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silencedrowns · 11 months

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hi I’m a very long time cosplayer (20+ years experience) who has chronic headache and migraine problems and this is a post about how to prevent your cosplay wigs from giving you painful headaches! Nobody likes wandering around the con in blinding pain and so hopefully this post will help you reduce the chances of this happening.

1. If your wig is way too tight, don’t use it. Get something with a bigger cap. tbh I often wear slightly too big wigs to reduce the pressure! Find out what brands and sellers sell wigs that are comfy on your head and prioritize buying wigs from them! I made a big master list of cosplay wig sellers a while back so here’s a few you might not have known about. Arda (and its Canadian and European sites) sells by far the biggest wigs, but I personally find Classe the most comfortable for my specific head. It’s all very YMMV and it’s totally possible for a wig to not actually be too small but fit your head in an uncomfortable way (Blue Beard on taobao does this to me every time), so just don’t buy from suppliers that do that. Also consider resizing wigs to be larger! For wig clients with extra large heads I like to nip the edge of the wig right behind the ear where your ear and hair from above will cover it and add in a little godet of elastic.

2. Reduce weight! A heavy wig will make head pain much more likely, so here’s a few tips on wig weight reduction!

A) if your wig doesn’t need a ton of volume and is already very dense, rip out some wefts in the bottom half. Anything on the part of your head from the ridge where your head starts going in towards your neck won’t really show unless your wig is very short and it’ll obviously reduce weight instantly! You can replace any missing volume with light crimping or light heat and tease, or leave the wig as is for a natural and silky look without the unnatural volume of a cosplay wig.

B) if you need more volume in your wig, instead of going straight to adding wefts for more volume, see first if combining crimping with heat and tease at the roots will give you the extra volume you need! Crimping or heat and tease adds volume and if you straight up destroy the fiber in the first two inches from the scalp by doing both repeatedly, it’ll add huge volume without you needing to add extra hair! When I do this I like to heat the fiber near the roots, tease it, let it cool, crimp the teased part, let THAT cool, and then brush it out. You can flat out double the perceived volume in the back of the wig this way!

C) if your character has a high ponytail or high pigtails, consider using clip on ponytails that you can easily remove if you need the weight off your head right the fuck now. here’s two tutorials I swear by for making a short wig + clip on combination look more natural! They’re in Japanese but easily comprehensible if you use machine translation thanks to the clear photography. They also help with spreading out the weight on the wig itself, and if your hair is long enough, using a clip on with a fishnet wig cap and clipping through the wig and into your real hair will also he lp make it more secure and distribute weight more evenly.

if your character has high pigtails

if your character has a high ponytail

D) when you need extra wefts, opt for sewing in wefts rather than gluing whenever possible. Glue doesn’t seem heavy but enough of it can make a wig get real heavy REAL fast.

E) redirecting the weight to your entire head and not just the front hairline will feel lighter and give you less forehead tension, which is one of the biggest causes of wig headache. Toupee clips sewn evenly around the edges and a Wig Fix https://therenatural.com (the name brand one, the knockoffs genuinely don’t work half as well) can help with doing this. A Wig Fix will also let you use fewer pins to keep your wig on, which is another cause of wig headache. Can’t suggest trying those enough. There are also some velvet wig grips out there but I find those don’t work quite as well, but they’re by far better than nothing.

3) make sure your wig is easy to remove. A lot of characters have horns or veils or other head things on top of the wig so make sure those can easily come off if you need a wig break! I’m a big proponent of using wig glue or double stick tape to glue strands (face framing layers etc) to your face for a more natural and more flattering look, but if you get headaches from wigs, keep that glue or tape in your bag so if you have to de-wig for a bit, you can get it back on!

4) take the ibuprofen or whatever BEFORE you put the wig on, and not when your wig is already making your head miserable! It’s like taking the ibuprofen before you wear the horrible shoes for a special event; it’s more effective in advance.

5) what are your normal headache triggers? Make sure you’re doing the work to EXTRA avoid them before wearing a cosplay wig. Stay hydrated. Keep up with your electrolytes. If you have any food triggers, make sure you’re managing them properly.

6) try multiple types of wig cap before deciding which ones to use! I’m a big fan of the fishnet kind because I’m in agony every time I try to use the stocking kind. Some people find relief in doing pin curls under their cap, and @/battleangelgif on twitter suggested doing this with damp hair the night before you wear the wig. There are tons of methods! Stretching out fishnet caps can be done more effectively when they’re slightly damp and that’ll make them pinch less. Experiment with what you like best to keep your irl hair in place and once you find a method you like, go for it! Make that your go-to!

7) always remember: wearing a short wig is less miserable than wearing a wig to your ankles. consider very carefully whether or not you can actually handle that wig that’s as long as you are tall. sometimes you just can’t and that’s okay! reduce the length of any super long haired character to hip length and it’ll be FINE. I swear. It’ll still read as super long and it won’t be as terrible.

8) always remember you can just. take the entire wig and cosplay off if you’re in agony. it’s not worth it. don’t do that to yourself. If the migraine hits anyway, just take it off.

Hope some of this might help you out! Focusing on reducing and redistributing weight is what helps me out the most 😌 feel free to reply or reblog or message with questions and I’ll try and get back to you ASAP!

#cosplay #cosplay tutorial #wigs #wig tutorial #cosplay tips #reducing wig weight #I just want to save everyone from blinding cosplay wig induced migraine #nobody likes head pain at the con #hope I was clear enough hhhhhh #yes this is an expansion of a twitter thread I wrote #y’all get the better version

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phantom-0-writer · 2 months

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nightwing the cosplayer

Barely 30 minutes into his shopping journey to find a present for his mom, Danny’s ghost sense went off. He only had enough time to grab the Fenton Thermos and wrist ray from his bag, before three vultures infested The Mall. Easily souping the first vulture, Danny zapped Vulture Number Two, but the distance between them made the impact of the ray feel more like a wrist slap than a gutting punch. Vulture Number Two apparently didn’t like that very much and took it upon himself to attack Danny. As if the vultures weren’t bad enough, Razor Claw came crashing through the ceiling right behind them.

“Fenton!” Dash called because he was here too apparently, “Behind you!” When Danny turned around he was expecting Vulture Number Three, another rebel, maybe even Plasmius himself.

Not Nightwing.

Like Nightwing from Gotham, Nightwing. Formerly Robin the First. Member of the Titans and Justice League Jr. Standing there, like, right in front of Danny. “What the fuck?” Danny heard himself say before turning to Dash, who was standing next to him now and felt validated by their shared confusion.

“Are you a cosplayer?” Danny heard Dash whisper-ask Nightwing.

Nightwing, who was just awkwardly and nervously(?) standing there, seemed taken aback by the accusation. “W-What?” He said gracefully, before regaining his composure. He sounded almost indignant “No, I’m the real Nightwing.” As if to prove himself, he pulled out a Bird-a-rang and displayed it to the two teens like it was some kind of rare YuGiO card. Talk about professionalism.

“Looks fake,” Danny said in a mock whisper to Dash, knowing Nightwing could still hear them.

“He’s totally a cosplayer,” Dash responds with a sage nod. Nightwing was about to respond, but the words were knocked out of him when Danny pushed both of them out of the way of an oncoming vulture attack.

Seriously, why in the Ancients was Nightwing here? If one of the Justice Leaguers had to show, then at least someone useful like Zatanna or Dr. Fate, heck even Constantine. But no , he has to get the guy that outgrew his Robin suit.

Razor Claw used his claw to slice at some of the merchandise in a nearby store, laughing in amusement at the shopper’s terror. Danny slipped his bag off, opening up the middle zipper. “There should be three spectator-deflectors and maybe a few rays.” He told Dash, “The Ghost Shield Rooms are probably full by now, so just use that. You two stay here.”

“What? You’re not dealing with this on your own.” Nightwing protested, grabbing his arm before Danny could leave.

Danny gave him an unimpressed look, “And what? Wait for the Justice League to show up?” Danny scoffed.

Nightwing scowled in response, “Still-”

“Dude.” Danny said pointedly, “We do this like every week. This guy’s a small fry, compared to, like, Plasmius.” Danny reassures him before forcing his arm off to blast an incoming Vulture attack, the positing just right to leave him ready for Thermos Time. “Two down. Easy.” Danny told Nightwing, just as Vulture Number Three swooped down at Danny, knocking the thermos out of his hand, causing it to roll away from Danny’s line of sight.

Him and his big mouth.

Just then, Razor Claw launches an ectoblast at the three of them. Danny rolled out of the way, putting some distance between himself and the sitting ducks. Dash and Nightwing had already put on the specter deflectors, so the shield had popped up just in time to block the attack. “Dash, you’re on guard duty,” Danny said before heading to deal with Razor Claw and the Last Vulture and hopefully find the thermos.

“I’m doing it because I want to and not because you told me to,” Dash yelled back at him from inside the store. Danny could hear more protest from Nightwing, but not even a Gotham hero could defeat a ghost on their first try (especially one without any powers).

“Sure, dude.” Danny shot back, knowing Dash was probably flipping him off.

“I'll have you in my claws soon, pest.” Razor Claw sneered, turning around on his hoverboard to shoot a blast. The shot from the wrist ray missed the ghost but landed a clean hit to the hoverboard, as the device tumbled down ineffective. Not that it really did much- the ghost just used his natural flying abilities to charge at Danny.

“Kwan!” Danny heard Paulina call out somewhere to his left.

“Yeah?” The football player asked back. Danny looked over and noticed he had the thermos right next to him.

“Look! The thermos!” Paulina pointed out to their intellectually declined friend.

“Oh yeah, I have it” Kwan held it up to show her from where she was crouched down. Paulina facepalmed.

“Give it to Danny, you dumbass!” Star practically screamed at her boyfriend.

“Oh, Okay!” Kwan said before rearing to throw the thermos at Danny. Proving why he was a starter for the football team, the thermos landed squarely in Danny’s hands. Not wasting any more time, Danny scooped up Razor Claw and the incoming vulture.

“Good teamwork guys!” Danny called out to them cheerfully knowing they wouldn’t return the energy.

“Shut up, Turd Face,” Dash said, pushing the spectator-deflector into his chest roughly for no other reason than to be Dash. He went off to join his friends in doing whatever he and his friends did.

“That was pretty impressive,” Nightwing walked up to meet Danny, handing his bag and spectator-deflector back “With a little training, you could easily be on par with the Robins.”

Danny bent down to put his stuff back in his bag, “If this is your invitation for me to join Batman’s gaggle of furries, I’m gonna have to give you a hard pass.” Danny responded, looking up to see Nightwing look like he couldn’t decide if he should laugh or not. “Respectfully.” He added half-heartedly.

Nightwing watched him in amusement. “I thought I was a fake?” Nightwing prompted as Danny stood up swinging on his backpack.

“They don’t exactly sell High-Density Reinforced Kevlar in your average corner store,” Danny said, knocking on Nightwing’s insignia lightly. The unique sound of the light impact confirmed his point.

Nightwing gave him an inquisitive look (Danny assumed). “Then why did you tell your friend-”

“Uh!” Danny stopped him abruptly, putting a finger in his face, “We’re not friends.” Danny started walking into a nearby store with Nightwing following him. “And to answer your question, Dash can keep a secret but not from Kwan. Kwan would try to keep it a secret but he'll probably let it slip to Star. Star tells Paulina everything. And Paulina definitely cannot keep a secret. So unless you wanted all of Amity in your business for however long you’re supposed to be here, I did you a favor.” Danny finished, looking through the rows of memorabilia the store offered. He picked up a snow globe with a little ghost inside.

Nightwing was quiet for a while, still following behind Danny as they headed to check out. “Aren’t you gonna ask why I’m here?”

“No,” Danny said, easily asking the check-out lady to gift wrap the globe for him. “It’s probably the Dr. Kilye case. It went pretty big. And if it’s not, then I’d rather stay not knowing.”

“Cool cosplay, dude.” Said the check-out lady, handing Danny his gift bag.

“Thanks,” Nightwing responded awkwardly, as Danny walked away.

excerpt from regular boy: daniel wayne (chap 3)

masterlist

#dpxdc #danny fenton #danny and dick #danny phantom #regular boy: daniel wayne #rb:dw #dpxdc fics #batpham #batfam #dick grayson

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aoexcuizine · 4 months

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Contributor Applications Closed!

It’s time! All application forms for the AOEX fanzine: The Art of AoEx Cui-Zine are now open! Applications will be open from January 20 until February 28, 2024, subject to change based on the number of responses we get.

-Must be 18+

-Zine is SFW, AU material allowed, and gen/no ships

-Theme: The various memorable cuisines expressed within the Blue Exorcist series.

For those interested:

[Artists Apply Here!]

This project will hopefully be accepting around 20-30 artists. One artist will be chosen to illustrate the cover, and a number of artists will later have the opportunity to make bonus merchandise/other zine graphics. For this application please have prepared a link to a portfolio or art hosting site of your best 3-5 pieces, as well as a few preliminary ideas for what you might like to draw for this zine. Find content guidelines here.

[Writers Apply Here!]

This project will be accepting around 10-20 writers. For this application please have prepared links to 2 or 3 posted works or links to fic hosting/writing sites that you feel illustrate your skills and your writing style. Find content guidelines here.

[Cosplayers Apply Here!]

This project is looking for 5-10 cosplayers. Cosplayers may work alone or collaborate with another if you have someone you work with! Content guidelines here.

If you’re interested in this project, please help out by reblogging or sharing on our AoEx Cuizine social media! Links are on our Carrd. The more creators who get a chance to participate, the better!

Any questions? Reach out to our ask box.

@zineapps

@zinefans

@zine-scene

@zineforall

@welovezines

@zinesubmissions

@fandomzines

@all-zine-apps

@faneventshub

@fandomzines

@zinesunlimited

CONTRIBUTOR APPS ARE NOW CLOSED!

As of March 5th, the forms are no longer accepting entries and mods are now going through to select contributors.

Thank you to everyone who applied!

#contributor apps #contributor application #blue exorcist #ao no exorcist #aoex #zine #fanzine #anime zine #fandom zine #aoex cuizine

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lara-cairncross · 1 month

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Hi! As a disabled person I adore that you have the same approach as me when it comes to fictional disabilities, in that magic bullshit shouldn’t just “cure all”. That’s not how disabilities work and it’s not narratively satisfying.

I adore your fairy Donnie’s wing brace, it’s so cool! I would love to know more about the prototypes for that or maybe a time in which his lack of mobility was a problem?

100% agree, and I'm glad to hear your opinion on it :DD I was disabled when I was younger, and that trope always frustrated me to no end lmao. Secret of the Wings is one of the most notable times I can remember being genuinely angry about it-- like, I know I kinda talked about this already, but the fucking???? Tinker Fairy????? DIDN'T GET TO INVENT/BUILD HERSELF A NEW MEANS OF FLIGHT???? WHO'S (un)CREATIVE DECISION WAS THAT OH MY GOD

I'm definitely gonna try and go more in-depth into Donnie's struggles with mobility/flightlessness when he was younger! It's just a matter of working it into the narrative currently :D Same with the different designs for his wing brace! I've been doing a bit of research into how cosplayers make mechanical wings for their cosplays as inspiration for how Donnie could put his wing brace together, but it's proving more difficult than I expected to come up with a good design. Hopefully I'll be able to give everyone more satisfying information about that in the future!

#fairy au #rottmnt fairy au

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sourw0lfs · 3 months

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dance with the devil - part eleven

Words: 481 | Rating: E | CW: blood, death, vomit, the usual suspects

part one || part two || part three || part four || part five || part six || part seven || part eight || part nine || part ten || part eleven || part twelve

When Steve comes to again, he’s not in his apartment anymore. Instead he finds himself blinking as the sun blinds him momentarily. His head pounds, much like it had a week ago, but he know he hadn’t drank anything this time, so he doesn’t know why. He just knows he feels like throwing up.

Groaning, Steve slowly eases himself up on his elbows and looks around, recognizing the alleyway outside his apartment building. It’s gotta a makeover since the last he’s seen it, though, with the wall to his left splattered in a dark shade of red.

The coppery scent of blood fills Steve senses, and this time he does roll to be sick. “What the fuck?” he all but whimpers as he catches his breathe again.

Blinking hard, he tries to get his vision to focus enough to find the source of the blood, but there’s no body this time. There’s nothing. Steve isn’t sure if that’s better or worse. Because on the one hand, there’s no body, but on the other hand… what the fuck happened this time?

With the state of the area around him, Steve isn’t sure he wants to look at himself, but his eyes move down to his torso before he can second guess the thought. For a second time in a week, his entire front is drenched in blood. The only difference is that this time, he’s awake and aware enough to be horrified by it, to feel the way the fabric of his shirt is sticking to his skin.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Steve mutters as he tries to get himself on his feet again. It all feels like some sort of sick, twisted deja vu, but without the annoying guy hovering over his shoulder this time. It’s the first, and hopefully, the only time Steve finds himself wishing Eddie were there.

Once he’s unsteadily on his feet, using the blood-soaked wall for support, Steve takes a moment to catch his breath, eyes squeezing shut as his head spins. This feels different than last time, more serious, more frantic. Maybe it’s the lack of Eddie. Or maybe it’s because Steve feels exposed. Or maybe it’s because he can’t stop asking why this happened again.

Maybe it’s all of the above.

Whatever the reason, Steve is freaking out. He’s freaking out and wishing he’d never told Eddie to leave him alone, that he’d never let Robin go back home after staying with him for three days, that he wasn’t alone.

But he is alone, and even in his dazed state, Steve can feel himself spiraling out of control again. His head is pounding and the world pulses around him. His eyes burn and so does his skin. It feels like his heart is all the way up in his ears, echoing in a rush of blood. Something is terribly, terribly wrong, and Steve is alone.

Tag list below the cut like always, let me know if you want added.

@chaosgremlinmunson @soaringornithopter @hbyrde36 @shares-a-vest @dreamwatch @quevadilla @puppy-steve @penny00dreadful @momotonescreaming @stevesbipanic @dawners @little-birch-boy @steddiejudas @just-my-latest-hyperfixation @estrellami-1 @vthx @lolawonsstuff @gleek4twd @littlebluejane @swimmingbirdrunningrock @lawrencebshaggoth @sadisticaltarts @queenie-ofthe-void @r0binscript @anaibis @hairdressersdoitwithstyle @goodolefashionedloverboi @spookednsaucy @anne-bennett-cosplayer @flustratedcas @mugloversonly @ellietheasexylibrarian @damnpotatoe

#fox writes things #steddie #steddie fic #steve harrington x eddie munson #steve x eddie #steddie brainrot

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tavyliasin · 3 months

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The Highs and Lows of Fandom Creation

Hello darlings~ It has been a little while and this one has been on my list to get to for a while, and with the Baldur's Date Valentine's Fanworks event soon to draw to a close it seems appropriate to start preparing ourselves for the cycle of what happens when we release our works into the wild. So without further ado, our latest essay~

The RollerCoaster of Emotion That Comes With Being A Creative In Fan Spaces (FanArt, FanFiction, Cosplay, Photography, Music, and So Much More) ((Another CallOut Essay Prepare To Be SEEN)) (((Also I Have Some Coping Techniques Here Too!)))

As usual with my essay pieces I will be making plenty of use of the headers to divide topics, and I fully welcome any thoughts and feelings in the comments. Whilst I am really only in the FanFic side, and a focus on Baldur's Gate 3, I do intend to make this essay inclusive of the trials and tribulations that we all tend to face in making and sharing fanworks of all kinds and through all fandoms. The more people I speak to, the more it seems to be a universal experience, so hold on to your hats it's a bumpy ride! The first part will talk about the Rollercoaster itself, the how and why behind it all, and the second will be around how to cope with it. For readers and appreciators of fan content, I urge you to have a little look too, and at the end I will add in some ways you can help support your favourites too~

Creatives Are Emotional Beings

Starting off with the obvious callout - most of us are. We feel things deeply, and that emotion can often be an incredible driving force behind our works. Whether we're creating around things we've experience, being inspired and influenced by our current emotions, or drawing on our well of imagination to work out what characters might feel (and often more importantly how/why they feel that way), emotion is a strong part of the process.

This can be an incredible strength! Tapping in to the deeper parts of ourselves, our experiences, and the emotions at our cores, can bring out the very best in our works across all creative formats. It also tends to help our audiences engage too, as they recognise their own emotions mirrored in the works.

The Downside to Strong Emotion - The Rollercoaster Effect

This chart was initially drawn up based on writing, but truly after speaking with a few beloved Discord friends it was quick to see that this easily applies to art as well, so I'm going to go over this slightly differently to the initial plan.

The Start Of Every Ride

We begin usually around a neutral baseline, or maybe a little below if we haven't created in a while, perhaps we might start higher than baseline with the rush of an exciting new idea. Either way, the first part of the project tends to go up in mood very quickly when we share those early unfinished parts.

For writers this might be a beta reader or sharing a sample of the work as they're still writing as a teaser, artists might see this as their initial sketch or linework stage if they're sharing progress and teasers too. Cosplayers could be the first part of a build, musicians sharing a few bars of the melody - whatever it is, that first little positive boost that says Keep Going is a powerful one.

But what happens next? Well, you still have more work to do! That initial boost and confidence can drop down to a slump, especially if it's taking longer to complete than you thought it would, and double that if something goes wrong that needs to be changed or fixed.

You may, hopefully, find it begins to rise as things start to come together again and that finish line in sight, but then...

I Finished Making The Thing, Now What?

Well, first you're going to feel that massive surge of satisfaction from completing the thing. Sometimes a dopamine rush in the brain, and all that excitement of "Finally I get to share the thing I worked so hard on! It's done!" So, off you go, you post it. You share the links, maybe drop them in some Discord servers, other social media...and then, often very quickly, it hits you.

Post Publishing Drop

Those of you in the convention and event scene might also know this feeling as "Con Drop", which can take a little longer to manifest. Post Publishing Drop hits quite quickly. Sometimes it might take a few hours, but other times it starts almost within minutes of posting as all that rush of energy finishing and publishing is just...gone.

If you're lucky, you might get some quick and early feedback, especially if you're a well known or popular creator, but I imagine even those of you who tend to get very high engagement can feel a lot of this too so I don't mean to exclude any of you in any way at all~ So what is it? What's happening? WHY?!

Well darlings all that adrenaline is wearing off and realistically you're not likely to get that creative feedback and validation instantly. So that wonderfully powerful emotional heart of yours is going to crack a little. It won't last, it won't stay this low, but good gods that lack of engagement and positive reinforcement can be devastating.

The first engagements you get - kudos, likes, reaction emotes on a Discord post - they may be enough to boost you right back up to your baseline or even a little above, until the worry creeps back in again. And I know that it does, clawing and slithering in the back of your beautifully creative mind whispering those horrible lies:

Why isn't this getting the reaction I hoped for yet? Is this work not as good as before? Have people stopped liking me? Is the website/platform hiding my work? Have I upset people somehow in ways I can't even see?

Then Back Up We Go, And What Goes Up...

Hopefully those voices don't get a chance to be too loud for too long before you see more of that engagement. Maybe it's a heartfelt comment from someone, or a share from someone you respect, or just a little surge of interaction in general. You're back on top, darling, your creative heart is soaring, finally your work is being seen in a way that reminds you why you put in all that time in the first place!

And each time, the high wears off again, with a drop, though the extremities of each is likely less and less as time goes on. Unless, of course, we make one little mistake and the gradual confidence build comes crashing back down...

The Perils Of Comparing

Sometimes this might be looking at someone else's work, seeing a similar style or similar topic get far more engagement than your own. It can be really hard not to feel discouraged by this, and falling into that trap of questioning where you're "going wrong" can lead to absolute agony - I urge you to do your best to move away from this as soon as you notice the feeling. I'll cover some proper techniques later though, I promise!

The other trap with comparison can be looking at your own past works, and over-analysing why some pieces never got the same love and appreciation as others. Picking it apart to find what you can do better is not as wise a plan as it seems for one simple reason:

Over half of this is down to pure chance!

It might be the time of day it was posted, or just one or two people seeing it and deciding to share it on that gives a work a massive boost to interaction and engagement. Maybe a work was lucky enough to get shared in a prominent community by one of the members, or even had someone with a huge following give it a boost.

At the end of the day, there seem to be very few ways to predict this. Of course there are some characters, topics, art styles, writing tropes, etc that will have a tendency to get more love from their respective fanbases - that's how popularity works - but there is no guarantee that, for example, two portraits of the same character in similar styles by different artists will have the same levels of engagement and "success". The main person you should be aiming to please with your own work is yourself~ After all, when working on it you will be the one going over it again and again, knowing every detail in and out, if you don't love the subject of those details your less likely to even reach that finish line~

And It All Begins Again

At the end of the cycle there's often one last spike up. Maybe it's a comment or interaction from someone who truly felt the depth of meaning in your work as you hoped it would, or you realise that it has done better overall in the numbers, or most often you get that creative surge of a shiny new idea that calls to you with that familiar siren song, promising the high of satisfaction and sweeping the memory of that Post Publishing Drop under the rug all over again so you won't see it coming when you trip on it.

How Do We Get Off This Ride? Where's The Safety Bar?

Darlings, be honest, you didn't want to stop. You still don't. That's why you're still right here, reading this with me. Your cycle might take a day, a week, a month, or you may go through the whole thing in a matter of hours.

Riding The Waves

The first way to begin coping is to prepare. Know yourself and how you're likely to feel, and plan ahead for it. If you know the drop is coming, you can try to avoid it, or deploy distress tolerance when it feels too much.

On a very simple level, this can be reminding yourself that the lows do not last, and those highs will still be there. You might even be tempted to try to regulate the highs as much as the lows, to bring everything a little closer in to the baseline throughout the cycle.

Distress Tolerance techniques can be important to practice when you're feeling close to your baseline and calm so that they're easier to turn to when you're feeling that low hit. There are lots of things that work for different people, so it might be trial and error - largely you're looking at relaxation techniques, distraction from the source of the distress, and/or community support.

You Can Rely On The Community!

It is ok to ask for help! You can ask people for reassurance, directly ask for feedback, or even just talk over how you feel with other creators and find out how they're handling things. Sometimes just knowing you're not alone and that your feelings are real, valid, and matter can be a real boon - that's why I'm here, spending a couple of hours putting all of this into words as best as I can for you all. I've felt this cycle too many times, but the more I talk about it with other fic writers the more I feel we are connected and that I'm not just losing my marbles over nothing~

We are human, we have emotions - strong ones, remember? - and there's nothing wrong with that at all!

There is nothing wrong with having emotions and experiencing them!

Knowing When To Step Away

If you know you're more likely to have a swift drop from lack of quick feedback, it's a great idea to plan to step away from socials as soon as you're done. Have an activity planned, or do it all write before bed so you can switch off and go to sleep. Turn off those notifications so you aren't fussing over each one of them as they come in and don't go back for a while.

Allow a realistic amount of time to pass for people to see and engage with your work before you worry it is invisible!

The Next Shiny Idea

Conversely, if you're feeling too much of a creative itch, then as soon as you're done sharing move right on to starting the next project. Let the initial surge of energy from completing and sharing something be the driving force to kickstart the next great adventure! That way you're thinking more about the new work, the sparkling allure of a fresh idea, rather than fixating on the success of the last.

Cashing in on that adrenaline rush to make a good head-start can boost you right to that early feedback stage too, then if you're really lucky when you hit the first drop-off you'll have the positive engagement from the last work to boost you back up, so in some ways you're overlaying your graphs to balance them out with each other.

Naturally this only works if you have the time and energy to do so. It's also important to know when to take breaks to avoid burning out.

General Mood Boosting Ideas

These might not work for everyone, but here are some things to try when you're in one of those lows. A lot of this may be trial and error and knowing yourself best, so treat this as a few things that may or may not be effective rather than Lia's Super Snake Oil Cure For Everything (you have to buy that from me separately, it's super expensive but it is delightfully cherry and cinnamon flavoured~)

Check in on your basic needs. Drink, food, meds (if applicable), sleep/nap, caffeine (if you usually have it), shower/bath/hygiene needs (even if just a quick freshen up it's better than nothing), fresh air/outside time (if possible), exercise/physical movement (if you're able to), social needs (can be in person or online, any social interaction/support)

Music can be a powerful mood tool. Sometimes it's cathartic to listen to music that matches your current mood, but other times it is better to listen to music with the mood you want to feel.

Media from the fandom, like the book/film/game/etc that you're making fanworks for - return to the thing that inspired you to create and remember all the things that you loved about it in the first place.

Look at other fanworks but be very cautious! Do this for inspiration, to look at things you do and don't like in other pieces, but do not do this if it will be likely to cause a mood drop for you.

Do something different and change up your routine. Something entirely new or something you haven't done for a while.

Try something small, not connected to a large piece. A few sketches, doodles, make a meme, write a few short lines of dialogue or a brief scene. Share something with far lower stakes for a little boost.

Talk to others in the creative community and have a bit of fun, maybe try some games together, whatever you like!

I'm Not A Creative, How Can I Help?

This also counts for creatives who want to support each other, too! Of course I will put the caveat that I do understand that not everyone is comfortable visibly interacting with spice and that's fine~

Drop a like or kudos if you enjoyed the piece, it takes a second and means the world~

Leaving a comment, even a couple of silly words of "I loved it" is great!

Leaving a longer comment, picking out your favourite parts? That is the kind of boost that lasts weeks darlings it really does.

Sharing the work is also a big boost, whether publicly or privately to friend/fan groups, but especially when sharing art/images please share the link with it not just the image or a screenshot~ let people find and appreciate the artist.

Follow or Subscribe or Turn on notifications if you really want to see more of their work, then you can interact sooner and give that much needed boost~

Try to be patient, especially with longer or higher effort works. Expressing excitement is a boost, but just be careful you're not putting too much pressure on the creator. We do have things going on behind the screen that can delay our plans at times.

Consider dropping an interaction on something else, or check in on how they're doing in general - a little kindness outside of just the works being produced can be a boost too!

The Grand Finale of the Rollercoaster

Thank you for staying with me to the end darlings, I know this was likely a bit of an emotional ride, but please do drop in some comments or reblogs with the other things you experience and how you handle the emotional whirlwind of being a fan creator. Always remember, you are valued for more than just what you can produce, your works are adored but the person behind them is worth so much more and always will be. Look after yourselves, I love you dearly~

#fanfic #fanart #fan creations #support for creatives #fanfic writing #ao3 writer

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glitching-time-bomb · 1 year

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hi!! if you are okay with this how would the underfell bros react to their s/o having misophonia if you don't know what that is it's basically when certain sounds trigger emotional or physical responses that some people might see as unreasonable given the circumstance if you don't wanna do it, it's fine:) you could do a cosplayer s/o.

I'm just going to... pretend that I didn't disappear for almost 6 months--

UF Brothers With an S/O That Has Misophonia

Red:

Red is someone who is almost constantly on alert despite seeming so laid back, so he's easily able to pick up on noises that may trigger you before you notice them

He'll be sure to quickly pull you away and out of that situation

Even if it's something you have to be present for he never leaves the house without a pair of noise cancelling headphones, and he'll give them to you if there's any kind of noise he thinks might trigger a panic attack

Though he may not be the best at comforting you emotionally, Red makes sure that you're as physically comfortable as you can be when you're having an emotional or physical reaction to a triggering noise

Though he may struggle with remembering all of the noises that may trigger you he'll do what he can to make sure you feel as safe as you can

At home he makes sure to get rid of any noises that may upset you, whether it be background noise like TVs and fans, or loud noises like the beeping from the oven or microwave

Edge:

Edge will try his absolute best to eliminate any kind of noise that may upset you, even if it means physically fighting the microwave to get it to stop beeping

If him talking loudly is a trigger for you he'll do what he can to speak quieter around you, even if he slips up here and there

If the two of you are out in public and a noise triggers you, he'll find whoever made it and demand for them to stop doing it

Much like Red he makes sure to bring a pair of noise cancelling headphones for you just in case you need them

If you end up having a panic attack when he's around he'll jokingly threaten to fight whatever is making you upset to make you laugh, and hopefully distract you enough to help you calm down

(Just don't tell Red, or he'll never let Edge live it down-)

At home Edge likes to keep all background noise to a minimum even if you aren't there, a habit he made in the underground to help him stay more alert in case of an attacker

#undertale x reader #undertale au x reader #undertale aus x reader #underfell x reader #underfell sans x reader #underfell papyrus x reader #sans x reader #papyrus x reader #reader insert #undertale headcanons #undertale imagines #sfw #fluff #mars writes stuff

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peggingeddiediaz · 20 days

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Is kinda sad that can't cope with bucktommy getting so much support and probably being endgame due to fan reaction that you have make a weird af polycule to deal with it

I’ve been getting so much anon hate lately that I really feel like I’ve made it 😎 I’m gonna humor you anon.

I think I’ve said it before but I don’t hate Tevan (bucktommy), I’m incredibly happy that we just got two canon queer characters on the show and that Eddie’s coming out was at least planned at one point and hopefully it’s still in the plans.

The “fan reaction” at least on tumblr and AO3 is more of a thirst reaction really, because fanon bucktommy just did what fanon buddie did but with two episodes of content.

The headcanons for the ship can be summed up in: thirst tropes for Tommy’s actor (dom top Christian grey cosplayer) sounds familiar right? (latin lover trope eddie is in the background laughing) and then you have Evan “self insert” Buckley, in a new ship but never beating the 3 tropes in a trench coat allegations.

I’ve even seen bucktommy fans use pics of Buck during season 1 so Tommy has a “twink to take care of” ???? Buck who is as big as Tommy, a twink...

And is that last part the whole problem with bucktommy as a ship. The fans are willing to pretty much ignore Buck as he is in S7, replace him with his S1 character so they can again, repeat the Top (masculine, big, dominant) Bot (skinny, childish, submissive) dynamic and rinse and repeat the same boring cycle of: character they find hot (Tommy)/ thinly veiled female coded self-insert (Buck) Same thing that happens with fanon buddie.

It is kinda sad to think that if Tommy had been a female love interest, the fan reaction would’ve been very different. I didn’t completely hate Taylor Kelly but it’s very obvious why Tommy, who also did questionable things before, gets forgiven and elevated to “best love interest” in just 2 episodes and 3 scenes.

Tommy Kinnard is just as an undeveloped as Buck's previous female love interests but he's getting a pass from the fandom because he's hot.

Fanon bucktommy is just tropey headcanon over tropey headcanon. You can enjoy that. But I hated fanon buddie for the same reason so I won’t really be entertaining fanon bucktommy either.

All of this to say I’m coming out as a Buck stan as well. He deserves to be a character and not just a flanderized headcanoned trope. So, if you ever want to hang out with the buddietommy crew give me a follow.

#maria answers #maria rants #i don't hate bucktommy #sometimes the fanonification of ships gets too annoying #911 abc #evan buckley #eddie diaz #tommy kinard #buddie #bucktommy #tevan #fandom problems #i need tommy to be the most flamboyant and campiest queen ever and see bucktommy fans “pretend” to not see it

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dovepaw3000 · 22 days

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MIKU EXPO RAHHHHHH.

Hello my name is Dove and I'm a Miku expo defender. Really though, seeing Miku or any of the vocaloids live has been a childhood dream of mine since I got into them as a kid. I cried a few times hence my bottom eye makeup being smudged and one of my eyelashes trying to escape lolol.

But ye, I went in blind other than knowing the theme, contest winner (miku miku beaMMM), and the 1st song being anamanaguchi. I'm so glad I did. 2 utsu songs? Vampire? Gimme x gimme??? Fucking Miku Fiesta?? Man. I cried more at this concert than I have in like the past 5 months or so lolol.

And a big thank you to my friends who cosplayed with me! I had fun styling the rin and len wigs and kudos to my bud that cosplayed Luka. She had never cosplayed before, and she heckin' killed it. It was also hilarious because any video that I saw taken from the stairs behind us, I could see the stupid top spike of the len wig clearly in each one. Like, our len is a good average height. Stuck out like a sore thumb. Lololol.

Also yo to the other group of cosplayers we say immediately after at waffle house. Great minds think alike haha.

Nah tho. Miku Expo? Banger. If they decide to tour the US again and if they stop somewhere within driving distance, I wanna go again.

Thank you Miku, and thank you to the band. Hopefully crunchyroll will figure out their shit or someone else will be in charge next time. Yeehaw

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lonesome-ranger · 10 months

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Okay hopefully only a few more photo dumps from Tombstone Redemption

Had my high honor Arthur Morgan moment which was insane. We walked out of a building and this deer showed up in front of me, coming out of nowhere. Glad it was a deer and not a coyote 😅

Some amazing photos shot and edited by creatorchristian on Instagram!

And so many amazing cosplayers we ran into during the event!!! Literally everyone we ran into at the event was so kind and it was kinda crazy seeing that a decent amount of people had seen my Tumblr posts from the event lol. Can't believe it's already over. Keeping my fingers crossed Tombstone Redemption happens next year and that I can go again!

#rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #arthur morgan #tombstone redemption #arthur morgan cosplay #dutch van der linde #micah bell #simon pearson

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kawaiichibiart · 3 months

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Okay, new AU idea based off my current team's costumes on EN:

In this AU, WxS never formed. In fact, they didn't even meet each other (aside from Nene and Rui).

Nene goes to an unnamed school (unnamed because 1) I couldn't think of one, and 2) it doesn't matter in the end) where she's known as the quiet, shy girl, who does nothing but play video games. She's very lonely because of this, and due to her old friend's disappearance earlier that year. No one knows what happened to Rui Kamishiro and many believe he had finally succumbed to a fault in his inventing.

Nene doesn't believe that he's truly gone but she wishes she had a definite answer.

Well, one day, Nene was approached by some of her classmates while she was consumed by her current game. It wasn't until her gaming console was taken out of her hands that she noticed them. It wasn't the first time this has happened and it didn't make it any less frustrating and upsetting for her. It was always like this. She was just a scared little rabbit amongst a class that dubbed themselves wolves. They would take something from her and provoke her until either she cried or a teacher interfered.

Not this time. This time they didn't bother to wait for her tears to falls or for a teacher to walk over and demand the console. Instead they pushed Nene towards the trees of a nearby park. The park had long since been abandoned. It was overgrown with fauna and some even called it a small forest. She was to spend the rest of the day there. Come the end of the day, if she came out, they would give her her console back. If not, well, hopefully she made it back home.

Nene was about to tell to forget it and to just keep her stupid console when one of them shoved her into the bushes. She heard them laughing as they ran off. Just as she got up, she noticed it looked like she went farther in than she believed. The trees seemed taller and denser...it felt eerie despite being rather bright...no matter. She just has to walk forwards and... there were more tree. She just has to continue forwards, her school should just be a few feet...more trees.

She didn't get that far from her school. She wasn't even that far in the park. She was just in front of the first few trees it had. She was pushed in a bush, there was no way she ended up somewhere else. The stories about the park were just that. Stories. Everyone who entered always made it out. So why? Where was she? She couldn't hear the kids from her school or the school's bell. She couldn't see the playground equipment. Where. Was. She?!

Not wanting to get, but also not wanting to stay out, Nene eventually started to walk around. Maybe she was being paranoid. Maybe her game got to her. Or maybe her emotions were getting to her because of what's been going on.

Nene makes her way through the...forest? Park? She's not sure anymore, when she sees flowers. Bright, colorful, beautiful flowers. For a moment, she thinks she finally made it out. She walks over to them and follows them as they grow and grow. That's when she sees her.

Blue pigtails, pink cat ears, her clothing covered with the same flowers she's been following.

It can't be. This has to be a costume. Right? This can't be... Hatsune...Miku?

Can it?

It is. One tug on her hair and cat ears proves it. Unless she was a very dedicated cosplayer...but...

Whatever, maybe now Nene can get answers. Miku is more than happy to give them to her. She's entered a place known as SEKAI. It's been a while since a human has entered their little world. Miku loves it when people visit and when they like her flowers.

Is there a way for Nene to go back? Go back? Why? Why does Nene want to go back? Does she not like Miku's flowers? No, no no no, it's not that. She just wants to go home.

Well...uh... that's kinda the problem...SEKAI opens and closes at random. It could be hours, days or even months before it opens and allows anyone to enter or exit. BUT BUT BUT!!

Maybe KAITO can help!! He knows more about people being able to come and go from SEKAI.

KAITO?

Yes. KAITO. A warm hearted demon who lives deep within SEKAI.

KAITO is willing to do what he can to help Nene. He can't promise he can get her home soon, but maybe he can see something about shortening her stay. Meanwhile, he's more than happy to let her live with him and his two charges.

Knowing there is no better choice, although she could stay with Miku, Nene takes him up on the offer.

Now, while he works on getting her home, there are more things to know about SEKAI. No one is human here. Well, duh, obviously. No, literally no one is human, if they were human once, they no longer are. Miku is a cat. KAITO is a demon. One of his charges is a wolf, the other a tiger. Years ago, a bear cub* found her way into SEKAI. All three of them were humans once, and all of them had lived long enough to lose their humanity. Only the bear cub left SEKAI as soon as she learned to cloak her new features.

You cannot survive in SEKAI as a human. SEKAI tends to make you lose your mind if you try to stay human. It likes playing mind games with humans. Trapping them and making them go insane. For her safety, she had to wear a disguise.

She might not look that much like a cuddly, fluffy, rabbit, but her cyber-rabbit ears will have to do. How KAITO had them, she didn't want to know.

Since KAITO would be busy looking into a faster way to return Nene home, and Miku had long since left back to her garden, Nene decided to walk around.

While she knew KAITO had two charges, she didn't think she'd run into either of them. She'd hope to avoid them. But since when did she have luck?

She ran into the first as she explored. The wolf before her was tall and had long hair tied in a low ponytail. He was also, as Nene quickly found out, loud.

After they both managed to calm down, he introduced himself as Tsukasa Tenma.

Tenma? Nene was sure she knew that family. Their children went missing years ago and the search for them was stopped by the parents, who had given up. Their son went missing first and his sister followed soon after. Search after search resulted in nothing, so both parents assumed their children would never return (for whatever reason you wish to assume) and called everything off.

Tsukasa tells her it could be a coincidence, he can't really remember anything from before he arrived in SEKAI. But he is surprised she knows he has a sister. His darling sister Saki!! She lives nearby with Luka!

Luka?? As in, Megurine Luka? That Luka?

Yes.

This was getting to be too much. She needed a break. Just, give her a moment.

Deciding the best thing to do was get some sleep, Nene opened a door, and upon seeing the bed inside, went in and collapsed into it.

Maybe she would wake up in her room. Maybe a teacher found her and she didn't realize because she blocked it out. Maybe she would wake up in those bushes again, see her school, and go home and beg her parents to be homeschooled. Maybe this was just a dream inspired by all the games she's been playing and this was a sign that she needed a break....yeah.

Yeah. Sure. Let's go with the "this is all a dream~" theory.

And that's when she hears his voice. His damn voice saying her name. She didn't want to look. It felt like this fueled the whole dream theory.

He said her name again. She didn't look. She ignored him until his hand touched her shoulder. She looked back and saw KAITO's second charge.

Despite the tiger ears on his head, she recognized him. How could she not recognize him?

Rui FUCKING Kamishiro. Her childhood friend who disappeared months ago.

But, how could he remember her? Tsukasa couldn't remember his past, so why did Rui? If...if she had come years later, would Rui have forgotten her?

Well...maybe. Rui had only been there for a few months, he was still adjusting to his new life in SEKAI. He still has memories of things and people from back home.

Tsukasa, on the other hand, as Rui found out from KAITO, had been in SEKAI since he was about 13, he is about to turn 17. He's been in SEKAI for roughly 4 years now, as Miku and KAITO said, he lost his humanity. In his mind, he's always been a wolf. When he arrived, Miku found him and took him to KAITO. To protect him, they gave him the ears of a wolf costume. But when the "doors" of SEKAI opened, he didn't want to leave. He didn't want to go back to an empty home. To parents who were almost never there. To a school where if he was too loud, he was annoying, but if he's too quiet he's a weirdo. The only person he'd miss and who'd miss him was his sister. But in the moment, that wasn't enough to convince him to go home. So, he stayed longer. And longer. And...longer.

And one day, he just, couldn't remember anything of his past beyond having a sister and his own name. The ears of the wolf costume turned into real ones. His appetite changed, his mood changed. But while he is a wolf, it's more like he's a dog. He loves attention and is very affectionate, kinda like a puppy.

Anyways, when Miku brought Rui over, the two boys weren't exactly friends. Since KAITO was trying to help Rui return home, Tsukasa felt like his caretaker was ignoring him. The boys would snap at each other and pick fights over the smallest of things.

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