last week i woke up from one of the most fucked up nightmares ive ever had with that middle panel burned into my brain. like the exact wording and the exact apartment and the exact squidward. i feel like if i didnt make it real something bad wouldve happened. anyway todays upload is spunchbob comic oc
Gee I dunno, are these mood boards or just vague themes? I found this really hard to do since I kept finding great gifs but they would better suit a mood board based on Anura in general… I tried to stick to Heket, intentionally avoiding frogs, faces and as much of humans as possible. Quite the fun challenge! Whilst making this I saw some nice gifs for the others… I want to create Leshy next!
[gingerly removes The Character from a sealed jar][places The Character into a tremendous contraption][firmly presses a large button labeled “Autism Accelerator 5000”]
i don’t really mean this as criticism but every They Might Be Giants song i’ve ever heard all share this same ultra particular vibe i can only describe as “this sounds like something a programmer started spontaneously singing around the house at like two in the morning because he was trying to annoy his girlfriend’s cat”
“it’s pointless to argue who’s more harmed by US imperialism between US veterans and the people they’re bombing” actually it’s the people they’re bombing who are harmed more. end of conversation
it’s frustrating because you can’t say “victims of US imperialism” because some fucking idiot will come along and go “um actually veterans are victims of US imperialism too” and then it’s right back in the fucking argumentative grasp of Yankee chauvinists
ive been trying very hard to formulate a way to say this that doesnt make me sound like an asshole but honestly ive like. given up.
youre gonna drive yourselves fucking nuts with all the doom posting. and all the “its gonna be okay, you have to live” posting isnt any less doom posting. its all the same song to a different tune.
its shitty and terrible and youre allowed to feel shitty and terrible. but its not like. gonna change because you feel shitty about it. and constantly thinking about how shitty you feel about it is just gonna make you feel worse.
go like. eat a snack or something. play a game you like. i dunno. its shitty! but dont spend your time catastrophizing. drink some fuckin water or whatever other cheesy bullshit keeps you occupied while you process.
not to be controversial bc I know this is like…not in line with shifting opinions on fanfic comment culture but if there’s a glaring typo in my work I will NOT be offended by pointing it out. if ao3 fucks up the formatting…I will also not be offended by having this pointed out…
‘looking forward to the next update’ and ‘I hope you update soon!’ are different vibes than a demand, and should be read in good faith because a reader is finding their way to tell you how much they love it. I will not be mad at this.
‘I don’t usually like this ship but this fic made me feel something’ is also incredibly high praise. I’m not going to get mad at this.
even ‘I love this fic but I’m curious about why you made [x] choice’ is just another way a reader is engaging in and putting thought into your work.
I just feel like a lot of authors take any comment that’s not perfectly articulated glowing praise in the exact manner they’re hoping to receive it in bad faith.
fic engagement has been dropping across the board over the last several years, and yes it’s frustrating but it isn’t as though I can’t see how it happens. comment anxiety can be a real thing. the last thing anyone wants to do is offend an author they love, and that means sometimes people default to silence.
idk where I’m going with this I guess aside from saying unless a comment is outright attacking me I’m never going to get mad at it, and I think a lot of authors should feel the same way. ESPECIALLY TYPOS PLZ GOD POINT OUT MY TYPOS.
the :) AO3 gives you after telling you you’ve already left kudos on a particular fic is my archenemy because what do you mean :) ? what do you mean I’ve already left kudos here? have you read my favorite author’s work? look me in the eyes and tell me one kudos is enough. I’d give them a thousand kudos and my kidney plus my firstborn. what do you mean I can only give them one kudos??????
Alright, to ao3’s soon to be arriving Wattpad Refugees, a basic guide to general user culture:
1.) Unlike Wattpads vote system that let’s you like each chapter, the ao3 equivalent kudos only allows one per work. Everyone is generally quietly annoyed about this. To engage with each chapter, you’re heavily encouraged to comment. Trust me, it makes people’s day.
2.) Ao3 has no algorithm. By default it’s latest updated work first. You can find things to your taste through searches, filters and tags.
3.) ‘No archive warnings apply’ and 'user has chosen not to use archive warnings’ mean two very different things. No archives warnings means the work is free from any content that could require a warning tag (character death, graphic depictions of violence, non-con, etc). User has chosen not to use archive warnings means it could contain any of the warning content, be it hasn’t been explicitly tagged. Treat it like an allergen. No archive warnings apply is allergen free. User has chosen not to use archive warnings, may contain traces or whole chunks of the allergen. If you’re likely to have a bad reaction, maybe don’t take the risk.
4.) Speaking of warnings, ao3 has very few restrictions on the type of work that’s allowed. Whatever your personal thoughts or feelings on that are, thats how the site is. You’re likely to run across some dark subject matters and a lot of people are uncomfortable with reading that. You’re well within your rights not like these works and have your opinion on whether they should be allowed, but harassing the authors of such works (or any works) is more likely to come back on you than them. Ao3 operates on a strong policy of 'don’t like, don’t read’. Use the tagging system to your full advantage to only engage with the kind of works you want to see.
We look forward to welcoming you all and seeing the fantastic works you create. Happy writing!
In the spirit of encouraging people to comment on fanfics while also making it easier to do so, I feel obliged to share a browser extension for ao3 that has quite literally revolutionized the comment game for me.
I present to you: the floating ao3 comment box!
From what I’ve seen, a big problem for many people is that once you reach the comments at the bottom of a fic, your memory of it miraculously disappears. Anything you wanted to say is stuck ten paragraphs ago, and you barely remember what you thought while reading. This fixes that!
I’ll give a little explanation on the features and how it works, but if you want to skip all that, here’s the link.
The extension is visible as a small blue box in the upper left corner.
(Side note: The green colouring is not from the extension, that’s me.)
If you click on it, you open a comment box window at the bottom of your screen but not at the bottom of the fic. I opened my own fic for demonstrative purposes.
The website also gives explanations on how exactly it functions, but I’ll summarize regardless.
insert selection -> if you highlight a sentence in the fic it will be added in italics to the comment box
add to comment box -> once you’re done writing your comment, you click this button and the entire thing will automatically copied to the ao3 comment box
delete -> self explanatory
on mulitchapter fics, you will be given the option to either add the comment to just the current chapter or the entire fic
The best part? You can simply close the window the same way you opened it and your progress will automatically be saved. So you can open it, comment on a paragraph, and then close it and keep reading without having the box in your face.
Comments are what keep writers going, and as both a writer and a reader, I think it’s such an easy way of showing support and enthusiasm.
thinking about that post of people assuming ao3 has an algorithm and also about how bonkers persistent the view is that ao3 is social media lite. like with startling regularity I get comments saying something along the lines of “it’s probably weird to comment on a fic this old–” no it isn’t!!!! this is an archive I am literally just assuming you searched for a selection of specific tags or sorted by kudos or looked back on my pseud or any other number of completely normal ways to use an archive site ?? kill the tiktok ghost in your brain and comment on old stuff it’s NOT weird
“undoing this character’s death would take away his sacrifice and character arc” girl I don’t give a shit. I’m bringing him back through the power of ao3 fix-it fics and there’s nothing you can do to stop me x
See, and here’s my thing: Undoing a character’s death in fan fiction? All day long. Create AUs, write your fix-its, your deus-ex-machinas, do it all. Go wild; it’s lovely to see.
An author choosing to undo a character’s death and erase their arc for whatever reason? 99% of the time, it’s absolute cowardice. Stick with your guns, don’t get cold feet. Under no circumstances are you allowed to take the easy way out. Make your point, and by God, make your readers FEEL. Don’t undermind your whole story, coward.
There have been too many times I’ve seen characters come back to life by some contrived, bs means, and it almost always cheapens the story. Never be afraid to kill your darlings and keep them in the grave. It makes for good storytelling. There are too many authors out there that will shoot for major plot points and then shy away from the consequences. Do. Not. Do. It. One of the best examples of go for gold and don’t back down when it comes to this kind of stuff is the original ElfQuest. The Pinis don’t shy away from doing monumental things in their story and then forcing us readers to deal with it. Sit in it. All the things. And it’s fabulous.
Anyways, rant over.
TLDR: Revive all you want in fan fiction, darling; it’s your Lego set to do with as you please. But original content authors? If your revival isn’t fitting into that scant 1% of acceptable circumstances? I will haunt you for eternity.
I legitimately don’t understand all the hate for Senator Fatima Payman following her speech. I didn’t understand when Chloe Swarbrick was made fun of for the “OK Boomer” comment either.
Politicians try to win votes. They try to change attitudes and to do that, they need to get their message out there. Senator Payman did get her message out there, evidently, and it’s reached who she wanted it to reach. People may be laughing at her, but she’s making Australian youth aware of politics. She’s communicating through memes what would flounder and die in obscurity if communicated in formal terms, because who she’s trying to address aren’t going to respond to formal language.
She is doing Good Politics, and her becoming a meme is a result of that. It’s planned, it’s smart, and it is memorable.
I think people who are opposed to this method of expression are more caught up in everything being done a certain way than whether or not anything is being done at all.
I legitimately don’t understand all the hate for Senator Fatima Payman following her speech. I didn’t understand when Chloe Swarbrick was made fun of for the “OK Boomer” comment either.
Politicians try to win votes. They try to change attitudes and to do that, they need to get their message out there. Senator Payman did get her message out there, evidently, and it’s reached who she wanted it to reach. People may be laughing at her, but she’s making Australian youth aware of politics. She’s communicating through memes what would flounder and die in obscurity if communicated in formal terms, because who she’s trying to address aren’t going to respond to formal language.
She is doing Good Politics, and her becoming a meme is a result of that. It’s planned, it’s smart, and it is memorable.
I think people who are opposed to this method of expression are more caught up in everything being done a certain way than whether or not anything is being done at all.
Australian Senator Fatima Payman recently broke ranks with her party on the issue of Palestine, and was given the option to fall back in line, or quit.
There was a bill pitching that Australia should vote to recognise a Palestinian State. The Labor Party told their people to vote no. Fatima ignored this, voted yes, and then was told by the prime minister that she had two choices: toe the party line, or quit the party.
Today, she quit the Labor party. Here is part of her resignation speech:
It [the Labor Party] is a party I have proudly served.
The ongoing genocide in Gaza is a tragedy of unimaginable proportions.
It is a crisis that pierces the heart and soul, calling us to action with a sense of urgency and moral clarity. We have all seen the bloodied images of young children losing limbs, being amputated without anaesthetic, and starving as Israel continues its onslaught, live-streamed across the world.
As a representative of the diverse and vibrant communities of Western Australia, I am compelled to be their true voice. To be their true voice in this chamber, especially when the cries for justice and humanity echo so loudly.
Unlike my colleagues, I know how it feels to be on the receiving end of injustice. My family did not flee from a war-torn country to come here as refugees for me to remain silent when I see atrocities inflicted on innocent people.
Witnessing our government’s indifference to the greatest injustice of our times makes me question the direction the party is taking. I am torn, deeply torn.
On one hand, I have the immense support of the rank-and-file members, unionists, the lifelong party volunteers, who are calling on me to hang in there and to make change happen internally.
On the other hand, I am pressured to conform to Caucus solidarity and toe the party line.
I see no middle-ground, and my conscience leaves me no choice.
Our actions must align with our principles. When history looks back, it must see that we stood on the right side of humanity, even when it was difficult.
Sadly, I do not believe my principles align with those of the leadership of the Labor Party. With a heavy heart but a clear conscience, I announce my resignation from the Australian Labor Party. I have informed the Prime Minister that, effective immediately, I will sit on the crossbench to represent Western Australia.
When I told them that I would be praying and seeking guidance from God, that was in confidence and I did not expect that they would go around telling people, almost in a condescending, ridiculing why like, “Oh, look at this one. She’s praying to this almighty being.” It was something serious that I had to spend time reflecting, and everyone has their own ways of coming to a decision. I didn’t fully have an idea of how I decided to – I was on the Senate floor, making that decision. So for my colleagues to, I don’t know, make it seem like it’s very ridiculous that this person has to depend on a high being, like that’s personal to me … And plus we pray every single morning in the chamber, so to just single me out in a situation like this is poor form.
- Senator Fatima Payman.
I mean it’s islamophobia right? As she says, parliament literally prays for God’s guidance every single session. So if they’re going after Payman for saying (privately!) that she prayed for God’s guidance it’s pretty clear what’s up.
me: this is a background character who’s in one scene, has two lines, and is completely irrelevant to the rest of the story. i am going to stop obsessing over what to name him and use the random name generator on behindthename.com. i am going to accept the first thing it gives me and move the fuck on.
Guys it’s over I can’t describe people at all like I’m dating this girl and my family asked me to describe her and I’m like “uhhhh she’s cute and she’s half black and half Asian and she’s a foodie” and they’re like “well what else” and I just don’t know. I can’t describe my roommate either. “Uhhhhhhs gay and he likes the X men” is the best I can do for this super interesting cool guy. How do you guys describe people pls help
