#orf.essay

[daily-pat]

Statement below. Please read it. I know people tend to ignore it, but I promise you, I am speaking to you all, and to beyond what we are, and where.

I will be fully honest, I did not want to post today. Coupled with a rough day and the statements Matt H. made over fanart, I honestly felt discouraged to even pick up the pen and open Photoshop. As someone who's main focus in my personal art is about fanart, and about this blog, I felt a kind of burdened disrespect towards that tweet. Silly, I know, but unfortunately in this day and age, I have felt a need to defend art against the jaws of capitalism as someone entering the professional industry. Nowadays, it seems as if you either let adversary consume you or you push vehemently against it. I know I am not alone in these feelings. Art has always been a counterculture to what modernism expects out of all of us. Instead of moving towards progress, art is inherently now developed to capture the present. Some good philosophy for ya. To the notion that fanart has ruined this fandom's perception of the character, I say screw that statement. Fandom culture has always been a part of modern entertainment. It serves as a way to connect, to expand ideas on canon, tinker and explore with what can be done with a universe, not just taken from it. But more importantly, it keeps fandoms alive. Do you think we would not be here if it were not for the floods of fanart that persisted after The End? The art that captured the livelihood at the time, the expansion of this world that people desperately hoped for. For four years. Would there still be fans without fanart? No one can say for sure, but I believe there would at least be less of us. We kept up hype and supported the show until it could return, only to be spat on by someone who seems hellbent on snuffing out the passionate spark of the fandom. We are not blameless. We are flawed, we are looked down upon. Every person I have mentioned Eddsworld to has looked at me with at least confusion or at most shock. And fanart, too, has not always been perfect. But to scorn it and to scorn headcanons? What do fans mean to you? People who create a community with you and each other? Or people who line your pocket? Fanart is not just an aspect of this fandom, it is one of its major pillars. So to this I say, I will remove myself from canon however much I like. I will take my fanart and make it into art. You can not separate my fanart from my fine arts training. So pardon me when I will never look how you expect. How I make representation where it isn't. Where I find themes darker than canon. To my intended audience, one who will never read this statement, for it not be one posted to twitter or to reddit where I have seen him fight constructive or lighthearted criticism, I will forever and always be, like the rest of the fandom, making more fanart than actual art. To my audience here, make the art you want. Do not deny yourself happiness simply because the world creates rules upon what you should or shouldn't make. To creative freedom.

- Orfisheus

[orfisheus]

An elaborate thoughtpiece on the recent state of EW

With the recent Youtooz announcement, I've been having a lot of thoughts regarding Eddsworld and the rumors about them returning Tord back to EW canon, so consider this a dump?? (For clarity's sake, the IRL people will be referred with their name and last initial. :])

I'd like to preface this by stating that I wouldn't mind the character coming back, as long as there's consent with Tord L. I'd assume that they would do this with the full intent of respecting his boundaries, so I'll give that the benefit of the doubt.

My issue, however, comes with HOW they're doing it. We are all aware that they've been teasing the episode, first with their post teasing their scriptwriting, and then Matt H. on Twitter confirming something big is coming with whatever they're working on next. Along with the YouTooz release and the removal of the Tord FAQ, it's very likely that this is what they're teasing. And yeah, that's fairly big news. The return of a fan favorite character who had a major impact on the plot? That would shift the current trajectory of their presentation and of the fandom. But, in regards to the fandom, they're aware he's a fan favorite. Want a quick buck? Be it for a charity or for themselves, he's the perfect tool to weaponize. Especially with a prevalent neurodivergent population in the fandom, he's especially easy to use. These fans will be dedicated, and they will buy it. I've seen multiple people say that they would for this sole reason. In no way is this a jab at any neurodivergent folks. I hope y'all enjoy your figurine. I would too. However, it ties into my next point. The dedicated fanbase that Eddsworld has isn't all too dedicated to the actual episodes. Look at content creators on tumblr. A majority have created their own elaborate AUs or headcanons so estranged from the own canon that the real canon holds little value. As each episode comes out, it will gain minute traction, only to swiftly be buried in the sea of fan-derivative content. I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't aware of this. In their comment sections on Instagram, oftentimes people will post GIFS of older episodes. Nothing to say about current content. Just GIFs. There's no drive for people to consume this media outside of their already preestablished footholds. So, how can people say something? How to bring in the quiet masses? Give them what they want. Give them Tord.

I made a theory a few days back with my friends. If a piece of media's lore has people begging for more, you'll likely see more AUs, more explorations of the characters outside of canon. I've seen this frequently when shows were coming out. The Owl House, for example, had budding fan theories and prevalent fan works and creators, such as moringmark, who played with fan theories as the show came out, exploring the potential the narrative had. However, by the time it ended, and the story was satisfactorily brought to its conclusion, this content diminished. Audience members felt fulfilled. When people aren't fulfilled, they ask for more. They make more. In this vein lies Miraculous Ladybug, a show known for egregious writing, to the point where content creators have basically transformed the entire show, disregarding a lot of the lore and establishing their own. Unfortuantely, with Eddsworld's current trajectory, the trend of AUs and headcanons feels more aligned with the latter rather than the former.

Another issue that's been plaguing my mind is narratively how his return would work. From the fandom, I've seen a few conflicting perspectives. Some people enjoy him as a villain/antagonist, whilst others prefer him as a member of the main crew. It would be impossible to satisfy both sides. Do they regard The End or not? And if so, how would they treat his facial scars and potential amputation? Ableism has been a plaguing issue in this fandom, and it makes me weary to see it potentially play out in the biggest form of media that Eddsworld uses. And I don't think people would be 100% okay if it was ignored, either. It's an extremely strange gray area where, no matter what, the consequence will be that someone will end up disappointed. To pull it off, they'd need a much more stable foundation and reputation. By the way the last few episodes have gone, I'm not too confident that they do.

After all, they've used this big episode so far to address a few criticisms I've seen for previous episodes. Aside from Tord's presence, they've teased the episode, which many had previously criticized Matt H. for his lack of transparency with the fandom upon production. The same goes with making it a sort of big episode. Beyond's episodes so far have been tamer and less narratively focused in comparison to later Classic and Legacy. That isn't a bad thing, but it's a major tonal shift that has felt awkward. Going back suddenly to the old formulas of narrative also feels a bit strange. The new narrative hasn't had success, sure, but every new creator will always have things to improve upon. Using what made Classic and Legacy successful in an era more focused on simpler narratives makes it seem like the showrunners don't know how to run in their own shoes, so they need to use someone else's to be successful. Here's the thing, you don't gain merit from being derivative, you gain it from making your own stuff work. Beyond wants to focus more on comedy than storytelling? That's great! That's what I've felt like those episodes were focusing on. Improving in that department will help overall. But changing something entirely because it wasn't working feels less confident, less focused on growth, and more on personal achievement. Especially when they have to use a fan-favorite character to get there. They couldn't make it on their own, so use what they know the people love.

I was discussing a book in one of my classes earlier, White Noise, when my teacher brought up how he wants us to constantly be aware of our society after reading this book, and how consumer culture greatly impacts our day to day lives. That's what the author wanted his readers to get out of it. Awareness. Every good work comes with a goal. What is Eddsworld Beyond's goal? What do they get out of bringing Tord back?

To me, it's the epitome of the current state of the entertainment industry. In Hollywood, where the animation corporations don't trust risk or exploration, they remake the old movies or produce soulless sequels. Kung Fu Panda 4, Megamind's sequel, every single live action Disney remake. And yet movies that take risks, like Strange World, no matter the quality, are shoved aside with little marketing. Cash grabs are easy ways to garner attention. They ensure profit. But they never garner the same soul as the original. To me, at least, the showrunners feel less confident in their own works because they've garnered little success from the 3 major episodes they've released so far, not including the shorts. Compared to Legacy and Classic, current Eddsworld has had nothing to say and very little gains from it. Legacy is a bit of a stretch for a standard, but it is a standard previously set by the show. This inflation is something so hard to achieve when a majority of fans have moved on, so I can't entirely blame them for potentially wanting to achieve this same success. It's just an empty way to do it.

I want to see this show succeed. I have a lot of love for it. I know there's a lot of love being put into it by the crew, and in no way do I want this to discredit their work. I see it as a current work in progress that's working out its kinks to reach its true potential. I just don't believe using the character of Tord is the right way to improve and garner traction. This is more of a critique on the writing and overall direction. Please understand this. I hope that, in the future, stuff starts going right for Beyond. Someday it'll succeed. But potentially using, for the lack of a better word, cheap tricks in order to obtain this is not the way to go as a creator.

Feel free to share your own thoughts. I'd love to hear what y'all have to say. And feel free to give helpful critiques as well! I'd love to make more elaborate writing pieces like this, so anything helps! Thank you, and farewell.

[orfisheus]

GUESS WHO WAS RIGHT.