borzoiteeth

borzoiteeth, 7 months ago

I post some of my fancomics on AO3 does that count? I do have plans to reformat some of my pure written works, stuff them with some illustrations and post them on ComicFury.

Reddit was my main site once upon a time (despite the fact there was no good place for fancomic conversations lol). In general I usually chat about writing on various Discords. I used to post updates of my comics on twitter and tumblr but that dropped nearly as quickly as it came. Going to echo a_mac_and_con here, it is not natural to talk about it unless the environment already presents it... even if the said places have personal blogging spots that can be about whatever you want? Brain be dumb like that.

I'm curious to what sites you are speaking of though. If the site is big enough, usually there will subspaces for fandom- and then something that goes into fanfic. But this can heavily depend on your fandoms? Some are far more welcoming of fanfic than others.

borzoiteeth, 7 months ago

Lack of reactions do not stop me. Lack of reactions makes me feel more comfortable in posting because it means less purity police bullshit. Twitter I dropped for the reasons I dropped Reddit. Everything else is ADHD+Depression+Anxiety.

So with tumblr and twitter it is VERY dependent on your fandom. Some have hashtags I didn't even know and others... no hashtags at all. You just had to luckily stumble upon them (likely because they wanted to avoid drama-seeking people).

As for places like Pillowfort and Mastrodon, these are VERY small sites and largely new. This is also where we get into the issue of self-fulfilled prophecy. Most people want to post in places where they will get interactions (nothing wrong with that and understandable), so they instinctively seek places where there is already a crowd. Even when there are sites that are designed to be fandom friendly like Pillowfort if the community isn't already there, they tend to not move unless extreme circumstances request it (and, sadly, isn't deemed too inconvenient).

Honestly, no different than what inspires most people into writing the stories they write. I remember seeing so many comments on r/fanfiction from people who wouldn't write stories for fandoms because they were seemingly dead or non-existent. Not to say if everyone actually posted they would get rewarded. Because most people are only going to go to places they know, which they were advertised to, etc.

I've only posted a handful of art on Mastrodon right now. I do have a Pillowfort I keep meaning to fix up. Such things take time, for better or worse.

borzoiteeth, 7 months ago

We are social creatures, it is in one's nature to want attention! There is nothing wrong with being upset when your are proud of something and not getting the reaction you are hoping for. (but I must say, purity police aren't really "reacting" to works. They look for victims that seemingly have the right elements that they know outsiders who have done no research will believe because it sure sounds bad.)

That said, I am that person who will draw/write things expecting no views. When a game that came out in 2008 didn't get any fanfic until I decided to in 2021, I expected 0 views. Not to say that I wasn't thrilled when it started getting some (even if they were 100% from curious peers lol)! But for me the goal of creating those works was simply about needing more. Even if those pieces stayed at 0 I would not consider them a waste of time.

lol true! Pillowfort isn't new by a general internet sense. However, when you compare the amount of users on it to Tumblr, it's community-space is barely in it's infancy.

As for the "my hard work gets no attention but my bullshit doodle gets 1k likes" is something that happens everywhere and has always been an issue even before internet. That very thing has made feel feel like quitting art at times. Sadly the issue I said about convenience? It applies here too. People are more likely to engage with something that looks like it isn't going to ask for much thought. The artwork that took 6-something months to finish? Outside of my peer circle, nothing. That stupid meme I did years ago? Still fucking circulates at a particular time of year!

Which in general is also not a bad thing! The other meta-issue comes with the timeline we live in. Our modern times we are surrounded by "art" that is purely made for profit and most people do not get a basic education on how art mediums work. I dearly love Pokémon, but fuck, the amount of people who praised Scarlet+Violet's story despite the massive amount of plotholes is depressing. The amount of people in that fandom who cannot tell the differences between genre of realism and grimdark is funny, but painful. (just because my main characters don't have plot-armour doesn't mean my fanwork is grimdark or horror! AAAA)

Oh! Thank you! I honestly cannot say why I've been hesitating on building up my Pillowfort aside from it happened at the same time of me migrating from many other places. I cannot begin to explain how much I loved the original reddit design and format so my brain jumped on kbin easier than it has to other locations. (again, that convenience issue)

borzoiteeth, 7 months ago

(Didn't read harsh at all! But my ability to read tone in non-narrative text is really bad so I am not the best judge. If it seems like I misunderstood anything, do correct me!)

borzoiteeth, 7 months ago

Ahhh, I think I see what you are saying! In that case if it causes such grief to do in the first place, I'd honestly stop doing it (I did for some sites before I learned of how nasty they were getting). It's not worth trying to build up when it causes that much dread.

(Oh goodness! Good perspective to have, but do make sure to protect yourself if they start trying to dig into your personal life! Good luck!)

Yeah. As you saw, one of the fandoms I am in is one of the biggest and thus very easy to find even in non-fandom friendly sites. But most works I am into are not even 1/5k the size of it and thus I wouldn't find anyone to connect to even on sites meant for fandom interaction. So in spades your experience is very much shared!

(So much! I may get mocked for my language skills at times but at least I try!)

Kbin has a lot differences than Reddit despite sharing an inspirational point. I find myself confused about multiple things here despite being able to draw from a similar UI experience. But I have been enjoying the many differences! Being able to do microblogs that don't bog down the main threads is a great way to throw a casual mention of working on stuff without feeling like you are putting a spotlight upon yourself. (If you have a question, I'll do my best to answer!)

borzoiteeth, 6 months ago

(ah! good to know it hasn't snowballed into anything more!)

Whoops! Sorry for the assumption. Another thing I love about these federations that other places don't have- the ability to talk to others on entirely different sites!

borzoiteeth, 7 months ago

It depends on the story for me. I usually don't. Sometimes a peer or a friend offer themselves to beta. Often I'll accept because I'm aware my English can be a mess lol. If I'm working on a piece that has a sensitive subject I am not personally familiar with I will seek someone to double check.

One friend of mine was completely ignorant to Pokémon. Their knowledge began with whatever I shared when we talked monster designs or company abuse. I do not know why or how they became interested in my PMD stories but it has been a delight to hear their fandom-blind thoughts on it.

Every once and a while I beta for others. Never for SPAG! But for plotholes, worldbuilding, art, word bubble/panel placement, etc I happily do. I very delight in tackling plotholes it is a favourite puzzle of mine to solve. But sometimes I have been asked to beta for things that are beyond me and had to turn it down. Certain genres and themes do not click for me,

borzoiteeth, 7 months ago

+1 not redundant. Especially if you are a mystery writer!

Sorry to hear you haven't had luck finding a beta.

While thankfully not crucified I have been attacked and mocked for my linguistics and plot choices. It's calmed down a lot this year but yeah. Some fandoms are weirdly nasty about such things.

borzoiteeth, 7 months ago

Due to multiple life situations I cannot be at my usual computer to do anything digital drawing wise (also abysmal internet connections). Before that happened though I did finish a script and got 4ish pages done for the next short story.

So at best I'm just note taking and doodling in my sketchbook. When the internet is kind I get to wander over here and read things on Ao3 and ComicFury.

borzoiteeth, 7 months ago

One I've held onto too long and have recently told myself to let it go was a crossover of Waiting for Godot and Pokémon. However my brain just could not plan it out beyond the initial meta joke of "fandom in denial about TPC respecting their time/money".

As for ideas I'm still clinging to...

Crossover of YGO: Duel Monsters and CRAWL. I have a bunch of ideas doodled out and notes but don't have it properly organised. The narrator of CRAWL is absolutely King Thief they are one and the same to me lol.

Writing some wlw for Sakuna of Rice and Ruin. Sakuna and her best friend Kokorowa have a lot of fun potential! (I also need to state that I'm the only person to have written anything for this game in English. Pain.)

Pokémon GS/HGSS but specifically about the power the player (once upon a time) has over the rival's name and using that as a tool. Pokémon but what is the golden/pure heart Ho-Oh is looking for (which is now wrapped up with the other idea explaining what had happened to the Brass Tower). Fixits of all of the massive plotholes SwordShield and ScarletViolet have.

Fixit of the massive horrible mess of Pacific Rim: Uprising. So many good ideas that should of been separate films but instead they choke on each other in one.

What if Jurassic World kept the heart of the anti-capitalsim of the original book and first film. What if we explored the coolest idea in Jurassic World that was just a news clipping shoved in the background. "the worth of allowing once extinct animals go extinct again" and compared to other animals we once thought to be extinct and we are studying in real life today.

(Insert 50+ more ideas here lol)

borzoiteeth, 7 months ago

I usually just leave when I witness such carelessness but I was enthralled by how many good ideas that were there. PR:U is at least 4 films smashed into one but I haven't had the time/brain matter to start organizing the tangled structures yet.

JW is just... holy fuck someone on the writing team at one point actually research what its like working with dangerous animals. Original Owen hits a lot of notes my loved ones who work in the field have had to tackle with! but those writers either were removed or very likely, the suits told them no. You can have a "monster film" without making animals senseless hunters goddammit.

borzoiteeth, 7 months ago

You are missing another element! Antagonists are simply characters who counter or go against the main character. Evil, grey, corrupted,, misunderstood, etc doesn't even have to be a part of them! Cruel main characters are a thing and thus, good moral antagonists exist as well.

As for what makes a good one, I'm not sure how to talk about it without writing too many paragraphs. Context is important. Awareness of medium, setting and the rest of the cast influence what makes certain character traits shine in some spaces and look bad in others.

While real life is full of people who never think through their actions and happily do things to hurt others... I just, I guess I'd rather my fiction be not too realistic. I'd rather read works with antagonists who thought they came to a logical conclusion. Not to say I don't love a bunch of work where the antagonists are "flat"! For some works it's really not the point to do character studies. Sometimes antagonists are simply to represent a bigger idea, a grander concept of life. (I'm saying this yet fully agree to your stance on Ganondorf lol)

borzoiteeth, 7 months ago

Having OCs does not come at the "expense" of canon characters. I read OC stories where there is none of the original cast. I read OC/OC. Do I go out of my way to read them? Depends on the fandom!

You can make a guess on how well your fic will do in a fandom by seeing what works get to be celebrated. Some fandoms all people want are OCs. Some fandoms become toxic hell houses just suggesting having an OC show up for a chapter. But you really, really cannot know how a fandom will react until you post.

My most popular work right now is a 99% OC cast. However the reason I thought the work would be ignored/hated by the fandom wasn't because of the largely OC focus (it is a very OC friendly fandom). It was because the work is a deconstruction of the fandom's favourite genres/themes. Escapism, power fantasy, that sort of thing. (So bad to the point that me having blatant warnings of a main character dying and the exact page it was happening so people could avoid it I still got a lot of shocked/angry comments)

For a couple of years, my prediction was mostly correct. Then on the third year my work exploded in readers! Every once and a while I get compliments about my work and in general it makes me sad. "your work is so original!" It's only original because the atmosphere of the community has made it unfriendly for this kind of work...

borzoiteeth, 7 months ago

Glad you have those in your fandom you can refer to. It gives me better comfort when dealing with unreasonable readers. Sadly "don't like, don't read" has been a lost art for awhile. I hope one day it will become trendy again.

Sometimes fandoms that used to be unfriendly to OCs will turn around because a couple of fanfic managed to become super popular. The English fandom of Naruto has a few well documented cases of this.

borzoiteeth, 8 months ago

The most prolific one I keep returning to I'm not sure really counts because it never had a full fandom. Dino Run by PixelJam was very popular when it came out (2008?). But aside from a few fanart pieces there was never any fanfic. So I would have this cycle where my brain would be consumed by this game for 1-2 months and then go dormant for 2-3 years. Every time left sad/disappointed that there was never any fanfic for it. Then in 2021 I was finally inspired to write for it. Only 2 people who have played the games have read, everyone else has been fandom blind lol.

Any of Minekura Kazuya's work. But purely for fanfiction as I have never meshed well with the artists nor general fandom. Her work while very pop also has a lot of emotional density so whether I want to or not I have to take years long breaks. But once and a while whether I'm updated or not on her stories I will check out what is out there fanfic wise. I'm usually not there for long because the most popular dynamics are not the reason why I read her works.

(will think of other examples later but these are the major 2 to come to mind)

borzoiteeth, 7 months ago

That is 100% Pokémon for me lol. The fans put more passion into plots than the franchise itself has for years.

borzoiteeth, 8 months ago

I've been crashing. Thankfully since ComicFury has a queuing system it doesn't matter how not here I am. It can continue to update whilst I'm tripping over everything.

borzoiteeth, 9 months ago

So somethings I'm going to list I feel are outright bad writing, but considering how popular such stories are I'm going to list it anyways because it's clearly not a universal opinion. (To further note, these are things I apply to both original and fanfic.)

Green Aesop styled stories that treat humans as if they aren't animals and don't also come from nature. That they are all inherently evil. It completely disregards how most damage isn't from majority of humanity but billionaires. It's also massively ablest. If it doesn't disregard, it outright states that if you don't have a body that that handle being in the wild, fuck you.

That is, unless the work has decided to go, "nature is innocent" route. How to instantly tell me you have never worked with animals, done anything in nature, or know anyone who has. Yes, there are wild animals that will help those outside their species. But don't ignore how there are there are animals that will kill not to eat- but just for fun. Some of those animals are the same species as the ones who will seek to help.

On that theme, but I don't think aren't bad writing in general. Just massively poorly categorised by people who like staying genre-blind (and this complaint is largely aimed at fan works and specifically a certain fandom):

Works that take the high-fantasy setting, claim its going to deconstruct and show how certain things would be applied realistically... but what they actually mean is they want to write grimdark with no research. All the wild animals basically act the same regardless of their inspired background. Turned into common house cats or sport dog breeds. That is, if they aren't just humans in fursuits.

Wanting to tell stories like this isn't bad, just, dammit, be honest about what you actually want to write? This misinformation is so bad that in this same fandom people often say my work is grimdark.

One I admit isn't bad writing and is a pure pet peeve: Characters who know who caused them harm but lash out and deliberately hurt others who were not involved. This is something that happens all the time in reality. But I really, really cannot stand it in fiction. (There is only one story exception I have but to explain will make this post extra long and it's already 9+ paragraphs hhhhh)

One similar vibe: "no one understands me!" or, "you don't get it" by a character who never tried to explain what was going on. Extra points when this is yelled at someone who is completely new to the situation. Like? No shit they don't know? Why are you talking as if they have been in this situation as long as you have?

Stories that are more deeply invested in describing the look of every room and outfit instead of moving the plot forward. I'd might be able to forgive it if it was a Locked-Room Mystery or similar, but that has not been my luck. A big warning to me is when authors phrase celebrations entirely around their wordcount. Instead of what exactly that wordcount accomplished.

borzoiteeth, 8 months ago

Ah shoot, very true. Though I'd like to think that I'd be more laid back if the story clearly wasn't trying to be a life-lesson. But good catch. aaaa

borzoiteeth, 8 months ago

Very much agree! At worst, I usually only see idiot-ball stuff like that in fanfiction when it's a character bashing piece. While not my kind of story, its a good way to vent for writers to express frustrations~

borzoiteeth, 9 months ago

:(

borzoiteeth, 9 months ago

Yeah if I had a more stable life I'd post sooner but that's not going to happen hhhh.

I wouldn't call someone who only had one good project in their history the same thing. Those people still have a desire to create regardless of the struggle. That is what they spend their time on.

I don't think it's sad if someone only has one story to tell. Some people hop hobbies. For a few years, it's writing. For another set of years, it's knitting and podcasts. Another, swimming.

I personally cannot grasp how, but that's how some brains roll.

borzoiteeth, 9 months ago

Ah! Goodness, I'm sorry you have that to dread about! The few I've talked to who hop hobbies have told me they may not "miss" a previous fixation, but just angry/upset about having to ride the chaos. Especially since some hobbies are very expensive.

Some others however, once they found fandom and it's flexibility there is an "easier" bouncing of hobbies. Usually migrating from one fandom to another but still deep in fanfiction. The frustration instead comes from putting so much work into a story for your brain to drop it and wanting to work on a whole new story, setting, characters.