#this is not even getting into some of the SMALLER fandoms

[mircsy]

Hi! First of all, I hope you're having a great day and if not then that it will get better very soon 💙

I was wondering about one thing - how does being popular in the fandom/liked by people here make you feel? I mean, is that annoying or maybe more heartwarming? Did you want it when you first started animating? And when people want to befriend you do you feel bad about it/tired of it or maybe you are happy about it (or something totally else)? I'm just curious, if you don't want to answer, you don't have to, obviously!

Oh, these are some interesting questions that I have never really considered before, hmm…

I definitely didn’t do my first EPIC animatic to become popular, I never thought it would become popular, let alone lead to working with Jorge later. Until now I was used to that my works don’t get much attention, and I just accepted that. If twenty, thirty, at top fifty people see them, that’s already a huge success for me even now. What heartwarming is when people freak out when I pop in the EPIC discord server chats now and then, although those times I freak out as well because I’m always surprised someone recognises me ahaha. Or when I see people discuss what they like about my works BUT reading reasonable, constructive critisism is also very much appreciated and welcome.

When the fandom was smaller I made some good friends, and keep contact with them even today. Nowadays not many want to befriend me, though there is a bunch of EPIC and other artists who’ve been brought together about half a year ago to play gartic phone (I’ll always be deeply grateful to you @abandoned-raccoon ) and that group works like a found family now😂

And honorable mentions to @arwenmusic and Casper Fox, top tier song writers and musicians

If fans tried to reach out to me to befriend me, however, even if not annoying, it would definitely be overwhelming. Therefore, I am standoff-ish when it happens. Especially because on the internet one can never know the true intention of another.

[tgmsunmontue]

Positivity post... and a thank you.

I took this photo on a walk this other morning and intended to send it to a whole bunch of people in their Ask boxes, as a thank you for being amazing/friendly/wonderful/talented etc. And I started making a list of the people and it got above 10, then 20 and then 30, then 40.

I was like 😧 it will take me ALL WEEKEND to send everyone the personalised messages I want to send. So I am doing just one big shout out post.

🌻🌻🌻THANK YOU 🌻🌻🌻

Thank you to those who send me asks - thank you, I don't ignore them on purpose. I usually find them again weeks later and feel awful for forgetting about them. 🌻

Thank you to those of you who tag me in things - the fandom community needs this and it's lovely to see this slowly coming back. Never feel bad or hold back from tagging me - I might forget to do it, or the notification will get lost, but I appreciate it all regardless. 🌻

Thank you to those who engage with what to write weekend posts and send in requests. It helps keeps me focussed and on task - writing for others is always an added motivation. 🌻

Thank you to those who go on reading sprees, leaving a column of your username in my notifications. 🌻

Thank you for all the likes likes and reblogs and replies to posts on fics. 🌻

Thank you to those who go the extra mile and also then kudos and comment on AO3 when the fic is posted there. 🌻

Thank you for drawing fanart of my fics. It still blows me away that this is something that has even happened because HOLY SHIT. 🌻

Thank you for letting me take your ideas and turn them into long fics. 🌻

Thank you for making art and allowing people to base fics off it. 🌻

Thank you for letting me get to know some of you better and ramble at you at all hours of the day and night. 🌻

Thank you for supporting me as I got back into drawing after a 25+ year hiatus. Trying to learn something again that you used to be decent at is an entirely new level of frustration and your grace, humour and advice has been truly appreciated. 🌻

As I get older I try and remember to appreciate the smaller things in life and everything above is something that makes me smile and feel grateful. So thank you again. 🌻

Tagging the people who I was hoping to send a personalised message to this weekend. I hope this suffices instead. 🌻🌻🌻

@phisworld14 @redfurrycat @halestrom @catarina4057 @almostkeenchaos @nixie-deangel @archhis @starfata @tothepayne @celandinebergerac @erudite-raven-apollokid @crooked-jes @nimuetheseawitch @lunamazes @omletlove @mxrcusflint @philcoulson-redtapeninja @iprefervillains @k9effect @yeagrave @the-ace-with-spades @indybob @gwaihiril @beezelarts @themissingmango @jayjay-thejet-plane @bigspoonlttlespoon @film-in-my-soul @jakekazansky @xiaokuer-schmetterling @poetryandpickles @demichrising @sweetcherryflavour @daughterofscotland @flyingfightingfishy @jayjay-plus @karlmschwartz @lucyybradford @spookybibi @ultimate-shipper @dancinginlifeandpoetry @nevergettingoverit @thyknife @sleepy-hyperfixations @oneelleandaneye @needforspeed161 @torchflies @accio-lo-ki @queeredfortakeoff851 @stellarskyes @intrepidjourneys

(This isn't even an exhaustive list, but it was off the top of my head and I know I have yet to get to know some people as I slowly work my way through reading catalogues of people's fics.)

[monoem]

Hihihi I saw this and wanted to add my own opinion to what Silas is saying, since I felt like some stuff might need a second opinion.

If you think constructive criticism on how to handle a harmless awards thing is, taking it "WAY too seriously", that can say a lot. This isn't meant to be an insult, but if you compare a small community like JWCC/CT to a massive one like K-pop, you're gonna get widely different responses to 'popularity contests'.

You say that it shouldn't be taken too seriously because it's just words and a png, and while that should probably be the case - you don't acknowledge the younger, and smaller creators that might find these awards to be pretty encouraging. This is a fandom around a kids show, and many people forget that kids interact with this. Nothing wrong with keeping yourself in adult circles, but it shouldn't be forgotten how starry-eyed kids can get at the idea of being recognised and not getting that png of a star. (Screw you Mr. Munday I deserved that gold sticker for my maths work)

I think you brushed past the multiple voting section of Sparks criticism too quickly. "Shit happens", sure, of course it does! That excuse can be used for a YouTubers fan base attacking someone, even if they advise against it. But when the option to make it a one vote form was available, it seems like a massive oversight. No hate to Salem on this! I get it, forms like these can be hard to manage, but there should've been some preparation before starting this award.

You can try and have faith in the fandom all you want, I know I do, but you can never be too sure about that stuff. There are people out here shipping a queer woman with a white man, and people denouncing the sapphic couple, I think it's safe to be weary of SOME bad apples.

Now for the main issue that I guess seems to have caused this (?), the topic of rarepairs and just oc x canon. Rarepairs are canon x canon, and aren't oc x canon in my opinion. I don't see my oc x canon ships as rare pairs, and if I did hell I'd be the mayor of rarepairville because I haven't shown anyone them before! /Lh.

Also I think you might've gotten rarepairs and crackships confused. I was aware of all this Elsa x Jack nonsense, and I can tell you those were not at ALL unpopular. That's what makes a rarepair, it needs to be really unpopular. Crackships definitely can fall under the rarepair term, but they are not a good example for this.

We could be here all day debating on our opinions, because really that's all they are! You see them as rarepairs and I don't, that's the joy of freewill in the human race, and we should cherish it. (I use debating, not arguing, because we're just talking things out).

We can all look at this and hopefully move past it, and in the future if another awards happens or something, we can add oc x canon in a separate category!

It may not be serious, but you don't know a person's thoughts about these until you ask them. It's not serious to me, I've been in fandom spaces for almost half my life; but to a new person it could mean the entire world to them - and those are mostly kids. And if it's anything, it's our responsibility as adults to be nice to them. Young kids or older kids, it doesn't matter.

Telling people to "sit back" because they're unhappy isn't good advice. If you take into account what I said about kids being the ones to take this seriously, they aren't thinking about what people are losing in these awards. A shout-out can boost a small creator MASSIVELY. YouTube is a massive example of that being true.

That's my two cents on it, thanks for reading my think piece.

CC/CT Tumblr Awards Final Results

Thank you all for participating in the awards. These awards were created as a way for the fandom to have fun and interact with creators that they may not have seen before, while also giving thanks to all creators in this fandom. Whether you write, draw, edit or create headcanons and memes for all to enjoy you are a vital part of the camp cretaceous/chaos theory fandom and the fandom would be much duller without you. Whether you have received an award or not you are a truly valued member of this community.

The winner of each award will be announced in the reblogs of this post.

[madamemiz]

sad: falling out of a hyperfixation

tragic: watching your beloved friends and mutuals fall out of the hyperfixation while you're still in it

[sukugo]

everytime sukugo gets called a crack ship i suffer +10 damage

[kit-screams-into-the-future]

re: the last post i reblogged bc i am realizing just how much i yapped in the tags and i do not wish to subject the wider tumblr public to that rant LMAO

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

I read Hussie's author notes and they were so disappointing. He dismisses Eridan and gamzee as one-dimensional nastyboys, he claims Rose and Dave's true arc was to refuse their quests and they just needed to stop feeling guilty about it, and he says karkat's final frog didn't even matter and he was just worrying over nothing. There's so much potential clearly written in and he just throws it all away bc lol. Your analysis is so much more nuanced has so much more thought put into it both with regards to who these characters are as people and the role they serve in the plot. I'd take your ideas over what hussie thinks is canon any day of the week.

this is super funny to me because i absolutely take what hussie says into account like all the time HAHAHA

Like genuinely I go back to their formspring/tumblr/forum/book notes all the time to see how on-track i am with my analyses. If you like whatever bullshit i'm talking about, then you like hussie's writing!

[lilbirdblu]

I think my biggest gripe with twitter is that the best thing about it is also simultaneously the worst thing about it:

the ease of access to information and how quickly it can spread

On one hand, it's great for spreading news/bringing awareness to issues, allowing creatives to be discovered, befriending people from anywhere in the world, innocuous memes and photos going viral, etc. Things can quickly take off within the blink of an eye which is awesome... when the information is accurate and/or it's not causing any undue harm to anyone

But that's the thing: misinformation can and is often easily spread just as quickly, which is dangerous

And, Im not sure if I'll be able to explain this as eloquently as Id like, but a more personal view/gripe I have is that, because of how quickly anything can spread, people have become so accustomed to a constant feed that updates at a high rate, that if something takes time or is a slow process, then they begin to demand updates, constant communication and get unruly [at best] if their wants are not met. People have learned that if they're "loud" enough, they will get what they want. Can being loud be beneficial? Absolutely. But I think it can also be harmful.

If that want is not met, it often leads to more aggressive thoughts/ideas/etc being spread at that same rapid speed which creates a very hostile environment to be in. This isn't to say that communities--namely fandoms--should never be informed of anything, but rather, that there is a severe lack of patience, empathy, and willingness to understand that I think is concerning.

That's not to mention the black-and-white thinking and lack of nuance but that's a conversation for another day.

[qhostpi22]

Feel like I should apologize to you too, Ghost. I did not mean to start a whole thing - I did not communicate or say things in the best way possible. I understand that what I did was wrong. I will not bring up another Ky topic.

And Oh my god. I had no idea people were harassing ky. I am SO sorry. That was not my intention and I actually had no idea.

"I'm sorry Ky, I'm sorry klutzytomb and I'm sorry random citizen number 13 😔"

Jokes aside you don't have to apologize to me? The fuck I do? I had nothing to do with all that 😭😭😭😭. I didn't even read your posts, I was like "oop more drama, im done with that for the week" and clicked away. It wasn't fun but I don't think it was for anybody.

If you're worried about that, I don't think anybody's mad or thinks you're a bad person for making those posts.

[imjustavenuxwithaboomerang]

just learned that people are like legitimately pissed that mackenyu buffed up for season 2 ???

[floralovebot]

:(

[beardedhandstoadshark]

Do you think that Shipping is what helps a fandom stay afloat? 🫠

For (by now hopefully obvious reasons) my answer may be a bit biased, but depends on the fandom? In the Onceler or Sansverse fandoms it sure did lmao. But I don't exactly see people having ship-wars about Mario everywhere, y'know? Yet the fandom stands. And then you've also got things like Genshin that, despite being 90% shipping, are just so big that the other 10% could easily carry as well. Zelda-fandom is extremely dependant on what corner you're in (youtube's side is pretty much exclusively fueled by the lore and theory side!) Also fnaf exists. Look me in the eye and tell me its shipping that fuels this fandom and not the lore craze started by MatPat (formerly) GameTheory. Also furry porn but you get the point.

Imo what actually sustains fandom isn't shipping itself (though it makes up a big part of fandom in many fandoms) but rather the overlying emotion: Indulgence in scenes that you think would be pretty cool yo! Be it shipping scenes or mary sue self inserts or crossovers or whatever. Fanart, fics, self-insert manifestos and whatnot all add to fandom as a whole, and they're basically all going "what if we took these guys and put them in these situations".

People just love putting their blorbos in situations, and a lot of those situations happen to be romance.

ALSO that doesn't even include subcategories of fandom like speedrunners etc, who're basically a completely different thing but technically still fall under fandom, but that's getting too nitpicky here XD It really depends on what you'd even define as a fandom.

[orcelito]

Ok I'm to the point of listening to iwatex's OST on spotify. I think this is terminal

[the-king-of-lemons]

,

[drchucktingle]

how are you human?

so many interesting comments and thoughts on my post saying buds should consider not coming up to strangers in marginalized groups and saying 'how are you a real person that actually exists?'. i will point out this: despite my VERY gentle tone a few buds said i was having a 'meltdown' for even mentioning it

others said i was being too serious for someone who is ‘not a real person’. so if you would any more evidence of what it is like to be a buckaroo like myself there it is. every day, autistic folks who may seem ‘weird’ are bombarded with messages and comments and implications that they are fundamentally not human beings

sometimes it is outright and blatant like the comments on last post saying ‘well why are you getting mad? you are not even real’ and sometimes it is in the very subtle ways that folks use language when they talk to us. there is huge difference between ‘how do you exist?’ and ‘i am glad you exist.’

anyway, something that i think many people who have not lived this experience dont seem to understand is i KNOW the poster who said ‘how are you a real person that actually exists’ probably meant it as a compliment. that is THE POINT of why i am taking a moment out of my trot to gently and anonymously let them know how it might feel to be on other end of something like this as a queer or autistic or otherwise marginalized buckaroo. it is obviously not their intent to actually hurt someone, so i am letting them know

maybe because queerness and autism are not physically apparent it is hard to explain, but imagine going up to very tall or very short person and saying ‘cant BELIEVE you are real’ as a compliment. not a great way to treat others. on my original post, an indigenous author chimed in with their own experience and feelings similar to my own. a woman who said she was very tall told her story. point is, while i do not have their experience, what i am saying has a universal thread for 'othered' folks

point is: i UNDERSTAND there is this sort of exaggerated or ironic (or maybe even sometimes very literal) language around fandom to say things like ‘how are you a human?’ to creators, but since it is not your intent to hurt, i think you might want to know how that feels to marginalized buckaroos sometimes.

obviously you can say anything you want. i do not hold it against you. also, if you think ‘oh no, did i say something like this to chuck at a convention? i am so embarrassed' then DO NOT WORRY i promise you buckaroo you are just fine. i present myself in a way that is unusual by definition, so i have pretty thick skin about this type of thing and a lot of patience. MANY buds start off thinking i am ‘a joke’ and then become fans over time and i am glad to trot beside them and prove love is real.

however there are other autistic or queer or marginalized buckaroos with smaller platforms who hear this just as much as me, so i think it is important to say it loudly and maybe together we can work on making a very slight shift in the way we speak to the ‘others’ in our lives

we do not NEED to let subtle dehumanization slip into our language. in some cases it has been called ‘micro aggressions’ but i think buds dont often consider what that means for COMPLIMENTS. ultimately, telling marginalized people YOU ARE SO AMAZING YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY EXIST may seem very fun and silly on the surface and for some folks it probably feels that way, but for others it can feel like a reminder of the broader doubt about their humanity. you can just say ‘YOU ARE AMAZING’ without the reminder of the many times autistic or queer or marginalized folks are told in a very serious and pointed way (like comments on the last post) ‘YOU ARE SO WEIRD THAT I HAVE DECIDED YOU ARE NOT REAL’

buckaroos can take this information and apply it to their interactions, or they can ignore it, that is totally fine. we are all trotting our own trots and proving love in our own way and thats okay bud, HOWEVER i feel like it is important to at least let folks know, even if that means getting told i am having a ‘meltdown’. i think it is important to have complex or difficult conversations if it will prove a little more love in the long run. THANK YOU FOR READING BUCKAROOS. i am honored to trot forward with you can tackle this kind of thing with you, and honored you buckaroos have created such an amazing space with me to pull apart these kind of feelings. THIS IS PROOF THAT LOVE IS REAL LETS TROT

[tenpintsof-sundrop]

The concept of 'famous' fanfics in the Harry Potter fandom absolutely blows my mind...