~ Neutrals ~

F U R S

Earlier this week I reported on the very depressing for-profit fic pirating happening in certain corners of fandom—but (somewhat coincidentally, timing-wise) I also had the joy of reporting this story on fanbinding, and the work of the @renegadeguild! Featuring the words (and fanbinds) of the brilliant @celestial-sphere-press, @butterfingersbookbinding, and @fanboundbooks (who also talked about Renegade on the most recent Fansplaining episode).

Renegade's binders are strong proponents of the non-monetized gift economy—they truly embody the spirit of fanfiction, in my opinion, both in the communal way they share their work with fic writers and each other, and in the DIY way they approach making books:

There’s a strong parallel between the amateur, instinctive nature of fanfiction and the act of fanbinding. While plenty of fic is penned by formally trained writers, much of it is not. Tiffo, who binds as Fanboundbooks, likens the reverse-engineering involved in teaching oneself both activities. As writers, people try to figure out why stories work. Fanbinders collectively share the process of learning to turn that work into a physical object—tactile, clean, often beautiful. Fic is largely unencumbered by the forms and structures of traditional publishing, and fanbinders approach their work with the same spirit. “People will often say, ‘How do I do this?’ or ‘What’s the rule for this?’” Tiffo says. “The answer that we always try to throw in Renegade is, ‘This is what other people have done, but know that there is no rule to your book—you can make whatever you want.’”

It's a shame seeing people conflate the bad actors of the pirating situation—many of whom don't appear to be in fandom and seem motivated by pure profit—with the work of fanbinders at large, and seeing people scared to try out fanbinding because of the recent news. Not-for-profit fanbinding is just as legal as writing fanfiction, and I don't speak for all fic writers, but if someone ever bound one of my fics, I'd be so touched I would almost definitely weep. 😭

Zuko takes Sokka and baby Druk to see the masters’ rainbow dragon fire. It’s breathtaking for all involved, even though someone isn’t looking at the fire…

I honestly and truly believe all good AUs should be a little “”””ooc”””” in the sense that good characterisation involves understanding that changes a characters backstory and circumstances will have an effect on how they respond to the world around them

Good characterisation isn’t about creating a perfect 1:1 canon replica it’s about understanding why a character is different in your work and about grounding the changes you do deliberately choose to make in canon character traits

(via)

I'd look at her the same way 🧎🏻‍♀️

my spicy twt is here btw 👀🌶️

This is a funny sign and all but I think the main takeaway should be that there is Dog English and Dog Welsh (Cimraeg?!?!?!?)

"my boyfriend everyone! so handsome"- dallus liu when ian ousley gave him some flowers

the zukka queerbait is funny as hell but i wont lie, actual actors and producers of the show knowing about the existence of zukka makes me feel like. yknow when u pick up a big rock and there’s a bunch of bugs and shit under there living their lives and now you’ve disturbed them and they’re all freaking out. that’s me i’m one of the bugs

absolutely incomprehensible, beautiful

My friend Alicia made an ATLA meme

it’s like no one wants to fucking take their bloody hands and cup their lover’s face, making a streak of red on their cheek with their thumb before passionately kissing anymore 

Glowing Goldfish at Dusk