#I don't like doing comics and it's a lot of work but it paid super well and it's actually going pretty well too

[genericpuff]

Scamlords is at it again.

A few nights ago, there was a sudden blow-up in the /r/webtoons server showing a new announcement from Snailords -

For anyone unaware, Death : Rescheduled has been on mid-season hiatus since October. And it's now, and only now, that Snailords has suddenly decided the comic is ending after it returns, but readers can get an extra 20 episodes... if they fork over $1k in merch sales.

Now, this could be a lot worse. They could be threatening not to return to the series at all unless their readers hand over money. But considering it's practically just one degree away from that, it's still pretty nasty. Not to mention, the further they divulged in their reasoning around this "idea", the more confusing it got.

They also even revived their @snailordsrant account on IG which, for those of you who were there and can recall, was the same account they used to put one of their own fans on blast over some very mild criticism.

None of this makes any actual sense, for several reasons:

1.) I literally fail to see how getting $1k in less than 24 hours is worth shoving in an extra mini arc of 10 episodes if you don't even have it planned out. Why do that to your audience or to yourself? Why drag things out just to scrounge up an emergency $1k? Why not just be honest with your audience and run a GoFundMe or just say , "Hey everyone, I've run into some financial troubles, I would really appreciate it if you could FastPass my newest episodes or donate to my Patreon or buy some merch so I can cover the costs". It's really telling that this shithead doesn't have enough confidence in themselves or their audience that practically worships them that they have to resort to this kind of underhanded shit to get the money they need. I wanna make it clear that this is NOT like a Kickstarter stretch goal or anything that incentivizes readers to support their work, they're instead holding the length and future of their series over their audiences' head (which they've done before) for money. That's not an incentive, it's an ultimatum.

2.) Maybe I'm misreading / being stupid (someone pls explain if I'm missing something here) but I literally don't see how their comment about working 50 hours a week explains why they're suddenly getting their fans to pay out $1k worth of merch in less than 24 hours. For anyone who doesn't know, $1k per episode is an example Webtoons uses in its post discussing how they pay out creators (this came after the platform got called out 2 years ago for paying creators too little, there are undoubtedly creators getting paid less). And yet for some reason $1k is apparently the difference between 10 episodes and 20? How does that add up? And is the bit about them wanting to buy boba supposed to be a joke? Where's the punchline here?

3.) They say they have writer's block and they want to use the money to "motivate them", but then just a few slides later they say 10-15 episodes is what would make them the "happiest" so which is it? Do they want to write 10 episodes or do they want people to pay them to write 20 episodes so they can draw the fluff scenes that they apparently want to draw? If you have an ending planned out, why rush it or drag it out depending on how this "fundraiser" goes? Why not just write the ending you want to write that will serve your story best? Why shove in an extra mini arc that you don't even have full confidence in writing and then try to compare it to a "super expensive cake"? What are you doing? Speaking as someone who's had trouble getting motivated in the past, suddenly getting a month's rent worth of money to do it doesn't necessarily solve that, it just turns up the pressure, and if you're not someone who deals with pressure well, then you're more likely to wind up just burning out entirely rather than fulfilling that goal.

4.) The fact that they did, in fact, hit their goal just makes it all the shittier to think about because their audience is mostly made up of teenagers who worship the ground that they walk on. It's horrifying that they keep pulling these stunts with their audience, and getting away with it to boot - and Webtoons, as a company, keeps enabling it by allowing it to happen by hosting and promoting people like this.

Anyways, there's already a lot going on here that's sketchy, but then... they went and deleted their posts. At the time of this happening (as I was there to witness it all play out in real time) I assumed this meant that they had hit their $1k goal - especially as they had been showing their progress on their IG and they were already at $900 after just a couple hours - but it gave me a sinking feeling seeing them delete it because they had also been called out by some brave readers telling them that it wasn't exactly a good look to essentially blackmail their audience through their own content into giving them money.

Snailords deleting it gave me a stronger impression of "burying the evidence", especially now that they had the money. By all accounts, they could do whatever they wanted now.

So what did they decide to do?

. . . Huh?

Okay, take a second to actually think about what Snailords has done here. Because I know some of you will go "oh, it was for charity all along! that was nice of them!" but . . . I don't know about the legalities of collecting donation funds under false pretenses, but morally speaking, it's a really shitty thing to do. They stripped away the choices - limiting them to three - of what their readers could donate to, and what I think their readers don't understand - due to being mostly teenagers - is that they're tax-exempt individuals and they just unknowingly gave Snailords an easy $1k tax write-off. You really, really shouldn't collect donation funds like this without being honest, it's just a shitty thing to do, especially after you've already collected the money. It mostly just comes across as damage control on Snailords' part to make it seem like they were always planning to donate to charity, when in reality, if they wanted to donate to charity, they would have been honest about that at the start. Again, even if they wanted to do that from the start, it goes to show how little confidence they have in themselves or their audience that they have to stoop to methods like these instead of just doing it honestly.

And do you really think Snailords will actually do those extra episodes? Or donate that money? This is the same asshole who has manipulated their readers for money not once but twice, and now seems intent on doing it a third time just for the charm. This is the same person who practically sabotaged their own comic, Freaking Romance, because they apparently didn't like the romance genre and may as well have only done it for clout / views / etc.

What was especially odd - and I found this out from folks who actually read Death : Rescheduled (I do not) - was finding out that it wouldn't make sense for D : R to end in as many as 25 episodes, because apparently, the plot has basically just gotten going.

So it does seem like this is foreshadowing that D : R will wind up just like Freaking Romance, rushed into an ending that wasn't expected. And this, of course, has the people who read their work confused because D : R was supposed to be Snailords' passion project, their magnum opus, the project they wanted to do. So them holding the timing of an ending that shouldn't even be happening yet for ransom contradicts that original intention. Really, it just goes to show that Snailords has no passion, they're just in it purely for the money, to a degree that I can't even cheer them on for being a hustler because it's missing the honesty and integrity.

And of course, every single time Snailords finds a way to backpedal and take his audience for a ride, they hop right in without a single thought for themselves.

And no, none of this is to hate on the readers directly, I hold Snailords entirely responsible for this - they have an audience of impressionable, naive, gullible teenagers, and they know it, and take advantage of it every chance they get. It's why they weren't just honest about wanting to collect money for charity from the start. It's why they resorted to basically holding their own comic's progression for ransom during its midseason hiatus. It's why the deadline was 24 hours and why the posts are now gone.

Thankfully the Internet does what it does - any evidence that Snailords was trying to bury is now all over reddit, and hey, just for good measure, here's a post on Tumblr that's been sitting in my drafts for days now, days after people have already seemingly stopped talking about it. Don't let anyone bury or forget about the stunts Snailords is pulling on their audience, with a platform that they've been consistently given by Webtoons, because that's what they want you to do.

#snailords #webtoon critical

[captainmera]

Depression has hit me really hard, and a lot of things are happening at the same time.

I'm simultaneously burnt out and on the verge of a collapse, but like... I can't really do anything about it. I'm just sort of waiting for the stick to break so I can work thru it and move along.

I can't even focus on important things like replying to mails without my brain circumventing into something else.

Avpd and burnout is putting me in a constant brain fog these days. And severe maladaptive daydreaming.

I'm trying to be social and grounded, but I feel like everything around me is drowned in mist, and when I speak, it's through molasses.

I know I'm disappointing ppl by putting certain things on hold, like fanfics, my comic, or asks. But I just can't do it r/n. it will come in whatever speed it comes at.

And frankly I'm just too fried and tired to extend more than a sigh of empathy to your frustration with me. I understand you, I do. But I'm just some guy. I'm not getting paid. I'm broke and tired, and I can't be arsed to even be upset.

Atm, I'm doing this Caleb-focused comic mainly just to do something else than hyperventilate or maladaptive daydream. It's helping me have some control over what I disappear into, something physical, rather than sit on the floor and stare off into space.

I could do it for ibwr, I should be putting that energy there.

But there's some stressful things going on there with contracts and whatnot that's put a damper on things. Money is stressful. At least a stressful damper. So it's difficult to concentrate on it with that humming in the background, y'know?

Anyway.

Bear with me, please. I know people are impressed by my productivity and speed - but it's not so impressive once you know I'm just unwell and trying to cope. I also have a lot of time on my hands.

I'm fine, really, I am. /GEN I just can't do four projects at once. I can do two tops. And right now it's the caleb comic and IBWR. That's it.

I'm aware it's not super great to work so much when I'm burnt out.

But know that I'm choosing one pest lesser than another greater pest. So the constant "REST!!" Comments aren't, like, fantastic. I just feel ashamed for not being better than I am or being able to practice what I preach.

Lo and behold, being mentally unwell and not being wholesome healthy about it. Who would've known it is complicated to be unwell, actually? /LHJ /GEN /notSarcasm

I know I don't owe anybody anything. But I just kinda wanted to have a sigh and vague-post-gesture at what I'm standing in to the void of the Internet.

Because I do get comments and asks asking where an update is, or why I didn't draw their ask, or why I'm putting energy in X instead of Y, etc.

So I'm just......... I'm just gonna like....... ignore it. It's not personal.

I love and appreciate your love for my work, I really do. Thank you for all of your excitement and your feedback. Its been a delight. /GEN

But... I'm just gonna have to ignore what the majority of people crave from me and do what I want in the pace I need to do it.

okay? :(

Look. Just allow it fam.

Just allow it.

Using memes to try to communicate some essence of lightheartedness.

#liveblogging

[theweirderstuffblogdontlook]

Bob Gets a Ugly Christmas Sweater

If i can get enough people bothering me about it, I'll turn the "all i want for christmas is to eat santa claus" sweater into an actual sweater design you can buy.

It's fun packing in background details and lore bits. Like the sign on the table clearly having been made based on experience from Bob distracting her. How bobs arm hair is still patchy from the burns. and how bob is actually following the don't touch while she's working rule. Plus how in a previous comic (specifically this one), Bob remembers her setting him on fire before? well this is that time. Get to see a glimpse of how she molotov cocktailed this man. Also i think it shows pretty well the moral position Caprica takes which is kinda weird to see in person. Where she is fine with killing in defense of herself and others, but not okay with torturing. So like, she will set this man on fire without hesitation, but also she's not gonna let a guy go all winter without a sweater.

Figure this latest part kinda shows how Bob really can't bring himself to be all that resentful. Like Caprica set him on fire sure, but with his supernatural resilience, the damage isn't permanent. So he can also just kinda be chill with how he likes hanging out with her in the interim. Even if she's mostly paid close attention and tried to figure him out to either make her own life easier or to manipulate him later, he could still like feeling seen or understood. And enjoy her doing little things like phrasing a late lunch as having two dinners.

Also, a benefit to buying Bob all these new sweaters and take out dinners, is she can threaten to throw everything in a bonfire if he tries to murder and eat children. It.... mostly works.

But this comic also shows a bit of how they function when they're sharing a body as opposed to having Bob be out and about disguised as Barbra.

Also I'm super proud of managing to fit about 3 dick jokes into the name of the store, and if i could, i would try to make it an accepted headcannon within the spooky month fandom that Bob bought his iconic sweater at a store called Dickinwoods. And It's a lot easier to be surprised by a thoughtful handmade gift when you're dumb as a brick and can watch the whole process of the thing getting made and only realize what's going on at almost the very end.

#spooky month #bob velseb #art #au #comic #possession #inner demon #spooky month bob #christmas #ugly sweater

[yellowocaballero]

SHAZAM SHAZAM SHAZAM pls tell us about billy batson. ive only ever seen the movies o great comic knower

Very very very VERY far from comic expert (that's brawltogethernow) but I have read a lot of Shazam. His history is actually really, really fascinating and involves more than one lawsuit that really defined very early comics. I'll focus on one thing, though.

There are two Captain Marvels: One from the 1940s to around 2013, and one from 2013 til now. The Captain Marvel you're familiar with (who is named Shazam) is from 2013. He's a more realistic, grounded character. He was created to be pretty much the polar opposite of his original version. The best summary is to say that the Wizard chose Billy Batman 1940 because he had the purest heart, and the Wizard chose Billy Batson ~2013 because he was there. My personal 'best' Shazam story is the "Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil" graphic novel by the guy who made Bone. It's good because it's for elementary schoolers yet acknowledges this small child as homeless. Which, don't get me wrong, you shouldn't always do. My personal favorite is the 1970s ones.

As some background: Otto Binder was the creator/main writer of the very early Captain Marvel comics. He was by far and away the best writer of the early Superman Silver Age comics, because all of his comics were batshit insane. Shazam has a complicated and legal history with Superman, so the 1970 run was a super fun high camp tongue in cheek reinvention of the best Silver Age stories.

So the 1970 Captain Marvel comics are insane.

I can't even summarize them without sounding crazy. Basically the conceit is that Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr, and Mary Marvel (Billy, Freddy, and Mary) are having 1940s Golden Age Adventures when they get somehow in suspended animation and are basically time travelled to the 1970s. This don't bother them too much. Why would it bother them. Nothing bothers these people. Nothing. I don't think anybody experiences a negative emotion in these comics. Not bc they were twee. Bc they were insane.

Many of the comics basically had three shorter comics inside it: one Billy story, one Mary story, one Freddy story. Interestingly, they all had different art styles, artists, types of story, genre, etc. Billy's stories had a cartoony art style with very over-the-top and silly plotlines that involved supervillain bad dudes. Freddy's art was slightly more realistic and was slighty more grounded, but still had some classic Marvel indescribable scifi that can best be summarized as that one meme panel people have seen where Sivana recites a science equation that lets him walk through walls. Mary's stories were much more realistically drawn and featured the most banal shit, like her starting a club with her friends. Somehow Mary Marvel gets involved in those.

Sometimes they worked together and did superhero things and fought bad guys. The average fight looked like this:

Billy was a twelve year old who lived by himself, in his own apartment, had his own radio show, a full-ass job, a whole thing as Captain Marvel. He paid fucking taxes. Everybody knew this and nobody cared. He's the most affable, good natured kid on the face of the planet. Nothing bothers him. Nothing. Nothing bothers any of these people. Sivana shows up and he's BIG MAD so he's creating another death ray and Captain Marvel shows up like "Oh you rascal! Time to punch this and go back to helping my friend eat his infinite Jello."

He has a friend named Talky Tawny, who is a talking tiger wearing a suit. He also has a friend named Sunny Smiles, a person of indeterminate gender who everybody falls in love with, for unexplained and unknown reasons. Not to be confused with Freddy's friend Gregory Gosharootie, the "World's Dullest Mortal", who is so boring that nobody notices him and he keeps accidentally comitting crime. There is also an old guy named Uncle Marvel who pretends he has superpowers, which they all find funny so they just roll with it. Freddy is a disabled orphan who has to sell papers on the street corner to make a living. Mary lives in a middle class suburban home with loving foster parents. It never once seems to occur to Mary's parents to adopt Billy, for Freddy to live with Billy. Everybody is happiest this way.

I do think this is partly why a good Shazam comic has to be aimed at the 6-12yo demographics. They have to be for small children, because Billy is living a complete and utter power fantasy that only a ten year old would think is a good idea. He's a kid, and he doesn't have drag parents or a lame family, but he can turn into Superman, and he can also do magic, and everybody loves him and thinks he's the nicest person, and his supervillains are Dr. Doofenschmirtz and a worm, and his supporting cast is like okay my sister if she HAS to be involved, but also my best friend who is a paperboy! but cool because he's disabled, and….

Look, you could engage with that seriously. You could go "holy shit this is a homeless child". That's fine. That's what they do these days, and that's what they did in the movies. Nothing wrong with that. Take the story more seriously.

But also they don't give a worm the electric chair in those stories, so.

To actually give some commentary on these comics: these comics really love people. I've never seen comics that were so entrenched in their community. The kids just know everybody they meet on the street. Freddy delivers paper up and down every block, so an average story for him is just talking to a butcher or baker or old man or grumpy housewife and helping them out with some batshit problem. Mary's a sweet girl who's always starting clubs with her friends and taking on neighborhood projects. Many Billy stories involve one of his many friends falling into some trouble and Captain Marvel helping them out - or just exploring some fun with Billy hanging out with Sunny Smiles, who is a person of indeterminate gender who for some reason has magic love brainwashing powers -

This isn't the biggest #Shazam take, but I think a good Shazam story stays grounded in that. These are poor street kids who love Fawcett City so damn much. They love fighting their supervillains, but they love helping out the random guy off the street with their problems even more. Way more so than Spider-Man or a lot of other guys, I think of the Marvel family as the friendly neighborhood superheroes. They're both larger than life and street level. They're Superman level powers but they just use the powers for wrapping up their hijinks. Isn't that nice? Aren't you tired of going apeshit? Don't you just want to be nice?

#captain marvel #shazam #mary marvel #freddy freeman #billy batson #captain marvel jr #mary batson #i pulled open the old comics to review to write this #and as a kid I was like. #“hah! silly old silver age comics! they don't know how dumb they are!” #but reading it now im like #“holy shit i think they're doing it on purpose. holy shit. i think this is the most sarcastic comic ive ever read.” #“I don't think this is the funniest thing ever on accident. I think these were jokes. This comedy is sublime.” #genuinely they hold up SO well. they're fucking delightful. #high camp. #my writing #my asks

[indieyuugure]

Hey Indie!

I'm super sad that ROTP is ending, but I hope I can snag a printed copy of it or smth because I consider it to be literal gold.

Just a question for TMS, before the turtles are turned into humans, do they start as the 2012 boys or your version of the turtles?

also, this might be too early to ask but my annoyingly curious mindset is gonna kill me if I don't, so, is ROTP going to end with pretty much everyone not quite healed yet, or is it going to end with most of the turtles being very close to fully healed/fully healed?

Yes, I’ll be getting together a sign up sheet in a few weeks so people can pre-order the books. Colored comics are pretty expensive, so having only the number of books I need be pre-paid for will make sure it all works out.

TMS takes place in the 2012 universe. The turtles you can watch on TMNT 2012 are the ones in my story and are the versions that get transformed into humans.

Lol, not a problem, I want everyone to be at the least 60% recovered, like most of them will be somewhere like 90-100% but even some of the more severe injuries aren’t causing them a lot of pain. Basically, they’ve all recovered enough that if they were to go to a store at night, the would be okay, assuming they’re not doing any fancy ninja tricks.

Good question! :]

#tmnt #q&a #rise of the parallel #the mutation situation

[art-the-f-up]

Hello, pls know that everytime you post about plstin heroes au, I start flooding my room with tears </3. Also, I want to draw Ahsan and Laaiqa too (maybe comic) but everytime I try to draft the plot in my head I felt terrible because the situation is real, not some made up horror stories or something. Sometimes it feels like I'm making light of the situation or romanticize(?) them and feel bad about it. But I still want to draw as I sign of support for 🍉. (I'm a sucker for angsty romance but yeah I don't want to make light of their situation, I know they are strong and resilient ppl but still, I wish I can do more to help them)

trust me! I've been there! I still am tbh, but the entire reason of the Palestinian AU is Palestinian representation and also awareness. I have followers who were getting annoyed by me constantly posting about Palestine and I had to get creative with it so now every time there is a global or cyber strike and people are urged to mass post about Palestine I post this AU since it's the only way i can contribute to the mass movement.

I may be a sicko for this, but I've seen the 'other side' manipulate what people want to see and twist it to match their narrative, sometimes you just gotta beat em at their own game.

Romance is NOT the main plot of the Palestinian heroes AU, there's SO MANY THINGS i need to draw in it for the representation (I'm thankful enough to have Palestinians reach out and tell me what more I can add) but I've been tackling a lot of projects and still trying to draw this AU more.

My most recent post was inspired by the quote "In Palestine, to live means to chose what to lose" and I planned on adding that video at the end but then the global strike announcement came out and I posted that instead.

If you want to write about it, my advice would be to write something hopeful, something motivational, something that represents the cultures and traditions, or even something that just shows the true caring and loving nature of Palestinians because the z!onist media has worked overtime trying to paint them all as less than human. And there are many Palestinian movies about Love amidst War, and I do think romanticizing the current situation will be absolutely wrong, you need to make sure that if your story has romance elements then A) that is not the main plot and B) it is based on general Palestinian culture, because let me assure you, after 75-76 years resistance and war for freedom has been deeply ingrained into the Palestinian culture.

So yeah! Read more about it! And please please don't let your doubts hold you back. We live in the time of internet, reach out to a Palestinian if you have any doubts, they are super sweet people, but at the moment it is absolutely important to churn out Palestinian content to beat the people who are getting paid to suppress their voices.

#palestinian heroes AU #palestinian heroes #asksss #important

[lynxgriffin]

Hey there, I really appreciate all the kind words, and I'm so glad that you've been enjoying all of the art!

That said, I feel like I need to speak a little bit about the art requests. I don't want to stop doing them completely (I've got a few more in the backlog to post) but I do think I need to start being a lot pickier about which ones I do. They're supposed to be real quick or just because I really like the idea/think it'd be funny or interesting, and unfortunately it's getting more to the point where they feel like an obligation that I'm not enjoying. Especially stuff like this, where it's "redesign the whole cast" or "draw a huge group shot with them all dancing," that is uh. Really a lot to do! Especially now that I actually am trying to do some longer scenes for Eldritchrune, and comics are always time-consuming. That, and of course paid work (whether it's my day job, for Patreon, or commissions) is always going to be my first priority.

Again, I don't want to stop completely! And I super appreciate the kindness! But I did just want to say that if you ask for something and it never shows up, it's because I had to weigh my choices on what I want to spend time working on, and often requests just aren't going to make it into the pile. Thanks for understanding!

#ask lynx stuff #all that said...back to working on comics!

[oliveroctavius]

"the loss of the long form serialized storytelling in comics in favor of writing for the trade has done so much damage to character relationships"

Yeah, but also:

Almost all Marvel/DC writers are still paid by output on a project by project basis. At ~$100 a page, that's $25,200 a year for a 21 page monthly book, no benefits, very rarely royalties for book sales. The incentive is to work on multiple titles as fast as possible. Any back research for character detail is a labor of fan love: that's unpaid work, and dealing with maybe 2-3x as many back issues as a writer in the 80s would have.

The (few) salaried writers are "exclusive": they can only write for that publisher's books. If their bright idea doesn't fit into an existing character's arc, they can either pretend it does, or pitch it as something new which (if accepted) will be company owned intellectual property. The "best" industry jobs are the ones with the least creative control. Forgive me if I don't believe the best creative minds end up there.

For the last couple of decades, there’s been a particular model to sustainable careers in comic book writing. First you do work at some of the smaller independent publishers to get the attention of the Big Two (DC and Marvel), then you transition into writing for the Big Two and work your way up the ladder to the highest profile book you can muster, and then you use your larger platform from your superhero work to draw folks back in to your independent work, often using the money from those big superhero books to subsidize your own books before they turn a profit. (James Tynion IV on Substack in 2021)

Miniseries/TPBs have serious upsides to those who can't afford to be continuity geeks. It's a graphic-novel sized contract guaranteed to get your name in front of a lot of eyes. It's a low risk gig that can still offer a rare level of arbitrary creative control.

"the main universe is meant to be a collaborative front"

Well...

The first and foremost thing the Marvel or DC universe is "meant" to be is a marketing tool. Creators who care have done beautiful and interesting things with the concept, but the fundamental unit of story in the MarvelDC model is the (copyrighted) character.

It's really the IP that sells. I'm the ultimate example. I came to Marvel with little experience as a writer in the early '70s and replaced Stan Lee on Spider-Man. It didn't hurt the sales. (Gerry Conway to Business Insider in 2021)

Henry Ford couldn't be happier: creative workers swapped out like cogs without disturbing the story-producing machine. A comic is more like a novel than a movie or TV show: a creator can do it solo, if given the space and time. The unique and fun "collaborative" element of superhero comics are a well-executed coping mechanism for decades of exploitative labor practices.

In the above case, Gerry Conway had a single decade to catch up on and was coached by the previous writer(s) directly. The weight of publishing history on individual writers is always growing heavier, TPBs or no.

If TPBs really are are giving creatives the control to screw over the IP for their own short term interests... that's sad from a fannish perspective but from an industry perspective, uh, yeah, screw 'em. If "playing super nice with continuity" was meant to be standard, then deadlines and compensation should represent the work that goes into that.

#this isn't really a comics theory post it's a ''dregs of the fury I felt at the advice I was given when I briefly wanted to work in comics'' #type post #industry meta

[elvenbeard]

Elven goes Comic Park Artist Alley 2023

Here it is, the post I threatened to make! It's gonna be long and full of ramblings, but I wanted to write everything down and idk, maybe you'll find it interesting to read! xD

So, this was my first time tabling at an artist alley. I had applied to another con near-ish me a couple of times in the past but never got accepted, so I was quite floored when it worked here at first try this time around xD I was hella nervous all the way up until the day I actually had to go and leave for some reason. Beforehand, I gathered some inspo at other cons for table setups and invested a little bit in one of those wire-shelf thingies, cause since it's very modular I would have also been able to make good use of it if it turns out artist alleys aren't my thing after all. I got a small collection of prints printed, I wanted to stick with a theme (namely, my original fantasy stuff, since fanart is a legal grey area and I wanted to be on the safe side - also, themes are nice!).

I managed to fit everything I needed for the table into two big Ikea bags and left on Friday noon for the con (we were allowed to set up starting at 2pm that day, the actual con starting on Saturday at 9am). I also set up two small shelf units for putting on the table upfront to save some time!

My cat was not impressed.

Setup and everything worked out without problems, the helpers were all super kind and welcoming. The only thing that was kinda chaotic was that the con organizers and the owners of the location (the artist alleay was in a whole new building, and the location overall is insanely pretty) seemed to kinda work against each other in a way xD Communication didn't quite work, and I think if we as artists and our helpers had received at least some kinda document or ID or a little coloured wristband that said "exhibitor" or something, it would have prevented a lot of arguments and delays. But alas, maybe next year!

Since I had a quite long drive and didn't wanna do that twice every day, I stayed at a hotel nearby. It felt a little like a mini vacation, which was nice xD Cost-wise, I would have ended up paying the same amount in gas that I paid in hotel fees.

As I said, as soon as my table was set up, all nervousness from before had kinda vanished and despite my days starting super early and ending very late, I had a blast overall xD Only thing is, I didn't sleep well (but I rarely do when I know I have to get up early, the anxiety of missing my alarm haunts me in my dreams).

My view for the weekend xD I love how creative some of the other artists' setup was, let alone how amazing their art was! There was a huge variety of styles and products, from prints to pins to handmade jewelry and plushies, and I didn't even get the chance to see it all xD

I guess this being my first table and the fear of accidentally missing out on a conversation with someone who likes my stuff I kinda didn't dare to venture very far from my table xD So I didn't see much of the rest of the con, but thankfully a lot of people found their way to the artist alley anyway! My personal highlight was having the ultimate, first-hand V experience. I randomly look to the right, and suddenly:

Johnny fucking Silverhand! Including an ominous duffle bag that might have said NUKE... or NIKE, not sure... (find him on instagram @_iggyizzy_). Had a short convo with him both days, he was absolutely living his role, and yes xD Best quote that'll stay with me: "Don't make me laugh, or my beard is gonna come off!" Cosplay problems, I relate so hard :D

Some other highlights:

Explaining my dark fantasy world and setting with the target group "21+" to some very enthusiastic young kids who liked the pretty pictures xD

Talking to other creative people and seeing their projects - also loved the fact that there were several others tabling for the first time, and they all had different approaches that I all loved!

In general being told my art is good by complete strangers who know nothing about it was a huge ego and morale boost xD And being able to talk about a very dear-to-me project I'm passionate about in general was awesome

Talking to likeminded people who got inspired what I was doing <3

Nerding about my favourite video games with people

People really liking my inktober stuff a lot, which I wouldn't have expected

Ending the con with a long conversation with two cosplayers/gamers/creative people discussing tabletop games, Dragon Age, and Cyberpunk for about half an hour :D Was such a nice note to end the weekend on!

As I said, upfront I read up on some random resources online, some dos and donts and useful tips for artist alleys. Some of the tips really paid off ("pack a little emergency bag containing all sorts of materials to improvise if need be") which was useful to adjust some price tags and stuff! Others didn't quite turn out to be as accurate, with my most expensive item selling best in comparison to more affordable ones. I also hadn't planned on offering doodle commissions (which I'd seen people do at other cons) but I will definitely do if I ever get a table spot again, cause they were quite popular. And they made me realize once more why I miss doing commissions and will get back into them soon here, too!

Kinda negative things that come to mind regarding the whole experience are really minor actually, as I mentioned already the slightly chaotic organization here and there, but overall there were always good workarounds to that available, too. And I think/hope next time will work out better! A personal annoyance (but that is just my life in general xD) was getting misgendered quite a bit cause I'm not really passing, and me being too scared of irl confrontation in that reagard to correct people XD But I'm working on it. On the other hand, also had a really nice convo with a fellow queer dude about the abundance of pride flags and stuff, which was fun xD

And what I also learned is that the majority of people who do this regularly work Monday-Friday jobs... which makes sense, that enables you to go to cons on weekends, cause you always have the weekend off. Me, I get one weekend off per month at random (I could request specific days, but they're never guaranteed). So yeh... time to find a better dayjob I guess, if I wanna do this professionally xD Or luck out with my day off requests.

Anyway though... my personal takeaway and what I'd do differently next time:

I enjoyed the whole thing a lot more than I would have guessed

I'd make my stand more visibly lgbtq+ themed, to get people interested in queer fantasy art and writings that would walk past generic-looking dark elves

Also I'd add somewhere that this is an original project I'm working on, cause most people I got talking to assumed "oh this is just dnd stuff" and were pleasantly surprised when they learned "no, this is actually a whole setting and story"

I'm gonna wear a name tag with my pronouns on it (I wanted to do it this time but chickened out at the last moment, cause I'm just with one toe out of the closet irl and got too scared XD one challenge at a time)

I did like how my table was set up overall though and apart from some minor tweaks would set it up like this again

I would like to try to walk around more and get talking to other artists more, but I was too glued to my seat and table and everything (also, mild social anxiety, but everyone that I did talk to was so kind, so yeh XD one challenge at a time!!)

So yes. So much to my report on being at an artist alley the first time XD Would love to try it again some time, cause I had a blast, and cause of the stuff I'd like to improve on.

I still have a bunch of leftovers, too, posters, postcards, and a few booklets... But for now I'm gonna set up a Ko-Fi-Shop (which I'd wanted to do for a while) and put some things there for the time being. Once it's up and running a post will follow!

And if you read this far: thanks for reading ♥ xD

#personal stuff #drawing stuff #elven does artist alley

[eponymous-rose]

I'm gonna do this again because it turned out last week kinda went off the rails without it and the little bit of accountability is super super helpful.

Monday!

It's a busy week! It's also my birthday week! Let's do this!

E-mail with coffee: sent a prospective grad student a congratulations on her admission to our program. I'm really hoping to hire her, but I do need to consider whether I might want to admit two students for this position and just get the extra funding for the second one elsewhere if both decide to come. Hmm. Confirmed coffee on Friday with the wonderful admin I've been wanting to befriend for a while - finally we'll interact outside of paperwork! Sadly Wednesday's seminar speaker is ill and won't be able to present - I'm leading the seminar so that does add up to a little less work for me, which is the silver lining there. One of my student groups is struggling to grab data from the weather station they built on the roof because the dang software doesn't work on Macs - managed to coordinate getting them a loaner PC laptop from the department, whew. Completed two letters of reference for an undergrad student applying to internships. Somehow managed to double-book a meeting and gave one a heads up to cancel. Showed my availability for scheduling a PhD defense for a student whose committee I'm on. One of the speakers for my seminar series sent a somewhat passive-aggressive e-mail to the department chair to let him know his info's not up on the website yet. Department chair forwarded it to me, I replied with, essentially "hold your dang horses, your talk isn't until mid-March". He replied back with a sheepish apology. All good.

Formulated my list of essential stuff for this week:

finish Wednesday's (and next week's?) lecture(s?)

prepare next week's homework & key

work on grant proposal

work on commissioned review article

So excited that we're finally to the part of the class that I have taught before in past years! Great lecture today about statistical data analysis. Hurt everyone's brains with the Monty Hall problem. Showed a lot of XKCD comics, got some laughs. Good times. Answered some student questions on the homework assignments, looks like everyone's on track to ace this one as well. This is a really strong class and I'm very proud of them!

On to a virtual meeting with my peer mentoring group! We talk about how utterly wild it is that different departments manage research funding in completely different ways. I vent a bit for the umpteenth time about having to rely 100% on grants to pay my grad students (bigger departments often have student funding provided if they TA, but we just don't have enough classes to sustain that). Easily the biggest source of stress in my life right now is running out of funding for my students: "in order to pay your graduate students, you have to receive a major grant" "cool! how likely am I to get one?" "success rates are about 1 in 15" "uhhhh" "also the applications (if you manage to find a perfect match for your research) take about 40-60 hours to plan and write and it's not work that's looked at formally as part of your tenure review so you're actively taking time away from research" "uhhhhhhh" "and you won't find out if you have been awarded the grant or not before you have to make the decision to hire a student so you just gotta gamble on it" "UHHHHHHH" "you don't get paid in the summer either unless you pull in 2-3 grants that can each cover one month max of salary so I hope you're not putting well over 50% of your take-home toward rent in one of the worst markets in the US or anything haha." It's A Lot. But it's very helpful to talk to people about it!

Realized I left my half-finished Wednesday lecture on my computer at home so I can't work on it during my break between meetings. Shoot, guess that's a tomorrow problem. At least I can work on the homework assignment! This one was an absolute nightmare last year but I think I've come up with a way to simplify it while still hitting all of the learning goals. It's complicated but hopefully very satisfying and builds on everything they've learned thus far. Even with the simplification, I'm definitely expecting some traffic in office hours next week. Opted not to include the more tedious section of the homework because I've tested that particular skill amply in the earlier assignments this quarter. Ran through it once on my own, sent myself the key, then posted the homework and the submission portal for their online module for next week, so all I'm missing now is the lectures.

E-mail break! A professor at a small university nearby wants to bring in a grad student from my group to talk to her class about tornadoes! I have someone in mind (who is both a great presenter and also could use a little confidence boost to get back on track with his research), but of course he's working remotely on the other side of the country, so it's time for a quick check to see if a remote presentation is possible. Checking in on my seminar speaker for next week - project title and abstract up on the website, phew. She's a grad student, so I should find out if her advisor can introduce her or if they want me to do so (and if so, I gotta do some digging for fun facts to share!). Got an invite to a lunch with the faculty & chair where we're going to be brainstorming our next faculty hire, so I gotta be there for that (also because free food)! Surreal to think that we might be hiring my colleague for the next 30 years. It's... kind of intimidating and I definitely want to be in the room for that discussion. Aha! A reply already: virtual talk is fine, so I put the professor and my grad student in touch.

Nice virtual meeting with my former postdoc advisor - we commiserate for a while over his recent illness, but he's feeling better now so we quickly jump back to talking research. The small grant I was awarded recently actually dovetails with some of the broader research ideas he and I had been talking about, so I'm gonna keep him in the loop on that!

Up next: a meeting with my two undergraduate research interns. They're coadvised by my colleague who is flying research aircraft on the other side of the country right now so it's just the three of us. Due to holidays and conferences, this is actually the first time in 2023 we all managed to meet! We go over some paperwork to make sure they get college credit for this research. They're spinning their wheels a little bit but I had them shoot off a couple emails while I was there to start them getting their data ASAP. We then chatted about severe weather we'd all witnessed. One of the students mentioned she's been saving the candy from my office candy bowl for whenever she forgets to bring lunch to campus and now I'm realizing I should maybe get some protein bars or something for some variety.

All good stuff. There's a seminar in 15 minutes but it's a chemistry seminar so... I may just sneak home a bit early.

Tomorrow: no meetings (maaaybe one remote meeting), so work-from home! Should be able to get the last bit of coursework done for the week so I can start on my research to-do list.

#eponymous academia tag

[libraryleopard]

Mid-Year Book Freakout 2023

Tagged by @violaeade, thanks Sabrina!

1. Best book you’ve read so far this year

Aaaahh that's so hard, I've had a really good reading year. I finally read She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan and it really blew me away–the characters! the tension! the narrative foils! the revenge! the ambition! the complicated queerness! I absolutely tore through it even though I was busy with school and walked around thinking about the ending for weeks. I can't wait for the sequel this August and also I am terrified to see what will come.

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far this year

THE THOUSAND EYES BY A.K. LARKWOOD!! Fucking fantastic sequel, took some incredible risks that really paid off and did some amazing things with the characters. Caused me exquisite agony in the best ways possible. Shuthmili's character arc in that book lives in my head RENT free.

3. New release you haven’t read yet

I'm hoping to read A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon this summer (it is so long but I am so excited for more dragons and lesbians). Also, When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb because I love their short fiction!

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid (gothic YA fantasy about Welsh mythology and a creepy seaside manor) sounds exactly like my kind of book and I'm quite excited for it.

5. Biggest disappointment

Probably The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas. I've gotten really into gothic literature lately and I was super excited at the idea of a postcolonial gothic set in 1800s Mexico but it just felt kind of like a middling mash-up of Rebecca and Mexican Gothic. Subpar gothic atmosphere, some nonsensical plot points, boring romance, standard prose. Alas!

6. Biggest surprise

I read Little Blue Encyclopedia (For Vivian) by Hazel Jane Plante on kind of a whim because the idea of a novel told in the form of an encyclopedia entry for a fictional TV show sounded interesting (I love stories that experiment with form) and it turned out to be an incredible exploration of grief and friendship and trans community that packed a lot of nuance and emotion into a very short work.

7. Favorite new author (debut or new to you)

Ava Reid! Her debut novel, The Wolf and the Woodsman, was a personally kinda underwhelming to me, but their second novel, Juniper and Thorn, was an incredible gothic fantasy exploration of abuse and I think she really found her authorial voice through it. Super excited for their YA debut coming out this fall, it sounds very up my alley. Also, having read Andrew Joseph White's debut novel Hell Followed With Us, I am absolutely keeping an eye out for his future works.

8. Newest fictional crush/newest favorite character

I'm reading Spindrift by Anna Burke right now and Morgan Donovan I am free to hang out on Thursday when I am free to hang out…

Also, Heather After from G. Willow Wilson's Sandman spin-off comic The Dreaming: The Waking Hours is incredible (trans anarchist sorceress) and I love her.

9. Book that made you cry

I don't really cry over books, but Among Others by Jo Walton made me so unbearably sad as someone who has a twin sister (though I do have some problems with that novel).

10. Book that made you happy

 I read Highly Suspicious & Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert because I enjoyed her adult romance novels and thought it was adorable, absolutely top-notch YA rom-com. (Also, I relate to Brad so much considering he is a teenage boy jock named Brad.)

Tagging uhhhh oh god @kazz-brekker @acewizard @shirleyjacksons @displayheartcode and any other book-inclined people who see this and want to answer? (i'm very bad at remembering mutuals off the top of my head, sorry!)

#lulu speaks #lulu reads #tag games #2023 reads #books #this was fun!

[otrtbs]

nat otrtbs hello hi what is ur opinion on the ‘take the money and run’ art piece

hi!! hello!!! ess summersareknives <3

i kinda hate it,,,, i'm not going to lie. like not to sound like an Old Art Historian™️ here, but i don't think it was super swaggy for this artist to fuck over this particular museum like that to get the message or point across.

like if it was a private commission for a private collection, yeah kinda funny and hilarious. had it been for a huge auction house like christies or sothebys also funny and comical and a little stick-it-to-the-man i guess.

but this museum is a public museum and a really good one. they have free admission for anyone 18 and under and make their collection pretty accessible as one of the largest modern art museums in Denmark!! they paid this artist a lot of money, took care in drawing up a contractual agreement with him, and wanted to work with him to display his art. ( <- they used money from the people ,,,, the museum patrons ,,, to do so in the hopes that the patrons would have access to more art in the future!!!) also haaning, the artist, taking the money from this cultural institution as 'commentary' on low wages, seems kinda like bullshit to me. like what did he do with $84,000 USD he received for turning in two blank canvases?? he wasn't using the money to fund other creatives or their artist projects like the museum would have if he turned down their offer. he didn't even use the money to increase the pay of hIS OWN STAFF OF ARTISTS WORKING FOR HIM. SO. no. hate hate hate. actually.

#asks #ARH talks

[tfp-miko-zine]

Q&A from the Interest Check!

Hiya! KAJiRA here, hope all my American fans are having a safe and restful Labor Day.

I received many questions from some of y'allz in from the Interest Check (which closed last Wednesday) and I would like to answer them (to the best of my ability ofc).

You can also ask me some questions on this Tumblr page as well if you missed out on the Interest Check form.

Check out the Q&A below:

Q: Just wondering how Miko's parents are going to be interpreted. The whole super-strict Asian parents thing is done to death.

A: Yeah, as stereotypical as it sounds...sadly, the whole tiger parenting in the Asian community is actually true...on some level depending on the parents. However, according to canon Miko actually doesn't show any signs of hatred towards her parents. In Darkness Rising Part 2 (S1E2), Miko told Jack a little bit about her time in Japan where she said she has loving parents. In the episode, Deux Ex Machina, she mentioned to Bulkhead that her parents did want her to go to college, when he was lecturing her for ditching after-school detention. Collecting those tiny information from the show, I would have to suggest that Miko's parents did allow her to have some freedom, yet made room for assertiveness and keeping her grounded when it comes to her academics and future.

Q: Would zine contributors be paid for their pieces?

A: Given that this zine project is still in early development, and I'm the only one fully responsible for it's organization, design, printing on my dime with my own equipment, assembly, and distribution, etc... and also this is just a little passion project I want to do because of my love for TFP and the characters and me being a total sucker for headcanons.

As a result, zine contributors will not be compensated, but rather they will receive a free copy of the zine plus (potential) merch.

Q: What would the timeline to complete the pieces look like?

A: That is to be determined. With the Interest Check completed, I'm in the process of creating an application form for potential artists and writers. The acceptance letter will include requirements (size, focusing on the theme, etc) and a deadline.

Q: Would artists also be able to contribute to merch designs?

A: Most likely not. Personally, I don't want to make things hard on potential contributors for the merchandise category since merch making can be expensive. Though I am open for artists and fanfic writers, but just wait until applications for contributors opens soon.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now these are not questions at all, but just some kind comments I cannot help but share! <3

Commentor: "Good luck with applications!"

KAJiRA: Thanks!

C: "Can't wait!"

K: ^_^

C: "I have always been interested in Miko’s character so it’s almost a dream come true to see people working on this. Not to mention the quality of this project, it’s a lot more professional compared to the other similar projects I have encountered. Keep up the good work!"

K: Same here! Kinda wished TFP sheds more light onto the character's backstory during the series' run. It could've been a few Day-In-The-Life episodes or IDW Publishing could've made some comics focusing on the human characters' backstory. Though we heard a few bits about them (i.e. a little bit about Miko's life in Japan, Jack being raised by a single mom and his dad leaving him at a young age, and Raf's struggles of being noticed in a large family and that his clothes are actually hand-me-downs according to the artbook, Transformers: The Art of Prime), the rest could also be open to interpretation. As for the quality of this project...LOL thanks but not sure how the final product might turn out but there will be more updates soon. I will do the best I can to deliver the best fanzine, and who knows I might promote this project at a future appearance at TFcon!

C: "This project sounds delightful!"

K: Thanks for the love, dear!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hope this clears things up for now! Again, I never thought I would receive positive responses and interests for a fanzine based on an 11-year-old show that I thought the fandom fizzled out a bit after all those years, but I guess the spark still flies for Transformers Prime *CRIES TEARS OF JOY* !!!

If y'allz got more questions, don't hesitate to tap/click on the "Ask" button or hit this page a message.

またね！(Mata ne! - See ya!)

~ Mod KAJiRA

#pre jasper miko #transformers prime #transformers zine #miko nakadai #tfp miko #transformers #pre jasper miko zine #tfp miko zine #tfp #q&a

[doberbutts]

Tossing out there that ao3 does make their code available to the public, so someone can use that code to make their own fandom specific archive. And please do! This isn't a shot at anyone its more of a hey this is available to you thing. The code is available for a reason, they want others to use it to expand fandom. It just takes a knowledge of how code works to set it up and money to host the server.

I think a good amount of the tension comes from the loss of websites as well. Fandom is only on a few websites now. But ao3 is free and ultimately, it's a luxury. No one is forced to use it, like they're forced to use Amazon. I get the frustration, I miss fandom specific forum sites too. But ultimately, ao3 is as big as it is because people choose it, and those who don't want to use it don't have to. I wouldn't recommend Wattpad as it nowhas a clause to sell the rights to user's stories, but FF.net and LiveJournal are still around, Dreamwidth is still there for a more blogging experience, and Pillowfort is a paid fandom blogging site that allows explicit content. There's other options, but people need to use them for them to grow and become more popular. Pillowfort is super young, started around the time tumblr banned explicit content and they need a lot of monetary support to held them out too

I think that is my other thing, yes AO3 is a big website but that's only because so many people use it. No one is forcing anyone to stay on it- you can easily use any other website you choose (and people used to when there was no AO3!) or you can even make your own. And it's not that hard to make your own! People do it all the time when posting original works because, surprise, there's not really any great place to post original works and so people just make their own spaces for them and hope for the best. You (general) really think comics like oglaf were posted anywhere considering the relatively pornographic material? Maybe the occasional sfw one but considering the comic starts with a cum-demon running off to tattle on someone masturbating, that really narrows where it could have been posted and yet it's still going and has a pretty active fan base (also if you look it up, well, you were warned lmao it's pretty graphic and labels itself "attempt at pornography quickly turned sex comic" which is about right)

[introverted-ghost]

Hello, how are you doing? :))

Just realized how ~weird~ it is that we have been friends for this long and I do not know your name. I don't mean your real name necessarily, but just some way to call you? Lmao I literally cannot believe I am only now asking this, I feel like a terrible online friend :((

Funny how internet friendships work tho. Like I know you're a half-psychic pisces, and your favorite color is green, and you like The Owl House and The Ninja Turtles and Ninjago, and you have cats and several siblings.....

But I don't have a way to call you.

????

Honestly wtFUCK.

So imma ask you some questions to know you a lil better, if you don't mind.

1. HOW CAN I CALL YOU OMGGGG

2. Favorite candy

3. How was this past week? Anything fun?

4. What kind of books do you like? Not gonna ask favorite book, but just talk to me about books :) you like reading, right? I know you like comics, and reading comics is reading. You can talk to me about comics.

5. What is your favorite fun fact? Can be about anything. I'll tell you mine: a human teeth has 32 calories.

6. YOU HAVE CATS, RIGHT? I HAVE THIS MEMORY THAT YOU SHOWED ME SOME PICTURES OF THEM. RIGHT?? TWO OF THEM. I DIDN'T MADE THAT UP. RIGHT????

7. Do you still wanna be friends after this mess of an ask? Lmao.

Sorry. Currently 2:00 am. I shouldn't be allowed to use internet at this unholy hours.

I’m gonna fucking die I just finished answering this then tumblr crashed and it was gone. Anyways~

1. To be honest I don’t really care what people call me. Most folks call me dryad but I also go by edland, xero, kylan, and rian or anything else really since I don’t super care

2. I don’t think I have a favourite candy so I went to check what was in my stash which was virtually nothing (Imma have to stock up once I get paid) but there was a container of pink lemonade lemonheads (which are pretty good btw)

3. Id probably have to make a whole separate post to cover everything I did but basically we went camping a lot in different places across the province each night (depending on where you’re from that may not seem too impressive but I’ll tell you in messages the size of it compared to Colombia so you get the picture)

4. I like fiction stories, usually fantasy but chill if it’s not. I recently (yesterday) got a book from the library I asked for ages ago (it took extra time since the one they gave me originally was in Chinese so I returned that one and asked for one in english) it’s called journey to the west btw. I know a lot about it and have watched many adaptations of it but it’s nice to be able to read it. Yes I also like comics

These are all the Tmnt comics I have so far

5. I don’t know if this is my favourite fun fact or if I’ve already told you or if you already know since you’re super smart. The Latin words for 7 8 9 10 are septem octo novem decem respectively. You may recognize them as the 9-12 months of the year, which you would be correct. It bothered me that it doesn’t match up but they were named during the Julian calendar which started in April (that’s also how April fools started) so with quick comparing I learnt that it STILL DOESNT MATCH UP :|

6. I do have cats. Three of them though

First there’s Meredith he’s the oldest by a month

Then jingles

Skip ahead 5 or 6 years and you got Maggie (this picture was taken after she was spayed and we had to put her cone on when I wasn’t there to watch, she tried to escape while I was at school but just ended up making things worse for herself)

7. Yes of course I do!

Now you answer them! Well except 5 since you kinda already did. And 6 since it was kinda a me specific question. And 1 since I already know your name. And a modified 7 (do you still want to be my friend after this mess of an answer?)

Also go to sleep 🔫

#asks #cat #friend stuff #< new tag

[thedogsled]

Marvel Trumps Hate! About me, and some auction blurb!

Hi Tumblr! 

So as I mentioned before, I’m involved in the Marvel Trumps Hate fan auction this year and it’s looking to be a fantastic year for raising money for charity. If you’d like to get involved, there’s loads of really awesome auctions, and still things you can bid on that are under $20 in the golden needle auctions, which you can check out here.

I’m here to talk to you about my auctions, though, since I’ve learned a little more about the auction since signing up and I wanted to expand on my offers a little bit. Before I do that, though I want to thank the folks who have bid on my auctions so far and everyone in the Discord who have made me feel super welcome I really didn’t expect anyone to be interested in my stuff since I’m a bit of a fandom phantom and only briefly reappear to post the occasional thing. You’ve been amazing, and it’s a warm glowy feeling to know I’ll be able to do something to help out some great charities working on these projects for my winners.

So let’s get started on this, shall we?

P.S. this is a super huge post so I'm putting it all under the Read More link. PLEASE click on it and check out each of my auctions linked inside, and if you aren't interested but you know people who might be then please reblog as I don't know many people in fandom myself and it would help an awful lot!

Hi, I’m Dogsled :) I have been in one fandom or another for 25 years now, though my longest stints were in Harry Potter and Supernatural. I was very “general audience” with Marvel for the longest time, and only really started opening up to the possibility of making content for it over the last year and a half. Firmly a Stucky fan in spirit, I got hooked on Winterbaron this year and wrote Freedom Paid for in Acts of Submission back in February.

In terms of the MCU it’s easier to tell you things I haven’t watched than things I have, and basically it’s just Netflix shows that aren’t the first two seasons of Daredevil or the first season of Jessica Jones (though I am planning on working on resolving this gap). I’ve read several big Steve and Bucky story runs (Brubaker’s Winter Soldier run, Civil War I and II and Secret Empire) but haven’t dived in beyond that yet. I’m eager and willing to read any comic or watch any movie necessary to understand a story prompt. You want an AU of a specific romcom? I can do that. Need me to read Planet Hulk? Sure, no problem. Just something to keep in mind :3

So what am I doing in terms of content right now? I worked on a piece for the Coloring for a Marvelous Cause book (which I can share with you guys on the 15th!) and I’m now working on a comic and a NSFW art piece for the Winteriron Zine which will be coming to preorders soon, and I can’t wait for you guys to see the great work everyone is doing for that project because it all looking amazing. Re. writing, I have cards for Stucky Bingo, Steve Rogers Bingo, Bucky Barnes Bingo and the Winterfalcon Bingo, which have been keeping me motivated, and maybe one day I’ll get back to my long distance pining WIP which is Bucky centric with a touch of mutual unrequited Stucky love because I Like Suffering.

But none of this wall of text is actually helpful so far, right, so let’s jump into specifics:

Hi, I am a dirty multishipper. I like rarepairs. I will write threesomes and moresomes. I will write m/m, m/f or f/f without hesitation. I like the challenge of making things happen inside canon, but I also like time travel and multiverse shenanigans and have been known to eat up an AU or two.

You’re wondering if I will write or draw your ship or your character or your kink and the answer is… Very probably? I mean seriously, I don’t need much encouragement here. I’d give it a try. Obviously there are things I think I may be better at over others, but I mean if you want to outbid everyone else to throw something completely unexpected at me I’m going to take it as a challenge, not a threat. Like. If you want HYDRA!Daredevil/Cap!Bucky/Jen Walters fic I might scratch my head for a few hours over the idea  but I would find a way, that’s all I’m saying.

So here’s the deal, let’s go over each auction, then I’ll throw some ideas at you, too.

Auction 1: Fic auction - currently $300 (!!!)

So we’ve unlocked the full scope of this auction already, and that means a minimum of 20k words from me, but seeing as that was already unlocked a while back, I’ve decided to add a couple of extra things to this auction for the winner.

The winner of this auction will receive:

Minimum 20k words of fic AND An illustrated banner for that fic Themed dividers A full color illustration of something in the story

Here’s an example of all three from a Dean/Cas Reverse Bang project I worked on 4 years ago!

If bids hit $500 (I don’t imagine it’s going that high but I never imagined it was going to go to $300 either) I’d also like to include a 5-10k ‘extra’ fic for the winner. Can be a snapshot from the same story/verse, a different story or pairing entirely, or you can gift the extra fic to a friend.

Listed yes: canon divergent 'what if' and canon based, dark, angsty, fluffy, intimate, kinkfilled, consensual BDSM, action, rarepairs, threesomes and moresomes, established relationships, first times, dub/non con, aftercare, pining, dark versions of characters, multiversal/time travel shenanigans, (insert bad guy) wins scenarios, villain/hero

Listed no:

kidfic*, animal transformation*, fluff AUs*, vanilla domesticity*, hardcore kinks (i.e. gore, scat, ageplay etc.), own voices for which the voice is not my own*, underage, incest, amputation, vore, scat, somnophilia.

That said! I am flexible on some of my ‘no’ answers and my ‘yes’ answers are by no means comprehensive. These are just the things I like to write most, and in the case of the starred 'no's are just things that don't usually show up in my fics.

Listed pairings:

Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers - Any Universe Bucky Barnes/Helmut Zemo - MCU Bucky Barnes/Brock Rumlow - MCU Bucky Barnes/John Walker - MCU Bucky Barnes/Sam Wilson - MCU Steve Rogers/Brock Rumlow - MCU Bucky Barnes/Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov - MCU Bucky Barnes/Matt Murdock - MCU Bucky Barnes/Marc Spector - MCU Steve Rogers/Helmut Zemo - Any Universe

So. FUNNY STORY. Because this is my first auction I kinda thought if people wanted different pairings they’d send me a message and we could chat about it, but I forgot that we all are mostly very shy, so I want to clarify: these are just the ships that I have the most enthusiasm about writing! These are the pairings I motivate myself to write, but that’s really not the point of this at all. I want to write a fic FOR YOU. So tell me, what are your pairings?

You want Bucky/Peggy? Bucky/Frank? Bucky/Wade? Bucky/Yelena? Bucky/a recast Thunderbolts movie of your choice where it’s just everyone trying to get in his pants and him being very picky? Clint/Yelena? Hell, polyam Clint and his wife in a Winterwidow sandwich? I’ll do it. Steve/Tony? With Bucky too? Steve/Matt? Bucky/Matt/Foggy? Stephen/Steve/Steven? Peggy/Nat? Carol/Sam? Loki/Steve? Loki/Mobius? Loki/Kang? Loki/Gamora? Brock/that one guy who was in only one scene in Winter Soldier and was never seen again? Uh Thor/Steve? Thor/Peter/Gamora? Bucky/Kate? Zemo/Fury? I could go on and on with all the combinations and never run out, but I am trying to make a point here. LET ME WRITE YOUR RAREPAIRS.

Okay,  so I said I was going to make some suggestions, and I’ve already done a few already in all of that…craziness. So here are a few things I’ve thought about writing but never had the time to:

I’d love to write a Bucky/Zemo fic set in WW2 where Zemo is a POW being held in the same facility Bucky’s taken to after his fall. He helps keep him sane through the torture and watches him slip away to the brainwashing, then escapes, rescues him and nurses him back to health, helping him to remember his name

I’d love to write just about anyone adopting Bucky and taking care of him after Endgame. If that’s Stephen Strange with them both helping each other over their mutual heartbrokenness, Matt Murdock being his lawyer working with him to secure fair terms for his parole, Marc and Steven helping him learn to accept the Winter Soldier part of himself, or Clint and his wife adopting him as a mutual third partner in their marriage and buying him chickens and a cat and a goat. I just want to write people healing Bucky and Bucky healing them.

Steve/Zemo.  I want to write more of this pairing, simple as that, but I especially would love to write something set in some variety of their Secret Empire relationship where they were childhood friends. Could be an AU, could be some sort of pining where Secret Empire Zemo comes to meddle in the MCU after the end of that arc takes his friend away I haven’t thought too hard about it.

A Stucky AU where Steve becomes the Sorceror Supreme instead of a super soldier and rescues Bucky with magic.

Loki/Steve set as an alternate to canon where Loki is jealous of Thor’s relationship with Steve and abducts him (on a space adventure? Why not?) or a Loki/Bucky set in present day canon after the Disney serieses where Loki and Bucky are teaming up as good guys and discover they have a lot in common (while assassinating alternate universe versions of Kang like some mad Man On The Wall crossover?

(CW abuse) A Steve/Brock and Bucky/Brock fic which is Steve being in this borderline abusive relationship with Brock, whom he’s desperate to please, not really understanding that what he’s been asked to put up with is unacceptable, while Brock as the Winter Soldier’s handler is abusive to Bucky and tells him all about it, maybe shows him the pictures he gets Steve to send etc. Stucky happy ending and canon just deserts.

Again all of these are just ideas, and just grab bagged out of nowhere, basically. If any of that inspires you and you want to encourage me to write it, that’s awesome, but I would be JUST as excited to write your fic for you.

If that excites you too, then go here and put down a bid.

Auction 2: art auction (currently $130)

This auction is for a full page illustration of up to three characters (already unlocked)

Here’s the blurb:

I'm offering a full comic style cover for a character of your choice from the fandoms mentioned, though I'm up for discussion if you have some other character or fandom in mind. That means a color illustration made to look just like a comic book cover depicting a favorite scene, event or relationship from the content (or a scene you completely make up!). It can be realistic or a little bit exaggerated and surreal, but no matter what we'll plan and draft out the idea together until you're happy with it first.

And here are the fandoms: Bucky Barnes-centric - Any Universe Steve Rogers-centric - Any Universe Captain America fandom any gen - Any Universe The Falcon and the Winter Soldier fandom any gen - MCU Avengers fandom any gen - MCU X-Men fandom any gen - MCU Loki fandom any gen - MCU Moon Knight fandom any gen - MCU Daredevil fandom any gen - MCU She-Hulk fandom any gen - MCU

But here’s the thing! That’s by no means an exhaustive list, because again, those are just the things I love the most in this giant enormous fandom and I’ll draw just about anything you like. You have Werewolf by Night characters you want drawn together? Go for it. I’ll do shippy entanglements too (though please note of the two this is my explicitly Gen, Teen, Mature auction. If you want explicit art check out my other art auction. You want Clint/Bucky/Nat? Sure, I can do that. Jake/Steven/Marc? I can do that too. Sam and Bucky and Zemo? I can do that. 

I’ll draw whoever you like, just throw it at me, and if this art auction zips up super high from here (say $300?) I’m happy to draw, say, up to six people, like a proper Avengers cover or movie poster. Whatever you want.

If that sounds cool to you, you can jump into the bidding war for this item here.

Auction 3: art auction ($50!)

Auction three is also offering a full page illustration (or a single page comic) but I offered to make it explicit and I guess appeared to limit it to specific characters and ships, which was a mistake I think.

You see I listed it like this:

Bucky Barnes/Helmut Zemo - MCU Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers - Any Universe Bucky Barnes/Sam Wilson - Any Universe, MCU Bucky Barnes/Brock Rumlow - MCU Steve Rogers/Brock Rumlow - MCU Loki/Steve Rogers - MCU Bucky Barnes/Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov - Any Universe Bucky Barnes/John Walker - MCU Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark - MCU Steve Rogers/Helmut Zemo - Any Universe

When what I really mean is: I’ll draw anything, as mentioned before, but I’ll also draw it porny or in comic book form.

At this point this auction would be a great bargain if you wanted to add some extra art to a fic auction you were buying, but I just want to be clear that it doesn’t have to be explicit, and I’m happy to offer all the same fandoms as my other art auction, and unlock all the same character options if that means drawing in more bids. I will happily draw a nice gen comic of She-Hulk and and her lawyer friends drinking together or Alpine visiting the other Avengers for petting if that’s what you want. But also if you really want just filthy Stuckony for an entire page I’ll happily draw that too, and what’s more if this auction somehow goes up over $200 I’m offering to include a 2k-5k ficlet backing up the art in some way, shape or form. Maybe writing. Maybe poetry. I just don’t know, but y’all will have to bid on this auction to find out.

I accept podbids, am happy to have my auction given as a gift to a friend (completed or from the very beginning) and donations can go to any charity of your choice from the list of approved organizations. Plus if you really want it as a gift for Christmas, I’ve left a space open in my schedule to make that possible for you (though if you don’t mind waiting that’s also awesome too!).

In any case I want to wish you all a happy bidding, whether you’re bidding on my auctions or on someone else’s, and thank you so much for reading this wall of text!

#marvel trumps hate #about me #mth 2022 #charity auction #bucky barnes #stucky #winterbaron #winterfalcon #stuckony #stony #tfatws #fanfiction #fanart #she-hulk #moon knight #daredevil #alpine #i'm spamming the tags but it's just one time I promise #i don't know anyone in this fandom who can reblog this for me #i'll make it up to you with nice art i promise