#i'm catering for a very specific group of people here

[transmascpetewentz]

@bugjolteon

this is such an astronomically bad take and you probably knew it as you were writing it. if you didn't, now you do, and here's why. (tl;dr at the end of the post)

gay trans men/lesbian trans women don't have "most content with any sort of relationship" made for us. i don't know what got into you that made you think that a group of people that famously has gender dysphoria has content "made for them" that centers our agab. like, please tell me why you think that i as a person who would rather die than be a woman, has content where i'm supposed to project onto the woman catered to me. that's not to say that it's impossible for me to relate to women in media, but it'd be the same as telling a cis gay man that he can just project onto random women and that that's good enough gay rep. it's just not a good argument.

there is not a lot of trans representation, especially for lesbian trans women and gay trans men, due to our relative invisibility until very recently. while you as a cis person probably won't relate to most stories about trans/trans + gay/t4t people where the transness is one of the main focuses, that is okay. you're allowed to consume and be emotionally impacted by media that you don't relate to. the mark of good media is not whether or not you relate to it but instead what you can learn from it. and i think that you need to consume some media so you can learn to see gay trans men and lesbian trans women as complex human beings within a society.

there are indeed (mostly cis, though other trans people are not exempt) people who draw porn, especially with gay trans men, where it's painfully obvious that they want to think of us as women. that's an issue that many of us have already addressed. usually, though, the people who fetishize us don't think it's "cool and gay", they see us as subhuman freaks whose only value comes from our genitals. they actively erase the homosexual nature of a trans man's encounter with a cis (usually even het) man. in fact, the specification of the trans man's sexuality is a major green flag that suggests that whatever art/content is not going to be fetishizing. this is due to the fact that mlm trans men's sexualities are usually erased so that the chaser can ignore our manhood and think of us as straight women without needing to confront their bigotry.

a group of people whose existence has been erased and whose experiences have been silenced wants to be loud, proud, and subversive. gee, i wonder why?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?

tl;dr: it's stupid to expect gay trans men and trans lesbians to be able to relate to heterosexual media the same way that cis gay men relate to media of gay men or cis lesbians relate to media of lesbians, the gay trans experience is a metaphorical 20 hour plane flight away from the cishet experience, and chasers suck but try to erase our sexualities.

#wentz.txt #free blocklist #long post

[lisafication]

So you belive racism should not be considered harassment? What is the impossible standard here is what I'm not getting. Ao3 has established a harassment policy only for it to not be fully defined or only cater to specific groups. What is end otw racism exactly "demanding" that apparently makes them a bunch of simple minded folks from the sounds of people against them

First off, not having detailed knowledge of an extremely specific area of industry expertise is not 'simple minded'. Let me make that very clear.

Secondly, they're asking for content moderation of Archive of Our Own's creative works. That's what can't be done. I'm not really here to comment on Archive of Our Own's existing policies and the practicality therein, but for my two cents the only harassment they can realistically cover is the sort that has them at least considering phoning the FBI.

#endotwracism #harassment #otw #ao3 #archive of our own

[qqueenofhades]

I mean, yeah, but neither Bernie nor AOC are radical at all. I think asking the left to be quieter won’t bring any good. Young leftists are loud and sometimes annoying, true, but they should be able to exist without catering to the more right wing sensibilities and not be called racists for that? Like? So someone’s dad read an article about Bernie that called him a radical, and? How is that anybody’s problem? People are allowed to exist loudly. Also I think a lot of American leftists are poc actually, not whit? Might be a misconception, I’m not USA American, I think I just saw statistics somewhere, so that’s like meaningless. But in the 60s most leftists were poc! So??

Gotta say, you're nicely proving my point here (and that of the previous anon). When someone points out that white Western leftists' rhetoric is alienating people with different experiences of "socialism," including older immigrants from non-American countries, you immediately jump to HOW DARE YOU CALL US ALL RACISTS AND TELL US TO BE QUIET??! Like my dude, my pal, my friend. That's quite a logical leap and represents the exact thing we're talking about here, so thanks for helping us demonstrate it.

That's not what I was saying and not what the other anon was saying. We're saying that this kind of exact jumping-to-conclusions, "you're definitely wrong and not us" mindset is what is harming the American leftist attempt to recruit a broader coalition that exists in the real world and not just on majority white, majority native-born American, majority-young spaces on social media. It's rather telling that you equate "ask leftists to be more productive and useful and realistic about their message if they actually want to make any real social change" with "STOP TELLING US TO BE QUIET!!!"

Anyone who has read my blog for any amount of time knows that I am not by any means quiet, or telling anyone else to be quiet, about leftist/progressive/liberal/anti-Republican policies and ideas. What I'm actually asking them to do is be smarter about it, which is often taken as a personal attack. Likewise, you're confusing "leftists" with "Democrats," which is not the case. Many people of color in America (though not all) are Democrats or usually vote for Democrats, because Republicans have taken a hard turn into open racism and white supremacy since at least the 1980s. These people do not necessarily identify as "leftists," in the sense that social media/Terminally Online Leftist Twitter defines it, and indeed, most of them don't. African-Americans are one of the Democratic Party's most core constituencies, but they largely identify as mainstream liberals or Democratic centrists. The far-left movement in America is very small and very white, for reasons I have talked about before, and this is the exact kind of rhetoric that is not helping it expand.

Likewise, both myself and the anon pointed out that it didn't matter if Bernie and/or AOC or anyone else calling themselves "socialist" was radical or not. We specifically discussed the historical context that makes certain groups deeply hesitant and/or flat-out unwilling to associate with that label, even if they otherwise vote for Democrats or support Democratic ideals. This is not some nanny-state slap on the wrist reprimanding young leftists for being "loud." It's pointing out that their so-called political strategies are often bad, and they're not making any of the change they claim to want, but they are looking Holier Than Thou on social media, which is deeply useless as praxis and only contributes to extreme-right revanchism. So like. By all means, be loud. But don't be stupid about it, and don't act like people who have concerns should just be blown right past and complained about as "how is that anyone's problem?" Because that is the exact core difficulty with a lot of Online Leftist messaging and why it is almost completely ineffective as an "opposition" force to fascism.

#anonymous #ask #politics for ts #oy

[psychewritesbs]

Thanks so much for sharing your metas @theanimepsychologist , I learn a lot of things from you...

Sorry for just realizing it now, that you are the writer of one of my favorite 'Soul Eater' meta ever from a few years ago (love it so much).

Now I found your blog again through your JJK metas (new fan here, just got to JJK fandom last year)....

Can I ask something, do you think SatoSugu is queerbaiting? What do you think about Gojo and Geto's relationship as romantic subtext?

(Sorry if you don't ship them, it's just, I want to know objective pov like you that neither love nor hate Gojo and Geto as characters).

If I ask these questions to SatoSugu shipper or anti SatoSugu (Gojo/Geto hater) both of those groups are subjective to their likes and dislikes...

But if you don't want to talk about it, I understand, sorry if I ask too much.

Also, just want to tell you, one of the main reason why I entered the fandom, is because of stsg. The fan arts and fan fictions for SatoSugu are amazing....But I love JJK more and understand more about the story & characters are thanks to you @theanimepsychologist (Sorry again if my main reason for entering JJK fandom is because of shipping).

Well this is awkward... I've since changed my username and perplexed moots and followers alike because of it.

Anyways, is stsg queerbaiting???? HMMMMM let's taco'bout it under the cut.

I think the ship in the manga walks a very fine line between queerbaiting and whatever the opposite is, but imo, it is ultimately not queerbaiting. More about this in a little bit.

If I'm honest though, if we go by the strict definition of queerbaiting as a "marketing technique for fiction and entertainment in which creators hint at, but do not depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ+ representation," the anime feels by contrast queerbaity.

I say this because MAPPA seems to be very aware it is catering to a very specific target audience...

Like... did they have to go this hard with Nanami?

Similarly, they took creative decisions that were very openly supportive of stsg as a ship while still remaining somewhat ambiguous to all of the people who do not see the romantic undertones.

In other words, MAPPA goes out of their way to make certain aspects of the story more obvious, which can feel like it is very intentionally speaking to an audience that would enjoy such changes.

Honestly tho, I LOVED the creative liberties that the anime took in general.

ANYWAYS.

My thoughts on stsg... I've actually talked about how I do like this ship before. I used to be on camp "they're just friends" and came around because I saw the vision and now I can't unsee it. But the fact that I had to be shown the vision in order to "get it" makes me feel like you have to see the ship through a certain lens in order to appreciate it romantically.

Thing is that I personally find it dissatisfying that a ship is presented to me in little "hints" and "clues" rather than through the dynamic itself. Which is where the queerbaiting allegations come in.

HOWEVER, to me, knowing how Gege writes by subverting tropes, the "queerbaiting" hints are very intentionally placed in the manga to say "these two were lovers" as opposed to doing it for "marketing purposes".

Personally, I much prefer Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle's kurofai because the clues are hidden in the dynamic and their emotional behavior to one another.

Compared to stsg, I can only read romantic subtext in two or three canon stsg panels, but I'm also not sure if it's because of Gege's skill level, lesser focus on emotional intimacy, idk...

That's how I see it at least. And I honestly respect anyone who doesn't think of them as lovers because, again, the ship is somewhat hidden in clues, not in the dynamic. And say a stsg fan reads this, they could very well think "is she blind?!"

And this is where we get into post-modernism and jjk's main theme: no one owns the objective truth. You are reading jjk through your very own unique lens, and any meaning you make out of jjk is always filtered through that lens. Trying to say your truth is absolute is basically power scaling.

At one point or another someone has to agree to disagree.

So yeah, you'll hear me say this bit about not owning the ultimate truth a lot.

Anon, thank you so much for the kind comments 🥲. I am so happy to hear you loved my Soul Eater write up and that you've ran into my jjk rambles too.

Honestly, I love writing about my favorite ships and nothing makes me sadder than the state of shipping in jjk fandom because people won't just mind their own business about who should be shipped with whom.

As a side note, I've been brainrotting about atsumei recently. Might actually write about the breadcrumbs because these two move me the way some of my absolute favorite ships, soma, asucaga, and kurofai move me.

Anyways I'VE RAMBLED WHY DID NO ONE STOP ME?, it looks like you are feeling worried about my thoughts on you starting to read jjk because of stsg. I say it is a wonderful thing that you started reading it and found enjoyment in it.

Thanks for reaching out, and as per usual I apologize on taking forever to answer asks... I have like 50 and I do try to answer most of them.

#yeah i guess i was theanimepsychologist #ask the mental gymnastics anime girl

[aprillikesthings]

Starting this fall I'm doing a four-year long class called Education for Ministry, which despite the name is not about becoming a minister. It *is* some of the same material covered in first-year seminary, but it's aimed at "laypeople" (aka not clergy) and isn't graded or anything. It's also run by an Episcopal seminary but it's not restricted to us--my group has a Methodist in it, and I think one other person who is "mainline" but not Episcopal.

Anyway. It involves a ton of reading from multiple books per week, and then getting together in a group (mine is on zoom, most are in person) once a week to talk about the reading and respond to conversation prompts.

And I need to decide (soon) if I want to use paper books vs ebooks. And whether I want to take notes on the texts via sticky notes or a notebook or in the books; or typing them up. (The notes won't be the kind used for studying for exams; we're encouraged to note when the text makes us Amazed, Bothered, Confused, or Delighted.)

And here's my eternal conundrum:

I know damn well I am more likely to do all the readings if I do them via ebook. I know I'm more likely to keep notes via typing (including highlighting/notes in the ebooks!). Mostly because that means I can do them at work, between phone calls.

But I really really love the aesthetic of paper books, dammit!

Also....wait now that I'm thinking about this. I'm doing it on zoom. It'll be a huge pain in the ass to try to look at the ebooks (which would require me to have amazon's in-browser reader open, I don't have a kindle and it's too small on my phone) while in discussions.

Also if I try one way and it isn't working I can just switch to a different way.

See this is why I write out things like this. I always somehow end up making the decision as I write/type.

Anyway I've managed to keep a paper planner/journal for most of the last three and a half years (no, really) in part by making the aesthetics cater to my very specific tastes (erasable gel pens with small nibs in a rainbow of colors, erasable highlighters with same, fuck-tons of washi tape and stickers, fancy notebook paper). So I might be okay re: EfM.

The first year has the most reading because we do the entire old testament. Second year is new testament, third year is church history, fourth year is theology and learning about other faiths. All four years are in the same group. I can (if I want) drop out and join back up next year, or drop my group and join another one at any point, because the material is standardized. So that's cool. The program is fifty years old now, which is amazing; but also it means they've had a lot of time to figure out how best to do this sort of thing.

ANYWAY there's a couple times per year everyone (no matter which year they're in) reads the same book, and this year one of them is James Cone's The Cross and the Lynching Tree, and Beyond A Binary God: A Theology for Trans Allies by Tara Soughers.

My other books this year (other than a study bible--and I already own a doorstopper of an NRSV Oxford Study Bible, with all the maps and translation notes and footnotes on cultural stuff, though I'll have access to one online as well) are A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (third edition) and The Hebrew Bible: Feminist and Intersectional Perspectives.

I'm nerdy enough that all those book titles are making me just :D :D :D

ANYWAY if you really want to nerd out on this shit for some reason, most of last year's manual/guide is here, in pdf form

(I was side-eyeing the trans theology book a tad because it's written by a cis woman with a trans kid, but in reviews people point out it's entirely aimed at allies, not transgender people. Because while there are absolutely transgender people in our churches!, they've often already figured this shit out, and it's The Rest of Us who need to get with the program, so to speak. I just hope I'm not The Token Gay (who knows a ton of trans people) but knowing the Episcopal church...probably not gonna be the only queer lol.)

#my life #the episcopal church #christianity #efm

[lesbiogay]

Man just remembered the time I made a mlm self insert server and went hey if ur not mlm/nblm or don't feel comfortable calling yourself that please don't join I'm trying to uplift a Specific kind of person here (if you don't know a majority of the selfship community caters to m/f relationships so it's very isolating if you're Anything else)

Anyway a while later I got a comment saying How dare I support mspec lesbians and gays (I identified, solely, as a bi gay man) and how DARE I exclude fem and unaligned nbs how DARE I make a space for a specific kind of people!!!!! And not include LESBIAN WOMEN!!!!!!!!!

And mannnn I was just sitting there like 🚬 idgaf what kind of people join as long as they're comfortable being grouped with achilleans and gay men and etc. It was literally up to the person I wasn't holding fem aligned ppl at gunpoint so they didn't come anywhere near me again LOL

Just. God that's bonkers. And I know I wouldn't have had to deal with that mess if I wasn't pro mspec gays like it was 100% bc of that rule 🩷

#i think the person was 17 so i hope they've grown up and learned to be kinder. #the server doesnt exist anymore but maybe 1 day i will make it again but maybe not bc id be the only fucking mod 🚬 #mspec gay #mspec lesbian #lesbiogay #bi gay

[on-wednesdays-we-eat-the-rich]

in defence of autistic characters

Because apparently people are mad about this.

I've heard the phrase "you're making every single character autistic!" and similar phrases way too many times. Mostly from allistic people who don't understand how headcanons work, and are also scared shitless by the very idea that they might have something in common with an autistic person.

Oh gosh, the horror!

"You're making every single character autistic," said in a negative way, is basically a translation of: "That character can't possibly be autistic because I'm not autistic and I like them!"

Neurotypicals often seem to be under the impression that neurodivergent people are some kind of alien species, and that these two groups have nothing whatsoever in common with each other and therefore can't even have the same feelings towards one single fictional character. They've given us our "representation", the Sheldon Coopers and the Rain Mans, and essentially said, "Here you go, enjoy your seven (7) canonically autistic characters, and leave every other character in the world to us." And then have the gall to act surprised when we're not particularly happy with what we've been given. Sure, Sheldon Cooper and Rain Man may technically count as representation, but that doesn't mean they're good, and it doesn't mean that they're enough. We need more than that.

You can make the exact same argument about queer characters or characters of colour. Marginalised groups are often given the bare minimum of representation and told that they should be grateful for it, as if everyone else in the world is bending over backwards to cater to them.

Surprise! That's not what's happening.

Instead we are supplied with the most boring, clichéd, unlikeable, stereotypical characters with very little personality, who are treated with very little respect by the people who literally created them. Why should we be grateful for that? It shouldn't be surprising, really, that we find ourselves feeling better represented by and more connected to characters who may not be specifically written as autistic but who we can relate to anyway, and have been written with respect, nuance and creativity. Real autistic people aren't as one-dimensional as we are in fiction. We've got personalities, interests, relationships and emotional journeys that are just as complex as yours, and we'd like this complexity to be reflected in the characters that are supposed to be for us. So when we don't get that, we end up being drawn to characters that were made for a more general audience.

One argument that I see frequently used to protest against autistic fans' relationship with these characters is: "it'll make people think they're autistic!"

Wow. People use stories as a means of self-discovery and a way to connect with others. Shocking. Truly shocking.

I have numerous problems with this argument. Firstly, it's concerningly close to being anti self-diagnosis. I hate to go off on a rant but the situation calls for it. Self-diagnosis isn't a bad thing. Often what people mean when they say "self-diagnosis" is "faking". These things are very different, and saying that someone is faking is always a risk because unless you know them personally and are aware of their entire medical history, you cannot be certain about something like this. And accusing every other person of faking a disability just because they don't fit your idea of what that disability should look like is not only extremely presumptuous, but perpetuates stereotypes and misconceptions that can be potentially dangerous.

And issues around self-diagnosis are multitude. Sure, it's not exactly ideal that it exists, but it's reality. People can't always access an official diagnosis; the assessment process is often long and exhausting; an official diagnosis can stop people from immigrating to certain countries and can threaten their ability to get jobs and have children; doctors aren't always correct in their diagnoses anyway, especially if the person they're diagnosing is AFAB and/or a person of colour. And even if someone doesn't give themself exactly the correct label, personally I think it's better to be slightly off the mark and still know how to describe your experiences and what accommodations and support you need, than to have no idea what's going on in your head and not know how to cope with your struggles.

Also, self-diagnosis is much, much more than just seeing a person with the same traits as you and thinking, "they're autistic so I must be too". It involves loads and loads of research. Hell, even the build-up to an official diagnosis involves loads of research, especially if you can't access private healthcare and have to lurk at the bottom of a waiting list for months before you get to talk to a doctor. I did at least two years of research, and I have been both self-diagnosed and professionally diagnosed. The official diagnosis was basically just telling me things I already knew about myself.

It's unlikely that so many people are deciding they're autistic just because they relate to a fictional character that it's a world-wide epidemic that needs to be stopped. Finding people we can identify with is important and helps a lot with self-acceptance. And it's a completely natural thing for people who are discovering their own autistic traits to start noticing them in other people too. So why are we surprised when we see that actually happening? And why are we acting like it's some kind of terrible thing? Do I need to remind you about Abed Nadir? The character who so many autistic people loved and connected with that Dan Harmon realised he was autistic because he based the character on himself? Give me one example where a scenario like this has ended badly. Just one.

In conclusion: you're allowed to have things in common with autistic people. And autistic people are allowed to connect with fictional characters. We're not hurting anyone. It's not the end of the world. Keep your hair on. If you're so offended that we see ourselves in not-explicitly-autistic characters instead of the one-dimensional caricatures we've been told are "for us", give us better representation. But it's not like you have a claim over every character that isn't explicitly autistic. It's not a "this is mine so you can't have it" situation. If you're thinking like that, you belong in a preschool with the rest of the toddlers who haven't learnt how to share things.

#autism #the tism #long post #i got passive aggressive with this one #neurotypicals stop acting like neurodivergent people come from a different planet challenge! (impossible)

[barbierpt]

i'm reading ur blog like the morning paper and i'm just gonna take a moment to address that anon you got about being ace and sex-repulsed; i am also ace and sex-repulsed, but there is absolutely nothing forcing anyone to read other people's smut on the dash, especially if it's under a read more. you have to make a DELIBERATE choice to read through a reply or click the "read more" button—if you don't want to see it, literally all you have to do is scroll past and move on OR block the nsfw tag, because most people do tag their posts appropriately. it is very much a personal responsibility to not engage with things online that are upsetting to you, and if you choose to do so anyway, that's 100% nobody else's fault but your own. like what are you doing?? meticulously reading every smut thread you come across even though you're repulsed and then getting upset at the people who wrote it???? and if it goes deeper than that and just the mere thought of raunchy text being on your dash makes you uneasy even when it's hidden and you're not reading it, that sounds like a particularly extreme trigger that you cannot realistically expect people to cater to. if a group doesn't have smut banned, you're seriously wasting your time trying to ask them to change their rules and ban it for your specific comfort 😭

reading my blog like the morning paper askjagdak 😂 thank YOU anon for saying exactly what i was thinking on that but didn't quite know how to put into words at the time. all of this is 100% true. most people here are considerate enough to tag and hide smut threads under read mores so if you're taking the time to read it... and then getting upset... that's on you. also as an admin myself, i'm not personally a fan of those members that come into the group and ask me to change the rules for their comfort. you joined knowing what you came into like...? idk what to tell you.

#rpt

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Now that Jimin is the first to officially become an ambassador for a fashion house, is it safe to assume Tae didn't become an ambassador for Celine because the brand didn't suit him? Am I alone in thinking that? I think he generally wears clothes well, but I really wasn't impressed with anything they dressed him in last summer at the Celine show. So I was pleasantly surprised when only Bogum was announced as their new ambassador, I thought they might go on star power alone. Haha or maybe they tried to snag him and Taehyung said "no thanks."

But why are so many people still acting like Tae is an ambassador for Celine? I would think they'd want their idol representing a house that actually suits his style

I'm going to say something regarding all fans, not just Tae stans because it applies generally. Most of the fans (most, not everyone) don't really care or have specific knowledge of these fashion houses. They want their idol to be associated with a famous, big brand name that is recognizable everywhere because it will bring a lot of social capital to the idol in question. Be it Jimin, Tae, Yoongi, or anyone else for the matter. It's about the status. Dior, Celine, Versace, you name it, all are luxury brands known to everyone which cater to middle classes and to fantasies about richness and social and economic status, and they get a different status for the nouveau riche. That also makes them be present in the average person's mind and life through pop culture (models, celebrities, actors, now K-Pop idols).

For example, as much as the LV deal was a disservice in terms of the actual clothes and image for BTS (we all remember those suits, unfortunately), the brand is seen as the height of luxury in certain parts of the world and for specific social and economic classes. For others it's tacky, while for some, shows to the world the amount of money they have. A LV deal for a South Korean group was considered a big deal.

There's much to talk about here and I have very limited knowledge on this topic, but I do think it boils down to the status. How many of the army and Jimin fans are Dior fans? Or Tae stans to be into Celine? I bet the percentage is quite low. But that's irrelevant. This is a win-win deal for the brand and the idol. The majority of the fans will love it because they see something that is considered important associated with their idol, the said idol is able to keep its relevancy in his fandom through another capacity, on top of everything else they do at this point, and the brand obviously wins because though the deal with a K-Pop idol, they can reach easier demographics that may have not paid attention before.

#bmt asks #jimin #tae #k-pop brand deals #k-pop and fashion #bts #jimin dior

[sizzlingpatrolfox]

What do u think abt the recent PJMS mess on twt...

@/darlinjimi turning out to be masc jimin obsessed (scary tbh) and then resorting to hate on him when he did smthg that was contrary to her ideal image of him. The way she was tweeting as if she controlled the entire pjm fandom was scary and very eye opening to me abt the fan culture in kpop

I'm only a little🤏🏻 worried abt how this affects the fandom

The depth of it all...

It wasn't a secret that she was a raging heterosexual obsessed with Jimin, but the homophobia of it all... But it makes sense. Jimin was just a tool for her, and her content was very specific and always stayed in the same category: sex. The problem was that at some point, I guess she noticed that Jimin was not providing that type of content for her to get her... creative... juices flowing. She can't post a photo like this and honestly go "I wanna sit on his legs so bad" or something like that.

If you know the tiniest thing about Elvis, you'll understand why she caved in to that movie and the actor and even to the dead man himself lmao. He loved the ladieSSS, loved their attention, had that deep MANLY voice, you know. She didn't need much to start comparing Jimin to Elvis and/or the actor. Jimin was simply not useful for her anymore. Jimin was not feeding her fantasy anymore. Which is okay, at its core. It's okay if someone's not doing it anymore for you, we get over our attraction to people all the time, and people close their accounts about their interests all the time ,or they move on to other fandoms; it doesn't tell me much more kpop fandoms beyond what everyone already knows: that we're consumers. Every member of BTS and the group itself, it's all there to be consumed. Everyone is free to walk away when the content out there is not something you want to consume. A lot of armys walked away because the music and the performances was no longer to their liking. A lot of us feel the same way about that. When it comes to idols, their personalities, personas, whatever you wanna call it, it's up for consumption too. It's why they are encouraged and why they know that they have to be multifaceted and show something for everyone. Nobody needs to give the idols any instructions. The "duality" is there so the people who like them pretty and cute can have pretty and cute; but they have to be sexy and dark too so the people who like sexy and dark can have that as well. I guess one side of Jimin's "duality" was getting too big for her to ignore, and it's not the playboy side she liked. It's why Jungkook on Instagram stories was the talk of the town, because he was catering to fans. He was giving fans the sweet flirty talk, the you're mine, I'm yours, I will be your boyfriend, etc. He was being consumed. I know it sounds weird, because nobody ever puts these things into words like this, but it is what it is. We all know it's happening, we just don't really talk about it in an analysis type of way.

In this case she was angry not only because at some point Jimin stopped catering to her fantasies, but because there's something worse about it: Jimin might be gay. Maybe Jimin is not telling her you're mine or whispering sweet nothings into her ear not only because he doesn't know her, but because he might not even be interested in the female gender at all. How is Jimin not being the type of man she needs him to be for her to be attracted to him.

And here comes the thing that most people don't talk anymore about homophobia: most will be okay with you being gay as long as you aren't "rubbing it in on everyone's faces". People look at let's say Ricky Martin, and once they're past the initial shock of remembering "oh shoot he's gay", they forget that he is gay. Because he doesn't act gay, and most importantly: he doesn't look gay. He's still desirable to women and he looks and acts the way it's socially accepted for men to look and act.

On the other hand, there are other men that don't let you forget that they are gay. And darling Jimin would've been okay, she would've been just fine and could've kept doing whatever she did and not resent Jimin if he was still desirable to her. If he still acted and looked the way it's socially acceptable for men to look and act. Even Elvis could be gay as long as he's still acting like a man, you know. Someone who would pick her up in his arms and have her sitting on his legs. Unlike Jimin, who as time goes by seems less and less interested in doing any of that.

One of those freaks said something like "if he's gay he should be the top at least". And it's all because of what I said above. In the unconcious mind, there's a deep rooted idea that GIVING DICK is better than RECEIVING IT (homophobia meets misogyny). Being "the top" would mean a more manly Jimin, someone who still caters to her idea of masculinity and to the fantasy that he would be able to and would want to fuck her.

There's so much more I could say about it, sexuality and all it encompasses it's such an extensive field, but I tried to stay on topic on not bring other people into the discussion Maybe another time.

Yeah LMFAO the way she acted as if she was physically destroying something with her tweets with 5 likes. All along it's always been about her. PJM twitter and even Jimin himself had to be about her.

Anyways, Park Jimin.

[hearth4days]

what about mono headcannons?

I'll give him six too happy Six day

So monophobia. Very obvious symbolism, but I only ever hear people point out the ending of the game. The whole game is about him avoiding being alone. The comics start (kind of, but more on that later) with him alone and seeing Six be captured by the hunter. Despite them only having known the other existed for about two seconds, he then goes through the whole first chapter A.) getting her out, and B.) getting her to trust him. Once she's captured in the school, he once again spends the whole chapter going through so much unnecessary bullshit to get her out. At the hospital, everything particularly horrific happens when Six is not with him. And then he once again chases after her once she's captured by Thin Man, even learning how to transform the literal structure of the city and teleportation in the process. And then he still ends up alone. Both games are built to be focused around one child in particular, the settings and monsters included in making the place that child's personal hell. When he's with Six, he's not alone, but the monsters are (hunter, teacher, doctor, Thin Man kinda but he's complicated). When he's away from Six, he's alone against hoards of enemies (hunter's traps [there were originally supposed to be animals here too], the bullies, the hands, the patients, the viewers). Once he gives into his fear, accepting his role once he's abandoned in the Signal Tower, that's when he's turned into Thin Man. Hence why Six made it out of the Maw just fine, she faced her fear by fighting the Lady of her own free will

That was so long. I'm sorry, but this one will be too. The settings in Little Nightmares are not their original worlds. Technically in the comics, the first place we chronologically see Mono is in a group home of some kind with dozens of other boys. We never see groups of children this big in the Little Nightmares world, excluding the Maw where they're being kept for food. Especially not in a safe place specifically for children. The building seems to be their size too, unlike the rest of the enviorments we see. The building catches fire, and the other children are taken by Thin Man while Mono hides in a TV to escape. I'm assuming this is where he got his tileórasikinesis, and why his journey started in the first place (more in the next point). As he leaves the broken TV, the world around him is suddenly larger than him, which leads me to believe there is some sort of phenomenon that brings normal human children into an alternate dimension of sorts where the games take place. Which is why none of the children have parents, none of the human characters look older than 12 or 13, and why each game/DLC seems so specifically catered to being that child's personal hell, all leading to an event at the end that either kills them, turns them into a monster, or they come out of all fucked up and traumatized to hell and back

Mono's original goal was to find Thin Man and save the other boys from his group home. While he often sidetracks his journey to rescue Six, he also refuses to pay attention to her hesitance about his tileórasikinesis. It's clear through drawings and pictures that everyone in the Pale City knows about Thin Man, and that's not including the remains of children he took along their way. Yet Mono stops at every TV that Thin Man draws him in with, getting as close as he can to letting him out before Six drags him back. Their whole long trek is just an effort to get closer to the Signal Tower. This points back to his monophobia and his savior complex surrounding Six, he's so stubbornly afraid of being alone that he'll do objectively stupid things to keep people close to him even when it's not realistic or safe for himself or others

Mono runs the Pale City now that he's been left there. Even before he's Thin Man, the Signal Tower and the flesh walls inside of it are an extremely influential source of power. The Signal Tower (obviously) lets off the signal that's playing across the city's TVs, hypnotizing its citizens. The flesh walls being made up of eyes and other gooey face parts leads me to believe it's absorbing the life from those brainwashed by the Signal Tower. In other words, the tower is a sentient being running the city and feeding itself on those it catches in its web. Mono/Thin Man, being the center of that, is like the heart of the city. He can influence the TVs to let him teleport to their location, or draw in his younger self so as to continue the cycle/save his younger self, whichever theory you believe. It also explains the constant rain around the tower itself, as the whole city is alive and feeding off of his emotions. Emo Thin Man canon

The hats really are because the rest of the world hates him. His tileórasikinesis manifests itself physically as his irises appearing to be made up of TV static. In a world full of children afraid of monsters, some of the most deadly being child-adjacent in appearances, this helps him be seen as less of a threat by those around him

Mono did not have a crush on Six. I don't care what that one dev said, it ruins the story and I hate it. Let him be a selfish, afraid, clingy little kid. They're in a world where everything wants them dead and their lives are hell. Maybe they just have BPD and need someone around to stay sane. What about that

#hearth's mantle breakdowns #gamer hours #microwaves him

[half-man-half-lime]

Fic I'm not gonna write: Wednesday edition

So this is the barest structure of an idea with some loose spitballing of what I'd like to see in a version of the show Wednesday that was maybe catered a bit more to my tastes. I don't know how much I like some of the ideas, but I thought I'd share some of them anyway. Sorry, this turned out very rambly and incoherent.

The core of what Wednesday didn't do for me was 2 things: it's a CW show, and, uh, the dialogue seemed dumb some of the time I guess.

I think I would have liked to see a campy comedy about Wednesday Addams attending a private school for actual weirdos, not just a bunch of cool teens doing love triangles or whatever. Not trying to hate here (apologies if I'm failing that attempt), but that stuff isn't my thing. Also no toxic family dynamics within the Addams Family! That is like the easiest fish in a barrel the writers could have ever shot and somehow they missed!

The foundation of the show or fic I'd make is that it has to be silly first. Think Homestuck: take a bunch of very wacky stuff and let it spiral out into something genuine and dramatic. Populate the school with campy movie monsters and monster-adjacent weirdos, then show what it's actually like for those people to live like that, and let drama ensue from serious lived experiences you never expected to take seriously.

If there's a grand conspiracy or mystery or big bad, it should fall in line with that idea. Absolutely ridiculous, but in a way that all of the high tension and melodrama extend out of. Something that ties into the tangled mess of spooky magic and relationships in the school, or something tied to fundamental structures that everything grows out from (like a central magic system, the origin of the school, whatever). I like the second one better, but the first is more fitting for an Addams Family series.

Some of the more shaky and specific ideas that I'm less attached to:

Base the houses or cliques on the Four Horrors theory. Separate your campy movie monsters into your Gothic Horror types (where Wednesday gets sorted), your Nuclear Horror monsters (I'm not sure where you find Kaiju small enough to fit in the school, color me stumped), your Lovecraftian kids (I'm thinking Night Vale inspired, maybe a core cast member who's like the floppy awkward fish people version of the Deep Ones as portrayed in the Innsmouth Comics), and the Slasher Students.

You could shove the Our Monsters Are Different tropes up its own ass? I don't know that this is a dead horse worth beating, but you could do that, if you humanize the characters at the end of it. I imagine that Wednesday gets introduced to the different kids as she's walked through her new school, the person showing her around says something to the tune of "I think you'll find the vampires here a little different from what you've seen in the movies." They gesture to a broody teen who's clearly an unapologetic Edward Cullen parody, in a joke that seems 12 years out of date. Then another vampire boy in a cheap Dracula costume with a cartoon Transylvania accent comes up and fist bumps him. A later episode sees these two boys try to force Wednesday into a love triangle, basically wingmanning each other. Wednesday isn't having it, but she gets entangled in their complex personal issues- not sure about the Dracula kid's deal, but we learn the Edward kid is pretty fucked up- he never mentally aged past 17 over the last several decades, he's caught in a mentality and role he's incapable of changing or breaking out of (like the Winter Court Fae in Pale), and there's a perception-altering field that everyone else treat him like a normal teenager. Wednesday somehow cottons on to the existential nightmare he's living in and helps him to actually grow up a little. Maybe in her very blunt and confrontational way, or with a strange and chaotic prank. These boys aren't in Wednesday's friend group, and don't function as anything but side characters most of the time, but when it comes time for things to go bad in the finale, kids who got spotlighted in episodes like these show up to support Wednesday with the Power of Friendship.

Actually, reading that, I think part of the issue is that Wednesday really functions best when she's in an antagonistic relationship with someone. I feel torn between thinking the series should put her against a preppy authority figure a la Addams Family Values, and forcing her into a situation where everyone's so much like her there's no authority to rally against. Probably the latter inside the school, and the former in the local town of meanies. Sort of like what the Netflix show does, but you know, less CW-ish.

IDK how to allude to this without spoiling it by implication, sorry: one of the Big Bads is played by the same cast member as the actual show. They get to be dramatic and chew the scenery and face off against Wednesday in a more intense way, and are better tailored to be a good foil for her character. I liked the idea in the show, even if the twist was a bit obvious after a while.

[cosmicbrowniefan]

( just want to preface this by saying that this concept is so cute , thank you for taking the time to cater to everyone's individuality by making the matches so specific ! you rock ! )

she/her female; 5'6 ; long blonde curly hair & green eyes ( or 'orbs' as a03 would demand . . my attempt at a joke has now sent shivers down my spine ) with funky coloured eyelashes *many thanks to mascara*, naturally dark brown but sometimes purple depending on my persuasion. fairly tanned skin with a small number of freckles here and there ; bisexual , lover of all - gender is no concern.

personality: who even knows these days . . thus , my first instinct is to scribble indecisive down. extroverted until i get super burned out , but otherwise fairly laid back. watching the world go by is a speciality of mine , it's cool to just watch people do their thing. beleiver in fate & destiny and all that jazz , maybe a little overly into tarot despite my lack of knowledge. i like to yarn about a lot of topics , usually in a conversational way instead of lecturing someone ( i hope this is the case ) but i'm ultimately a lover of language in general , stories from far and wide. loving someone from afar is a speciality , perhaps with a side peppering of commitment issues.

hobbies: music music music , whether that be listening , observing , reading , discovering . . whatever. picking up books new & old , cultivating a sense of art out of pretty things , comprehending astrology to the best of my ability , learning the greek language , taking a deep dive into character based analysis' , journalling ( when i remember ) , al pacino's filmography , spending time with my dog , rock history & actual physical rocks . . gemstone style . . if that counts as a hobby. ooh also , alien stuff ? i'm always eager to hear about ufo / space concepts , tell me everything !

likes: lava lamps *watching the goop goop * , hats of all shapes and sizes , making hyper-specific playlists for moods that come around once in a blue moon , louis theroux weird weekends , painted nails , the concept of urban exploring ( respectfully ) , green grapes & green apples , night owls as a fully fledged one myself , travelling for the sake of travelling ie. drives with no destination in my mind , the sound of rain , slow talk-y rambles and finally , a perfectly timed and co-ordinated 'your mum' joke

dislikes: my own aforementioned talk-y rambles when they go astray , confrontation , the complete dark , those with a high level of entitlement , headaches that just won't seem to be shaken , sharp noises , lack of general manners ( or those lacking in kindness ), any form of arithmetic , rough surfaces , for the most part : attempts to group people rather than viewing individuals in a case by case basis , reading the rules of any game.

anything extra: i have adhd ? no surprises there , so a level of compassion towards that would be nice from my hypothetical partner. on another entirely seperate note , i have no tattoos but think they're pretty groovy.

i ship you with...

jonathan byers!

how you met: through eddie!! eddie and you are kind of the twins of chaos. you’ve been friends for YEARS and everyone always kind of expected you two to get together, but just like robin and steve, you’re platonic with a capital p. no matter how much you love eddie, he’s just not your type. anyway, the sexually ambiguous six (the fruity four plus jonathan and argyle, that’s just my name for them) were hanging out one day and eddie realized he left his wallet at your house. you brought it over to the byers house to drop it off for him and jonathan was the one who answered the door. it was very much a cliche, ADORABLE meeting between you two, where he could barely say a word and was just staring until you spoke and knocked him out of it. wanting to get to know you more, he invited you in to hang out with everyone.

his first impression of you: for lack of a better term, jonathan met you and immediately wanted to study you. everything about you was just fascinating. your mannerisms, your interests, your sense of humor, the way you can talk deeply about any topic, your music taste, your love for culture and history and the world. not to mention, you looked like a priceless work of art yourself. he was just instantly drawn in by you and that interest has not wavered for a SECOND since you met.

how you got together: jonathan had been hyping himself up for a while to ask you out, but he hadn’t yet because he wanted everything to be PERFECT. he just felt like he couldn’t come up with a good enough way to ask you out. one day, the sexually ambiguous six (plus you) were hanging out and you went upstairs to get some water and the other five CORNERED jonathan and asked him all about when you guys were going to finally get together. he turned bright red and explained his dilemma about not thinking anything he said or did would be good enough. eddie immediately cut him off and said that you would love anything he came up with. jonathan shrugged and started rambling about just how perfect and fascinating and adorable you were and about how he thought he might not be good enough or interesting enough for you. what he didn’t realize was that, while he was saying all this, you had come back downstairs and were standing behind him listening to it all. jonathan only realized when he finished talking and looked up to see everyone grinning and staring behind him. he looked back and felt dread just FLOOD his body, and put his head in his hands right away. the other five quickly all made excuses to go upstairs and passed by you, each patting your back on the way. you came into the basement after and tilted jonathan’s head up, smiling at him and said that that was just about the most perfect way he could ask you. surprised, he raised an eyebrow and started to say something, but you cut him off with a kiss <3

what he likes most about you: jonathan thinks that your knowledge of the world is just fascinating. you seem to know a little bit about everything and he LOVES seeing how passionate you get. not to mention that you being knowledgeable and interested in everything gives you a way to connect with basically every person you meet. jonathan loves seeing you meet someone new and then within a matter of minutes you’re having a deep discussion about one of their interests. he especially loves how much you’re able to bond with will and he thinks it’s super sweet and endearing seeing you guys hit it off. you always find a way to make everyone feel loved and valued and it’s one of his favorite things about you. physically, jonathan loves your eyes and the incredibly cool makeup you do.

what you enjoy doing together: every saturday, you guys switch off and plan a surprise date for the other. in the past, you’ve gone bowling, roller skating, thrifting, hiking, berry-picking, to old bookstores, you name it, and you two have done it. these saturdays are always something you look forward to, but your most favorite one was a saturday the day after you two had been out to a party the night before, and you were both incredibly tired. it was jonathan’s turn to pick out a date, and, sensing that you both needed a rest, his date plan was you two staying at his house, watching his lava lamp, listening to music, AND he let you paint his nails, which you had been begging him for forever to let you do. it was the perfect day.

bonus headcanon: as you know, you're best friends with eddie munson, and jonathan gets a little jealous and sad occasionally. BUT you're able to reassure him so it's all okay :) not to mention he gets super cuddly and clingy when he worries so you get extra snuggles out of it <3

#stranger things #stranger things ship game #stranger things ships #reader insert #match maker #stranger things x reader #reader x stranger things #cosmicbrowniefan asks #cosmicbrowniefan ship game #i ship you with #i ship you with stranger things #jonathan byers

[mcpiejeff27]

How to Scale the Popularity of a Fandom or Media

Written by: Me!

DISCLAIMER

This is not scientifically proven nor is it objective. I made this up because I thought it would be funny

Source: Bro, trust me!

There is no quantitative data to back up my claims. All of this are based on experience and bias.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who wants to know the popularity level of the media we enjoy or take part in. Usually, this things are measured by the amount of active users, fan contents, interactions, and publicity. However, those factors rarely have a definitive group and I don't think there's an official scale to measure it (if there is, then I apologize for my laziness in reading). So, I made up my own scaling system to measure how popular a certain fandom or media is. Completely subjective and utterly disagreeable. But hey, it works for me. In what aspect? I don't know! You may see this as a schizo post, but to each there own. So, there are seven tiers:

OBSCURE The basis of them all. No matter what media you consume or what fandom you take part in, it will always start at this level. If a media is at the Obscure level, it means that the said media is almost non-existent or very slept on by the masses. The people who participate are the ones who have heard or known the existence of the media prior to their official release (i.e. through a trailer or closed beta gameplay). These people are what I like to call "The Progenitors": people who was there when the media was in development. Numbers of fan contents and fanbase interactions are close to none, but not zero. From here on out, is up to the fanbase and the creator of said media to rise up the ranks.

NICHE A media would enter this level when it has already established a definitive fanbase. Even though the numbers are miniscule and the media itself is still heavily slept on, at least it can be at peace knowing that there are genuinely interested in it. The member includes the Progenitors from the previous segment and new recruits are from those who have VERY specific tastes that the media somehow managed to cater. Fanbase interactions are limited to the fandom's inner circle. The number of fan contents and content creators are very few, but very dedicated. For instance, there could be, like, 20 creators (fanartists, fanfic writers, etc.) in a fandom, but when they create a fanwork of that specific media, they always go all out.

WELL-KNOWN Now we're getting somewhere. Once a media reaches this level, the number of members and fan creators starts to gradually increase in size. The fanbase discussions and interactions are still within the circle, but is very vocal. So much so that people from outside that community can hear them clearly (mostly by accident such as from memes that contain inside jokes from that media or fandom). At this point, those people would either join it or simply not interested in it. It doesn't matter. The main point is that the voices are heard and they would only get louder.

RELEVANT Similar to Well-Known, but even bigger and better. The number of fan contents and creators are considerably plentiful. The group interactions are not limited within the fanbase, but people from outside the fandom or don't consume the affiliated media directly can easily enjoy and actively participate. However, it is at this level we are introduced with the toxic side; the 1% of loud minority who are very vocal on expressing their toxicity. But remember, even though they seem loud, they are still manageable.

POPULAR The cream of the crop. All media and fandom strive to be in this tier. The active members are at a comfortably high level and are well fed with the bountiful amount of fan contents. Overall, it's a perfect level to feel content with. The downside? The number of toxic members also grow along with the fandom, which sucks but it's the consequence of population growth. Just hope and pray that the fandom or media doesn't overachieve or do anything drastic or else that 1% toxicity might get reeeaaaaaalll big.

MAINSTREAM The golden age for a media. Being in this tier means that the fandom or media in question has a VERY high count of active members internationally and there is almost no outsider who hasn't heard about or recognize it. However, this cause immense pressure to be able to cater the billions of fans and to not make a single mistake that can be their self-destruct button. Not only that, the number of toxicity is almost close to half and more vocal than ever before. But hey, price of fame.

IMPURITY OF MEDIA When a media or fandom became too popular or when the ones responsible for creating and maintaining set media pressed the previously mentioned self-destruct button, they belong to this tier. The toxic side is far from a loud minority anymore, thus silencing the people who actually care for the media. Not only that, the outsider will only know and recognize the toxic side of the fandom without even giving the good side a chance. The only way to revert from this state is to purge it thoroughly, cleansing the fanbase and the media itself back to its former, obscure state, by all means necessary. (Also, I did not base the name from Library of Ruina btw please play Library of Ruina)

That's all for my 10 PM delusional post, I guess. Where do you think you fandom belongs? Let me know!

#fandom things #fanbase #media #ramblings #popularity #my source is i made it the fuck up

[musical-chick-13]

Thoughts on subtextual yuri?

See, a lot of people write off subtext as "cowardly" or like...a way to claim plausible deniability so creators can still...cater to the homophobes or avoid controversy or avoid Getting Gay In Their Serious Heterosexual Show? Which, I'm sure there's plenty of that, because there's plenty of homophobia in the world. If that's the only reason, I do genuinely hate it. But I think subtext can be very valuable, and I think it can even be more in line with the established story/characters than stating their relationship outright. I'm going to use "yuri" broadly here, in the sense of "media of all kinds about women being romantically/sexually involved" as opposed to a specific genre of manga/anime.

Sometimes, creators (especially of children's/family media) have to rely on subtext to get any type of depiction of women in love/dating/etc. to be shown at all. (This is due to the continued view of queer relationships as Inherently Adult™/inappropriate for children, and/or the higher-ups wanting to avoid members of their audience who don't want to see queer people in stories kicking up a fuss.)

If a work qualifies as a period drama or something similar and seeks to represent what it might have been like for some queer women during that time, subtext can be useful. Obviously there WERE some wlw couples who spent their lives together as lovers/girlfriends/wives/etc. (we have!! always been here!!!!!). But I'm sure for some of them, the most they could express their attraction to women (or the most they felt comfortable expressing their attraction to women) was through subtlety. Comments or gestures of physical affection that could, through plausible deniability, be interpreted as non-romantic/non-sexual. That would go over the heads of people who weren't interested in acknowledging gay people or who actively shunned them. Even simply passing under the radar of hostile outsiders while still being able to have some sort of connection with another woman. I think the stories of these women are still valuable to tell, as they are still authentic queer experiences. We need a wide breadth of queer stories.

And if you have a character who is extremely repressed or not in a position (for whatever reason) to understand her attraction to women, or even a character who doesn't outwardly express emotion very much, it might make more sense from a characterization standpoint to keep her relationship(s) with other women grounded in subtext. Again, there are as many queer experiences as there are queer people, and I think they all deserve to be represented.

Lastly...I think subtext is still resonant in the present, even with modern-day characters. I'm speaking from both my own experience and from testimonials from other sapphics, but a lot of trying to navigate finding other queer women (as partners of any kind and as friends, actually) is evaluating conversations/interactions to determine the state of your relationship. Testing the waters through innocuous comments with queer undertones. Being careful about how you approach various subjects or physical affection or any one of a myriad of interactions until you're reasonably sure the other woman will respond positively. Plenty of us do still rely on subtextual conversations/interactions in real life, as a way to keep ourselves safe, preserve existing relationships, or even simply to make the idea of potential rejection less painful. (And this is especially true for teenagers--and other groups--who are still dependent on other people for basic needs and financial support. You want to be able to express your identity, but you also don't want to risk getting cut off by people who are providing you with food/shelter/transportation/money for emergencies/etc.) "Subtext" in (potential) sapphic relationships is a real thing people experience. And as such, I think representing it in fiction is worthwhile, too.

Tldr: Go yuri. Even subtext. Sometimes especially subtext.

#on subtext #multi t(ASK)ing #mel screams about fictional ladies again #me + writing too much about media: this too is yuri

[slightlywhelming]

Your Only Job as an Artist

I'm lucky enough to be at a point in my career as an artist, specifically a musician, where I've been talking to managers and lawyers lately about turning my self-sustaining hobby into my full-time job. I wanted to share an interesting thought that one of them shared with me during our last meeting that would have changed the way I had engaged with my audience from the very beginning if I had been told this earlier. Here's the jist of the idea:

Regardless of your medium of choice, every artist has 3 groups of people they engage with. Those groups are Viewers, Engagers, and Fanatics.

Viewers are the people that see and very interact with your art. If you're a musician, Viewers are the people that came to your show to see one of the other bands, but stayed and listened to you too. If you post digital art online, Viewers are the people the see your art on their FYP.

Engagers are the people that engage with your art. If you are a photographer, these people like your photos when you post and hire you for shoots. If you're in a band, these people buy tickets just to see you, and probably own one of your t-shirts.

Fanatics are people that have made your art part of their identity. People repeatedly pay for you art. People that get tattoos and post about your art on their own page.

YOUR ONLY JOB AS AN ARTIST is to turn Viewers into Engagers, Engagers into Fanatics, and to keep Fanatics around as long as possible. On paper, this mindset seems really straight forward, but here's how remembering this can help you as an artist. When you post online, or release music, or run a stand at a farmers market, or anything, you need to be aware which of these 3 groups. Are you trying to turn Viewers into Engagers, turn Engagers into Fanatics, or keep your Fanatics around? Being aware of this will help you cater your content to the group you want to target.

From a personal example, I know a very talented musician, who will remain nameless, that has not yet understood this concept. The entirety of this musician's digital footprint consists of content designed for Fanatics. He is constantly cryptic about his releases, keeps his identity hidden behind a mask, and overall acts like a mysterious, troubled genius. That's all fine and good except for a single problem: he doesn't have a dedicated fanbase yet that cares enough to engage with content like that. If I come across a new musician like my friend and I have no idea what's going on when I click onto his page, I'm going to move on. You need to understand when to cater to the Viewers, the Engagers, and the Fanatics, and understand the difference between the types of content those groups will respond best to.

Give me your thoughts on this. Do you think this is helpful to remember? Why or why not?

#artist #musician #creator #writer #advice