Right. Re: yesterday's ask.
This is going to be a ramble that is likely imperfectly worded and will not get across every intention I have. I'm begging you not to purposefully misunderstand me here.
In short, I'm uncomfortable with the way certain people within this fandom interact with me and my work. I'm objectively not somebody with a very big following, but the audience I do have is often very intense. This can be a good thing, such as the lovely support I receive on my work, or those of you who have found comfort and validation within it. Everything I have to say is with full acknowledgement that the majority of interactions I have are wonderful.
However, there is also an increasing frequency of behaviour that I am not comfortable with. I frequently receive anons, or see posts, in which complete strangers treat me as though I weren't really a human being. I feel as though I'm often seen as a mix between a best friend, a celebrity, and a fictional character. I am, in fact, a grown man with flaws, problems and boundaries. Therefore, when you send an ask, or make a post saying something like this (btw what's with the use of 'pedestal'? Was there some discourse I wasn't aware of?)
It makes me feel very, very weird. It genuinely scares me, in fact -- if we're already skirting the parasocial when I have such a small following, I dread the day I do something people don't agree with. This is not a sustainable way to interact with somebody.
I feel as though, in a very short time, my art has become a kind of nebulous concept to which people feel entitled. Between demands for free art, distaste over the way I portray certain characters, and the blatant ripping off of my work, I'm not sure where I stand. I think it all ties back to, as I said, seeing my art and I as vague concepts rather than something very concrete. If I am not a real person in one's head, of course one might feel entitled to sending asks for free art like coins in a vending machine. Of course one might feel it is right to rip off my artwork practically scene-for-scene, word-for-word without acknowledgement. Of course one might send asks as though we are best friends, assuming one knows me in and out.
The reality is, though, I'm just as human as you are. If you were to draw something right now, my art is just as concrete as yours is, just as tied to my feelings and my pride. When you do any of the things I've brought up, a real person sees it and has to process it somehow. No amount of popularity removes the need for respect and boundaries. And, it is truly a difficult position to be in. How in the world can I express all of this without coming across as a self-important, delusional arsehole? Maybe I can't, but I owe it to myself to express it anyway.
I'm sure I've contributed to this somehow, probably because I tend to be very gregarious and friendly. I do acknowledge I must have had some role in the situation (especially since I have yet to see another artist's first name being used so casually by the fandom), but I've come to a point where I now want to fix it. I have no rancour towards anybody who has overstepped, social media is a complicated sea for anybody to navigate. It's especially hard to do so without knowing what is or isn't acceptable, which is why I'm putting this out there before I grow any more, to give us all a chance of having a good time here. So please don't feel bad if you've engaged in this kind of thing, but please do hear me out on why I'd like things to change a bit.
And as I've said, the majority of interactions I have are absolutely lovely. I'm truly grateful for the support I get, no matter how clumsily it may be expressed.
baratheonpilled
janainaart
blakekathryn
yousharknotpass
