#no no don't thank me

[crownedghostprince]

The Company’s Reaction to Modern Slang Reader

Thorin’s Company and Gender Neutral!Reader.

Fandom: The Hobbit

(Y/N) is a GenZer who fell into the world of Arda, from Tolkien’s books.  More specifically, they fell into ‘The Hobbit’ and landed in Bilbo’s backyard.  After about a year of learning each other’s languages (Y/N) and Bilbo finally understand each other and have an almost sibling-like bond.  Now (Y/N) gets to meet Thorin’s Company one-by-one alongside Bilbo.

Requests: Closed. Requested: no.

Warning(s): None unless you get annoyed by swearing, GenZ slang, ‘90s slang, ‘80s slang or literally any slang from the 20th Century.

Note: Reader knows (and uses) 20th Century and early 2000s slang because of their close relationship to their grandparents, parents and older, Millennial siblings.  (And because of older movies and media let’s be real). And yes this is mostly a crack fic, but enjoy anyway!

Btw if you’d like something similar to this, but in a more headcannon style, let me know and I can do quite a few different variations.

Word Count: 3,620

[Third Person Perspective]

(Original picture found on Pinterest, which then led me to a tumblr post from 2012 by ‘Elrond’s Daughter’ <3)

(Y/N) has now been living with Bilbo for a year and finally understands what half the things he says means.  From his accent to his lingo, he was almost impossible for (Y/N) to understand.  Now if you ask Bilbo, (Y/N) was completely incoherent and said nothing that made sense save “Can I have cookies?” to which he would say “Yes, I’ll join you for tea.” and then they both had tea and cookies.

It took so long for Bilbo to understand (Y/N), so here’s a few past examples of their interactions together before we continue with the story:

♡ ~~~~~~ ♡

“Can I have some giggle water?”  (Y/N) asked randomly one evening.

“Sorry, what?”

“Christ, Bilbo, I’m 18, I’m old enough to drink.”

“I-I’m sorry I understand you’re 18 and old enough to drink alcohol, but what was it you were asking for?”

“Alcohol!  Or wine!  Y’know!  Giggle water!  That’s what my Granny always called it.”  (Y/N) defends, crossing their arms and staring Bilbo down as he pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs.

“Yes, yes, sorry...you can have...that.”

“Hell yeah!  Rock on!  Thanks, man!”

And of course, the more frustrating side of conversing with (Y/N): “Whoa, man, you mean never leave the Shire as in...never?  Like you’ve never once wanted to leave?”  (Y/N) questioned Bilbo one day whilst they were both relaxing and ‘vibing’ in Bilbo’s garden as he had a smoke.

“Well, as a kid I admit I was a bit adventurous and...well I wanted to see the world and the Elves that lived in the trees.  But now, I’m much more grown up and far more mature than that to just go off adventuring.”  He explained, clearing his throat and continuing to make smoke rings in the air.

“Close the shades!”  (Y/N) gasped, startling Bilbo as he suddenly worried about his ‘shades’ which he has come to know means curtains.  “No cap??  Did you say...Elves!?”

“Oh! Uhm, yes I did, I did say that.  Yes, there are Elves that live in Middle Earth, but they’re a long way past Bree.  Uhm, but what about my cap?”  He gestured to the East where the town of Bree sits, before turning back to (Y/N) in confusion.  What did his hat, or cap, have to do with this?

“Damn, bro, that’s lit!  I’ve always wanted to see Elves!  Same as Dwarves!  They’re so cool!  I’d love to chill with them and just hear their stories, y’know?  I think that’d be so cool!  They probably have such cool stories as they live longer than others.”  (Y/N) leaned back and looked up at the sky with a smile and glisten in their eyes.

“Well, yes it would be quite, uhm, ‘cool’, but it’s much more relaxing to just enjoy the comforts of home.”  Bilbo, cleared his throat and went back to his smoke.  It was a beautiful afternoon.  The sun was just slightly warm, not too hot, and the breeze would change between cool or warm every few minutes.  It was very relaxing to also see all the hobbits just going about their days alongside their...

“Ankle biters!”  (Y/N) suddenly exclaimed, jumping up from their seat to chase a couple of young prankster children from their home.  Bilbo - greatly startled and concerned - jumped up as well and watched as (Y/N) chased the little kids back down the road as the children yelled with laughter, tossing away the sticks they previously held to hit the fence with.

Bilbo was used to this now as the kids found it fun to tease their neighbours, but what he wasn’t used to was this new term, ‘ankle biter’?  He sighed and shook his head, sitting back down, waiting for (Y/N) to return so he could ask what that was supposed to mean.  A few minutes later (Y/N) arrived with a big grin on their face and hair completely disheveled.

“Uhm, what does ‘ankle biter’ mean?  Is that an insult or an exclamation?”  Bilbo asked as soon as they sat back down and got comfortable.

“Oh, it’s just what we sometimes refer to children as.  Y’know, because they can reach your ankles and bite you from an early age.”  They explained nonchalantly with a shrug.

“Hm.  When did children start biting people’s ankles?  I’ve never heard of that occurring until now.”  His eyebrows furrowed as he thought as far back as he could, but he couldn’t think of one time that had happened.

“I haven’t a Scooby-Doo, mate, but it’s happened a lot where I’m from, trust me bro.”  (Y/N) stretched, crossing their legs and getting extra comfy in their seat.  Bilbo just sighed.

♡ ~~~~~~ ♡

Now with the past interactions summarized, we can move to the present where Bilbo and (Y/N) finally understand each other perfectly.  And Bilbo is rambling to (Y/N) about his funny visit with Gandalf the Grey.

“Damn, I’m literally so jelly!  That’s so groovy!  Did he have like a pointy hat and a beard and a staff?  Ohh that’d be pretty badass actually!”

“Yes, yes, he had the point grey hat and a grey beard and a nice staff.  I swear, he was quite threatening actually, I almost felt the need to invite him inside for tea to not get on his bad side, but then he started to talk of adventures and what not.”  Bilbo huffed, putting his hands on his hips.

“Adventures??? And you said ‘no’ like a chicken, ey?”  They crossed their arms with a pout.

“I did not, I just...wasn’t too keen on getting killed by an orc or something out there.”  He shuffled from foot to foot a bit nervous, “I did not chicken out.”

“Sure, pal and I’m a magic fairy with glittery wings.”

“If you keep that up I’ll...uhm...”

“You’ll what?  Not offer me any tea?”

“Or! Or any cookies!”  Bilbo crossed his arms and smirked quite proud of himself as (Y/N) began to panic.

“No cookies!?  Fuck man, goddamn I’ll die without them!  My fucking lifeline how could you?!  I’m gonna fucking kill myself, Jesus Christ that’s so rude of you!”  (Y/N) complained and scorned, but Bilbo just ignored it as he started making himself dinner, completely unconcerned by (Y/N)’s dramatic nature.  “You’re cruisin’ for a bruisin’, bruh, I can promise you that!”

Bilbo continued to ignore (Y/N) and make them fish for dinner, even humming to himself a bit to rub it in more.  They just scoffed and stormed off to their room to pout for a few minutes before coming back for the food.  “Well, dinner’s ready.  Eat up and enjoy.”  Bilbo smugly smiled, knowing food win’s them over anytime.

“Yeah, yeah.  It’s no McDonald’s but thanks.”  They huff, pouring the lemon over their nice crispy fish.  Just as they were ready to dig-in and take a bite the doorbell rang.  “Ah, for fuck’s sake, are you for real?  Guests at this hour?  Lame.”  They huffed, standing up with an equally mildly annoyed Bilbo.  They duo marched up to the door and swung it open to see a decently sized man with tattoos on his bald head and a pretty decent beard.  He turned around slowly and introduced himself with a slight bow.

“Dwalin.  At your service.” 

“Uhm, Bilbo Baggins and (Y/N) (L/N)...at yours.”  Bilbo gave a very slight bow back.  Dwalin then walked in without an invitation leaving the duo even more upset.  “Uhm, do we know each other?”  He quickly asked Dwalin.

“No?”  Dwalin answered confidently but also slightly confused.  It was as if the answer was obvious and he barged in anyway.  “Which way, lasso and laddie?  Is it down here?”

“Is-is what down where?”  Bilbo quickly jumped in, leaving (Y/N) to shut the door.

“Supper!  He said there’d be food - and lot’s of it.”  Dwalin answered, tossing his coat to Bilbo before looking around the house a bit.  He had a powerful and demanding voice.

“He’s got some moxie ((courage - 1940s)), doesn’t he?”  (Y/N) chuckled quietly, admiring the man’s confidence.  “I’m still not happy about guests, we’re gonna kick him to the curb though, right?”

“(Y/N) you know we have to be polite to our guests.  We’ll give him a meal, some tea and maybe then he’ll just quietly leave.  I’m not one to be rude to someone, especially a dwarf.  It’s rare enough a dwarf is around these parts.”  He hung the coat up with their help and gave the dwarf ‘Dwalin’ some food...Bilbo’s food.  Bilbo sat at another seat nearby and watched (Y/N) and Dwalin eat their food, (Y/N) still suspicious of their new guest.

“Y’know, most people ask before suddenly rocking up to someone else’s place.”  (Y/N) suddenly spoke after a minute of silence.

“Rocking up?  I haven’t any rocks with me.”  Dwalin furrowed his eyebrows and spoke, mouth full of fish.  “But, very good this.  Anymore?”  He changed the subject, glancing at Bilbo before taking another bite of food.

“What?  Oh! Yes, yes uhm...oh!”  Bilbo stood up and grabbed the plate of bread rolls, nicking one for himself and tucking it away in his robes before setting it down for Dwalin.  Dwalin quickly took a roll from the plate and continued to enjoy his food as Bilbo spoke again.  “Help yourself...it’s just that uhm...I wasn’t expecting..company.”  He explained before the doorbell rang again.

“Oh, for crying out loud!  Another?”  (Y/N) quickly exclaimed, standing up and looking to the front door.

“That’ll be the door.”  Dwalin glanced irritatedly at Bilbo.

“Yeah no shit Sherlock.”  They stormed over to the door with Bilbo quick to join them.  Dwalin sat confused on who ‘Sherlock’ was supposed to be.  Did he not introduce himself?  They took a deep breath in and swung the door open, Bilbo just behind them.

“Balin.  At your service.”  An older, shorter man in his later years with white hair and a beard bowed, both arms out in a friendly greeting.  He had a gentle smile on his face and seemed much nicer than the previous knucklehead.

“Good evening.”  Bilbo nodded, shock on his face at a second dwarf.

“Are you in cahoots with that other guy that just arrived?”  (Y/N) asked the older man a bit skeptically, an eyebrow raised as he met their gaze.

“Uhm, well, yes, yes it is!  Though, I think it might rain later.  Hm?  I’m sorry, lasso I don’t quite know what you mean...am I late?”  He asked walking in, perfectly matching Bilbo’s height.

“Late?  Nah, man you’re chill.  You can stick around if ya want.”  (Y/N) replied with a smile.  ‘Maybe he’ll give the other guy a good talking to.’  They thought, shutting the door behind the nice man as he shook his head and chuckled, walking over to Dwalin.

“Evening, brother.”  Balin greeted Dwalin.  ‘Ah, shit I might’ve just worsened things.’  (Y/N) winced.  They watched the two dwarves greet each other with a quite painful head slam that made both Bilbo and (Y/N) grimace.  The two dwarves remained unfazed, however and began to investigate Bilbo’s pantry for food and wine as their host started on a rant about not knowing the two of them or being comfortable with them being here.  They didn’t seem to be listening, (Y/N) watched in interest as Bilbo continued anyway and finished.

“I’m sorry.”  He stated, holding his hands up for a second and then putting them down.  He cleared his throat and kept eye contact with the older men for a few seconds until Balin spoke up.

“Apology accepted.”  Then they went back to the drinks they were having and Bilbo looked to (Y/N) dumbfounded.  But they just did the typical sibling move and silently laughed at Bilbo, sliding to the floor with their arms clutching their stomach, quietly wheezing and dying.  Until the doorbell rang again.  Bilbo walked past (Y/N) as they slowly composed themselves and stood up.  He opened the door, unexcited about who he’ll meet next.

“Hm.”  He shuffled nervously as (Y/N) joined his side confused about his whimper of surprise and worry.  Then they saw them.

“Fili.”  A blond dwarf just slightly shorter than (Y/N) introduced himself.

“And Kili.”  A brunet ((male spelling of brunette)) dwarf the same height as the blond then introduced himself, looking slightly more nervous.

“At your service.”  They both finished with a bow and a smile.

“Oh, two dishes ((1940s for an attractive person)).”  (Y/N) quietly muttered only loud enough for Bilbo to hear, obviously in shock at the two stunningly gorgeous men.  Bilbo slightly elbowed them.

“You must be Mister Boggins!”  Kili confidently exclaimed.  (Y/N) snickered as Bilbo tried to shut the door on their faces.

“Nope!  You can’t come in, you’ve come to the wrong house!”  Kili easily stopped the door from being shut and pushed it back open, surprising the duo with his hidden strength which he seemed unfazed by.

“What!?  Has it been canceled?”  He asked, looking to Fili who seems to be the oldest of the two being more calm and confident.

“No one told us.”  Fili added, coming to Kili’s side.

“What? No, nothing’s been cancelled.”  Bilbo answered with surprise, about to add ‘nothing was planned’ but he was interrupted by the two dwarves coming in.

“Well that’s a relief.”  Kili grinned and waltzed right in.  Fili then followed in a second later, pulling his weapons off his back.

“Y’all are the cat’s meow, aren’t’cha?”  (Y/N) grinned, instantly crushing on the two gentlemen.  They were quite obviously no longer upset about their interrupted meal times and who could blame them?  “So cash or check?”  ((1920s slang for ‘a kiss now or later?’))  Kili stopped admiring the house for a second and looked to them with confusion.

“Sorry what about a cat and meow?”  He furrowed his eyebrows.

“What’s a cash and check?”  Fili asked from nearby.

“Uhm, nevermind, ‘sup I’m (Y/N).”  They greeted, clearing their throat and avoiding eye-contact.

“It’s lovely to meet you, (Y/N).  This is a nice place you two have got.  Did you do it yourselves?”  Kili then asked as Fili started to unload his mass collection of weapons onto poor Bilbo.

“Uh, no, it’s been in the family for years...”  Bilbo tried to explain as Kili then started wiping his boots on a box, “...That’s my mother’s glory box, could you please not do that?”

“Lol.”  (Y/N) stepped back chuckling.

“Fili!  Kili!”  Dwalin’s voice suddenly rang out as he entered the entryway and dragged Kili with him, “Come on!  Give us a hand!”

“Mister Dwalin!”  Kili grinned excited to see a familiar face.

“Let’s shove this into the hallway, otherwise we’ll never get everyone in.”  Balin told them, gesturing to furniture in the dining room.

“Wha?  Everyone!?  How many more of you are there?”  Bilbo asked annoyedly.

“Whoa, Bilbo, don’t snap your cap. ((to get angry - 1940s))”  (Y/N) stepped over and took the weapons off Bilbo, gently setting the recently sharpened swords and daggers in a safe corner of the room, having no proper spot set up for them.

“I’m calm...totally, completely calm.”  Bilbo reassured (Y/N) as they took the last of the weapons off him and set them down.  “I’m a good host and I’m not at all upset about their being here.”  He fixed up his clothing and cleared his throat - clearly upset.

“Yeah right.  That wasn’t a lie at all.”  They rolled their eyes and watched as the dwarves started moving stuff out of the dining room to make space.  Then the doorbell rang again and Bilbo went off his rocket.

“Oh, no!  No!  No, there’s nobody home!!!”  Bilbo started yelling as he approached the door, fully ignored by the busy dwarves.  “Go away and bother somebody else!!  There’s far too many dwarves in my dining room as is!  I-If this is some...clothead’s idea of a joke!!  HAHA!”  Bilbo rambled, slowly losing his mind as (Y/N) began to help the dwarves with what they could.  “It!  Is in very...poor taste!”  He finished, opening the door and stepping back in surprise as a bunch of dwarves fell onto the floor, one on top of the other.

The dwarves complained and groaned, upset at each other.  Gandalf made his presence known to the hobbit, appearing in the doorway a moment later to Bilbo’s dismay, (Y/N) finally joining them to see the newest guests.

“Holy mackerel this is gonna be a long, busy night.”  They sighed.

♡ ~~~~~~ ♡

As the night went on the dwarves and wizard continued to be confused by (Y/N)’s slang and Bilbo would have to explain it - within reason of course, he wasn’t about to explain what ‘dreamboat’ meant.  “No need to apologize, Ori!”  (Y/N) reassured the younger dwarf when he accidentally bumped into them, “you’re the bee’s knees!”

“I’m the what?”  Ori tilted his head like the cute cinnamon roll he was.

“Does anyone understand this lasso?”  Oin - who was beside them - asked at the loudest possible volume.

“They’re a bit eccentric, but they’re alright.”  Bofur answered with a laugh.

“If you’ve got beef, mate, we can tango.”  They snickered and took a sip of their wine.

“What did you say?  I can’t hear you over the sound of me being better than you.”  Oin snorted sending the whole room into a fit of laughter.

“Yeah okay, nitwit.”  (Y/N) poked their tongue out before immediately joining them in laughter with a cheeky grin on their face.  Bilbo got up after everyone was finished with food and moving around, following them like a helicopter parent.  And soon Bilbo grew tired of it all and started to quietly curse them out until Gandalf intervened.  “My dear, Bilbo, what on earth is the matter?”

“What’s the matter??”  Bilbo repeated incredulously.  He proceeded to rant and ramble about the mess and chaos the dwarves have caused in his house, walking around and gesturing to everything along the way as they weaved between a couple dwarves who moved about.  (Y/N) joined them in the hallway still laughing from a previous joke the dwarves shared, obviously enjoying their company and having the time of their life.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,”  Ori then shyly walked over with his plate in a very polite manner, “but what should I do with my plate?”

“Here, give it to me, Ori.”  Fili came up beside him and took the plate from his hands before tossing it in the direction of the kitchen where Kili only just appeared from.  Kili quickly caught the plate and tossed it into the kitchen to be cleaned up.  This set Bilbo off into panictm mode and he started waving his hands around trying to stop them as a couple more dishes were tossed to Fili from the dining room.

Fili caught them, even doing a couple tricks in the process, before he quickly tossed them over to Kili who did some tricks of his own; all the while they ignored Bilbo’s unnecessary concerns.  The way they were doing it was almost like a beat and had some rhythm to it.  (Y/N) found themselves bobbing along on their heels as the other dwarves followed the beat with their cutlery.

“Can you please not do that?”  Bilbo then turned his attention to the dining room.  “You’ll blunt them!”

“Oooh, you hear that folks?  He says we’ll blunt the knives.”  Bofur snickers as they continue to do their little dancey-dance.

“Blunt the knives and bend the forks!”  Kili starts to sing from outside the kitchen door.

“Smash the bottles and burn the corks!”  Fili sings along, catching a bowl with his shoulder and bouncing it over to the other shoulder before tossing it to Kili.

“Chip the glasses and crack the platess~!!”  The other dwarves start to join in.  “That’s what Bilbo Baggins HATES!”  They laugh and sing, starting up some music as they danced and did the dishes in a dangerous, but fun, way.

“Damn!  Ring-a-ding-ding!!! ((to show having fun during a party - 1930s))”  (Y/N) excitedly laughed to Bilbo; he clearly didn’t share their enthusiasm as the dwarves continued to clean-up and sing and dance, big smiles on their faces and joy in the air.

Eventually though, the fun came to an end as the song wrapped up and everyone finished with a loud “THAT’S WHAT BILBO BAGGINS HATES!” and lots of cheering - especially from (Y/N).  As everyone laughed and cheered they almost missed some knocking at the door.  Everyone went silent and turned their attention to the front door.

“He’s here.”  Gandalf got up from his spot and walked over to the front door with Bilbo and everyone else not far behind.  The door slowly opened to a decently tall dwarf with raven hair and very stylish clothing.

“Gandalf.”  He huffed.  He looked more tired than Bilbo.  “I thought you said this place would be easy to find.  I lost my way...twice.”  He came inside, taking his coat off and glaring at Gandalf.

“Oh shit, another dreamboat.”  (Y/N) gaped.  Thorin raised an eyebrow to them and then to Gandalf, as if demanding an explanation.

“Uhm.”  Gandalf cleared his throat clearly not understanding the comment either, but not wanting to admit it.  “Well, let’s start with the introductions shall we?”

“Damn everyone out here has some serious rizz.”  (Y/N) muttered and took a swig of their drink, quite ready for the much needed introductions.  Bilbo and Gandalf mentally prepared themselves for the long night ahead in dealing with a bunch of stubborn, reckless dwarves and a weirdo from another world.

(The End~ <3)

[mroddmod]

they are like puppies. 2 me

[hansoeii]

we go just right.

[sardonicdoll]

wanted to do my photo project this semester on the notion of mobility aids being extensions of our bodies, the yarn was done by a friend

edit: the shibari comments are one thing but if you put these non-sexual photos of me in my wheelchair on your porn blog i'm blocking you 👍🏻

[erinwantstowrite]

Halloween AU!!!

hey so. i put SOOOOO much effort into this au and for what? at least it ended up looking cool? anyways Halloween is my favorite holiday and i just HAD to make something for them!

i had a LOT of ideas for what everyone would be, but i really wanted to stick to a certain theme cause it's based around Halloween. i knew i had to have a vampire, werewolf, and a witch. cause like... obviously. iconic Halloween stuff!! but i took some liberties with everyone else and i think they turned out pretty cool!!

Jason was originally a fox shifter (which i still love and might draw art for some day) but i went with a bear in the end. is that because i thought about tiny bear cub Jaybin and wanted to cry? yeah. yeah it is. i KNEW Steph was going to be my werewolf though i started doubting myself when i went to draw her. turned out to be my favorite drawing on here which makes sense cause she is my light my love my daughter my will to live and all that jazz

Tim was actually gonna be a harpy but thank god i didn't go for that in the end. Duke was the one that was a bitch and a half trying to figure out BUT!! comments on the post asking what y'all thought led me towards Psychic so THANK YOUUUU everybody that commented!! (specifically those who thought of ghost!! Duke and Tim ended up being a perfect duo in this au)

Babs was pretty easy to figure out what I wanted for her. I read somewhere that they are seen as protectors of forests/ are considered spiritual authority figures and also.... she looks cool as fuck. Did not expect how easy it was to find a ref for a deer in a wheelchair though? I can never find the right hand or face angle reference but that was super easy???

For Bruce there was literally no question he HAD to be human. it's literally so funny that everyone who knows Batman thinks he's a spooky vampire but he's human. his first son, however?????? THAT'S the vampire. I knew Dick had to be a vampire too. A little nod towards that one comic run but in my au nothing bad happens ever 🥰 Damian also being a bat shifter is very on purpose because how funny is it that he's a bat man. Literally not a single person in the League thinks that Bruce is telling the truth about being human. Bruce you are NOT beating the secretly a vampire allegations.

adding in Jay's hilarious joke it's so fucking funny:

Alfred is actually a demon. I CAN NOT remember who made this post so if someone can help me find it, it would be appreciated!! because this was inspired by them!!! but somewhere i saw someone talk about Alfred being a demon that Thomas and Martha made a deal with (i think it was for an au idea?) and I just HAD to put it here. Alfred looks so human and everyone expects it, but he's definitely not. I put the ??? because it's so fucking funny. see if you can spot the 1 hint i put on his drawing that something is amiss!!

Peter is from an alternate dimension still, but it is not a world of creatures like him, it's just the same as LoF canon except Peter grew some extra limbs and eyes. He finds that it's actually pretty easy to fit in with the Waynes. Hard to feel like a freak when a guy can turn into a fucking bear, or your dad is a vampire, and the teenagers in the family are trying to summon ghosts or make potions.

additional doodles for this au:

i am still debating whether i am going to draw something for this au or write a oneshot, but i DO want to do something with these for Halloween

[barghest-land]

your stitches are good, but not the best - your hands are twitching to the beat of your heart. but they're going to be perfect soon, whether you want them to be or not.

[evilgoodguys]

try to forget.

[egophiliac]

just kinda wanted to try something like this! not sure if I'm gonna do the rest of the guys too, but I figured I'd at least start with Riddle. 🌹

[unforth]

Gentle reminder that very little fandom labor is automated, because I think people forget that a lot.

That blog with a tagging system you love? A person curates those tags by hand.

That rec blog with a great organization scheme and pretty graphics? Someone designed and implemented that organization scheme and made those graphics.

That network that posts a cool variety of stuff? People track down all that variety and queue it by hand, and other people made all the individual pieces.

That post with umpteen links to helpful resources, and information about them? Someone gathered those links, researched the sources, wrote up the information about them.

That graphic about fandom statistics? Someone compiled those statistics, analyzed them, organized them, figured out a useful way to convey the information to others, and made the post.

That event that you think looks neat? Someone wrote the rules, created the blogs and Discords, designed the graphics, did their best to promo the event so it'd succeed.

None of this was done automatically. None of it just appears whole out of the internet ether.

I think everyone realizes that fic writing and fanart creation are work, and at least some folks have got it through their heads that gif creation and graphics and moodboards take effort, and meta is usually respected for the effort that goes into it, at least as far as I've seen, but I feel like a lot of people don't really get how much labor goes into curation, too.

If people are creating resources, curating content, organizing the creations of others, gathering information, and doing other fandom activities that aren't necessarily the direct action of creation, they're doing a lot of fandom labor, and it's often largely unrecognized.

Celebrate fan work!

To folks doing this kind of labor: I see you, and I thank you. You are the backbones of our fandoms and I love you.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Happy one year anniversary to In Stars and Time!

[solroskajan]

:D

[salamispots]

dream wip

[inkskinned]

at some point it's just like. do they even fucking like the thing they're asking AI to make? "oh we'll just use AI for all the scripts" "we'll just use AI for art" "no worries AI can write this book" "oh, AI could easily design this"

like... it's so clear they've never stood in the middle of an art museum and felt like crying, looking at a piece that somehow cuts into your marrow even though the artist and you are separated by space and time. they've never looked at a poem - once, twice, three times - just because the words feel like a fired gun, something too-close, clanging behind your eyes. they've never gotten to the end of the movie and had to arrive, blinking, back into their body, laughing a little because they were holding their breath without realizing.

"oh AI can mimic style" "AI can mimic emotion" "AI can mimic you and your job is almost gone, kid."

... how do i explain to you - you can make AI that does a perfect job of imitating me. you could disseminate it through the entire world and make so much money, using my works and my ideas and my everything.

and i'd still keep writing.

i don't know there's a word for it. in high school, we become aware that the way we feel about our artform is a cliche - it's like breathing. over and over, artists all feel the same thing. "i write because i need to" and "my music is how i speak" and "i make art because it's either that or i stop existing." it is such a common experience, the violence and immediacy we mean behind it is like breathing to me - comes out like a useless understatement. it's a cliche because we all feel it, not because the experience isn't actually persistent. so many of us have this ... fluttering urgency behind our ribs.

i'm not doing it for the money. for a star on the ground in some city i've never visited. i am doing it because when i was seven i started taking notebooks with me on walks. i am doing it because in second grade i wrote a poem and stood up in front of my whole class to read it out while i shook with nerves. i am doing it because i spent high school scribbling all my feelings down. i am doing it for the 16 year old me and the 18 year old me and the today-me, how we can never put the pen down. you can take me down to a subatomic layer, eviscerate me - and never find the source of it; it is of me. when i was 19 i named this blog inkskinned because i was dramatic and lonely and it felt like the only thing that was actually permanently-true about me was that this is what is inside of me, that the words come up over everything, coat everything, bloom their little twilight arias into every nook and corner and alley

"we're gonna replace you". that is okay. you think that i am writing to fill a space. that someone said JOB OPENING: Writer Needed, and i wrote to answer. you think one raindrop replaces another, and i think they're both just falling. you think art has a place, that is simply arrives on walls when it is needed, that is only ever on demand, perfect, easily requested. you see "audience spending" and "marketability" and "multi-line merch opportunity"

and i see a kid drowning. i am writing to make her a boat. i am writing because what used to be a river raft has long become a fully-rigged ship. i am writing because you can fucking rip this out of my cold dead clammy hands and i will still come back as a ghost and i will still be penning poems about it.

it isn't even love. the word we use the most i think is "passion". devotion, obsession, necessity. my favorite little fact about the magic of artists - "abracadabra" means i create as i speak. we make because it sluices out of us. because we look down and our hands are somehow already busy. because it was the first thing we knew and it is our backbone and heartbreak and everything. because we have given up well-paying jobs and a "real life" and the approval of our parents. we create because - the cliche again. it's like breathing. we create because we must.

you create because you're greedy.

[andiv3r]

"If you could have any superpower, what w-"

Shapeshifting. Shapeshifting shapeshifting shapeshifting. I'm a transgender therian, what the fuck did you think I would pick.

[tpup]

homeless and so fucking scared lol

[barghest-land]

drawings from paleo expedition to dagestan, done right on the trip. sometimes messy when it was cold and rainy, but i won't correct it. i think it's cool to leave it just the way it was done, and not retouch it after. there will be more drawings later, but those will be done from home