#if any fanart of this exists i need to see and if any artists see this and are inspired PLEASE SHOW ME

[martitheevans]

Wdym we never got to see Dean sleeping in the Impala or something and Cas noticing he's cold and putting his coat over him WHAT DO YOU MEAN-!

[satorugojoswiife]

What do you think about gojo ships

I feel like I'm pretty indifferent to most of them. This is super cringe of me, but whenever I fall super in love with a character I don't often like shipping them romantically with anyone. 💀 (im delusional I know)

It doesn't help that for some reason the jjk fandom (especially twt) is weirdly aggressive about ships. I know it isn't all the shippers and it's mostly just the loud minority, but seeing so much of the discourse has kinda put me off and I don't really engage much with the ships in the fandom except for rarepairs and selfships bc alot of the time those communities are more wholesome and cozy (if that makes sense LOL)

[kataang-week]

Trick or Treat, Kataangers!🎃

Katara and Aang sprites from Distant Horizon. Graphic created by Mod Belle @itsmoonpeaches.

🦇What is Kataang Halloween?

Kataang Halloween is a one-time, three-day mini-event hosted and created by @kataang-week on Tumblr for the first time this year. (However, there is potential for it to happen again in the future.) Kataang Halloween celebrates Kataang with a Halloween theme. All prompts were chosen by the mod team.

🦇Cool, when is it?

Kataang Halloween starts on Thursday, October 31, 2024, and ends on Saturday, November 2, 2024.

🦇What are the prompts?

In honor of Halloween, we're using lucky number 13! There are 13 prompts for each adventure.

"Trick" prompt list:

Old Spirits

Family Secrets

Altered State

Moonlight

Teeth

Demon Claws

The Deep

Offerings

Inner Palace

Lost

Grotto

Cliff Edge

Poison

"Treat" prompt list:

Taffy

Candied Haws

Lanterns

Mid-Autumn

Mooncake

Crunchy Leaves

Warm Drinks

Pumpkins

Chrysanthemum

Sharing

Toadstools

Apple Picking

Paint

🦇So how does this work?

Choose your own adventure! You can take inspiration from the Trick prompts, Treat prompts, or both! Feel free to mix and match prompts to create spooky and/or sweet Kataang content.

Anything you can think of counts as content as long as you fill one or multiple prompts at a time. Fanfics, fanart, gifsets, metas, edits, playlists, moodboards, music, etc.—the sky's the limit.

🦇What are the rules?

Please create your own original pieces. We do not accept AI-made fanworks.

We only accept new works created for Kataang Halloween, not works that are retroactively said to be created for Kataang Halloween. However, you may create something that fills a Kataang Halloween prompt for an ongoing work like a chapter fic or an ongoing series. See this ask for more information.

We accept all range of works. However, bear in mind that this is an all-ages event. If your work contains themes or imagery that may be intended for older audiences, tag and warn people thoroughly. Works with adult content must have an all-ages appropriate preview.

Do not repost other people's works. Reblog their original post if one exists.

If a creator/author/artist has requested you to post their work for them, remember to credit the original and link back to their page.

Be respectful in your fanworks and to others participating or enjoying the event.

🦇How should I tag my work?

The easiest way for us to find your work so we can reblog it to this blog is by using the tag “kataang halloween”. Using “kataang” and “kataangtag” also help. You must tag one of the three in your first five tags otherwise it doesn’t appear in the search. It is also helpful to tag us directly with @kataang-week.

Sometimes even properly tagged posts may not appear when we search the tags, so if you do not see your content reblogged, please let us know.

Once we’ve reblogged it to this blog we add our own tags (a prompt tag and a user tag) for easy organization. This means we can find all the work for one prompt or all the work from one user in one easy click (this also means that if you have changed your username since participating last year you need to let us know so we can update your tag!).

🦇Can I post my stuff other places online too?

Of course you can! However, we won’t be able to reblog anything that isn’t a Tumblr post.

For those of you who will be posting your works on AO3, feel free to add your fic to our Kataang Halloween AO3 collection.

🦇What if I have late submissions for Kataang Week 2024?

While we will not reblog any late submissions for Kataang Week 2024 during the Kataang Halloween event, late submissions for Kataang Week 2024 will still be accepted up until Kataang Week 2025, so don’t be shy and don’t worry about giving the world more Kataang content 💖 We always welcome it!

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to submit an ask to the Kataang Week blog. See you on Halloween, Kataangers!

🦇Who are the mods?

@airbender-dacyon AKA Mod Dan: A Kataang fanfic writer who prefers fluff, but also loves some drama and angst. Mod Dan started writing Kataang stories in 2013 and has helped organize Kataang Week since 2016.

@penguinsledder AKA Mod Atarah: A writer, gif maker, and musician–she enjoys fluffy young adult Kataang and all the ways they complement and parallel each other. She first joined Tumblr for Kataang Week 10 years ago, and started helping out with writing posts and making banners as a mod since 2016!

@itsmoonpeaches AKA Mod Belle: An avid Kataanger with a penchant for angst and mild violence who likes writing. Mod Belle has been a mod since 2021 and helps write posts and social media.

@chocomd AKA Mod Celes: Fanfic writer who adores Kataang for their fun and flirty side but also their bond forged through grief and loss. Mod Celes joined in 2023 and helps with a little bit of everything - whatever needs to be done!

[gayhorrorsans]

CW alot of swearing, if that triggers you at all

And I'll probably re do this but more professionally when I'm less mad.

-------------

The whole 'I hate sans centered AU's' and 'The fandom was ruined by AU's' pisses me OFF.

Let me explain it to you like you're five.

So, when a character is popular... yes?

People like that character more than others... yes?

So when people make fanart... yes?

They make it of that character more often than others... yes?

Therefore since the character is more popular and more known. The character has more fan works. Therefore has more AU's.

The fact people define this shit too pisses me off. I've seen people call Horrortale and Underfell sans centered AU's. I'm sorry what? If you said Dusttale sure. Something New (Killer Sans), sure I can't exactly argue. But calling Horrortale and especially UNDERFELL sans centered? Wild.

I assure you you will live if an artist wants to make an Au centered around sans. You also forget he's typically a simple character to draw compared to the rest. So beginner artists can attempt him easier. Also he was by far the most popular character in the fandom in its infancy, and still is the most popular. LOOK I GET that some AU's are sans centered. But the way you treat them makes you look pathetic or uneducated.

Put it this way, people often see videos saying 'Sans centered AU's bad' and reply 'I'm working on an Au where <insert really uninteresting thing>' and look this is Fine. Be creative, in fact I encourage it. However there's a reason these sans centered AU's are popular. They're creative. They were also made when the fandom had enormous communities on platforms like amino. AU's SPREAD. Plus, if your AU was just writing, no art, it's heavily likely you would be ignored or your au would fade out quickly. These are the principles of the Internet. To stay relevant you need to produce new media that people can consume quickly. Art or animation.

Popular AU's made recently(ish) so past the initial craze of dreamtale,Dusttale and so on. Undertale Last Breath, IDUTSHANE and so on. They have to utilise new ideas or new takes on pre existing ideas. It's hard to make a new original idea that is both good, and fits in with the dynamic. These aus are only popular for a while, then fade into irrelevancy. I would love to see some new popular AU's, but however if you make them without sans in them, or as a background character, just know it's likely your au won't have much of a chance.

There's an oversupply of sans au content because there's an extreme demand for it. It's like complaining that a store sells too much monster energy drink and not enough red bull, when that store sells maybe 5 cans of red bull a year, and 50 thousand cans of monster a year.

And let's not even mention when an artist makes AU content that isn't sans centered, the same people who complain about it, just focus on the sanses themselves. Xtale is a huge example. Because of recent events it's fair to understand the limelight is on Cross (trans coded). But in general I never see anything on any OTHER Xtale characters, even from people I know hold the opinion that they want less sans centric aus.

Also the AU's in general keel the fandom afloat. Sure mischaracterisation is rife, but at some point we have to acknowledge the reality of it's damn near impossible to fix. Always stand up for what you believe in, but understand some times it's not worth the energy.

I'll probably re do this but more professional at some point. Sorry for being all over the place. I just wanted to post something and I was mad at this.

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

You don't need to worry about the ATSV fandom dying. As someone whose been in the Marvel fandom over ten years - I can assure you this is natural.

The ATSV Fandom Isn't Dead: A brief look into the science of fandoms.

[me standing beside Hobie beaming my thoughts of love and adoration into his head like I'm professor x]

A lot of people are afraid of the ATSV dying - and I don't blame them.

In the era of shows releasing all in one day, or movies coming to streaming almost immediately - it's not hard to say we're in an era were content is consumed at ridiculously rapid rates.

I mean, this time last year Wednesday was breaking records on Netflix. Where's the hype now?

I know you see it too, there's less posts everyday in the Hobie tag, less screenshot breakdowns, etc etc etc.

But I'm here to tell you - The ATSV fandom is doing just fine. Better than fine. All of this is meant to happen.

Let me put it into perspective.

ATSV released on June 2nd - it's November.

ATSV released a little over six months ago.

For reference: The Avengers (2012) was released on May 4th.

The Avengers DVD wasn't available for purchase until SEPTEMBER 25th - almost SIX months later.

The time that the Hobie fandom has formed and existed - is the same amount of time people had to wait just to see The Avengers again.

Large periods of time where tags only get three posts a day TOPS was nothing to fear. xReaders and fanfics held the fandom over until the next trailer, the next sneak peek or leak.

Prior to the release of streaming, only a little more than ten years ago - it was NATURAL for a fandom to wait six months before even seeing the movie for a second time.

And mind you - streaming didn't exist. If you wanted to see The Avengers again, you had to go out and BUY it. $26.99.

If you wanted to order it online - you'd have to get it shipped to you. Before Disney plus, we watched on BlueRay Discs.

And the fandom was fine and healthy.

If a fandom that doesn't even have a DVD release can keep up content for six months, I think we'll be fine.

But I'll admit - there's still the question:

If the ATSV fandom is 'doing fine' then where is everyone going? Why are the tags getting slower?

The answer is simple:

FANDOM BIOLOGY

I LOVE social sciences and the systems people create and how they work - even unintentionally.

And I have a theory - one about the natural evolution and regeneration of fandom. Hear me out -

When it comes to ATSV:

We are leaving the Analysation Phase, the phase in which content creation is centered around deciphering and breaking down the most recent installment in the fandom.

During this phase usually see art of newer characters, new ships, meta breakdowns, easter egg point-outs.

We were in that phase.

Once the Analysation Phase dies down, usually main content creators may remain. The intermediate or liminal period.

The intermediate is usually when you'll see more x-reader art pop-up, the levels of fanart evening out as artists return to their favorite characters - usually incorporating any new ones they gained from the last installment.

Shitposts usually also become popular around this time, as the shock and weight of the story wear off, and we're more able to joke about the storyline a lot more light-heartedly.

That's why the intermediate point is often see as the passion 'dying out'.

When in fact, it is the fandom getting comfortable. Resting for the next phase.

And after a few months, the next phase comes:

The Speculation Phase:

The Speculation Phase cannot come until the Analysation Phase is over.

During the Analysation Phase the fandom begins to breakdown and digest the writers intentions. They integrate the new character into the story, and the fandom.

As the audience and fandom talk amongst each other, we get more solid ideas of who the characters are, what their motivations might be, and most important of all-

What they might do.

In the Speculation Phase we turn from the last installment - and start looking towards the future.

Let's take Hobie for example.

Looking at the timeline of the Hobie fandom, we can see a progression.

Originally taken as a punk-rockstar and little more, throughout the months the fandom began posting things about punk culture, the 70's, Hobie's motivation in the comics, and how that all correlates to him.

As the fandom analyzed, the collective zeitgeist and understanding of Hobie grew into something a lot more sound, and telling.

We looked at the parellels he provides in the story, and what kind of person he is.

And because if that we have seen a marked improvement in people's contextual understanding of Hobie - as a punk and a hero.

And now that we can understand him - we can predict him.

The same goes for Miguel - over the months, a lot of us have began to question if we know him as well as we think we do , if we really know the kinda person he is -

And if we really know what he's doing to do.

That's where the Speculation Phase comes in.

The Speculation Phase in fandom is when we see some of the most passion - and instead of tapering off overtime, it builds. More and more until the next release.

The Speculation Phase is when the fandom takes the analysis' and from there, they begin to theorize.

Now that we understand, we can begin to predict.

And this is arguably one of the most interesting parts in a fandoms natural ecosystem.

During the Speculation Phase, we can see a number of diverse opinions appear.

As more and more creators begin to gather their understanding, tips from the writers, new released news, and past comic book arcs, we start to see dozens of triguing paths the writers can take us on.

As more news releases, the more hype people get. I mean - imagine how you'll feel when they release the first new poster of Hobie, or Miles? Or when we get to see Miles.G in the trailer?

And with each new poster, or trailer, we're given clues. The theorizes develop more. And the plot thickens.

It's all natural.

So I can understand the fear. Only getting one or two new posts when you visit the Hobie tag can be a bummer. But it's natural and it's GOOD.

Y'all, we need to conserve our energy. We are in the liminal phase. And they never last long.

With the news of the voice actors back in the studio, and a cliff-hanger like we have - I can assure you, it's only a matter of time before we begin to see the theories, the trailer breakdowns, the people guessing what Miguel might do, or exactly how much tech Hobie is hiding.

And when that time comes we need to be READY. I can already feel it on the horizon.

I really wonder what they'll do with all that left over Hobie concept art.

Plus with explosion of Hobie approval, I wonder if they'll add him in even more. Hobie fan-service anyone?

Hmmm...

But chill y'all, we're on the right track -

-------------------------------------

If you read this far, as always THANK YOU SO MUCH!! And as a token of my appreciation, I hand you this Hobie. Hold him gently please

Bye 💗

[tadc-harlequin-au]

Hey y'all, I'd just like to genuinely thank you all for the supportive messages and the donations. Really, I cannot think of words that would justify how grateful I feel for everyone's help. We're still on the waiting list for the police to investigate the break in, opting to check if there were any CCTVs nearby in order to check the criminals fleeing the scene of the crime.

Other than that, I'm doing much better mentally than yesterday, so I can most definitely write the 2000 followers special again.

I also wanna say how awesome and amazing this community is. I've never been a part of a fandom that pushes my creativity to it's highest, while being supportive and not being at each other's throats because being in the FNAF fandom does things to you. I was pretty popular on the fnaf twitter scene, but it was SO TAXING AND DRAINING that I don't consider it worth going back to.

This is genuinely THE BEST community I've ever had the honors to be a part of (Shipwrecked 64 came very close), and I'm very honored to be at the spot that I am at right now, as creator of the Harlequin AU.

Thank you for supporting me, in my best and worst times. Thank you for being interested in the story I want to tell, and even asking about the world of it as well as it's cast. Thank you for always taking the time to reblog and comment in my works, because I love reading everyone's special inputs.

A very, very special thank yous to all my friends who inspire me to become a better writer and artist, to @thescarletnargacuga who is technically the co-writer for this AU at this point lmfao, to @nobody-nexus for being an amazing and loving partner <3, and to @sm-babie for getting me into showtime, which is the major reason this AU and it's story even exists.

And I know I don't always get to see it because of my incredibly short attention span (and tumblr's weird notification system), but I also would like to thank the other artists who've made fanarts, fanfics or OCs for this AU. There's A LOT of them, that it overwhelms my brain and I'm just- wow. I'm just really taken aback at how much people like this small, incredibly canon-divergent AU. My brain is getting FRIED at all this in the best way possible but woo I need a bit of a breather haha-

I hope I can continue to provide quality Harlequin (and showtime) content, and I hope to keep this train rolling. Keep being awesome, and keep being creative, everyone! The regularly scheduled content will be back rolling on track very soon. :')

- Ziku/E-Specter

[d0not-disturb]

hello now that you're free i NEED to know why you hate scarian (hate is a strong word but i can't think of anything else)

this isn't a "grrr why do u hate da BEST ship" because i don't necessarily like it either (i think its overrated) but i have to hear other people's thoughts

I hate scarian because it ruined Grumbo. You see, when scarian first became a thing, it was in the right place at the right time. The dsmp had just ended and people needed to replace it with something and BAM! There was third life. By the end of the dsmp, almost everyone had become great writers, and artists, with a decent following, and they all flooded to third life where the birth of scarian was. With this MASSIVE spike in people, scarian flourished, completely shadowing Grumbo which had been the main ship of, EVERYTHING for the past 5 or something years. And then after third life ended, grian and scar had become friends because before that they were not friends, and people got even MORE content with them, and less content with grian and Mumbo (bonus people didn’t know about the glory of Grumbo before third life) and with Mumbo not being in the life series really, and grian and scar being SOULMATES IN DOUBLE LIFE???? It��s like the universe wanted Grumbo to end.

The nail in the coffin was when Mumbo took his, what like year long break? That’s where it truly died cause there was ZERO Grumbo content. And people don’t want to ship and ship that doesn’t really exist anymore

Grumbo is yet to recover and I doubt it will, it’s sad watching a ship you loved and used to be like THE ship slowly fade away, I mean I remember the days I would see new fanart and fics of them everyday, now I have to wait like up to a week to see new art, even more for fics

I don’t hate ANY other Grian ship, it’s just scarian low key ruined everything ngl, and they are a fine duo! I’ll even admit they are a great duo! But it is EVERYWHERE. You can’t look at the Grian or scar page without being bombarded with scarian. And when scar won the life series people made it about grian. It’s too much and it’s too overrated.

I Wonder if this is what taurian shippers felt like when Grumbo took over them huh

[booksandabeer]

Stucky, Fandom Longevity, and "Primacy Bias"

There’s this post that's been floating around the past few days about how the Stucky fandom in its heyday produced fic and art masterpieces like they were all collectively possessed by an unprecedented spirit of creative insanity. It’s a good, fun post and I agree with the person who wrote it. (not rb'ing because I didn't want to hijack their post with something that's only tangentially related).

It was indeed a magical time and the creative output in both quantity and quality in the two-year period following the release of CA:TWS is—with perhaps a few exceptions—unmatched by anything that I’ve seen before and since. However, going through the notes on that post, I noticed something that left me a little irritated and quite frankly sad since it is in congruence with, and to a certain extent the confirmation of something that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.

For one thing, there are so many people in the notes expressing sentiments along the lines of “it was such a wonderful time; I wish I could go back; I miss these fics; I want to read these fics again,” etc., etc., you get it. And it feels a little silly pointing this out, but…you can just do that? Almost all of these fics are still right there, waiting for you to be (re)read. Yes, a lot of people left the fandom after The Great Devastation of 2019, but their stories didn’t just disappear. It's not like there is now a big, black hole where the Steve/Bucky tag used to be on AO3. So, if you miss these fics and you want to revisit them—just do it. Chances are the authors will be delighted that people are still finding and enjoying their stories all these years later. And—since apparently this needs saying, too, judging from the notes on that post: A lot of people seem to be very concerned with losing ‘coolness points’ for openly admitting that they still miss the ship and often feel tempted to dip their toes back into the Stucky pool. I don’t know how to tell you this, but if someone tries to shame you for simply enjoying or missing something, they are an asshole. Not to mention that all this is happening on tumble.com—'coolness' doesn't exactly live here. And that is a good thing, to be clear. Fandom is not about being cool. It’s about being as enthusiastic, as silly, as absolutely fucking unhinged about the things you love as you want to be. So, stop caring what other people think and enjoy yourself.

The other thing is that there seems to be a pretty widespread misconception that the Stucky fandom hasn’t produced any good fanworks after 2016.

First, that is patently and demonstrably untrue. There is so much incredibly good fanfiction and fanart still out there. Not as much as back in the day, sure, but it still exists. And more is being posted every day! Even some of the OG Big Names are still around. One of the most beloved Stucky series that started all the way back in 2014 was updated as recently as December of last year. The artist, who I believe the op is referring to as creating ‘baroque’ paintings, posted their latest Stucky art not even two months ago.

Second, I find this “primacy bias” more than just a little insulting to the many hardworking and incredibly talented people who are still putting their blood, sweat, and tears into creating for this community. And it’s one thing if people who have long left the fandom believe or say something like this, but it’s frankly irritating when I see people who are still very much active—and therefore definitely should know better—feed into that same false myth. Yes, it sucks that the Stucky ship isn’t as big as it used to be, but that doesn't mean there isn't any 'fresh talent' to be found anymore. I’m also not saying we shouldn’t still celebrate and recommend older works—I do it all the time! And it sure as hell doesn't mean everyone has to reblog absolutely everything all the time, either. Your blog, your rules.

But maybe we should put a little more focus on the good things, on the creators and the community we have now, especially if we want that community to still exist in another ten years. I mean, imagine you’re a person who’s just gotten into the fandom (because yes, there are indeed still new people discovering Stucky all the time) and one of the first things you’re being told is “eh, nice that you're here, but you’re about 7 years late; the big party is already over.” Does that seem like a fun space to hang out in to you?

So. Let’s all—and I do not exclude myself from this because God knows, I love to complain—spend a little less time mourning the ‘good old days’ that are never coming back anyway, and instead focus our attention on enjoying and appreciating both the incredible treasure chest of an archive we have AND the wealth of high-quality art and fic that is still being created by this wonderful community every single day. With this in mind:

🥳🎊Happy Stucky Week 2023!!! 🎊🥳

*I want to make it very clear that this is a general thing that’s been on my mind lately and that I’m trying to work through here—probably not very coherently. I'm not trying to tell anybody 'how to do fandom' and I’m most definitely not vagueposting about any particular incident, person, or group in this fandom. This isn’t a callout post. It’s an I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this and I don’t know what else do with them post.

[askthegirlbossau]

What is the GBAU?

GBAU stands for Girlboss au, or Girlboss Alternate Universe, a somewhat joke name I started giving to some drawings I made of a female Batman and Superman. It has since evolved into whatever the heck is going on over on my tiktok page (@merymeou), and people tend to have questions that are difficult to answer with the character limit in the comments (I tend to ramble). Hence, this blog.

Anyway, the main difference is that the DC Trinity are all women. Curious? Look around!

Answers will be under #gbauanswer

How to ask a Question (tm)

Just click the ama button! I won’t answer everything but if it strikes my inspiration I def will! If you ask weird or upsetting stuff you will be blocked xoxo

Can I do ___ with the GBAU?

Good news! Whatever your question is, the answer is: probably, yeah sure, go for it.

I don't own the concept of a gender swap, and I encourage you all to make your own versions! Have fun, go crazy!

As for fanart and fanfiction: if you're seeking to create something explicitly set in the world of this AU, it would be so cool if you wanted to credit me, but I only ask that you tag me so I can see it! Every time I see someone make content for this au, I become a little more bonkers. /pos

Why Does This Au Need to Exist? Why are you like this???

Well, short answer, it clearly doesn't. I'm aware that wonderful and in depth characters exist in the media of comics, however I often feel as if female characters are not treated with the respect and seriousness afforded to their male counterparts. As I am not a writer or artist of any comics, this au is my space to play around with the big 'what if': what if DC's most Serious Manlytm heroes were women? Hence the Au. Enjoy my silly little thoughts if you'd like, it's not too serious <3

[talenlee]

Finding Pokemon That Wear Pants

Pokemon are lil guys. They are in many cases, just lil guys. But there are some Pokemon that exist further on the continuum of ‘a weird lil guy’ than other Pokemon. I’ve said in the past that if you found out your server at a fast food store was a Lucario, your reaction wouldn’t be ‘oh gross there’s an animal back there’ but ‘oh hi there lil guy.’

One of the traits of a lil guy versus an animal, though, is that lil guys do things in human ways – tool use, language, cultural practice, but most importantly of course, is wearing pants. Pants are how you represent a character as having some engagement with a greater society at large, which is pretty weird when you consider the nature of pants being gendered. Yes, it is a way in which we accept the Pokemon as being individuals in society, in that they buy into a gendered form of clothing. Wait, where was I?

Clothes! Clothes clothes clothes, fashion, style, these are important things for the identity of Pokemon. After all, Meowth engages in fashion, you Philistine, and Team Rocket’s Meowth is very high on the Lil Guy O Meter. If we assume a Pokemon needs to wear pants to ascend up into Lil Guy Status, then there’s surely a list of ways to investigate that, thanks to the Bulbapedia page of Costumed Pokemon.

(By this metric, Donald Duck isn’t a lil guy.)

Some Pokemon wear ‘stuff’ as part of their normal look. Particularly, Machoke wears a belt and what looks like booty shorts, which is fun because Machoke and Machamp have no gender dimorphism, which suggests that this beast has enough of a sense of modesty to not want something on their crotch exposed, but for all of the Maches, it’s tits out. Similarly, Mandibuzz has a bone in its … hair? Which is either a really weird thing for it to grow naturally or it’s an expression of some kind of aesthetic. Cubone and Marowak wear a skull, according to their pokedex entries (but the skulls of WHOM, we’re never clear on). And what’s more, there are, no doubt, a lot of Pokemon who wear pants in fanart — and whatever’s going on with Lucario is no doubt going to get edited by enthusiastic artists.

(Considering a regional variant of Lucario that has side pockets turning their thighs-that-look-like-shorts into cargos.)

Here is where we find ourselves with a problem about the assumptions of clothes-ness. The assumption for this sake is that unless we see some indication otherwise that the Pokemon’s component elements can be removed or changed, it doesn’t really ‘count’ as clothes because we can’t, for sure, say that it’s not just part of their body. Both Smeargle and Slowking look like they’re wearing hats but we know one of them it’s explicitly a symbiote and the other, we have no reason to believe it’s not part of its body.

Do we have any place where Pokemon wear clothes that are explicitly and obviously actually clothes, not standardised as part of the Pokemon’s design? Well, there’s a few obvious examples, in the form of the cosplay Pikachus from Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire that lets Pikachu take on the form of things like a Luchador or a Rock Star. Pikachu can wear one of a number of hats, as well, and of course, transition her gender. Which is an odd thing to say, but that is literally what it looks like it’s doing. Continuing away from the Pikachu Privilege space, Pokemon Go brings us the Event Pokemon, which includes Squirtles wearing sunglasses, Pikachus wearing hats (god damnit, there they are again), and honestly pretty cute things like Blisseys in flower crowns, but nobody wearing pants. Jigglypuff, Pichu and Pikachu in Smash Bros don some headgear – caps and bandannas and crowns and bows, those are all accessorising. If we’re looking for signs of a Pokemon wearing pants, so far, all thse avenues leave us stuck looking at only Pikachu, and largely, it’s when Pikachu is doing some kind of a costume.

But hang on, what about skirts? The discerning person’s pant? Well, turns out that a whole range of Pokemon wear skirts in the anime! Serena has a Braxien that wears a skirt, and Dawn’s pokemon don skirts not just once, but thrice – and they’re different skirts!

Skirts, clearly, are more important than pants. After all, Pikachu has worn basically one kind of pants, so far and Buneary has worn an ice dancer skirt, a cheerleader skirt, and a maid skirt, which means that Buneary is three times the man Pikachu can be.

Still, the ever expanding leviathan of Pokemon is relentless and in its growth it eventually picked up a MOBA game, which… exists. Pokemon Unite is a game that allows players to buy skins that put ‘holographic’ clothes on their Pokemon, which I find a particularly novel idea because on the one hand, hey, clothes, on the other hand: why are they holograms. The fact they’re holographic clothes kind of underscores the idea that yeah, okay, sure, we’ll put these things in clothes but they’re not going to be clothes clothes. And they’re honestly, pretty sick! They look cool, and they really ramp up the lil guyness of the Pokemon wearing them!

Mostly though?

They don’t add pants.

Obviously at this point I am down a rabbit hole. I started looking into Pokemon clothes because it was interesting and then that led me to ‘pants’ because I thought that Donald Duck joke upstream was pretty good and that then led me here, and now I’m finding myself wondering just why pants are so rare in these kind of character designs. Across all the Pokemon Unite hologram outfits, I tracked about seventy five that I think count as wearing something like ‘pants’ or a skirt. There are some challenging judgement calls here, though; Blissey, Delphox, Hoopa and Tsareena are all built like their design incorporates a skirt, and their outfits don’t change that skirt design, either putting something above or below that, and I don’t know how to make that judgment call.

There are some truly unhinged choices in these designs, though. Originally this started out as a joke to make a sort of spreadsheet of the kinds of things that you can do with a Pokemon’s design but buckle up because now we’re dealing with something truly crackers. I want you to see these things. I want you, the majority of the people in the world who have not and never will play Pokemon Unite that read this blog, to see the way they decided to implement some of these outfits.

Over 378 costumes, about 73 of them introduce something like pants or a skirt to the Pokemon in question. Of those outfits, there are some truly amazing choices, like Absol asking and answering the question ‘if an Absol wore shorts, it would wear them like this.”

Where Pokemon with ‘skirts’ don’t change them with clothes, amazingly, Lucario and Cinderace, who look like they’re wearing shorts, add on extra elements that integrate those shorts, but also have costumes that change the shorts into other kinds of shorts. Which means that this outfit – well, okay, it’s a hologram we know how the outfit does it, but this outfit is basically painting their legs to fit a different aesthetic. Which I guess makes Cinderace a homestuck?

Special shout out here to Greedent, where taking a shirt and applying it to a pokemon that has otherwise entirely benign design of chest fur, somehow makes that fur look like some truly uncontrolled pubes.

I did also find that there’s a point where Mr Mime in Pokemon Unite can wear one outfit that adds shorts, which is somehow more perverse than not wearing them at all.

Alright, what does this tell us?

Absolutely nothing

But in the process I got to show you this picture of a Slowbro wearing gardening clothes, and the Mamoswine sticking its teeth through its hoodie sleeves made for them.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[woahrarepairsagemare]

A STEVE SAGA AU - INTERNET STAR ! ____________________

in this au , different steves get to be internet stars ! they can have huge fanbases that hang onto every word they say ^^ They get halos to represent that they're a star , with a twist ! these halos can have spikes on them . The spikes reference just how much influence a star has over the fanbase ! more spikes equals more influence , the sharper the spikes the more harmful this influence is !

____________________

THE CLASSES -

Fans | Haters | Stars | Celebrities | Managers

____________________

INFO -

FANS -

Fans are the base of all the stars you see ! They do not hold the most power in the ranks but without them , the system would not exist ! They help in boosting the popularity of stars , celebrities , managers , you name it ! They get a set of items that allow them to boost the reputation and popularity of stars , ranging between potions , blades and even sweet treats ^_^ They also have some varieties ! to put it short , there are:

stalker fans- These fans are obsessed with the stars they follow , angering them can result in a career going down hill ! They can change their class to be a hater

normal fans- These fans are , just normal ! Angering them isn't a good decision , but they'll forgive their stars eventually !

hyperfixated fans- These are fans that will love a star's content and create lots of fanart and the likes for them ^^

+ -----------------------------------

HATERS -

haters are the worst ! they will be horrible to any stars that do not please them , they are slightly more powerful that fans in terms of levels and sadly , without them the system would never exist ! they have items with them that help ruin a star's reputation and like fans , they too have a few varieties ^^ This includes:

irrational haters- They are , like I said , the worst . They will do anything they can to make a star's career miserable for no reason ! They will look out for any chance they can to shame a star , even if it had happened years ago and the star has been forgiven for it ~

justified haters-Their hate is actually justified and understandable , so long as they're respectful then they're not too bad ! Just , the star shouldn't be an actual bad person .

critics-I don't think I need to explain , they aren't exactly haters but fall under them .

x ---------------------------------------------------

STARS

They are internet sensations ! They get to have fanbases ! ... and haters , both of which give them a boost and make them somewhere in the middle of the power rank ^^ Many of them hold halos ! As I mentioned , they have spikes on those halos ^^ Depending on their influence , they can have either many or few spikes ! Depending on how harmful that influence is the spikes can also be very sharp or very dull . A part of their halos have a space without spikes which they can use to hold the halo and transform it into a weapon ! This weapon can be used to harm others ( metaphor for damaging their reputation ) or even kill them ! There are also varieties of stars , namely:

Vloggers-This type of star makes videos of themselves and how they live their life !

Artists- This type of star makes art and the processes behind it , they also give out helpful art tips !

Animators- This type of star makes art , and also animates it !

Musician- This star makes music ! Several genres exist but they all end up under musician !

documentarian- This star makes documentaries !

Gameplayist-This star makes gameplays !

*---------------------------------------------------

CELEBRITIES -

They are amongst the best , no seriously , have you seen their fanbase and their base of haters ?! They're huge ! They automatically get really spiky halos with insane sharpness , plus the weapons get extra deadly ! They have the same types as the stars but more extravagant , so I won't dive into that , but they have weapon classes like the stars do !

Whip- Yeouch ! if a celebrity uses this on someone , it immediately kills them and drives them off of the internet ! Easily the deadliest ! It's rare to find one of these !

Gun- Critical ! A quick kill ! The other person's reputation is now over ! It might be slow but it'll be painful , second most powerful in the series ! These are rare as well

Sword- Oh no ! A way to prolong someone's suffering before they eventually leave the internet ? what a monster ! the third most powerful in this series , an uncommon

Grenade-Quite the bomb shell , no ? This is a quick one but it's common , sorry !

A bow- Yeesh ! They won't see that coming ! But they might , cause that's a common , babes !

Oh an a bonus for those celebrities that are more popular than the others , they get their own customized weapons ! awesome , right ?!

? ---------------------------------------------------

MANAGERS-

Oh boy , they're at the top of the hierarchy ! Jesus cheesus , they can ruin your reputation with a single message , no weapon needed ! But if you happen to be a star or celebrity managed by them , they are all you need . There are no classes or divisions , everyone that's a manager has no face nor any defining features on social media ! Quite the enigma .

____________________

Don't tell me you thought that was it ?

Don't you wanna know the characters ?

then stay on with me won't you , yeah ?

____________________

THE MAIN PROTAGONISTS !

1. Reverse :-

Type and Class: A musician star ! specifically a rockstar !

Halo: Not very sharp ! medium-many spikes

items: A guitar , microphone and a spiked scene-type bracelet

Info: Reverse is a happy go lucky type of star who loves making rock music ! He is friends with Rainbow and Dark and makes music not for his fans , but for himself ! The poor chap normally has some self esteem issues but is always confident when around his friends ^^

Stats:

STRESS: [ 23 / 100 ]

CONFIDENCE: [ 56 / 100 ]

DEADLY ?: NOT LIKELY .

2 . Rainbow :-

Type and Class: Retired . No one is sure of what he used to make for content .

Halo: Since he retired , his halo is invisible , however , it is insanely sharp and the spikes literally cover it completely .

Items: A photo album .

Info: not much is known about him or his content as he has wiped all traces of his existence from the internet and goes by an pseudonym as a fan . How ever , his fanbase is still very active and have made countless archives of him . Rainbow is an apathetic and generally monotone guy but shows emotion when he feels the need to , he is friends with many people , Reverse amongst them . He doesn't seem to struggle but clearly hates attention that is focused on him .

Stats:

STRESS: [ 100 / 100 }

CONFIDENCE: [ N / A }

DEADLY ?: [ N / A ]

THE SIDE CHARACTERS !

1. Sage :-

Class and type: Hyperfixated Fan

Halo: None , he's a fan , what did you expect ?

Items: A green potion bottle , envelope ( fanmail written by him ) and a sharpening blade

Info: Sage is a sweet little guy who loves supporting small streamers ! He shares positive relationships with both Reverse and Rainbow , alongside Sanguine , his best friend ! He can help new streamers or stars by boosting them with his potion , his fanmail and also sharpen the spikes on their halo using his blade ! He is really polite and a big fan of Nightmare ^^

Stas:

SANITY: { 83 / 100 ]

CONFIDENCE: [ 65 / 100 }

DEADLY ? : [ NO . ]

2. Sanguine :-

Class and type: Justified Hater

Halo: Again , none .

Items: A dulling blade , a red potion bottle .

Info: Yeesh ! Sanguine 's hate is unadulterated and heated , for good reasons too ! He may seem rowdy and rough but inside he is the most moral person you'll meet ! He'll show nothing but empathy ! He shares positive relations with Sage . If a star is really .. urgh ! Then he can use his dulling blade to dull their spikes , rendering their influence useless ! The red potion is used to weaken a star's influence !

stats:

SANITY: [ 70 / 100 ]

CONFIDENCE: [ 70 / 100 ]

DEADLY ? : [ YES . ]

____________________

THE MAIN ANTAGONISTS .

oh boy .

1 . Nightmare :-

Class and Type: A Celebrity known for his fashion .

Weapon Class: A whip .

Halo: His halo is literally just spikes , nothing else , also they're sharper than a pencil made of tungsten .

Items: A phone , a cutting blade .

Info: Perhaps one of the most famous celebrities you'll see on the internet ! Beloved of all , and hated by all . He does not have any known relations with anyone . He can use his phone to boost his own reputation , his cutting blade to destroy the halos of stars he hates , and his whip to completely drive them off of the internet . He probably likes ruining a fan's day for fun .

Stats:

STRESS: [ 89 / 100 ]

CONFIDENCE: [ 93 / 100 ]

DEADLY ? : [ VERY ]

2 . Dark :-

Class and Type: A documentarian star .

Halo: Not many spikes , but those spikes that are on it are very sharp .

Items: A folder filled with files and a camera .

Info: As a star that makes really interesting documentaries , Dark is really good at keep track of events on the internet and what not ! He shares a friendship with Reverse and a close platonic bond with Nightmare . He can use his folder to bring up information about any stars or any of the horrible things they've done in the past to add a permanent stain to their reputation . He can use the camera to keep a permanent record of another star's actions as blackmail .

Stats:

STRESS: [ 50 / 100 ]

CONFIDENCE: [ 90 / 100 ]

DEADLY ? : [ MOST LIKELY . ]

____________________

THANKS FOR REAIDNG THIS ENTIRE THREAD !! I SPENT 2 DAYS MAKING THIS ^o^ !!

____________________

more to come soon !

[dystopicjumpsuit]

It's so nice to see that other people ship Omera with Din! I didn't realize how small the ship is, but I loved them together. And I keep hoping we'll see her again (a nonsensical hope? probably). Anyway, I am curious, do you have any headcanons or general thoughts about them that you want to share? I've literally never seen people talk about them before

YES. The only other person I know is a Mandomera appreciator is @wings-and-beskar, and I literally screamed out loud when I found out. They would be so perfect together! With their little blended family, on a peaceful world where Grogu could chase frogs to his little heart's content and grow up with all the village kids who adored him. And Din wouldn't have to struggle for every single basic necessity; he could just chill and drink spotchka and be an excellent father to Grogu and Winta and all the other babies he'd inevitably make with Omera. God damn, Cara Dune knew what was up (not her actor, though).

And I agree, I keep hoping beyond reason that we'll see more of Omera, because she's intriguing as hell. Clearly, she has some history, because she is a sharpshooting badass who is excellent in a crisis, while still being warm and kind. I have a mighty need to know her back story, and a sinking feeling that we'll never find out.

Not to mention that their chemistry is absolutely off the charts. To be fair, Din has chemistry with literally every character, but damn. This scene?

Just watching the gif is giving me butterflies. Like. I need a shower from the thots this is generating.

The hands. On the wrists. Oh, my god.

Please, Din. I am begging you. Retire to Sorgan and ride that gorgeous widow into the sunset.

BTW there exists an extraordinarily spicy fanart (caveat emptor: Reddit link; wildly NSFW; minors absolutely DNI) of these two that lives rent free in my head at all times. I think the artist may have deleted their account, but this epic bit of filth lives on in their memory. May their pillow be forever cool.

I would absolutely love to read any headcanons or thoughts you have as well, and if there are any other Mandomera shippers lurking out there, please consider this my official invitation to scream about them with me!

[msbunnat]

thank you for your answer, in any case I was already very excited by your comic and I cannot wait to read more about it!

I honestly cannot understand the people hating on your work. I feel like fandoms has been invaded by a wave of purity/moral policy that shouldn't exist anymore. it's even more wild to me knowing you're working on a greek myth, and the greek myths are KNOWN to have many versions. that's the beauty of them in my opinion, the way these authors all wrote their own versions and they passed them to us. I love the fact you picked Ganimedes, and you decided to explore both Zeus and him. And the mystery you keep about your relationship really makes me wonder which take you will follow!

and speaking of take, I really enjoy yours on Zeus. Gods are complex beings, and sure they're problematic (like duh) and bad, and everything but it's funny how people will decide which pick for who. Like everybody love Poseidon but oh boy, he can be as bad as Zeus people. So yeah, I am actually excited to read the way you're gonna write him! I don't hate Zeus, sure he does seem one of the "worse" when reading most of the myths, but my favorite thing is the way you can love one god in one story, and hate him in another. they're immortal beings. they're not just black and white. so I happen to enjoy when authors write Zeus as more than just a big bad villain. But I also enjoy when they just don't make him a "sweet lovely daddy".

Oh by the way, I didn't know the version of Metis abusing him and I'll have to look into it! We had a more "feminist" vision of her myth in my class, so it's not something that was talked about hmm.

Also, my bad for saying he died. It was a sum up because of him turning into a constellation. I cannot say we studied this myth so unfortunately I don't have sources to help you on it! It's assumed he lives on forever young but the fact he turns into a constellation is why people think he died?

Thanks! I want to post soon, but I'm so tireeed ;w; I prefer to make people wait and do a good job tho.

About the hate... People re affraid (artists have to much power kkkkk) and we live in a time that you need to share your opnion to get validation. In my case, they need to say that Zeus is bad and hate on him and me so they know they re on the rigth side and have good morals. And even after all this, I think its a good thing they just warning people, that way I can get to my real target that can enjoy characters more complex that re not good or evil, but mess up beings (that includes Ganimedes). And even if people in the end critizied my aproach, its also fine, I dont claim to be perfect and just hope that even to the mad ones, they feel inspired to create their version as well. I think they forgot that, like, they can have their version and will be as valid as mine, dosent matter the story.

(I really enjoy everything about Ganymede, if people go and do their versions, its a plus to me! More about him is best for me heheh. I came across two versions of Ganymede on tumblr and I LOVE BOTH!! I really want to do a fanart of the second one, but I'm a lil afraid if they dont want to interact with me, which is fair, but I'm just judging by the dark aproach on the myth, as a horror story).

Thanks for liking my Zeus u.u I'm really more found of him, as I think about his past, but I'm trying not to focus to much on him! He steals the scene to much!!!

About Metis, its not a version, but a interpretation. I'm looking to see if I find a sourse, but anyway, its intresting, since they met when Zeus was still young. And there re some greek myths with female abusers, so... its something.

Oooh! I see. hm... I never see the constelation as a death, so its not clicking with me, but I understand. Any way, I kinda dont like the constelation, for some reason looks wrong to me, but its a valid version and Im totally using the aesthetic kkkk

[citrus-cactus]

Citrus' Art Summary 2024!

I made my own template this year, based on filling in all the squares of a 5x7 grid. Not sure I recommend this method; it was difficult to both place pieces in roughly chronological order and make the layout varied & interesting, and I feel like the final result is too easily divisible into (uneven) quadrants, which I wanted to avoid. Ah well, maybe I'll think up a better system next year! :)

This is a bit of an odd year for an art summary, because while I created something every month and I'm legitimately proud of SO MANY of these, I kind of... stopped publishing my art to the Internet in the latter part of the year. There are various reasons for this. I'm not sure all of them are good, especially given the above statement about being proud of everything I made on the whole. But I'll talk about that beneath the cut, since that's where I usually ruminate about the year. There are also links to full pieces (where they exist) at the very end.

***

First, the positive! I branched out a lot this year (or at least... continued the trends that were starting to form in 2023). I did a lot of uh... darker/more serious art? Which I have enjoyed immensely, though I know it can be a bit of a tone whiplash compared to most of my finished art from past years. I love cute, happy things!! But I have these other dimensions that have long been in need of exercising. My favorite thing that I did is probably the first Bad End Takuma piece from January, which was for Survive Week. I just... really love how it came together. It surprised me every step of the way, and it was full of happy accidents (despite the subject matter! Lol). I still look at it and am like "wow! I made that!!" But I really like October's piece too. It's an illustration for a fanfic I'm (still) working on, and it gives me emotions. Justice for minor characters. Justice for minor characters for 1000 years!!! XD

Besides fanart, I made some other things! I published a secret fanfic (it's absolutely not hard to find if you're willing to do a little searching, but there's no way I'm going to link to it ever! Sorryyyyy! :3). I spent two weeks in Iceland, and somehow that inspired a fair bit of artistic endeavors XD September shows a small sample of a digital collage that includes several photos my spouse and I took (as well as some other stuff. The full piece partially communicates my somewhat-cynical thoughts about being a tourist in Iceland). November shows a drawing from an 8-page zine about hiking the Laugavegur Trail, which was an amazing experience! I also cross-stitched a Christmas ornament for a family member this month! None of these were intended for an Internet audience, but they were all fun and somewhat different to do!

So... yeah, the whole "not sharing art" thing. It started because I was... kind of frustrated with how few notes I felt I was getting compared to how hard I felt I had worked on some of these pieces? Which is... I mean, I know it's silly. More effort =/= more notes, especially since I'm focusing my creative efforts on such tiny little niches of the Digimon fandom (sadly, Appmon and Digimon Survive are just not that popular, especially compared to Adventure!), so any "engagement" on that art is going to be low, because the audience is just not that large to begin with. Plus, activity on Tumblr just seems to be tailing off in general. And I GET that numbers on posts shouldn't matter. I really, super-duper get that! But when something you worked really hard on and are excited to see people respond to only gets a handful of notes... well, it does kind of sting a bit, or makes me feel like I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up about it being received well. And then I end up waiting with baited breath for the usernames associate I with the fandom to react to it. If I don't see them in my notes, does it mean they hate it? Or did they just miss it? It's not something I have any control over, so why does it matter to me?

And it's NOT to say I don't appreciate the notes and comments I DO get. I appreciate them so much!! I just hate knowing that my worth as an artist has become tangled up in this notice-me-senpai attitude I seem to have created for myself. I hate caring about numbers (I know I should not care about them!), and I hate how much I seem to care about numbers. Posting used to bring joy, but now it brings... I don't know, anxiety and entitlement mixed with disappointment, I guess? So I decided to remove it from of my art process. I took a purposeful hiatus from The Numbers and caring about who sees my art to really just create for myself, for the first time in many years... and overall, I think it was a healthy way to hit "reset" on myself and my ego's ravenous desires.

But now... well, I don't exactly know to proceed.

There are things I do want to post, that I want other people to see! But the situation on Tumblr and on the Internet at large really isn't any different, and I'm not sure it's different in my brain, either. Can I continue to not care about The Numbers if I put them back in my life? I hope so, but I'm not certain. On top of that, I'm doing a lot of of art for a different fandom, and I'm still unpacking... well, let's call it what it is: a seemingly unending supply of middle school shame that I feel about Liking This Thing Too Much, which (apparently) never really went away. Yikes! This is a "me" problem, it has ALWAYS been a "me" problem. So that's a fun feeling to have (...not :/). Plus it's just... idk, different fandom, different people, different opinions flying around, I've been away from it for so long, do I really belong here?? But of course I do (even when I feel like I'm being so incredibly cringe... looking at you, August). I bring my own unique viewpoints to all the fandoms that I'm a part of (as does everyone!), and by sharing our ideas and stories and passions, we create our own community and extend the lives of the things we love. I do want to continue to be a part of that, but getting back on that horse is hard for me right now! I took a posting hiatus for health, but it also made me that much more shy. I have been thinking about my Return to Posting Art for months at this point, which again feels silly, because it's so easy to hit "post" on one of the many things I have saved up. I probably will go back to it... I'm just not exactly sure when. Maybe when I have something Digimon-related to share. Digimon is comfortable and safe. It's the only fandom I've felt like I really belong in. Sharing anything else feels... too personal somehow, and also too unknown. All of these have been thorny problems to grapple with, and I'm still working my way through them, carefully and slowly.

So yeah. Phew! If you made it through all that existential angst, you deserve a medal! But I can't give you one, so here are those links to the full pieces that I promised:

JANUARY: Bad End Takuma #1 ("Cooperation")

FEBRUARY: Survive Week Day 5 ("Villains")

MARCH: Dark Ages Gargirls

APRIL: HaruShinkai-Daily 4th Anniversary/100 Follower omake

MAY: Bad End Takuma #2 ("Darkness & Loss")

JUNE: Happy Birthday, Haru! (2024)

JULY: OC drawn on iPad

OCTOBER: “True” fanfic illustration

[derpymule]

Hey, I don't appreciate you saying what I believe without even knowing me. I'm Ancom, I don't believe Capitalism provides anything but starvation wages for anyone except the rich fucks at the top. However I am pointing out that while we are *stuck* in this situation, stealing from another artist, not some corporation but an artist, is kind of shitty and taking what they could possibly need to survive.

By your logic, Disney could take someone's artwork, copy it and make it their own, with no payment, no need to do anything. Said artist could be surviving paycheck to paycheck, barely scraping by, or not even surviving paycheck to paycheck, needing medical/financial help, and they're desperately trying to get commissions in order to get it. But hey it's just art and it didn't *steal* the original, right? So Disney shouldn't have to pay or do anything, right? That artist should just get fucked because they put all that work into something, and someone else came along, scooped it up, and just claimed it as their own. Personally I'd rather corporations like Disney didn't exist, but this is the world we currently exist in.

My counter is this: what exactly has the artist lost in this situation? Their followers will still know they made the work first, so there’s no loss there. People who would have found it will still find it, and if it’s posted online they’ll have proof to show those people that they made it first. It’s not like the copy entirely replaces the original, both exist and the original will remain exactly as popular as it would have been anyway.

But, there’s an added aspect. These days, if a corporation steals fanart or something, they get massively called out. The company takes a reputation hit and the original artist gains a massive following from the publicity the drama produces. This is, unequivocally, a loss for the copier and a win for the original artist, no copyright law needed. Now, why exactly do you think this wouldn’t happen in a world without copyright law? Companies may try to steal works, but they will basically always get called out on it. And even if they didn’t, they’re still introducing a large amount of people to that specific kind of art, people who may very well search for more of the same and find that original artist. And even if only something like 1 in 1000 people do this, those large corporations regularly get 10s-100s of thousands of engagements, which means 10s-100s of people redirected to this artist.

To follow up on that: is this not a huge gain for the community? If it’s art good enough that a large corporation is willing to associate it with themselves, that means it’s art that will enrich many people who see it. This would have been art only a few people saw, but now it will reach several orders of magnitude more people who may be inspired or encouraged. Imagine if the Mona Lisa, or any other incredibly influential work, had been made by a tiny artist with a negligible following. Would it not be far preferable if a larger artist, one capable of corralling a large audience, displayed it among their own work? Would that not be far, far better for the entire art world? Do you not wonder how much work, how many cultural shifts have been lost to time because a small artist was too protective of their work and so it died with them?

I should clarify, this still isn’t optimal. In the best case scenario, big corporations would take fan works and display them, but they would credit the original artist. And I personally believe this would be how it would generally go in a world without copyright law, out of fear of reputation hits if nothing else (it’s not like it costs corporations anything to credit). But my argument here is that even in the worst case scenario, where corporations “steal” art with absolute abandon, there is still no real loss to the original artist, in fact in most cases there is gain, and there is always gain for the wider community. There is literally zero downside to this scenario for anyone but the corporations themselves, who will lose their stranglehold over IP.

[midnightsilver]

Tips for Spn Artists posting on Tumblr 😄👍🏻

I see a lot of new artists posting Spn art and it can be a struggle to get your art out there. Or you might be new to Tumblr and not sure how best to put yourself forward.

I post Spn art and do a lot of bangs when my health permits. And I have picked up some tips that I have found helpful for posting art tumblr 😄 so I thought I would share.

Please feel free to take any of these points or leave them as suits you!

✨Personalise your header and icon. Bots will often make posts with popular tags and stolen art, to try and gain followers before throwing out the spam links, but some clues the account is a bot is not having personalised headers and icons, not having a long history of posts (more than a few days), and not talking about their art or fandom. So make sure you don’t look like a bot 😄

✨Interact with accounts you enjoy. Like, comment and reblog your favourite accounts and they will likely return the favour and you will get more followers. The first way your post gets noticed is by your followers. Interacting isn’t always easy if one is an introvert or doesn’t have much time for social media, but do what you can where you can.

✨If don’t have many followers then the next best thing is to use tags more. People follow key tags to find new posts from blogs they are not aware of. I recommend using the ‘Spn fanart’ tag on all your art posts. Also be sure to include: common ship names, the character names, and key words like: cute, funny, angst, angel, wings, etc 👍🏻 😄 this will help people find your posts, so be sure to tag consistently!

✨Make a personal art tag, it could be ‘your name art’ or something as wacky as you like. But tag all your art with it! If someone sees your art post out in the Spn fanart tags and they like it, they can click your art tag to see the rest of your art posts.

✨Don’t include links to outside webpages unless absolutely necessary. If you are posting for a bang, reblog the bang master post for the story which has the links to ao3, but then make your own art post and only link to the tumblr master post. Tumblr often hides posts with links to outside webpages (so that the porn bots sending you to spam websites get minimised, but unfortunately this also minimises links to ao3 or shops 😔). Links to another post inside of tumblr are ok tho! So to keep your art post from being hidden from searches, only link back to the master tumblr post with the story info. If people want to read the story they can follow the ao3 link from there. But it’s better that they actually get to see your art (the ‘advert’ for the story) in the first place so that they know it exists!

Also keep this info in mind if you are linking to your shop or your other socials. Your direct followers will see your shop posts but because of the external links the post might be hidden from searches. Consider doing a mix of posts with direct shop links and ones that get the info out there but link back to a pinned tumblr post or bio post with the outside link.

✨Don’t crowd your art. Many people view tumblr on mobile so your pictures will look small. People can’t really see the details if you put 2 images side by side. Put one image on each line and consider making some cropped images to show close up details of your favourite bits. You need to catch people as they are quickly scrolling past, so be sure that you make it easy for them to see what you are offering.

✨And finally don’t be afraid to do reblogs. It isn’t rude to reblog your own work, it’s helpful. Dashboards can get very busy and even if people follow you, your post might be burried a long way down if they don’t get back online multiple times a day. Reblogs will give them a chance to see what they missed. As long as you are not posting on the hour every hour, most people appreciate 2 or 3 reblogs at different times to save them having to scrolled back for days! 😄 and don’t forget that tumblr is multinational. Time zone reblogs can be helpful.

✨oh I forgot one more thing! Don’t put yourself down! No piece of art is perfect! Ever! But Michelangelo doesn’t start off by apologising that the statue of David is out of proportion. And neither should you! Let your work shine where it shines and don’t bury it in put-downs before you even give others the chance to enjoy its triumphs! You deserve better and so do they!

Those are the main points my friends. If you have any other helpful tips that you want to share, feel free to reblog this and add on points. We were all new to this hellsite (affectionate) at some point. And life is already hard for us struggling artists so whatever we can do to help each other is a good thing 💛

Stay awesome my friends, and happy Arting 🙌🏼😄