#buwan is ranting

[s0fti3w1tch]

TMNT POLLS PSA

I've explained this in my reblog tags of this post, please keep the TMNT polls fun and please be sure that the AU/Iteration/Fic creators are actually okay with being part of them.

**Not about polls I've been added in, but polls I've seen, and growing trends me and others have noticed. As always, please don't harass anyone.

Specifically the more popularity-poll-ish ones, ones that teeter on or are straight up serious, it can be discouraging for those who didn't ask for it. Some may fear speaking up about it because other people are having fun despite how they themselves feel about it. Especially when polls specifically put one well-known fanwork over a smaller one. Worse yet when you're dropped into it without awareness from beforehand. Hell, even when the creators have a similar size, it can hurt.

I've recently gotten some anon messages like this. Though I haven't seen that attitude in response to my AU in polls, it's the type of attitude I've seen towards a couple other creators.

Being publicly compared to others by hundreds, sometimes up to thousands, can be anxiety-inducing. As easy as it is to say that "the unpopularity of your work should not discourage you," truth be told, there's truth to the saying "comparison kills creativity."

To have your work being used to put down someone else? Someone who's working just as hard? Who's just trying to share an idea just like you? Or to be dismissed?

As stated by the authors of MMC and OMO, while it may seem like you're uplifting your favorite in this, it's awkward. It can be stressful.

For those with less votes, it's hard not to think that yours is being called "less than." An "I've never heard of the other one lmao" can feel like a punch in the gut.

There's also animosity towards more bigger fanworks because of the pedestal they've been put on.

All that, and not even wanting to be there in there first place.

These things should and can encourage creativity and growth. AUs crossing over, banter, propaganda posts, etc.

Around the time Tumblr first rolled out the poll function, I was included in The Night AU creator's Sep AU polls. Me and the poll creator, Ray, both got last place in 2 respective polls, hence why we call TN!Leo/Green and TD!Leo/Trainee the "Losers Duo." Key part being: there was the awareness that this was simply in good fun. And I enjoyed being included.

Getting to know the creators of The Night, Red Rover, Life Mission, Blood Bath, and SLAU was and still is an amazing experience. The amount of crossover art we've made is evident of how much I've loved its turnout. I'm still planning on making more crossover work in the future.

It was some of the most actual fun I've had in fandom since I was 12. I'm 20 by the end of the year.

TL;DR

Respect the boundaries of fanwork creators and don't be an asshole for fuck's sake.

[s0fti3w1tch]

Before I post more TD content, I just want to say one thing specifically.

One thing that made me hesitant to post Tentative Devotee in the first place was Lieutenant and Brute.

They genuinely love and care about Leo, just as they do Casey. They have sweet moments with them. But they're still raising children in a cult.

I've gotten shit for this before

"Why'd you make them likeable?"

"Why are you making them good people?"

and I'm just gonna say now:

Nuance.

TD barely started and I haven't been able to show much yet, but even so, let me tell you something. Again, I was born and raised in a cult.

I have no doubt in my mind that my bio parents loved me and my siblings. But I also have no doubts that they've said and done things that hurt us. Valued their reputation and integrity of belief of the cult over the emotional/psychological needs of their children.

There were good moments and times where we knew they actually loved us

But we were still hurt.

We felt awful.

That it was our faults if we felt upset.

That we didn't have enough hope.

That we didn't love them enough.

That we wouldn't be saved because of how fundamentally sinful we were with the nature of our existence if we didn't overhaul ourselves entirely.

I won't write Lieutenant and Brute to the extent of what my bio parents have said. The Foot Clan vs. what I grew up with aren't the same and not the most comparable in the world. Like make them have the exact same views as my bio parents- fuck no, I don’t wanna write that. But regardless.

I'm just begging you to remember that this shit can be grey as hell.

You're allowed to think that Lieutenant and Brute are sweet in Tentative Devotee when they are sweet. You're allowed to acknowledge when they're kind and show genuine care to Casey and Leo. You're also allowed to acknowledge when they will inevitably be in the wrong.

That's all right now.