#i know nothing about selling merch i'm really just saying fuck it we ball

[eclipticass]

POs are officially open for my huge scorpion hotpot shaker charm (until apr 1)!! 🦂✨ 🔗 shop here!!

[hackedmotionsensors]

uh, i read ur post about mdzs merch. thanks for sharing, i didn't know there was something like that. but like i'm also a bit confused because i thought all fanmerch is by definition illegal/not-allowed by the copyright holder, no? what canons allow fanmerch to be sold for money/profits?

Not to worry! This is a super confusing area that as an artist and fanartist I think i can explain fairly easily.

So depending on copyright law for your country and how you claim copyright TECHNICALLY yes. Its technically not legal. But that’s mostly to do with things like...If I made a sticker out of the starbucks logo without changing it at all in any way (non-transformative works) and sold it for my own profit. That takes money away from Starbucks and they have legal rights to sue me for selling their merchandise. If I make a sticker of the starbucks mermaid going “I got an addiction problem” and its completely my own design but its obviously still the Starbucks mermaid that’s then left up to Starbucks themselves to decide if they want to fight a small fry or not. Since the newer sticker is more along the lines of satire and obviously Starbucks can’t really sell that the art, since its my own design, is under my copyright. Its not LICENSED which is a whole other ball game but the art still is mine.

There was a time where Disney was the hardest fighter over their works and they completely fucked the copyright system to make sure they never lost Mickey to public domain which is WILD since they seem to not be very pressed over people doing art, selling art and doing new designs for the Disney Princesses, Marvel and Star Wars. Arguably their biggest money making merch right? Well from what I’ve noticed with Disney is that it would be too difficult to knock down every single thing so they pick their battles. Like Baby Yoda became something they didn’t want people to make stuff of (people did it anyway). 

Mostly when its a Big Company vs Fanartist at an Artist Alley or Small Etsy-like shop the Bigger Companies usually use it as free advertisement. Dreamworks has their own artist alley day at the studio. So for Big Companies it depends.

There are some bigger companies, Sanrio for example, that will COME AFTER YOU if you sell fanmerch. Aggretsuko was very popular but since its a easier target to manage people were warned DO NOT FUCK WITH SANRIO.

And that takes us to smaller companies or smaller authors/artists/podcast performers. Since the profit from smaller companies like this is much smaller (Disney will still make Billions a day even if you sell thousands of dollars worth of iron man pillows or you made a couple hundred off of an Ariel sticker) its usually best to find out first if its okay to do that.

Welcome to Nightvale had a lot of fan merch going around until they asked artists to stop selling art so they wouldn’t lose profit. I think Homestuck had the same thing after it blew up all over artist alleys/etsys and they asked for the same. Cuphead outright said DO NOT MAKE FAN MERCH. These are smaller companies that can be technically very affected by fan merch sales. Personally I think its kind of...a shame to take this stance because its other small time artists that are making money and its free advertisement. But I get the idea why they would say no.

In terms of MDZS, I’m not sure on the specifics but it might have been a direct request from the author OR specifically a Chinese copyright issue. If someone knows the actual reason why please feel free to let me know. There are also some issues with censorship that might be a factor with MDZS. Making fanart is totally cool especially if we’re in another country but if that affects the author then we’ve lost a really great creator. 

Typically when an author or a smaller company says “Please do not make merch or buy fan merch” there’s usually a reason behind it and its not really a legal issue as much as it is an issue of respecting the creator’s wishes. When the creators aren’t really clear or specific its a judgement call. 

We all want to buy merch of the thing we love, support artists and original creators but sometimes you do have to be careful to make sure you aren’t stepping on the wrong person’s toes. There’s nothing STOPPING you from buying fan merch from a series that the creator has asked not to have fan merch made of but it would be chill and cool vibes if you didn’t.

In terms of MDZS there are a lot of fans who have found work arounds to make fan merch bc they love the series they would rather trade or just have people pay the cost of production and shipping. So I’d definitely look into those

[justapayneaway]

Okay so the video had some shit that I could potentially understand from an outsider's point of view but hell this is just plain stupid. The Harry situation was clearly a joke. Yeah I guess how he said it might have stung and made people question his thought but he was clearly joking. (1/?) (This is about that video with the hateful remarks of Liam, I thought maybe I should rant about it. Pay in mind it was late and I already had a crap mood so I'm pretty not okay during this rant)

The girlfriend situation, don't even start with it. Yeah she's 18, that girl ain't 19 and even if she was, internet really did her wrong by finding ways to show she aint. That situation fucked up Liam even more and idc if he loves her or whatever but it clearly didnt do him justice and I wish they never made it public, even if it's a stunt or a "real" couple. Like that made people hate him more. (2/?)

The merch is people's choice. I hate the hoodie but I like the t-shirt. He has the rights to sell whatever he wants. His album might be expensive online but its cheap af in stores. It costs 15$ cad here which is nothing compared to the others's album (Louis doesn't count). (3/?)

Mr. Boring" was given by hateful people because he looks like that jock guy that wants to fuck you and leave you like a rag but we dont even know him. Nobody knows any of the boys so this is just a wrong thing. This could be his persona or the real him but what does that do you? Y'all really love to make him look bad with any ounce of being you have. This boy is much more than Mr. Boring but all of you fuck him up constantly so of course he comes of different. (4/?)

I wouldn't blame him, if people always told me I was the worst or boring, you will try not to be or shut everyone out. Cringeworthy lyrics? OH GOD YES! But some of his tracks on Lp1 aren't as much. Stack it Up sucked balls and I wish its death because it was horrible. Strip that down is that generic song you find in clubs which is fine. All his songs lack something for sure but they are still very good. (5/?)

Lyrics wise he said he didnt have inspiration to write which honestly I don't blame him, maybe he ain't a wordy person to open up and ask people to write shit for him and I dont blame him. He gave what he could and I'm proud of him. Yeah some lyrics are problematic af and I wish they worded it better or made it look less crappy but what can we do? (6/?)

A lot of artists write like that but no! LIAM JAMES PAYNE has to be hated on it as if he is the only one who does those kind of lyrics. Some artists have the same intentions but some aren't as straightforward but still, it's all the same. Plus, Rude Hours and Both Ways are like 2 songs and he gets dragged on repeat for it when there are good songs on the album. (7/?)

I hate his team for making 3 different albums with the target one with 2 bonus and the Japanese one with 3 extra bonuses and that sucks. His features should've been out of the album and have those 5 beautiful bonus songs in instead. The Christmas one should have been off the album. Stack it up was a failure from the start. (8/?)

I just wish people would stop hating on him and always drag him down. He is much more but I see what those people see because Liam ain't himself and he didnt give his 100% but he seems okay enough to have this album out and seems pretty proud so just give him some rest. This album ain't as bad people make it to be. People hate those 2 problematic songs and wont even listen to the other songs. (9/?)

And not everyone has the same music taste. I like "sexual" pop music and rock. His music are those generic sex songs and that isnt a bad thing. If he likes doing it, who is to tell him to not do that? Y'all really compare him to 1D Eras and the bandmates but they are different. Liam maybe likes these 'popular' shit and what does that do you? Liam is human. Liam is Liam. We cant do shit and he lives his life. Give him a break jeez.. (10/10) [sorry for this rant, you can hate me if you want to]

__________________

Okay anon I don’t hate you at all! This is well thought and I do agree with a lot of point you made here. I’ll try making a few comments by ask since this is big lmao

BTW SUPER IMPORTANT: don’t watch that video and don’t spread it! Report it if you feel like doing something about it. 

1. But what even is the Harry situation? Him saying that they aren’t best friends? Or that they have much in common? Because that’s understandable. Or is it the “harry’s clothes” comment of 2017 that harries keep bringing up when you can clearly see that Liam was just joking?

2. I do agree with you! The situation with the teenager just made things way worse for him. It added a lot of hate and it was completely unnecessary, especially how they keep bringing her up every single time and how she is always there!

3. I actually like his merch. I think it’s simple, but the white t-shirt is amazing. Sure the hoodies could have been more elaborated, but they’re super cozy! The thing I appreciate most about his merch is that it’s actually affordable. Btw I agree that it’s personal taste. His album is kind of cheap compared to other albums I've bought. 

4. But the thing for me is that Liam was never boring. He is smart and has a brilliant dark sense of humor. I think that some old 1d fans didn't like him much because he was always the spokesperson and had to say the shit nobody wanted to be said. People don’t seem to want to get past that to be honest with you! 

5. I agree with you! I really prefer Liam to shut up these fucking people with his success and what he wants to do that being an underwear campaign. Sure, some of the lyrics aren’t poetic shit, but there are others that are really deep and have some dark themes behind them. The songs aren’t bad at all in my opinion. SIU should have never been released, but I think we can all agree with that one!

6. I do think that Liam wasn’t 100% inspired, but I also feel like these are the songs we were supposed to get last year. They aren’t current if that makes sense, so of course some lyrics aren’t worded okay. 

7. I never thought it was a bad thing to use lyrics written by other people. That’s literally why songwriters exist! And a lot of people don’t write their own lyrics, but apparently it’s only bad for Liam to do it. I do agree! He is getting dragged for two songs. 

8. I don’t understand why they made three different albums. I understand wanting to keep the old songs because in terms of certifications/streams it gives him an advantage, but the extra songs are so damn good! They deserved more than this and he actually wrote on them. With the whole thing of the album I really don’t understand why AIWFC was added! 

9. I think you say it all with this part “This album ain’t as bad as people make it to be”. That’s the truth! I like the album and sure I'd do thing differently, probably. But I think people are judging the album based on BW and they are just going along with the hate. This album is exactly what Liam said it was going to be! A mix of songs that felt like a playlist with different genres.

10. It’s a personal taste thing again! I consume all kinds of music, I’m eclectic. I’ve been like that since I was a kid and learnt to play music. It isn’t bad that Liam is showing what kind of music he did and experimenting with different genres. For me it makes him a more complete artist to be honest with you! I really hate that they keep comparing them. Just let them all be whatever the fuck they want!!

In conclusion, I don’t understand the hate and I wish it would end.  

(Hope this answers you and don’t feel bad about ranting! It’s good to let it out.)

[a-darling-thing]

(1)Mark is already blocking anyone mentionning queerbaiting to him on twitter and we can write all the blog post and articles we want it's not gonna change shit. They will just ignore us as usual I'm not saying we should attack them or anything(even tho I wont be sad if some people do call them assholes on twitter) but like we should actually do something that will have impact. Idk maybe start a hashtag talking about it and make it trend world wide. All boycott anything they ever did. Who knows?

(2)Not just say we will keep writing fic (as much as I love fic) and do our own version in like 10 years that they probably wont even see and wont be as popular anyway. Saying we will write our own books,comic book is not gonna change anything right now and if Mark and Steven didn't care until now they wont suddenly start caring that they hurt all of us. I'm sorry I'm being so pessimistic, but I feel like they won. They played us and there is nothing we can do about it It hurt so fucking much.

Here’s what I suggest:

Everyone is very emotional right now, and the majority of us have not even seen the episode with our own two eyes yet.  We are in the anger or the sadness stages of our grief.  Never make any decisions in the anger phase of your grief. 

So firstly, watch the episode on Sunday.  You cannot intelligently or accurately pass judgement on something you have not seen with your own two eyes.  Everything is based on second-hand information, no matter how reliable the source, and everyone’s response to and interpretation of art and media is different.

After you’ve watched it, give yourself at least a week to process your emotions surrounding it.  Two weeks is probably preferable.  If you need to rant here, or on your personal twitter, do that.  I would strongly suggest not tagging the show creators in those tweets if you are very angry. 

After that if you want to plan some sort of actual action (like writing a letter to the BBC or PBS telling them you were displeased with the show and why), then do so.  Maybe organise a group of people to send letters of their own.  Write these letters when you are calm.  If they are just caps-lock ranting, they’re not going to be taken seriously.

Don’t spend money on this show anymore, if you are still angry in a couple of weeks.  No more official merch, no more official cons.  Support fan created merch and fan-led cons.  Your money speaks loudest.  And yeah, if you want to boycott their future projects, you’re free to do that too.

Using this show as an example of how not to do fan/creator relations, and how not to do queer media rep in an academic setting actually will have influence over time.  It’s not useless.  It may not make you feel instantly better, but it’s paving the road for the future, and that’s important.

Filling the world with more published works showing more and better kinds of representation is not useless.  There are fans here already writing, publishing and selling their sherlock holmes fics.  They are giving you the kind of representation you crave right now.  Put your money in their pockets.  If another adaptation comes along in film or television and they start doing a better job at representation than this show did, then support that show with all your heart.

As angry as we all are right now, if this is really about representation and not just about our ship not happening in the way we wanted it to (though you are allowed to have feelings about that too, but I think it’s a separate issue), then we need keep our focus on getting better representation.  

This isn’t about getting revenge on the show runners.  They dropped the ball here, it seems.  And yeah, I’m sad, and I’m angry about a lot of what I’ve heard, and of course I’m going to wait to reserve full judgement until Sunday, but if I’m still displeased then, then I can speak with well crafted letters and my pocket book.  Not financially supporting the show will hit them where it hurts, trust me.  And financially supporting people who are putting out Sherlock Holmes fic and art that is the kind of representation you are craving is equally effective, because it means you will get more of it.