#dumping my brain

[fushiglow]

I assume this is the same person that came to my comments to say "kys" but regardless, I'm going to archive lock my fics (at least for a while). Unfortunately, this does mean that you won't be able to read my work unless you're logged in, but I hope it will deter some of these vile people.

For me, this single comment sums up all the points proven by this fiasco about the people I was trying to deter with my tags:

They don't care about good characterisation.

They don't care about artists.

They're DESPERATE to read my writing.

It's also a hilarious attempt at a "gotcha" on a switch shipper who writes both dynamics anyway lol 😭 I cannot believe the reaction over an artist asserting their boundaries.

Thank you again to every single one of you who's supported me throughout this ordeal! I really really appreciate the kind comments and asks!

[fushiglow]

I want to add that words like 'attention' and 'exposure' and 'interaction' muddy people's understanding, because they're rooted in the commodification of art. As the person above suggests, I think we need to move towards talking about these issues in terms of 'connection' and 'communication' and 'finding shared meaning' instead.

Almost all of the mainstream stories we're exposed to are produced under the 'culture industry', so most people are only acquainted with art in a commercialised form — art that was created with the intention of selling it from day dot — and they naturally come to believe that this is the main purpose of art.

This understanding is so normalised that, when regular people share their art with the world, we default to assuming that there's an ulterior motive (usually wealth or fame). However, the vast majority of artists will never make a penny from their work and most of those people aren't even seeking to. Even so, it's a commonly held belief that artists are 'greedy' for seeking engagement with our work; that the process of creation should be fulfilment enough for a 'real' artist. This draws a false dichotomy between an artist's quest for personal fulfilment and their search for connection with other human beings.

When you're used to parting with your hard-earned cash to enjoy art, it's perhaps reasonable that you expect it to impress you. When you purchase popcorn at the cinema, you want to feel it's worth the price you paid for it — and the same goes for your movie ticket. Buying and consuming is the norm in our culture, but that norm is built on the concept of a fair exchange.

It's unfair to apply that approach to work shared by an amateur artist for free, because the exchange isn't fair and never will be. Within a capitalist framework (which art doesn't belong in anyway), the burden of time, resources, emotional labour etc. falls almost entirely on the artist. Yet, our consumerist tendencies are so deeply engrained that we impose the expectation upon artists that they must 'earn' our enthusiasm (even the notion of 'paying attention' has been distorted by this idea, as though 'attention' is a currency) — which is how we end up with viral tweets insisting that AO3 should have a 'dislike' button because authors get 'too used' to receiving purely positive feedback.

When artists complain about receiving unsolicited criticism, we get, "Don't share your art with the world if you can't take it" — as though it's our duty to take feedback from strangers and use it to 'improve' according to the standards of people who are not trustworthy peers.

This is not what artists are seeking when we share our work with others. Moreover, it's so far removed from the reason we create art in the first place.

If it were about the personal fulfilment we get from the process of creating, we'd have no need to share our work with the world — and we often don't! A huge deal of art is created for the artist's own practice or progression (alongside more meaningful reasons) and never sees the light of day. So, when we do share our work with others, it's because we're seeking connection and understanding and, yes, praise sometimes. However, seeking praise isn't antithetical to those other forms of communication — because that's all this is about at the end of the day: communication.

When we share any form of art with others — whether it's music, writing, visual art — we're communicating something about ourselves to the world and hoping that it reaches someone who resonates with it. Creating art can appear (and feel) like an egocentric endeavour, and perhaps it is egocentric to pour all of yourself into something and ask people to give it their time and attention.

However, is it egocentric to compose a song for someone? Is it egocentric to write them a letter? Is it egocentric to craft a handmade gift? These are all just ways to communicate our innermost feelings and thoughts to others in the hopes of developing our connection with them. Everything is communication when you're a member of a social species — so is it egocentric to communicate with other human beings?

TL;DR: Showing some love to the artists whose labours you've enjoyed for free will never be too much to ask. In fact, it's the bare minimum of human connection, which is pretty much the only thing we've got. Go leave a comment on that fic you've been loving in secret.

someone I follow on the bird app just announced they're starting a very exclusive private fic server because they and a bunch of other people want to talk about how much they love the fics they're reading, and as an author can I just say that a really great place to talk about a fic you love is in the comments for that fic

I understand that people are trying to create safe spaces, but as the number of comments that I get on my fics dwindles with each passing year, knowing these spaces exist where my fics are being discussed, places that I am excluded from, makes me want to write fic LESS

I mean I guess who cares, right, because if I stop writing, there's 10,000 other people that will continue...but if you participate in a fic "book club" server and you say nice things there about a fic you loved, maybe copy and paste that into a comment on AO3?

the only thing fanfic writers are asking for in return for hours of hard work is attention. please don't rob us of the one thing that we hope for when we hit "post"

[noodles-and-tea]

Last part whoo!!!

PART 1 / PART 2 / PART 3 / PART 4

[lostagoodcigar]

Thinking about sitting in bed with Simon

Like it’s 7pm, you’re both wrapped in the blankets- there’s at least 2 on the bed or it’s one of those giant comforters that fit you both.

Curled up with bowls of ice cream, you and Simon have separate containers because he claims the flavor you like is “fuckin’ disgusting” - cut to 2 minutes later when his spoon is in your container because he wants a bite of yours.

YouTube on your laptop, sitting between you both as you sift through videos in your watch history. Letting him pick which video to rewatch for the 1000th time. This time it’s one of those wax melting compilations.

“Those fuckin’ colors don’t even go together.”

“No they do in a weird way I think.”

“You’re never pickin’ out paint colors in our house.”

“Pink and lime green go together for that, it’s wax Simon-“

“I don’t wanna hear it.” He says as he takes a bite from your bowl.

[tickleepuppy]

Kiss my worries away? Fuck my worries away? Choke my worries away? Sloppily makeout my worries away? Pound into my worries away? Tie me up my worries away? Breed me my worries away? Edge me my worries away? Overstimulate my worries away? Make me cum my worries away? Use me my worri-

[paintedcrows]

Assorted Gravity Falls doodles!

[wardingshout]

alttp ish tegaki dump

[dearru]

do u guys know that one song by doja cat that goes “like fortnite ima need ur skin.” that’s what inspired this. hope u enjoy. | mlist

imagine you, an aspiring singer, starting to date the wildly influential streamer, kodzuken. you two are the definition of a picture perfect couple, and you start to make lots of content together. as a result, your career begins to take off, and kenma’s content grows in popularity,

everything’s great— until it isn’t. the relationship ends up crashing and burning in an embarrassingly public breakup.

people are devastated. video essays are made. diehard fans even claim the split is the equivalent of “parents divorcing.”

it’s a whole ordeal.

but as time passes, the wounds heal. and in true internet fashion, it becomes old news. some people still whisper about how they believe you two are soulmates, but for the most part, kenma’s chat and your comment section don’t get flooded with invasive questions about whether you two will get back together anymore.

fast forward to two years or so after the breakup, you and kenma end up growing in your respective careers. his several business ventures have grown exponentially, and you’re now selling out stadiums.

kenma doesn’t stream as much as he used to when you two were together, but he chalks it up to having to juggle so many different commitments now. fans speculate as to whether or not that’s the true reason, but as a collective, they agree that they’ll take whatever content they can get from the elusive creator.

despite not streaming as frequently, kenma still likes to indulge his audience every once in a while by hopping online. normally, he likes to decide what to play, but every once in a while, he’ll let chat decide.

tonight is one of those nights.

on a whim, he gives in to requests for him to boot up fortnite— an old favorite of his— for the first time in months.

big mistake.

the second he opens the once beloved game, he gets jumpscared by something that even his worst nightmares couldn’t have fathomed.

you.

everywhere.

to his horror, and the chat’s delight, he finds that you’ve become the poster child for fortnite’s newest campaign. your face is on the menu screen, banners of you flash in bright colors, and you’re plastered everywhere in the item shop.

they say men are constantly haunted by the ghost of their first love, and in a cruel twist of fate, it’s a saying that has become ironically true for kenma as he realizes that epic games has made you into a fucking skin.

he debates the consequences of throwing his pc into a wall, but his screen flashes with an overly excitable chat faster than he can make a decision. old fans are freaking out, new gen fans are wondering what all the fuss is about, and someone donates just to type “YOU’RE FUCKED.”

kenma has half the mind to laugh as the notification illuminates his face because he knows the donor is right.

he’s not an idiot. he knows that you’re popular now, but to be so famous that you have your own skin? he’s in absolute disbelief. there’s no way the universe hates him this much. it’s bad enough that you’re on every headline and radio station. now you’re in his favorite video game?!?!

he is so unbelievably, irrevocably fucked.

—a/n: i think that kenma’s viewers are evil and they all band together and emote on kenma with ur skin whenever they see him online.

—a/n #2: has anyone written abt this concept before. pls lmk. i would love to read it bc i giggled so hard when the thought popped in my head HAHAHA.

—a/n #3: guys i don’t play fortnite, watch streamers, or write for kenma at all so pls don’t hate on me ok thx love u

[magicicephoenix]

tosses this at y'all. have some updated past time lord designs

[the-barefoot-hatter]

Pyramid Steve's favourite treat is pre-1982 pennies

(Ford slooooowly starting to realize his muse of infinite knowledge might, in fact, be a dumbass.)

[fushiglow]

gege akutami has ruined september forever.

[collophora]

Do yourself a favor and go read the entire fanfic work of @fanfoolishness

(In order: Under sun and shade, Blind Side, and Breathless (patching up is one of my fav too, I just had no cool sketch idea for it)

[soggy-fishsticks]

i can't stop thinking about an au where sephiroth has a calico cat named syrup, so I made a bunch of doodles.

more drawings and thoughts down below!!!

ok here's my brainworms for this au 😈:

Sephiroth would LOVE syrup, and so would the rest of soldier!!! He'd take syrup for walks around the shinra building and the cat would gain a soldier cult-following (as she should)

I think that, solely for angst purposes, sephiroth dies before the nibelheim incident in this au. SO!!!! Zack dutifully takes care of Syrup in his stead 💔

I feel that would this would be powered from not just love for syrup (this cat is a god-tier celebrity), but grief, too. and syrup would ofc be really sad too :P

idk I am NOT good at writing these thoughts out 😭😭 especially on mobile where it's impossible for me to format any of this 😓

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

hope you feel better soon!

I am riddled with ailments, but I stay silly!

[ryssbelle]

Had a silly dream where JD and Floyd came back to the troll tree before the last trollstice but after singing killed their grandma and decided to doodle and expand upon it a bit

Clay never left the tree but was too scared to return to the families pod since he didn’t want things to go back to how they were before, he did try to find his brothers during the escape but got separated by the cave in.

John Dory was the one to find Clay and see him get caught by the cave in, when he came out of the tunnel without Clay and holding his wristband they all just assumed he was dead. Even so JD still searches for Clay with the hope that he might’ve escaped and is alive out there.

They know Bruce is alive but after JD got the post card he assumed Bruce didn’t want to be found

Some more doodles that kind of show their dynamic

Also-

JD always brings home souvenirs for the brothers both as an apology for being gone for so long and also because of this:

[enigmatic-pers]

Local otaku preparing to go to war with a godly powered dragon, little does he know the dragons already coming to him 💀