#otw? somebody?? ANYBODY???

[numbuhbee]

Please please please fanfiction.net don’t be completely fucked PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

[jupitermoontarot24]

Hi guys !!! Just a quick reading for the weekend!!!! more juicy stuff otw 💗 ENJOY

CATCH ME ON PATREON FOR MORE EXCLUSIVE READINGS :)

piles 1-5

Pile 1

Okay so first off I want to say you have a lot of support around you. this could be physical support but also spiritual support. I feel like you're at a period where your spirit guys are hoping you and real physical 3D as well as the astral plane. but you have Goons like if anybody messes with you they get immediate Karma I feel like also you get immediate Good Karma. So if anyone has wronged you they can be getting Karma this weekend or just in general they can be getting there from. I feel like dressing a lot better this weekend, you might get some clothes, you might buy some stuff for your house or your room. Yeah you have definitely reached Queen / King status so you're basically untouchable. I don't think this has anything to do with the weekend is just the overall energy of you. yeah you're in this nine of Cups nine of Pentacles energy. I feel like you also have a lot of options and love so you might get approached this weekend physically or online.  get for some people you could go on a date that could lead to some sexy time. This could be somebody you went to school with doesn't have to be but it could be somebody from your past or it could be somebody new. a horn beeped outside as soon as I said new so for a lot of people this will be a new person. Yes so for you this weekend all the people that have done you wrong or have passed any type of false judgment on you is getting their karma and you're getting good karma. so you'll be being handed stuff energetically and physically because the will has turned in your favor. so you could be going towards unionship this weekend, you will be getting messaged by different suitors just refilling your cup. Yeah cuz I feel like Spirit was watching the whole time and now they're like okay it's time for us to rule in the right person's favor. Overall you have a good weekend but I think this is just the reality of your life now so you just have really good support and fun. The wheel has officially turned in your favor

David Correy - Body Language

Pile 2

So you could be entering in your fairy tale ERA this weekend. so if you were dealing with an ex you could be meeting a real lover. it's kind of reminds me of pile 1 so you could have broken up with somebody or been single and you have now met someone else. this person could be your type, they good know how to work you if you know what I mean. I think it'll be really sexy too this person is rough around the edges and a good way. but they're definitely not Square or too soft, they have a very healed masculinity, take it how it resonates. Definitely read the previous pile because this could be the person you're coming into Union with. ooh and you guys could have a very adventurous night if you know what I mean. this person could have someone and I'm not going to say that they cheat but they might leave their person for you. both you guys can have options so maybe the both of you guys are talking to people casually maybe they have somebody a little bit more seriously but it doesn't matter because you guys are meant to be in Union together. yeah it's almost like Obsession upon the first link so it doesn't really matter if you were in a relationship or this person is going to happen regardless. so this person could message you, they can pop up on you but they definitely want to planning date or you guys will have a date. So it seems like if you do get with this person it's going to be very Serene and peaceful and like a fairy tale. this might be an artist of some type, finger, writer, painter. but something will definitely be changing within yourself you're definitely going to be switching timelines this weekend yeah and by you switching timelines is going to bring you to this 10 of Pentacles instead of nine. and it's going to lead you to a King. This person could have been waiting to come and see you maybe because you had so many options or something. but you definitely switch timelines and you jump into this fairy tale so fast and easy. it's like an instant.Yes like you guys can't deny each other anymore or something happens as to where they come forward. and confess their feelings. 

Chxrry22 - The Falls (Official Music Video)

Ambré - I’m Baby ft. Jvck James

Pile 3

So for you I feel like your weekend forecast involves you hanging out with one of your friends. but it's some good news is being shared so you can have really good news, if you're coming from another pile the good news could be you're coming into Union with a partner a soulmate. for some people you could be getting back with an ex  but a good x. you know who this person is so whoever popped in your mind when you thought about it, this could be a twin flame but definitely a soul man. yeah this person could message you or this could be somebody completely new. but they definitely want to have a conversation so I feel like you'll be letting your friend or  family member no. but it almost gives me like tea party Vibes so getting together and talking and being excited. There could be different emotions going on. Because of this Union you might have other suitors coming in because they feel this energetically so you might get a lot of confessions or just confessions from people who actually match your frequency. a queen of Cups could confess to you as well this weekend. yeah cuz they might see that y'all are in Union and that puts them and the energy of a race. yeah because this person will feel some type of way about it but the way they go about it is not just being sad if anything they're going to fight for you and tell you how they feel so this person will probably message you as well because they're obsessed with you and they will probably waiting outside with this person. Read pile 2 lol 

Diddy - Dirty Money - Yesterday ft. Chris Brown

Kodie Shane - Too Deep (Official Visualizer)

Pile 4

So for your weekend work as you can have somebody calling you at night. at nighttttttt SpongeBob voice lol.Someone can wake up out their sleep and call you, somebody can have a dream about you and wake up and call you. but it's specifically calling so they probably want to hear your voice it's something that triggers this person to want to speak to you physically. this could be a twin flame because they might feel your energy and they want to call you or maybe they have a dream about you something. Yeah maybe you astral project to this person or they pull you into their dreams but either way I would like to think they have a very Vivid dream about you and it's only about you and it makes them wake up and call you. maybe even in the dream they're getting told to call you and they're waking state. This person probably watches you on social media watches videos of you stuff like that. but this person could dream about like the whole time they've known you so this is somebody from your past especially it's one flame they dream of when they first met you to now almost like their life flashing before their eyes with you they probably even dream of the future too. so this person could dream of when I first met you to you guys being married and having children and stuff. if not that I think this person dreams of the first time they met you up until you guys having a physical Union in real life. so when they wake up they're like I need to have physical Union right now because I just dreamed of it and I seen how it played out. this person could have smoked or got drunk before they went to sleep and that's why it was so vivid or something. but this person definitely they might they don't have your number they might call you through I want to say FaceTime, facebook, Instagram something. I just felt real Dizzy soon as I said that so this person might start drinking right now I am doing this on a Friday so they can call you Friday night. Yeah you definitely have some history with the person so if you guys haven't been seeing other eye they want to fix it. 

Chxrry22 - Favorite Girl (Lyric Video) ft. Offset

YK Osiris - They Don't Love You

Pile 5

This reminds me of pile 4 so read that pile first lol. I feel like you will be haunting a lot of people this weekend. you can be Astro traveling to a lot of people and their waking state, and their dreams, and any nap they take you'll be there. You also could be leaving a unwanted timeline you'll be timeline jumping as you Astro travel so anything that you wanted to leave behind you have. but you're going to be invading everybody's mind. somebody could also be calling you while you're with somebody, a lot of people could be hitting you up while you're with somebody specific because everybody is going to be thinking about you. you'll definitely be put on a pedestal especially when it comes to Communications so a lot of people going to feel like they have something to say to you and they want you to hear it. so it's going to be a lot of physical calls or people trying to physically see you because they don't want to be ignored. this could have already been happening you you might notice that people have been texting you out the blue, exes have been texting you out the blue I feel like it's mostly because Mercury retrograde is over. Yeah people could be coming from the club and calling you, you could be on different time zones with people and they're calling you a different times. yeah you have a lot of suitors trying to come in and talk to you. So I feel like your forecast for the weekend will be you trying to juggle all this communication but really just go with your heart and the most stable opportunity. Could be a king of Cups involved 

Dub P - Somebody Loves You feat. Corryna (Official Music Video)

Dub P - My Love (Official Video)

[pearwaldorf]

we need to talk about Rahaeli

This is slightly tangential to the dumpster fire that is OTW, but it is something I think is important to also take into consideration.

If you're following the comments on the OTW announcement posts, you may have seen reference to Rahaeli (Twitter) aka synedochic (DW) aka Denise. She is a co-founder of Dreamwidth, where FFA is hosted.

Denise is a Fandom Elder, in both the descriptive and derogatory senses of the term. She's been around forever, since the pre-Livejournal days. She has no hesitations about throwing around that Fandom Elder status, in the same way somebody like Franzeska or astolat or anybody else in the clique that founded OTW would.

Perspective from older fans is absolutely valuable, I want to emphasize. You want people who were there to explain why we are concerned about restrictions on explicit/queer/legal but "morally objectionable" fanwork, or how younger fans embrace purity rhetoric. But it's different the way Fandom Elders wield it, the implicit assumption that because they are older and have Seen Some Shit, they automatically have some sort of wisdom to transmit to the young'uns.

Denise knows a great deal about social media moderation, anti-harassment measures, and the legal obligations surrounding the discovery of CSEM/CSAM* on sites you're responsible for administrating. That expertise is extremely valuable when explaining to people why/how everything with OTW is very very concerning.

She also knows fandom very well, and exactly how to calibrate her words to push buttons. I remember her meltdown about Cohost, another social media site that looked like a viable competitor to Dreamwidth at the time. Here is a summary of it I wrote at the time.

I'd like to get into criticism of the part of that Twitter thread where she throws a random non-sequitur into an already extremely long thread. (I know this is already a long post, please bear with me.)

At this point, she's gone on about OTW, their gross neglect of volunteers, Rebecca Tushnet, and a bunch of other stuff for like three or four screens. They are all things we should rightly be appalled by, so we're on her side for saying things that need to be said. We are probably also getting a little tired and not reading things as closely as we should. I think this is absolutely deliberate.

She then pivots the thread to EndOTWRacism (hereafter EOR) with what seems like an offhand comment about how she doesn't agree with their goals. She wrongly characterizes the end goal of EOR's campaign as a desire to moderate fic on AO3. This is patently false and is explicitly stated on their call for action under What Do We Want. They want AO3 to come up with anti-harassment policies and content policies for abusive and racist fics (what some people would characterize as troll fics), which are clearly written to degrade and harm fans of color**. We are not talking about fics with bigoted stereotypes or racist characterization.

EOR links heavily to work by Stitchmediamix, a well-known and outspoken Black anti-racist advocate in fandom. They write a column about race and fandom for Teen Vogue, and have been the target of incredible amounts of harassment. Denise thinks it's biased and kinda weird EOR does this.

The reason EOR relies so heavily on Stitch's work (and that of Dr. Rukmini Pande) is because very few people actually write about this stuff. It's horrible, thankless work that doesn't get you good attention but needs to be discussed anyways. (Acafandom, such as that which gets published in OTW's journal Transformative Works and Cultures, is racist as fuck, but that's a whole other topic.)

Here we see yet another impossible standard white fans are never held to, the one where non-white (but especially Black) fans must be ideologically pure with no lapses in temper or frustration. Whomst among us would be able to respond with perfect grace every single time they were set upon by racist mobs?

We depart from the Twitter thread here because Denise has made a statement on Dreamwidth about why she included all the stuff about Stitch when she was making a critique of EOR. The summary of the post is basically "A bunch of people told me stuff, I saw screenshots, but I won't even share redacted ones, so just trust me OK?"

I don't know Stitch (we have corresponded exactly once) or follow their work***, but I feel like if there were actual evidence they send harassment towards other fans surely it would have come up on FFA by now. The nonnies don't like them over there, and I suspect anything that proves they have actually done anything of the sort would be like throwing chum to piranhas.

Probably the most galling bit of Denise's post is this:

Under no circumstances should anyone use my writing, my own arguments, or my repetition of the concerns of the fans of color who have reached out to me, as an excuse to engage in racist harassment of Stitch or of anyone involved in the EndOTWRacism protest.

She knows exactly what she's doing. It's like dangling a steak in front of a hungry dog and telling it "Please don't lunge towards it because I'm telling you not to."

The second most galling bit is the way she, a white woman with a great deal of institutional power, justfies pointing even more racist harassment towards a Black fan known for continued anti-racist activism even though it makes their life hell and calls it solidarity.

Fuck that noise. As Dr. Pande says, there are many ways to discuss incidents like this without identifying individuals. Denise could have posted a person's account, in their own words, of their harassment experience. Even in an attempt to demonstrate faux solidarity she denies POC fans a voice.

I am glad Denise can contribute her technical and legal expertise to explaining precisely how the OTW has been negligent in their responsibilities to their volunteers and how they are noncompliant with important laws regarding extremely harmful material. I regret she has undermined this important work with unnecessary detours into racism and incitement of harassment.

I am extremely angry about having to make this post. It's another pile of shit on top of an already giant dumpster fire. But apparently upholding racism and white supremacy is still something people in fandom are going to do, even as an important organization within it burns down around our ears.

--

*There is a difference (cw: duh) between the terms! I did not know this until yesterday.

**I'm not getting into definitions or hair-splitting about this because it's not the point of this post.

***If you are interested in actually reading Stitch's work, here is a great place to start.

[beatrice-otter]

OTW Board Meeting Problems--the Pre-Meeting Conflict

A lot of people showed up to the OTW board meeting today (several times the attendance they've ever had) and they were not prepared. A number of people have writeups, here's one with links to other writeups. I'm actually not writing about the meeting itself but about the problems the day before (Saturday) in the Help channel of that server, the content of which has since been deleted. (Regular deletion of that channel is a pre-existing policy which was stated in the channel header beforehand, this is not something they decided after-the-fact. That channel is (supposed to be) for quick technical questions only.) Here's my memory of what happened. I don't remember names. A user asked if they could add the Pluralkit bot to the server as an accessibility tool. Pluralkit is a Discord bot that makes it easier for users who are systems to show which person in their system is speaking at any given time. Someone else objected because you can't block people with Pluralkit, and they need the ability to block for their own mental health. Someone official (I forget who) said that they wouldn't be adding Pluralkit because it evades blocks, and asked if there was any other bot or process that would provide the same functionality while still leaving the user blockable. At this point, I shifted my attention to another server that has people who are systems, and asked if anybody could recommend an alternative to Pluralkit. Nobody had an alternative that worked better, and also explained why Pluralkit doesn't allow people to be blocked. Messages posted using Pluralkit are not, from a backend point of view, posted by your account; they are posted using other forms of metadata called webhooks. Therefore, if someone blocks your account/username, it does not block any message you (or any member of your system) sends using Pluralkit because Discord's back end doesn't know it's from your account. Because of this, anyone using Pluralkit cannot be blocked by anyone for any reason. This is a problem for both moderating and for other users, some of whom need the ability to block people for their own mental health. (For example, if you have idiosyncratic triggers and don't want to have to explain your trauma to get people to spoiler mention of things that nobody but you would ever think of as a trigger--it's easier just to block people who talk about that a lot than to explain things.) After getting this explanation and talking about some other stuff, I went back to the OTW channel and found that there had been a LOT of discussion on the issue in the meantime, some heated and some not. There were several people, for example, who misunderstood the problem, and thought that Pluralkit allowed bad-faith users to evade blocks, and argued that since bad-faith users can use a lot of other tools (such as making new accounts) to evade blocks, that Pluralkit should not be singled out like that. (In fact, a Pluralkit user does not need to evade blocks; even the best faith Pluralkit user can't be blocked, because of the way it works.) There were reciprocal accusations of ableism from both the people asking for pluralkit and the people who need the ability to block for their own mental health. But things didn't go down the toilet until somebody showed up and started making really nasty and dismissive comments about systems and people with dissociative identity disorder, accusing them of faking it and being liars. At which point a lot of people got mad at that person for good reason. There was no moderation at any point. Presumably this is because the server is only used for board meetings and few people show up for those and they aren't used to needing moderators, especially not on days when there is no board meeting. And despite the time and place of the meeting being advertised by several different people with lots of reach in fandom (which I've never seen happen before), nobody in the organization thought to try and prepare for an influx of people either ahead of time or on the day of. On the one hand, I can't blame them, because they've never had a turnout like this in the history of the organization, and it's really hard to prepare for something unprecedented. On the other hand, it's an unfortunate failure, because some people got hurt and a lot of people got even more upset than they were to begin with.

comments Comment? https://ift.tt/hYdC6pa

[destroyscythe-heck]

No. The top level of the organization who were fandom friends back in the livejournal days and they are absolutely terrified of anybody who wants to change anything about the culture to be different from the livejournal days. They’re still trying to run a nonprofit like it is a livejournal page and the only difference they think there is between those two things is having to have to file a few more documents with the government. Nothing has changed about most of the higher ups attitudes towards how to behave in positions of leadership since their days as BNFs. They have cultivated an environment with such levels of fangirl squee flavored toxic positivity, then placed themselves as the champions of all transformative fandom, and finally ended up buying in to their own hype so much that they will attack and try to silence and even bully anybody who goes against the grain and points out that “Hey there are actual problems here and we might need to talk to somebody who is not involved in this one specific clique of nerds that has known each other for over 20 years” to the degree that they will end up ostracizing the person who raised the concern out of the organization. Then the board will continue to speak ill of them to their remaining followers to keep them in line in case anybody else decides to commit the unforgivable crime of “hashing the vibe” again.

Do not volunteer to be on their moderating team.

Do not do that.

Until there has been a radical restructuring of the board and legal team of the OTW, including implementation of a code of conduct for board member behavior and the behavior of the other team leaders of the OTW, and possibly even a complete removal of board members who have contributed to the toxic environment at the organization, do not volunteer your time until there has been a change in the fundamental power structure. The current leaders will not see your attempts at giving them your labor as something different and valuable. You will just be seen as more disposable volunteers for the meat grinder of their internal culture. They will chew you up and spit you back out and continue to do so for the rest of the existence of the organization. You are signing up to be cannon fodder for them.

Honestly I’m surprised that after basically the past decade of just going through the cycles of like living through politics that people who still have such a naive view of how to hold people in power accountable even exist. STAND UP TO THEM! HAVE A SPINE! You have some worth as a human being and hold them accountable, and don’t just walk into their abusive system thinking that you can just try to change it from the inside. Sure it’s not like we are trying to have like a legit revolution and the people on the board are just a bunch of Joe-schmoes to the rest of the world and some of them have law degrees, but they have been proven to be incredibly toxic and incompetent people who also have absolutely no idea how to run a nonprofit so large in a professional manner. Considering the actions that some of the notable board members and members of the legal team have done in their pasts in their involvement in fandom I am shocked that anybody would still trust these people to be able to run any community beyond a petty cult of personality.

Decades of high school mean girl behavior coming from people well into their careers.

I don’t know what was going on in the old community but you did say that the scale was much smaller. So treat this as a different larger scale problem instead of using how you fixed that previous place as a one size fits all solution. They seem to be terrified of having anybody outside of fandom look at how they are making the sausage, even if the outsiders come wanting to provide help with a problem they are having, and heaven forbid that outsider wants to make any suggestions to how they can change for the better. I appreciate the spirit of wanting reform and change, I like your moxie. However with the current leadership any attempt at change will be met with more of the same old same old hostility form them. We need to be honest about the abuses. We need them to know that they can’t keep getting away with how they have behaved since they founded the organization. We need to do heavy restructuring of the power structure and change the culture of the organization to be one where you can speak up on problems without being bullied out of the organization. We need leadership who can be held accountable to their own volunteers.

All of the talk of what to do as a potential volunteer can be saved for after the power structure has changed. This is how you hold abusive organizations accountable.

also, hot take, but speaking as someone who has volunteered to work on big projects tackling difficult issues out of community love in the past, I am just. is the otw probably a really toxic place to volunteer and work right now? Sure is, probably! Is public pressure that doesn't come with an influx of new people volunteering to do the messy work of figuring out what a better policy is, how to create anti harassment safeguards, and otherwise fixing the problem actually useful? Fuck no it is definitely not!

like I will be 1000% honest, I have in fact been asked personally to volunteer to help a community transition on a much smaller scale to fix problems of this magnitude to encourage a much smaller scale organization to work and perform a community service. and I took that job with a strong sense of "ye gods this is going to suck and I'm going to piss people off by doing things wildly imperfectly, but if I don't help provide my work it might not get done because this is fucking hard and no one is paying."

and I did it and I stopped as quickly as humanly possible. now that shit is someone else's volunteer problem and I'm delighted, because let us be real I'm a disabled middle aged lady with a day job and I don't have full time professional effort to dedicate to stuff I do in my spare time for free. that's one of the fun things about disability actually, it constricts the total store of focused labor hours available to me to put in, especially on landmine topics like extending the scope of my archiving projects to create a farsighted anti harassment policy that can't be weaponized.

so like. the work needs doing. anything anyone does is going to be imperfect and problematic and bad, because it is being done on an almost purely volunteer basis by people who are for whatever reason willing to donate high level professional skills and labor for free and don't need to do stuff for actual money and support instead. like sure the budget is enormous for servers but none of that goes to labor.

Outrage is going to do jack shit unless people volunteer to roll up their sleeves and start doing the work to donate a better policy, or better management. This shit is fucking difficult, exhausting, and impossible to do without pissing people off. I am damn sure not getting involved right now, and that's why I have not been commenting. Public pressure is not going to do jack shit if it didn't come with support.

If this is an issue that is important to you, you have to back up your outrage with resources. Since the AO3 does not exchange money for labor, that means showing up to offer to help build something different. as I said, I am a middle aged disabled lady who finds fandom and archive repositories to be important and helpful and I don't have any labor left to donate, so I have been reserving comment on complaint. If this is a thing that matters to you, congratulations! Public pressure is only useful insofar as it can be used to make the org let you help. It's up to you to actually help.

[b-l-l-n-k]

TONE TAGS!!

__*General Tonetags!*__

/j = /joke

/hj = /half joking

/ij = /inside joke

/cj = /coping joke

/lhj = /lighthearted joke

/hsrs = /half serious

/nsrs = /not serious

/lh = /lighthearted

/l or /ly or /lyr = /lyrics

/nay = /not at you

/ay = /at you

/nbh = /nobody here (eg, when not referring to anybody in a group or place)

/dir = /directed

/ndir = /not directed

/ugn or /ugd = /ungendered

/safe = /safe to click or open

/cur = /curious

/np = /not pushing

/nf = /not forcing

/rh or /rt = /rhetorical question

/rt = /retweet or /rhetorical question

/npa = /not passive aggressive

/pa = /passive aggressive

/cb = /clickbait

/f = /fake

/q = /quote

/ref = /reference

/ncm = /not comparing or not competing

/c = /copypasta or caps lock (eg, "THIS IS A MESSAGE IN CAPS /c" would be used in a server with capslock on the blacklist)

/li = /literally

/hy or /hyp = /hyperbole

/pc or /pos = /positive connotation

/nc or /neg = /negative connotation

/neu = /neutral /neutral connotation

/opn = /opinion

/sugg = /suggestion

/gs = /genuine suggestion

/nbr = /not being rude

/nbv = /not being violent

/vio = violent

/ot = /off topic

/od or /odra or /ovdr = /overdramatic

/unr = /unrelated

/der = /derogatory

/disr = /disrespectfully

/res = /respectfully

/disso or /dis or /diss = /dissociation

/derea = /derealization

/rc = /reality check

__*Tonetags That Are Difficult to Tell Apart! (For Reference)*__

/sbip = /somebody in particular

/nbip = /nobody in particular

/m = /metaphorically

/mad = /mad

/th = /threat

/t = /teasing

/frt = /friendly teasing

/frj = /friendly joke

/conf or /confu = /confused

/comf = /comforting

/con = /consensual

/g or /gen = genuine

/genq or /gq or /gen = /genuine question (/gen can be used for both /genuine question and /genuine)

/s or /sar or /sarc = /sarcasm

/srs = /serious

/nm = /not mad

/lm = /little mad

/vm = /very mad

/nu = /not upset

/lu = /a little upset

/vu = /very upset

/sv = /soft vent or semi verbal (context)

/nv = /not venting or non verbal (context [eg, when a non-verbal ind is talking with emojis, if a server has a slash emoji they could say "/ regional_indicator_n regional_indicator_v ")

/nav = /not a vent

/jav = /just a vent

/hav = /half a vent

__*Attractional Tonetags!*__

/aff = /affectionate

/ci = /caring intent

/p = /platonic

/r = /romantic

/fam = /familial

/fr = /friendly

/a = /alterous

/qp = /queerplatonic

/sr = /soft romo

/appr = /appromour

/sx or /x = /sexual intention

/nsx or /nx = /non-sexual intentions

/wc = /with consent

__*System Related Tonetags!*__

/wp = /wrong proxy

/nptf = /not pushing to front

/amh = /at my headmates

/sys = /system context usually means in-system context *(eg, "the others said something about it earlier /sys")

/nsys = /not system context (eg, when referring to cc's)

/nas = /not a system (also used as an acronym in namefluid, pronounfluid, irl, kin, and roleplay bots)

/iw = /in reference to innerworld

/otw or /orw or /otrw or /ow = /in reference to the outerworld

/src = /source

/switch = /we switched (eg, when a system's proxing bot is down or in dms)

/sw = /switching (/sw and /switch can be used interchangeably)

[higglety]

Here’s a thing that is true, regardless of the specific property or fandom: making and selling anything based off of someone else’s IP, be it merch, art prints, or anything else, is ALWAYS INHERENTLY risky. There is ALWAYS the possibility that the owner of the IP will tell you to stop, and the law will be on their side when they do so. The whole reason the OTW exists and is able to legally defend fanfic that is hosted on AO3 is specifically because it is not monetized. But once you start making money off of somebody else’s stuff? It doesn’t matter if it’s Marvel, DC, Disney, Critical Role, or anybody else- they might tell you to stop making money off their stuff.

The flipside is, as an artist, if someone starts making money off of YOUR original stuff, YOU also have the right to tell them to stop.

I’m not saying no one should ever make fanart; I love making fanart! I’m not even saying no one should sell fanart or merch. But I AM saying that this is an inherently risky endeavor, and that the law is very much in the side of the IP owner. If you base your business off of somebody else’s IP, you are assuming risk. You might get stuck with a bunch of inventory you are legally not allowed to sell. It’s a gamble.

[olderthannetfic]

Anon who originally asked about the FanDomination cease and desist:

From the Fanlore article the case was from 2003, which came before the Bandom stories about... milk. Honestly I’m not sure why the Baseball RPF story was called that, but apparently it was 20 chapters. Not sure who else to ask if they have any knowledge on the case.

--

Somebody probably still knows.

One thing I’ve noticed is that while fans in general find fandom history interesting, the people I personally see posting a lot tend to be from a narrow slice of fandom that’s:

very LJ-y

mostly into specific kinds of Western fandoms

mostly into m/m.

at least somewhat OTW-adjacent

That’s partly because that’s who I tend to know. (Never underestimate how much is due to one’s own bubble, especially on tumblr!) It’s also partly about who cares about making a public record of fandom’s history. You’ll find this bias on Fanlore, among people I reblog, and sometimes among people in “fan studies”. (Though, of course, there’s plenty of academic work on kpop fandom and so forth, though not always in the same departments as the people looking at old fanfic zines.)

I’m reminded of this because FanDomination was one of Laura Hale’s things, and Hale had a hateboner for OTW in addition to being in a slightly different flavor of fandom. I imagine plenty of FanDomination alumni are still into fic and would be happy to weigh in. I don’t know that they’re on tumblr or that my social circles overlap with them.

Here’s an example of the lovely programmer of FanDomination responding to astolat’s call to action:

“P.S. Why does a fic reader/writer need to be on thier board at all? Do they have an investment in the operation? Also, why would there HAVE to be a female on the board? That seems pretty sexist to me to REQUIRE one to be 'legitimate'. Are you saying that males are incapable of truly understanding the nature and intricacies of fandom? Sounds like a bunch of feminazi horseshit to me.”

Ah, whiny fandom men. So oppressed. (OTW was much more “fandom is by women for women” in its very early days. The language got made slightly more inclusive over time, though probably not in a way the shittiest of cis men would want.)

Not that that tells you who exactly was using the site. I’m just saying there have always been multiple groups in fandom, and there may be cultural factors that mean a post of mine on here doesn’t turn up many responses from old FanDomination users.

I might try Reddit or Spacebattles or something if I were really hunting for people. (IDK if anybody on Spacebattles was actually on there, but it’s a more dude-heavy space with a different background and vibe than people I tend to know, so it would be a good starting point to get outside my own social circles.)

r/FanFiction is the big subreddit for fic. You could always try asking there.

[dwick93]

Wasn’t ready to post about it or answer anybody calls or texts cause I’m really heartbroken to say the least. Seem like all I know is pain. Anybody who knows me knows how close I am to ALL of my uncles & how much they mean to me. Yesterday I all of a sudden lost my uncle and I can’t even talk about him without breaking down. I feel so bad cause I didn’t even get to say bye, see him or sit with him like he did for me when I was in the hospital. How I’m suppose to keep going without one of my biggest supporters & somebody I talked to everyday almost? If I called him he was coming. I’d give anything to hear you say, “Nephew where u at come ride wit me I’m otw” (but really he take forever to get there lol). He was Mike D to y’all, but to me he was Uncle Michael and I was nephew and his shadow. I’m going to forever hold your name down and make you proud. R.I.P Unc. If you’d like to make a donation, we’re asking that you help us put him away properly and donate via cash app. Anything you can give is appreciated. You can send it to my auntie Latara Johnson @ $latarapiggy or my uncle Marcus Phillips @ $MarcusDPhillips #SHARETHIS #TagPeople #Like #Comment #RIPMIKED #1007 #TSP https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Nsz2XH3ia/?igshid=1o29n4wjf9nw0

[ziparumpazoo]

I keep hearing “servers are expensive”, but I don’t think anybody realizes how expensive, so I’m gonna break it down for the people who are actually curious.

*disclaimer: I’m not affiliated with AO3 or the OTW in any way. I don’t have an overview of what their hardware spend is like - these numbers are based on quotes you can find online for off-the-shelf hardware (dell.com), co-location (data center) calculators (https://www.expedient.com/cloud-build-vs-buy-calculator/ ), and my own experience from running infrastructure projects. This shopping list is strictly for the getting and taking care of your hardware and doesn’t include the cost of software licenses, backups, or internet access so people can actually get to your archive.

**yes, you can probably negotiate better prices, but these are all easily verifiable quotes.

So what do you need to set up your own archive?

1.Hardware - let’s say 2 web servers to handle the traffic, and 2 database/application servers to run the actual archive. Why two of each? Are we planning for a flood? Well, yes, we’re planning for redundancy. What happens one of your servers up and barfs all over? At the very least, you need to be able to do maintenance on your physical hardware and your applications without taking down your whole website. You also need a big-ass array of disks to store all your archive content so it can be quickly searched and retrieved.

2.Somewhere to put your hardware. Unless you’ve got a spare bedroom and unlimited power and ways to keep your equipment from overheating, you’re going to want to rent space in a data center (aka co-location). Now, there’s different levels of co-location packages based on guaranteed up-time, that is, levels of service interruption caused by anything outside of your own hardware such as power failures, floods, cooling faults, etc., and a common option for a web service that’s used by people all over the world, at all times of the day, and run by admins who don’t like waking up to their inboxes flooded with complaints because somebody couldn’t download the next chapter of that 10K slow-burn  would be a Tier 3 package (https://www.colocationamerica.com/data-center/tier-standards-overview.htm)

3.Hardware service contracts - Some sort of guarantee that if your hardware fails - a network card dies or some hard drives go belly-up, you are not left with a dead archive and a steaming pile of server hardware you can’t use.

So, assuming the industry standard of a 5-year lifespan for your hardware (you can use it longer, but you reach a point where the hardware becomes outdated and can’t handle the work you’re throwing at it, runs out of space, or runs out of support from the vendor, at which point it starts to cost you more to own), let’s break down the cost of ownership for a basic archive for 1 year (where hardware costs are broken down over their 5 year lifespan):

1 Storage array (4TB) approx. $45,000 - $9,000/year

2 Web servers @ approx. $9,500/each, or $19,000 total - $3,800/year

2 Database/application servers @ approx. 20,650/each, or $41,300 total - $8,260/year

Extended service contract on all hardware for 5 years (ie. your server throws a disk, a new one shows up the next day with a tech to replace it for you) approx. $4,500/server, or $22,500 total - $4,500/year

Data center co-location (includes power, cooling, network, battery backups/generator power, and no more than 1.6 hours of downtime per year)  - $117,609/year

Total for the hardware to run highly available fanfic archive for ONE YEAR? $143,169

Rest assured that if you are still able to click that AO3 link to a fic and land there, your fundraising dollars are getting spent where they claim they are.

Looking at this makes me so tired.

[onestowatch]

Harrison Storm Desperately Ponders “How to Help” a Troubled Friend [PREMIERE + Q&A]

Photo: Dean Raphael

Harrison Storm has been developing a unique breed of alternative-folk in his native Australia since 2015. Having garnered attention for his warmth and sincerity in songwriting as well as his dexterous fingerstyle guitar and soulful vocals, this up-and-comer has scored supporting spots for shows with the likes of The Head and the Heart, Tash Sultana, Ziggy Alberts, and more. Now on the cusp of releasing his third EP Falling Down, Storm is partnering with Ones to Watch to exclusively premiere his latest single, “How to Help.”

The young songsmith calls “How to Help” one of his “most personal songs to date,” and the track doesn’t disappoint. Defined by poignant lyrics, haunting melodies, and an expansive arrangement, the listener instantly feels an innate honesty in Harrison Storm’s latest.

In celebration of the release, we sat down with Storm to discuss his songwriting process, tour highlights, and the artist’s alternate identity as a superstar triangle player.

OTW: How did you get your start songwriting? Do you have any pearls of wisdom on honing your craft?

HS: Growing up my mom had an Ibanez acoustic guitar laying around the house. She was, I guess, a hobbyist when it came to songwriting. She’d just kind of write for fun. She had a bunch of unfinished songs that she would teach me, and I’d love playing them. As an exercise, I would finish them, add verses, change choruses, stuff like that. I guess that was my first introduction to actually writing songs. 

It kind of progressed later on in my life, in my late teens, being interested in writing songs for myself. As for honing your craft, the best thing for me, since I never had any technical training in music, I found the best way to learn more about songwriting was to learn other people’s songs that I loved listening to. I’d try to listen to their songs and figure it out by ear. It was already pretty simple with singer-songwriter music. I learned about how and why a song works that way. It took me a while to really get into that because I was way more into sports in my teenage years, but in my late teens/early 20s, I really started to focus on music and realize that I loved it a lot.

OTW: Ones to Watch is thrilled to premiere “How to Help,” the latest single off of your upcoming EP Falling Down. What’s the story behind this song? What made you choose it as a single?

HS: Yeah. I had the chorus and melody in my head a few weeks before the day I actually kind of wrote it. I was overseas in between touring, and I was doing some writing and recording in this small town right outside of London. I was staying in this AirBnB by myself, and I felt pretty isolated, which is when I tend to write something. During that time, I had a phone call with somebody really close to me, and they were telling me about how this other person in my life that I care for a lot was going through a dark period in their life. Everybody around in that group really wanted to connect, but we didn’t really know how to help out. 

So that song really came out of a lot of frustration, but then a lot of compassion as well and trying to understand what this person was going through and how we could maneuver ourselves to have a more positive outcome. Most of the songs I write are pretty personal, but this one felt extra personal in a more relatable way. On the production side of things, I worked with my good friend Hayden Calnin, whom I’ve worked with a bunch before, and we kind of spent the day when we first had pre-production for the song just working through it. It was all really natural and nice, so it just felt right as a single.

OTW: What was the most memorable part about writing or recording Falling Down?

HS: The second song we released from the EP was a song called “Run,” and it was kind of the first time I worked with these friends of mine over in the UK. They’ve got this awesome cozy barn in the countryside, which is where I wrote “How to Help” as well. I had a great few days with those guys, writing there amongst their family. We’d go and walk the dog between takes, it was just a nice laid-back country-style area. That first session we came out with “Run,” and I was super stoked with it. I guess that’s where this collection of songs really started.

OTW: Falling Down is your third EP. When compared to your earlier work, what do you think the project says about your growth as an artist?

HS: Um, I think I definitely have a better idea of how I want things to sound. I think earlier on I was kind of relying on the people around me a lot more in terms of trusting what they would say about how a song would sound, or about certain sections of the song. Now, with this EP in particular, I’m more comfortable with my sound, but that obviously comes with the flipside of being more exposed to the reception and hoping people will like it because it’s still more me than the other stuff–even though I really do connect with my other songs. I just feel like this project has my name written all over it, from a visionary point of view.

OTW: You’ve toured with a handful of established artists like The Head and The Heart and Tash Sultana. What’s a favorite story of yours from behind the scenes of a tour?

HS: I think recently, with another artist who is very well-established here in Australia, Ziggy Alberts. He’s really making some waves and making a name for himself overseas. That was my first really big tour. It was like 30 shows in 40 days. There were a bunch of really special moments, but my favorite was in Paris. I had been there before but hadn’t really had the chance to explore, and we spent the day as a group just kind of walking around the city being tourists. For me, that was just kind of a moment where I was thinking and being really appreciative of being able to travel and visit all of these places that I wouldn’t be able to see outside of working in music. That was something that inspired me to see what else I can do and see where else I can go.

OTW: You’re headed to the US soon to support The Paper Kites on their tour. Have you toured the US before? If so, how does it compare to Australian touring?

HS: Yes, I’ve been there a few times, but nothing vis-à-vis the shows I’ll be playing with The Paper Kites. There will be a few more cities to tick off the list that I haven’t been to before. I definitely find the States sort of compelling and interesting from a creative point of view. A lot of artists that I love are from that part of the world, so it’s always super surreal to visit. And The Paper Kites are like one of my favorite bands. It’s going to be crazy to be opening for them. Touring the US is definitely different from Australia. When you’re traveling so far, and everywhere is so far away from Australia, you can kind of feel the appreciation from the audience that you came all this way play there. I always feel really welcomed in a warm way when I visit the states. I’m excited to experience that again… hopefully (laughter).

OTW: Where is a destination you haven’t toured that you would like to?

HS: Well, there’s a bunch of places. I’d really like to explore Eastern Europe a lot more. It’d be really interesting to stop by some Asian countries, too. I’ve always wanted to visit Japan.

OTW: If you could form a supergroup with any three other artists, who would they be and why?

HS: I would die if by some miracle I could be in a band with Jeff Buckley, even if I could just be playing the triangle or the tambourine. I don’t think we need anybody else in the band (laughter), just me on the triangle and Jeff. I suppose Neil Young could be involved.

OTW: Who are your Ones to Watch?

HS: I’m going to be really biased, there are so many amazing Australian artists that are slowly rising up to the surface. Australia can be one of those markets that is really hard to crack through, and personally, I’ve got some amazing musician friends that are doing big things. I’ve already mentioned the guy who recorded with me, Hayden Calnin, who’s got some really amazing music coming out. Another band called Jack the Fox, too. I’d say those two are definitely ones to watch.

[dyhnsr-blog]

Tuesday, Feb 20th 2017

*big sigh*

there’s just too many things on my mind lately.

firstly, im completely obsessed with this guy from a korean kpop band that i initially didnt like just because they were mainstream. but once i saw their foolish and playful sides, i grew attached and obsessed with them, kept on going to my ‘explore’ tab on instagram to find all the fan sites based on them and based on this extremely good looking guy. i love his face, its sooo skinny and soft and triangular and his mouth is so small that it pouches naturally. i think this is the loneliness syndrome hitting me because im in that place where im longing to be with somebody. so to you, whom i will in the future babble none stop regarding my life journey and whining and thoughts, shall have to bear with me. its a lonnnnnngggggg story and i wish and dream for us to sit in bed and read all of my journals and diaries and tumblr posts and youtube videos and videos on my phone with hot chocolate and snacks next to our bed. of course, ill get all sweaty from all that sudden rush because i can finally share it with someone. and of course, you should know that my body reacts that way and you should know it by now, more than ever, that ive opened my heart out all for you and willing to get rid of that wall. so yeah, going back to this guy sehun, i just love how effortlessly good looking and tall and skinny and perfectly good looking (oops twice already hehe) he is. and hes kinda weird too, serious 50% of the time or blur or just really dont give a damn and 50% cheeky. but yeah. hes all about the branding tho, which i do not like. all of his airport purchases are high end products and i can see he cares for it a little bit too much, and i dont fancy that. 10points off of you sehun ahhaha. but oh well. i like having him as my ‘obsession’ right now since i dont have anybody special by my side right now to ooze over. 

second, news have it that eera msu’s mum just passed away this morning. im absolutely terrified, anything can happen. it saddens me that as we are growing older and progressing in life and venturing into a different phase of our lives, our parents are going through that phase. and that phase is certainly not infinity and certainly unpredictable. i hate that. i hate facing the fact that people die and life moves on without them. i hate having to feel that absence but since time continues on anyway, in two three years time, you dont really feel that loss as much. i hate that. i feel like a betrayer because as time moves on, you have different things that you have to juggle with and thus, you kinda forget. i hate it. i know each human is like that and i know for a fact that ill be like that but please, hidayah, please remember your loved ones that passed away every single day. please. even just for a second before bed, please remember them. and to you, my other half, please be my eternal supporter and remind me to sedekahkan alfatihah to them every day before going to bed. please, i love you and for you to show me your love, please help me do this because those people that passed away were a major part of my life, and i literally couldnt live without them. please, please. 

third. i would like to be more approachable and open to people. when i go back to malaysia, i wish to just hangout with my brother and sister during the weekends and take them out for dinners and just chill and get to know them as a person, not really as a sibling. because one you know them inside out, it automatically makes you love them unconditionally because of who they are, not because they are related to you by blood and birth. coz i love my friends and ive never had the same love for my siblings until recently. so yeah. id like to hang out with my brother more, especially because he has mellowed down and i think he has a lot of life lessons in his life. id also like to hang out with my dad more and you know at eid, id like to sit in the circle where my uncles talk and stuff. i just want to sit besides them and listen to their life stories. its interesting and where and when else can you gather those kinds of life experience? idk, i just cant wait to be back at home and be a different person, more optimistic and less judgmental.

fourth. pera’s getting married. sarah iman’s getting married. filzah and xxxxx’s getting married. migha’s otw. xxxxxx’s otw. kak norim and kak kin recently got married. im happy for everyone. im esthetic that everyone has found their other halves. i mean, marriage isnt all happy with birds singing lullabies to you. no, its about two people tolerating and loving each other more than themselves. to my other half, i hope that we can get to know each other inside out and talk till the sun goes up and just tell each other what weve been doing in the last 20-25 years alone. i know youll complete me and i know well have countless fights but please never give up on me because im really soft hearted with those i love and give in when you push the right buttons. please love me the way ill love you. never give up. never compare. accept me the way i am. support me. be happy for me. encourage me. motivate me. be kind to me. be funny to me. make me happy. and once in a while when life gets in the middle of everything and our kids are making us crazy as hell, take me out and lets have some us time. lets rekindle that love and lets remember why you chose me and why we chose each other. i have many sides of me, and im sure youll have surprisingly countless sides to your personality too (duh thats why i chose you), so please, lets embrace that and be happy together until forever. in sha allah. for allah’s sake. for he created us. 

xoxo, dayah

~more than words

[olderthannetfic]

Weeeeeell... I wasn’t into bandom at the time, but if you mean the type that was on LJ, that was a subset of ye olde LJ slash fandom that left FFN en masse in 2002 and settled in fairly insular LJ circles for most of the 00s until we founded OTW and all moved to AO3.

AKA the circles I was in where I did not see y/n.

If y/n was indeed getting big on FFN a couple of years after our sort all departed, it would explain why I didn’t notice it. And FFN was always pretty anti-RPF even before the complete ban.

I presume somebody was fantasizing about self/band in bandom because it’s a normal part of music fandoms, but they were probably doing it in slightly different spaces from the m/m shippers, also as usual.

Anybody else who was in bandom at the time have thoughts?

Heh, yeah, okay, being serious for a second, I do find xReader kind of squicky in an “Ugh, why?” way, but I also like fandom history and people following their cringey passions. (Even if you are cluttering up my BTS tag on AO3, how dare!)

So let’s talk about history.

From what I too saw, OFC/canon guy has been a thing since the term ‘Mary Sue’ was coined and since always, but the second person “y/n” stuff is indeed more recent.

It seems like it probably got started from how Quizilla was a quiz site that grew into a fic site via “Which Harry Potter character will be your boyfriend” type quizzes. Quizzes naturally tend towards second person and being about the reader. This same culture carried on to the still extant Quotev and to Wattpad… or spontaneously erupted on Wattpad? Who knows.

But “y/n” fic was definitely not a thing I ever heard of in the 90s internet.

ETA: @starrybouquet I think they’re related to other self inserty fics in the sense that they cater to some similar emotions. I don’t think there’s a specific historical link between them.

[onestowatch]

Q&A: Jacob Banks Talks Sonic Balance, Kanye West, and Signature Beanie

A innovative, fresh sound laced with classic influences. A powerfully dominant voice singing of emotionally delicate, sociopolitical themes. African-inspired soul grooves backed by heavy beats. One might assume that, if combined, the aforementioned elements would clash severely...but not if you’re Jacob Banks. 

Banks’ distinct sound was born from a natural manifestation of his personal music taste and his contrasting environments. While he draws inspiration from the classic soul of Al Green, he also enjoys the pop/folk sensibilities of John Mayer and respects the boldness of Kanye West and Rick Ross--all of which cohesively make their way into his own music. Moreover, Banks was was born in Nigeria and currently resides in London, UK, which explains the sometimes paradoxical sonic and lyrical content-- “Some of [the songs] are strong and powerful—the melancholy of London. And some—like, the songs about my mum and stuff—will come from the Africa side, being very family oriented.”

As a follow up to his Boy Who Cried Freedom EP, released in April 2017, Jacob Banks’ latest is a heart-wrenching ballad by the name of “Unknown (To You).” He’s currently gearing up for a handful of European tour dates, followed by a North American tour through early December--don’t miss out.

After following Jacob Banks for the better part of the last two years, we finally got to sit with the prolific artist to talk beginnings, YouTube resourcefulness, Kanye West, artists to watch, and the real secret under that beanie.

OTW: You originally graduated as a civil engineer, right?

JB: Yeah.

OTW: So, how did you first get into music?

JB: I got into music by chance. Like, I learned to play a guitar off YouTube, and I used to write poetry a lot growing up. So I just started singing along when I learned guitar, and I'd write little songs and stuff just for fun. And my friends would ask me to record these songs so they could play them in their cars, and I would. And that's how it happened—just me making songs that my friends liked. And they were like, “Oh, you should do an EP,” so I did an EP. Then it was, “Maybe you should play this show,” cool, I’ll play this show… and it just all spiraled out of control really quickly. That's how it happened.

OTW: How did you land on your specific style of music?

JB: I think it came very natural to me. I think we're all racing against our taste. So, if you are someone who creates, or if you make anything, you judge how good of a band you think it is by your taste level. So we're all trying to replicate our taste. 

Like, I love Kanye West, but I also love John Mayer. I love Al Green but I also love Rick Ross. So these are my tastes. So how can I bring all these things I love together? I love the old and the new. So how can I present it to people? I'm just trying to create what I like, and that was it: just taking the old vibe but giving it a modern twist, is kind of what we're trying to do. And that's how it came about.

OTW: Cool! So you were born in Nigeria and now you live in London--how would you say both of those places affect you as an artist and as a person?

JB: Growing up in Nigeria allowed me to sympathize with a lot of things that happen in the world, that touch a lot of people. And growing up in London--for me, London's like the capitol of the world. Like, it's genuinely mad because of the amount of people, and it’s unified, and everyone understands the role that everybody else plays. And I think having both is really interesting to how I make my music, because I speak for the oppressed, and London is very... London never backs down. Like, Brits just never back off in general. So that’s the energy that I get from London--we always say how we feel. I think Africans are a bit more delicate. They're very warm people, wouldn't want to piss anybody off, so I learned to shift between the two. 

Certain songs are more delicate, some of them strong and powerful—the melancholy of London. And some—like, the songs about my mum and stuff—will come from the Africa side, being very family oriented.

OTW: Cool, great balance. So you were the first unsigned act to appear on BBC Radio 1. What was that like, and how has the shift been like from that to now?

JB: That was fun. I don't feel any different, to be fair. I'm making music I want to make. I feel exactly the same towards my team now; I just feel like I have more help, like more people to balance off creativity. There’s no doing away your independence--it’s you trying to make sense of it all. So it's nice to have another brain to check yourself, to have your back. It's pretty much the same, just a bigger team.

OTW: Do you feel like that was your big break?

JB: The Live Lounge? There was no turning back after that. It’s cool to make songs in your friend's bedroom or whatever, but if you're presenting yourself on Radio 1, you're saying, “I'm here and this is me.” You can't pack it in now, you can't turn around. I guess you can, but it was me announcing myself that I want to play.

OTW: Did you want to turn around before that? Have you ever considered going back to civil engineering?

JB: I would make a terrible civil engineer. People will die! Lots of people. This is for the best! I'm good at applying myself; I can be good at anything I want to be good at—doesn't mean that I like it. So I can just apply myself, which is how I got through it. I don't think I've ever looked back, it makes me too happy to look back. See like, as someone who works in journalism or stuff: When you read pieces, half your brain is criticizing, and half your brain is ingesting. So sometimes I wish I wasn't so much of an artist, because sometimes you don't listen to enjoy, you listen to pick up faults, which isn't nice. That's what I'm saying; that's the only thing I wish I could take back.

OTW: Do you have an idea of an end goal or a definition of success for yourself? 

JB: For me, it's just to look after my loved ones.

OTW: So, according to some Twitter stalking, you are a Game of Thrones fan. Would you kill for a cameo?

JB: No, I wouldn't! After what happened with Ed Sheeran, I think I don't want one. You know what it is? It was just unnecessary. He didn't do bad or anything, but it’s not some Netflix original trying to make headway; it was unnecessary. If it was like, a new show trying to get fans and all that...I get it, but he wasn't bad at all, he was quite good. He sang, it was wonderful. But it just didn't need to happen. Even the whole scene didn't need to happen.

OTW: The Boy Who Cried Freedom is your latest, where did the name come from?

JB: I think it just came from just what we're seeing in politics and everything. I think people were asking for the most basic shit. Like, take “Black Lives Matter” for example. It's a fair thing to ask for. Or women saying, “We want equal rights, we're not asking for more, we just want the same thing you're having.” Sounds fair! Or people are asking for refuge because their homes have been torn down by war that we've instigated—also fair! 

So it's like, freedom is the most basic shit, like everybody should get this. And that's where it came from. And for me as well, I feel like I was always trying to justify my taste and what I wanted to make. And I was like, I should be able to make what I want to make, and people are going to have to tell me their fears as much as I don't come into your workplace and incite fear into what you make. 

For me it's just like, freedom is just a basic requirement. I think that's where it came from.

OTW: Do you get criticism for your style of music?

JB: No, what it is, is everybody's scared until it happens. Once it happens, it becomes the norm. But everybody's the first of their kind: Rihanna's the first Rihanna. I mean, you hear everyone is trying to be like Rihanna, everybody's trying to copy an original. But for me the original is cooler because it's like, you don't know. And people naturally are going to put forwards their fears, and that's cool; it's human nature to do that. Like, I don't have to because I was in a situation before with old management and an old label and they were very unsure; they didn't want to stick their neck out. So I think that's where that came from.

OTW: Got it. So you learned how to play guitar and a lot of other things on YouTube. Anything else that you've learned off of YouTube?

JB: I learned to fix my car! I can fix pretty much anything. If anything is broken in your house, look on YouTube, somebody's fixed it. Like, YouTube is the shit. People need to understand this. I can fix anything off YouTube.

OTW: Do you still write or read poetry?

JB: I still read. I read a lot. I think poetry is the purest form of writing, for me. It's very honest.

OTW: You said you're a Kanye fan--what about his music or him as a person draws you to him?

JB: I just feel like he's always pushing the needle. The thing with music is everybody knows what they think they know. So if you grew up and someone tells you an apple is an orange, you're going the rest of your life thinking it was. So he's always pushing the needle introducing new sounds, new elements, new ways for people to decide like, “Actually I fuck with this,” or “Actually I don't fuck with this,” but he's always pushing the needle of the scale of what we think we like, and I love that about him.

OTW: Yeah. Do you respect him as a person too?

JB: As a person, I do. I feel like he's easy to understand. He's not perfect, but if you imagine all your wonderful moments and all your poor moments being publicized every day, you'd make just as many mistakes as he does. The difference is the whole world has to hear his mistakes. That's the only difference! I get him, like you have to imagine if people are constantly telling you you can't do something. For every time you've proven them wrong, it's a weird thing. Like, people told him he couldn’t make beats: he made beats. They said he couldn't rap: he rapped. They said he couldn't make clothes: he made clothes. They said he couldn't design his own visuals and stuff… It's like, what more do you want the man to do? Every time you've said no, he goes out and does it, and still people are like, “Just rap.” To have the whole world tell you no every time... it must fuck with you to a certain level.

OTW: So you've had a handful of EPs so far--are there any plans for a full length? 

JB: I'm doing a full length, but I'm doing my full length as EPs. So I'm going to do my full length as 3 EPs over a short period of time. I just feel like I don't want to play the album game. It's unfair because we're all getting the same looks. The industry judges people on albums, but the difference is, I'm not getting as much radio play as Shawn Mendes. So for you to expect me to sell as much as Shawn Mendes is unfair! If you give everybody 10 plays a day, and you want to judge our success on album sells, then I’ll play! But if I'm getting 1 and he's getting 1000, I don't want to fucking play. I'd rather just do it my own way, and so that's what it is for me. Because everybody falls short of it. 

If you're slightly left of stage, you fall short because you're not getting as much support. You're not going to do the numbers of these people. And then people get disappointed because they think someone who became more successful is worse, but it’s just like… I didn't get the same looks. I didn't reach as many people for them to even know that I exist or make up their own minds. So I'm just like, I don't want to play, unless I can guarantee the same looks.

OTW: Makes sense. Your answers and way of thinking are very well thought-out and tactical! So you wrote and co-directed your narrative for “Unholy War,” the video. What got you interested in that, and are you going to keep experimenting on the visual side?

JB: I think I got into it because everybody I used to work with used to take forever, and I'd rather just do it myself. People take forever to do stuff. And I have really good friends who are directors, so it was just like, I just hung around watched how they did it. And we collaborated on a lot of stuff, and same with “Unholy War”—Cody's my boy, and we've been talking for like, four years and always wanted to work. 

I just love being hands on. I feel like the only person who's Jacob 24/7 is me. Everybody else has to check out. At some point you have to look after your family, deal with your shit, nobody can physically care as much as I can. Because they don't, it's impossible. I can't hold it against them. So I’ll just get the ball rolling then people will join.

OTW: Who are a few artists on your Ones To Watch list?

JB: There's a couple people from the UK— there's a lady called Elli Ingram, there's Kojey Radical. There's an afrobeat artist called Maleek Berry. It'll change your life--he infuses afrobeat music with R&B in the most smooth, coolest way ever. There’s also a lady called Amber Mark. She's on the label, and Billie Eilish, and a guy called Billy Raffoul.

OTW: I just saw Billy, he's insane live.

JB: We've been touring together, he's opening the tour! In the fall.

OTW: Last but not least, any reason for the signature folded beanie?

JB: I don't know how it all spiraled out of control!

OTW: How many do you have?

JB: I have a few. Like, at least 20. At least. I don't know, I just always like them. The thing is, people think there' something wrong with me. Hairline's healthy, like I'm good! Everyone thinks like, he's probably bald, he probably doesn't have eyebrows, I don't know. Like, I'm fine. I only wear it when I go to work.