private. have we not learned from pass situations!? so many young artists get depressed and broke down over comments that hurt their mental because you couldn't even keep something to yourself.

if you claim to actually be helping people, actually look to the people who whitewash poc characters, or make an originally plus size person thin. look at the actual problems instead of some random artists who wants to see their favorite look like them.

I literally was on twitter and someone drew pinkie pie plus size and with PCOS and everyone thought she looked like a racist caricature because "No black girl looks like that" congratulations welcome to earth. people look like that irl. people are so scared of someone being unconventionally attractive, its actually embarrassing how slow the progression of accepting people for how they look is going. we've gone no where. you people will always judge someone and know nothing about that person.

that other person on TikTok did not deserve their art getting traced over a bunch of times, y'all will get so scared over women having hair, welcome to how the body works hair and muscles exist on women too, women can look masculine and still identify as a woman, have we not learned from gender non comfirmity, and pronouns don't = gender tiktoks? have we also not learned from "Art lore" y'all are so disgusting, and hateful.

and Tina from kid vampire yall will be so scared over Tina being black or not being white, for why? the creator literally said they don't care. let people have fun. LEAVE THAT LITTLE GIRL ALONE AND LEAVE PPL WHO HC HER BLACK ALONE TOO. I promise you Tina is not about to jump out of the screen and say thank you. once again headcanons exist for a reason.

AND the fancast Rapunzel literally sit down and hear yourself right NOW.

for years through stories princesses have always been portrayed from a different culture in there own way, there was a German Rapunzel, a black Rapunzel a Korean Rapunzel, an indian Rapunzel. and so on

even Cinderella, a bunch of stories have been retold for different cultures for different people all around the world. it is not that serious.

your childhood is not being destroyed over some fancast, innocently made. wake up wipe off those crocodile tears and go into research on why you feel so much hatred for black and brown kids possibly getting representation in media.

[districtscare]

🍬❄️🎨

🍬 — post an opinion about a popular fandom character ;

i honestly think that effie doesn't deserve the hype that she gets. as much as the movies glamorize her role in the war & within the series in general, through and through she is the sole reason why many tributes were sent to their deaths along with relishing in being a part of the hunger games. the movies change her character to be more empathetic and more rebellion-oriented, but i've always thought her to be cold and uncaring, especially within the first book & her remarks about district 12.

❄ — dream theme for a plot/fic & who could write it best ;

i couldn't tell you about who would write it best, but I'd really like to see a fic about the first quarter quell and how it shaped those to come.

🎨 — link to favorite piece of fanart and why ; this art by @/delizbin of haymitch 100%! i just think it encapsulates him & his physical descriptions perfectly, which is something a lot of fanartists tend not to do!

thank you for your ask by the way! ^_^

[ltleflrt]

AO3 tos anon here, thank you for all the explanation.

I actually sometimes wonder myself what’s my stakes in following a lot of spntwitter drama 🙈 I think in this particular case, I just wanted to know the truth. I understand you don’t have concrete proof but as I said I take your word because I know you from outside of the twitter echo chamber and trust you. I also wanted to figure out if AO3 is basically deleting fics just like that but your explanation makes sense as to why they’re doing it.

The fact that reporting trolls should chill, though, I fully agree with.

GAH, THE TUMBEASTS ATE MY FIRST ANSWER. I'm still gonna end up being long winded about this though cuz it gets me pretty heated. I try not to talk about it, but then someone asks me about it and oh lord here I go lol

I honestly don't care if there's a ringleader or just a well organized group. I just wish that the Reporting Trolls would consider printed fics the same as classic 'zines and get the fuck over it. Reporting printed fics can bring down the attention of the IP holders too, so they're not the Fandom Heroes they think they're being.

And when it comes down to it, I don't think they're really trying to protect fandom. If that was the case, there wouldn't be fanfics publicly posted on Lulu that have been sitting their for several years. They're targeting specific creators who have gone out of their way to keep the links hidden or private. So I think there's a kernel of truth to the idea that they're doing this out of jealousy. If it's That One Author that seems to be the ringleader, she may be upset that other people are getting more attention than she does. If it's her fans, they may be upset that their favorite author isn't getting as much attention as they think she deserves. It's even possible that they're not aware of what they're really doing, so they fall back on "BUt pRoFIT".

This whole thing about "but Lulu makes money!" will forever drive me nuts. Lulu would make the same amount of money selling paper and ink on a book that's just 700 pages of the word "Orange" typed on repeat as they would selling paper and ink on a book that's 700 pages of my story. The paper and ink is only worth paying for because of me, and I'm not making any money from the work I'm doing.

Look I can prove that, at least :D

Hell, I'm losing money on it. I pay fanartists to create covers for me. I'm bad at formatting the PDF, so I pay people to format it properly for me. I've spent hundreds of dollars to make these prints look nice and semi-professional. I give away copies for free to the artists and the people who help me with the formatting, and some of these are over $20 because of how thick they are.

Everyone is getting something out of this EXCEPT for me!

*huffs and puffs in irritation*

The AO3 stuff is, unfortunately, squidgy. Over the years I've heard of other things getting reported on AO3 where authors have complained that they weren't given enough opportunity to clean up whatever the violation was, or the AO3 staff wouldn't/couldn't tell them where the violation was hiding. If something is reported, it's going to come down to a judgement call from an AO3 employee. As someone who has had to make judgement calls on things that are grey areas, I can tell you it's tough. And sometimes it's best to err on the side of caution, which is usually not in the customer's favor. Without knowing exactly what was behind the AO3 staff's decision to delete, I can't say whether their decision is fair or not. It is scary though, because it's hard to tell whether an offhand comment will get you in trouble or not, and it puts us all on edge when we hear about something getting deleted.

Anyway, sorry I went on a vent session again. I'm glad you got some answers that at least made you feel better ;D