#the content is so upsetting but unspecific

[imagining-in-the-margins]

Thunder (S.R.)

Summary: Spencer reminds Reader that they aren’t alone. Request: comfort fic where reader gets unspecific upsetting news and tries to brave through it on her own but spencer finds out and helps her through it + a fic based on “The Fixer” by Brent Morgan. Couple: Spencer Reid/GN!Reader Category: Angst/Comfort Content Warning: Storms, crying, trauma/upsetting news (unspecified) Word Count: 800

MASTERLIST

The thunder comes the same as waves on a rocky shore. Each flash of light is followed by a deafening roar that seems to swallow half the earth. Nature’s rage comes, with crackling wind and spitting rain.

Spencer finds you standing still in your office. You sense someone, but he says nothing. You know it’s him, though.

“When I was younger, I used to be so scared of thunderstorms,” you tell him. “I’ve gotten used to them as I’ve gotten older, but sometimes…”

You gaze upon the scene unfolding before you. Stubborn trees are bent and spent leaves fight against sheets of rain. You watch what feels like the end of the world and it makes your heart break.

“Sometimes I look out at the destruction, and I can’t help but wonder if we’re supposed to be scared,” you whisper with a wavering voice, “Maybe it is divine retribution. Maybe the children are right to be afraid.”

Spencer stays silent for a moment following the troubled monologue. He stands, steeped in the sadness before he takes a step forward and shuts the door.

“Is everything alright?” he asks.

“Oh, you know. Things… happen. They come and they go,” you shrug.

He takes another step forward. If you had anywhere to retreat, you would have. But you are stuck between two equally terrifying options: the storm and the calm that follows it.

“That’s true,” he offers, “but it’s not what I asked.”

You wipe remnants of tears from damp cheeks as you stumble over a response.

“Sorry, what was the question?”

“Are you alright?” he asks again.

It is as terrifying a question as it’s always been.

“Oh, yeah. Yes. I’m fine,” you assure him.  “I’ve always been fine, and I don’t plan on letting that change any time soon.”

But your breath is shaky, and he knows you’re lying.

Again, you try to explain, “I’ve been through worse things than this.”

“What is ‘this’?” he asks.

Your shoulders rise to your ears. You wrap your arms impossibly tighter around yourself. Nails dig into wrinkled fabric that is starting to feel too hot yet not enough to shield you from kind eyes.

“Doesn’t matter,” you laugh solemnly, “It’ll pass, like everything else.”

“It matters to me,” he says.

A flash of lightning rips apart the landscape at the same time you turn with violence on your tongue.

“Stop!” you shout.

The thunder follows. Its rage drowns out the sound of your whimpering cry that immediately follows.

“Please… just stop.”

“Stop what?” he asks with another step closer.

You don’t move away. Through the thick glass, you feel the chill of frozen rain as it clicks against the window.

Your answer is small and said with chattering teeth.

“Stop… caring about me like this,” you mumble. It sounds so pathetic, but you can’t make it more beautiful. Instead, you let the words pour from your mouth while your arms struggle to hold a broken heart together. “You have to stop, because, eventually, I’m going to let you down, and I can’t handle letting you down.”

Spencer lifts a hand towards you. He tries to call your name, but you flinch and jump away.

“Please, Spencer. Just… Just leave.”

For a moment, you think he will. You hear his feet shuffle and close your eyes and wait for him to leave the way they always do.

You hold your breath and wait for the lightning, but it doesn’t come.

Instead, it’s his hands resting against your arms.

“I can’t do that,” he says as he holds back his own tears. “And I’m really sorry, but I can’t. I can’t leave you alone because I know how bad it’ll hurt you if I do.”

With almost no pressure, his hands add weight that breaks through the barrier. Your arms fall limp at your side but he holds onto you, anyway.

“I can’t leave because I know exactly how much it hurts when the only time people listen to you is when you tell them to leave.”

You shake your head.

“I can’t…” you start, but the words get caught in his arms as he throws them around you.

“I can’t do this,” you cry against soft cotton that smells like home.

“It’s okay,” he assures you.

It is terrifying and comforting all at once. Your tears fall like heavy rain and your wails crackle like lightning against something, someone who can bear witness to the storm without wincing.

“It’s going to be okay,” he whispers as the storm clouds start to pass.

“You’re safe,” he promises, “I’m here.”

You collapse against him, and he holds you harder than he ever has before. He hums something gentle, and the words don’t feel like strikes.

Together, unhidden, you wait out the storm.

In that moment, you find a new appreciation for what once felt like the end of the world.

Because even the clouds eventually empty.

Even the thunder eventually fades.

(Tell me what you thought about this fic here!)

Looking for more comfort? Check out my Comfort Challenge Fic Recs + Entries!

Reid Taglist: @mrs-dr-reid , @dreatine , @hopefulfangirl24 , @laurakirsten0502 , @dontcallmekittens , @rintheemolion , @andreasworlsboring101 , @imsuperawkward , @wentz2005 , @lovejules888 , @dashneydanger , @materialisthicc , @violetspoetic , @mslowlife , @conniesanchor , @trippol-threat , @will-byers-needs-a-hug , @poo-tay-toot , @bookobsessedfreak

Complete Taglist: @cynbx , @emsma11 , @mediocre-writer , @fightingdragonswithwho , @andiebeaword , @jayyeahthatsme , @pepperthealien

Thanks for reading!

#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x you #criminal minds #Spencer Reid comfort #criminal minds fanfic #criminal minds self insert

[olderthannetfic]

I don't get why Lindsay Ellis got dogpiled over the ATLA-Raya comparison? I mean, sure, I get WHY people are upset but it feels like they were going out of their way to read it in the most bad-faith way possible. "This, along with half of YA fantasy in recent years, is a lot like ATLA" is such a toothless, unspecific statement that I don't understand how anyone could take offense to this alone. Disclaimer: I'm only slightly aware of her content so I don't know if there's more to this.

--

She has a huge hate-dom that is always looking for something to pounce on, and she has a long history of being clueless about Asian media.

It was a tempest in a teapot driven by people being annoyed that rando social media personalities get listened to too much and hailed as experts. (Except, instead of promoting anyone else, it just spent more time focusing on her.)

[meetmeatthecoda]

Okay Coda, don't be upset with me because I do believe in lizzington 100%... but I've been seeing some very convincing rederina theories.

The thing is, I think each writer has yanked our (the viewers) attention multiple directions except maybe Bokenkamp. He seems lizzington deep down. Anyway, while rederina could be plausible, I can't reconcile the romantic insinuations and comments from Red and even from Liz......... and Aram, and Ressler, and the knowing and LOUD expressions from Samar with her quiet lips. I think Cooper has had questions and thoughts... as have countless blacklisters.

Help Coda, I'm so confused 😕 I don't even watch the show anymore. I haven't gone past early/mid season 6 if that far.

Also, um, what ya been up to? 🙃 Not to discount your life away from Tumblr and ao3, but I'm excited about reading new content! 😄😁

Hi there, anon!! 😍 Awww, I could never be upset with you, my friend, not to worry!! Besides, I fully understand what it's like to feel conflicted over this show... I think we've definitely all been there!! 🤗 I'm very touched you're coming to me with these feelings & I'm happy to share my thoughts on the topic!! I hope maybe they can bring you a little bit of peace!! Also, I'm going to put them under a read more cause we all know how I get when asked about R*derina 😂 Okay, here we go:

So. These theories & whatnot that you're worried about don't bother me at all because, simply put? The writers lost all credibility when they killed Liz. And, if you ask me, the best part about not watching the show anymore? We don't have to pay attention to what they're doing now! And let's be real, they went off the reservation a long time ago. That's reason enough for me to not consider anything they say or do now to be canon, especially not in the context of the whole story, & especially given that they no longer have the original creator (Bokencamp, who - I agree with you - always seemed team Lizzington to me) or literally half of the original cast. And you're absolutely right, there's so much undeniable proof for - at the very least - a STRONG, STRONG case for Lizzington - I mean, everything you listed, the looks, the comments, the subtext, the filming, the FUCKING PILOT SCRIPT - that to me, the bottom line is: If they can turn their back on their original endgame, then we can turn our backs on the retconned one. And yeah, some people might say that I'm only ignoring the canon that I don't like & doesn't support my ship which is UnTrUe To ThE sHoW or AgAiNsT fAnDoM rULeS or some shit & hey, that may be. But you know what? I'm fine with that. Because it's all fictional media & media is meant for entertainment & escaping from real life. And the best part about escapism in the form of fictional media? If it doesn't spark joy, then you can throw it the fuck out!!! And R*derina don't spark no joy for Coda 🙃🙃🙃 So... fuck 'em, honestly ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ But yeah, my strategy is simply "assume anything that doesn't check out with previous canon is a retcon & therefore inadmissible in the fandom court of shipping laws." I don't know if that helps at all, anon, but I hope it does, especially since you're not watching the show anymore, just like me & many of us surviving Lizzington shippers!! I would simply recommend not worrying about the crap they've spewed past season 8 7 6 3A - even if they try to confirm R*derina in the end - & instead enjoy the Lizzington proof & moments & beauty we were graced with while it lasted. Sometimes straight-up denial & sticking to your beliefs are the way to go 🥲🥲

Other that ^THAT^ lol, I've been quite well, thank you for asking, dear anon!! 🥰 And might I add that I so appreciate your respect for my #real life away from tumblr & AO3 bc - as irritating as it can be - I do have one LOL & it can get busy just like everyone else's, of course, & idk, I just really appreciated the way you worded that, so thank you so much 🥰🥰🥰 To answer your question in unspecific terms, I'm currently starting the process of going back to music school after a pandemic/personal health break to do some post-grad work. But, of course, a musician's life is not an easy one & the process takes time - especially after a break like I've had - so it's slow-going at the moment... But I'm chugging along with it & excited to get back to my passion of making music!! 😊 And, of course, I'm hoping to have more time to write in the coming days as I settle into a hopefully more productive real life routine, & bc I know I will need the stress relief of fic. I'm very excited to get down to work on Halcyon & hopefully bring you new content as soon as possible!! And of course I'm so flattered that you're looking forward to it!! Granted, it will be a while... I have just under 12k so far with just the beginning bits & my outline is only growing... sooo I think it's safe to say this will be my longest, most ambitious fic project to date. But I certainly hope it will be worth the wait - for both you & me!! 😂 Anyway, I think I've blabbed on for long enough, so the only thing left is to thank you so much for your kind & lovely ask!! I hope my response did something to help you feel a little better about things & I promise to have new Lizzington fic out as soon as I can!! Thank you again, sweet anon, & much, much love to you always, my friend!! 😍🥰❤️

#The Blacklist #Lizzington #thoughts #speculation #theories #headcanons #mine #ask #anon #i understand how you feel anon!! #and i hope this helps you a little!! #thank you for being so sweet!! #fic coming soon i hope!! #much love to you!! #❤️❤️❤️

[copperbadge]

Thank you for explaining the Eugene Levy/Tumblr/Apple mess, Internet Dad💕. But wouldn’t the logical progression of banning the tags pornbots attach themselves to eventually mean banning ALL tags and disabling Tumblr’s search function entirely? That’s like burning down the library of Alexandria to save the volumes from a beetle infestation. 😶

(ETA: In reference to this post.) 

I saw similar comments on the post, and it is a logical conclusion, but it stems from thinking this is a process. It doesn't appear to be something they're going to execute in an ongoing, systemic manner. This was more of a purge.

Basically, it's not that Tumblr is going to ban every new tag where porn pops up; at least my understanding is that this was a single event in which a bunch of stuff went bye-bye at once, probably to meet some kind of...content criteria (if this is the case it probably won't be the last, mind you). Tumblr staff have said they're working on the issue, which to me says they were aware of what they were doing and did it because they were on some kind of deadline. This is all just speculation, I haven't studied it in-depth and don't plan to. I just explained it because when it happened I knew immediately why they banned innocent tags, since I work in a very similar field so I could see the process more clearly than most.

I don't know what they think they'll do about the pornbots going forward. Possibly some kind of super-abusive content review process like Facebook has.

The truth is, right now computers are slightly too dumb to be effective at blocking specific content, whatever you want to designate as that content, and humans are slightly too horrible, as a species, to stop 1. trying to post truly evil content for their own self-gratification and 2. using moderation rules to abuse people they don't like.

So there's no painless, frictionless way to moderate user-generated content, particularly when it's not limited to text, especially when there are several million users.

I don't know what the solution is, but I think it will probably be the most significant problem of our lifetime: we've essentially invented telepathy without empathy, where you can cheaply and quickly broadcast anything you want out into the world and never feel the consequences of it to others.

#I don't even know what to tag these #the content is so upsetting but unspecific #and if I tag it with something common it might just disappear into the shadowban

[yandere-sins]

Can I ask? Why there are so many fem y/n out there? I'm a newbie and uh...I don't understand...why does fem reader always a thing? Like Wattpad, 99.14℅ of the reader fanfic always start with (fem reader) do people forget that male/nb people do exist too?? I ask anyone and me kind of like the way you answer people's questions! So can I ask why?

Also, IDK if this has already been sent to an ask but have you once written about male reader smut?👀💅 (if so, I'm interested)

Not sure if you guys know each other/are the same person/had the same idea in a similar time but you sent those right after each other and I think that’s hilarious :’D

I want to start this off by saying, respectfully, stay calm when you approach this topic. I see and I understand the frustration about not getting the representation you deserve, however I need to be blunt with you: you can’t really blame other people for that. Being angry at others won’t help you with the problem you are experiencing either.

Without knowing any statistics I can only tell you what I saw over the years and my experience with requests. Which are that most people who request smut AND specify gender in it, will ask for afab!body or go straight for a female reader. I had some requests on my other blogs for smut with a male body but they were far outweight by the ones specifically asking for a female body reader. Why? I assume more female/- body readers that want themselves represented are reading fanfiction, but I can’t be sure of that either since anon is anon, I will never know who is behind it.

The second point is, that at least for me, I know way more female/non-binary but afab writers than male or amab writers. Maybe I am not looking right, maybe I am just unlucky, but in 5 years of writing I can count all the male writers I met here on tumblr with both my hands. If people send in unspecific requests without telling the writer what kind of body they want, it is more likely that an afab writer might use their knowledge and write just that kind of body. They could be writing amab bodies but I haven’t seen them do that much ngl. People gravitate to what they know best after all. It’s the same for me.

Third, and okay, that one is kind of lame but I feel like it should be spoken about because it answers the question: Why is no one pushing their boundaries and explore writing male bodies for reader requests?

There’s no reward for it.

Literally, with how tumblr is, people like the post at most (if they even read it because a lot of female people might not see the appeal), never share, the post barely gets notes, it ends up fluking horrible, writers who came out of their shell and tried something new don’t feel validated and bad about themselves because there are no comments that tell them what they did good or bad and how enjoyable it was. So they don’t do it again. And I don’t blame them. Been there, done that, got the T-Shirt. And if you are a new writer and insecure about what you do, always questioning yourself and comparing, then seeing your post get much, much less acknowledgement than your others that may feature female bodyparts... Well, it sucks. Really stings, I can’t deny it.

I have the luxury to do what I want now, but if you just start out it’s a struggle ngl.

So those are the reasons as to why I, personally, think that there is less male body content. It’s justified to be upset because yes, everyone deserves the same representation and visibility, no question asked. However, here are some things that I think would help make this more of a reality:

Be a bit more specific. You’re not supposed to write an essay on what the reader looks like in a free request, but if you are requesting something and you want to make sure it’s for the male body, then tell the writer so they can act on it. They’re not mindreaders and some instances would really benefit from knowing what kind of body was intended for the request. (Personally, for me, the struggle always lies with chest and breast. With my language barrier I am never sure if talking about a male body cleavage is appropriate. (I just really like open shirts okay? It’s hard to describe sometimes)) And please check with the writer beforehand if they are okay with that (and if they are not, that’s okay too! I better not catch someone harrassing anyone because of that!)

Share the shit out of things! If you find something you like, leave a message, and a like, and a reblog, and share it with friends, show some love! Be nice to the author, make them feel good! No one gets anything out of a like and then it stays inside the likes of readers for years with no interactions, and no one is motivated by these damn likes anyway. I am pretty sure if there was no cheer and encouragement, people would be more comfortable and learn to write it better even if it’s not what they are used to.

Don’t be upset about other people’s requests or content. Save yourself the trouble and handle it properly: If you don’t like something, move on. As stated above, people have their reasons for writing the body they want and that is okay. Something that is very, ultra important to realize is: No one needs to do content for you. If you want to see something specific you have to create it yourself or be ready to properly ask/commission someone to do it for you. It sounds harsh, but why are you expecting others to cater to your tastes? We are all just out there on the internet doing our own lil thing, trying to make more if we can, you know? If someone feels more comfortable with female bodies, gets only unspecific requests, and just tries to do their damn best, then you can’t really expect anything from them but what they give to you. If you don’t make an effort, why would they make an effort for you? No one can ever keep you from doing what you want to do. And if you want to see something, no one keeps you from creating it yourself, always keep that in mind!

I don’t mean to attack anyone, but it doesn’t sit well with me seeing you two get a little worked up in my asks about this. I hope I was able to give you a bit of an insight from a writer’s pov, maybe you learned something, maybe it made you realize something. Maybe you are more angry now, even though idk why you would be. In the end it’s all just my personal experience and opinions.

Oh, but you anon, the first one, yes, you. Get off Wattpad. That thing has always been awful but with the new company that is now allowing to steal all the ideas and shit, big yikes. 10/10 would not support that. Go to Ao3. I do have a strong opinion on Wattpad I must admit and it’s not a good one. And yes, I’ve written a couple of male bodies in my writing time but it’s like 11pm and I am too lazy to look for them if I am honest ^^’

If I know what I am supposed to do I will write you any gender, body, hell if you want to be a monster reader I’ll give you as many holes and appendices as you want. It takes a lot for me to reach the point it gets uncomfy. But if you leave it all up to me... well... if I have to write about the reader getting railed, I’ll not take criticism for going with what I am most comfortable with and in what I can see myself as well. ‘Cause you know, it’s also my fun, yeh?

Tbf, I am not sure I completely understood you since it’s late, but I think I got the point you were talking about, so hm.

I just wanna start this saying I truly hate those short, one-sentence requests so much like literally just “Can you write Character X with a chubby/slim/tall/small/etc. reader?” Big yikes, those requests get a 0 for creativity and the don’t inspire me at all. You always have to be nice and say that character x will still love the reader no matter what and it’s like rattling off a script just with different inserts. I did that for 2 years straight and it ruined everything for me. I also said so in my Requesting PSA before but especially in yandere, your yandere loves you no matter what so I am just out of patience for those things. At least give me a unique kind of reader, I beg of you guys! Everything else to this I pretty much said in the PSA above so I’ll leave it at that, but I always like to rant about it.

That said, while I try to ignore those parts in my own writing (because they are not important specifics if they are not the only detail in the request. E.g. “Can you write Character x with a x kind of reader who really likes to dance.” I would only focus on the dance aspect.) I, of course, read fanfiction where the reader looks different than me. And, especially now that I am reading more books again, I freaking love it. The whole thing about reading is that you turn off your mind and be teleported in this new world, the new scenario, and new story happening! Isn’t that so freaking cool????? And with reader scenarios, suddenly you can be anything! I am actually a chubby girl, but I am delighted every time the reader gets picked up! Like yes!!! Lift me like I am a sack of potatoes!! It’s great the character is so strong!!! It will never happen in real life but that’s okay! I guess in these scenarios the writer is imagine a skinny reader, and I can’t really provide that, but I think it’s really awesome that I can imagine that no matter what I look like, the character still treats me as I deserve—Normal. Without batting an eye. It’s the same with having magic abilities for example.

As a writer my personal worst fear is every time that I write about hair. Like, patting the reader on the hair, or combing through it. Because stupidly my mind tells me, “Okay but what if they are bald?” and I get a really bad feeling every time. BUT SIKE! In my scenario you now have hair! Accept it or not but I still wrote the reader having hair. Some readers may not like that, and that’s okay too, but at the end of the day you always have the ability to immerse yourself a little and accept an image change even if it’s just for the duration of a story. Nothing wrong with that. The same goes for: everyone gets nice legs and a nice ass, and you are all welcome :D Leave insecurities in the reality for when you come back to them later, as long as you read my stuff you are a borrowed, different you.

But, to be fair, on the topic of insecurities (and I think that’s what you really were going on about with your ask): People have insecurities. And sometimes, they want to hear that they are loved and accepted, especially when things are mediocre at best. I am not shaming anyone for wanting to hear that their favorite character loves them, I do too and I think they do deserve to hear it as well. So, your favorite character loves you, guys. Exactly as you are.

Sometimes, it will bring people to request about a specific type, personality, etc. Because just like you with your male body problem, they want representation and love too. And it’s okay when they and the writer decide to work something out, even if it doesn’t benefit you because maybe it’s not your kind of body type or the like. The reader should be for everybody, but it also doesn’t need to be every reader. Some people request scenarios that focus more on the characters and for those you can write a reader for everyone. And sometimes the request is more about the reader and may not be for everyone but just as okay.

I will now redirect you to the male body discussion we had above, and say that no one owes you anything, especially nothing suited to only you. Unfortunate, but if you want to see something specific, create it yourself. As a writer it’s really hard to be all inclusive all the time, and sometimes I just want the character to comb through hair, okay? Sometimes the creative flow is more important than pleasing everyone, at least for me. And no one can really tell you where it starts and ends, like, if I never describe the reader again just to make it completely inclusive, but then I have to describe an action like the character is taking the reader by the hand... Well, what about people without a hand???? Should I just never have interactions again?

I hope you see my point.

To round it up, here’s a post that I saw a few days ago which actually fits this topic as well.

And as I said multiple times, it’s just my opinion, but don’t see everything so strict. I still think about the anon who once told me it’s not that deep. And sometimes I agree with them. Sometimes.

Some things are not for you, and sometimes things are not so deep. And that’s okay too.

#Admin #PSA #and now I go to bed #sorry for word vomit

[twiststreet]

Comic Book Question

Yeah, I saw some of that stuff.  Seemed like a fucking clusterfuck.  

It’s nice, not being on that twitter.  That’s one of those “it’s nice not to be on twitter” moments.  If I had twitter, it’d just be (a) getting into dumb shit like that, and/or be the cause of even worse shit like that, (b) saying thirsty things to girls all inappropriate-like-- I’d be one of those creeps responding to softcore porn girl selfies like “ohhhh your photo is sooo beautiful”... I’d be one of those guys, it’d be completely horrifying, and then (c) screaming angry and incredibly inappropriate politics things but at like, that pointless lady who writes about the Oscars.  And (d) making fun of Kurt Eichenwald and the large kung fu sons he watches Japanese porn with, but I can do that here. 

But yeah... Graham...

You know: for me, I thought he said some ridiculous shit I was like “oh dude no” about but... 

The bit about “I’d rather read a comic of someone inspired by how much they hate that Chaykin cover instead of having to put up with listening to the minorities share how they’re upset about that Chaykin cover” (that’s not how he phrased it exact-like, but how I heard it anyways)...  140 characters isn’t the place to say shit like that because you’re not going to articulate whatever the hell you’re trying to say (???) in a way that’s palatable in that short a space... 

Best case scenario, it’s just weird to say: a comic takes a while to write, draw, and print for most people! So it’s like ... “I would prefer to see someone reacting to this five-to-eight months from now” ... he’s not really in a hurry, I guess!  Also: who with their limited lifespan is going to be like “instead of making a comic about something I care about, while I’m still alive, i’m going to make a comic about how a Howard Chaykin drawing made me feel?”  

(Especially because for me the big lesson of Chaykin’s career is “don’t waste your awesome years because when they’re over, man are they ever over”... Chaykin’s were over after, like, Midnight Men in 90-whatever... the Good Years, they ain’t fucking coming back...)

I mean, have you ever made a comic?  It takes a while and is physically not the most healthy activity because you’re just sitting there barely moving for long hours!  And the mental bits of it aren’t great either (which if you want an explanation for all kinds of bad behavior from comics people, you (a) make a comic and then (b) sit behind a flea market table by yourself for a while behind some comics you made... you do those two things and it’s a miracle any of these fucking people are even a little bit sane...).  So yeah... man... no one who’s got the goods is wasting time making a fucking Howard Chaykin Response Comic.

(Well actually:  every comic I’ve ever made has been about how Howard Chaykin comics make me feel-- that’s why I bother to try to draw characters with different faces, so I don’t accidentally make anyone feel like I do when I’m reading Chaykin like “is this the same guy as the other guy?  oh look, it’s the One Whole Black Guy he can draw, the one with the moustache”.  So I don’t accidentally make Satellite Sam.)(You ever read that shit?  Dude tried to make an ensemble comic-- he can only draw 3 faces!  It was just paper slowly transitioning to a state of trash). 

And it’s just, like, that’s me being generous with what Graham is saying there.  If I wanted to get the knives out, I’d go the whole “you know-- minorities aren’t here to fucking dance for your amusement and then disappear when you don’t like them criticizing Image Comics” route and we’d have some fun.  But I basically like that dude so why would I get the knives out for being clueless on Twitter one time...? 

Like, that’s the sad part about this is... 

I mean, I didn’t like a lot of what people were saying back at Graham either. Or I felt sad it had gotten to that “live long enough to become the villain” space with the guy... (didn’t love the Dark Knight but that’s gotta be the most useful fucking line of dialogue from a movie in the 00′s...)

You know: the guy’s been forthcoming about what he thinks on Twitter, and I think in a really positive way in the long-view.  And there aren’t many comic creators who bother.  Most just have this very false schtick about how they’re the good guys now, in vague generalities, and on unspecific terms because they’re careerists.  Which I think you really really see when shit like this Chaykin thing happens and it’s fucking crickets...

I don’t think you’d say that of Graham so seeing him take his licks on this or the Dilraj Mann thing (where I felt a lot less comfortable and more confused with what people were saying, though that was also kind of a dumb and badly drawn cover)... You know, there’s a sadness there...

At least if you look at comics and go... you know... “where’s our Scorsese?  Where’s the guy who doesn’t just care about HIS movies but is out there repping film history?”  Like, I saw people yelling about “Chaykin and Crumb” and like, people don’t know their comics history!  Because those dudes are not in the same fucking tradition.  At all.  (Granted, history blurs as you get further away from the source but...).  

Graham’s one of the few guys I’d make any kinda exception for.  Granted, he likes comics about, like, cats on mopeds that fuck one another with lollipops or whatever-- like, we like different shit but he’s at least some kind of ambassador role... So you know: there’s a sadness there, to watching people go like “I never want to hear what you want to say either fucko”... like, who are you going to be left with???  

Comics history right now is just something you gotta hear at a bar from an alcoholic.  If there’s no profit in people talking.  And I think that’s sad...  

(Especially because sometimes-- not the majority of the time, but sometimes--  I would get the feeling people were angry at Graham for disagreeing with them or not going along with them, and not just that he was saying dumb things, which... you know, the echo chamber quality of twitter is one of the things I’m most happy not being a part of and most confused how people aren’t worried more about... it goes (#1) I don’t say thirsty shit all day every day and then (#2) not part of an echo chamber...)

That said, I follow Graham on tumblr and he’s still saying some weird-to-me stuff I can’t say I get.  Recent tumblr post has a real corker:

Or the other extreme is that you get Marvel movies– work designed to not challenge or offend. Work that I would argue isn’t really even trying to be “art” Where artist, Ardian Syaf who quoted the Qur’an in the background (Granted it was taken by many to be anti semitic) of his art got fired over it. What that says to me is that Marvel was not employing him to express his actual opinions and beliefs

Like... I’d like to think that I tend to skew in favor of art and artists and free speech slightly more than other angry and racially paranoid minorities on the internet, but:  dude, Ardian Syaf is an anti-semite.  He was quoted as saying “When Jews are offended, there is no mercy.”  On what fucking planet does someone dance around calling someone who says that an anti-semite??? Like, that is not any kind of rocket science.  And being upset that Marvel’s not hiring an anti-semite to put extremist messages in their children’s comics is just a fucking weird and kinda stupid position to take. I don’t really see that as being a worthwhile fight...???  

I just don’t find anything in that paragraph I find all that agreeable... It’s a head-scratcher for me anyways...

Especially because this isn’t the olden days.  If Syaf wants to go make comics about the jews, he can go do that online.  There are probably 10,000 webcomics on that topic #trump’s-america.  

That “comics creators versus the fans / world” positioning that I think gets into creators’ heads, you know, I think that’s reflective of that.  And I don’t find that shit interesting.  

Because I think I disagree with a key premise for Graham, which he articulates as follows:

He was saying that if you are going to give artists total freedom you will get things like the Howard Chaykin book/cover or Airboy or Boiled Angel. People will do work that is not for everyone or misses the mark and offends – or is just stupid and offensive. but you also ideally make more room for books like Stuck Rubber baby, Sinner, Barefoot Gen, or Phoebe Gloeckner ‘s  A child’s life, or the underground comics movement- Raw magazine  or Metal Hurlant-(& I know these aren’t Image books but it’s the high water mark I aim for)

And I would argue that this is an intensely ahistorical view of looking at the comics he’s talking about.  Because those comics existed in larger social contexts...

Metal Hurlant came out of a France that saw profound leftist riots in the late 1960′s.  

Raw came from Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly -- Mouly's Wikipedia page talks about how ‘68 France effected her life, and it’s a whole story.  Spiegelman goes back to the undergrounds (which certainly had problematic content but was also of its time-- ie, the 60′s social upheavel).  And they took advantage of a scene in the 80′s where you go and look at like the ... what’s that thing called the razzmataz manifesto...?  goddamn my memory... the Rozz-Tox manifesto.  You know, I think part of the DNA of Raw is all the shit that’s bubbling around folks in the 80′s who were probably not fucking happy about Reagan getting elected.

Stuck Rubber Baby, the LGBTQ rights movement.

Barefoot Gen, I mean, the sociopolitical environment which Japanese creators were coming out is a whole fucking thing.

Nobody’s written a Lipstick Traces for comics (Ellis kinda tried with his one thing-- I liked that thing but I can’t remember the name, the Kirby head thing) but you can’t look at these comics  as just things that you found in a back issue box-- they come from specific times.  Same for the Italian guys-- Ranxerox came from like a very particular crowd of Italians, if you dig into that scene, that you can’t tell from the surface of that comic necessarily, say but...

My point being these came out of outsider people really engaged during turbulent times.  Not cultures of fucking stupidity where people were like “let’s make space for the guy who drew Hawkgirl to just be stupid all the fucking time and put out a bunch of stupid fucking shit, and maybe our giant mass of stupidity will somehow accidentally let us fall backwards into some good comics.”  

It’s not just “creative freedom.”  It’s people being aware of the world around them and being ... you know, attacking from a particular place that just hasn’t been true in all these circumstances.

And when you look at this Chaykin thing, the Airboy thing, etc., I just don’t think you look at those (or really 90% of comics) and go “oh well these are outsiders coming out of subcultures to attack the mainstream world.”   I think that’s a big part of why people are angry.  They look at people who comics have historically sated, insiders who want to be congratulated anyways for their fucking sociopolitical insights. They’re looking at this as the mainstream world just jawing more, and they’re the outsiders without a voice.  Like, what the hell does Chaykin have to be unhappy about???  Not getting a gig on Hawk & Dove comics...?  He ain’t 80′s Chaykin anymore.  He’s ‘17 Chaykin-- and man, it’s sad but that don’t mean shit...

Or the idea that Image publishing lazy default shit by lazy default people somehow “makes space” for them publishing more daring things... Well, I mean, shit in one hand and wish in another and see where it gets you.  (Is that the saying?).  I think I used to believe stuff like that but then the daring things never showed up.  So I just don’t know that I buy that anymore.  Waiting got old...

If a younger artist who felt under attack more did that cover, maybe we’d view it differently.  And I ain’t saying there ain’t a hypocrisy to that, but I think... you know, the feelings are the feelings.  This is partly a feelings thing, and when people are feeling shit, they feel shit.  

What was my point...

So, like, yes, you need creative freedom.  And I don’t agree with a lot of the things people were saying to Graham.  I think there’s a toxicity to how people talk about this stuff, a lack of generosity or perspective. I don’t agree with a 1,000 things that were said.  E.g., most people really shouldn’t be all that “traumatized” by a fucking comic book cover of a comic that no one except my brother-in-arms John Kane’s reading; I agree with Graham 1000% that Image exerting significant editorial oversight would be a drastic loss, if it were even logistically possible, which I don’t believe it is given what little i know about Image; I’d rather Image prioritize not making space for its creators to sexually harass women (remember that time with that one guy?  I do);  sometimes a little offense is a price worth paying for a vibrant medium; sometimes offensive shit is really great and a relief for a person going through a kind of life experience, etc.  And I worry that the more sinister parts of the internet feeds off of and responds to the way Graham gets talked to in a even darker way, that “if you can be a SJW and still get it in the neck from these bother, why should I bother not being a fucking anime nazi” people that I think we all know are out there and far more worrisome than Brandon Graham...

But creative freedom alone is alone not enough to create the kind of comics medium worth anyone reasonable caring about, and I disagree with Graham’s fundamental premise there.

You need people who aren’t so fucking stupid, who can use that freedom to articulate genuinely interesting fucking things to say.  I gotta return to my original point that the problem is the stupidity, which may be unsolvable with comics because man, what the hell kinda smart person is getting near comics with all its shit, without having some profound emotional issues or whatever.  (I’m bad at intimacy!)

  And man, not-stupid ain’t this cover, that ain’t Airboy, that ain’t any of this shit.  So I don’t agree with Graham that anything good’s coming out of a culture that just produces shit as relentlessly as comics does-- I think shit comes from shit.  Morons don’t just wake up being smart.  I reject that premise.  Did all those Marvel comics with women getting butchered result in really smart comics?  No.  They resulted in people telling me I should read the Vision and how smart it was and then I buy the first issue and a woman’s getting fucking butchered.  Shit comes from shit.  A diseased chicken isn’t going to accidentally shit a diamond.  (Comics ain’t the diamond in my awesome metaphor). 

The larger historical situation we’re all in now could produce really engaged work because there’s plenty to be angry about.  And I think that’s what Image is trying (not even remotely successfully) to sell people that is their intent.  But it takes artists, not careerists, and it takes people who give a shit, not people who just show up to talk about how they give a shit when they got a book to sell and it takes a degree of subculture and alienation which means people with some kinda outsider chip on their shoulder, which isn’t going to be fucking the guy who writes Fantastic Four or draws Hawkgirl.  It takes something other than stupidity, and so Image’s little diatribes about how they’re actually the good guys... I mean who’s fucking buying that shit???  (Hey, remember that time Image made a comics career easier for multiple guys who sexually harass women?  I do.)  

(I wandered into a comic shop for the first time this year the other day-- or well, I wandered into Meltdown which used to be a comic shop and is now a fucking disaster.  I got one of those James Robinson Nick Furies.  So I mean, I’m not saying you throw these people away over this shit either.  The thing I throw comics people away over is if they’re shitting on comics.  I haven’t been able to read a Jason Aaron comic since he shit on Alan Moore.  I haven’t been able to read a DC Comic in a few years now.  Etc.)(I also got one of those Kyle Starks hobo comics... I hope that’s okay...)

So I don’t know.  I could ramble on very easily because it’s one of those topics but.  You know, short answer:  I like Brandon Graham.  I don’t agree with 90% of the shit he said and I don’t agree with about... 70% of what got said back at him, except when people were making fun of him for telling them to go draw a comic, especially the folks who drew comics of themselves giving him the middle finger, which I thought was hilarious.  I’m just... you know, I got this day job where I just clock things like “bad argument... bad argument... not persuasive... bad argument” anymore, like a robot. I got my own mess going on.  So.  I gotta stop-- I have to get to work, but...

Short answer: Clusterfuck.

#Worst Hobby or Worstest Hobby?