#accurate fanworks

[bishy437]

okay you can make good meta posts and analyse text, but can you be respectful when interacting with fanworks?

#some of yallll i swearrrrr #stop being pedantic on other peoples fanworks 👊👊👊 #we are not here to be accurate we are here to have FUN #🧂 #text post #delete later

[catsconflictscopicsandchamomile]

remembered that Mesopotamian incantation/devil trap bowls exist. made a Supernatural version using the exorcism incantation & devils trap from the show, using the cut-off bottom of a paper coffee cup, pen, white-out, krazy glue & yarn... bc lbr thats what Sam & Dean would do.

oh yeah also I wrote the exorcism in roman cursive bc I read in some old book that ancient languages are most suitable for doing magic. red yarn around the rim is bc red (& red string) is pretty widely accepted to ward off/scare off evil, so its extra protection from anything getting out lol.

...I feel like other spn cosplayers' "hunting gear" doesn't have stuff like this

#supernatural #supernatural fanart #fanart #???is this art #its just odd #fan???sculpture???mixed media???thing??? #folklore #folk magic #winchestercore #idc if thats not a thing. its accurate #diy hot nonsense #the things i do to occupy myself in class... #weird lil project #spn #spn fanart #spn fanworks #hunter's kit #im so normal about things #majoring in archeology is somehow making me even weirder

[reliablejoukido]

Someone just gave me a shit sandwich comment on a fic and it’s like… don’t do this. Don’t do this to me and don’t do it to other people.

#now I’m going to be thinking about this comment forever—thanks person! #no I didn’t get the character ‘wrong’… I just wrote them in the way I wanted oh my god #I’m just going to keep adding tags to this until I feel better about it #I’m looking online at the definition of shit sandwich and I wish there was a more accurate way to describe this kind of comment #it’s the— I love this but you are wrong but this other part was nice #like bro I’m not wrong????? but now I’m going to second guess myself??? #even though there’s no such thing as being wrong about a fictional character that you are writing a fanwork about #because you are allowed to interpret that character however you want #sorry friends I should probably delete this #it’s just one comment #except actually it’s not. the person has been reading my fic all day and commenting on chapters as they go #and some of the other comments have been like ‘you should change this thing actually because it makes more sense the way I say it does #like LORD how do I respond nicely to this person? #I’m dreading the couple chapters they have left

[nite-puff]

the annual “aoi at a swim meet doodles because i have league finals coming up” batch.

:D

#last time I’m doing this one actually #because im graduating this year #kinda bittersweet actually #art #doodle #sketch #digital art #digital doodle #character art #character design #fanart #danganronpa fanart #danganronpa #danganronpa trigger happy havoc #aoi asahina #kiyotaka ishimaru #mondo owada #sakura ogami #doodlepuff #I don’t actually know if there are aoi fans who care about portraying swimming accurately in their fanworks #but I’m willing to give info if anyone wants it

[yupuffin]

Me: They're lying to us---the Great Terrestrial Lake of Fontaine MUST actually be salt water because it contains sea stars, and Echinodermata is an exclusively marine phylum. There are no sea stars in fresh water >:(

Also me: Screw the rules, Neuvillette can both purr and roar because I said so.

#genshin impact #neuvillette #it's my fanwork and i get to decide what's scientifically accurate and what's not #standards? what standards? 🤣

[ritartist42]

Currently doing animation exercises. Honestly I really like practising on Cas he is pretty ideal for animation. Iconic design.

So here, have biblically accurate Cas.

Best frame:

Here is the planning process:

#castiel #supernatural fanworks #supernatural fandom #supernatural animation #spn animation #fan animation #castiel fanart #spn fanart #spn fandom #spn art #aesthetic animation #castiel animation #winged castiel #biblically accurate angel #biblically accurate cas #trueform angel #trueform!cas #true form cas

[nachosforfree]

I want to read the warrior books but like. I'm lazy

#i dont like only getting my info from secondhand sources (wiki and fanworks) even if theyre accurate but reading is so hard #and there is 20 years of fucking books

[vmures]

Think I may jave figured out why some of the complaints about Teen Wolf fandom members being dumb bug me so much. It's hard to tell if people are basing their criticisms of others fandom opinions on people's meta posts or their fandom creations.

Add in that certain defense squad people absolutely use fandom creations to argue that the creator is any number of things and I tend to assume that other's are basing their takes on fanworks, which don't accurately reflect a creators opinions on the show itself.

I use canon as inspiration but I don't stick to it in fan works. That's not why I'm in fandom. I like fanworks because they let me explore all the what it's and play with the characters the same way I used to play with my toys. They are storytelling vehicles.

I focus on the characters that draw me in the most and tend to write limited third person point of view. This means that a lot of times the characters opinions are what is shown. Those opinions do not necessarily reflect my own.

There are characters who just rub me the wrong way and that does show in my work, as well. Though I try to keep it nuanced and not just outright bash. I do frequently play with canon and I like playing with the complexities. So I might soften a harsh character or explore changes would have resulted from that chatacter having different circumstances. Sometimes the are out-of-character to the canon version. None of that means that I don't understand canon.

Outside of showing which characters I prefer and which I find annoying or frustrating, my fic doesn't necessarily reflect any of my thoughts on the show.

I don't tend to offer my meta takes very often because I don't like getting dragged into discourse or told I don't belong just because I have a different take from someone else. I stay away from fandom tags for similar reasons. But sometimes it crosses my dash and some of those times it feels like a kick in the gut and leaves me wondering if a mutual thinks that that negatively about me.

Now that I've realized the issue causing me to feel that way, it will be easy to try remind myself these are not the defense squad posts and that more than likely they are basing their frustrations on meta takes and not fan creations and thus is not about me.

#v's musings #the assumption that all negative things must be about me is a mental health issue I've been working on for a long time #I frequently know it's not but my emotions still latch on and pull out old anxiety thought tapes to play on loop #This is me writing my thoughts out to help process the issue #If you want to lnow my thoughts on the show itself #You can ask #But please don't assume that my fanworks or even reblogs are an accurate reflection of my thoughts #Sometimes things get reblogged because they were entertaining

[doritofalls]

the implied context of first/last name basis in japanese + honorifics vs. korekiyo introducing himself as kiyo and being fine with the nickname korey fight 

#@the anon with the kork asks: i gotcha i'll just give it thought first to respond accurately #but re kiyo's name i've been sticking with the japanese name patterns in fanwork but also....korey #it doesn't help that i actually prefer his dub voice it is much funnier #mcfly.txt #korekiyo shinguji

[cosmoshard]

The best part of a new lmk season is reading Knox’s reaction

#Its the biggest thing i look forward to cuz they express it so accurately #But besides that its the fanworks #The art and the character analysis stuff #Guud soup guud feast #lmk

[a-system-and-fanworks]

a-system-and-fanworks pinned post

Hello! We’re a dissociative system who enjoys talking about DID, OSDD, what it’s like to be a dissociative system, and who also enjoys good representation of dissociative systems in fanworks! This blog is for answering questions from respectful singlets (non-systems), and talking about dissociative system representation in general

We’ve recently finished watching Moon Knight, which is what started this, since it’s given us a lot to think about as far as fanwork potential since the main characters are a dissociative system, but this blog isn’t just for that series/fandom

Our ask box is open, please just be respectful. “Silly” or “stupid” questions are allowed, so are niche sounding questions, but we do reserve the right not to answer any questions or dive into any topics we feel uncomfortable with, insufficiently knowledgeable, or just don’t want to. We also may turn off anon or asks entirely at times if we want a break, so check for that first

This blog is primarily for fun and lighthearted interactions, not highlighting all the bad ways dissociative systems are represented in fandom and media, unless it’s specifically asked about/brought up

Below the cut is basic resources for learning about dissociative systems, as well as an “about us” section

Some basic resources if you want to write a dissociative system:

Did-research.org <- More of a “formal” resource about DID, but very helpful when we were first figuring things out. It’s not entirely encompassing, and doesn’t address every little exception to things, but is a great starting point if you want to learn about the disorder

About us:

We’re an adult under 21

We use both I/me and we/us to refer to ourselves, depending on context

The members of our system have various pronouns and identities, so we may reference those, but as a whole we identify as queer, and use they/them

We generally use “dissociative system” instead of “DID/OSDD” for the most part, since DID isn’t the only disorder that comes with being a system, but not all forms of OSDD come with being a system either (if this seems complicated, it’s fine, this is more a note for people who are more familiar with DID/OSDD)

You’re free to use whatever terminology you want as long as it’s respectful, and you don’t use MPD/“personality” terms. The disorder’s terms have been different since the 90’s. It’s not a recent change

Lots of us curse, mostly to a mild or medium extent. We’ll tag every post with cursing in it as #cursing tw, but fair warning, that’ll probably be a lot of posts

This blog isn’t a top priority of ours, so we may fluctuate in activity level. This is just how it is 🤷

#Also the first post so hey! #dissociative system #did #osdd #moon knight fandom #<- tagging because we recently finished watching this and I know there’s been some singlets who want to make fanworks #and do so respectfully/accurately #writing did

[echoekhi]

I’m Declaring War Against “What If” Videos: Project Copy-Knight

What Are “What If” Videos?

These videos follow a common recipe: A narrator, given a fandom (usually anime ones like My Hero Academia and Naruto), explores an alternative timeline where something is different. Maybe the main character has extra powers, maybe a key plot point goes differently. They then go on and make up a whole new story, detailing the conflicts and romance between characters, much like an ordinary fanfic.

Except, they are fanfics. Actual fanfics, pulled off AO3, FFN and Wattpad, given a different title, with random thumbnail and background images added to them, narrated by computer text-to-speech synthesizers.

They are very easy to make: pick a fanfic, copy all the text into a text-to-speech generator, mix the resulting audio file with some generic art from the fandom as the background, give it a snappy title like “What if Deku had the Power of Ten Rings”, photoshop an attention-grabbing thumbnail, dump it onto YouTube and get thousands of views.

In fact, the process is so straightforward and requires so little effort, it’s pretty clear some of these channels have automated pipelines to pump these out en-masse. They don’t bother with asking the fic authors for permission. Sometimes they don’t even bother with putting the fic’s link in the description or crediting the author. These content-farms then monetise these videos, so they get a cut from YouTube’s ads.

In short, an industry has emerged from the systematic copyright theft of fanfiction, for profit.

Project Copy-Knight

Since the adversaries almost certainly have automated systems set up for this, the only realistic countermeasure is with another automated system. Identifying fanfics manually by listening to the videos and searching them up with tags is just too slow and impractical.

And so, I came up with a simple automated pipeline to identify the original authors of “What If” videos.

It would go download these videos, run speech recognition on it, search the text through a database full of AO3 fics, and identify which work it came from. After manual confirmation, the original authors will be notified that their works have been subject to copyright theft, and instructions provided on how to DMCA-strike the channel out of existence.

I built a prototype over the weekend, and it works surprisingly well:

On a randomly-selected YouTube channel (in this case Infinite Paradox Fanfic), the toolchain was able to identify the origin of half of the content. The raw output, after manual verification, turned out to be extremely accurate. The time taken to identify the source of a video was about 5 minutes, most of those were spent running Whisper, and the actual full-text-search query and Levenshtein analysis was less than 5 seconds.

The other videos probably came from fanfiction websites other than AO3, like fanfiction.net or Wattpad. As I do not have access to archives of those websites, I cannot identify the other ones, but they are almost certainly not original.

Armed with this fantastic proof-of-concept, I’m officially declaring war against “What If” videos. The mission statement of Project Copy-Knight will be the elimination of “What If” videos based on the theft of AO3 content on YouTube.

I Need Your Help

I am acutely aware that I cannot accomplish this on my own. There are many moving parts in this system that simply cannot be completely automated – like the selection of YouTube channels to feed into the toolchain, the manual verification step to prevent false-positives being sent to authors, the reaching-out to authors who have comments disabled, etc, etc.

So, if you are interested in helping to defend fanworks, or just want to have a chat or ask about the technical details of the toolchain, please consider joining my Discord server. I could really use your help.

------

See full blog article and acknowledgements here: https://echoekhi.com/2023/11/25/project-copy-knight/

#ao3 #fanfic #copyknight #theft #copyright

[ao3commentoftheday]

I’m thinking about perfectionism again, specifically with respect to how it can skew your opinion of success and failure.

There’s this concept that comes up a lot when you read about issues like perfectionism: all-or-nothing thinking. It’s a trap that’s easy to fall into.

If you’re a fic writer falling into this trap, you might feel like you’re an absolute failure if your fic isn’t a 100% accurate depiction of the scene you see in your head with flawless grammar and zero typos. That is a, quite literally, impossible standard to meet and as a result of never meeting it, you probably feel one or more of the following:

lack of motivation

certainty that there’s no point in even trying

self-hatred or some other form of intense dissatisfaction with yourself and/or your skills

This is a completely logical way to feel in that mindset, by the way. Your standard for success is so high that you’re constantly a failure. If your standard for success is impossible to meet, then there is no point in trying. If there’s no point in trying, how could you possibly feel motivated?

In order to move away from those feelings, you need to move away from that all-or-nothing, black & white mindset.

One way to do this is by figuring out a new standard for success that actually can be achieved. For example, give yourself permission to have occasional typos in your stories. Gaiman’s Law states that an author will always find a typo the first time they open their published book. If even Neil himself has resigned himself to this fate, then hopefully you can too. If you managed to write your story then that’s a success and finding a typo after you’re done doesn’t turn that success into a failure.

Another thing that’s helped me is to think of every failure or mistake or dissatisfying result as a learning opportunity. If I’m not able to do something now, that doesn’t mean I won’t be able to do it at some point in the future. I just need to keep trying. Practice makes better. Practice also helps you figure out the things that are easy for you and the bits that are hard and where you might need some help - either from a fellow fan or from another kind of resource.

I think part of the reason why people can get so anxious about their fanworks is because we care so much about them. We love the characters. We love the world. We want to do them justice in our writing, and we want other fans to love our creations too.

It’s important to remember that all of us love imperfect things all the time. It’s not perfection that makes a thing lovable. It’s the heart that’s put into it.

There’s a lot of fear behind perfectionism. Fear of being caught doing something wrong. Fear of being shamed for a mistake. Fear that imperfection makes us unworthy or unlovable. Fear that a single flaw will ruin an entire work. Fear of failure.

If you want to be able to move through that fear, you need to be able to reduce it somehow. The most effective way that I’ve found is to stop writing with the goal of posting something online. Write for the sake of writing, without the pressure of showing it to someone else. That might help you to get out a first draft (or second or third) without that worry about being judged and found wanting.

If you’re not ready for positive self-talk or reframing the internal narrative (I get it. Been there.) then allowing yourself to be less than perfect in a place where no one else can see you might be a good first step.

And just because I think it’s important that you hear it from time to time: you are a wonderful, creative, amazing human being - mistakes included.

#thinky thoughts #perfectionism #this turned into a ramble sorry #long post

[blocksgame]

Tips on character voices when writing fic

This is written in mind for people writing fic in MCYT/QSMP/DSMP/Life series/etc kind of fandoms. But if anyone finds it useful for anything else, well then, hell yeah.

Character voice is big in all, uh, fiction, and mimicking it in any fanwork is big. But I think it’s especially big in these fandoms where the voices are so distinct – it’s usually how a Real Person Somewhere (the streamer) talks, versus something very scripted that you’d see in a TV show or novel. And it can be a big difference in your character sounding generic versus really feeling true to the original.

Listen to a bunch of your subject talking. If you want to write a character well, watch vods from their point of view, or episodes where they show up a bunch. Take note of what they say and how.

2. If you don’t know how to start doing that: try literally writing down what they say. Transcribe an actual exchange in fic-format. You probably won’t want to publish a literal exchange from canon, but it will give you a sense of how to physically write what they say.

3. If you do this (or just pay attention to how they talk), you will get a lot of: Stumbling, pauses, repeating words, filler words, weird sentence constructions, fragments, etc. I love em! Here’s something that comes through in improv much more than in novels or movies: Most people, even very charismatic people, are not very eloquent when they speak. Writing out conversations or sentences will give you a sense of the unique and delightful way in which your subject is not eloquent. vvvvv way more under cut vvvvv

(People use a LOT of filler/etc when they speak. It’s reasonable to cut back on this if it’s interfering with a nice-looking or readable result. I believe this is the eternal struggle of people who write transcripts – you want the transcript to be accurate, but there are also a lot of things you can obviously simplify and not lose the meaning. So you’ll end up falling somewhere on this spectrum either way. But I do think a lot of mediocre/generic fic dialogue is very stylized – it doesn’t sound like your guy because your guy literally wouldn’t say that. They would say it worse and more confusingly.)

(I’m serious, if you’ve never sat down with a short non-completely-scripted clip or real conversation or whatever and just written out exactly what was said, do it. It will make you better at writing.)

4. Wonda-cat made a really incredible list [link] of characterizing speech patterns for the Dream SMP members. But you can also do your own reconnaissance and come up with your own patterns, common phrases, etc.

5. You do not have to get EVERYTHING right. You’re not going to, like, get so deep into the speaker’s brain that you can produce “exactly what they would have said if they were somehow in your fic.” That is impossible. You’re just trying to evoke a character, and if you get a few turns of phrase to ring true, you’re doing great.

6. A lot of these people are popular because they are hilarious. Include jokes. Yes, even if your thing is angsty or serious. A lot of the most serious lore I can think of from, e.g., the Dream SMP or 3rd Life or the QSMP - the really story-defining, life-and-death moments - were absolutely hysterical. If you’re writing characters who are usually funny, then add some humor. It can heighten angst via contrast and a sense of realism. Ask yourself what a funny streamer would make jokes about if they were possessing a character in this situation.

7. Some people have the mystical ability to “hear” character voices in their head, and read things in their voice. If you can, do this with all of your dialogue during the editing process. This won’t always get you there, but sometimes it can catch things that sound wrong by invoking "that's really hard to imagine them saying". If you don’t have this power, try recruiting a friend who does.

8. So there’s dialogue and then there’s narration that’s still from a character’s point of view. I’ve mostly given you tips about dialogue, but a lot of this is also true for narration. IMO, narration is less about phrasing things the way the subject would, and more about recreating the way they think. I don’t have concrete rules on how to do this, but here is my wisdom:

You can get eloquent again - narration is more of an abstract and artistic process than dialogue.

Spend time with your subject’s source material.

Pay attention to what they notice and care about. How do you think they think?

Don’t be afraid to get weird with it.

That last one also applies to all art ever.

9. MCYT tends to give you a great boon you don’t see in other media: what the speaker says to their chat/audience when nobody else is listening. This can be incredibly characterizing even if you’re writing a story where people don’t have chats. It’s your person talking about their thought processes and feelings! Mine that shit.

10. Some questions that might help guide both characterizing narration and dialogue (that you’d get from dialogue):

How open are they about their feelings?

How often do they lie? What do they lie about?

What kind of metaphors do they use, if any?

How quickly does their mood change?

How can you tell when they’re in different moods?

What kind of things do they pay attention to?

How formal is their speech?

11. Finally, this is a little odd, but I find it’s much, much easier to write a character that sounds good if I, the author, like them and am rooting for them at least a little bit. If a character needs to be there who you don’t love, try to love them. Or at least get a sense of what other people love about them. It just makes everything else easier. I swear to god.

Happy writing out there!

#mcyt fic #fanfiction #writing advice #writing tips #fanfiction tips #qsmp fic #dsmp fic #works for whatever too I'm just not gonna try to tag everything #fanfiction advice

[fuckyeahgoodomensfanfic]

Good Omens Fic Rec: Big Name Feelings

FANDOM AU! • Crowley is a BNF fic writer, and Aziraphale is a lurking artist who might be just a little parasocially in love with him. How they ever became friends is beyond him, but here they are: One month out from Prophet Con, and Crowley is asking him to be his boyfriend. Just for the weekend, of course.

Length: 103,997 words

AO3 Rating: Explicit / Spice Level 🔥🔥🔥

Best for: Safe in Public, Human AU, Slow Burn, Fake Relationship, Pick-me-up

Triggers: None

Read it here, fic by ghostrat

*Minor Spoilers* It's here! The finale of one of the most entertaining and immersive fanworks that I have ever experienced is finally upon us! I feel like most of you who follow me here are aware of this fanfic or have read it. However, for those who haven't or might come across this post later: I'm begging you to read this one. Buckle up; it's a long post today.

So, if you're not aware, this fanfic involves writer Crowley and fan artist Aziraphale. Crowley, being ace, seeks a boyfriend to shield him from unwanted attention during an upcoming convention. Aziraphale, smitten, agrees to be the fake boyfriend. This Arrangement is sure to work out exactly as planned!

Every one of the author's stories feels cinematic to me. The worlds are always so real and immersive, but this one, in particular, will have you feeling like you're actually watching the story unfold in real life. Some of that is achieved through embedded media like chats, artwork, and Tumblr posts, bringing a sense of reality to these conversations. The rest comes from really rich prose. You'll flow through it very easily, yet deeply.

The use of fandom and a convention as the backdrop for this fic was, to be honest, genius. I've seen attempts before, but none captured the spirit quite like this one. The fandom lore for The Nice and Accurate Prophecy (the in-universe fandom they're in) was rich enough for us to fully grasp the shape and feel of why they loved it so much, yet it never impedes the ongoing story. This story perfectly captured what it's like to be a fan: how friendships develop, how ideas and fan theories are freely discussed, the passion for a shared topic. The con, in particular, will fill anyone who has ever attended a fan convention with a strong dose of nostalgia and love. Oh, and having them in their 50s? Thank you! There is no age limit to fandom!

Having Aziraphale as the artist and Crowley the writer was not the most obvious choice, but it's one that worked amazingly well for the story! Crowley struggles with words and expressing his feelings in real life. However, in stories, he can build his own world and express whatever emotions are on his mind. Aziraphale, who does not wish to draw attention to himself in real life, expresses himself through his bold and beautiful artwork. His specialization in traditional, physical artwork is so fitting for him, though he's not unwilling to try new tech. There is a scene where they stumble upon some street art that Aziraphale had done. I teared up at that scene, and it's not even angsty! Just the casualness of it, how it's not Aziraphale but Crowley who boldly leads them to it, how Aziraphale doesn't sing his own praises. He's not self-deprecating, but he doesn't celebrate his work. He's still learning that he has value that's worth celebrating. At least now he has Crowley to teach him to be proud of himself.

They are both beautifully written characters. It's a real testament to the skill of the author to bring these characters into such a different reality and have them be unmistakably Aziraphale and Crowley. Sure, they're updated for the time and setting, but their souls are still the angel and demon we know and love. This setting is an amazing way to explore the different sides of their personalities. Crowley's asexuality, in particular, was one of the best depictions I've ever read. It brought a new level of understanding to me, and I'm sure many of you will feel a kinship with him. Really pay attention to what's being said here, there's some really deep and insightful passages that are worth analyzing. Like this moment, which may have been a subconscious thought, but again speaks to how deeply the author understands the characters.

This was such an amazing experience as a fan. I've never had a fic feel like this much of an event before. Every chapter drop was so exciting; I never knew what exactly to expect. And now, with the end being over 100k words?? Where did that word count come from! That's insane! I'm sad to leave this iteration, but I'm so excited for what's to come next. So please, if you haven't read this, give it a try. It's such a impressive work, so much time and effort was put into this and you can tell. It's not only a love letter to Good Omens, but one to fandom and fanspaces as well. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this journey

There are some explicit scenes towards the end, but they are all marked and skippable, so I'd say you're perfectly fine reading this in public.

Edit from after actually seeing the finale: no I’m not tearing up it’s just really dusty in this room. I’m being so normal rn 🥹🥹🥹

Read it here, fic by ghostrat

#good omens #good omens fanfiction #good omens fanfic #fanfic rec #aziracrow #good omens fic rec #aziraphale x crowley #Big Name Feelings #BNF #ghostrat #extra long #three flames #safe in public #human au #fandom au #artist au #writer au #slow burn #pretend relationship #fake relationship #friends to lovers #pick me up #BNFinale

[ritartist42]

Doing trueform! Cas concept art for a future animation

I have a .sai wings masterfile...and I reused all previous wings I made for this. Call that recycling

Looks like this:

#castiel fanart #castiel #supernatural fanworks #supernatural fandom #supernatural fanart #spn art #spn fanart #spn fandom #true form angel #trueform cas #trueform!cas #biblically accurate angel #it was hard to come up with a way to do wings in my style #i do some idividual feathers organize and dupplicate them