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#villainous conference
nightfurmoon · 1 year
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BIG VILLAINOUS NEWS FROM FIL GUADALAJARA CONFERENCE WITH ALAN
LOTS OF THINGS ARE HAPPENING. 2023 IS GOING TO BE GREAT. Here are the highlights of the conference, which will be linked below! I’ll start with the biggest... :D
Alan thanks us for being patient because things haven’t been easy for animation lately. Changes within Warner Bros. Discovery delayed production, BUT there’s AMAZING NEWS! WBD showed A LOT of interest in Villainous, and MORE NEW EPISODES are coming!! Apart from the second half of the first season we all know it’s already made, they ordered more episodes!! And Alan said it’s a ‘really nice quantity’ of episodes!! He asks us to be patient though as they’re going through some changes within CN as well. So stay tuned y’all!
Alan really enjoyed making Flug's logbook because he wanted to explain how Flug's gadgets worked. They aren't just magic, they work for a reason, and the substance H3x introduced in the books is that reason. It is a core part of the story of Villainous.
The decoder found in Flug’s logbook will be used to decipher secrets in the show as well, not only other books. It is also an important part of the story, as that language is extremely old and closely linked to Black Hat.
Alan reiterated the importance of the books in the lore as they have tons of information. They will be relevant for the new episodes.
AI Animations is opening a merchandise store, with official products from Villainous and more!
PLANS FOR NEXT YEAR (2023):
Audiobooks of Black Hat’s completely harmless books, with Alan as the narrator (and BH obviously). Kaleb’s voice in that will be official and used for the show as well. The audiobooks will also have extra surprises! They showed a small sneak peek of the audiobook in the conference.
NEW VILLAINOUS BOOKS: BHO’s handbook for villains (the one seen in one of the orientation videos), that will teach you how to be a proper villain, AND a Miss Heed book that will tell her story of how she became so famous, her past at the academy, how she met GoldHeart… Miss Heed’s book will be extra important as it links the events of episode 6 with the new episodes!
There will be another book that’s non-villainous related and it’s about Axo, an AI Animations project with axolotls. This book will be more oriented for little kids.
The image below shows the villain handbook that will be coming soon! It’s the green one.
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And here’s the conference:
youtube
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raineandsky · 3 months
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#92
tw: death
It’s cold. Someone shifts in the edges of the villain’s vision. Their breaths come out short and forced; each one threatening to be their last. Something bumps against their leg but they barely feel it. They can barely feel anything.
“Fuck,” someone hisses. The villain can hardly hear them. Their blood is pumping much too loudly in their ears. Something thick and crimson smudges across their palms. “Fuck, I didn’t mean to—”
There’s a moment of blissful nothing. It’s almost peaceful enough to fall asleep in. Then: “I’m so sorry, I– I didn’t—”
Footsteps. Receding. The person in the villain’s peripheral disappears and their voice dissipates into stark silence.
Exhaustion drags at the villain’s eyes. Everything around them is too far away. Their own thoughts are drifting dangerously close to nothing.
“Gosh,” a voice says from somewhere nearby. “You don’t half make yourself difficult to look after, do you?”
What? is what tries to come out of the villain’s mouth, but all their body can force out is a confused groan.
“I wish you would’ve considered a life of, I don’t know, normalcy and general lawfulness,” the voice continues. The villain can see them, kind of, standing at their feet. “I tried to force it down you as a teenager but… you know. Teenagers don’t listen.”
The stranger squats down in front of them, their head tilted to the side almost in curiosity. A white sheet spills at their feet. “Then again, I wasn’t expecting a hero to flat out stab you.” They chuckle, the sound reverberating harshly in the villain’s ears. “How novel.”
“Who…” is the furthest the villain can force their next question.
“Ah.” The person shuffles slightly. “I’m no one to worry about. I’ll introduce myself properly when you’re… lucid.”
The prospect of sleep is much too alluring for lucidity to be a possibility. The world has shrunken down to the villain at the stranger rambling at them by now. Their side hurts, and they can’t be bothered to remember why.
The person flops down on the ground with a sigh. Lower down, the villain can just about make out their face. Warm, kind; a bright smile beams at them. They’re pristine, beautiful, a world away from how the villain feels.
They momentarily see a flash of glaring white from behind the person as they settle, but they’re so dazed now that they might as well be imagining it.
“I’ll wait for you,” they say casually. “I’m sure you won’t be too long now, from the looks of you.”
Wait for what? The villain’s pretty sure they’re dying. Cold and fatigue creep in from all angles. They’re not going anywhere.
“Where…” The villain stops short again, their voice failing them, but the stranger seems to understand perfectly. Their smile widens slightly, and the villain somehow feels safe knowing they’re here. Like the first flower of spring is growing despite the claws of winter around it.
“We’re going to the other side,” the person says with a laugh like church bells, “and I’m pissed I have to take you there so early.”
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my favorite bingqiu fic idea i’ll never get around to writing is a no transmigration au where shen yuan was born as shen jiu’s older twin brother who died at the qiu estate, but shen jiu somehow managed to capture his soul so some of shen jiu’s rocky cultivation is that he’s trying to further his own cultivation while also preserving/repairing shen yuan’s soul. shen yuan finally reforms when shen jiu and liu qingge are in the spirit caves before sha hualing’s invasion, so he would be 15/16 at the same time that binghe is 15. so he’s shen jiu’s older brother AND his twin AND much younger than he is AND insists on calling binghe his luo-shixiong to shen jiu’s increasing dismay
#scum villain#svss#bingqiu#shen jiu#shen qingqiu#shen yuan#luo binghe#for clarification the idea is that it's a canon divergence from pidw#so like in pidw timeline the confrontation between lqg and sj goes poorly lqg dies and sy's soul dissipates#whereas here it goes well lqg is alive and sy is resurrected#sy has no knowledge of what happened in the intervening years. this will become a conflict#sy is deep in his gremlin era and also obviously traumatized/not the spoiled young master the peak lords assumed of sj#that combined with saving lqg from his qi deviation bridges some of the gap between sj and the other lords#though im not sure what kind of impact it would have on the tension between sj and yqy#sj used an extreme method to capture and nurture sy's soul which would raise a lot of uncomfortable questions#so anyone who is not a peak lord is led to believe sy is his estranged younger brother or illegitimate son#meanwhile sy has an innate fondness for lbh and doesn't understand sj's hatred for him. this will become a conflict almost immediately#lbh is nervous about sy at first but sy is savvy and nice to him and lbh quickly latches onto his sticky shidi#the immortal alliance conference plays out basically the same way with the addition of sj rationalizes it as protecting his brother from lbh#sy does NOT witness this and has no idea about lbh being a demon or sj's part in his 'death'#and spends the next three years sincerely mourning lbh. this will become a conflict later#so overall sj is still a terrible person but there's room to explore that and let him grow#like forcing him to confront the fact that he's repeating the actions of people he hated and maybe understanding that lbh (and even sy)#would be justified to hate him and not forgive him for everything he's done#though i think sy eventually would and sj and lbh would have a painful reconciliation#for spice you can throw in sy accidentally freeing tlj as per scum villain canon#and maybe the sowers accusation still happens with the added element of sy/sj identity confusion#& the appearance of qht pushes the sy identity reveal#sy is more willing to tell qht the truth about her brother than sj was in pidw#possibly this reopening of old wounds sours the sy/lbh reunion
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skys-fantasy · 10 months
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Prompt #9
A former vigilante goes to their first parents teacher conference at a new school. They're a little bit worried because they want to make a good impression but they're not exactly sure if the teachers or if the other parents knew of their former identity.
As they walk inside the room they notice that 80% of the parents are villains or retired villains. The rest of the 20% are either other retired vigilantes or retired heroes. The headmaster is a supervillain
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sweetandglovelyart · 4 months
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Knightfall in Dream Land - Page 4
Meta Knight shares what it was like to grow up being raised by Nightmare.
#Kirby#Kirby fanart#my art#comic#Meta Knight#Nightmare#sorry this page took me so long to finish I’ve been really busy with grad school stuff and was at a conference last month#but it’s finally here and page five shouldn’t take me as long to finish as this page did#the comic is mostly centered around the game lore and not the anime lore but I did borrow a little bit from the anime#this might be a dumb question but do any other Kirby fans have voice headcanons for the characters?#by voice headcanons I mean what do you think they’d sound like if they had voiced dialogue#for Meta Knight and Dedede I think they’d just sound like they do in the anime since those voices are so iconic lol#I know that Nightmare also speaks in the anime but I don’t really like his anime voice#I’m showing that I’m a Trekkie with this lmao but my voice headcanon for Nightmare is that he’d sound like Ricardo Montalban#Montalban died in 2009 but he was famous for playing Khan in Star Trek he was so good in that villain role#but that was in the 1960s and 1980s so if you aren’t a Star Trek fan you might not be familiar with him#he also plays the grandpa in Spy Kids though and I think he was also in Kim Possible#I actually see a lot of parallels between Kirby and Star Trek lol but maybe that’s just me and no one else sees it#I’m developing an idea for a Susie redemption arc comic that I want to draw when I finish Knightfall in Dream Land#and if I do eventually draw it it’s going to be very heavily influenced by Star Trek/there will be lots of Star Trek references in it#Planet Robobot as a game basically is just a Star Trek episode lmao it has the same plot as every Borg episode from Star Trek#so I think referencing Star Trek in a comic centered around Susie would make sense
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nthflower · 1 year
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I am having thoughts about Xavier wtf?
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hillbilly---man · 1 year
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I don't mean this in a judgmental way (I also have not posted about it) but it's a little weird that I haven't seen anyone talk about what's going on in East Palestine OH
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nightfurmoon · 2 years
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OMAE WA INTERVIEW WITH ALAN ITURIEL ABOUT BH’S BOOK
SPOILER WARNING FOR THE BOOK. They aren’t heavy spoilers, but if you want to read the book completely blind, leave this post for later!
This interview was honestly one of the best ones. It consisted of two parts, in the first one fans came in with camera and asked Alan questions, and the interactions were just so goddamn sweet. The second part was the interviewer asking Alan very interesting questions, and you could see he’s actually a fan of Villainous AND lovecraft and it was just a pleasure to see. The link of the interview will be below, as tumblr doesn’t like facebook livestream embeds. 
Here are the most interesting questions and answers!
Will we ever see Kaleb in the show? That depends on us, the readers ;)
Kaleb was involved in Podemos Bailar but not out of his own volition. Circumstances forced him to be where he is right now. He basically was dragged into it.
In the next volume of BH’s book we'll know more of other characters that, like Kaleb, were trapped in the book.
The dialogues are what Alan put the most effort into because he wants each character to 'sound' different.
Alan loves references and takes inspiration from other media, he mentioned the little mermaid for the Huachi kingdom and lovecraft, for obvious reasons.
He has drawings of Tabet and Fuego but couldn’t fit them in the book because there were already too many pages. He also wanted to expand Kaleb and Nango’s romance more, but for the same reason he couldn’t.
BH keeps 505's original blueprints hidden; he seems to want to keep the process of his creation a secret. We kinda know why already, don't we? :)
The Hound actually is an entity that serves BH, he wasn't created by him nor is part of him. He's directly inspired by a lovecraftian creature that hunts its prey through dimensions and comes out of corners... My research says that this is the Hound of Tindalos!
Kaleb is 18-19 years old. He's been trapped in the book for 4-5 YEARS. Which means that Podemos Bailar has been training him to be a secret spy since before he was 13-14 years old... Either that, or he was 18-19 when trapped and he’d currently be 22-23. Alan didn’t specify. 
Alan also mentioned that's done on purpose because the show (and the ARG with Podemos Bailar) started in 2017! So, he was one of the first agents we saw infiltrating BHO, we finally know what happened!
Alan's always loved the cosmic terror as a kid and read the lovecraft books. He loves the concept of how humans react when facing the unknown, entities that escape their comprehension, something they cannot understand and go crazy when seeing.
Black Hat is obviously, no surprise here, one of these entities. Alan likes that the fans wonder why BH's doing what he's doing if he's so powerful.
Villainous came from that, from the idea of how a league of heroes would fare against one of these cosmic monstrosities, how they'd deal with it. Like for example if you put Superman in a lovecraftian book, what would he do?
Alan loves making fans investigate, and I adore that. I love that aspect of the show the most, it keeps me hooked even after 5 years.
Alan’s loving making these books because they aren't just episodes you see and that’s it, these books make you think and investigate things.
They talked about the say 'you're the villain in someone else's story' and the other way around as a hero. Alan was asked if BH is someone else's hero. He said he's dying to show us more of BH but for now, we'll have to wait and answer that question ourselves when we see it.
BH has the ability to trap people in objects. The question is, all those people he traps in objects, do they end up in the same dimension as we saw with Kaleb, or in a different one?
More crossovers apart from the V&V one are planned!
Again mentioned that an English dub for the episodes is being worked on!
Link of the interview in the source of the post!
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just read a ff with an intro similiar to this:
Izuku: bro if i was related to all might dabi would be ur brother or something lol
Shoto: bro imagine
Izuku: ikr
Shoto:
Izuku:
Shoto:
Shoto: wait a damn minute
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raineandsky · 2 months
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hi! i was wondering if you'd be willing to write a piece where a hero, who is the older brother of the villain and considered "the golden son," and the villain, who had left home once they were of age, haven't talked for months after a big argument. Then one day, Villain is fighting his brother when his brother has a panic attack. Villain tries to leave, thinking it's a trick (cause his perfect older brother could never be hurt, right?) and goes to hide. but then their parents appear and Villain realizes perhaps Hero wasn't as admired by their parents as Villain would have liked to believe. In fact, it almost seemed like they disliked Hero all together. they're being mean and kind of calling him pathetic, and hero keeps getting more and more anxious until finally the Villain realizes something is wrong and tries to help
god this turned out WAY longer than i intended - i hope you like long stories anon!! and ofc thank you for the request :)
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tw abuse
“What are you doing?”
The villain thought they were fighting, but now the hero wants to sit on the floor and pant like a dog and clutch at his chest. He thinks it’s a fair question to ask.
“I don’t want to fight you, [Villain],” the hero manages through short breaths. “Please.”
The villain doesn’t see him much anyway. He’s not sure why one fight would take it out of him. He simply rolls his eyes, blatantly unconvinced. “If we weren’t on opposite sides I would maybe consider it.”
“It doesn’t have to be like this.” The words rush out before the hero has to heave another shallow breath. “We don’t have to hate each other.”
He glances up to the villain and– oh god, is he crying? What kind of game does he think he’s playing? The villain scowls wholeheartedly.
“Funny,” he says flatly. “Look, if we’re not going to battle it out I’ll be on my way.”
“No, [Villain].” The hero practically chokes on his name. What a show he’s putting on. “[Villain], please, don’t leave me—”
But the villain’s already turned on his heel to make one of his famous escapes. It’s not quite as extravagant as it usually is, considering he’s walking away rather casually and not pursued in the slightest, but he’s getting the hell out of dodge and that’s all that matters.
Or he tries to, at least. He’s just reaching for the door handle when it swings open with a mind of its own. He just about has the foresight to stagger back to avoid being whacked in the face.
“[Hero],” a voice says coolly from the stairwell.
The villain’s stomach drops in a way it hasn’t in a long time. He’s flitting round the corner to hide before he realises he’s doing it. He hates that his own father can still have this effect on him, even 16 years later.
Two superheroes stalk out onto the rooftop, seemingly oblivious to anything but the hero sagging on the floor in front of him. “Where’s [Villain]?” the other superhero demands after a moment.
The villain shrinks back in his hiding spot slightly. The hero doesn’t even look at his parents. “He left.”
The villain didn’t care what was happening with the hero, but the superheroes don’t seem to even notice. The superhero looks at the hero at his feet like a child who’s done nothing worse than get bad grades in school. The other superhero sighs like he’s simply a stubborn teenager. Of course they do. They never saw anything less in him.
Jealousy isn't the right word. Just distain, maybe. Annoyance that their parents had to have favourites.
“He left,” the superhero echoes coldly, “and you let him?”
The hero’s breathing is in tatters now. He seems like he’s barely even listening, his head bent, his chest heaving. “I couldn’t—”
“What kind of hero are you if you just let villains run out of your grasp?” the superhero snaps, and the other superhero nods shortly. “Villains waltz in and destroy everything me and your mother have created and, what, you cheer them on?”
“H–He’s my brother—”
“He’s vermin,” the other superhero butts in sharply. “You can’t even save the city from a rat? Is that it?”
The villain keeps his emotions carefully in-check. He knows his parents were never going to be happy with his life choices, but it still hurts. Being compared to a goddamn rat is a little hurtful.
And the hero. What’s with the shortness? He’s the best of both of them. The golden child, the star pupil, the one their parents spent all their time building into the perfect son. The perfect hero.
“Answer your mother, [Hero],” the superhero spits coldly.
Even the villain can see the hero shaking even from here. He’s practically choking on his own breath, his sight probably blurry with the tears. The villain’s heart twists in a way it hasn’t in years. He’s my brother reverberates through his mind uninvited.
“He can’t even answer a simple question,” the other superhero says with a disappointed tut. The villain recognises that noise—it’s a lot more of a death sentence than it sounds. “Pathetic.”
He’s my brother. He’s your brother.
The villain pushes himself upright.
“I– I can’t—” The hero stumbles over his words for a moment, a desperate cough pulling from his chest. “I can’t hurt people. I can’t hurt him.”
The villain heaves a deep breath, stabilises himself. “Sometimes you have to hurt people to get them to do what you want,” the other superhero says. She flicks her hair over her shoulder much too casually for this conversation. “You have to whip the horse to get it to move, [Hero]. I’m ashamed we haven’t drilled that into you yet.”
The fact that she doesn’t use his actual name isn’t lost on the villain. He takes a few careful steps out of the shadows.
Don’t leave me.
“You don’t need to whip a horse,” the villain says sharply. The superheroes whip back to stare at him, and it feels like he’s fourteen again; got too dirty, played too rough, liked the wrong thing. The you’re in deep shit kind of feeling. “You can get them where you need if you give them reason to trust you.”
“Ah,” the other superhero says with a disingenuous smile. “The vermin returns.”
The hero’s head has snapped up, tears streaking his face. The villain wants this to be over. “Leave [Hero] alone,” he spits. “Leave my brother alone.”
“Oh?” The superhero smirks. “Now you want to get involved in family affairs?”
“Go on,” the villain taunts stupidly, “show him how a real hero does it.”
The superhero strides towards him, and it takes all his willpower to stay put. “You act like goodness and peace are one and the same.” He says flatly. “Sometimes violence is the only language you animals understand.”
“What a thing,” the villain retorts. He can feel the regret building as he’s saying it like he’s a child again. Don’t draw his attention to you. Stop talking. “To call your son an animal.”
The villain feels, rather than sees, the superhero’s fist on his face. It takes him a moment to realise he’s on the ground, the cold concrete an unforgiving bed. The hero shouts something incoherent, his voice torn. “I would never hurt my son,” the superhero says, emotionless, “but you are no son of mine.”
“Thank god,” the villain says with a mouth of copper.
“Let’s arrest the rat,” the other superhero says. “We can question him about his associates at the agency.”
The handcuffs are refreshingly cool in comparison to the burning in the side of the villain’s face. The superhero shoves him to his feet with no less remorse than any other villain he’s dealt with.
“Let me take him,” the hero says quickly. He stumbles to his feet, breaths still uneven, sniffling desperately. The words come out choked. “I’m sorry for messing up. I’ll take him.”
The superhero pulls the villain a little closer by the cuffs. It’s almost protective, if he didn’t know his father better. “You realise villains aren’t doves that need releasing into the wild?” the superhero drawls. “They are scum that need stamping out. If you take him, we will find him in the agency, won’t we?”
“Of course,” the hero says shortly. “I’ll get him there.”
The superheroes eventually go on their way. The villain spits on the floor after them.
“Some city defenders they are,” he says flatly. “Why the hell didn’t you leave?”
“They entered me in a race I didn’t realise I was running,” the hero says. His face is pulled taut, sweat beaded on his brow, his voice shaking. “And when I figured it out, it was too late to do anything but live up to their expectations and win.”
His hands still tremble on the villain’s arm. “I’m sorry I didn't see it sooner,” the villain whispers, like his regret is a curse. “You could have come with me.”
The hero laughs insincerely. “I’m sorry dad punched you.”
The villain shrugs as the hero gently nudges him towards the door. “Comes with being a villain. I’ve been punched a lot harder than that before.”
“I don’t know how you live like that.”
“I don’t know how you do either.”
They share a smile, kind of. It’s a little awkward and subdued, but it’s a smile between brothers long since torn apart. That’s all that matters.
“Look,” the hero says after a short moment, “I’m really sorry about everything. I’ll get you out of prison.”
“And incur the wrath of those freaks?” The villain laughs. “No, don’t worry. I’ll break myself out.”
“I’ll get you out,” the hero says quietly, “and this time, I’ll come with you.”
The villain stares at him, unabashedly wide-eyed. “Really?”
The hero looks better than he did ten minutes ago—colour is just starting to warm his cheeks again, his breath a little more even. Relief floods the villain’s heart in a way it hasn’t in a long time. “Anyone who calls my brother vermin is no parent of mine.” They start down the steps, slow, lazy, like they’re putting off getting home from school again. “I’m tired of trying to fit into their perfect ideals of a hero. I’ll come with you.”
The villain grins boyishly. Getting punched was almost worth it to get his best friend back. “We have room for you.” Almost. “But you get the bottom bunk.”
The hero rolls his eyes but he agrees, and it almost feels like nothing ever went wrong.
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gentrychild · 2 years
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Ask on sitcom AU. What happens if the villain attack and a parent teacher conference clash?
That's not my AU, Anon. You should ask Panda.
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kayvsworld · 6 months
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watching daredevil s3 finale and im SO sad bc i know fisk can't win bc he's the Bad Guy but i want him to have a lovely wedding with vanessa...
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yibo-wang · 1 year
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©無須多言·王一博
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gayvbros · 1 year
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holy shit those shirts on titmouse went FAST
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drchucktingle · 3 months
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THE TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION TELLS CHUCK TINGLE TO STAY HOME BUT WE PROVE LOVE ANYWAY
just when you buckaroos thought 2024 would be a break from book drama, here comes chuck tingle in the mix. recently i was asked to be a featured speaker at the TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION annual conference. a few days ago they rescinded my invitation. here is what happened.
(EDITED TO ADD THIS LINK. if you have a hard time reading this on way of tumblr you can also read for free on chucks patreon)
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i would like to start off by saying it is not my intent to start a fight, and all those reading this should know that the actions of a few misguided folks do not speak for the whole TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION. i am sure there are many involved who will be very upset to learn what others at TLA have done in their name. there are many individuals here, so please do not paint them all as villains in your mind. besides, chuck loves the dang library everyone knows that.
the point of writing this is not to vilify. i am writing this is because MOMENTS OF DARKNESS are the best places to SHINE A LIGHT AND PROVE LOVE IS REAL. this is a perfect time for learning and growing and for us talk on some very important things that queer buckaroos and neurodivergent buckaroos face every day. this is an unfortunate moment that WE can turn around and use to prove love is real.
i am also writing this to understand some of my own personal feelings on the matter. for something that seems very simple on the surface, the trot is complex, and i am still working out my emotions on the whole dang thing. i am learning in this way.
PART ONE: BAG OF LOVE
a few months ago chuck was asked to be a featured speaker at the 2024 TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CONFERENCE. i have been asked to do things like the before and it is ALWAYS a fun time to meet bookseller and librarian buds. trotting around face to face and talking about my story of conquering chronic pain and overcoming my mental hurdles is VERY IMPORTANT to me. i say YES to these things whenever i can. (here i am with authors at CALIFORNIA INDEPENDENT BOOKSELLERS ALLIANCE conference. they are a WONDERFUL group and they proved love with their OWN invitation to chuck. this was such a moving event with so many amazing authors and stories. got very teared up during this photo)
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ANYWAY BUCKAROOS i get the TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION invite and say 'YES BUD LETS TROT'. we are then confirmed.
months pass. a few weeks ago i get a call from my manager and agent and publisher saying ‘the TLA have rescinded their invitation.’
turns out some things had been going on behind the scenes
at some point the TLA asked chucks INCREDIBLE HEROIC BAD ASS PUBLISHER if chuck would be okay with not wearing the mask, to which tor/nightfire/macmillan said ‘what the heck are you talking about of course chuck is going to wear his mask. this is how chuck presents himself’ (NOT EXACT QUOTE)
as you all know, my pink bag way is a VERY IMPORTANT SPACE. as an autistic buckaroo it is a boundary that allows me to express myself freely and relieve my chronic pain from neurotypically masking all day. i have talked about this for years, and it is why i consider my private identity a SACRED THING. it is literally a health issue.
fortunately THE PINK BAG is never really a problem when making appearances. i have spent years going on television shows, doing interviews, speaking at other conferences and conventions, hosting book events on tour, and even MEETING WITH LAWYERS in my pink face covering. it is always respected and that is very validating to my way.
when arriving anywhere i always take precautions. i always warn buckaroos ahead of time that there is a masked man coming. i always have someone go in ahead of me JUST IN CASE. again, there has never been an issue. at a big conference where i am a special guest there is ESPECIALLY not an issue because my face and bio are printed IN THE DANG PROGRAM
SOME FUN TIMES AT BIG EVENTS BELOW:
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CHUCK ON TV SHOW NAME OF 'AT MIDNIGHT' BACK BEFORE I WROTE LOVE IS REAL ON MY HEAD:
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well, there has never been an issue.... UNTIL NOW.
PART TWO: RESCINDED
a few days ago TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION suddenly messaged my publishers and said that chuck tingle is no longer invited. my invitation was rescinded. the reason given was that people could possibly be uncomfortable with my mask
right out of the gate i would like to say this: it is absolutely the right of the texas library association to disinvite someone from their conference. it is their event, after all, and they can ban anyone they would like, for any reason.
of course, that doesnt mean other folks HEARING THIS NEWS wont have their own opinions the TLA choices. if the TLA disinvites someone, their reasoning for doing this can be discussed and analyzed. whether or not they follow their own guidelines can be questioned, and certainly their kindness and tact can be considered
there are a few BIG POINTS to make regarding this choice from the TLA
first and foremost, i just gotta say buckaroos, it is incredibly rude to invite someone to be a guest speaker at your event, have them confirm and mark off their calendar and turn down other offers, then rescind their invitation. this is maybe the simplest of the points, but it is an important one.
second, (DEEP BREATH HERE WE GO BUCKAROOS) i personally do not think of my autism as a disability very often, but i also KNOW that despite these feelings it ABSOLUTELY IS. autism is important to be listed as a recognized disability because of the help some autistic buckaroos need regarding government programs and things like that. ALSO just because my neurodivergence has helped me in some ways (hyperfocus and a unique artistic sensibility for example). i personally need to step back and remember my battle with stress and chronic pain from having to neurotypically mask all the time. for as much as i love being autistic it has made some things very difficult.
in other words, i am perfectly capable of speaking and interacting with folks without this pink bag on my head BUT WHEN I AM IN THE CHUCK TINGLE SPACE I REQUIRE IT. i can ONLY use this space while covering my face. is not a want. it is a need. holding this boundary is more important than i can ever say. i will not, and can not, let these spaces cross.
TLA not letting an autistic author wear the face cover theyve set up to express their neurodivergence in a safe, healthy way is--for lack of a better term--NOT A GOOD LOOK.
i cannot fathom them disinviting another author for using a disability aid. i cannot fathom them saying that a buckaroo who hears better with a hearing device cannot use it during their panel because it would make others 'uncomfortable'.
but here we are.
PART THREE: WHAT DOES A BUCKAROO GOTTA DO TO GET BANNED AROUND HERE?
this is the TLAs official stance on disability issues according to their website:
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when poking around on the TLA website i noticed a few other things. i noticed a previous guest speaker wearing a niqab, and i was left wondering if the religious significance is what make that okay but chuck tingle banned. that made sense until i looked deeper and saw mascot buckaroos dressed up on the exhibition floor, and saw some kind of spiderbud in a costume contest. nobody around them seemed to be all that scared. their invitations REMAINED INTACT.
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it should be mentioned here that AT ONE POINT during the discussions an email was sent from TLA saying chuck is allowed to come and wear his mask in the exhibition halls and smaller panels, just not at any of the big PAID PANELS i was once supposed to participate on. this was a confusing offer, but their explanation was that people who paid for something should have the option to not see chucks 'scary neurodivergence aid'. i tried to wrap my head around WHY they would make a distinction. maybe the exchange of money (rather than time) causes some kind of philosophical adjustment that i just cant grasp?
i wonder, would the author who wears a niqab ALSO be banned from the paid panels? i hope not
my answers trotted up short until i investigated deeper and found this quick moment from one of the TLA help videos. while some events DO require additional buckaroo cash, it actually appears that THE ENTIRE CONFERENCE IS TICKETED AND COSTS MONEY.
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at this point i realized there is clearly no actual official policy about not covering your face (other than one from a few years ago saying that you HAVE to cover your face), and the addition of 'money' is a red herring. these excuses make no sense
PART FOUR: CLOSE THOSE GATES
it appears that my neurodivergence is 'scary' enough to get me uninvited, REGARDLESS what their disability and mask policies may say
BUT WHY? why is chucks preferred physical presentation valued SO little by the TLA that a THEORETICAL complaint is worth more? is my neurodivergent expression so awful? is my own safety as a queer activist such an afterthought?
is a pink bag with the words 'love is real' scrawled across the front REALLY going to frighten someone when the posters and pamphlets on the way into in panel would have a photo of my masked face saying THIS IS LITERALLY WHO IS ABOUT TO APPEAR BEFORE YOU.
if THAT accommodation is too much, would it really be so difficult to have someone trot out beforehand and make an announcement? to say 'there is someone on this upcoming panel who needs a mask to express this part of himself, if this makes you uncomfortable then this panel might not be for you'.
and really, i have to heckin ask, is this physical expression of my raw inner truth really so hideous and frightening that fear of making someone uncomfortable is a REAL problem?
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(a terrifying display of autism. apparently)
i cannot imagine what kind of precautions they need to take before a stage play featuring costumes and masks.
you MIGHT think chucks queerness and left leaning politics could be the issue with this organization, but they have had drag queens as past speakers (also featuring some GLORIOUS makeup and hair that covers almost all of their faces. VERY CURIOUS). regardless, the TLA do not seem like a conservative bunch.
if you are bisexual or an autistic person who is good at 'passing' you probably already know where this is headed, your dang spiderbuckaroo senses are tingling at FULL ALERT. i will say i do not KNOW the real reason why i was uninvited, and i do not have enough information to make any concrete statement of the real answer. there is only evidence that masks have been fine at TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION events in the past, but not much else to go on.
so the FACTS part of our discussion ends there, but i think it opens us up to talk about some very important feelings that bisexual and autistic buckaroos know well.
THIS is where we take a unfortunate, hurtful moment and turn it into a discussion. this is where we prove love is real.
as someone who is constantly doubted and put through purity tests because of my unique way, we are pushing up against a subject i know well. thats right buckaroos: we are talking GATEKEEPING
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AGAIN, i do not know if this is the answer, but someone in my position might be VERY STRONGLY INCLINED TO THINK that a few well-meaning left leaning buckaroos think i am a joke and that this is a character, and that there is something problematic about my work because i am not really a real person.
any upstanding left leaning organization would OF COURSE allow a mask for a neurodivergent buckaroo with an unusual visual presentation, an autistic buckaroo who conquered his chronic pain ONLY by creating this important space... but what about a FAKE autistic buckaroo?
any upstanding left leaning organization would OF COURSE allow a mask for a queer LGBTQ activist standing up for gay and trans rights against a torrent of scoundrels hunting for his legal identity. its a matter of safety... but what about a FAKE queer activist?
let me be very clear for the 100th time: i am a real person. this is not a joke. i am not playing a character. i am really autistic and bisexual. tinglers are sincere and they are not ‘so bad theyre good’. they are just good. camp damascus is not ‘my first serious book’ because my queer erotica is serious. my art is important and real.
when people tell me to unmask they often do not know WHY they want it, and of course one very good reason is innocent curiosity. but there are SOME cases where i start to get THAT feeling--that tingle all of us ‘passing’ buckaroos get when we can sense the real intent behind the poking and prodding. that is the feeling of stumbling into a gatekeepers crosshairs.
if i was to take off my pink bag, what about my face would you analyze to tell if i was REALLY queer. my eye color? my ear shape? if you learned my legal name, would you see if it sounded autistic? is my voice neurodivergent enough?
or is all of that utterly absurd? i am curious what the TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION thinks.
PART FIVE: GENDERED
this will be the shortest of parts, but it has to be said. i have a very complex relationship with gender, as written about at length here and here. i understand these things can be difficult to parse for some, but i ask that you trust me when i say that the ONLY reason i have been able to talk about my gender and sexuality and learn these things about myself is because of this pink bag. this outward appearance is a direct expression and reflection of my gender journey.
if the texas library association does not care about my appearance as an expression of my autism, then i cant imagine them giving a dang about it as an expression of my gender and queerness. that being said, it is personally very important to me and i think it should be mentioned
PART SIX: SO YOU WANT TO REMOVE AN AUTISTIC QUEER AUTHOR FROM YOUR EVENT BECAUSE PEOPLE MIGHT FIND THEIR DIFFERENCES SCARY
there is a question to be asked here: how could the TLA have done this correctly?
i have one very big piece of advice i would like to shout from the rooftops. please, for the love of sweet barbara, DO ENOUGH RESEARCH to know if this appearance will be a problem and, IF SO, dont extend an invitation in the first place. unique buckaroos with different presentations are constantly left in this place of limbo because we are bombarded with careless actions like those of the TLA. before you consider extending a branch to an artist who might need more accommodations than usual, think to yourself 'CAN WE MAKE THESE ACCOMMODATIONS?'
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putting all of this on the shoulders of a single 'buckaroo with a difference' is exhausting. as the TLA has shown, we currently live on a timeline where a buckaroo like myself never really knows if an invite is SOLID without doing a deep dive history lesson on how often a group discriminates and against who.
i did not want to spend my whole family holiday worrying whether or not i should say something publicly or just lie down and shut my dang mouth. i had to consider HOW i should say it. i had to worry whether or not its worth standing up for myself in the face of the largest state library association in the country. i think buckaroos with differences are with me when i say: WE ARE SICK OF HAVING TO DO THIS WORK TO COVER FOR THE POOR BEHAVIOR OF LARGE ORGANIZATIONS WHO TREAT US BADLY
another option would just be to use kindness and common sense and happily accommodate artists with unique presentations to your conventions
PART SEVEN: LOVE IS STILL REAL
i would like to close by saying THANK YOU to my publisher nightfire and editor kelly for standing up for me. they immediately stood firm and had my back. they are the real dang deal. THANK YOU to my management and agent buds dongwon and gino for trotting along beside me. THANK YOU to the folks at the texas library association who initially invited chuck with goodness in their heart and then likely got bowled over by someone else, and maybe even got knocked to the side by a big closing gate.
i hope there are librarians in texas who are still interested in carrying BURY YOUR GAYS when it comes out (which is ironically about someone who creates a space through art to express their queerness where they cant otherwise). libraries prove love is real and what they do IS SO IMPORTANT. it was SO IMPORTANT TO ME as a young buckaroo and i cannot thank you enough. i am not sure if me writing all of this will hurt my sales in some way, but this opportunity to speak about the reality of disability awareness and queer gatekeeping is too important to stay silent. (if you have not already preordered BURY YOUR GAYS then give it a preorder to make up for some texas library losses i guess.)
which leads me to my final thank you. THANK YOU to the buckaroos reading this. yes YOU. i am in the position to stand up and speak my mind against scoundrel forces ONLY because i have the might of you buckaroos by my side. the buckaroo trot is ALL OF OUR TROT and we are ALL HERE TO PROVE LOVE. i cannot tell you how much i appreciate the way you have created a space for me to express these important parts of myself. you have seen this pink mask over my face and saying YES, I ACCEPT YOU, you have literally saved my life. for that i am so thankful.
if you are UPSET by what youve read here, then turn it into something positive. you can support autistic creators, or make a donation to the AUTISTIC SELF ADVOCACY NETWORK
and besides WHO IS REALLY MISSING OUT? this is what it looks like when you invite the worlds greatest author chuck tingle to your event and treat their identity as valid. WE HAVE A DANG GOOD TIME
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KEEP TROTTING INTO THE FUTURE. KEEP KICKING DOWN GATES WHEREVER THEY MAY BE. KEEP PROVING LOVE IS REAL AND PROVING IT TOGETHER. lets go buckaroos - chuck
UPDATE AN HOUR AFTER POSTING:
true buckaroo TJ KLUNE was set to be another author on panel chuck was removed from and has informed me he has now chosen to decline his invitation in support and solidarity with chuck. i am so deeply moved by this. thank you from bottom of heart buckaroo
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to be very clear TJ has a huge platform and DOES NOT NEED TO DO THIS. these conferences are great for book sales and he is taking a hit out of pure solidarity. this is queer buckaroos standing up for eachother. i am floored by this kindness and love
please consider checking out his books if they are not already covering your dang bookshelf. chuck blurbed IN THE LIVES OF PUPPETS and i was blown away i heckin loved it
MOST RECENT UPDATE:
here is more
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