To Engage Is To Build (and an excuse to share cool arts)

Hello! This is my fandom/"front-facing" blog, and the one I use to interact with people the most. My personal/writing/art(?) blog is @veritiera. I will do my best to add image IDs, but I'm a noob at it-- if you do IDs, and you notice I'm regularly leaving stuff out, tell me! || Currently into a lot of things-- I tend to never leave something permanently, if I really like it-- but this includes TAZ Balance, Half Life (the games), Wolf 359, old VLD gen, indie animation, a bunch of random stuff, and really just any cool art. [ID: Header is a bright yellow bucket full of King and Queen Protea flowers, which are large magenta flowers with petals that layer like dragon's scales on the outside, and a bowl-like inside, with the center pulled away from the edges. The center stamen are soft-looking, bunched together, and gradient from deep hot pink at the tips to a warm yellow at the base. Icon is a close up of Tommy Shriggly from the Dropout comedy series Very Important People. He has an unnaturally wide neck, disproportionately tiny ears, a shaved head with a brown mohawk, and thick eyebrows that are lighter than his hair color. He is looking off to the left with a serious expression. End ID]

[kosmicpowers]

"oh but Grace isn't canonically aroace it's just fanon!! You can ship him romantically!"

???

[toengageistobuild]

[Image ID: a close up on a frame of the Project Hail Mary movie, showing just Ryland Grace’s ankles and shoes. His long-sleeved pants are pulled back a bit, revealing horizontally striped ankle socks that appear to be in the aroace flag colors in the aroace flag color order. End ID]

[johnchurch-blease]

oops

[adhdmagnusburnsides]

[id: art of john from the legs up, with his head replaced by the hunger. the hunger is black streaked through with bright colors and white eyes throughout it. it looks like it’s erupting out of his shoulders. he’s wearing a black suit and tie with a white shirt, his hands are behind his back, and he’s facing the viewer. he’s standing in front of a large window, and through it, a sunset and part of a city skyline are visible.]

[cepheusgalaxy]

"Doomed yaoi" this "doomed yuri" that what about doomed found family. What about finding comfort in these new people after going through so much on your own—a community, a solace, a home to come back to. Caring for them with all you've got, only to realize that it wasn't going to work, ever, no matter what you tried. Only to have it ripped apart, no matter how much you tried to hold them close. Found family that becomes lost family. Found family that takes your heart with it when they go.

[toengageistobuild]

cursed and delightfully horrible question: has anyone entered count binface into the tumblr sexyman context

[fakelawyerbug]

I've seen a bunch of "fandom etiquette" posts on my dash today and I'm going to say something that is maybe going to be unpopular but;

The absolutely pervasive mentality that unwanted criticism or critique shouldn't be given and should be ignored is why fans of color don't stay in fan spaces.

And I am not going to mince words here:

A lot of you are racist. A lot of your fan works are racist.

That might have been difficult to hear. And if it was, you should probably reflect on why that was.

"Fandom etiquette" has created a space where fans of color either bite our tongues and eventually leave or say something, get dogged on, and then eventually leave.

So much of "fandom etiquette" seems to be about insulating creatives from Feeling Bad and hostility to any kind of negative feedback is a pretty big contributor to why bigotry festers in these spaces.

[iridescentoracle]

#imo the potluck analogy applies- it would be rude to critique someone's icing technique at a potluck bc it wasn't as good as at the bakery #but if they had decorated their cupcakes w hate symbols it wouldn't be rude to tell them that's gross and gtfo #in fact it would be inappropriate to NOT say anything in that situation #or to complain that another guest who did point it out was 'ruining everyone's potluck' #and pointing out racism in fan works is 100% the second thing not the first! (via destructions-daughter)

[swamp-spirit]

There's also a tendency to conflate anyone who critiques general trends with bad faith randos. Like, there is fandom behavior that is 100% racist and should be talked about, but there are also trends of racist/sexist/ableist preferences.

If I say "I am uncomfortable with fandom's tendency to write trans men as feminine and submissive" I do not mean "I think every person who writes feminine submissive trans men should be chased with pitchforks". I don't even mean "any cis-person who writes feminine or submissive trans men should be chased with pitchforks". I mean "I would like writers to seriously think about why this is so common, why they write that, and if it fairly and genuinely engages with what it means to be a trans man, or if they just think it's hot when submissive people have vaginas and didn't want to write omegaverse of m/f".

Similarly, when people say "fandom is systemically less interested in black characters, less willing to give flat black characters rich fanon than flat white characters, and less interested in black characters in ships", the response is not to explain why you, personally, just happen to like popular white guy in that fanon. Your job is to look at yourself and ask if you tend to "just happen to be more interested" in the popular white guy across fandoms, be honest, and start unpacking that. Sometimes it's easier to love the flat character who's already getting 10,000 fics with headcanons and art and meta.

If somebody says "I wish there were more gluten free options at the potluck. I hate always showing up and not finding anything I can eat*", they are not asking you to throw your cake in the trash and weep. They do not want to hear your long speech about how actually this is your grandmother's recipe, and you've tried it with rice flour actually, but it just didn't work. You think about what you can do, and you listen to how they feel.

*The metaphor here not being that you can't read fic that isn't "good rep". The metaphor here is that it can be isolating to be in spaces where nobody is trying to make sure people like you are welcome.

[strangerconnection]

you know, i don't remember

[silly-sneevleton]

It's Disability Pride Month!!! This year, remember to include us disabled folk who may not "look" disabled at first glance. Disability is a spectrum that comes in many different forms, including the ones that may not seem obvious. We deserve to have pride too!

[liberaljane]

Increased accessibility benefits EVERYONE!

Here are some ways YOU can advocate for increased accessibility:

Online:

Use alt-text to describe any images

Record events

Have closed captioning

Share content warnings

Avoid flashing lights or imagery

At Work:

Invest in meaningful Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiatives

Provide more PAID time off

Avoid ableist language (like 'lame' or 'crazy')

Provide remote working options

UNIONIZE!

For In-Person Events:

Communicate ANY walking distance (in distance, not minutes!)

Include information about public transit

Provide gender neutral bathrooms

Avoid heavy perfumes or scents

Hire sign language interpreters

Created by Liberal Jane and Sex Ed with DB

[tetramoth]

[ID: an ink sketch in a lined paper notebook depicting Hollow, an nb person wearing a binder and cargo shorts, a backpack, a tote bag, and a purse, with short hair and large hollow sockets instead of eyes, is climbing up stairs with a cane. In big letters around them, text reads:

SOME OF US // DON’T GET //TO TRAVEL LIGHT

There is a box with a text key. This reads:

*1. Cannot leave the house without it // 2. Needed in some contexts

additional text reads near their respective items:

Backpack w/art supplies, fan, first aid kit, laptop (optional) (2)

Purse w/money, ID, medical information, medication, pads for period (necessary) (1)

Tote bag w/emergency meds, holds collapsible cane, first aid kit^2, sweatshirt (for temp intolerance indoors), water bottle, pads, phone charger (1)

(Pointing at cargo shorts) Pocket w/phone (easily accessible in case of emergency) // Pockets w/keys (because I forget where they are if I can’t feel them) (1)

Additional text below:

*Not pictured: lunchbox w/electrolyte drink and lunch for work (2)

*Umbrella (2) End ID.]

In honor of disability pride month, and in honor or of every one of us who always be carrying things because of our illnesses/disabilities, here’s a quick sketch/vent about always traveling with half a bajillion things. Would it be nice to not constantly be Encumbered? Yes! Am I ever going somewhere without things I need in an emergency, especially when I’m traveling alone? Hell no! Sincerely, someone whose amount of stuff they’re carrying ALWAYS gets commented on, stared at, or used to make assumptions about whether I’m safe to be around or sit next to.

[thattripleabattery]

This is a threat

[toengageistobuild]

I have never used The QueueTM before and don’t know how it works, so if all y’all see some random posts, uh. Happy disability pride month!!!

[cowsabungus]

Chronic pain

ID in Alt

[horsemotifs]

joining the war on pigeons on the side of pigeons

[underwatersart]

My drawing based off of the glowing mushroom planet from the Stolen Century arc of The Adventure Zone: Balance.

[adventuresloane]

[ID: A traditional ink drawing showing a squat, grayish town filled with ramshackle wooden houses and a watchtower. Torches burn everywhere, including on the roofs of buildings and especially all along a perimeter fence at the town’s edge. A few people wearing masks with no visible mouth holes peek out of windows as the town is pelted with rain. Beyond the fence, rising up to loom over the settlement, is a forest full of massive blue mushrooms. End ID.]

[kuwau]

what character(s) do you associate with the person you reblogged this from?

[toengageistobuild]

Mark “send me into space first, even if I won’t come back” Iplier vs Ryan “I would never go into space, it’s fun to film but you couldn’t pay me to go up there” Gosling

[toengageistobuild]

Mark “send me into space first, even if I won’t come back” Iplier vs Ryan “I would never go into space, it’s fun to film but you couldn’t pay me to go up there” Gosling