#really makes a fandom a community imo! like that’s not all there is too it obviously but it’s a nice extra dealy ouo

[mutated-green-things]

Looking at old tmnt fan fiction and remembering that since the 2k3 turtles didn’t have canon eye colors, a lot of people just took the eye colors from the 2k7 movie and just retrofitted them onto the 2k3 turtles. So in old fics Raphael having golden eyes was allllll over the place.

I think Leo commonly had gray eyes and ofc Mikey had baby blues, but golden-eyed Raph was like. Such a specific, overwhelming phenomenon of that era that I very rarely see these days.

#I kind of miss it is the thing #I love love love wildly accepted fanon in fandom #it’s like half social contract half excited conversation done through fanwork #really makes a fandom a community imo! like that’s not all there is too it obviously but it’s a nice extra dealy ouo #tmnt #tmnt 2003 #tmnt 2k3 #tmnt 2k7 #widely accepted*** was what I meant djfjfjskdk

[nolongerexistingsadcatface]

Ok yes America hating the cold is funny (eh) BUT. have you considered that I like the imagery of an America sitting alone in the forest in the bleak mid-winter landscape of an east coast woods, all alone in both body and mind, agonizing over her seeming doom to be stuck in the throes of loneliness for all eternity?

#aph nyo america #aph america #i want engagement <3 #secret confession i actually hate that canonically america doesnt do well in the cold #it gives too much ammo to the west coasters (villains) who can’t let my poor baby alfred be the east coast girl he truly is #also in a broader sense i feel like it creates a weird divide in both the portrayal of america and the connection he has with his country #as its representation #america is one of the most climate diverse countries in the entire world and i feel like making the REPRESENTATION OF AMERICA not be able t #handle a large majority of his country’s climate is an Odd choice and creates an unfortunate barrier between american culture #and the way it’s portrayed in hetalia #imo one of the most amazing parts of the geography of the us is its ability to be a metaphor for the american people #so insanely diverse and fundamentally different and completely irreconcilable—but it works anyways. #the land works together anyways //we// work together anyways we become one anyways despite what any and all logic dictates #what any and all logic DEMANDS #so for america to not be able to represent that cohesion + community—and in fact represent an intense and almost INNATE complete inability #to even try being accepting of and embracing our differences—is just.. not something I like + insinuates a very odd view of American cultur #my eyes are shutting as i type this im so tired #sorry if this is horribly written rip #i see this a lot in the hetalia fandom (IK I JUST DID IT IN THIS POST LMAO BUT I SWEAR I DO IT AS A JOKE; I REALLY DO APPRECIATE THE WEST #COAST AND AM FULLY AWARE OF ITS ROLE IN THE US CULTURE AND FUNCTION) where people write alfred as being almost hostilely exclusionary??? #towards certain areas of america—city al who doesn’t like the country; country al who doesn’t like the newfangled cities; northerner al #who hates the southerners (because theyre poor + dont fit the author’s view of respectable people BUT THATS FOR A DIFFERENT POST);southerne #al who hates the northerners—and it’s all very gross to me. america is not—at its core—a country/culture founded on separation!! our ideals #are based on being—at our most basic—separate multi-faceted individuals who COME TOGETHER!! as one because of common ideals and love #E PLURIBUS UNUM!!!!!! #ok im done gn

[iwasforcedtomakethisbytum]

I love that agere content got popular in the wttt fandom. I don't know how but it's amazing, so i made up some headcanons for the main six, i don't see them all regressing but i decided to force myself to have all the headcanons be about regressing

Florida i feel is at the youngest 7 he is a bit more giggly he is obsessed with water and will run off to swim in a nearby lake, that's one reason he doesn't tell people about his regression the other is so he can watch adult shows and stuff without others trying to stop him (i feel California would try if he knew) he does have chew toys and non chew toys (like that'll stop the chomp) but he doesn't specifically use them in or out of regression

Gov is pretty quiet when regressing, he obviously doesn't wear a suit because why would he? I don't know how old he'd be but I'm feeling anything below like 8 would work he has a chew toy and a pacifier that he barely uses unless he was really young, he has a good few plushies he's collected over the years that when he's regressed he usually just stares at, he might move them a bit but he really just imagines them doing cool stuff, i feel the states tried getting him to physically play with them but have stopped because he is genuinely having fun and gov also hit them because they took his toys

Louisiana is somewhere in the teenager range, so he can hide his regression pretty well, if he even knows he's doing it, i feel he sneaks out just to walk around the place looking for fun even though he doesn't have to sneak out nobody would question if he left without telling anyone, he does not have toys for his regression specifically, i feel he would wear more clothes he would wear around when he was a teen, he'd also have a shorter temper imo

New York i could see around 4-8 he doesn't dress too differently he already wears pretty comfy clothes it looks like, i feel he has a couple plushies, and a pacifier he'll use i don't feel he regresses a lot and he doesn't really care for toys as an adult so he doesn't have many. I've seen a headcanon say he likes to color not related to regression but now I'm making it related, he has a good few colouring and activity books he enjoys both regressed or not, depending on his age he'll watch some nice kids shows in bed maybe with his toys, he probably hits them against each other

California is around 5-10 when he regresses, no matter his age he usually likes having his pacifier, occasionally he'll take a chew toy especially if he were to go out in public and try to hide his regression, we all see him if anyone to have a good amount of plushies, and he pretty much only watches kids shows when regressed, i see him more into cuddling plushies than playing with them. He can have a bit less self control and he'll be a little selfish during his regression, nothing insane tho. Sometimes i feel he could get really upset before or during his regression and have to be calmed down by another state

Texas is one of the younger regressors, i feel around 2-3 he usually isn't trying to regress so obviously he's usually a little upset when it does happen, he is nearly unable to talk and does have communication cards because of it, he has made himself a couple of plushies because he'd rather die than buy himself a plushie at a store like so embarrassing! He has a pacifier he hates the pacifier, he sometimes uses a chew toy but he doesn't often he doesn't even own it because of his regression it's because he uses it to not grind his teeth in his sleep. He hides under furniture a good lot, or just in compact areas. He gets really upset if you touch anything of his, you are not guaranteed safety if you do, if he wants you to touch his stuff, he'll basically force you to take it.

Stay tuned and maybe I'll do all of them as caregivers, no promises on that though

#welcome to the table #welcome to the statehouse #wttt #wttsh #wttt texas #wttt california #wttt florida #wttt new york #wttt louisiana #wttt gov

[ace-of-hearts-and-spades]

YOU THERE!!!!!! TUMBLR USER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are YOU tired of how Tumblr treats trans people, particularly transwomen and transfemmes? Are YOU tired of how Tumblr treats people of color, particularly black folks? Are YOU tired of fandom trying to police the madeup bullshit you like to draw, write, or read about? Are YOU tired of all this fucking AI bullshit? Are YOU looking for a new online home to settle in?

Consider Pillowfort.social!

I’m not going to go into the nitty-gritty of how Pillowfort functions, because others have talked about that and explained it much better than I can (I recommend reading @/vergesm’s post here for a more general Pillowfort overview). What I’m going to do is explain what I, personally, get out of Pillowfort and why I enjoy it.

To preface, I’m not being paid to make this post or promote Pillowfort or anything. I wouldn’t think that needs to be said, but people make things up sometimes so idk. I’m writing pro-Pillowfort propaganda because I genuinely like the place and want to see it thrive. If you want to take a look at my own fort and get a feel for the place, you can do so here.

So with that out of the way – let’s talk about it!

Pillowfort is quite a bit like Tumblr, in that it’s a blogging platform, but it’s got a few things that make it better than this hellsite imo. For one thing, you can post NSFW content there. Although I don’t draw much explicit stuff, it’s nice to be able to post art there without worrying I’ll get shadowbanned for a picture that’s just a lil too suggestive. It's nice to know that the option is there. Honestly, it’s freeing not to have to worry about that shit. And it’s also really cool that there’s a built-in system for marking certain posts as NSFW, because as well as being able to mark your own posts as NSFW, you can choose whether you want to see other people's posts marked as NSFW. And for minors, the ability to see NSFW content is automatically turned off. Pillowfort’s got a really good system for both allowing NSFW content and keeping it away from people who don’t want to see it. I really like that flexibility, and how that flexibility isn't detrimental to the users.

And speaking of being able to see or not see certain content, the content filtering is pretty solid. You’re able to block tags and even words in the body of a post, and like I said, you can control whether you want to see posts marked as NSFW. You can even control who sees your own posts! There’s blocking users, of course, but you can limit who sees your own posts even further than that. You can make them visible to anyone, visible only to logged in Pillowfort users, visible only to your followers or mutuals, or hell, even visible to you alone!! It’s cool to have that level of control, and I find it reassuring to know I have those options.

Another big appeal of Pillowfort, for me, is the userbase’s strong “don’t like don’t read” policy. A lot of the people there operate under the mindset of “as long as it’s fictional, whatever dude. I don’t have to like it, but you do you." There are still dipshits, of course, but it’s WAY better than the insane purity culture that’s developed here. I don’t have to worry about some wannabe-conservatives telling me I’m just as bad as Ted Bundy for [checks notes] sexualizing Michael Myers or some shit. Plus, this general userbase mindset is backed up by actual site policy! I’ve heard that Pillowfort is very swift in responding to reports of harassment – whether it’s fandom-based harassment or bigotry. I haven’t had any experience with this personally (and hopefully it’ll stay that way), but I’ve heard good things about it, and it makes me feel more comfortable being there.

Also, did I mention Pillowfort has an explicit anti-AI policy? AI generated images and writing are banned on the website, and staff made this decision once its userbase and community made it clear that they wouldn’t welcome that sort of shit. And GOD, does it make me feel so fucking good as a writer and artist to know that.

And that’s another thing – Pillowfort staff actually fucking listens to its userbase. The website is crowd-funded and relies on subscriptions and monthly donations to keep things running. And because it relies on its community, it relies on keeping the community happy. So complaints, bug reports, suggestions and alterations and things the users would like to see on the site – it’s all taken pretty seriously. And again, it’s just really nice to know that the staff of the place actually give a shit and are looking out for its community rather than trying to suck the dick of the biggest investor.

Really, the only problem I have with Pillowfort is the fact that it’s a bit small. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because the people there are lovely. But since a lot of people aren’t happy with Tumblr, and haven’t been happy with Tumblr for some time, I thought I’d just ask you guys – maybe consider it. Consider making a Pillowfort account. Consider making your own little fort, stringing up some colored lights and cool art and making yourself cozy. Consider offering some money, if you can spare it, because it’s genuinely a really cool place that I want to spend more time in and see prosper.

So far, I’ve had a lovely time there. It’s cozy and friendly and it feels like one of the few places where a queer artist like me is actually welcome. And I think a lot of Tumblr users might really like it too.

I hope to see you there! 💜

#ace rambles #pillowfort #tumblr alternative #will this actually convince anyone? idk #i hope i can at least convince some of my moots/buddies lol #might as well shoot my shot

[hkthatgffan]

The fanmade Gravity Falls episode called Return to the Bunker is now out!!

I'll give my 2 cents below so, spoiler alert from here on out!

I loved how the episode was done. The artists did some amazing work with the animation and storyboarding for it. It surpasses in many ways even the work on Deep Woods. The VA's all did an awesome job too, with all of them being very close in getting to the voices of the original characters. I think the story was also really creative, fun and lore/character building. I've always longed for an episode diving into Mabel and Ford's bond and this episode did a great job with it. I also loved stuff like Stan and Dipper bonding, Wendy having more than just a background character role for once, how it explained stuff like the rift crack and especially that insane ending that makes it feel almost like a canon episode.

I have heard some negatives in regards to stuff like how Ford was handled by a lot of the Ford fans in the community which isn't too surprising given his character's love. I will admit personally that I felt Ford could have been handled better and as a retired fanfic and episode idea writer myself, it's not how I would have handled Ford, but I don't think for a sec it was unsalvageable. I think it would have worked better if Ford had more reasoning to why he was acting like that beyond trust no one, or that the end had him perhaps do what he did when they all were asleep so we wouldn't see the heartbreak in Mabel over that, but it is a fan episode. It's not how I would do it or probably Alex Hirsch, but that's us. I also feel there were plot holes here and there that were a bit hard to ignore that made the episode feel a bit clunky compared to how it was advertised.

But truth be told, the effort to put something like this together outweighs the flaws in it and I mean, it's fanmade so it's not actually canon or going to affect the show overall. IMO, Lost Legends had a lot more problems in how it handled the Mabel situation in ways (though that may be a bit of my left over Ford critic speaking from my younger days in the fandom when I was getting into all sorts of arguments over the Mabel issue with Ford fans on GF Amino but that's a tale for another day).

All in all, it was a great episode. If I had to give it a rating, I'd say 7.5/10 or 8/10. A huge congrats to the whole team for finishing it and releasing it. I know from speaking to Deep Woods members just how long and difficult these things can take to make and no matter the story, I'll always have respect for the artists and VA's who bring fan projects like this to life. What other cartoon has a fandom as dedicated as this one? Gravity Falls fans are one of a kind and 11 years on, we still show our love for this show in a greater way than other fandoms ever can.

To sum up, I have my pluses and minuses with this episode. Some are ones most fans will agree on and others will likely be a bit harder to do which I get. But my overall final take on it is good and my final rating out of 10 is a firm 7.5-8. I will agree though that Ford could have been handled better. Even back in 2018-2019 when I was writing fanfics and a bit more..."aggressive," in my stance of Ford to say it lightly, I did my best to write him in a way I felt was more aware and compassionate than RTTB Ford was. I am happy with how the episode handled Mabel however. I was so afraid they'd pull a Don't Dimension It type pattern but it was way better and I felt it was a decent step towards a Ford and Mabel like story. Still a way to go but not horrible.

But those are my two cents on Return to the Bunker.

#gravity falls #Return to the Bunker #Fan episode #fan made #fanmade #fanfic #gravity falls fanfic #gravity falls fanfiction #Grunkle Ford #Ford Pines #Stanford Pines #alex hirsch #dipper and mabel #gravity falls mabel #dipper pines #mabel pines #mabel #gravity falls fandom #dipper #grunkle stan #Review #That GF FAN #ThatGFFAN #I thought it was pretty good tbh #Though I get the hate regarding how Ford was like #It's not how I would do it #But I also don't mind it too much #Then again Ford was never my top character lol #It was always Dipper and Mabel #But I still like Ford

[misc-obeyme]

i had a thought, cc, because of the recent event being about sports. when I was in highschool and college after sports (specifically swimming) we would all shower together. there's just 0 shame with a swimmer, we'd be side by side chatting while showering. I've noticed in my life that a lot of people don't really take that well! like I'm okay taking off all my clothes in front of a classmate, casually, without even really thinking about it; swimmers are kind different that way.

I'm kind of giggling trying to imagine any of the brothers who may be showering in the communal and MC just casually sliding up next to them (there's a ton of other spouts but they pick the one RIGHT next to him?) and making conversation. (They're not even TRYING to hide their body.. not showing it off either but-)

Since I don't know them as well as others who have been in the fandom a lot longer than my month and a half, what do you think their reactions might be?

Like who's team freak out, or just mildly uncomfortable, or just as casual as MC? Oh god and who's (NSFW) peeking inappropriately?

- 🐌

Oh well I can tell you right now that Mammon and Levi are both on Team Freak Out and Asmo is on Team Peeking Inappropriately.

I'm assuming this is something where they're all at RAD and in some kinda PE locker room situation lol. There does seem to be a communal bathroom in the House of Lamentation, but it also seems to me like they take turns using it rather than using it all at once? So I'm not sure if it has a communal shower situation. And honestly I don't think the brothers could handle something like that on a regular basis.

Okay so here's what I think would happen with the bros:

Lucifer wouldn't be bothered. I don't think he'd even be mildly uncomfortable. I think he'd be just as casual as MC in this situation. Lucifer has a lot of self confidence so in that, he would be unconcerned. I also don't think he would be overly bothered by MC's nakedness. Now if MC was in a relationship with him, then things might get inappropriate, but only if you were alone with him. He'd be far more bothered by the entire situation if the others were there.

Mammon and Levi would both freak out, but for different reasons. Mammon is so in love with MC, he wouldn't be able to handle seeing them naked. Unless MC is in a relationship with him and then he wouldn't be able to keep his hands to himself, no matter who else was around. Levi, on the other hand, would be so self conscious and embarrassed, he would probably just run away lol.

I see both Satan and Beel being mildly uncomfortable. Like they're not gonna say anything, but they are definitely blushing profusely and trying not to look at MC. Satan would probably be a little more bold if he was in a relationship with MC. Beel probably has a little bit of that sports team camaraderie experience, but it's also a little different because it's MC, you know? I think he would be shy unless MC made a move.

Asmodeus would be so thrilled. He has no problem with nudity, either his or someone else's, and he would be gushing about how beautiful MC is. He might get a little worked up, even. Asmo would be excited, but he would also appreciate that MC was taking care of themselves, you know? Plus he's easy to distract if MC just starts asking him about his shampoo or something.

I think Belphie would be like Lucifer. Unbothered. Might not even notice, actually. Just kinda like oh hey MC. I think he'd only react if MC deliberately teased him or something. He just has that general sense of "can't be bothered" you know? And I don't think it'd be a big deal to him.

Anyway, this is just my opinion of course! Everybody headcanons the characters a little differently! But this is how I think it'd go. I kept this pretty sfw, mostly just implying the potential of other shenanigans. But things could get nsfw very quickly too imo...

#I have never experienced this myself #as I am not a sports person #but here are my thoughts anyway lol #obey me #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #🐌 anon #misc answers

[itsabardknocklife]

By no means trying to start an argument but I don't think it's fair at all to say people hate Mystra because she's a woman. Even if Gale wasn't a minor- she was his teacher, his goddess, she took advantage of the power she had over him, tossed him aside when the orb situation happened, and only comes back into his life to tell him to off himself- this has nothing to do with her being a woman. Am i not allowed to hate Zariel for abusing Karlach? Cazador for torturing Astarion? Shar for manipulating Shadowheart? Vlaiikith for lying to Lae'zel and the entire githyanki race? Mizora for trapping Wyll in his contract? - they are the abusers of characters I love. And equating that to petty fandom misogyny for the sake of ships isn't really fair imo

Nowhere did I say that you couldn't hate Mystra for what she DID do. I agree that she abused her power and manipulated Gale. I also think saying she tossed him aside is Unfair; the Orb in Gale's chest would LITERALLY EAT HER and she tells you as much in a Gale Origin run. She just got back from the dead and now the man she TRUSTED as her CHOSEN has run off in search of the very thing that killed the first Mystra without any sort of foresight or research into what he might find.

If you were in that position, what would you do? It doesn't matter that his intention was "good;" how could you trust someone who went chasing after consume you whole? Especially when the last person who used it intended to do just that? Especially when the moment Gale learns about the Crown of Karsus, he immediately begins to talk of replacing her?

I'm sorry, but I don't think what Mystra's done is on the same level as Cazador, Mizora, Zariel, or Vlaakith. I think there's a whole lot of Unreliable Narrator happening when it comes to the whole "tossing aside" thing. Gale ASSUMES that she stripped him of his power; she did not - the Orb consumed them and he's lucky it didn't consume more. He ASSUMES she's casting him aside when she tells him to go martyr himself; she is not - she's afraid of what he'll do if he gets his hands on the Crown of Karsus, and not without good reason.

I personally think the worst thing Mystra did was fail to communicate and trusted that Gale was smart enough to know what he was doing. He was not. This is not as one sided of a situation as the fandom makes it out to be. Gale dug himself a series of holes and when he hit rock bottom, he looked around and focused on the fact that he'd hit rock bottom without considering WHY he was there.

I understand that people want to see Gale as a Good Person - he wants to see himself that way too! But he's not. He's REALLY not. He's complicated, ambitious, power hungry, and most importantly, human. He has blind spots and biases and quite frankly, it doesn't take much to influence him. He's so close to becoming Karsus 2.0 and he refuses to see it because He Knows Better. He's a Good Person.

So yeah, I think it's extremely fair to chalk this up to fandom misogyny, actually. The fandom acts like the sun shines out of Gale's ass and that he is a perfect good boy who did nothing wrong, and that is, objectively, not true. Gale did many things wrong, and with your encouragement, he can do even more wrong things! Both people in this equation fucked up!! Stop putting the blame solely on Mystra's shoulders!

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #mystra #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #bg3 gale

[squircatlies]

Here's some notes I've compiled for trans people seeking to become fear avatars:

-the flesh- classic, we all know what's going on there, body image issues, additional limbs, twisted bones, general body horror, a lot of toxic masculinity and way too many gym bros in the space. Very popular with trans people in the fandom, because it's relatable but for me it's mid at best. 5/10

-the corruption- you can transition into a cool bug of your choice or a hive and noone could tell you shit about using they/them pronouns, very accepting community, but there's no place for privacy or personal space. 7/10

-the beholding- somehow I doubt the Magnus Institute's insurance policy covers gender affirming care, but maybe you could get someone else to pay for your transition via blackmail or sugarbabying, don't be surprised if your scars open to reveal eyes though, I think body hopping via eyeball exchange is only for Jonah, but maybe you could figure it out. 6/10

-the lonely- not gonna do much for you, unless you wanna transition into mist, also you easily cut off all the bigots from your life and send anyone who tries to mess with you into the fog realm, but it's gonna be really difficult for you to get a solid support network. 4/10

-the dark- go ahead and disappear from your old life if you want to, noone's gonna find you even if they try, you could also dabble in body hopping via black goo, the religious aspect might not be everyone's vibe though. 6/10

-the end- fake your death and live your best life, you could also shed your mortal vessel or perhaps become a skeleton, no notes. 9/10

-the web- if you want to transition into a spider this one's for you, very specific, but better than corruption imo, also web binder/tucktape anyone? 8/10

-the hunt- you might transition into a werewolf, very badass, be careful not to transition into a cop though. 5/10

-the stranger- literally just steal any face you want, frankenstein your perfect skin, it's that easy. 10/10

-the slaughter- there's no place for gender in war, sorry but you're getting ptsd, not hrt. 0/10

-the desolation- you get to sculpt yourself into any shape you want, kinda like the flesh, but without all the baggage, it's gonna hurt like hell, but you'll get used to it, be trans, commit arson. 9/10

-the spiral- your gender is literally unknowable, also you might become a maze-like structure or it may become you, if you ever felt gender envy while looking at a door, this one is for you. 7/10

-the burried- if you ever slept in a binder get in the coffin, I don't make the rules. It does give you a feeling of safety and cool dinosaur fossils, so why hide in the closet when you can hide underground? 3/10

-the vast- not a lot in terms of gender affirming care, unless you get gender envy from like space or something, but you get to fly, live really long and feed your enemies to the sky. 2/10

-the extinction- noone can question your gender if everyone is dead, I guess. But also there's trash everywhere. 1/10

#the magnus archives #tma shitpost #tma headcanons #tma the eye #tma the web #tma the spiral #tma the stranger #tma the vast #tma the buried #tma the desolation #tma the beholding #tma the lonely #tma the flesh #tma the slaughter #tma the hunt #tma the dark #tma the extinction #tma the end #tma the corruption #tma fears #transgender #feel free to add your own foughts on this #tma

[kissmetwicekissmedeadly]

Ikemen fandom, I want your attention!

There's something I wanted to discuss for a long time now. Do you also feel like it's about time we abolish the term "content creation", especially while talking about the fandom challenges hosted around here?

Now, the Ikemen fandom is a somewhat tight-knit community that offers tons of positivity and support for making fanworks. I'm far from the thought that anyone here means any harm while calling others (and themselves) content creators. The truth is, ever since I was a fandom baby - and I'm not sure if the fact that I'm not a native English speaker plays a role in that - I looked at the term as something that simply combines the many forms of fanworks and has a positive connotation to it. It's making things easier when you want to include everyone. You want to say writers and artists and others but there are so many more forms of art and you don't want someone to feel excluded just because you haven't named their medium. And people here are so talented they rarely ever are just one thing. But sometimes we don't realize when a word can be harmful. If you call it content, that implies that it's been "produced" - and if it's produced, then later it can be "consumed". You can read one such post about this issue here that puts it in words better than I can.

That doesn't mean that if you're using the word content you're necessarily supporting this narrative, it simply means that someone can (rightfully) feel offended by that. Here we're used to seeing it around, and we won't think anything about it. But new people are joining our space all the time. Not to mention that Ikemen Villains is soon to release in English, undoubtedly bringing forth a new fave of fans. I can't tell anyone what to do, but I know I don't want to accidentally offend someone. It's a big deal for me, because I put a lot of passion into what I do here. The challenges are born out of my wish to inspire - firstly myself and then others. But it would be meaningless if I'm doing harm in the very title of one such post.

All of this I could discuss solely in front of myself, deciding on how I'm going to proceed with this, but I wanted to make this a public post in order to bring some awareness and hopefully do something positive for our fandom - in case you simply never looked at it this way when it needs to be, in case it really is as important as it seems to me right now. See it as me giving it advice, please! Not telling you what to do. I'm not judging anyone. I just want my friends to value themselves.

Now then, what do we think about a little change in labeling those challenges? I thought of "creative challenge". A double C instead of a triple C after your challenge's name. Not too big of a change but still an efficient one imo! While the people who create are creatives, the ones who create fanworks.

Let me know what you think of this whole thing, even if anonymously - my asks are open. I can't promise to be around much but I'll get to them eventually!

#ikemen #ikemen series #ikevamp #ikepri #ikesen #ikevil #ikerev #ikemen prince #ikemen vampire #ikemen villains #ikemen sengoku #ikemen revolution #cybird

[helluva-dump]

Yeah I think I am officially done with the Helluva boss critical community… for good.

Before you guys flip your shit and accuse me of being a Stan, let me explain.

So I deleted my tumblr app and decided just to refreshen my mind and focus on other things. (Like my art, my own possible indie project, ect ) and being away for a while… it kind of made me realize how much of the critical community was becoming too much for my mental health.

Originally, I joined because season 2 disappointed with season 2, didn’t like how Vivziepop retconned things like the pilot, the possible workplace allegations, and of course… the fandom being super toxic as hell work promoting toxic positivity.

But holy shit…. Somehow the critical community is even worse than the fandom.

Like I swear nobody talks about what’s wrong with this community. I’ve seen blogs have such an unhealthy hatred to Viv where they post nonstop about her… it’s insane. Like when making account names “wah I hate Vivziepop”

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think all critical blogs act like this. I do in fact still follows few, only thing is the ones I follow don’t constantly whine and bitch all the time and actually do critique. And these reblogs I follow just do AUs, rewrites, and redesigns which to me I will always see as harmless fun since that’s what I wanna do.

As for the other half of criticals…. Hell, these people legit get mad and share screenshots making fun of fans with different opinions. Like, bruh, didn’t you guys get angry at stans for doing that to y’all? You guys are literally doing the exact same thing. And no I’m not talking about sharing screenshots of toxic fans that attack former employees and make excuses for a questionable workplace…. But like they’ll just mock fans that didn’t do anything bad.

I’m all for critiquing a fandom and there are Stans that have such an unhealthy parasocial relationships with Viv… but somehow I see people acting the same with their unhealthy hate obsession. Literally going through her IG and bitching and moaning…

Seeing people making assumptions about her and Gooseworks with the glitch x as well as Tracy just shows me how unhealthy this hate is becoming.

Yes, Viv and Tracy had a bit of a heated thing on Twitter. However, I don’t think it’s fair to assume she’s this evil evil hellspawn that’s plotting to destory glitch x. “She’s kissing ass to goodeworks with her fake smile” dude she’s probably a fan of their works, you really don’t know that.

Also, while I’m aware of the allegations concerning Salem (who I hope really recovers and they did really make this episode the best IMO)… it’s probably not fair to assume all employees get treated the same way… the only people that seem to know what went down are Erin, Ken, Salem, and Ashley Nicolas. Do I think the workplace abuse is possible? Yes, it’s why I haven’t bought any merch.

BUT the reason why I don’t like to discuss things like this is because half of the other stuff seems like flimsy evidence besides Salem’s vents. And I think it’s a bit risky to spread such misinformation and make assumptions. (One blog I’ve seen had so many anons sharing rumors and just go along with them which to me is dangerous…)

Like when the new episode aired, unlike everyone else, I actually loved it. This recent episode was so great it’s what I wanna see more of for Helluva boss. But eh… I noticed some haters bitch for the sake of it. Now, some of the critiques aren’t too bad, I did notice some flaws and I understand the concerns for salem. But like other half it’s just bitching for the sake of it…

Also I heard rumors how the deranged stalker fan of Fizz is a parody of critical blogs… tbh I highly doubt that because that trope always existed in cartoons (like Aggrestuko had one too) but considering a good chunk of “criticals” have a hate boner for viv, can you blame some fans for thinking that?

I really don’t like how the critical community became the anti community. Because not every critical person is an anti, I don’t even wanna fuck with that shit and I don’t ever wanna resort to that.

Hell, they drove one critical blog I loved away… over a bad miscommunication.🙃 and that blog was right, you don’t wanna make friends with this community with how some toxic people are.

Also I’ve been drawing a lot of Hazbin hotel stuff for my Heaven AU and it reminded me why I enjoyed Vivziepop’s ideas and stories so much. It somehow was helping me take edge away from my mental health.

I think it’s possible to still be a fan without labeling yourself as a stan or anti. That’s why I made this blog for. I was so worn out by the toxic positivity of the fandom, so this is my comfort space. But now I need to cut the critical community away since it’s now full of toxic negativity.

And as I said, I do plan to make an indie cartoon series and I feel like being part of this critical community is NOT gonna make me professional on my end. That being said, I don’t like Viv as she said things that rubbed me the wrong way BUT I’m not gonna let that kill my joy for Hazbin hotel.(and Helluva boss to an extent) I do think she has good ideas and they CAN work but she does need more writers than animators to help her execute them.

That’s why I’m only a bit more excited for Hazbin hotel lately

Now I’m not angry at anyone who followed me. I just wanna make some boundaries, and that being said, I’m still gonna critique both shows. However, I’m just gonna tag these posts as HH/HB critiques than HH/HB critical for now on. I feel like that’s more professional and more genuine if you wanna share opinions on stuff.

Just wanna get this off my chest, it’s what I wanted to express for a while.

And if fans come across this blog, don’t be afraid to interact I won’t bite. Everyone has their different opinions. I only have an issue with Stans that promote toxic positivity and dismiss employees that were treated badly is all.

#helluva boss critical #helluva boss critique #hazbin hotel critical #hazbin hotel critique #for now on #I wanna restart fresh #and I don’t want antis and Stans to interact with me #you guys need to touch grass with your obsession with viv #it’s hella creepy

[keikakudom]

What if your Alastor genuinely started to feel love for Vox? Like what would he do? If he realized he was in love with Vox? Would he attempt to Atticwife Vox? Or chain him?

***WARNING: this answer does go into heavy/dark themes.

Woooh, okay so I had to search what "Atticwife" meant, but this question literally sat with me for two days when it was first sent in. I even consulted my bestie(not into fandom) about it.

From my understanding, I think it means "when the partner/significant other forcibly keeps the other against locked away their will bc they're mentally not well/insane(?)".

Initially, here are a few reasons why I think that wouldn't happen/I don't see it working for RR!AU:

I think of Alastor liking the free little things that Vox does as entertainment. He likes to see what Vox does with Hell as playground. Free-roaming gerbil style.

Maybe he would try to cage him once for the heck of it, but I genuinely think(despite all the fanon interpretations and how canon Vox is all leading into that he's insecure and pathetic) that Vox and Alastor are equally matched and Alastor would not have a feasible way of keeping him there for one. I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL. I swear in canon that they are setting up Vox to be underestimated. Like, yes radio waves/radio has power over TV signals--but literally face it, nobody WANTS radio. Only TV does. Even if TV disappears, the masses are not going to go back to radio. Radio has its purpose but in the modern age and from what it looks like in HH too(since TV/Vox is so popular) radio as a ruling media is already over, it's relegated to a supporting role now because TV is just so convenient and straight up better with so many more uses.

And I dont think Vox's way of thinking is "wrong" or that he's far gone, since he's never been actively suicidal. I only made him mention that line in the fic because Alastor was so blindsided by HIS way of thinking that Vox needed to voice his side for Alastor to think of Vox's perspective for once(also in the fic I made Alastor SHOW that he cared) aka, in the end they both communicated in the way that the other prefers (show vs tell). RR!AU Vox is characterized as only to have maybe, PASSIVE suicide ideation. Its like, he wont ever think about dying unless his mind is empty--so putting him in an isolated/empty place would make it worse/allow his depressive thoughts to fester because he's not busying his mind.

So if you want to go with a fluffy route, if Alastor really romantically fell in love with Vox, I want to say he'd tone down the blatant stalking and go for a traditional and appealing courting way(probably asked Rosie for advice) that finally respects Vox's current feelings...would Vox reciprocate? Eh, too little too late, maybe.

That said, I'm fascinated by this scenario so I'm going to entertain it as a what-if , LOL. It's going to get very toxic and strange, even more-so from hereon out:

Let's say we take what Vox said in the fic for verbatim(wants to stay on DND forever, chasing after death), and that Alastor planned for this ahead of time.

First, it would be an environmental shock to Vox because he's so used to constantly being around people, and just DOING stuff...there's some symbolism here about how great white sharks have trouble being kept in zoos/being kept in captivity.

A lot of people would look for him. Hell politics would go haywire. I think Vox would busy himself in his thoughts about how to deal with his own absence too, all concerned for the power vacancy and things that are piling up, if he couldn't find an immediate way to escape. It's really hard to think of Vox ever doing "nothing" IMO.

(Even if he sits and watches TV all day, he goes all giggly and dramatic. A big reason why I push this in RR!AU. I find it so interesting to have a character/personality so animated also having deep nihilistic thoughts. He would not curl up and spend days not doing anything, more like 'OK NEXT NOW WHAT'.)

Then let's say Alastor introduces daily stimulation with Vox. In order for him not to do anything drastic. Playing chess with him, asking open-ended questions...Vox starts to crave those singular interactions everyday so badly. Because it's his only fix to do something.

In any case, it would turn into a very unhealthy and co-dependent, Stockholm syndrome-y relationship. Subsequently, 'Atticwife'....

This was a very wild question to answer, but thank you for sending it! It was pretty fun to imagine a possibility where this played out.

#au: reset resort #this was yummy as fuck #crazy #but tasty nonetheless #Ask #Anon

[illegiblewords]

Serious talk about meta under the cut.

I don't know who might need to hear it, but fwiw mental flexibility is a huge part of analysis (and interacting with other humans lol). You need to be able to account for multiple possibilities when examining a work, or understanding a social exchange. You need to be able to separate what is objective fact from your own subjective interpretation and judgment. The most negative interpretation is not automatically the most worthwhile or true. Someone throwing accusations around in-line with their own worst interpretations does not guarantee those accusations are warranted. You are not a bad or stupid person for disagreeing. Shit needs to withstand scrutiny. I don't always strike the right balance myself. I do the best I can but I'm definitely not perfect. Tbh I'm not beyond pettiness either--although I try to keep that out of actual analysis lol. There have been times I've griped to friends privately or blogged about how I felt (sans tags, with spoiler blocks so people can opt out). I've griped recently. I'm bound to gripe again in the future. Some level of griping is inevitable imo and I figure no one is 100% immune.

All that said, even if someone’s take isn't canon AND even if it's something I really dislike--I'd personally rather people follow their passions anyway. Hands down. I could be in the middle of a rant and my answer would still be that the subject of my frustration gets to exist. I'm not the boss and odds are we're going with different versions in our own heads. Discouraging another fan from creating due to my preferences or narrative approach would horrify me. I've seen fandoms where gatekeeping like that killed the creative community and it was fucking awful.

Not everyone is confident in their own judgment. Not everyone faced with a pissed off person trying to use lore and accusations like clubs will feel okay continuing with their own vision. Elitism and manipulation (especially through rhetoric) can be present within analysis. People are not being taught how to recognize those things properly. Analysts aren't always aware or invested enough to even be careful. It’s legit easy to get caught up in ideas or feelings to the point of forgetting about other people’s, and adjusting to account for alternate approaches takes some work. For me at least, I think having a 'no insults' policy and being super careful when it comes to absolute claims (assertions not qualified by 'I think' or 'it could be argued') helps.

Anyway. Just because a person calls something ‘meaningless’ doesn't make it meaningless. Someone pooh-poohing an observation you made doesn't make your observation less true or important. Employing a literary term doesn't mean that individual actually understands the term, how it works, or how to apply it. Which is to say nothing of romantic chemistry or whatever. I encourage readers to extrapolate on this. ‘Shallow’ could apply as much as ‘meaningless’. Denying parallels exist by itself doesn’t actually negate those parallels. Your version of a character may not be the same as the fan next to you’s and that difference doesn't have to detract. There's more I could say on the subject (I've edited out a lot) but basically--just because another fan isn't into what you're doing doesn't automatically make what you're doing wrong, immoral, shoddy, or otherwise less.

Seriously, vet shit. Question the entire premise an analyst tries to establish then decide for yourself if it holds water. Turn over word choices and assertions in your head before deciding if they're appropriate. Do it to me too. I don't care if someone is the holy goddamn emperor of analysts. Just because a person says something is good or bad, true or false, whatever the hell doesn't make it so. Just because a person uses a technical term doesn't mean they're discussing it effectively. Quality of argument matters beyond the packaging it’s wrapped in. It's important to protect yourself from people whose priority is enforcing their own preferences, including dismissing things they aren't partial to.

I just don't want anyone shamed silent man. Not even people whose takes drive me up the fucking wall. Neither I nor any other analyst is an authority here. And there are people who are absolutely ready to take advantage of other people’s insecurities to assert themselves. Might not even be malicious, just indifferent.

For me, analysis feels kind of like uncovering a dinosaur skeleton. I want to share the cool and exciting things I find with other people. Sometimes I might be sorting out what my own thoughts and feelings are. It's also possible to examine why you're uncomfortable with something, or why you love something another person hates, while making very clear what is YOUR READING and not THE READING. Offering a variety of possibilities is very different from presenting yourself as the only correct one. One note at the end when everything else was insulting and intolerant is like a band-aid over a wound.

EDIT: As a last point, that I'm throwing in just-in-case. If anyone reading this thinks they may have overreached and done stuff I've mentioned + feels shitty about it… that's still not the end of the world. It’s okay. This is hard stuff to learn and I really don't think anyone's perfect at it. Worth the effort though. Just gotta take a deep breath, acknowledge you're a fallible human same as everyone else, and do the best you can going forward. Life goes on.

#saw one that horrified me a bit recently #involved a combination of overreaching + insults + purity culture #I can totally imagine buying in and being seriously fucked up by it when I was younger #I don’t want that happening to anyone else #it's okay to talk about NOTPs man but there are more and less responsible ways to do that

[emilykaldwen]

I'm seeing this discourse re: people going on hiatus/leaving their blogs and I'm just like yo that's not the actual problem

At the end of the day, fandom is never owned by a select group of people, or a specific trend (flashbacks to Cassandra Claire holding court at the harry potter cons back in the day and on LJ specifically). Tumblr, for what it is worth, is not the center of the fandom universe. And it can be very, very lonely when you don't write the 'popular thing' in your fandom sphere, or are on the popular team. I know my team black friends feel pretty damn lonely here a lot of times.

There's fear. There's jealousy. People are, of course, human and these are all normal and valid emotions. What's not okay is going into people's inboxes on anon and getting weird about it, or hate reading people's fic and making a joke/game out of it. Just stick in your lane. You don't have to be friends with everyone - it is, in fact, impossible to have an actual friendship with 100 people, let alone 20 people. But also we are a community, and we all need to do our part. You don't have to reblog everything. You aren't a hub for that content.

But reblogging what you do like? That should be a no brainer. Likes are nice, but on tumblr, they don't do anything. Just reblog the stuff you like. Also try give things a chance. Reblog things you think someone else might like. For example, I don't really care about Daemon, but my bestie does, so when I see things I think she'll like, I do try to reblog them! (like the Daemon and Laena cut scene that just released).

Our blogs aren't just for us, they are also about the people we care about too. At least, that's the tumblr world I grew up in, where people reblog things and tag our friends in it going 'HEY! relevant to your interests!'

Think of tumblr as going through the biggest thrift store you've ever seen and you find this... IDK cat statue with bat wings and you don't care about it but you yell to your friend in the next aisle about it so they can see it. You hold it up like simba to show!

Also, what the fuck, don't bug people about not reblogging your stuff or walking into their DMs to ask them to reblog things that's weird don't do that.

tl;dr, it's not even about reblogging everything, it's actually about just... reblogging stuff you like and this whole thing, imo, isn't about burn out, it's about the weird gatekeeping stuff I see happening to people. Pockets of people in fandom have made it an overall unwelcoming place and make people feel like they need to become content farms/write only specific things instead of extending their creative legs to write what they are truly excited about.

#this is not calling anyone out #or pointing fingers at anyone #y'all I live on the edge of fandom and passively talk to a lot of nice people #but I have my own group of people I stick with #this is simply what I have seen crossing my dash or hearing through the grapevine #I don't know half the people in fandom/their real names #I'm not active in servers and have in fact left some #I have a full time job and talk to three or four people regularly #I'm jut here sampling the wares

[wildpeachfarm]

I am so annoyed by the kaceytron shit. I have her blocked on twitter for a reason yet I had to see her dumb ass tweet 5 times IN A ROW cause people posted screenshots. Like, if you really need to bring it to tl and comment on it then make a qrt so people who have her blocked cause she hurt them by being a homophobic ableist piece of shit don't have to see it. It's SO annoying. Or mention her name so people who also have the name muted (like I do) don't have to see it

People have to learn to ignore her and community note her shit, which the fandom can do, we have seen it multiple times. She's LIVING from us reacting to her and people KEEP GIVING IN. I think even Velvet once said to just ignore her cause all she's good in is making our community angry and getting reactions out of us

Yeah I will admit some people go a little crazy after her. I think at this point I'm just more confused at her obsession but I don't harp on it for too long- I've seen people on twitter STILL talking about it which is kinda crazy imo

When ccs try to do this shit I just kinda have to go "oh wow thats crazy let's laugh at them for a second...anywayssss we move on" but I understand your frustration with seeing it at all

#ask #anon #anti drummyache tag

[brakingpoint]

Adding onto the point you made about rpf and I just wanna mention the video that Mercedes released of George reacting to his 'meme' scenes and imo you can clearly tell that at one point he was just so uncomfortable? And how that is not okay because at the end of the day thay are the ones providing the content and if they all are made to feel like that, than i wouldn't be suprised if they just stopped sharing personal stuff?

i checked this video out after seeing this ask and it was certainly just... a choice to have him react to one girl's extended tiktok that was just thirsting over his photoshoot. like it wasn't actually a "meme" there was no real humour to it there was nothing for him to really say about it (which i think at least partially contributes to his awkwardness in that section)... like the person who made that tiktok is in the comments and she's chill about it seemingly but it's such a weird decision. i know "celebrities read thirst tweets" has been a thing for years but that's normally quick, snappy, slightly absurd statements that actually are funny enough to get a reaction, plus they usually blur out the author's handle & photo and often their display name too. to just make you look at one young woman's actual face and listen to her actual voice for a minute straight as she talks (fairly blandly, no offence to this woman, she was just trying to generically thirst in peace i presume) about how good you look in a photoshoot is just... so strange and i can't figure out what the person who planned that video thought the appeal of that section would be or what george would possibly have to say about it?

imo that definitely comes into the same category as admins using ship names etc in that they're taking things that are definitely intended for intra-community conversation and, because in the current age of social media (and especially on hyper-algorithmic platforms like tiktok) fan spaces and official spaces are exactly the same thing, decide that they can get more attention from the younger fangirl [theoretically gender neutral, though i'd guarantee marketing teams aren't viewing it that way] demographic by acknowledging them and leaning into the lack of separation between church and state (blorbocedes, 2023).

then people who are new to fandom & don't know the etiquette, especially in rpf fandoms, think - quite understandably, if this is the way admins are acting - oh cool, well in that case it's okay and normal for me to talk about ships/thirst/my y/n fantasies to the drivers and teams, and if that gets engagement the admins will continue blurring those lines and pandering to the shipper demographic as far as they can without actually getting into inappropriate territory, and this will make the existence of the rpf side of f1 fandom even more noticeable & something of a curiosity attraction to other types of fan. and as has already been discussed all this almost certainly won't lead to a "George and Lewis Read Your Fanfictions" video posted by mercedes-amg petronas f1 team's official youtube channel. but it could more realistically lead to one of like lando or max's mates namedropping everything changes or whatever in a twitch stream as a gag. which, i must stress, we also do not want

really tl;dr i guess it's. as people have been saying, a lot of the drivers are probably aware that rpf (slash fics or x reader) exists. we live in a post-larry world after all. but that does not mean they need to be privy to the details or have it shoved in their faces or have open discussion around it encouraged by their own social media teams

[o-wild-west-wind]

I’m actually gonna make one more extra hot & spicy take while I’m here because this is where I’m at today apparently…am I the only person feeling a bit uncomfortable with all the discourse that headcanoning ed as illiterate is racist? I think the criticism is well intentioned, but the way the argument is being framed feels like it’s veering too far in the opposite direction and I kind of want to talk about it.

I made a much more detailed breakdown here that I don’t feel like rewriting but I mean…it’s the 1700s and class is a huge aspect of the show. it makes a point that class marginalization (and related racism) is a violent oppressor that the characters cleverly fight back against—that the things they were denied as a result of the status they were born into has no bearing on their brilliance, and that social climbing isn’t really all that (cue the fickle crowd Ed once longed to be a part of). I do think Ed can read based on details in s2 and I get wanting to defend the details of the show—but generally, I don’t think that headcanoning illiteracy of a guy who’s from a culture that was forced by colonial powers to use written script under the paternalistic assumption that written traditions were superior is racist imo…and the implication of conflating intelligence with the written word feels…not great. being illiterate is a neutral trait, especially in the time period and context of this show…Ed’s not less of a genius for not speaking ecclesiastical Latin, right? so I don’t really understand why literacy is treated so differently.

Like, again—I don’t think it’s an intentionally racist take, but I’m feeling weird about the angle that pits communication styles against each other. Infantilizing Ed for being illiterate? Yeah, that’s a problem that I’ve seen perpetuated in fandom. but idk…I know these characters are written for and by a contemporary western lens, but viewing everything from said contemporary western lens such that all people are presumed to need to utilize written language to operate in the world is like. a little white-saviory uncomfy to me. because whether or not he can read has no bearing on Ed’s status as a genius tactician. It wouldn’t make him inferior if he couldn’t. And saying that signs point to him being able to read based on show details can be done without creating this dichotomy.

if I’ve misinterpreted all this please correct me!! just needed this out of my brain

#maybe it’s my anthro and public health degrees talking and getting too in the weeds idk #I have a lot of thoughts about culture and maybe I’m putting too much of a real-world lens on this topic? #also let’s be real I’m here doing fandom critical analysis because I’m avoiding writing my paper #and I just find anthropological analysis of fandom so fascinating #as usual feel free to disagree #ofmd #ofmd season 2 #our flag means death #ofmd meta #edward teach