#i don't interact with other creators very often

[this-charming-primevalmusic]

EXACTLY

one big thing i think people outside fandom (like, all fandoms, fandom in general, not any particular one) tend to misunderstand is they know it's a subculture of people who are weirdly deeply invested in fictional media, and they hear about drama caused by people in those subcultures being unhinged in not-fun ways, and they think the unhingedness comes from the fact of being overinvested in works of fiction.

which is a natural assumption, but in my experience that's not really the case? like in my experience the drama llamas in fandom are usually not the ones who are just genuinely very deeply into the fiction. i've known people who are basically thinking about star trek or x-men comics or supernatural pretty much 100% of their free time and ime that type of person is usually very nice and surprisingly functional in their regular life. when someone's a constant nexus of fandom drama it's usually not that they are obsessed with the actual work of fiction the fandom is about, it's at least one of the following:

what they're obsessed with is not the source material but their unhealthy parasocial relationships with one or more of the people who created it

what they're obsessed with is not the source material but some elaborate shared-universe subset of fanfic about it that's only barely related to the original at this point, and/or an esoteric reading-against-the-text reinterpretation of the source material (often if the canon is active and ongoing this leads to becoming actively hostile toward it for its inevitably increasing failure to conform to their preferred fanon)

what they're obsessed with is not the source material but the fandom itself and gathering clout within it, so that the source material basically only exists to them as a tool for scoring points in increasingly arcane fandom disputes

and very often you get the same person doing 2 and sometimes even all 3 of these, and that's where the trouble really starts

[shithowdy]

this is your periodic reminder that for all the artifacts and errors and "tells" one could possibly list, the only reliable way to actually determine if an image is ai generated is to investigate the source. it is becoming increasingly common for "fake classical paintings" to circulate around curative aesthetic blogs, and everyone should be using this as an opportunity to not only exercise their investigative skills but also appreciate art more in general. you're all checking out the artists you reblog, right? 🫣

so what are some signs to look for? let's use this very good example.

what a lovely late-impressionist piece blended with evocative leyendecker-esque themes! why haven't you ever heard of this artist before? surely tumblr would be all over an artist like this. who is justin brown?

your two options from here are to do a search for the name, or a reverse image search. i prefer reverse image searching, particularly when it comes to a common name like "justin brown". so what does that net?

Immediately, without looking at any text, something is wrong: it barely exists. an actual historical piece would turn up numerous results from websites individually discussing the piece, but no such discussions are taking place. Looking at the text, though, does show the source-- and at least in this case, the creator was honest about their medium.

But let's also look at the "exact matches", in case a source doesn't make itself apparent in the initial sidebar results like this.

This section will often tell you post dates of images, and here it can be seen that the very first iteration of the image was posted 15 days ago. It did not exist online prior to that.

Seeing how long an unsourced image has been floating around is a skill applicable to more than just generative images! See a cool image of an artifact or other intriguing item with a vivid caption? Reverse search it! If all the results are paired with that caption and only go back a few months, you might just have viral facebook spam.

Sometimes generative creators are dishonest about their medium and do not tag it like in the example, so that's when establishing "jpeg provenance" becomes important. While it can be a little trickier to determine if someone is using generative images and not admitting to it if they aren't trying to pass it off as a classic, something to consider is the age of their account and the frequency with which they post. Here are some account red flags:

-Did they only start posting art after 2022, or if they did before, did their style/skill level WILDLY change? Not gradual improvement-- I'm talking amateur graphite portraits straight into complex digital renders. Everyone starts somewhere, newness is not a red flag alone; it's newness combined with existing in a vacuum away from any community.

-Do they post fully-finished paintings several times a week? -Do many of these paintings seem iterative of a similar theme or subject matter ("three well-dressed young men face each other under shade and dappled sunlight")?

-Does their style change in inconsistent ways? An artist that can swap between painting like Drew Struzan and Hokusai should be pretty well known, right? Why is no one hyping this guy?!

-Do they have social media besides the source instagram? If so, what are they posting about? Are there any WIPs? Doodles? Interactions with other artists? Gallery dates? 3am self-doubt posts? Or is it all self-promo? Crypto? Seemingly nothing art-related at all for someone pushing out 3 weekly paintings?

Basically, if it's important to you to omit this stuff when you curate, please don't just smash reblog if the source doesn't seem to be the OP themselves. Seeking out sources was important even before this became an issue, now it is more than ever.

peace n love

[kianamaiart]

i feel like trying to "make it" as a creator can get so disheartening when stuff performs so much worse than you expect it to, and it's hard to keep motivation when it feels like nobody cares when you put all your effort into something, even when you're doing something you love. do you have any advice for managing expectations and dealing with that?

i still struggle with this a lot but i've learned to move past it faster

it's easier said than done but it's nice to put it into perspective and truly seeing the numbers as actual people. getting 5 likes might not seem like a lot but remembering that those likes are 5 real life people who enjoy your work is huge. don't become desensitized to numbers.

i think also acknowledging that algorithms are kinda bullshit (often random) and play to a specific kind of person also helps. know it's not your fault if your art goes unnoticed. it's not that no one cares, it's just that social media algorithms aren't usually made with artists in mind, therefore making it hard to get your stuff out to the right audience a lot of the time.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, having a community or friendships offline helps. even if one of my pieces does't perform as well on social media as i want it to, it ends up mattering so much less when i show it to a singular friend in person and they gush about it to me then and there. a post going viral is fleeting but the genuine interaction and engagement of sharing art with a friend sticks much longer.

i've VERY much been tempering my expectations for this pilot. when i first started working on it, i was pretty concerned about numbers and worrying that it'll flop. it still might! but genuinely, being able to show it to my friends and other folks who've been helping me on the project has been so rewarding already. getting their feedback and seeing their enjoyment watching/working on it has inspired me and kept me going. i'm less worried about how well it'll do now. the learning experiences and new connections and friendships i've made during the process of this pilot make it worth it already.

[notyournecromancer]

being a POC in the Marauders/HP fandom is really interesting to me because it seems and feels like a really predominantly white space, which, hey, nothing new! and that does come with some challenges. for the most part, they're fairly under the radar.

it's things like being able to count the POC in a discord server on one hand, even though there's 100+ people in the community.

it's people not taking into account racial dynamics whether that be in a fic, or in a tiktok, tumblr, whatever. there are innate power imbalances in our society (regardless of what country you live in) and to assume because this fandom is a largely open, liberal and leftist space, that they don't carry over to fandom, is exceptionally naive. buuuuut, we live and learn, so people can and should be given a certain amount of grace. but what is unforgivable is to have them pointed out to you and for you to dismiss, ignore or belittle them. Not only that, but you as a white person, do not get to be the forgiving voice to another white person when they make one of these mistakes. please please please respect and understand that.

there's also (and i'm sorry if this is controversial and frankly it makes me really nervous to even write this), a trend of assigning ethnicities, cultures and races to characters in stories without having a proper understanding of them, or having a particular reason for doing so. I'm never going to sit here and say "you as a white person shouldn't write about ____ race!", because I don't believe that. but what I would really, really love to see, is for white creators and writers to ask themselves some questions beforehand:

what does the race of this character add to the story outside of me chasing clout with a particular group of people/is it necessary for me to be writing the lived experience of a culture/ethnicity I've never taken the time to learn about?

if so, why?

am i the right person to be doing this?

are my actions outside of my writing towards these POC reflective of this?

i also think it's really important to remember that unconscious bias is a thing, and it's really easy for us to spot in your writing if it isn't something you've addressed. Not only that, but even if you write the most well-researched POC in your fic, even if you're sharing posts about Lebanon and Palestine, none of that matters if your actions when interacting with us show us that you are indifferent to the power dynamics at play with you being a white person, often with a large audience, in this space. virtue signalling is spectacularly unhelpful if you're writing checks your ass can't cash.

that being said, I think throwing 'racist' around as a term at people who make mistakes is really unhelpful. because every situation has context and nuance, and dogpiling never helps anybody. there are opportunities for learning, developing and understanding here. but please remember, if a POC tells you something is upsetting, harmful or offensive - even if other POC haven't said that to you - it's not your place as a white person to dismiss that.

anyway, hope that helps, love u very much xo

[yallthemwitches]

Like a lot of other authors/content creators in the HP fandom, I am feeling a sense of heaviness over the rulings that happened in the UK and feel the need to speak on my (albeit very complicated) feelings.

What JKR is doing is terrible. It will ruin lives. It will end lives.

If you feel like that is being hyperbolic, please go look up the suicide rates for the trans community. It's a staggering number and it only grows as people seeking information, comfort, and support are locked out of proper resources due to heinous legislations like the one passed yesterday.

It saddens me too because I know that so many in the LGBTIQA+ have found characters/stories in the HP universe that have spoken to them and helped to understand their personal journeys---only to have that comfort ripped away by the very person who created them.

If you can permit me to be personal for a second: My brother is trans and before/during his transition (this was early 2010s) he always cited Remus Lupin as one of the foundations for coming to terms with his trans identity because he saw some of his own internal struggle in Lupin's character. He even went so far as to write a letter to JKR (which, thank GOD he never sent...) thanking her for creating a character that aided him with the complicated feelings he had when there were no other resources for him.

My brother is now a psychologist specializing in the young trans community and speaking to him recently, he has said that he comes across this same story constantly and each one ends in tragedy because that little piece of solace and comfort was not just taken from them, but told them that no, actually. You thought wrong to see yourself in this character. You don't matter.

Watching what happened yesterday and knowing the long history of bigotry JKR has spouted for years now weighs heavy on my heart every time I step into this fandom and often I question if I should still contribute to it. I know it's not much, but I would like to share some of the things that keep me going--even when it all looks really fucking bleak:

Fanfiction and fanart are, at their foundation, anticapitalist works--and can be used to fight JKR's agenda. By consuming fanfic/fanart zero money goes towards JKR. None. And further, JKR has no say in how you use her characters in these spaces. So, if you want to use these creative outlets to uplift trans voices, please do! Support trans writers/artists and urge them to PERSIST--because I promise you nothing is going to tick off the ole' bitch more than trans bodies/ trans supporters writing her characters.

Just because the writer is the devil, doesn't mean the art has to be. I won't go into the concept of "death of the author" because I think it can be pockmarked to hell with various examples, but what I DO subscribe to is that once the art is out in the world, it is now owned by the person who consumes it. To put it simply: when I read HP I am POSITIVE I imagine characters/settings differently than the person next to me. It's the beauty of the imagination: the creator can give us the blocks but how it is built is contingent on how WE perceive it.

Did I mention money? DON'T GIVE IT TO HER. Buy the books/movies second hand. Pirate the media you wish to consume around the fandom. Don't give her any reason to give any more hate funding and instead send that money to trans communities and groups who need it (they REALLY need it.)

Maybe I'm naive to say this, but I don't think interacting with the story as an art form is bad. She invented it, sure, but she isn't in charge of what goes on in my brain. If anything, this fandom NEEDS the trans community and supporters within it because not only can they push back, but they can educate those who otherwise are listening to the author. Don't let her win the space even though she's the author. It's no longer hers to have.

If you are someone who wants to leave the fandom because you can't bear to watch her continue to destroy it--I completely understand. But, as someone who has been in this fandom for over 20 years, the one thing I've learned is: besides monetarily she doesn't own shit. Don't let her take what you love from you and don't let her get away with scaring people out of their community spaces. Support and love our trans brothers and sisters and enjoy your HP despite it all. The things you love are worth fighting for.

[my-castles-crumbling]

Hi, guys! Let's talk about fandom etiquette!

👨‍🏫👨‍🏫👨‍🏫

I know a lot of you are young and perhaps have not been part of fandom spaces since the dawn of time (circa fanfiction.net) so let's talk about some dos and don'ts with fandom, so we can keep this a happy place! Please read this and reblog to get this out to people who genuinely may not know!

📕DON'T: Write reviews of fics on Tumblr, Tiktok, or other social media. Fic writers are creating these things for FREE, and did not ask you to review. This often leads to negative discourse and can even cause fic writers to take down their fics. 📗DO: Leave kudos and ONLY POSITIVE comments. Talk about only positive things on social media. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all!

Edited to add: YES, EVEN CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISCISM. If the author didn't ask for it, don't give it. Some may appreciate it, but others won't. At the very least, ask permission first.

📕DON'T: Post fic ideas or headcanons on AO3. AO3 is for posting actual fanfiction or fanart and nothing else. (What I mean by this is, I've seen posts on ao3 like "Just posting an idea that someone should write, here it is!" and that's not what ao3 is for). Edited to add: You can also post original works and nonfiction works based on fandom on ao3! 📗DO: Post headcanons and ideas on Tumblr, Tiktok, etc!

Edited to change: Okay, so I feel like there's some arguments over like...what qualifies as metafic versus something that shouldn't be on AO3? So from my understanding (correct me if I'm wrong), people DEFINITELY should not be posting just a title with no work attached, which I have seen a lot lately, nor should they be posting to search for someone else's fic. However, it seems like lists, and similar metafic are okay, as well as original content, and nonfiction.

📕DON'T: Repost entire fanfictions without permission or sell bound fanfiction. Again, this causes writers to take their fics down, and can actually cause issues with fandom because it can cause allegations of copyright infringement. 📗DO: Recommend fics you like to others by talking them up and posting links! Ask permission before you translate!

📕DON'T: Send hate to authors for writing a fic in a way you don't like or not updating enough. Again, authors are doing this for free and sending hate causes serious mental harm to authors because they are people! If you don't like it, don't read it! 📗DO: Send love to authors in forms that they are comfortable with!

📕DON'T: Shame others for their ships/fics/kinks. Fandom is supposed to be a supportive space! Judging people is taking away that safe space! 📗DO: Use the block button! Block or filter out things or people you don't like!

📕DON'T: Use AI to create art or fics. This is detrimental to the creators who work hard to create their work! 📗DO: Try making your own art or fics! Practice makes perfect!

These are just a few of the things that I've seen happening more lately, but keep in mind that if you don't like something, you don't have to interact with it and fanart and fanfiction creators are people who are doing this for free. Please make sure to respect the hard work people put in, or fandom can't exist!

(Feel free to discuss/add things as long as you're being respectful!)

[icedbeverageenjoyer]

🪽❤️‍🔥Angel Mario❤️‍🔥🪽

🪽❤️‍🔥Rubrum Chao❤️‍🔥🪽

Ok let me ramble for a bit about Mario's place in SMG4's version of the angel hierarchy (once I'm done catching up with the lore I'm gonna make a chart, but for now have this). ↓↓↓

In the episode, the angel desighn they give Mario is very 'biblically accurate' and very blurry, but it looks like a white Seraphim. I'll count his desighn as surface-level aesthetics though, since I know damn well no one is refreshing their SMG4 theology notes for a gag episode.

Plus, it's hard to put Mario in the first triad since he CAN physically interact with the universe. He COULD be a Seraphim, but this freak answers to no god, and him being a Cherubim wouldn't add up with his powers/lore.

He also can't really be God since Luke is canonically the absolute creator, but he is definitely above SMG4 & 3, who are a mix between Principalities/Powers (if you replace 'mankind' with 'memes').

Conclusion: Mario is an unusually high Virtue. It fits with his lore, since if he dies the universe will cease as well. And while he isn't particularly hardworking or orderly, his unusual powers could make up for it to the point that simply existing brings balance to the world.

Also, I don't think there even is a first triad in the SMG4 universe, since from the few times the crew have seen Luke, they don't seem to recognize him as a deity, nor are there any other characters/signs to point that he is. On top of that, he doesn't use messangers. Whenever he wants to intervene, he usually does it through SMG4, the character that looks a whole suspicious lot like him, allowing him to break the 4th wall or outright possessing him depending on the situation.

SMG4 is a christ-like figure.

AND IF SMG4 IS A CHRIST-LIKE FIGURE, THAT MEANS SMG3 IS JUDAS!!!

I can't breathe omlll

EGGDOG IS ABLE AND BEEG IS CANE!!!

Eggdog is the kind and innocent one while Beeg is bossier and often bullies him.

MARIO IS MARY MAGDAL-- ok, I'll stop.

[postcardsfromheapside]

I'm going to put a video here where a published author and content creator is talking about the way readers frequently interact with the book world, and specifically Sarah J Maas readers and their ilk. The video isn't hating on readers, or Maas or the types of books Maas & clones write. I am not posting it in relation to the topic of plagiarism. The reason I'm posting it is because of the way people have responded to Veilguard. It's not very long, and I'm sharing it because he summarizes and briefly discusses the following points:

anchoring bias

schema theory

cultural myopia/commenting on things when you have limited cultural exposure

other people dealing with the consequences of a critical poster getting 15 minutes of attention

I thought the video was a good poke into problems coinciding with people criticizing (not critiquing, there's a difference) Veilguard, where anything from themes, plot points, characterization or even costume elements in the game are being torn apart...and the people doing the tearing are approaching the topics with often *self-admitted* lack of experience on what they're criticizing, and zero curiosity.

A concrete example: there was a discussion swirling recently in which there was an attempt to criticize Veilguard for the funerary practices Rook and Bellara go through. This in spite of the fact that a Dalish Rook and Bellara can have an in-the-moment discussion about the differences between their clan practices, and in DA:I Solas can mention how clans are different from each other, and there have been many, many posts on this site discussing from a lore perspective how the elves are not a monolith. I don't have to tell you that the posters criticizing the scene were myopic on both a cultural and personal preference level in their criticisms of the scene.

Critical posters have also frequently spoken over users who attempt to explain the diverse cultural, political, or queer experiences and influences which align with Veilguard's portrayals.

I thought it was great that this creator brought up how authors are affected for a considerable amount of time by shitty online takes. Recently there were screenshots where Trick mentioned that making Veilguard was traumatic, and folks passed them around with bioware/EA/Veilguard critical tags, but didn't include that maybe the fans themselves continue to bear some of the blame for this experience.

I don't think Bioware/EA are blameless as companies, or that Veilguard is a perfect game, but there's been a distinct trend where 'fans' claim to be critiquing things and are really only whining (and sometimes harassing creators) that they didn't get what they personally wanted. And if pressed about what they wanted, the examples they give aren't coherent narratives meant for published or produced media - if they were, those fans would already be working in those fields making art. Social media has made it very easy to 1) get access to and attention from creators, and 2) get validation (and very little pushback) from other fans for pithy remarks. In other words, it's easy to feel undeservedly "right" for shitposting.

[twst-hottest-takes]

I honestly hate how the relationship between Jade and Floyd changed over time. At the start, they were inseparable amazing brothers, Jade literally skipping classes to take care of Floyd when he wasn't feeling well and Floyd only really listening to Jade (and Vil but that's neither here nor there). They were a trope we rarely see in fiction nowadays where siblings genuinely and unapologetically love each other and don't always bitch and fight. But over time, we moved away from that and now we're at "they can't be in the same room for too long without getting into bloody fights" (Stitch event) and "they find it fun to hurt each other" (honestly, many stories recently) and now in the stupid dream sequences, Jade suddenly sees Floyd as an idiot? Even though Jade was the biggest "Floyd is actually a genius" supporter since the start of the game? It feels like an American sitcom where the siblings just hate each other because that is The TropeTM.

That's very interesting now that you point it out.

I don't know if they just gave off a different impression at the start, but while the two of them have always been mildly antagonistic towards each other, (what siblings aren't) it does seem to have gotten worse lately--mostly on Jade's half if we're being honest. The last major interaction I recall is Jade trying to choke Floyd with popcorn, which is fine and funny as an isolated incident, but it's really not that isolated.

Yeah, I'd say it's become less endearing, which is sad because I've always thought a full on brawl between the twins would be entertaining and interesting. My desire to see that is only inversely proportionate to how likely it is to happen though. When it seems like they're at each other's throats more often than not it's less fun to think about and I just want to see them get along and be menaces to society whose chaos is exponentially worse when combined.

I don't know if there's some story reason like them not wanting to be lumped together as "the twins" or something, but I'd have to agree with Anon here. What I found most appealing was the idea that they are twins that aren't always treated as a unit and have their own characters, but still function as a double threat when given the chance because they actually do get along when it counts. I don't think they're as fun when they're regularly in sibling spat mode. I kinda miss their Beanfest vibe a lot.

Thank you for your take.

(Did the creators just suddenly really need to emphasize that Jade is the worse twin? Because it feels like they just decided they really wanted everyone to know that Jade is the one you should be more worried about.)

[thatonegoldenfreddyfan]

COMPLETELY random rant, but I think that often people forget that their idols are human. And I don't mean those multi-millionare actors and book writers and whatnot. I mean the teenagers on TikTok posting that really cool series you like. I mean the college students making professional-looking fanart that everyone loves. I mean the 15 year olds on YouTube making animatics. I mean the small creators who love their community. This, of course, is forgotten in every single fandom, ever. But in a fandom like TSBS, where everyone is so impact and the the VAs of your favorite character literally interact with and promote the fandom so much, it's so extremely important to remember. I'm not gonna name names (as I don't want to brag), but I'm friends with some people that are admired in the fandom! Like, a lot! And these friends of course have their rights to join small servers- like my own! But...I have to micromanage half the interactions people have with them. Why? Because, the community forgets that their idol is more than a means to a way to get art, or be connected with other, bigger idols. So I have to constantly tell people to cut it out, stop being dicks. And of course, the very obvious disregard for the VA's feelings in this community. Leaving hate comments on CBS posts because you don't wanna see dandy's world- that's not okay. Demanding that Sun and Moon come instead whenever Freddy any other character is doing community streams on discord- that's not okay. Going into FaJS live chat, and hating on Jackie and demanding that they are replaced with Funtime, is not okay. Crossing many voice actor's boundaries to repeatedly sexualize their words when they're just trying to make silly videos- that's not okay!! Your favorite artist is a person. The VA of a character- whether you love or hate that character- is a PERSON. These are real, living, breathing people with their own loved ones and struggles behind the screen. If you cannot comprehend that, then you don't have a place in this fandom, because you don't respect the people who built it.

[krispycreamcake]

I keep seeing a lot of misinterpretation when it comes to Ayato's and Yui's relationship, which is completely understandable.

BUT, I feel like we should at least be open to understanding their dynamic a bit more, considering that their relationship is a representation of how these two fleshed out, individual characters with their own archetypes and narratives interact with one another, and the kind of chemistry that festers between the two.

I heavily emphasize on the "understanding" part, because yes, they are 2D characters, but I'd like to go on a whim here and say the creators used these fictional people as a sort of criticism on the kind of society we live in, and how we as people view the differences between good and bad and where the line starts to blur and intertwines.

People will often mistake Ayato's abuse and trauma as just his personality entirely, which while his past may have had affected the way he interacts with others, I'd like to say that it doesn't absorb him completely, and to back this up, I'd like to reference Laito.

Unlike the rest of his brothers, Laito is completely unique to us the viewers, because of his lack of actuality and genuinity. Yes we can attribute both traits, or rather, lack thereof, to the other brothers, but at their core, they all have a defining cause, a motivation, something that separates them from their trauma. And they don't consistently hide it, they don't hide what makes them, them.

So when talking about Ayato, I feel like people look at his trauma and immediately think "he's selfish and stuck up because he was raised to be the best", BUT, who else do we know that was raised to be the best??

That's right, Shu. Shu was quite literally raised to be king of the bat clan. But yet, him and Ayato have two completely different personalities, so I'd like to say there must be that defining factor in there that causes and pushes them to be the way they are. I'd also like to take this chance to say, this is where I think the creators are giving a certain critique on child rearing and whether or not you've grown to be hysterical, maniacal, sadistic, masochistic, unmotivated, competitive, etc. it all stems from a greater problem within society and no matter HOW different you might think yourself to be, the root cause of multiple personality disorders, comes from child abuse. Which we can see just how far it spirals, evil breeds evil after all, and in this case the "evil" here, being attributed to domestic abuse.

(Sort of like a Neon Genesis Evangelion thing going on)

But anyways, I digress.

What I'm trying to get at is, he's quite LITERALLY more than his trauma. We often forget that he's a vampire and has lived through thousands of years, falling in and out of love and lust. Due to the very nature of being a vampire, it's clear to see that Ayato's unaccustomed to growing attached to, in their world, a piece of chocolate or even an old burger. (Yes I am referencing Spongebob, sue me) it'd be seen as stupid to begin to form feelings and bond with your food, unnatural even. I think a large part that makes up Ayato is the fact he's always in doubt of himself, even when he thinks he's known everything, some mystical force out there has to prove him wrong and shake his very system of belief. Rupture everything he's ever known and everything he's ever grown up knowing and practicing. This is why he'll often be seen taking out his frustrations on Yui, because like it or not, she is the cause of his turmoil, paired with his trauma.

I think this is where it's important we understand their dynamics because it goes a loooot deeper than their characters might even seem capable of.

I'll do another post talking about Yui tomorrow and then one final one explaining where they fit into each other and how their character archetypes pair really well, even if it's not the healthiest relationship, it still displays their characters in their truest forms

[f0rs4k3nbyth3sp4wn]

making a post about how the fandom characterises elliot bcs ts pmo icl 🥀🥀🥀

(small cw for mentioned attempted murder towards a child [fictional ofc]. but this is the forsaken fandom so i dont think most people will care. oh also this is a REALLY long post so. beware)

sooo im pretty new to the fandom but after having browsed almost every sfw 7n7 fic on ao3, its safe to say elliot's characterisation (or, well, mischaracterisation), is becoming a HUGE problem. a lot of people make him pissy around n7 and c00lkidd, which, to be fair, he has a right to be pissy! but the way they execute this is where things go wrong.

this is a more extreme example, but here's the gist of an au my friend found on tiktok (not linking for the creator's sake, which, speaking of, if you've seen this au and know the creator, please don't harass them. i mean i shouldn't have to say that but im still putting it out there):

honestly i agree with the last sentence he said, even i know this is bs even though i've only been a forsaken fan for like a week or smth 😭😭🥀🥀 to show you why, let me break down what we do know of how elliot's personality, how he feels about n7 and c00lkidd, and how he expresses it:

he is generally portrayed as a sweet and kind person, who always wants to help wherever he can.

he 'hates' n7 due to what c00lkidd did to the pizzeria (according to the fanmade wiki), though nothing has (canonically) ever been said about his feelings towards c00lkidd himself (to my knowledge)

he is not openly hostile towards n7, and has never canonically said anything 'mean' to his face, only acted passive aggressive (e.g. "...just get going").

i do disagree with his feelings towards n7 being 'hate' rather than just 'strongly dislike' (trust me, theyre VERY different things), but i digress. even if we were to say elliot hated n7, some people portray him as not even hating, but loathing him (this is an even bigger problem in pizzaburger fics/aus imo). if you want to write a complicated/negative relationship between two characters who are not your own, it's vital to know the difference between dislike, hate and loathe (as seen below).

(via langeek.co)

the reason i say elliot strongly dislikes n7 as opposed to hate is because hatred is often accompanied with a sense of hostility (while dislike is more avoidant, which fits elliot more imo when we look at their canon interactions). if you hate someone, you will not want to help them, and to be fair, i've read a handful of fics where elliot straight up refuses to give n7 pizza, or is at least hesitant. i dont think that's how elliot would behave. yes he is mad at n7 for not controlling his son, and has a grudge against him, but at his core, elliot is a kind guy. even if he wasn't, he'd never leave someone to die, no matter how temporary.

but continuing on the whole 'elliot loathes n7' dynamic, it becomes even more jarring when you apply it as an 'enemies to lovers' pizzaburger dynamic. even more so if you don't do the work to make it well paced. here are some tips on how you can do that:

pay heed to the rest of this post and do NOT make elliot too aggressive towards 007n7 in your fic. otherwise, it may feel too forced, especially if you don't want to go through the slowburn route. feel free to let the guy be passive aggressive though, just don't make him feel uncontrollable hatred every time he sees 07 (i prefer to think he feels manageable disdain, though i think you can tell by now).

on the other side of the coin, do NOT make n7 too pathetic. im all for him being a soggy wet cat, but at the end of the day, that's a grown ass man that was once very similar to c00lkidd. at the very least, i don't think he'd be crying left and right, considering this is a former terrorist, lol.

this is more me telling you guys to be creative than giving tips on pacing (since im not very creative myself, so i dont have many tips myself rn) but if you want to write the exact moment elliot began to like and respect n7, i don't really like the idea of n7 achieving that by bodyblocking for elliot?? like. it's not typically executed right bcs again. it often does what i advised against in the above two points. if you wanna do smth like that in your fic/comic, try comprimising by making it a clone block instead, and letting n7 be a REALLY good distractor like those aggressive n7 main. (i left this incomplete on accident when i posted this lol)

just overall make sure elliot is respectful to n7 during the late pining and post establishing the relationship stages!! it's perfectly fine if you want him to say 'mean' stuff to him that he doesnt mean (think of how siblings, friends, and again, sometimes partners, joke with each other. tough love or wtv), but don't make him have a hate boner for the guy lol. unless youre writing smut where there are actual hate boners involved, i aint getting involved in allat.

anyways, idk how to end this post off, so on a more positive note, go check out this pizzaburger yaoilicious peak rn !!! and feel free to add your own opinions, idm having a discussion as long as youre respectful, and am likely to add more to this post if you remind me of smth i might wanna say (im not the best at articulating myself lol) !!

oh and also i made an addition to this post too covering the other characters

[northopalshore]

Tumblr astrology rabbit hole

I've done some digging on Tumblr recently, looking through the astro community (particularly ones that dive into celebrity astrology) & interact with asks often.

₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑

Now, I understand that these accounts are doing this for fun & I shouldn't really have a say in what they decide to do. However, you still can't turn a blind eye on the fact that it feeds into this delusional factory: where readers just disassociate with the reality of what those placements really mean. Even if it is for fun, a lot of people unconsciously keep those descriptions in their subconscious

Making things that aren't true happen. Just to appeal to the audience.

& it doesn't help either when said accounts start getting up their own asses. When their audiences start looking for different accounts, and happen to find actual good intentioned posts about said placements they sort of expect the same kind of treatment they've been receiving from other accounts.

₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑

The people posting are actual human beings with lives & different personalities, you can't clump them into one pool labeled "astrology content account".

The educational material shouldn't be clumped up with the accounts that use it loosely. Not everyone here is willing to entertain you that way. So don't expect us to answer your self-indulgent fantasies.

Usually, whenever I see an account I can tell immediately whether their writings are pretentious, or genuine (just so you know, genuine can look very different from person to person as well). I understand that not everyone sees "depth" or authenticity the same way. Still, if you're reading this, I urge you to reflect on what you're reading.

We aren't machines born to push out content for you. We have the right to disappear as long as we want to. The purpose is not for fame or followers, or praise from the audience but to share our genuine passion. Even though sometimes, I see that people forget that. Even the creators themselves. We aren't being paid to be here you know?

₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ .₊๋‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑

Please use your heart & your intuition even if it is "just Tumblr".

[grinnames]

HOW THE HECK DID THIS HAPPEN AND WHY ARE YOU ALL HERE

200+ followers.

We are over 200 followers strong already folks.

What do I even say?! Well I gotta say something, because it's been over a month since I hit this milestone, and I finally got all other ideas finished.

SO! Let's start with saying that I am incredibly and forever grateful and lucky that this has happened to me and that I get to do this online and that so many people enjoy my work. I've always been an outsider looking in, always the spectator, and never the performer. For so long, I have dreamed of finally being the person on the other side of the screen, making countless people smile and maybe even brighten up their day just a little bit. It feels like I've only just started making content on Tumblr SINCE LAST AUGUST, and I'm already having to write grandiose thank-you letters!

On a more serious note, I had been going through a rough time for the past few months, just a little after I started Tumblr. I had just transferred to a new school, and have had to leave all my friends behind for a second time. The transition period was hard, and I had never felt so lonely in a long while, but coming back online to see you interacting with my blog always brightened up my day. I've come to learn and accept that sometimes, online communities can be just as good as in-person communities, though it did take some getting used to!

Speaking of grandiose thank-you letters, let's get on to acknowledging some VIPs!

First, thank you everyone that has decided to hit the follow button, and for giving me a chance! It really feels validating, and motivated to continue working on and posting my story!

Also, I would like to thank God for gifting me with artistic talent and the drive to hone it at the tender age of five. He's given me so many opportunities to practice my craft, and He continues to give me more chances to use my gift for the happiness of others, and for myself. Without Him, I wouldn't be the person I am today.

@novajuniper! You know who you are to me. So I'm just here to remind everyone what you did. YOU ARE MY BEST FRIEND IRL AND YOU ENCOURAGED ME TO START TUMBLR IN THE FIRST PLACE! You were also one of my first and only fans of my art for a very very long time. Everyone, let's give it up for the OG!!

@oppsiedoo! YOU. You were one of my first fans that gave me FANART! The first Godbox AU fanart came from you, and the first Grinnames fanart came from you! And then you kept giving me more! I'm honestly sometimes a little concerned with the amount of fanart you do for me and my work. Surely you have other creators you look up to?! But thanks for giving me that much support since the beginning when I was small! I felt so validated and seen!

@bow-and-aro-child and @smgx-pez! I always remember you because you were some of the first people to notice Godbox AU! Though we don't interact much, I very much appreciate that you stuck around! You two often appear as my top-fans on my Activities page!

Also @smgx-pez you were also one of my first reblogs. It was the one where you compared Rewrite Sonic to Godbox SMG4, and my stomach kinda dropped in a nervous but excited way! That thread where you found out I actually was inspired by Rewrite is something I will never forget because that's how I discovered that Tumblr was chill like that! Thanks for representing Tumblr!

@hexsie! You were also one of my first reblogs! I was so young and inexperienced on this platform and some stranger (you) sends me some OOC drawing of your OC hugging my boys... I have to admit I was very flattered but so stunned that I didn't know how to respond. Well, now here's the response! I now think that this interaction was hilarious! Thank you for being my introduction into the SMG4 community! Looking forward to that Hexsie lore!

(It's always been the Hug Saga, hasn't it...? From the very beginning...)

@smg6-the-memer! My first asker! You probably submitted the most asks to my ask box as well! That's how I remember you! I had actually not intended to start asks at the time, but the askbox was open by default, so I just went along with it because I HAD ALWAYS WANTED AN ASKBLOG. So thank you for being the push!

@supern0vashii! The infamous Starter of the Hug Saga! Also currently the Ender of the Hug Saga! (for now) We've come full circle! Honestly, Hug Saga was fun, and it's all thanks to you reaching out to me! You also started the Godboxified OC trend with SMG6... you really be out there trailblazing! I've always enjoyed redesigning my OCs to fit AUs... so to have people doing the same for MY AU?! IT FEELS SO AMAZING! Thank you!

@bear-boi-5! My first mutual that isn't @novajuniper! (she doesn't count because I met her IRL before tumblr) When you followed me back you have no idea how shocked and excited I was. I'm not really interested in the fandoms you draw for now, I mostly followed you for your amazing SMG4 au art (Monster Containment AU is my favorite! It's what got me to follow you!) but I'm sticking around because of the sentiment and I also like your vibes!

@michaelscorneroftheinternet! Holy hell. You are one of the creators that I really look up to! Your art-style is just so yummy! So I kind of, may have, freaked out when you joined the Godboxified OC trend AND followed me back! ON TOP OF THAT, YOU SAID I'M ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE CREATORS TOO?! I nearly died from all the happiness rushing up to my head! Not to mention, I really love your energy whenever you reblog stuff! It's rather infectious! Keep up the good work!

@libbytwq! I also look up to you! We may not have interacted much, but I am honored that you follow me back! I really enjoy watching SMGL:e's silly little adventures and interactions with other OCs! So much so that I was inspired by you to later publish some lore about my own OC Grinnames herself! I'm looking forward to some more delicious lore-drops in the future!

@purpdrawsthings! You are probably one of the the NICEST most BUBBLY people I have met on this platform! I just like watching you be nice to people and the fanart you make of other creators' AUs! Not to mention your own AUs are mighty interesting... I want to be as nice as you when I interact with other blogs! Also MY SONA BECAME AN ANIMATION IN YOUR CHRISTMAS VIDEO, SHE'S GOING PLACES THANKS TO YOU!

@bstroobery! specifically @bluestrawberrybunny, Apprenticeship AU is actually one of the first SMG4 fanfics I decided to sit down, lock in, and read through. And over time, your OCs SMG5 and SMG6 really grew on me! I also liked that you were open to AU interactions in your askbox, and crossovers have always been my sort of thing, so I decided that your askbox would be the first I would interact with! Thank you for being so chill with me!

@clowntrickery08! My latest mutual! Dude I really like your artstyle, and its super easy to tell that its you! The way you draw characters is really charming! So I can say for certain that I WAS SO EXCITED WHEN YOU DREW MY BOYS IN YOUR STYLE. Also I really like your sona's design! Also, your concept for SMGPuzzles and SMGWren is SO COOL that I am gonna play around with it sometimes!

@itz-miss-kamilyvision! My god, your OC has a whole-ahh saga in Godbox AU. You having your OC have so many interactions with my boys was so much fun to watch! Thank you doing all that, I always love making characters interact and you gave me just that over and over again! I also like seeing your OCs lore, and the other interactions you have with other creators!

@alan-william! The one who turned ME into a gacha character AND animated me! But what I appreciated the most is how you made my sona interact with yours and also Micheal's. That is the closest thing to real human interaction to me on this platform, and something that I've enjoyed the most here is finding community, and I really feel connected with you!

@birdy-four! We haven't interacted that much, but to this day, that giant reblog of Godbox AU Chapter 0 with you word-vomiting everywhere about my fanfic is my favorite reblog of all time! I sometimes go back and read it again because while most people see my art, they don't really get to see my writing, and I've never gotten feedback like this before!

@smg33exe! And last but not least, the one that put my boy Godbox!SMG4 in a gacha video! BECAUSE OF YOU I MADE IT ONTO YOUTUBE! Thank you for throwing my creation out there on the web, and for creating a video that I sometimes come back to just to marvel at what I've become!

As for the rest of you... I have planned something that everyone can partake in! Stay tuned, I just need to finish preparing it...

[hai7ani]

every day i get closer and closer to leaving this blog for good :( i know i say this a lot, but i haven't felt the passion to write in a very long while. i have tried visiting my old works to rewrite them and also get my groove back, but lately it feels more forced than me wanting to do it because i want to write. i've been treating writing like a chore, always looking at it from a professional perspective rather than it being a hobby and what i've always wanted to do and frankly it's not fun anymore. maintaining this blog feels very stressful and i constantly feel the need to update every once in a while to keep interactions going, and oftentimes i get so fomo when i hop on here as hai7ani. writing doesn't feel the same and maintaining this blog just seems like a routine rather than a hobby that i used to enjoy. to be frank i also feel very lost on the direction that i want to proceed with this blog, but i guess that's mainly because i haven't been writing/posting so all i can update on here are reblogs and sometimes selfship things, so i don't know what to do on here as hai7ani. i do feel like maybe it is time that this chapter has come to an end, as i also have big things coming up and i don't want to drag this complication with me to that new chapter in my life, even more so that i view writing as a burden now. but at the same time, i don't want to leave this blog that i have worked so hard on for the past 2/3 years. i have been in the fandom since the anime blew up in 2021 and have been writing for rindou since 2023. this blog is very special to me and so is writing, and rindou as a character in general is a huge part of my life because i do selfship so i treat this blog as a part of me and him. but it hasn't been fun recently (it's been months) which has really fucked me up for quite some time, including some other personal matters that i have been losing sleep and stressing out over offline. i care a lot about what other people think of me/perceive me as and i like to think that i'm genuine with everyone i become friends with, but that would often spiral into me getting anxious over my relationships and caring too much about what other people view of me to truly be who i am, as i have always been one to struggle with keeping people close. it really messed with me for a while. so with all of this going on, i'm just so lost. i think it'd be fair to my followers (rindou nation 😭), even though i know i don't owe anyone any explanations, to say that i won't be writing anymore for the time being. i'll post stuff if i want to, but i won't be promising fics or anything like that so i don't get anyone's hopes up. i'll be on here sometimes, but obviously not posting fics and i'm not leaving tumblr of course as i still have my main blog and my own interests that i enjoy seeing on my dash. i'll think about the next step more maybe. whatever happens next, happens. and i will keep reminding myself that i'm not on tumblr just as a writer/creator, but as an ordinary person who just enjoys something.

thank you for all your love and time 🩷

- yves :>

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

Hey there sex witch! This one might be a little bit out of your wheelhouse, but I don't really have anyone else to ask 😅 and this seems mostly relevant to what you talk about.

So recently I (a very shy person for a long time) have gotten pretty active in some fandom discord communities, and I've been making a ton of friends. Which is great because I used to have social anxiety to the point where I could barely talk to people, especially online. The problem is that my new friends are all VERY horny, all the time. Which, great for them, I don't really feel the same way. They're also very interested in ERP and other varieties of e-sex and often ask if I want to join. I really don't, but it's fine that they're into that. One guy in particular is really starting to freak me out though. He's a semi-popular creator and a mod on one of the servers. He's becoming a pretty good friend of mine and I play online games with him and others a bunch. He, like the rest of the crowd, is also very horny all the time. He often makes sexual comments about me, sometimes very graphic ones. Stuff like telling me to take my clothes off IRL while on call with him or saying stuff like "I want to fuck you until you cry" or just dming me asking if I want to have sex with him. Sometimes he notices that his comments make me uncomfortable and he did reach out to sincerely apologize for it once, but he hasn't changed his behavior a whole lot.

The big thing that worries me about him is the fact that he's 28. I'm 18, just graduated high school. He knows this about me. He does a very good job of keeping his server 18+ and would never make a sexual comment about a minor, but is still comfortable doing sexual things with people ten years younger than him. Another thing is that even though I've told him I already have a boyfriend, he assumes I'm in an open relationship even though I never told him I was. My boyfriend also says this guy kinda freaks him out and that he's a little worried about me.

I know that age gaps between older people can be perfectly healthy and problems arising from them vary pretty heavily from person to person, but I'm not entirely sure if this is ok or not. This guy doesn't want to hurt anyone. Have I probably just not properly expressed my boundaries with him? It's not like he's targeting me or anything, he acts this way with basically everyone. I'm torn on what to do, he's still my friend and I like him otherwise. Should I just keep laughing it off? I am uncomfortable but I guess it's not a huge deal to me. Should I stop talking to this guy?? Help??

🐟🐟 So I can find this quickly if/when you answer it

hi 🐟🐟,

this guy fucking sucks and needs to be banned from interacting with maybe anyone until he learns what "no" means. literally every individual thing you've described him doing would be alarming in it's own, but altogether this man is a walking collection of red flags. this is not your friend and this is not a guy who cares about your boundaries or well-being; this is a man using his fandom clout to sexually harass you (and likely others). him being ten years older than you isn't even really the biggest issue here; all of this would be shithead behavior even if you were exactly the same age.

get out of there, double fish.