If OTW weren’t around, this wouldn’t be “scaremongering”: It would be the inescapable status quo.
The people who believe this crap are the anti-vaxxers of fandom.
Oh god. They kind of are, aren’t they?
I’d go bigger and just say that they’re the conservatives/reactionaries of fandom–or, to frame it differently, this is how conservative and authoritarian ideologies express themselves in the context of Fandom.
my opinion on AO3 is that it’s an important asset but i still find it scummy that they’ll ask for money but when their users try to ask for money they slam them with their non-monetization rules.
Like Anne Rice is dead and this isn’t the 90s anymore, people are making money from fandom please catch up with the times.
I think you’ve misunderstood:
AO3 was built by a bunch of us with our free donated labor for the purpose of being a space free from commercial spam.
It’s not a public service. It was built by us to house the type of fandom culture weliked.
People who want to do fandom differently, including making money, are welcome to go build their own site with their own money or their own donated labor.
AO3 does not forbid commercial links because they think fans making money from fanworks is immoral but them making money (to run the damn site) is fine.
AO3 forbids commercial links because they are making a very specific claim about the legality of fanworks, and that claim is about noncommercial fanworks.
They’re not saying that commercialized fanworks are against the law. They’re just not prepared to host them–nor defend them in court.
In case people missed it: The OTW will not honor DMCA takedown orders that are basically, “I own X work and that’s a fanfic of it, and that’s copyright infringement so make it go away.”
The OTW says, lolnope, we don’t think that’s copyright infringement. If you disagree, sue us.
The OTW says: Disney - we will not remove explicit Mandalorian fanfic. Rowling, Warner Bros - we will not remove trans Harry Potter fanfic. Gabaldon - we are not removing Outlander fanfic no matter how much you think it’s illegal or a personal violation. Yarbro, if someone puts “The Adventure of the Gentleman in Black” on AO3, you will need to actually take it to trial to (try to) get it removed; none of this C&D order followed by fans caving because they can’t afford a lawyer.
…So far, nobody has sued them. (This is, in my mind, the strongest proof we have that fanfic is not copyright infringement. In 13 years, not a single person or company has scrounged up a lawyer and filed a lawsuit against AO3/the OTW for hosting fanworks.)
But they’re not willing to put themselves on the line for commercial works. Those get considered differently in copyright law. They’re not always infringing - there’s a whole history of parody books & songs to prove that - but the OTW is not dealing with them.
The OTW does not care if fans are making money. The OTW cares if fans making money interfere with its legal defense of its archive.
If you are not a copyright lawyer, your opinion about the situation is not going to be considered.
Also, it wasn’t just Anne Rice coming after fandom in the 90s as though this is some relic holdover terror from ancient history.
Events like Strikethrough and Boldthrough happened in the early to mid-2000s. It felt like you’d wake up every day in 2007 and find another fandom group on LJ gone. (And not just fandom groups either, important community groups for education and trauma survival were also wiped out in those purges as well.)
And while not exactly the same, Yahoo Groups–and yes Yahoo Groups was a major online fandom hub at one point–were deleted as late as 2019 with very little warning, leaving a lot of older fandom groups scrambling to back up decades worth of content.
I might be projecting, but Fanfic.net seems to be wobbling too. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out they go under in the next few years despite performing similar purges of adult content in 2012 and allowing for obnoxious ads, which made the site unusable on mobile unless you wanted to see an ad what felt like every couple of paragraphs. (It might be better now, I haven’t checked in a while.)
It has only been in very recent memory that fandom has gained any sort of foothold that isn’t poised directly over a precarious faultline that could at any moment open up and swallow entire communities whole, and a huge part of that is the volunteers at Ao3 who decided to play chicken with the likes of Anne Rice and won.
Ao3 at its core was and is built by fandom. Some people don’t like it and that’s fine, but to even suggest that the volunteers are lounging around eating peeled grapes and lighting cigars with hundred dollar bills making bank through fraud while fanfic authors are left out in the cold is beyond the scope of laughable.
Authors Note: The next part is linked at the bottom! This is going to be a new series I will eventually move to Wattpad. I do not condone or support cheating this is purely fiction.
Warnings: Cheating, angst, mentions of sexual situations, mentions of blackmail, and violence. (No smut in this part but stay tuned for part three!)
Summary: Kayce comes to terms with what just happened and Y/N discovers his marriage and is conflicted. Should she continue or should she do what Beth says to prevent her from telling everyone?
———————————————————————
I stare in shock at the man laying over me, confused and ashamed that we got caught. I hadn’t even been there a day and I’m already hooking up with one of the cowboys, or at least I hope he’s just a cowboy and not one of the sons.
He gets off me in an instant and rushes to put on his jeans, throwing me mine and making a silent motion over his mouth with his finger. I nod and slip on my jeans, heart pounding as he goes to creak the door open, his body shielding the woman’s gaze from me.
“What makes you think i’m with Rip’s cousin?” I hear Kayce ask, making the woman laugh. “Well unless we happened to pick up that stripper Rip’s been wanting that would mean you’re either with me or with baby Wheeler. And I may be a mean son of a bitch but incest just ain’t my thing.” She says.
They’re related? I think to myself, mind whirling with questions about who I just slept with. And I know Rip would flip but who’s Monica and why would she also have the same reaction?
I shake the thoughts away and make my way to the door, laying a hand on his back letting him know it’s okay that she sees me. She looks me up and down and smiles to herself “Damn. Y’all’s family must’ve won the fucking gene lottery.”
I let out an awkward laugh and shuffle a bit, nervous about what i’m going to ask. “Can you please not tell him? We just met again after years apart and I don’t want him to think of me as some whore. I’ll do anything name your price.”
She seems thoughtful for a moment and I can see her mind brewing with ideas before she widens her eyes and smiles. “I’ll tell ya what, I won’t tell Rip OR Monica.” She glances at Kayce who’s looking at his shoes, wanting to be anywhere but here “But you little lady are going to help me with something. I can use those good looks of yours for a little business venture.”
“What the he’ll do you mean Beth she just got here don’t get her involved with-“ Kayce starts but is cut short when the woman, apparently called Beth, rolls her eyes and scoffs. “Don’t worry, it’s not anything that has to do with the ranch. Just a little favor for good old Daddy.”
“Beth I swear to god if you use her as a pawn for you’re fucking feud with Jenkins i’ll kill ya.” Kayce replies, catching onto whatever she is wanting me to do. I’m left confused and standing to the side, still trying to piece together what just happened.
“So what do you say little lady? Gonna accept or do you wanna be known as the fuck toy for your stay?” She states, wearing a smile as if knowing what i’m about to say. “Fine I’ll do it. But don’t you dare tell rip or whoever the fuck Monica is.”
———————————————————————
Apparently, what I agreed to was far less that what I was expecting. Beth led me to the main house and I stop in my tracks, piecing together the fact that she’s THE Beth Dutton.
I stare at her with my mouth open and quickly close it, before asking the question that I knew the answer to. “So, um Kayce is a Dutton?” I mumbled, looking down at my boots as we step onto the front porch. “You got a lot to learn around here but yes. I’m assuming you know who I am then?”
“Yeah, kinda figured it out considering I was told not to enter this house unless invited.”
“Who the fuck told ya that?”
“Rip.” I state and with that she smirks before turning towards me. “Well you can tell your dear cousin that the same rules apply to him. Never seen him follow that damn rule in my life.”
I nod and make my way inside, taken aback by the decor. Growing up, we never had much money so walking into this place felt like walking into a palace. Glancing around, I follow her down a hall before asking more questions about what she wants from me.
“So i’m just gonna seduce him? Isn’t he married?” I ask, while entering the bedroom door. “Yeah and you obviously don’t got an issue with that considering Kayce.”
“Wait- What?! He’s married?” I am wide eyed and my heart comes to a stop, realizing that Monica is his wife. “He didn’t tell ya? What a shame, I thought I was beginning to like you.”
“You liked me more when you thought I was a home wrecker?”
“Honestly yeah, never liked Monica and had been waiting on my little brother to do this. Hell, him not being able to keep his dick in his pants is what got him married in the first place.”
I’m in a state of shock, alcohol still in my system and I can’t help but laugh. Not out of joy of course but more out of shock that I’m in this situation in the first place. She shakes her head and smiles before heading to a wardrobe, pulling out a silk dress and heels.
“Alright Y/N, put this on and we’ll be on our way.”
I stare at the sage green dress and tan heels, admiring the way it glistened in the light. “Are you sure? If anything happens to this there’s no way that i can aff-“ I’m cut off by her.
“Don’t worry about that, think of it as a welcoming gift for my dear brothers mistress. God knows I’ve been waiting for it.” And my heart drops again at her name for me. Mistress. I just came here for work experience, not to be thrown into a fucking affair. I make a mental note to talk to Kayce after this and figure out what he really wants.
Besides, if Monica doesn’t find out what do I have to lose? I’ll be out of here in a few weeks and back at college, never seeing him again.
———————————————————————
Beth leads me into the hotel bar before coming to a stop near an older man with grey hair. His eyes seem to devour me and I discreetly shift, uncomfortable at the situation I put myself in.
“Well Dan, what a surprise running into you here.” Beth says, coming to sit down next to him. I take that as my cue to sit down next to him and lean over the bar, trying to get this done with as fast as possible.
“You’re not gonna introduce me to your friend?” He says, eyes still on me with a twinkle in his eyes. Fucking disgusting why did I agree to this, hell why did I agree to come to the ranch in the first place. My thoughts are interrupted by beth’s laugh and her words.
“This is Y/N, she’s a wrangler and what I would like to call a family friend.”
If that isn’t the biggest lie i’ve heard all night then I don’t know what is.
“Well Y/N it’s a pleasure to meet you. Tell me, how did the Yellowstone come to find you? I thought y’all only had murderous cowboys and land hungry old men.”
“Like you?” I hear beth say, sending a silent glare at me to not give any information about myself. Jenkins, or Dan as Beth calls him, rolls his eyes and faces her.
“And what do you want? You ruined my fucking marriage. You befriended my wife. What else could you possibly want from me?”
She smirks and grabs his face, running her nails over his skin. “Wanna come home with me and my friend? I can promise you, we’ll make it worth your while.”
She had already told me of her plan so I wasn’t taken aback, but the reality set in when she said those words. Was I really about to lead a man I barely know to his own death because I slept with a married man?
———————————————————————
I step out of the car, shaking. I knew what was coming, someone would come up behind him and drag him off to who knows where to do god knows what to him. Breathing in the cool air, I hear him step out and the sound of feet running towards him.
Closing my eyes, I wrap my arms around my waist and pray for this moment to be over. I hear screams and the sound of horses leading him away, and I shakily look at my feet.
A pair of boots are in front of me and I hesitantly look up, coming face to face with Rip.
“What the hell Beth. She doesn’t wear the brand why the fuck would you get Y/N involved in this?” He angrily asks, storming towards her and grabbing her arms.
“Met her tonight and figured I could use her. Relax, nothing happened to her.”
“Then why the fuck does she have those marks on her neck? Huh? You used my cousin as a fucking prostitute.”
Beth just laughs at this and winks at me, as if to say my secret is safe with her. I almost believe her until I hear “Trust me, Jenkins isn’t the one that marked up that pretty little neck.”
It’s honestly pathetic and hypocritical how antis will post their own life story and use it as a way of saying “This is why you shouldn’t ship this” and treat it as if their life and feelings are the only ones that matter and are totally universal. They talk about how much they protect and love survivors, etc.
Yet when a survivor posts about their own trauma and how ships have helped them navigate and come to terms with their own trauma or how equating fiction to their abuse is degrading and causes more harm to them than good, they’re told…
“Cope in private” nevermind the fact that shipping can form a community and help them form bonds and friendships that can help get them through their trauma. This also basically amounts to telling them to go it alone and that they aren’t allowed to have a community.
“Stop hurting other survivors” nevermind the fact that antis have no problem hurting other survivors when they say this.
“Stop using your trauma to hurt other survivors.” Nevermind the fact that antis use their own trauma to hurt other surviviors.
etc.
Why is it that antis can treat their own personal stories and experiences as absolute truth yet a shipper who came from similar circustance isn’t allowed to?
Take a good long look in the mirror. If something is personally triggering to you, great. Blacklist it. Block it. Don’t follow people who post it. You don’t have the right to tell other people what spaces they are allowed to have or how they’re alllowed to do something.
Anti: I can enjoy devilman while being critical of its problematic elements
Me, who has been trying to explain this concept to antis who want fanworks with problematic elements to not exist at all and harass their creators instead of accepting that adults are able to consume problematic work critically:
It’s almost like antis claim a ship is problematic purely because they don’t like it cause it interferes with a ship they do like or they don’t like one or more of the characters involved
i think it’s funny when people are like “dark fiction or tragic fiction is ok if it’s about overcoming trauma or showing the outcome of a mistake” bc like that feels weirdly christian (though not saying only christianity promotes that) like it must always have a “moral” or whatever and meanwhile aristotle’s idea of catharsis is like “hey sometimes people just feel better and have their negative emotions purged when they see fucked up shit happening to an innocent fictional character that did no wrong in the story because as a fictional story literally no one is getting hurt”
That is exactly why the greeks wrote tragedy. They believed catharsis was the expelling of negative emotions. So they wrote heartbreaking plays where no one was happy in the end because sometimes life just sucks.
Sometimes you don’t wanna listen to Mamma Mia and laugh, you wanna listen to This Impossible Year and cry. And that’s okay.
Fiction can influence reality, in that real humans can use it to transmit ideas, but fiction does not createreality because humans have free will
Ex: If I write a book about a fictional Utopia and forced everyone to read it, the world will not necessarily turn into that Utopia
Similarly, representation can matter because it’s comforting and inspiring to envision a world where the heroes look like you – but “representation” still implies “a depiction” of a potential reality
Having fictional “possibility models” is important to many people who feel invisible in their society, but it still takes real-world behavior changes to fight racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, etc
In sum: representation matters AND fiction still does not directly control the real world, thank you for your time
Movie Magic is going to have art, stories, and cosplay based on movies we all recognize. We’re opening up applications again to allow new artists to come and show their work for SheRa and the Movie world!
If interested in this zine, please give this a like and a reblog to show support!
The She-Ra Fashion Zine is now Available! Follow this link ( https://gumroad.com/americankestrel# ). Available as pdf or bundled (paper, pdf, and stickers). Thank you hayden_cosplay and @veelucienarts for inviting me to work on this project with them (and all the other wonderful artists and writers)! Proceeds go to Sage USA.
Starting the printing of the #sheraandtheprincessesofpower fashion #zine. Message me or see my gumroad listings to get your copy. #artlife #bookprinting
I love rereading my own fanfic, actually. It’s like the person who wrote it knew exactly what I wanted and was writing it specifically to appeal to m—oh wait.
I’m interested in drawing some OC and or existing characters. Given that I’m sneaking this in around my school schedule I’m not interested in doing complex backgrounds or scenes, you’ll have to wait til May for that! (Unless it’s Din and Grogu, you can convince me to do a lot for Din and Grogu ahahaa)
Waitlist spot available. Payment is up front via Paypal but I won’t accept payment until I’m ready to start your art. I work on one piece at a time all drawn with my hand, no tracing, photo bashing or paintovers. You’ll get a full 300 dpi copy of your file, one sized for screen viewing and any kind of cropping you want if you want to use it for a pfp.
Price for a single character can range from usd $50 to $75 depending on complexity. (Example: Jedi in robe, person in normal clothing=lower pricing, full mando with custom painted designed armor=higher pricing)
Humans, aliens, furries etc from most all fandoms are welcome. I’m not as comfortable doing things like transformers/full mech characters. You wouldn’t get a great result from me. Better to wait and commission someone who makes mechs etc their specialty!
Anyway, thats about all! Below are some examples of the kind of work I do/am looking to do more of. If you don’t want a commission now but like my art, please consider reblogging for great justice!
“Immature people crave and demand moral certainty: This is bad, this is good. Kids and adolescents struggle to find a sure moral foothold in this bewildering world; they long to feel they’re on the winning side, or at least a member of the team. To them, heroic fantasy may offer a vision of moral clarity. Unfortunately, the pretended Battle Between (unquestioned) Good and (unexamined) Evil obscures instead of clarifying, serving as a mere excuse for violence — as brainless, useless, and base as aggressive war in the real world.”
Ursula K Le Guin at it again, being right as always
S: ya better be, I was watching one of those reality shows with Louie.
[they made their way from the driveway to inside the mansion. Scrooge was quite hesitant, he only bothered helping Yakko was due to webby being good friends with dot and louie being wakko’s friend.]
