#show that i'm a good enough artist to get paid-

[certified-bi]

Okay all my thoughts because some people have been saying that not supporting this change is not supporting artist and creators and as an artist fuck that.

1. Audiences owe you nothing. You have to convince them to engage with your creation not the other way around. This is something both the nonprofit theatre I work with recognizes and huge companies realize. It's just part of life. There are so many talented people in the world making amazing art, videos, music, writings, and on and on, and there's only so much time in the day. I'm not saying you shouldn't know your worth, just that being flippant about how little you care about those who can't pay isn't a good move. On that note...

2. PR is everything. If you haven't made a visible effort to push patreon, channel memberships or other avenues of making money, don't be suprised that your creation that was previously accessible to those without extra cash and to those who can't support foreign subscriptions due either to conversions or because it simply doesn't work, being made private isn't popular. There's a big leap from "We want to have more artistic control" to "We can't afford to make our content accessible to most of our audience," and people are smart enough to see this. You either have to make budget cuts or give into sponsors. This isn't unique to Watcher, it's part of literally every production from broadway, to Hollywood, to YouTube. Unless you can fund it yourself or get viewers to pay(which given how many are already strapped for cash...) that's life.

Not to mention they simply do not have enough followers to make the switch to a paid only site(dropping the first epsiode only on YouTube isn't going to draw people in, they're just going to say "oh why start if I'm not going to see the rest" and not watch) especially not one that is buggy and a security risk. Even if the switch had been supported its not going to end well. The only reason services like nebula and dropout work is because of the large amount of series and creators and the fact those creators still are partly on YouTube so new people are drawn in.

3. As for the price, 6 dollars a month is a not a good starting price for only their content and that's as someone who pays for nebula. I'd be paying the same amount for a fraction of the access to others work. Actually it'd be twice as much. And before someone says "it's only a coffee-" that's for you. Not everyone has your lifestyle. And with every other patreon and subscription service that says the same thing, it all adds up and I simply don't think 60 dollars for 48 videos a year on a subscription basis where you don't get to keep the videos if your situation changes, some of which don't appeal to every viewer is a good move. If you were able to buy physical copies of your favorite series they've made that'd be different, but that's not what this is.

4. I do believe that the employees deserve a livable wage. I also did not hire them. It is not on the viewers that they hired more people than they could afford to. They can charge that much if they want to to try and balance this out. They also shouldn't be suprised if not many can or will sign up. They also don't have to be based in L.A. L.A has ridiculous costs associated with it, and quite honestly it doesn't really add much to the content. I'm not saying they need to move to the middle of nowhere Kansas. Simply that living and basing your studio in a super expensive city and then being suprised money is tight is just weird.

5. Something that occurs to me is that they might get more views if their playlists were better set up. Only some series are given playlists. It'd be easier to find all of the series and binge them if they didn't just show off their more popular shows. Honestly the only draw the streaming site has to me is that the series are actually labeled well.

Do I think the weird ass energy towards Steven is necessary? No. He's not the only one at the company and they're all adults. I actually liked grocery run and homemade, and like to see them back. The parascoial attachment to Ryan and Shane is annoying in people's criticisms, but that doesn't make them completely wrong. If you're going to brand yourself as the anti capalist underdogs you can't get away with being dismissive of your poorer fans. The dissonance is what is causing this backlash and makes you look like hypocrites. I definitely think Steven is turning into the fall guy which is fucked up, his statement and the fact dish granted is one of those shows that make people uncomfortable about wealth flexs doesn't help matters.

#watcher #they really need a CEO who has business experience first and foremost or at the very least a consultant they actually listen to #they also should put more focus on other personalities and actual give them a chance to stick. none of them got famous or a fanbase in a day #give some of the others time to grab attention

[liliannadelaphinehartifelt]

Helloo!

Idk if you take requests , but could you maybe write a fic with Human!Alastor and male!reader where reader exaggerates his whole personality to comply with everyone else and is easily exhausted from it and Alastor "relaxses" reader in that way ?

Thank you in advance and have a good day !

Alastor - [ MASQUERADE ]

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A/N: This request really made me brainstorm but I've decided to break it into 2 parts. I hope you'll enjoy it! As always kindly lmk the artist of the fanart so I can tag them and give proper credit! ❤️

WARNINGS: [ SLIGHT NSFW ] + [ MDNI ] + [ SUGGESTIVE THEMES ] + [ MALE READER ] + [ FLUFF…if you squint ]

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“You're on air in ten minutes, Y/n. Pick it up before the host gets restless!”

Your so-called manager barked from the dressing room doorway, giving one last glare your way before strutting off, grumbling a string of curses you'd learned to ignore.

“Asshole…” you scoffed, turning back to the striped mirror of your vanity; the large bulbs that lit it gave enough light in the old stuffy backstage space, illuminating every detail of your appearance.

Not one thing could be out of place.

You wouldn't allow it, committed to your role as a rising preformer in the golden age of the stage, and conditioned to perfectionist standards from years of tribulations

Suffering behind a practiced smile won you your stardom. The ambiguous beauty you possessed helped immensely in your success on the silver screen, but the truest contributor to your fame was appeal.

Humourous, intellectual, but most crucial, sex appeal.

That's what kept your admires enthralled, permanently put you in the limelight from the start, and inevitably earned you considerable amounts of money.

You weren't opposed to being called a child of Dionysus himself, envied by those who wanted you. Still, the burden of putting on a show for everyone every day without giving them a glimpse of your faults was excruciating.

Yet, you chose the burden over sulking in the darkness, remaining among the ordinary when you so clearly had the makings of a star, and your status of high popularity among the masses was proof of it.

So be it if your cheeks ached from smiling at frivolous fans that your laugh sounded less like your own the more you forced it, that flirtations of others felt like empty praises, or that every project you agreed to felt less and less stimulating.

So fucking be it.

Fame is fickle; you knew this all too well, but your existence felt meaningless without it.

Empty.

All the world's riches, the undivided favor you garnered from the public, and the sparkling awards cluttered your penthouse display shelves…

Even with all that at your fingertips, you had yet to feel seen…

Seen and truly adored.

“Two fucking minutes! Get your ass in position. This interview is being broadcast live, remember?” your manager harped at you from the hall, causing you to grunt in frustration before yelling back, “Would you shut your trap?! Fucking hell…I'm coming!”

You set aside the whiskey glass in your left hand, ran your right through your recently styled hair, and checked your reflection one last time.

“It's only a radio show. One little interview and you can go home and get black-out drunk…” the idea of spending some much-deserved time alone after running around doing a press tour brought a sad smile to your face as you stood and exited the dim room.

This would be your last stop, an interview with Louisiana’s prided radio host, and the last person you'd need to put a show on for before returning home.

“Finally…” your manager grumbled as you stepped into the hall, giving you a once over as the two of you strolled down the hall towards the host recording area, “Don't fuck this up. People say this ones a real talker and can make or break ya..” he mumbled begrudgingly.

You paid his incessant pestering no mind, flashing him a suave smile as you both stopped before a heavy door, “Don't tell me you're starting to care about my reputation now? Thought you only saw me as a nice money grab…”

Your smile grew as laughter bubled in your chest, seeing the other slowly become agitated at your backhanded comments.

“Why, you little-”

“Oh, don't be rude, sir. You'll spoil my good mood, and god knows sour spirits bring bad luck,” you smirked, enjoying the scrunch of his nose as his expression reflected his true nature, but before he could snap, you pushed the door open and slipped into the soundproofed station room.

What a fucking pain he is…

You cursed the raging man outside, sighing softly as the sound of jazz lingered through the air and the smell of freshly brewed coffee mixed with a distinct cologne engulfed you.

The space felt and looked inviting, relaxing even, but what caught your attention was the man who occupied it.

He sat in a desk chair across the small room, facing a table full of controls and a mic to match. His face was lowered from the device, glasses resting comfortably on the bridge of his nose as he stared at what you assumed was a script for your conversation with him, but the simmering amazement overtook your curiosity about the paper he held you felt hearing him hum along to the song he was airing.

You didn't dare move an inch closer, satisfied with watching and listening to him from afar, oddly entrapped by the silent allure he cast.

It was no mystery that people loved the sound of his voice. You'd be fooling yourself if you said you hadn't found his commentary enchanting, but looking at him in the flesh, you were sure he'd flourish on the silver screen like no other.

He could indeed win the eyes of many…

Yours especially, and to some degree, he had already, but you hesitated to admit it even as he turned to face you.

Oh…. he is a beauty, that's for sure…

That was the singular thought in your mind as he smiled, standing from his seat before approaching you with all the confidence you'd merely portrayed.

“Hello there. You must be Y/n L/n. I'm Alastor Hartifelt. It's a pleasure to meet you, my friend!”

His voice was as smooth, melting into the background melodies inexplicably, and your heart lightened immensely as he held out a hand for you to shake.

“The..the pleasure is all mine, Mr. Hartifelt..” you inwardly scolded your delayed greeting, losing track of your practiced charm relatively quickly in his grasp. Still, in seconds, you recovered from the blunder while returning his smile.

Alastor took you in with a glance up and down your figure, cataloging every detail of your appearance out of habit, but when his gaze met yours, one thought crossed his perceptive mind.

Longing?

How curious…

You hid the familiar emotion well; seeing past the veil of contentment wasn't tricky, and though he was tempted to bring it forth.

You two shook hands briefly but firmly. Alastor stepped back, gliding his hand out to mention towards the recording station. “Come, have a seat, and please call me Alastor. We will be on air after all; formalities aren't necessary for an engaging broadcast.” His smile grew, emitting an unearthly kindness as you nodded in understanding before sitting in the chair opposite his.

“You make an excellent point, Alastor. I hope we enjoy each other's company.” You chuckle softly, feeling a tad nervous for a reason unknown but genuinely harboring a rise in excitement, hearing him respond promptly.

“I have no doubt we will…” Alastor muses more to himself, a delicate edge to his voice as he trailed behind you, and a certain twinge of intrigue rattled your spine at the implication.

For the first time in a long time, you weren't dreading the inclinations of your fame, gradually succumbing to the sparks of joy Alastor evoked with the most straightforward words and becoming surer of the fact as he took his seat next to you.

“Shall we begin?” he implies cheekily, and you reply in a quick, witty fashion, “We shall.”

————-

“Care for a drink, my friend? I believe we’ve earned ourselves a cold glass of whiskey… that is, If your evening is unreserved.” Alastor made the offer moments after switching your respective microphones off, quickly arranging the recording panel to a specific setting as he listened for your response.

Your mouth moved quicker than your mind; a distinct rush overtook at the thought of spending more time with the charismatic radio host, “I'd be delighted to join you. I must agree that our interview went quite well. It's rare to have an easy conversation with a stranger these days..”

Alastor raised a brow, sparing you a glance as he finished sliding keys and flicking switches into place to keep a calming stream of music lingering in his broadcast, “So, I'm still a stranger to you?… My, and I thought we were getting on so well…“

He spurs you casually, an air of hurt in his expression, and it stuns you, causing a red hue to rise on your cheeks, “Th-that's not at all what I meant, Alastor…” Your lower head twinges of embarrassment staining your consciousness, and for the third time that evening, Alastor had chipped away at your charm.

He enjoyed it….

Seeing you falter and conform to his standards, though you didn't need to, at any time, you could've remained indifferent to him and taken your leave the moment he shut your mic off, but you remained.

Solely because you'd grown attached to him or the defect he had on you.

Humbling, genuine understanding, but above all else, validation.

“My dear, I am only poking fun. I take no offense to your words, and I hope you'll grant me the same courtesy!” Alastor reached for you, thumb and forefinger slipping under your chin to lift it, and you obeyed his gesture with a soft smile. “Oh…I…”

You paused, swallowing thickly as he raised himself from the chair, head lowered toward yours as he stood above you.

Had he always been so tall?

So brooding?

You weren't entirely sure, but your heart raced, every nerve in your body tingled with anticipation as if you were a deer caught in his headlights, but you couldn't retreat or evade him.

“You what?..” Alastor cooed quietly, chocolate eyes on fire with an emotion you'd long forgotten but returned subconsciously.

Control.

You needed to be back in control, or the next breath between you two might lead to something…

Your mind played scenario after scenario, beginning to short circuit as he peered down at you, lips only inches from yours, and his other hand reaching to caress your cheek. His touch is searing, warmer than those you'd felt before, intentional, and your entire being buzzed in his grasp as if in a drunken stupor.

He was dangerous… able to tear through your facade easily, which was terrifying.

Polarizing.

Don't let him get any closer…

Keep him at a distance…

You've only just met him...

Warnings rang in your head, but your eyes lowered to his lips, and your voice remained quiet as you responded to his question.

“I" 'd like to have that drink before the night ends. Wouldn't you?"With a gentle nudge of your head and a soft laugh, you draw away from Alastor's touch. The space between you increases, and the ability to breathe becomes less strenuous as you stand to your feet, collecting your overcoat before slipping it on, "I'm not familiar with the city yet, so I'll leave it to you to show me around." The chipper in your tone amuses Alastor; you'd perfected the art of illusion so well that in the clutches of what some might consider an intimate moment, you balked and reclaimed sensibility like it never occurred, though you wished for it to carry on further.

He'd met and spoken to his fair share of actors, learned their ticks and telling habits, and used it against them when he saw benefit in toying with them.

However, being able to see right through you evoked another motive for the host, and he dared to think it was mutual.

"Well, I'd be honored to show you the ins and outs of this lively town I call home so long as you promise to keep up," Alastor retrieves his coat, a heavy jet black trench withered accents paired with matching hat, stylish in all the right ways -presumably warm to be in. Still, you were sure if he ventured into the night dressed like that, any stranger would fear him.

They had good reason to, but you didn't need to know why.

Not yet…

With a coy smile, you followed Alastor out of the station, matching his strides as he paved the way to a nearby speakeasy, "You'll find it quite entertaining, my friend. Few visit at this hour, but my dear Mimzy puts on a vine show regardless!" Your heart skipped a beat at the thought of Alastor being infatuated with another, for what reason you weren't sure, but your disappointment flashed clear in your eyes that he took it upon himself to clarify his remark.

"She is an old and loyal acquaintance. Nothing more. Nothing less."

You perked up at the explanation, face burning with a blush as you raised both hands to dissuade his interpretation of your expression, "I understand. You needn't explain anything to me-"

Alastor halted in his tracks, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he peered at you curiously, "Hm, so you did assume we were something to begin with?..."

Shit, was I that obvious?...

"Not at all..." you lie, as calm as ever but internally conflicted.

How could he go about messing with you so boldly?..

And why did it excite you?..

"Your eyes say otherwise, my friend..." he counters your nervous reply with a smug smirk, beginning to walk off as if he wasn't toying with your head, "My eyes?..." you whisper in response.

"They are the doorway to the soul...I've learned to walk through said doors, and you, my dear, hide a lot of fears behind them." Alastor chuckles, ears tingling as you reclaim your spot at his upon reaching your destination. Still, you're less concerned with the dark alley lit with a singular neon sign situated above a heavy lead door and more worried about what he is implying regarding your emotions.

Who was he to know anything?

Sure, he was pleasant to be around, an avid intellectual with a knack for continuing conversation with you, and you had no reason to believe he'd been faking his friendliness to you from the start...

That still gave him no right analyzing you, prod at your exterior with more confidence than necessary, and you intended to let him know it.

A glare beset your expression, mouth open to speak, but you weren't allowed to do so as the lead door swung open.

Alastor guided you close to his side as a gaggle of patrons spilled from the doorway, ranting and raving about the time they had inside. Their rowdy behavior irked him, but you did not comment on the matter as he placed a hand on your back to lead you inside after their dysfunctional departure.

“Drunken idiots,” he mumbled begrudgingly, and for the first time you'd seen the radio host truly bothered. He'd been so composed during your interview, inviting and flirtatious on and off the air, so getting a glimpse of his annoyed state felt like a treat.

At least you knew he had flaws, insignificant but telling ones.

“Um. Alastor, you can..” you paused, unsure if you wanted to let him know he was still holding onto your waist as he led you inside the dim speakeasy. Alastor hummed, irritation gone, and his coy smile widening as you shuffled alongside him. “Y-you can let me go now.”

“Oh, nonsense, my dear! I wouldn't want you to run into unsavory characters like the ones that just passed..”

He quickly navigated the lingering crowd, clearly familiar with the club's layout, and you marbled at its unique atmosphere as he led you through it. “I can handle myself, Alastor,” you tried again to reason, but Alastor was quick to give a response as he ushered you to sit at an unoccupied lounge chair complete with a table and lamp.

“I'm sure you can but I'm rather fond of keeping you close.” He sat next to you after setting his coat and hat aside.

What did he mean by that?..

“How selfish of you,” you feigned disappointment as he shifted to face you with a soft chuckle leaving his lips, “Would you be so kind as to forgive my greed for your attention?” Alastor stares you down, noting how you bite your lip, another nervous tick you'd yet to disregard in his presence. “I'll consider it if you buy me a drink or two..”

The suggestion was meant to sound confident, unmothered by the mounting pressure in your chest, but it came out breathless. You were sure that you'd mastered the art of indiffenece, permanently established a mask of charm, but as much as you wished to maintain the certainty…

Alastair disproved it with little more than a gesture or equally compelling word.

It was unsettling, intoxicating too, but undeniably riveting.

“A small price to pay,” he mumbled, eyes lowering to your lips as you laughed softly and leaned back to admire the other patrons roaming or dancing around. “I never said I was cheap..” you taste him, gaze drifting to him as he shifted closer. You wanted to jump out of your skin as his arm came to rest behind you, head lulling to ward your cheek as he breathed into your ear. The resulting warmth made you shiver, quickening your breaths, and your body tingled with intrigue.

“No…” Alastor affirmed your jest, free hand raising your chin, tilting your head to face him as he continued, “…but you are desperate to be loved. One might say that's just as inappropriate, mon Cher..”

His tone dripped with condensation, a sensual purr loud enough to drown out the jazz and chatter surrounding you, and for a moment, he was all you could comprehend.

You should've felt angry, unsettled even, but his words struck a more profound emotion.

Comfort.

You weren't crazy, a constant wonder for the masses to marvel at and never care about.

Alastor could see you.

He wanted to…

“And so what if I am? Why would it concern you?..” there was no harsh undertone to your question, and it earned a sultry hum of amusement from him. “You've interested me, so I must not ignore your charade. I'm partial to the truth of a person, and you, my dear, abandon it in the hopes of success..”

Spot on.

It is shamelessly hurtful but direct nonetheless.

You clicked your tongue dismissively, attempting to turn your head away from his grasp, but Alastor held you tighter.

A glare crossed your face at the brushing grip he established, but a pool of excitement rushed to your crotch as well.

“I'm not one of your scripts to read, Alastor..” you scoff, rolling your eyes to make your point clear, but he isn't affected by the arrogant gesture.

“My apologies if it seems that way, but my intention to know you, inside and out, is purely innocent...”

“I find that hard to believe…” you retort, very aware of the minimal space between you two, and it became harder to focus on anything else but his soft lips that were stretched thin into a smile.

God, I was doomed from the beginning… you think to yourself as you laugh at your shameless line of sight. “Believe what you wish, my friend, but I enjoy being the object of affection..”

“That's inappropriate to suggest,” you mutter, face burning with blush and your hands raising to grip his wrist and collar. Alastor hummed, amused by your denial, “Mm, I suppose it is…would you like another apology?”

You shake your head, tugging him in by the collar of his shirt, eyes lifting to his, full of determination, “A kiss will do just fine…”

He holds your gaze, checking for mockery, but there is none. “That's the first honest thing you've said all night, mon cher,” Alastor points out in a hushed tone, lowering his head to place a slow kiss on your lips as they pull into a satisfied smile.

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I rewatched Heartstopper for this. Was it helpful? Yes. Did it make me cry harder than the first time I watched it? Also, yes. Will I forever love that show?… (yes). Again, this is just part 1! The second half is being drafted. Please look forward to it. I'm not sure it'll include smut…but I'll debate on that later.

[ BONUS CONTENT + ]

He's so cheekyyyy but I love him for it hehe like he’s just the right amount of ‘cocky asshole’ ya know? ❤️ credit to creator!

#alastor #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel alastor #alastor hazbin hotel #human alastor #alastor hartfelt #alastor headcanons #alastor fluff #hazbin hotel headcanon #alastor smut #hazbin alastor #alastor x oc #alastor x reader #alastor x male reader #alastor the radio demon #the radio demon #alastor x you #hazbin hotel fanfiction #hazbin hotel mimzy #hard thoughts #hazbin hotel fluff #hazbin hotel fandom #fanfic writing #fanfic #male reader

[leonardcohenofficial]

vinyl + turntable basic info / general tips

while i am by no means a real audiophile or vinyl expert here are some tips that have worked for me over my almost two decades of collecting!

turntables + speakers

do not buy suitcase players. i cannot overstate this enough. do not buy suitcase players. the all-in-one players are generally cheaper, but there isn't enough support from the platter because they are smaller than 12 inch LPs. this can lead to shitty sound quality, the needle can fall out of the groove, and you can actually break your records. save up and pay a little more and get a proper turntable

there is a lot of debate about belt vs. direct drive turntables (belt drive turntables use a belt to spin the turntable while direct drive turntables have the motor directly under the platter) and which is better. very generally speaking if you want better sound quality, belt drive is the way to go; if you want a player that's a little easier to use that's also a little more durable, direct drive is a better option (most DJ turntables are also direct drive, as a side note)

i currently have three turntables and they are all audio-technica, which is a well respected brand (especially for beginners)—i have an AT-LP60X ($149) which is a belt driven player, as well as two AT-LP120XUSB ($349 each) which i use for practicing DJing/selecting. i also have a stanton M.203 mixer (insane to me that it's listed for $350 on amazon, i paid eighty bucks for mine on ebay), audio-technica ATH-M20x headphones (they were a gift but are listed for $49 on amazon) and a set of edifier R1280DB bluetooth speakers ($149). the speakers are hooked up directly into my mixer, but because both the speakers and the AT-LP60X are bluetooth, i can also play records on that turntable too

change your needle! general rule of thumb is to replace your needle every thousand hours of listening; for the average person if you change it once a year you should be good, i'm on the cautious side and change them every six months

i really like my setup; it's on the cheaper side when it comes to "grownup" gear but true audiophiles would probably scoff at my basics. regardless of what you end up getting, a decent turntable that doesn't have the speakers built in that fits within your budget and a good set of speaker or headphones is all you need

buying records

any time that you can, i recommend buying vinyl directly from the artist! whether it's through bandcamp their website or at a show i think it's better to buy direct when you can (and often times it's cheaper than buying through a third party)

when you can, buy local. not only is it good to support independently owned shops, developing a relationship with local music people is great and if they're good they'll start to know you/your tastes. it also allows you to get good at crate digging, because you never know what you're going to find in a dollar section

utilize listening stations if the store has them! people can be pretty fast and loose with grading used records, so it's better to listen to it and see if the audio quality corresponds with the price (i don't always buy mint/nearly mint records and can tolerate a fair amount of noise but not if i'm being ripped off lmfao)

look things up on discogs to see if you're getting ripped off. not only is discogs great for keeping track of your collection (also you can friend me here!), the online marketplace is great for checking average sale prices for a given release. also handy for seeing how rare a release is!

buying records on discogs can be a crapshoot, ebay even more so. read seller's reviews; if there's feedback that they generally grade conservatively, that's a good thing

i have such a large collection that maintaining a record of what i have is really necessary; discogs is really fantastic for this. you can even scan barcodes on specific releases to find them through the discogs app! it's super handy for me as sometimes i forget that i have certain albums already and end up buying multiple copies and having to get rid of them (i need to get better at cataloguing immediately after i get new stuff, i currently have about forty five records i still need to add lmfao)

storing + maintaining records

keep your records clean! get a good cleaning kit and have microfiber cloths on hand to keep your vinyl as dust free as possible. also use those storage sleeves, it makes a different in keeping your records cleaner longer

a general rule of vinyl storage that i learned from the owner of the shop that i've been going to since i was nine years old is to store them in less than 70 degrees F environments with less than 70% humidity (funnily enough this is apparently the same rule for cigars)

i recommend those ikea square storage bookcases, as they're generally study, aren't too expensive, are pretty easy to put together, and hold a lot of records (do not store your records in milk crates long term)

actually listen to your records! there are very few releases i keep sealed for the sake of keeping them in mint condition. vinyl can be a very expensive habit (800+ records later i am living proof lol) but it's no fun to keep them sitting around. have fun collecting and play your music!

#vinyl #music #records #sorry this took a minute ben lmfao #also folks are welcome to share / please feel free to friend me on discogs!

[filmnoirsbian]

I'm not necessarily a punk gatekeeper like idrc abt "sell out" accusations bc tbh I like when artists I like get paid and expand their audiences and I'm a green day fan so yk but even at their most sell out they were putting out shit like american idiot so it's not like they weren't still politically punk. And I don't even think you can't necessarily be privileged and still make good punk music (again, go listen to willow smith's recent stuff both her solo albums and as the anxiety it's great) but as a huge fan of the baltimore and dc hxc scene it's just like ok. So what's the point? Punk sounds like garbage to people who don't like it because punks cared more about getting their message across than making shit that might get radio airplay. They were fucking angry about the state of things and they made music for people who were also angry about it, and so often there was no crossover appeal. Remember when bad brains got fucking banned from dc bc their shows went so hard? If you want to make music with a punk-sounding influence that isn't necessarily political that's fine, that's how we got pop punk and the alt scene, all those "I hate my town" bands, the blink 182s and avril lavignes of the world, but there's a reason it's called pop punk and not just punk. Avril wasn't called the punk princess ever bc people knew that'd sound fucking ridiculous. She was the pop punk princess. I'm not saying that punk songs and bands can't become mainstream or popular, green day won fucking grammies, the clash and the sex pistols etc all got their big paydays. Which is why the hxc (and other early punk subgroups like riot grrrl etc) scene erupted at all; they felt like the big punk names weren't going hard enough anymore, and in a lot of ways they were right but that's sort of the nature of music, eventually audiences get bored or radio stations and studio execs want to discover the new big thing and then what was outsider music becomes mainstream and then those outsider fans decide those bands have sold out and look for something still outside/something harder which won't so easily be sold to the general public, rinse repeat. But I AM saying that if you're going to try to call your music punk, I better see you in the fucking pit.

#tcp #the universal language

[harrysmimi]

The Missing Co-writer

Synopsis: Harry doesn't feel to hide anymore

CW: Loads of fluff and sliver of a cute little drunkrry.

Series Masterlist | More of my work

Guess what?!

YN got an offer to write along with one of the most genius and know artist of her generation. Harry couldn't be more proud of his fiance!

Well, she took up on the offer just because how much she loved writing music with her Harry. He won Album of the year, for the album they both wrote together. Kinda. But there many songs he wrote with her which his fans love so much. That's what he wants, his fans to enjoy what he makes.

When Jeffery told YN about this offer she contemplated it like every life decision she has to make. Harry on the other hand was just so stubborn on getting her to agree on this because one, she loved to do it the first time around, two, she's got a fucking degree in music, and three, she get paid for it, which she so deserves. She didn't get paid it the first time around, well, she didn't wanted to.

She was there with him at the Grammy's, though she insisted on staying away from the cameras. Harry respected her decision to do so.

They had a great night afterwards at the after party. He introduced YN to all of his closest friends in the industry, the ones he knows would respect his privacy and not talk about this publicly.

But today, he missed her like hell!

He was at the Brit awards. Nominated for four of the categories. But his love was away to work on this new project she seemed so excited for.

He doesn't want to hold her back so, when he told her he was having a great time preparing for the award show... he lied. Whilst she wouldn't be able to make it back home in time, he doesn't want her to be lost and feel guilty for anything. He's sure she'll be watching him on the TV anyway. At the end, he gets to have her all to himself and celebrate all over again for achivement he got for the work they did together.

He asked Gemma to go with him, lile he did last time and she did agree. They were having a good time but he still missed his YN there. All three times he mentioned people who helped him write this album so special to his heart, he contemplated on mentioning her name. Not because he doesn't feel like he should or anything of the stupid reason, just because he wants to keep her protected so badly!

YN already got enough hate, even though people don't know her name, who she is, what she does, what she is like in person. No one deserves that.

Yes, he did kissed Lewis Capaldi drunkenly but he knows YN will be laughing more when they're reunited by in three days.

With a drink in his hand and his phone in the other, he made a treck to the bathroom. He wanted to call her and talk to her. He needed to.

One ring...

Two ring...

Three...

"Hello Hazza!" Her happy voice chirped through the call.

"Hi, baby." Harry smiled with his phone held upto his ear. He could hear the award show playing in the background from her side.

"I am so proud of you, Harry. Three put of four, and you got to kiss Lewis!" She gasped in pure joy. "Not gonna lie, Niall is going to be real mad at you and it did made a tiny bit jealous."

That earned a giggle from him, "I'm sorry about that. I miss you so much, I wish you were here with me baby." His voice wavered as his eyes got teary. "We did this together. For the first time, this is happening to me and couldn't be more proud of us. I wanted to call you up and say how much I love you. I fucking love you so much, YN. Without you this wouldn't have been possible. Thank you for being my muse and my rock throughout these years. I'm gonna need this till my heart stops pumping inside me chest. I know how right of s decision I made by asking you to marry me. I want you to know how I appreciate you for everything you do, even though I don't mention you tonight in any of my speeches. I just want to protect you."

"I know you do love me Harry," YN sighed on the other side. He was sure she's crying too by now, "I know you appreciate me, and you exactly know why. They say 'don't meet your heros', but I'm so fucking glad I did! I wish I was there with you too. You don't have to mention me any of your speeches to tell me how you about us. I'd have it just between you and I."

"I just don't want you to feel left out, my love. Because you're not." Harry sniffled. "Also, I don't want to hide anymore. I want to be able to hold you close and not worry about being photographed, and, and want to kiss you wherever we are. Want to brag about how amazing my love is! I truly do. But I want to protect you, you already get enough slack for choosing to stay by my side."

"I know but we can't control it, can we now?" He could hear her sniffle on the other side, "I want you to do what you want to. Not going to hold you back, we can get through anything and everything together, right?"

"Mhmm." He nodded to himself. "I love you so much."

"I love you so much!" She reciprocated, "now tell me the truth, you're crying because you're drunk right?"

"Hey!" He whined just to hear her soft giggles from the other side, "you're a meanie!"

"No, I'm not!" She teased him, "stay safe Hazza, I'll be home day after tomorrow."

"Mhmm, I'd stay longer and talk to you hut Jeffery is calling me now." He shared. "Maybe I'll skip the party later."

"No, I want you go. Please Harry?" She requested, "I don't want to skip on anything because pf me. You already don't go out when you're home."

"Okay." He sounded. "I love you!"

"I love you more." She chuckled. It was like almost the tenth time he's saying that to her.

"This is not a compitition but," he slurred, "I love you more!"

"Okay, you win."

"See it wasn't that hard to agree, was it?"

"Hmm, I think you would be in trouble as Jeffery is texting me to ask you to get off the call they're about to announce Album of The Year." She shared.

"Fuck! I should go." He sighed.

"Mhmm, I'll see you soon."

"See you baby, be safe okay?"

"You too, Harry." He could hear her smile through the phone, "and no, I wasn't going to admit, it's a fact I love you more. Bye!" And the call went dead before he could argue.

......................................................................

"And the winner is..." Stanley Tucci opened the envelope to announce the winner, "Harry Styles."

Harry was ecstatic. Hugging Gemma and fist bumping everyone on his way to the stage.

"There is literally no one I love more in this world than Stanley Tucci. Thank you very much!" Harry chuckled as he looked at his award and pauses for a moment, "umm... This uhh... This night has been really special to me and I will never forget. Thank you so much for the welcome home. I appreciate so much there is no place like home. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm so so proud to be an British Artist out there in the world, I'm so proud to be here tonight celebrating British Artists, British Music. Thank you, thank you, I'm going to hand it to Tom and Tyler. Thank you so much for this. I'm so grateful, thank you!"

Harry glanced at his friends who are also his co-writer on the album. But one of them was missing and it was bugging him so much. He took in a deep breath.

"I want to thank my missus, who, who uhh... has been a great support. She wrote this album with us too. I couldn't be more in love with or grateful to a person than I am to you. Thank you, thank you so much for being my muse and my rock through all these years. And... I love you!" He flashed a sheepish smile and blew a little kiss to the crowd before he walked down the stage.

......................................................................

"Harry you did not!" YN exclaimed the first thing after she entered through the door of their flat, dropping her bags on the floor.

"Yes I— owh!" He grabbed onto her tight as she launched on him with a bear hug. "Yes I did baby!"

"You won all four of them!" She celebrated, "I am so fucking happy for you," she placed a smoothering kiss on his mouth, "you deserve every bit of happiness and success out there. I'm so, so, so, so proud of you!"

"Thank you, darling." He chuckled at her excitement as he hugged her again, "I thought you were going to kill me for saying I love you to you on TV!" He pulled away to get another deserving kiss.

In her own words; he deserved every happiness in this world!

"I would be mad if you didn't." She rolled her eyes.

"Did you..." he sighed, "just rolled your eyes at me, baby?"

"Oh come on, I am so proud of you Harry!" She clung onto him like a Koala bear again.

No, she's just that short in front of him.

"I missed you!" He picked her up and waddled his way to the sofas so they can sit and talk.

"I missed you!" She reciprocated. "When did you get home after the after-party?"

"At five in the morning the next day." He smiled sheepishly as he sat both of them down, YN straddling gis lap.

"Look at you!" She playfully punched his arm. "No but seriously Harry, I do think you hold back to go out and have fun with your friends like you used to. You don't have to stay back just because I have the most boring personality ever!"

"Who said you have a boring personality?" He scoffed, "I'd rather stay home with you and teach Milo new trick, make some new recipe and make a disaster of out kitchen or just watch TV, or, wait for it... this one is my favourite: have sex." That earned a laugh from her, "Than go out and drink, torture my kidneys and have a hangover for next three days."

"Okay." She nodded.

"You did not install twitter on your phone again, right?" He asked.

"Nope." She assured him. Because she didn't.

"Good because ee don't even want to go there." He took in a breathe of relief. "We still need to plan more for our wedding though, don't we?"

"Mhmm!" She nodded. "You sure you want to go for The Savoy than your villa in Italy, or better Anne's backyard garden that she offered for us to use?"

"What's wrong with the hotel?"

"Haz, it's very expensive!"

"So is going to be the villa." Was his only argument.

"Well, no, you own it. And it's less expense. You can even make that money back, by putting it on for rent. For maybe a month or so, I'm sure." She suggested.

"What's wrong?" He could just read through her, "you know you can share it with me, baby. Is something bugging you.

"I don't know," she sighed, "I want to be an equal part on this. I'm saving up for when we get our new place. And everything adding up gets very expensive. On my side at least."

"Mm." He sounded and took his time to think.

Look, he does want to be a part this whole planning thing. The only thing he doesn't want disrupted is their wedding. The hotel provides more privacy, he can have his team sign and agreement with them. His mum's backyard garden and the Italian villa can be invaded. In fact his pictures were taken ages ago with a drown in his private property.

"We'll split it." He answered, "I don't want our special day be ruined by people invading our privacy. The villa isn't that... How do I put this? Safe enough for our privacy. I don't want to force you nor do I want to make you feel less. Just chip however much you can or we'll figure something else, yeah?"

"Hmm, I'll think about it." She nodded.

Milo jumped up on the sofa spooking his mother and making his dad laugh, meowing for attention. Harry has been a amazing cat dad since day one!

"Hello my love!" YN cooed and picked the little feline up. He started purring immediately.

"He's very fucking partial!" Harry gasped looking at the kitty. "He never comes upto me like this."

That just made YN laugh.

......................................................................

N O T E :

Pls lemme know how you liked this one.

And if you have any requests for THIS particular couple, I'm taking in requests.

......................................................................

Tag list:

@vrittivsanghavi @buckymydarlingangel @sweetwritingfanficfriend @theroosterswife24 @sleutherclaw @melllinaa @michellekstyles @sunshinemoonsposts @marialikescherries @japanchrry @onlyangelrain @supersanelyromantic @tenaciousperfectionunknown @haarrrys @originalsoulcollector @harrysgirl-1d @lomlhstyles @allthelovehes @im-an-overthinker

Lemme know if you want to added to the tag list

#harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #harry styles x reader #harry styles x you #x reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles writing #harry styles imagine #harry smut #harry styles fic #harry styles blurb #harry styles concept #harry styles fluff #harry styles smut #harry styles imagines #harry styles fanfic #fan fiction #husbandrry #husband!harry #fiancerry #fiance!harry #boyfriendrry #boyfriend!harry #fluff #angst #smut

[inkdemonapologist]

nobody asked but since I've seen a lil chatter on the DCTL Graphic Novel on tumblr too, here's the thread I posted on twitter, speaking as someone who's done a little freelance work as a comic artist, under the jump:

Main thought about the DCTL graphic novel preview is: yeah, I've made designs like that when I was being paid by the page and expected to just throw in extra design work for free and I have a deadline and no time to scour the source material or really put my heart into the design No shade to the artist; every complaint I have about the pages we've seen is that this looks like someone who was just working (quickly) from a script. The artist is likely not a Big Fan, so they only know the info and descriptions they're given. And the artist's portfolio shows they're capable of the kind of designs and dynamics this comic needed. its possible they phoned it in for no reason, but feels more likely to be "not enough time/not paid enough/not given enough info to give it that level of care." Which, don't get me wrong; an important level of craftsmanship and care is missing and im not gonna blame the artist but i AM gonna be a hater abt it lmao It's not just about designs; the convo with Joey is another good example. It's a literal illustration of the things Joey said and did in that scene, but it's missing the point -- that scene is our introduction to the way Joey throws Buddy off-balance. That energy is missing. And that's the sort of thing that needs the script to convey this purpose well to the artist, that needs the artist to have time & freedom to invest in portraying it, that needs time & investment & knowledge to ask for adjustments at early stages and get the page right one more note: begging batim fans 2 think abt the plot of DCTL and realise why "maybe we will not make the creepy guy who dies at the end a black man in this" is perhaps a reasonable choice. like im a fan of poc norman headcanons too but pls recognise this would be a tough call!! anyway, genuinely cannot wait to see how off sammy is gonna be in this lmao. will he be a mid non-design like norman or will he be conventionally handsome or will he get graphic novel dave miller vibes b/c hes an antagonist? will we get the fabled black hair sammy??? i cant wait

TL;DR I strongly suspect this was an issue of not enough time/not enough money. That design looks nothing like the description of Norman, right? Like, there's hundreds of different AU designs of all shapes, colours and sizes that you could create that would still look like Norman Polk, but somehow they managed to make a character that isnt ANY of them, lmao??? So... how could that happen, unless nobody gave the artist a description of Norman? Or if they did, how did that design make it past anyone else, unless there wasn't time for revisions or a system worked out for revisions, unless whoever was managing the comic project thought it was fine if the designs didn't fit with the descriptions in the book? If everyone is doing their job, then the artist is given the information they need without having to go do unpaid YA novel research before they can start drawing. That's why you have a writer adapting it!!

("they should hire fans, a fan would've done a better job" OK BUT THATS B/C FANS ARE MORE LIKELY TO ALLOW THEMSELVES TO BE EXPLOITED AND DO EXTRA UNPAID WORK B/C THEY CARE!! THATS NOT A SOLUTION!!!! THATS A JOEY DREW STRAT!!!!!!!)

Anyway I could yell about this for 15 years so I'm going to shush for now BUT I JUST FEEL VERY STRONGLY ABOUT IT LMAO.

#genuinely tho now that i dont have to worry abt the possibility that it might be good #i can just relax and be excited to discover how far off it will be #im a hater abt this but everyone be nice to the artist lmao #we all write on the walls #is abby going to be in a suit like she's supposed to be? #how accurate will dot be? #will jacob even be black? #we could do a whole DCTL Comic Discrepancy Bingo i think it would be fun #HOW CLOSE TO GINGER ROGERS IS ALLISON GOING TO LOOK

[5racha]

Every SandRay Scene (35 ¦ ??) 

R: *sings a song from the concert* S: "You like it then?" R: "Yeah. Catchy. ... R: "Oh, hey, Sand. Don't you want to be an artist? Like write your own music and sing it to your own audience? You're only singing covers and let the audience yell "Motherf*cker!" Like that. Don't you get tired of that?" S: "Of course I do. But what can I do when they love it? And it's my job, you know." R: "What about your dream? What is your actual dream?" S: "My dream? You know, I want to have enough money to go to all the music festivals around the world. Picture this. Great music and a good atmosphere. Thousands and thousands of people who come together because they like the same music. Drink, get drunk, fall asleep on the grass. When it gets really late, they retire to their tent to sleep. And then repeat for the next 3-5 days. I think it's just cool." R: "Yeah. Sounds like a hoot. Where do you want to go?" S: "I want to go to Summer Sonic, Fuji Rock, and Glastonbury. I want to get muddy. Coachella isn't bad either. But if we're talking about my real dream, I want to go to Woodstock. I want to be a hippie." R: "Oh, damn. You mean, back in the 70's?" S: "Yeah." R: "You'll need a time machine for that, I think. They don't do that anymore. S: "It might happen again, who knows?" ... S: "Yes mum? What? Are there a lot of them? What will you do? Okay, you find some place to hide. I'll be there." R: "What's wrong? What's happened?" S: "Some debt collectors show up. But I swear I paid them everything. Can you hitch a ride home? I need to go to my mother." R: "Hey, I'm coming with you." S: "What for? This isn't a bar brawl and Yo's. These jerks mean business. You can't handle it." R: "I said I'd be with you all day today. I have to go. Maybe I can help. Hurry." S: "Fine."

#tusernix #tusersilence #tuserrowan #melontrack #khaotunq #userdragonz #tuserhidden #uservid #usermask #userjamiec #tusermona #only friends #only friends the series #sandraygifs #sandray #gifs #thai drama #thai bl #firstkhaotung #firstkhao #sand as a hippie #i wanna see that lol

[aurosoulart]

one of the things I wasn't prepared for as a trans person in a big industry was the absolutely OVERWHELMING emotions around being accepted for who I am. ;__; some highlights from the past couple months:

a prominent speaker at a UK media company showing my work to his son, casually saying: "Do you like this picture? Ewan drew it." I've never spoken to this man, but he respects me enough to not only show my work to his child - but to future students as well. these kids are going to grow up knowing the work of a publicly trans artist, and with any luck it will be normal to them.

Tilt Five publicly replying to my TDOV post with THIS, from their official corporate account.

Tilt Five also featuring me in a blog post on their website, and using they/them pronouns!!!!

and even more Tilt Five positivity: being INVITED TO DEMO IN-PERSON AT GDC FOR HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE. I'm in this picture but you can barely see me because of the crowd. again, I'm visibly trans here - long hair, stubble, voice deepened by testosterone... and it was a non-issue.

and lastly: not only being able to publicly fundraise for LGBTQ+ causes like the Club Q healing fund without fear, but actually receiving support & donations from my employer while I do so. technically, I get PAID to fundraise as long as I use Figmin XR, like with Cover The World With Flowers!

and that's just a handful of examples!!! there was also the whole getting accepted into AR House thing (where I'm one of MULTIPLE trans people in the community), and then PERFORMING LIVE at the Marriott HQ, and then my art making it onto Adam Savage's youtube channel???!?!

I keep saying this, but I legitimately don't have words for the level of gratitude I feel. I've had other trans folks reach out and say that my visibility gives them courage, which makes me want to fight even harder to show that trans joy is REAL and POSSIBLE and that there is still so much love, despite everything.

I don't want to take for granted that it is still very much radical to just exist publicly as a trans person - and even more radical to exist publicly as a HAPPY trans person. I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared being in this position, but at least I know I'm not alone. there are still so many good people fighting for us.

#auropost #lgbtq #lgbt #trans #trans pride #trans joy #trans positivity #idk what else to tag this as i'm just feelin Feels yknow #thank you if you've read this far it means a lot to me #i've been wanting to make this post for awhile but kept getting overwhelmed thinking about it #but the news about what's happening in florida and also like. other red states and anti-trans legislation #just totally took me out last week #so i wanted to try and put some good out there to fight how hopeless it made me feel #things hurt but there's still love. there's always love!!!!!!!

[almightyrayzilla]

I promise you, this is the only time I will ever willingly post AI generated imagery on any of my pages...but G-Fest is DEAD to me. I first attended in 2006, then again in 2009. I got my start doing artist alley tables at this show in 2010, then branched out to other shows. I even did the promo art for the 2019 show. I cannot tell you how much of my life was shaped from meeting the folks I have met because of this convention.

I'm not even mad. I'm sitting here along with my fellow artists, laughing our asses off. Not because it's funny, but because NONE of us are deeply surprised.

Let's go back a bit.

In 2018, the artist alley (AA) was moved to the lower floor of the hotel. Now I let this slide - the Crowne Plaza had just replaced the area that was used previously with the Caddyshack restaurant. Duh, we couldn't use that area anymore. There was some pushback, that maybe something else could be moved downstairs, but there was refusal to budge. Whatever, us artists actually did pretty good that year, despite a rather sequestered and tight space.

Then for 2019 - we were told a Toho rep was coming, and we were hit with a 30% limitation, which essentially meant that for every ten pieces of art we had, only three of them were allowed to be Toho related. Gamera, Ultraman, Kamen Rider - fair game. I mean, let's put aside that no one could enforce that (and no one tried) - the person in question wasn't even tied to Toho. And even if they were...they'd be more concerned about, say, bootleg DVDs and such.

Personally speaking, my sales were even better, so even with the limitation, people still did alright. Gee, it's almost as if AA is a big attraction at a convention, especially one as niche as this.

Then 2020, when our good friend COVID-19 came about. Someone decided it'd be a good idea to spread misinformation about the pandemic with G-Fest's Twitter page. Among those who spoke up were the artists who regularly attended through its artist alley. A Facebook page that was specifically set up for AA members to share info and whatnot was then told to no longer associate with G-Fest.

And for the record, G-Fest didn't happen that year because of a statewide mandate. No no, the con wasn't canceled it because they recognized the severity of things, it's because Illinois shut everything down.

Well, here comes prep for 2021 (which ultimately became the 2022 show, since it was pushed back again). That's when G-Fest hit us with the AA contract. It forbade artists from selling prints of Toho fan art (originals/commissions were okay, but not reproductions), unless we held a license to sell prints of that work. We could not sell Godzilla fan art prints at this Godzilla convention. We tried to speak with them, to see if there could be some compromise...which there wasn't. They kept saying that the reason for it was to stay on good terms with Toho, even citing a big C&D sweep Toho was doing (they were after bootleggers, not fan artists). Heck, even one of my good friends actually did get a C&D (prior to said sweep), and they have legal word that they were allowed to sell prints of Godzilla art. But apparently, that wasn't good enough for G-Fest. HMMMMM...

I was actually willing to abide by these tighter rules, even planning on trolling them with a few pieces of Jirahs and Gomess (though Jirahs without the frill might have been a bit too risky, lol). We were trying to talk with the head of the vendor room, who was not exactly being clear and timely with responses. Well, someone went to the head of the show to ask if they were being compliant with the rules - I guess they gave a different answer, because that's when the showrunners started bickering about not seeing eye-to-eye on some things, ultimately telling the artist it's best they not come.

That's when I backed out. A few of us had paid for our table/badge for the 2020 show, which was rolled over; with the option available, I asked for the refund. The head of the vendor room said the request was put in. Almost two weeks go by. I go to the showrunner, and within 20 minutes, I get the refund. Look, I know G-Fest isn't a big corporate show, and I try not to be a snob, but I expect SOME professionalism. that's why I've backed out and refuse to ever attend G-Fest ever again. But that's not where things stopped.

During the 2022 show, I was told an artist said screw it and put Godzilla prints out on their table to sell. I laughed and said, "Yeah, and how much of that was playing favorites?" I mean, G-Fest kicking this person out? That would be glorious. But someone like me? I'm pretty sure they'd have banned me on the spot. And I'm not even going to get into the vendor who was selling bootleg DVDs, so...yeah. And from what I hear, the 2023 show forbade ALL fan art prints, not just Toho IPs. I can't imagine how hard they're gritting their teeth trying not tell artists to get lost outright.

*deep breath* And that brings us to today's nonsense. After all that, they pull this. And of course they've turned off comments on the Facebook posts for these...pictures. I mean, after my turn in 2019, we had the idea of giving each AA artist a shot to do the promo art each year before all this crap reared its ugly head.

Like I said, I'm not even mad, I'm actually having a good laugh over all this. If I'm shocked by anything, it's how quickly this convention pulled its 180. The point of this post is to just be informative of what has been going on the past couple years, and why the artists who usually go haven't come back.

But most of all, if/when people ask if I'm going to G-Fest next year, here's the TL;DR version: NO.

#g-fest

[factual-fantasy]

24 asks!! :DD Thank you so much!! :}}

WAAAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH!! THIS WAS SO SWEET I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY!! JUST- THANK YOU! THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!! 💖💖😭💖😭😭💖💖

@annathefenecfox

I haven't watched the episodes she's in yet.. but I love her color palette! She looks really sweet :}💚💙💛

@spinelfan11

They would run XD

@supersecretnerd

Woof, she looks like hello kitty! <XD What even is she? A squirrel..? Geez, if I ever add her to my AU, she will definitely be getting a full fur color make over- XDD

(Also thank you!! :DD)

@rubydraft (Comic in question)

YES YES! That was very much intentional! :DD And the answer lies in the fazbands!

The animatronics can scan the Fazbands and get any important information about the child they might need. Such as the child's name, age, and which parent they belong to.

The Fazbands also act as a proof of purchase. If the the animatronic scans a child and no fazband is detected, that child must be brought to an employee. As there is no current proof that the child has had their admission paid. Hence why Gregory has a red outline, he has no fazband!

The blue kids all have standard fazbands. As every kid is given when they enter the pizzaplex.

But if its your kids birthday, they are given a special fazband that has them show up differently in the animatronics scanners. This tells the animatronics that the golden kids are the birthday boys/girls! And they will address the child as such if they ever encounter them. :)

(Also there's an Easter egg in one of those panels that no ones pointed out yet.. 👀)

Oh yeah, there's a lot of em. :( But the animatronics don't have to worry about them. They have handlers to watch over them and keep angry Karen's/crowds away.

I haven't really figured out their whole schtick yet..

I think in the partial swap they haven't changed much. Although Monty is a kindler gentler Monty. With Foxy by his side he's simmered down some. And his theme is a little different than before.

Roxy I think is more of a recluse in the partial swap, like original Monty is.

As for the true swap.? I haven't really figured it all out yet. Thinking that Roxy is a golfer and Monty is a racer..? I haven't thought it all through yet <XD

@wolfie-777

Off the top of my head I have these two Minecraft wolf OCs that I made a while back :00 I cant remember any others if I happen to have them-

@itschrisboys

:D Thanks!

@wdillustration

XD I wont draw that today, but maybe sometime I'll draw him giving someone a big ol bear hug :)

@acedgola

:DD Hiii!! I use FireAlpaca! Its got some problems but at least its free! Its easy to learn but also has enough tools to be used by a professional! You can also animate with it if you have the patience to figure out how to use it XD

Overall, 7.5/10 would recommend FireAlpaca!

(Post in question)

I'm not a hardcore fan, but yes! I do love the little korbo :}} And those are some Kirby slippers I got for Christmas! :D

They're my artist hands! And I'm not sure what you mean.. 11 hands is a perfectly normal number of hands to have!

Right.?

I just imagined Glamrock Freddy having an imaginary friend that looks a lot like a purple/blue bunny.. :( 💔

@softkidlavender

My beautiful eyeballs have been known to lure people to my blog XDD (Also thank you! :DD)

@basementdregon101

:DD I'm glad you like it!! :}}}

@rockbott0m47

A fant. Its often mispronounced as "fart"

@ardent-38 (Comic in question)

WAAAA I REMEMBER THOSE TAGS!!! I SHOULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING IN THE COMMENTS- WAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH!! IT WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY DAY AND IT STILL LIVES RENT FREE IN MY BRAIN 💖😭💖

AND THANK YOU AGAIN!! I'M SO GLAD YOU LIKE MY GOLDEN BOYS AND MY OCTONAUTS STUFF!! WAA THANK YOU SO MUCH!! 😭💖💖💖

AAAA THANK YOU!! :DD I'm so glad you like them!! :}}}

@fizzy-stars

XD I'm glad you felt inspired by me to bring those OCs back! And I hope that bite tasted good XDD

<XD It'd be more like;

Classic Bonnie: "Dude, what happened to you?

Swap Bonnies: "😒......"

It's all fun and games until I emerge ominously in the background with a snowball the size of a car XD

Everyone starts looking through the cookies and trying to figure out which one they want. Meanwhile I push everyone aside and snag all the peanut butter ones XD

#my response #sorry to the asks that were late!😅 #octonauts #fnaf security breach #factual fam

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA for refusing to do any more art commissions for my mom's friends?

Ok so I (19nb) am a digital artist. If I had to honestly rate my skills I would put them somewhere in the "good enough to get a few commissions but not professional level" range and I wanted to do it professionally.

Keyword being wanted but I'll get to that

Now my mother has been showing off my art pieces to her friends (no problem with this) and it got one of my mom's friends to ask her if I could draw make icons for the website of her upcoming business back in late April (basically one big icon for the main page and five smaller ones, so six in total, all fully rendered) and paid 200 dollars for all of it (which thinking back was extremely low for the amount of time and effort that I put into that if I was going by living wage effort and time)

So I did that, got the money, spent it all and was happy.

And now yesterday (july 6th) my mom said that she asked one of her other friends (who is also her boss) if I could draw her a new logo for her side business.

SHE DIDNT EVEN ASK ME IF I WANTED TO DO THAT! SHE JUST TOLD HER FRIEND THAT I WOULD DO IT!

Now I got a big commission (dont know how much money Im getting paid) dropped on me with no warning. And apparently my mom and her friend are coming with even MORE ideas for me to draw. (Mind you that commission would take at least a week to two weeks at the MINIMUM and now they're coming up with more)

But the thing is I dont want to to do digital art professionally anymore. I want it to stay as a hobby, something to do for fun and my own enjoyment. The reason why? A one year digital art course I did last year that burnt me out so unbelievably bad. I couldnt make ANY art for myself for an entire YEAR because I was constantly working on that stupid useless course (and I didnt even get the final drawing done and submitted before the one year deadline was up so that didnt help. And it was the one I was the most proud of too)

I am burned out and I want to make things for ME, things that absolutely cant go on a portfolio (extreme horror art, fan art, NSFW art, etc)

The amount of times in the past months I have talked myself out of drawing something that would make me happy because everything I make should be fit to go on a professional portfolio is extremely high.

I'm obviously gonna do the new commission and whatever else those two tell me to draw (but it better be more than 200 dollars, like at least 350 minimum) but I am so tired of this and I just wished my mom had asked me first before automatically telling her friend yes.

So would I be the asshole if I told her Im not doing any future commissions from her friends and that I want to just do art as a hobby and not as a career?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

[hillbillyoracle]

The Algorithm is AI Art

Last year, I used DALL-E to create a series of images for a digital tarot card deck I was making for my personal use. When I shared some of those images here on my blog, I got a massive amount of push back and even threats in my inbox. I'm still putting my thoughts together on that experience but it did make me realize that most people don't seem to realize they're supporting the AI art they hate so much - to the tune of millions and even billions of dollars per year depending on the platform - almost everyday through the algorithms they use.

So if you genuinely hate AI art, I'm here to tell you that you've got to do what you can to get rid of and not use the algorithms in your life. That kind of support is more materially complicit with AI's intrusion on art than someone making a few images for themself ever could be.

Yes It's Possible

For many platforms, especially when they're accessed on desktop, it is possible to greatly reduce your contact with the algorithm. I use browser extensions to cut out the AI curated feeds on YouTube, Facebook, and Reddit. I mostly use Instagram on desktop to answer messages.

I generally do not use Instagram, Facebook, and other apps that do not allow users to control their feed on mobile. I know Instagram is mobile only - when I use it on mobile, I download it, upload what I want, then delete the app again.

I am considering cutting these out entirely again once this phase of my experiment for a zine I'm writing is over because honestly, they're not worth it, but that's a different post...

I also really recommend either making a separate email account or getting ruthlessly organized in your current one, so that you can sign up for artist's newsletters and other forms of human centered curation. RSS readers like Feedly can also be a good alternative.

The point here isn't perfection - the point is doing what you can. Not because it will change companies - but because it's better for you and the artists you care about.

Why?

Algorithms in these spaces determine who's work gets shown and more importantly - who gets paid enough to continue making their art.

AI has consistently been shown to reproduce and even exaggerate biases already present in society. This video by Ann Reardon of How to Cook That talks about YouTube's lack of transparency about the potential for a sexist bias in YouTube's algorithm and shows that in the top views at least, there's a clear slant toward male creators. The only woman in the top 10 does not show her face in her videos - unlike most of the men in the top 10. This discrepancy is even larger the further down the list you go.

Who gets shown is who gets paid enough to keep making their content/art. Less pay means people can afford to put out less content/art and can't scale - meaning less diversity in content/art.

What art gets shown influences what inspires new art and content to be made. You are seeing art directly shaped by AI everyday - and more than that - by continuing to click on what it serves up to you, you support it.

This AI influence on real world art has become so normalized that people consider it as natural a force of nature as wind. It's not. This was designed - and it can be redesigned.

I want to be careful not to overstate the influence of a click either - your clicking on something you choose is not a form of activism. Your clicks cannot retrain the algorithm at scale. A lot of people have the misconception that you can train "your" algorithm but what the algorithm on your feeds is doing is actually comparing your clicks to it's database of similar user profiles and their behaviors to decide what to suggest to you. Your clicks don't retrain the AI as a whole, they just match you with a different user type.

The real reason I think those concerned about AI in art need to find ways to take control of their feeds is because it ensures you're able to support a diverse array of creators through your views and it ensures that what you're taking your inspiration from isn't what the AI decides is worthy of attention.

I realize there are those who are reading this who either might not have been old enough to remember or even weren't born when YouTube basically took your Subscriptions off the front page. It used to be they would pop up at the top of the front page. Then it got knocked down on the front page. When it got shoved into it's own sidebar link and then that link progressively minimized through redesigns - there was actually an outcry about it.

People warned that this would lead to a watering down effect, where smaller channels didn't get the chance to grow like already established ones would. Creators of marginalized identities saw their views drop dramatically. Similar things happened when Facebook and Instagram fully took away a user's ability to have a chronological feed (this was possible in the early days). I know of more than a few creators who fully had to step away from their work because of the change over. I miss their art.

And then the outcry petered out. The companies didn't lose users over it so nothing changed. Eventually people got used to it and the protests went away. These companies now know they're "too big to fail" and can ignore user outcry until people acclimate the new normal that serves them. This normal serves them because it does actually increase engagement and keeps you on the platform for longer - which means less time spent on your own creative activities, yet another way they impact what art gets made.

TL;DR: if you hate AI's impact on artists and their employment opportunities, take control of your feeds. Make your own. Choose what you click. Take back your time and make more art.

#AI #AI Art #social sobiety

[feelbokkie]

Ephemeral Love | Chapter 10

pairing: Seungmin x fem reader

genre: smau, crack, angst, fluff, non!idol au, university au, right person wrong time, minor character death

pov: 1st/2nd person (depending on how you view it)

warnings: swearing, fluff, gets slightly heated towards the end but it is pg 13

summary: Does love last forever, or is it fleeting? For university juniors Kim Seungmin and Seo Y/n, it's love at first sight but sometimes you meet your soulmate at the wrong time.

word count: 2,167 (unedited)

screenshot count: 22

a/n: halfway point which means things are about to start getting serious... also, i think i got carried away with this chapter, sorry

previous | masterlist | next

©feelbokkie (2023) — all rights reserved. reposting/modification of any kind is not tolerated.

You lay peacefully on Seungmin, resting. Your torso slotted between his legs, your head flat on his chest, his hand drawing small shapes on your back. You can hear his heartbeat swiftly. Still, it’s calmer than when you first laid on him earlier, it sounded like he had a jack hammer in his chest.

You finished your paper within the first hour of you being at Seungmin's apartment. The melona he gave you being an excellent motivator to get you to finish. Afterwords, you helped Seungmin cook dinner, which he insisted on doing instead of ordering in like he suggested earlier. And by help, he had you cut vegetables and then read his textbook to him as you sat on the counter top and he finished cooking. You two ate while watching the show you were in the middle of the last time you were over. Afterwords, the two of you retreated to the couch where you took a nap on Seungmin's chest as he finished his reading.

"Min?" You ask when you woke up. You weren't sure if he is still awake. His hand is still moving on your back but he's been still.

"Oh, you're awake?" He asks softly.

"Yeah, I was just thinking."

"While you were sleeping?"

"I guess,"

"What were you thinking about?" He hums. You feel it in his chest. It's almost like feeling 2 cats purring.

"Why do you want to become a lawyer."

"You were thinking about why I'm studying law?" He chuckles.

"No, I-- just answer the question." You softly hit his chest.

"It's always fascinated me. One time when I was little, my dad took me to work with him and I thought it was amazing that he was getting paid to argue with people. Seemed fun." You can hear the fondness in his voice as he talks about his father.

"But you're doing it because you want to?"

"I don't do things I don't like or don't want to." He says simply.

“Noted,”

“Why’d you ask about why I wanted to become a lawyer?”

“Something my brother said to me earlier. He thinks I want to become a doctor to stay in our dad’s good graces.”

“Are you?”

“Yes and no,” Seungmin taps your back, signaling for you to sit up. You quickly get up and bring your knees to your chest, resting your head on top of them, facing Seungmin.

“What do you mean by yes and no?”

“I’ve always wanted to be a doctor. I saw some show that I’ll never know the name of because I never checked but it made medicine look interesting so, I decided to become a doctor. I just didn’t know what I wanted to specialize in until my dad had his first heart attack. It was not too long after Changbin told our dad he wasn’t going to go to university and that he was moving to Seoul to become a tattoo artist. I’m not saying my brother gave our dad a heart attack, that man eats so much red meat and smokes habitually—I’m surprised he lasted that long before that moment. But it was a minor attack and so were the other 3 he’s had since. I figured that if I went into cardiothoracic surgery, and my dad could wait that long, I could help him prolong his life long enough for him and Bin to make amends and for our family to be whole again.” You sigh. You didn’t mean to ramble, but something about being with Seungmin made you feel safe enough to do that.

“You’re trying to literally mend broken hearts.” Seungmin says in awe.

“I guess. I know my dad is devastated about how things with Changbin went, even though he’ll never admit it. That’s his only son and even though they’ve been at odds my whole life, I know those stubborn idiots care for each other. Our dad told us not to tell Changbin about the heart attacks. Saying that 'if he cared he would have never left in the first place.' But I know it’s because he worries about him.” You've never told anyone about any of this, not even your sister.

You haven't even told her that your dad has sent you extra money for your monthly allowance and once you did the math you realized that he was sending money for Changbin too knowing that you would figure it out. You've been pulling it out and sneaking it into his wallet or random jean pockets for years now knowing that he wouldn't take if if he knew it was from your dad.

“Is that why you’re at JYPU?”

“It’s the closest university to where my brother lives. I had to lie to my dad and tell him I got rejected from all the top universities so he would let me go. Convincing him to let me live with Changbin was easy after that. I just want everything to go back to normal.” You squeeze your knees tighter to your chest.

“Y/n?”

“Hm?” You hum.

“I’m in awe of you,”

"I--What? So suddenly?" You laugh.

"No, I've thought it for a while. You're smart, like really smart, and when In asked me to tutor you I thought you were going to be a pain in my ass. But you're like the opposite?"

"I'm a relief in your ass?" You giggle.

"Nevermind, I take it back." His face quickly gets red at the realization of what he said.

"I'm sorry, go back to what you were saying."

"I'm good,"

"Seungmin," You whine.

"It's nothing, I was just going to say you aren't how I thought you were going to be. And the fact that you could be at any university you want and you gave that up to try to fix your family. I don't think that many people would do that."

"I'm a certified genius. It wouldn't have mattered much where I went to school for my undergraduate degree anyway, all people mostly care about is what medical school you go to. So, I have only this year and next year to fix everything." You say the last part to yourself. In retrospect, it's not a lot of time to fix years of fighting, but you're stubborn like your brother and father.

The two of you sit silently for a moment, staring at each other. Seungmin rests his head in his hand as he stares at you. He has a soft smile and a twinkle in his eyes. You've seen that look on him before. He had it once when he was watching a baseball game. Only for the first half ot the game though, his team started losing after that.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" You giggle, sitting up straight and stretching out your legs.

"I'm thinking," He says sheepishly.

"About?" You quirk your eyebrow at him.

"It's not really appropriate, i think."

"Kim Seungmin, are you having pervy thoughts?" You tease.

"No! No, quite the opposite actually." His ears turn bright red.

"Oh?" You turn your body towards him, fully intrigued about what could be going on in his head.

"I was...thinking about kissing you." He says innocently. Your eyes glance at his lips quickly. You'd be lying to yourself if you said you haven't thought about the same thing for week now. Your heart leaps at the idea of him thinking the same thing.

"Then do it," Your boldness surprises you. You've never been so direct or commanding about anything and if anyone checked your heart rate right now, they'd think your heart was about to give out with how hard it's pounding.

"I'm afraid," He whispers, sitting up straighter.

Ba-dum

"Of what?"

Ba-dum

"That once I start, I might not be able to stop."

Ba-dum

"Would that be so bad?" You throw back his words from earlier at him.

Ba-dum

Seungmin slowly closes the small gap between the two of you. You squeeze your hands tight, scared that if you move he'll back off. You're not sure why the idea of kissing him is making you so nervous. You've been sleeping next to him for a while now and you were just laying on top of him not that long ago. You swallow the lump in your throat as Seungmin's eyes flick down to your lips. He places his index finger under your chin and tilts you head up slightly towards him.

He gently places his lips on yours, almost like he's afraid you'd disappear if he presses his lips deeper into yours. Your eyes flutter close, letting out a breathe you weren't aware you were holding. It's a simple kiss, he doesn't part his mouth or swipe your bottom lip with his tongue trying go further. It's so simple and yet, it still sends shock waves through your body. You can't help but melt into the kiss, your hand finding it's way onto Seungmin's chest and slightly gripping his shirt. After a few seconds he pulls away, looking at your lips before slowly looking into his eyes. He has a look you've never seens in his eyes before, almost like desperation.

Before you could say anything, Seungmin is gently laying your back on the couch. His hands are on either sides of your head, caging you in as he leans in again. His lips find yours again, this time desperately. Like he knows what he wants and he's afraid you're going to disappear. You're not sure if it's the combination of his velvety soft lips on yours, his cologne, and his body heat overwhelming you, but you're starting to feel light headed. You slightly part your lips to breathe and Seungmin takes the opportunity to slip his tongue in your mouth. Your left hand hands Seungmin's chest again, griping his shirt tighter than before.

Seungmin separates from you again, and rests his forehead on yours. You're sure that kissing Seungmin cut off all oxygen from going to your brain. For the first time in your life, you don't have a single thought going through your head.

"Y/n," He says breathlessly. The kiss seems to have done damage to him too.

"Hm," You hum.

"I'm not trying to sleep with you right now." He whispers.

"Oh?" Your brain still hasn't recovered, you can't even think of a proper sentence right now.

"I just really, really like you. Fuck, I might even be in love with you. I just...I just need you." His right hand lands on your face, his thumb gently caressing your cheek.

"You need me?" You question. His words aren't entirely making sense, but you're blaming that on him kissing you and making you dizy.

"Not like that. Okay, maybe a little like that but more than that too. I like going to sleep next to you and waking up next to you and just doing mundane shit with you like brushing our teeth. And studying. And I go to sleep really early but I like staying late to talk to you. And your voice is like music to my ears, even that weird giggle you do. And I'm glad you're fighting with your roommate because that means I get to see you more often, and I know that sounds selfish, and that's entirely your fault. You make me do stupid shit like running to the store and buying one of every box of melona. And if I keep doing all of that as a friend without having all of you, I think I might actually die. Especially after kissing you because I don't think I can back to how we were now that I know how your lips feel against yours--"

"Seungmin--"

"I'm literally using every fiber in my being to stop myself from kissing you again because I don't want you to get the wrong idea. But I want you to be my girlfriend, actually I need you to be my girlfriend but if I keep kissing you I feel like you're going to think I'm just trying to sleep with you--"

"Okay,"

"--and...Okay?"

"Okay, I'll be your girlfriend."

"You will?"

"Yes. I really, really, really like you too and if you've noticed, I didn't exactly push you away either of the times that you kissed me. Actually, I told you to do it. Which is so unlike me. You make me do dumb shit too. I hope you're happy, you've reduced me to an idiot. And I hope you know that I haven't been coming here just because my roommate is an ass. I also don't do things I don't want to or don't like."

"I...so...you... Sorry, I think my brain is short circuiting."

"Kissing me might help that." You suggests.

"Is that right?" He laughs, his breathe tickling your face.

"Trust me, I'm a pre-med student."

"Well, shit, who am I to go against my doctor-girlfriend's orders."

"Hurry up, the situation is quite dire, I fear." You grip Seungmin's shirt again and pull him down closer to you.

—

Buy me a coffee?

#feelbokkie writes #ephemeral love smau #stray kids #skz #stray kids smau #skz smau #chan #bangchan #bang chan #lee know #minho #lee minho #changbin #seo changbin #seungmin smau #hyunjin #hwang hyunjin #han #jisung #han jisung #felix #yongbok #lee felix #lee yongbok #lee felix yongbok #seungmin #kim seungmin #i.n #jeongin

[rockanroller]

Insights Into "good" vs. "bad" Animation Rates & Why Animators Might Agree to Work for "low pay"

with the Discord screenshot going around from Spindlehorse Writer and Production Supervisor Adam Neylan revealing some rates they offer, i thought i'd give some insights into the complex topic of animation rates and animators as someone who has done animation work and had many a conversation with peers & mentors about what i should/shouldn't agree to when it comes to pay and productions.

to start with a general statement:

most of what i'm about to say can apply to any and all jobs. animation is not the only industry with low-paying jobs ppl still agree to work, and "currently, 30 states and Washington, D.C., have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour." that means 20 states still only pay $7.25/hour for minimum wage which is not livable, of course jobs in those states may offer more.

i do not say that to downplay or forgive poor wages, only to show animation isn't an isolated case, but it doesn't make it any less awful. and the tricky thing with animation/art is there are more factors to consider than a simple yes or no answer.

and, for your consideration, these are the wages listed by the Animation Guild, they are shown mostly by hourly and weekly rates, and range from $35-$57 per hour, and mainly apply to big studios. you can see wages from specific Big Studios on this page. including Bento Box whose wage minimums ranged from $22-$42 per hour depending on the job as of July 7th, 2023.

any opinions expressed in this post are my own or summarized from others i've spoken with, they're subject to change in the future as i learn more. the goal of this post is to be informative.

"why would an animator agree to a job paying low wages?"

needing the money no matter how poorly it pays and/or having a hard time finding work in the current state of the industry

plain old artistic passion (((they love the work or the project so much they want to be a part of it even if it means low pay)))

they want/need to build their portfolio or resume

they've been recommended to do it by a friend or mentor

they know the crew/studio provide a good work environment despite their low pay

they feel they can get the job done fast enough for it to be worth the pay

they have something else supporting them financially (another job, their family/spouse/partner, etc.) so they can afford to work a side gig for pocket change or just for fun

being a friend of the creator OR anyone on the production, leading to a desire to help out even if it means they wont be paid much

they live in an area of the US or another country that has a lower cost of living (((i.e. if your rent is $3000/mo VS. if your rent is $1000/mo)))

they agreed with the job/rate the employer/client initially offered them, but the employer/client changes or adds onto the job once production starts (((sometimes this can be a situation known as "job creep" where you agree to do one job, but later they ask you to take on responsibilities or "small tasks" from other jobs while only paying you for the one job.)))

on that last bullet you may be thinking... "well they should just quit then, why wouldn't they?" here's some reasons why, some are the same as above:

needing the money/not being able to find another job so badly they find a way to do whatever is asked of them

same plain old artistic passion mentioned above (((they want to see it through/complete the task/complete the vision even if it means they might experience stress or burnout)))

they have something else supporting them financially so doing more/extra work isn't a huge hinderance

they have friends on the production they may not want to "abandon" or "let down" OR, alternatively, having friends on the production makes the work easier to stomach

despite the extra work/low pay the work environment is enjoyable for one reason or another (community, support, fun, etc.)

fearing it could ruin their reputation as a worker / burn bridges with their connections on the production / limit their ability to get another job with the same studio or other studios later on

fearing saying "no" might breach their contract or agreed terms

not being experienced or confident enough to stand up for themselves in the workplace/not knowing their rights (this isn't uncommon, many people do not know the extent of their rights as a worker.)

"what makes an animation wage good or bad?"

this gets a bit trickier bc it is a complex subject that can change based on the project and your personal skills/needs as a worker.

"paid per second"

the "per second" wage is one that's used bc it's very easy for the client to plan their budget with. but it's been debated back-and-forth among workers whether or not it's "fair," especially if the client isn't open to discussion or willing to pay extra for exceptions.

some workers, even though they will agree to work for it, feel this method shouldn't be used bc there are factors it doesn't take into account, while other workers are fine with it.

the limitations of the "per second wage" are:

not every animator works at the same speed

if you're paid $35/second and 1 second takes you an hour to animate then you made $35/hour, but if 1 second takes you 3 hours you made only $11.66/hour, and so on. one might argue an animator simply needs to "improve" in order to make the same "worth" as their peers who work faster--but everyone works differently, and if an animator who works slower is good enough/a more thorough worker, they can still be preferred over a faster one.

it doesn't take revisions/retakes into account*

*this limitation can be remedied if the employer/client includes revision/retake rates or amounts, or is open to discussing extra pay for excessive revisions/retakes. revisions/retakes occur when someone in the pipeline (the lead, the supervisor, etc.) discerns that something was missed or needs to be improved / fixed in an animation. generally one or two small revisions (missing a line, there's a small area that didn't get colored, etc.) are not a big deal and can be fixed quickly. but if there are a multitude of revisions (multiple missing lines/color) or huge revisions (having to re-do an animation completely) that can create a bigger workload for the worker or whichever co-worker their work gets passed to. and you might think "well the error was the worker's fault therefore they shouldn't be paid to fix it" but it's a part of the job. no animator is perfect, and unless you're senior veteran Disney level you're going to get a few notes back. (even the veterans aren't perfect and get notes as well.) not to mention leads might disagree on what is or isn't a necessary fix or adjustment to make on an animation.

it usually is a flat rate that doesn't take complexity into account*

*this limitation can be remedied if the employer/client includes higher rates for more complex shots or is open to discussing a higher per-second rate for more complex shots or additional pay if the job becomes more work than previously thought but, for example, if everyone is being paid a flat $35/second rate no matter what and you get a shot where all you have to animate is a character taking a sip from a glass, but your co-worker has to animate a shot of a character doing crazy parkour, one is going to take longer than the other while getting the same amount of pay. if you complete yours in 2 hours you made $17.50/hour, if your co-worker completes theirs in 5 hours they only made $7.00/hour for a more complex shot.

so overall the "per second issue" has limitations but they can mostly be remedied if a client is open to discussing extra pay/higher rates when the workload exceeds the original agreement.

hourly rates are generally a more "financially secure" option for workers.

however hourly rates can get more expensive and are harder to plan a budget for, since everyone works at different speeds, thus why many clients, especially for productions with limited budgets such as indie, go for the "per second" rate.

job scope

this is where things get difficult to judge bc they vary depending on the production as well as your needs/availability/skills as a worker.

for the sake of example lets compare something that came up in discussion over the screenshot linked at the top of this post: Monkey Wrench's rate VS. Spindlehorse's rate.

breaking down the workload

generally speaking, most shots are only a few seconds. they tend to average around 2-8 seconds, but can be as long as 10+ seconds.

the last rate offered for Monkey Wrench's 3rd episode was $20.38/second, at that rate you could make anywhere from $40.76-$163.04 or $208.30+ per shot of completed roughs or completed clean-up.

at Spindlehorse's rate they chose for Hazbin Hotel's finale episode with A24 & Bento Box of $35/second you could make anywhere from $70.00-$280 or $350 per shot of completed roughs or completed clean-up.

is SH's more than MW in this case? yes. however, there are other factors to consider:

what was the framerate? (12 fps VS. 24 fps, etc.) (((how many frames get displayed per second)))

what were they animated on? (1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, etc.) (((this means how often you make a new drawing, 3s = a new drawing every 3 frames, 1s = a drawing on every frame. at 24 fps that's 24 frames in a second, on 3s that would be 8 drawings on 1s that would be 24 drawings.)))

how detailed are the characters/show style?

how complex is the movement?

how long did you have to complete the animation? (((if you have 1 week to complete an animation you will need to work more hours each day to complete it VS. if you had 2-3 weeks to complete the same one you could work less hours each day, maybe even take one off if you're working efficiently enough.)))

were you asked to take on a bigger workload than you signed on for? and did they offer to pay you the same or more for it?

how many revisions are included in your rate? what's the pay for additional revisions that aren't included in the rate?

was the workplace environment good or bad?

in other words, speaking hypothetically, if you have to animate several frames of detailed characters doing complex movements and you're asked to do more work than you agreed to in a bad work environment, making that $70-$350+ per shot is gonna suck and might cause you stress or even physical/mental harm from burnout that could hinder your ability to continue working...

...to the point that even if you still had to animate several frames of detailed characters doing complex movements, you may prefer to work the job that pays $40.76-$208.30+ per shot if, at the very least, it's a better workplace environment. although you may still choose to do work for the higher-paying job if you really need the money.

we can't make a super clear call on if SH or MW's wages are fair with all of the above factors bc they're either difficult or impossible to know unless we have worked, or hear from people who did work, on the productions themselves. however we *do* know that Adam Neylan claimed the animation for HH's finale episode would be "less intensive" in the screenshot linked at the top of this post, and at least one person who agreed to the offer received shots that were on 1s which *is* more intensive. (link to one other instance of this claim.)

budget / studio size

this topic also gets complicated as an employer/client doesn't typically tell you the exact budget they're working with and where all the money is going.

though they do tend to inform their workers with something like "we're working with a small/limited budget" or "we have plenty of budget" and all you can do is trust that they're being honest. however, indie productions like Lackadaisy and Monkey Wrench have been transparent about where their budget goes. (Lackadaisy budget, Monkey Wrench budget.) So far to my knowledge Spindlehorse has not. (as of making this post on 1/8/2024)

now first and foremost: yes, everyone deserves fair pay regardless of how big or small a client/studio is or how large or limited their budget is.

that being said, sometimes workers are willing to grant exceptions to smaller clients with smaller budgets, especially if they're passionate about the project, they have faith in their employer/client, or are having a hard time finding work and really need the money even if it's not a lot.

the reason many people are upset with the SH screenshot is that, while SH says they offer $60/second normally on Helluva Boss (which while on the better end of per-second rates is still not ideal), they can only offer $35/second, despite the fact they are doing work for A24 / Bento Box, with Bento Box usually offering minimum wages of $22-$42 PER HOUR depending on the job (page 4).

whereas for a much smaller indie project like Monkey Wrench, workers might be more forgiving when most of the money comes straight out of Zeurel's own pocket, as well as the fact that Zeurel does a lot of the animation himself.

and while SH pays much more per second for their indie show compared to Monkey Wrench, SH may have much more money coming in from views & merch sales, they also have much more heavily detailed characters. (in other words an animator might be willing to agree to less pay per second if the characters aren't very detailed or aren't doing a lot of complex movement.) that doesn't mean it's "good" that MW can only afford to pay $20/second, but some workers may be more forgiving given the circumstances.

what if some people are saying they had a good time working on a project while others are saying they didn't?

in relation to everything i've already stated above, the personal experience one has working on a production is equally varied.

generally speaking there are few projects who come out with a fully satisfied crew. there will almost always be at least one worker who had a bad time.

when considering if someone's bad experience is a sign of a bigger issue on a production you have to use your best discretion and accept you may not be able to make a clear call for sure until more information comes out.

sometimes people are telling the full truth of their personal experience, and the workplace *is* bad. other times they're telling the full truth of their personal experience but the factors that caused their bad experience were specific to them/their life, and the place they worked *might* be good for a majority of people.

on the flip side...

use caution when you see the "well *I* had a good time" or "well they were nice to *me*" defense

while numbers can be good (such as if more people are saying good things than bad things) one still has to be wary of confirmation bias as well as why someone might not speak up about a bad experience.

for confirmation bias; someone simply declaring that they had a good time on a production/with a creator insinuating that therefore others couldn't have had a bad time is, simply put, naïve. not to mention disrespectful and ignorant.

example: a group of people can go to the same party where one has a bad time and the rest have a good time. that doesn't mean the party was undeniably good. the party was a different experience for all of them. the host can potentially do something different at the next party to make it better for the one who had a bad time, or that person may decide not go to those parties anymore. if multiple people had a good experience at the party, then sure it's more likely it was "good" by majority, and more people should go--however there could still be an unseen problem such as "the host frequently attempts to get unwilling people drunk," and only a small handful of people have experienced or witnessed it. that's a problem that needs to be fixed, but the majority of party-goers might object to this because they "can't believe it's true, I had such a good time, the host is so nice, & he's never done anything like that to me." yet something bad still happened to a small handful of people and it needs to stop happening.

so, why would someone not speak up if they *did* have a bad experience? here's a few reasons:

they want to move on to other things in their life

they want to avoid getting involved in drama or making a stir even if they had a bad time

they could be afraid speaking up will make it look like they are "taking a side" on something that will cause friction and/or rejection from their peers or friends they don't want to lose

they could be afraid it'll affect their reputation as a worker, or burn bridges with their connections

they could be afraid of the response they'll get from the public (such as being blamed, ignored, invalidated, harassed, etc.)

they signed an NDA and/or are afraid of breaching a contract

should someone accept a low-paying job just for the "good opportunity" alone?

that is completely up to an individual's choice and varies greatly.

personally, i don't believe you should ever *tell* someone to go for something beyond the shadow of a doubt *just* for the opportunity alone, not unless you've taken into consideration the facts of the opportunity *and* the facts of an individual's availability/skills/life situation as well.

sure, "work at Disney" sounds like it's a good opportunity that anyone should take no matter what.

but, if Disney's paying pennies for the opportunity, and an individual isn't ready, doesn't have support, doesn't feel confident about the job or their ability to commit to it, then it isn't a good opportunity for them. you could uproot your entire life for a "good opportunity" only to discover you weren't cut out for it or it didn't lead anywhere. at the end of the day jumping for an opportunity is always a gamble even if it's a gamble that is tilted in your favor.

of course, i also believe sometimes you have to take a risk, sometimes mistakes happen, and you can still learn a lot from "failed opportunities." if it doesn't work out it isn't the end of the world bc you learned more about yourself/the job in the process and you can still pick your life back up. i just don't believe in making uninformed gambles just for the sake of a vague "opportunity," i believe you should consider all the available information before taking a leap.

whether or not something is a "good opportunity" depends on if it's worth it to you and/or you feel confident enough in your availability and skills to do the job even if it isn't going to pay much.

closing remarks

i think that's about all i can say on it, i know it was a lot of information (it's hard to simplify) so thank you truly if you read it all and i hope it was helpful and informative.

the topic of fair pay in animation is an on-going conversation with a lot of opinions and a lot of factors to consider, especially with the rise of interest in indie animation. everyone, including myself, should stay open to this conversation and avoid drawing hard lines in the sand of what is or isn't "fair" unless there is an obvious problem.

personally, due to the claims we've seen over time, i do feel there may be a problem at SH that needs to be reviewed in order for them to be a healthier and ultimately more productive/efficient studio.

i also think it'd be great if indie productions in general could pay more, but the reality is it just isn't there yet, and some animators are willing to deal with it for the sake of their passion or bc they really need the work no matter what.

if you have any questions or confusion about anything i talked about in this post, feel free to shoot me an ask.

ty again for reading.

#industry talk #spindlehorse critical #vivziepop critical #animation industry #indie animation #monkey wrench mention

[liauditore]

2023 art review! thoughts and such below the cut

2023 has been a really wild year for me in terms of Life Stuff both good and bad and i think it.. definitely shows through my art.

I've had this thing for years where I always felt my art was.. kinda mid? Not Bad by any means (I'm not delusional about my own skill level. I think) but definitely not good enough to stand out or make an impact. And I think I became somewhat comfortable in that "good enough" state for awhile.

this year though I think at some point I kind of sat down with myself and said I was going to Get Good and I think it somewhat paid off? I spent a lot of the middle of the year revisiting colour since that was always something I was confident in and started tackling stuff that scare me like anatomy/perspective/basically anything technical nearing the end.

there's definitely still room to improve but in general ive noticed my character's faces being less wonky and my illustrations feeling more "focused" overall.

I must also mention that the mcyt brainrot became my entire personality sometime in March and being active in a fandom for the first time in forever has definitely played a part. I have met so many amazing ppl and I have kind of an issue with getting competitive, so being surrounded by really skilled artists all the time online might've done something to me mentally lmao (and thank you all for being friends with me i still don't feel like you are real people sometimes where did you come from)

SO UM YEAH here's to another year of getting better at doodling :D

past years:

#my art #2023 art summary #cw blood

[facesofone]

This happened to us many years ago, while we were still learning what bipolar meant and how we experienced it. Depression is easy to spot, well...easier...mania can sometimes show it's face as other things. Can't sleep? "sleep is for the weak." Hyperfixations? "I'm just really focused, I'll get around to things when I'm done." Spending too much money? "I deserve something nice for a change." Grandiose thoughts about one self? "It's good to have good self-esteem." Thinking you can do things you absolutely cannot? "Well you never know until you try." These and many more were common phrases that masked my manic periods.

I nearly spent my entire savings for the month on a violin because I was really into an artist who plays one, and thought "I can totally pick that up, how cool would it be to play that?! I got the cash, why not...it's been a while since I got something big for myself, I think I've earned it." Thankfully my voice of reason (because at the time we weren't fully aware of our system) stopped me for long enough that my mania subsided and I came to realize just how bad of a choice that was going to be. 

[ID]

Panel 1: Jak is walking by a music store and spots a violin in the window amongst a bunch of other stringed instruments. He thinks "Oooo! A violin...that's cool..."

Panel 2: Jak continues walking with his hands in his pockets and he is thinking about that violin. He says to himself "I could play that. How hard could it be, it's ME we're talking about. And I just got paid. I can totally afford it. I'll have to live bare bones for a while."

Panel 3: Jak, with a fistful of money, is trying to move forward but Kyra is holding him back with all her might. He says "Lemme go!" and she says "That's all our money and you 100% cannot play a string instrument much less a violin."

Panel 4: A little while later Jak talks to Kyra, she has her arms folded and he is scratching his head. He says "Thanks for that, I don't know what came over me." and Kyra responds "Mania. You're bipolar II, remember?" and he says, "Oh yeah."

[END ID]

#bipolar #bipolar II #bipolar 2 #Mania #Manic #did #osdd #system #alters #dissociative identity disorder #faces of one #systems #plural #plurality