#can't click any of these because they assume visual information
Note
what's exhausting about bg3? I know me and a few others haven't been able to get it bc we're poor and I wanted your take on how it's exhausting if you don't mind
i called it exhausting for ace reasons so if you're not super ace you'll be fine. i do have other disappointments though:
visual character customization is lacking
like okay i'd bought the game blind so my disappointment is 100% on me, but can you blame me for assuming based on posts of people raving about the customization options and saying they 'made their oc' that there would be a fully-fledged cc with sliders for facial features and everything??
what you get is just a set of like 8 preset faces (for human/elf/half-elf/tiefling/etc at least) and 2-4 body options. there's an impressive amount of hairstyles at least, but what the fuck does that matter if i can't even really customize my character's face. there's not even much you can do with the textures--you only get a palette of pre-approved colors instead of a color picker, there's no option to flip or translate tattoos/facepaint, and you can't even layer makeup textures. the ui design here is very clunky too which just underlines how low of a priority it must've been
on one hand i get it, this all costs time and money and they clearly had a lot on their plate with the actual meat of the game, but on the other hand my character gets the most closeups on the camera in dialogue/cutscenes, so why can't i do more with their appearance?? the character customization possibilities everyone raved about really just boil down to class, stats, & numbers, so basically more like arpg character building, where it's more about gameplay than the character
don't get me wrong, the race/background/class you pick do influence dialogue options, but i can't do something as standard as sculpt my character's face?? are you kidding me?? like, if they're not gonna let me do that, then what the fuck are all these high res glossy graphics for?? everyone else in this game gets a unique look except for me, huh? if they care that little they might as well turn this back into a text-centric game and let me import a custom png for my character like in the old days
there are a few points in the game where i was like, they really took the trouble to write and pay a voice actor to voice responses based on player actions to that level of specificity… when that time and money could've been put towards the cc. like yeah it's impressive, but it's empty. i don't need this character to voice my exact actions--i KNOW i took those actions--i want something of worth to me.
navigating the map is kind of a pain
you use the keyboard to control the camera, and you use the mouse to click where you want the character to go. the issue i have with this is that the camera is SO frustrating to orient and zoom in and out sometimes--they go through great pains to try and not show the insides of any 3d models while you're moving the camera, and they'll cut away the rooftops and other levels for you, but sometimes the game just Doesn't Understand What I'm Trying To See. like they've made it so ~elegant~ and ~presentable~ that it gets in my way. i constantly feel like i'm fighting the controls--not just of the camera, but the movement too. tbf, i don't know how this could be made better so i think what they did was the best solution, but i do get very frustrated
there's no undo button if i click "hide" by accident
unlike literally every other button on the hotbar, there's no "click again to confirm" or "right click to cancel". they just instantly hide and that bonus action is WASTED
you can enable tutorial-like informative popups, but they forget to teach you some of the most basic ways to interact with the world
there's a heavy rock at some point that's "too heavy to throw" but is clearly meant to be interacted with. …you're supposed to click and drag to "drag" it away. i had to look up what to do with it and i'm not crazy because MANY people had the same question!! not to mention those small tunnels around the environment where your character's like "well I'M too large to fit in there" and i'm like "oh i'll summon my tiny familiar and have them scurry in there!" only for the tunnel to be like "uh your familiar can't interact with me actually". so i give up because i'm over it at that point and i go online hours later to look it up and SOMEONE SAYS YOU CAN SEND YOUR FAMILIAR THROUGH THE TUNN-- (at this point i have keeled over in rage)
you can press left alt to highlight interactable items, but they only highlight what they think is important based on their own mysterious criteria. you have to sweep around like it's an i-spy game to figure out ALL the interactables in the area
i would like this if the CAMERA WERE EASIER TO OPERATE and if--actually no! no! i would NEVER like this! either highlight everything or highlight nothing at all, don't waste my time! i understand that some stuff is left unhighlighted so that the characters can roll perception checks and go "OH! a hidden lever!" but JUST TELL ME OUTRIGHT WHERE THE CRATES ARE. i play with an unavoidable glare on my screen and also, frankly, i have better things to do than squint and pick out every item in the room. let me get my meagre satisfaction from looting and be done with it!
there is absolutely no firm indication of when you might be stepping into an exclusively romantic or sexual line of dialogue
i would like this if i could turn the sex off. like set sex to no. i'm a fan of not having too many dialogue indicators or visible approval bars, BUT ONLY when i know i can relax and feel comfortable in the game. this game loves suggestive wording so i can never tell whether a scene could just be played platonically or not. like (early spoiler) gale invites you to a private magic lesson that he says can only take place in an intimate setting, so you meet him after the party, alone. given the other conversations i'd just experienced (from the fighter & the vampire) i was like great this is going to be sexual isn't it, but i was weak and wanted character interaction so i gave in and i went--and then IT WASN'T??? in fact you could play it totally platonically?? so i almost MISSED a perfectly good companion interaction because of the overly suggestive way it was worded!
"sovo are you sure that isn't just gale's personality to say it like that" YES BECAUSE EVERY COMPANION EXHIBITS THIS. it's woven into the companions, into the narration, into all the word choices. it's just a suggestive game all around, the atmosphere NEVER goes away, even when it's just a false alarm. it's part of why it's so ABSOLUTELY exhausting--because i know every other person playing this and seeing this is having a blast, and i'm the only one out here with my guard up and 10 layers of emotional shielding because i CAN'T like any companions because they're GOING to proposition my character at some point and i WILL take emotional damage when my only options are "yes let's enter a fully animated sex scene!" or "no i fucking hate your guts". do you see?? do you see my pain?? where is the middle option--the compromise?? and oh yeah, the rest of the real life world thinks my complaints are baseless, ridiculous, and avoidable. "just don't fucking play, idiot!" but do i not deserve to have fun as well? can i not get a CRUMB of something in a world where i have to make everything myself?? just once, can i play a game and have it fit--not perfectly, but at least fit??
just give me the heart icons of da:2/da:i. tell me when i'm walking into a flag i don't want to raise. better yet, when the game asks whether or not you want nudity enabled, add an option there to opt out of romance too. i say romance even though all i want is to opt out of the sex dialogue options bc as we all know romance and sex can NEVER be separated--
anyway those are my gripes. the things i like about it are… well, there are a few fights where i was like, oh that's cool that it actually uses the environment and/or teaches you a mechanic about the game that you can put into use later. the environmental puzzles are interesting, but all satisfaction is lost when i have to look up the basic mechanics they rely on that i was never taught or made aware of in-game. but i don't play games like these for gameplay, i play them for the story and the companions and the romance, so given this specific game i guess i should just keel over and die
#sovo answers#kind of holding out hope that i can make it to sorcerous sundries to see it in 3d but since that's near the end and#i haven't even left the first map.. i'm not optimistic
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Headcanons for Sonic characters' living situations (family/upbringing/housing)
We don't see most sonic characters homes or relatives anymore post-Archie comics, which tbh I actually like bc I like them to stay simplistic adventurer characters in main-line canon, but here's a bit of a masterpost for what I like to imagine in headcanon world lol
Even tho it's headcanons, I like to base them off of canon information (one off dialogue, old comics, less played games), so ull probably learn a lot about their actual canon homes through this read if that interests you team
Im splitting this into two posts! Click here for team dark, read below the cut for team sonic-
Team Sonic homes & upbringing
Sonic
I really really do not have any interest in Sonic being a tragic orphan lol. No interest in the Longclaw tragedy or him being alone his whole childhood. I think most can kinda agree that the tragic orphan main character trope is kinda overdone anyway, and honestly I just don't think it's accurate to his personality at all, at least not how I see him. My headcanon is that he had a pretty normal childhood, despite his super speed, and that the reason he didn't cause a commotion out adventuring at an even younger age than he already did is because he canonically grew up on Christmas island, so he couldn't get to the mainland since he can't swim. On TailsTube Tails said that the mainland is mostly urban cityscapes populated by humans (I assume with further away, more forested areas like windmill village and north glade further away from the human cities) and that the animal people mostly live on or at least come from tropical islands surrounding the main land (that are more tropical and similar looking to the early games with their palm trees and sunflowers).
I think Christmas island is probably tucked out of the way, and that Sonic grew up with a mom and dad and maybe even a little sister. I just think Sonic is such a big brother type, he had to get it from somewhere, he just fell into it so naturally with Tails like it was no big deal to him to have some little guy following him around tryna copy him, like maybe he was used to it. I bet his little sister is a lot younger though, like a bigger age difference than Sonic has with Tails, so by the time she was more self aware he was already off adventuring. I think before he left though, he was a massive trouble maker, always trying to find something exciting to get up to and burn energy with. I bet he had a skateboard and would be constantly hurtling around the island crashing into other peoples' stuff, so everyone knew him well. That kind of small town childhood where every mom and pop shop owner knows you by name and gives you a free little treat while you're out grocery shopping with your parents. I think everyone was shocked by his super speed at first but got used to it because, tbh, judging from other characters, although it's rare it doesn't seem that insanely crazy for animal folks to be born with some sort of special ability or crazy fur or eye color. I think the only reason Tails got bullied for his is just because it's so much more visually jarring and really seemed to be more of a deformity than a special ability until he realized he could fly.
I think Sonic would befriend someone who managed to get a proper ship that can make the distance to the mainland, and would end up begging his parents to go off and adventure, to finally stretch his legs and find the limits to his speed while he sees the world. In Sonic's world, and even Blaze's dimension, I don't think this is uncommon. Supposedly Amy ran off to adventure, Cream's mom Vanilla lets her go and adventure so long as Germerl or a team sonic member is watching her, and Marine from Blaze's world was also intent on adventuring no matter what anyone said. I don't really like when people try to say that this is like,, trauma inducing or something, because that's just how adventure cartoons and games are. Like, little kids go off and adventure the world in pokemon too and stuff, that's just normal for them or even an exciting opportunity that others envy them for, so, yknow, that's how I see it for sonic's world, too. He wasn't abandoned by his parents or anything he just wanted to go adventure and see the world outside his tiny island.
Obviously once he was off the island, at some point he ran into eggman and couldn't stand by and watch him do evil, jumped into action, and kickstarted their rivalry. Remember, he didn't start out doing cosmic universe saving conquests, originally he was just roughing up eggman to save little woodland critters! And during this cat and mouse game he met Tails, Amy, and Knuckles, with this rivalry obviously becoming more serious when Metal Sonic was introduced later on (Metal was introduced 2 years after Sonic's first adventure, so I like to think that at least 2 years really did pass in their time and so he's a proper teenager by then and ready to take on the challenge).
I really like to emphasize Sonic's adventuring sprit, and so I think he started out with the money his parents gave him to rent out motel/inn rooms or yknow those little rooms people will rent our of their homes for some extra money. Probably a few of the nights inbetween he may have used a hammock and camped out for fun, he does like to enjoy some quiet time in nature every now and then after all. I think by the time Metal Sonic comes in and Sonic's position as hero becomes a bit officiated, he's probably run out of the money his parents gave him at that point but doesn't wanna abandon his duty against Eggman now and his new friendships, and has found that he really loves this freedom and exploring. But now he's a proper hero, maybe not worldwide but definitely in these forested areas I mentioned earlier that are distant from the urban cities at the center of the mainland. So people probably take him in and let him sleep in their guest rooms or on their couch with Tails for free on the days they don't feel like camping out, yknow as thanks for keeping eggman at bay and saving woodland critters and kidnapped victims like Amy. Eventually in time Tails finishes building a Lab in Emerald Town with Sonic's help and that became their home base.
So I think Sonic lives all over the place, that he mostly sleeps at Tails' lab and has his own room there, but that he also still travels a ton inbetween adventures (because it's so easy for him to do, run for 10 seconds and you've skipped 5 towns) and likes to still stay at strangers' houses to hear their stories and sight-see, or will stay at whatever hotel or inn, or maybe even still set up a hammock if it's a night with good weather.
What about his family though? Oh he totally visits them as often as he can, but since it's a small island that hasn't made any connections to the mainland yet, they don't have a ferry system and are too far out to build a big bridge without promise of business to justify it. He hates the water so much and hates the boat rides there, so that's why it's reduced to yearly visits, but they still send letters back and forth all the time, with his parents sending pictures and updating him on his little sister, and Sonic sending back all the details of his adventures and new friends. I'm sure by the time he's become a big hero, like by sonic adventure 1, at that point the news of his heroism reaches his parents before his letters can, and they always make sure to write in how proud they are.
And don't worry!! Tails isn't left out by any means, he goes with Sonic to celebrate holidays at his family's house every year, and his parents make sure that he feels like he's a part of the family too, because he is! Besides, Sonic really appreciates the company for the boat-rides there and back, if we've learned anything from Sonic X, it's that he's not particularly a huge fan of long boat rides. Tails is Sonic's little bro through and through, and his little sister is simply thrilled to have two adventuring hero big brothers. Sonic's parents love to have Tails too because it gives them a chance to embarass Sonic with all the stories of how he would try to impress his little sister with radical skateboard tricks or setting a new record for running a lap around the island, but would always end up hurting himself somehow. Still, it made her laugh, and makes Tails laugh at the stories now even years later, so there's no real loss.
Tails
We all know the story of how Tails was bullied by the others in his village for either his second tail or his advanced skills in technology, depending on the media. Sonic was the one to scare the bullies off while running by one day, and Tails ended up following him and joining in on his adventure, so there's not much room for my own headcanons since he already has a past and home in canon (the lab/workshop he built in Emerald city). It's never said where his parents are in all of this, at least not in the cartoons, games, or IDW comics. It's unclear whether they simply were never there, possibly neglected him and therefore did not care when he left, or if they let him leave to adventure the same way Cream's mom lets her. The headcanon I ended up coming up with is that in Tails village it has a 'it takes a village to raise a kid' mentality, and although kids still lived with their parents, they were cared for by everyone in the village, and that it was predominantly foxes living there. Because of this, I think if Tails wasn't claimed by his parents and instead lived in a group home or orphanage, it wouldn't be too bad since he'd have the whole village of adults looking after him, but: This would also make it easy for him to kind of feel like he doesn't have much tying him to his home, just kind of generally cared for and not having a direct link or loyalty to a specific home. I also think that his village being majority foxes would cause them to be more closed minded toward any differences, like his second tail. So when Sonic comes by, and shows off how he's backpacking the mainland alone and embracing not having anything tying him down, Tails is totally star struck and wants to follow in his footsteps. They of course go on exciting adventures together and Sonic becomes his big bro, with the adventures slowly becoming more intense as they grow older and rise to the challenges and make connections to adventuring types all over the world (and beyond, into the future and other dimensions and other planets).
Obviously he needs a place to store his equipment though, when his skills expand and demand more than the tools and materials he keeps stored in a bag on the Tornado. What was a single bag and the tornado ends up blowing up into a full blown workshop, multiple mechas, basically a whole industry with his logo showing up even on common household items. I think that's how he makes money too to stay independent, through selling inventions or being commissioned for repairs or designs.
Also in the IDW comics, there's a small side moment where Tails asks Sonic to play games with him, and there's a panel showing them playing games on a couch, so it's clear that Tails' workshop does have a living area with the typical furniture and comforts.
As said earlier he visits Sonic's family every year whenever they can make the time for a trip and be sure they won't be needed for anything important (this becomes easier when the freedom fighters or the resistance/restoration is formed, depending on whichever continuation you follow, regardless it allows them to go off for a little vacation/home visit more often). Tails is nervous at first but after a few visits becomes excited to go see them again and feels like a part of the family, and a holiday without him just doesn't feel right at Sonic's family's house. Whenever he's there he definitely helps with any home repairs they may need as thanks, and eventually helps them with setting up a way to do video calls. Even with video calls, Sonic still likes to send letters back and forth too, it became a way to really sit down and digest all the big events that happen to him, like a way to help process it all while also chronicling all the good moments with his friends. Still he appreciates the video calls Tails set up, but since he never keeps any tech on him, they have to be scheduled so he can make sure he can go have a sit-down at Tails' lab to be there to answer the call and have a chat (this means Tails is always there for the video calls too!).
At first at Sonic's family's house his bedroom had been left untouched and still has his silly race-car bed and stack of comic books and stuff, and it isn't until he literally can't fit in it anymore that it's replaced, and when it is they make sure to put a second bed in the room for Tails too since they always visit together.
Amy
Amy seemed to seek independence from a really young age. It's implied in Sonic X that her parents really upheld gender roles and expected her to stay at home and stay away from rough housing with her hammer. It was her fortune cards that told her to leave home, that she'd find her hero out in the world, and so that's how she ended up chasing Sonic around. I really like that Amy still found fun in femininity despite her parents' influence on her, that she knows she can simultaneously weild her massive hammer and bark orders while still expecting to be treated delicately and wear her cute outfits.
Since Amy isn't included on a lot of Sonic's early adventures with Knuckles and Tails, I tend to fill this gap with her having to return home because she doesn't really have anywhere to stay except for her parents' home, unlike the boys, so she can't tag along, as much as she'd like to. By Sonic Adventure 1 though, we see her independently grocery shopping and such, so it can be assumed that she moved out of her parents house the moment she was able to, probably saving up all her money to get away, and likely not being especially fond of or attached to her parents because of their conflicting thoughts on gender roles and adventuring, although not exactly hating them either. I like to headcanon that she moved into a human city maybe because its just easier to be independent there, that the animal-people communities have a focus on family and community and build their own eco-huts, but since she was goin' it alone it was easier to move into a pre-built apartment in the city. I bet, too, that she was excited to live right next to Twinkle Park. I also like to headcanon that shes specifically living in a tiny apartment right above a bakery, and that she works there a little bit to pay her rent living above it, like Kiki's delivery service. Obviously she regroups with the boys now that she's able to and joins in as a permanent fixture to the adventures.
Later on when she's older (I like to think her outfit reflects her age, that she was a child when she had the green skirt, a teenager with the big red skirt with lace edge, and an adult when she's got the red dress we see her in now) she finally moves back into an animal folk community and builds her own eco-hut. She has people over for tea often and bakes little treats to go with it. Just like the annual comic, I think she draws the mini-comics of her friends, and has been drawing their adventures and funny moments for a long long time. She definitely seems like the type to draw diary comics, or at least any kind of diary. Even though she settles down in one of the animal folk villages, I think she still makes trips into the city to go shopping with Rouge or to drag Sonic to Twinkle Park (he pretends to hate it but actually loves the arcade section with dancing games and the thrill rides, and soon they start making it into a trip with even more friends). There's a moment in the IDW comics where she takes everyone on a camping trip, and it's shown she has a cute car too, so I think she goes out and does stuff often, having little planned out trips with friends.
Amy realizes that her cards were never telling her of a hero that'd save her, they were sending her on her quest to become a hero by spreading love and protecting compassion, just like what she said in Sonic Fronteirs. I think her speech to Shadow, the way she protected Gamma, the way she looks out for Sonic and holds together the alliances and friendships he sparks, I think that's her role in the group and I think it's reflected in the way she lives, the way she builds a home wherever her friends need to be, and the way she's one of the only ones shown to have a car to help connect friends, always the one planning the get-togethers like her picnic in Sonic Prime and camping trip in IDW.
Knuckles
Okay honestly I don't have a lot in mind for Knuckles but there's no fucking way he actually just sleeps on the steps in front of the master emerald I refuse to believe it I refuse-
So obviously in my headcanon Knuckles is not homeless/shelterless. Yea sometimes he probably posts up in a hammock around angel island, same as Sonic's habits, maybe sometimes he does fall asleep in front of the master emerald by accident, but I like to believe he has a little home to keep things in and rest his head and hide out from the rain, even if he's not materialistic.
Remember when he popped up out of a sewer manhole in Sonic Adventure 2? I like to emphasize his whole thing of like, climbing up rock-walls and digging underground with his knuckle claw things lol. So building off of that, I think there's a hidden hatch somewhere and that the master emerald's temple is actually hollowed out inside underground for the protector to make a home of. That way he literally lives beneath the master emerald. I'm sure he has a little spot to cook food and a bed and maybe a makeshift boxing area and that's his home darn it give him a home. Beyond that he doesn't have any belongings inside because mostly he spends time all over the island looking after the chao, exploring, uncovering new engravings and structures, etc etc.
Also, honestly, I feel like it'd be nice if he had a few more hobbies. Especially if he was like, keeping some of his culture alive through crafting/making art, like weaving or carving small sculptures or stuff like that yknow? He doesn't like to hold on to too many items though because clutter makes him feel overwhelmed so he exclusively makes them as gifts for others. When he gifted Amy a small accessory he made Amy tried to gift back an accessory of her own that she knitted but she soon learned that it was better to just visit Knuckles and craft together side by side while enjoying the weather.
#major mumbles#sth#team sonic#sonic headcanon#sonic headcanons#sth headcanon#sth headcanons#team sonic headcanons#sonic#tails#knuckles#amy rose#amy#archie sonic the hedgehog#tails the fox#knuckles the echidna
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Week 14 Blog
Why is it important for producers to help market their film, and not rely solely on distribution to do so?
Independent film distributors are incredibly busy, and cannot be solely relied on for marketing. Producers must market their own film if they hope to stand out in those crucial first day/weeks of release.
2. Explain in your own words why ‘a mediocre genre film with a B list name is more likely to garner a decent return than a great film of the same genre without a name in it?
Normal people generally watch movies because they recognize stars from previous movies they've seen that they like. Normal people also generally care for star power more than they do good film making. You're a lot more likely to get Joe Everyman to click on your film on Netflix with a cover photo with a recognizable face than to tell him it has excellent cinematography. People who aren't in the industry or film hobbyists generally don't care about technical elements.
3. What is a deal memo?
A memo scoping out the terms of employment for crew members on a film production. Generally includes the name of the production company, name of the film, start and end dates for production, the crewmembers position, name, and tax identification number, rate of wages, travel provisions, meal compensation, and rental agreements.
4. In short why is a deal memo important?
Not having a clear-cut contract for any sort of job is a disaster waiting to happen, especially with something as volatile as film making. Crewmembers might come in with certain expectations based off of previous productions they've been a part of that are not applicable to this production. It's best that everyone is on the same page from the beginning to squander any potential problems down the road.
5. Why is it important to give deal memos to cast/crew members that are working probono?
It's absolutely vital to give a deal member to cast and crew working probono, since they're not receiving financial compensation for their work. You absolutely need that in writing, in case they later attempt to seek compensation that they have no claim to. You also want them to agree to all the terms of employment that everyone else is agreeing to, so they can't make the arguments that those terms didn't apply to them because they aren't receiving compensation. In general, it's always in your active interest to have everyone who sets foot on a set to sign a deal memo, less you open yourself up to unforseen problems down the road.
6. In your own words, please explain ‘No Obligation To Produce.'
A 'no obligation to produce' provision is something extremely important to include in a deal memo. What it means is that the production company isn't obligated to include the contracted work in the final film, or even actually release the film itself. This is useful whenever you contract out work that ends up subpar, like a soundtrack or a film poster, so you're not forced to include this in a final film. It's also important to include in case you need to entirely scrap the film. Many A-list actors will have provisions in their contracts to receive percentages of the film's box office gross. You need to include a 'no obligation to produce' provision in the deal memo so you can't be held liable for these projected percentage-based income in case the film ends up never being released.
7. Provide visual aid
8. List 5 questions you want me to go over class
I was kind of confused about the ROI formula when we covered it in class.
How to find guild rates. When I was looking them up some of them were hidden behind a login screen. Is there a central location to get this information?
Budgeting. How to find budgets of films without paying for IMBDPro.
I'm really struggling in general with all of the assignments related to the sub-$2 million budget for the project. Like we're supposed to spend half the budget on marketing, and also get an A-List actor. I assume any A-List actor is going to have a salary higher than $2 million. But even if they didn't, between marketing as half the budget and the A list actor's salary, and ~1/5 of the budget for contingency, I don't understand how to a have a budget for anything else.
In general, I think all of the stuff I've been struggling with is the material from week 2.
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Art reposting etiquette
I see art theft happen a lot, and whether or not it's true or has just been happening more frequently in the circles I follow I can't help but at least feel like it's becoming more and more of a problem.
To be clear, "reposting" is downloading art from a website that you did not make or own, and uploading it as a separate post, regardless of where and how it's presented - with notable exception of header and profile pictures assuming they are not trying to imitate the artist. Not all art theft is reposting, but all improper reposting is art theft.
As cut and dry as "stop art theft it's bad, don't repost art" posts make it sound, there are several benevolent reasons people may want to repost such as:
Believing they are spreading the artist's influence around the internet
Adding intrigue or a visual aid to a fanfiction
Sharing some neat art they thought was really cool
Just to name a few
Assuming the best in people, these are not necessarily bad reasons and DON'T MAKE PEOPLE BAD, but many often don't understand there's a dark side to the reposting issue.
People who may want more art may be unable to find the original creator
People may not realize that the artist makes rent with the very artwork you're enjoying and they may be looking at stolen premium content meant to put food on the table
People take art and further edit it so that it becomes even harder to trace back to the original
Malicious websites and bots find popular fanart and illegally use it to produce bootleg merch. This has a double-whammy effect when someone sees the merch IRL when out and about and wants it because it's cool art of their favorite character but don't realize the artist is actively being robbed.
Reposting art makes it harder for the artist to track down the thief and take legal action as well as actively funnels traffic away from their business. By and large it should always be assumed that reposting for any reason is damaging to the artist's wellbeing; and frankly, if you don't care you're actively hurting someone, it makes you the asshole, not me for calling you out.
But, that isn't to say reposting is NEVER allowed, but ONLY UNDER EXTREMELY SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES. That's the point of this post.
Before you can decide if you should even attempt to repost art, check these things first:
If it says directly on the art "do not repost" don't waste your time. They are not going to make an exception for you.
Check to see if the art is already on the platform you're planning to upload to (especially here on Tumblr). Often, artists make it a point to put their work in very specific locations for their own reasons. They may not want their work on your website at all and you need to respect that.
Gain the artist's explicit permission after explaining where you want to repost their work, which work you want to repost, and why with how you plan to credit them. If you gain permission, keep a copy of the conversation for your own protection. If you do not gain permission, don't repost at all.
If you gain permission to repost art, these things are an absolute necessity:
Mention of the artist's name
THEIR main platform of choice
link to the original piece used
It would likely look something like this:
Artwork uploaded with express permission by @[artist] on [website], found here - (hyperlinked to original piece)
Bonus information to include:
Additional social media handles of the artist
Link to the artist's Patreon and/or Ko-Fi if available
Link to artist's store if available
Hyperlinking the image itself so other users can just click it to find the work/artist
Remember reposting should be about the artist, NOT YOU. You didn't create the work, and even if you supported them via Patreon it still doesn't belong to you, nor are you entitled to it. A commission you personally paid for is the only piece of work of that artist's creation you are ever entitled to unless otherwise stated in a contract when you bought it.
To continue to cover my bases I'm going to address some stances that may pop up about the issue:
"I didn't know reposting was that bad!"
It's okay. That's why I made this post. In general, as a supportive fan and consumer you should try to learn how artists are rewarded for their work on different platforms. YouTube is different from Instagram is different from Facebook is different from Tumblr. Learn which best ways to support your favorite artists in the ways that are most beneficial to them, even if all they ask for is respect and a little appreciation. And do take down any art you may have reposted. It can continue to do damage by remaining up, but removing it almost always mitigates any future harm and genuinely helps. Now you know better and can be better moving forward!
"I can't get ahold of the artist for permission."
Don't repost it then. Remember, at the end of the day reposting is only good for the reposter in fake internet points or actual money/intellectual property stolen but always tangibly hurts the artist. It sucks, but they have a right to determine where and how their hard work is displayed.
"Whatever, I'll do what I want. Lol"
Enjoy your takedown. Hey, artists, did you know you can find each website's terms of service and figure out how to submit a report with the offending post and user, and they're usually good about getting it down within days?! Look for "misappropriation" that's your ticket! 😊
But seriously, repeat offenders can get permanently banned from sites and even sued for actual real-world money and damages over your precious fake internet points. It actually pays to not be an ass!
"But I just want to support the artist and reposting is so easy!"
You know what's even easier?
It's literally only one or two clicks to support the artist or tell them how much you love their work! Most other platforms make supporting content creators just as easy, and some platforms even PAY the creators based on them or enable them to grasp opportunities to be paid!
"But I don't want to bog down my followers with a huge reblog dump of one person's stuff."
Put it in queue to space it out, then.
"I don't have money to support the artist so I repost instead to give them exposure."
Time and time again it's been proven that reposting actively funnels money AWAY from them. You don't have to monetarily support them with much. Buy one thing from their store or give them $1 on Ko-Fi. If you can't even do that, tell them you love their stuff and shout to the rooftops where someone else can pay them; but don't make it harder for them to get paid. Too many artists "die of exposure."
"Why do you even care?"
I AM an artist. I currently support artists with real money monthly because I love their work. I only ever make money off my own art on commissions, and that relies on people being able to find me. I'm not even the one supporting my two children, husband, pet, and medical expenses with only this option to pay for it, and you bet your butt I still would be pissed if I ever found out my art had been misappropriated. Some people do this to SURVIVE and I want to see that those who do have as little unnecessary struggle with it as possible.
"It's fanart/fan content put on the internet for free I can do whatever I want with it!"
At least in North America the law says you can't. Did you know that the way laws are currently written, if someone takes a picture of you and finds a way to make money off that photo they don't owe you a dime? They hold the copyright to it. When art is displayed publicly, that copyright is not surrendered and is automatically afforded to the artist by virtue of it being their specific expression and work. By being their work, they can actually sue you for stealing their property.
Ask Disney, they're really good at it.
And to close this out I want to say one more thing: the internet has changed a LOT in the time I started browsing from the early 2000's. Rules are different, cultures are different, and for younger people especially you may not understand how some have had to (and still do) fight tooth and nail over this internet space and still make it.
If you didn't know all this, THAT'S OKAY! You're learning, and the internet is more or less a wild west right now. That means it's equal opportunity to be a killing field or a place we can lift up and support each other. Reposting is just one corner of the bad things that can come of it, but now you know how to help and even start reversing the damage.
Learn about how people who upload free content make money. When you find misappropriated work, report them to the site and try to inform the artist - don't even acknowledge the thief, just slap a ticket on them and move on. Teach others how and why reposting is bad and what they can do to help.
If you love free content, show respect and protect it. Otherwise, artists will have to put it behind a paywall and that content you loved will disappear over time. Respect will get you a much greater return than entitlement.
#she speaks#this is meant to be educational not a callout post#do not harrass anyone you find reposting art#never do it - you here me!!!#i see it all the time#stop it#and if you reposted it's ok#i'm not after you#i just want you to know and learn
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An ask blog needs asks to generate content but can't do that without asks... so how would a new (or recently revived) ask blog get the people's attention?
Oh, oh, yes! Advice time! :D I’ve been in the ask community for a little while now, so here are some things I’ve gathered over time for when you’re getting started (I’ll be assuming yours is a Pokémon ask blog, since you’re asking this to one).
Keep in mind this is long af and a bit detailed (though it’s only the first part that is long). If you’re interested in a in-detail guide, click ‘read more’ (which I would be very thankful for, I wrote all this shit for you after all, fam).
Here’s a little summarized version as a TL;DR for everyone else:
#1: keep your blog clean. If it’s about Pokémon, it’s about Pokémon; if it’s about Sonic, it’s about Sonic; if it’s about trees, it’s about goddamn trees, so no rebloging random puppy pictures or funny videos here, leave that for your personal blog, not your ask blog. Also try to keep all the out of character crap to a minimum.
#2: Have reference pages for your characters available. That’s actually a minimum requirement. An ask hints page would be useful too, but that’s optional.
#3: Have a tagging system to make everything easier to navigate.
#4 [OPTIONAL]: Give your blog a theme. Make it pretty, make it yours, and for the love of God, deactivate the god damn infinite scrolling.
#5: Tags are your friends. Tag your first post with “signal boost”, “first post”, and/or “intro post”. Tag every Pokémon that appears in your posts, including that one barely visible Caterpie in the background. Tag all your posts as “Pokémon ask blog” or “Pokeaskblog”. Tag. Tag everything. Tags are your friends if you want to be seen. Tags. Tags are. Your. Friends.
#6: Interact with other blogs. Like crazy. You are sure to be noticed when you’re freaking everywhere. Don’t forget to be nice tho. And don’t bully or harass people, for fuck’s sake.
#7: Take a chair, sit over there, get comfortable and be Patient. Like really freaking patient. Wait for months if necessary, but asks will come eventually.
#8: Have fun. That’s the whole point. Talk to people, make some shitposts, engage in silliness, and draw those magical pocket monsters that can shoot lasers out of their asses and we all love. It’s fun.
And that’s it. There’s not much else I can say, so I hope this is helpful! :D
Here’s the detailed thing:
Step #1: Organize your blog
It doesn’t seem like something that important, but believe me, it really is. Nothing turns me away from a blog faster than it being messy af and full of random, unrelated stuff. In order to keep your blog all tidy and pretty you can:
a) Refrain from reblogging anything unrelated. (If your blog is a sideblog, skip this one): You can reblog that video of that one adorable otter in your personal blog, but if your ask blog is about, say, Pokémon, don’t reblog anything that isn’t Pokémon related. If you want to go even further than that, only reblog things that are directly related to your blog, like mentions, fanart, or rp responses, instead of some random Squirtle GIF.
b) Have info pages/references of your characters available: By this I mean having specific pages containing information about your characters, including a visual reference, if possible. Reference pages are very important, since they allow people to quickly get to know a character and make interaction easier. They can contain information as simple and basic as their name, species, moves, etc. to more elaborated things, like occupation (if they have one), personality, or a brief summary of their past story/origin (unless you want that to be revealed as the story progresses in your blog or through an ask).
If you don’t know how to make a page, >here’s an easy tutorial.
b.2) Having an “ask hints” helps a lot when trying to receive asks, since it’ll help people who want to interact but aren’t sure of what they should ask. You can have general hints or individual hints for all the characters.
c) Have a tagging system: Having your posts clearly labeled makes it a lot easier for anyone who wanters through your blog to find the specific content they’re looking for. Here are three basic tags that make your blog easier to look through:
#OOC: “out of character”, for everything happening, well, out of character. Maybe an announcement, a shitpost, a question directed a the mod, etc. Try to keep ooc things to a minimum.
#IC: “In character”, exactly what it says on the tin. Use this for answered asks towards the characters, plot posts, rp interactions and responses, ect.
#[Character’ name]: Tag the characters that appear in a post, for anyone who wants to look through asks with one specific character in them.
Tags help a lot for getting your blog noticed. We will talk more about this ahead.
d) [OPTIONAL] Have a nice theme: This isn’t obligatory, but giving your blog a theme will make it look better and more ‘professional’. Here are some blogs that give really good, free themes/codes for Tumblr:
https://glenthemes.tumblr.com/
https://yukoki.tumblr.com/
https://zuvia.tumblr.com/thms
https://strawberryjeon.tumblr.com/tagged/themes
https://felinum.tumblr.com/tagged/theme
http://hellolittlered.org/themes/type/tumblr/
https://magnusthemes.tumblr.com/mythemes
http://dianthus-s.tumblr.com/themes
https://raiidens.tumblr.com/tagged/themesbyraiidens
https://yeolithm.com/portfolio
These are just some, but there are many, many others out there. Look for a theme that fits your tastes or your blog’s atmosphere, and customize it! You can even use this blog’s theme! However, make sure to not use overly saturated colors that make it painful to look at, it- kind of defeats the point. You can Google ‘color palletes’ if you need help with that.
NOTE: If you don’t know how to install a Tumblr theme, >here’s a simple tutorial
NOTE#2: Sometimes Tumblr might not let you install a specific theme and shows you an error message that says that it can’t be installed because it is “making a reference to non- https directions” or something like that, which didn’t use to happen before. >Here’s a tutorial on how to fix it, it’s quite simple, actually.
NOTE#3: For an ask/rp blog, I recommend a theme with one column, and that shows tags and captions, like the one in this blog.
If you’ve got any question about installing or customizing a theme, you can ask me, and I’ll see how I can help!
Step #2: Tags help you to be found
Be sure to use tags in your favor. Here are some things that have helped me a lot:
a) If you’re starting a Pokémon blog, tag every Pokémon that appears in your posts; that way, people looking through the tag of that specific Pokémon will be able to see your posts.
b) Again, if it’s a Pokémon blog, tag your posts as “Pokémon ask blog” or “Pokeaskblog” (or both), people looking for pokeaskblogs to follow usually look though these tags regularly.
c) Tag your first post/posts or intro as “Signal boost” and “First post”. There are blogs in the Pokémon community that look for posts tagged like this and reblog them to give them a ‘boost’, which helps a lot when you want to be seen. I’m not sure how many of these are still active, though, but you won’t lose anything from trying.
Step #3: Interact with other blogs like a madman
Send lots of asks! Interact with other blogs! Follow even more blogs! Send fanart and nice messages! Reblog/Like those posts of people looking for new blogs to follow! Some people will find you through someone else’s answered ask, some people will notice you’re following and will check you out, some people will see you in a like or a reblog, and overall there are higher chances of being seen when you are everywhere and interact with everyone (also, it’s really fun to just interact with other nice people over here).
Just make sure to be nice.
Step #4: Be patient. P a t i e n t. I’m serious.
If you think you’ll get lots of followers in a matter of a couple days then start forgetting about it. It took me two weeks to get my first ask at asktheweirdpichu, and a week and a half to get one here. And they were both spam. I cried. Two years later (holy heck has it really been that long?) I’ve got so many asks accumulated that I’m starting to think I should just fake my death and end my suffering (I’m joking, I love every single ask I get and get excited every time I get a new one).
It will take a while, but you’ll see that after enough time you’ll get noticed more and more, so don’t give up, you’ll get there.
Step #5: Don’t forget to have fun.
Make some friends, have some silly interactions, make some shitposts at 3 am, draw someone’s character and watch them shoot effusive love at you, enjoy your favorite blogs. That’s what all this is about.
And that is all! I hope it was useful! :D
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