#i use to want to be a content creator or an *online artist* all my teens and early adulthood but i just

[daftysaph]

-

[kurohe]

Things you can do to actively participate in the revolution

Here's the list !

I know some of those will look really silly, i promise they are not. And obviously, this is not a checklist, you don't have to do everything. But they're steps that you can absolutely take if you wish to, and they WILL help.

(i am continually correcting things when people point out mistakes. Thanks everyone for your help)

(under the cut !)

1) Let's start off with a very easy one you can do right now: stop using Chrome. It's a google owned browser, and it sents all of your data towards it. Mozilla is a very good replacement, but almost anything will do, really. We revolting against capitalism as a whole, and this is a good first step

Also, resign your amazon prime subscription.

2) Start stealing things from supermarkets and malls. I am not kidding. Little things, that aren't really monitored: a can of food, a lighter, a pair of socks. Condiments are particularly easy to hide in bags or pockets. Steal hygiene products, steal food.

Remember that you should have access to those for free, and you don't because a few rich guys don't want you to.

Additional tip: train station stores are very easy to steal from, because they're so busy. But don't put yourself in danger. Check beforehand if they check bags at checkout, look out for employees that might notice what you're doing. Don't be reckless.

(edit: this used to also say airports, but i've been told it's way too high risk as it's considered a federal crime. Thanks for letting me know)

3) In the same line, if you see someone stealing anything from a big store, no you didn't.

4) I know a lot of people are scared of disrespecting rules. By fear of being caught, or by guilt. My advice is: start disrespecting stupid, meaningless rules. I don't have specific exemples, but you'll encounter them and wonder why you're doing that. Stop doing it. This will train you to be able to disobey autority way easier.

5) Put stickers everywhere. If you already have them, go ham. Especially on public property (lamposts are amazing). If you don't, buy them from artists or independant stores, not big brands. If you cannot afford them, remember that you can simply write stuff on an A4 paper and plaster it to walls. Or even post its !

6) Carry a sharpie with you at all time, the big black ones. If you see propaganda, scribble it out. Keep a look out for terfs stickers, maga posters, etc. Also good for getting rid of transphobic and sexist stuff written on public restroom stalls !

8) Learn how to sew. I know, that sounds dumb ! But i promise you, not only will it be amazing to trade with other people ("i'll sew back ur shirt and in exchange, you give me a can of peaches !"), corporations also haaaate when you know how to fix your clothes. Because they want you to buy more. You'll spend a lot less money if you know how to fix em

7) Buy locally. This means going to the market or small stores, and thrifting your clothes. If you can't for money or accessibility reasons, try trading with your friends, family and neighbours. Get communication going in your circles, and you'll realise there are a lot of things that you can simply trade with or buy from people around you. Like a jar of jam against some eggs, or a pair of socks for a t-shirt you don't wear anymore !

9) If you have the space and the money, grow your own food, and share it or sell it around you. Be careful, some assholes will call the FDA on you. Do that with people you trust.

Additional tip: growing vegetables and fruits can be a real nightmare. You can absolutely start by just growing some basil or mint :)

10) Organise. Join leftist groups online, even if it's just to see what's being said, you don't even need to interact. Follow creators, repost and share their content. By doing that, you'll stay informed on group movements like strikes, protests and boycotts, which you can then participate in. It's very important you're connected to other ppl and the movements that are started !

11) Unionize. I'm very sorry I don't know the exact way unions work in the US, but if you can, join one. They will help you in times of needs, especially if you're a student or a worker. If you're not sure how to do that, absolutely ask around to people you know are very active politically, around you or online. People will help.

12) Stay. Informed. Follow independant papers and news outlet. If you can afford it, give them a dollar or two. They are fighting everyday for access to unbiased information for all, and sadly, their independance means that they rely almost entirely on donations and people simply engaging with what they put out.

If you can't access those: do not get your news from TV. Ever. Or anywhere else that has been bought by the far right. Sadly, the majority of TV channels are just the worst.

13) Share that information. Talk to those you trust and who are ready to listen to you, and tell them about what's happening. Get angry with them. Revolution stems from people coming together and realising that they're being used and profited off of. Share videos and posts relating to politics, especially informative videos.

And, most importantly: fact check. All of the time.

14) Go to protests ! If you've never been, i know it can be scary. But you can stay in the middle (don't go all the way to the front, that's where stuff can get heated) and scream and walk with everyone else. You'll meet people who, like you, want things to change. Capitalism wants you to stay as unconnected to others as possible, and that's a great way to fight that.

Sometimes, there are sites that have a planning for all protests happening in a city. Look up if one exists for yours

15) Create and strenghten community. I know i really struggled with this one, because it's so vague. But here's a few places you can start:

-Go and introduce yourself to your neighbours, if you deem it safe. Give them a little gift if you can afford it, like a pack of pasta.

-Make new friends, even if they aren't deep friendships. You need connections. Online or irl, both are fine- don't stay isolated.

-If you already have community, go check on them right now. Ask your friends how they're doing, and if they need anything- ask how they're being impacted by what's happening right now politically.

16) Look for ways to fuck over the institutions in easy ways. One example that went around tumblr a lot is letting dandelions grow in your backyard, because landlords fucking hate it. If you work in retail or fast food, cheat. Accidentally forget to scan the diapers. Put in 7 nuggets instead of 6.

17) Engage in art. MAKE art. Music, shitty paint drawings, craft, anything as long as you're being creative. Share it. If you feel like you can't do that, then support artists. Make a point to look up cool illustrations, and new music. Go to the cinema.

(edit: been told that it's very risky for walmart workers to not scan things, so beware.)

If you're an artist currently in an underpaid office job, please, by the love of god, be creative during office hours. You're underpaid, they do not deserve your full time and attention. Take 30 minutes to write that snippet you've been thinking about.

(and actually, if you're underpaid at all: do the minimum required. So that you can't be fired, but that's it. Any more effort is not worth it. Companies will never be thankful for what you do.)

18) Look up books that your state banned, and go read them. You can get them secondhand, or as pdfs online. (if anyone needs ressources, i will glady look for and share them.)

19) Seek education. There's a lot of youtube channels out there talking about educational subjects in a fun way. Some things the rich assholes who run the country specifically don't want you to learn more about are: biology, history and archeology, social and economic sciences. GO LEARN ABOUT THOSE.

And, actually, read books in general if you can. Yes, fanfics count !

The people in power don't want you to be educated. It's why they eviscerated the education system.

20) PIRATE. I cannot stress this enough, anything you can pirate (that isn't from small, indie creators, except if you absolutely can't afford it) do it. Download music illegally, torrent movies and games. If you want access to academical studies and papers, some writers will give them to you for free if you email them about it. There are also ways to go around paywalls.

21) Don't fall for the traps of "progressive brands". Lately, i've seen a lot of praise for Ben and Jerry's for openly supporting lgbtq rights and being globally anti-trump. They are still a brand. Avoid buying from any big names when you can. That being said, if you have to, check beforehand which ones and what their history is. Some are more evil than others.

Additional tip: a lot of brands you see in stores are actually owned by bigger brands. One prime example of this is Nestle, who are fucking evil, but they own a shitload of other big names. Be careful what you buy.

22) I hate to say this, but be prepared to defend yourself. Revolutions are never peaceful. You will get in danger. If you can, get in ok physical shape. If you can't, buy a gun. (Remember Alabama has a 99% acceptation rate, you can get one in 10 minutes.) I hate firearms, but the enemy will have them too. Arm yourself.

If none of those are available options to you, please, make sure you have someone around you that will be able to protect you, or a place where you can be safe. Whether you are disabled, a minor, or anything else. Don't put yourself in more danger than is necessary.

23) Last but not least, be kind. When someone cuts off a woman speaking, interrupt and give her the floor back. Shame those who think it's right to say bigoted shit in public. Listen to those around you. If you can't act, then remember to always have empathy for the homeless, for drug users, for immigrants. Understand they are people just like you. You are not immune to propaganda and prejudice, no matter who you are. Always question yourself and your biases.

(if you've read this far, please repost. We need this to reach as many people as possible)

I want to remind you that you're not alone. I know things seem hopeless, but the simple fact that you're reading this is proof it's not. I don't live in the US, but i'm supporting you as best i can from where i am, and sending you strenght.

If you have any questions, do ask away. I'll end on this image that's very dear to me:

[akanemnon]

Last question before I once again leave you to rest and recuperate for the rest of the hiatus.

Do you know color theory by any chance?

(And if so, can you teach me some techniques…? /nf)

Your most recently posted piece is so amazing that I can’t even put it into words. It’s cool how you can switch between styles like that. However, I hope you’re taking of yourself in the process!

If there’s anything to learn from the anon attacks, it’s that even though some people unfortunately don’t see it, being an online influencer of any sort is more of a sacrifice than it looks, and it can the tiring to the creator when others don’t understand. Im not half as popular as you are and I too am starting to feel the effects of posting almost everyday for the sake of the fans.

You’re probably the first online artist I’ve been a BIG FAN of. Not just because of your AU, but because now I’m know I’m not the only easily anxious artist out there. You’ve really inspired me, and lots of other people too, but to keep up the good work, you have to make sure you’re also okay.

Take care!

- The Kogetai Kiddo.

I know some color theory in terms of creating designs. For painting, not so much. It's a pretty complicated subject to explain, so that might take quite a bit to get into...

And no worries, I am taking care of myself and take plenty of breaks in between when I'm getting too frustrated. As for the style thing; I like to try different things once in a while to prevent stagnation. I can switch between styles thanks to practice, but changing mediums does take some getting used to. Digital painting is not exactly something I'm that good at because I don't do it that often. It takes a lot of time and energy. But it's a good challenge.

Honestly, I don't want to be titled as an "influencer" or "content creator". I'm just some person who likes sharing their work and comics that people seem to like them a lot. I'm no authority figure and I don't like seeing myself as something greater than others just because of some numbers. Numbers don't mean anything. It's the person that matters. I just wanna make art, and if it happens to make people happy, I'm happy too. Still anxiety and internal pressure can make things hard. There IS that underlying feeling of having to perform and do well. Because those are your own standards. In the end, you are your own worst critic. Anxiety is the worst, and it's an endless struggle against it. But it's possible to live with it. At some point, taking a step back and realizing you need a break is the right call.

Hoping the best for you and all the other anxious artists out there!

And with that'll be off on my last few days of break. Asks are closed now. See you back on Sunday!

(Little teaser from the next page for good measure)

[donutdrawsthings]

Do you have any art tips?

I've given it a lot of thought, and here are what my art tips are!

Enjoy yourself! this is a hobby, after all! I've found that drawing from emotion makes it easier to enjoy the art making process, and that emotion can literally be ANY emotion. Sadness, Joy, Rage, Desire,,, they are all great motivators to start drawing and when you're so full of emotion, you might find yourself feeling relieved after a drawing session!

Get Inspired and REPLICATE!

The way I learned how to draw most things is by looking closely at my favourite shows/movies and picking apart what I like about them so much! Make fanart! Redraw one of your favourite scenes! Care very little about what others will think and focus purely on enjoying yourself! Oh and also tracing is a perfectly fine thing to do too. That's a way to train steadying your hand with certain curves!

No art style? no problem!

An art style is really just a word for the way you draw. You've ALREADY got a style! It doesn't need to be eccentric looking to be unique. That being said, you'll find your art style developing naturally as you get more inspired and learn to draw certain things through fanart. What people will look at as Iconically You is really just a big compilation of all the things YOU love and got inspired by, and that's nothing to be ashamed of. It's normal and how it works in professional mediums like film making, too!

Focus on your own progress I see a lot of beginner artists beating themselves up over not yet being able to draw what they envision, and for that my biggest tip is to not see your latest drawing as your last. It's healthy to analyse what you do and don't like about what you've just drawn, but be kind to yourself about it. instead of telling yourself "I can't draw [thing]", try telling yourself "I don't like how I drew [thing], because of [reason]. Next time I'll try it differently". That next time can be immediately after, but don't underestimate the power of a good nap either! Not worrying about it and sleeping on it will get you closer to where you want to go, rather than getting more and more upset with yourself!

Art is knowledge, study it! Being ABLE to draw doesn't make you 21st century Da Vinci, knowing HOW THINGS LOOK and HOW TO MAKE IT are where the real power lies! Look around and really study how things are. The glow from a lit jack-o-lantern, the colour of the fluffy mold that starts growing on it, the way paint starts to chip off the wooden porch, the colours of the sky at any time of day... Look at all of it and ask yourself, how would I go about drawing that? How many layers would I use or what brush do I need? What colour is that on the digital colour wheel of my art programme? And then once you get your gear and draw you can re-evaluate again what you've made and ask yourself if you captured what you saw the way you want it or if you'd do something differently next time!

Don't listen to online content creators Now you might start looking at me funny, because that'd just contradict everything you just read LMAO, but I still think it's an important thing to say. Online there are a lot of artists who tell you to NEVER EVER do something because if you DO draw this way your art is BAD and you're doing it WRONG. However, I believe it's impossible to do art "wrong", because art by its very nature is purely subjective. A point I see in a lot of tutorials is to NEVER EVER shade with black. And while I don't shade with pure black either, shading with black doesn't make your art impossible to love... Invader Zim is an example of that!

As you can see, Invader Zim has an extremely unique style that's loved by many, yet it does feature a shading technique a lot of people say you shouldn't ever do... It is, subjective! And part of the style!

Anyways, sorry this got so long! I hope it was of any help or what you were looking for :'oD

[man-down-in-hatchet-town]

Hey, uh, just wanted to say, leaking a recording of the Nerdy Prudes digital ticket online is just... very fucking uncool. I know piracy is all the rage right now for dealing with Hollywood, and frankly until the streamers sort themselves out it probably should be, but Starkid aren't HBOMax or Netflix or whatever. They are a tiny, independent theatre company held together by everyday working creators who don't even necessarily always have health insurance, and they put incredibly high value recordings of their shows online for absolutely free. They are the goddamn Gold Standard in making theatre accessible (both financially and geographically) and the least we can do to help them keep going is to respect the handful of content boundaries they put up and the few months it takes them to get their recordings online. Nerdy Prudes is coming so damn soon, guys. We can wait.

(EDITED ADDENDUM: As a writer heavily invested in the strike I should probably clarify my pro-piracy stance. I am invested in piracy as a means of preserving and archiving the art that the studios are disappearing entirely from the face of the planet. Especially when those streamers are barely paying the people who create the work anyway, so the traditional idea of "pay to support the artist" doesn't always hold up. But the WGA has NOT called for a strike of streamers, so please keep using them as much as you used to!

But none of that has anything to with Starkid. Don't leak their stuff!)

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

Community and your Individual Power

I have been trying to figure out a way to put this into words that make sense. I don't believe in fate.

I don't believe in the idea that we all have a specific purpose given to us by a specific entity. What I do believe in is the collective unconscious. That there is something out there, that we don't understand that connects us. I believe that minute actions by individuals over millennia make waves they never saw the outcome for. Synchronicity is a real phenomenon. We perceive more similar things once we've been exposed to them because our brains recognize patterns they're more familiar with. I didn't find OFMD because some power that be pointed me to it. I found OFMD because I was missing something in my life, and I was lonely, and over time I exposed myself to more and more queer content, and that queer content shared space with OFMD. The reason I was able to expose myself to more queer content was because of years of artists and creators pushing the boundaries of what was "tolerated" in society-- so that content was available. I was able to access more of what I needed, because I went through hellish things in my life that put me on the path of therapy, and therefore the path of loving myself more, and accepting who I was, and my desires and leanings. I was able to figure out my leanings because others had the courage to share their own feelings and desires, and I found that mine aligned with some of them. I was able to do that because people I knew, people who had been through therapy, been through self discovery, told me it was okay, and accepted me.

I was able to meet those people because my parents, despite disagreeing with those leanings encouraged me to talk to people and get to know people and listen before I spoke. When I was younger, I was able to be exposed to queer media because I got a job at Suncoast, because my parents let me buy Dragon Ball tapes there, and the manager wanted someone who knew anime, and was willing to give 16 year old me a chance. I was able to get into anime and manga because my dad and mom met in Japan because my mom's first husband left her for reasons I won't explain,-- and so they encouraged me to learn Japanese because I found it fascinating and connected with it on a personal level. I was able to get into queer manga because an artist in another country (Matou Sanami) pushed a boundary of what was accepted in society, and they were able to do that because of people like Martha P. Johnson who fought for queer rights in the Stonewall Riots-- and so on and so forth. All the joy I am getting to experience right now is because of endless little and big things that others did and sacrificed, and how I navigated through the results of that. Nothing happened in a vacuum. I had biases I now don't. I changed. I evolved, I'm still evolving. I'm still learning, and I always will be. I met all of you before what's currently happening in the US today because my journey led me to you. Because of the sacrifices, and the courage of so many millions of people over the entirety of human history to just-- be themselves. I met you because I needed to meet you, and all the complicated strings of events that led me to that need. I know I'm not alone in this. We have each other now, to help us navigate this increasingly difficult and oppressive time for ourselves and the ones we love (and the people we don't even know). That's not even mentioning the already existing structural biases so many of our crew face (racism, gender inequality, etc). Community develops out of necessity, and that's what we are. We are community.

Community fosters education and acceptance, and supports resistance and topples oppression.

Community is what sustains us. It evolves as we do. Even if we aren't in the same physical place, solidarity and support reaches through time and space. Community is how we heal. Lean on your community, whether that is in person, or online. We came together because we needed to come together. We came together because human beings are complex and beautiful, and we carve out our little communities for ourselves in our various spaces. If you're low on spoons, or money, or hope. Reach out to your community. Community is how we rise.

But most of all. Remember that you are so very powerful. Your tiny actions, though you will never see the results of them change lives. So very many lives. You are a tiny powerful force and together, we can be a community of tiny powerful forces until one day, we make waves that not only help us, but the millions of lives ahead of us. Community is how we survive. Being ourselves is how we foster future generations to be themselves and take actions. I truly do love you crew , and I know so many people do, please remember that when all hope seems lost. Let us be your hope. Let us be your support. <3

[buf309]

Pose Reference Resources

I promised Dia (aka aerequets) that I will make a collection of pose references in the reply of one of her art posts, and then I completely forgot about it. Until now. I'm sorry for my bad memory.

So, yeah, better late than never I guess?

The pose collection I use the most is no longer free. They used to let you download a whole album (more than 8GB worth of data) to use offline, but now you have to pay $40/package or $200 for full sets. I still have the zip file for a very old version of theirs, but I can't legally share it. So, let's skip to the other options.

1/ First, you heard of those 3D dolls program that let you model your own reference pose? This one is an online one and for free, the whole ordeal. Of course since it's online and free, you can't save your model for next time, and it costs quite a lot of time to set the model up. So, you should take as much screenshots in as many tricky angles as you need once you done with the setting. Best using for complicated scenes where those below don't have what you need already available.

2/ This one is free and in 3D, you can rotate the model to any angle that you need. The only set back is the numbers of poses are quite limited. This one is best for using as a basic blocks then build up what you want to draw, or just as a practice to improve your understanding of human anatomy.

3/ This one is free for personal uses and the pose collection is massive. The setbacks are the language barrier (it's in Japanese, English is sometimes tag-a-long) and you have to search through their pages for what you need. The pics for each pose is static but they are in different angle in almost 360 degrees. There are many 2-person and 3-person poses too. Great for illustration inspiration.

4/ This one will only show reference photos of human head, at whatever angle you rotate the model. The web interface is easy to use. There are options like searching based on gender, ages, emotions, glasses, facial hair or not, etc. Good for practicing face drawing.

5/ This one will show reference photos for human body parts, at whatever angle you rotate the model, read the instructions for how to do it. The web interface is quite hard to use at first, just tinkering around for a bit, and you will be fine. There are options like searching based on gender and which particular parts that you need refs for. Good for that moment when you go "huh? how is this <body part> will look in this <situation>????"

6/ This one will only show reference photos of animal heads, and only the head, at whatever angle you rotate the model. The accurate skull refencence list is their best point. There are enough common species in the drop down list. Tbh, I don't use this much because I often need refs for the whole animal most of the time. But it's best for furry artists, I guess?

7/ Real model photos. They sell pose reference in themed packs, but there are enough free packs to use as drawing practice too.

8/ This is the best for general background reference. Lots of options. Not really good for very specific location results, but good for random background in drawings.

9/ Lastly, for specific objects or background references at strange angles, I often search for 3D models on this site then take screenshots of whatever I need.

That's all, folks. Hope this list can help ease some of the struggles that we will encounter on our quest of learning the art of drawing things 😂

[levyfiles]

i feel like if they just said straight up that they don't want to be youtubers cause they're "better than that" - which honestly feels like the subtext here - it would have been better than this disingenuous sentimental nonsense followed by an ask for money, the phrasing of which made it sound like we should feel guilty for consuming their art for free till now

OK, I have said this a few times but this is going to be my last time saying this on tumblr.

Youtube is a platform once built for users in 2006; the idea was for those locked out of the industry to have an opportunity to share their creations. As time went on, the very moment that content started to be funded by sponsors, the platform changed. Decades later, the platform--and believe me when I say this--is controlled by sponsors and ads. A lot of people don't realise this because we all have our ad-block on. We work tirelessly not to have to consume media peddled to us with agendas and propaganda; we pay for software so we don't get it.

We accepted Youtube charging some of us monthly so we don't see ads, so we can enjoy the platform more comfortably. If you're in your early-to late 30s then you know that Youtube crafted a whole lot of our experience online but it has not gone without changes. The ad breaks are now populated with sponsors with a big list of prerequisites and we sit there and guffaw through a straight 40 seconds of a creator peddling fast-fashion, cheap drinks with poison in them, platforms that sell $1 items off the backs of slave labour, and knives that don't even work just so we can sit back and pretend we'd rise to the occasion when an opportunity to practice socialism presents itself.

Well, here's the bad news. Socialism does not mean you sit back and get everything handed to you. That is literally right-wing propaganda. Socialism is every one taking a piece of what they have to crowd-source the things we want. It is letting artists be artists to create things that do not contribute to consumerism/corporate culture.

In the end, the internet has shown me that all these LARPING children believing in the future where shit gets handed to them off the backs of other people's hard work will open their greedy maws and scream slurs, insults, and backhanded statements at any creator who seizes control of the thing they've produced. You don't want to see artists grow; you want creators/artists strapped to the capitalism hamster wheel while they create the same trendy crap that sponsors tell you that you want until they burn out and retire.

The saddest thing of all is the irony of you calling that video sentimental nonsense when it shows you the story; it tells you that they all got started the way most of our favourite youtubers started but then Buzzfeed happened which may have opened some doors for them but if Ryan didn't fight tooth and nail, we would have had a Netflix show with some non descript white guy hosting it because that's the vision Buzzfeed saw. It's what so many of you see when you want the thing you like, that you watch them work tirelessly to make, to be free forever.

Of course they're too good for Youtube. Youtube is trash now and you're going to start to notice that very quickly now.

[candy-red-river]

I wish the ranfren fandom was different here's why

Recently I had a conversation with a friend, which reminded me of things i liked, which reminded me of why i liked ranfren in the first place before i changed drastically.

many months ago, I was out of the hazbin fandom i was exausted and didnt feel like talking to anyone. so i rested and slept as much as i could. when i woke up i felt different, it was one of those times when i would check out strange and surreal media, only stronger. i watched vinesauce, played yume nikki for the first time and adored it,watched vinny play hylics one, and at some point ranren was recomended to me on youtube. i dont remember which one it was but after looking it up on youtube i watched some more vids, the one with nyon and luther particualrly caught my attention because it reminded me of another artist i liked. i had also left another fandom but my memory is sludge. i decided to dig deeper under the assumption that it was made by the same artist i liked, just a longer time ago

the stuff surrounding it shaped my first impressions on ranfren, it was surreal and sounded interesting, it looked like something else so i associated it with other strange media and assumed it would have a mostly quiet theorist fandom with a couple of fan arts but mostly people talking about it was a work of art and expression. (funny fact, i actually disliked randal at first since he looked so anime compared to everyone else, i thought he'd be a yandere side character but i was wrong. i eventually liked him over tim but looking back it corresponds a bit too well with my negative change)

I was wrong. That frustrated me. all i saw was fan art and it just made me feel, empty.

I was hoping i'd find theories, discussuin, analysis, talk about the different parts of the website, talk about its themes and how people felt about it, but i just got the same stuff over and OVER again, which is when i started making theory posts about ranfren, hoping i'd find more people who liked ranfren for more than just it's characters and surface level stuff.

And it worked!! but what happened after is hella complicated so i'll summerize it, when i wouldn't talk to people i'd get bored, so i constantly made new friends in the fandom. eventually i made a friend who i became obsessed with but over time we talked less and less which stressed me out to an extreme degree. eventually today i just had to unfriend them as we refused to block eachother and i wanted to speak to them when i was lessneurotic. which lead my to the first paragraph of this post.

after watching an analysis on something i liked, i felt something and self reflected.

I had become the problem i had in the first place and it had left me nothing but madness in return.

however, it also made me realize something else, why i didn't like the fandom in the first place.

the ranfren fandom doesn't feel like how it should be. ranfren is a free indie project on a website that's almost structure like an arg if you dig though some of the pages, it's surreal self expression from a near illusive person ho keeps themselves private.

yet the fandom reflects none of it, all the fan content feels nearly one dimensional and barely talks about the source material itself aside from it's characters. but nothing else.

all the fandom cares about is social pleasure as well as parasoocial, fanart, shipping, ocs, it all feels so self indulgent in the end without mutuality or respect for ech other, the creator of ranfren, or the project itself. it's shallow water that dries out FAST and it's not sustainable.

the fandom is filled to the brim with hormonal immature teenagers who care nothing for substance, only using ranfren and it's community as a vessel for interaction, not something to enjoy by itself or talk about in a non hypersocial way.

treating the creator like some internet celebrity that they want a piece of instead of a faceless stranger online.

I wish th fandom was a little more quiet, a little more calmer, a little more considerate, and a little more older and that is frankly all i ask by making this post. take of it what you will.

[elevenmonsterart]

So this guy, right?

I have something I wanna get off my chest about him.

Laughing Jack has been my #1 comfort character for near 11 years now.

Because of this, I used to be obsessed with his creator.

Who well, is someone I do not support anymore, at all,

And so I often see people worried if they enjoy the character some people might think they condone the creator of Laughing Jack.

One think I know from someone who was once an avid fan of the creator I want to loosen up something that will hopefully bring comfort to those such as myself who love the character design.

Is that the creator in podcasts and his old youtube content I don't even think is up anymore is simply:

He has made his laughing jack, and OUR laughing jack that we all know n love are completely different now, and have been for years.

Kinda like a "Public Domain" thing with the classic laughing jack we all know. That he is ours, not the same as his own version. Last time I checked atleast he basically clocked out of everything online, idk now, but yea.

So go bonkers y'all, I love all y'all's art and interpretations, redesigns/rd's, story's and au's.

Maybe one day I'll share or make something more than a phone memo doodle of my own version or give a crack at some of the dtiys's a year after lmaooo we'll see.

Y'all artists who enjoy this character too feul my life, thank you.

[vanillaavengerlings]

To all Fanfic/fanart/ fandom content writers/creators/artists/anyone creating fandom content

As we enter the week of 22 July, I wanted to write something hopeful for any writers, artists and content creators out there, because let’s face it, things happening around the world is so grim and most of us are trying to survive the days. 

So, here’s something hopeful for any of you who need this.😄

Please reblog this as much as you can as I would love for fandom writers/creators/artists and for fanfic readers to read this. 

Thank you!

A small background about me - I write fanfics, mostly in the Avengers/Stony fandoms. And it’s what I’ve been doing mostly for a few years, despite schooling and transitioning to work.

It’s my escape from reality. When things get rough, I start writing. Writing fanfictions gives me comfort because I know the characters and I love them, so I feel safe in a way and it’s stress relieving for me.

In 2018, I had to attend a compulsory internship so that I could get my diploma and graduate. My course offered a few positions and one of them was writing for television programs at a well known media company in my country. 

I wanted that job so bad because I wasn’t interested in the others, they were too ‘corporate-like’. So I applied for it. They asked for my portfolio of written works.

And then it hit me. My God, all I’ve written so far were fanfics with male pairing. I come from a conservative country so LGBTQ stories are super rare and can be frowned upon. But that’s all I had and it was all I could submit.

Guess what?

I did just that. I took excerpts from my WIP/published fanfics, and added them into my portfolio. I even went the extra mile and typed a short excerpt into a screenwriting format, like a legit script for a show! (TV writing internships pay special attention to your script writing abilities)

I submitted them.

I was called for an interview a few days later. I was advised to bring hardcopy versions of my written work, so I printed out the stuff from my portfolio. I went for the interview and saw my coursemates, some of whom I consider really capable and smart. 

I thought, there’s no way my fanfics and I stand a chance in getting this job.

I went up first and had the usual interview questions. The last bit came, where the interviewer, a prominent executive producer in my country, asked for my written samples. I handed her the file and gave her a brief explanation of my work.

I told her I published my written works online and have a group of audience who read and review them. I also added that I use their feedback to improve my writing as a whole. She was nodding her head and reading the script of my fanfic I had written. I was hiding my smile. Everything she was flipping through were Stony and Avengers fanfic excerpts!

At last, she handed my file back to me and smiled. It signaled the end of my interview. I went back to my campus and sighed, already looking at the other positions to apply to.

Two hours later, I received the email that I had gotten the job, as a television writer intern at a prominent media company. And all I used were my fanfictions I had written!

I couldn’t believe it worked. My fellow coursemates write really good content and I went into the interview with fanfictions and got the job!

To this day, when I think about this, I laugh. Not in a self-deprecating way, but in a way of disbelief, seeing what I can pull off.

To everyone out there who are thinking so lowly of yourself because all you have done are work related to fandoms, I’ve been there, and I’m here to say that you are so talented coming up with unique content from something that is so fixed and rigid. So don’t be hard on yourself. 

You’re not wasting your time just because you post stuff on AO3 or Tumblr. Every written work/art/creative content is a great way for you to practice and work on your skills. I mean, we all have to start somewhere, right?

Seriously, it takes a lot of talent, creativity and hard work to write fanfictions, draw fanarts and create any fandom related content. And it takes so much of courage to put your work out there in the open for anyone to read.

And that’s the thing! It’s a service that you are doing, letting people read your words, your story, letting people see your art and your creativity. 

Don’t be ashamed of your fandom works. And don’t be ashamed of reading fanfictions. They’re a part of you. So don’t think of yourself lowly. No way. You’re all heroes, in your own ways. 

Some of the best written stories I’ve ever read came from AO3, some of the best art works and funniest content I’ve ever seen are fandom related.

You’ve got this, you talented talented human being. Go out there and shine bright! 🌟

[damnfandomproblems]

Fandom Problem #6456:

people who engage online in discourse at all are such a problem IMO no matter the side, simply because arguing/talking like adults has been lost in the wind completely.

the discourse has become so saturated that I see people being called an 'anti' for simply not liking/being okay with certain topics or if it's portrayed in a way they don't like and they simply criticize it, or you get called a closet pedo for not liking certain content because only a pedo wouldn't like that to look better or something. someone simply having an opinion and not harassing someone doesn't make them an anti.

Or the other way around. Not wanting to harass people/bring unnecessary behavior or rudeness makes someone proship.

And not wanting to align yourself with a label in the discourse is a none issue too. But I've seen people have the "you're either with us or against us" mentality in reaction to this. Maybe people just don't want to be associated either way because of the barbaric behavior this discourse brings out in people. Maybe some people just don't want to be aligned in the discourse. Or engage in the discourse. They have no obligation to engage how you want them to/solely because you want their opinions. Ive seen many artists berrated to get their opinions in discourse even after they say they don't want to engage it's ridiculous.

And someone simply not liking that content doesn't make them someone you can't follow/like their art of. You don't need to agree with everything the creator of something/your friends do or don't to coexist. So long as you/they aren't harassing anyone literally who cares. Some people act so childish. Especially the "but not my side we're normal' people because people who agree with me can't do bad and people who disagree with me are bad more than my side" from any sides of any discourses

[omg-i-killed-kenny]

Recreating my intro post, here we go...

🌟!!Read before you interact!!🌟

Please DO NOT reblog this post I beg of you, unless you are a Mutual trying to spread this out to other ppl to find my blog. If you have this reblogged WITH PERMISSION and it has been UPDATED. Please delete the reblog and reblog the newer version! Thank you! :)

I loik misteareon, kemny, kayl, curtain, and uh... I like... I like oink he is kewl. But also I like shley. O Im dum I alsu loik bubbers.

(please read)

(last updated: January/7/2025)

Greetings mortals, I'm Kyle (or any other names you wanna call me as long as it's not offensive). I came onto Tumblr to post my art and random aus and stuff I do.

❗WARNING❗

I am a south parkie so there might be suggestive or adult content here, I CAN promise that there WILL NOT be anything truly explicit here.

First before you continue plz reed my niknams 4 da sowth park charactrs

~About me~

My favorite character of all time is Kyle from south park. (Also butters 🤗)

I'm trans aroace and pansexual +panromantic (I only really crush of fictional characters or people I'll never have a chance with)

Pronouns are he/him

-South park fan (so I might post suggestive or adult content but NEVER too explicit)

-I have WAYYYYYYYYYY too many mutuals (about 50 or something, srs not j!) /pos

-I'm always down for a chat, hit me up! 😉

-I'm a very kind person, so I don't mind you venting to me.

-I'm not very sensitive to anything really.

-too many fandoms I'm into! Lol

-i do make some dirty jokes but it won't be often, like I said though; this blog is SFW!!!

-MINOR so please be patient with me, I have school! (I'm under 15)

-I have diagnosed ADHD, autism and ✨schizophrenia✨ :D 👍

-I joined Tumblr at may something 2024!

-i'm a young artist and writer taking art classes!

-dating someone already (taken)

-i beat up a teenager with an umbrella /srs

-i'm tone-deaf when reading so please use tonetags!

-if there's something wrong with me there is obviously something wrong with you because buddy, your wasting your time and breath saying things that aren't true.

-I do curse

-i don't want anybody talking shit about me or threatening me because that has happened before. I don't need any bullshit or drama from the place I come to post my art and relax.

-I like using acronyms and emoticons/emojis :P

-I like being decorative!

-I have pupaphobia which is the fear of puppets!

-i am ALMOST 14!!!!

-my favorite south park shitz are basically all of them except for Stan, nobody likes Stan 💀💀💀💀💀

- I like listening to (really loud) fnf songs! Mostly the new child's play from fnf: pibby: apocalypse or south park: destroyed past! (Both pibby mods, teehee)

- I actually really Fucking hate the ship style. I find them more like brothers than anything. Even though I haven't actually sat down and watched the show for once, but If you're a style shipper we're cool, but if you talk about it to me we're not cool. (WHY IS IT EVEN CANON?!? 😭😭😭)

-I AM NOT ALWAYS ONLINE DUE TO HAVING ABOUT AN HOUR OR MORE A DAY SO PLEASE DO NOT SPAM/SEND THE SAME ASK MORE THAN ONCE

-if you try to start shit with me your bad actions/words will be used against you and shared to the public. My mutuals will see.

Apparently I do not have DNI but just please be nice is all I'm asking.

⭐Fandoms⭐ (not entirely in order)

1. South Park ❄️(I've only seen 2 episodes and a few scenes though, that is my main fandom)

2. Gravity Falls❔

3. Sprunki 🎵

4. Learning with Pibby ◼️

5. Adventure Time 🗡️

6. TAWoG/the amazing world of gumball 🐱

7. Rusty Lake 🚣‍♂️ (horror game series)

8. Undertale 💀

9. Bendy and The Ink Machine 🔏

10. Hazbin Hotel/Helluva boss/Zoophobia 😈 (do not support the creator)

11. Resident Evil 🧟

12. Spooky month 🎃

13. Sonic The Hedgehog 🦔 (very low on this one though)

14. The amazing digital circus 🎪

15. Regular show 🤷

16. Amanda the adventurer 📺

17. Sam and max 🐕🐇 (not much)

18. Friday night funkin (not in the lore etc)

19. FNaF/five nights at Freddy's 🐻

20. TSaMS/the sun and moon show ☀️🌓 (not much)

21. Minecraft (don't know the lore, I just play it)

22. Dandy's world 🌼 (not much)

23. Alan Becker = those stick figure animations and stuff

24. Happy tree friends/htf (never actually sat down and watched through the series, though it's funny. I like gory shit)

25. Hellpark 👿(never read it, but I know it's pretty good)

26. Bunny Maloney 🐇 (not entirely interested but I can talk about it)

I might possibly add more

Commission rules

They are no longer free! But I will do art trades for free!

If you want to buy a commission plz pay me on CashApp (WebstarEnt)

Sideblogs :3

@elyketaruccayllacilbib -- which is some random sideblog I have for literally no reason I guess... Used for posting doodles.

@alex-ventz -- vent blog, mutuals only (which means if I'm following you and you're following me)

@landon-almerandez -- south park oc blog

@kennymccormick-rp-blog -- Kenny blog

@boyofbutter -- butters blog

@adventuretimerulez -- re-blog for Adventure time

@arianaa-lion-blog -- sprunki oc blog

@mystereblogs -- not much but a yapping/reblog acc that's mysterion themed.

Other socials!

Tumblr - omg-i-killed-kenny (but ur already here)

Discord - kyal_izkewl

Wattpad - kyal_izkewl

Roblox - kyal_izkewl

DeviantArt - kyal1zkewl

Pinterest - Kyal_1zkewl

I do not have Instagram nor a YouTube channel yet

✨STENNY✨

KYAL MA BOI 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚

South park oc ref sheet if anyone cares. If I request something from you that has to do with him, look in my intro post, right here.

I do have my own discord server for my roleplayer friends so do please check it out!

Again, do not reblog this post unless I allow you too.

[dervampireprince]

Stop Using Me And My Work For AI

My stance against generative AI has always been clear and I didn’t think I would need to make such a big post reminding people of it until several people this week informed me of AI chatbots that others have made of myself, my original characters, and my voice being used on characterai/cai.

A lot of people who use characterai seem to think people are upset with them for being lonely or ‘cringe’ and if someone is bullying you like that for using it they shouldn’t, especially as a lot of its users are minors. However, you are doing wrong by using characterai because you are contributing to theft.

Generative AI can generate text, images, voices and more by being trained off other people’s work. In almost all cases the work used is not from consenting artists. AI ‘art’ generators take thousands of artists work that it chews up and spits back out and these artists did not consent. Chatbots and generative writing AI like characterai or ChatGPT does the same thing but with writing. I’ve heard too many people be against AI ‘art’ but use characterai (which has built in AI ‘art’ generation features) because they don’t seem to understand that writing can be and is stolen too. It’s taking from any writing that’s online from fanfics to blogs to articles to tweets. And these writers did not consent to have their work taken and then spat back out by a chatbot. Every time chatbots like these write to you, it is doing so by using stolen work. Even if you got the consent of a creator to put their characters on there, the chats generated are still trained on stolen content. Even if you upload your own characters on there, the chats generated are still trained on stolen content. None of that even touches upon the bad environmental impacts of generating anything with generative AI.

And with this situation on characterai, not only have my original characters been made into chatbots without my consent, not only has some of my art of Arden and Ambrose been reposted on there without credit (I don’t allow reposting with credit either) or consent, but my voice has also been taken and used to train two separate AI voices on there, and someone has made a chatbot of me, a real person. None of this was done with my consent or permission.

I feel violated. I don’t know how else to describe it. I feel sick, I’m shaking, I’ve been having panic attacks over this, I feel so deeply distressed. I thought it was bad enough just seeing people taking Ambrose and Arden and putting them on there, but today I found out there’s a chatbot of me. I’m a real person. Just because you listen to my audios or streams doesn’t mean you know me, because you don’t. I’m sorry to be blunt, but this is so uncomfortable parasocial. And then for two people on there to take my voice to make AI voice replicas of me (again without my consent). I don’t think I can put into words how sick and violated that makes me feel, to have my voice stolen.

As of writing this I have 346 videos up here on my Youtube channel and post videos 3 times a week, you are not starved for my voice or my work. I allow for people to make their own fanworks of my characters including fanfiction. I allow for people to commission others to make art of my characters including fanfiction. You have options that aren���t generating AI content. Reader insert fics exist. Your imagination exists. RP communities exist. You know what I did as a kid when stuff like this didn’t exist? I would copy and paste fanfics into Microsoft Word, find and replace the names with my own/my ocs/other characters and then wow you have a fic about anyone you want (obviously I did not post these online, these were just silly edits I made for myself when I was a minor).

Do not contact, send hate, or harass any of the people on characterai who’ve uploaded my characters or myself onto there (or anyone in general using characterai or generative AI). I don’t want this to be a callout post against characterai users. This post is for any of my followers who do use characterai to please learn about the harm generative AI does to creators, raise awareness, and hopefully get these chabots and voices deleted (especially the chabot of myself and the voices). And if anyone who made any characters or voices of myself or my original characters on characterai sees this: please delete them. Please, please delete them. You are not wrong for being lonely, you’re not pathetic or cringe for using characterai, but you are contributing to the theft of people’s works. Some of you have literally stolen my voice.

If you do go and do research into characterai please be careful as recent lawsuits against them to include trigger topics and these will inevitably appear when you search around. That raises a whole other problem with characterai and it’s popularity with minors as there’s nothing that makes it impossible for the chatbot to be hateful, bigoted, harass you, send sexual messages, etc. I know characterai is implementing safeguards, but even they admit they can’t make it impossible for these messages to be sent.

I am not the only creator this has happened too. When browsing characterai to see how many of my characters were on there I found over 50 of YuuriVoice’s characters, and multiple of other creators like Cardlin and Dark And Twisted Whispers. Including not just the characters, but chatbots of themselves.

It’s 3am here and I’m sorry if there’s any typos in this, I did proof read it I promise, I’m just really tired. I was getting into bed and clearing notifications off my phone when I saw the reply on Tumblr telling me my voice was on characterai. Thank you to those of you who made me aware of this, hopefully at least I can get the AI voices of myself taken down as it is against characterai’s TOS to make voices of real people without their consent. It’s also against their TOS for anything on their site to be impersonating real people. Thank you guys as always for supporting me, I’m sorry for such an agitated post I’m just really upset about all of this. Be safe out there.

[dust-and-grave]

hng, i am so frustrated by this whole watcher tv situation. i've been chewing on it ever since i watched their announcement video yesterday + i've been looking around online at other fan reactions. i'm having a lot of thoughts so i guess i want to throw my two cents in + hope it'll make me feel better to talk about it a little.

i think we all agree that creators should be paid fairly for their work; however, not all work is created equal, right? if i commission an experienced (and thus high-demand) artist to do an oil painting of my cat, they might quote me $500+ to do that + it would be fair. if an artist with substantially less experience (and thus in lower demand) spends 30 seconds on a crayon rendition of my cat, should they also received $500+ for their work? i think most people would agree that would be ridiculous.

in some ways, this is what it feels like the watcher team is doing to us right now, imo. we know that shows like ghost files or puppet history are expensive to make because travel costs (in the case of ghost files) + production costs, but we can see the effort put into the work. we feel that what we give for the show, whether that's turning off ad blocker while watching or buying show merch or supporting via patreon, is going toward making the product that we are asking for. these shows are the oil painting in the metaphor.

i don't agree with how mean + rude some people are being about steven lim rn, but frankly, his shows are the 30 second crayon drawing of the watcher channel. anyone can look at the view count on their channel + see that his shows consistently have performed worse than shane + ryan's shows. additionally, we can see that he blows huge amounts of money on his shows ("$913 seafood tower", "$1027 fried chicken") that may leave a lot of viewers feeling as if they're aren't getting as much bang for their buck.

frankly, i think people are valid for being upset that they're expected to directly foot the bill for steven's "i fly all over the world + eat expensive food while you watch" project. while youtube has a shit ton of problems (like, say, not paying their creators enough), one of the cool things about it is that you can gauge directly the amount of the interest in a project (and how many resources you should dedicate to said project) by how many eyes are on it. unfortunately for him (i guess), steven's shows just don't garner enough attention to justify the expense of making them.

which is why i see this shift to watcher tv as such a problem. this feels very much like using shane + ryan's success on the channel to force fans to fuel steven's pursuit of his glory days on worth it. it feels even more strange when they say that they're making the switch because the company isn't currently sustainable, but steven has just hired his friends from buzzfeed + continues to push his series that just don't seem to be making back the cost of production.

to be totally fair, shane + ryan don't get out of this clean either. some of their shows don't deserve to be behind a paywall either. too many spirits is filmed in ryan's parent's backyard with content submitted by their viewers. are you scared is just ryan reading creepypastas/fan submitted content on a minimal set. survival mode is just them playing games like any other streamer or gaming youtuber does. i love all of these shows, but are they on par with puppet history or ghost files? absolutely not.

this is where i think the disconnect is coming from. they're taking everything including the lower production shows to a streaming service where you have to fund them directly (rather than indirectly through ad revenue). they're forcing funding into steven's projects despite them just not doing well enough to justify the cost. they're coming across as disingenuous with their reasoning because their stated reasons for doing this don't align with their actions rn.

i feel like it would've made so much more sense to crowdfund new seasons of shows (which gives them feedback from the fans about what they want too) or put higher cost shows like ghost files or puppet history on patreon or channel membership. i would gladly fund mystery files, weird wonderful world, ghost files, puppet history, etc. with my own money, but i'm one of the ones who isn't really interested in funding steven's quest to eat all of the gold-plated kobe beef when i'll never be able to afford to eat at a restaurant that even serves it.

[takkapakka]

Cassandra (Tangled) and queercoding

Interacting with the TTS fandom, everyone (including myself honestly) seems to agree that Cass is a lesbian. It’s not canon, because Disney sucks, but the coding is generally viewed to be pretty strong to the point that it’s taken to be canon in every way but on paper. Despite being such a popular view though there was absolutely nothing online that I could find (apart from a deleted tumblr post linked on reddit) that actually specified the exact coding that lead people to think this??? So, I decided that I would myself try to compile some of the reasons that might lead people to view her as a lesbian. This might be complete nonsense, but I am a huge fan of Cass and the show in general, and I just wanted to think a bit deeper about what it is, exactly, about her character that made so many lgbtq+ folks latch onto her as representation within the show. Also on top of already being extremely technologically illiterate this is my first ever post on here so excuse any issues on that part.

First off, just to preface this I think I want to outline my thoughts about coding in general. I think the line can often blur between stereotyping and queercoding, but I think queercoding is different to stereotyping because coding generally happens when someone creating an lgbtq+ character is physically not allowed or unable to say the character is queer. Obviously stereotyping is a pretty major problem within portrayal of marginalised groups in the media, but for gay characters (who are more often that not created by people who are lgbtq+ themselves) it can sometimes be the only way to actually express to your audience that you did intend for the character to be interpreted as gay without outright saying it because, as I said before, this may be something you are just unable to do. Tangled is a Disney property, which is known for being pretty homophobic and overall just majorly limiting gay characters in their media, which means that it must be hard for someone wishing to portray a queer character to do so. Having to lean into stereotypes to express a character as being queer sucks, but I personally think there’s a big difference between using stereotypes on a canonically queer character and one that you can’t actually say is queer. There’s still a loooot of progress to be made with queer representation in the media, but when you cant even outright say that a character is queer, coding is the next best thing because often queer people in the audience will pick up on this and interpret that character as lgbtq+ because they can recognise the intentions and want to believe the creators meant it because there’s so little queer media elsewhere compared to straight media. In addition to this, it can be comforting to think of your favourite character as similar to you in a way that you may have suffered for before.

Now to the actual purpose of writing this. One big thing I see people talking about is the fact that actual story board artists of the show have said they intended Cassandra to be interpreted as a lesbian. This is obviously huge because it leads on to all the other elements of her coding that I’ll discuss because this is coming from someone who actually worked to create the show. I’ve never been apart of a creative team so I don’t know how much actual control a story board artist has on the content of a show, but they still helped make it, so it has to count for something right?? I found a link to a tweet off Cass’ page on the lgbtq+ characters wiki (this is actually REALLY sparse for some reason and it basically just states her sexual orientation to be lesbian without very much evidence to back it up apart from the tweets, which even then seemed to only be one tweet, and her apparent feeling for Rapunzel (double bracket will get onto this later) so honestly this wasn’t as much help as I hoped it would be) which basically stated that Cass was fully intended to be interpreted as queer. Linked here: amboo 👻 on X: "@MegLegbird im glad the gays can recognize how gay cass is like, that's the only job we wanted to be successful" / X . The creator of the show, Chris Sonnenberg, actually joined a Right-Wing news company around  2022 and has been working for their children’s streaming platform which aims to “rival the output of “woke” media companies” which is incredibly sad and might be why the idea of Cass being a lesbian remained just within the artists, because it may be very likely that Sonnenberg himself is homophobic. He was also known to be incredibly salty towards the fan base for Tangled which I can’t comment on because I have zero solid explanation as to why this might be.

In the replies underneath the linked tweet there was some more discussion between the artist and another user. There’s discussions of the female artists agreeing to throw in “sapphic looks” because outright saying she’s gay was impossible, so it’s very clear that any coding was intentional and should be taken as valid. Some people may say that she has not been explicitly said to be a lesbian so saying she is one holds absolutely no validity, but I disagree with this because things in media do not have to be stated outright in the text for it to be taken as true. That’s what literacy analysis is for. Things carry denotations, its literal meaning, but there are also connotations, which is what the writer was trying to convey without explicitly stating it. So, by this reasoning, to say Cass isn’t a lesbian just because it was never stated in the show isn’t completely true, because the subtext is literally overflowing with hints, and subtext is a completely valid thing to talk about and to ignore would be failing in the role of a consumer. Text is meant to be interpreted in different ways, but when you are literally ignoring things the writers have put in on purpose in order to twist a piece of media’s meaning to what you want it to be, it just turns into ignorance. Interpretations of coding is heavily down to a person’s personal experiences and ideas, but it gets to a point where people can just blatantly ignore certain elements of media, and in this case I believe the coding is pretty strong because someone working on the show has actually confirmed that, in at least a portion of the show, Cassandra was fully intended to be understood as being a lesbian.

In terms of how she was actually coded within the show, one episode that springs to mind immediately in particular is the episode where Andrew (my biggest opp) is introduced. This episode is called “Under Raps” but I can’t tell you what episode number it is because I don’t have Disney plus anymore. If you don’t remember what happened basically Cass introduces mr ugly bugly himself to Rapunzel and Eugene as her boyfriend or whatever but it turns out he was trying to manipulate her to be able to steal this ancient book in order to overthrow Corona. In the end, it’s revealed Cass was only pretending to like him because she knew his plan all along and defended the book from him. They have a swordfight and its insane 10/10 no notes there. The reason I think of this as an example of queercoding is because it’s the only instance in the whole show where a male love interest is even referenced surrounding her (apart from Varian having a crush on her but I’m not even gonna mention this apart from now because of course she wouldn’t have any interest in him because he’s a literal child and she’s early to mid-twenties) and the fact that it’s shown she was just putting an act on the whole time makes me think this was intentional to show she would never have romantic relations with a man. Some of this might sound pretty speculative or far-fetched, but I think it’s valid to mention since I’ve already established that it was intentional from some of the creators to have her be interpreted as a lesbian in the first place. Any indication of her being interested in men ends after this episode, which I believe is significant because the concept was introduced for a short time until the reveal of her faking it when it is completely disregarded and never brought up again. I think this may be the creators indicating that attraction to men was never in the cards for her.

Another thing that may be taken (this is getting into the territory of being stereotypical which is why I mentioned it at the beginning) is lesbians in media are often depicted in such a way that they are cold, critical and even aggressive towards male characters. Think Santana Lopez from Glee, Vaggie from Hazbin Hotel, and Villanelle from Killing Eve. I believe this is shown in the way Cass interacts with Eugene, which is in sharp contrast to her much gentler demeanour with Rapunzel. She is extremely quick to bicker with and insult him, and will miss no opportunity to pick a fight with him. From the very first episode, this is shown in the way she repeatedly insists that Rapunzel cannot tell Eugene the true story behind her hair reappearing, due to the fact that Cass doesn’t trust him. She eventually tells him anyway, but Cass isn’t happy about it. Even off the top of my head, there are many, many, more examples of Cass instigating arguments between them, this is just an example of one very plot-relevant occasion of her appearing to dislike him. While it is of course not true in real life that lesbians dislike all men just because they are men, I believe this is used to code Cassandra because it is used directly to emphasise her softer, sweeter attitude towards Rapunzel, along with the fact that the “man hating lesbian” is already a common trope used to depict lesbians. Stereotypes are not a good thing, but they are often a device used by writers to indicate a character as possessing specific traits or mannerisms. In this case it’s used to convey a characters’ sexuality when you are unable to say it outright.

Furthering from Eugene being used to contrast Rapunzel in relation to Cassandra, another massive thing that signals Cass as a lesbian in my opinion is the way she interacts with Rapunzel. Some of the screenshots of Cass looking at her are extremely and undeniably fruity, and if I was more technologically competent I might be able to insert some of them here, but her expressions are often filled with longing and admiration. This can be directly attributed to the story boarders, which was mentioned prior in replies to the tweet. I know that Rapunzel had just eaten incredibly spicy fruit, but I refuse to believe that Cassandra flirtily tucking her hair behind her ear while Rapunzel was bright red and choking on her breath wasn’t intended to be at least a little bit gay.

In addition to all the fruity looks that Cass gives Rapunzel like I just mentioned, there is a whole episode where Rapunzel loses her memory, and guess who is in Eugene (her canon love interest)’s place? Cassandra! Whether this was intentional or just because Cass was the closest one there is, I suppose, up to you, but a great many scenes in that episode directly mirror those in the movie, including Cass gazing lovingly at Rapunzel while she uses her hair to swing around a tree for the first time. In my humble opinion, this is extremely gay. I don’t personally think this is a coincidence, but even if it was, it still contributes to my belief that Cass is a lesbian.

The actual ship of Cassandra x Rapunzel is something I don’t personally enjoy, mainly because I love Raps and Eugene too much to even consider thinking about them with anyone else, but I do believe that Cass was in love with Rapunzel, who just viewed her as a best friend. This is due to the aforementioned evidence of the abundance of examples of fondness she displays towards her, and also the fact that this is used in very obvious contrast to how she interacts with Eugene. I think this contrast was either on purpose or enhanced by people on the team who intended for Cassandra to be interpreted as a lesbian, because it is VERY obvious how different she is with Rapunzel and Eugene. She is also very close with Rapunzel in general, showing her to be the only person she accepts hugs from, and also spending a lot of time with her and clearly caring for her greatly. I know some people dislike this ship because they interpret their relationship as sisterly, but I don’t personally view it as such because Gothel was extremely abusive towards Rapunzel and was barely in Cass’ life at all so I don’t think they have relation on that front, as well as the fact that the way their relationship began doesn’t, in my opinion, lead naturally into a view of each other as being similar to siblings. The dynamic between them is more best friends I think.

I’m not an expert on coding in fiction by any means to it’s very possible I may have gotten things wrong within this, but from evidence from the show mentioned within I think it is fair to say that this is at least a little bit indicative of some of the reasons why so many people so strongly believe Cass to be a lesbian. As I mentioned before, it’s a very nice feeling to see elements of yourself that you may have suffered for before represented within characters you love, which is why I believe people are so enthusiastic about Cass’ sexuality, not to mention the fact that it has been confirmed to be intentional by actual creators within the show. Queer characters, especially in children’s media, are so few and far between that it can be really lovely to see even a little bit of yourself depicted in a character you really like in a show you really enjoy. All in all, I know characters’ sexualities can be a very heavily debated topic within fandom spaces, but the idea of Cass being a lesbian seems to be pretty unanimous so the purpose of writing this was just to put into words exactly why I think this is such a widely held belief. There are no rules around how you choose to interact with characters within fandoms, and everything is up to complete personal interpretation, so just have fun and remember to be respectful of others who may have different opinions to you!!